03-Strength of the Mate
Read 03-Strength of the Mate Online
Authors: Kendall McKenna
Tags: #military, #gay romance, #werewolves
Table of Contents
STRENGTH OF THE MATE
The Tameness of the Wolf
Book Three
KENDAL MCKENNA
mlrpress
www.mlrpress.com
Adam Madison is in Iraq, driving supply trucks for the Marines, but he still can’t outrun his personal ghosts. Outside the wire, insurgents are a relentless threat. Inside, renegade werewolves are a constant danger.
Dawson Rivers is on a mission for the True Alpha—bring the rampaging shifters under control. Adam proves to be invaluable to his task. Their intense mutual attraction explodes into a powerful physical, and emotional connection.
Their future together is in peril, when Adam’s convoy is ambushed.Can they learn to rely on the strength of their bond? Adam staying alive long enough for Dawson to find him depends on it.
Copyright Acknowledgement
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright 2014 by Kendall McKenna
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
Published by
MLR Press, LLC
3052 Gaines Waterport Rd.
Albion, NY 14411
Visit ManLoveRomance Press, LLC on the Internet:
www.mlrpress.com
Cover Art by Jared Rackler
Editing by Kris Jacen
Print ISBN# 978-1-60820-943-9
ebook format also available
Issued 2014
This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of International Copyright Law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines and/or imprisonment. This eBook cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this eBook can be shared or reproduced without the express permission of the publisher.
DEDICATION
To Julie B., who volunteered her time and effort to help me keep track of my characters, and their fur coats.
“You are part of the world’s most feared and trusted force. Engage your brain before you engage your weapon.”
--Gen. James “Mad Dog” Mattis (Chaos), USMC
It seems that it is madder never to abandon one’s self than often to be infatuated; better to be wounded, a captive and a slave, than always to walk in armor.
--Margaret Fuller
“For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.”
-Rudyard Kipling
“He’s mad that trusts in the tameness of a wolf, a horse’s health,
a boy’s love, or a whore’s oath.”
- William Shakespeare’s King Lear (III, vi, 19-21)
CHAPTER ONE
Marine Corps Base Camp Fallujah
Fallujah, Iraq
Adam paged through the summary of the supply run scheduled for the following day. It included three proposed routes. The final decision would be made tomorrow morning, based on the most current security information provided by the Marines. It only took one IED blast to shut down an entire road.
He had the rest of the day to himself, after he dropped off the mission plan in his hooch. Adam considered his options. He had books he could read and movies he could watch on his laptop. His roommate, Mario, was hardly ever around, so he’d probably have peace and quiet.
Adam sighed heavily. He should swing by the make-shift gym the Marines had set up, and see who was there. So far, he’d kept his promise to himself to make some friends on this trip to Iraq.
There was no sign of Mario in their hooch. Adam placed the mission plan in his bedside table, and headed for the gym. It would be too easy to find an excuse to stay in, so he’d better get his ass moving.
Stepping back out into the blazing sun and scorching heat, Adam put on his shades. The smell hit him hard, like always. The fetid combination of stale water, rotting vegetation, and animal shit never went away, no matter how clean the Marines kept the base. They just couldn’t control the wind.
By the time Adam reached the gym, sweat rolled down his face and neck. He’d sweated through his damn shirt again. It was going to be caked with salt by the time the temperature dropped tonight.
Adam knew the four Marines lifting weights. Three of them were werewolves, which had been a surprise at first, but ultimately hadn’t mattered. Sometimes Adam didn’t understand something being discussed, or he didn’t get a joke or a reference. He usually faked it until the subject got changed, but lately Adam wished he hadn’t worked so hard to stay ignorant of werewolf culture, and Tim’s work.
“Hey, Madison,” called Corporal Jason Rodriguez. He was the spotter for Private First Class Roger Allen. “Ready to break a sweat?”
Adam chuckled. Since it regularly hit 112 degrees during the day, it wasn’t difficult to break a sweat.
“Might as well, I’ve got the time,” he replied, sitting down on a nearby bench.
“Our company is providing security for your convoy tomorrow,” Jason said as he guided the weight bar back into place with one hand.
“Yeah? That’s cool.”
Jason and the other werewolves in Kilo company didn’t unnerve him as much as the ones in India and Lima companies.
Across the room, Lance Corporal Will Borovec dropped the weight bar he was using for squats. It landed with a deafening clank. “I hope we get into the shit tomorrow,” he said enthusiastically. “I ain’t fired my weapon at anyone for the last two missions.”
“Fuck yeah,” Sergeant Paul Mercer said. He gave Borovec a fist bump.
Adam’s eyes were always drawn to Mercer. He was average height, but he’d packed a lot of hard muscle onto his frame. He kept his dark hair clipped close to his scalp. His best feature, besides his awesome body, was his smile. He had the kind of personality that drew people to him, including Adam.
“You guys are fucking insane,” Adam said with a chuckle, shaking his head in disbelief. “You want us to get shot at. Normal people would hope for a quiet mission so they’d survive.”
Rodriguez and Allen changed the weights on the bar they were using. “We’re not crazy. We’re just good,” Jason said with a wide grin. His fellow Marines agreed with him.
“Don’t worry, brah,” Paul said, wiping his forehead with the hem of his T-shirt. “I’ll make sure a Humvee travels in the convoy behind your rig.”
Adam forced himself to look away from Mercer’s display of skin. He knew Paul meant to be reassuring. But if a bullet made it through the door of Adam’s cab before the Marines stopped the threat, Adam could be too dead for the Humvee to help. He didn’t want to experience that kind of pain again. “Thanks, man.”
“And either me or Mercer will ride with you,” said Jason. “Most of the shifters in our company know their shit, anyway. It could be worse…Lima could be providing your security.” He exchanged a knowing look with Mercer.
“Oh, is that what Lima company calls what they do?” Adam asked, opening his eyes wide to fake an innocent expression.
Will snorted a laugh.
“I’ve seen Marines passed out drunk that had better situational awareness than Lima,” Jason said dryly. “And nobody does a damn thing about it.”
“Oh, fuck, dude, guess who I heard was getting deployed with the three/three?” Paul asked, eyes wide and expression serious.
Even Adam was curious now, and he usually couldn’t care less about the werewolves.
Jason’s expression darkened. “With our luck, it’s some submissive wolf who won’t even try to Challenge for pack leader. I still don’t get how Granger can keep winning fights as a wolf, and be such a worthless human.”
“You’re gonna fucking love this.” Mercer paused dramatically. “Scuttlebutt says Gunnery Sergeant Dawson Rivers is taking over as Operations Chief.”
Adam’s stomach did a sickening roll. Struggling to keep his feelings from his expression, Adam focused on the conversation.
“Get the fuck out!” Jason stared at Paul, slack jawed. “The same Dawson Rivers serving as Omega to the True Alpha and Dominant?”
“That’s the one.” Paul was obviously enjoying himself. “They’re saying the Alpha is deploying certain dominant werewolves who have some new training they’ve worked out. I guess they understand his vision for how the camp
sippes
should function.”
Fuck. Adam wouldn’t be able to hide his relationship with Tim with Dawson Rivers in the camp. He was pretty sure if he asked Rivers to pretend they’d never met, he’d refuse. Why the hell couldn’t Noah send a shifter that didn’t know Adam? Ice rolled down his spine. Maybe Noah wasn’t the one sending Rivers here.
“Who the fuck is Dawson Rivers?” PFC Allen asked. “What’s an Omega? And do the humans have a reason to worry about this guy?”
“You don’t know shit, do you, Allen?” Jason asked, punching Roger’s shoulder, hard. “Remind me why we let the human follow us around?” he asked Paul and Will.
Everyone laughed, including Roger. He looked unfazed by Jason’s punch to his arm.
“Omegas are the peace makers and social directors of a pack,” Paul explained. “They mediate squabbles, they encourage everyone to socialize, they mentor young pack members, and they’re sometimes the link between the pack leaders and the very submissive members.”
That was all news to Adam. It did make sense though. The Dawson Rivers he’d met was friendly, affable, approachable, and always making sure the people around him were comfortable interacting with each other.
“Does this mean he’s not the Omega anymore?” Jason asked, frowning.
“Shit, I dunno,” Paul answered, sounding genuinely baffled. He ran a palm over the top of his head, staring into the middle distance. “Hammond never had an Omega before, but the Dominant changed everything. I don’t think Rivers has to vacate one position, unless he takes on another.”
“So, he’s Omega until he becomes our pack leader?” asked Jason.
Paul shrugged. “I don’t know for sure, dude. We’re all making this up as we go along these days. Hammond’s picky about who he keeps around him. I’m surprised he’s okay with Rivers being half a world away.”
“Does that mean someone’s lucky enough to get deployed with Terrell Hubbard?” Borovec asked.
“Noah won’t deploy Terrell. He doesn’t trust anyone else to look out for Lucas.” The words were out of Adam’s big mouth before he’d finished the thought. He swallowed hard as the four Marines looked at him in shock.
“How the fuck do you know who the True Alpha trusts, Madison?” Paul asked in a low voice. Adam saw suspicion drift over his face. “You’re related to the major, aren’t you?”
“Shit, brah, why didn’t you say something?” Jason demanded. He looked like he didn’t know if he felt betrayed or impressed.
Christ. Adam’s worst fucking nightmare. The few friends he’d managed to make were going to treat him different now. “How do I mention that my brother is Major Tim Madison, without coming off like an asshole?” he said with resignation, standing up, ready to flee back to his hooch.
“Dude. So you’ve met Dawson, then?” asked Paul.
The Marines arranged themselves around Adam. Their curiosity was obvious. Adam took a step toward the door. The room was too warm. He needed fresh air.
“Yeah, I-I-I-I met him a couple times.” And each time, Adam’s dick had wanted to say hello, while Dawson had been polite but distant.
“He’s huge, isn’t he?” Jason asked. His eyes shone, his expression eager. “He’s a big, badass motherfucker who can kick all our asses. We’re gonna be able to run with the moon without a bunch of problems. The humans will be too scared of him to push him around, huh?”
Adam crossed his arms over his chest. “He’s not that big. Noah’s a hell of a lot taller. Noah’s fucking huge. D-d-d-dawson is a few inches taller than you, Mercer. You can tell he works out, though, so he’s big in that way.” He buried his hands in the front pockets of his jeans, shifting his weight from foot to foot several times. “He seemed like a nice guy.” Adam better shut up before it became obvious how closely he’d admired Dawson.