Golden Valley (Pack 3)
“Alphas and your egos.” She rolled her eyes. “I enjoyed myself, Morgan.”
“Excellent.” He bent down and kissed her forehead. “I better get out of here before your parents get home.” Lillian’s parents had gone to dinner at one of the restaurants in the human town, so they had a long drive home, but it was late enough that Morgan expected to hear their car pull up any minute.
“They know we’re dating.”
“Still.” He picked his hoody up off the ground and draped it over his arm. “I don't want things to get awkward.”
“I’m eighteen. That makes me old enough to decide wha—” The rest of Lillian’s sentence was cut off by a bang so loud it shook the windows.
“What was that?” Morgan rushed out of Lillian’s bedroom, through the house, and out the front door. By the time his bare feet hit the grass outside, he could smell smoke and see an orange glow to the north.
“Morgan?” Lillian said breathlessly as she ran out of the house. “What’s going on?”
“It’s a fire.” He would make better time in his wolf form than his human, so he pulled off the clothes he had just put on. “It’s coming from the same direction as the Alpha house, so my dad and Jerold are probably already on the way. I’m going to help.” He shifted into his wolf form and raced toward the quickly thickening scent of smoke, hoping nobody was hurt.
Chapter 1
“You don't need to leave the pack.” The new Purple Sky Alpha curled his hand around Ricky Marx’s nape. “I admit that I’m attracted to you, Ricky, but I’d never force you to do anything, sexual or otherwise. You know that, right?”
Being appointed the Alpha’s personal assistant had been an unexpected honor. How he had also snagged the man’s romantic attention confounded Ricky. Despite being taller, broader, and more powerful than everyone in their pack, Brian Berger didn’t make demands, he listened to everyone’s opinions, and he treated all pack members with respect. On top of that, he was gorgeous. Basically, Alpha Berger was perfection personified. But perfect or not, he wasn’t Ricky’s destiny.
“I know.” Ricky did his best to meet the Alpha’s gaze, but he couldn’t last more than a few seconds before looking away. “But it’s the best thing for both of us.”
“Hey.” Alpha Berger’s voice was as gentle as the squeeze he gave the back of Ricky’s neck. “What have I told you about looking me in the eyes?”
In addition to being the pack leader, whereas Ricky was just a random Omega, Alpha Berger was also older than Ricky—thirty-two to his eighteen. Yet, from the first time they’d met a month earlier, Alpha Berger had told him not to avert his gaze when they spoke. Out of deference to his Alpha, Ricky tried to look at his face when they talked, but overcoming his own instinct to submit to a more powerful wolf was a sometimes insurmountable challenge. And that wasn’t the only challenge Ricky faced with Alpha Berger.
Against all odds, the handsome, affable, older shifter was attracted to scrawny, boring, inexperienced him. The attention was flattering and the chance of having sex with, well anyone really, but Alpha Berger in particular, was beyond appealing. Flattering, appealing, and a really bad idea because Brian wasn’t Ricky’s mate. If Ricky didn’t move away from Purple Sky, they’d end up doing something they’d both regret.
“Purple Sky is your home,” Alpha Berger said. “You were born in this pack. Your family is here. There’s no reason for you to leave.”
Forcing himself to meet Alpha Berger’s gaze, Ricky said, “Resisting you isn’t easy.” He raised his palm toward the Alpha’s muscular chest but couldn’t bring himself to initiate contact. “If I stay here much longer, we’ll…” Unable to articulate something he had never experienced, his words trailed off. “And that’s not something I want to do with anyone other than my mate.”
“I pressured you.” Alpha Berger cringed. “That was wrong. It won’t happen again.”
Shaking his head, Ricky said, “You didn’t pressure me. Honestly.” Alpha Berger had been respectful and kind and, sure, he had made his interest in Ricky clear and, okay, saying ‘no’ to the pack Alpha wasn’t easy, but Ricky had never doubted that Alpha Berger had been asking not demanding and that he would accept rejection with grace. Alpha Berger had proven him right on all counts. “I know other shifters would jump at the chance to be with you. I’m just weird I guess.”
“Not weird. Maybe a little old-fashioned, but there’s nothing wrong with that.”
“I guess so.”
“Seriously, Ricky, there’s no reason for you to leave Purple Sky. You’re a valuable member of the pack.” Cupping his hand around Ricky’s, Alpha Berger tugged until Ricky’s palm was flattened against the Alpha’s muscular chest. “Everyone’s being kind to you, right? Respectful?”
Ricky nodded. Alpha Berger had made sure of that from his first day in Purple Sky. The Alpha had assigned Ricky to assist him in learning about his new pack. A personal assistant, he called it. That wasn’t a job Ricky had heard of, but then again, their previous Alpha had led their pack forever, so maybe it was normal for an Alpha to choose an assistant when he came in from the outside. The position gave Ricky a purpose, raised his status in the pack, and allowed him to leave his parents’ house because the Alpha needed him close and the Alpha house had plenty of empty rooms. So even though he was young, an Omega, and, unbeknownst to him until Alpha Berger explained it to him, a Psi, he was welcome on pack runs and nobody teased or diminished him. That wouldn’t have been true a few months earlier, before Alpha Berger came to lead them. He really was a great Alpha.