It was probably because of his childhood. He’d never really known his parents, having been left at an orphanage well before his second birthday. He had vague, shadowy memories of someone rocking him, holding him tightly in their arms, but that was all. He was given his name by the staff, and his surname even came from there, the Capraru Home, except it had never been much of a home to Ethan. His earliest memory was of standing up on the side of his bed, gripping the railings as he cried for something to eat. Food was a precious commodity at the Capraru Home, and always in short supply for the children.

By the time the authorities finally closed it down he was around four years old, and he was placed in another group home. He had weighed less than thirty kopins, and they had feared for his life, force-feeding him for the first few quarter-cycles until he finally began to put on weight. At that, he was luckier than some of the children from the orphanage, who had died from a combination of starvation and neglect. It was quite a scandal on his home planet of Lycanus, which prided itself on taking care of its citizens, and the children had mostly been quickly spirited away to a group home on a sister planet.

There on Lycanus 2, he’d received better treatment. He had enough to eat, at least, and no one was ever cruel to him, but he didn’t fit in well with the other children at the home. They were mostly a rough and tumble bunch, loving to play sports outdoors and wrestle with each other on the playing fields. He preferred to stay inside with his books and electronics. Sports mostly bored him, and he had no interest in the wrestling matches and domination games the other boys loved to play. The others seemed to sense he was different, too, but pretty much left him alone. The Headmistress, Doma Gerta, saw to that at least. She tolerated no teasing or hazing in her group, and while she wasn’t exactly warm and comforting, she at least kept the other boys from bothering him while he was growing up. Ethan had a caretaker kind of personality, and always had. He liked taking charge of the younger boys in the group home and didn’t mind helping Doma Gerta around the house with the cooking and cleaning. At least he felt like he was helping and it gave him some sense of self-worth when she gave him a rare word of praise. When he was seventeen, Doma Gerta left and a new doma came to the house. Her name was Helga, and she seemed to notice him immediately, often stroking his hair as she passed him in the house.

As he had grown up, his hair never lost the blond color many of the babies on Lycanus started with, leaving his hair the unusual color it was now. He sometimes noticed Doma Helga looking at him oddly, almost appraisingly. She had even approached him once with strange questions about whether or not he would like to live off-planet and perhaps even travel the galaxy. But when he’d questioned her, she clammed up and refused to explain.

Now Ethan was entering puberty, a little late, even for a Lycan, as he was just past his nineteenth birthday, and he was facing the Selection. His hope was that he would be designated a gamma, and assigned to some apprenticeship where he could continue to be of service, maybe in the medical field, or perhaps working with children.

When he’d confided his hopes to Doma Helga, she had given him an odd look and p atted his hand.“You’re a good-looking boy, Ethan. If you don’t want to go through the selection, I could find you a place with my sister. She runs a very high-class restaurant on one of the Jupiter moons. I’m sure she could find a place for a pretty boy like you. If you’re interested, I can contact her…”

“N -No, I can’t do that. I want an apprenticeship. Maybe I’ll get a good one. At least I want my chance.”

“All right, suit yourself. But if it doesn’t work out for you, remember what I told you. I have a feeling you’re just the kind of boy who would do well in my sister’s establishment.”

He’d felt a bit of a chill at her words, especially when a cloud seemed to pass over her face before she stood up, gave him another brisk pat on the shoulder and moved on to finish her dinner preparations. He wondered what she meant. The alphas would know he wasn’t a leader, and if they put him in a gamma apprenticeship that he didn’t like, there was always the possibility of a transfer, after a year or so, to a job he might like better. The council would never let him choose his own job off-planet, would they? No, he was doing the right thing, the only thing for Lycan males. He’d do his best and probably be designated a gamma and maybe get a good apprenticeship so he could finally be on his own.

He comforted himself with that thought as he waited for his name to be called. He’d been given a card with his alpha judge’s name on it—Konnor Balenescu. One of his housemates who was also going through Selection with him had pointed the big Lycan out to him, telling him he was from Lycanus 3 and he was one of the famous Balenescu bounty hunters. Even from a distance, Balenescu looked stern and dangerous, and Ethan was glad he would never be in a situation wherehe’d have to run from him.

Taller than average, at about six feet six, Balenescu was also solidly muscular. His hair was a beautiful shade of brown, shot through with red highlights, and would have fallen almost to his shoulders had he not kept it carelessly tied back. Ethan thought he was beautiful, and it only increased his nervousness. He shifted from foot to foot, feeling a little chilled, even though the weather was warm outside.

“Ethan Capraru. Come inside, please.” The beta who was assisting in the selections motioned to Ethan that he was next, and Ethan hurried to follow him. Thoughts of the handsome Balenescu had made him half-hard, and he was mortified to see his eager cock bouncing in front of him as he walked quickly down the corridor. He’d always known that he preferred males, a not unusual occurrence on his planet, where many Lycans liked both males and females, since either one might be their fated mate. Once the mate was found, an instant attraction was established, and once the two touched for the first time, they imprinted on each other, and mating followed shortly thereafter.

The beta opened a door farther down the corridor and waited for Ethan to precede him inside. Ethan stepped through the doorway, and immediately dropped his head, gaining only a vague impression in those first few seconds of a small room with two men sitting behind a table. Instinct made him move his hands to cover his rapidly stiffening cock.

He glanced up and saw that the one his housemate pointed out to him as Konnor Balenescu was gazing at him and cocking his head to the side, as if not quite sure what to make of him. The big alpha stood up and walked around the table, sauntering toward him with a confident air that Ethan admired. Gods, he was so good looking up close. Even better than expected. The big alpha walked up to him and surveyed him from head to toe, stopping to stare for a moment at his rigid cock. He glanced back up into Ethan’s eyes and his perfect lips turned up at the corners, giving just the barest hint of a smile. He reached out to shake his hand, saying, “Hello, Ethan. My name is KonnorBalenescu, and I’ll be your judge.”

Ethan took his hand and began to give him a tremulous smile in return when the alpha threw his hand back at him as if it burned him. That’s when it happened. Balenescu’s fangs descended, his claws sprang out on the ends of his fingertips, and he literally jumped back away from Ethan, yelling, “Fuck! What the hell are you?”

When the two young pups came in the interview room, Konnor had been bored out of his mind. He’d just sat through a long and dull interview that Larssen was having with a young beta. At least they were both pretty sure he was a beta. He smelled like one, and he was strong, smart, and confident, but not overly dominant, like an alpha would have been. Poor guy didn’t have much personality either, though he could have been intimidated by the Balenescu brothers. They sometimes did that to people without realizing it. It was good for bounties, but did cause some social issues. They needed to run a few more tests and see him shift to be sure exactly what the pup’s rank was. As soon as Konnor’s applicant was interviewed they could begin with both of them.

When the door opened and his new pup came in, Konnor barely glanced up at him. He was reading over his file as he came in, and feeling a little sorry for the young Lycan who was to be his candidate. From the boy’s history, he’d had a rough time of things—an orphan who’d suffered through the terrible Capraru orphan scandal that had rocked Lycanus—could it really be seventeen years ago? Konnor had only been five years old himself when it happened, so he had no personal memory of it, but the scandal came up regularly whenever social reforms were up for a vote with the Lycan Ruling Council.

It was the smell that finally made Konnor look up, a sweet, sugary smell like something delicious to eat. It made his cock get thicker and his balls draw up to his body. It seemed to be radiating off the new pup, and Konnor wondered idly if he was using some kind of pheromone cologne, made popular by the love slaves in the clubs on Lycanus 2. He glanced up from the file and straight into a pair of the most beautiful sherrycolored eyes he’d ever seen, a dark, sensuous color like the sunset over Grekko Minor. Like that ocean on Jayron—what was it called? Oh yeah, the Carmine Sea. He wondered for a moment if he’d suddenly lost his mind, waxing poetic over a pup like this, or anyone for that matter. Curious, he stood up and walked toward the boy, who was standing nervously shifting from foot to foot. He noticed his hard-on right away, but decided to give the kid a break and not mention it, though it was a very nice erection, indeed.

The whole package was pretty nice. Beautiful, really. He was about average height and build for a Lycan, but not overly muscular. His body was quite pretty anyway, with pale, smooth skin and very little hair, except for the blond, shaggy mane on his head. The boy looked up at him again and Konnor smiled at his obvious embarrassment. Was Konnor ever so young? It didn’t feel like it. The pup had a pretty pink blush on his cheeks, and he kept wetting his luscious, pouty lips.

Konnor shook his head a bit. Damn, he needed to get laid and soon. He usually wasn’t attracted all that much to other Lycan males, but for this kid he’d make an exception. Alphas often took their pups to bed to teach them how to be good lovers. It was an ancient tradition called Topferort, and one Konnor thought he might just have to explore with this one. Having sex with adult, trained Lycans, though, was another matter. It usually just wasn’t done. Lycans were too damned dominant for anything other than the briefest encounter.