Denying Dare (7 page)

Steven had ever seen, because he was alive.

From one breath to another, tiger shifted to man, fur

sank into skin, and elongated pupils rounded into humanity.

"Mate," Dare whispered, his eyes dazed from the

60

Denying Dare

Amber Kell

change.

"Mate," Steven echoed in an unsteady voice. "Do

you think you could get me down?"

Dare looked up at the hook Steven dangled from.

With a flexing of lean muscles, the weretiger lifted him up,

flipping the chains off of the hook. A few minutes of

tugging broke the links binding his wrists.

Shock and relief coursed through Steven's body as

he wrapped his newly freed hands around his mate. "I

thought I'd lost you."

"Never gonna happen," Dare said, holding him

tight. "I'll always come back to you." He looked around as

he released his hold on Steven. "We should see if we can

find any clues. That is the reason we came here in the first

place."

"There's a lab coat." Steven said pointing to a coat

draped across a chair.

"Find my nakedness distracting, do you?"

"Always."

Despite the blood caked across his face and

splashed across his body, Dare was still the most beautiful

thing Steven had ever seen. "Best get dressed or we won't

find any clues."

He got a brilliant smile before the man slipped on

the lab coat and proceeded to help search the warehouse.

61

Denying Dare

Amber Kell

Like the one where Anthony was shot, there were no clues.

"Maybe we're going about this the wrong way,"

Dare mused.

"Yeah, what are you thinking?"

"They're careful. We're not going to find something

here. This is where they wanted to lure us so we could be

captured. This isn't their home. It's only a temporary

torture-the-prisoner hideout. We need to follow the money,

check on Cindy's former employer, and discover his

connection to the mutants. That's where we'll find our

leads."

Steven searched the body of the dead mutant, not in

the least surprised when there was nothing in the man's

pockets and no identification. "I think you're right. Let's get

back to the pack house and tell Silver what we've learned

so far."

62

Denying Dare

Amber Kell

Chapter Five

Silver threw a glass against the door, shattering it

beautifully.

"You really need to stop doing that," Anthony said

from where he sat on the couch.

The alpha growled.

"You did
not
just growl at me," Anthony jumped to

his feet.

Everyone in the room stilled.

Dare sat stiffly next to Steven, watching the alpha

mates scowl at each other.

After a second of glaring, Silver scooped up his

beautiful mate and nuzzled his neck. "Sorry sweetness.

This whole thing has me so angry."

"I know, and that poor little glass paid the price. At

least the other alphas were sweet."

Silver gave a shout of laughter. "They were too

dazzled by you to even think about arguing about their

safety." Silver turned to the other werekin. Dillon, Parker,

Dare, and Steven watched the alphas with wide eyes. "You

should've seen their expressions when Anthony walked into

the room. He had them eating out of his hand, and I swear

every one of them was straight. I thought Moira, the alpha

63

Denying Dare

Amber Kell

of the Sandstone pack, was going to slip in her own drool."

Anthony blushed. "She was very nice."

"Uh huh. I heard she ripped the head off of the last

guy who challenged her."

Shrugging Anthony gave a small smile. "I wasn't

challenging her, though
you
got awfully close."

Silver flashed a canine. "If you hadn't made it clear

you were into men I think she would've poached you in a

second." He nuzzled Anthony again, more possessively this

time. "Anyway, we still don't have any clue as to where the

mutants are staying or how they plan to take over the packs.

Madros said he'd be careful and double-check his food for

poison. They must have someone helping them from the

inside, so we need to look for anyone who would benefit

from the pack's dissolution."

"I didn't get the feeling the other alphas were

involved," Anthony said. Silver nodded his agreement.

"What do we do now?" Parker asked.

Silver sighed. "We keep our eyes open. We make

sure the pack stays close. Parker, I would appreciate it if

you would move into the pack condo."

"No."

Silver's eyes glowed. "Are you challenging me?"

Parker averted his gaze and tilted his head

submissively. "No, sir. I just can't leave my house. I can

64

Denying Dare

Amber Kell

feel my mate is getting closer and I have my home prepared

with everything I need."

Silver raised an eyebrow.

"He means he's a Dom and he's waiting for his

proper little sub. And he'd prefer not to deal with that while

the entire pack looks on," Anthony offered.

"It's not like we're going to judge him," Silver said.

Dare could see the confusion on his alpha's face. "Hell, we

have all kinds of people coming through the club.

Remember Lyle? He used to come in with his sub's cock on

a leash. If that's what you want, then feel free."

Parker cleared his throat, his face beet red. "I prefer

to have my relationship private. I don't think my mate

would appreciate being brought in on a leash."

"Have you met him?" Anthony asked, his eyes

bright with excitement. The alpha mate loved seeing

members of his pack matched up. Remembering the other

man's intervention with Steven, Dare hoped Parker knew

what he was in for.

"No. But I've been having mating dreams, so I

know he's close."

Silver sighed. "All right, have it your way. Keep a

careful eye on things, and if you sense any danger pack up

your stuff and haul your ass over here."

Parker nodded. "I don't know when we'll meet, but

65

Denying Dare

Amber Kell

the dreams are getting stronger."

The other pack members nodded in respect.

"Do wolves always dream of your mate before

meeting?" Anthony asked.

"No. It's a sign of a re-mating. It means that they

were mates in a previous life and are reconnecting in this

one." Silver offered, placing a soft kiss on his mate's cheek.

"Does it happen very often?" Anthony asked, tilting

his head for another kiss.

"No," Silver smiled at Parker. "It will be a strong

mating. Congratulations, Parker."

"Thanks."

"In the meantime, I want everyone to make a list of

different factions who might be interested in seeing the

werekin fail as a community. We'll brainstorm tomorrow. If

anything comes up before then call Anthony or me. Dare,

that's a good idea about tracing the money. I'll get our tech

people on that."

The shifters nodded and cleared out the room.

Dare turned to Steven. "Are you going to join the

pack?"

Steven stopped walking and turned to him, surprise

evident in his expression. "I thought we were mates."

Dare nodded, looking down at the floor.

Steven put a hand under Dare's chin tilting his head

66

Denying Dare

Amber Kell

so their eyes met. "I'm sorry if I resisted you before, my

sweet kitty. I'm done denying you. We are forever mates. I

know things won't always be calm between us, but I'd like

to try." Dare smiled as he felt the love pouring from his

mate.

"Come live with me and join the pack. I know

Anthony would approve you."

Steven snorted. "Don't you mean Silver?"

Dare smiled. "And I thought you were Anthony's

best friend," he teased.

"Good point. I have enough dirt on Anthony I can

make him let me in. But I won't join the pack unless you're

part of the package."

Dare hoped his eyes conveyed the love he felt.

"Then I guess we'd best start negotiations. I think my

bedroom would be the best place to discuss the future."

Steven gave him a wicked smile. "Yes, I do believe

you're right."

The two men headed for the elevator in perfect

accord.

Dare's apartment door barely closed before Steven

slammed him against the surface.

"When we were captured, all I could think about

was how I never told you how much I love you."

The words enflamed Dare as much as the kisses did.

67

Denying Dare

Amber Kell

He never thought he'd hear Steven say the words he'd

dreamed of since he'd spotted the dark-haired wolf.

"You love me?"

Steven's blue eyes lacked their usual teasing light.

"You are everything to me. When that creature said they

were going to kill you, part of me died."

Dare's heart beat faster in his chest. He couldn't

believe the man of his dreams was saying exactly what he

wanted to hear. Hoping he was still awake, Dare pinched

himself.

"Ouch."

Steven laughed. "What did you do that for?"

Dare gave him a sheepish smile. "I was hoping this

wasn't a dream."

"It's not a dream, beautiful. It's reality. I know I've

been an idiot in the past, but I'm through with all that. All I

want is for you to be my mate and for us to spend the rest

of our lives together. I want to move into this apartment

and argue with you over what to have for breakfast,

grumble about pack dynamics, and investigate the mutants.

I don't want to go home alone and long for you to be beside

me when I wake up in the morning." Steven brushed Dare's

cheek gently as if checking to make sure he was real. "I

almost died earlier, and all I could think about was you."

Dare blinked back the tears. Shit he was turning into

68

Denying Dare

Amber Kell

a girl. "I'd like that too."

"Good."

Before he could say anything else, Steven kissed

him.

It wasn't the hot, controlling mastery of his other

kisses. This one was about gentle sharing and love. It was

soft, sweet, and made Dare wanted to throw the man down

and fuck the hell out of him.

A low growling filled the room. It took Dare a few

minutes to realize it was coming from him.

Steven pulled away to stare at him. "That is so hot."

Dare laughed. "I don't usually growl like a dog. I

guess your possessiveness is wearing off on me."

The wolf captured Dare's head between his hands,

forcing him to meet Steven's gaze. "I don't care how many

creatures come after us. I'm never letting you go again.

There isn't a wolf in the world that is a better match for me

and I was an idiot to think there was."

"I know," Dare said, snuggling Steven up close.

"My heart broke a little more each time you took one of

those wolves home. I was about to give up and start dating

again when Anthony pulled his stunt."

It was Steven's turn to growl. The wolf's grip

tightened around the weretiger. "I'm glad you resisted, I'd

hate to have to take out an innocent man for touching what

69

Denying Dare

Amber Kell

is mine."

Dare gave a wide grin to his mate. "I'm not yours,

yet. You haven't claimed me properly."

"Trust me, honey. When I'm done tonight you'll feel

officially claimed."

A low rumble rolled from the weretiger's chest.

"I thought you didn't purr?"

"I didn't," Dare said indignantly. "I'm not a house

cat."

"Of course not." Steven said, smiling. "I don't know

what I was thinking."

* * * *

Steven stroked a hand through his mate's hair. His

heart ached with the love he felt for the sweet tiger. The

reasons for resisting Dare were inconsequential compared

to the benefits of bonding with this wonderful man. That

split second he thought Dare was dead was the worst

moment of his life. It was when he realized the beautiful

man in his arms was the only one for him.

Wolf or not, Dare was his.

For the first time, he understood Silver's

determination to make sure everyone knew his mate

belonged to him. Maybe it wasn't such a silly compulsion,

70

Denying Dare

Amber Kell

after all. Steven knew tagging Dare like Silver did to

Anthony wouldn't be possible, but he would have to see

what they could do.

"How do you feel about tattoos?" he asked between

passionate kisses. His cock was granite hard and yearning

to sink into his mate. They'd never discussed who would

bottom; Steven would take whatever position got him

closer to his mate. He usually topped but he was willing to

reconsider when it came to his beloved tiger.