Page 29 of Advocate Omega (Unforeseen Paths #1)

Lucan

That next morning, I recall something Zander said to me when we first met.

He’s got a notepad sprawled over the kitchen table, a plaid cloth beneath that I have a love-hate relationship with.

It’s the same puke green that colors the outside of Griffin and Gabe’s home.

Having abandoned his breakfast in favor of list-making, Zander doesn’t realize I’m watching him intently for a while.

When he does, a cute blush lights up his cheeks, and he tucks some hair behind his ear.

“I’ll eat,” he insists. “But this is important.” The pen taps over the paper. “If we want this to work, I need to figure out everything we need to set up, you know?”

“I know.”

“Then?” His platinum eyebrow arches. “Stop staring at me.”

“But I love looking at you.”

His blush deepens, and he clears his throat. “It’s…distracting.”

“Good,” I rumble, leaning back in the creaky wooden chair that barely supports my weight. “I need to ask you something.”

“Uh oh.” With a sigh, he closes the notepad and nibbles his lip. “What happened?”

I drum my fingers over the table, wanting to be considerate of his feelings.

What I’m going to ask might not be what he wants to do, but it’s necessary.

We are going on a potentially dangerous mission, and I know no amount of reasoning will convince him to stay behind.

As fast as he is, he can’t outrun a pack. Not in his human form.

“You said before that you only have shifted once. When you were four, is that true?”

He swallows hard as his heart kicks with a scared thud. “It is. Why?”

I scratch at my jaw, seeing him already starting to retreat into himself. “Would you be opposed to shifting? If the need for it arises?”

“I don’t—well—I don’t know.”

“Do you remember how?”

His head shakes briefly, then he squirms. “That sounds like a bad idea, Luc.”

“How so?”

Another swallow. Wetting his lips, he dodges my gaze and looks at his lap. “I was a kid…and I was in a cage.”

“Precious…”

“It was hard enough changing back. But while I was like…that…I couldn’t stop howling and whining for my father. I couldn’t think. Couldn’t figure out why I was trapped. It was bad.” He holds himself. “And even when they let him come, I didn’t recognize him.”

“You were a pup,” I insist, getting up and moving to his side. I kneel, pulling his arms down and taking his hands. “You were frightened.”

“What if I don’t recognize you ?” he whispers. “What if you don’t recognize me ?”

I kiss his knuckles. “I will always know you.”

Our eyes meet, his lashes are damp with unshed tears. “How?”

I bring his hands to my chest, right above my heart, and hold them there. “You can hear this, yes?”

He nods a little, those gears in his head spinning—thinking.

“I can hear yours, too, sweet. And I’d know that sound anywhere. I know your scent. I know your eyes. My heart knows your heart. And I won’t let you howl alone.”

Whimpering, he slides off the chair and crawls into my lap. “Do I have to?” he whispers.

“I need you to be safe. And harnessing your wolf form is going to be our best bet at keeping you so.”

Dragging his lips over the skin of my neck, he suckles and nibbles me for a few seconds before inhaling deeply. “Will you shift too?”

“Only if you want me to, precious.” I cup the back of his head and gently massage his scalp.

“As long as I’m not alone.”

“Never,” I growl.

“Okay. I’ll do it. But Luc?”

“Yes?”

He leans back and brushes his fingers over my cheeks. “You can’t judge me if I’m hideous.”

I blink.

Before I can even respond, he continues, “You’re just so hot. I know even in your wolf form you’ll be all big and sexy and… wolfy . If I’m ugly, you can’t judge me. Just remember me as I am now. All cute and adorable and… minx-like. ”

“Minx-like,” I repeat, a laugh bubbling up my throat.

“I am!” He pats my cheeks playfully. “Tell me I’m sexy.”

“You are sexy, baby.”

“Tell me that you’ll still want to fuck me even if I’m an ugly wolf.”

I laugh. Loudly. Dropping my hands to his ass, I give each cheek a good squeeze. “I’ll want to fuck you even as a wolf. I’ll want to fuck you more.”

“Oh,” he rasps. “That’s…we can do that?”

“Mhm,” I rumble and kiss his jaw. “But it’s an outdated practice because you can’t actually consent.”

“Yeah, I like consenting.”

“I’ll make sure you change back before I fuck you, precious. Don’t worry.”

“This took a sharp turn,” he muses and wiggles to rub over my thickening cock. “Why are you hard?”

“Because I have a sexy minx in my lap.”

“I’m not planning today, am I?” His hands fondle my chest and tweak my nipples through my shirt.

“No,” I growl and kiss him hard.

We are standing in the open field behind the gated community.

The sun is shining, the wind is blowing, and Zander looks like he’s…well…he looks constipated.

His face is pinched in concentration, cheeks puffed out, hands fisted at his sides, and he is grunting loudly. I bite my lip to keep my smile from ruining his groove . Because, apparently, I’ve done that four times already simply by being present.

“Ah!” he roars and releases his held breath. Shaking out his arms, he jumps up and down, cracks his neck, and returns to his…constipated stance.

“Sweet thing,” I say, unable to refrain from chuckling a bit.

“I’m trying !”

“You have to follow your instincts,” I try that.

“My instincts tell me if I push any harder, I’m going to shit my pants!”

I fold. My laugh booms out of me as I bend over, holding my stomach and damn near sobbing. “I…can’t… breathe .” The wheeze-laugh is loud, and I can’t stop. When I manage to glance up at him, he’s glaring at me with his arms folded.

Popping his hip out with all the sass in the world, he huffs and starts to march away. I lunge, encircling my arm around his waist and pulling him to my chest. “I’m sorry,” I giggle like a pup, “I’m so sorry, baby. You’re just adorable.”

“Stop laughing at me,” he grunts and pops his ass against me. “I told you not to watch.”

I bend down to kiss his exposed neck. His hair is pulled into a low bun. Because he’s annoyed with me, I soothe the sting by rubbing his belly and kissing a line up to his ear. “You didn’t want to be alone,” I remind him gently.

“But I also didn’t want to be watched. I told you to turn around,” he whines.

Dragging my hand up his torso, I stop over his heart. “This is where your wolf sleeps. You need to wake him up.”

“Wake up, asshole! I have things to do!”

I laugh against the side of his head, shuddering and squeezing him tighter. “Gods, I—” I bite my tongue, almost having admitted something.

“You know what,” he declares, spinning in my arms and fisting my shirt, “ You do it first. Go on.”

“Me?”

“Yes! Since you are so… skilled ,” he huffs. “Do it. Turn into a big sexy wolf.”

“Baby…”

“I don’t think I can! You’ve seen! I just stand here and turn purple!”

I cup his cheeks, kiss his lips, all while smiling. “How did you do it before? The first time?”

Still glaring at me despite blushing madly, he squirms. “Well. I was…mad.”

“Mad?”

He nods. “I wanted my father.”

An idea forms, and I quickly listen to make sure no one is close by.

When I’m satisfied we have some privacy, I usher him over to the trees.

It’s not a forest by any means, but the foliage will give us some cover for what I’m about to do.

Once we are hidden, I push him up against a tree.

His eyes flare as a sweet gasp leaves him.

Quickly shoving my leg between his, I dip down and kiss him roughly.

My tongue pushes through his lips, and he clings to me.

I rub my thigh over his little cock, coaxing it to harden for me. Whimpering, he grinds against me, licking and sucking my tongue.

“Luc,” he mewls when I pull my leg away and drop to my knees. “Out here?”

Pushing up his shirt, I kiss his belly, dip my tongue beneath the waist of his exercise pants.

I’m still not sure what that means, but they’re thin and tight, revealing his erection and swollen sac.

I almost made him change, but thought better of it.

I push down the elastic, teasing the root of his cock.

His head thumps against the tree trunk before grabbing two handfuls of my hair.

“How is this helping?” he pants, my lips latching onto the smooth skin and sucking. “Oh fuck.”

“Do you want me to suck your cock, baby?” I purr, toying with the idea of tugging his pants down more. “Maybe a nice, long orgasm will help?”

He nods frantically. “Yes, yes .”

I smirk, nip at his shaft through the material, then stand up.

He looks impossibly rumpled, cheeks pink, lips kiss-swollen, and rock hard for me. I bet if I spin him around, there’d be a sweet wet spot staining the ass of his pants.

“Luc!” He gestures at his straining cock.

“Yes, sweet thing?”

Palming his erection, he whimpers. “Come back.”

Gods, do I want to. I want to forgo this entire thing and make him come. But I take a step backward instead.

“Luc?”

“Do you want to come?”

“Yes! Where are you going?”

Another step.

“Luc!”

“Catch me, baby,” I say and take off into a sprint.