She growled, that inhuman sound she’d made earlier, but instead of terrifying him, this time it made him want to fuck her harder. He began nibbling at the side of her neck, inordinately pleased when she moaned and moved for him. Her head tilted to the side, granting him access to whatever part of her neck he wanted.

He used his teeth, scraping along her tight skin.

She gasped, coming for him again, tightening around his cock in a rhythm as old as time. The sensation nearly drove him over the edge as well, but he wanted to make this last, so he slowed down, allowed her to catch her breath.

When she began tugging on his hair he moved faster, giving her what she wanted, what they both had to have. She began speaking in Spanish, broken words he didn’t understand. Her dark eyes were golden brown from desire, her pupils dilating as she spasmed around him one last time.

When she sank her fangs into him again he shuddered, pouring into her as he came so hard he saw stars. Everything went dark as ecstasy took over, blinding him to everything but her.

He panted, staring down at the woman who’d just flipped his world-view upside down. “Shit.”

Graciela licked her lips, tempting him into another kiss, one he took with enthusiasm even as his mind reeled.

He’d been bitten by the wolf, and he couldn’t have been happier.

“I’m Pack? For real?” Shit. That was a lot easier than he’d thought it would be. “No ceremony or anything?”

Ben nodded and passed the peanuts to his lover, Dave. “Yup. I thought Graciela explained all this? Rick accepted you even before she marked you. It’s a done deal, bro.”

He reached up and ran his fingers over the bite Graciela had left on his skin. Marked. He was marked. Who knew his life would be changed so dramatically simply because he decided to help out a friend?

Dave held up his glass in a toast. “Congratulations.” His expression turned evil. “As the Beta I get to boss you around now.” His evil laugh would have done Dr. Horrible proud.

They were sitting in the near-empty bar of the Red Wolf Lodge at about three o’clock in the morning, way past the time the bar usually closed. They’d snuck in here after the lodge settled down for the night, eager for some alone time.

It was three weeks till Christmas, and Steve had every intention of spending them here with his buddy and his partner.

Oh, and his newly discovered mate.

Mate. He chuckled into his tequila. He had a mate. A cute one, with the sweetest smile and the most iron will he’d ever met. She’d given him his space when he needed it, jollied him out of his fear and let him make the ultimate decision on whether or not to accept her bite.

Where the hell had she been all his life? Shit. He should have come to the lodge sooner.

He resisted the urge to reach up and feel the mark again. Just the soft brush of his fingers was enough to send heat straight to his cock. When Graciela touched it…

When his little Wolf touched him there, it was magic. He grinned, sipping the very smooth Patrón he’d stolen from behind the bar. Damn, they stocked the good shit.

He ached to go back to his—no, their cabin, slip between the sheets and cuddle her close, to hell with tequila and male bonding.

“Would we do that?”

He’d missed something in the conversation, but he wasn’t sure what. However, he did know that Dave couldn’t look innocent if you stuck a halo over his head and declared him the offspring of Archangel Michael, and that’s exactly what he was trying to do. Steve shook his head sadly. “Yes, you would.”

Dave pouted. “Dude. That hurts. Deep down, where it counts.”

Ben rolled his eyes at his goofy lover. “Look, I wouldn’t be telling you this at all if it weren’t for Chela.”

“Graciela?” Steve sat up straighter. If this involved Graciela, then he wanted to know everything they had to tell him. He had to pay attention and stop mooning over…well, Graciela. “What about her?”

The two men exchanged glances Steven couldn’t read, which shocked him. He was an expert at reading the expressions of others, of using them to gauge how far and hard he should push in a deal.

Ben and Dave exchanged a quick glance, and then Dave nodded. “Chela hasn’t had the best of times until recently.”

Ben nodded. “Yeah. She was abused by our previous alpha female, Gina.”

Something inside Steve growled, startling him. It wasn’t enough to throw him off what Ben had said, though. “What do you mean, abused?”

Dave ran his fingers through his hair, messing up the golden brown strands. “My sister was alpha female before Belle got here.”

“And she thought, since Belle was a Puma, she would remain alpha female despite the fact that Rick had declared Belle his Luna, his co-ruler, if you will.”

“Which meant Gina was out of a job, unless Belle proved to be too weak to rule a pack of Wolves.” Dave grimaced. “But Belle is friends with the Alpha, Curana, Beta and Beta female of the Halle Puma Pride, so she knew she’d have to come in and be the Luna in every sense of the word.”

“Which she did, in almost every way, except Gina found a way around it. Or so she thought.”

Steve held up his hand. “This is all very nice, but what does that have to do with Graciela being abused?”

“Gina thought Graciela was weak. Because of that, she…” Dave sighed. “She was alpha female. There wasn’t anything we could do to stop her.”

Ben leaned forward, cradling his drink between his hands. “Alpha females rule all the females unless an acknowledged Luna is present. That means what Gina said went, period. Unless it was proved she was being excessively abusive to the women under her command, Rick’s hands were tied.”

“So it was okay to be a little abusive? Is that what you’re telling me?” Oh, Steve did not like where this was going.

“As alpha female she was the one responsible for rewarding, and punishing, the females. So yes, in a way, it was considered okay. It was one of the reasons Rick wanted to bring Belle here. We needed a Luna, a female strong enough to stand up to Gina and force her to back down, to obey protocol, not just the letter of the law.”

“You’re losing the puny human, guys.”

“Gina beat the living hell out of Chela on a regular basis, okay?” Dave grunted when Ben elbowed him in the side. “What?”

“I thought Rick said Omegas were protected members of the Pack?” Steve was horrified. Who would beat up someone as sweet as Graciela?

And why would the strong woman he’d met, who’d forced him to face his fears with unwavering joy, allow it? Graciela was far from weak. She’d proven that more than once.

“She wasn’t Omega at the time.” Ben frowned. “Or rather, she was, but she hadn’t come into her power yet. It took the Luna to bring it out in her, and now—”

“Chela worships the ground Belle walks on.”

“Thank fuck you got Belle’s approval, Steve, or your ass would bounce as she tossed you down the mountain.”

“I’m not very bouncy, guys.”

They both looked at him with dead-serious expressions. “No, dude. That’s how hard Belle would have thrown you.”

Ben tried to fake-cough into his fist, but Steve heard the puny human loud and clear.

“So Graciela was abused and Belle saved her.” He still wasn’t sure what they were getting at, but he understood he had to take care with Graciela.

They exchanged another look. “Graciela would do anything for Belle.”

“Like roll-around-in-chocolate-pudding-naked anything?”

Ben blinked. “Um…”

Steve hid his grin. “Naked olive-oil wrestling?”

“Dude.” Dave gagged.

“How about—”

“NO!”

Both men shouted so loud his ears rang.

“Gah. Stop trying to gross out the gay men, would ya?” Dave shuddered and finished his cola. Ben had given Dave the stink-eye when the man went to grab a beer, and Dave had backed down without a sound. The vicious migraines he’d been experiencing for years were aggravated by alcohol, so Ben’s reaction made perfect sense to Steve.