mind that the little wolf beside him was his mate.
"My name's Benjamin," the pretty man said,
holding out his hand.
"Thomas Moon." He waited for the younger man to
claim his affiliation. In werekin culture your last name
indicated the pack you belonged to. When Benjamin didn't
answer he decided subtlety was wasted on his mate.
"Where's your pack?"
A chill came into Ben's gold eyes. The smaller
werewolf backed away until there was an uncomfortable
foot of space between them. Thomas resisted the urge to
grab Benjamin and drag him back into his arms where he
belonged.
"I left my pack. I have lone wolf status."
Fear trickled up Thomas's spine like a winter chill.
Lone wolves were dangerous. Most of them went solo
because there was something wrong with their psyche that
prevented them from traveling in a pack. Other times it was
because the pack found something wrong with the
werewolf and banished him. There was rarely a good
reason a wolf chose to travel alone. Looking around
Thomas realized they couldn't address something this
important in a crowded club. They needed privacy.
"Come with me."
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Baiting Ben
Amber Kell
A wary look came into Ben's eyes. Smart man. "I
just want to talk. I'll even leave the door unlocked so you
can go whenever you want to," he promised. He didn't want
to scare the man off, but he really wanted to talk to him in a
quieter area.
After a long moment his mate nodded. "All right."
* * * *
Ben followed the handsome werewolf up a small
flight of stairs. It was odd to see a pack in an urban
environment. Growing up in the wilds of Alaska didn't
prepare him for the strangeness of city wolves. The man
walking before him looked cosmopolitan and suave, like a
werewolf version of James Bond. Watching Thomas's fine
ass flex as they climbed the stairs sent sparks of desire
dancing up his spine.
"Stop watching my ass."
"Nope," Ben replied. "I'm enjoying the view too
much. If you didn't want me staring you shouldn't be so
gorgeous." He was surprised at his own daring, but pleased
when Thomas turned his head briefly to flash him a smile
before continuing upstairs.
A beautiful man in a jewel-encrusted collar waylaid
them at the top of the steps.
"Thomas, you must tell Silver I don't need guards to
watch my every step. I practically trip over them. Please,
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Baiting Ben
Amber Kell
please intervene."
The stunning creature clasped Thomas's hands
while he pled.
"No, Anthony, you need guards."
He felt bad for the beauty when Anthony's face took
on a look of such disappointment. He felt his own heart
clench in sympathy. Those sad eyes looked away and
latched onto Ben. "You found your mate." With a dizzying
flash of mood change, the blond gave Thomas a tight hug.
A growl built in Ben's throat but was quickly suppressed
when Anthony released Thomas and hugged him instead.
Skinny arms wrapped around him like a cozy
blanket as a feeling of intense well-being oozed through his
body like a narcotic. The man smelled like a living forest,
moist soil, green fields, and old oak trees. Anthony smelled
like home, even though home was more cold, snow-
covered woods than toasty warm forests. Ben dipped his
head in the beauty's neck and breathed. Stress he didn't
know he was holding left his body in a gush, leaving him
calm and almost dizzy with relief.
A low, dangerous growl broke his calm.
"I'd suggest you let go of my mate before I rip off
your arms and beat you with them." The voice was so deep
and calm he could almost feel the homicidal rage hidden
beneath the words.
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Baiting Ben
Amber Kell
The blond wiggled out of his arms. "Relax,
snookums. I was just greeting Thomas's mate."
Watching the sweet, beautiful man walk up to the
calm psychotic twice his size made Ben's fingers twitch
with the urge to yank Anthony to safety. The threatening
man's sleeveless shirt exposed a set of mile-wide shoulders
and arms bulging with tight muscles. His grey eyes were
the color of an Alaskan winter sky and just as warm. Ben's
protective instincts rose up until he saw the man turn and
give the sleek blond a look of total adoration. It was like
watching an iceberg melt before his eyes. One massive arm
wrapped around Anthony cradling him close in an
obviously tender hold.
Anthony smiled. Standing on his tiptoes he placed a
soft kiss on one granite hard cheek.
"I'll pay you back for the snookums comment," the
giant said.
The blond looked completely unperturbed. He
blithely patted his lover on one bulging bicep while batting
his beautiful eyes artfully. "I'll look forward to it."
Ben watched the whole thing, fascinated. The
power pouring off the male was alpha strong, but it was
obvious who was in charge of that relationship.
One large hand reached out to him, he tentatively
took it. "I'm Silver Moon, the alpha of the Moon pack.
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Baiting Ben
Amber Kell
Thomas is my right hand man."
"Benjamin."
A quirk of the alpha's brow had him confessing.
"I'm a lone wolf."
Silver stiffened. "Why?"
"We were planning to go talk about his status when
your mate stopped us to plead for fewer bodyguards and to
grope our bodies." Thomas reached over and grabbed Ben's
hand to drag him down the hall.
Ben was chilled his mate would throw Anthony
literally to the wolves. He dug in his heels, bracing himself
to jump in. The alpha might kill him, but he felt oddly
protective of the pretty man who smelled like a forest.
Instead of growling Silver threw back his head and
laughed. "You two go ahead and have your discussion
while I explain to my headstrong mate why he needs so
many guards." The alpha growled at the slim blond who
barely came to his shoulder.
"You-you’re not going to hurt him, are you?" Ben
couldn't help it. He feared for the smaller man’s safety next
to his huge mate. The alpha didn’t appear angry but Ben
had enough experience with alphas to know their tempers
changed with the wind.
Anthony gave him a big smile. "You're very sweet,
but Silver would never hurt me. Welcome to the pack."
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Baiting Ben
Amber Kell
Silver growled. "You're not allowed to welcome
people to my pack. I'm the alpha; I get to welcome or not."
Wow, this looked like a real fight. The welcoming
expression left the blond as the shimmering gold eyes
turned solid before turning back to his mate. He could've
sworn he saw lightning flash in them before Anthony
turned, but he figured it was a trick of the hall lighting.
"Shit," Thomas whispered behind him. Ben was
slowly pulled away from the bickering pair. He could tell
the other man was trying to remove him from the line of
fire.
"Oh it's your pack is it? I guess I'm just a pet
accessory. I foolishly thought we were partners in this
relationship. You just let me know what your decision is
then, big man, and I'll decide whether you're welcome in
my
bed." With a frightening calmness rivaling the rage of
his mate seconds before, Anthony slammed the door to the
apartment he recently left.
"Fuck." The alpha glared at Thomas. "He better
fucking
be
your mate because there's no way I can go tell
mine
that I didn't approve him." Leveling an icy glare at the
pair, Silver followed the smaller man’s wake into the
apartment.
"Well, that was enlightening," Thomas said with a
wide smile at Ben. "Looks like Anthony can sense mates."
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Baiting Ben
Amber Kell
"Why does he smell so good?" Ben didn't want to
give the wrong impression, but damn. "Don't take this
wrong. I mean you smell great, but he smells amazing. Not
mate amazing, but amazing."
Thomas nodded and gave him a knowing grin.
"Anthony's mother is a forest witch. I still haven't found out
what his father is. Just a word of warning, smell him at a
distance. That's what we all do."
Ben nodded. "Distance, got it."
He was positive he didn't want to be on the bad side
of the alpha even if he didn't end up joining the pack.
* * * *
Thomas walked down the hall to his suite in silence.
With Anthony's approval he knew his mate would be
accepted into the pack. There was normally a meeting to
determine if a new mate would fit in with the pack
hierarchy or if they would need to join the other wolf's
pack. Sometimes it was a matter of whether a new
personality fit into the group dynamic. He had a feeling
Anthony would short track the entire process. After all,
Silver didn't want estrangement from his beautiful man and
his mate was more than a little strong-willed. The alpha
mate might not be a wolf but he was powerful in his own
right.
Feeling better about the relationship by the second,
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Baiting Ben
Amber Kell
Thomas led the cute redhead to his door.
"Each of us has a suite. The higher in the hierarchy
we are, the better the accommodations, but no one has bad
rooms. Some prefer to live in their own places outside the
pack house, but we encourage as many as possible to live
here. It's harder to protect everyone if they're scattered
around town.
Ben nodded. "Makes sense. I imagine it's difficult to
keep track of everyone in a big city. Is there more than one
pack here?"
"There are four packs in the area, but the Moon
pack is the only one in the city and Silver supervises the
entire Northwest. Most consider him the strongest wolf in
the United States. Anthony, who you just met, is an
architect and is currently building a hotel to host out-of-
town paranaturals."
"Clever."
Thomas nodded. "We're pretty proud of him. He
was reluctant to be Silver's mate at first because he lost a
lover to a heart attack some years ago, but he's settled in
well. As you can see they still have some power issues to
work out. We won't have that kind of problem."
He watched his mate puff up his chest like an
animal trying to make himself bigger. "And why is that?"
Ben's eyes took on a challenging shine.
19
Baiting Ben
Amber Kell
Damn if that didn't make his dick stand up and take
notice.
"Because although I'm the larger of the two of us, I
think we're pretty evenly paired power wise. The problem
with the alpha and his mate is that they have different types
of magic. Silver has issues with having a strong mate who
looks like a good wind will knock him on his ass, which is
why he usually has a retinue of bodyguards surrounding
Anthony. I don't even want to know where they were this
evening, Silver's going to have some harsh words for
someone."
Thomas could tell by the pleased expression on
Ben's face that they were going to be fine. He rarely met
someone he meshed with so quickly. Seeing the man in
Ned's clutches had almost unhinged him. It was fortunate
the other werewolf had released his hold on the redhead
quickly. He made a mental note to talk to Silver about
Ned's progressively aggressive behavior. They would have
to bar him from the club if he kept it up. As much as the
place was for werekin to hook up, it was also a place they
were supposed to feel safe. They couldn't have anyone
there who scared the other customers. Ben's panicky
expression had Thomas rushing to save him even before he
knew they were mates.
He opened the door to his apartment and, after
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Baiting Ben
Amber Kell
hanging up their jackets, indicated to his mate to proceed to
the couch. Thomas kept his promise and left the door
unlocked. It wasn't like anyone was going to interrupt them
anyway.
"Sit down, honey."
He knew his gaze was feral but he was determined
to find out more about his mate before he pinned him
down, marked him, and made sure they were bound for
eternity. Ben sank down into the soft cushions, his eyes
wide with caution. "This must be nice to nap on," he said
petting the soft fabric. Thomas had a brief vision of the
man doing the same to him. The redhead's fingers were
long, elegant, and he wanted them wrapped around his cock
more than he’d ever wanted anything else in his life. He
pushed back those thoughts using a great deal of restraint.
"I want to learn a little more about you. If we're going to be