The Reluctant Cougar (Rise of the Alpha King's Heir)

What She Needs (Part 1)

The next several weeks were a study of frustration for Ben.

She said she wanted his beast, but anytime he started to lose himself, she immediately pulled back, reigned in, or literally ran away. And Vampires could run. Fast.

What did she really want? What was he doing wrong?

I want to be what she needs.

With a frustrated growl he hit the side of his fist on the cement backing of the shower stall. Next to him Archie jumped, and the other guys from his building complained tiredly.

"It's too damn early for that, Cougar. Chill," Jessup groaned.

It was early. Four in the morning in fact, but it was the last day of training before the holiday, and they'd all agreed to put off their showers last night, deciding to go ahead and pack. All except Jessup who apparently had nowhere to go.

"You okay, Cougar?" Archie wondered, wide-eyed.

"Yeah, sorry," Ben said emotionlessly.

He felt Archie's gaze on him for a while, and eventually the other guy ventured, "You wanna talk about something?"

"No."

The answer was automatic, firm. Then he hesitated. Jessup had said to never talk to Archie about girls, but...

"You have sisters, right?"

"Yeah."

"Do they ever say they want something and then get mad when they get it?"

Archie laughed, loudly.

"What?" P.A. wondered from his other side. Jessup was looking now too.

"Forget I said anything," Ben said with a huff, scrubbing his scalp angrily.

"Cougar wanted to know if girls ever get mad when they get what they ask for."

The other guys snorted, and Jessup finally said, "What did I tell you about asking those two for advice?"

"Hey!" the two in question both griped, offended.

Ben shrugged, "Archie has sisters. I thought he might have some inside intel."

Jessup paused, eyes widening slowly as he realized what Ben had said. Then he turned to Archie, "How do you suck so much with girls when you have so many sisters?"

For the first time since Ben had known him, Archie blushed a deep, deep red. He glanced at P.A. and away as he quietly admitted, "So... I didn't know how to tell you guys this, but Cougar's different and you like him... You see..."

"You're gay," P.A. guessed.

Archie glared at him, "No. I'm just not like you. I'm not a one-night-stand kind of guy. There's this girl I've been seeing for a while now..."

P.A. gaped at him, "What the hell?! Is that why you always refuse to seal the deal? Why didn't you tell me?!"

Archie glanced away, "Girls deserve better than that. I just wanted to fit in, wanted you to like me."

P.A. gave him an incredulous look. Finally he said, "You do realize some girls really just want a quick fuck with no strings, right?"

"Not the ones I kept you from getting," Archie countered, fist clenched. "They had stars in their eyes when they looked at you, P.A. They reminded me too much of Helen."

Ben thought back to the stories Archie had told them that year: the many adventures of an only son living in a house full of girls. Archie had seven sisters. Seven. About a week ago he'd received yet another letter from Helen along with a copy of an old family picture. It had made Archie smile tenderly, and so of course they'd had to razz him until he'd shown it to them. They'd had trouble picking Archie out in the sea of skirts. Helen, a whole eleven months older than Archie, had apparently decided to dress them up like twins, and the seven-year-old Archie beamed at the photographer, holding said sister's hand and looking as proud as could be in his matching dress, heels, and lipstick.