Chapter 12 Max
MAX
Max lay in the snow, staring up at the morning sky and panting as steam rose from his sweaty body. He was naked, shifted into his alpha form, and he felt like he had spent the whole night running.
He’d never had so much fun in his life.
Next to him, sitting up and looking perfectly relaxed, Marcus watched him as he caught his breath.
“You’re getting better at following your instincts,” Marcus said, making something warm and happy curl in Max’s stomach. “Spend a few full moons with the pack and I think we’ll be able to turn you into a half-decent alpha.”
Max pushed himself up, Marcus’s words penetrating his happy mood and reminding him that this was just temporary. No matter how good it felt to run with an actual werewolf – to be guided and led on a real hunt – he wouldn’t give up what he had with Harland for anything.
Marcus cut Max off before he could voice his objection. “I know, you don’t want to give up your vampire. Don’t worry, I won't make you.”
Max licked his lips, wondering at the change in attitude from the day before. It hadn’t been that long since Marcus was talking about ending Harland, which Max was pretty sure was just a prejudiced way of saying kill.
After all, you couldn’t kill what was already dead – or so the argument went.
“No?” he asked, wanting Marcus to elaborate on his change of heart.
“He’s claimed you.” Marcus looked at him with a rueful expression. “I didn’t notice it last night, but I could feel it when we ran together. If I wanted you in my pack, I’d have to take you from him. That’s a shitty thing to do to someone who’s happy with their alpha.”
Max’s wolf let out a happy rumble in the back of his mind.
He’d considered Harland to be his alpha for well over a year – though Harland biting into his neck and communing with his wolf had shown him what he’d been missing – and having another alpha recognize their bond as real was extremely satisfying.
“What about Warren?” Max asked.
Marcus shot him a cocky grin.
“He’s mine. If I have to fight you and your vampire to get him…” Marcus shrugged. “Bring it.”
Max swallowed, Marcus’s cocky attitude making his cock twitch and his balls feel heavy.
“What if he wants me and Harland?” he asked, standing up and relaxing his hold on his wolf. It took him a few seconds to get it started, but then he managed to shift back to his human form.
“He won't,” Marcus said, watching him shrink down. “And if he does, I’ll just have to show him that I’m the superior option.”
Max retrieved his clothes from the tree where he’d stashed them, pulling them on. He was starting to get cold now that his heart wasn’t racing and he no longer had his alpha shift to keep him warm.
He tugged on his boots and zipped up his coat.
“And if he wants all three of us?” he asked, looking up at Marcus and swallowing. Like this, Marcus was over a foot taller than he was, and the way his fangs poked down over his lip when he kept on grinning that cocky grin was criminally attractive.
Max didn’t understand how anyone could find a werewolf’s alpha shift intimidating. It was so fucking hot. He wondered if now that Harland was getting more in touch with his wolf, he would be able to shift into his alpha form.
Marcus stretched from side to side. “That would suck for him,” he said. “I don’t want to share.”
Marcus shifted back to his human form, and Max couldn’t help but stare. He wasn’t used to shifting himself, and he’d never seen anyone else do it. He’d expected to see the transformation, but it was instant.
That wasn’t what it felt like.
Marcus got dressed, and Max admired his ass as he bent over to put on his shoes.
“I wouldn’t mind sharing,” Max said, licking his lips as he studied the globes of Marcus’s ass as they stretched the fabric of his jeans to their limit. “Or being shared.”
Marcus froze, turning to look him up and down with a considering expression. After a moment, he shook his head.
“Nope, still not interested.”
Max slumped. Spending a night with Marcus, running and hunting and letting his wolf be free, had him feeling thoroughly smitten.
“Are you sure?” He dug a little hole in the snow with the tip of his running shoe. “I give a mean blowjob.”
He looked up from his shoe, catching Marcus’s eye. The other alpha looked tempted, but he shook his head a second time.
“Still no.”
Max sucked in a breath through his teeth, stomping the snow he’d moved out of the hole back into place. “That’s a shame.”
“I really don’t like sharing.” Marcus walked over to him and nudged him with his shoulder. “No offense.”
“Some taken,” Max said, feeling optimistic despite the rejection. There was no doubting that Marcus was into him.
“Come on, we should be heading back to the city.” Marcus patted Max on the back and headed into the trees. They’d only taken a few steps when Marcus leaned his head back and howled to the sky.
Max jumped nearly a foot into the air, startled by the sudden noise.
“What was that?” he asked, his heart slamming against his chest. His wolf responded to the sound with a flurry of excitement, but Max didn’t know what it meant.
“I’m calling my enforcers,” Marcus said. “They’ve been circling us the whole night. You didn’t notice them?”
Max shook his head. There were a few times where he’d thought that he’d gotten a whiff of a strange scent, but with Marcus there, he hadn’t paid attention to it.
“They herded that deer toward us.”
Max blushed. Marcus had stepped aside to let him hunt the deer, but he’d fumbled the chase and let it get away.
In retrospect, he was relieved – coming back to himself after having eaten squirrels and rabbits was bad enough, and he was glad he didn’t remember killing and tearing into a whole deer – but it had been extremely embarrassing in the moment.
A few minutes later, two alphas converged on them from either side of the forest, taking up position on either side of where Max and Marcus were walking.
Both alphas were wearing jeans, sturdy boots, and thick jackets, and the looks on their faces were all business.
“Hello,” he said, looking between the two newcomers. “I’m Max. Nice to meet you.”
Both guys shot him a quick look and a nod, and then turned their attention back to their surroundings.
“So serious,” Max said, making the guy to his left snort out a quick laugh.
They kept walking in silence, reaching the car in less than half an hour. There was a sleek SUV parked off the side of the road, behind Marcus’s rental car, which must belong to the two bodyguards.
“You can take the rest of the day off,” Marcus told the two guys. “Get some sleep. I’ll be working from home at the hotel.”
“Yes, alpha,” both guys said, nodding their heads respectfully.
It hit Max suddenly that Marcus was the leader of a whole pack. Max might not have grown up in a pack, but he knew that being the leader of one was a big deal.
“Should I be more formal with you?” he asked as they climbed into the car. “I mean, since you’re a pack alpha?”
Marcus let out a full belly laugh and shook his head. “No, you’re fine. I’m not your alpha. Though, as a general rule, you should show pack alphas respect. Some of us can be a bit temperamental.”
“So, don’t attack them on the sidewalk?”
Marcus laughed again. “No. Probably not a good idea.”
When they reached the city, Marcus asked where Max wanted to be dropped off. Max gave him directions to the fire station.
“I’ve missed half my shift,” he said, hoping that there hadn’t been any emergencies while he was gone that would have required his presence.
The station could operate with four people per engine, but most shifts were staffed with five.
Max being gone wasn’t a disaster, but he would be missed if there was any action.
“You’re a fireman?” Marcus asked.
Max puffed up. “I am. Did the calendar and everything.”
“Really?”
Max laughed. “No. They asked, but Harland thought it was in bad taste since I’d be the only werewolf.”
“He just doesn’t want people ogling you,” Marcus said.
Max couldn’t disagree. With the exception of Warren – and theoretically Marcus – Harland was beyond possessive.
A few minutes later, they reached the fire station.
“I feel like we should kiss,” Max said, grinning at Marcus after he’d parked the car outside the station gate. “This feels like a kissing moment.”
Marcus reached over, and for a moment Max thought that he was actually leaning in to kiss him, but then he kept reaching past him and opened the passenger side door.
“Goodbye,” Marcus said, moving back to his own side of the car.
He was smirking, like an asshole.
“Thanks for the run.” Max exited the car onto the sidewalk. “I had fun. Though for our next date, we should go for dinner. Harland and Warren should come, too.”
“This wasn’t a-”
Max shut the door in Marcus’s face before he could complete his denial. It hadn’t been a date, but if it had been, it would have been a good one.
Jogging up to the station front doors, Max prepared to face the music. He knew that his colleagues must have been worried about him when he didn’t come back from his run and that he was in for one hell of a scolding.
There was nothing for it but to get it over with.