by Lynn Hagen
Snooke lifted his legs higher as Kane slowly pushed through, breaching him, taking Snooke’s body in more than just the physical sense. He could feel his lover’s cock deep inside as his warrior lifted his head and stared into Snooke’s eyes. “You’re mine.” Kane lowered his head, tracing Snooke’s lips with his tongue. “I’ll never let you go.” Their lips collided in a fierce play of desire, hungrily taking what the other offered.
But I’ll just break your heart. Snooke’s mind whispered the words. He wrapped his legs around Kane’s waist, feeling the steel shaft moving in and out of his body.
Snooke cried out when he felt the binding begin. No! Kane couldn’t be his mate. God no. This couldn’t be happening. It wasn’t safe for Kane to be near him, but now they were mates. A single tear slid down the side of Snooke’s face as he thought of how Kane would be in danger now.
They both would be.
“Snooke,” Kane gasped, locking eyes with Snooke. A smile formed on Kane’s face. “I knew you were the one. From the moment I saw you, I knew.”
Snooke felt like he was spiraling out of control as Kane thrust harder. His cock was smashed between his body and the warrior’s solid muscles. The friction was going to make him come again.
“My shorty.” Kane kissed down Snooke’s neck tenderly. “My Snooke.”
“Kane.” Snooke whispered the name, feeling his body ignite as Kane wrapped his arms around Snooke’s body and jetted into him. His mate shouted as his ass filled with Kane’s hot seed.
Snooke reached between them, bringing himself off for the second time. He tightened his legs around Kane as he came.
Kane lay wrapped around Snooke as Snooke stared at the ceiling. How had everything gone so right, and so wrong, all at the same time?
Kane turned to his side and pulled Snooke to his chest, curling around him as Kane petted his back. “My mate.” He kissed Snooke’s temple.
Snooke lay there until he knew Kane was asleep. He pulled away and got dressed.
He stood in the bedroom doorway staring at the sleeping warrior. It was his shame to bear. Kane was innocent in all this. Why should the warrior pay for Snooke’s sins? He shouldn’t, and Snooke was going to make damn sure he didn’t. Snooke would pay the price to keep the warrior safe. The price being his heart ripping out of his very chest.
He smiled as he saw Kane turn over, snoring loud enough to wake the dead.
His mate.
I love you. Snooke hung his head as he turned around and walked out.
Hondo stepped into Malcor’s, Rainerio and Kane at his flanks. He looked around, taking in the busy restaurant. The place was somewhere you would take a date to show off or to entertain a large group.
Malcor’s had a nice atmosphere to it. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. There were couples laughing together, looking like they hadn’t a care in the world. Hondo was glad he and Chris had that kind of carefree relationship. It wasn’t easy, but they were finally back to the fun friendship they had shared for so long.
Hondo sniffed the air. The aromas wafting his way smelled tantalizing. He was ready to grab a seat and order.
“Over there.” Hondo nodded to a table with a very large man sitting there holding court with a half a dozen others. His brows shot to his hairline, and then he quickly masked his expression when his eyes and the elf’s locked together.
It was the same elf that had kept coming to Chris’s to warn that everything is not as it seems. He could see the fear pouring off the creature. Hondo wondered why the elf was sitting with these rough-looking demons, but kept the question to himself. If the elf’s eyes were anything to go by, the questions wouldn’t be welcomed.
The three warriors stepped to the table, Hondo averting his eyes from the elf as Kane spoke. “I’m looking for someone who has been seen here a lot. His name is Snooke. He’s about five foot six, blue eyes, and he has white hair.”
The large man chuckled, but not before Hondo saw rage in the depths of the bastard’s eyes. This guy knew something. He sat there looking smug. A man who thought he owed the world nothing, but the world owed him everything. Hondo hated people like that.
“I only eat here. What do I look like, the owner, a waiter? Go ask Malcor.” The man waved his hand dismissively, as if the warriors were a fly buzzing around his head. An annoyance.
Hondo grabbed Kane’s forearm when Kane lurched forward. He could see the rage on Kane’s face, and the warrior didn’t mask his. Hondo’s fingers itched to let Kane free, to see the smug look leave the bastard’s face. But they didn’t operate like that. The warriors were the good guys.
“Thank you for your time.” Hondo nodded, taking another glance at the elf before walking over to the bar. He asked Malcor, but the owner hadn’t a clue either.
“Why would Torky say Snooke hung in here if no one even knows who we are talking about?” Rainerio asked.
“I need to find that fucker,” Kane stated through clenched teeth as he pushed the door open and stepped out of the restaurant.
“Go calm him before everyone on the street is frozen. I need to make a phone call.”
Rainerio nodded and headed for the door.
Hondo pulled his cell out, watching the patrons in the restaurant.
“Panahasi.”
“It’s me. No one knows who Snooke is at Malcor’s.”
“Or that’s what they are saying. I have a feeling they do.”
Hondo shot a glance over at the table before looking away. “Remember that elf I told you about?”
“He’s there?”
“Yeah.” Hondo scratched his jaw as he looked from the corner of his eye. The elf sat rigid next to the large demon. He could tell the elf would rather be anywhere but at that table. Hondo headed for the door, knowing they had more pressing issues. It ate at him to leave the delicate creature behind. “I don’t know what to make of it. He’s sitting at a table full of men, looking scared shitless.”
“Leave that to me. Go to Bernard’s Buybacks. The owner says he has info on the crystal.”
“Will do, boss man.” Hondo pocketed his phone as he joined the other two warriors.
Kane put on a burst of speed, leapt through the air, and tackled Torky. Their bodies rolled a few times before Kane shot to his feet and pulled the bastard up, slamming him into the wall. “Where the fuck is he?” he snarled.
“I told you. Snooke hangs at the Malcor’s.” The demon yelped when Kane’s fist hit the brick wall beside his head.
“He isn’t there, and no one knows who I was talking about. Try again or I’m gonna feed you to the troll down by the river.”
“Kane!” Hondo shouted as he and Rainerio caught up with him. “Let him go.”
Kane glared at the demon before opening his fist and letting the punk drop to the ground. Snooke had disappeared from his bed, and it had been two days since he’d seen him. Kane was going out of his mind with worry.
“I have to find my mate,” Kane shouted at the two warriors. “What if something happened to him?” He spun on his booted heel and started walking down Broadview. “Has Chris seen him?”
“I called. He said he hasn’t seen or heard from Snooke,” Hondo replied.
“Kane.” Rainerio grabbed Kane’s arm and spun him back around. “We have to talk to the owner at the video store.”
Kane knew they had a duty to find the damn crystal. It took precedence over finding Snooke. If the prisoners in the detention cells were set free, this realm would become hell. There were creatures down there that should never have been born. Some so evil that Snooke, or anyone else for that matter, would no longer be safe. The city would become a feeding ground for the damned.
Kane pulled his arm free and began walking toward the store. He was pissed as hell that Snooke wasn’t in his bed when he had awakened.
He’d had enough with the disappearing act.
Kane tore the door open, nearly unhinging it as he walked into the used-video store. Worry and anger filled him. Where could S
nooke be?
“I think I should talk to him.” Hondo eyed Kane and then stepped ahead of him, heading over to Bernard, the owner.
Kane hung back. He racked his brain trying to figure out where Snooke had vanished to. He’d checked the demon’s apartment and Chris’s house. Kane even took Torky on his word and went to Malcor’s restaurant.
Snooke wasn’t anywhere to be found. Kane began to look through the movies on the shelf, trying his best to take his mind off of things. If he kept thinking about his mate walking away from him, this store would lay in rubbles around him.
“I understand you called Panahasi and told him you had information on the missing crystal?” Hondo asked the owner.
It was no longer a secret that the prized crystal, the only key to the underworld, was missing. The warriors could gain entrance, if three went together, but no other had a means down there. Not unless they held the crystal and knew how to use it.
They also had to figure out how the reporter kept getting his stories. Sexton had gone missing again, but his stories were still being published. The vampire seemed to know what was going on right after an event happened. This had the warriors and their leader, Panahasi, baffled.
The owner leaned over the counter, looking around before he whispered to the pair of warriors. Kane set the movie down and walked closer. “Meet me out back in five minutes.”
Bernard’s eyes darted around the store before smiling and waving at one of the customers.
Kane rolled his eyes at James Bond. He didn’t have time for secret meetings and handshakes. If the shifter had info, he needed to spill so Kane could get back to his search for Snooke.
Rainerio slapped Kane’s chest with his hand as he nodded. “Come on, man. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can find your mate.”
Kane followed the warriors out of the front door and around the side of the building. Kane snatched the phone from his jacket when the damn thing began to ring. “What?” he asked with a touch of attitude.
“It’s Panahasi. I need you to go down to the river.”
“We’re about to question the owner of the video store.”
“Leave that to Hondo and Rainerio. Go.” Panahasi disconnected the phone call.
“Can you guys handle this? The boss man sent me on another mission.” Kane asked as he slid his phone back into his pocket.
“Go on. We have this,” Hondo said.
Kane jogged to the back of the building, finding a dark area and walking into it, emerging at the river. He glanced around, taking in the beauty of the Black River. It flowed seamlessly, giving any admirer a sense of peace.
His breath caught when he spotted the troll sitting at the water’s edge, Snooke sitting next to the creature.
Kane walked across the grass until he stood inches from his mate. Snooke glanced up at him, sadness filling his eyes. “I had nowhere to go. They know where I live now.” Snooke wiped at the tears that began to slowly fall.
“You could have stayed with me, shorty.” Kane knelt down in front of his mate, amazed that he wasn’t angry. Maybe it was the tears that did him in, or the fact that he could see his mate was safe.
“I can’t. They’ll come after you, too. There’s nowhere for me to go.” Snooke pulled his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around his legs as he rested his chin on his knees. “I’m homeless.”
“Come home with me, Snooke. I can protect you.” Kane sat on the grass, pulling a blade free and twirling it in his fingers. “No one can get into the building. It’s the safest place for you.”
The troll looked down at Snooke and then, with a very large hand, patted Snooke’s back. “Go. It’s not safe out here for you.”
Even at six-eight, Kane felt small compared to the massive creature sitting on the river’s edge.
“I don’t want to get you involved, Kane.” Snooke laid his cheek on his knee, staring over at Kane.
“Go!” The troll rose from the ground, pushing Snooke toward Kane.
Kane looked behind them to see the same two men from Snooke’s apartment, heading their way. He reached over and grabbed Snooke into his arms, rolling from the river’s bank as the troll blocked his view.
Kane was going to get answers. Running wasn’t his style, and he was getting very tired of it. He threw his hand out to freeze everyone in their place when Snooke grabbed him tightly, and then they hit the water and sank below the surface.
Snooke’s eyes widened with fear as Kane placed a hand over his mouth. He rolled them until Kane lay atop his smaller mate. He was afraid of crushing Snooke.
Kane laid a finger to his mouth, indicating that Snooke should be quiet.
“Where did you think of being?” Kane whispered in his ear.
“Nowhere. You?”
This wasn’t good. If neither of them thought of where they wanted to go when they entered the river, then who knew where they had ended up.
“Same here,” Kane whispered as his eyes scanned the room they were in.
“I know this place.” Snooke spoke softly into Kane’s ear. “It’s not a good place.”
“Where exactly is here?” Kane saw the room was empty, but he wasn’t taking any chances. There was an empty table with six chairs around it, some boxes stacked off to one side, crates containing what looked to be wine bottles.
“Malcor’s,” Snooke said with desperation in his voice. Kane pulled his mate closer. Even though he had a feeling they were in a bad situation, he was glad to have Snooke back in his arms. “Why is that a bad thing?”
Snooke looked up at Kane, raw fear present in his eyes. “My uncle is here.”
Chapter Six
Snooke pulled Kane back down atop him. “No. You can’t go in there.”
“Let me go.” Kane separated each word with anger.
They ducked their heads when they heard voices enter the backroom. They heard talking, but couldn’t see anyone. Snooke didn’t need to see the face to know who the voice belonged to. He would know his uncle’s voice anywhere.
“I had a plan set up to get the information on how to use the crystal, but my faggot nephew had to go and blow everything.”
Snooke’s stomach lurched at his uncle’s words. He remembered the night his uncle came to him with the plan for Snooke to befriend the warriors and find out how the crystal worked. Snooke didn’t know them at the time. He would have done anything for the last member of his family, but then Snooke got to know Chris and Hondo. He really liked them.
When he set eyes on Kane he knew all bets were off. The brown-eyed warrior had stolen his heart in Chris’s dining room. To say he was intrigued would be an understatement. Kane was like a burst of sunshine sauntering into the room that night. Snooke knew in his heart that he wouldn’t follow through with his uncle’s plans, and knew the price he would pay for the failure of retrieving the information.
When he was outed by those pictures, his uncle didn’t care anymore about any plans. All the demon had wanted to do was hurt Snooke as often and as badly as he could without killing Snooke.
“I think we should use that guy Chris. Snooke seems to be fond of him. Use him as leverage to get your nephew to do what he was originally supposed to do. Infiltrate the warriors and get the information.”
Kane’s eyes widened and then lowered to stare Snooke in his eyes. Snooke could see the hurt radiating from them. He shook his head, but Kane’s face became stoic as he glanced back over to where the voices were coming from.
Snooke’s heart stopped beating at the thought of Kane never wanting to see him again. The only comforting thought was that Kane would be out of this mess.
“That’s not a bad idea. Too bad we can’t use that warrior he’s fucking. I’m still trying to figure out a way to hold him over Snooke’s head.”
Fuck, his uncle was one cold-hearted bastard. Snooke knew that, no matter what happened, he had to warn Chris.
“I’m tired of hearing them,” Kane said coldly as he shot his hand out and then stood.
Snooke noticed that Kane wouldn’t look down at him.
It was over.
Snooke knew in his heart that he had just lost his mate. He couldn’t blame Kane. From what he’d heard his uncle just say, his fate had been sealed with his mate.
“What the hell are you doing back here?”
Snooke’s head snapped around. How was it possible? Everyone in the backroom should have frozen, including Snooke. Why hadn’t he? Kane had the same expression, like he couldn’t believe people were moving around when he had obviously frozen them.
Snooke rolled to his stomach, ready to get up when Kane backed up, bumping his leg onto Snooke’s arm and shaking his head slightly. “I was gonna ask you the same question. You’re not Malcor,” Kane answered.
Snooke tensed as Kane challenged his uncle. This wasn’t good. His mate was in over his head.
“You’re that warrior that was here earlier asking about some guy named Snooke.” His uncle chuckled maliciously. Snooke knew that laugh. It always preceded someone getting the shit beat out of them. That laugh had been directed at Snooke a lot lately. He reached up and tugged on Kane’s jeans, but his mate ignored him.
Snooke knew that was something he was going to get used to now that Kane knew his dirty little secret. Fuck. All he had wanted to do was protect Kane, and it had all backfired on him. Karma was a cruel bitch.
“The one and only.” Kane shoved his hands into his front pockets, smiling at his uncle. Smiling? What was his mate up to? “It seems I was correct. You do know Snooke.”
Wrong answer. Snooke closed his eyes, lowering his head as Kane’s words sealed his mate’s fate. Snooke jumped up, but with one swift move, Kane had him once again on his back. How the hell did he do that?
“I see you aren’t alone.”
“No, he’s not,” Snooke called out. It was a foolish move, but Snooke wanted to let Kane know he wasn’t alone in this. No matter how badly he had screwed up, or the fact that Kane probably never wanted to speak to him again. He had to right this somehow.
