The Mark of an Alpha (14 page)

The soft sound of Bennett suckling around his softening shaft could just be made out in the silence. Marsdon let out his breath.

"Stop,” he ordered, his voice rough after the howl. Bennett stopped suckling, but he kept his mouth where it was, giving his master a cosy little snug to finish softening in.

"Enough,” Marsdon said. His voice had hardly improved. “Back as you were."

Bennett retreated, letting Marsdon's cock slip from between his lips. A moment later, Marsdon felt his pup's forehead rest against his stomach again, but it wasn't enough. He couldn't look after his mate if he couldn't see him. He couldn't know if he was doing the right thing unless he could look into his pup's eyes and see how his orders affected him.

"Take the blindfold off,” he ordered. “You may rise from your position to undo the buckle, but by the time I open my eyes, I want you back on your knees."

Hands touched the back of his head. The tightness of the leather against his face eased. Marsdon shook his head, tossing the bondage away as he forced his eyes to stay open against the harsh light that flooded into his vision.

He looked down. Bennett was back on his knees, head bowed to rest against his master's stomach.

Marsdon took a slow steadying breath.

"Look at me."

Bennett lifted his head and slowly met his gaze. He seemed so fragile right then, so vulnerable.

"You have no idea how beautiful you look right now, do you, pup?” Marsdon asked.

Bennett searched his expression, as if looking for a joke. Marsdon let him look, knowing there was nothing in his eyes that would tell Bennett he didn't love him.

"I know submission can be beautiful in some wolves, sir,” Bennett whispered. “In omegas and—"

"And you think that's what you are? You saw how an omega acted in the ring. And no alpha could have accepted the challenge better than you did."

Bennett frowned. Confusion filled his eyes.

"Do you have any idea how proud I am of the way you saw off that idiotic challenge?"

"Proud wouldn't have been the word I would have used,” Bennett murmured.

Marsdon felt his lips twist into a smile in spite of everything. “I could also have cheerfully throttled you for it,” he agreed.

"What good is an alpha who can only play the part in a challenge ring?” Bennett asked softly against his stomach.

Silence stretched out between them.

"Look at me. Straight in the eye,” Marsdon ordered.

Silence returned as he tried to work out what to say to Bennett, to make him understand what he saw in him, what was always there no matter if he was on his knees or winning a challenge or when he was just there—just existing.

"Alphas give orders,” Marsdon said slowly. “They take control. They lead. They take responsibility for the pack. And they claim ownership of every wolf in their pack."

Bennett stared up at him, his jaw clenching as he fought to hold his master's gaze while pain and shame warred in his eyes.

"But an alpha isn't just that, pup. Alphas put the pack first. They do whatever is needed to keep the pack happy. They give everything they have to the pack without expecting anything in return. And they belong to the pack just as much as any wolf in the pack belongs to them."

His pup continued to hold his gaze, his eyes filling with more confusion with every word his master said.

"Just because you like showing your mate one side of being an alpha and I like to show you the other, do you really think that means one of us is a better alpha, a better wolf, than the other?"

Bennett's resolve gave out, he dropped his eyes. “That's not the way it works, sir."

"What happens between mates is private. Do you really know what happens between the alphas in other packs?” Marsdon asked.

"This doesn't happen,” Bennett whispered.

"Then they're the weaker for it,” Marsdon said, a snap to his words.

Bennett shook his head.

"You know as well as anyone that leading a pack isn't easy, pup.” Marsdon tried again. “Trying to truly control a group of living things—it's impossible. It could drive anyone insane. But maybe if they have a little bit of the world that they can control—that gives itself up to that control, willingly and thoroughly—maybe that helps. Just like having one bit of your life that you can please and serve could help someone who desperately wants to keep the pack content and happy but who knows there'll be times when that just isn't possible."

Bennett took a deep breath against his stomach. “I..."

"Just try, pup?” Marsdon asked, trying to make it sound like a request rather than a plea but not entirely sure he succeeded.

Bennett rubbed his forehead against Marsdon's stomach as he thought.

Watching his mate decide their future, Marsdon had to force each breath into his lungs, knowing Bennett was so close he couldn't fail to notice any sign of stress in his mate.

"Just here, sir?” he asked softly, hopefully.

As much as Marsdon wanted to latch onto the request, in the hope that he could make things easier for his mate, he couldn't do it.

"No, pup. I won't ever ask you to submit in front of the pack, but in our home, when we are alone together—I want this there, too."

Bennett rubbed against his stomach again. “Try,” he whispered.

Relief poured through Marsdon, but he fought not to let it show. No big deal—nothing to celebrate—just a perfectly natural thing. Nothing to worry about—nothing for Bennett to concern himself with.

"Come on then, pup. It's time your master took you home, isn't it?"

Bennett nodded.

"Right hand first. Take the cuff off,” Marsdon ordered.

Bennett stood up, but he hesitated as he reached for the buckle. “Sometimes it..."

"Go on,” Marsdon prompted.

"It's not always comfortable when you're first allowed to move again, I mean when you—"

"Pup?"

"Yes, sir?"

"No treading on egg shells around me. We've both had enough of that to last a life time. I understand."

Bennett nodded and undid the cuff.

'It hurts like hell’ would have been a more accurate warning. As Marsdon lowered his arm, liquid fire burned down the muscle. He stared at his arm as the scorching pain slowly started to fade. When he glanced back to Bennett, his mate was watching him with obvious concern.

Marsdon's lips twitched into a smile as he lifted his hand to bury his fingers in Bennett's hair. He pulled his mate forward to be kissed. Each movement set off new fireworks in his arm, but Bennett instantly parted his lips, welcoming his master home and that was all that mattered.

He tugged Bennett forward until the other wolf's body was pressed up tight against him and he could feel his pup's erection straining against his jeans. Another shot of relief surged through his veins.

"Mine,” he growled against his lips.

"Yes, sir,” Bennett whispered back.

"Left now,” Marsdon ordered.

Bennett blinked at him.

"Left cuff,” Marsdon expanded. “Undo it."

His right hand lingered in Bennett's hair as Bennett tried to undo the buckle. His pup fumbled it as Marsdon caressed the scar on the back of his neck, but he finally he got it undone.

"Ankles. Right first, then left,” Marsdon said.

Bennett dropped to his knees and quickly un-cuffed his master. Marsdon watched his every move. His pup stayed kneeling at his feet as Marsdon shifted his stance and stepped away from the cuffs. New flames spread through each newly freed muscle, but he pushed through it—in spite of the way Bennett frowned and seemed to only just hold himself back from calling his master a fool for it.

He left Bennett kneeling in the middle of the room when he put his clothes back on. Fully dressed, he walked back to his mate's side and helped Bennett to his feet.

"Ready to go home?” he asked.

Swallowing rapidly, Bennett nodded.

Marsdon slid his hand over the front of Bennett's jeans, fondling his erection through the fabric. Bennett whimpered pushing his fly against his master's hand as he sought for more.

"If you're very good, I'll let you come when we get home,” Marsdon promised, quick to use whatever was available to convince his mate how much he would enjoy submitting to his master in their own bed, in their own home.

Bennett glanced at him, uncertainty still shining in his eyes.

"Something I can control. Something you don't have to make decisions about,” Marsdon reminded him.

Bennett nodded. “Yes, sir."

As Marsdon closed the door behind him, Bennett stared at their bedroom as if he'd never seen it before. For the first time, he tried to look at it as somewhere he could be honest rather than a place where he had to live a lie.

"Sleepy?” Marsdon asked, lining his body up behind his and running his tongue over the scar on the back of his neck.

Bennett cautiously bowed his head, giving his mate better access. “No, sir."

"Sure?” Marsdon asked, as his hand snaked around his body to palm his cock through his jeans. “You've had a rough couple of days. Maybe we should just go straight to sleep?"

"If that's what you want, sir.” Bennett closed his eyes, not sure if he loved or hated Marsdon for being right. Knowing that there was one thing in his life that he didn't need to make decisions about eased some of the stress that had been building inside him ever since it had been announced that he was to become the alpha of his own pack.

Marsdon chuckled against his neck. “Do you really think your master would be that cruel?"

"Yes, sir,” Bennett said. It would be far from the first time his master left him hanging at the end of the night.

Marsdon laughed again and nipped at his scar. Staying behind him, he began to take Bennett's clothes off. He did it all very slowly, stopping frequently to run his hands over his body and tease. Bennett stood there with no choice but to close his eyes and just remain passive, lacking permission to do anything else.

Finally the last piece of clothing hit the floor. Bennett forced his eyes open, but his mate was out of his line of sight. The sound of other clothes being dispensed with floated to his ears.

"Do you know something, pup?” Marsdon asked, as he walked around in front of him. “This is actually the first time we'll both be completely naked for a mating."

Bennett blinked at the unexpected truth of it.

Marsdon walked across to the bed and stretched out, as if putting on a show, letting Bennett really look at him for the first time without the hood or the panic of seeing his master in bondage to cloud his judgement. He let him look and see a master and not feel like a fraud for thinking of another man that way.

When he dragged his gaze away from his master's body and met his eyes, Marsdon was watching him with something like amusement. “Blue,” he said.

"Sir?"

"Those nights in the club, you let me see the rest of you, but I always wondered what colour your eyes were. Blue."

Bennett nodded, accepting the comparison between what limits each of them had endured those nights in the club.
This is better than the club.
His master seemed determined to make sure he realised that. Subtlety never had been one of his strongest attributes.

"Come here."

When he would have stepped forward, Bennett saw his master shake his head, just once.

A moment's hesitation and he lowered himself to his knees to crawl across the room to him, just as he had once before—in the club, a lifetime ago. Pulling himself onto the mattress, Bennett butted his head gently against Marsdon's stomach, looking for the reassurance he'd found there in the past. His master buried his hands in his hair and simply let him rest there as he petted him for a little while.

As much as part of him wanted to stay there forever, another part soon felt foolish. His mate was already hard again. He began to work his way down to Marsdon's cock.

"No, pup. Not right now. I have other plans for you."

As Marsdon tugged gently at his hair, coaxing him up the bed, his other hand slid down to run his palm over Bennett's backside. He pushed back against his master's hand, an eager whimper escaping from his throat.

One kiss and Marsdon nudged him to roll over and present his back to his master. A bit of fumbling in the bedside cabinet proved that Marsdon had been farsighted enough to store some lube there. Seconds after that, slicked fingers slid between his cheeks.

His master seemed just as impatient as Bennett felt. There was no time for teasing. Bennett could tell that Marsdon just wanted him ready as quickly as possible. Bennett sent up silent prayers of thanks for that, just as desperate for the connection as his master was.

It still seemed like forever before Marsdon's fingers disappeared and his body lined up with his, his cock nudging between his cheeks, demanding access. Bennett pushed back encouragingly, until Marsdon's hand settled on his hip and took control of that movement away from him as well.

His mate pushed forward in one easy motion, sheathing himself in Bennett to the hilt. He held them both still for several impossibly long moments to let Bennett adjust to the wonderful, full stretch. But even when he began to thrust deep inside him, Marsdon wouldn't give Bennett permission to move.

Even when his mate's hand reached around to jack his cock in time with each thrust, Bennett knew he somehow had to force himself to stay still and just submit to whatever his master offered. Somehow he knew that simplicity was exactly what they both needed right then.

No teasing. Marsdon simply seemed determined to get them both off as quickly as possible. In mere minutes, Bennett toppled over the edge, spilling his cum into his master's hand. As Bennett watched the room flicker into and out of existence with the force of his pleasure, he saw Marsdon catch it all in his palm, before he came too, howling his pleasure so loudly there was no doubt he must have awoken every wolf in the house with it.

As they collapsed together in a sleepy heap, Marsdon made no apology for the noise. He calmly offered Bennett his hand to be cleaned instead, just the way he used to in the club.

"What do you think, pup?” he asked after a few seconds had passed, his voice a fraction too casual to be natural.