Chapter 6 Marcus #2
Marcus listened as Bruce turned away, soft footsteps carrying him out of the suite. Once he heard the door close, he picked Warren up under his arms and lifted him off the bed.
“Do you want to take a quick shower before we eat?” Marcus asked, putting him down on the floor.
“I probably should,” Warren said, looking down at himself.
Marcus swallowed, following his gaze and appreciating the sight of him.
He was covered in sweat and come, his hair sticking up in all directions, and there was a gorgeous trail of bruises down his neck and chest from where Marcus had bitten him.
He looked ravaged.
“Bathroom is right there. I’ll wait for you in the living room.
” Marcus grabbed his underwear and used it to wipe down his chest and groin, after which he grabbed a fresh suit from the closet.
Taking a seat on the bed to put on his socks, he shot an amused look at Warren.
The boy was just standing there, watching him. “Did you want me to join you?”
Warren jerked, startled, and shook his head. “No, I’ll…” He trailed off and licked his lips. “Did you want to join me?”
“Next time,” Marcus said. He rose up and pulled on a fresh pair of briefs and the navy suit pants he’d grabbed from the closet. “We should eat before the food gets cold.”
“Right.” Warren ran his hand through his hair and walked toward the bathroom. “I’ll be quick.”
Marcus put on a fitted dress shirt and found his belt on the floor, turning the sturdy strip of leather over in his hands before putting it on.
Cracking the belt had been a risky move. It was extremely obvious that Warren was a complete novice when it came to kink, and Marcus shouldn’t have introduced something like getting hit with a belt until they’d had a serious discussion about just how kinky Warren was willing to get with him.
Mentioning his playroom had been an equally bad idea.
Marcus pinched the bridge of his nose, listening as the shower turned on and he thought back to some of the things he’d done tonight. He’d choked Warren out. Twice. What was he thinking? He’d asked permission, sure, but that wasn’t the kind of thing you did out of nowhere.
It was a miracle Warren hadn’t run for the hills the second he had the chance.
Exiting the bedroom, Marcus walked into the living room and smiled. Bruce had set the table over by the window – lighting candles and uncorking the wine and everything – setting the perfect mood.
Grabbing a beer from the ice bucket, he shifted his thumb into a claw and used it to pop the bottle cap. Studying his claw, his thumb now disproportionally large compared to the rest of his hand, he wondered how Warren would react to his alpha shift.
He hoped he’d be into it. He knew that Steve and his mates had fucked Dylan while they were shifted into their alpha forms, and the idea of doing the same with Warren was enough to make his mouth water and his balls feel like they were made of lead.
Shifting his claw back to a regular thumb, Marcus took a sip of his beer and sat down. He watched the city skyline, taking in the lights and lit-up bridge in the distance, and waited for Warren to finish his shower.
Now that he’d gotten their first fuck out of his system and successfully claimed the boy with his bite, Marcus hoped that he could manage to control himself enough not to screw this up.
By the time Warren emerged from the bathroom, Marcus had finished half his beer and his stomach was rumbling in anticipation of the steaks he could smell under the metal cloches covering the plates.
Warren was shirtless, his bruised torso on gorgeous display.
“I think we left my shirt and sweater out here,” he said, looking around the room.
“On the couch,” Marcus said, nodding. Warren’s shirt and sweater were both folded up and placed on the back of the couch. Bruce must have picked them up and folded them.
“Numbing cream?” Warren asked, holding up a little tube.
“What?” Marcus tilted his head in confusion.
“This thing.” Warren held up the little tube. “It was on top of my sweater.”
“My assistant must have left it for you.”
Marcus was continually amazed at Bruce’s foresight.
“That’s nice.” Warren was blushing, staring at the tube with the realization that a stranger had anticipated him getting fucked hard enough to need medication. “I’ll be right back.”
Warren grabbed his t-shirt and the numbing cream and disappeared back into the bedroom. A few minutes later he emerged, a happy and somewhat amazed look on his face.
“That stuff really works!”
Marcus chuckled. “I’m glad. I’m sorry I didn’t think of it myself.”
“I didn’t think of it, either.” Warren took a seat across from Marcus and looked around the room. His gaze darted from the table to the view and then around the large living space. “Wow, this place is nice.”
“It is,” Marcus agreed. “And they do very good food. What can I get you to drink?”
“Just water,” Warren said, licking his lips. Marcus poured him a glass from the decanter.
“Wine?” he asked.
“No, that’s okay. I’m not a big drinker.”
Marcus gave the wine a look. He didn’t particularly like wine, so he supposed the bottle would be going to waste.
If they didn’t drink it, he’d give it to William. He liked wine.
Turning his attention back to Warren, Marcus grinned and started uncovering the plates.
“I got us a bit of a selection, so just grab what looks good and have at it.” He froze, the cloche that had been covering the second cheeseburger hovering a few inches above the plate. “You’re not a vegetarian, are you?”
Warren laughed and shook his head. “No. I eat meat.”
Marcus bit back the impulse to make the obvious joke.
“Good. This would have been embarrassing, otherwise.” He finished uncovering the food, grabbing one of the steaks for himself and cutting into it.
“Can werewolves even date vegetarians?” He teased. “Aren’t you guys all about that-” he held up his hands and formed them into claws, making an adorable sound that Marcus supposed could be called a growl “-hunting thing?”
“We are.” He smirked. “Though my claws are a bit bigger and scarier than that.”
Warren’s eyes widened. He leaned forward, his expression one of restrained excitement. “Is it true that you can change into a different form? I don’t mean like a full wolf shift, but like-”
“An alpha shift?” Marcus nodded. “Sure. Do you want to see?”
Warren licked his lips and nodded.
Not wanting to scare him – or have to get naked – Marcus held up his hand and let the transformation spread from the tips of his fingers and down to his palm.
The most obvious change were the wickedly sharp claws and the increase in hair on the back of his hand and fingers, along with the fact that his hand about doubled in size.
“That is so cool,” Warren said, leaning forward to look. He gazed up at Marcus’s face. “I thought I’d be able to see it change, but it was like… poof. Change. Does it hurt?”
“Not at all.” Marcus wriggled his fingers. “It feels pretty good, actually. Like letting go. It feels even better on the full moon.”
“Wow.” Warren kept staring at Marcus’s hand, his fascination obvious.
“You can feel it, if you want. My claws are sharp.”
Marcus moved his hand forward, stretching it carefully across the table toward Warren.
“It’s so big,” Warren mumbled, his voice barely above a whisper. He gently took hold of one of Marcus’s fingers, his hand looking tiny next to the massive digit, and felt up along the top knuckle and over the tip of his claw.
Marcus’s stomach tingled at the touch. He held his breath, his whole body feeling light and fluttery as Warren gently explored his claws.
“That is so cool,” Warren repeated, letting go and reaching for one of the plates with the burgers. He lifted up and took a bite, chewing. “Can you do that with any part of your body?”
Marcus smirked, raising his brow as he let his hand shift back to human. After a second of looking confused, Warren’s face turned red.
Marcus loved how easily Warren blushed. It was adorable, and he hoped he never stopped getting so easily flustered.
“I didn’t mean it like-”
“I can.” Marcus took a big bite of his steak. “Though I think we need to train your hole a bit more before we take advantage of the fact.”
Warren took a long sip of water, looking anywhere but at Marcus.
“Why is it called an alpha shift?” he asked when he was done gulping down water, changing the subject.
“Because only alphas can do it.” Seeing the confused look on Warren’s face, Marcus explained.
“Not all alphas are leaders of a pack. Werewolves can be born as either alphas or betas. Alphas have a bit more aggression and leadership drive, and you have to be an alpha to lead a pack, but most alphas are perfectly happy submitting to a strong pack alpha. There’s a hierarchy in every pack of strongest to weakest alpha.
Betas exist outside of that structure, but the hierarchy helps them know who they should listen to if there are conflicting orders. ”
Warren scrunched up his nose. “That sounds complicated.”
“It can be.” Marcus shrugged. “Though most packs are pretty settled. It’s rare for conflicts to emerge outside of the very top ranks.”
“And what’s your rank?”
Marcus couldn’t help the way his chest puffed up. “I’m the pack alpha of the Northwestern pack. I’m at the top.”
Warren looked suitably impressed.
“And you’re on the board of directors for the N.W.P Investment Group.” Warren ate a French fry and chuckled with self-deprecation. “I’m feeling like I’m a little out of my league. I’m just an MBA with a very tentative job offer for a junior-level financial analyst position lined up for next year.”
“You should come work for me in Alaska. Werewolves are all about nepotism.”
Warren laughed, as though Marcus had made a joke.
“I’m serious. Any job you want. We’re headquartered in Fairbanks and Anchorage.”
Warren huffed, his expression amused, but when Marcus just kept up his steady, sincere gaze, he snorted.
“You’re not serious.”