Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf [Wolf Creek Pack 6] (2 page)

his body toward him. He seemed to be waiting for Ben. From the

small smile on his lips, Ben assumed the man would be happy to see

him.

As he got closer to him, Ben could see more of his stature. He was

small. He might reach Ben’s sternum…if he stood on a stool.

Otherwise, he would barely reach Ben’s chest. The man couldn’t have

been more than five-foot-ten or so. His thread-worn outfit was

definitely not made to look pleasing on him. There seemed to be no

contours or soft places on him. On a whole, the clothing seemed to

hang over him more like a sack than a shirt. It was not made to entice

anyone, which was strange considering that’s what tonight’s gathering

was all about.

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11

The smile fell from the man's lips as Ben drew nearer to him, fear

began to form in his deep blue eyes. Ben slowed his quick stride. He

felt sorrow in his heart as he realized that the little man was afraid of

him. Ben stopped a mere foot from him. He wanted to give the man

the opportunity to flee from his side before he said anything to him.

As he tried to form the words that might keep the stunning man

where he could look at him, Ben noticed that the man’s gaze was not

on him but on some unseen person behind him. He slowly turned as

he felt a cold shiver creep up his spine.

A man walked slowly toward them, a look of triumph plastered on

his thin lips. He was a vampire. Ben could tell even from here. He

looked back down at the young man. His fear was almost tangible.

Before his eyes, the man began to shake.

It came suddenly to Ben that the little man wasn’t afraid of him.

He was afraid of the vampire walking toward them. He wasn’t even

looking at Ben. His entire being was centered on the man coming

toward them, and his body was readying itself to flee.

“Dane,” the little man whispered, terror lacing his thin voice.

Ben wondered if an eternity from know he would understand why

he did what he did, but for now, it was a complete mystery to him. He

only knew that he had to get the young man to safety, to protect him.

Reaching out, he grabbed his arm and began dragging him through

the crowd. The man gasped as he was pulled along.

Ben stopped suddenly when the smarmy-looking man stepped in

front of him. He felt the smaller man plow into his back and reached

around behind him to place a steadying hand on him.

“Are you claiming Stefan?” Dane asked.

Ben suddenly realized what he was doing. His only thought was to

save Stefan, not to claim him. His stomach rolled just by the thought

of it. He couldn’t have a mate. “Why do you ask?” Ben growled.

“Because if you do not claim him, I will,” Dane said as he stepped

around Ben and reached for Stefan. “Stefan, come,” he stated

triumphantly.

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Ben could feel the terror filling Stefan by the shaking in his body.

“You will not!” he snarled as he stepped between them. He didn’t

know why, but he knew he could not let this man take Stefan from

him. “He is not your mate.”

“If you do not claim him, then he is fair game for the rest of us,”

he said as he reached for Stefan again, grabbing his wrist. Stefan

seemed to make his body as small as possible as he pressed up against

Ben.

“Touch him and die!” Ben snarled as he pulled Stefan from the

man’s grasp, wrapping an arm around Stefan’s waist and pulling him

back against his larger body.

“Ben,” said a strong voice behind him “What goes on here?”

Ben turned toward the voice, knowing it was his alpha. “Nothing

goes on here, Daniel.”

The man beside him sputtered, “That’s not true, Alpha Nash. This

man is refusing my claim on Stefan.”

Alpha Daniel Nash looked over at the arm that Ben had wrapped

around the waist of the cowering man. “Ben, if you do not claim this

man, then you must give him up to he who will.”

Ben’s body went stiff at his alpha’s words. He didn’t want to

claim Stefan. He always believed that he would spend his life alone.

Then he heard a small whimper come from the frightened man

pressed against him. He knew his choices were gone.

“Then I claim him.”

Daniel looked down at the bent head of the shaking man. “Are

you sure, Ben?”

“I claim him!” Ben growled as he lifted his wrist and bit into it.

Once he felt the blood start to flow down his wrist, he held it to

the small man’s mouth, forcing him to drink. At the same time, he

leaned down and sank his canines into the soft flesh between Stefan’s

neck and shoulder.

He heard a small whimper come from Stefan before the elation of

the man’s sweet blood swept through him, before he was forced to

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13

close his eyes to hide the ecstasy and desire that instantly filled his

body.

The wolf in him demanded that he take his mate’s body as well as

his blood. The man in him tried desperately to regain the control that

was rapidly draining from him. Stefan’s blood was unlike anything

Ben had ever tasted. It was like sunshine and earth all rolled into one,

with a side of lust thrown in for good measure. Ben was entranced.

He started to lift the small man up to claim that which was now

his by divine right when he heard a small cry fall from Stefan’s lips.

Then he tasted his fear. It was the only thing he knew would have

gotten through to him in his aroused state.

Licking the small wound he had been drinking from, Ben lifted

his head and gazed back into wide sky-blue eyes. Stefan stared at him

like he had never seen a claiming before. And maybe he hadn’t seen

one quite like this. It had been rough and animalistic, much like him.

Ben shrugged his shoulders. He might as well go on as he was

now. He didn’t plan on changing for this small man any more than he

had to. If anything, Stefan would be accommodating to him. He was a

werewolf warrior, one of the alpha’s chosen soldiers. Warriors did not

change for anyone but their alpha.

Ben looked down into the frightened man’s eyes. “Close it,” he

demanded, indicating his bleeding wrist. Stefan leaned his head back

and stared up at him, his lips still wrapped around the wound.

“Close it, Stefan,” he whispered again, this time only for his ears.

Ben shuddered as Stefan’s tongue swept across the ripped flesh at his

wrist.

Ben watched as Stefan’s eyes quickly darted up to his, then down

again as his tongue made another quick swipe over his wrist, almost

as if Stefan loathed giving up the potent taste of his bleeding flesh.

Ben looked down at Stefan’s head for several moments before

wrapping his arm around the man’s waist again and looking at his

alpha. “Thus, Stefan is claimed,” he stated simply, even as he grabbed

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Stormy Glenn

Stefan’s arm and pulled him behind him, walking through the crowd

toward the edge of the sacred circle.

While most of his mind was on escaping from the masses

gathered, he did hear the tittering of voices raised in anger begin

between his alpha and the man who thought to claim Stefan as his

own. A wicked smile briefly graced his lips as he heard the angry

voice of his alpha put the man in his place.

“Enough! He has been rightfully claimed and now belongs to

Ben.”

Ben felt elation unlike any he had ever felt in battle flow through

him at that statement. Stefan now belonged to him.

* * * *

Stefan was more confused than he had ever been in his life. As he

fell into step beside the tall man who just claimed him, Stefan tried to

gather his thoughts into some semblance of order. So much had

happened in just a few moments.

He had seen the tall man from across the circle. He had looked so

out of place, so uncomfortable that he felt the need to give him a

small smile. Stefan’s mother always said that a smile went a long

ways toward making someone feel better. And he seemed like

someone who needed to feel better. Stefan had no idea what a can of

worms that would open for him.

From the moment he arrived, he knew Dane would claim him. His

brother and Dane had both told him to just wait for Dane to claim him

and do nothing else to draw attention to himself. Somehow, Stefan

thought that he had not achieved that goal. There had been a lot of

attention centered on him. And Dane had not claimed him.

Dane had not claimed him! Stefan felt a tremor of exhilaration

flow through his body as he realized that Dane had not claimed him.

Dane could never claim him now. Not only had someone else claimed

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15

him, he had been claimed by a member of a wolf pack. He was free of

Dane and his stepbrother forever.

Just as suddenly, the feeling of joy fled from him to be replaced

with confusion. Stefan stumbled as he realized that he might not

belong to Dane, but he now belonged to one of the Wolf Creek Pack’s

biggest and most feared warriors.

Even hidden away on his father’s estate as he had been for the last

few months, Stefan had heard of Benjamin Nobles, Wolf Creek

Pack’s most fierce soldier. The man was practically a legend among

werewolves and vampires alike.

He knew anyone in their right mind would be terrified of the big

man, but Stefan wasn’t. He was captivated by him. Ben seemed big

and strong, yet Stefan saw something in the man’s golden eyes that

made him seem vulnerable at the same time. Stefan wanted to cradle

the large man to him and take away all of his worries.

Then he wanted to take away all of his clothes. Stefan couldn’t

believe how aroused he was by the simple way the man smelled—all

woodsy and male like. It made Stefan’s legs quake but not with fear.

Stefan’s friend, Devlin, told him it would be like this when he met his

mate. Stefan just didn’t believe him at the time. He was wrong.

Ben suddenly stopped. Stefan barely contained his small cry of

surprise when the man simply picked him up and cradled him in his

massive arms. His touch was strong but gentle as he began walking

again.

Stefan’s rigid body began to slowly relax against Ben’s. When

Ben first picked him up, he had been terrified that the man would

punish him for foolishly not obeying his words to seal the mating bite.

But Ben seemed to have forgotten that little act of defiance. Instead,

he seemed bent on getting away from the crowd and to someplace

quiet.

Stefan settled down into Ben’s arms, his head coming to rest on

his wide chest. He allowed a brief smile to touch his lips as he

realized that his new mate was much bigger than either Dane or

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Stormy Glenn

Oliver. He could beat them both with his hands tied behind his back.

Maybe this mating thing wasn’t so bad.

Reaching his home, Ben opened the door and walked in, shutting

and locking the door behind him before setting Stefan down on his

feet. He let his hand slide down Stefan’s arm to his hand, grabbing it

and pulling him along behind him as he walked through the house.

“This is my house,” he stated sternly. “It’s not much, but it’s

mine.”

Stefan gazed around him as Ben led him from room to room. Ben

had a nice house. It was much nicer than the small room he inhabited

back where his brother lived. As he followed behind Ben, listening to

him talk about each room, he nodded his head slowly.

He understood what Ben told him. This was Ben’s house. Stefan

might be here for a little while, but it would always be Ben’s house,

never Stefan’s. It was a little disappointing, but nothing more than he

expected.

Ben had no reason to share what was his with Stefan. And it

wasn’t like Stefan had anything to share with Ben. He had nothing of

value. Over the last few months, Oliver had taken anything that might

be worth something and sold it. Stefan basically had a few clothes and

a couple of personal items.

Considering that Dane hadn’t claimed him, Stefan wasn’t even

sure he had that. Oliver and Dane were going to be pissed that

someone else had claimed him. Stefan didn’t think they would be

charitable enough to give him his meager belongings.

“This is where we sleep,” Ben said as he came to his bedroom,

catching Stefan by surprise.

Stefan looked around the large room, taking in the extra-large bed,

the dresser, and two nightstands. It was a nice room, very clean

looking. He liked this room. The bed looked very inviting, and,

considering he had just been mated, Stefan was excited about trying it

out.

“You can cook?”

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17

Stefan looked up at Ben again, nodding his head. Ben wanted him

to cook him something? Now?

“Good. I’m hungry. The kitchen’s that way,” Ben said, pointing

over Stefan’s head.

Stefan wanted to ask what he should cook, but thought better of it

when Ben lifted an eyebrow at his hesitation. He quickly made his