A Sheep In Wolf's Clothing (Welsh Wolves) (2 page)

“It’s okay. They’re right.”

“Here, let me help you.” The voice was closer now.

“I can do it.” Reese hated the thought that anyone had to help him with simple tasks.

“I’m sure you can because, well, you did a great—” The pup choked on the word. “—job on him.”

Reese’s lips curled up into what he knew had to be an evil smile. Even without use of his eyes he’d torn the doctor’s throat open and sliced through the femoral artery with the doctor’s own scalpel. Reese wasn’t taking any chances on the bastard coming back.

The doctor might have given himself injections of werewolf blood, but not even a full-blooded werewolf could survive every drop of blood being drained from its body.

“Is everyone else out?” he asked.

“I think so. Cages are empty. It looks like we’re the last ones and we’d better go.” Panic painted the edges of the kid’s voice.

“What about the assistant?” Reese asked.

It was strange. He could “see” the hesitation in the other man’s aura.

“Uhm, there isn’t anyone else in the building. What’s he look like?”

“It’s a she and you can’t miss her.” Tall, blond and a royal bitch. But Reese kept that description to himself.

“Didn’t see any females.”

“Fuck!”

“Yeah, always a possibility, but we’re in a bit of a time crunch. I really don’t want to be inside the building when it explodes.” He grabbed Reese under the arm. “How about you?”

“No. I’ve had enough of this place.” Though at one time he’d thought it would be his grave, he let the young wolf guide him out of the lab, up the stairs. The whisper of fresh air urged him forward. He didn’t know how long he’d been in that lab, but the scent of antiseptic seemed permanently burned into his nose.

Light scratched his eyes. The lab had been well lit, but it had been man-made, not natural sun. Pain or not, this was the first time he’d “seen” the sun in a hell of a long time.

Reese stopped at the top of the steps, took a breath and tipped his head back, savoring that first moment of freedom.

“Son of a bitch.”

Reese looked toward his escort. The colors in the kid’s body had changed, burning deeper, almost a blood red.

“What?”

“Those bastards left us.”

“What?!”

“Come on. We’d better keep moving.” He yanked Reese’s arm and dragged him along. It was harder going since the ground wasn’t a smooth tiled floor, but Reese just picked up his feet and trusted the kid wouldn’t lead him into any ditches.

“I don’t understand. What do you mean they left us? Your pack?”

“They weren’t my pack.”

Reese could hear the disgust in the kid’s voice.

“They were just some guys who let me stay with them in exchange for sucking them off occasionally.”

“Oh.” Reese hadn’t been expecting that. “And they left you behind.”

“Yeah.” The kid sighed. “I’m guessing I was supposed to take the blame for this.”

They stopped and Reese was left standing alone though the other wolf didn’t go far.

“Well, if it’s any consolation, I doubt they expected you to try to rescue me.”

Silence echoed through the space.

“Probably. Wow, nice guys, huh? You were expected to die and I’m the fall guy. I can really pick my friends.”

He heard the clunk of a car door shutting, then more creaks.

“What are you doing?”

“I have this kind of luck with people. They don’t like me for long and when they want to get rid of me, they
really
want to get rid of me.”

The kid didn’t sound overly concerned.

“But—” The kid continued. “I’ve learned never to let yourself get stranded.” Metal clanked on metal. “And people don’t steal cars when they can’t start them.”

It took Reese a moment to realize what was going on. The pup had disabled his own car on the chance that someone would try to steal it.

He couldn’t help but admire that kind of forethought.

A few more sounds—like twisting caps to pipes—and the hood dropped down with a clunk.

“Here.” The pup took his arm and strangely Reese didn’t flinch at the sudden contact. “Let’s get you ready to go.”

Without his vision, Reese had to trust. The colors glowing from the other werewolf were bright and bold, almost innocent.

The kid guided him forward and Reese ran his hands along the top of what was obviously an older car, something out of the Seventies if his spatial senses were correct.

“Here.”

Material was thrust into his hands.

“We can’t do anything about the blood, but you being naked will be really hard to explain if the police stop us.”

Reese’s cheeks burned. He’d forgotten that he was naked. Their bodies hadn’t belonged to them. They hadn’t been allowed clothes.

“Climb in. You can dress as we drive.”

The kid left Reese on his own to find his way into the passenger seat.

The overwhelming scent of the pup flooded the car as he plopped down in the seat beside Reese.

“I’m not the best driver, but I’m assuming I’m better than a blind guy, so, I’m going.”

Reese couldn’t stop his smile.

“Go for it.”

The car engine gunned. Gravel sprayed from the tires and Reese grabbed the door handle, holding himself in place as the kid barreled down the road.

His brain spun inside his skull, but Reese maintained his control. A heavy thud pulsed against the car windows, but the speed never slowed.

“That was the bomb,” the kid said, though Reese didn’t really need the additional commentary. “The guys I was with decided to ‘make a statement’ about these kinds of labs.”

“A statement to who?” Reese muttered to himself.

Moments later, sirens trilled through the air.

Fuck. He’d spent more than a year in that lab-prison. He couldn’t end up in a human jail. He’d rather die.

“Sirens.”

It seemed like such an inane comment, but it was all he could force from his lips. The car slowed down.

“No worries. We’re just a couple of guys driving home. If anyone asks, just look mildly scared and curious to know what happened.”

Reese couldn’t stop himself. He smiled.

“Sounds like you’ve done this before.”

He could practically feel the pup’s grin. “Well, we’ve all got skills. Mine? Basic survival.”

Reese laughed, something he hadn’t done for months, maybe years.

“I think yours are a bit more than basic.” He stretched his right hand across the car. “Name’s Reese.”

The kid gave his hand a quick squeeze then released him. Moments later, he felt the same fingertips stroking his bare hip.

“You have a dragon tattoo.”

Reese slapped the kid’s hand away, then struggled to pull up the jeans he’d been handed.

“Stupid kid stuff,” he muttered, trying to blow it off.

“It’s nice.” The kid got quiet.

Reese managed to get his legs in the jeans and lifted his hips to slide them over his ass. They were a bit snug—his balls a little squished inside—but he was covered. The dragon tattoo had a special meaning. Most didn’t recognize it. Most didn’t know what it meant. Maybe Dexter was one of those and wouldn’t throw him out of the speeding vehicle.

No one wanted a Welsh Wolf in their presence. Too unstable, too dangerous. Except Reese wasn’t dangerous. Not any more. He was, as Diana had said, useless.

“Family tradition,” Reese murmured, hoping that would kill the kid’s curiosity.

Only the kid smiled—he could hear it in his voice. “Mine is too.”

“You’re a Welsh Wolf?” Reese blurted out the question. He’d never met another one and certainly not one so open about it.

“Many times removed.” The kid reached over and patted his knee. The sounds of the sirens faded in the distance. “I’ll show you my tattoo when we stop for the night.”

“I’m blind,” Reese pointed out.

“But your other senses work, right?”

Reese considered the kid’s statement. True, his other senses worked and just the thought of that young flesh beneath his fingers as he touched the kid’s tattoo was enough to make his cock hard.

“Right. What’s your name, kid?”

“Dexter.”

“Where’s your home pack?” If the kid was living with a group of guys, sucking them off for room and board, something had to have happened. Wolves didn’t survive long alone.

“I got kicked out because I was gay.”

Even with the fact that he’d spent the last year or more trapped and tortured by an evil scientist and that the police were most likely chasing them for blowing up the lab, Reese had to smile. The kid was just too freakin’ cheerful but surprisingly practical.

“You don’t sound too upset about that.”

“Oh, I’m not. I’ve always had these visions, since I was a kid. About this pack. You know, it’s a place of home and peace and love.” Dexter’s voice got dreamy and smushy.

Reese couldn’t stop his mocking laugh even as he felt the kid’s desire mirrored in his own chest.

“Laugh all you want, but my visions come true.”

The hurt in Dexter’s voice tugged at Reese’s heart. Just because his life had been ripped into tiny pieces didn’t mean he needed to destroy the innocence of a pup.

“I’m sorry, kid. I hope it comes true. For you.”

“Well, for you as well?”

“Me? Uh, yeah, I’m pretty much done, don’t you think? The best I can hope for is to find a pack that won’t mind caring for an invalid.”

Dexter snorted and clicked on his blinker. Within seconds, they turned right. Reese grabbed the door handle and tried to keep his brain from floating inside his head.

“What are you talking about? You’re part of my pack now. Well, I guess, I’m part of your pack, since you’re pretty Alpha.”

Reese laughed. The sound hurt his chest.

“I’m no Alpha. Not any more.” Once upon a time, maybe, but now? No, he couldn’t lead. Too much had happened. Too much had happened to him.

He could practically feel the kid’s stare. “There’s got to be a law on the books somewhere that an Alpha can’t be blind.” Reese forced humor through his voice, but he knew it was the truth. He would never be able to protect his pack. Not like he was.

“I guess I see your point.”

Strange how, when you say the words, they sound logical. When another says them, it hurts.

“But you’ll make a great Beta.”

More sirens echoed and the car slowed.

“I’m thinking we should stop for the night. Look like a couple of vacationers, huh?”

Reese nodded, but his mind was still locked on Dexter’s statement.

The car stopped and the door popped open.

Reese slapped his hand out, landing on the pup’s shoulder.

“Dexter—”

“Oh, God, please call me Dex.” The kid’s muscles trembled beneath Reese’s fingers. “Or else I feel like a serial killer.”

“Right, Dex. What did you mean about being a Beta?”

“You’re the perfect Beta for our pack. You’re smart—”

“How would you know that?”

“It takes a pretty clever blind guy to sense where to slice the jugular and the femoral artery with two precise strokes. That’s not instinct on a werewolf.”

He felt the kid’s shoulder slide up in a shrug. “Besides, I just have a feeling about you. I’ll be the Omega. You’ll be the Beta. Now we just need to find ourselves an Alpha.”

Again, the urge to smile—at the sheer joy and confidence of the pup—couldn’t be stopped.

“We’ll start our own ‘gay’ pack, huh?”

“Are you gay, too? Cool, ‘cause after all the stress of the day, I could use a little something-something, huh?”

His confusion must have shown on his face because Dex laughed. “Oh, don’t worry. I know you’re not my mate. But there’s no reason we can’t play until we each find the ‘one,’ right?”

“I don’t bottom,” Reese growled.

Dex giggled. “That’s okay. I don’t like to top.”

Dex grabbed his hand and dragged him inside. The faint scent of human bodies and cleaning fluids assaulted Reese’s nose.

Dex stopped. “We’d like a room for the night.”

“One bed or two?” The smarmy tone of the desk clerk made the hairs on the back of Reese’s neck stand up.

“Two’s fine,” Dex answered sweetly. The clerk hummed and moved away. Dex spun around and faced Reese. “I saw those little cages and I figured you’d want to spread out when you slept.”

Reese could see the lovely reds that bubbled up from inside Dex, happy, sexy colors that surrounded the kid.

“And I am definitely a snuggler,” Dex continued. “I’d sleep on top of you if you’d let me.”

“Are you for real?” Reese asked. The colors in Dex’s aura dimmed. “I mean, your pack kicks you out, your friends abandon you and here you are, happy and trusting.”

Dex shrugged. Reese could feel the movement and saw the vibrancy return to Dex’s aura. “I’m an Omega. I can sense the truth in people. And I believe in happy endings.”

“You, me and this mythical Alpha you think we’ll find.”

“Well, yeah, that’s the long-term happy ending.” He leaned in and lowered his voice. “The short term is we go to our room and you fuck me into the mattress.”

Reese couldn’t help but smile. He gave a brief thought to the others who’d been trapped with him. He’d have to find them. But not tonight.

Hell, he had no idea what was happening next, but he was free and if nothing else, he was getting laid tonight.

Things were definitely looking up.

Chapter One

Reese ran his fingers over the keyboard, the mechanical voice of the computer repeating each word as he typed it. It was his only form of proofreading.

He could have had one of the others check it for him—Dex or Rhian would be only too happy—but they’d also feel compelled to tell Micah. At least Dex would. The kid couldn’t keep a secret, particularly not if he thought he had someone to protect.

Reese huffed out a breath. Fuck, he wasn’t in danger. He wasn’t a danger to anyone, but he wasn’t going to stop looking.

He’d found most of the others. Trevor had joined the radical group that had blown up the lab. He was living in a cabin in the woods with no plumbing but killer Internet access. Terry and Josie were living with her home pack. Michael had gone off the werewolf grid and was living as a human in Chicago.