Page 8 of Harvest

“Good job, Xander. I take it you’re going to stay in the city tonight?”

“I thought I might. I want to double check on our new she-wolf, but I want to burn off some stress.”

Xander ended the call and headed to Stephanie’s hotel.

“Good evening, sir,” said the head of hotel security, a member of the pack who lived in the city.

“Chandler, how’s our newest pack member?”

“She appeared to be a bit surprised to find wolves here at the hotel, but she seems very pleasant. She spent most of the day sightseeing and went back out this evening.”

“I’ll check in with you before I leave the city. Did you hear about the Coronado pack?"

Chandler nodded. “I did. Bad business that. I’ve tightened up security.”

“Good. We’re doing that out at the vineyard as well.”

Xander headed for Torch Light feeling he could burn off some steam before returning to the pack’s main compound. There wasn’t a man in Damian’s old unit, Xander included, who didn’t frequent the exclusive club. Its members were both human and shifter. Like many members of the pack, Xander enjoyed playing there as it was a great way to work off aggression, stress, and lust.

The rule of thumb was that she-wolves within the pack were off-limits to the male members. Then once a particular male started courting a she-wolf, the two would be exclusive to one another unless they parted. Casual sex was frowned upon. With Stephanie’s arrival, there would now be two unmated she-wolves in the pack—Shasta would most likely welcome Stephanie’s presence. Damian was a bit old-fashioned in that he believed she-wolves needed to be mated. At the moment, Shasta was the sole unmated she-wolf in the pack and had caused trouble repeatedly. Xander was hopeful that with the addition of Stephanie to their pack, Shasta might settle down. If she didn’t Damian might decide it was time to begin to look for her a mate outside their pack.

After Xander arrived at Torch Light, he walked inside to change into his leathers and take some time for himself. Xander entered the bar to grab a beer before finding a sub who might be amenable to a session. The sudden, intense buzzing that assailed him stopped him dead in his tracks. It was as powerful as it was unmistakable. Not only did he have a fated mate, something he had never considered to be possible as he had been turned, but she was near. Every cell in his body roared to life as he experienced the power of her pull. He didn’t see her, but he inhaled deeply, smiling as he scented the essential fragrance that was uniquely hers—orange blossom laced with vanilla. He had known that scent would be important to him from the time he had awakened as a wolf.

He scanned the bar and what he could see of the main stage, coming up empty. All of the females he saw were ones he had known for quite some time. Xander didn’t believe in fated mates and because he scoffed at the notion, he wasn’t sure of all of the intricacies involved. For example, was it possible to know a woman and not know she was your fated mate? Could someone you’d known suddenly become a fated mate? Did it take time to figure it out or, as he’d gleaned from Damian, that the call was profound and a wolf would know immediately that a woman or she-wolf was the other half of his soul? He’d never heard that, but then again, he hadn’t heard it was impossible. And what did he know? He hadn’t been born wolf and it was only recently that Damian had begun to open up about his own aspirations and beliefs.

Xander, or Master Alex at the club, was well known as a master of several forms of play, but his skill with whips and floggers was second to none. He picked up his floggers to examine them. These were his favorites—well-worn deerskin, with incredibly soft falls.

“Alex,” Nic hailed from across the bar. Nic was human and knew nothing about wolf-shifters.

Xander turned toward the sound of Nic’s voice, peering into the darkened corner, and smiled. Had it not been for his heightened ability to see in dim light, he might have missed her. A gorgeous strawberry blonde she-wolf. Could this be the pack’s new she-wolf? He couldn’t see much of her as she was seated, but he would recognize her scent anywhere. What he could see was most definitely to his liking.

Damian was going to have a field day with all of this.

Xander could sense her distress; it seemed she too had detected her fated mate’s presence. It was interesting to note that she didn’t seem very happy about that. Then again Damian had once said that in his opinion, the best mates generally didn’t. But Damian liked those who offered him a challenge. The best mate, especially for an alpha, was as strong as her mate and chose to submit, although sometimes at first that submission needed to be forced or coerced.

So, his mate wasn’t sure she liked the idea of her fated mate claiming her. That was a shame, as he had the advantage, although he doubted she realized that. Xander decided to insist that she either negotiate a scene with him, or her application to the club would be rejected. He knew it was high-handed, but he also knew he would never tolerate anyone else touching her. Interestingly enough he’d never experienced feelings of jealousy or possessiveness… until now.

“Nic,” he said joining them, “who might you have here?”

“Stephanie is here as a guest. She has an application pending, but I’ve cleared her for play. She was hoping for a session with someone good with a flogger. Interested?”

“No, I wouldn’t want to bother the boss,” she said, trying to slide out of the chair and past him.

“It would be no trouble at all and would give us a good idea if you are a fit for the club. What’s your safeword?”

“No, really, I don’t want to impose.”

“It wouldn’t be an imposition, but rather my pleasure and yours… unless of course, you’re just a tourist,” Xander said.

Nic started to intervene but thought better when Xander caught his eye and shook his head. The Resident Dom had known Xander long enough to know when not to push him.

“What’s it to be? Safeword or rejection of your application?” Xander asked her in a pleasant tone with an undernote of iron.

“That’s a bit high-handed, don’t you think?” asked Nic.

“No, Nic. I don’t,” Xander answered before turning his attention back to the pretty she-wolf seated before him.

He smiled as he imagined her naked, on her knees before him—either in a submissive presentation, sucking his cock, or as he mounted and fucked her from behind. His cock was becoming more swollen by the moment.

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