Shane and Cliff stood inside the doorway and Manon stopped between them. "You wanted to see me, Beta?" he asked as he took in the two other men in the room. The slender man sat stiffly at a desk chair. The heavy-set man sat at the head of the bed.
"Yes," Shane replied. "Roman here," he said, pointing at the slender fellow, "wanted to talk to you. He agreed to our terms, but only if you assured his safety." Shane smirked at him. "Evidently, you made quite the impression on him."
Manon couldn't stop his brows from lift ing, and he turned his focus to Roman. Cocking his head, he said to the man, "We only want safety for our people, bra. That mean you don't tell anyone, and we don't come after you."
Roman rose slowly, his eyes huge. "My God, it was real. I really did see you turn from a wolf into a man and take your hand. I thought I'd been dreaming!"
He fought the urge to take a step back. Instead, Manon asked, "Dreaming?"
"Yes!" Roman cried. He took several steps forward, then stopped and whispered. "We thought it was a side effect of the scent we sprayed. A hallucinogen! It's not, is it? You can really turn from wolf to man and back again with just a thought!"
Manon nodded. "I can. We all can," he added, sweeping his arm to encompass his two pack-mates.
Roman dropped to his knees. "Let us help you on your crusade! We can help you."
He didn't know what to say to that. Manon glanced over at the tubby fellow-Will,he'd been introduced as. He knew a question appeared on his face. Will nodded eagerly. "We're environmentalists.We've been watching the company you know as the Crystal Lake Corporation for years. They're really a government funded group who are contracted by the military. Theirexperiments are used for weapons." Will frowned. "And not just the US military. The highest bidder!"
"Oh, shit!" Shane hissed.
"Merde," Manon muttered.
Roman nodded quickly. "Damn is right," he said, uttering the English equivalent. "We want to help you. We know where one of their bases is. We should break in and, well," he shrugged. "They ordered us to find two wolves from this area and take them to them. Now, we know why they wanted them."
"I always thought their soldiers were a little odd," Will said. He settled his hands on his ample hips. "This is just like what the Nazi's did to the Jews. We need to stop them!"
Manon knew his brows lifted to his forehead and he turned to see the same startled, disbelieving looks on Cliff and Shane's faces. This went way beyond what they'd originally thought, especially if the military was involved. He cleared his throat and indicated his beta. "Shane's decision is final. He be a good man, and he'll make certain you're safe."
Shane stepped forward and crossed his arms over his wide chest. "Gentlemen, it seems like we have things to discuss. I'm open to learning more about this … military organization. And in return, we'll see about working together."
Manon had to respect Shane. Never once did the beta actually say he'd give these guys information that could be used against the pack. He knew his alpha was due back at the end of the week. It probably wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility that Shane would string these men along until Declan got back. The beta really did have the pack's best interest at heart, always.
He lifted a hand to regain attention. "Question. Who be the one who escaped in the truck?"
Roman waved his hand in dismissal. "My younger brother. I can drop him a quick line to let him know everything's fine, and I got called out of the country. It happens on occasion."
Shane nodded, accepting that. Something niggled at the back of Manon's mind, but he'd be damned if he could figure out what bothered him.
Once they had things settled -well, as settled as they were going to get-Manon excused himself. He wasn't surprised when Shane caught up with him right before he hit the stairs.
"How are things going with your mate?" Manon grimaced at his beta's question. "I've had an interesting development," he admitted. When Shane simply lifted a brow, he added, "Chris, as it turns out, is a man. I'm not sure why she was dressed in drag when I met her, but right now, he's in the hospital due to a gay bashing. I'd like permission to notify Detective Stryker about the incident. I'd really like the homophobes who attacked Chris and his friend, Remy, to be caught. Remy is still in critical condition," he added.
"Of course," Shane answered immediately. The dark haired man shook his head and scowled. "I know the alpha always regrets never getting the opportunity to find out which homophobes attacked his own mate."
That was new information, and it sent Manon's brows shooting up. The alpha's mate had been attacked? When? How?
Shane waved his hand. "It was last summer, before they'd gotten together," he said. "Anyway, Lark didn't know his attackers and the trail went cold while Declan was caring for his mate." Shane shook his head. "Even if it's not the same guys," he added, "it would still be a help to the community. Give Stryker a call."
Manon felt something relax inside him. He ducked his head to his beta, pleased to have his support. "Thank you," he said, knowing that how heart-felt his thanks through his words and actions.
Shane gripped the back of his "Congratulations, and I can't wait to meet your mate." were could be heard
neck and grinned.
Chapter Seven
Chris was so tired of his friends hovering that he wanted to scream. He knew they were just trying to take his mind off why Manon hadn't shown up yet, but really! If they weren't in Remy's room, they were in Chris's. It was as if they were tag teaming him to keep him from thinking too hard. It was frustrating as hell.
"Please," Chris growled at Daren. "Just shut up and let me watch TV."
Daren grinned, pausing in his monologue of the new dogs dropped off at the shelter yesterday. "Awe, come on, Chris. We both know that you won't really be watching the TV. You'll really be thinking about Manon, and where he is, and why he hasn't come back yet," Daren pointed out.
Chris let out a putupon sigh. He knew his friend was right. "So, what do you think of him?" he asked.
Shrugging, Daren replied, "I told you before. I like him. He seems pretty straightforward. Ya know?"
"Yeah, I get the same feeling," he muttered. So what was it about the man that set him on edge so much? The fact that he flipped all of Chris's switches? Maybe it was because any time he was within touching distance of the guy, he wanted to stroke and lick every inch of his body and engage in wild monkey sex. He'd never wanted to move this fast with anyone before, or reacted so strongly, but Chris had a funny feeling that if Manon even so much as crooked his finger, he'd let the man do whatever he wanted to him. It was almost … scary.
Before he got caught up again in Daren's tale of a new cat that came into the center, a knock sounded at the door, interrupting them. In walked the man Chris had been obsessing over, and just seeing his warm, sexy smile had his pulse speeding up.
"Hey, cher," Manon greeted. "Sorry it took me so long to get back here. It took me a while to round up a replacement and get a few daysoff." Manon turned and nodded at Daren, who returned the greeting in silence.
"Hi," Chris replied. "You really didn't have to take time off work just for me." He glanced toward Daren, but his focus couldn't stray from the man for long. "Daren or Eric could stay with me."
Manon stopped by the side of his bed and smiled down at him. "No, cher. Taking care of you is your boyfriend's job." He leaned down, resting a hand on either side of Chris's head, his face just inches from his own. "Myjob," he whispered.
Chris moaned softly at the pressure of Manon's lips against his own. Only their lips touched as the bigger man took his mouth in a slow, claiming kiss. A warm, wet tongue slid inside him to glide and tangle with his own. Manon drew Chris's tongue into his mouth and sucked the appendage gently. The pulls sent tingles down his spine straight to his cock, and it filled quickly.
Slowly, Manon ended the kiss, but he didn't withdraw. Instead, he ducked his head and nuzzled Chris's cheek and neck. "Are you ready toget out of here, Chris?" Manon whispered.
Swallowing hard, Chris nodded. "Yeah."
"Good, because I have some good ideas about ways to distract you from the pain," Manon told him.
Chris's brows shot up. "Really?"
"Oui, cher," Manon said. He pulled back a bit and grinned at Chris. "I see they got your wrist casted," he said, glancing down Chris's body. His focus paused on the slightly tented sheet. He looked back at Chris's face and winked. "Your cast not be the only thing hard, cher," he teased.