Chapter 48 Max
MAX
Max didn’t pay much attention to his surroundings as the private jet reached cruising altitude, content to sit on the floor and rest his head on Warren’s lap while the boy petted his hair.
Warren was seated on Harland’s lap, held completely immobile in the vampire’s arms, his and Harland’s legs spread just enough to allow Max room to sit between them.
They were on their way to Marcus’s pack compound in Fairbanks.
Everyone but Warren, his sister, and Harland would stay there until the next full moon, at which point Harland and Warren would fly up to join them.
It would give Max time to get to know his brothers, and give his brothers time to integrate and get used to being members of a real pack.
Thinking about his brothers had Max feeling weird. He still hadn’t texted his parents to let them know about the recent craziness, but he knew that the second they learned about his new siblings they’d want to meet them all.
They’d probably try to adopt them. Max would have to warn Brendan and the others that his parents could come on a little strong. They meant well, and they were great, but they could be intense.
Max loved them so much.
In the row behind them, he could hear Marcus and Warren’s sister having a quiet conversation. Marcus was telling Vivian about how the pack was structured and what it meant for her now that she was a human member of his pack.
She had a lot of questions, most of them relating to Warren.
Max didn’t begrudge Warren having Vivian with him on the flight, even though it meant that he had to keep his cock in his pants.
It was fine. Being close to him and knowing that he was safe was enough – at least for now – and even though he couldn’t get his cock out, he could nuzzle Warren’s bulge and enjoy his scent.
“You smell nice,” Max mumbled, turning his face fully into Warren’s lap and inhaling.
He lifted his hands and pushed them up under Warren’s shirt, holding his waist and rubbing his thumbs into his stomach.
“Stop it,” Warren whispered, pushing Max’s hands out from under his shirt while glancing back at his sister.
Max looked up, his cock twitching when he realized that Harland was playing with Warren’s nipple through his shirt.
The sight of his gloved finger rubbing up and down over the obviously hard nub made a spurt of pre-come shoot out of Max’s cock.
Warren squirmed, his face red. “Guys, I’m serious! ”
“All right,” Harland said, patting Warren’s chest. “We’ll save it for later.”
He wrapped his arm around Warren’s waist, pulling him back so that he was flush against his front.
“Later,” Warren agreed, sounding like he was looking forward to it.
“Or now,” Max countered, putting his hands on Warren’s upper thighs. He kept on pushing his face into the boy’s lap, his hands sliding up until he could push his thumbs into Warren’s taint and squeeze down on his quads.
Warren jerked, his cock rock hard against Max’s nose. Max moved down an inch so that he could mouth on the erection through the now wet fabric of Warren’s pants.
“Okay, back into your seat,” Harland said, nudging his boot into Max’s shin and pushing him out from the space between his legs.
Max resisted, clinging to his place by holding tighter onto Warren’s thighs, but a small growl from Harland dislodged him.
Pouting, he scooted back and looked up at his two mates. Warren looked tiny against Harland’s huge leather-clad form, his flushed face and parted lips just begging for Max to bend him over and fuck him into next week.
Max contemplated trying to steal him into his own lap, just so that he could grind him down on his cock, but a warning look from Harland stopped that thought dead in its tracks.
Max got it.
Harland hadn’t been able to take off his helmet until they were sealed into the plane, and when the doors had closed, he’d been almost feral in his need to pull Warren close and breathe in his scent.
Marcus hadn’t even tried to take him for himself, volunteering to keep Warren’s sister company without having to be asked.
“How are you feeling?” Warren asked as Max settled into his own seat next to them, his hands resting on Harland’s arms wrapped around his waist.
Max blinked, caught off guard when he realized that the question was for him.
“How do you mean?”
“Well, you just found out that you have a whole bunch of brothers. That must be pretty weird.”
It was extremely weird.
“I feel fine,” Max said, shrugging. Nothing he’d learned detracted from the fact that he’d grown up with a great set of parents, and now that he knew the life his brothers had had – or at least the general shape of it – he was glad he’d been spared.
“It’s nice to know where I came from, but I’m glad things worked out the way that they did. ”
Harland reached over and squeezed his shoulder, the cool grip making warmth bloom in Max’s belly. His wolf wagged its tail, the bond brimming with Harland’s love for him.
It would have been nice to grow up with his brothers – to not be alone in figuring out his wolf – but then he wouldn’t have had his parents or met Harland.
“Are you nervous about visiting Marcus’s pack?” Harland asked. His hand slid up Max’s shoulder, large fingers cupping around the back of his neck in a gentle massage.
“Should I be?” Max asked, feeling a little nervous in the way that he always felt at the prospect of meeting a new group of people. He leaned back into Harland’s touch.
An alarming realization struck him. He sat up straight with a jolt.
“I’m not going to have to fight them, am I?”
He pictured himself getting beaten up by a succession of Marcus’s scary alphas, Marcus and Harland standing by and watching it happen while telling him that this was just how werewolves did it.
“Maybe a few, but don’t worry. It will be friendly.”
That did not reassure Max in the slightest. Harland and Marcus engaged in so-called ‘friendly’ fights all the time, and they were vicious. Max had no desire to be involved in anything of the sort. Claws in his throat and getting punched in the head were not his idea of a good time.
“I think I’ll opt out,” he said. It wasn’t like he was a member of Marcus’s pack. If he didn’t want to fight, they couldn’t make him.
Harland huffed, amused, and nodded. “If you want.”
“It would be good for him,” Marcus piped up from behind them, his voice pitched low and sounding frustrated.
“I don’t care,” Max said, looking back over the edge of his seat. He narrowed his eyes and ignored his wolf’s desire to roll over for his more dominant mate. “You can't make me.”
Warren’s sister looked at him with a confused expression.
Marcus sighed, but he didn’t object. Max sank back down into his seat, feeling smug for getting his way.
“Make him do what?” He heard Warren’s sister quietly ask.
“It really would be friendly,” Harland said, a faint smile on his lips. “Nothing like how Marcus and I have fun.”
Max couldn’t help the dubious furrowing of his brow, but rather than try to convince him further, Harland just huffed and tousled his hair.
The flight to Alaska was about seven and a half hours, but it passed quickly. Max fell asleep about a third of the way there, exhausted from the previous twenty-four hours, and only woke up when Cain announced that they were cleared for landing.
Harland was still sitting next to him, but Warren had moved out of his lap at some point.
Sitting up with a yawn, he looked around the cabin and grinned at the sight of Warren sleeping on Marcus’s lap. Warren’s head was resting against Marcus’s pecs, his mouth open, and drool was running down his chin.
Marcus met his look with a quiet grin. His hand was resting comfortably on Warren’s stomach, his thumb stroking up and down over the boy’s shirt. Warren’s sister was next to them, reading something on her phone while shooting amused and slightly incredulous looks at her brother.
This must be quite the shock for her. Warren getting together with three alphas would be shocking enough on its own, but getting caught up in a government conspiracy to breed werewolves was on a whole other level.
At least she hadn’t been mistreated. Thinking about the bump on Warren’s head made impotent rage well up in Max’s chest. He calmed when Harland reached over and cupped his shoulder, the knowledge that Warren was safe and their enemy dead enough to soothe him.
Harland leaned over and gave him a kiss on the corner of his mouth, his lips lingering for a moment before he leaned back and reached into his jacket pocket for his balaclava. Max watched as he pulled it over his head and tucked the ends into his suit, fixing it into place around his eyes.
His cock stirred at the sight. Harland’s helmet and leather racing suit didn’t do anything for him – the leather just got in the way and the helmet was about as unsexy as you could get – but the balaclava was hot.
The way it hugged Harland’s impressive jaw and framed his eyes never failed to get Max’s cock twitching.
Smirk hidden by the dark fabric over his mouth, his gaze on Max, Harland reached for his helmet and pulled it over his head.
Fully covered, he leaned back and crossed his boots at the ankles and folded his hands over his stomach.
“Shut up,” Max mumbled with a smile, sensing how cocky Harland was feeling across their bond. Harland studiously ignored him, still radiating cocky pride, and tightened his seat belt in preparation for landing.