Chapter Seven

Wyatt pulled to the far left inside his garage, leaving enough room for Alister to park his Mercedes on the right. Hell if this hadn't been the longest day of his life. Wyatt still couldn't believe the chaos at the ice cream hut.

For the last couple of years, Lowell Wagner had gone out of his way to flirt with Wyatt whenever they crossed paths. While he found the blond attractive, he wasn't interested in hooking up with him. In fact, Wyatt had been in the middle of letting Lowell know he was in a relationship when all hell had broken loose.

Alister pulled in next to him and turned off his car. Wyatt just sat there in his Charger, rubbing his chin, knowing damn well that Sheriff Harper was going to call him about the incident. Wyatt would defend his mate vehemently. All Alister had done was let Lowell know the men at the table were taken. It had been the human who'd popped off at the mouth and struck first.

Not once had Wyatt ever raised a hand to anyone smaller than him, but his cheetah wanted to rip Lowell apart for assaulting Alister.

The passenger door opened, and his mate slipped inside the car. He closed the door and turned to face Wyatt. "I'm sorry I lost it," he said. "I swear I'm not usually like this. It's as if this town is bringing out the crazy in me."

"I think you have that backward," Wyatt replied. "People in this town keep fucking with you. Negan was a piece of shit, and you had every right to go off on him. Sloane wasn't your fault, either. Paris chasing you around that desk at the station this morning was comical, but that wasn't on you. And Lowell was the one who threatened and assaulted you, butterfly. Swear to god I wanted to let you go so you could beat his ass."

"Then why do I feel like you're seeing the worst side of me?" Alister asked. "Don't forget I acted like clown in the driveway earlier."

"Because you were afraid." Wyatt still didn't want to think about Sloane selling his mate. Not only was he disgusted and livid but he was also terrified that Mr. Mysterious would get his hands on Alister.

"You might think I'm innocent in all of this, but that doesn't stop me from worrying that I'm too much of a burden on you." Alister settled back and stared at the workbench in front of the car.

"There's a reason I act the way I do when it comes to your safety." It wasn't something Wyatt wanted to ever talk about, but he needed his mate to understand why he felt absolute panic at the thought of Alister not at his side.

"Because we're mates," Alister said with a grin.

"True, but it goes deeper than that." Wyatt stroked his beard, his mind already in the past. "I told you that men like Sloane are master manipulators, and they lavish their victims with attention and tell them what they want to hear. It's all a ploy to make them seem trustworthy so you'll let down your guard."

"I remember." Alister nodded. "I told you that you described him perfectly, and you said you've met his kind before." His mate looked uneasy. "Why are you bringing that up?"

"I had a sister. Her name was Andrea." The loss still weighed heavy in Wyatt's chest. This was the first time he'd said her name out loud since… "She loved me deeply but resented the fact that I was so overprotective of her. It was my job as her older brother to keep her safe."

Alister gave Wyatt his undivided attention.

"It drove me nuts that Andrea had a bad habit of dating the wrong guy. Maybe I should have backed off and let her live her life, but I was determined to keep her safe."

"Like the way my parents were with me," Alister said. "They refused to let me out of their sight, even when I reached maturity."

Wyatt took Alister's hand, focusing on how small they were compared to his. "I don't ever want you to think I'm clipping your wings, sweetheart. I want you to spend time with your friends and have fun."

"I think that's part of the reason I tried to walk to town. Although I understood that you wanted to protect me, I felt like I was back in my childhood home again."

"I'm sorry I made you feel that way." Wyatt ground his teeth. He was well aware his mate's parents had stunted their son by keeping him on lockdown. Alister was na?ve in so many ways because of their tight hold. He hadn't experience life, hadn't had the chance to make mistakes so he could learn from them. When they'd died, his mate had been thrust into a world he knew nothing about.

"If you want to, you can finish telling me about Andrea." His mate curled his fingers around Wyatt's hand. "Since you said you had a sister, that tells me something happened to her. But if it's too painful, we can drop the subject."

"It is painful, but I want to share that part of my life with you. I want you to understand why I am the way I am."

"Okay," Alister said softly.

" Andrea met a guy named Norell Kaufman." Anger boiled inside Wyatt just thinking about the bastard. "Like Sloane, he was an expert at manipulating others. Although I saw right through his bullshit, Andrea was blinded by her feelings for him and couldn't see his true nature."

"I don't mean to interrupt you, but would it be okay if I sat in your lap?" Alister applied soft pressure to Wyatt's hand. "I can see the sadness in your eyes, and I want to give you comfort. Also, after today's constant events, I could really use your arms."

After sliding his seat all the way back, he helped Alister over the console. Once they were settled, Wyatt wrapped his arms around his mate, breathing in the familiar scent. The sweet aroma filled his lungs and helped to dull the pain.

"I really needed this, butterfly." Wyatt rested his cheek on the top of Alister's head, taking in the pleasure of the tranquil moment.

Wyatt rolled his bottom lip between his teeth. "Norell became jealous of our relationship. He wouldn't say anything in front of me, but I saw it in his eyes. My gut told me he was abusing her, but since she could heal by shifting, I never saw any bruises. Six months into their relationship I finally talked her into leaving him. I should have gone with her when she went home to pack. I should have never let her out of my sight."

Tears burned behind Wyatt's eyes, a searing lump forming in his throat.

"When she didn't call me like we'd agreed, I drove to their apartment. I knocked, but no one answered. Every instinct inside of me said something was wrong. I broke down the door and found her on the living room floor. She was dead."

Alister stared wide-eyed at him. "Norell killed her," he whispered.

Wyatt nodded. "I searched the apartment, but his things were gone. I couldn't call the police because she was in her cheetah form. I waited until nightfall and snuck her out, and then I drove for three hours to where we grew up." His voice choked with emotion. "I dug a grave under the large oak tree that she used to spend hours sitting under, lost in her books. It was the least I could do for my baby sister."

"I'm so sorry." Alister curled his arms around Wyatt's neck. He crushed his mate's chest to his and breathed in deeply, and then slowly exhaled.

"Andrea was the last person I said that I loved," Wyatt murmured.

"So when I said I love with you, I brought back painful memories."

Wyatt nodded, his chin resting on Alister's shoulder. "I wanted to tell you that I love you, too. Instead, I tried to show you how I felt."

Alister wiggled around until he was straddling Wyatt. "You showed me all right. I've never been aroused to the point I wanted to have sex in public. If you hadn't come to your senses, those old ladies would have seen me bouncing on your fat cock as I screamed my fool head off."

"To be honest, I have no idea where that control came from." Wyatt kneaded Alister's soft, pert ass. "All I wanted to do was bury my dick deep inside of you, consequences be damned."

Though Wyatt felt emotionally wrung, his body hardened. "I'm not going to lie, baby. I need sex right now to push those painful memories away."

"Use me however you need to." Alister slammed his lips over Wyatt's, his nails scraping Wyatt's scalp as he yanked at his hair. The air around them was charged with desperate need. Wyatt's pulse raced, the intense ache inside of him growing. Seizing his mate's hips, he held Alister in place as he thrust upward.

"We have to get rid of our clothes." Alister panted against Wyatt's mouth, their breaths mingling. "Rip my shorts off if you have to. I'll buy another goddamn pair."

"I'll buy you ten more pair." Wyatt freed one of his claws and used the razor-sharp tip to tear the seam down the back of his mate's shorts, careful of his delicate skin.

Their lips collided again, hungrier and more desperate than before. The pit of Wyatt's stomach swirled wildly, his canines extending to their full length.

"Recline your seat all the way back." Alister yanked his shirt over his head, throwing it toward the back seat. Wyatt did as his mate asked while sucking one of Alister's taut nipples between his lips. The seat slowly tilted back, taking them with it.

Wyatt closed his eyes, swirling his tongue around the hard nipple, his arousal stirring fiercely inside of him. His cock pounded furiously as Wyatt reached inside his shorts and gathered copious amounts of pre-cum onto his fingers. There wasn't any lube in his car, and he didn't have enough control to slow shit down long enough to grab some from the house.

As he latched onto Alister's neglected nipple, Wyatt teased his mate's ring of muscle with his slick fingers. Alister whimpered and rocked backward, impaling himself. A deep purr vibrated in Wyatt's chest. He was so turned on right now, Alister's hole milking his fingers.

This was exactly what Wyatt needed, the escape, lost in the moment as the painful memories faded. Alister was Wyatt's solace, a beautiful ball of feistiness, filled with fire and innocence, passion and uncertainties. Wyatt loved his mate to the very depths of his soul.

"I need more than your fingers," Alister whined.

Burying his other hand in his mate's hair, Wyatt nailed his mate's prostate, smiling when Alister cried out.

"Play time is over." Wyatt yanked his fingers free then shoved his shorts down his thighs. He gathered more pre-cum and lubed Alister's hole.

"About time." Alister lifted his hips. "You've got to get these shorts the rest of the way off of me."

"Raise your body up as far as you can." Wyatt worked the shorts down enough that his mate was able to step out of them. His shaft sprang free, hard and pulsing and so fucking beautiful.

Everything about Alister was breathtaking.

When Alister straddled his lap again, Wyatt gripped the base of his shaft. He was completely focused, mesmerized as he watched his mate take him inch by inch, his tight hole greedily sucking Wyatt into his body.

Wyatt's head fell back, his cock strangled by the tight heat. So many emotions flashed across Alister's pale blue eyes that Wyatt didn't understand half of them.

A short, shallow breath escaped Alister. His fingernails dug into Wyatt's shoulders, his bottom lip caught between his lips. Then Alister started moving, his knees locked on either side of Wyatt. With each descending stroke, his mate breathed harder, his cock gliding up and down Wyatt's stomach, leaving behind a moist trail of pre-cum.

Their eyes locked, and Wyatt grinned, his hands clenching and unclenching on Alister's hips. A gasp escaped his mate, followed by a long, drawn-out moan. His head rolled from one side to the other, that plump bottom lip still sucked between his teeth.

Wyatt felt like the luckiest bastard alive.

Alister rotated his hips, lifted up slightly, then dropped back down, keening loudly. His heated gaze swept over Wyatt's face. They fucked slow and steady, and then Wyatt increased their pace. He glided his hand up Alister's back, coaxing his mate to him, desperate to suck that bottom lip into his mouth. He lapped at his mate's gasping mouth, tasting paradise, pleasure pooling at the base of his spine and tingling along his nerves.

His mate mewled like a kitten with every hard thrust. A purr rumbled deep in Wyatt's chest, his body slick with sweat. He drove faster into Alister's tight ass, his purrs turning into fierce snarls.

"Oh god!" Alister curled his fingers around his bouncing cock, his hand moving as fast as Wyatt's thrusts. His mate's channel gripped tightly. Then Alister threw his head back and shouted as his cum coated his hand and Wyatt's chest.

"Fuck!" Wyatt's rhythm faltered. He snaked his hand around his mate's nape and yanked the man down. He pierced his mate's shoulder with his sharp canines at the same time his orgasm crashed over him. Wyatt growled low and deep, his cum spilling inside Alister.

Boneless, Wyatt extracted his canines and slid his tongue over the wound. Then he closed his eyes and breathed Alister in.

His mate crumpled against him. "This was more intense than when we were sitting in front of the bakery."

Wyatt chuckled, drawing his fingers up and down his mate's spine. "It's intense every time I have you naked. I lose all self-control and turn into a sex maniac."

"That's because I'm so irresistible." Alister erupted in laughter, squirming when Wyatt tickled him. "I was kidding!"

"You were telling the truth." Wyatt lifted his mate's hips, causing his softened cock to slip free. "It's hot as fuck in this car. We better head inside before we drown in sweat."

With a groan, Alister sat up. "As much as I loved getting nasty in the front seat of your car, it's not the most comfortable place to have sex. My knees are killing me."

"I'll carry my little diva into the house." Wyatt opened the door and twisted sideways, holding on to his mate as he climbed out. He winced when an ache shot through his back. Before he took a step, Wyatt kicked his shorts and boxers the rest of the way off, leaving them where they dropped.

When they were halfway to the door, his phone rang.

"I can manage from here. Put me down and go get your phone. I'm going to take a long shower."

Wyatt sighed as he set his mate on his feet. Then he retrieved his phone from the pocket of his shorts.

It was Sheriff Harper.

"Hey, boss." Wyatt put the call on speaker, set his phone on the hood, and grabbed his shorts.

"I completely understood when you took Alister home after the attack at the bakery," he said as Wyatt slipped his shorts on. "What I fail to comprehend is all hell breaking loose at the ice cream hut. Kijani's report and the gathered statements are on my desk, but I wanted to hear from you what in the fuck went down."

"Lowell Wagner." Wyatt told his boss what happened. "Up until the point he backhanded my mate, it was just a heated argument."

"And three of my deputies were knee-deep in this shit." Dominic sighed. "We protect mates, and I understand Alister reacting the way he did. I just wish it hadn't been a public spectacle."

"My mate was dealing with what Sloane had done to him, so I took him to get some ice cream," Wyatt stated. "Things were peaceful until Lowell showed up. Alister was trying to be civil, simply pointing out that Cannon, Morgan, and I weren't single." Wyatt ran a hand over his head. "Okay, so Alister lunged when Lowell made a threatening remark. You know damn well that Lowell doesn't care if a guy is spoken for."

Dominic made a noise between a groan and a grunt. "I'm honestly surprised no one has put him in the hospital before now. Even so, I can't have my deputies seen as anything less than exemplary officers. I was sent a video, Wyatt. It showed Sam flailing on Morgan's shoulder while Cannon's big ass nearly took Paris down. And you were five seconds too slow stopping Alister from kicking Lowell in the jaw. It was complete shitshow."

"What do you want me to say?" Wyatt asked as his frustration mounted. "Lowell's damn lucky we stopped our mates from breaking every bone in his body."

"I get it, Wyatt. I really do. But until things settle down, stay home with Alister."

"But Cannon still has a week until he returns to duty," Wyatt argued. "I can't leave you in a bind because some hussy has a death wish."

"We managed before Kijani and Slater were hired. You're in your honeymoon period, Wyatt," Dominic said in his no-nonsense tone. "Alister might have some deviant looking for him and your head is elsewhere right now. Take the next two weeks off to deepen your bond with your mate, and for fuck's sake, no more arguing in your driveway or trying to have sex in your car on Main Street." Dominic hung up.

Wyatt frowned. It was scary at times how his boss knew so damn much. Blowing out a deep breath, he headed inside.