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WYATT
As the days went by, Wyatt found himself finding more and more excuses to spend time with Izzy.
It’s because I want us to be a pack that respects our omega and treats her well, he told himself, over and over. It’s because I want her to want to stay with us. He wasn’t at all confident that he’d be able to win the Omega Games, and if he couldn’t do it, he wanted to give her something worth sticking around for. That was the only reason he was spending so much time with her. It was his responsibility as a rising beta to help her integrate into the pack.
But if that were true, he would be finding things for her to do in groups. He would be taking her to the garage to sit with him and Van while they worked to keep the bikes in good order. He would be asking her to join him and Robert in the library to study the old shifter lore. But he had never invited Izzy to join him in those activities. Instead, he kept finding ways to spend time alone with her.
She did well in the fighting lessons, picking up the moves he had taught quickly and easily. She had so little weight and muscle on her that he knew she would only be good as a short-term fighter—her best chance was to land a good hit on an attacker and run away. But that might be enough. He hoped so, at any rate.
The biking lessons were less successful. Though she clearly enjoyed riding, she wasn’t very good at it and her size was a serious hindrance. Wyatt had taken to putting her on the back of his bike and driving her around, letting her experience the thrill of a ride without having to worry about balance or steering.
Today he had taken her to the clearing again, hoping to work on ways to defend against an attacker who comes from behind, but when they reached the field, they found that someone had beaten them there.
Gunner.
He was standing in the middle of the clearing, a long, carefully debarked and sanded stick in his hand, moving through a series of what looked like martial arts moves. Wyatt hung back, uncertain. He hadn’t known that Gunner knew martial arts of any kind, and he wasn’t familiar with the moves he was seeing.
But really, was it such a surprise? This was, after all, the pack member who took the most pride in his physical prowess, who placed the most value on being able to win a fight. Of course, he would have studied multiple ways of doing that.
It was strange to see Gunner look graceful. His movements were usually brutal and heavy. But they were never clumsy, Wyatt realized. Just because he was big, it didn’t mean he had poor control over his body.
Great, Wyatt thought bleakly. Perfect. So, he’s even better equipped for the Omega Games than I thought.
He became aware, suddenly, of Izzy standing behind him, plucking nervously at his sleeve. He didn’t know what interactions she’d had, if any, with Gunner, but he was willing to bet that Gunner had been one of the men she’d told him about who had made her feel uncomfortable with the way he’d looked at her.
“Do you know him?” he asked her quietly.
He felt more than saw her shake her head. “I’ve seen him around here.”
“Gunner,” Wyatt said. “Physically, he’s the strongest member of the pack. And that’s including Robert. Some people think he’d like to take over as alpha after Robert.”
Izzy shuddered. “I hope not.”
He glanced back at her, mildly surprised. She was hoping to be gone before the pack had to worry about a new alpha, wasn’t she? Or had she given up on the idea of running away? Maybe the time he was spending with her had been helpful after all.
Gunner relaxed into an upright stance and leaned his staff against the tree. “You might as well come out,” he said. “I can see you.”
Damn. Wyatt sincerely hoped Gunner hadn’t heard what they were saying. He started to step into the clearing, but Izzy grabbed his hand and pulled him back.
He looked back at her. Her eyes were wide with fear. She shook her head frantically.
It’s all right, he mouthed.
She shook her head more vigorously.
He gripped her hand and pulled her forward into the clearing.
Gunner regarded the two of them, surveying them from head to toe. “What are you two doing here together?”
“She has to be accompanied wherever she goes,” Wyatt said.
“Not what I asked, though, is it?” He picked up his staff and tossed it idly from hand to hand. “What is she doing here? There’s no reason for her to be out here.”
“She’s interested in the woods,” Wyatt said. He had to distract Gunner from this line of questioning somehow, he knew. “What are you doing out here?”
“Came out for a little peace and quiet.” Gunner twirled the staff. “So much for that, I guess.”
“We’ll leave you alone,” Wyatt said. They wouldn’t be able to work on self-defense techniques today, anyway. Not with the clearing occupied. He would bring Izzy back some other time. He started to retreat from the clearing.
“Hold on,” Gunner said. “Don’t go yet.”
“We don’t want to intrude on your peace and quiet,” Wyatt said.
“Well, you already have,” Gunner said. “Might as well tell me what you’re doing here. Did Robert tell you to bring her into the woods? Show her the site of the Games?”
“No.” Wyatt hadn’t even known this was going to be the site of the Omega Games, although it did make sense. According to the stories he’d picked up on from the others, this clearing seemed to be where the pack did everything it deemed important.
“Does Robert know the two of you are here?” Gunner asked.
Wyatt didn’t like the spark in his eye, as if he’d hit on something valuable. “What difference does that make?”
“I don’t know,” Gunner said. “Might make a difference to him. Should I ask him?”
“I’m allowed to walk into the woods, Gunner.”
“You are, sure. Rules might be different for that one.”
This was taking an unpleasant turn. “Izzy, head back up to the house,” Wyatt said. “I’ll meet you up there in a minute.”
“No, Izzy, stay.” Gunner stepped forward, tossing his stick to the side. “You know, Wyatt, we’re not supposed to touch her until after the Games. You know that, don’t you?”
Wyatt narrowed his eyes. “We’re just taking a hike, Gunner. You don’t need to take it there.”
“A hike Robert doesn’t know about, though...” Gunner mused. “And you clearly don’t want me to tell him, do you?”
“What do you want?”
Gunner leered at Izzy, who shrank away. “Tell you what. I won’t tell anyone you were with her if you won’t tell anyone I was.”
Wyatt felt cold. “Gunner, it isn’t like that.”
“Doesn’t matter, though, does it? I caught you out here. She might as well be all alone. I know you’re not going to stand in my way.”
“She isn’t to be touched. We have orders. You can’t touch her.” The words ripped their way out of Wyatt in a growl. He flexed his hands and could almost feel the claws bursting out, the bones shifting and growing into the form of a paw. He was ready to dig into the earth and launch himself at Gunner. How dare he? How dare he threaten her, knowing that she’s beyond his reach? Gunner was subject to the same order as Wyatt. No one may lay claim to her before the Games, Robert had said. I want her to remain untouched until then. He wouldn’t be physically able to do anything.
Which meant that he was just trying to scare her.
And it was working. Izzy was cowering behind Wyatt, her breathing rapid and shallow. All she’d learned about self-defense seemed to have gone out of her head in the face of this new threat.
The animal clawed at Wyatt, bursting at the seams, desperate to get out. One good swipe, he thought, salivating with eagerness. One good swipe. That would shut him up. Almost without thinking, he moved forward, toward Gunner, blocking Izzy with his body. “Leave her alone,” he snarled.
Gunner laughed. “Are you going to fight me? Seriously?”
“Walk away.”
The smile dropped off Gunner’s face. “No. You brought her here. I want a taste.” He pushed Wyatt back and strode over to where Izzy was cowering.
He can’t touch her.
But he did. He grabbed her wrists and pulled her flush against his body. Izzy let out a soft cry.
Wyatt’s vision went red around the edges. He was moving before he was fully aware of what he was doing, launching himself forward, his shoulder catching Gunner at the hip and taking him down. Peripherally, he saw Izzy go stumbling backward, scrambling to get behind a tree.
He clung to his sanity with his fingernails, knowing that if he shifted and allowed the wolf to take over, Gunner would do the same and the fight would be lost. He couldn’t beat the younger man in a prolonged fight. The only thing he had going for him was the element of surprise, the possibility that Gunner hadn’t been expecting this and would be too thrown by it to continue the battle.
They both got their feet under them. Gunner spat out a mouthful of dirt and growled, “Are you crazy?”
“I’m not going to let you touch her,” Wyatt growled. “I’m the pack beta.”
“You’re not the beta, yet,” Gunner snarled. “The rank is in flux. Robert said so.”
Wyatt ignored that. “It’s my job to enforce Robert’s rules. I don’t know how you got around his order—”
“He ordered us not to claim her,” Gunner said. “He said nothing about a quick sample in the woods.”
“He did. He said he wanted her to remain untouched until the games.”
Gunner bared his teeth in a feral grin. “That’s not an order, though.”
Wyatt’s heart sank. He was right. “If you do anything,” he said, trying to sound braver than he felt, “if you touch one hair on her head, I’ll report you to Robert.”
“What good do you think that’s going to do?”
“He’ll take you out of the Omega Games,” Wyatt said.
“And he’ll take you out just as quickly,” Gunner snarled. “You’re sneaking off with her. I’ll tell him you were up to no good—”
“No one’s going to believe that.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure. Are you willing to risk your place in the Games on that chance?”
“Yes,” Wyatt said.
It was not the answer he’d expected to give, and clearly not the answer Gunner had expected to hear. The younger man fell back a pace. “You’d risk your right to win her?”
“Of course, I would.”
“Why?”
Wyatt felt it would sound foolish to say to keep her safe from you. “I haven’t done anything wrong,” he said. “I don’t mean to do anything wrong. I won’t let you attack her out of fear.”
“Attack her,” Gunner repeated scornfully. “She’s an omega. Don’t you know anything? She’s been dying for it since we brought her here. She can’t wait to be claimed. That’s how they are.”
“Ask her, then,” Wyatt said. “If she wants you, I’ll stand aside.”
Gunner laughed. “You’re ridiculous.”
“I think you’re afraid of her answer.”
“I’m not going to ask the omega if she’ll have me.” Gunner shook his head. “After the Games, then. I can wait.”
Wyatt nodded. “As long as you stay away from her, what happened here will stay between us.”
“Don’t threaten me, old man.”
“It isn’t a threat. It’s a promise.”
Gunner spat again, turned, and walked away into the woods toward the house, carrying his staff with him and leaving Wyatt standing alone in the middle of the clearing.
Wyatt breathed deeply, feeling his heart rate return to normal. “You can come out,” he called to Izzy.
She crept into the clearing, wide eyed and trembling, looking up at him. “You fought him off,” she said. “You saved me. He was going to—”
“He won’t hurt you,” Wyatt said. “Not now. I’ll talk to Robert and make sure he fixes his order so that it can’t be circumvented. He’ll reissue the directive at dinner tonight, and this time he’ll phrase it in a way that holds up.”
Izzy shook her head. “You can’t,” she said. “You can’t tell him what happened. You said you wouldn’t.”
“I can tell him there’s a loophole without telling him what Gunner did,” Wyatt said.
“But if you tell him, won’t that stop us from spending time together?” Izzy asked. “You’re my only friend, Wyatt. You’re all I have.”
“It shouldn’t stop us,” Wyatt said. “We haven’t crossed any lines.”
“But if he changes the order, you don’t know what the new lines will be.”
He regarded her. “What are you worried about?”
“I don’t want to lose you,” she whispered, moving closer.
And as her hand came to rest on his, he realized that he could no longer deny what he had been feeling all along. His protectiveness toward her—it wasn’t coming from a desire to help the pack. He wasn’t worried about their image, or the kind of people they all were. It was strictly about the girl who stood in front of him. He was falling in love with her.
She seemed painfully young in that moment. He wanted to wrap his arms around her, shelter her from everything he knew was going to happen to her over the next few weeks. He couldn’t keep her safe from the Omega Games. He couldn’t prevent her from being claimed by a member of his pack.
She was looking at him as if he were her savior, but there was nothing he could do.
Giving in to instinct, he pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her. I can touch her, he realized. I can hold her. Gunner was right. The order didn’t prevent him from doing anything but claiming her as his.
She leaned into his embrace, inviting him closer, her eyes shining up at his. “Don’t tell them,” she said quietly. “Keep it between us.”
“Why would you want that?” he asked. “You’re at risk. You know Gunner has his eye on you. He’s not going to give up.”
“Robert will take you away from me,” Izzy said. “And I need you. I don’t have anyone else.”
“You can trust Robert,” Wyatt said. Her body pressed against his was starting to become distracting. The animal in him was beginning to rise again, but not in anger this time. It felt as if something deep within him was reaching out to her. He wanted her in a way he had never experienced before. And it seemed to him that he could feel her reaching back.
“I don’t want to trust Robert,” Izzy said. “I want to trust you, Wyatt.”
Then her hand was at the back of his neck, pulling him down to her, and before Wyatt knew what was happening, his lips had met hers.
She was as fresh as a breath of spring air, light and gentle, and he pulled her closer and felt the moment when her feet left the ground. The next thing he knew, her legs were wrapped around his waist, her fingers fisted in his hair, and the kiss deepened.
Wyatt was lost in that moment. He had been lost the moment he took her in his arms, he realized. Kissing her felt as right and natural as shifting, as letting his wolf side take over and range through the woods. I’ve wanted her since I saw her, he thought desperately. That’s what this has always been about. Trying to win her freedom, convincing Robert to let her out of that room—it was all for this. How could I not realize?
Izzy was pliant in his arms, bending willingly to his desire, and even as he berated himself for letting things get this far, he was taking them farther. His hands traveled down her sides to her waist, learning the shape of her. Mine, he thought, knowing the thought did him no good, knowing he had no power to claim her yet. Mine.
She pulled back and looked up at him, her eyes searching his. “That was something.”
He lifted her gently away from him, setting her back on her feet, stepping back a pace and trying to regain control of his senses. Mine—mine—mine thrummed through him with every beat of his heart. He longed to claim her. The fact that he couldn’t do it pained him.
“We can’t do this,” he told her, averting his eyes so he wouldn’t have to see the look on her face. He felt like a coward. “We can’t be together.”
“Why not?” she asked. “No one knows. Gunner doesn’t know.”
“He’ll find out. Or someone else will.” Wyatt inhaled deeply. “The Omega Games are just a few weeks away. If I can win, we can do whatever we want, and no one will be able to stop us.”
“But what if you don’t win?”
“I’ll just have to,” he said, trying not to let her see the uncertainty he felt.
“Wyatt...you could lose,” she whispered. “Gunner could win. Anyone could.”
He couldn’t help himself. He drew her close again and wrapped his arms around her tightly.
“Be with me,” she whispered. “Be with me while we still have a choice.”
He knew he should tell her no. He should turn her away, for her own safety as much as his. But he found he couldn’t. I would run with her right now, he realized, if I thought we had a chance at eluding them.
He bent to kiss her again, and this time he didn’t stop himself. His hands were hungry for every inch of her, and moved up her shirt to tease her hard nipples. Her breasts were perfect and he squeezed them hard, as his cock pressed into her belly.
“Do you like that, my little omega?” he asked.
“Yeesss..” she breathed in compliance.
They moved into the treeline, ensuring they were out of view. They could no longer resist the ancestral pull between an omega and her mate.
She loved his body. He was so big in every way and he made her feel safe. She pulled his pants down and watched as his magnificent cock sprang forward. She rubbed her hands along his shaft, as he let his fingers trickle down to her dripping pussy.
“Grrrrrrrr, I love how wet you are for me,” he said.
“Take me please,” she begged.
He lifted her up and pinned her against a cedar tree, carefully pulling down her panties and letting his cock sip on her juices before entering her completely.
As they grinded against each other they became one. His cock felt like it was meant to be inside her. Their eyes locked on one another’s as they let the intense pleasure consume them. They were meant for each other. They were meant to perform this erotic dance. He felt his life long aching evaporate.
The mounting pressure in his cock increased until he could not wait any longer, exploding cum deep inside her walls.
“Oh, Izzy. You make me a happy wolf,” he said, looking at her with loving eyes.
