The Alpha's Mage

by Claire Cullen

  When he told Knox he was going to see Orion, the alpha tried to insist on accompanying him.

  “Don’t you have a boundary to walk?”

  “It’ll keep.”

  Knox seemed set on coming with him, but Lorcan suspected this was a conversation better had alone, mage to mage.

  “I need you to find the weakest points so I know where to start. Please, Knox.”

  The wolf looked him up and down, considering. “Fine. Athena will keep you company.”

  He waved Lorcan away, and Lorcan took off through the woods. Athena appeared from between the trees and fell into step beside him.

  “Morning,” Lorcan offered.

  She barked in greeting.

  “Nice weather we’re having.”

  It was his first time trying to engage a wolf that wasn’t Knox in conversation. The toss of her head suggested she found his attempts pretty lame.

  “If I find it frustrating attempting to communicate, I can only imagine how it must feel for you. Knox didn’t tell me much about how the whole ‘wolf’ communication thing works, but I’m guessing it’s not like having a good, long chat.”

  Athena made a sound like a subdued growl. Agreeing with him, maybe? Or had he just confirmed her suspicions that he was an ignorant fool? Before he could say something equally as damning, they reached the center of the pack. He hesitated, unsure where he’d find Orion at this hour of the day. Athena barked sharply, drawing his attention—not to Orion, but to Asher.

  “Hello Lorcan, Athena. What brings you here?”

  “Is Orion around?”

  Asher’s smile softened. “You’ll find him in his workshop. Your little display of magic yesterday gave him quite the boost. I haven’t seen him in such good humor for months.”

  “Thanks. I’ll go pay him a visit.”

  Lorcan slipped inside, welcoming the cool of the house’s interior. Athena didn’t follow him inside, instead settling down on the grass in a patch of sunlight just outside the door.

  “Be back soon,” he told her. The only acknowledgment was a twitch of her tail.

  Lorcan heard Orion before he saw him as the mage was humming loudly. The cheerful sound only added to his worry that he’d given the pack false hope by what he’d done the previous day.

  “Don’t dawdle, Lorcan. Now that we know you can perform boundary magic, there’s lots to do. Time’s wasting,” Orion called, not turning around.

  “I have questions.” He walked around the edge of the room, coming to a stop on the other side of the workbench, opposite Orion.

  Orion waved his hand at a stool. “Sit, ask what you need to ask.”

  Lorcan slid onto the stool, leaning his elbows on the workbench. Orion was using a pestle and mortar to grind some herbs, sending the smell of thyme into the air.

  “It’s about repairing the boundary.”

  “What about it?”

  “It’s going to take a long time to reinforce the whole thing. Weeks.”

  “More like months,” Orion corrected matter-of-factly. “The boundary stretches for miles. What else is worrying you?”

  “Well, the only way I know of to get my magic to work with the boundary’s magic is Knox’s blood. But that’s a lot of blood. Knox doesn’t have that much to spare. He’s already stretched to the limit. Unless we spread out reinforcing it over years instead of months…”

  Orion set down the pestle, giving Lorcan his full attention.

  “You’re assuming Knox’s blood is the only way to merge your magic with the boundary’s.”

  “It’s not?”

  “The nature of the wolf-mage bond isn’t blood, Lorcan. You know that. The bond bite isn’t just window dressing. But the essence of your bond is even more primal than that.”

  There were only two parts to the bond, as far as Lorcan understood it. There was the bite, and then there was the…

  “Sex.”

  “One and the same. The connection between wolf and mage has always been rooted in sexual chemistry. Sex between you and Knox will provide something even more powerful than what you derived from Knox’s blood.”

  “Okay. But then there’s my druid energy. There’s only so much power I can draw from the woods and the sun before I start to do damage. That’ll slow things down, too.”

  Orion let out a long-suffering sigh, picking up his tools again and grounding the herbs with more force than Lorcan thought necessary.

  “Again, you’re missing the point of being a mage. Didn’t your family teach you anything?”

  “Stay far, far away from the big bad wolf?”

  That brought a smile to the older mage’s face. “Little Red Riding Hood you are not.”

  “So, what is the point of being a mage?”

  “You already know the answer.”

  “You mean sex? I don’t really get how…”

  “The sexual energy created between you and Knox will power your magic. And incorporate the essence of the wolf into the boundary.”

  Lorcan flushed, resting his chin on his hand as he tried to get his head around what Orion was telling him. “Um… so you’re saying Knox and I need to have sex… on the boundary?”

  Orion set down his pestle again and laughed loudly.

  “Are all druids so literal, or is it just you?”

  “That’s a no, then?”

  “It’s the having sex that’s important, not the location. Once you create the energy, you can direct where you use it.”

  “The process is also very enjoyable,” Asher’s voice added from the doorway. “For both wolf and mage.”

  Lorcan glanced from Asher to Orion and blushed harder, suddenly very aware that they were speaking from personal experience.

  “You’ve been propping the pack up, magically speaking, for years.”

  “We have,” Orion agreed as Asher came to stand behind him, taking his hand.

  “That… that’s a lot of sex.”

  The two exchanged a look that was as much fondness as it was heat.

  “Any more questions?” Orion asked, unable to hide a yawn.

  “I think that’s it. For now. But maybe there’s something you think I should know?”

  Orion regarded him thoughtfully.

  “Fate brought you and Knox together for a reason. Trust that.”

  18

  Knox stalked the boundary uneasily until Athena alerted him that she and Lorcan were on their way back. He wandered through the trees to meet them, eager to know if Lorcan had gotten the answers he needed. As much as he wanted him to get a head start on fixing the boundary, for everyone’s peace of mind, he worried about the pressure that put on the mage’s shoulders. Lorcan deserved his life in the pack to be a good one. Not the years of servitude he’d been raised to expect.

  Athena barked sharply when she saw him, and then slunk away through the trees. Lorcan closed the distance between them, rubbing his hands up and down his arms.

  “Cold?” Knox asked. “I can get you…” He mentally searched through the contents of his hut, remembering he’d shredded his last sweatshirt. “… a blanket?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Did Orion tell you what you need to know?”

  “Uh… yeah.”

  Was it Knox’s imagination, or did Lorcan look a little flushed?

  “Great, so we can get started. There’s a point in the southwest—”

  He turned, ready to get going, only to falter when Lorcan’s hand touched his arm.

  “We should talk.”

  Knox turned back around to face Lorcan. “Right… You know talking’s not my strong point, yeah?”

  “I had noticed, but this is something we need to talk about.”

  “Then talk.”

  Lorcan opened his mouth to speak but shut it again, flushing a deeper red. Knox waited him out, giving him a chance to get his words together.

  “We did it wrong.”

  Knox canted his head to the side, bemused. “Did what wrong?”

 
; “The boundary. We, uh, we melded the magics with your blood. That works, but it’s not the best way. Not the mage way.”

  Curiosity drew him closer to Lorcan, his fingers gently clasping the mage’s elbow.

  “Then how do we do it?”

  “Well, um, yesterday, when I used my magic to hide the break, do you remember your reaction?”

  It was hard to forget what was, hands-down, the sexiest thing he’d ever witnessed. All that power so skillfully wielded. His every instinct had told him to claim the mage as his own, there and then.

  “The pinning you against a tree and kissing you senseless part?”

  “Yeah, that. If we’d followed that to its natural conclusion… well, that’s the right way. It would have had the same effect on my magic as using your blood.”

  Knox nodded decisively, happy with the explanation.

  “Instincts rarely lead you wrong.”

  He went to start walking again, but Lorcan crossed his arms.

  “Is that all you have to say?”

  Knox had never been one to fight against his own nature. He circled Lorcan, brushing against him with every step. “I’ve wanted you from the moment I set eyes on you in Maken Pack. If you want me too, and our… giving in… to that makes the magic work, then I’m all for it.”

  He waited a beat, and then gave Lorcan an out.

  “If that isn’t what you want, then I’m happy playing blood donor.”

  Lorcan’s eyes widened. “Really?”

  Knox tried, he did, but he couldn’t hide the plain truth.

  “No. I wouldn’t be happy with that. I want you, every inch of you. If you’re going to be my mage; if I’m going to be your wolf… It’s all or nothing, Lorcan.” He stood behind the mage, his chest pressed to Lorcan’s back as he wrapped his arms around him. “No pressure.”

  Lorcan smothered a laugh, leaning back into his embrace. He tipped his head back, seeking Knox’s eyes. “Orion and Asher seem happy together.”

  Knox was a little wrong-footed by the change in topic. “They’ve been together a long time. It hasn’t been easy, with the burden of the pack’s magic falling squarely on their shoulders these past few years.”

  “That kind of pressure would push some couples apart.”

  “Not wolves and mages,” Knox contended. “Not when the bond is true.”

  “How do you know if a bond is true or not?”

  A lesser wolf might have lied, but Knox didn’t want to win Lorcan by deceit.

  “You saw how Declan was attracted to you, right? Well, that’s how it is for wolves, or so Orion says. We can be attracted to many different mages, and the attraction allows a bond to form. Mages are more particular. Can they bond to a wolf where the attraction isn’t pure? Sure. But the bond is only true where the mage is drawn to the wolf, and the wolf to the mage. Like the moon to the tide. A true lunar bond.”

  Lorcan turned in his arms, his attention not wavering for one moment. Then he took a deliberate step back, out of the protection of Knox’s arms. Something went tight in Knox’s chest.

  “You don’t feel it.”

  The next moment seemed to stretch on forever. Lorcan’s gaze never left his.

  “I feel it, Knox. You know I do. If I didn’t…”

  “You’d have run days ago. We’ve given you plenty of opportunities to take off.”

  “Yet here I am. Where I belong.”

  Knox laced his fingers with Lorcan’s and tugged the mage back against him. “So is it magic first, sex later, or sex first, magic later?” He teased at the hem of Lorcan’s shirt as he asked, easing his fingers underneath to brush against the warm skin there.

  Lorcan gasped softly, leaning into the touch. “I… I don’t know. I guess we’ll have to… try both and see what works?”

  That was all Knox needed to hear. For the longest time, everything in his life had been a struggle, the fight for survival a constant drain. But at its most basic level, this thing between him and Lorcan was easy. He wanted what he wanted, and Lorcan wanted the same thing.

  “Come on. Time to go home.”

  “Home,” Lorcan echoed, a little uncertainly.

  Knox just grabbed his hand and tugged him along, leading him back to the hut. He wanted two things that were hard to come by in their pack—comfort and privacy. The hut wasn’t much, but it was all he had to offer.

  Once he got Lorcan inside, he shut the door. Lorcan blinked at it in confusion.

  “What?” Knox asked sharply, folding his arms.

  “Your door closes? I had no idea.”

  He wasn’t sure if the mage was serious or teasing him, and he struggled not to snap at him.

  “No point, usually,” he said tightly.

  Lorcan turned away from the door and gave Knox his full attention, a smile tugging at the edges of his mouth. “Does that make me special, then?”

  Knox couldn’t be so guarded in the face of Lorcan’s enthusiasm. The mage wasn’t mocking him; Knox was letting his own shame at the pack’s circumstances color things between them.

  “One of a kind.”

  “So you’ve never brought anyone back here before?”

  “Anyone…” Oh. Huh. That wasn’t a conversation he’d expected to have. “You know that whole thing about wolf libidos isn’t a myth, right?”

  “Ah, more like a revolving door, then?”

  Lorcan was definitely teasing him this time.

  “Not so much recently, but sure, back when times were easier. Wolves are tactile people. We communicate better with our bodies than with our tongues. But for most alphas, the only serious relationship they’ll ever have is with their mage.”

  “Good,” Lorcan said suddenly. “Because I won’t share you. If you’re going to be mine, then you’re mine. No one else’s.”

  He emphasized his point with the press of his palm to Knox’s chest, the look in his eyes just daring Knox to argue.

  Knox swallowed. “I guess Orion wasn’t kidding about mages being possessive of their alphas.”

  “That’s a thing?”

  “I’d say. The proof’s right in front of me. If you could only see your face right now.” He glanced at the cracked remains of the room’s only mirror.

  “I guess it’s not a bad thing for us to be possessive. We both have pasts, but now we’re it for each other.”

  Knox crossed his arms. “We both have pasts, huh?”

  Lorcan seemed so sheltered from the world, he doubted there was much to tell.

  The mage stretched idly, looking around the room and avoiding Knox’s eyes. “My family… we keep to ourselves, for the most part. But now and then other druids come to visit. It was never serious. They were always just passing through. And hiding what I was took the fun out of it sometimes. Hard to be spontaneous when you’re afraid to take your shirt off.”

  Knox murmured something sympathetic, distracted by the thought of Lorcan shirtless, of seeing his mage mark. He drew Lorcan to him, slipping his T-shirt up and over his head.

  “How do you want to do this? Want me to tie you to the ceiling again?”

  He was kidding, but he didn’t miss the way Lorcan’s eyes lit up with excitement and desire.

  “I just…” Lorcan hesitated.

  Knox drew his thumb across the mage’s lips, coaxing the words out.

  “I want to see your eyes when we…”

  He kissed Lorcan, teasing his tongue against the mage’s bottom lip until his mouth parted, letting Knox in. He deepened the kiss, stroking two fingers across Lorcan’s nape. The mage whimpered into his mouth, and Knox swallowed the soft sounds he made.

  When he broke the kiss, Lorcan whispered to him. “I want your bite.”

  “Gage said…”

  “Not forever. Just… just for now. Please?”

  Since Knox wanted nothing more than to sink his teeth into the mage’s skin, he didn’t argue.

  “Just for now.”

  He walked backwards, drawing Lorcan with him until his legs h
it the bed. He reached for his jeans, shoving them off before climbing onto the bed. Lorcan hurried to undress, carelessly tossing his clothes to the floor and crawling up to join him.

  Knox sat up against the wall, pulling Lorcan to kneel between his legs.

  “How’d you feel about being on top?”

  Lorcan licked his lips. “More control for me.”

  Knox grinned wickedly at him.

  “You think so, huh?”

  He caressed the back of Lorcan’s hand, starting with the lightest of touches, drawing his fingers slowly up along the mage’s arm and across his shoulder. This was their first time being close while knowing what they truly wanted from each other. He teased along the hollow of the mage’s collar bone, across his other shoulder, and down his arm.

  Lorcan quickly grew restless under his gentle touches, struggling to hold still. He pushed upright, braced his hands on Knox’s thighs, and moved to straddle the alpha. It gave Knox a beautiful view of Lorcan’s body, his legs spread, his cock half-hard. His lips were flushed a gorgeous bitten-red, matching the blush that hid the freckles on his cheeks.

  “Can’t wait?”

  Lorcan’s eyes drifted up and down his body. “With you looking so edible? No. No more waiting.”

  With that, he ducked his head, and before Knox could get a word out, had locked lips around his cock.

  Knox barely restrained a shout of surprise, fisting one hand in the bedsheets while the other reached for Lorcan. He tangled his fingers in the mage’s hair, unsure whether to tug him off or encourage him to take him deeper.

  “Fuck, Lorcan. Warn a guy, would you?”

  Lorcan eased off him with a sinful moan.

  “Sorry, I guess I’m a little impatient.”

  “Whatever speed you want, I’m good with that.”

  He reached under the mattress, pulling out the small pot of oil he knew they’d need. Lorcan’s eyes grew a little wide as Knox took his time opening it, dipping his fingers inside and covering them with the sweet, musky scented oil.

  “Is that jasmine?” the mage asked hoarsely, taking in the scent.

  Knox just coaxed him up onto his knees as he stroked two fingers across Lorcan’s lower abdomen, right above the root of his cock. The mage moaned at the sensation, clenching his hands into fists as his cock grew hard without being touched.