Chapter 1

“I need to get you a real dog.”

The beat of the music in the club almost drowned out the words. Inside the DJ booth at least the sound was somewhat muffled, but Wren glanced at the time on the wall clock at every chance, the passing time bringing him closer to relief from the noise. He enjoyed music.

Just...not this loud.

How can anyone focus on anything…?

The wood stool Wren perched on creaked as his gaze searched the club. The security cameras, Rhodey doing his rounds, slipping through the shadows beyond the thick crowd while communicating with Avery, who watched over everything from above. And Noah. Noah was right there. Nothing could get too close with his Dom standing there.

He considered the comment, cocking his head as he petted Danny’s soft hair, enjoying the way he unselfconsciously curled up half under the soundtable, resting against Wren’s calf. The other sub seemed to find Noah’s presence comforting too. And the petting. He’d had a strange day and it made Wren happy he could give him something to make it a bit easier. Maybe a string wasn’t much, but it had helped Wren once.

“I like visiting Tracey’s dogs. They wouldn’t be happy here, they wouldn’t have as much space to play and leaving them in the loft while we work wouldn’t be fair. Danny doesn’t need much space. And he’s…” Wren lifted his gaze to Noah’s, his lips quirking. “Club-trained.”

Amusement filled Noah’s eyes and a laugh escaped his lips as he bent down to kiss the top of Wren’s head. “A joke that didn’t involve anything gruesome. I didn’t think you had it in you.”

Wren frowned, glancing at Danny, who appeared to be in a peaceful zone, not really listening to them. That was good. He gave Noah a serious look. “It bothers him, so I try not to. Sometimes I forget—maybe you could remind me? Jared does, but he’s not here. I remembered that.” Of course he’d remembered. He pressed on, trying to make sure he got all the information to his Dom that he might need, a bit flustered now that he’d gotten off track. “Rhodey jokes in a way that will be hard for Danny, he’ll have to get used to it. Do you think he can? I should have thought of that when ‘the plan’ first started. It was supposed to be Reed at first, but—”

Holding up a hand, Noah crouched down a little and cupped Wren’s cheek. “I’ll give you a heads up if your humor starts getting dark around him, but I don’t think you can do much to prepare him for Rhodey.” His lips curved into an incredulous smile. “I don’t even know what to make of that. Not sure I want to try to figure out how that happened. Or why.”

Noah was always strange when it came to his uncle. But that was all right. If he was confused, Wren could clear it up for him. He wasn’t always good with people, but he understood some things. He smiled at his Dom. “Rhodey’s very good in bed, sir. Jared said so. He also said he’s well hung and it runs in the family. He hasn’t slept with Rhodey in a long time, so I’m assuming experience—”

This time, Noah stopped Wren with his hand directly over Wren’s mouth. “Information I didn’t need, my little bird. Thank you. Danny wanted a good, hard fuck. Next time, just go with that.”

Groaning, Danny curled up a little tighter, tugging at the hood of the huge hoodie he was wearing so it covered his entire face. “You can talk about gruesome stuff instead if you really want. I don’t mind.”

Now Danny was the one being strange. Wren reached into his pocket, taking out the small baggie full of treats Keiran had given him. He brought one down to the space under the hood. “Here you go, puppy. Have a treat, you’re probably hungry.”

Chuckling, Noah straightened, then rubbed the back of Wren’s neck. “Don’t stay up too late after closing, I want you to get a good night’s sleep. We’ll pack in the morning and head out in the afternoon.”

Head out…?

Wren fed Danny another treat when the crunching stopped from the first one. He peered up at Noah as his Dom stepped out of the booth. “Tomorrow is too soon, sir. There’s no way you’ll be able to prepare everything you need.”

“We will be able to manage just fine.” Noah gave him a level look. “You’re not going to talk your way out of this, my boy.”