Broken Pieces

Chapter Eleven

By Roofles

While Reese continued to work on the second floor of the house, his mate was busy trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in.

The man in question was down in the basement in nothing but a pair of boxer briefs with two salt and pepper furred wolves snuggling him roughly from either side, sandwiching the poor human between their large, toned bodies. They were warm and their fur was coarse to the touch, reminding Alan of Reese in a lot of ways.

Like two miniature versions of his boyfriend.

Except for their smell. Reese’s distinct musk was on the sheets, covered the pillows and the bed the three of them were lying within. Alan was embarrassed by the fact he could distinguished Reese’s scent from his two younger brothers. They were far more mild and less… exciting, as Reese’s scent was. Tame, Alan would say, compared to Reese’s wild, feral musky scent.

He nosed the pillow, breathing it in. Letting the smell remind him of the wolf working so hard for them. It filled his lungs and his core, settling nicely until Alan had to exhale it out.

“Reese…” Alan thought as his two brothers shifted uncomfortably at his sides.

They were all arms and legs, their muzzle parted as they snored loudly against the side of his face. Salt facing one way, Pepper the other. The two brothers agreeing that “sleeping face to face was gay,” but then would cuddle each other in the gayest position Alan knew of. 69. Their junk rubbing against each other the entire night. Unfortunately for the human, he was between the two wolves this night and had to endure the two humping and grinding against him as they slept. And not in a pleasant way, as Reese did. They were all groping hands and twitching legs. Groping him, paws rubbed over his body and their tangled bodies continued to squeeze around him like boa constrictors. Trying to steal as much of his space as they could get away with.

By this point, Alan wasn’t sure whose leg was in his face or who the one nibbling him was. He’d hate for this to be a nightly thing.

Alan couldn’t get comfortable.

No matter which way he turned or what position he took in the bed, the two wolf brothers would shift and move with him. Adjusting their bulky bodies to be pressed against the human once more. Needing to press up against his body and feel Alan against them. Wanting to feel that physical intimacy that all canines crave with those they trust and love. Salt would hug Alan from behind as Pepper pushed his broad back against the human’s face, rubbing his musky fur against the man’s nose. If Alan turned around, it would just repeat with Pepper hugging him from behind and Salt pushing his leaner but still broad back against the human instead, shoving his butt into Alan’s face.

It was more bearable than the larger of the two brothers, at the very least.

It was warm. Hot. Uncomfortably toasty down here in this otherwise chill basement.

Alan was beginning to sweat despite the heat having been turned off in the house. Not that the two wolves seemed to mind, nosing, and licking at his skin as the human just laid there between them. The second he had begun to perspire; they had begun to nose him. Sniffing him. Licking at his skin and tasting the beads of sweat trickle down it.

“I’m going to kill him,” Alan groaned staring up at the ceiling blankly as his arm was snagged up by Pepper and chewed on lightly.

They smelled.

The musk wafting off them was strong after the long day and neither of the two wolves had bathed. It left Alan feeling warm and tingling all over as their almost waxy fur rubbed and coated his body with their stink. As if knowing this, Pepper lifted a leg up to press and curl his toes against Alan’s face. The larger of the two brothers rubbing his paws over the human just to make sure he smelled exactly like they did.

Bonding. This was bonding and Alan had been, literally, tossed to the wolves to do so.

At least they reminded Alan of Reese. The two brothers were related after all, if only half-brothers. They had a lot of the same mannerisms while snuggling as Reese did, letting Alan acclimate to the sleeping position over the long night. Somewhat.

What wasn’t bearable were the two snoring loudly from either side of him. Low growling noises that rumbled from their chest and out their floppy lips. Pepper twitched his foot in his sleep, dreaming of something or other. When Alan scooted away, the wolf would quickly close the distance before flopping back against him. Somewhat on the human. Every time Alan tried to escape, Pepper would flop more of his weight onto the human as if trying to pin him down.

“This is my personal hell…”

Alan had blood shot eyes, just staring up at the ceiling as he cursed Reese for this. His two brothers wearing nothing more than a pair of jockstrap underwear, much like Reese used too. The older wolf having opted for more silken briefs over the years, claiming it was more comfortable to wear. Alan knew it was because the human liked them and would even, occasionally, wear Reese’s underwear after the wolf did.

Something Reese greatly enjoyed even if he never openly said so.

Alan refused to let either of the two sleep in the same bed if they went naked.

It was the only compromise they were willing to agree too a couple of hours ago before the two fell asleep.

“We’re almost eighteen now,” Salt tried to press his luck. “Reese gave us permission!” He gleefully added on, dancing on the spot as he did. Doing several “happy steps” on the spot as he smiled at Alan the hour prior.

“I’ll be gentle,” Pepper said pressing two fingers together as he looked down at the floor. Alan didn’t want to know what he meant by that and took a wise step away from the larger of the two brothers.

“Guys,” Alan was tired. He wanted to sleep. He missed Reese and here the two were begging him for cuddles at the last minute of the night. Alan was more surprised by the fact Reese had allowed others down here, in his personal sanctuary.

Alan knew Salt and Pepper had been arguing about it ever since they had become attached to the human. Wanting to sleep in the same bed as him. Reese hadn’t relented until this night. Conveniently, the very night Alan had addressed moving out with Clem and the other dogs…

“We brushed our teeth…” Pepper whined, doing as he was told. He was easier to deal with than Salt was. Pepper was the larger of the two by a good half foot and had the bulk that matched Reese. In a couple of years, he would look at lot like his brother did in his prime Alan was sure.

That did help, in a way. Pepper reminding Alan of a much younger Reese. He was far more gentler than Salt was. The leaner of the two was louder, more energetic and a spaz that Alan had to keep a constant eye on and use an even shorter leash with. He felt like their babysitter half the time. Where Pepper just wanted his company, Salt needed his attention.

Pepper shifted in front of him, lifting his feet up as Salt had been if a lot slower. Doing much larger versions of the tippy tap of his feet. His excitement was clear on his face even if he was holding back, tail slowly wagging the entire time. It was dipped towards the floor, as if afraid Alan would reprimand him for wagging his tail.

Most wolves weren’t allowed to show their expression openly like this. Perked ears? Wagging tails? Derpy smiles? In the previous pack, it had all been forbidden. Not wanting to be associated with dogs.

Alan let the boys be boys and get away with far more than smiling faces.

“We did all the things you asked of us…” Pepper added on, as if to remind Alan that they had been very well behaved during the party. Pepper could be far more manipulating than his smaller brother was. “You said we’d get treats…” He added on as he glanced up at Alan.

With his muzzle lowered towards the floor, the wolf’s large eyes seemed to be magnified as he look up at the human giving him the equivalent to puppy dog eyes. Pepper’s fingers were pressed together, ears lowered back and his tail, though wagging, was dipping towards the floor in a bashful, shy expression that Alan had never seen Reese use before.

Fuck, he was good…

“You guys did do a very good job today,” Alan finally conceded, and the two tails hiked up in excitement as they wagged. “You both were very good boys.” And they wagged even faster. “You brushed your teeth and combed your fur, right?” They nodded quickly. “And Reese gave you the a-okay on this?” More nods. “You promise?” They nodded even faster. “Fine. We can try to figure something out-,” and Alan hadn’t even finished his sentence before Pepper picked him up as Salt ran down the steps into the basement stripping his clothes off as he went.

Pepper was far stronger than he looked, and he already looked strong enough. Alan was lifted up, bridal style, and tried not to blush as the wolf carefully carried him downstairs one careful step at a time, going a lot slower than Salt did. The other wolf practically cartwheeling down the steps with glee.

“We’ll need another bed, in the future.” Salt was already setting up the large dog bed Reese and Alan used during the night. Over the years, the two had upgraded the thing to be a lot fuller and thicker than the old tattered one Alan had seen when he first arrived here nearly four years ago.

It was several inches thick, full of fluffy supportive goodness. The edges of the dog bed was raised up and Reese had wrapped blankets around it, giving it a far more alluring appeal than the ugly gray dog bed did. The sheets were silken and soft. Several thicker blankets were to the side, something Alan would use during the colder season.

Reese had gotten rid of most of the plush toys but Alan had bought him new ones, rather having the wolf chew on those instead of on him. The floor was clear of dog bones and toys, Reese not needing the distraction he once did. They all were neatly tucked away in a box near the bed that were easily accessible; Alan just hoped neither of the two brothers went rooting through it. There were also other kind of toys at the very bottom of that bin Reese and him liked to use every so often…

Salt didn’t remove the plush toys or blankets from the bed, just fluffed everything up before belly flopping onto it all. His butt was wagging with his tail as he looked up at the two.

“Just drop him right here,” Salt patted the spot next to him, already sectioning parts of the bed off for his side and Pepper’s side. Alan noticed how he didn’t get a side or say in any of this.

“I’m not a toy.” Alan tried to argue but Pepper was already crouching down, setting him down in the middle of the bed. Pepper stood back up and began slowly undoing the buttons on the front of his shirt. Unlike his brother, he hung up the suit he’d been wearing for the party and placed the dirty laundry in the hamper Reese and Alan shared, cleaning up after Salt.

“Pepper, you don’t need too…” Alan was tired. He just wanted to sleep and would deal with that tomorrow. He was both physically and emotionally drained after this night after PB had shown up.

“He’s always like this,” Salt explained with a half shrug. “Keeps everything nice and clean. The big prissy.”

“It’s an admirable quality I wished more people had,” Alan frowned at the younger brother who had clearly not brushed his fur out as he promised he would. He’d need to brush Salt extra tomorrow morning before they went out.

Salt and Alan watched as Pepper walked over. His bulky body was still coming in and he awkwardly stepped into the bed with the two, tail tucking as he looked around trying to find a good spot to lie down at. Pepper was far more considerate than Salt was, who had pushed himself up against Alan’s back by this point, practically spooning the human who had to remind himself that this was just what canine’s did.

“Just lay here,” Alan touched the spot next to him. “You’re doing great, Pepper. Very mindful of your step. Very considerate. Good job.” Alan helped ease the larger of the two brothers to crouch down next to him. It left his junk hanging between his legs, Pepper unable to look at the two as Alan blushed in embarrassment from the display.

Pepper took after Reese in more ways than one it appeared, and Alan tried not to think about that.

“You can just lie down, Pepper. Place your hand down first, then ease your body down until… there you go.” Alan knew that Pepper was just shy about this kind of thing. The wolf afraid to do something wrong and push Alan away.

Salt had told Alan that back at their old home, before moving in with the two of them, that Pepper didn’t talk. At all. The larger of the two brothers had been a mute and would only mutter things into Salt’s ear and let his brother translate for him. It was only after meeting Alan that Pepper had begun to open up.

Alan seemed to have that effect on this, very strange, family.

Baby steps, as it were, as Pepper ended up just dropping down next to Alan. His weight shook the floor, and he chuckled a bit in embarrassment.

“S-sorry…” Pepper said but got head pats for being so mindful of his size around the two smaller males. Alan might be twice his age, but Pepper was already larger than Alan was.

“You did great. Thank you for always taking me into consideration, Pepper. It’s why I appreciate having you around so much.” Alan continued to pet over the wolf’s head and Pepper closed his eyes, growling into the pets by this point.

Salt forced his snout underneath Alan’s other arm, whining for attention that the human reluctantly gave into. It was tough trying to give equal amount of attention to the two brothers. If Alan petted one, the other would quickly come up expecting such attention as well.

He didn’t know how he’d manage if there were any more.

“We’re supposed to be going to bed, guys.” Alan laughed though as he scratched between the two brothers ears. “You guys are not going to keep me up all night! We have plans tomorrow.”

“Y-you took work off.” Pepper said, having caught the end of the conversation Alan had with Reese. Alan had to wonder how much these two stalked him around the house when he wasn’t paying attention.

“Yeah, well, I mean. We have a lot planned for tomorrow still…” Alan didn’t want to admit it and the other two seemed to have caught on.

“You mean with that other wolf?” Salt growled softly as Alan pet behind his left ear, along the side of his neck, in that one special spot that always got his leg kicking.

“Something like that.” Alan didn’t want to admit he had taken the week off to help PB adjust to his stay here. However long that would be. Alan worried not just for PB but for his pups as well.

“W-we can help.” Pepper scooted an inch closer. The wolf’s neediness hadn’t been missed. Pepper had just wanted to spend more time with Alan and would be willing to do the extra work to do so.

Before Alan, it had only ever been Salt and Pepper. The two brothers unable to talk to anyone else. They had no one else their age. Just the two of them. Until now.

“Thank you, Pepper. You are always so helpful. I appreciate it.” Alan wished Salt was more like that as the younger brother slid his way under his arm and half over his lap as the human scratched along his chest and stomach.

“Mh-hm…” Salt murred as he closed his eyes, scooting closer. Pepper, noticing this, tried to follow his brother’s example, and ended up body checking Alan into Salt.

“S-sorry.” Pepper ears splayed out as he looked down at the knocked over human. “You alright…?”

“Yeah. Just got to take it slow, big guy.” Alan gave a stretch. “Here.” Alan moved over, pressing a hand against Pepper’s chest and eased him onto his back. “Lay down like that. Then I’ll scoot closer. Salt, you can stay behind me while I use your brother as a pillow, okay?”

It took a lot of effort, a lot of time and a lot of repositioning to get comfortable. It lasted all of five minutes leaving Alan in the situation he was in now, a good hour and a half later. Staring up at the ceiling, questioning where he went wrong in life as the two brothers laid out over him, somehow taking up the entire bed while also hogging up all of Alan’s personal space in the process. Both on top of him and under him, making Alan wonder if he was even touching the bed at this point.

“Maybe I should call Reese.” Alan glanced over at his phone, near the bed. Reese had set up a charging station for the two and it was where his tablet was kept when not in use. Before all this happened, Reese and Alan used to spend hours in bed together. Cuddled up, watching shows and movies or just dumb videos online in each other’s arms.

He missed his wolf…

Alan took hold of his phone and was already about to send a text to Reese, inquiring when he was coming to bed tonight and that his brothers needed to share the sofa when there was movement upstairs.

When the basement door suddenly opened, Alan hoped it was the very wolf he’d been about to text. Wanting to give Reese a piece of his mind. Planning to get on Reese for this, yet never expecting the brothers to leave. No matter how hard Alan tried, he couldn’t bring himself to send Salt or Pepper back upstairs. The two brothers would surely turn on the puppy dog eyes, whining and begging to stay in the basement until Alan folded and they’d flop back on top of him; he could never say no to those faces, and they knew it.

The wolf coming down the stairs wasn’t Reese and Alan had to take a moment to figure out who it was. No one was allowed down here other than Alan and Reese. And now his two brothers… That seemed to have changed even further as Barrett took his jacket and shirt off, hanging them up on a hook installed on the wall nearby. The very one Pepper did.

He looked a lot like the younger wolf in that moment, raising Alan’s suspicions even further.

“Barrett?” Alan rubbed his eye as if he were seeing things. “Is everything alright? Do you need something?” Alan had even begun to sit up as the wolf before him took off his pants, neatly hanging them up with the rest of his clothes.

“Everything is fine, Alpha-mate.” Barrett answered as he looked over a shoulder at their odd sleeping position. He frowned in the dark room, trying to figure something out.

Turning around fully now, ear flicking, Barrett crouched down in front of Alan. The human felt a hot gust of air against his face, pulling back slightly. He could barely see the wolf in the dark room. His fur wasn’t as deep as Reese’s was, not a black void that seemed to devour the light around it. It was still dark, and the wolf blended into the shadows well enough for the human’s eyes.

“At least you brushed your teeth.” Alan yawned. “These two took forever to get in and out of the bathroom,” Alan rolled his eyes before looking at the wolf. “Uh… do you need something? And why did you undress…?”

“Alpha told me to watch.” Barrett just said and Alan had laughed aloud at that, figuring this was some kind of odd wolf joke. It was not and his laughter died away as quickly as it happened.

“Barrett, you must’ve misheard Reese.” Alan covered another yawn with the back of his hand. “I already got Salt and Pepper with me,” he motioned at the two brothers snoring behind him. “I was just waiting for Reese.”

“The Alpha is busy with work, Alpha-mate. He requested I keep you company until he returns.” Barrett just nodded at that, following orders.

“Yes, well… You can march your butt right back upstairs,” Alan had begun to get up but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. It was a first. Despite everything, Barrett tried not to touch Alan unless absolutely needed.

Alan felt nervous around his bodyguard that just stared him down with cold eyes.

As much as Alan knew of Barrett, which was very little, he knew the wolf wouldn’t hurt him. That was only thanks to Reese. And Reese was occupied with more pack work that, if, Barrett tried something there was very little the human could do about it…

Alan swallowed, feeling a bead of sweat run down the side of his face and it wasn’t from the heat.  

Smirking, Barrett seemed to sense this. Nose twitching, the wolf sniffed over Alan’s face and into his hair without ever touching him with that cold, bumpy black nose. It still twitched and sniffed at the human.

“Please do not disturb him, Alpha-mate. I will keep you company. Alpha needs to work to make sure you are happy and taken care of.” Barrett said in the same voice he always used around Alan. It was a bit creepy. That monotone voice was hard to read, and Alan never knew what the wolf was thinking or feeling.

What was also creepy was the fact the wolf had, awkwardly, hugged Alan against his chest before scooting forward into the bed with them.

“Uh, Barrett, buddy? The hell are you,” and Alan actually yipped like a dog as the wolf fell forward between the two brothers in the bed. Cradled against his chest, Alan could hear Barrett’s heartbeat against his face as the wolf held him close.

He smelled. Just like the two brother’s next to him. It was stronger, with earthy tones to it. Oddly, it reminded Alan of Reese. Barrett’s natural musk smelling like the Alpha’s…

“Alpha ordered I keep you company,” Barrett just grumbled as he used his bulk to shove the two brothers aside. Salt and Pepper stayed fast asleep, just turning around to snuggle up against the other wolf joining them blissfully unaware of what was happening. “Alpha gave me permission to join you… If. If you… If you need other things taken care of, I can assist you with them as well, Alpha-mate.”

Alan had to actually grab hold of Barrett’s wrist from going any lower on his person.

“N-nope! I’m good. Thank you, uh, Barrett. But I am good. Just fine. Peachy! I don’t need help with that…” Alan voice squeaked, his face burned hotly, and he could hear the wolf sniffing at him, detecting the subtle changes happening to his body at the prospect of taking Barrett’s offer.

“I have my orders.” Barrett voice was no more than a hot whisper against the side of Alan’s face, tickling his ear and making him squirm in the wolf’s strong grasp.

“Don’t you h-have a place to be? A home? Your own bedroom…? A girlfriend? Something?” Alan closed his eyes, hearing the sound of his heart pounding in his ears. Barrett’s fur was coarse but thick and the smell coming off him was distinctly male. His arms were strong, and the muscles underneath flexed as they held Alan against his body.

It had been so long since Alan had gotten this kind of attention from Reese. The wolf working day and night to keep the pack up and running, and everyone in line. The two had done little these past couple of months and it was beginning to add up for the sleep deprived human.

“As nice as the offer is,” Alan squirmed. “I-I’m not interested in that. Or you. Just… Just Reese.” Alan would be lying if the thought hadn’t crossed his mind at least once. “Reese would have both our heads,” he muttered under his breath as if that conclusion was the true reason why Alan refused Barrett’s offer.

Barrett cracked an eye open, looking down at the human in his arms. “I assumed the thing rubbing against my thigh wasn’t your leg…” He said slowly and Alan’s entire face turned red at hearing the words.

“B-Barrett!” He hissed the word out. “T-that’s a natural bodily reaction! I thought you were Reese, a-at first.” Alan wanted to cover his face against the wolf’s chest but, already, he could smell the strong musk coming off Barrett’s body.

It was different but somehow familiar, reminding Alan of Reese even more. Barrett, in the right light, did look a lot like Reese did. Dark black fur, eyes nearly lost within it. He had that full snout as Reese did and perky ears, his whiskers were the same length and, though, shorter, Barrett’s body was that of a full adult wolf. His thick, muscular form had always been a guilty pleasure of Alan’s to watch him move around, helping Alan out and carrying things for the Alpha-mate…

Despite knowing it was just his orders to do so, Barrett did seem to enjoy helping Alan out with his day-to-day life. Giving him rides to and from work. Even offering to spend time with him during lunch; even if Barrett claimed it was only “to keep an eye” on the human.

Barrett was such a strange guy; Alan could never figure him out. If the wolf liked or disliked him. If he only ever did things he was ordered to do or if he had a mind of his own. Alan was afraid to know. Not just because of what their already strange relationship was but the implications behind it all meant.

“If you prefer, you can think of me as Reese, if it helps.” Barrett said in that same dry manner he always used. Alan wanted to laugh. He would’ve if he hadn’t felt the wolf rub his back with a paw. His fingers brushed down the curve of his naked back, his rough gray paw pads rubbed along his exposed skin sending a shiver down the rest of his spine. “Though, I tend to be for more gentler with my partners than I imagine Alpha is…”

Barrett’s words were hot and heavy and his touch, though familiar, was still foreign and unexpected. His hands were so large. His nails were dulled down, and they scrapped harmlessly over Alan’s skin as the human was pulled closer. Squeezed against the thick, muscular chest of his wolf bodyguard.

“Barrett!” Alan squeaked. “J-just go to bed.”

“Yes, Alpha-mate.” Barrett chuckled at Alan’s discomfort, and it was hard to tell if the wolf had been teasing him or not this entire time. “You may pet me now, if you wish.” His tail thumped against the large dog bed filled with three massive wolves and human in it. It was clear Barrett had been thinking about this ever since the backyard when Alan offered to do so.

“What about Reese?” Alan voice was very quiet as he thought that over. He never felt Barrett before, and his fur was coarser than he’d expected it to be. It wasn’t unpleasant, just different. The three of them each, in their own way, reminded him of Reese.

Just pieces of him. Three different pieces of his boyfriend that, when put together, still couldn’t compare to the real thing.

“I won’t tell Alpha, if you don’t.” Barrett gave him a cheeky reply as a nail carefully dragged up along the human’s spine making Alan shiver involuntarily.

“B-Barrett!” Alan hissed, glancing towards the stairs.

“I’m very good at cleaning up the messes I make,” the wolf huffed against his ear and Alan’s brain faltered at that. “I’m very good at swallowing. That was the point I was trying to make.” Barrett clarified. “If I suck your dick, there will be no evidence.” He went on, even further clarifying what he’d been getting at.

Alan thought his face might catch on fire by this point.

“I think Reese would actually kill you.” Alan pressed his forehead against Barrett’s chest and could feel the wolf’s heart pounding loudly against it. It was the same dull thud as ever. It hadn’t picked up or slow down. The wolf was in perfect control as he spoke.

It was Alan that was becoming distracted. His thoughts straying from the darker ones that crept in when he slept down here, alone, at night without Reese. Having Salt and Pepper and even Barrett here was a good distraction from such things.

“Alpha gave me orders to take care of your needs.” Barrett sniffed over his hair. His touch was gentle but assertive. His fingers still rubbing up and down his back as if trying to calm Alan down.

“He could not have meant those kind of needs!” Alan wasn’t sure why Reese was trying to prostitute Barrett out to him. Was this Reese’s way of an apology for his lack of attention? Something Alan had gotten on Reese about several times already.

Even this night. Just as Salt and Pepper had been sent down here to guilt trip Alan into staying, Barrett seemed to have been tossed at him like an adult toy for Alan to play with.

“He was very specific with my orders, Alpha-mate.” Barrett sniffed over his hair as his arms flexed around the human.

“Does Reese…” Alan hesitated to go on, just staring at Barrett’s chest. “Is he bored of me…?”

“Alpha misses you. He wants you to be happy here.” Barret just assured him in that same dry, monotone tone he always used.

“Is Reese…?” Alan glanced up at Barrett who just looked back down at him with that blank, expressionless face that matched Reese when he was lost in his thoughts. “I mean, does he. With others? When I’m not… up there? With him…?”

“No one touches Alpha.” Barrett said as if reading Alan’s fears. “The Alpha is very happy being with you and only you. He worries you are not happy here and has tasked me with keeping you company,” Barrett glanced over at the two sleeping brothers. “A different, more adult, kind of company than these two.”

“This a dream. A very kinky, lewd dream.” Alan muttered, pressing a hand on Barrett’s chest, and pushing the wolf back gently.

“Does that mean you dream of me?” Barrett chuckled and Alan wanted to punch the wolf for teasing him like this.

“Don’t make me send you back upstairs,” Alan warned.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Barrett eased up and Alan was given a reprieve from the teasing.

“Fuck, making me pop a boner like that between the boys…” Alan glared at the wolf who only gave him a toothy smirk. Salt and Pepper both continued to snore blissfully unaware of what was happening.

“They are of age now. For wolves, that is.” Barrett glanced at Salt over Alan’s shoulder before back at the human. “Besides. I can be very quiet,” the wolf continued to tease as he tip toed two fingers up Alan’s leg making the human swat it away like an annoying insect.

Barrett just chuckled.

“Reese is going to kill you. Then me for even thinking about this.” Alan groaned, covering his face as he laid back.

“If you wish,” Barrett offered up his phone, making Alan wonder where exactly the wolf had pulled it from. “All you have to do is text him.” The wolf used his thumb to click on the messenger app, then on the top one that read Alpha.

“You named him Alpha, in your phone…?” Alan frowned at the wolf who just wagged his tail in amusement.

“He is my Alpha.” Barrett showed off a fang in a smile. It looked so much like Reese in the dark room. Alan wanted to reach up and pet him.

Alan missed Reese. Their times together. Spending countless hours of the night just snuggled up to him. The two of them, lost in their own little world. Not caring about the city or others. Able to just enjoy the time spent with the other.

That was before Reese became Alpha. Before everyone was trying to steal his time away. Alan was an adult and still, he felt jealous of it. Lonely without the wolf. Maybe moving in with the dogs was a way of getting back at Reese…? No, that was far too childish.

Maybe Alan just didn’t want to be alone anymore…

Looking at Barrett, Alan wondered if things were changing. For the good? For the bad? He wasn’t sure as he did so, slowly. Carefully reaching a handout and petting the side of the wolf’s face. Barrett froze at the motion, not expecting the human, or anyone, to take him up on the offer. Feeling the human’s gentle touch, his fingers rubbing against his muzzle, on the side of his face. The thumb brushing over the exposed fang, before gliding down to hold his cheek.

The two just stared at each other. Neither speaking in that moment. Afraid to? Worried they would ruin it? Neither could say as Alan just looked at this wolf.

Barrett was always so strong, so confident and yet reserved with everything he did. He acted cocky, full of himself around the others but wouldn’t join them. Always off to the side. Standing there, watching the others as if he were… different from them.

It reminded Alan of someone.

“You look like Reese…” Alan said the words softly and Barrett looked away at that.

“I… Yes, Alpha-mate. I am a wolf… And I do look like… him.” Barrett didn’t say more, and Alan knew he was holding back. Wolf politics could be so overly complicated at times and though Alan always wondered, he voiced his thoughts allowed.

“Barrett… are you…? With Reese?” Alan asked and the wolf looked back at the human. He didn’t say a word and it might as well have been a yes. Alan sat up. “Do… do Salt and Pepper know…?”

“Family doesn’t mean the same in a wolf pack as it does with humans…” Barrett eased up and looked to the side, staring off at something the human couldn’t see. “Biological family is only written down and recorded so no accidental inbreeding occur in a pack, Alpha-mate. Siblings don’t matter. That kind of bond and connection… doesn’t matter in a wolf pack.”

“Barrett…” Alan said his name and the wolf glanced up at him out of habit. Alan reached over and touched his hand. “I think it does…” Barrett’s ear flicked. “Look at how Salt and Pepper treat each other… as complicated as Reese’s relationship with his brother, the previous Alpha…” Alan knew so little, and it took years to get the information out of Reese that he did know. “He meant something to Reese. We don’t get to choose our family, but they still are… our family.”

“Bale and Alpha had a complicated relationship.” Barrett agreed in a hushed voice, glancing towards the stairs as if expecting Reese to be listening in. He wouldn’t put it past the Alpha to have wire tapped his bedroom to keep an eye on things.

“He still remembers him, you know…” Alan voice was just as soft as Barrett’s was. “I know things are… complicated. With, like, everything you wolves do.” The human chuckled lightly. “Not like humans are much better. Just… Things just aren’t the same as they once were. Some things are changing for the better. Slowly, but they are. Reese…”

“Alpha,” Barrett corrected, and Alan ignored it.

“Reese is a very deep person. He thinks far more than others know. If he wanted you here… hell if he wanted you, specifically, to watch over me? Doesn’t that say everything…?” Alan asked and looked the wolf in the eye. “Maybe not as a pack leader or as an Alpha or whatever… but he wanted you, his… his brother? To watch over his mate and his other two brothers…”

Barrett flashed his fangs at the human. Alan didn’t flinch or back away. Alan wasn’t afraid of Barrett who just looked away from him after that. After trying to intimidate the human, who saw him for something no other wolf did.

“I see why Alpha likes you.” Barrett said the words if only so his own ears could hear them. “I had always wondered… it was confusing. It made no sense to any of us. Why he would see you… but it isn’t that, is it?”

“What?” Alan was a bit confused. He was trying to help Barrett out, not Reese.

“You called him a person.” Barrett noted.

“He… is?” Alan was confused. Barrett chuckled at that.

“Alpha-mate,” Barrett said as if wanting to go on. He just saw the human before him, holding onto every one of his words. The way Alan focused in and centered on Barrett made even this wolf, this discarded failed wolf… feel as if he mattered. “You are strange.”

“Uh…” Alan wasn’t sure how to take that as he rested back on an arm. Salt nudged it with his nose and Alan, reluctantly, began petting over the sleeping wolf’s head. Looking down at the wolf. Petting him like this. Excepting him into his bed without panic or fear…

It was such an odd sight. Everyone seemed to see it, outside of Alan who just smiled down at the sleeping younger wolf. See just how strange he was in this world.

“You call wolves people.” Barrett explained. “You see us as… equal. As…” Barrett struggled with the word, trying to phrase it correctly. To explain it to the human. “As part of society…”

“You are?” Alan was really confused now as he looked back at him.

“Others, don’t. Ala… Alpha-mate,” Barret corrected himself. Nearly slipping up. It was something about how open and vulnerable the human was. It made him want to talk to Alan as a person. Instead of as a wolf…

“Don’t see you as people? Isn’t that like speciest?” Alan had to think that over.

“My point, exactly.” Barrett just nodded. “Alpha…” He glanced towards the door then back down at the bed, the space between the two of them. How little this was. A human sitting so close to him. Not expecting something from him. Not asking Barrett for a favor. Just sitting there, with him, like this… It was Barrett who had offered sex onto the table, not Alan. Not like Logan did. This human wanted him here but not for something Barrett could give him, but for who he was as a person. “The others know what I mean. You see us as… people. A part of the city. As if we… belong, here.” Barrett held up his hand, looking down at his claws. “We don’t…”

“What? You do. Clearly. I mean,” Alan wanted to go on, but the wolf reached over and placed a large hand on his shoulder, silencing him.

“Thank you, Alpha-mate. For trying…” Barrett chuckled. “You are strange.”

“How am I strange?” Alan rolled his eyes.

“You don’t hate me.” Barrett said the words, echoing the ones Reese had told Alan so very long ago.

“I…” Alan was taken aback, unsure what to say to that.

“People hate carnivores, like us. They don’t see us as part of a society. That we… that we belong. From your point of view, things must seem strange that others don’t see things through the same lens you use. The rose-tinted glasses you wear.”

“Oh… sorry.” Alan knew what Barrett meant finally. Alan was a bit biased on the matter, thanks to growing up with PB. His view of the world had changed the day that silly wolf pup had stumbled into it.

Alan could never figure out why it bothered his parents so much after it happened. Why the teachers were so very nervous around PB. Why his other friends stopped hanging out with Alan when they found out the nutty browned ball of fluff was in fact a wolf in disguise.

Alan was the only one in the entire school that didn’t shun or ostracize PB for being… himself. He didn’t turn his back on the wolf, instead reaching for his hand and pulling him along. Always inviting him everywhere to go, together. No matter the looks they got from others.

PB had always and would forever be PB to Alan… his peanut butter.

“I never said that was a bad thing, Alpha-mate.” Barrett crossed his legs as he spoke to him. “You are in a bed with three wolves,” the canine pointed out as if Alan wasn’t aware of it. “They are naked.”

“They aren’t fully naked.” Alan frowned.

“Three naked adult wolves. And you aren’t wetting yourself in fear or worried we’re going to maul you.” Barrett snorted and Alan glared at the wolf. “How you survived this long, I do not know…” Barrett tapped a finger on his leg thinking about it.

“It’s not like I jump into bed with any three wolves.” Alan rolled his eyes and Barrett actually laughed at that. “This is… different. They, you, are… different. I’m not an idiot! I just. Well, I just… this.” Alan couldn’t even explain it.

If someone asked him, he wouldn’t be able to explain to them how he ended up in this situation to begin with.

“No, you are right. I suppose this is a… special, situation.” Barrett’s ear flicked as he glanced over at Pepper. He knew the two brothers were awake by now, just listening in. He wondered how much of their conversation they caught. “People don’t like wolves.”

“That’s not…” Alan couldn’t finish his sentence. He’d be lying if he did.

“People don’t see us as citizens… the best way to explain this,” Barrett lifted a hand. “Would be to compare us to foreigners. Immigrants. Illegals. Aliens.” He rolled his eyes. “Whatever they call it these days. That’s how people view us. At all times. That we are some sort of foreign immigrants encroaching on their territory. Stealing their jobs, their woman, their livelihoods… Whatever lies they need to tell themselves to justify hating us.”

“That’s… fucked up.” Alan bluntly said, no humor in his voice now. “I thought things were getting better after to Equality Initiative bill went through…”

“In some ways, they have. In others? Not so much…” Barrett hesitated, now speaking for the two brothers sake more so than Alan. “Others… groups have begun to emerge from the cesspits they hid away in after the bill went through. The bill has bolstered their hateful causes. Relighting the flame that had begun to die down over the past century…” Alan just looked at him confused. “The Brotherhood,” Barrett said and Alan gasp.

“Oh, shit. Are they back…?” Alan scooted closer and Barrett was the one to nearly pull away. To have someone, anyone, scoot closer to him like this was a first.

“Not them, but others.” Barrett hadn’t meant to go into so much detail with Alan. “We. Us. The pack? There is a reason why carnivores began to form their own groups. Wolves have always been like this. In recent years, even mustelids and avians have begun forming their own groups. Taking a cue from us,” he snorted as if finding it amusing. “In order to survive.”

“A lone wolf is a dead wolf…” Alan frowned. “Seems more applicable these days than ever before… Are you saying the bill has helped fan the flames of hate, then, against carnivores? By giving them equal treatment and trying to see them as a part of society it had only given these groups more power..? To only then…” Alan couldn’t finished the thought. “I just want them to be okay…”

Just thinking of what Salt and Pepper, of what PB’s pups would have to go through in the future was too disheartening this night to think about.

“There will always be hate groups out there, Alpha-mate.” Barrett voice was soft.

“Why are you telling me all this?” Alan looked at the wolf, waiting for him to respond.

“I… do not want to see the Alpha hurt…” Barrett paused, taking a second. “Alan,” he asked.

Alan breath caught in his throat when he heard his name being spoken by the wolf. Barrett was serious and Alan didn’t interrupt.

“Please, don’t leave.” Barrett asked and Alan felt it in his chest as the wolf whined softly. “You are not safe outside The Pack. We, I, can protect you here. Within our borders. The others may not see your worth, yet, to this pack. But they will. In time. You just… need to give them time too, Alpha-mate.”

“I’m not even a wolf…” Alan had to say. It hurt every time he did but it was true. No matter who he was dating, even the alpha, it wouldn’t change that. He was only human.

“Others won’t see that, outside of here. The Pack territory has different laws than the city does.” Barrett said, before motioning towards the window. “Out there? They will only see a human dating a wolf. To them? To those people? That is enough to hate you. To… To threaten and…” Barrett couldn’t finish.

Just the words spoken had caused Salt and Pepper’s fur to begin standing on end. Barrett could sense the two brothers agitation now in the room. It was a wonder that Alan didn’t. Maybe, as a human, he couldn’t sense the calm before the storm like they could.

“Barrett…” Alan wanted to argue more, not wanting to lose what little independence he had left by being shackled here.

“If you must,” Barrett closed his eyes, pulling back as his ears splayed out now. A sight Alan thought he’d never see from the man. “Please break up with Reese now…”

“W-what?” Alan voice choked.

“Alpha, he, won’t be able to stop worrying if you aren’t here. Safe, within our borders. Or at one of the safe houses,” Barrett hand curled into a tight fist. “Even if I were to follow you. I am only one wolf… I see that now. After what happened at the clubs… I am only one wolf. The Pack is strong for we are many. Many eyes. Many ears. Many noses to keep a look out for danger.”

Barrett opened his eyes to look at him and Alan was sure they were watering, recalling the horrifying night they lost their clubs downtown and the lives within.

“No wolf wants to be in a pack like this. Like before. We don’t have a choice. This isn’t… we don’t get to choose, like you do, Alan.” Barret laid out for him. “This is the hand we are dealt and what we have to live with. What Reese has to live with,” Barrett struggled to say. “We don’t get to choose…”

Barrett spoke more than he had this night than he’d ever done before to Alan and he knew how much this meant to him. How much this pack, this family meant to the wolf. It was all they had. All they had left after everything else had been taken from them.

“I’m not breaking up with Reese.” Alan had to roll his eyes, addressing the first issue with all of this. He wasn’t the first guy to tell him to do so and Barrett wouldn’t be the last to try and get him to break up with the wolf. Even before he became Alpha.

“Then you will stay…?” Barret asked, his voice no more than a whine.

“Yes and no.” Alan took a moment, breathing in then letting it out. “Barrett. This is between Reese and me.”

“This involves the pack.” Barrett frowned, hoping he’d gotten his point across.

“Yes. That is part of it too.” Alan shook his head, unsure why they weren’t seeing it how he did. Maybe he did wear rose-tinted glasses. What was wrong with that? “And the city, and Logan, and PB, and everything!” He laughed though, shaking his head at the end. “Things can’t just stay the same. It’s not just this or that. Things change. Good or bad. We just have to help steer them in the right direction, Barrett. Together. Don’t let the world force you towards a destination you don’t want to go. Locked away? Sheltered? It won’t stop the world from spinning.”

Barrett grunted in a very Reese like manner making Alan laugh again. It was like he was talking to Reese all those years ago in the office now. Closed off, shut in… lost and confused as what to do and who he was. 

The Reese that had come home and yet had done nothing. Just working a boring nine to five job that he hated, trapped in a cubicle as if it were a cage and thrown scraps of food to get by. To keep sated. Growing fat and dull. Despite how much Alan disliked the fact Reese had been forced into the role of Alphaship, the human seemed to be the only one to see all the good Reese had begun doing for them because of it. For canines and wolf kind alike.

Reese had begun following his dream. To help all the others who suffered as he had because of who and what he was.

Alan just wasn’t sure where, in all of it, he fit in yet.

“Barrett, what you and the others have been through? That isn’t fair. It’s fucked up! No one should have to go through that. Any of that. Or still having to put up with it! Reese is doing his best to fix things but also to make things different. Better. This isn’t going to be like your old pack. It’s not our way or the highway.” Alan tried to say but ended up yawning by the end. “Sorry, fuck, I’m tired. Look. I’m not going to abandon Salt or Pepper. That’d be fucked up. I’m going to still be around for them. I’m also going to keep dating Reese and I’m going to help PB adjust to being here. Logan needs a lot of support right now as well. We can’t forget about the other newcomers of the pack, either. There are a lot of things going on, I understand. It doesn’t mean we can just lock ourselves away and hope for the bombs to miss us,” Alan chuckled thinking of a movie he and Reese watched together on their first official date. “That’s not how life works, Barrett. I don’t want to do that to Salt or Pepper, either. They deserve to at least try and have a normal life… despite everything. You do too, Barrett. It’s okay to want to have something normal and stable.”

Alan would know. All he’d been looking for was that after abandoning his parents, after losing PB… after meeting Reese again after all those years apart. A normal, stable, happy life together.

Barrett grunted in reply. It was neither a yes or a no.

“It’s late. I’m tried. We got a lot out there, which is a good first step. We’ll talk more in the morning,” Alan yawned before motioning towards a part of the bed. “Try and find a space that’s empty and hope Reese doesn’t toss you out when he finally gets down here…”

Barrett’s ear twitched at hear the words as he watched his Alpha-mate lay back down on the bed. Salt and Pepper greedily took up the space around Alan, shooting glares at Barrett for invading the bed and disturbing their sleep.

Barrett rolled his eyes, looking away.

He didn’t get it.

He couldn’t see the world as Alan did. Barrett didn’t understand why Alan was waiting for Reese to join them. He should know the Alpha was too busy for this. That, as Alpha, Reese wouldn’t be able to join them. He was apart from them now. Different. He wasn’t… Reese wasn’t…

Barrett couldn’t say the words aloud, covering his muzzle with a hand as he stared at nothing in the room.

For a split second, hearing Alan’s words, Barrett had been… hopeful. Hopeful that Reese would join them. That his older… brother, would join them. That he and his two stepbrothers would be able to sleep in a wolf pile. Something Barrett had once done with Lilith and her mate. The three of them able to sleep together without any implications of something more between them.

Barrett hadn’t been able to make sense of what Reese had asked of him. Like Alan had said, he had thought Reese had misspoken but he hadn’t. His Alpha had ordered him to take care of any of Alan’s wants or needs in order to get him to stay here but that hadn’t been the case. That hadn’t been what he needed…

Glancing over at the human, Barrett saw Alan crushed between the two wolf brothers texting on his phone with his free hand. Sending a message to Reese to check in on him. To tell him how much he missed him, hoping he was doing okay and that he’d be down in the basement waiting for him.

Barrett hadn’t expected a response. He watched, waiting as Alan did for Reese to respond to the text message. He lost interest but the human never did.

No matter how long it took, Alan would wait for Reese and Barrett couldn’t understand that as he curled up by the human’s feet and watched from his spot like a guard dog. Watching over the three of them. Watching as Alan waited for a text that would eventually buzz on his phone, even long after Alan had fallen asleep.

Barrett’s ears perked up as he saw the phone screen dimly light up in the human’s limp grasp, Alan finally falling asleep squashed between the two brothers lazing out over him. A text message Barrett didn’t need to read as, soon enough, the door to the basement opened and shut. Locking up before heavy steps creaked the stairs as they walked down them.

Barrett felt Reese’s cold gaze wash over him and he had to resist the urge to shiver as he lowered his head before the Alpha. That gaze looked at Salt. It looked at Pepper. Then focused on Alan between them all.

Reese didn’t need to speak. His body language said it all and Barrett was already assisting Salt to the other side, next to his brother so Reese could sleep next to his mate. Lazing out beside him, not even taking his suit off, before petting two fingers over Alan’s face.

Reese said nothing the entire night. His entire focus and attention centered on the human next to him as if the other three wolves weren’t there. That they didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Just that his mate was healthy and happy here, now, with him.

“Reese…?” Alan mumbled, rubbing his eye.

“It’s me.” Reese nuzzled the side of his face, pulling him closer. “Sorry it took so long… traffic.”

“It’s always traffic.” Alan chuckled as he scooted what little distance there was between the two of them, closing in and snuggling up against Reese’s chest and molding his body against the wolf. “Your suit…”

“I was just… excited, to see you again.” Reese explained why he hadn’t undressed. “Go to sleep. We have another big day tomorrow…”

“Will you be there…?” Alan’s voice faded away at the end and he was surely asleep again.

“Always.” Reese nuzzled at the human. “I’ll always be there…”

And Barrett watched the scene unfold with bated breath, unsure what would happen next. Afraid Reese would do something. Afraid the two would begin fighting again as they had seemed to during the party. Worried The Pack would fall apart if they did. Worried what Reese would do when…

But that never happened.

The wolf tucked his mate in, cuddling up against his front and fell asleep on his arm, muzzle pointed down at the human the entire night. Breathing in Alan’s scent as the human breathed him in. Their bodies rising and falling in unison as they looked so comfortable in each other’s presence.

“Huh.” Barrett could only think as he watched the two. “Is this what love is…?” He almost chuckled at the sappy thought. The way the two of them acted around each other were so strange. Worrisome, even. Yet, when they were like this. There was no doubt in the wolf’s heart any longer that the two meant the world to each other and Alan, like Reese, felt the same.

A paw touched his muzzle and Barrett looked up to see Reese watching him with a cracked eye. One eye barely open, looking at the wolf by their feet.

“Alpha?” Barrett asked, ears perking up so he could hear his next order. To be told what next to do. What his assignment was, what his mission was to be…

“You did good.” Reese growled the words out softly as he left his foot rest against Barrett’s chest.

Barrett’s ear twitched, as if trying to hear something else. To understand some kind of underlying hidden meaning behind his words.

“Rest.” Reese said softly, the corner of his muzzle pulling up as his tail gave a single thump against the bed in a wag as he slept next to his mate.

Barrett waited. He sat there, waiting for Reese to say more. To add on some kind of stipulations or requirements for him to meet. He never did. Reese was already joining his mate in slumber. Salt and Pepper long since falling asleep to the side, together. Leaving only one more wolf to join them.

Slowly, on hesitant hands and feet, Barrett crept over with perked ears and wide eyes. Waiting for the trap to spring. To be taught a lesson for his arrogance… One step at a time. Moving his limbs slowly with purpose as he tried not to touch any of the bodies in the bed, as he continued to wait. Wait for his new Alpha to fault him for something as he moved ever closer… Until he found that one sweet spot. Tucked in, right behind Alan, was enough of a space for Barrett to slide his body into between him and Pepper. The two brothers having moved to the side just enough for Barrett to officially join them.

No trap was sprung. Reese didn’t attack Barrett for touching Alan. There were no growls or bites or scratches given… just the five of them. Sleeping together in the same bed.

“Huh…” Barrett wasn’t sure what to make of it as he scooted closer behind Alan, daring to touch the human he had been charged with protecting. “This isn’t… so bad…” He growled softly, closing his eyes, and letting the stress bleed away from his shoulders until he succumb to the sweet embrace of sleep with the others.

No ears were perked. All eyes were closed. Breaths were matched, blankets were shared and the lot of them left their worries and concerns at the door as they enjoyed the brief respite from it all together.

Lying there, the five of them, in the same bed, with tangled limbs and squished bodies was the first of many wolf piles to come. Barrett joining them, finally finding his place in it all. In this strange new and yet old family he had been reunited with…

Hoping that, tomorrow, they could do it again.