Chapter 39

We're just getting out of the raunchiest shower I've ever had when there's a loud knock at the door. The house practically shakes with the force of it.

With a dramatic, put-upon sigh, Tyson grabs a towel, plants a sweet kiss on the tip of my nose, and points to the clothes sitting on top of the hamper. "Clothes on before you go out. I won't be held accountable if I murder someone just for looking at these sexy legs."

In a perfect display of double standards, he strides out to answer the door with his muscular chest on display, every inch of silky skin glistening from the shower. The lock clicks and as Tyson opens the door, a blast of angry alpha aura fills my tiny house.

Shit. Blake's back.

"What the fuck were you thinking? Going near my mate and sneaking up to my home when I wasn't here?!" With a furious snarl, I hear him step inside and slam the door shut. "Do you have a death wish, Tyson? Are you trying to make me kill you?"

Quickly, I throw on my shorts and t-shirt and dash out into the hallway to see how bad things are. They're not good. Blake has Tyson pinned against the wall, his forearm pressed to Tyson's windpipe as his chest rises and falls rapidly, his loud growls filling the small space.

"She came up with a brilliant idea. I wanted to thank her," Tyson hisses, keeping his hands by his side so he doesn't escalate things with any sudden movements. "For Noah."

Tilting his head, suspicious of Tyson but intrigued, Blake backs off and gives him room to breathe. My mate rubs this throat but otherwise stays calm.

"What idea?" Blake rests his hands on his hips as he slowly regains control, turning back into the suave alpha I'm more used to seeing.

Tyson's gaze slides to me, and he edges closer; wrapping an arm around my shoulder, he pulls me against him. Frowning, I elbow him in the ribs. I have no interest in being his human shield. He knew going to the pack house would piss Blake off.

"Noah's going to start alpha school next year, but he's going to be behind, not having been raised in a pack. But unlike the rest of them, who might have twenty or thirty years to wait until they take over their packs, his pack is there whenever he's ready. If Mandy decides to take charge in the interim."

Both men look at me and I frown.

"I don't remember agreeing to any such thing."

Tyson quickly backtracks, "This is hypothetical." He kisses my cheek and returns to his grand plan. "If Noah has a pack waiting for him, despite being the wolf with the least pack leadership experience, I'm worried he'll be targeted."

My frown turns into a look of horror. That thought had never even crossed my mind. Would they really bully him over that? Even as I think the words, I know they're true. A class of alpha's all trying to establish dominance will, of course, target the one they feel unjustly has the one thing they all want more than anything: power and title.

"And what can we do about that?" Blake asks, "It's always been survival of the fittest in alpha school. The place is designed to test you."

Tyson considers this for a moment. "Test you, yes. Make your life a living hell, no." Pausing for dramatic effect, "We send the three boys together. All misfits, all family, and they'll stick together to get through it as a unit."

Oh. "But Seth and Lucian aren't alpha's. Would Lucian even be allowed in?" We've been so removed from pack life I don't know enough about alpha school to make a judgement on this. I look to Blake, relying on his opinion to guide me.

"Maybe." It's as lukewarm a vote of confidence as you can get. "Damn it. It's not a bad idea. But it'll require some strings being pulled." He steps toward the door, already mulling over how he could make it happen. "Leave it with me. Actually, leave it with Zoe. She'll get it set up. But you have to make sure they're ready to go. They can't be out of their depth. And Lucian needs to be aware he's probably going to get a lot of shit."

Tyson nods, folding his arms over his chest. "I'll make sure they're up to speed." Pointing a finger at his brother, Blake's expression morphs into one of warning. "Stay away from my mate. At least until my wolf can get used to all this." Blake moves outside and strides away from the house, the conversation apparently over.

"But I haven't decided about the pack," I call after him.

Turning, Blake smiles, understanding in his handsome expression. "This is all hypothetical. You take your time deciding. There's no pressure one way or another."

Tyson's grin tells me there might be some pressure. He's already pretty confident his plan is going to come to fruition. As he eases in close, and showers me with kisses, I decide these are the kind of strong-arm tactics I like. Maybe he'll up the ante if I resist a while longer.

"You think we should run the pack until Noah graduates and can take over from us?" I ask dubiously, struggling to focus as Tyson kisses a blazing path across my chest. He nods, refusing to lift his lips from my body. "And that all three boys should go together in their own little posse?"

Another nod, as he, once again, pushes me back against the wall, his sharp fangs scratching my neck as he keeps me wrapped up in his arms.

"We'll be like caretakers, minding his chair, keeping it warm for him. We could show everyone what a pack should be like, and help all the other people who might have gotten a raw deal like you."

He's right. There must be others who got away with things another alpha would never condone. I was so focused on staying alive that I didn't have the energy to look around for women in similar situations, but I could now with Tyson by my side.

"We'd just be tidying things up before Noah gets there and takes over. It was always meant to be his. It seems unfair that someone else gets to take it after you did all the hard work. Plus, Blake has his own pack to run; he can't do it all."

Is that my mate, the evil Tyson, volunteering to help complete strangers so that my son can secure his future right to be alpha of the pack?

He makes it all sound so easy.

"You'd be an amazing luna. So fucking sexy," he mumbles, tugging down the strap of my top, growling when he finds no bra and dips his head to suck one nipple into his mouth. "Who wouldn"t love you?"

"We're newly mated. You think everything is sexy," I chuckle, as his deft fingers tackle the top button of my jean shorts. When he slips his hand inside and finds no underwear, he growls.

"I can't decide if I love this or hate this," he says, biting my shoulder sharply as he swipes his fingers across my entrance. "I don't want anyone else near you like this, but I also don't think you should wear underwear ever again. Can't decide."

I can't respond, my attention firmly focussed on how he drags my shorts down my legs and helps me out of them, dropping his towel. His thick length bobs in front of him, stretching out to reach me. Lifting my eyes to his, I dig my teeth into my bottom lip and moan, needy and desperate for him. In the blink of an eye, he's on me again, lifting me and wrapping my legs around his solid back.

Tyson leans forward, one arm under my ass to keep me from falling to the floor and drives up into me. He pulses his hips, slow and shallow thrusts at first, but the speed and depth ramping up quickly as we lose ourselves, our pleasure firing back and forth across the bond.

As I cling on for dear life, my nails digging into his shoulders as he pounds into me, I cry out his name. His fingers find my clit and he strokes it, giving me the added friction I need to release my orgasm, and I break, my climax crashing over me in wave after wave of pleasure.

"So good," Tyson growls, as I clamp down around him with each aftershock that pulses through me. With a roar, he drives into me one last time, pinning me hard to the wall as he comes, painting my insides with jet after jet of his cum.

I feel each jerk of his cock as he releases more and more, grunting with satisfaction when I continue to twitch in his arms.

"That was amazing," I purr, a boneless mess as he pulls out, kissing me on the lips, and then the forehead, as he bundles me into his arms and holds me tight.

"Anything for my Luna," he murmurs and I smile against his chest, knowing he can already feel what I want to do through the bond. I growl, pretending to be annoyed by his persistence, but actually feeling pretty happy with myself that I've been given this complicated man as my mate.

Touching his neck, I tilt back as far as I can go and admire my handiwork, kissing the tiny wound. Nobody will miss the fact he's mated.

"I love you," I whisper, stroking my hands gently through his wet, black hair. I never thought I'd get to say those words to someone. Tyson must have been tormented all this time, knowing I was out there and just out of reach. Sixteen years is a long time to wait for your mate.

"Fine. Let's do it. How hard can it be?" Resting my warm cheek against his muscular shoulder, I smile as his hold on me tightens, and I feel his pride like warm sunshine down the bond. With sudden clarity, I know this is the right decision. Whether everyone else agrees with us is another story.