A Moment in Time(7)

If he hadn't received an emergency phone call from one of his pack  mates, he would probably still be tucked in Apollo's bed, fucking the  gorgeous man into the mattress. He still felt guilty that he had left,  but his duty to his pack had to come first.

Even now, they waited for him, hidden away in an abandoned house in the  woods. Even so many miles away, Grayson could feel their terror. They  had suffered so much that the putrid scent of fear permeated their skin.

Grayson knew that he needed to head back soon. He just wanted a few more  minutes to watch his mate, soak in the only thing that was keeping him  going when all he really wanted to do was curl up and cry until there  were no tears left.

He hadn't allowed himself to cry since the second he buried his sister  and her mate. His work had been hasty graves dug into the cold hard  ground in the dark of night. He hadn't even had time to grieve.

Too many depended on him.

Grayson's interest perked up when the two men on the porch with Apollo  stood. Each of them shook Apollo's hand, the redheaded one patting  Apollo on the shoulder before heading inside the house with the beer  bottles. He was back a moment later, taking off with the older wolf  toward town.

Grayson watched until they disappeared from sight then returned his  attention to the man he really wanted to watch. Apollo had stood and was  now leaning both hands on the porch railing, looking out over the  crystal clear lake in front of his house.

The lake was beautiful. It was nestled in the trees at the bottom of  some cliffs that led up to a high snow-capped mountaintop. The cliffs  were only on one side, though. Two sides were thick with trees. The last  side of the lake had a marina and several buildings.







Although it was called Aberdeen Lake, it was actually an inlet off of  the Aberdeen River, which was just beyond the village. The river ran  down from the mountain glaciers. It brought water to the entire valley.  Once it passed that village, it went for about twenty miles and then  dumped into the ocean.

The village of Aberdeen was small, not more than a couple of dozen  businesses. But they had everything from a restaurant and sidewalk café  to a general store, marina, tavern, and even a library. There were also  several smaller businesses, mostly clothing and gift stores, but  everything was pack operated.

Off in the distance, snow-capped mountains could be seen reaching up  toward the sky. The green forest that came down to the edge of the lake  gave the entire place a secluded feeling like the rest of the world  didn't exist outside of this little valley.

Besides looking for a new alpha for his pack, Grayson had done his  research on Aberdeen Valley. He wanted to make sure that he found a  place where his pack members could prosper as well as not be slaughter  in their beds at night. The beautiful little valley nestled in the woods  at the base of some majestic mountains almost seemed like a dream come  true.

None of it would matter if he couldn't get Alpha Khenti to agree to  accept a bunch of rogue shifters with a price on their heads.

With a long, exhausted sigh, he stood up, Grayson started to turn away  to head back when Apollo growled and threw his beer bottle into the  darkness. Unspoken pain was alive and glowing in his dark eyes.

"Oh, mijo," Grayson whispered almost silently as his eyes blurred. He  hated that he had put the pained look in Apollo's eyes. "What have I  done to you?"

Grayson's guilt at what he had done to his mate jumped on top of the  already heavy load Grayson was carrying, weighing him down until he felt  like he couldn't breathe. The need to curl up and cry was growing.

The need for his mate was stronger.

Grayson waited until Apollo had walked inside, the lights downstairs  going off one by one until the house was dark. After a moment, a light  on the second floor came on. Grayson watched and waited, not moving from  his hiding spot until it went out as well.

He waited just a bit longer, giving Apollo time to settle in, and then  slowly made his way toward the house. Grayson was mildly surprised at  how easy it was to get inside the house. Once again, the thought that  this could be a trap ran through his mind. It was a very real  possibility.

But the need to see Apollo overrode his common sense. Grayson didn't  care if it was a trap. Apollo was his mate, and seeing him was more  important than breathing. If it meant he got caught, and possibly  executed, Grayson was willing to accept it. He hated that it would put  his pack members in jeopardy, but just once he needed to think of his  mate.

There was a slight chill in the night air, enough to let one know that  fall was coming and winter would soon settle into the valley. Grayson  hoped to be around to enjoy the snowfall that would undoubtedly blanket  the quaint little village at the base of the mountains.

He wanted to play in it, roll in it, have snowball fights with his mate.  He wanted to go back to a time when he didn't think about the recent  horrors he had witnessed or the fact that so many people depended on him  for their very survival.

He wanted some time to enjoy life instead of just survive.

Grayson easily climbed the porch up to the second floor and then made  his way to the roof. His steps were light and almost nonexistent as he  tiptoed across the room to a window that led to the hallway just outside  of Apollo's bedroom door.

He wanted to shout with outrage when he discovered the window unlocked.  Security around here was deplorable. Anyone with brain cell could get  into the house. As an elite enforcer, Apollo's home should be better  secured than this.

Grayson climbed into the unlocked window then turned and slowly slid the  window closed. He knew the grounds around Apollo's house were being  patrolled, and he didn't want anyone except Apollo knowing he was there.  An open window would be like waving red flag and announcing his  presence with a bullhorn.

Grayson's hands started to sweat. He leaned in close to the wooden door  separating him from his mate and inhaled, checking for the presence of  anyone else. There were faint traces of couple of others wolves, but  they were fading as if the men had been here hours ago. They were  probably the two men Grayson had spotted on the porch with Apollo.

A lump formed in Grayson's throat as he turned the knob on Apollo's  bedroom door and stepped inside the dark room. His eyes drifted toward  the lump under the covers in the middle of the bed.

Just about the time he realized it was a stack of pillows, Grayson was  hit from behind and taken down to the floor. He quickly rolled over,  pushing the heavy weight off his back as he came up to a crouched  position, claws flicked out.







"Apollo?" Grayson blinked as every ounce of resistance drained out of  him. He fell back on his butt and stared up at the most erotic sight he  had ever seen.

Apollo stood over the top of him, gloriously naked, his slick, muscled  chest heaving. His eyes had shifted, turning wolf, and Grayson knew the  man was seeing him in monochrome. Apollo's claws were extended, the man  ready to slash through the intruder that had snuck into his home. He  stared down at Grayson like he didn't even know him.

"Mijo?"

As he watched, Apollo's flaccid cock began to harden, thicken, lifting  up from the man's groin to curve back against his belly button. Apollo's  chest began to go up and down in rapid movements as the man started  panting.

"You left me," Apollo growled in a voice that shook Grayson to his core.  It was filled with anger and rage and a need to dominate his prey. But  beneath that was a sorrow so great it brought tears to Grayson's eyes.

"I didn't want to leave you, mi amore," Grayson said as he reached a  hand out for his mate, praying the man would take it. "I had no choice."

"Liar!"

Grayson flinched at the vehemence in Apollo's tone, dropping his eyes to  his lap. He had been afraid of this. They had enjoyed just a few hours  together, not nearly long enough to build any sense of trust between  them. Apollo had no way of knowing if Grayson's words were true or not,  and after being abandoned with no word, he had every right to think  Grayson was lying.

Grayson pressed his lips together, knowing what he needed to do to get  the fierce wolf to listen to him. Having spent his life as a member of  the alpha family and due to the number of wolves he had to placate to  keep from getting into fights, Grayson was an expert at calming dominant  wolves.

He crawled forward until he knelt at Apollo's feet then dropped his head  down submissively, keeping his hands palm side up on his thighs. If he  had been naked, he would have spread his thighs and allowed his hard  cock to bounce up on display.

Dominant wolves loved that.

"My name is Grayson Sanchez."

Apollo snorted even as he grabbed a fistful of Grayson's hair and jerked  his head back, their eyes meeting. "Liar. Alpha Sanchez has never heard  of you."

So, Apollo had searched for him.

"I never said I was a member of the Sanchez Pack. You assumed I was, and I allowed you to assume so."

Apollo's nostrils flared, a sure sign that the wolf was barely holding  onto his control. Grayson knew he would need to tread carefully if he  had any hope of repairing the damage done to his relationship with his  mate.