by Mercy May
“Easy now,” Ezra’s mate - he’d introduced himself as Matthew - said, placing a hand on my cousin’s arm. “I invited him. He doesn’t mean any harm.”
Ezra through his shoulders back and puffed out his chest then turned to face his mate, his eyes still centered sharply on Mark. “You’re sure, Matt?”
Matthew smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure. I wasn’t sure when he’d be coming, but I had Mother send him.” He glanced over at Mark, a look of pain in his eyes. “Good thing, too.”
I was confused, I have to admit. I’d known that Mark was traveling to track down his brother, but I had no idea that he’d be Ezra’s mate’s brother. I mean, what are the odds?
Mark was staring at the floor, his hands clasped around the back of his head, as I walked over to him. “Mark?” I whispered.
“Zeke,” he muttered, his eyes still planted firmly on the floor.
Again, he was shutting me out. Letting the pain behind his eyes come between us.
“You two know each other?” Ezra sounded from behind me and, without bothering to turn, I nodded.
“Ooooh,” Matthew whispered, recognition in his voice. “I think we should step outside, Ezra.”
“What the hell?” Ezra snapped, surprised. “I just got home, and I’m fucking starved.”
“Well then,” Matthew offered playfully. “Follow me around back and I’ll give you a mouthful.”
Ezra snorted a quick laugh, then I heard a pair of footsteps receding rapidly and the door slam behind them.
“That was awkward,” I laughed, trying to cut through some of the tension. Much to my delight, Mark’s shoulders bobbed with a deep, low chuckle.
Mark mumbled something that I couldn’t quite make out, so I took a step closer to him, putting him less than an arm’s length away. “What was that?”
He looked up at me, redness around his eyes, and spoke again, “I said I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have taken off like that. You definitely didn’t deserve me bailing on you.”
I shrugged. “I forgive you,” I told him. “I’m just glad - and more than a little surprised - that you’re here.”
“Fate can be a funny little drunk,” Mark said, a grin starting to form on his face. “And for what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re here too.”
My heart fluttered at that. He was glad I was there? Did that mean…?
Before I could finish the thought, Mark’s lips crashed into mine, his hands making purchase on the back of my head as he pulled me into him. I gasped with surprise, then melted into his kiss, letting him force his tongue between my lips. For a single, blissful and chaotic moment, we stood there, lips locked and tongues entwined, as heat melted me from my core on out. The bulge of my erection brushed up against Mark’s, and I thought my legs were going to buckle underneath me.
“My turn,” Mark whispered, pulling back from my lips as he began to kiss along my neck and trace his fingers down my chest and stomach. My body ignited with a deep, sensational fire as his fingers unbuttoned my jeans and slid the zipper down. Before I knew what was happening, he was pulling at my waistband and dropping my jeans and boxers to the floor. My cock sprang out, fully erect and sensitive to the heat of Mark’s body. Mark cast me a quick smile, then dropped to his knees, taking my shaft in his hand.
“Holy shit, Mark,” I groaned, running my hand through his thick hair. “Are you sure?”
He just smiled at me wickedly, then flipped out his tongue and ran it along my slit while easing his hand down the length of my cock. “Ffffuuuuuuu…” I moaned.
Mark took that as a sign to continue, and he opened his mouth, taking me into him while he pumped my shaft slightly. He was slow and methodical with his movements, as if he was taking his time both for pleasure and from inexperience. Much to his credence, he never once scraped me with his teeth, and he slowly began to pick up his pace. My body was ravaged by pleasure as he slowly took me in further and further, until the entirety of my length was swallowed into his throat. Mark reached around and grabbed my ass, pulling me in closer to him, daring me to fuck his face. I couldn’t help myself, either, and I soon found myself bucking wildly into his mouth as he pulled me further and further into him.
“Holy…” I moaned, then my body went tight and I came, pumping my spunk into his throat. “Shhhiiiiiii…”
Mark eased off and backed away slightly, using his tongue to clean my shaft and slit. He looked up at me with a wide grin and licked his lips, the look in his eyes nearly spurring me into another erection already. His hand still on my cock, Mark rose to his feet and gave me a gentle tug before planting his lips on mine again, forcing his tongue into my mouth and letting me taste myself. I moaned into him, my mind still aflame with the pleasure of his touch, and my tiger bucked up sending my shaft into hardness once more.
I pulled my mouth away from him and shook my head while biting my lips. “Turn around,” I told him. “Knees on the couch.”
Mark’s eyes perked up and he did as I told him, slowly dropping his shorts in the process. I stared at his ass for a moment, and grabbed my own shaft, feeling the slickness from Mark’s spit still on it.
“I’ve never…” Mark started, but I reached around and shushed him with a hand over his lips. Mark looked at me over his shoulders, a wild but nervous look in his eyes. Then, without warning, he licked my hand and suckled on my fingers, lubing them up with his own bodily fluids.
I flashed him a wicked grin, then pulled my hand back to his ass, using my newly-soaked index finger to tease his hole. He was tense at first, but I used my free hand to massage the small of his back, relaxing his body to my touch. Slowly, I began to work my finger into his hole, inching slowly in until he stretched enough to allow a second finger to slip in. Mark groaned in pleasure and leaned further into the couch, his knuckles white as he gripped the back.
“Easy now,” I whispered, leaning forward and pressing my lips to his ear lobe, nibbling at it as the head of my shaft teased at his opening.
I slowly worked myself into him, stretching him and feeling his tightness around me. My tiger sounded a satisfied growl as Mark began backing into me, his bear howling its own affirmations of pleasure. I rocked my hips forward, moving in and out of him as our bodies became one, my length and girth a perfect fit to his cavity.
“Zeke,” Mark panted as I thrust into him. “Just like that.”
I reached around and grabbed his cock, which was firm and massive, and began stroking it with my hand in time with my own thrusts. “Tell me what you want,” I panted.
“Jesus,” Mark moaned, his head rolling backward and toward the ceiling. “I want you to fuck me like you mean it. Harder.”
“Mmmm, I think I will,” I whispered, then picked up my pace.
Before I realized what was happening, Mark was thrusting backward into my cock, fucking my cock with his ass rather than the other way around. My tiger let out a low roar as my climax started to build. I could feel Mark swelling up in my hand, just as my own cock exploded inside him, sending hot streams into him. Mark came with a loud moan, and I unclenched my hand and backed away from him slowly as my erection faded. I collapsed on the couch beside him and pulled him onto my lap, then kissed him firmly on the forehead.
“That,” Mark breathed, still panting, “That was much better than the plane.”
I smiled at him and nodded. Then glanced down at the floor where our pants were lying in a heap. I suddenly remembered where we were and uttered a slight curse. “Guess we should get dressed before they decide to come back inside, huh?”
Mark let out a low guttural laugh and slid off me, grabbing and pulling up his shorts. I managed to get my jeans on and was buttoning them up when I heard Matthew and Ezra step back inside the house.
“Well!” Ezra’s voice boomed from the doorway. “Smells like sweat and sex in here.”
Mark and I cast embarrassed looks at each other, then turned to see Matthew and Ezra standing in the doorway, smiles plastered to their face. Matthew, the enormous bear that h
e was, crossed the room in only a handful of steps and wrapped his arms around his brother in a tight embrace. “Congratulations,” he whispered to him. Then he turned to me, “And to you too. You’ve got a hell of a mate.”
I smiled at Mark and nodded slowly. I still didn’t know what was paining my bear of a lover so much, but Matthew was right. He was definitely one hell of a mate.
MARK
I shot out of bed and raced to the bathroom, a wave of nausea suddenly erupting from my bowels. My head flashed with heat as I reached the toilet, bent over, and emptied the contents of my stomach into the porcelain throne before collapsing to a seat on the floor beside it. For two weeks now, this had been the routine. I woke up every morning, raced to the bathroom, and vomited. It was like clockwork, and acted as a strong counterbalance to the exciting and eventful night routine I’d established with Zeke.
Matthew and Ezra had invited us both to stay with them for as long as we wanted, offering us the guest room. I’d been thrilled with the offer, and even more excited that I’d have the opportunity to spend some time with my brother, much less with Zeke. My mate was stunning, and the longer I was with him, the harder it was for me to be away from him. The day before, he and Ezra had gone into the city to grab some groceries, and I thought that my heart was going to rip right out of my chest. Matthew had explained to me that that’s what the bonding felt like, and that, in time, the pain of the separation would be manageable once my bear realized that the parting was only temporary.
I’d enjoyed getting to spend time with my brother, getting to know him ways that I’d never had the opportunity to before, without the stress or pain of my family’s struggles hanging over my shoulder. I’d accepted that Matthew was, in fact, handling the clan’s matters sufficiently, and it had allowed my bear some much needed rest. Matthew had even called my mother, with me in the room, to let her know that I’d made it to his home. He’d asked about Father, only to find that he’d recently left Black Canyon unannounced and that my mother had no idea where he’d disappeared to. She was hurting over him leaving, so Matthew had turned the conversation to something more upbeat. He’d even mentioned Zeke to her and, much to my surprise, she sounded thrilled on my behalf. My mother, it seemed, was incredibly accepting of her sons and more than little ecstatic at the idea of grandchildren. Because, yes, Matthew was pregnant, but so was I.
Apparently tigers are not only capable of impregnating their mates, but they always impregnate their mates. It was an evolutionary imperative caused by the sheer lack of their numbers throughout the world, and because of how few tigers actually took mates. Mother Nature couldn’t risk the slow extinction of the species, so tigers had ended up with hyper-fertile sperm, but only with their mates. That there was now a person (or persons!) growing inside me took an entire week to wrap my mind around, but once I had, the morning sickness was more than worth it.
“You alright in there?” Zeke’s voice sounded from outside the bathroom door, and I groaned in response.
Without knocking, Zeke opened the door and looked down at me on the floor, his jaw clenched and worry in his eyes. He walked over to where I was sitting and reached down, caressing my shoulders with his fingers and easing the tension out of them. “I’m sorry about this,” he whispered.
I looked up at him and grabbed his hand. “Don’t be. I’m certainly not.”
Zeke flashed me a quick smile, then settled down on the floor beside me, his hand still wrapped up in mine. “So,” he started. “I was thinking about going for a run today.”
I looked over at him, arching an eyebrow. “And?”
“Aaand… I don’t necessarily mean in human form. I was hoping you’d join me?”
I cocked my head to one side and stared at Zeke, running my eyes over his shirtless body and examining his tribal tattoos. Those ink stripes were incredibly sexy on him, and I’d yet to see his tiger, despite spending two weeks with him. Just the thought of being near him when he shifted into his powerful predator sent a shaft of warmth through my body, so I nodded. “Absolutely,” I told him. “And I assume you’re wanting to see my bear?”
Zeke nodded emphatically. “Oh, hells yeah. I have got to see my mate’s grizzly.”
I smiled at that. Mate. The word sent butterflies through my stomach. I was still having trouble adjusting to being out and to being with Zeke, but being away from Black Canyon for so long was its own therapy. If Mother wasn’t back there, running the clan on her own, I’d never go back. But even if I had found my mate and discarded the old and tired restraints of bear culture, I still had a duty to my family, and my mother was at the center of it. She was too wonderful a person to wither away alone, waiting for her mate to come to his senses and come home.
“Let me get cleaned up and I’ll meet you outside?” I offered, smiling at Zeke.
A look of jubilation flooded Zeke’s features as he jumped to his feet. “Deal,” he said, before leaning over and kissing me on the forehead. He helped pull me to my feet, then sauntered out of the bathroom, closing the door behind him as he left.
I strode over to the sink and turned on the water, examining myself in the mirror. My massive frame took up most of the mirror’s surface, and I couldn’t help but turn to the side to see if I was showing yet. Matthew had said that it would be a few more weeks yet before anything was apparent, but I could already feel the changes taking place in my body. It was a weird feeling, being pregnant, but one that I wouldn’t trade for anything. I took a few minutes to wash the sleep from my eyes and brush my teeth, then left the bathroom and headed down the hallway.
Matthew was seated on the couch, with his feet propped up on a chair he’d dragged in front of him. He was holding a folder open in front of him, his eyes pouring over the details of the documents within it.
“Where’s Ezra?” I asked him.
Matthew nodded down the hallway, before returning his gaze to the documents. “Outside with your mate.”
“What’s that?” I pointed at the papers he seemed so preoccupied with.
Matthew looked up at me and shook his head. “Clan financial shit,” he mumbled. “Something isn’t adding up with it.”
I took a seat beside him on the small couch, doing my best to dispel the memory of what I’d done on it as I did, and glanced at the papers in Matthew’s hand. “What do you mean?”
He pointed at a few columns of numbers. “There’s an error here. Missing money that isn’t accounted for. I’ve ran the figures over and over, but it just doesn’t add up, and I can’t for the life of me find where the money could have gone.”
I frowned, trying to study the numbers. While I hadn’t been groomed to be the clan’s alpha, I had taken it upon myself to study up on the business aspects of it. I’d always wanted my father’s approval, and I’d thought that the best way I could garner it would be to make myself useful. “How recent are these numbers?” I asked Matthew, trying to get a better grip on the problem.
He pursed his lips. “Less than six months. The oddities starting taking place after I took over, which doesn’t make a bit of goddamn sense. I’ve been careful, keeping track of everything.”
“Couldn’t be an error on Mother’s part?” I offered.
He shook his head. “Nah, she doesn’t touch this account. Rather, she can’t touch this account. It’s accessible only to the clan alpha.”
“Shit,” I snapped, realization dawning.
He nodded. “Shit indeed.”
“You don’t think he’s embezzling money from the clan, do you?”
Matthew sighed. “I’d hoped not. Until I spoke to Mother, I’d just assumed that I was missing something. But now that he’s fled Black Canyon, it only makes sense.”
“Fuck,” I growled. “How much is missing?”
Matthew bit his lip. “Five hundred million, taken in increments over the course of the past half year.”
I let out a low whistle. If what Matthew suspected was true, our father had been stealing millions of dollars f
rom our clan’s accounts. Which meant that he was likely behind the clan’s crumbling infrastructure. For months, I’d thought that the clan’s financial woes were Matthew’s fault for abandoning us. I thought we’d been bleeding money because my mother couldn’t handle running the clan on her own. What I hadn’t realized was that the source of the problem wasn’t Matthew or my mother, it was the embittered grizzly tucked away in an office down the hall.
“What are you going to do?” I finally managed, my throat suddenly dry.
Matthew shook his head. “I don’t know. I’d close the account or transfer the money out, but it’s more complicated than that. The bear clans have to report finances to the Council, and our money is tied up in the Shifter Accords.”
Damn, that was a hell of a mess to deal with. The Shifter Accords were an ancient establishment that basically acted in the same way as the World Bank did for humans. The only difference was that the Accords were much more strictly managed, and accounts were almost impossible to close. Pulling your money from the Accords meant you no longer supported the wishes of the Council which could, in turn, spark a personal vendetta from the Council itself. Something like that would have reverberations that would be felt all across the globe, in both shifter and human societies.
“So,” I started. “You think he’s trying to sabotage the clan?”
Matthew nodded slowly. “I don’t know what the fuck else he would be doing. You’d think the old bear could get past his loss and move on.”
I frowned, “You know as well as I do that isn’t going to happen. He holds grudges like the best of them, and his will is law.”
A snarl formed on Matthew’s face and he threw the folder across the room, sending sheets of paper scattering over the floor. “His will isn’t law,” Matthew growled, jumping to his feet. “He isn’t alpha. Not anymore.”
I threw up my hands in a calming gesture. “Easy, brother,” I told him. “I’m fully aware. But he can’t seem to wrap his mind around the idea. So instead of being civil, he’s going to bring down the entire clan, then send the Council crashing down on us. And it doesn’t look like he gives the slightest fuck as to who gets hurt in the process.”
