sneer on Lon’s face telegraphed what he thought about dancing. Having Lon as his alpha would’ve been disastrous for a hundred reasons, and this was one of them. Jack Henry’s mates respected—loved—his dancing. Which meant they would support him in returning to it after he had a baby. Whatever help he needed, he would have.
“We don’t run classes for alphas,” he told Lon. Honestly, most alphas could use dance lessons, but so few would be willing to take them he hadn’t even considered the possibility.
“Then I’ll just work in with the omegas. Watch all the pretty boys dance for me.”
The omegas weren’t dancing for alphas. They certainly weren’t dancing for Lon. They were dancing for themselves. Because everyone needed both an artistic outlet and the opportunity to feel their own power flow through them.
“Go away,” Jack Henry said, not interested in keeping up the pretense of a conversation any longer.
“Or what? I don’t see any of your protectors here.”
“Are you seriously threatening me?” He liked to believed he could take care of himself, but faced with Lon, he had to admit it wasn’t true. He mentally canvassed the bond, feeling for his mates. Jasper would be at the farm, Saul at the build site, Elias amusing himself somewhere in town, not expecting Jack Henry to need him for another hour and a half.
“Aw, do I scare you, little thing?”
“My class will be here soon.”
“Your omega class?” Lon rumbled out a low and evil laugh. “The more, the merrier. Hey, maybe I’ll find one I like better than you. Then you’ll be off the hook.”
“No.” Jack Henry took a step forward, halving the space between them. He couldn’t expose his young charges to this monster.
“No, there’s no one better than you? That’s what I’d have said a few months ago. I had you on a pedestal. That’s why I left you alone—because you were too pure to be touched. But you’re just a dirty little slut, aren’t you? Stringing us all along so you could grab yourself a whole harem. You don’t need a harem, little omega. I’ve got everything you need right here.” Lon grabbed his crotch, squeezing it into a bulge thick enough to suggest he was at least partially hard. He got off on cruelty. He got off on fear.
Jack Henry took another step forward, refusing to show Lon the fear he wanted to see, though inside he was a quaking mess. I need you, he shouted along the bond, praying to all the gods that last night’s fluid exchange had strengthened it enough that he’d be heard.
“Yeah, babe,” Lon said, mistaking his defiance for willingness. “You know you want it.”
Jack Henry had never studied any form of martial arts, but he knew how to leap, so he did, springing into the air off his back foot and aiming his front foot at Lon’s groin. Lon doubled over, his leering grin morphing into a pained twist. He staggered back to crash into the door. The bell tinkled, and Lon whirled to face the street, but it was only his own impact that had made the bell ring. No one had come.
Lon turned the thumb lock and pulled down the shade. “No class tonight. Just you and me.”
“My mates will come for me,” Jack Henry warned, giving up on pretending to be independent.
“I have a feeling they’re going to be busy tonight,” Lon said cryptically. “Elias might show up, but—” He shrugged. “What’s Elias going to do? I can take a few minutes to kill him before I fuck you. Blood whets the appetite, don’t you think?”
Lon popped his claws. They were nowhere near as impressive as Jasper’s, but they were sharp enough to cut Elias’s throat. Jack Henry remembered that Lon had managed to overwhelm Saul through a combination of bodyweight and dirty tactics. What chance would Elias have?
“I just want to fuck you, Jack Henry. Everyone else has. What’s one more? If you cooperate, maybe I’ll be gone before Elias turns up, and then I won’t have to kill him. What do you say? Throw me a fuck and save everyone a lot of pain.”
Jack Henry didn’t know if the bond could survive him being raped, but he didn’t know if the pack could survive one of its members dying either. He couldn’t sacrifice Elias to save…. what? His honor? A few minutes of unpleasantness? He would have to bear it, that was all.
When his shoulders slumped in resignation, Lon’s snarl morphed into a grin that was