by Fel Fern
Darkfall was ringed by mountains and untouched woods, making it the perfect place for shifters to live and raise pups. Michella already hinted at Ron, Sergio’s mate, carrying Sergio’s kid. That stirred all kinds of feelings in Alessio. He’d never seen Sergio settling down, much less being a father. Their own childhood had been rough, when their parents died, and they learned to navigate the world as novice shifters.
Sergio settling down made Alessio think about his own nonexistent love life. As pack Beta, Alessio had his pick of wolves. Bisexual by nature, Alessio probably went through most of the available males and females in their pack. They knew the rules. Alessio didn’t commit. He changed lovers every full moon, and he had no intentions of picking a mate.
Some supernatural species envied shifters for being internally equipped with a kind of metaphysical radar that rang the moment they found their mates. In all of Alessio’s thirty years, he’d never felt that tingle, that unexplainable connection to any shifter or mortal he’d met.
Parking his car into the lot of a roadhouse near town, Alessio got out. Unobtrusive footsteps trailed after him as he went deeper into the woods. Stripping, Alessio shifted. The moment his paws hit the familiar forest ground, Alessio bolted. Ignoring Jane’s whine behind him, he picked up speed. Darkfall had been his home for the better part of his life. Alessio knew the woods and they knew him. Wind whipped at his coat. He tasted the night air on his tongue and smelled pine and oak, earth and potential prey.
A chase would help him clear his mind. Alessio started after the scent of a doe, when he paused, ears cocked. He had the odd sensation of someone watching him. Alessio took a slow turn, eying his surroundings. Seeing nothing but shadow and foliage, he let out a warning growl. Alessio didn’t tolerate games, or any fool stupid enough to play pranks with him.
Nothing. Damn it, had it been his imagination after all? Answering his call, both Jared and Jane howled, appearing seconds later in their wolf forms. Alessio shook his head. He was being paranoid. Was it Michella’s news of the Order wanting revenge? Lately, the pack and the town seemed to be a magnet for bad news. First, a rogue bear shifter. Then, the Order and nearly breaking into a mini-war with the Silverback pack.
No longer in the mood to hunt, Alessio backtracked to his car. Once in his clothes, Alessio eyed the roadhouse. County music and rowdy voices came from inside. He’d always been a sucker for discipline and order. As pack Beta, it fell to Alessio to keep members of the pack in line. Maybe he needed a break to recharge himself for future events.
“Let’s get a drink,” Alessio told Jared and Jane, back in human form.
Jared gave him a toothy grin.
“I thought you’d never ask.” Jared took a sniff. “Smell that? Alcohol, sweat, and desperate bodies looking for a good time.”
Jane elbowed him sharply in the ribs. “Crass, brother. Alessio, I’m heading home. You guys have fun.”
Alessio nodded, watching Jane leave. “Is your sister seeing anyone?”
Recognizing Alessio’s big brother voice, Jared groaned. “Why do you ask?”
“She’s what, twenty-two this year? Perfect age to start looking for a mate,” Alessio mused. He’d been preoccupied with so many things lately. Alessio didn’t have time to find out what went on with the rest of his pack members.
Jared snorted. “Look who’s talking. Come on, let’s get roaring drunk.”
Alessio agreed. They went in, got nods from townsfolk, both supernatural and mortal. The Darkfall Mountain Pack was the law around these parts, although they occasionally worked with the local human authorities. Jared took a beer and wandered off to find an easy conquest.
Feeling wary and worn-out, Alessio settled himself at the bar. A body warming his bed for the night sounded the kind of thing Alessio needed to lift the gloom settling over him, but where would that leave him? Meaningless sex was exactly that. It left him numb after. Made Alessio wonder what it would be like to wake up to the same face each day, and to have someone to share his stories of the day with. A mate.
“This seat taken, handsome?” a voice asked, startling Alessio from his thoughts.
“Be my guest.” Alessio regarded the stranger.
He was tall, well-built, dark skinned, dark haired, and certainly not from around these parts. After ordering whiskey, straight up, the young man gave him an easy smile. A closer inspection awakened something dormant in Alessio. Strange green-yellow eyes, reminding Alessio of a feline, stared back from a face more pretty than handsome. Bait would be a word Alessio would attach to the guy, except the hard body underneath his leather jacket and tight black shirt told him this guy knew his way around a fight. By reflex, Alessio scented him, and took a lungful of something exotic. Not human, but not shifter either.
“Do you have a habit of scenting strangers?” the stranger asked in an amused voice.
Most men were intimidated by Alessio’s size and reputation, but this guy didn’t seem afraid. Curious indeed. Worse, Alessio possessed a burning need to see what he looked like underneath his clothes.
“Only suspicious ones. You aren’t from Darkfall,” Alessio pointed out.
He grinned. This bastard clearly knew how to use his looks as a weapon. Faint danger bells rang in Alessio’s head. He talked to another predator, but for some reason Alessio didn’t feel threatened. Intrigued more like, which was fucking strange.
“I heard the local werewolf pack is leery of outsiders, even strangers who don’t mean them harm.”
“We have a reputation to uphold,” Alessio curtly said.
For some reason, the guy seemed to take his words as an invitation to come closer. What the hell is wrong with this bastard? Still, eliminating that bit of distance between them made it harder to think. Alessio’s wolf woke inside him, smelling something unbelievably tasty. The guy, being some kind of paranormal, should know Alessio’s spiritual wolf was interested, but he didn’t back off, only wisely stayed his ground. Why did Alessio have a feeling this guy would rather go near to a burning fire than back away?
“Kelias Cervantes.” Kelias held out his hand.
Alessio raised an eyebrow. They were exchanging names now? Did he somehow blank out and lose track of a huge portion of the conversation? “Alessio Esteban. That’s a curious name.”
Kelias lifted his shoulders to shrug. “I’m half demon, practically human, although I never knew my parents. You though…so you’re the rumored cold-hearted Beta of the Darkfall Mountain Pack?”
“That’s what they say?” Alessio asked.
What the fuck?
Was he actually flirting with Kelias, someone who he should be digging information about? It didn’t seem like it, but they took account of every outsider who entered their territory. They kept an eye on shady figures or potential players, because they had a duty to protect the mortals living in their land. “You’re not intimidated?”
“I thought you’d be scarier. Certainly not, well…” Kelias licked his lips, drawing Alessio’s attention to Kelias’s very kissable mouth. It didn’t hurt that Alessio spotted the bulge in Kelias’s jeans. Clearly, his attraction hadn’t been one-sided.
“Not what?” Alessio prodded, taking a pull of his beer. Shit. This wasn’t good. At the rate this was going, he was going to wind up taking Kelias home, and it didn’t look like Kelias would need much persuading either.
“Funny and sexy as hell,” Kelias finished, not embarrassed to say the words out loud.
Unable to help himself, Alessio laughed. Kelias’s grin faltered a little, showing Alessio a little bit of hesitation. Poor half-demon. Did Kelias think Alessio would actually refuse him? With those looks and smooth charm, Alessio doubted Kelias suffered many rejections in his life. He explained, “Not the two adjectives most of my wolves would describe me.”
Looking relieved, Kelias asked, “How would they describe you?”
“Mean, old, and ruthless,” Alessio said.
It was Kelias’s turn to laugh. Damn, the sound tightened thing
s inside Alessio. “You’re certainly not old, or mean.”
The half-demon finished his drink, then surprised Alessio by getting straight to the point. “Why don’t you say we get out of here? Go somewhere private?”
Kelias showed Alessio exactly what he thought of him, his smile slipping when Alessio showed him teeth. The hungry look in his gaze. Kelias shuddered, and that one gesture told Alessio volumes. That Kelias had needs Alessio could provide, that Kelias, despite his strength, was the kind of guy who’d welcome a dominant male in bed to take control.
“I know just the place, little demon.”
Chapter Three
Kelias didn’t know how he got there, sitting in the Beta’s car. He’d been drinking with Seb, talking in low voices about the best way to go about their dangerous task. Covert, they agreed, was the best. They’d watch their daily schedules of the Beta and Gamma. Lie in wait for the perfect moment to slip out of the shadows and slit their throats.
Easy as pie, but the moment Alessio Esteban walked in, Kelias forgot about their conversation. The mission. Everything. The world stilled. Kelias walked over to the bar, introduced himself, and from there, everything went downhill. Seb warned him not to go, but Kelias knew Seb would keep tabs on him.
“After all that teasing, don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts,” Alessio remarked, noticing his apprehension.
This werewolf, Kelias observed, saw far too much. Shifters, from what little knew, were volatile creatures and easily lost their tempers. Alessio though, proved to be a puzzle. He flashed Alessio a smile most of his prey couldn’t resist. No luck. Alessio didn’t seem fazed.
Shit. Was Kelias out of his league with this man? Alessio scared the hell out of him and obvious power and strength radiated from his body.
At the thought, Kelias tilted his head to eye the Beta of the Darkfall Mountain Pack. Standing at six foot, every massive inch of Alessio was hewn in hard muscle. Taut golden skin under his shirt, only marred by the occasional scar, marks of battle. As far as Kelias knew, Alessio only had one tattoo on his left inner forearm—a pack tattoo. He kept his dark hair short, military trimmed almost, which drew Kelias’s attention to his sharp features. Dark-green eyes that turned yellow when Alessio displayed intense emotions like want and desire. A nose, broken once or twice, and sinfully tempting lips Kelias wanted to taste.
“Like what you see, little demon?”
The way Alessio said that nickname sent a shudder down Kelias’s spine. He’d been called a number of names while growing up, none of them pleasant, but the way Alessio wrapped the syllables in his tongue, they sounded positively sinful. Words made edible.
Refusing to appear daunted or fazed, Kelias managed an appropriate response. He licked his lips. “Very much.”
A rumble slipped out of Alessio’s throat, the sound husky, deep, and hitting all of Kelias’s buttons.
The Beta was truly a fine male specimen. It was a pity Kelias had to stick a knife in his heart. He’d sync his cell phone with Seb’s, and if anything happened, Seb would know where he was. If Kelias came out of the kill looking well fucked, then who cared?
Kelias wanted one last ride with Alessio. See if the man lived up to his boast. Seb, like most hunters, would find it repulsive to indulge in anything intimate with the monsters they hunted for a living, but Kelias wasn’t so uptight. By their standards, Kelias was a monster, too. His loyalties just lay on the hunters’ side.
Alessio parked the car on the curb in front of an old, but well-maintained apartment building. The simple accommodations surprised Kelias. He’d thought Alessio would have kept a house, being one of the leaders of the Darkfall Mountain Pack.
“Get that gorgeous ass out of the car, demon,” Alessio said, stepping out.
They headed inside and took the lift to Alessio’s unit on the highest floor. Tenth. Once the front door shut behind them, Alessio tossed the key aside and pulled Kelias close. They didn’t make it past the apartment hallway. Alessio shoved him against the door.
Kelias drew a shaky breath. Well-honed instincts prodded him to touch the knives he kept hidden on his body, but he remembered he left all his weapons with Seb to avoid suspicion.
“Tell me,” Alessio prodded, eliminating the distance between their bodies. He made it hard for Kelias to think, especially with the heat from their bodies threatening to escape.
“What do you want to know?” Kelias asked, breathless when Alessio grinded his body against Kelias’s, prompting a response. Their upper bodies rubbed against each other and so did their erections, pressing up against their jeans, begging escape. At this rate, Kelias would lose his mind if he didn’t yank off Alessio’s shirt and run his fingers over those yummy muscles.
“Your body tells me how eager you are, but you’re having second thoughts, Kelias. I can feel it,” Alessio whispered, then nipped at his left earlobe.
Kelias exhaled, cock hardening at the tiny gesture. “I want you. Don’t you want me?”
Alessio chuckled. “Never wanted anyone this much.”
Then Alessio eliminated their need to talk by weaving his fingers into Kelias’s hair. He tugged, the slight pain delicious, then angled Kelias’s mouth for a kiss. Eager and helpless to receive, Kelias closed his eyes. Alessio mashed his lips against his, demanding, taking, the force of him overwhelming and dizzying.
Kelias didn’t think anyone ever kissed him like this, or prompted such a reaction from his body. Most of the relationships he’d been in with other men seemed trivial, only the slap of flesh on flesh. Most of the hunters who agreed to sleep with him only thought him a novelty, a way to keep loneliness at bay. After all, a good hunter didn’t let weakness get to him, and attachment and relationships were exactly that. Weakness.
He yielded against the crush of Alessio’s lips for the moment, before responding. Their tongues and teeth tangled. Alessio deepened the kiss, tightening his grip on Kelias’s hair. Lord. What was this man doing to Kelias? The logical part of Kelias, who was still a loyal member of the Order, screamed at him to stop this travesty, because heading this road was a one-way ticket to hell.
Silencing that voice, Kelias realized he didn’t want to stop. He couldn’t. When Alessio released his lips, they were both panting, eyes wide. At least it wasn’t just Kelias who felt this riot of unnamed emotions coursing through him bone-deep, like a shot of adrenaline though the heart.
“Wow,” Kelias whispered. His vocabulary seemed to have left him, along with his mind. If a simple kiss could do this to him, what if Alessio took it further?
“Exactly my thoughts, little demon. But enough chat, you’re wearing too much clothes.”
“You are, too. Let me see the package I’m getting.”
Alessio caught his bottom lip with his teeth, halting Kelias from lifting the hem of his shirt. He bit down, wrangling a cry from Kelias. “I run the show here, Kelias. Remember that?”
Hell. As if Kelias would forget. He wanted Alessio to take control, to lead the dance, despite trusting himself this much to a stranger, to his target, was suicidal. In his day-to-day life, Kelias always examined his every decision. Always careful and second-guessing himself, Kelias knew that was the only way he’d keep himself alive in all his missions. This time, he didn’t bother. Overthinking got him nowhere. He trusted his gut instincts, and to some surprise, he trusted Alessio.
Screw what the reports said. Alessio wasn’t cold hearted and dangerous. He was amazing, especially those hands and lips.
“Yes, sir,” Kelias said tartly, wondering where this bratty and wanton side of him came from.
Alessio grinned. “Strip.”
One word, the authority there enough to make Kelias heady and ready to obey. Alessio helped him out of his jacket, his shirt, jeans, and boxers, and he helped Alessio out of his clothes until they both stood, naked and exposed. Kelias’s gaze dropped from Alessio’s face, and took in his massive shoulders, broad chest, narrowing to a “V” down his ribs and abs, to the fine line of hair l
eading to his impressive jutting cock.
Holy shit. Kelias had never had anything so big inside him.
A low sound came from Alessio’s throat. Yellow eyes took stock of him again, looking at him from top to bottom, apparently liking what he found, because Alessio grabbed Kelias’s wrists one-handed, and pinned them above his head. The wood of the door dug against his back.
“You’re going to fuck me against the door? How romantic.” The words slipped out before Kelias could stop himself.
“Here, because I’ll go mad if I don’t have you now. Next, I’ll take you in the bedroom.”
“Arrogant bastard, do you think you’re going to get that lucky?”
Alessio shut him up by kissing him again, rough and full of need. The motion drew their bodies together once again. Skin on skin. Alessio’s hardness collided with his sweat-slick lean frame, and Kelias could feel his member, pressing up his belly, so needy, like his own. Alessio let him go, and he groaned, straining for more.
“I’m pretty sure,” Alessio had the gall to say. He used his other hand to reach for Kelias’s member. Already at half-mast, his aching cock pulsed when Alessio curled his big callused fingers around the length, and began stroking him. Root to tip, fast and faster, he wrangled cries from Kelias, working Kelias until he was close to bursting. Then Alessio withdrew, and Kelias let out a hiss of frustration.
“Not yet,” Alessio said, voice harsh, his own prick thick and erect. He loosened his grip against Kelias’s wrists, and Kelias took that opportunity to free one hand. Feeling playful, he flicked the pre-cum gathered at Alessio’s cock head with his fingertips. A growl trickled out of Alessio’s lips when Kelias put his wet fingers into his mouth and sucked.
“You’re going to be the death of me, demon,” he hissed.
Right. The reminder of death jolted Kelias slightly awake. His stomach churned. How could the Order expect him to end this man’s life? Alessio was unlike anything he expected. Remember your dead comrades, said a voice in his head. Ripped to shreds, like animals. The fallen deserved better. Given the chance, if Alessio knew what Kelias was, would he do the same? Turn into an animal and do Kelias the same honors?
