Without another word, six elegantly clad women swept out of the room, busily making plans.
“Fuck, this little drama is going to cost me a diamond necklace or two before I can get my wife to talk to me again.” Robert, the reptile representative slumped in a chair.
“Just get another one,” Benson snapped, struggling to his feet and prodding Stone in the chest. “You think you’re better than us just because you’ve found your fated mate, but believe me, you won’t last ten minutes in this place. We’ll oppose you at every turn until you quit in frustration.”
“Is that right?” Stone grabbed the finger and bent it back until he heard it snap. Benson howled and bent over, clutching his finger this time instead of his balls. “You guys better get your affairs in order. One thing this sorry business has taught me is that Councilmen can be challenged, and they have to face those challenges. I think shifters everywhere need to know what goes on in this supposedly hallowed building and once I spread the word they’ll be hammering down your doors to challenge you. I have three friends that’ll take your positions here and now.” He showed his teeth at Benson, Tomas, and Stevens. “So, what’s it going to be, gentleman. Are my mate’s ideas going to get a fair hearing, or are you all prepared to fight for your position?”
“I’ll listen,” Robert said wearily. “Unlike these guys, I actually love my wife and I used to hate bringing her to these things. I’ll support your mate on any sensible ideas he comes up with. It’s time for things to change. I’ve always wished I could do more for my people, but these bastards kept blocking me.”
“I will, too,” the deer representative said quickly, and the sea shifters representative also followed suit. Stone smirked as he watched Benson, Tomas, and Stevens slink out of the room. It was a start, a small start, but Stone hoped Wyatt would be pleased.
Chapter Fifteen
“Come on, let’s go,” Stone rapped sharply on Barron’s office door and opened it, unsurprised to see Cal and Tom sitting in there too. Since swapping jobs from Council troubleshooters to Councilors, the three men were often found together, working on making Wyatt’s dreams a reality. “Is this what the council pays you for every day, sitting around gossiping like old women?”
“We’ve been working twelve-hour days for the past three weeks,” Cal grumbled. “Wyatt’s worse than any drill sergeant. He wants all these new laws drafted like, yesterday.”
“Yeah, well, Sarah tells me he’s in his last meeting of the day now. The plane’s fueled and ready at the airport. We’re taking a summer vacation.”
“Does Wyatt know?” Barron asked as Cal groaned, “Thank the fates.”
“Not yet, but he will.” Stone couldn’t be prouder of mate. After stopping him from leaving the council grounds with a lot of kisses and explanations, he stood by as Wyatt made his presentation for the improvement of shifter lives in front of three new and three prepared to be supportive council members just a week later.
Since then his mate had been in one meeting after another; working on housing for homeless shifters, soup kitchens in every major town, and drafting laws to change the rights for women and omegas across the country. Specialist council teams were set up to visit and audit every shifter group taking note of concerns and reporting changes needed. It was a hectic time for everyone, but Stone knew Wyatt was missing Maddie; the evening Skype calls not the same as tucking his sister into bed at night. Stone was determined to take his damn mate home if he had to pick him up and carry him kicking and screaming onto the plane.
“He’s not going to want to come,” Tom warned as they strode down the council hallways. “He seems to think he has to do all this damn work himself and he’s not going to be happy being dragged away.”
“How did you know I was going to go all caveman on him?” Stone winked at his friend. “I know he takes his responsibilities seriously but enough is enough. He falls asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow. He’s not eating enough and there are bags under those lovely baby blues of his. He needs a break.”
“And you probably need to have some sack time with him,” Barron laughed. “How does it feel having such an important mate?”
“Exhausting,” Stone muttered but he flashed a smile at Sarah who was guarding Wyatt’s door. “Please tell me he’s finished for the day.”
“Councilor Roberts is in there,” Sarah whispered, flicking a quick look at the door. “Poor man’s devastated since his wife left him and I think he’s hoping Wyatt can offer some suggestions for getting her back. He’s supposed to be talking about planning permissions for the new half-way house in Texas, but…you know Wyatt.”
“He’s too damn caring for his own good,” Stone agreed. Brushing past Sarah, he knocked lightly on the door and then opened it. Inside the office, Wyatt’s smile was strained, and Roberts’ cheeks were flushed. “Sorry to interrupt,” Stone wasn’t sorry at all, “but we’ve got a plane waiting and a little girl anxiously waiting to see her brother.”
“Plane? Maddie? Is anything wrong? I’m sorry Councilor but….”
“No, no, no, you go ahead,” the Councilor shuffled to his feet and shook Stone’s hand. “I should be making a move myself. I’m meeting my wife at her father’s house and I’m hoping she’ll come out to dinner with me.”
“Don’t forget true words mean more than diamonds.” Wyatt was already packing his satchel. Stone moved to let Roberts pass and then took the case out of Wyatt’s hands.
“No work.”
“But there’s the….”
“I said, no work. Wyatt, this place can do without you for the next month. You’re needed back at home, in our bed, playing with our little girl. Not to mention you need some serious sunshine, babe, you’re decidedly peaked.”
“Peaked. Who even says that anymore?” Wyatt leaned into Stone and Stone’s blood roared. Then he straightened up, his eyes wide. “A month. I can’t. I have to….”
“One of the important things about being in a responsible position is learning the art of delegation,” Stone said firmly, sweeping Wyatt off his feet and throwing him over his shoulder. “Say goodbye to Sarah, she’ll take care of things while we’re gone.”
“Sarah,” Wyatt yelled, his feet kicking gently. “Call out the guard. I’m being abducted.”
“Have a lovely vacation, Wyatt,” Sarah called back. “Don’t come back until I see some color in those cheeks of yours.”
“Traitor,” Wyatt muttered as Stone strode down the hall. “You can put me down now. I’ll come, but only because I really miss Maddie.”
“Don’t you miss me too?” Stone couldn’t help caressing his mate’s pert behind as they hurried towards the limousine.
“Yeah, I do. I’m just so tired. I’m sorry.”
“Home James,” Cal slapped the driver on the shoulder and then stopped to take a sniff. “Tell me, have you ever been to Arizona?”
“Sit up front if you must chat up the driver,” Stone growled. “I want to get to the airport and take my poor mate home.”
“I’m Councilor Cal Newman, bear shifter representative, but you can call me Cal. And you are….”
Stone sighed as the door closed on Cal’s flirtation, although from the sudden increase in the smell of arousal, it could well be Cal’s flirting days were over. Gently stroking Wyatt’s cheek, he willed the car to go faster. It felt like forever since he’d had his mate in his bed.
Epilogue
“Hmm, I could stay here all day,” Wyatt purred as he stretched out over Stone’s body, the sun beating a steady tattoo on his back. “No phones, no demands, just you, Maddie, and our friends enjoying a lovely summer afternoon.”
“You’ve got a lot more color in your cheeks,” Stone agreed. “Being on vacation suits you.”
“Things did get a bit hectic there for a while.”
Wyatt shook his head as he realized just how patient his mate had been while he tried to set the shifter world to rights in a matter of a month. “I am sorry. I should’ve paid more attention to you, too…and Maddie. She’s growing so fast.”
He turned his head on Stone’s torso to watch as Maddie screamed “Catch me,” as she jumped into the pool. Cal and his new mate, the chauffeur Jeremy, were curled up on another sun lounger across the pool. Barron and Tom were bickering over the grill, while Chip was playing with Maddie and Horn in the pool. It was an idyllic setting and Wyatt spent a moment thinking about how far he’d come.
“I got a call from William this morning, over at the Mason Pack,” Stone said quietly. “Apparently, he was greeted like a forgotten hero when he arrived at the pack grounds. Security is in shambles and there’s a lot of misuse of pack funds still to be worked out, but he said ensuring the safety of the women and children were his main priority.”
“I knew he’d be right for that pack,” Wyatt tilted his chin, resting it on Stone’s chest so he could watch his mate’s face. “William’s quiet, but he has a lot of power and I’m glad we could give him the chance of a new home.”
“Another one of your homeless settled,” Stone grinned. “And what about you? Do you feel as though you’ve found your home?”
“I’m with you,” Wyatt said honestly. “You’re my home.” Leaning forward he brushed his lips across Stone’s jaw. “Love you,” he whispered.
“Oh babe, I love you, too,” and just as he hoped, Stone’s arms cuddled him close as his lips were caught and plundered with a gentle strength unique to his mate. With the sun burning his back and the sounds of Maddie’s laughter ringing in his ears, Wyatt gave thanks to the Fates for all the changes in his life. He was one happy omega and it was all thanks to the powerful alpha who was stroking his body to fever pitch. It was proving to be a wonderfully hot summer, in more ways than one.
Author Bio
Lisa Oliver had been writing non-fiction books for years when visions of half dressed, buff men started invading her dreams. Unable to resist the lure of her stories, Lisa decided to switch to fiction books, and now stories about her men clamor to get out from under her fingertips.
When Lisa is not writing, she is usually reading with a cup of tea always at hand. Her grown children and grandchildren sometimes try and pry her away from the computer and have found that the best way to do it, is to promise her chocolate. Lisa will do anything for chocolate.
Lisa loves to hear from her readers and other writers. You can find her at the links below.
Blog – http://www.supernaturalsmut.com
Author page – http://www.amazon.com/author/lisaoliver
Official Author page – https://www.facebook.com/LisaOliverManloveAuthor/
My new private teaser group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/540361549650663/
(You will need to be familiar with my books or a friend of mine on Facebook to join, as there are questions to be answered to get into the group. It helps prevent the group being invaded by people who monitor and report posts.)
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/lisaoliverauthor
Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/wisecrone333
Also By Lisa Oliver
Cloverleah Pack
Book 1 – The Reluctant Wolf – Kane and Shawn
Book 2 – The Runaway Cat – Griff and Diablo
Book 3 – When No Doesn’t Cut It – Damien and Scott
Book 3.5 – Never Go Back – Scott and Damien’s Trip and a free story about Malacai and Elijah
Book 4 – Calming the Enforcer – Troy and Anton
Book 5 – Getting Close to the Omega – Dean and Matthew
Book 6 – Fae for All – Jax, Aelfric and Fafnir (M/M/M)
Book 7 – Watching Out for Fangs –Josh and Vadim
Book 8 – Tangling with Bears – Tobias, Luke and Kurt (M/M/M)
Book 9 – Angel in Black Leather – Adair and Vassago
Book 9.5 – Scenes from Cloverleah – four short stories featuring the men we’ve come to love
Book 10 – On the Brink – Teilo, Raff and Nereus (M/M/M)
Book 11 – Don’t Tempt Fate – Marius and Cathair
Book 12 – Thomas’s story will be coming soon
The God’s Made Me Do It (Cloverleah spin off series)
Book One - Get Over It – Madison and Sebastian’s story
Book Two - You’ve Got to Be Kidding Me – Poseidon and Claude
Book Three – Just One Bite – Lasse and (shush, it’s a secret) (Coming soon)
Bound and Bonded Series
Book One – Don’t Touch – Levi and Steel
Book Two – Topping the Dom – Pearson and Dante
Book Three – Total Submission – Kyle and Teric
Book Four – Fighting Fangs – Ace and Devin
Book Five – No Mate of Mine – Roger and Cam
Book Six – Undesirable Mate – Phillip and Kellen
Stockton Wolves Series
Book One – Get off My Case – Shane and Dimitri
Book Two – Copping a Lot of Sin – Ben, Sin and Gabriel (M/M/M)
Book Three – Mace’s Awakening – Mace and Roan
Book Four – Don’t Bite – Trent and Alexi
Book Five – Tell Me the Truth – Captain Reynolds and Nico (mpreg)
Alpha and Omega Series
Book One – The Biker’s Omega – Marly and Trent
Book Two – Dance Around the Cop – Zander and Terry
Book 2.5 – Change of Plans - Q and Sully
Book Three – The Artist and His Alpha – Caden and Sean
Book Four – Harder in Heels – Ronan and Asaph
Book 4.5 – A Touch of Spring – Bronson and Harley
Book Five – If You Can’t Stand the Heat – Stone and Wyatt (you just read it)
Balance – Angels and Demons
The Viper’s Heart – Raziel and Botis
Passion Punched King – Anael and Zagan
(Uriel and Haures’s story will be coming soon)
NEW Series – City Dragons
Dragon’s Heat – Dirk and Jon
Dragon’s Fire – Samuel and…wait and see☺ (coming soon)
Arrowtown (mpreg series)
A Tiger’s Tale – Ra and Seth
Snake Snack – Simon and Darwin
Liam’s Lament – Liam, Beau and Trent (M/M/M)
(Deputy Joe and Doc’s story will be coming soon)
Standalones
The Power of the Bite – Dax and Zane – Vampire and Wolf shifter story
One Wrong Step – Robert and Syron - Demon and Warlock story
The Necromancer’s Smile – Sy and Dakar – Necromancer and alpha wolf shifter story (coming February 2018)
Also under the penname Lee Oliver
Northern States Pack Series
Book One – Ranger’s End Game – Ranger and Aiden
Book Two – Cam’s Promise – Cam and Levi
Book Three - Under Sean’s Protection – Sean and Kyle – (Coming soon)
Shifter’s Uprising Series – Lisa Oliver in conjunction with Thomas J. Oliver
Book One – Uncaged – Carlin and Lucas