The Duty of a Beta (12 page)

“Put
yourself
in Alfred’s place,”
Caden
ordered. “Imagine how it would feel for everyone in the pack to know you’d been passed over in favour of another wolf, of a lower ranking wolf.”

Talbot nibbled at his bottom lip. It was so easy to imagine the other man’s pain. For just a few seconds, it distracted him from his own discomfort.

“You need to call a halt to it,”
Caden
announced.

“Me?” Talbot’s gaze rose to meet the
gamma’s
as panic rushed through him. “I can’t, I…”

“Not even for Gunnar’s sake?”

Talbot could do no more than blink across at the pretty blond shifter.

“He’s the one who’ll get lynched for screwing you,”
Caden
went on. “No one will be pissed off at you for doing whatever the hell you want with him, but how do you think they’ll treat him when they realise he’s been getting his rocks off corrupting the most innocent member of their pack?”

Talbot shook his head. “It’s not like that!”

Caden
took no notice. He stepped forwards until he and Talbot stood almost toe to toe. “If you care about my brother, even a little bit, you’ll walk away and make sure Gunnar never lays a hand on you again.”

Talbot tried to breathe, but the idea of even trying to do that stole all the oxygen from the air.

“If you don’t give a damn about him, then…”
Caden
trailed off, but he didn’t need to say anything else.

Talbot dropped his gaze. He was vaguely aware of the other wolf leaving him alone at the wall once more, but it wasn’t
Caden
that filled his mind as he stood, alone and isolated at the edge of a field, as far from the farm house as he had ever been on his own.

Right then, it was impossible for him not to think about Gunnar’s arms wrapped tightly around him as they had slept through the night together…to remember the feel of Gunnar’s lips on his…of the other man’s hands roving over his body, casually groping him in his sleep…Gunnar’s cock sliding between his lips and spilling across his tongue when they’d worked together at the wall the day before and…

Talbot forced his eyes open.
Caden
was right. He had more than enough memories to wrap around his mind on cold nights now. It was greedy to want more than that from life. He had a good pack, he had his memories of Gunnar, and he even had the chance to remain on the edge of the beta’s life and stay close to his mate for years to come.

An omega shouldn’t demand anything more than that from his life. An omega was of most use to his pack when he learnt how to put himself last and everyone else first.

Talbot rubbed the back of his hand against his eyes as he tried to turn his body, if not his mind, back to the task at hand. Gunnar wanted him to finish re-building the wall. He couldn’t do that if the stone work was going to go blurry all the time.

* * * *

“What’s wrong?”

This time there was no way Talbot could be wrong about which wolf he’d find behind him. Gunnar’s voice was unmistakeable, especially when he seemed completely pissed off with the world.

As Talbot turned to face him, the beta loomed out of the shadows in the orchard, seeming as large as any of the ragged old fruit trees growing around them.

“Nothing,” Talbot rushed out. “Nothing’s wrong, I just…”

After forcing himself to sit opposite the other wolf at the table that evening and not even glance in his direction, Talbot knew he had already drained all his reserves of self-control. It would have been asking for trouble to stay in the house, to remain close to the beta and still remember how important it was for him to keep his distance from the other man.

“Don’t lie to me!” Gunnar stepped out from between the shadows. The stars provided the only light that fell on that part of the pack’s lands, but it was more than bright enough for Talbot to see the older man’s anger. Even if it hadn’t been, the emotion seemed to extend out from the beta’s body, tendrils of it curling through space and enveloping everything it touched.

“I think, maybe, it would be best if we didn’t…” Talbot closed his eyes, lacking the strength to go any further.

“If we didn’t what?”
Gunnar demanded, a growl growing deeper in his voice.

“If you and I didn’t…” Talbot faltered again. “Spend any more time together,” he finally managed to stutter out.

“What?”

Talbot pushed his hands into his pockets in an effort not to reach out to him. “I think, maybe, we shouldn’t be doing this.”

“And this revelation occurred to you when?” Gunnar demanded, dipping his head to avoid a low-hanging branch as he stepped closer.

Talbot knew he should step back, but he still couldn’t bring himself to put any more distance between them than was absolutely necessary. “You and Alfred—”

“Aren’t mated yet,” Gunnar cut in.

“I know, but you will be, and…” Talbot trailed off as their eyes met.

“Can you keep looking me in the eye while you tell me that you haven’t wanted everything that’s happened between us?”

“I wanted it.”

As soon as the words were said, Talbot took refuge in staring at the floor, but Gunnar’s growl soon had him raising his gaze.

Finally his body remembered how to move. He stepped back and almost tripped. Gunnar didn’t reach out to catch him as he managed to steady himself, but Talbot had a horrible suspicion that was only because Gunnar had already known he’d somehow manage to keep his footing.

Gunnar knew everything. Gunnar could see straight into his soul and—

“I don’t want to get you in trouble,” Talbot blurted out, knowing the truth was the only avenue left open to him. He couldn’t end things himself, he saw that now, but he could put the whole mess in his mate’s hands and let Gunnar deal with it for him.

Gunnar’s frown remained for several long seconds as he glared down at Talbot. Then, it started to fade away. A slight smile twisted Gunnar’s lips. His hand reached out to stroke Talbot’s cheek. “Is that what you’re worried about, little one?
That
I’ll
get in trouble?”

Talbot swallowed. He tried to bring
Caden’s
words back to the forefront of his mind, but Gunnar’s fingertip caresses along his jaw line quickly took over his senses.

“I can look after myself,” Gunnar informed him. He seemed to bite some extra words back then, but there was no doubting the honesty in those he’d said aloud. “You don’t need to worry about me.”

“But what if the alphas—?”

One of Gunnar’s hands stole any other words Talbot might have been able to say. His other hand came to rest on the back of Talbot’s head, preventing him from pulling away from the very effective gag.

He held Talbot very still and completely silent as he stared down at him, his eyes seeming to shine in the half light as both dark stands of hair and even darker shadows fell across his face. “I don’t want to hear another word about the alphas, or about any other wolf in this pack. Right here, right now, it’s just you and me. Understand?”

Talbot closed his eyes. He wanted that to be the case so badly, but…

“Understand?” Gunnar pushed.

And, suddenly, there was no way to avoid the fact that he was completely incapable of disobeying the beta—not even for Gunnar’s own
good
. Talbot tilted his head back, half to bare his neck and indicate his submission, half to offer his lips up to be kissed.

A whimper escaped from behind Gunnar’s hand as something inside him got loose and did its best to beg the beta for his reassurance. A bare moment later, Gunnar’s lips replaced his palm. His tongue thrust into Talbot’s mouth, impatient and demanding, seemingly determined to remind the omega of exactly who was in charge.

Talbot’s hands finally realised they weren’t restrained. They weren’t even bound to a headboard by the beta’s will. Tearing them out of his pockets, he quickly moved them to Gunnar’s back, pulling him closer, sliding his palms down to the older man’s arse and caressing him through the fabric as he fought to touch as much of the older man as he could reach.

His brain stopped working as one kiss morphed into another, then another. If any part of Talbot remembered that he was supposed to be holding back and not kissing Gunnar, not even a tiny fragment of him remembered why.

Talbot’s fists clenched in the beta’s shirt until strong hands wrapped around his wrists and dragged his hands back behind him. Talbot whimpered in pleasure as the stronger wolf’s demands rushed straight to his cock and he hardened rapidly behind his fly.

When Gunnar transferred both his wrists into the grip of one hand, Talbot suddenly found that the beta’s other hand was free to play with him. It quickly went to Talbot’s jeans and fumbled at the zip. For once, Gunnar seemed as desperate as Talbot felt. The older man’s coordination wasn’t as skilful as it usually
was,
his fingers seemed to shake slightly.

Then, before Talbot had a chance to wonder what was wrong and without any warning, Gunnar’s hands were gone. And the beta’s body was gone, too. Talbot stumbled as all the support he’d so quickly come to rely on was snatched away from him.

A confused sound left the back of Talbot’s throat, but he was pretty sure he was the only one who heard it. The weak little noise was instantly drowned out by the shouting that swiftly surrounded them.

Talbot blinked as he stumbled and looked around him, trying to work out what the hell was going on. The orchard was full of wolves now. The whole pack seemed to be crowded in between the trees, in a mixture of human and lupine shapes. Turning from one man to the next, trying to gain some sort of understanding, Talbot’s eyes finally fell on Gunnar—or at least on that small part of him that was currently within his line of sight.

The beta was more than half hidden from him, with Talbot’s view of his lover blocked by both his alphas. Stepping forwards, Talbot instinctively tried to rush to Gunnar’s side, but there was no way for him to get through the press of bodies.

He tried to work his way around the edge of the group and find an omega-sized opening. He tugged at men’s sleeves trying to convince them to step just slightly to one side so he could squeeze through.

As desperation coursed through him, it was almost impossible for Talbot to focus on the actual words being said, but the anger in everyone’s voices was unmistakeable. They were all furious with Gunnar, just the way
Caden
had warned him they would be. And it was
all his
fault.

If he’d been strong enough to say no, if he hadn’t wanted Gunnar so badly, then everything would have been fine for the other wolf. If he hadn’t been so weak, if he hadn’t loved Gunnar so much, then—

Pushing his hands between two of the larger wolves that stood between him and the beta, Talbot put every scrap of strength he had into forcing them apart. Against all his expectations, the larger wolves stumbled to the side. Talbot clawed his way between them and stumbled into the centre of the circle of wolves.

Barely managing to keep his footing, Talbot somehow remained upright as he looked frantically around. Gunnar stood in front of him. Talbot’s gaze went straight to his lover’s eyes. The beta’s expression was angry to start with—suddenly it turned furious.

The beta had tried to step towards him, but he hadn’t gone one pace before Bennett grabbed the collar of Gunnar’s shirt and yanked him back.

Talbot expected the beta to rail and struggle against the alpha’s hold on him. And, for a second, it looked like he would. Then Gunnar fell completely still. His eyes went from Talbot to
Marsdon
and Bennett, then back again. His gaze became assessing. His posture changed, becoming far more overtly deferential to the alphas. His struggles subsided.

“I asked, if you have anything to say for yourself?”
Marsdon
demanded as he moved to stand directly in front of Gunnar, half blocking Talbot’s view without a thought.

Stepping to one side, Talbot regained a clear line of sight just in time to see Gunnar hold the alpha’s gaze for a second, as if searching for something in his expression. “I just want to say that there’s only one wolf to blame in this.”

Talbot’s breath caught in his throat. Even though he knew it was true, to hear the other wolf say it still felt like someone was stabbing him in the heart over and over again, twisting the knife at every opportunity.

Marsdon
took a step towards the beta, more anger filling his scent by the moment.

“Me,” Gunnar finished.

Marsdon
paused. His stance was still one that implied he was ready to attack at any moment, but Talbot saw the alpha’s profile become assessing as his gaze narrowed. “Your actions could be taken as a direct challenge to the hierarchy of this pack,” he said. “Wolves have been thrown into limbo for far less.”

Talbot went pale.

Gunnar barely blinked. “I’m not asking for leniency.”

“No!” It took Talbot a few seconds to realise that the word had come from him and not another wolf.

Marsdon
and Bennett’s attention turned to him for a second.