Bound by Fate (War of the Five Fangs Book 1)

by Asher North

  “Then when?” Rhys asked, dejected.

  “When the world we want to create is here, when we’re both free of our packs and the threat they both bring,” Damon said.

  “That day might never come,” Rhys said, looking at Damon with desperation. It went straight to Damon’s core and melted him.

  “I don’t understand what you do to me,” Damon blurted and Rhys smirked.

  “I feel the same,” he said. “Which makes me believe that this is right and true and everything that we as wolves are supposed to do. It may sound mad but I believe we were fated for each other.” That was all that it took to break Damon’s resolve. He’d felt the same thing for longer than he cared to admit to. Despite the screaming pain in his abdomen, Damon launched upright and pressed his lips to Rhys’s, which seemed to activate him. A sort of whimper escaped him and rather than push back, he seemed to relax, giving Damon a rush of arousal.

  Before Damon knew it, Rhys was on his back and Damon found himself between Rhys’s legs, their swollen manhoods grinding together. Though he’d never imagined his first mating would happen like this, as it unfolded between the two of them, Damon knew that it was never meant to be any other way. As they continued to kiss and Rhys’s scent invaded Damon’s nostrils, something deep and inexplicable seemed to take over him. All of his senses intensified and as if he were driven by a spirit outside of himself, Damon found that he knew exactly what to do and how to do it.

  Rhys had grown wet and warm between his legs and let out a groan of approval as Damon slipped a finger inside. He’d never dared dream he might be allowed to enter an Omega this way, being the ill-equipped Alpha that he was, but as their bodies came together in such a natural way and Rhys moaned in delight, Damon knew he was precisely where he was supposed to be.

  This is my home now, Damon thought as he watched Rhys writhe and grip the bed. This is my Omega, my mate, my life, and his body my temple. He slipped another finger inside and Rhys came alive, his sounds filling the entirety of the Healer’s quarters but Damon paid it no mind because he was convinced every wolf in the Gold Eye den knew as well as he did that he and Rhys were destined to act on the great desire between them.

  Pushing the small voice in the back of his mind telling him this was a terrible mistake away, Damon kissed Rhys once more and Rhys’s moans filled his mouth as he toyed with Rhys’s core. Though his sides screamed in pain, the rush of the moment overtook any pain he felt with great pleasure.

  “I’m yours, so claim me,” Rhys said when they broke and a growl came from somewhere deep in Damon’s chest. His body tingled the way it did when he shifted forms and for a moment he feared his wolf might take control. In Rhys’s eyes he saw his own reflected, his pupils barely more than slits. Carefully, he hitched himself up onto his knees and trailed the tip of his manhood across Rhys’s warm, inviting entrance. He felt himself swell, his desire for release so strong that it pained him, and with one thrust he buried himself inside of Rhys. The cry that came from them both was surely heard by the entire den but that was of little concern to Damon. All that mattered now was Rhys and the bond between their bodies.

  Rhys was so warm, almost feverish, against Damon’s chest, which only further aroused him. Damon’s blood thrummed in his veins with such force that he heard it in his ears; a primal sound that triggered something deep within him, bringing forth an animalistic urge he’d sensed before but never embraced.

  Now, however, he let himself be lost to his inner wolf and the instinctual rhythmic motion of his body pressing into and out of Rhys’s. His mate was just as active, bucking his hips up to meet Damon’s own downward thrusts, their bodies slamming together like stone against stone. The pleasure was nearly blinding for Damon, so much so that he had to keep his eyes closed to keep from being totally overwhelmed. Rhys’s pants in his ear were like full of desire and need, a need the likes of which Damon had never seen before.

  “You’re mine,” Damon grunted as once more he buried himself to the hilt inside of Rhys.

  “I’m yours,” Rhys whispered, wrapping his arms gently around Damon’s torso and pulling him down to kiss him again. He held on as Damon increased the rate of his thrusting, his groans and gasps sending chills across Damon’s back before ricocheting back up to his groin, which burned with the threat of release.

  “I’m nearly there,” Damon said, clenching his eyes tight to fight back the burning in his core.

  “Let yourself go. Give me your seed, give me your child,” Rhys said and Damon’s wolf lunged out of him, forcing Damon to bite and clamp down on Rhys’s neck as he released inside of Rhys’s wet and welcoming loins, his own growls and groans spilling out of him and filling the room around them with the sound of pleasure. Before he’d finished, Rhys reached his own climax, shoving his hips up and down to grip and milk the last of the seed from Damon while he stroked himself. When he crossed over, his head fell back and his eyes rolled into his head before he showered himself. To his surprise, Damon found the sensation so pleasurable that another release brewed inside of him and once more he filled Rhys up.

  When the shaking and seizing had passed, Damon fell forward onto Rhys, holding himself by his elbows, which trembled with the effort. Their foreheads rested together and despite their gasping, they kissed several more times, their sweat mingling, until Damon turned soft and withdrew himself, forcing a final moan of pleasure out of Rhys. Carefully, so as not to further aggravate his injuries, Damon climbed off of Rhys and laid down beside him. Rhys turned and pulled Damon in close behind him, wrapping Damon’s arm around his side and bringing his hand to rest on Rhys’s stomach.

  “That was beautiful,” Damon said, placing a tender kiss on the soft skin of Rhys’s neck and delighting in the gooseflesh that appeared there.

  “It was. With a mating like that, our son is sure to be one worthy of the stories and songs,” Rhys said and Damon chuckled back his embarrassment. For better or worse, they’d consummated their desire. That was no guarantee of Damon’s seed quickening within Rhys but given his heat, it was likely.

  “You’ll make a wonderful father, the best to grace Moonvalley,” Damon said.

  “No, that title will belong to you,” Rhys argued, intertwining his fingers with Damon’s over his stomach. Damon didn’t feel prepared in the slightest for fatherhood, particularly with their current state as wanted wolves, but the idea still excited him. He never thought he’d find an Omega to be his mate, much less one that would want to bear his child, and yet here was Rhys wrapped tightly in his arms full of the desire to do just that. Despite the intense feelings associated with the mating, it still felt to Damon as if this were all a dream—an incredible one, without doubt, but a dream nonetheless. He wondered if he might have fallen asleep with Rhys’s fur wound in his hand and never woken up, as if he were still fast asleep now and only fantasizing.

  But the heat of Rhys’s body against his own, and the heaving of his breathing, convinced Damon that it was as real as anything could be, as were his feelings for Rhys. Though he didn’t quite understand them, nor Rhys’s attraction to him, he realized that he didn’t need to. They were bonded now in soul and in seed. There hadn't been and never would be a soul bond ceremony for the two of them but Damon wasn't bothered by it. All that mattered was the intense emotional connection they’d formed and the child that might soon begin to grow within Rhys.

  As he listened to Rhys slowly fall asleep, Damon only hoped he was worthy both of the sacred bond he'd formed with his new mate and of the incredible child he felt sure they would be given.

  Rhys

  A fortnight passed without the faintest hint of trouble from outside the Gold Eye den, which Rhys was thankful for. Since their mating, he and Damon had taken to sleeping together in a larger quarters they’d been given. Together, they spent their days reading over the Book of the Dawn and studying Pollux’s prophecy, wondering what it might mean for the two of them and waiting for news from the rest of Moonvalley. They were nearly through their
first read of the entire book, Damon standing over Rhys’s shoulder while they read, when Damon noticed something odd.

  “Your hair is falling out,” he said and Rhys eyed him apprehensively.

  “What do you mean?” he asked and Damon touched a finger to his shoulder before holding it in front of Rhys’s eyes. For a moment, Rhys thought his heart might’ve permanently stopped. The silver hair Damon held between his fingers glinted in the light of the flame from the torches hanging from the walls and was unmistakable.

  If his streak was falling out, that meant one thing and one thing only: he was pregnant, carrying Damon’s child, and though he knew it should’ve filled him with fear, he felt only excitement. He’d noticed other small changes to his senses and a constant sour feeling in the pit of his stomach but hadn’t dared hope that it might mean Damon’s seed had been strong. The hair Damon held confirmed it beyond a doubt. In one full moon or less, they would have a child together, a new life that he dared to hope might bridge old wounds.

  “Are you not feeling well?” Damon asked and Rhys chuckled as he rubbed his stomach.

  “I feel incredible,” Rhys said, tilting his head back to make eye contact with Damon. He looked confused for a moment until comprehension spread across him like the morning sun over an open field.

  “Does that mean…?” he asked and Rhys only nodded. “Rhys!” Damon shouted, throwing his arms around him and showering him with kisses wherever he could place his lips.

  “We should tell the twins,” Rhys said, laughing from the tickle of Damon’s lips on his neck and earlobes. He didn’t doubt they’d be thrilled to hear it and he was grateful they’d been given such a wonderful safe haven in which to deliver their child. The Gold Eyes were some of the most knowledgeable wolves in all of Moonvalley with some of the most advanced medicine and the presence of the Lunalis twins in particular, with their otherworldly abilities, only boded well for the little wolf Rhys now knew grew inside of him.

  Damon came around him and knelt down at the table to place a hand on his stomach, a beaming smile on his face. It wasn’t only Rhys’s body that had changed since their mating. Damon had almost become a different wolf, one Rhys barely recognized, in a very short amount of time.

  Where Damon been timid and afraid before, now he was bold and proud. He attended every meeting with the rest of the wolves and, once his wounds had healed enough to allow it, he had even begun physical training with Rhys and Eleo. He wasn’t very good at it at first but over time he’d turned into quite the capable fighter and though he wasn’t sure it was true, Rhys might’ve sworn that Damon had even developed some musculature. Often, after a session of sparring, they would fall into a frenzied, instinct-driven mating session.

  “How long?” Damon asked, pulling Rhys back into the present and away from his thoughts of lying with Damon.

  “I can’t be sure,” Rhys answered, though it couldn’t have been long, a few moons at the most. “The twins or the Silverbacks might be able to tell us more if they examine me. We need to go to them.” Nodding, Damon leaped to his feet and helped Rhys up. When he’d managed to stand, his head spun slightly, a feeling he could only assume was associated with his pregnancy. He wrapped an arm around Damon’s shoulder.

  “Are you well?” he asked.

  “I feel unsteady,” Rhys admitted.

  “Lean on me. I’ll help you to the twins,” Damon said, and so he did. As they crossed through the den to the living quarters the Lunalis wolves occupied, the other Gold Eyes eyed them with smiles on their faces. They already know, Rhys thought and a certain warmth spread within him. It only made sense. After he’d mated with Damon for the first time, he’d noticed a change in the way the other wolves looked at him and it wasn’t until many days after that Rhys realized why: the scent of his heat had left him, replaced with the scent of new life.

  To their dismay, neither of the Lunalis twins were in their quarters, which they found empty.

  “Where could they have gone?” Damon asked.

  “Most likely stargazing,” Rhys said. The sun had gone down long ago and Rhys had noticed that the Lunalis twins and many of the other Gold Eyes had a habit of stepping out of the den after dark to watch the stars on their infinite path across the sky. Rhys had watched them from the safety of the den entrance once before and he still could not say what it was the Gold Eyes saw in the skies but he was nonetheless grateful they saw something.

  They saw you coming, little one, he thought, stroking his stomach. Though he’d never imagined himself as a father before now, it felt as natural as anything could. He didn’t know what to hope for, whether a male or female, Alpha or Omega, and the more he thought about it as he and Damon made their way to the entrance of the den, the less it mattered to Rhys. So long as their baby came healthy and without issue, that would be enough for him.

  “There they are,” Damon said, pointing to a long line of wolves who’d gathered to watch the stars. Knox and Lux sat on their haunches at the center with their backs turned to Rhys, their heads craned up.

  “Don’t disturb them. When they’re ready, they’ll let us know,” Rhys said. He didn’t know or understand how, but the Gold Eyes all seemed to have senses that he and Damon didn’t that among other things gave them the ability to concentrate so intensely on the stars that everything else fell away. Eventually, they would stir as if waking from a trance, and turn to find he and Damon waiting for them with the news—assuming the stars hadn’t already told them.

  Rhys glanced up as they waited, trying to decipher what it was that the Gold Eyes saw. The stars were remarkably bright that night and there was one in particular that shone burning red. Its light twinkled and flickered, unlike the other stars in the sky whose light held constant, and if Rhys had to venture a guess he’d say that it was that star in particular that the Gold Eyes were watching. Rhys had never seen it before, not in all the times he’d glanced up at the night sky, and he had the distinct feeling that it was an omen, though good or bad he could not say.

  He and Damon sat down with their arms wrapped around each other on the moist soil as what seemed like hours passed. Rhys had just drifted off when Damon gently stroked his shoulder. The Lunalis twins were heading for them along with the other Gold Eyes and though his eyes were clouded with the fog of fatigue, he clearly saw concern on the faces of the other wolves. The gentile twinkle in the Lunalis twins’ eyes had gone, replaced instead by an unmoving blackness that set Rhys’s stomach aflutter. Something isn’t right, he thought.

  “Rhys Greyborn, it is too cold out here for you and your family,” Knox said, and the twinkle in his eyes seemed to spark anew, making Rhys question if he’d seen what he thought he had or if it’d been some trick of the light.

  “My family?” Rhys asked, his voice thick with sleep. Maybe he had drifted into unconsciousness longer than he’d been aware of, he couldn’t be sure.

  “Is that not what you’ve come here to share with us?” Lux asked, stopping at his brother’s side. If Rhys were less lucid, he might’ve sworn he were talking to two of the same wolf, their appearance was so similar.

  “It is,” Damon said and though Rhys couldn’t see his face, he felt the smile on it in his words. “How did you know?”

  “The stars know more than any of us ever shall,” Knox said. “Come, we have a great many things to discuss,” he continued and stepped into the den entrance without another word and without waiting for them. Lux followed as Rhys used Damon as a post to help him stand. Together, they followed the rest of the line of wolves, the names of which Rhys might never know. The majority of them peeled off into the holes in the den that served as their sleeping quarters but Rhys and Damon went straight to the Lunalis twins.

  To Rhys’s surprise, they’d shifted into their human forms and for the first time, he saw a few differences in their appearance. Though he wasn’t sure which man was which yet, he noticed that one of the two of them had barely visible freckles on his cheeks and across the bridge of his nose, whe
re the other’s face was clear in complexion. They both had tight, auburn curls that bounced and swayed with each of their movements, and deep eyes that seemed no less perceptive than they had in their wolf form.

  “Do we frighten you?” one asked and Rhys shook his head with a smile.

  “Not in the slightest. I only don’t know which of you is which anymore,” Rhys answered and both twins chuckled.

  “I am Knox,” the clear-faced man said.

  “I am Lux,” the freckled finished.

  “I’ll never confuse the two of you again,” Rhys said, making each of them smile. “What is it you need to tell us?” Rhys asked and though it was minor, he didn’t fail to notice the slight fall in each of their faces.

  “The stars were not as favorable as we would’ve liked this night,” Knox said, avoiding Rhys’s eyes.

  “Favorable for what?” Damon asked, which Rhys was grateful for. He didn’t much like the sound of unfavorable conditions, not when he carried another life inside him, however small it may yet have been.

  “For all of our wellbeing,” Lux answered.

  “I saw a red star, one that seemed to go in and out and over again. Is that why?” Rhys asked, his heart beginning to hammer at the look that appeared on their faces.

  “Yes. The red star you saw, the Blood Eye, is true to its namesake. How or when we don't yet know but there will soon be blood,” Knox said. “The Blood Eye is never a good sign. We must prepare for the worst and pray for the best.”

  “Is it my child?” Rhys asked, frightened of the answer.

  “We've seen a great many things about your child but none of them have been of concern,” Lux said, smiling. “Two and one will save us all from the sun,” he continued, his eyes on Rhys’s stomach and finally Rhys understood. A wave of relief washed over Rhys and he allowed himself to relax.