Tangled in Wesley’s arms, the human fell into a deep sleep. Wesley held him, feeling unexpectedly protective of the stranger, but, he supposed, he likely was projecting his need to protect his pack onto the human. So far, his uncle had denied him the role of Alpha and the pack had held him at arm’s length. But if he wanted to be their leader, he’d need to be patient and give them time to see that a surface scar didn’t alter his strength or his ability to provide for them and keep them safe.
With the reminder of his obligations in the forefront of his mind, Wesley sighed and pulled away from the human. Neither of them had removed their clothes completely, so he doubted the man would be cold, but he tugged the edge of the blanket up and covered him as best as he could anyway. “Thank you,” he whispered and then he brushed aside the green hair, kissed the sleeping human’s forehead, and quietly left the room, forcing himself to keep the memory of the perfect night behind that closed door so he could focus on his responsibilities.
Chapter 1
“If anyone gives you a hard time about it, let me know and I’ll make sure they stop.” Wesley Stone dragged his gaze away from the shifter’s exposed stomach to his face. “Has anyone in the pack given you trouble, Ricky?”
The young wolf shook his head and dropped his shirt hem, covering up the remarkably familiar scar on his lower belly. “Not really, no. They look at me funny sometimes, but it’s more like they’re confused than anything else.” He shrugged and sat on the small sofa in Wesley’s living room.
The strange looks might have more to do with the wolf’s scent than his skin. Ricky’s scent marked him as gay and an Omega. But there was something different about this particular Omega’s scent. Male Omegas were rare enough that Wesley had never met one so it was possible the distinction from a traditional Omega scent was due to Ricky’s gender. Whatever the reason for the uniqueness, his scent could be the reason for other shifters’ curiosities.
“Have a lot of people seen it?” Wesley asked, flicking his gaze to Ricky’s now covered stomach.
At seventeen, Ricky was sixteen years younger than Wesley’s thirty-three, young enough that they didn’t know each other well and had never run together in their wolf forms. But Wesley would have expected to hear gossip of another wolf in their pack with a scar identical to his own.
“Not yet, but my birthday is next week. I’ll be an adult and I want to run with the pack. That’s why I came to talk to you.” He sighed and chewed on his bottom lip. “I don’t want to keep hiding.”
“Hiding?”
“Well, not hiding exactly but my parents haven’t wanted people to see the, uh, mark”—he pointed to his belly—“because they don’t want anyone to think I’m different like…” The small shifter lowered his gaze to the floor and fidgeted in his chair, his face reddening.
It took a few beats for the shoe to drop but then Wesley understood. He ground his teeth and snapped, “Different like me?”
Still keeping his gaze locked firmly on the floor, Ricky said, “Uh-huh. My parents made sure I didn’t shift in front of anyone when I was a kid and they taught me not to expose my belly even when I was in my wolf form, so nobody outside of my family knows about the mark on my stomach but there’s no way to hide my scent, so I’m different anyway.”
“You’re an Omega.”
Ricky bobbed his head. “Everyone figured that out when I was thirteen. They also figured out—” His posture stiffened. He looked at Wesley, cleared his throat, and then he opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Puberty was generally when a shifter’s scent changed. Wesley’s own scent had identified him as an Alpha at that time. Another thing scent sometimes indicated was whether a shifter was gay or straight. Wesley was attracted to women as well as men, so his scent didn’t expose him in that way. Ricky’s scent, on the other hand, left no room for confusion.
“You’re gay,” Wesley said, trying to help him finish his sentence.
“Yes.” Ricky paused, and when Wesley didn’t say anything or otherwise express anger, he sighed in relief and relaxed his shoulders. “And because of that and being an Omega, I smell different anyway so I don’t see the point of hiding the scar. I keep telling my parents that but they’re worried so I haven’t pushed too much but I’m going to be eighteen, a man, and I want to be with the pack like all the other shifters!”
Although Wesley wanted to tell the young man his parents were ridiculous and there wouldn’t be any issue with someone seeing his scar, he couldn’t. Or at least he couldn’t say it truthfully. Because if Ricky’s scar didn’t matter, that meant Wesley’s scar didn’t matter, and if Wesley’s scar didn’t matter, why was he still waiting to take his position as Alpha of the Purple Sky pack?