Ulfric watched in disbelief as Arald gave in and entered the meeting room alone.What? How? Arald obeying?Not wanting Arald to see him watching, Ulfric lowered his head and stared at the table top. He had to think about this. Never in his life had he ever seen Arald listen to anyone. He was always the one ordering around pack members.What did Slate do? Could he do it again to Arald?Hope was now taking root in his heart and for the first time since he’d come up with his risky plan, he believed it might work.
Arald stomped to the table and plopped into a chair. Giving Ulfric a warning glare, he said, “What are you doing here so early?”
Slate spoke before Ulfric could respond. “I scheduled Alpha Ulfric at an earlier time as I hadn’t met him yet. Alpha Ordovicwill be here shortly.”
“What’s this? Secret negotiations already?” Arald growled.
“Not at all,” Slate said, “just wanted to introduce myself and ask Alpha Ulfric a few questions.”
“What questions?”
“The same ones I asked you last night…all the questions pertaining to the conference and what we’re trying to accomplish here.”
Once again to Ulfric’s great astonishment, Arald accepted Slate’s answer.What the fuck is going on?Then he gasped.Of course, they are in cahoots. This is all show-and-tell for me and Ordovic.His eyes narrowed as he studied the only man in the room unknown to him. Ulfric didn’t want to believe it but there could be no other explanation. But the seed of doubt kept tickling his brain, telling him he’d come to the wrong conclusion. Deciding to trust his wolf, he looked to see what his reaction was to what he had witnessed.
Uh, what’s this?Expecting to find his wolf in a defensive position, Ulfric was shocked to see him relaxed and grooming himself without a care in the world.What the fuck?He looked again at Slate and found him watching him closely. Schooling his face so none of his inner turmoil showed, Ulfric stared back in return, waiting to see what Slate would do. Without realizing it, he was testing this man, wanting to see his reaction to a challenge such as Ulfric was giving. Instead of the expected reaction, he received a warm, broad smile from Slate in return. Hope grew again.
“When are we going to start?” Arald asked.
“Alpha Ordovic should be here any minute. In fact, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll just check to make sure there aren’t any problems with my men letting him through.”
Arald waited until Slate had left the room before turning on Ulfric. “What the fuck are you doing? Have you forgotten what I told you? Do my men have to make a visit to your wife to make sure you obey me?”
Shaking at the thought of his wife in danger, Ulfric bowed his head in deference and said, “I haven’t forgotten. When I arrived this morning, I had no idea I was first. I even waited a little while to give you time to arrive.”
“What did you say to him?”
“He asked me my goals for the conference and I said exactly what you told me to say. Honestly, Arald, we only talked for a few minutes before you showed up, and it was all about the conference.”
“Remember how you are supposed to treat me.”
“I remember…always defer to you, always agree with your ideas and never challenge you. Got it.”
“You better or else. Here they come now. Put a fucking smile on your pathetic face, asshole.”
The door opened and Slate ushered Ordovic into the room, indicating where he should sit. Glancing at Arald and Ulfric, Slate could sense tension between them, but seeing a smile on their faces, he said, “Gentlemen, with everyone here, this peace conference has officially started. Before we go any further, let me introduce myself. I’m Slate Valentin, COO of Dire Enterprises. At Alpha Arald’s request, I organized this conference in an effort to stop the violence that has besieged your packs for far too long.
“I’m sure everyone knows of my company’s role in building the new hospital and clinic. And we have other plans to provide jobs and better health care for every member of each of your packs. But in order to make that happen, stability and safety must be restored so families can once again enjoy the outside without fear of attacks. Now, why don’t you state your name, the particular issue or issues you would like resolved and any ideas you have for accomplishing them.”
~/~/~/~/~
Clear blue sky greeted Cody and Dylon as they shifted just inside the edge of the forest. Taking the lead, Cody ran deep into the forest, now wanting to show his mateall the places he loved. Once again, he relished letting his wolf run free. Stopping to shift only for lunch, they resumed their trek once more as wolves, Cody leading the way up to the waterfalls again, where they finally lay down, curled around each other, and slept.
The sun was setting when they woke up, but Cody was in no hurry to head back to the house. Instead, he decided to have some fun with his mate. Leading Dylon over to the cold mountain water pooled at the base of the waterfalls, Cody indicated to Dylon that he should drink. As his mate lowered his snout and began to drink, Cody moved behind him and gave Dylon a shove. Losing his balance, his mate fell head first into the water.
Cody’s wolf chuffed in enjoyment until he realized Dylon was climbing out and heading for him. Backing away, Cody did the only thing he could think of—lowered himself and flipped over, exposing his belly.
Dylon stood over his mate, dripping wet. He knew Cody thought he was angry, but he wasn’t. He was actually happy to see his mate so playful but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to get back at him. Standing over Cody, he gave a playful growl before shaking vigorously, spraying his mate with water.
Cody’s wolf whined as the cold water hit him. Almost instantly, he felt Dylon’s tongue licking his face before moving on to the rest of his body. By the time his mate had finished his erotic overtures, Cody’s cock was hard and leaking.
Wanting to be taken by Dylon’s wolf, Cody flipped his body and crawled out from beneath his mate. Turning around, he wagged his haunches, trying to entice his mate, before lowering himself to his belly once more, lifting his tail out of the way. Chuffing his need, Cody wiggled his body, begging for Dylon’s hard cock.
Unable to resist, Dylon mounted his mate and Cody let out a bark of pleasure as his cock slid in. Fucking his mate, he felt his orgasm build. Cody was whining and growling and Dylon knew his mate wanted more. Burying his snout in Cody’s thick ruff until he reached skin, he felt his cock release its seed as his jaws opened and bit down through fur and skin to find his mate’s blood. Dylon could feel Cody’s cock spasm before he released his neck. Then, lifting his head to the sky, he let out a long, loud, claiming howl that echoed off the surrounding mountains.
Chapter 26
Cody’s wolf collapsed, eager to rest. Amazed at the smugness of his wolf, who rolled over on his side and puffed out a sigh, Cody realized how hard it had been for his wolf to endure what was happening to the human side of him. Lying there on the mossy ground, Cody was finally able to understand how his wolf had kept him sane—by taking the brunt of his mental pain, sheltering him from the worst of it.
