by A. E. Via
“Something’s happening.” Wick rasped and fell to both knees, digging long sharp claws into the soft earth.
“My Lord. What’s happening?” His captain tried to push Justice’s large body out of the way and got a harsh warning growl for it.
Justice didn’t want to hurt Wick’s third, but the man was going to have to know his place, and that was to stay the hell out of Justice’s way when his animal was with its mate. His hurting mate. Justice sniffed and nuzzled at Wick’s neck while he sat crouched on one knee, breathing harshly, his eyes wide with shock.
Justice heard his brother yelling at everyone to back off and give them room, as more gathered around. Wick was fighting against a force Justice couldn’t see and it was driving his animal into a fever. He had to help his mate, the feeling was that natural. Looking into Wick’s changed eyes, he saw him. Saw his extraordinary beast. And that’s when he realized Wick was about to shift.
“I don’t know if—,” Wick groaned, cutting himself off. Without warning, he stood and took off into the trees, racing at lighting speed.
He saw his mate fleeing from him. Away from his comfort and protection. His wolf was not having it. Justice reared back and bellowed a long, sorrowful howl, calling out to Wick. He didn’t wait for his mate to respond. Justice bounded into the darkness of the trees, his mate’s scent strong in his nose. The smell of fear was there, too. Justice whined and picked up his speed, his large paws barely making contact with the soft earth before they left it again. After another couple minutes of running up the mountain at almost his max speed, Justice heard Wick’s rapid footsteps, then his breathing.
“Stop running,” Justice sent to his mate, hot on his heels.
Wick was moving fluidly through the mountainous terrain. Leaping up onto towering branches and going airborne for several feet before landing back on the ground, never missing a step. His messy black hair was windswept, straight back, his face set in a determined scowl. Justice ached for him. He knew what was wrong. Wick was a hybrid of some sort and didn’t know how to control it. There was an animal inside of him that Justice believed wanted out… especially now that Wick had found his mate. An animal that confusedly didn’t smell like wolf. It must’ve been quiet all this time. No wonder Wick was scared. Justice had butterflies for his first shift, but there was an enormous difference. Justice always knew he would shift and was prepared for it. Justice also had his father and his pack to see him through it. Wick had no one. Not even a clue. Vampires were not shifters.
Justice ran up next to Wick, his tongue lolling out one side of his mouth as he tried to catch his breath at that speed. He didn’t want to hurt his mate, but at the speed they were running, if he bumped Wick with his flank, it’d send him flying.
“You wanted space, didn’t you?”
That’s the last thing Justice wanted. He huffed and leapt into the air, wrapping his huge body around Wick and flipping so they slammed down to the ground, landing on his own back. They slid for several feet, the debris along the forest floor cutting into Justice’s back, the cuts and scrapes healing almost immediately. He grunted and clung on to his mate even tighter when his thick hind hit a large Spruce, spinning them around a few times before slamming them into another one, his ribcage absorbing the brunt of the pain.
Wick was nestled against the soft white fur along Justice’s belly. So thick and warm. Wick didn’t want to move. He’d give anything in his world to stay like this the rest of his life. His heart beat at a staccato tempo. His Justice not only smelled amazing, his animal felt like the powerful being it was. Wick could feel the strength radiating from him and he needed that more than anything right now.
“Easy.”
“Justice,” Wick groaned.
“Just breathe.”
A sense of peace came over Wick, making him go limp and pliant against the most amazing blanket he’d ever felt. “I’m sorry I ran. I’m not a coward.”
“I know that. I’m sorry, too.”
Justice huffed underneath him and Wick couldn’t help burying his nose in the bushy, stark white fur surrounding Justice’s throat. Wick could smell his other half’s sweet blood, blood that he dreamed was warm and rich. Organic, pure Siberian descendant would taste like nothing he’d ever had. The Mother had truly blessed him. Wick moaned. He hadn’t forgotten he was on top of a large animal and not the man, but all that fur didn’t stop Wick from smelling what was making him crazy. Justice’s blood smelled so robust, like it was mixed with nature’s elements. Wick inhaled pine, cedar, and a type of berry he couldn’t place. All combined to stimulate him. His throat began to heat. Goodness, he was so hungry. It’d been two days. He heard the wolf whine under him, cutting through Wick’s euphoria and stabbing him in the heart. Justice shifted back to human, breathing hard and heavy. His Beloved wasn’t interested in letting Wick put his fangs anywhere near him. The wolf might’ve let Wick feed, but the man would not.
Wick leapt off Justice, landing several feet away from him. Justice stood and squared off with Wick as if preparing for him to run again. But Wick wasn’t running. Bloody hell. He was tired of running. Tired of this. Justice was his true, beloved mate, goddamnit. Wick should already be head over heels in love… damn-sure not starving. Frankly, it was starting to piss him off. His other half was supposed to be turned on by everything about him. Not disgusted. Wick’s eyes flashed, warning Justice to keep his distance.
“I’m not disgusted. I shifted back because I could still feel your thoughts. Even the ones you tried to shield. You thought I was staying in my wolf form because I can’t be with you as a man.” Justice stood tall and proud in his nakedness. He had no reason to cover himself or be ashamed. His chiseled body was art personified.
Wick had to turn his head. Justice was amazing. He wanted him in the worst way, but Wick couldn’t let his Beloved think he could run all over him and he’d just take it. He needed to say his piece but he couldn’t look Justice directly in his bright blue eyes when he did. His anger seemed to flee suddenly whenever he did. He also couldn’t gather his thoughts when he looked at those eyes. Eyes he could still see in the dark of the night. It pained Wick to say his next words but he had to. “Do you feel our pull at—?”
“I feel everything.” Justice’s deep voice cut him off. “Times ten.”
“You sure don’t act like it,” Wick slung back at him. “I send away my escort to show my trust. I bring you a gift that you reject.”
“I didn’t reject your gift,” Justice said matter-of-factly.
“You were not appreciative. Where I come from, people show their gratitude—”
Justice pushed his chest out, his voice carrying. “I don’t know where you come from. We just met. Yes, we are mates. I feel it like nothing else. But you wanted me to lay down and let you bite me the second we met. You never gave me a chance, Wick.”
“I didn’t mean to. But I still don’t know how you were able to not answer my call.” Wick yanked his dark suit jacket off and tossed it to the side. It was ruined from the run anyway.
“It wasn’t easy.” Justice shook his head. “I’m not proud of my initial reaction to you. I thought you were… you know… doing something to my head to make me feel—”
“Wait. You thought I was making you think you were my true mate? You thought I was that deceitful having never even met me.” Wick began to move forward. The hurtful words propelling him right into his Beloved’s face. How dare he pre-judge Wick? “You thought I left my home, my family, and flew to the other side of the world just to trick you, you over-confident, furry fucker. I came here to do a job, just like you. I rule a species of people, Justice, just like you. I have zero time, patience, or energy to put into fooling you.”
The King was speaking, his forehead pinched and his fangs exposed, using only a minuscule ounce of his strength, but emanating enough force into the atmosphere that the nocturnal creatures called out in surprise. The air shimmered a thick, choking haze, displaying Wick’s anger… and his hu
rt.
Justice growled low when Wick poked him hard in his broad chest. Wick wasn’t frightened like any normal person would be because in the pit of his stomach, he was certain Justice wouldn’t hurt him, so Wick growled right back.
“Do not challenge my wolf,” Justice warned him.
Wick refused to avert his eyes. Forget that.
Justice’s body began to shake. It still didn’t strike fear in Wick’s heart, it actually excited him. Justice pulled back and stared long, like he was trying to decode something in Wick’s eyes. Wick’s vision flashed again, before going back to dark. Each time it did that it felt like he was looking through new eyes.
“I can see him.”
Wick’s snarl dropped, his anger quickly replaced by anxious curiosity. “What do you mean, you see it?”
“I see his eyes. He wants out,” Justice said with so much assurance, Wick began to believe it might really be okay and he had nothing to fear. “You’ve never met your animal?”
“No.” Wick felt ashamed, like he should know. Here he was in front of the most powerful shifter this side of the world and Wick was blessed with the same gift and didn’t know how to possess it. Maybe he wasn’t worthy. “My best friend – an extremely smart man – has searched for an understanding of what was inside of me since we were young vamps. He never found anything about vampire shifters, or even hybrids.”
“But you always felt it, right?”
“Yes. Very quiet, but definitely there.” Wick rubbed his hand over his rapidly beating chest. “Never like this. I didn’t feel like this until I landed here.”
“It makes sense. Your beast is very strong. He knew I was here.” Justice had a slight twist to his lip.
“I’m… um. How will he come out?” Wick started pacing in front of Justice, no longer able to stand still while he waited for something to burst out of him, or become him. Justice made shifting look effortless. He didn’t know how to say what he was feeling without seeming like an inadequate mate for the Alpha Zenith. But bloody hell, he was terrified. He wasn’t made to shift.
“How will I be—?” Wick stopped speaking suddenly when Justice placed his hand on his shoulder. His Beloved’s touch ignited and relaxed him.
“Take off all your clothes now,” Justice ordered, his voice thick.
Wick frowned but he didn’t hesitate to comply. He was nervous but he held steady. A voice kept whispering he was going to be okay. Justice would get him through this.
Justice’s body reacted to Wick’s nakedness, his cock was hard and crimson, bobbing heavily in front of him. Wick’s mouth salivated. The mix of their arousals was distracting, potent amidst the warm air surrounding them. Wick wanted to lay down with Justice and be claimed before they did anything else. It felt like the most pressing issue at the moment for Wick, and nothing was ever imperative for him, but Justice stayed focused on helping him through his shift.
Wick’s insides warmed to an uncomfortable temperature; the air around him shimmered like a mirage in the Sierra. His body trembled like it was cold, but he was far from it. “Justice,” Wick whispered uncertainly.
“Don’t fight it.” Justice kneeled down on the hard earth, coaxing Wick to do the same. He leaned into him just like he’d done at that police station and the scent of his Beloved washed over him. Justice inhaled Wick’s throat, his jaw, pushed his nose against Wick’s temple before pulling back and gripping Wick’s chin in a firm hold. “Look at me, mate.”
Wick’s eyes zeroed in on Justice’s. Gorgeous eyes that looked to blue to be real. Wick saw the moment Justice’s wolf appeared. His pupils widened and the blue in his irises gleamed brighter than the Patagonia Glacier.
“Grrrrr.” Wick’s chest jerked and he gripped onto Justice’s forearms, fear consuming him. It was happening. Wick breathed heavily, the unknown petrifying him. He still didn’t know what to expect. Would it hurt? Was it a wolf, like his Beloved? Would he be able to control the beast? How could he put him back away? What if it was hideous and ran Justice off?
“Nothing will happen to you. I won’t let it,” Justice said, still holding Wick steady.
Wick could feel it stirring around inside him, more determined and alert than ever. It was hard to describe the feeling. All he knew at this point was he wanted it out.
“I will protect you.” Justice kissed Wick’s temple, momentarily distracting him. It felt so damn good. Justice’s lips were soft and sure, warm and refreshing. Wick needed more. His chest began to heave the longer he stared hungrily at his other half. He felt a carnal, almost animalistic urge to make Justice his. He’d made him wait days already. No more. Wick growled, then hissed longer and louder than he ever had. When he tried to close his mouth, deadly four-inch-long canines poked his bottom lip, making him cringe.
Wick opened his mouth again to yell his dread, but only garbled nonsense came out. Justice stood over Wick, his tight body a rigid statue. Dark brows were tilted down, and a look of sheer determination was etched all over Justice’s handsome face. He pushed an energy towards Wick that felt like a recipe of adrenaline, power, and faith all in one word that Wick was defenseless to fight.
“Shift!” Justice ordered. One word spoken in Justice’s commanding voice whipped through Wick’s mind and made his body respond.
The transformation occurred too fast for Wick to keep track. Painless and fast. Multiple things happened to him at once, but he felt Justice’s presence never waver. Wick saw long black claws elongate before his fingers transformed into a huge white and black paw. Paw? Wick brought it up to his face for a better look while he lay crouched on his knees, but he couldn’t see the same way. His vision had changed to something sharper. He saw depth, not color. Still, he didn’t have time to focus on that before his body bowed, his spine snapping and reforming as he felt soft strands tickling the skin over his back before fur sprouted all over him. He had a split-second to frown before his face shifted too. A hoarse mewl ended it all, sending Wick to the ground in an exhausted heap, dirt and grime kicking up behind him. He closed his eyes and rested.
“My god. You’re… Wick? Wick, wake up. Chadwick,” Justice boomed, yanking Wick to his feet. Well, um, four strong legs.
He took a step and stumbled, his back legs needing to catch up with how they moved in sync with the front. Wick stood in his new form, looking around, turning his heavy head up to the dark sky. Everything was different and the same. His senses were still advanced, only now they were amplified. He could hear for miles, scent for days, and could see in a new dimension. Creatures scattered away and Wick had a natural urge to chase the sound, but he didn’t. That also meant that Wick was still in control of his mind.
“Mate.”
Wick made an interesting sound, a chuffing snort, and turned to look behind him. Justice had shifted to his wolf and Wick didn’t know if it was to protect himself or if he thought it was the best way for them to communicate. It didn’t matter, Justice had stood by him and he made sure their link was still functioning before he did anything else. Wick still wasn’t sure what he was but Justice wasn’t rebuffed anymore. No, actually, his Beloved looked quite proud.
“Justice.” Wick found he liked their link even more in this form. Justice’s wolf felt like an extension of him. He could feel everything he felt. And right now, Justice was immensely impressed. “What am I?”
“You are a white Siberian Tiger. One of the few remaining and rarely seen.” The Mother’s voice filtered to them on the warm night breeze right before her serene glow appeared. “Justice’s favorite. He was always fascinated with the white tiger when he was a pup. You both ruled together many, many moons ago… now you will again.”
Justice shifted. He stood stark naked in the middle of the woods in front of Mother Nature herself with his enigma of a mate. Who happened to not only be a vampire but a shifter no one had seen before. There were plenty more species in the world but as far as Justice knew, the only shifters were wolves. Justice was trying to put it all together, trying
to understand the bigger meaning of it all.
“You look skeptical, dear.”
Justice thought he heard mild amusement in her voice but he failed to see the humor in any of this. Serious times were upon them, Justice could feel it. How was he to properly care for his mate? It would damage his animal, the alpha in him, if his mate was in need. Justice knew she could read his mind. He tried to hone in on the details of her face but she glowed too brightly for him to stare, he could only see her figure.
“I knew the time would come when the two of you were needed again.” She walked – more like glided – further up the mountain and turned to speak to him.
Justice didn’t know when he’d moved closer to the resting tiger, but he found himself stroking the thick tuft of hair on top of his head. It appeared to soothe them booth while his mate continued to make soft purring noises. Justice listened as she explained.
“The Vampire King and the Alpha Zenith were mates in another lifetime. Centuries ago. They brought peace after the first and the last species war. But this time you won’t be fighting each other. You’ll be fighting a common enemy. You’ll need to unite your kinds, and the only way for that to happen is for them to see their leaders united in a bond never imagined. No one can refute the true mate bond. It was meant for a purpose. Your road will not be easy, but I gave you exactly what you need to prevail. You’ll never be stronger than when you’re with your mate, Justice. His beast is here to protect you, nothing more. He is not a new shifting species of vampire. Fate has combined the battle warrior with the bringer of justice. Together you will make things right.”
Justice heard what she was saying and he’d heard the myth of their species mating before, but there was no confirmation of any of it. Until now. Justice heard it from the source herself.
“Wick is very special, Justice. I placed that gift inside of him when he was young. He used to venture into the woods for days at a time, searching for any trace of me. He played and chased my small critters, but he never hurt them or fed from them. He had too much respect to do that. Those animals called to him, they didn’t fear him, and I knew he was the one.”
