Gabe had quickly figured out something it took most pets years to learn. For all their posturing and tough talk, wolves were powerless against their pets. Sworn to protect and serve them, they were completely unable to deliberately hurt them physically or even emotionally. Any pain they doled out would only hurt them just as much, since wolves were unable to stand seeing their mates upset in any way. Most used intimidation and threats as their weapons, even spankings, but with Gabe, these tools didn’t work in the least. Actually, Zack hadn’t tried a good spanking yet. He had the feeling Gabe would enjoy it too much, taking away all its power as a tool of intimidation. Still, sometimes, like tonight, his hands itched to spank that ass.

The night before, they had stood in front of the entire assembled pack, some fifty strong, and Zack had repeated the traditional words as he held Gabe’s hand in his. “This is Gabriel, and I hold him to my heart where he will lodge forever. I pledge to him my love and faith, and my promise to always care for him, always protect him. My soul has found its mate, and I will never forsake him. Even unto death, my heart will follow his.”

Gabe had dropped his head as he said the words to him, refusing to meet his gaze, yet when he’d finished speaking and tipped up Gabe’s chin to kiss him, his beautiful eyes were suspiciously wet. Zack whispered in his ear as he held him close.“We’re your family from now on, sweetheart.You’ll never be alone again.”

Gabe had shuddered and wrapped his arms tightly around Zack’s waist. Zack left him then as he and the pack went outside to shift, a tradition after a mating ceremony, and he thoughthe’d detected a tightening of Gabe’s lips and a disapproving glance. He’d been in the throes of strong emotion, though, and by the time he and the pack returned from their moonlit run much later during the night, Gabe was sound asleep.He hadn’t awakened him, just slid in beside him and held him close the rest of the night.

Tonight they were having the wedding feast, with dancing afterward. Zack had been kept busy all day with pack concerns and had hardly seen Gabe until an hour before the feast. Gabe had been in the shower when he came in and had opened the shower door enticingly when he heard Zack.

“Want to come in and get a shower with me?” he’d asked seductively, thrusting his hips toward him.

A strangled sound came from Zack’s throat at the sight of his mate’s gorgeous body, with his large cock bobbing around in front of him. Zack had backed away with drops of pre-cum already leaking from his cock. “Hell, no. If I get in there with you, neither one of us is making it to the feast.”

Gabe closed the door and laughed, pressing his erect, rigid cock up against the glass.“Are you sure? I could use a little help in here.I actually think it’s your duty as my mate to make sure I don’t miss cleaning any spots, especially those hard-toreach places.”

Growling, Zack tore his clothes off and climbed in, wrapping his arms around his mate and pulling his hot, wet body up against his own.He lowered his mouth to Gabe’s throat, kissing and sucking his way downward to his cock. He spent some quality time with it before flipping a breathless, weak-kneed Gabe around and bending him over to brace himself on the wall. Zack soaped his hands and his cock before putting a finger up his mate’s rosy little hole.

“You’re right. I believe in hygiene. Don’t you, sweetheart? I think you need a thorough cleaning, and I’m just the man for the job.” Zack touched Gabe’s prostate, just sweeping a soapy finger over its surface and held him tightly around the waist as he bucked his hips.

“Settle down. You asked for this. I have to make sureyou’re nice and clean everywhere.” He nudged his swollen cock up inside and pushed hard, lodging himself in deep. He waggled his hips in a circular motion.“Getting all the little nooks and crannies, baby. Just hold on.”

Gabe gasped for breath.“Oh, you asshole!Oh my God!”

“Feel good, baby? Here, let me get thisone little dirty spot again.” He pulled his cock back across his prostate, and Gabe screamed, pounding his hands against the tiled shower. Zack reached around in front of him and took his weeping cock in hand, giving it only two pulls before Gabe reached a shuddering climax, clawing helplessly at the wall in front of him. Zack thrust into him in earnest then, his climax followed in seconds, holding Gabe up as his knees sagged beneath him.

Zack continued to hold him up as they rinsed their bodies of soap and cum, and helped him from the shower. They laughingly dried each other off. The trouble erupted when they started to dress.

Gabe took a pair of leather pants from the drawer and tossed them to Zack.“Here, put these on. I had a hard time getting some in your size.I had to ask around everywhere.”

Zack caught them and tossed them on the bed.“No,” he said shortly. “Pets wear the leathers.”

“Well, you’re my pet, so put ’em on.” Gabe picked them up and advanced on him with the pants in his hand.“C’mon, babe. You’d look great in them.”

“Okay, let me explain this to you again. Traditionally—”

“Oh, the hell with tradition! Let’s start something new! From this time on for special occasions, wolves and pets both wear the leather pants.Do it for me?” He batted his long eyelashes at Zack.

Zack snatched them from his hands and threw them back on the bed.“I said no.”

Gabe thinned his lips and turned away, going back over to the dresser.“You just have everything your way, don’t you? You even left me after the ceremony minutes after saying you would hold me to your heart forever. Yeah, right—so long as it doesn’t interfere with a night out with the wolf boys.”

Zack cleared his throat, nervous, worried about what Gabe might do. He was so unpredictable. “I thought you understood about the ceremony and our traditions. I guess you’ll say youwon’t wear the leather pants,either.”

“Oh no, I’ll wear them.” He smiled sweetly at Zack, which should have been his first warning.

Zack quickly dressed in his jeans and a white shirt and looked over his shoulder at Gabe as he left the room.“I have to check on things. Is…uh…everything okay?”

“Just peachy.” Gabe gave him another toothy smile and lay back on the bed.“I’ll get dressed and be there in a minute.I want to rest awhile first.”

“Okay. You’re sure you’re not mad?”

“Why would I be? I’ll be theresoon.”

Zack was still uneasy at Gabe’s quick compliance. Usually, he would have argued with him about it for an hour or more, probably ending in a screaming fight.Tonight, he’d given in awfully fast.He’d like to believe Gabe was finally accepting things, acknowledging Zack as his alpha and doing as he told him to do.He’d like to believe it, but he didn’t. He’d had a feeling Gabe was up to something.

He found out when the feast started.About twenty minutes into it, just when he’d decided to go find his mate, he heard a buzzing in the room, and Gabe made his entrance. He wore the leather pants all right—at least two sizes too small.God alone knew how he’d managed to squeeze his round little ass into them. They showed off his bubble butt and his bulging package nicely, just barely making it up over his hips. He twisted those hips as he walked toward Zack. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and he sported rings in both his nipples. Where in the hell had those come from?Apparently, he’d had them somewhere in his duffle bag, along with the dark eyeliner around his eyes and the peach colored lip gloss on his full lips. The rings had little blue stars dangling from them, hitting his chest as he walked.

On his feet he wore combat boots, with the legs of his pants stuffed down inside them. Clunky and at odds with his makeup, they made him look androgynous and hot as hell. His short, black hair was spiked up with gel, and he looked a little like a sexy rocker someone had plopped down incongruously in the middle of the woods. Twisting his ass, he walked over to Zack and smiled, pirouetting in front of him.“Do I look all right, babe?”

Zack growled at him. “Damn it, Gabe.You’re playing with fire.”

He laughed out loud.“Then I’d better be careful not to get burned.” He put a finger to his tongue, wet it, and touched it to his ass.“Ssss…yep, pretty damn hot stuff.” He laughed as he patted Zack’s cheek. Spotting the buffet table against the wall, he said,“Something smells good, and I’m starving. Go fix me a plate, will you, babe?I’m still tired from earlier.” He winked at Zack and sat down, playing with his nipple ring.

Zack slapped his hand down and got up. “I’ll fix your plate, honey. Then since you’re so tired, you can go on up to bed.”

“And miss the dancing? Not a chance.” As if on cue, the music from the stereo started up, some Lady Gaga song the younger pets liked.“Are you kidding? I love this song!”

Some of the younger wolves and their pets were already on the dance floor, and Gabe jumped up to join them. He pulled a few others onto the floor and soon he had a large group dancing around him. With no one dancing with anyone in particular, Zack allowed it, but watched his pet carefully, his eyes hooded, his arms folded over his chest.

Gabe put his arms over his head and gyrated his hips until Zack could feel his cock about to burst through his pants from watching him.He saw more than one wolf’s eyes on his mate as he ran his hands seductively down his naked chest and bent over to bump and grind his ass in the air.

Unable to stand it a second longer, Zack jumped to his feet and moved over to stand behind him, pulling the ass in question right up against his rigid cock.“Grind this,” he whispered in Gabe’s ear, pulling his body close to him.

Laughing, Gabe turned in his arms and ground his cock obligingly into Zack’s before pulling away and dancing in front of him, just out of reach.“There are children watching, babe. Remember where you are.”

“Good advice you should take yourself,” Zack grumbled and looked around him. “They aren’t the only ones watching, either.” Several male members of his pack watched Gabe.“Okay, you’ve made your point, and everyone has seen how sexy you are. Can you sit down?Please?”