by Noah Harris
Philip moaned above him, his voice reaching a new low pitch as his hips pressed against Jaeger’s lips finally. The whole of Philip’s cock was buried in Jaeger’s throat, pulsing against the muscles. As Jaeger pulled back, the taste of Philip splashed over his tongue, a sure sign of just how much fun Philip was having.
Philip cupped Jaeger’s chin, holding it so Jaeger could see his lust filled eyes clearly. “Stand up.”
A thrill of excitement ran through Jaeger as he obeyed without thinking. Philip grabbed hold of him, pushing him against the wall of the tunnel and kissing him fiercely. His hard cock slid up beneath the hem of Jaeger’s shirt, slick and firm as Philip’s tongue danced against his.
Jaeger had wanted to elicit a strong reaction from his mate, but he was a little surprised to find how potent it had been. They were both feeling the pressure of the upcoming battle, and they hadn’t been sleeping well. They’d had so little time with one another, and there was a desperation to Philip’s movements as he fought to pull Jaeger’s pants down. It felt like they had limited time, and that Philip was intent on cramming everything he was feeling and thinking into their one private moment with one another.
Jaeger pushed his hips away from the wall, allowing Philip to finally push his pants down. Reaching into the inner pocket of his jacket, he extracted the small vial he’d kept with him just in case they found a moment alone and handed it to Philip. His mate grasped it, pushing the stopper out with one finger and pouring a sizable amount onto his fingers.
Philip handed the still open vial back to Jaeger. “Hold this, and don’t spill any, we’ll need it.”
Jaeger grinned but tightened his grip on it as Philip slipped his hand behind him. Jaeger’s lip caught in his teeth as he felt one of Philip’s slickened digits press against his ring of muscles. When the finger pushed into him, Jaeger gave a sigh. His mate’s fingers were noticeably thicker than his own, the sensation of being stretched open a little more pronounced than when he’d done it himself. The sensation was welcome, and Jaeger pushed himself closer to Philip as the finger pushed deeper into him.
The deep, earthy scent of Philip mingled with the smell of the fertile dirt of the tunnel as Jaeger took a deep breath. His mate’s breath was warm against his neck, becoming sharper as Philip added another finger. Jaeger groaned, feeling himself stretch more than before and unable to help himself as he pushed back into Philip’s hand.
“Sorry,” Philip huffed, mistaking the noise Jaeger had made at the intrusion of the second finger.
Jaeger shook his head, affectionately nipping Philip’s jaw. “You don’t have to bother with the fingers if you don’t want to.”
Philip pulled back in surprise. “I’m not into hurting you.”
Jaeger chuckled. “You won’t.”
Philip looked doubtfully down at his cock. “I…”
Jaeger shifted his hips, so Philip’s unmoving fingers slipped out from inside him. Turning around, he placed his hands on the wall of the tunnel, presenting his bare ass to Philip in invitation.
“Trust me like I trust you, if it becomes too much, I’ll tell you,” Jaeger told him, hoping his face echoed his words.
Philip hesitated for a moment, fighting with what was obvious desire. Jaeger reached behind him, grabbing hold of Philip’s cock and giving it a few loving strokes. Philip rumbled at the touch, and Jaeger pulled his hand away long enough to hand the vial to Philip. His mate took it slowly, and Jaeger watched as he smoothed a layer of the lubricant over his cock.
When Philip pushed the head inside him, Jaeger allowed himself a low, steadying breath. Philip was large, but somehow, he didn’t feel too big, despite their not having frequent sex just yet. Rather than the nearly unbearable pain Philip had expected, Jaeger felt a burn which he could only describe as pleasant as Philip’s cock stretched him wide. Jaeger’s fingers dug into the soft wall of the tunnel, pushing himself back.
As Philip moved deeper inside of him, there was some measure of pain, but it mingled so deliciously with the pleasure that Jaeger didn’t care. He reached behind him once more, grabbing onto Philip’s muscled thigh and pulling him in deeper. His mate groaned as he slid in further than he’d planned, with Philip’s strong grip now holding onto Jaeger’s waist. When the last inch slid into him, Jaeger panted against the wall, looking over his shoulder in an attempt to watch Philip’s face.
Philip was nearly panting. “You okay?”
Jaeger nudged his ass backward. “More than okay, you feel amazing.”
If Philip had a retort to that, it was lost as he pulled himself back to push into Jaeger again. His strong grip tightened further as he sheathed himself deep in Jaeger, cock twitching as the muscles of Jaeger’s ass held him. There was little Jaeger could do to help as Philip began to build up a rhythm, save to push back into Philip’s thrusts. With each set of movements, Jaeger felt the burn within him receding, the pain giving way to full pleasure, which rocked up and down his body in steady waves.
A sheen of sweat was breaking over his body as Philip began to work harder. At the first sound of their skin slapping together, Jaeger couldn’t help but moan Philip’s name. He wanted to feel Philip’s strength, to feel his power as he thrust deep into Jaeger. Most of his trainers had described Jaeger as difficult and unwilling to take commands well, but none of that applied in the slightest when it came to Philip. Jaeger wanted his mate to claim him, to leave him sweaty and tender after he mated hard with him.
Sensing Jaeger could take more, Philip’s thrusts grew stronger and faster. In no time, Jaeger felt himself pressed firmly against the wall. Philip’s breath was hot against his neck, his panting filled with the pleasure only Jaeger could give him. Jaeger groaned, rolling his head back and holding onto Philip behind him with both hands. The wall before him was pleasantly cool, and the body behind him was hotter than anything Jaeger thought he’d ever felt before.
Bolts of pleasure shot through him, like lightning streaking across the darkened sky. Dimly, he was aware of his cries becoming louder and needier. The words which fell from his lips were a mixture of Philip’s name, and begging him for more. His mate pumped into him, holding Jaeger’s hips tight as he kissed and bit his neck and shoulders.
For one crystalline moment, Jaeger felt as if the two of them truly were one person. With Philip deep inside him, sparking sensations Jaeger had never thought possible, it felt as if they were forever connected. The entire length and breadth of their relationship had been a slow tightening of the bond they shared, making it unbreakable. To finally kiss Philip, to hold him close at night, and to feel him deep inside him was the granting of an unspoken promise. It changed nothing between them, and yet it changed everything. They had always been one person, one in light and another in shadow, but now they had finally allowed themselves to realize the truth of who they were together.
The thought flared in his head like a pulsing star, and then was washed away as the pleasure in his body overrode everything. His orgasm crashed down around him, wiping all conscious thought from his mind with a long cry of pleasure. In that instant, he was aware only of the ecstasy his mate filled him with, and of his mate deep inside him, filling him up as Philip came. Their bodies were pressed as firmly together as was possible, and Jaeger swore he heard the sound of music and laughter from somewhere far away.
“Are you sure you’re alright?” Philip asked beside Jaeger.
Not having anything else to keep them off of the ground, they were sat naked upon their clothes. Jaeger lay against Philip, his head on his chest as they rested. It had taken them several minutes to find the ability to move and speak again, and they hadn’t found the will to pick themselves up from the ground just yet.
Jaeger chuckled. “Oh, I’m going to pay for that little maneuver later, but I’m more than okay.”
Philip eyed him with concern. “I didn’t want to cause any damage.”
Jaeger snorted. “Any ‘damage’ you did felt like anything but, and if I’m a little too tender
? I’ll just change, and my body will take care of it for me. There’s an advantage to having a werewolf lover instead of a human you know.”
“You knew about that, huh?” Philip asked bashfully.
“What, that you only slept with humans exclusively before this? Yeah, I noticed,” Jaeger said.
“I never really thought about it before, but it makes sense,” Philip told him.
Jaeger cocked his head. “Oh? Why’s that?”
“I remember the first time I slept with someone who wasn’t you, I felt guilty. We were never official but even then, I knew I wanted it to be with you, and you wanted it to be with me. But I think, in some part of my mind, so long as I was with a human, it didn’t feel like such a betrayal. To do it with a werewolf would feel like…I don’t know, like I was stomping all over what we should have been,” Philip admitted quietly.
Jaeger took his hand. “You wouldn’t have been.”
“But it would have felt like I was,” Philip insisted.
Jaeger shook his head, pulling Philip’s hand up to kiss it. His mate, for all his occasional impulsiveness, was a genuinely sweet and loyal person. Sometimes it still amazed him the things Philip took to heart, but it made him smile to think Philip had put so much thought into even idle sex with casual lovers.
Jaeger had spent so long being jealous of those lovers, and of potential lovers as well. It made him laugh to think he’d been jealous of Minerva, who now he had to think of as his own half-sister. With everything that had happened in the past two weeks, it seemed so silly, having been jealous. They were meant for each other.
Philip frowned. “What’s so funny?”
“Just thinking about…how ridiculous I’ve been in the past. How jealous I would get over people you’d been with,” Jaeger admitted with a smile.
Philip huffed. “They weren’t…well, important.”
“I know they weren’t, and I think even then I knew. But because you weren’t mine, I couldn’t feel anything but jealously because I knew you were supposed to be mine,” Jaeger explained.
Philip smiled warmly, laying his head on top of Jaeger’s. “And you never have to worry about feeling that way again.”
Jaeger looked up at a sound. “Someone’s outside.”
That someone turned out to be Merit, the werewolf Makepeace and Verity had assigned as their general. Jaeger had been accused of being dour and grumpy by others because of his looks, but he thought he looked positively sunny in comparison to the large werewolf. The man was cut from the same monstrous cloth Philip was, but looked like he was ready to growl at just about anything that moved too quickly in his line of sight. Something about him had charmed Minerva, but he always made Jaeger feel a little uneasy.
“The time has come. Princess Minerva is ready to move the troops. Prince Jaeger, she says it’s time for you to enact your plan,” Merit said, his voice a deep rumbling bass.
Jaeger snorted. “Prince Jaeger, that’s going to take some getting used to.”
Philip held him closer. “Don’t get too attached, you’re going to have ‘King’ thrown in front soon.”
There were so many things he still wanted to say to Philip, but there was no time. Now he was paying attention, he could hear the sound of the nearby troops preparing. If he was going to slip in ahead of them and look for the King, he would need to leave immediately.
“I love you,” Jaeger whispered fiercely.
“And I love you, now let’s go kick some ass and save the day,” Philip said with a grin.
Slipping into the castle had been a simple task. With the years of sneaking around the place with Philip in tow, Jaeger had a clear mental map of the various tunnels and halls of the castle. After the extensive training he’d received in learning to keep to the shadows, moving past the roving guards, who weren’t nearly as wary as they should have been, was child’s play.
By the time he made it to the heart of the castle, he heard the distant sounds of battle breaking out. It seemed with the castle guards unaware of the truth, they’d decided to fight back against the intruders. Both he and Philip had known it was a possibility they’d have to battle their own people, but it was a reality they’d have to face. Jaeger hoped when they saw their own crowned prince and future king in their midst, most of the guards would lay down their weapons. There was always the chance that there were those in the guard who were loyal to Orrin and would fight anyway.
Jaeger knew his job and fought the urge to join his mate and friends in the battle. He knew the halls and passages of the castle best. Though his procession through the castle was slower than he would’ve liked, it was far faster than if he’d traveled with the army at his back. The regents would be distracted by the onslaught, with Minerva and Philip hunting them. Orrin kept his office and quarters in the heart of the castle, near the King.
The inner quarters of the castle were the most familiar to Jaeger, having spent most of his youth in them. The halls of the inner castle walls held many memories for him, both good and ill. The early years of his boyhood had been happy, a direct contrast to the loneliness and sadness of his teenage years. Even the years which marked his young adulthood had been filled with a distant loneliness he could never assuage. He’d always been an outsider, unable to have the man he desired, and with the man who was like a father to him slowly growing more distant, all he’d had was Philip.
The past fortnight had changed everything. With Philip’s promise still ringing in his head, Jaeger had his young wish come true. He and Philip would one day be married, and Jaeger would have friends outside the walls of the castle. Perhaps one day, he and Philip could even have children, though considering he and Philip hadn’t been careful in their intimacy, one may already be on the way. The thought made Jaeger smile as he made his way toward Orrin’s office, his fingers tapping on his stomach.
Most of the guards had headed for the heart of the action on the outskirts of the castle. There were still a few guards, most likely ones fiercely loyal to Orrin, positioned around his quarters. Jaeger bypassed them by slipping into the nearby guest quarters.
The outside of the castle had been in need of repair for a while, and the walls were rough. They created a surface capable of being scaled by someone daring enough, and Jaeger had been climbing the walls since he was a boy. Using the rough handholds the walls provided, Jaeger slipped out the guest room window and shimmied along the outside of the castle. When he reached the window leading into Orrin’s private rooms, he smiled when he saw it ajar. Apparently, in his haste to secure himself and the castle, Orrin hadn’t thought to close the window, not considering the possibility that an attack could come from there.
Jaeger slipped in through the window, hopping down to the plush carpet silently. He could hear someone murmuring through the door which led into the sorcerer’s office and smiled. Orrin’s voice, even through the thick wood of the door, was recognizable, and he sounded afraid. Another voice murmured, and Jaeger recognized it as the King, confirming his suspicion that the sorcerer would keep him close.
Pulling his blades free from their sheaths, Jaeger paced the length of the room. Listening carefully at the door, he pulled it out a few inches from the frame. The door made no sound as he opened it, letting the light of the office spill into the room. There would be no shadows to work with in the office, but if he were quick and quiet, he might be able to catch the man by surprise.
Jaeger opened the door, so he had enough room to slip through the crack. His feet made no noise as he entered, and then stopped suddenly. Orrin hadn’t been surprised by Jaeger’s arrival, and stood beside his large desk, waiting for him. The sorcerer’s eyes were wide, filled with both anger and fear as he waited for Jaeger to enter the room. The King stood before him, a blade held to his neck by Orrin behind him, his own eyes confused and worried.
Orrin’s eyes narrowed. “Come in Jaeger, I think it’s time we all had a nice chat, don’t you?”
Chapter Thirteen
Philip
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nbsp; The entire castle was in complete uproar as the battle swung into full gear. The few nobles and servants who’d been around when the fight began had already scuttled to the nearest safe place. The guards and soldiers housed in the castle had come pouring out of their barracks and sentry posts as the first alarm was raised. If it wasn’t for the fact that he was one of the people fighting them, he would have been impressed with the response time of the castle’s defenders.
The werewolves from the forest had taken the brunt of the counterattack, with Minerva’s soldiers supporting them. At his insistence, Philip had been at the head of the attack, if only to show the defenders who was truly behind it. The idea had been to try to dissuade anyone who was defending from continuing the fight, in the fear that they might strike down their prince by accident.
The plan lasted right up until a storm of arrows rained down around him. There was little chance of denying the attack had been meant specifically for him, whether it was true they were trying to kill him, or because they simply believed it was some trick of sorcery.
Philip had been relegated to the back of the invading party, far from the sight of anyone who might decide he was a prime target. Philip wasn’t happy with the decision, but he didn’t relish plucking a series of arrows from his body, or worse. They’d managed to advance through the front doors into the spacious halls at the front of the castle, and the defender’s flanks were giving way.
Minerva appeared at his side, blade held tight in her hand and grinning. “You look ready to bolt.”
Philip shook his head. “This isn’t what I pictured when I was told I would be fighting in the battle.”
