Sugar-Free Beta (4 page)

The Alpha’s enormous jaws opened again. Its hot
breath and the stink of carnage filled Jack’s nostrils.
He’s recently fed, but he’ll make a good meal out of me yet.
He
shut his eyes. Being eaten alive was not his ideal way of dying, and Jack had
seen more sides to Nicky than he’d like. The black bastard would have a hell of
a time making sure he’d suffer terribly.

He’d seen the Alpha assert his brutal authority
over the new and disobedient wolves in his pack and the occasional unfortunate
human who’d crossed his path. Jack certainly didn’t fancy ending up like minced
meat.

“Please…” The plea died in his throat.

Jack was ready to accept his death. He could
only hope that he’d meant something to his former lover even just a little bit,
enough at least that Nicky would give him a quick death.

“You
know that’s a wistful and unlikely thought, Jack. You should’ve known better
than that, Jack.”
He could
almost hear Nicky saying it in his human form. He could imagine the large man’s
usually handsome face twisted into a sneer.
Could imagine the
sound of his large fists smacking into flesh.
Not just once, but a few
times for good measure. Most of Nicky’s pack would just look at him with
averted and pitying glances in the morning. Jack never expected any help from
them either way.

He was ready for the sound of Nicky’s teeth
crunching into his soft human flesh, but there was nothing. The warm and putrid
stink of carnage disappeared. A surprised yelp followed. Jack’s eyes flew open
just in time to catch Nicky being flung away as if something equally large and
powerful had barreled straight into him.

Jack blinked. An unfamiliar snarl came from his
unexpected savior—another wolf. Rust-colored and terrifying in size, the
intruder’s ears were pulled back, its teeth bared and its amber eyes narrowed.
It was all muscle and grace when it moved, not giving Nicky a chance to
recover.

The Alpha clawed at the other wolf, snapping
its jaws and raking its claws furiously at a beast that could finally give him
a real challenge. Most werewolf fights were nothing but dirty dog fights to
Jack, but this fight was a dance of two deadly and beautiful beasts.
 

They came at each other’s throat, nipping and
wrestling at each other only to draw back, scrutinizing each other like equals.
Both were covered in bloody nicks and scratches by now. Nicky licked at one
injured paw while the russet wolf seemed unconcerned about his own injuries,
his amber eyes trained solely on the black-furred Alpha.

What a
monster.

Not cowed, Nicky issued a final bellow of
challenge. The challenger, undeterred and determined, only echoed it. The two
combatants began to circle each other. Was the russet wolf fighting on Jack’s
behalf?
But why?
And just who was that wolf?
 
Jack was stunned. No one had ever fought on
his behalf before. A Gamma wasn’t exactly a treasured prize.

Apprehensive about the final outcome of the
match, Jack managed a sitting position and ignored his protesting leg. Nicky
broke the tension and made the first move. The Alpha was a deadly black blur of
force. Snarling, the russet wolf met his charge.

Nicky slammed and successfully tackled the
intruder, his claws raking at the vulnerable underbelly of the russet wolf.
Undaunted by the unfortunate position he was forced into, the other wolf fought
to regain control. Snarling, the big red managed to clamp its jaws on Nicky’s
neck.

Jack could only watch, paralyzed, as the russet
wolf ripped its teeth across Nicky’s throat. The great black head let out a
painful dying sound, its throat gurgling blood and its paws making one last
desperate fight. Jack’s savior didn’t budge one bit. He only clamped his jaws
shut over Nicky until the Alpha let out his last dying breath.

The russet wolf finally placed Nicky’s body
down and let out a triumphant howl that prickled at Jack’s skin. Finally, he
turned his attention to Jack. Fear wormed its way into Jack’s heart. His hands
began to shake. In fact, his entire body began to shake.

He
beat Nicky. He beat the Alpha that was the scourge of the West Cities.

Jack swallowed. His mouth was dry. Was this
wolf going to be his new master now? Would he force Jack into submission and
keep him collared and bowed just as Nicky had before he found the courage to
run away?

The large russet wolf trotted over to him, his
nails clicking on the gravel. The wolf inside Jack was strangely unafraid of
this powerful new wolf though. His wolf was pleased and happy to see him. The
wolf had been waiting for a long time after all, knowing the red one would
come. An odd feeling of warmth then infused Jack. It spread from his insides
and coursed to his limbs.
 

Mate,
his wolf said in a chiding voice.
Our mate.

Jack flinched as the red wolf neared him, but
its tongue only darted out to lick at his bleeding cheek. Feeling foolish, Jack
hesitantly reached out to touch its fur. Jack wasn’t sure how hurt he was,
because whatever injuries the red wolf sustained on his behalf were masked by
the brilliant color of his fur.

A pang of shame hit Jack, but it quickly passed.
There were other ways to repay his savior. He could treat his wounds. He could
nestle closely to the man beneath the fur to keep him warm on the coming winter
months.
 

Jack breathed the scent of his new savior and
was no longer afraid. In fact, his heart slowed to a steady and certain beat.
For some unexplainable reason, he knew this wolf wouldn’t hurt him. In fact, it
was the opposite. This wolf would keep him safe.

“Mate.”
The word was strange on Jack’s lips.

The wolf licked at his face again in assent,
and his amber eyes looked satisfied. He then parted from Jack, his tail
swishing back and forth. He raised his head and cocked his ears, as if to say
listen
. Obeying, Jack strained his ears
and heard the sounds of yips and howls in the distance.

“Local pack,” he whispered in understanding,
looking at the russet wolf for help.

It trotted forward a few steps away from Jack,
turning his head to the direction of the street.
It was about time we made our exit,
the other wolf said.

“I can’t walk,” Jack admitted, feeling weak and
pathetic.

The wolf examined the wound on his leg and
growled softly. Oddly, the wolf looked like it was thinking, before finally
lowering its body. Jack wasn’t entirely sure he understood though.

“You … will carry me?” He asked with
unconcealed surprise.

Werewolves weren’t ponies, and dominant wolves
didn’t carry their Gammas around. In werewolf hierarchy, the weak were left
behind or finished off, but this great wolf was telling Jack he could ride him.

Impatient, the wolf lightly and gently nipped
at him. The howls were coming closer to the park.

With no other option, Jack grunted and cursed,
eventually managing to roll himself on top of the wolf’s shaggy back. The
wolf’s pelt was unbelievably warm against him.

“Whoa! Hey!” Jack barely managed to wrap his
arms around the wolf’s neck as it broke into a run.

Its muscles bunched and strained beneath Jack,
who shivered. He could barely imagine what kind of human shape his champion
took. Would he be a large imposing man like Nicky? But Jack didn’t associate
fear with this wolf.

Jack leaned his cheek against the wolf’s rough
fur, breathing in its smell of musk and blood. The wind whipped against his
clothes and face, but Jack wasn’t worried about falling off the large wolf even
though he was likely to slide off any moment. The wolf would make sure he
didn’t fall. Even if Jack fell, he would lower himself again so Jack could hold
on.

Miraculously though, Jack didn’t fall. Sick and
tired of always running and never staying put in one place for long, Jack
realized that he never felt this peaceful in a very long time.

In fact, he’d realized that he’d never felt
this content.
 

Chapter
Three

With his head throbbing and his body aching
everywhere, Derrick wasn’t really surprised to wake up in a cranky mood. The
bedsprings creaked under him, and he turned on his good side. The sound of the
springs grated on his ears. For some reason, they were abhorrently loud. Derrick
didn’t remember why there was a blanket over him, too. Annoyed and hot, he
attempted to toss it aside.

When had he found the time to get himself a
blanket last night? In fact, the more he thought about last night, the more he
drew into a confused mess of images. The springs creaked again, but Derrick
didn’t dare move. He froze.

His ears caught the sound of a faint buzzing.
The sound reminded him of someone snoozing lightly.
Someone is in bed with me
. Derrick nearly bolted out of the bed in
panic, but his wolf didn’t sense any threat. Something soft brushed against his
exposed side.
An arm.
That arm slid across his side
and rested on his hairy belly in a rather alarmingly possessive matter.
This is nice. Jared never held me like this.

Derrick shook himself away from such thoughts,
gingerly lifting the hand away from him. He turned to face the other occupant
in bed.

“Hi.
Good morning again.”
A handsome face framed by dark brown shaggy hair leaned forward towards him.
Before Derrick could back, the other man kissed him. The moment his lips
touched his, all thoughts of pulling away fled from the Beta’s mind.

The tingle he that jumped up his arm yesterday had
felt a little like this, only this was something else. Something that was more
wild and demanding. Derrick found his large and clumsy hands pulling the other
man towards him. With his astounding string of failed relationships, the Beta
almost expected the other man to pull away in disgust, but he only leaned
forward into Derrick’s embrace.

Kisses
with Jared were never like this. None of the kisses I had with other men were
like this.

“I don’t even know your name,” Derrick said,
breathless when he pulled back. It seemed important he should know something
simple as the other man’s name. Reluctantly, he let the other man go even
though the wolf inside him impatiently glared at him.

“It’s Jack,” the Gamma answered. His bright
blue eyes were trained on Derrick. “Jack Lee.”

The intensity of his gaze unsettled Derrick. It
felt like the Gamma was capable of seeing past what his other lovers could not,
and the feeling of being this exposed to another wolf both terrified and
unsettled Derrick. Was this what it was truly like, when a wolf finally found
its true mate? His connection to Jared felt flimsy and artificial compared to
this. How had he managed to live this long without having Jack by his side?

“Jack, nice to meet you.
I’m Derrick Starr,” Derrick said lamely. Now
that the passion of the kiss was fading, he felt awkward and uncertain again.
Was this like the cupcake incident yesterday morning? Was this just another
random act of kindness on the Gamma’s part?

“Derrick,” the Gamma said his name slowly and
thoughtfully, as if he was relishing the sound of his syllables on his lips.

“Listen, Jack. About last night, please don’t
think you owe me a favor or anything like that,” Derrick began.

He didn’t entirely understand what happened
last night, and he didn’t expect Jack to unload his secrets to some random
stranger. All Derrick knew was that he’d never felt such rage in a long time.
He’d made peace with his savage side a long time ago, but the sheer protective
instinct he’d developed for the Gamma was dangerous. If he was a real Beta,
things would go the way he wanted. He’d never let Jack Lee out of his sight again
because the Gamma was rightfully his and he belonged rightfully to the Gamma.

Derrick the human coward would never do such a
thing though, because he both loathed and was proud of the fact that he wasn’t
like other wolves. He wouldn’t force a lesser wolf, much less his fated mate,
to submit to him. It seemed to him that Jack already had endured enough abuse
to last him a lifetime. The Gamma certainly deserved better.

That
could be you,
a voice reminded
him.

“What I’m saying is, I don’t have a lot, but if
you need anything else, like cash for a bus or train ticket I can get you those
things.” Derrick regretted the words the instant they tumbled out of his mouth.

The frown on the Gamma’s features deepened.
“You want me to leave?”

“No,” Derrick said quickly, raising his hand,
“But I don’t want to force you into—”

“No one is forcing me to stay here!”

“I—” Derrick was confused. Jack Lee confused
him because the Gamma wasn’t like any other wolves or men he’d ever
encountered.

“If you want me to leave, you just have to tell
me,” Jack snapped.

Sudden panic gripped Derrick when the Gamma
ripped the rest of the sheets away from him, revealing his deliciously lean
body. Derrick grabbed his arm.