Guarding His Mate

by Jenny Tia

  “Yes!” Stefan shook uncontrollably, his body tensing once again. I pushed inside him as much as I could, but I was now tied to him and I could only give him an inch either way. It was enough. Stef cried out, and then his inner muscles rippled over the length of my dick, tightly squeezing my knot. He was coming, and that knowledge alone triggered mine. Electricity seemed to race along my spine, and a powerful orgasm rolled through me. My balls emptied themselves, and for a delicious moment I forgot about the condom and imagined I was pumping my mate full of my seed.

  I groaned, shuddering through my release, but still sensitive to the way Stefan ground himself on my cock. He was moaning, and I could feel the way his body continued to tighten and relax. When there was nothing left of me to give and Stef had stopped writhing, I collapsed onto him, and likewise, he fell flat on the bed. The two of us panted until we were taking slow, steady breaths, which we did in unison. I closed my eyes and basked in the feeling of being so deep inside him. I loved the way my skin felt pressed up against his. I loved the sound of him delicately licking his lips, and his soft, satisfied sighs. I loved the scent of his slick mixed with my sweat. I loved coating gentle, affectionate kisses along the side of his neck and shoulder; wherever I could reach.

  I mean, damn. I loved him.

  We lay together for what felt like hours, days, eternities, until my knot finally shrank enough for me to move. Hot, thick fluid leaked from his hole and coated my balls. For an instant I panicked, thinking the condom had broken, but I quickly realized it was the residue of Stefan’s slick plugged inside him by my knot. The thrill of knowing I’d caused his body to produce so much slick almost made me hard again. If I hadn’t been so sated, I would have shoved my cock inside him once more.

  Instead, I smoothed my hands down his arms and pulled out carefully.

  He whined as I left him empty. He lay on his side and hugged a pillow while I took off the condom and cleaned us both up. I got back into bed and threw my arm around him and drew him close. He let out an annoyed grunt, but then he wriggled his butt back against me and held my arm tightly. He relaxed against me, and I kissed the side of his neck, right where it met his shoulder. With a soft sigh, Stef turned to look up at me. His heat had subsided for now, and our lips met with sweetness and softness instead of the furious desire they did earlier. I liked it.

  I felt at peace, content in a way I never had before. It wasn’t just the sex. It was the certainty in my heart.

  “You’re my mate,” I told him. And I didn’t wait for him to dismiss me, either. “I’ll give you all the time you need to accept it. But it’s a fact.”

  His eyes glistened with tears, but he didn’t look away. He touched my face and traced a thumb over my cheekbone. “I’m scared.”

  I wet my lips but didn’t push for an explanation. I gave him the time I’d promised.

  “I’m scared of losing you. I have a long history of losing people, a bad history with a bad ex, and I didn’t feel half as much for them as I feel for you. I don’t know how I’d handle losing you if I allowed myself to fall in love with you.”

  I was holding my breath. I let it out with as much control as I could muster.

  “Do you want to tell me more about your bad ex?” I ran my fingers through his hair. “You don’t have to. But I’m interested. I’m interested in you.”

  He brought his bottom lip between his teeth and chewed it as he sized me up. “Alright. Here’s the headline: Justin. I was in love with him. I was all in. Fully invested. He asked to court me, and I said yes. And then he dumped me after he… Well, it doesn’t matter why. He walked out of my life, and never came back.”

  My heart ached at the thought of someone hurting him like that, and my wolf yapped angrily.

  Stef cleared his throat. “It wrecked me. I was really, really sad for a really long time. It set me back in my studies. It almost cost me my friendship with Julian. Worst of all, I hated myself. It took me a long time to see it wasn’t my fault. But I can’t risk that happening again.”

  I let his words hang heavy in the silence between us. I understood, but I wouldn’t let it stop me from moving forward with him. Nothing could.

  “I know you’re not ready for everything I have to offer. But I can give you a place to stay. Some protection. Not to mention lots of hot sex.”

  He laughed, and the sound of it made me grin. I loved seeing his cheeks plump up under his eyes as he smiled.

  “Are you asking me to move in with you?”

  I laughed but didn’t correct him.

  Stef shook his head. “Seriously? You’re insane.”

  “Maybe. But hey, there’s a baby coming home with Julian, it’s going to be noisy as hell at their house.”

  “Ugh. You’re telling me…”

  “And I think renting an apartment is a waste of money. You’re going to want to go back to Goldleaf as soon as the travel ban is lifted, right?”

  He looked me over. He frowned, narrowing his eyes. And then he sighed. “Fine. Since you’re practically begging me, I’ll stay with you. Just until I can go home.”

  I let out a happy little howl—I couldn’t help it, it just burst out of my chest, and then I kissed my mate on his beautiful, pink mouth. He giggled into the kiss and pressed back against me. He turned over, yanked my arm over him, and cuddled it like a teddy bear.

  I chuckled and snuggled closer to him.

  “Stop it, go to sleep.”

  I tried to get my laughter under control, but it kept bubbling out of deep happiness. Stefan sighed in frustration and pinched my arm.

  “I mean it. Stop or I’m calling the whole thing off.”

  I nodded and took some deep breaths to calm down, and then I pressed my face against the back of his neck and gave him soft, barely-there kisses until his breathing slowed. When my wolf settled, I closed my eyes, held my mate close, and drifted off to sleep.

  Stefan was already gone when I woke up. My heart sank and a twist of anxiety grew in my guts. My wolf whimpered and sulked as I ran my hand over the space in the bed where Stefan had slept, wondering if I’d come on too strong. Had I scared him off again? Was it two steps forward, five steps back now?

  But before I had a chance to sink too deeply into a pit of regret, my alarm clock started buzzing. Angst or not, I had to get to work. I hauled myself out of bed, showered off as much of the sad mood as I could, and then dressed in a clean uniform. It always lifted my mood to put on the Everglow Inner Guard silvers. I was almost confident when I walked into the living room. I picked up my clothes from the night before and felt my phone buzzing in the pocket of my pants.

  Just a text.

  Sorry I had to go, early morning shift at the hospital. U looked too cute to wake. Let’s talk moving plans later? Casius got guards to move Julian to Everglow. Do u have that kind of influence? – S.

  The clouds parted, and the sun shone through my awful mood and basked me in happiness. I’d never known such relief. With a huge smile on my face and magic in my fingertips, I wrote back.

  How much stuff do you have at Julian’s??

  Not a lot but I’m thinking I’ll take some of his things lol.

  Don’t drag me into your crimes!

  I’ll just take what isn’t baby proof. It’s a safety issue. Gotta go, talk later xoxoxo

  I was rooted to the spot. I couldn’t move. The biggest smile I’d ever envisioned stretched across my face. Love bubbled in my heart and nearly threatened to burst out of my chest. I was on cloud nine… Until I scrolled through my other messages.

  Need you at station now. – Casius.

  You need to introduce me to your mate. – Mom.

  I sighed and ran a hand over my face, sent them both a thumbs-up emoji, even though that wasn’t going to satisfy my mom, and then headed out.

  A quick detour to Josie’s and ten minutes stuck in Main Street traffic, and I was in the station with a bag full of cranberry walnut muffins and a tall Americano, ready to face the day. I had a skip in my
step, and I swung around the doorframe into the observation room with so much excitement the guards in there jumped in their seats.

  “Nic.” Mikel gasped and held his chest in surprise. “You seem…different?” He squinted at me and pursed his lips while I smiled brightly.

  Lachlan looked me over and frowned. “You do. You look…”

  “Happy?”

  “Manic,” Mikel said.

  “Pfft.” I dismissed them with a wave of my hand and sloshed coffee out of my cup and all over the floor.

  “Manic,” Lachlan said as if in confirmation.

  “I’m happy.”

  Mikel, always the sweetheart, grinned. “Well, then I’m happy for you. Hold onto that for as long as you can today. Casius was asking after you.”

  Lachlan chimed in. “And so was the younger human. Eli.”

  “What?” I crept closer to the monitors. Eli was sitting on the edge of his bed, the same as always. “Where’s the other guy?” I pointed to the bed in the other cell. It was empty, and clean. No sign of him at all. No sign he’d even been there.

  Lachlan cleared his throat and moved around uncomfortably in his chair. Mikel looked down at his lap.

  I inhaled sharply. “Don’t tell me he fucking died.”

  “No, he didn’t die.” Mikel swallowed and met my eyes. “He’s close, though. He still hasn’t eaten. We transferred him to the hospital.”

  I sighed through pursed lips. “Alright. What’s this about Eli?”

  “He wants to talk to you. Won’t say a peep to anyone else. Casius hasn’t gone in yet, but he’s talking about it.”

  “Oh hell no. Where is he? Down there?” I motioned to the corridor.

  “Yeah, he’s outside the cell. Don’t tell him I told you—”

  But I was already out of the room. I marched down the hall and sipped my coffee. I needed to fuel up.

  “Casius!” I shouted when he came into view. He had his hands on the lock of the cell, but he turned and nodded to me. I kept frowning. “You’re not going in there.”

  He met my frown with his own. “We need answers.”

  “He’s been asking for me. I’m going in.” I shoved the bag of muffins against his chest, and he grabbed them just before they fell.

  He growled but stepped aside. “I didn’t know where you were or how long you’d be.”

  “So next time wait.”

  “He’s talking. I was going to get answers.”

  “You were going to get yourself maimed or killed.”

  He growled again, but he had nothing else to say. My wolf stood proud and protective, and I threw open the lock.

  “I’ll cover you—”

  I shut the door and turned to face the pale, quivering boy on the bed. I’d be lying if I said seeing him again didn’t make me nervous. My neck stung as if remembering the feeling of his claws slicing through my flesh; my wolf snarled and whimpered, close to the surface, ready in case I needed him. But I sized the kid up, and when he raised his eyes to mine, I saw there was nothing to be afraid of. Not yet, anyway. He was calmer, and there was a look of surrender on his face.

  “You wanted to talk with me?” I crouched down in front of him so our eyes were at the same level. I held my coffee with both hands.

  He nodded. “I want to ask—” His voice was raspy, and he cleared his throat. “The man I came in with…”

  “Does he have a name?” Maybe I pushed too hard, but Eli didn’t flinch. He just shook his head. I wasn’t going to get that out of him.

  I nodded and encouraged him to finish his question.

  “Is he okay?”

  I swallowed and resisted the urge to look away. I held his gaze and told him plainly, “I don’t know. He’s refused to eat. He’s had very little water this whole time. We had to move him to the hospital for treatment.” I wondered how much I could reveal without Casius biting my ass for it later, but I wanted to win Eli’s trust. Trust required some level of vulnerability… And risk. So, I took a deep breath. “We’ll do our best to help him, but we don’t know if he’s going to make it.”

  Eli broke my gaze and stared at his hands. He nodded and sighed. He looked so sad it broke my heart.

  I glanced at the door, but my wolf sensed there was more. It wasn’t time to leave yet, but I thought Eli needed a little more encouragement to talk. “Is that all you wanted to ask?”

  Eli’s eyes flicked to mine. He chewed on his fingernails and looked away again. He shrugged, and I waited. And waited…

  “I’ve just…”

  “What?”

  He let out a frustrated sigh. “I’ve been feeling anxious. I mean, yeah, I’m in a cell, obviously I feel anxious. But the last few days have been really bad. I’m almost itchy. It’s like I’m coming out of my skin.”

  My ears pricked up. “Like you can’t stop moving around?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Like you could run a marathon?”

  “A what?”

  “A mara— Oh… Like you could run for hours?”

  “Yeah.” He continued to chew on his nails while looking at me with a frown, as if waiting for answers.

  “It’s your wolf.”

  Eli sniffed and closed his eyes. He dropped his hand to his lap and gave a gruff snort. “I had a feeling you were going to say that kind of bullshit.”

  “Then why’d you ask?”

  I took a sip of coffee and waited. His leg started to shake, and he bit down on his bottom lip. His face contorted into a disgusted scowl and he closed his eyes. “The beasts are coming to redemption and…”

  I braced myself for another rambling session, but he seemed to catch himself. And when he opened his eyes, he looked terrified.

  “I can’t control it.”

  I moved a little closer so I could better hear his quiet, quivering voice. “What can’t you control? Your wolf?”

  He nodded and his chin wobbled. “It’s coming back and I can’t stop it. He… Our leader. He kept it at bay. But he’s not here. And I can’t stop it.”

  A sob cut through the cell and pierced my heart. Tears trickled down Eli’s cheeks, and I felt my wolf nudging to get closer, to soothe our kin. I stayed put and kept my mind on the mission, but damn, I wished I could comfort him.

  “What did your leader do? How did he control your wolf?”

  I swallowed down my fear of what the answer would be and watched Eli for any clues. His gaze hit the back wall and his eyes seemed to glaze over. His crying stopped and he sat upright, babbling into another series of what sounded like new scriptures.

  “The rain returns the beasts to the pain they crawled out from and anyone left standing is marked and the mark will carry them into the fires—” He grabbed his face and let out a pained cry. “I can’t! It doesn’t work anymore! It’s coming! The scriptures don’t work anymore! I need my medicine! Please! Please give me the medicine!”

  I jumped to my feet and stepped back, scared. “What medicine? What did your leader give you?”

  “I need to hold back the beast, it’s so close and I need it to hold it back! Fuck!” He let out a brutal, furious cry and flung himself onto the floor. As his knees hit the linoleum, it was like the shock of impact rushed through his body. He dropped his hands from his face and he stared blankly at the wall behind me. He looked right through me. I searched every inch of him for signs of him shifting but saw nothing.

  Eli rocked back and forth on his heels and methodically recited more ramblings like they were gospel.

  “Eli? Eli, talk to me.” I bent down and looked him in the eye. He looked right through me and kept on ranting.

  “What medicine? Eli, tell me more about your leader.” I reached out to touch his shoulder, but when I was inches away from making contact, the door of the cell flew open and Casius growled.

  “Nic, get out, now!”

  So much for that. Casius bit my ass for pushing it to the limit, putting myself in danger, blah blah blah. But I barely heard him. My thoughts drowned out
everything he had to say. What was the medicine that held back Eli’s wolf? And who the hell was the leader who gave it to him?

  18

  Stefan

  “You’re what?” Julian frowned at me and almost dropped the baby monitor onto the kitchen floor.

  “I’m going to stay at Nic’s.”

  “You’re moving in with him?”

  “Just staying there for a little while. Until I can get back to Goldleaf.”

  “He asked and you agreed?” Julian held two fingers to his temple. He didn’t seem to be able to comprehend what I was saying.

  I just nodded.

  “You’re not just trying to escape from us, are you?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Well, you’re welcome to stay. We’re certainly not kicking you out just because of the baby.”

  “I know that. It’s just time for me to leave. You have your own life and family now. It’s better I don’t get in your way.”

  At that, Julian’s eyes started to water. My breath caught when his tears welled up and spilled over.

  He sniffed and wiped at his cheeks. “You’re my family too. I will always want you around. Destiny needs her Uncle Stef in her life. I’m not going to let you just walk out on us, you know?”

  “Okay, I get it…”

  “No. You don’t.” Julian inhaled unsteadily and then sighed. “You always push people away when you think they’re going to push you away first. But I’m not going to let you do that to me. You can’t do that to us. You can’t get rid of me.”

  I felt like my chest was caving in, knowing Julian was actually afraid to lose me. I rushed forward to wrap my arms around him, pulling him in for a big bear hug. Julian cried into my shoulder for a minute then gathered himself.

  “I’m sorry for being so aloof.” I grimaced at the thought of how stupid I had been. My best friend not only wanted me around, he needed me. And I had run away from him to sulk. I had to admit, it was a little childish.

  “It’s okay. But I’m here for you because I love you. You’re my best friend. I want to know what’s going on for you.”