Timber Pack Chronicles - 17. Chapter 17

Every step Parker took away from Colton tore at his heart. The further away he got, the sicker to his stomach he felt. He kept wiping the tears away with the sleeve of his sweatshirt—Colton’s sweatshirt.

Once he couldn’t run anymore, he slowed down to a walk. His legs burned and the walk home took an hour or so, which gave him time to think. Unfortunately, his mind was utterly blank. He was like a zombie, wandering on autopilot towards his home.

But something kept pulling him back to Colton, telling him to turn around. Trying to ignore that pull made his head hurt.

When Parker finally reached home, he quietly snuck up to his bedroom, kicked off his shoes, pulled his hoodie off, and flung it over the headboard.

Still in zombie mode, he went to his bathroom and relieved himself. As he washed his hands, he took a good look at himself in the mirror. His eyes were puffy and bloodshot. Snot dripped from his nose. He looked like death.

When he tilted his head to the right, he finally got a look at the bite mark. He pulled the collar of his T-shirt to the side so that he could see it better. There it was, at the base of the left side of his neck. The bite was angry: red, purple, and bruised, the colors vivid against his fair skin. He could clearly see the teeth marks, where the beast’s fangs had punctured and tore into his skin.

Parker reached up with his left hand, and his eye caught the bracelet. It seemed like only yesterday that Colton had given him the bracelet, and tied it around his wrist.

With a smile on his face, Parker ghosted his fingers across the newly scarred flesh.

He gasped as he was overwhelmed with sensations. The image of the Colton-beast sinking his teeth into him flashed across his mind. He gripped the sink with both hands as his knees buckled. The bite was super-sensitive to the touch, a mixture of pain, with a hint of pleasure. Bile rose in his throat. He choked back a gag, and closed his eyes until his stomach no longer felt like it was trying to crawl out of his mouth.

Opening his medicine cabinet, Parker grabbed the aspirin bottle, and shook out a pair of pills. Popping them into his mouth, he washed them down with a palmful of water. After washing his face, he patted dry with a towel, then returned his bedroom.

Walking to his bed, Parker flung himself into it. He pulled the covers over his head, and curled up into a fetal ball. Clutching at his rolling stomach, he closed his eyes, and tried to calm his nausea.

Parker believed Colton when he said he didn’t do it on purpose. And he believed him when he said he would never hurt Parker. He had to believe. If it wasn’t true, then everything about Colton was a lie.

Of course, none of that changed the fact that Colton Butler was a werewolf.

A freaking werewolf!

Not only that, but Colton had turned him into one, too. How the hell was he supposed to deal with that? How could Colton have done that to him? Maybe he was dreaming. Maybe he was crazy.

Parker had never really given any thought to the paranormal. What else was out there that he needed to worry about? Vampires? Demons? Fairies? Ghosts?

Thinking back, some of Colton’s behavior now made sense: the sniffing, the biting, the pissing. Parker scoffed out loud. Maybe Colton was the crazy one who should be locked up in a mental institution.

No. Parker had seen it with his own eyes. He squeezed them shut, and his body was wracked with a shudder. Never would he be able to get out of his head the image of the half-man/half-beast on top of him, thrusting into his body. Parker was horrified, but what was even more horrifying was the way his dick started to stiffen from the memory.

He rolled onto his back, and stared at the ceiling, trying not to remember.

God, he should have known that there had to be something wrong with Colton. Really, no one was that perfect. And to Parker, Colton Butler was indeed perfect.

Parker could just cut his losses and run, but how could he deny Colton? Especially now. He would need him. When he transformed — oh my god, holy shit, what the fuck! — he would need Colton.

Hell, he needed him now. Parker was hopelessly in love with Colton. He would rather die than live without Colton. The rest of the stuff was huge — so huge — but ultimately, did it really matter?

And that really was the heart of the matter. Could Parker live without Colton in his life?

No.

Colton was the one.

Colton was his mate.

Parker closed his eyes. He was exhausted, but he couldn’t sleep. The image of the werewolf Colton wouldn’t get out of his head. Parker’s dick throbbed in his underwear, and began to ooze pre-come.

Drawing in a ragged breath, he unsnapped his jeans, pushed them down, then kicked them onto the floor. He shoved his hand into his underwear, and gripped the base of his cock, intending to hold back the arousal. Parker grabbed his pillow, pulled it over his face, and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to smother out the memories.

It didn’t work.

The beast thrust into Parker relentlessly, hard and fast, pinning him down to the bed with his big body, just the way he liked it. He shouldn’t have liked it, but he did. Those fangs were razor sharp, dripping with saliva. His eyes glowed a bright amber. Colton’s massive, muscular body was completely covered in hair. Colton as a man was already big, but as a werewolf, he was even bigger, stronger, harder. And so was his cock.

The memory of Colton biting his neck pushed to the forefront. After that initial shock of agonizing pain, Parker remembered the unexpected waves of ecstasy that slammed into him. And like he did then, he came.

Parker cried out into the pillow as he filled his underwear with semen.

Physically drained and mentally exhausted, Parker fell into a dead sleep, his hand still inside his messy briefs.

* * * *

Completely naked, Parker chased the black wolf deeper into the forest, calling out its name in desperation. The forest was cold. Wet and foggy, it was lit only by the light of the full moon, high and bright in the partially cloudy night sky.

A figure stepped out of the dark. Still bathed in shadows, the steel grey eyes were icy cold.

Parker stopped. He backed away as the man began to transform. Grey fur sprouted from his body as his features began to morph.

Taking a step backwards, Parker then turned and ran. He knew this time the grey wolf wouldn’t let him escape. The wolf was going to catch him, and then he would kill him.

He screamed for Colton, but he couldn’t find him. Where was he? He stumbled through the forest like a clumsy oaf, calling for his boyfriend, his wolf, his mate.

The grey beast was behind him, closing in. Parker could feel its hot breath on his back. His leg muscles ached and burned like they were on fire. It felt like he couldn’t draw enough air into his lungs. When he hit a patch of muddy leaves, Parker skidded and tumbled down a hill.

The grey wolf slowly stalked closer and closer, circling like a predator.

Parker’s heart pounded in his ears. He screamed for Colton, but he didn’t come. Of course, he knew why. Parker had denied Colton, and now his wolf had left him.

Fighting back tears, naked and vulnerable, Parker picked up a large rock, and he threw it at the predator as hard as he could.

The rock hit the wolf’s head and bounced away, making a sound like a spoon tapping a glass:

Tink.

Parker opened his eyes.

He pulled the covers off his head and sat up.

Ugh. His hand was gross, all crusty and sticky. He pulled it free of his underwear, and after wiping his hand on his bed sheets, he waited and listened for a moment…

Tink.

Something had tapped at the bedroom window pane.

He tried to focus his eyes, but everything was blurry. He grabbed his glasses from the nightstand and put them on. That made it even worse.

What the hell?

There was yet another tap at the window.

Parker tossed the glasses back onto the nightstand and blinked a few times. Strange. He’d fallen asleep still wearing his contacts. He pulled down on his lower eyelid, and carefully pulled his right lens out. When he covered his left eye with his hand, he found he could see almost as well as he could when wearing the lenses. He pulled the left lens out, and tossed the useless pieces of plastic onto the nightstand.

Tink. Another tap at the window.

He knew it was Colton without even looking. Logically, it wouldn’t be anyone else. But there was more to it than that. He just knew his boyfriend was close by. He wasn’t sure how he knew, but he did.

Parker walked over to the window and looked out. It was dark, but he could see the outline of Colton sitting on a branch of the big oak tree with a handful of acorns.

He pulled open the window and knelt down. “Colton,” he whispered. “What are you doing here?”

“I couldn’t sleep. I can’t wait, Parker. I know you said you needed time to think…”

Parker sighed. “I know, I know. You couldn’t wait. You just have to have things your way, don’t you?”

“Yes,” he said, completely unrepentant. “Let me in.”

“Wait. How did you get up in that tree? You know what? Never mind.”

“Open the window screen, pup.”

Parker unlocked the screen and tugged at it, trying to remove it from the window frame, but it was painted in place. He gave it a good yank, and it finally came free with a bang. He cringed at the noise, and listened for a few seconds to make sure no one was coming to see what was going on.

Colton stood up on the branch and hopped. Parker gasped in surprise as Colton gripped the window casing with his hands. His feet were firmly planted against the wall below. He lifted up with his hands, effortlessly climbing through the window and into the room.

Parker looked at him with his mouth agape. “How the heck— Never mind.” Parker shook his head. He didn’t know if he’d ever get used to knowing how Colton did the things he did.

When Colton sniffed at him and raised a brow, Parker’s face began to flush warm. He muttered, “Let me go clean up real quick.”

Parker used the bathroom, then washed his hands. He stripped off his underwear, then used a wash cloth to clean up the mess he’d made. After slipping into a pair of sweat shorts he’d left on the bathroom floor, he walked back into the bedroom.

Colton was still standing in the middle of the room, his hands shoved into his pockets, staring down at the floor.

Parker had never seen Colton like this. Nervous. Uncertain.

He’d thought maybe there was some insecurity behind Colton’s arrogant and cocky attitude, but Colton had never shown it outright.

He didn’t like it and he needed to fix it.

Parker grabbed Colton’s arm, pulling his hand from his pocket. He pulled the big… wolfman?… towards the bed.

“Come on, Colt. We need to talk.” He walked over to the door and turned the lock on the knob. They didn’t need anyone barging in. “And we might as well get comfortable.”

Parker pulled off his T-shirt and socks, and climbed into the bed. Colton did the same, stripping down to his boxers. He pulled the covers up over them, and they lay down on the bed facing each other.

His boyfriend reached up to brush a stray lock of hair from Parker’s forehead. “I missed you, pup,” he whispered. His eyes turned glassy, and he blinked several times.

Colton’s vulnerability made Parker love Colton just a little bit more. Once again, he knew he was seeing a side of Colton no one else ever saw. It was something special, reserved only for him.

Parker subconsciously leaned into Colton’s hand, his body craving the touch of his man. Even though it had only been hours since they last saw each other, he understood exactly how Colton felt. He wanted nothing more than Colton’s kisses and touches, wanting to soothe him, to tell him everything would be okay.

But first they had to talk.

“What do I need to know, Colton?” he whispered.

“The next full moon… you’ll shift. You won’t be able to control it. Once you do it that first time, you’ll be able to do it whenever you want. But for the first few months, the full moon will always make you change. You won’t be able to stop it. After that first time, when you shift back to your human shape, you’ll notice some differences. Your senses will be heightened. You’ll be stronger. You’re probably already starting to notice some changes, right?”

“Yeah. My vision is better.”

“It’ll get even better after your first change. Your body is also developing an allergy to silver. So if you have any, you might want to get rid of it now. Once it kicks in, it’ll burn the hell out of your skin.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah. It hurts like a son of a bitch. But you’ll heal faster. After your first shift you’ll find that old wounds and scars have healed. Except for the bite.” Colton ran his fingers across Parker’s neck, making the smaller boy shudder and whimper. “You’ll always bear my mark.”

Parker tried to ignore what Colton was doing to him. He wanted to roll over and beg for Colton to fuck him.

“When you’re a wolf, are you like an animal or are you still Colton?”

“My animal instincts and senses come to the forefront, but I’m still me. Just four-legged and furry.”

“Who changed you?”

“I wasn’t turned. I was born this way.” Parker’s eyes widened. “No, not like a puppy. I was born in my human shape,” he added with a chuckle. “We don’t shift for the first time until we’re going through puberty when our hormone production surges. Something about testosterone. I wasn’t really paying attention. Anyway. Full-blooded shifters pass the trait down to their pups. Uh, you know, their kids.”

Parker gasped softly. “So, your dad is one, too?”

“Yes.”

“Who else? Jed and Trey are, aren’t they?”

“Yeah, Jed and Trey… There are others.”

“Seth and TJ? That’s why TJ’s arm was healed the next day at school?”

Colton nodded. “Yeah. He shifted into his wolf, then shifted back.”

“That’s it? That fixed it?”

“Well, his arm was probably sore and tender. And he was probably exhausted and starving when he shifted back, but yeah. That’s it.”

“Wait a minute, so when you piss all over the place, you really are marking your territory?”

Colton chuckled. “Yeah. Smelling my scent everywhere pisses off Seth, so that’s a bonus. It reminds him that I beat him in a challenge. It reminds him that I run the school.”

“Seth is Sheriff Forrest’s son. The sheriff’s a wolf, too?”

“Yes. Sheriff’s the pack alpha, the leader of the Forest View Wolf Pack, which encompasses most of the tri-county area. We’re a big pack.”

It was a lot to take in and process. They lay together in silence for a while.

“You should have told me,” Parker finally said.

“I wanted to. I was going to. This wasn’t how I planned on telling you.”

“If you had told me, then I would’ve had a choice. You took that away.” Parker’s voice cracked and his eyes teared up.

Colton leaned his head closer. He let out a ragged breath. “I know. I’m so damn sorry, Parker. I would take it all back if I could. I know this is going to come as a surprise… but I’m not perfect.”

Parker let out a soft laugh. He sniffled and wiped his eyes. “So I noticed.”

“Do you think you can ever forgive me?”

Parker was silent for a moment. He then placed a hand on Colton’s chest. “Can I see it?”

“You can see it anytime you want, pup. You know that.” Colton leaned in, and gave Parker a quick kiss as he shimmied his boxer shorts off. He grabbed Parker’s hand, and wrapped it around his already erect cock.

Parker couldn’t help but laugh. He knew Colton did that on purpose to try to ease some of the tension, and it worked. It felt good to laugh. “Not that, you goof. The wolf.”

Colton got out of bed. He stood naked in the middle of Parker’s bedroom, with a dick as hard as steel, still looking a little uncertain. “I won’t hurt you. Don’t be scared. And whatever you do, don’t run. My wolf will think you’re playing, and it will hunt you and make you submit.”

“If you’re trying to soothe my nerves, you’re not helping.” He let out a slow breath. “Okay. I’m ready. Show me.”

Colton kept his eyes locked on Parker as he dropped down to a crouch on all fours. His bones popped, cracked, and stretched as his muscles rippled. The noise was disturbing enough to make Parker cringe, and the sight of it was horrific.

Black hair erupted from his skin, completely covering his body as his face began to change. His teeth grew into fangs, and his ears grew into points as his mouth and nose pushed out into a muzzle. A tail grew from his butt as his legs turned into a wolf’s haunches. Fingers and toes morphed into razor sharp claws as his hands and feet changed into paws.

Parker tried not to be terrified, tried not to look away in horror as his boyfriend transformed and morphed into a beast right in front of his eyes.

The entire change took about five or six seconds in total, and when it was done, a large black wolf now stood on all fours where Colton had been.

Parker stared open-mouthed at the animal. Even thought he knew what Colton was, to watch it happen for real was still a shock.

The black wolf slowly stalked towards the bed and climbed on. The box springs and frame creaked under the large animal’s weight. Parker remained perfectly still, not wanting to provoke the Colton beast.

Colton’s raspy tongue rolled out and licked the side of Parker’s face, leaving a trail of slobber.

Parker let out the breath he was holding. “Knock it off,” he whined as he wiped his cheek.

When he looked into the animal’s dark eyes, he saw Colton staring back at him. It was more than a little unnerving.

“It is you, isn’t it?” he whispered.

The wolf’s snout rubbed along Parker’s neck, and inhaled and snorted. When his tongue slicked across the tender bite mark, Parker shuddered and let out a soft involuntary moan as a shock-wave of ecstasy coursed through his body.

His face flushed with embarrassment as his dick went totally stiff. “Don’t,” he whimpered, mortified at his reaction to the wolf, even if it technically was Colton.

Parker tried to move under the blankets, but the wolf grabbed the blankets in his teeth, and tugged them down until Parker’s body was exposed to him. He licked a line up Parker’s belly up to his chin, then laid down on top of Parker, making Parker grunt from the sudden weight.

“Uh, Colton, you’re gonna need to get your wolf dick off me, because it’s really freaking me out.”

The Colton wolf growled, and pumped his unsheathed erection against Parker one more time before reluctantly moving to lay down at Parker’s side.

“Ew,” Parker whispered as he looked down at his belly. Colton had left a slimy and copious trail of pre-come on him. Parker could smell the intense musky scent he knew to be Colton wafting off the slime. “Are you marking me with your scent?”

Colton made a huffing noise that Parker took to be a “yes.” He then slid closer to Parker and laid his head on his hands— er, his paws.

Parker snuggled into the warm, soft fur and put his arm around him. “That’s better.” He rubbed his nose against Colton’s neck and breathed in that distinct scent that was all Colton. He became lightheaded as the intense smell overwhelmed him momentarily. As his head cleared, he was able to pick out the individual scents that made up Colton’s smell.

Wow.

What was strange was the fact that it felt perfectly natural for Parker to be lying in bed with a huge-ass wolf. Well, it wasn’t just any wolf — the wolf was Colton Butler, his wolf. Parker knew then that he had, without a doubt, made the right decision to be with Colton.

If he could embrace the beast in Colton, then he’d have to do the same with himself.

“You’re beautiful, Colton,” he said as he stroked his fur. Colton just watched him with those coal black eyes. “I love you, Colton. I want to be with you. It doesn’t matter what you are. Uh, well, what we are. And I do forgive you.”

Colton stood and stepped away from Parker. He shifted back into his human form, then flopped onto the bed next to Parker. He pulled the covers up over them, and lay down on his side facing his boy.

Parker felt a deep need to touch his mate. Mate. The word seemed to come so easily to him now. Colton was his man and his mate.

Reconnecting with Colton, Parker ran a hand over Colton’s wide, hairy chest. Pushing his fingers through the curls of hair, he felt the planes of the hard muscles underneath. The tips of his fingers brushed against a nipple. The small nub stiffened under Parker’s fingers. Parker twisted and pinched it with a lover’s vengeance, making Colton grunt from the sudden shock of pain.

Parker narrowed his eyes to a hard glare. “Don’t ever lie to me or keep secrets from me again.”

Colton stared into Parker’s eyes, then tipped his head, baring his neck.

The significance of Colton’s action wasn’t lost on Parker. Colton submitted to no one, but here he was, bowing to Parker. Parker let out a soft breath. He leaned forward and planted a series of small kisses down Colton’s neck as he soothed his fingers over the abused nipple. He laid back and watched his mate while he absentmindedly twirled his fingers through the patch of hair covering Colton’s breast bone.

“No more secrets,” Colton promised. He closely watched Parker’s face for a few moments. “You’re taking this way better than I thought you would.”

“I think I’m still in shock… But…” He let out a deep breath. “The thought of being without you… it’s worse. Worse than anything I can think of. I can’t live without you.”

Parker felt the sting of tears in his eyes. He cuddled close to his man and laid his head on Colton’s chest. He stroked the hair on those muscular pecs, then realized he’d been doing the same thing when Colton was in his wolf form.

He liked touching Colton. Touching Colton soothed him.

Parker had always liked the way Colton smelled, and now that scent was so concentrated. Parker lifted his head and sniffed at Colton’s armpit. He closed his eyes and let out a soft hum of approval.

Colton chuckled. “You are so fucking cute when you twitch your nose like that.”

Parker looked up at Colton, who leaned in and nipped his teeth on the end of Parker’s nose.

Parker let out a quiet laugh and laid his head back on Colton’s chest. He swirled a finger through the hairs surrounding Colton’s belly button. “When it happens… You’ll help me? Will it hurt?”

Colton pulled Parker closer and tightened his arms around him. “Of course I’ll help you, pup. I won’t lie. It hurts like a bitch the first time, but it gets a lot easier after that.”

“The last time you said those words, you were right. Of course, you were talking about butt sex.”

Colton laughed. “Butt sex?”

Parker groaned and buried his face in Colton’s chest. “Oh god. I’m such a dork.”

“Yeah, but you’re my dork.”

“Right. My point is, I’ll have to trust you about this, too.”

“Would I ever steer you wrong?”

“That remains to be seen.” Parker laughed softly, then added, “I know you’d never steer me wrong. I trust you with my life.”

“You should know that wolf shifters are very territorial. And when it comes to our mates… well, I will be very possessive and protective towards you.”

“You ‘will’ be? What do you mean ‘will be’? You’ve been protective of me, even before we started dating.”

“Well, that was before my bite bonded us. Just be patient with me.” Colton leaned close, kissed Parker’s head, then buried his nose in his hair and breathed in deeply. “You smell different. I didn’t realize it until my wolf smelled you.”

“What do I smell like?”

“You smell like me now. It’s like your sweetness is mixed in with my musky, woodsy scent. Anyone who smells you will know you’re mine.”

Colton grinned, clearly pleased with himself.

Parker wanted to roll his eyes. Yeah, Colton was apparently back to his normal self. “So, I smell sweet, huh?”

“Mm-hmm. Like a sweet spring rain. I’d recognize your scent anywhere, pup. I’d follow it to the ends of the earth.”

Parker straddled Colton’s body, placing his knees on either side of Colton’s waist. “When you say things like that, it gets me so freaking hot.”

Colton slid his hands up and down Parker’s thighs, then up his smooth chest. He rubbed the hard nipples with his thumbs, making Parker moan softly.

Parker could feel Colton’s cock pressing into his taint. It jerked and throbbed underneath him, and he just had to taste it. He shimmied down Colton’s body, lifted Colton’s dick, and took it into his mouth. Slow and deep, just like Colton liked it. He fondled and pulled at his nuts while he sucked, until Colton’s cock was throbbing and ready for release. He knew he could easily make Colton come with his mouth, but he decided he wanted it inside him.

“The lube is in the drawer,” Parker whispered after he lifted his head. “But we have to be quiet.”

Colton chuckled as he pulled open the drawer, then handed Parker the bottle. “You’re telling me to be quiet.”

Parker poured a healthy amount into his hand, and rubbed his fingers across his hole. He then reached back and gripped Colton’s boner, and slicked it up and down. He raised his hips, positioned the head, and then eased his way down the thick shaft.

Slowly and steadily, he rode Colton’s cock. Their hands roamed over each other, touching and feeling. Colton let Parker take the lead. His hips pushed up with each of Parker’s movements, but this time he let Parker take control.

Colton felt so good inside him, but in this position he wasn’t getting direct stimulation on his own dick. It was red and throbbing, aching with need. He slid his hips up and pushed back down. When Colton hit his prostate, he pressed his lips together to keep from moaning. His dick jerked and dribbled pre-come onto Colton’s stomach, getting lost in the curls of hair.

Parker placed his hand on Colton’s and nudged it. He looked down at Colton, silently pleading for his touch.

Colton pulled Parker down for a kiss with one hand while the other wrapped around Parker’s slick hard-on. Their tongues tangled as they moaned softly into each other’s mouths.

Parker whispered against Colton’s lips. “I wanna make you come. I want you to come inside me.”

Colton’s eyes fluttered closed, and he grit his teeth together, trying his best to be quiet.

They quietly made love in Parker’s bed, stifling their groans of pleasure until they brought each other to an intense climax.

The feeling of Colton’s dick throbbing inside him, filling him with that molten hot spunk set Parker off. He shot over and over, coating Colton’s hand and his belly with his sticky load.

Parker slumped forward and fell on top of Colton’s hot, sweaty body. He didn’t even care that their stomachs would be glued together with his come.

He lay on top of Colton, trying to catch his breath. Colton’s heartbeat sounded in his ear as his hard chest rose up and down under his head.

Parker’s eyes drifted shut and he fell asleep with his boyfriend—his mate—still throbbing inside him.

He was so exhausted, he didn’t feel Colton roll them over onto their sides. Colton spooned up behind him, covering and protecting his smaller form with his own bigger body.

* * * *

Parker was startled awake by the knock on his bedroom door. “Parker.”

“Just a minute, Dad,” he called out. He scrambled over Colton’s naked body. “Hide,” he hissed.

The big jock jumped out of bed, scooped up his clothes, and dashed into the bathroom as the door knob turned.

Thank god the door was locked. Parker pulled the blanket off his bed and wrapped himself up in it.

An impatient knock, then, “Parker.”

Remembering the scarred and bruised bite on his neck, Parker covered it with his hand and unlocked the door and opened it a crack. “Yeah?” he said with a yawn, pretending to stretch.

“Shell is downstairs,” his father said.

“Oh. Okay. Um. I’ll be right down.”

Barney eyed him suspiciously. “Are you okay?”

“What? Yeah. I’m fine.”

Parker shut the door in his dad’s frowning face. Colton stepped out of the bathroom fully dressed. “I better go. I’ll call you, okay? I’m pretty sure the Alpha is gonna wanna see you.”

Parker’s eyes widened. He picked up the pair of sweatpants hanging on the back of his desk chair and slid into them. “Really?” He grabbed a T-shirt and pulled that over his head. “Why?”

“Yeah,” Colton said with a shrug. “I might be in trouble for turning you. It’s kinda against the law.”

Parker didn’t like that. He could tell that Colton was making light of it, shrugging it off like it wasn’t a big deal. Clearly, Colton was doing it for his benefit, not wanting him to worry. He could see in Colton’s eyes that it was more than that. What he’d done was a really big deal.

“You didn’t mean to. I’ll testify to that if you need me to.”

“It doesn’t work like that.” Colton looked up towards the door and his nostrils flared. “I’ll call you, okay?” He rubbed his thumb across his mating bite, then pressed his lips to Parker’s one last time. “I love you, pup.”

“I love you, too.”

“Thank you for last night. Spending the night with you was very special to me.” Colton gave Parker one last caress across his cheek, then turned to leave.

Parker watched Colton hurry to the window. Colton yanked it open and jumped, easily landing on the ground below in a crouch. Parker watched slack-jawed as Colton pushed to his feet, and then took off running into the woods.

“What are you looking at?”

Parker yelped and turned around, clutching his chest as Shell pushed him aside and looked out the window.

“Nothing. And stop sneaking up on people.” Parker yanked the window shut and pulled the curtain over it.

“Hey, don’t be giving me no stank attitude. Where the heck have you been, boy?”

“Nowhere,” Parker said, trying to shrug casually. He picked up Colton’s hoodie and pulled it on, hoping that it covered the bruised scar on his neck.

“Oh, I see how it is. You’re one of those kind of girls. You get a man, and you just toss your friends to the side.”

“What? I am not like that. I’ve just been… busy. And besides, you’ve been all hunched up on Curtis, so you’re not around just as much.”

“You been busy gettin’ busy, you mean,” she said with a laugh. “And Curtis…” She let out a sigh and turned serious. “Damn, he’s fine. He’s so intense. I can’t say ‘no’ to the boy. It’s weird, you know. I’ve never been like that with anyone else.”

Parker’s eyebrows raised. “So you two have… you know… done it?”

“A lady doesn’t kiss and tell.”

Before Parker could put his two cents in, Shell flopped down onto Parker’s bed, then lifted her hand and stared at it. She looked up at Parker in absolute horror. “Oh my god, boys are so damned nasty!”

She jumped up off the bed and ran into Parker’s bathroom.

Parker grimaced in embarrassment, and pulled the semen stained sheets off the bed. He followed Shell into the bathroom, where she stood at the sink scrubbing her soapy hands as hard as she could. Parker tossed the sheets into the laundry hamper, and grabbed a fresh pair from the linen closet.

Parker had just finished making the bed when Shell came out from the bathroom.

She turned around, trying to look at her clothes in the mirror on the back of Parker’s door. “I don’t have any on me, do I?”

“No. Stop being so dramatic.”

She shot Parker a dirty look and sat down in his desk chair after giving it a thorough inspection. “I swear, hooker, if I get pregnant…”

Parker rolled his eyes. “If you get pregnant, don’t blame me.”

Shell smiled and swiveled in the chair. “So, if I did get pregnant, would I be having your baby or Colton’s baby?”

“Oh my god,” Parker muttered and his face went red.

Shell gasped in fake shock, and clutched the non-existent pearls around her neck. “You tramp! Have you been sneaking him in here?”

“Sometimes before school, or after school. And he kinda spent the night last night. Things have been… crazy.”

“So I guess ‘Like a Virgin’ is off your playlist now.”

Parker laughed nervously. “Whatever.”

“Slut.”

Parker dropped down onto his bed. “I can’t help it. I mean, have you seen Colton? I just can’t say no to him.”

“I know what you mean,” Shell muttered.

Even though they were the only two in the room, Shell looked around, leaned forward, and lowered her voice. “You know, speaking of pregnant sluts… I heard that Kim Reynolds has been hooking up with Seth Forrest. And the past two days she’s been puking in the girl’s bathroom.” She held her hands up and spun around in the chair. “I’m just sayin’…”

Parker’s mouth dropped open. “Oh. My. God. I thought you were gonna say you were pregnant.”

“I’m gonna smack the shit out of you. Do I look like I’m stupid? I’m talking about Kim and Seth.”

Parker’s eyes widened with realization. “Oh God. Seth. He’s a—”

“He’s an ass,” Shell finished.

Yeah. And a freakin’ werewolf. Just like his babies would be.

Parker’s cell phone rang. He picked it up and looked at the screen. “It’s Colton.”

As he answered the phone, Shell jumped up and slid next to him. When she put her ear next to Parker’s, he waved her away. He got up and went into the bathroom. “Hello?”

“Hey, pup. There’s a mandatory pack meeting in two hours. You have to be there. I think the shit’s gonna hit the fan.”