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.So I could give him Zach too.But bad trouble was comingfrom outside our local packs.Simon and Paul would be at thecenter of it.I didn’t want Simon’s attention divided.And I really didn’t want Zach caught in the middle.In the end I brought himto my place.He complained, of course, eyeing me from under those heavybangs.“Really, Aaron,” he whined.“I’m fine.If you don’t want me to go to work, I can just stay home.I’m not a kid.”“Shut up,” I told him, “And buckle that seatbelt.” No, I didn’twant him at his work, cutting wood on a band saw with shakyhands.And no, in all honesty, I didn’t trust him at home alone.We had removed all the alcohol from Lucas’s house, stashing itwith Mark.Lucas had some good booze in his collection, andrefused to pour single malts down the drain.But clearing thehouse wouldn’t keep Zach from getting any.I could feel the painand aches he was dealing with every time I let the bond slip.Hiswhole body was jangling with need.The temptation had to befierce.“You’re not coming with me to be babysat,” I improvised.“You’re bringing your laptop and helping me get this conferenceworked out.You claim to be good with that thing.Now you’regoing to prove it.”He subsided in the passenger seat, glaring out the windowbut not cocky enough to contradict his Alpha.I reached over andpatted his knee.“Good boy,” I drawled.He grimaced, but I felt his moodlighten a little.I parked in my drive and led the way to the door.Zach followedme a little more slowly.I could feel a touch of apprehension as he entered his Alpha’s domain.He stopped and glanced around from52Kaje Harpermy front entryway.“Vincent’s off today,” I said.“Another reason I can use yourhelp.”“Okay.”“Something wrong?”He shook his head and then winced.“Ouch.No, it’s just…this is nice.Your house.I didn’t notice last time I was here.”When he’d come in front of his Alpha to answer for his graffiti.Someday I wanted to have a separate office for pack business,but for now this served.“You had other things on your mind, Isuspect.”“Yeah.” He looked down.“Lucas didn’t do much to me, youknow, afterward.I did tell him about Daniel’s house.He yelledat me a little.Made me scrub the kitchen floor.Maybe not whatyou wanted him to do.”“What did you expect?” I opened our bond so I could feelhim.His rush of apprehension momentarily overrode his physicaldiscomforts, but he answered steadily enough, “What you said.Abeating bad enough to remember, not enough to keep me frombeing useful.”“Shit.Was that your grandfather’s technique?”He shrugged, keeping his eyes on the floor.“I’m not above using pain where it’s called for, but I thinkyou’ve had more than enough already.If beatings haven’t madeyou careful yet, they’re hardly likely to work now.Anyway I don’t need force to control my wolves and Lucas knows it.I figuredyou’d have realized he wasn’t the beating type by now.” Althoughit occurred to me that Zach had only lived with Lucas a couple ofweeks—it seemed far longer.“He would do whatever you told him to.”“Look at me, Zach.”Unexpected demands 53He dragged his gaze back to mine.Today was perhaps thewrong time for this.I could see the jitter in his eyes, the twitch of a muscle in his neck, the increased pulse of blood at his throat.But I needed him to know where he stood.“Zach, do you doubt that you are my wolf?”“No, Alpha.” His gaze had dropped toward my feet again.“Do you need a beating to remind you of it?”“No.”“Then why the hell would I order one?”“But the message you gave me? To give Lucas?”“Lucas is a smart guy—he’d know what I meant.I did wantyou to worry just a little.But maybe that was wrong.”He suddenly glanced up at me, pupils dilated.I smiled wryly.“What, you don’t think I can ever be wrong?”“No.I mean, yes.” He rubbed his forehead, like I was givinghim a worse headache.“Zach, I’m your Alpha.You will obey me when I demand it.You will hold your place in the pack.But you will also be awarethat I am as fallible as the next guy and I’m new at being Alpha.If I’m wrong about something, then unless we’re in a life and deathsituation, I expect you to tell me.Not that I’ll probably listen to you, being much smarter and all, but I might.”“That’s not how Karl…” He flushed and bit his lip.Of course, Karl and Joseph had been this young man’s twoexposures to werewolf authority.Wonderful.I put a little iron in my voice.“Do I look like Karl?”“No, Alpha.”“Then don’t expect me to act like him.” And I wouldremember that this Ninth of mine needed a lighter touch than Ihad used before.“Now get your ass in here, plug in your laptop,and listen up.”We worked for an hour before the pain in his back and muscles54Kaje Harperwas enough to reach me without having to open the bond.Ilooked over at him.“Break time.Stretch out on the couch.Orthere’s a bed upstairs if you prefer.”He wanted to protest, but then nodded stiffly.Getting up andgetting over to the couch looked painful enough that I thought Imight have pushed his limits too far.But he stretched out with asigh and gave me a small smile.I stood up myself and flexed my hands from the strain of thekeyboard.“Something to drink?”Holy shit, for a moment those simple words caused a spikein his tension I could feel.Then he forced himself to relax.“Sure.Water maybe?”I was in the kitchen getting us each a glass when I heard hiscell phone ring.It took less than a second for me to reach him,grab it out of his hand, and flip it shut.“What?” He almost grabbed it back, before rememberinghimself, but his expression was still irritated.“One of your human friends?”“Yeah.Don’t worry, Aaron, I was just going to tell him where Iam and that I won’t be around for a while.Not like I was planning to meet him or anything.”Perhaps.But the crowd he had run with was adolescent boys,young, wild, and fixated on having a good time
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