When No Doesn't Cut It (9 page)

“Another glass please, Peter,” Malacai said as he indicated to Scott to sit on the bar stool next to him.  Peter looked at Scott curiously
, but quickly found another glass and placed it in front of Scott.

“Will there be anything else
, Sir,” the barman asked Malacai.

Malacai just shook his head and poured two generous shots into the glasses. 
Lifting his, he tipped his glass to Scott in a silent toast and then sipped his drink, watching Scott with a thoughtful expression on his face.

“So what do you think of all this so far?” He asked.

Scott laughed even though he was far from amused.  “Well let’s see.  I have been here less than an hour and I have already been banished.  I have been told I am not Damien’s type - apparently I am a lone wolf just looking to take advantage of Damien’s lustful urges.  I am too big, non-submissive, not pretty enough and not fit to even grace Damien’s famous fuck roster.  As the man in question was struck dumb as this was happening and did nothing to stop me leaving, I can only figure that he agreed with what the little twink bastard said.”

“Why didn’t you stick up for yourself,” Malacai asked.  “I heard what you did to Levi and Drake
, so I know you are capable.”

Shaking his head, Scott said, “I’m really not sure.  I don’t usually take crap from anybody, but Damien hasn’t told any
one about me, except for you obviously, and I don’t know enough about Damien, this pack or this club to know where I stand.  It just seemed easier to stay quiet at the time and leave when I was told to,” he finished lamely.

“You
’re going to need to be really strong to hold your position here,” Malacai told him. “And you do hold a really important position in this pack, and as Damien’s partner in this club.  This pack is predominantly male and so there’s always a lot of testosterone around.  Women and children aren’t allowed into the club ever - they all stay on the pack lands, and without their calming influence sometimes things can get a bit rough here.  But,” he said as he raised his glass to Scott, “for what it’s worth, I think the Fates chose wisely for our beloved leader.  I think you’ll be good for him.”

Scott wasn’t sure if that was true or not at this point, but he nodded and took another sip of his drink.

“Speaking of our beloved leader,” Malacai continued. “I can hear him coming now, and given that it’s just about time for the pack meeting to start, I think it’s good timing.”

Scott looked up to see Damien striding towards him, his lovely face twisted into a huge scowl.  Scott didn’t need the mind connection to know his mate was not a happy wolf
, and he schooled his own facial features into a bland mask and continued to sip his drink as the man got closer.  Damien kept marching until he was right up in Scott’s personal space and then he leaned forward, grabbing the nape of Scott’s neck firmly in one hand, before claiming his mouth with his own. 

Kissing him in a brutal fashion that made Scott’s knees turn to jelly, Damien proceeded to map out Scott’s mouth with his tongue as though imprinting Scott’s taste in his memory banks.  Only when Scott was panting hard and finding it hard to breathe
, did Damien stop.  Then he lifted Scott from his stool and threw him over his shoulders, marching towards the stage area of the club. Malacai downed his drink and with a grin on his face followed his Alpha.  This pack meeting should be interesting.

Chapter Twelve

Damien was furious at the sight of his mate sitting with Malacai at the bar, initially looking like nothing was wrong. But as he drew closer to Scott
, he could see the lines of stress around the man’s eyes and realized this introduction to the pack couldn’t have come at a worse time.  Damien would have felt a lot better if he could have put a ‘well fucked’ look on his mate’s face before the pack meeting, but Madison had gone and stuffed that up.

Damien was also aware that the words Madison had said
, had fed into Scott’s own initial insecurities. If Damien had had the chance, he would have explained to Scott that it was actually Madison who had determined that Damien had a type, and had chosen his subs accordingly.  Personally, Damien felt that Scott ticked all of the boxes he might have had concerning a mate, and he was going to make sure Scott was aware of just how well he fitted Damien’s mate profile, as soon as Damien had the chance to get him alone again. But first they had this bloody pack meeting to get through.

Placing Scott carefully on the edge of the stage, Damien hopped up and then pulled Scott to his feet, holding him close for just a moment
, drawing in Scott’s unique scent. It was a blend of spices with just a hint of citrus and it made Damien salivate every time he smelt it.  He felt his cock thicken in the tight leather pants he had thrown on before coming down to the club, even as a sense of calm overtook him. 

Leaning over next to Scott’s ear, Damien whispered, “You
’re exactly my type, and I couldn’t be more proud that you are my mate.  Let’s get this shit over with and then I promise you, I will show you just how much you mean to me.”

Scott met his eyes with a cool stare of his own, but he nodded and Damien forced himself to step
away and look out over the club. Behind him and Scott stood Malacai and the ten enforcers, all watching out over the pack ready to strike at the first hint of trouble. Most of the wolves in the room hadn’t registered his presence yet and were still busy with their own forms of entertainment.  Standing firm, Damien crossed his arms over his chest and allowed his Alpha power to waft out over the room.  Insidious, powerful, and impossible for any of the wolves in Damien’s pack to ignore. 

One by one, the wolves stopped what they were doing and hurriedly made their way to the open area in front of the stage - their gazes dropped, their necks tilted to the side in the classic wolf submission pose.  Even the most dominant of wolves in Damien’s pack couldn’t fight against the Alpha power
, although Damien noticed as he glanced at Scott, that this was one man that was totally unaffected.  He was just watching Damien and the growing crowd of wolves.  Damn, damn, damn, Damien thought to himself.  I really want to know what that man is thinking.  Shawn had spoken to Scott about removing his mind blocks before they had left Cloverleah, but so far Scott hadn’t done it and right now Scott’s face was giving nothing away.

Adding Scott’s reluctance to share the mind meld to the list of things Damien needed to talk to his mate about, Damien focused his attention on the pack once more. 

“Listen up,” he said, his voice strong and full of authority.  “Firstly I would like to dispel a few rumors that have been floating around the pack this past week.  As you can clearly see I’m not sick, I’m not dying and I am definitely not weakened in any way!” 

Damien stopped talking for a moment and strode up and down the full length of the stage
, allowing all of the men gathered below to see just how good Damien did look.  When he returned to the center of the stage he continued, his gaze going out over all of the wolves beneath him. 

“Anyone who was perhaps heartened by the news of my apparent demise and decided to challenge me next week on my Alpha challenge day would do well to get their affairs in order.  Because of the lack of respect I
’ve been given in the past week, any Alpha challenge that comes from a pack member will be to the death.  No exceptions!”

Looking out over the crowd
, Damien’s eyes picked out a few of the men who he knew had already signed up to challenge him.  Cowards all of them, they couldn’t meet Damien’s gaze, and Damien wondered how many of them would decide to withdraw their challenge now they knew Damien was in good health.  Either way, Damien didn’t care.  He had always ruled his pack with a velvet covered iron fist.  He was fair. He loved his pack members, but he would not be disrespected by any of them. There were just too many of them to let any slight bubble of insubordination develop and erupt.

Satisfied his words had sunk in, Damien went on.  “There are also rumors concerning my impotence and inability to perform sexually.”  For a wolf shifter this was the highest insult.  Wolves thrived on sex and food
, and to be considered impotent or even lackluster in that department, was another sign of weakness.

Leaning forward over the stage
, Damien roared out, “I AM THE MASTER HERE!”  His words echoing around the hall.  From his position behind Damien, Scott noticed more than one sub fall to his knees in terror, and every wolf in the place was back in submission pose.

“As Master,” Damien continued in a more normal tone, “I will fuck who I want, when I want and for as long as I want.  I have always had that right.  No one has the right to question when or who I do
, or how often. Not my pack members, not my subs. As from this moment, all of my subs are released immediately - both collared and on the waiting list.” 

Damien waited for the gasps, moans and a few tears to die down before he continued.
“New Masters will be found for those who want one.  I will hold a meeting with my subs in my office as soon as I have finished here.  No one will question my rights as a Master in my own club.  No one.”

Then Damien grinned and it was positively evil.  “Now we come to the good part of the meeting.”  He reached behind him and pulled Scott forward, holding his hand.

“We don’t get too many new pack members, but today I want you to extend a warm pack welcome to our newest member.  Scott Peterson, Beta wolf from the Cloverleah pack.  Personal friend of Master Shawn, whom I am sure you all remember, and from this moment forward, this pack’s Alpha Mate and co-owner of this club.”

/~/~/~/~/

Scott watched as a ripple of awareness flowed through the club at Damien’s words.  Alpha Mate. Alpha Mate. Alpha Mate?  He guessed that nearly all of the pack members were stunned.  Damien had explained to him there hadn’t been an Alpha Mate in the pack for more than 150 years.  Slowly though, every single wolf got to their knees and bowed their heads.  Damien said nothing until every wolf was down.  Then he smiled for real this time.

“Thank you.  Your respect is noted.  Please rise.”
 

Damien
watched as the wolves all got to their feet.  “Now, as you know the position of Alpha Mate is an important one for the pack. Scott, as Alpha Mate will be more approachable than I am for many things and it is my hope that he will come to love this pack as much as I do.  What is more important though is that Scott is now, without question, the most important person in this pack.  With him by my side I am stronger than I ever was, and yet calmer too, which will be good for some of you who work with me closely.” 

Damien grinned
as he spoke and Scott noticed some of the wolves smiled with him.  Apparently rumors of Damien’s temper were true.  As Damien continued to speak about the virtues of having an Alpha Mate, Scott allowed his gaze to wander over the wolves below him.

Given that Damien’s pack was one of the biggest in the United States
, Scott was not surprised to see more than 150 men listening to his mate speak.  He was surprised to see no women or children present, although he knew that about a quarter of the pack were straight men who did have wives and pups.  Scott filed away that piece of information for discussion with his mate later.  Damien was very old school and it was possible the man was arrogant enough to think that women and children were not important in the pack’s hierarchy.

Scott hadn’t been bought up that way.  His home pack was made up of family groups and when a full pack meeting was called
, all members of the pack turned up, right down to the smallest child. Of course, it was those same family values that had seen Troy, and then himself, ousted from that same pack. But Scott had been bought up to believe no woman was inferior to a man, even in a wolf pack.  Memories of his grandmother, who was a very strong and powerful woman, reminded him of that fact.  

Realizing he was woolgathering
, Scott tuned back into Damien’s speech in time to hear him ask for questions from the pack.

“Are you going to claim him in front of the pack, Alpha?”

Scott’s blood ran cold and he worked hard to keep his face impassive even as he waited for Damien’s answer.  He was damned if their first time together was going to be a straight out fuck in front of the pack. In some of the more traditional packs, Alpha’s did claim their mates at a pack meeting, so all of the pack could be assured of the credibility of the pair’s union.  But there was no way Scott wanted to be a part of that type of action. As Scott had already explained to Damien, he had done scenes with Claude in the past, but he had always drawn the line at having sex in front of others.  Promiscuous he might have been; an exhibitionist he was not.

“Fuck no,” Damien replied
with a jealous growl, his glare sweeping the room.  “Let me make this clear to all of you so there is no misunderstanding.  Scott is not my submissive.  He is the Alpha Mate.  My mate.  My equal in this pack.  He is not going to be paraded naked in front of you lot, just to satisfy your own porn fantasies. Anyone who wants to challenge me on this can take it up with my wolf, who’s a real possessive bastard!”

Relieved to see that Damien’s answer seemed to pacify the crowd, Scott was ready for this meeting to be over.  Damien still had the meeting with his subs to go through
, and Scott was getting antsy at being so close to his mate and not being able to touch him. He needed skin to skin desperately. As a wolf shifter, Damien was a sexy alluring man.  When he was in his power house Alpha mode he was a walking aphrodisiac.  Scott moved closer to Damien in the hopes his mate would get the hint.

“Right,” Damien said wink
ing at his mate, as he slid his arm around Scott’s waist, “This meeting is over.  I want all of my subs in my office in the next five minutes and then I will be unavailable for the rest of the evening.  I don’t want to be disturbed.”

“Alpha Mate,” a voice yelled out from the crowd.  “You killed my brother.  I demand restitution.”

Scott looked at Damien, his mouth open in shock.  Whoever was yelling had to be related to either Levi or Drake, but Scott thought that matter would have been handled during the week Damien had been home.  Damien looked for the speaker and then muttered, “Drake’s brother,” to Scott, before turning to face the man who had worked his way to the front of the crowd.  Damien was clearly angry with the man’s outburst if the furrowed brow, glaring eyes and set thin lips were any indication.

“We have already discussed this,
Phillip.  It was a righteous kill,” he said tersely.

“I wanna talk to the Alpha Mate,” Phillip spat out.  “How can he be so concerned with the pack if he killed my brother?  Why’d you do it,
Alpha Mate
,” the man’s sing song voice making the title seem like an insult, “Why did you kill my brother and his friend Levi?  ‘Cos they wanted to tap your ass?”

Fuck, tho
ught Scott, this is all I need.  Scott’s first instinct was to just walk away, but he remembered what Malacai had told him.  If he was going to survive in this pack then he needed to show he was strong enough to stand by the Alpha.  So squaring his shoulders he moved towards the edge of the stage and sneered down at Phillip.

“I didn’t kill your brother because he wanted my
ass, although I should have done.  I killed him because he disrespected my mate.  Your brother and Levi turned against Damien and my pack to fight with the bear shifters against us.  But you already knew that, didn’t you?  So what are you trying to prove here?”

Scott jumped down off of the stage and got right in Phillip’s face.
  Phillip was taller and bigger than he was, even though he was quite young, but Scott had never let a little thing like size difference stop him in a fight.

“Do you want me to kill you too?” Scott said pouring every ounce of menace he could muster into his voice.  “You’re dissing me and that’s disrespecting your Alpha.  Do you want me to
tear out your intestines and then feed them to you one inch at a fucking time?  ‘Cos I will, right now if that’s what you’re looking for!  I’ve killed two filthy traitor enforcers, three other wolves, and taken down a bear shifter in the last two weeks.  One more fucking traitor won’t make any difference to me.”

Scott could feel Damien and the enforcers lined up on the edge of the stage, but thankfully Damien was letting him handle this on his own. 
He was determined not to back down from Phillip, because if he did that now he might just as well be dead.  Damien’s position would be weakened and it could cost his mate his pack.  So he glared at Phillip and waited for the bully to make his move.

Phillip held Scott’s glare for a full minute before he dropped his head to the side in submission.