Fated Wolves

By Kaleidoscope Press

They were surely fated.

This was meant to happen.

No shifter has complete control over their most primal instincts. They are meant to live free — and Cory was meant to breed and carry on his bloodline. He’s at the time in which he is supposed to start a family, and it’s too easy that Elijah had fallen into his life right now... a young, perfect omega.

But this is a world where rival packs of shifters hold century-old rivalries, and no one is safe... Even young omegas with no idea about their true ancestry...

All that matters is that Cory and Elijah's love is real. The power of their bond is undeniable — Elijah is carrying Cory's child, proving their love in the most powerful form a shifter knows...

A child born of two male parents, through male pregnancy.

But is a happily ever after the way their story will end? Or will it all come crashing down before this young omega in love comes to term?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Steamy eReads
• Release date: Mar 24, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005145620

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

ELIJAH

You're late again Eli, Diego yelled from across the tattoo studio. He was busy working on a client, the low hum of the buzzing tattoo machine filling the room.

Sorry, I missed my bus, Elijah said apologetically, slinging off his backpack and heading to the sink to wash his hands. He knew Diego wasn't mad or anything, but since he was his boss he still had to enforce some sort of management on his tardiness. 

Max walked out of the back room. All good, man, you can close up on your own tonight. Diego and I scored tickets to the Queens of the Stone Age concert.

Yeah, sure, no problem, Elijah said with a wave of satisfaction that they trusted him enough with the responsibility.

He had started working at Luna Ink three months ago, after practically begging the owners and twin brothers to take him on as their new apprentice. He knew it wasn't normal to take on a human in their shifter family business, but he eventually won Diego and Max over with his enthusiasm, and they'd given him the job despite some disapproval from other shifters in their circle. 

It had been the best three months of Elijah's life working at the studio. He had always loved art, and the older he got, the more he knew that he wanted to ink people for a living. He was addicted to everything about tattooing — the sterile smell of the studio, the low hum of the tattoo machine, the burning pain of the needle piercing the skin. When he'd left the boy's home he'd grown up in on his eighteenth birthday to make his way in the world alone, he'd gone around every studio in Portland trying to find one that would give him a shot. It was Luna Ink that he was set on working at, though. He was intrigued by its twin owners and especially the fact that they were wolf shifters, and so were most of their clients.

Elijah couldn't pinpoint exactly when his fascination with the other kind began, but for as long as he could remember, he had dreamed of being one of them. He often thought how great it would feel to be a part of something big, part of a pack, have people looking out for you no matter what. 

Elijah had grown up moving from boys home to boys home after his parents died when he was just two years old. None of his other relatives could take him in, and no adoptive parents had ever taken an interest in him, so he was as alone now as he'd always been. He had his friends who he'd grown up with, his brothers of circumstance, yet still he never felt like he really fit in anywhere, and it was proven how shallow those relationships really were since no one had bothered to check in on him since he'd left.

You almost done with that phoenix back piece? Max asked, breaking him away from his thoughts.

I'll have it ready in the next hour, Elijah told him, sitting behind the front counter and setting up his art station.

He hadn't actually tattooed anyone yet, apart from practicing on himself. For now, he just swept the floors and set up the equipment, as well as working on various designs. He loved it — not so much the cleaning, but drawing pictures that were actually going to be tattooed on people gave him a real thrill.

What time's Cory coming in? Diego asked Max, who was now digging into a meatball sub.

He's booked in for eleven, so he should be here soon, he replied. 

I'm so jealous you get to work on that hunk. One day I'm going to trick him into working with me just so I can feel those abs of his, Diego joked.

Elijah laughed, not knowing who Cory was but still finding his comment amusing. Despite being twins, Max and Diego were noticeably different people. Diego had shoulder-length dark hair, a lip and eyebrow ring, and dressed like he was going to a Marilyn Manson concert. Max, on the other hand, had his dark hair cut short, was buff from his hours spent at the gym, and had a pretty regular style apart from the fact the was covered in tattoos. The main things the twins had in common, however, were that they both loved tattooing as much as they loved hot, tattooed men. 

It was a relief for Elijah to find out that his bosses were gay and finally gave him the chance to accept his own sexuality. He'd fooled around with some of the guys in the boy's home growing up, but he'd always felt like for them it was just a release and for himself there was more of an emotional connection to their encounters. 

Who's Cory? Elijah asked curiously.

One of my loyal clients. He won't get inked by anyone but me, not even Diego. He's also one of the sexiest men you'll ever see. A military Alpha. Well he was. He's been discharged from the service now, but he still looks the part, Max told him.

Oh God, he's a freakin' babe. I swear, that army look is irresistible, Diego said with a wicked smirk. 

Elijah laughed, watching the customer beneath Diego's needle squirm a little. 

Yeah, well, if only he was on our team, Max sighed.

Oh, he so is. I swear, for a gay guy, your gaydar is terrible. We're apparently just not his type, or he doesn't shit where he eats, whatever. One day I'm gonna get that— Diego looked up as the door to the studio opened and refrained from finishing his sentence.

Elijah examined the fair-haired man who had just walked in and knew instantly this was the Cory the twins had just been discussing. They hadn't exaggerated his good looks. The six foot something man was nothing short of a hunky sex god. 

Cory. Hey. You're early, Max said in a voice he only used when he was flirting. 

Yeah, take your time setting up, no rush, Cory replied in a smoky yet orotund voice as he took a seat in the waiting area.

Elijah sat behind the front desk and watched him as he picked up a magazine. His intense gray eyes looked up at Elijah, and he scrambled for a pencil, pretending that he wasn't staring at the man. 

I'll just wash my hands, give me a sec, Max called, walking over to the basin. Can you fold out the tattoo bed Eli? he added.

Elijah nodded, getting up from his position and setting up the reclining chair so it was flat. He looked up and noticed Cory's eyes were on him.

Can I get you a drink? Water? Coke? Elijah asked him, feeling an unfamiliar sense of awkwardness.

Water's great, he replied with little expression on his square face. 

Elijah noted that the man had handsome features, wide-set eyes, a long Grecian nose, and a smoldering mouth of full lips above the scruff that framed his chiseled jaw. If he was to compare him to anyone it would be Tom Hardy — a much bigger, buffer and sexier Tom Hardy. Elijah turned back behind the counter and grabbed a bottle of mineral water from the refrigerator then went over to hand it to Cory.

You can make yourself comfortable on the bed now, Max told him.

Cory thanked Elijah as he took the water and stood up to make his way to the leather tattoo bed. Elijah watched Cory's solid build move across the room, and he couldn't spot a single tattoo on him. He was wearing a plain, tight black t-shirt and dark wash jeans, and he figured that the tattoos must have been underneath his clothes. 

Sure enough, Cory peeled the shirt of his back, revealing a chest and back full of ink. Elijah wished he could get up and look at the art that covered him, learning each and every image he had chosen to adorn his incredible body with. He lay down on the bed, and Max moved beside him, picking up his tattoo gun.

Instead of gawking, Elijah got back to his work, hoping he wouldn't make a fool of himself in front of the alpha.

CHAPTER TWO

ELIJAH

It was seven o'clock when Max and Diego left for their concert, leaving Elijah to clean and lock up the studio for the night. He hadn't been able to shake Cory from his mind all day and had been pestering Max and Diego to tell him everything they knew about the man.

He'd learned that Cory was the son of an alpha, which in turn made him an alpha by the rules of their packs. Being a Tundra wolf shifter, Cory's pack was a close ally