Bad Moon on the Rise (Dark Hollow Wolf Pack 7)

“I know. We worked it out, and things were fine after that. I wonder why they’re spreading that rumor. ”

“I think I can guess,” Richard said, gazing across the room. Tucker followed his gaze to where Christian and Marissa were standing with their heads close together. “Marissa and Christian are good friends, aren’t they? Both in your personal guard?”

“Yes, but…you think Marissa is behind this?”

Tucker smiled again. “I’d have to say, hell yes. ” He reached up and patted Gavin’s cheek. Gavin gazed down at him with his beautiful warm eyes full of love and concern. Suddenly, Tucker wondered what he was waiting on. Shit, I’m in love with him. I have been for a while.

He really had burned his bridges when he left Florida with Gavin. He still had an apartment there, but no family left and almost certainly no job waiting for him. On the other hand, he had two people right here at the table who professed to love him and wanted to give him a home and a family.

Decision made, he turned to face Richard and sighed loudly. “Okay, Dad, I give in. Time to make your big announcement. ”

Richard looked at him with his eyes shining. “Are you

sure, Tucker? I don’t want to feel like I’ve talked you into this. ”

Tucker laughed and rolled his eyes. “Really? No, don’t worry about it. I probably decided a few days ago when I left Florida, but I’ve been stubborn, I guess. Go ahead. ”

Gavin frowned down at both of them. “Am I missing something here? What are you talking about? What big announcement?”

“My son’s engagement to our alpha,” Richard replied smoothly. “Unless you’ve changed your mind. ”

Gavin’s eyebrows rose almost comically, and he pulled Tucker around to look into his eyes. “Are you sure, sweetheart? Really?”

“Yes, I’m sure. And it looks like it’s time to stake my claim. ”

Gavin kissed him fiercely and then stood up, raising his voice to be heard above the crowd. “Everybody quiet down a minute, please. My beta has something he’d like to say. ”

Richard stepped forward with a look of pride on his face. “Thank you all for coming tonight to help me welcome my son back in my life after so many years apart. I think you can all imagine how much this means to me. ” He paused for a moment as a round of soft applause swept over the crowded room. “It’s also my pleasure to announce something of importance to the entire pack—my son’s engagement to the alpha. ”

A little gasp went around the room this time, as Gavin stepped forward, pulling Tucker with him. “In our pack, we value strength, and in the fight with the Hunters, we’ve needed it. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the alphas of all three of the Dark Hollow Packs have been given strong individuals as their bloodmates. These pets have proven time and again how intelligent they are and how strong their will is. Tucker is strong too, like the other alphas’ mates and independent. With them by our sides, I think we can face any challenges the future holds. Tonight I’ll claim Tucker as my own. And I invite you all to our mating ceremony to follow at the next full moon. Because of the recent attacks on the pets, I think we should have the ceremony in the ancient ancestral ring, inviting all the Werekin clans, to show our enemies the strength of our numbers and our people. ”

A loud cheer went up as he stopped speaking and pulled Tucker into his arms again. He kissed Tucker in front of the entire assembly and then bent to sweep him up in his arms. Tucker stopped him by taking a step backward. “You might have noticed I’m not a girl. I can walk up the damn steps. ”

Gavin grinned and held out his hand, and they walked to the top together. As they reached the second floor landing, Gavin turned around to salute the crowd and Tucker glanced downward. At the foot of the staircase stood Marissa, and it seemed to him that the hatred in her black eyes was almost palpable.

“You’ve seen my knot, baby, and I have to warn you it’s going to hurt like hell going in, but I’ll try to prepare and stretch you. We’ll use a lot of lube, and I swear I’ll take things slowly, okay? Once it’s in, you’ll have a lot of orgasms, and um…a few people even pass out. Just hang on and try to ride it out till it’s over. ” Gavin stood naked by the side of the bed with Tucker gazing up at him. Tucker was so beautiful, lying on his back in the dimly lit room, his hand trailing absently on his chest causing Gavin to concentrate hard on just what he needed to tell him. Gavin himself was obviously fully aroused, his cock red and engorged, bouncing around as he moved. Even the knot seemed a little larger as he stared down at it, trying to decide if it would ever fit inside Tucker. Now that the moment had arrived, he was nervous, not wanting to hurt his lover or scare him in any way. The knot was really not much larger than some anal plugs he’d seen at its biggest width, and probably softer, so he knew it would work, but this was all new to him too.

Tucker, lying on his back in the middle of the bed had an unconvinced look on his face as he stared at the knot. “Why do we have to put that inside me? Or even better question, why can’t I just do you?”

“Well, hell, it doesn’t w ork that way, Tucker. The knot is what causes the bond to form between us. It secretes some hormones, and…”

“What kind of hormones?”

“I-I’m not sure. Why?”

“Well, I’d like to know what the hell I’m getting myself into. Am I going to change into a wolf too? Will I get a knot on my dick?”

“No, Tucker. It doesn’t work that way. I already told you. Okay, let’s go over this again. I’ll bite you on the back of the neck…”

“Is that absolutely necessary? I mean, no offense, but doctors say the human mouth has more germs than just about anything. I don’t want to catch some disease. ”

“I’m not human, Tucker. Besides, you’ve had your mouth on a lot worse. ”

“Oh, right. Well, same principle though, probably. ”

“The bite is required. ”

“Oh. ”