by Macy Blake
“Stop thinking and fuck me, Sol. That fucking dick of yours is magic. Fucking hell.”
Cody often held himself back. He was guarded at the best of times, even when he pasted on his fake-happy bartender smile that Sol had always seen through. This was Cody at his most real, though. Bossy, foul-mouthed, and demanding. Sol had finally found the heart of him, and he couldn’t be happier.
“Magic dick, huh? I’ll take it.”
Cody growled. “If you don’t stop teasing me right now—”
Sol pulled back and only moved in slow shallow thrusts. He let go of Cody’s hip and traced a finger down his cock, from tip to balls. Then further, to his hole. He traced the rim, still shallowly thrusting.
“Sol, please.”
And there was the magic word. Sol leaned forward and pushed all the way inside. Cody gasped and wrapped his thighs around Sol’s hips. Goddess, the sounds he made, the way he felt. Sol was having trouble keeping himself in check. His beast wanted free, wanted to make Cody theirs for the world to see. Mark him up and scent him.
Sol’s eyes started to form a red haze, and he quickly tucked his face into Cody’s neck. He sucked up a spot there and Cody arched his neck to the side, allowing better access. It did nothing to help Sol’s tenuous control.
“Fuck, Cody,” Sol groaned.
“Yes, Sol. Please, fuck Cody already.”
Sol moved again, slamming his hips forward.
Cody gasped and pulled his thighs up higher. “Yeah, right there.”
Sol did it again. And again. Until he was rutting against Cody, fucking into him hard and fast. No finesse, no skill. Simply pure, raw want. His control slipped further, claws forming at the end of his hands. He slammed them into the bed, thrusting harder still, chasing that elusive thread of pure pleasure that had begun building at the base of his spine.
Cody met him thrust for thrust, clinging to Sol’s back as he began making frantic noises, seeking the release Sol promised to give him. Sol untangled his claws and forced them into his hands so he could grab Cody’s legs and pull them higher. The sound of pleasure he got was reward in itself, and then Cody’s hole began to spasm around him as he came, crying out Sol’s name.
It was all it took for Sol to come as well. He hid his face again, knowing he’d used the last bit of control he had, and thrust into Cody harder, faster, until he too found his pleasure. His cock spurted deep inside and Cody groaned as Sol’s body began to tremble. He kept thrusting, chasing the last of it. Not wanting the moment to end but knowing he’d pushed Cody harder than he should have. His beast grumbled, concerned about his mate’s well-being.
Sol breathed in one giant breath and found his balance once more. He opened his eyes, pleased to see that the red haze had vanished, and then raised his head. Cody’s eyes were closed and his legs had fallen open to the side. He had the most fucked-out grin on his face. After a moment, he reached blindly for Sol, finding his bicep and squeezing it gently. “Good super serum soldier. Good boy.”
Sol pulled out and Cody shivered.
“That was mean.”
Sol huffed. He went to the bathroom and cleaned up before returning to Cody’s side. But he shouldn’t have worried. Cody had fallen asleep with the smile still on his face and his legs splayed wide.
Solomon
Sol tucked his face into Cody’s neck and breathed his sweet scent. He wished he could join Cody in sleep with his own very well-fucked smile on his face. Sol had cleaned them both up and crawled into bed behind him. He wasn’t able to rest. His nerves were still stretched too tightly. He worried over his pack, his alpha, and his alpha-mate. Cody seemed to sense his distress because he wiggled closer. Sol tucked his thigh between Cody’s legs and pressed his chest to Cody’s back.
Cody made a pleased little huff before drifting away once more. Sol loved how vocal Cody was with him. He’d worried they wouldn’t communicate well. Their recent experiences excluded, he and Cody might as well have been speaking different languages. But not now. The way Cody looked at him now was the same way Drew looked at Shaq.
Sol wrapped his arm around Cody and laid his hand over Cody’s heart. The steady beat soothed his frazzled nerves a little further. He opened his senses and listened to the sounds of his pack settling into his home. Walt and Shelly were still looking out for Sophie. She’d not fallen asleep yet, but from the sound of her breathing, she’d be falling asleep soon. Teague, Achim, Vice, and Calli were still outside keeping watch.
The ward the coven set hadn’t alerted him of any approaching danger. He’d done everything he could to keep the pack safe until Shaq’s return. Sol breathed in Cody’s scent again. He had just begun to relax when he heard footsteps approaching the door, and then a gentle tap. “Yes?”
Walt opened the door and stuck his head inside. He smiled at the sight of them and Sol couldn’t help but return it. “About time,” Walt grumbled.
“You need something?”
“Mason texted. The bar is crazy.”
The last time Sol had looked at the time it wasn’t even eight in the morning.
“Excuse me?”
“That’s what I said. Well, I actually said what the f—udge.” Walt glanced nervously over his shoulder but didn’t seem to have caught Sophie’s attention.
“Walt, tell me.”
“I guess they all know something’s going on.”
Sol nodded. “I’ll be out in a few.”
“Thanks, Sol. Sorry to pull you away.”
Sol nodded again and tucked his face into Cody’s neck. He didn’t want to get up and deal with anything. He wanted to stay here with Cody and bask in it for more than the hour he’d had. But it wasn’t in the cards. In Shaq’s absence, the responsibilities of his alpha were his. Sol slipped out of bed and rearranged the blankets so Cody’s body was covered. After cleaning up a bit, he pulled on a pair of jeans and one of the T-shirts from the bar. He went into the bedroom and stared down at Cody. He looked peaceful. Sol leaned down and kissed his head. “Hey.”
Cody grumbled. “Sleep.”
“I can’t. They need me at the bar. I didn’t want to leave—”
“No.”
Sol grinned as Cody reached for his jeans and grabbed his belt loop.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can. Get some rest.”
“Sol,” Cody grumbled. “What time is it? I can’t have slept that long. It’s morning. The bar is closed.”
“Shh. Go to sleep. I’ll be back.”
“Hurry,” Cody mumbled. He closed his eyes but didn’t let go of his hold on Sol’s jeans.
Sol kissed him again, unable to resist the temptation, and slid Cody’s fingers free. One last breath and Sol straightened and left the bedroom, closing the door gently behind him. Shelly was carrying Sophie out of the room, the little girl finally asleep once again.
“Stay alert,” Sol said.
Walt nodded. “I don’t like this.”
Sol grabbed his shoulder and squeezed. “Your job is to keep the girls and Cody safe. If something happens, get them out of here. Take them to the goddess’s gate and wait for me there.”
Walt fought back the flames in his eyes and breathed. “I will.”
“I know. I won’t be long.”
“I’m going to cook.”
Sol gave Walt’s shoulder one last squeeze before heading outside. Calli stood on the porch, waiting for him. “What’s up?”
“Mason called. There’s something weird going on at the bar.”
“Let’s go.”
Sol started to argue, not wanting to divide the pack further, but she was right. “We get in and out.”
“You thinking it’s a trap?”
“No.”
Mason had been a friend of their pack for years and his expertise in security had come in very handy during certain situations they’d faced. If Mason thought there was actual trouble at the bar, he wouldn’t have called Walt. He would have reached out to Shaq first, and if not Shaq, then Sol. He knew the chai
n of command in their pack. No, Mason had simply given them a heads up.
Sol opened a portal and went through to the area behind the bar. His senses were immediately flooded with other. “What the hell?”
Mason stepped out of the back door of the bar. “I figured you’d show up.”
“Your message to Walt was cryptic.”
“Yeah, well, go out front and you’ll get it.”
Sol flipped Mason off for being both smug and vague at the same time and began walking around the side of the bar. He stopped the moment he caught sight of the parking lot. “What the hell?”
“Yeah,” Mason said. “That’s pretty much what I said.”
If Sol had to put a label on what was currently happening in the parking lot of the bar, he’d call it tailgating. There were multiple vehicles. Most of them sitting with trunks popped open. Different creatures were sitting around in camping chairs. There were even a couple of those portable fire pit things.
“What the hell?”
Calli coughed, attempting to smother a laugh, and Solomon glared at her. Lucky for her, he saw a familiar horned-head on the outskirts of the crowd.
“Cosmo!”
Sol’s voice might have been a little louder and a lot angrier than he’d intended, but he didn’t need the distraction at the moment. Cosmo side-stepped his way over to Sol and gave him a sheepish grin.
“Talk,” Sol demanded.
“The natives are restless,” Cosmo said quietly.
“That tells me nothing.”
Cosmo bit his lip nervously and looked around the parking lot. “Others are sensing the changes in the air. There are rumors, Solomon. Dark rumors.”
“What rumors?”
Cosmo shook his head. “I speak not of such travesties.”
Sol grabbed Cosmo by the shoulder and leaned down into his face. “You better talk, Cosmo. I am not in the mood.”
Cosmo looked around nervously once more. “The aswangs come.”
His voice was as quiet as it could possibly be, but the whispered words still conveyed his terror.
Calli sucked in a breath. “Shit.”
“Why are they all here then?” Sol asked, looking around at the parking lot full of supernatural creatures. The aswangs would come for the hellhounds first. They held a serious grudge against them after their last attempt at an uprising.
“Because we all sense that Meshaq is not in this realm. We seek to be near the champions and our protectors should the rumors turn out to be true. This is not the time for those of us who do not have large, powerful clans to be alone.”
“Shit,” Sol said.
If this many of their kind had shown up, then the rumors had some meat to them. He did not need this complication right now, especially with Shaq out of their realm.
“They are restless, Solomon,” Cosmo continued quietly. “Not even our song calms their fears. They seek safety and comfort from those who can provide such things.”
“Understood,” Sol said gently. “I’m dealing with another major issue at the moment, though. This puts a very fucking complicated twist in things.”
“You must help them remain calm, Solomon. Their fear is real.”
Cosmo may annoy the living fuck out of him sometimes, but he wasn’t the raging idiot he appeared to be. He’d been around a long time, almost as long as Shaq and Solomon, and he had connections with nearly every clan in the realm. Everyone was drawn to his cheerful ways, and even though he drove them crazy at times, his insights had been invaluable.
Sol gave Cosmo’s shoulder another squeeze. “The hellhounds need your help.”
Even though his breath caught in his chest and his eyes had widened comically, Cosmo nodded. “Of course.”
“Keep your eyes and ears open. Let Mason know immediately if you find out more about the aswangs. Understood?”
“Yes.”
“Go. Thank you, Cosmo.”
“It is my honor.”
Cosmo turned and let out a cheerful shout. “The hellhounds welcome us! Mead all around!”
Sol groaned but the energy around him immediately shifted into one with slightly less tension. No one could say a faun didn’t know how to work a crowd.
“What are you thinking?” Calli asked quietly.
“I’m going to make the rounds. Do Shaq’s usual song and dance since he isn’t here. Mason, we’ll open up the bar in a few hours, as scheduled. We’ll see what happens.”
The alpha werewolf nodded. “I’ve got more of my team heading this way. I don’t think this is all of them, Sol.”
Sol glanced around the parking lot and sighed. There was no way this would be all of them, not if the threat of aswangs was real. A lot of creatures in their realm laid low and kept to the darkness. As long as they didn’t upset the balance, the goddess had always allowed them to remain in the human realm. The aswangs were a special breed, though. A hybrid of vampire, shifter, and ghoul all mixed together that formed a power-hungry pack. Meshaq and Sol had already experienced one uprising from their kind. They’d put them down, but the price had been high. The goddess had stripped away some of the aswangs’ powers as a result, and they’d never forgiven either her or the hellhounds for what they considered an atrocity against their kind. Sol just wanted them to stop fucking draining whatever creature they came across of blood before they proceeded to eat whatever unfortunate soul they’d murdered. It really wasn’t too much to ask.
Besides, if the rumors turned out to be true, Shaq was going to be pissed.
Sol made the rounds around the parking lot, assuring everyone that they were welcome. It wasn’t much, but it was more than they’d had before. The nervous energy settled even further. Mason stayed with him, and Sol made sure to introduce him to as many of them as he could. Seeing the other alpha accepted by Solomon eased even more of their concerns. They completed the circuit when Calli froze. She moved her arm and scowled down at it. Her sigil had been activated.
“Go,” Sol ordered. “I’m going back to the others. Meet us there.”
She nodded and ran around the bar. He heard the portal open and close again.
“You look tired,” Mason said.
“Been a long night.” Sol’s thoughts drifted to the cabin and Cody sleeping in his bed. He wanted to be there very badly.
“What are you going to do?”
Sol wished he knew. He tried to think of what Meshaq would do in his situation, but he’d also made a promise to his alpha. “I’m going to go back to my pack and talk it over with them. I’ll keep you posted.”
“Same here. If anything changes, I’ll call.”
Sol opened a portal and went through to the cabin. Teague and Achim were waiting for him. They both looked as tired as Sol felt.
“You guys go inside and eat,” Sol said. He could smell something amazing coming from inside the cabin. “I’ll keep an eye on things out here.”
Neither of them argued. Achim yawned and went up the steps to the cabin. Teague lingered behind for a moment. “Everything okay at the bar?”
“Yeah. I’ll tell you later. Go on and eat. It’s going to be a long-assed day.”
Sol sat down on the porch swing as he thought about what to do. Their resources were limited and their pack was at risk. They needed help. Sol pulled out his phone and sent a few texts. It was honestly something he’d never done before. He’d hit send the final time when the door opened and Cody walked out. He’d pulled on one of Sol’s old work shirts and a pair of pajama pants that he must have brought with him. The shirt hung off of him. Sol had never understood the appeal of seeing someone dressed in his clothes until that moment. It sparked something carnal in him and he barely held back a growl.
Cody sat down on the swing and somehow managed to cuddle up with his chest against Sol’s and his legs curled up to the side. He tucked his face into Sol’s neck and sighed.
“You should be sleeping,” Sol grumbled. It didn’t stop him from reaching around to rub Cody’s back or from starting
a slow back and forth glide of the swing.
“Yeah, well, my cuddle bunny left and now I’m cranky. Fix it.”
Sol grinned and nuzzled his nose into Cody’s hair. “I’ll do my best.”
Cody grunted. “You’re warm.”
He snuggled closer. Sol held him tight.
“You going to tell me what’s wrong?” Cody asked into his neck. His voice was muffled but the vibrations and his warm breath sent a shiver of need through Sol.
“Later.”
Sol’s phone vibrated a few times and he closed his eyes. He just wanted to steal a couple more minutes.
“Your other Bear4Me boyfriends messaging you?”
“Probably.” Of course, he knew better. It was the others, responding to his texts. Cody didn’t need to know that though.
Cody huffed a laugh into his neck. “Did you even message anyone else?”
“No. I blocked anyone but you who messaged me. I’ve never seen so much unsolicited dick in my life.”
Cody laughed again and lifted his head. “I’m sorry you had to put up with such a hardship.”
Sol arched a brow at the word choice.
Cody leaned in and brushed a kiss on the corner of his lips. “You really do have an amazing mouth, especially when I know how filthy it gets when you’re talking to me in bed. Not to mention the other things it’s good at.”
Sol’s hand drifted down and caressed Cody’s ass. “I’m glad you approve.”
Cody’s eyes fluttered shut. “You keep doing that and I’m dragging you inside for another round.”
“That a threat, or a promise?”
Cody opened his eyes again and started to smile, but it quickly changed to terror. Sol had them up and Cody shoved behind him within a second.
“Fuck,” Sol growled. “Cody, inside. Now.”
But it was too late. An aswang had managed to break through their defenses. It had some sort of magical shield surrounding it, but its glowing red eyes and sharp fangs were recognizable. And speaking of magic, it was forming some sort of ball of light between its hands as Sol watched. It flung the magic toward them before he could even process what he was seeing. Aswangs couldn’t do magic. They were fighters with teeth and claws, much like the hellhounds. Sol turned to cover Cody so he didn’t get hit. A burst of pain hit when it landed against his back, then a pull. He grabbed Cody and held tight.
