Running with the Pack - 11. Chapter 11

There had been no more incidents involving Michael or his friends since the one on the forest trail. Aiden hoped he had made his point abundantly clear after his warning to Chris, Tyler, and the rest, yet for some reason he kept expecting something. He was getting home from the sheriff’s training academy when Tyler cautiously approached him.

“Aiden, can I talk to you for a moment?”

Glaring at him, Aiden nodded but otherwise said nothing.

Tyler took a deep breath and stared at the ground. “I want to say I’m sorry for what I did. It was stupid and there’s no excuse.”

This was not what Aiden had expected from Tyler. He decided to guardedly take him at his word though. “I accept your apology, but the one you should really apologize to is my mate.”

“Is he really your mate? I mean I always thought you were straight and it’s with a human. In school, your reputation was legendary for the she-wolves you bedded. Even the human girls and married women. I never heard you brag, but the girls sure did.” He dropped his gaze to the ground again. “I’ve just never heard of a wolf finding that their mate was actually a human.”

“Mother Nature, the lunar gods, whatever or whoever chooses our mates for us doesn’t care what we think we are and picks the one person in the world who completes us. Even though we always expect it to be another wolf, we’ve all been taught our mate could be anyone. No one was more surprised than me. Yes, Ethan is without any doubt my mate and I will do anything required to protect him.” Aiden focused directly into Tyler’s eyes with a hard glare so there was no doubt in what he was saying.

Tyler nodded he understood everything Aiden was conveying. “I wanted to come to you first and ask your permission to apologize to your mate. I didn’t want there to be any misunderstanding about me going to talk to him.” Peering around, he took another deep breath. “I think you should know something’s being planned. I don’t know what, when, or where since I said I wanted no part in it. Michael has it out for Ethan for some reason and Chris is probably the only one who knows whatever that reason is.” Tyler seemed lost in thought for a moment. “Your mate could have fried my ass over what we did, but he let it go. I didn’t expect that and to be honest, I don’t think I deserved it after what I did. Community service is pretty light for attacking you guys. I’m not sure if that’s a weakness on his part or a strength, but from all the years I’ve hung around with Michael, I’m thinking it’s your mate’s strength.”

“You can tell Ethan yourself. If anyone finds out you talked to me or apologized to Ethan, it won’t help your standing with Michael and his crew at all.”

“I’m done with him as a friend. And the rest of the guys that stick with him. It probably means whenever he becomes alpha, I’ll have to find a new pack. When I told him I wouldn’t defy the alpha and go after Ethan again, I was told to get lost. I should have walked away from him years ago, but wasn’t brave enough.” He nervously paced. “I don’t know what’s gotten into him, but I do know he’s pissed about your mate being here. Just like he’s always been pissed about you besting him every time. He didn’t say why, other than Ethan’s gay, human, and yours.”

Aiden knew deep down he could and would never allow Michael to become alpha of this pack.

“Next time I see you guys out, I’ll apologize to Ethan.” Tyler turned and walked off to his own apartment.

Entering his place, Aiden thought about what Tyler had told him, not only about apologizing, but also about Michael being up to something. It did not make sense why the alpha’s son was showing such hatred towards Ethan. He could understand it directed at himself, since they had always been rivals growing up with Michael forcing challenges and then losing. But Ethan was not involved in any of that. As far as Aiden was concerned, it ultimately did not matter; Ethan was his mate and nothing would change that.

*****

Ethan quickly fell into the routine of working with Rafe, Joe, and Casey. It was hard and sometimes very menial, but for the first time in ages he was happy. He was learning a lot about construction and picked up quickly on when one of the guys would need something. He proved to be such a dedicated worker, it did not take long before Rafe had him pounding nails and doing more than running for tools and supplies. Most of all, it felt good to be employed and doing something with his life. The house they were working on was quickly taking shape. Other trades began showing up to do what work they needed while Rafe supervised. Ethan stayed busy cleaning up the job site and did his best to stay out of the way of the other workers. A few of them would ask him to get something off their truck and he would instantly run off to grab whatever they needed. By the end of the week, he was exhausted. The different subcontractors he had helped all paid Rafe for the time he helped them and Rafe handed it over to the teen with a smile.

When the weekend finally came around, Aiden showed up early on Saturday and Ethan figured he wanted to go running. Instead of going to the cross-country track, he drove out of Silver Pines. When he asked where they were headed, Aiden simply grinned so Ethan sat back in the passenger seat and enjoyed the ride. After about thirty minutes of winding roads, they pulled into a parking lot in front of several barns; a sign read ‘Bear Creek Horse Farm’.

“Have you ever been riding?”

Ethan shifted around nervously, the scent of fear building, upon seeing several of the large animals nearby. “No. I’ve always been kinda scared of horses. They’re so big.”

Taking Ethan’s hand, Aiden walked to the railing of the nearest paddock. Two Palominos grazed a few feet from the rail and a beautiful black Friesian was on the far side of the paddock.

“Do you trust me to keep you safe?”

Ethan nodded. “Yeah, I do. I usually don’t trust anyone. I’m not sure why, but with you I do. Somehow I always know I’m safe with you.”

“I know it’ll take time. All things considered from your past, I’m both surprised and happy you trust me even a little.”

The two walked towards the main barn and found the owners working in the office. Knocking on the doorframe, Aiden got their attention.

The larger of the two men looked up from their work. “Hey, Aiden. Been a while since we’ve seen you. How you been?”

“I’m good, thanks. I’d like to introduce you to someone. This is Ethan. Ethan, this is Nathan and Alex. They own this place.”

Both men could tell the boy was human by his scent.

“It’s nice to meet you, guys.” Feeling a little shy, he inched closer to Aiden but managed to extend his hand.

Both men smiled and shook his hand. “Nice to meet you as well.”

“Ethan’s my mate.” A big dopey grin covered Aiden’s face.

Alex was the first to again shake their hands and congratulate them, followed by Nathan.

At being introduced as Aiden’s mate, Ethan knew these men had to be lycan.

Aiden confirmed it. “These guys are both shape shifters, although unlike me, they aren’t wolves. If you had to guess, what kind animal do you think they are?”

Nathan’s raised eyebrow and glare towards Aiden showed he was displeased. “I know you said he’s your mate, but since he’s human is it a good idea to be telling him what we are?”

Alex looked Ethan over real well and appeared to study him before staring directly into his eyes. “It’s okay, sweetheart. For Aiden to say they’re mates it’s a sure thing. He obviously knows about lycan already. Aiden would have never introduced someone like that if it wasn’t absolutely true. I’m kind of curious what his guess about us would be.”

Scanning back and forth between the two men, Ethan tried to figure out what they were. Nathan was a big man, bulky but definitely not fat. Muscular like the wolves he had met, but with more body mass; he did not have the leaner body built for running. The man had a bushy head of brown hair and a full beard. He appeared to be more furry than Aiden—if that was possible—from what could be seen sticking over his shirt and on his lower arms. Alex, on the other hand, was tall yet much trimmer with lighter reddish hair that looked like it had darker stripes; his body was sleek and the way he moved was almost cat-like.

Finally, Ethan decided. “Nathan reminds me of a big bear. Make that a muscle bear. Alex doesn’t though so I’m guessing he’s something else. I doubt there’s any such thing but from his hair and the way he moves, for some reason a tiger or a big cat comes to mind.”

All three stood agape.

“You told him before you got here, didn’t you?” Nathan demanded.

Alex still watched Ethan. “I don’t think he was told. Something about him is just very perceptive. Am I correct?”

“I didn’t tell him a thing. I swear.” Aiden grinned, holding up his hands in mock defense.

“What? Did I get close at least?”

Nathan gave a hearty laugh. “Close, hell. You nailed it.”

A devious smirk spread across Ethan’s face at being put on the spot. “Not yet I haven’t, but we haven’t been together that long.”

Aiden turned red while both men laughed hysterically.

“Oh, I like this one.” Alex giggled. “It’s rare for a human to pick up some of the subtle clues as to what kind of shifter someone is, but you’re correct. Nathan is a grizzly bear and I’m a Siberian tiger.”

The shock was evident on his face. “You mean there really are tigers too? I know you mentioned bears before.”

Aiden was a little worried about overwhelming his pup with the new information about different types of animals and pulled him close. “I know it’s still a lot to take in, but there are many types of shifters. Alex and Nathan are mates. Imprinted mates if I remember right. I’ve never seen them in their animal form, but have heard they’re both breathtaking.”

“Yep, we did it the hard way when we met, not being able to stand each other and eventually falling in love.” Alex gazed lovingly into his mate’s eyes. “Perhaps one day you’ll see us in our animal form. I’m guessing this is all pretty new to you, Ethan. How are you taking it that there’s more out there than you thought?”

“I used to read all kinds of books and stories about people who could change shapes. A couple months ago, if someone had said any of this was real, I’d have called them crazy. After meeting this guy and his friends, and seeing him in his wolf, I couldn’t imagine a world without guys like you.”

Nathan finally jumped back into the conversation. “I’m guessing you didn’t come out here merely to test your mate’s identification skills. One horse or two?”

“He’s never ridden so I’m going to say one. Besides, I can’t think of a better way to ride then to have my arms wrapped around my mate.” Aiden pulled his pup close filling the older couple with happiness.

All four walked out of the office and Nathan chose a horse, a beautiful grey, while Alex went to the tack room to grab a saddle and the rest of the gear. Once the horse was saddled, Aiden helped Ethan up before mounting. Wrapping his arms around his pup, he took the reins as they trotted off down one of the trails he knew well.

Ethan was quiet for a while; lost in thought about the guys he had just met as well as being on a horse for the first time. “It’s still difficult sometimes to get my mind around the fact there are people who turn into wolves and now I meet a bear and a tiger.”

“I hope it isn’t too much too soon for you. Maybe I shouldn’t have let you know they were shifters yet.”

“It’s okay, really. It’s a lot to take in, but it’s so cool all the same. Next to wolves, tigers are my favorite animal. I guess if dragons were real that would be my top three.” He turned his body allowing him to look up into Aiden’s eyes. “Even if dragons are real, I don’t think I want to know about it just yet, so don’t tell me.” His tone made it sound like he was joking, but his eyes said he was serious.

They spent the next two hours riding different trails, enjoying the closeness, and getting to know each other better. They finally returned to the stable and Aiden helped his mate back down to the ground.

“So what did you think of your first ride?”

Ethan didn’t even have to think for a moment before hugging Aiden. “It was cool. Best part was you holding me while we rode. Thank you for getting me to do it.”

Aiden happily hugged back. Nathan wrapped his arm around Alex and smiled as they both watched the new couple.

On the drive back to Silver Pine, Ethan grinned happily and leaned in close so he could keep his hand on Aiden’s leg.

******

Aiden decided on a last minute change of plans since it was still early in the day. He did not want his private time with Ethan to be over yet. Instead of heading into Silver Pine, he turned off the main road. He drove until it seemed to get progressively smaller and eventually turned to dirt.

Ethan had not realized they were no longer going to town. Trusting his boyfriend, he decided to go with it since anywhere with Aiden was where he wanted to be. After another ten minutes of driving, they pulled into a clearing that appeared it had been well used for parking.

“Come on.” He ran to the other side of the Jeep and pinned Ethan against it for a quick kiss. He stepped away long enough to get a backpack out of the vehicle before taking his pup’s hand and walking towards a nearby trail.

“What is this place?”

“It’s a surprise, but I think you’ll like it.”

It did not take very long before the dense forest trees began to thin. They emerged from the trail into a clearing with the sound of water nearby. After the short walk through the forest, the sun was warm and bright as it passed through an opening in the canopy. When Ethan’s eye’s adjusted to the brightness, he could see a large pool of water. Taking in the scenery, there was a waterfall that stood about twenty feet tall. The center of the falls created a stunning veil of water as it fell to the pool below, causing a spray of mist at its base. Both sides of the main falls gently cascaded over fern and moss covered rocks as it splashed into the pool. At the opposite end, the stream disappeared into the trees around a bend at a slow, gentle pace. The pond was so clear the bottom at its deepest point was visible.

“It’s beautiful!”

Happiness covered Aiden’s face as he stood behind and wrapped his arms around Ethan, pulling the teen back into his chest. “For the first time I can remember, this place is the second most beautiful sight here.” He kissed the top of his pup’s head.

Letting go of him long enough to drop his backpack on the ground and pull his shirt off, he quickly wrapped his arms around him again. Ethan leaned his head back against the bigger man, happily taking in the beauty of their surroundings as well as the warmth from both the sun and Aiden. The two stood there for what seemed like hours—in reality a mere perfect moment—before Aiden broke the spell by unceremoniously pulling his mate’s shirt off.

“Hey!” Ethan protested, sort of.

“I can’t help it. I wanted to feel your bare skin against me.”

“Like you could feel anything against your skin with that furry chest.” Turning so he could lay his face on Aiden’s chest, he breathed in the wonderful scent of musk and sweat. “That beautifully furry chest.”

Aiden kissed the top of his head again and held him tight. After a few more moments, he pulled back to gaze at Ethan. With a sexy crooked smile, he dropped to his knees and quickly unfastened Ethan’s shorts before the teen could protest, and proceeded to yank them to the ground along with the underwear.

“Well, it’s not like this is the first time I’ve been naked in front of you. I guess I don’t have anything to be shy about. Though if you stay on your knees like that much longer, I can’t be held responsible for how my body might react.”

Aiden leaned in and kissed the tip of Ethan’s rapidly hardening dick before running his tongue all over the tip. “Mmmm… You taste good, Pup.”

“Tease.” Ethan accused as he watched Aiden stand before him.

Reaching out, he undid Aiden’s shorts and pulled them down as well, but left the underwear in place. Ethan knelt and pushed his face into his boyfriend’s crotch inhaling deeply. Feeling Aiden harden rapidly, he grabbed the waistband and pulled it down. Aiden stepped out of his clothes as Ethan stayed on his knees. He leaned in again, first kissing the tip of the hard dick before engulfing it and swallowing almost all—it was no small feat. Pulling back and running his tongue under the foreskin, he licked off the precum already starting to bubble from the end. Standing with a devilish grin, he put his hands behind Aiden’s head pulling him down for a fierce kiss.

“Oh, so I’m the tease?”

“Well, you started it.” Ethan smirked.

Taking Ethan’s hand, Aiden walked the two down to the edge of the water. He picked up his pup and for a second it appeared Ethan thought he was going to get tossed into the water, but Aiden slowly walked them into the calm pool, all the while making out with his mate. For the moment, there was nothing else in the world besides the two passionately kissing. No one was trying to gain dominance over the other; it was all equal give and take. The only thought either had was trying to show the other how they each felt.

Ethan poured more feeling into the kisses than he thought possible and more than he knew he was capable of. For Aiden, he was putting his all into it as well. Their tongues dueled, slipping from one mouth to the other. If there had been anyone watching, able to focus on anything beyond the intensity of the couple, they might have noticed the droplets of water rising out of the pool and floating on their own while circling the two lovers. As the kiss slowed, the droplets gently returned to the surface until all that was in the air was the light spray of mist from the waterfall. Finally opening their eyes, they gazed lovingly at each other. The amber glow from Aiden’s eyes was fading, and not just from their usual quick flash. As Aiden peered deep into his pup’s eyes, he thought he saw the same blue glow he had seen before, but as Ethan moved in the sun, he was not sure. Knowing his mate was human; he felt it had to be the sun shining off the boy’s sapphire-blue eyes.

He leaned his forehead against Ethan’s. “I could do that for the rest of my life and still not get enough of you, Pup. You’re incredible.” Aiden realized without a doubt he was falling head over heels in love with his pup and his feelings were far more than from any mating bond building.

Ethan held onto Aiden tightly. “Wow. I never knew anything could feel like that.”

“I’m looking forward to showing you how good things can feel and be.”

For a while, the two swam in the clear water, occasionally stopping for a light kiss. Few words were spoken as none seemed to be needed. Ethan floated on his back, almost like a leaf resting atop the water, never quite breaking the surface tension. Aiden watched amazed; he had to put a lot of effort into trying to float or he would sink rather quickly.

Walking hand in hand back to the shore, Aiden pulled a blanket out of his pack and laid it out on the grass.

He propped himself up on one arm so he was staring down at Ethan. “I know it’s only been a short time since we met, but you make me so happy, Pup.”

He leaned down to gently kiss Ethan. This time the make out session would be relaxed though by no means boring. When Aiden raised himself, letting his gaze run the entire length of his mate’s body, he smiled noticing how hard his pup was. Not that he was not in a similar condition. Looking back into Ethan’s eyes, he gently wrapped a hand around his mate’s hard dick.

“Are you okay with this, Pup?”

Receiving a silent nod, Aiden began a slow, soft, but deliberate movement of his hand. Ethan laid back enjoying the sensation. This felt nothing like the guys who paid to jerk him off back in Richmond. The two kept their eyes locked on the other’s until Aiden shifted positions and slowly moved down his pup’s body. At first, Ethan was not sure he was ready; he decided to go with the good feeling because it was his boyfriend. He watched as the muscular man swirled his tongue around the head of his dick, getting under the foreskin before an exceedingly slow descent fed more and more of the length into his mouth.

This was a totally new experience for Aiden. While he regularly got blowjobs from both women and men, he had never returned the favor. He loved the feeling of his mate’s dick sliding into his mouth and the taste was incredible. He was doing his best; trying to take as much as he could. Ethan ran his fingers through the thick, dark hair providing encouragement he was doing a good job.

Ethan could not believe how good this felt compared to any he received in the past. For about ten minutes, Aiden worked on giving his pup pleasure. Learning what felt good for him and to his mate. He liked teasing Ethan when he would find an extra sensitive spot and working it until his pup squirmed in delight.

Finally, his mate issued the warning he hoped for. “I’m real close, so if you keep that up I’m gonna shoot.”

Aiden had no intention of stopping and redoubled his efforts. In another minute or two, Ethan began breathing heavily and moaning loudly as he filled his boyfriend’s mouth. Swallowing as quickly as he could, it was almost too much for the bigger man. When it finally slowed down, he kept the last mouthful to savor, still running his tongue over the tip to make sure he got every last drop. Once Ethan returned to a fully soft state, Aiden moved up the smaller body and kissed him, sharing the last of the sweet gift, swapping it back and forth before they both swallowed what remained.

“You taste so fucking good, Pup. I hope you’re okay with me doing that. I just couldn’t stop myself.”

Ethan leaned in for another kiss. “Anytime you want to do that, it’s all yours big guy.”

Even though Aiden was still rock hard, Ethan was not ready to return the favor. He ran his hands over every inch of Aiden's chest before pushing him onto his back. Straddling the bigger body, he ran his fingers over each nipple bringing them to hardness. Leaning down, he alternated between kissing and running his tongue over them. When he began nibbling, Aiden moaned increasingly louder. Pushing both arms up, Ethan moved to the right side first and ran his tongue through the thick hair of his boyfriend’s armpit. From their time in the water, it had just the slightest taste of sweat; he repeated this on the left side enjoying the reaction he got. He slowly worked his way down Aiden's chest and over the rock hard abs until he was able to engulf the large dick leaking copious amounts of precum.

Aiden ran his hands all over Ethan, through his hair, and any place he could reach while the boy expertly sucked him. Far too quickly for his liking, he hit the point of no return and with a loud moan began to unleash his load into his pup’s hungry mouth. When he had finally gone at least semi-soft, he pulled Ethan on top of him so they were chest to chest and smashed his mouth against the smaller boy, kissing him with a passion even he did not know was possible.

When they finally came up for air, he stared into his pup’s eyes. “Thank you.”

After cuddling a while longer, Aiden got up and walked towards the tree line. When he stopped, his feet were spread wide. Glancing over his shoulder, seeing Ethan watching him curiously, he smirked. "I've got to mark my territory."

Ethan was not sure what came over him but he jumped to his feet and walked over to where Aiden was pissing. He stepped in front of him before kneeling, “Then mark me,” letting the stream soak every part of his body it could reach. Aiden watched his mate; his eyes filled with lust as Ethan directed the stream all over himself from his hair and face to chest and legs. He felt his pup’s stream hitting his feet and legs, enjoying the warmth. When it was down to a trickle, Ethan leaned in and licked the last few drops off the tip.

Gazing down at him with a sly grin, he appeared somewhat surprised. “I’ve never done that with anyone. It seems my pup has a bit of a kinky side.”

There was nothing behind the comment but playfulness and Ethan glanced up with a smirk.

“I guess I am in kind of a kinky mood today.” He chuckled from his knees. “Not sure why I did that, but glad I did.”

“And I guess you really are mine since you’re now marked as my territory. We’ll definitely have to do that again with you marking me properly as your territory.”

“Anytime you want and as often as you want. That was hot. I really liked the way it felt.”

“Among wolves it’s considered a very intimate and loving act.”

The two walked hand in hand back to the water for one last swim before drying off for the short hike back to the car.

On the drive back to town, Aiden held Ethan’s hand. “Stay with me tonight?”

“Yes,” was all Ethan needed to say as they headed to Aiden’s apartment in happy silence.