Strength of the Pack (37 page)

“Okay. Good. No, that’s fine, the pack is welcome to use my house.” Lucas paused. There was something Noah was still hiding from him, and it left him disconcerted. “Now that we’re going to have some time on our hands when we’re
not
being shot at, I’d like you to teach me about your responsibilities as Alpha. And mine, too. I’ve been winging it, up until now.”

To Lucas’ amazement, Noah reached over and twined their fingers together, resting them on Lucas’ thigh.

“You’re fantastic. You’ve done just fine. I’m not worried. You’ll be remarkable,” Noah said, not quite meeting Lucas’ eyes.

Lucas leaned in to rest his head on Noah’s shoulder, and together they drifted to sleep.

Their hands were still joined, hours later, when the crew woke them both for landing.

§ § §

Bethesda, Maryland
United States of America

The plan was to take a taxi from their hotel to the Warrior Clinic in Bethesda. Noah was scheduled for a full day of tests and examinations that would plot his therapy schedule. The treatment plan would be forwarded to the Branch Medical Hospital on Camp Pendleton. Once they deemed Noah back to full combat effectiveness, the two of them would return to Combat Post Toscano.

A full ten minutes before they planned to catch a taxi in front of the hotel, the front desk notified them that a Town Car was waiting for them.

Lucas couldn’t control surprised expression. Noah’s response was a shrug.

“Nice to know my government is looking out for our health and welfare,” he said casually, tucking his wallet into the pocket of his athletic pants.

“But a Town Car to a doctor’s appointment? Isn’t that a little excessive?” Lucas asked.

“Not when the high morale of every werewolf in the United States Armed Forces is reliant on our health and happiness.” Noah sounded completely serious.

“The entire U.S. Armed Forces, huh?” Lucas snorted a laugh. “And when did this become about
our
health and happiness?” he pressed, waiting for Noah to make it all a joke.

“If you’d been the one injured, do you really think I’d be taking any worse care of you than you are of me?” Noah asked.

Lucas knew the answer unequivocally. “No. No, you wouldn’t.”

The driver of the Town Car was a Marine Staff Sergeant dressed in his olive-green service uniform, wearing a name tag that read “Haynes.” Lucas felt grungy in comparison, clad in a T-shirt and jeans. The ride to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center was surreal.

They were met out front by an orderly who provided a wheelchair for Noah. Lucas encouraged Noah’s cooperation, despite his barely contained annoyance, by walking beside him, hand on his shoulder. Noah covered Lucas’ hand with his own; pride and not a small amount of arrogance flooded their link. Noah was every inch the True Alpha and proud as hell his Dominant was displaying their bond publicly.

Noah’s new doctor was a werewolf, a fact that no longer surprised Lucas. Doctor Nancy Floyd was extremely reverent toward them both, while still managing to express her exuberance for overseeing the Marine Corps True Alpha’s care under the watchful eye of his Dominant.

Lucas couldn’t help his blush when Noah unashamedly stripped off his track pants and skivvies, so the doctor could examine his mostly-healed wounds. Lucas stayed next to him, hand on his arm left bare by the tank top Noah wore. Only days before, Noah had had his femur surgically reconstructed. Now, Doctor Floyd removed the sutures.

Afterward, Noah stood and slipped his clothing back on. The doctor informed him he needed to shift several more times to heal the last of the surgical wounds. A few weeks of therapy would strengthen the muscles enough that he could return to full active duty. Doctor Floyd cautioned Noah to share his Alpha responsibilities during the upcoming full moon, since he wouldn’t quite be at full strength yet.

Lucas was surprised to realize just how close they were to the full moon. He was relieved that they’d be back in Oceanside by that time.

Doctor Floyd’s final set of instructions astonished Lucas. “Why do I have go to counseling?” he asked.

“You experienced a trauma as well, Lieutenant,” she replied in a soothing tone. “Your True Alpha was severely wounded right in front of you. The two of you should probably go to a few sessions together, as well.”

As a nurse led them to meet with the physical therapist planning Noah’s rehab, Lucas leaned in and whispered, “Why do I need counseling? I don’t have symptoms.”

“Yet,” Noah said pointedly. “And neither of us may ever have symptoms, because we’ve stayed pretty close to each other. On the other hand, if nightmares and flashbacks start once we get home, we’re both going to counseling.”

Lucas could feel through the link that Noah was adamant. He’d never considered that he might have after-effects from seeing Noah wounded so gravely.

Celia, the physical therapist, didn’t cut Noah any slack. By the time she completed the evaluation, Noah was shaking, sweating and breathing heavily. Noah was still very strong, but it was obvious he was in a great deal of pain.

“Okay, guys, I really hate to be the one to say this to you,” Celia said, “but no strenuous activity for at least another week.”

“He needs to stay off his feet as much as possible,” Lucas repeated what Doctor Floyd had already told them. “Limit walking, no running, no biking, no lifting over ten pounds.”

“Riiight,” Celia said slowly. “Nothing that will tax those weakened hip and thigh bones.” She looked pointedly from one of them to the other.

Noah caught on first. “Seriously? For a week? Nothing at all?”

Celia chuckled. “Nothing that will put stress on the healing bone. You’re fine being the passive partner, but no bearing extra weight on your pelvis.”

That was when Lucas realized what they were discussing. He blushed furiously. Not because they were discussing this, but because he immediately pictured the positions they
could
engage in.

“I can make that work, I guess,” Noah sighed. “The full moon is in ten days.”

“You should be fine by then,” Celia assured them. “I’ll forward your treatment plan to Pendleton, and you, gentlemen, are ready to meet with the psychologist.”

As they followed an orderly, Lucas kept his voice low to avoid being overheard. “So, if you’re concerned about having to go without sex for a week, does that mean you’re getting erections again?”

“I woke up this morning with wood,” Noah murmured.

Lucas had awakened alone in the large hotel bed they’d shared the night before. He tried not to be disappointed that Noah hadn’t awakened him. He nodded to indicate he’d heard Noah’s softly spoken confession.

“It didn’t last long enough to do anything with, but I’m getting stronger everyday so it won’t be a week before I’ll be able to keep it up.” Noah continued.

Lucas’ reply was forestalled by their arrival at the psychologist’s office.

Since neither of them was showing any symptoms of PTSD so far, they were given cautions of what to be on the lookout for. They were both required to see a counselor when they reached Pendleton, but for now they were done for the day.

When they collapsed in the backseat of the Town Car, Lucas glanced over at Noah. “Anything you want to do on our last night in Maryland?”

“Order in room service, watch TV and get some sleep,” Noah replied tiredly. There were dark circles beneath his eyes. “Do you remember what time our flight leaves tomorrow?”

If the day had been rough on Lucas, it had to have been exhausting for Noah. “Fifteen hundred,” Lucas replied. “Is your uniform ready to go, or should we send it out for pressing?” Since they were traveling on the government’s dime, they had to wear their service uniforms.

“It could use a pressing,” Noah admitted.

As soon as they walked into their hotel room, Lucas bundled Noah into the shower. Afterward, they had dinner, got their uniforms returned from being pressed and watched mindless television. It was still relatively early when Noah, understandably, began to nod off. His body was still healing, after all.

Shutting off the television, Lucas guided Noah from the sofa in the sitting room of their junior suite into the bedroom. He quickly and efficiently stripped them both down and tucked Noah under the covers. Sliding in beside him, Lucas wrapped himself around Noah’s warm body, running his hands over all the skin he could reach.

It occurred to him that their positions were reversed. Usually, it was Noah wrapped around Lucas and soothing him into sleep. He took his cues from that behavior, using the types of contact Noah seemed to enjoy.

Lucas must have gotten it right, because Noah sank into sleep within minutes. Lucas pressed his face to the back of Noah’s neck and breathed deeply. He was asleep not long after.

§ § §

Waking suddenly, Lucas knew something wasn’t right. The bed was cool. Sitting up, he realized he was alone. The door connecting the bedroom to the sitting room was closed, and he could see light shining from beneath.

Climbing out of bed, Lucas reached for his jeans. He spotted Noah’s clothes where Lucas had left them when they’d gone to sleep. Deciding he needed to become as comfortable with his nudity as the werewolves were, Lucas tossed his jeans aside.

Noah reacted the moment Lucas opened the door. He’d been sitting on the sofa, cradling his skull in one hand and clutching the neck of a sweaty bottle of beer in the other. The moment Lucas opened the door, Noah lifted his head and glanced in his direction. When he sat back on the sofa, Lucas saw he was indeed naked.

“I tried not to wake you,” Noah said, sounding disappointed. “I know you only want to have to deal with the werewolf rituals.”

Lucas had no idea why Noah thought that, but they’d discuss it another time. “Don’t worry about that,” Lucas replied, anxious to ease the tension in Noah’s shoulders and the disconsolate tone in his voice. He crossed to the sofa and took care to sit down on Noah’s uninjured side. “What’s wrong?”

Reaching for their link, Lucas was bombarded by a myriad of strong emotions: fear, anxiety, shame, relief, frustration.

Noah took a deep, shaky breath and refused to meet Lucas’ eyes. “You know those nightmares we were talking about not having today?” He lifted the bottle to his lips and took a long drink.

“Oh no,” Lucas whispered. “Was it bad?”

Noah ran a trembling hand over his face. His fear struck Lucas like a blow. “The details of the battle were the same, only you were the one who was wounded, instead of me.”

Lucas let Noah feel his sympathy. He knew just what that experience was really like. “But I’m fine. You’re awake now, and I’m perfectly healthy.”

Noah set his beer down on the table in front of them. “The dream was so realistic. I can’t shake the realization that as a human, you’re not as hearty as I am. These wounds might have killed or crippled you.”

Lucas had no words that would make this better. Noah was right. The best he could do was to comfort Noah, reassure him. The worst had not happened, and they were both alive.

There was no getting around the fact that Noah responded best to touch. Lucas calculated how to get the most skin to skin contact without lying down on top of Noah. He shifted to drape his leg over Noah’s lap and pressed himself to as much of Noah’s side as he could manage.

Noah closed his eyes and released a shuddering breath. His brows knit together, and he skimmed his fingers along Lucas’ calf. Lucas took Noah’s other hand in both of his own and kissed his fingers, one by one.

With a low groan, Noah leaned into Lucas, resting his head on Lucas’ shoulder. “I wanna smell your scent. Please just let me smell that you’re alive and you’re here,” he whispered brokenly.

Noah’s shame at his own weakness tightened Lucas’ throat. Lucas rubbed his cheek against Noah’s, the coarseness of his beard felt wonderful. He worshipped Noah’s fingers with his lips, his tongue and his warm breath.

Noah’s fingers tightened on Lucas’ calf. His chest heaved, his breath hot against Lucas’ neck. Lucas pressed his lips to Noah’s jaw, grateful to have him alive and on the mend. He inhaled deeply of Noah’s woodsy, musky scent.

Lucas’ cock grew harder, but he ignored it. Having Noah’s heat pressed against him, smelling the scent of him was so fucking arousing. Noah needed his comfort, not his lust.

Noah nipped sharply at Lucas’ jaw. Lucas’ cock bounced when Noah softly caressed his leg. Sadness swirled through him like snow flurries, knowing Noah needed so much less from him then he wanted to give. Something nudged the inside of Lucas’ knee.

“You feel so fucking good against me,” Noah whispered, so softly Lucas almost didn’t hear.

Lucas opened his eyes, so he could look at Noah’s gorgeous body. He glanced over the muscles of Noah’s chest and arms. He loved the rugged, masculine look of Noah’s heavily veined hands. Lucas felt dull and dreary in comparison. Lucas’ breath caught when he realized that what had been nudging his knee was Noah’s erection.

The sound Noah made, his face pressed to Lucas’ neck, could have been a sob. “Touch me, Lucas,” he pleaded in a whisper, nipping his way along Lucas’ jaw toward his mouth. “Please, Lucas. Touch me.”