Page 170 of Alpha Awakened

Ice was touched at the effort Hazard had put in to find someone from his home pack to complete such an important part of his tattoo sleeves. He brought a hand up to Hazard’s nape, sweeping his thumb back and forth in a caress. “I love you.”

“I hope you still love me when you see what I had him design. Are you sure you don’t want to know what it is ahead of time?”

“I trust you.”

Brett chuckled. “You guys are sweet. Make me remember why I love doing mate band tattoos. All those lovey dovey vibes are good for the session. Come on back, I’ve got everything ready.”

They followed him back to the nook where his station was set up. The space was small, but clean and well organized. Ice satdown in the reclining chair while Hazard settled on a bar stool. Brett washed his hands, pulled on a pair of gloves, and sat on a small rolling stool next to Ice.

“We’ll do your right arm first,” Brett said.

With sure, steady hands, he quickly applied the transfer paper to Ice’s right arm, pressing and rubbing so that the stencil of the design transferred to Ice’s skin. He checked his work then instructed Ice to do the same.

Ice looked down at the purple ink stencil. It was evenly applied and fit perfectly into the empty space left for his mating band. “Looks good.”

“Okay, then. Let’s get to it.”

The tattoo needle buzzed to life. Brett set it to his arm and began tracing the stencil. There were little pinpricks of pain as the needle deposited ink beneath Ice’s skin. Soon, he tuned the pain out. He quietly conversed with Hazard while remaining as still as possible so he didn’t disturb the artist’s work.

A few hours later, both arms were done. Ice checked them out.

His pale skin was blotchy and red from the needle, but the artwork was gorgeous. On his left arm he had a swirling design of apple blossoms and apples. His and Hazard’s dog tags were there, the chains entwined both with each other and the blossoms. On his right arm there were two wolves. One bigger than the other. Both wolves sat on their haunches, eyes closed as they sweetly nuzzled each other. And in cursive script beneath them Brett had inked the words,We Were Inevitable.

“What do you think?” Hazard asked.

Ice picked up on the nervousness in his scent. He put his nose to his mate’s throat, right over his mating bite, to rub it away. “I think that I love it. Just like I love you.”

Hazard brightened, his gorgeous smile taking over his face while his scent changed to show he was pleased and happy.

“Can’t wait for them to heal so you can show them off. I want everyone to know who the big, bad Ice Man belongs to,” he teased as the artist wrapped up both wrists and gave them a card with tattoo after care instructions.

They paid Brett, adding a generous tip along with their happy thanks. After shaking hands with the artist, they left the tattoo studio.

Back outside, they walked over to Ice’s Jeep. Ice stopped in front of the hood. He pulled Hazard close, looping his arms around his waist in a loose hug. “Thank you for helping me honor my pack’s tradition,” he said. It meant a lot to him to have that empty space on his arm filled. He’d thought it would be empty forever because he would be alone forever. Now, he would look at the ink in his skin and know that he’d found love with the one person he was meant to share his life with.

Hazard leaned his head back to look up at him.

“You’re welcome. I was honored to do it.”

“But what about my other pack tradition?”

Hazard laughed. “Nice try, but I asked around and it is not a Mystic Storm tradition for omegas to get their mate’s name tattooed on their ass cheeks.”

“It might not be a tradition now, but you can be a trendsetter and start it.”

“Royce, I am not getting your name, rank, or call sign tatted on my ass,” Hazard protested with a pout.

Ice smiled before he pressed a slow kiss to his mate’s pouting lips. “Hmmm... We’ll see.”

* * *

December 1, 1982

21:00

Location: Unknown

The hour was late. His office was dark, save for the lamp on his desk, where he sat reviewing top secret experiment reports. A knock came at his office door.

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