He awoke slowly, sensuously, feeling more relaxed than he’d been in months even with a raging hard-on. He stretched and tried to roll over on his side—and came instantly awake. His left wrist was handcuffed to the bedpost. What? Was he kidding? Wide awake and fuming, Gabe tried to twist his wrist out of the restraint without success.

Looking around him for something to use to help him break free, he realized how very dark it was. Considering it was the night of the full moon, it wasn’t as dark as it should be. A soft light came through a casement window high on the bathroom wall. The moon was shining brightly outside. For a moment, his body tensed as he waited for the pull of the moonlight, but it didn’t come. No hint of the change came over him, no feelings of bestial savagery. He breathed a sigh of relief. At least that much was true. Zack had promised him the shifting would be over after he mated with him. Apparently he hadn’t been lying.

Why in the hell had he handcuffed him? The idea made him furious. He would not be anyone’s prisoner—not even Zack’s no matter how crazily his body cried in need of him. Impotently, Gabe pulled at the cuff and gripped his hard-on for relief. From outside, he heard the distant howling of wolves, and it made him shiver. What if one of them came in here and attacked him? Another distant howl and his mind traveled back to the night a little over a year ago when he’d heard that sound before—the night his mother was murdered. If one of those murdering wolves came in, he’d be a sitting duck. Shaking, he forced his mind not to think about what might be lurking outside the walls of the room. He pulled desperately at the handcuff. His hand slipped a tiny bit down into the cuff, and an idea was born. The lube still lay within reach on the bedside table.

As wonderful as running through the woods with his pack was, Zack’s thoughts kept straying back to his sweet mate. If there hadn’t been the pressure of the full moon coming so soon, he would have waited, making sure they had time to learn more of each other before mating. He promised his cousin he wouldn’t endanger the other mates and children and handcuffed Gabe to the bed once he fell asleep, in case the mating wasn’t strong enough. He hoped Gabewouldn’t wake up until after he got back home to remove the restraints. It might upset him. The last thing he wanted.

He made his way back home way ahead of the rest of the pack, excited to see Gabe. Shifting quickly, he grabbed his clothes and almost ran to the basement, anxious to move him to what would be their new bedroom. A little nervous, he hoped Gabe would like his new home and settle into his new life. He knew it would be quite an adjustment to get used to pack life, particularly considering the traumatic and tragic way he was made. Experience and tradition had proved wolves and Werekin were ultimately happier within a pack, following rules and laws. Rogues were those who didn’t assimilate for whatever reason and some became the equivalent of human outlaws, refusing to obey the laws of wolf or human, often violent and destructive.

Zack wished he could make Gabe’s turning right to him somehow, but he couldn’t erase the pain and horror of the attack. No one could bring back his poor mother. He would like to help Gabe find the murdering rogue, not only for his sake, but for the sake of other humans the rogue might encounter.

In the meantime, he would try to help Gabe understand pack life and assimilate into it gradually. He figured he was going to be a handful as a mate. He certainly had a mind of his own.

He opened the door to the basement room and stopped in horror. The bed was empty, and the cuff he’d used to restrain his mate hung discarded by the bedpost. He turned in a panic to run from the room, when a slight noise from the bathroom stopped his wild flight. Crossing quickly to the door, he flung it open to see Gabe standing calmly by the sink, wearing only a towel and shaving. He cast Zack a frowning look in the mirror and kept at his task, not bothering to even acknowledge him otherwise.

“Gabe? Honey?” Gabe finished and rinsed his face carefully before turning to look at Zack. “Don’t honey me. You handcuffed me to the bed!I’m not your fucking prisoner, so you may as well get used to the idea right away.”

“No, Gabe , thatwasn’t why I handcuffed you. Honestly, I was afraid the mating and the blood might not totally work at first, and I had to leave to shift with the pack.I didn’t want to put you back in the cell, but I couldn’t leave the other mates and the children unprotected, in case something went wrong.”

“ Humph.If I didn’t want you to come over here and kiss me so much, I’d probably make you grovel a little more, but okay, I can understand.This time.” He pointed a finger at Zack. “Don’t ever do itagain.”

Zack walked over to him and took the finger in his mouth, enjoying the little sigh slipping from Gabe’s lips before he took him next, bending him back in his arms to kiss him thoroughly.

“Am I forgiven then?”

“Only a little.” He pushed Zack away.“Stand over there,” he said, nodding toward the door. “Your damn bite and blood has me feeling loopy. All I want to do is lick you all over.I can’t think straight with you so close.Go on.” He made a little shooing motion with his hand and waited until Zack went to stand by the door, smiling.

“Actually, you’re doing very well,” Zack said. “Surprisingly so.I thought you’d still be sleeping. Usually when humans are mated, it takes them days to come out of heat. Your system must be totally different from most humans. It must be because you werealready turned.”

“When the rogue monster bit me?” He sagged against the sink. “I’ve been running with the full moon for almost a year. Damn, I hope it’s really all over.”

“It is, honey, I promise.As long as you feed from me occasionally and let me care for you.”

“Okay, so what happens next? I can care for myself, you know. I keep telling you.We’ve mated, like you said, and you told me I’d be part of your pack from this point on. Right?”

“Yes, we’ll move upstairs to my room, and we’ll need to go get your car soon. I’ve already sent someone out to gather up your camping gear.”

“My truck, but yeah. I left it in the campground parking lot. Where are the rest of my clothes? And my gun? The shotgun belonged to my dad.”

“I brought your gun with us.It’s upstairs in our room. I’m having your clothes washed for you. Uh…about that, our new pets usually wear leather pants. Your ass will look fine in leather, baby.”

“Uh huh…okay, back up. First of all, what the hell is a pet? Second of all, are you kidding me?I’m not your dog, you know.”

“I know, and I figured you wouldn’t like the idea. We call our non-shifting pack members pets.It’s just a name, though a lot of new pets don’t understand and get all torn up about it. In a mating, it’s a mark of ownership, too, soother wolves will know you’re taken—well, that and the collar.”

“As in dog collar? So not happening.”

“Now, Gabe, honey…” Zack began to say, shifting his feet uncomfortably.

“Don’t Gabe honey me, either.I don’t mind the leather pants much, because yes, my ass will look fine in them, but no collar. This is not S&M, or it better not be. I mean, I like a little kink and all, but I’ve never seen the point in a collar.”

Zack lost his patience, never long to begin with, and shouted.“The point is to let others know to keep their damn hands off you, because you’re mine!”

“I’ll wear one only if you wear one too!” Gabe shouted right back. “And the leathers, come to think of it, sinceI’d like to look at your ass in leather just as much as you like to look at mine!”

“Damn it!” Zack grumbled, turning around to go back and sit on the bed. “I knew you’d be a lot of trouble.”

Gabe came out of the bathroom and sat beside him on the bed, smiling as he pulled off his towel.“I’m worth it, though.”

“Oh yeah?” Zack said, snarling and pulling Gabe to him. “Prove it .”

Chapter Three

Zack sat at the head table, watching Gabe eat. The young man had a voracious appetite. He dug into his second steak and showed no signs of being full. His metabolism must be amazing to burn off all those calories. Zack almost wished he would put on a little weight, maybe even get a little pot belly. He wouldn’t have to be as jealous all the time of the attention his handsome mate received.From the moment they’d walked into the dining room, almost every eye had been on him and not just from curiosity. What had pissed Zack off even more was the fact Gabe looked back. Not really flirting, he did let his eyes roam more than once to a good-looking young gamma as he passed by, making Zack furiously jealous.

Zack had always considered himself to be nice looking, having been told he was handsome numerous times. Like all the wolves he was large and well built, muscular like a body builder, though Zack’s muscles came from hard work, not from lifting weights. He had the family trait of dark hair and deep brown eyes, along with high cheek bones, supporting the long held family belief that Native American blood ran through their veins. Gabe, on the other hand, was simply beautiful, as different from Zack as night from day. He was smaller, though probably only in relation to the huge wolves roaming around the compound. Probably of average human height, he had a beautiful body, slim, but ripped and cut all along his chest and abs, tapering down to a small waist. His midnight black hair and his icy blue eyes made Zack want to sit and stare at him all night. The combination was striking and beautiful. His lips were full and soft, almost pouty, and his nose was short and straight. Gorgeous, Zack thought, and all mine, though Gabe needed reminding constantly.

The night before had been their mating ceremony. Gabe had actually agreed to wear the white robes, but only if Zack had worn one too. No amount of frowning, growling, or attempts at intimidation worked. Finally Zack slipped a robe on over his bare chest, and Gabe had done the same. No collaring, though.He’d been absolutely adamant on the issue. Zack was still trying to figure out a way to bribe him into that one. He didn’t want to force him so early in their relationship.