Free Fighting Fangs

ensure that any decision made about your mate will include provisions for you and from this moment you will be accorded all rights and privileges pertaining to pack membership.”
    Devin bowed formally and looked at Kyle. For a moment Pearson thought that Kyle would argue with him, but after a few seconds Kyle ducked his head and said, “yes, Alpha.” Both men left the room, the door closing softly behind them.
    Pearson pulled Dante into his lap, burying his face into Dante’s long hair. For a long time the two men sat, just enjoying the closeness and the few moments’ peace that their solitude allowed them. Too often Pearson got caught up in the running of the pack and the club, and he and Dante had so little time to just be themselves, together.
    “You know, what Phillip did was far worse and you let him off with a beating before he received full reinstatement of his position in the pack. Would it be so bad, now that Ace is mated to a non-wolf, to do the same thing for him?” Dante’s soft words cut through Pearson’s musings, forcing him to think about the situation at hand.
    Pearson knew that Dante was right. Phillip, one of his enforcers had allowed another wolf into the pack under false pretenses that gave valuable information to a psycho, Faro, who had been targeting gay packs. It was Kyle’s mate Teric that killed Faro, and when Pearson had learned that Phillip had only gone along with the scheme because of his estranged sister, Pearson had given the man thirty lashes and then reinstated him as an enforcer.
    “You’re right as per normal Alpha Mate,” Pearson said, looking up with at Dante with a small smile on his face. “Phillip’s actions threatened the whole pack, were deceitful and went on for months. Ace did threaten Teric, but has never had the chance to act on it, and somehow, with Devin in the picture, I don’t think he will be a problem again. Ace will need the support of the pack to help him cope with his new mate, and it would not hurt to have a vampire, especially one as old as Devin, on our side and in our pack.”
    “So why didn’t you tell Devin or Ace that?” Dante asked.
    “Because without Teric around, I don’t think Kyle will accept it. That man is just so damned possessive about his little assassin. I am hoping that if I can talk to them both, and then go and see Ace and Devin later, we can all come to an agreement that will work for everyone.”
    “You’re too kind hearted to be an Alpha, you know that, don’t you?” Dante said softly, stroking Pearson’s hair.
    “Don’t you dare tell anyone,” Pearson said, pulling Dante’s head down so he could steal a kiss. He wasn’t looking forward to trying to convince Kyle that leaving Ace alive and within the pack was a good idea and he was trusting that Teric would back him up. But now that Ace had a mate, he would need the support of the pack and the resources of the club to keep his little vampire sub in control. Pearson wasn’t about to unleash that pocket sized predator on any other unsuspecting pack. Especially one that was so damned cute.

9
    Chapter Nine
    Ace barely registered the sounds of footsteps in the hallway, coming towards his cell. After the first day of his confinement, which he had spent resting and healing after the beating that Steel and Kyle had given him, he had spent the rest of his time lost in dreams about his mate. Even when Steel and Kyle were pummeling him, he didn’t fight back. Ace knew that he had brought about his misfortune through his own deeds, and all he was sorry for, all he could worry about, was Devin. Knowing that his mate couldn’t feed from anyone else, was driving Ace insane.
    Every time he closed his eyes he imagined his beloved mate slowly starving to death, but he knew there was nothing he could do. All Ace could hope for was a chance at seeing Pearson just once before they killed him. Pearson wouldn’t let his mate die, and maybe with the mate bond severed, Devin could find