Axel's Pup (10 page)

He pulled the money he’d won a few nights ago at The Dragon’s Lair out of his other pocket, along with what would have been his own rent. He dropped it all into the tin. It would be enough to cover the doctor’s fees. It should cover whatever he’d prescribe too. If it wasn’t, Bayden would get more.

Once he’d returned the tin to its usual place, Bayden made his way back outside.

His mother stood up when she saw him.

He managed a smile. “You’ll let me know how it goes with the doctor, or if there’s anything I can do?”

“You’re already doing more than you should.”

Bayden stared down at her.

Finally, she sighed. “I’ll tell you.” She stroked his cheek. “You’re getting more like your father all the time. So stubborn. He’d be so proud if he could see you now.”

Bayden hugged her, not sure if he held on a little longer than usual in an effort to comfort her or himself. Finally, he stepped back.

“You’ll be careful?” she asked. “Keep your head down. No risks, okay?”

“I’ll be fine,” he promised, smiling over his shoulder at her as he turned down the path leading back to his bike.

Somehow, when he pulled away from the curb, he found himself turning toward The Dragon’s Lair.

Bayden couldn’t keep wasting time like this. He held back a sigh and sipped his Coke, but the facts remained the same. He couldn’t afford to keep coming back to The Dragon’s Lair so often, unless he was going to earn some money while he was there. Over a week had passed. Sitting around staring at Axel while he waited for him to decide he wanted to play with him was turning out to be a bloody expensive hobby.

Bayden stared at the screen behind the bar where the lines of bikes were clearly visible, but it was more habit than fear. A lot of the guys who drank there were serious about their bikes, they wouldn’t let anyone hurt a classic Triumph, not even if it was owned by a wolf.

There was nothing to worry about at The Dragon’s Lair. No one was ill. No one needed anything from him. It felt like it was a different world. It was safe and—

“Wolves have always had a reputation for being good lays.” The voice belonged to Drac. The words were said so loudly Bayden knew the men talking wanted him to overhear their conversation.

He continued to study the screen, not inclined to acknowledge the existence of any human other than Axel.

“What do you think, Drac, false advertising?” That voice belonged to Hale—the guy with the shaved head, Axel’s friend.

Bayden was going cross-eyed from staring at the screen so much. He turned his attention to his drink for a little while and rubbed at his temple.

Axel moved down the bar and stopped in front of him. “Okay, pup?”

No. I’m not okay. I want to know when the hell you’re going to want to do that damn scene. If you’ve changed your mind, just bloody well tell me!
Bayden bit back a sigh. “I’m fine.”

Axel glanced down to where the other Black Dragons were sitting. “You know they’re baiting you, trying to get a rise out of you?”

“I know.”
But I really am a good lay. I’m more than happy to show you just how good—any time you’re ready.

“You know, we’ve only actually got his word for it that he’s a shifter.” That was Drac’s voice, floating down from the other end of the bar again.

Bayden stared across the bar, mentally willing Axel to demand that he prove just how good at sex a wolf could be.

“I’ve never seen a shifter in his wolf form before,” Griz chipped in.

Bayden kept all his attention on Axel. Axel didn’t look away from him either.

“What do you say, Bayden? You up to proving you can back up all your big talk?” Hale demanded.

Bayden reluctantly turned in their direction. He wasn’t interested in proving that particular skill set to them.

“I don’t think you can shift at all,” Griz went on. “In fact, I’d go so far as to bet you can’t…”

It took Bayden a few moments to realise that Griz didn’t want to screw him, or, at least, he wasn’t suggesting Bayden should actually let him do that. Griz wanted to watch him shift.

Bayden tensed. A challenge was a challenge. A bet was a bet. A bit of extra money wouldn’t go amiss. And showing the other side of himself was probably the quickest way for him to make sure he’d never be allowed to return to The Dragon’s Lair.

It was one thing for Axel to want to play with someone he’d only ever seen look entirely human. But once Axel saw that side of him…

Bayden weighed up his options. It didn’t take long. Backing down from a challenge from a human wasn’t to be considered. Acting like he was ashamed of who he was, would never be an option. Not even if it gave him a little more time to sit in Axel’s pub and imagine what it would be like to play with him.

“How much?” Luck was with Bayden; he sounded bored by the idea.

“Fifty?” Griz suggested.

There was no way he could up the price without abandoning the spoilt rich kid act that Axel liked so much. Bayden shrugged, got off his stool, and headed for the door.

“Where are you going?” Axel called after him.

Bayden paused. Wasn’t that obvious? “Outside.”

“You can’t shift inside?”

Bayden frowned. “I can, but…”

“But?” Axel prompted.

“Most humans don’t like wolves inside.” Hell, most pubs wouldn’t even let him inside in his human form, once they knew what he was.

“Inside is fine,” Axel cut in. He looked Bayden up and down as if working out a whole host of calculations Bayden couldn’t even guess at. “You can use one of the back rooms.”

Bayden met his gaze for a moment. He didn’t look pissed off. That was good. It probably wouldn’t last, but it still felt good.

Axel called one of the younger Dragons, Tolmore, across to watch the bar before leading the way toward the back of the pub. Axel unlocked one of the doors.

It was the room with the spanking bench and the cage.

Axel paused by the door. “I’ll hold the money,” he said, when Griz went to step inside.

Axel turned to Drac and Hale. “Are you two coming in?”

“Yeah.”

Axel held out his hand to them too. Bayden wasn’t sure why, but Drac and Hale seemed to get it. They muttered under their breath, but they both paid up.

They hadn’t been part of making the bet, there was no reason why they should have to pay to see it carried out, but Bayden couldn’t deny that one fifty was going to be a lot more useful than just fifty. It would take the pressure off. It would mean he didn’t have to find another way to earn any other money after he left the pub that night.

Axel closed the door behind them and came across to Bayden. He still had that assessing look in his eye, as if Bayden was a puzzle he needed to solve.

“What are the chances of you not being able to shift?” Axel asked.

Bayden blinked. “Last time I screwed it up I was five.”

Axel smiled. “Fair enough.” He stepped back to stand with the others. “It’s your show.”

Bayden pulled his vest over his head, folded it and put it on top of the spanking bench. Boots off, he undid his jeans and pushed them down his legs. Within a few seconds, he was completely naked.

He wouldn’t usually turn his back on a group of humans in a room like that, but just this once, he made an exception. He turned, letting Axel see that there wasn’t a single mark on his back from the previous week’s whipping. If Axel still had any interest in screwing him after he saw him in his wolf form, it might tip the balance in Bayden’s favour. Maybe a blank canvas was what Axel was waiting for.

Bayden took a deep breath. There was no reason to be anxious. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t been naked in front of guys before. Nothing was different this time. He could sense their interest in him. The scent of arousal filled the air.

No sign of nerves. No time for hesitation. There was no room for weakness when dealing with humans. Bayden turned to face them, but he didn’t look for eye contact. He crouched down and placed his fingertips on the floor in front of him. Closing his eyes, he gave all his attention to finding that part of himself that was pure wolf.

He was aware of the human side of his mind shrinking as the wolf side grew stronger. From inside the change, that was the only thing he was really conscious of.

But, if he pushed himself to focus, he could tell his body was morphing to match the uppermost part of his psyche. The shape of his ribcage altered. His collar bones shortened, his hipbones twisted to make it easier for him to walk on four legs rather than two.

His weight came to rest on paws as his fingers shortened and his nails curved into claws. His snout lengthened. The base of his spine altered as his tail returned. There was no pain, no real sensation, but the chill in the air disappeared as his fur thickened and covered his entire body.

Bayden couldn’t resist shaking in an effort to make his coat settle properly around him, but he didn’t waste time stretching and really getting comfortable in this skin. There was no room for distractions in a world where either anger or fear could easily cause a human to lash out at a shifter in his wolf form. Bayden looked up.

The room was different from that angle. Everything seemed to loom over him. Through lupine eyes, the colours were more muted.

No angry shouts. No swinging fists or kicks from heavy boots. The humans were still standing exactly where they’d been when he began his shift. But now they came closer.

At least, Bayden guessed the other three stepped forward, too. It was harder than ever to remember there were people other than Axel in the room. Every line of him screamed his dominance. Yes. If there was such a thing as an alpha human, Axel really was it.

As the gap between them narrowed, Bayden forced himself to study Axel as objectively as possible, to look past the dominance and see what else Axel’s body language and scent could tell him.

He didn’t look angry or inclined to lash out. More importantly, he didn’t smell disgusted, or appalled, or any of the other things Bayden had imagined he might be when coming face to face with the wolf side of him. He smelt…curious.

Griz stepped past Axel. He reached out to touch Bayden’s head.

Forcing himself to neither pull away nor snap at his fingertips, Bayden remained motionless until he knew for sure what Griz intended to do.

“No,” Axel said. “The deal was for you to see him, not touch him.”

Griz looked over his shoulder, his fingers hovering in the air a few inches from Bayden’s head. “What?”

“You want to lay a hand on him, ask him when he’s in a position to answer you.” Axel’s tone allowed for no argument.

Griz stepped back. He said something to Drac and Hale, but Bayden kept his attention on Axel. Crouching down in front of him, Axel stared into Bayden’s eyes.

Instinct kicked in. Bayden looked down. It took every bit of self-control he could scrape together not to acknowledge Axel’s obvious dominance in any more overt way.

He didn’t dip his head low to the floor; he didn’t try to creep closer to Axel in the hope of being allowed to nuzzle and lick him. He didn’t roll over on his back in a blatant display of respect either, but it was a near run thing.

All he did was stand as still as possible and wait for an order. His tail twitched, but he managed not to wag it too much.

“You’ve won your bet. You can change back whenever you want.” Axel sounded completely calm.

Bayden waited for Axel to go back to the others, but he stayed crouched down in front of him.

He remained there as Bayden reached for the human side of himself and pulled it to the front of his world. His mind spun as he changed back before his body had even had time to properly settle into his wolf form, let alone build up the appropriate momentum to shift back.

The air turned cold. His bones lengthened and shortened by turn, forming an entirely different skeleton within him. The colours around him swirled until they settled into a far brighter version of themselves. Bayden gasped as his shift completed.

He wanted nothing more than to lower himself to his knees and rest there on the bare floor. But he was human shaped again, and wolves who looked human weren’t supposed to be naked on the floor. He pulled himself to his feet as quickly as he could, doing his best to control each pair of muscles and appear neither clumsy nor weak in front of men who might still prove to be a threat.

He blinked open his eyes just in time to see Axel rising to his full height in front of him. Without warning, Axel blurred. The room tipped sideways.

Axel caught hold of Bayden’s shoulders and steadied the world. “Easy now.”

Bayden only realised that he was being nudged back to sit on something when he felt it behind him. Axel’s hands stayed on his shoulders, supporting him. Bayden kept his eyes closed for a few seconds. When he opened them, Axel was right there in front of him.

Bayden stared up at him for several seconds, disorientated enough to be able to meet his gaze far more easily than he usually could. Axel’s eyes looked very blue as Bayden’s vision settled back into human clarity.

“Okay?” Axel asked.

Not sure his voice would come out as anything other than a growl if he tried to speak, Bayden nodded. He took a deep breath to clear his head. His sense of smell was still heightened. Axel’s scent was changing again, now that Bayden was back in his human form.

Curiosity was fading away to be replaced with a different kind of interest. Bayden dropped his gaze. He was still naked. In a few moments, no one would need scent to know that Axel’s interest in him was returned. Bayden swallowed, wondering if that should be considered a problem or not.

Axel was just a few inches away from him. Without either his clothes or his fur to get in the way, Bayden could feel the heat radiating from Axel’s body. It took all his self-control not to lean forward and snuggle against him.

“It’s safe to say you won that bet by a country mile.” Axel still hadn’t taken his hands off Bayden’s shoulders. They felt nice there.

Bayden smiled at his teasing and remained very still, hoping that would encourage Axel to keep his hands where they were.

A movement behind Axel made Bayden look past him.