Rescue: Pack Mates, #7

By Lynn Tyler

Falling in love had never been in the plan.

Somehow, among the horrors of war, wolf shifters, Payton Ward and Sven Gunnerson fall for each other and begin a not so secret romance.


But all is not what it seems. After being abandoned by their country in the middle of the Congo, a gravely injured Pay and Gunny, along with their unit, must make the gruelling journey home, leaving a part of themselves behind. There’s a pack waiting for them in Smooth Rock Falls, and it sounds like paradise compared to where they’ve been living.


Pay had thought the jungle trek and his recovery would be the hardest part of his life. He was wrong. Love is more difficult than he’d ever imagined. His beloved Gunny seems to be having second thoughts about their relationship.


Gunny’s head is reeling. One moment he was carrying his injured lover through hell, the next, he was expected to settle down with a mate. But he’s scared; scared of having his heart broken.


With one unit member missing, and the existence of their species about to be revealed, will Pay and Gunny be able to survive, let alone learn to love?

Warning: Hot shifters, sexy romance and cute kids ahead. Author is not responsible for any squeals or exploding ovaries.


• Language: English
• Publisher: Lynn Tyler
• Release date: Aug 15, 2017
• ISBN: 9780995189980

Lynn Tyler

Lynn Tyler, erotic romance author, has been writing since she was young. An Amazon bestseller and a strong believer in happily ever after, Lynn writes predominantly male/male paranormal romance. Visit Lynn’s website lynntylerbooks.com

Book preview

1

This sucks.

Payton Ward rolled his eyes at Summers’ announcement before returning the cheeky grin. Yes, siphoning gas out of an abandoned rebel truck sucked, especially when someone had the ingenious idea to stick a rubber hose in the tank and start the process by sucking on the other end.

Luckily, he’d drawn one of the long straws and wouldn’t be the one to end up with a mouthful of gasoline in a few seconds.

Unfortunately for him, the guy who’d drawn the short straw happened to be his boyfriend. Gunny, you’d better brush your teeth before you try to kiss me.

Normally Gunny would have snorted and tossed back something witty. Pay was pretty sure the possibility of shooting gas out his nostrils was the only reason the other wolf kept quiet.

The same didn’t hold true for the rest of the soldiers in their very small unit.

What happened to being discreet? Jackson groused.

The unit medic laughed. Should I put in a request for a supply of condoms?

This time, he directed his eye roll to his other friends. Seriously? Condoms? It’s not like I can get pregnant.

And it’s not like they ever cared about their scents mixing, Jackson put in.

Besides, it’s not like the government will give us condoms when they can’t even restock a field med kit, the C.O. said.

The colonel’s statement drained all the joy out of their exchange.

True, the medic replied after a few seconds.

Colonel Thompson sighed, and rubbed a hand over his jaw. Sorry, guys. I didn’t mean to put a damper on things.

Behind them, Gunny started gagging and Summers shouted.

He jogged over to the bigger man and patted his shoulder. Did you get a mouthful?

The wolf sucked in a lungful of air and shook his head. Just the fumes. The taste is just as bad.

Pay winced in sympathy and rubbed his boyfriend’s back. Well, you’re my hero. Now we can get back to camp and see if our supplies arrived.

He didn’t bother to look around at the rest of his unit. They’d been waiting more than a month for their supplies and there was no sign of them.

Their wages had been frozen, too.

It was like the Canadian military was purposely trying to starve them.

Whatever. He hopped into the bed of the ancient pickup truck they’d been given and gestured for everyone else to get in. Being out here in the open freaked him out a little.

It freaked all of them out a little.

Rebels had a way of appearing from out of nowhere, usually armed to the teeth. It didn’t matter if all they had were ancient pistols. Bullets could do a lot of damage if they managed to catch you in the brain. Even a werewolf couldn’t heal from a hole in the gray matter.

Gunny clambered in and stationed himself next to Payton, resting his gun on the metal edge. Were you serious about me brushing my teeth before I kiss you?

Deadly. He managed the single word without cracking a smile.

His boyfriend grimaced. I ran out of toothpaste last night.

He frowned. You can use some of mine.

Gunny flashed him a smile. Thanks.

It looked like the other man was about to tack on an endearment before blushing and closing his mouth. They had long ago decided pet names were a bad idea.

No one in their unit seemed to care about their relationship. It was best to keep it as discreet as possible, especially given the fact that he was a lowly private while Gunny was a captain. Don’t ask, don’t tell had been abolished from the Canadian military for years. However, fraternization was still a rather large infraction. Large enough to get them dishonorably discharged.

They’d both been terrified when their C.O. had figured out their secret.

They’d been equally relieved when the colonel had simply told them to keep it down at night, that the others might get jealous.

The truck lurched, startling him out of his thoughts. He tightened his grip on his rifle and trained it out in the distance. Not that it would be very effective. Summers always drove like he was practicing for a NASCAR race. He was pretty sure the guy got off on tossing them around in the back.

Still, he was a genius when it came to avoiding roadside bombs. Which was why they let him drive every damn time.

You okay?

He fought the little shiver that his lover’s whisper in his ear caused. Yeah. Just thinking.

He didn’t get an answer and he didn’t expect one. Gunny was a man of few words. It had bothered him at first, until he realized that quality was so much better than quantity.

A low drone buzzed overhead as sweat trickled down his back. They hadn’t been issued their summer uniforms either and the temperature was steadily creeping higher every day. He didn’t bother to complain of his discomfort, though. They all suffered from the heat; drawing the others’ attention to it would be mean.

The drone got louder and he risked a glance up, tearing his eyes from the endless expanse of desert and rock. A plane passed over them, turning in a wide circle and coming back again.

Incoming! Jackson called.

Colonel Thompson’s voice sounded from the front cab. Can you tell if it’s one of ours?

It was a dumb question. The rebels hadn’t managed to get their hands on any planes yet, thank God. They’d be royally screwed if that ever happened.

Still, when their own allies were unaware of their existence, any plane became dangerous.

His heart hammered as he watched the plane continue to circle. Hopefully, they wouldn’t be mistaken for a group of rebels. He’d been slightly ashamed of his fear when he’d first joined the unit. The shame had faded when he realized everyone else’s heart pounded just as hard whenever they were in a similar situation.

Unfortunately, the fear never faded.

The pilot must have decided they didn’t pose a threat because he eventually moved on, the roar of the engine fading to nothing.

The tightness in his chest released and he drew in a deep breath.

A gentle hand pressed to the middle of his back. We’re okay.

He nodded at the medic’s words, knowing they were as much for himself as they were for him. Yeah. We’re okay.

You guys okay back there? the colonel asked.

Payton turned and faced the medic as someone else gave their C.O. the affirmative. Did I hear you’re running low on stuff?

Yeah. I used the last suture kit the other day on one of the kids who hangs around camp. He’d fallen and sliced his hand on a piece of metal. I’m running low on lots of stuff. Hopefully, no one has anything worse than a blister for the next few weeks.

He nodded, already trying to work out a plan in his head. There was a thriving black market in the small village near their camp. They tried not to frequent it much, if only because they didn’t have very much to trade. The situation was getting desperate, though. Maybe he could find something in his stuff they would be willing to swap for some medical supplies.

They made it to camp without any further scares. They’d been assigned to the interior of the country a couple of months ago. The fact that they’d been supplied with tents that looked like they’d seen action in the Korean War instead of more modern accommodations was the first indication that something was wrong.

He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and slid out of the back of the truck. He trudged to the little tent he and Gunny shared and flopped down on his cot. He left the flaps open, hoping against hope that a breeze would flutter through.

Jackson stuck his head in with a grin. Never pegged you for an exhibitionist.

Never pegged you for a voyeur, he shot back. Besides, you see my man in here with me?

His friend waggled his eyebrows and stuck out his tongue. I saw him scamming some toothpaste from Summers, so I have no doubt he’ll be here shortly. So just make sure you close the tent flap when he gets here.

Why? I think you might like the view.

Maybe too much.

He raised an eyebrow. Dude, you are the straightest man I’ve ever met.

Still am. But we haven’t had any time off in weeks and…

Stop right there.

Jackson smirked. I know the truth. You’d kill to see my butt.

Why would anyone want to see your lily-white ass? Gunny rumbled, pushing past their friend and entering their tent.

Payton swung his legs over the edge of his cot and sat up and pointed at the other soldier. Get out.

Whatever, you both know you love me. Just keep it down, will ya? The rest of us don’t have anyone to turn to, if you know what I mean.

He was gone before they could make a comeback. Man, that guy needs to get laid.

Gunny made a face and threw himself down on the cot next to him. Please. Let’s not talk about that.

He couldn’t help but laugh at his boyfriend’s disgusted expression. He can’t help it. He’s a perv. Anyway, I heard you talked Summers into some toothpaste?

A light crept into his boyfriend’s eyes. I did. Does that mean I get to kiss you now?

He didn’t bother to answer, instead cupping the back of the man’s neck and drawing him forward.

The kiss was sweaty and hot. No matter how well they washed grit always clung to their faces and lips, invading their mouths. The only time he’d ever tasted Gunny without dirt getting in the way was the time they’d holed up in a hotel on their only week of leave. They hadn’t left the room—eating, sleeping, and fucking for five whole days.

Quiet, Gunny whispered, nibbling a little at his bottom lip.

As if he needed the warning. It was bad enough everyone would be able to scent their arousal. They didn’t need to hear their pleasure, too.

Of course, as soon as his lover mouthed at the little spot behind his ear, the one that never failed to drag a full-body shiver from him, he had to shove his knuckles into his mouth to muffle his moans.

His lover chuckled, low and rich in his ear, and closed his teeth over Pay’s earlobe. Always have trouble staying quiet, don’t you?

The words were breathed into his ear and he grabbed the collar of the other wolf’s shirt, trying to redirect his mouth. You keep that up and it’ll be over before we even get started.

He jolted when Gunny dropped his hand to his lap, cupping his erection through his pants. That’s okay. You’re hot when you come.

Well, fuck. How was he supposed to pull his boyfriend’s hand away from his dick when the way he was stroking it felt so damn good?

One of these days, he whimpered, one of these days, I’m going to drive you insane with lust.

You already do. You have no idea what you do to me.

He stiffened when Gunny slid his hand inside his waistband and used one finger to trace the flared edge of his cock.

You two lovebirds need to get your asses out here, Summers called. C.O. says he has some new orders for us.

Normally the announcement of new orders excited him. However, the last few assignments had left a lot to be desired and the memories sucked any anticipation from him.

He gazed at his boner regretfully and sighed. "Let’s get this over with.

2

Gunny watched Pay’s sweet ass sway as he left the tent and ground his knuckles into his eyes. He had a feeling he knew the exact type of assignment they were about to receive, and it wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t something he wanted Payton exposed to either.

Gunnerson, front and center! Colonel Thompson barked.

Shit. He’d better haul ass. It was never a good sign if the C.O. was calling him by his full name.

Okay, maybe it wasn’t his full name. His fool mother had decided he looked like a Sven when he was born. He’d started telling everyone to call him Gunny by the time he was six years old. Hell, even his own parents called him by the nickname.

Once, and only once, Pay had called him Sven. It had been in the middle of a particularly intense climax and the look on Pay’s face as he’d sprayed his release all over the bed, coupled with the sound of his name, had been enough to drive him into his own orgasm. Hell, the memory still made him hard.

He pushed to his feet and paused at the tent flap to adjust his erection. He never understood how Pay could walk around with a log in his pants for everyone to see and not give a shit. It never failed to bring a smile to his face, though, when he realized everyone knew he’d gotten his boyfriend that excited.

Satisfied that one would have to look rather hard at his crotch to detect his hard-on, he pushed through the flap and came to a stop between Pay and Summers. He copied their poses, collapsing to sit on the hard ground, and looked up at the commanding officer. They were probably the least respectful unit in the entire history of the military. Though calling them a unit was rather stupid. There were only six of them.

Officially, they didn’t exist.

Which meant if the military forgot that they needed medical supplies, or uniforms, or food… oh well.

The grim look on the colonel’s face confirmed his suspicion. He pulled Pay against his side and nuzzled his nose into his black hair. God, he wished he could save his boyfriend from whatever hell they were being sent into. The younger man had missed their last trip into hell, joining the unit a few weeks after their reassignment.

Pay melted into him, and he knew the man was offering comfort instead of seeking it. He closed his eyes and soaked in the familiar feeling of his lover.

Okay, men. Listen up, the colonel demanded. His order was unnecessary, as they had all been silently waiting for him to speak.

Their C.O. took a deep breath. We’re going back.

No one had to ask where he meant. There was only one place on earth the man could be talking about.

The Congo.

He battled to stay in the present as