by Shea Balik
Snarls erupted all around them as Saber and Edrick’s men went after the rest of the hyenas. Leaping to his feet in a move that Elton would have stopped everyone around him as he asked if they’d been impressed, if it wasn’t for the fact that the hyenas were intent on killing them, Elton lashed out with a knife Greyson had not only insisted he kept strapped to his body, but taught him to use with deadly accuracy.
Its tip, found Aroon’s flesh, opening a line along his abdomen. Wray’s father yipped in surprise. The man’s cold, soulless gaze met his, sending a fission of fear through him. Not so much because Elton feared the man would kill him, but because it was like looking into what he imagined was the devil’s own eyes.
“Dude, seriously,” Elton told Aroon. “Your eyes are fucking creepy. Maybe you should think about colored contacts or something.”
Aroon growled as fur popped up along his skin and his mouth contoured into a snout with sharp teeth snapping just inches from Elton’s face.
Elton pinched his nostrils in disgust. “Ugh,” he gagged. “Have you heard of a damn breath mint?” Then he held up a finger when Aroon lunged at him. “Wait, I bet someone here has one. Let me go ask.”
Aroon shook his mangy head in confusion as Elton darted around the rock he and Wray had been sitting on earlier. The idiot actually let him get to the other side of the rock before he realized what had happened and chased Elton.
Not that it mattered, for Elton had done what he’d wanted, gotten to a position where he could once again fight. Greyson’s lessons were definitely paying off. If he survived, Elton would need to think about asking for more training because this time, Elton wasn’t about to let anyone make him run.
He was staying in Miracle and he’d be damned if assholes like Aroon and Narra would change his mind.
With his back against the jagged surface, he waited until Aroon had come charging around the side of the rock. Too late, Aroon realized he was about to pass Elton when Elton struck out with his knife. The sharp blade tore through fur and skin from his shoulder to his hip.
Aroon yelped, but he didn’t go down. His body flipped around as he stalked closer to Elton with his teeth bared. Brown and grey fur jumped at Elton. His training kicked in and Elton moved into action. He slid down to his knees, his body going under that of the hyena, while he lifted the knife, slicing through Aroon’s underbelly.
Blood and guts rained down upon him as Elton slid across the loose dirt and pebbles. “Ugh,” he screamed as his clothes and hair were drenched from the hyena’s insides. “That is disgusting,” he said, even as he leaped back onto his feet with a half turn to prepare for another attack.
Except Aroon didn’t move, just laid there. There were several pitiful whimpers before those demonic eyes closed and his body shuddered with his last breath.
Adrenaline still pumped through his veins as the sounds of fighting continued around him. Spinning around, Elton’s gaze searched for one man, Wray. His mate faced off against his mother, both with their claws out and more than a few cuts and bruises were scattered over both of their bodies.
Bodies littered the ground, but Elton didn’t pay attention to whether they were hyena or not. His eyes staying on his mate as Wray growled low in his throat as his own mother taunted him.
“You know your weak mate doesn’t stand a chance against your father.” Even with cuts along her face that had to hurt when she smiled, Narra grinned at her son maliciously. “He’ll cut open that feeble shifter and gut him like a fish.”
The only response she got was another growl. Her frustration grew as Wray refused to give her what she wanted, her son distracted, giving her the advantage to kill him.
Screaming in fury, Narra attacked, slashing her claws wildly in Wray’s direction. Had Wray not been ready, she would have ripped open his throat. At the last second, Wray leaned left, his right leg striking out, hitting her right in the abdomen.
Narra bent slightly as she tried to regain her balance. It was all the time Wray needed as his own claws sliced through the air. Blood spurted from Narra’s throat, her eyes going wide in shock. She tried to move her arm to attack her son in retaliation, but she’d already lost too much blood.
Horror and rage flashed through her coal black eyes as the realization that it was she and not Wray who would die that day hit her. A heartbeat later, she sank to the ground, the dirt soaking up her blood as it poured from her body.
Her dark gaze stared sightless into the distance, just like her husband’s.
Too relieved that his mate was still alive, Elton ignored what was happening around them and leap into his mate’s arms.
“Oh, thank the Gods, you’re all right,” Wray whispered, his lips pressing kisses against his temple as those strong arms held him tightly.
“Um, I don’t mean to interrupt, but did I hear your parents tell you there was going to be an attack by the end of the week?” Edrick asked, clearly not wanting to ruin the moment for them, but also needing to know if more danger was headed their way.
Wray nodded, but refused to let Elton go. “Yes. They claimed other shifter groups were joining them in order to destroy Miracle and kill Saber so they could return to the old laws.”
“Fuck,” Saber swore from behind them. “Do you know where they are?”
Elton could already see the writing on the wall. Saber and Edrick would pester them with questions all the way up until the attack happened if they got their way. It was understandable, but Elton wasn’t about to let it happen either.
His mate had said he accepted him. No way was Elton not going to take his mate to the nearest bedroom and fuck until they’d both passed out after learning that. He didn’t care how many people tried to kill them. Elton was going to get claimed – now.
“Look,” he said as he pushed out of Wray’s arms and took his hand to lead his mate several steps away from the group that was now staring at them both with the expectation of learning more. “I get this is important, but all we know is what Wray just told you. Several shifter groups, and no we don’t know who or what kind of shifters are gathering, and no we don’t know where, with plans to attack Miracle and kill us all.”
He held up his hand when he saw both Saber and Edrick open their mouths. Tugging on his mate’s hand, Elton moved them farther away. “No, we have no idea what kinds of weapons they may have or how big a force it is. Since we don’t know anything, I think you can agree, that, for now, we aren’t going to be much use. So, my mate and I are going to find the nearest bed and complete our mating.”
He continued to walk backwards with his mate following him with a bemused expression. “Since I’m sure you wouldn’t want to see Wray’s cock in my ass, I suggest you give us tonight and we promise to meet with you at Edrick’s house in the morning.” Then Elton turned and he and Wray sprinted off, but not before Elton waved a hand over his head and yelled, “Bye now.”
Not even he thought that would work. “Please don’t call us back,” he whispered over, and over again to any god willing to listen to him at the moment.
His mate laughed. A real, honest to goodness laugh. Elton had heard it a few times but this one seemed lighter and happier than the ones earlier. Elton’s heart filled with joy as he let the sound wrap around him.
As much as he didn’t want Saber or Edrick to call them back, he changed his prayer to the gods. All he wanted was to hear that sound every day for the rest of his life, since it would mean that his mate was truly happy.
“Come on, bubbly.” Wray’s voice was husky as he let out a little growl of excitement while he led Elton to Saber’s farm. “It’s time I show you just how much I love you.”
Elton stumbled. His feet refused to work as he pulled Wray to a stop just as they’d reached the bunkhouse. “Did you just say you love me?” No way could Wray have meant that, right?
Wray pulled him closer until they were touching from chest to thigh. His hands reached up and cupped Elton’s face as that love shone brightly in those mahogany eyes
. Their lips barely touched, brushing together as Wray said, “I love everything about you, Elton Blakey. The way you take on the world and refuse to be anyone but yourself. Your kindness. Your sense of style and even your adventurous spirit.”
Those firm lips sealed over Elton’s and he melted. Goosebumps scattered across his body as Wray showed the depth of his feelings in that kiss.
When his mate pulled back, he lifted one eyebrow and added, “Although, I would be lying if I didn’t say I could do without the acrobatics on moving machinery, bubbly. You took at least ten years off my life with that stunt.”
Elton grinned at his mate. “Then I guess you’re going to have to find equally adventurous ways to distract me, aren’t you?”
Wray tilted his head back and laughed. Elton wondered if he would always love that sound as much as he did in this moment. His mate took his hand and tugged him through the door of the bunkhouse. “Challenge accepted.”
CHAPTER 9
Now that Wray had found the ability to laugh, he couldn’t seem to stop. He had Elton to thank for that, but at the same time, he wasn’t sure his reaction to the death of his parents was… well, for lack of a better word, sane. Shouldn’t he feel some sort of remorse?
He had been the one to kill his own mother. He would have thought he’d have experienced a certain amount of guilt, right?
“Hey.” One of Elton’s hands reached around and massaged the back of his neck startling Wray out of his thoughts.
When had they entered his room? Wray vaguely remembered leading his mate down the hallway, but not actually opening his door, or sitting down on the side of the bed.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Elton asked, placing a kiss along the side of his jaw before leaning his head against Wray’s shoulder. “I can’t imagine how you must feel. Sure, they had tried to kill you and even hunted you down, but they were also your parents.”
Wray let out a harsh laugh at that statement. “Were they?” he asked, wishing more than anything he could deny it. “Because there is no way I would take our child to kill other shifters. And I sure as hell wouldn’t attempt to beat him to death for daring to help other shifters. Just because they gave birth to me, doesn’t mean they were parents.”
He pushed up from the bed as anger surged through his veins for giving either of them any of his time. They didn’t deserve it, especially when the only thing he should be thinking about was mating Elton. “Why do I give a shit that they’re dead?” he yelled a little too loudly in the small room.
But he just couldn’t control the rage that had been a living part of him since that day he’d been beaten and left for dead. He may have hated what his parents and the rest of his cackle were capable of, but it wasn’t until he saw the absolute glee on his parents’ faces as they hit him over, and over again that he’d known true hate for another.
The warmth of his mate’s body pressing up against his back as Elton wrapped his arms around him seeped into his bones, chasing away some of that anger that he been such a huge part of his life. “We don’t get to pick our parents,” Elton murmured close to his ear. “Nor do we get to dictate their actions. But good or bad, they still gave us life. It’s natural to want their love and to love them even if we can’t stand them.”
Wray closed his eyes as his mate’s words washed over him. Elton’s parents may not have tried to snuff out his life with their own hands, but their intent had been the same by abandoning him so far away from civilization at such a young age.
He turned around and pulled his mate close. “I’m so glad you are my mate,” he whispered. “I’ve lived too long in the dark, hiding, afraid to even laugh.” Pulling back just enough to stare into those pale green eyes, Wray silently thanked whoever had decided it was time to give him back a part of himself he’d lost by putting Elton in his life.
“Well.” Elton’s eyebrows moved up and down several times. “In case you didn’t know, laughter is kind of my thing. You stick with me and I’ll have you rolling on the floor begging me to stop before your stomach bursts from laughing so hard.”
Just as his mate had planned, Wray chuckled. “You are like a ray of sunshine, bubbly.”
Elton cocked his head to the side as if considering what Wray had just told him. Then he nodded slowly. “Sunshine, huh? Does that mean I help things grow?” His hand reached down to cup Wray’s half-hard cock.
“Hmm.” That bright smile turned downright wicked as Elton dropped to his knees. “Of course, there is more than sunshine needed.” Elton undid Wray’s pants and pushed them down to his knees. Then he leaned in and licked Wray’s hard length from base to tip. “Water is vital to make anything grow fully.”
Wray let out a shout of pleasure as wet heat engulfed him. Spots appeared before his eyes, nearly causing Wray’s knees to buckle. Thank gods he was able to grab onto the wall right behind him or he would have definitely ended up in a heap on the floor.
“Fuck, bubbly, that feels so damn good,” he moaned. It wasn’t easy to find his equilibrium with such a talented mouth on his cock, but Wray managed to pry one hand off the wall so he could thread his fingers through those silky locks.
Those pale green eyes glowed as they gazed up at him, stealing the very breath from Wray’s lungs. He still couldn’t believe he’d been stupid enough to throw Elton away. His heart stopped as he imagined living without Elton in his life.
The need to make Elton his for all eternity pulsed within Wray’s veins. Tugging on his hair, Wray pulled his mate up to his feet and tossed him onto the bed in one fluid move.
Toeing off his shoes, Wray pushed his pants the rest of the way down his body. Stalking toward his mate, Wray tore off his shirt. Then he bent down and captured those lush lips that had just been worshipping him in a bruising kiss that demanded Elton submit.
But Wray should have known Elton wasn’t about to just lie back and take it. His mate sucked on his tongue while his hands skimmed and kneaded Wray’s flesh from his neck down to his abdomen.
Fire licked along his skin wherever Elton touched him, igniting him and his hyena into a frenzy of lust that nearly had him ripping his mate’s clothes from his body and burying his cock into that tight ass. Only his resolve to show Elton just how much Wray loved him stopped him from taking what he needed.
His mate deserved to be worshipped and Wray was going to do just that, no matter how badly his hyena was snarling to claim what was theirs. Curling his hand into the fabric of Elton’s shirt, Wray forced his claws back before he ended up tearing the material from his body.
“Do it,” Elton cried out. “I need you inside me, so just do it.” His pale eyes glowed with need, tempting Wray far beyond what he thought he could stand.
Wray rolled his hips against Elton’s, causing his mate to moan in pleasure. The stiff fabric of Elton’s pants abraded Wray’s shaft, causing his eyes to roll back as he fought for control.
“Damn, Wray, stop teasing,” Elton told him before taking matters into his own hands and ripping the button off his pants and opening the zipper. With a shimmy that defied physics, Elton had his pants off without moving from his spot beneath Wray’s body.
Slims leg wrapped around his waist and Wray was sure he was about to fucking come when his dick slid along the satiny texture of Elton’s hard length. Yet, as fucking amazing at that felt, nothing could have prepared him when Elton rolled his hips enough to position the tip of Wray’s length at his entrance.
Every bit of his instinct to mate overrode all his other senses. At that point, he wasn’t even sure his brain was online in order to think about the ramifications of thrusting deep without prepping his mate in the slightest.
“Now, fuck me,” Elton demanded. “Mark me as yours for the whole world to see.”
Wray pinned Elton’s hips down to the mattress with his hand, then snapped his hips forward and drove deep into his mate’s body. A mix between a hiss and a groan of pleasure erupted from Elton’s lips, giving Wray the tiniest sliver of his control ba
ck. It wasn’t much, and it warred with the all-consuming fire that raged within him as his mate’s tight heat enveloped his cock, but it did allow him to stop himself from rutting and taking Elton like an animal.
“I’m so sorry, bubbly,” he bit out through gritted teeth as Wray desperately tried to hold himself in check.
“Sorry?” Elton yelled and hit him square on the chest with his electrified eyes glaring up at him. “Unless you’re apologizing for not moving and fucking me stupid, I don’t want to hear it.”
Stunned, Wray didn’t move a muscle as he stared down at his mate, unsure what he was supposed to do or think. Not that thinking was in the cards at the moment, but still, shouldn’t Elton be pissed that Wray had lost it, hurting his mate in the process? This was their mating. The least Wray could have done was make it amazing for the man he loved. Right?
Hands reached up and grasped his face hard. “Look,” Elton said, his voice a little softer than it had been a second ago. “Slow and sweet is great, but I almost lost the chance to have a mate, first when you denied me, which I’m not bringing up to make you feel guilty so get that remorse off your damn face, especially when you’re buried balls deep in my ass, mister.”
Wray couldn’t help but chuckle at his mate’s words. “Gods, I love you,” he said reverently.
A spark of mischief lit up Elton’s face. “Good, because I also almost lost a chance to be your mate when your idiot parents tried to kill us, and I, for one, want to feel your thick cock inside of me for days, to remind me that I not only didn’t lose you, but that we’re mates.”
Elton leaned up and gave Wray a hard, demanding kiss. When he dropped back down to the mattress, his mate said, “Now fuck me like you mean it, because I want there to be no doubts in the morning when we’re having to sit through that stupid meeting we promised to go to that my mate loves me.”
“Now that is something I can do,” Wray assured him. Then he pulled is hips back and slammed them home, because that’s what it felt like inside his mate’s body, home. A place no one was ever going to chase him from ever again.
