by Jackie Nacht
“That’s what we don’t need. Hopefully, out of sight, out of mind for them.” Knox led them to their hall.
Brendan had been a no-show all day, and they went to check on him. There, inside his room, Brendan sat on his mattress—knees up, face covered.
“Brendan?” Dalton was the first to approach.
It was then that Colin noticed Brendan was visibly shaking. Knox and Dalton sat down next to Brendan while Oren sat at the foot of the mattress.
“I’m so fucking scared.” Brendan trembled as Dalton put his arm around him. Colin came over to sit next to Oren.
“You’ll get through tonight, and we’ll all be there to help you tomorrow.” Dalton played with Brendan’s hair, trying to soothe the terrified Omega.
“What if I don’t…” Brendan’s unspoken words hung heavy in the air.
Knox, the only one that had shifted, answered for them all. “You’ll make it. It’ll be rough, but you won’t be alone doing it. Sloan and I will be right there with you, and you'll have a lot of people who care about you to take care of you after.”
Colin could hug Knox for the kind words. As far as he knew, Sloan and Knox had barely said two words to the Omegas before he came. Not just the Omegas, they hardly talked to anyone but themselves. To see that they were trying to help out his friends made him grateful for meeting these men at such a hard time in his life. Hell, maybe Sloan and Knox needed all of them too.
They stayed there for several hours, and by the time they left, there wasn’t much time left before lockdown. Colin made one more quick check on his brother, finding him doing better every day. The only problem was that he didn’t have any memory of the night of the attack. Maybe that was for the best. Colin wished he could forget it.
When walking back with Knox to their rooms, he had about ten minutes before lockdown. Colin knew that Sloan wanted to be alone, but he wanted to do one quick check on him before he had to be separated from him for the night.
Approaching the bars of Sloan’s room caused a lump to form in Colin’s throat. The fact that Sloan felt a need to lock himself in so early was upsetting. Sloan sat with his eyes closed, head resting on the wall. The man was only wearing a pair of shorts, and Colin could see the muscles strain even when Sloan was resting.
Colin was about to leave when Sloan’s eyes slid open, offering his predatory gaze. Swallowing, Colin said, “I just wanted to say goodnight to you. I love you.”
Sloan stood, strong, imposing, muscles rippling as he approached. Did he appear bigger to Colin? Gripping the bars, Colin waited until Sloan’s hands covered his.
“How you feeling?” Sloan rumbled.
“I’m fine,” Colin lied. Actually, he was feeling pretty crappy right then, but he wasn’t going to let on about that to Sloan when he would be shifting in less than thirty minutes.
“You have my music player,” Sloan asked.
Colin nodded.
“Then, go get ready for tonight.” Sloan reached through the bars and pulled his head close. Colin’s lips parted, and he closed his eyes as Sloan’s lips met his. The kiss was hard; there was little hope right then for gentle, but it was brief.
“Love you too.” Sloan turned and made his way back to the mattress. Colin ran across to his cell, his body wreaking havoc on him. He tried to get ready for bed, wearing just a pair of shorts. His body ached, his skin was tender.
To hell with it, Colin thought. He was going to the hospital. He'd never felt so horrible. He was about to leave when the emergency automatic door mechanism locked him inside.
Panic built. Colin wasn’t sure what the hell was going on. Fuck! His stomach. Bending over, he let out a moan of pain.
“Colin?” Sloan stood by the door of his room.
“Something’s…oh fuck.” Colin bent over, gripping his own bars.
“Colin!” Sloan screamed.
The pain was so intense. It felt like his skin was on fire, and his bones, gods, his bones. Colin let out a piercing scream as he felt his insides seize up on him. His stomach. Shooting pain started near his heart. His hands dropped from the bar, causing his arms to hang uselessly by his side. Colin could no longer hold himself up, and he fell onto the floor below.
Oh god oh gods, this could not be happening to him. Stark terror consumed him, but he knew what was happening. He was shifting.
Crack! “Sloooan!”
* * * *
Sloan was going out of his mind. He gripped the bars, trying to shake them loose. He couldn’t believe what was happening.
“Malach!” Sloan roared.
Footsteps came pounding toward him, then Malach and several guards stood behind him. “You need to calm down, Sloan. Right now.”
“I need to get out of here.” Sloan shook the bars again.
“Are you crazy? What the hell are you thinking?”
“Sloan!” Colin wailed from across the hall.
Sloan watched Malach stiffen and deliberately turn, approaching Colin, seeing him writhing on the ground in the throes of the beginning stages of shifting.
“How the hell did this happen?” Malach turned back, facing Sloan.
There was no time to explain. “Please, he needs me.” Sloan’s damn wolf was demanding to make his presence know. Gritting his teeth, he tried to hold it at bay just so he could get over to Colin.
Malach shook his head.
Elder Lewis came up, inspecting Colin who was crying in a fetal position on the floor of his room. The hall was getting much louder as the rest of the people started their shift.
Elder Lewis stood. “Let Sloan through.”
“But—” Malach began to protest.
“Sloan needs to help his mate. They’re both going to need each other tonight.” Elder Lewis simply stated, going for his belt, which held manual locks.
Sloan's shift was upon him. There wasn’t a damn thing he could do to stave it off. Please, I just need more time. He begged his wolf.
Guards lined the hall two deep, cattle prods in both hands from his room to Colin’s. Sloan felt his wolf giving him the big fuck you, and his insides began changing. Moaning, he held his mid-section as the guards prepared to open the door. Colin let out another pitiful wail, one that wasn’t entirely human anymore. His vocals were changing. They didn’t have much time.
The door shot open, and on instinct, Sloan roared before falling on the ground as his wolf fought him tooth and nail to be released. The sucker wanted to run, be free…Colin. They wanted Colin. Through the pain, Sloan stumbled his way across the hall. The distance seemed miles when it was really just a few yards.
Focus. Sloan stared at his goal; Colin stared back with tears welling in his cerulean eyes. Sloan crawled the remaining distance and finally made it to Colin, grabbing hold of him and lying next to him on the cold floor. The door slammed closed behind him.
“Sloan,” Colin whimpered.
“I’m here. I got you.” Sloan panted.
“Hurts so much.” Colin ended with another scream.
With the last reserve of his strength, Sloan pulled Colin to the mattress and got him as comfortable as possible for the hell he was about to go through.
“Gonna die.” Colin choked out.
“Stay with me; it’ll be over soon,” Sloan’s damn eyes were tearing up. He knew this pain. Lived it and to see the one he loved going through it was killing him.
Grabbing Colin’s hand, he held the man’s gaze with his own, murmuring nonsense words to him as the shift caused more bones to break, skin to tear. He never took his gaze off of Colin’s the whole time. Sloan couldn’t. If he would have seen the damage the shift was causing Colin, he wouldn’t have been strong enough to help him through it.
Finally, when the man was gone and Colin’s wolf remained, Sloan let out a pathetic sigh, closing his eyes as he let the pain come to a head. It could only get worse than it had been while holding it off to help Colin through his first shift.
But it didn’t. For the first time, Sloan and his wolf wor
ked as one, and he simply slid into his wolf form. They had common ground with helping their mate.
As the distant screams slowly died down and the growls echoed through the hallway, Sloan’s wolf felt at peace. Getting up, he snuffed Colin before curling around his mate, falling into a restful sleep for the rest of the night.
Chapter Nine
The next morning, there was a flurry of movement around Colin and Sloan. Colin tried to block it all out as he curled into Sloan’s side, trying to recover from shifting. He couldn’t believe he had gone into an early shift. It wasn’t even heard of.
And Sloan, glancing over, Colin thought the man looked ten times better than what he'd seen on previous days after a shift. There was no blood or bruising. No, Sloan just laid there next to Colin, stroking his hair.
However, he must look like a hot mess. Just glancing down at his body, he could see all the dark purplish and blue bruises. Scratches and cuts, the skin changing. His muscles hung loose on achy limbs. Car wreck couldn’t describe the toll that had been taken on his body the night before.
The physicians had come to his room first. Dalton popped in with a what the fuck happened to you last night face. He could only stay for a moment then went back to Brendan who had a pretty rough first shift. He really wished he could go to his friend, but getting up was not an option right now.
The surprise of the morning was seeing Elder Lewis walk through his doorway. “Morning, gentlemen.”
“Morning, sir.”
“Good morning, sir.”
A guard brought in a chair for the Elder to sit on. Clearly, the Elder was here to pay a visit.
“You two had a pretty eventful night last night. Care to tell me why you didn’t inform any of the guards or Elders that you two mated?” Elder Lewis leaned on his elbows, fingers clasped in the middle. The man was chiseled and imposing and intimidated Colin to the point he felt like a mere child in his presence.
Sloan answered while Colin’s tongue was still tied. “We didn’t know we were, sir. While uh…we were together once, there wasn’t the all-consuming attraction that we’ve heard about before.” Sloan's cheeks flushed in embarrassment.
Elder Lewis shook his head. “You two didn’t meet under normal circumstances. A mating is about taking care of your other half’s needs before your own. Sloan, Colin came to you when he just lost his pack. There wouldn’t be a heat would there?”
What Elder Lewis was telling them all made sense. He had come into the compound physically and emotionally wounded. Colin recalled the many times over the last month when Sloan had been so protective of him and made sure he was okay. Even the first full moon when he didn’t know him, he hadn't wanted him to hear the sounds of his shift.
That would also explain why he was so afraid to tell everyone. He was trying to protect Sloan from getting in trouble for being so aggressive with him during their lovemaking.
“So mating turned Colin?” Sloan asked.
“No, what turned him is that he must have bitten you and taken in your blood. It’s rare, but it has happened. When I saw the bite on Colin last night, I assumed he bit you too. Your shifter blood would have kick started his own wolf.”
Colin nodded at Elder Lewis before glancing over at Sloan. Many emotions crossed his handsome features, and Colin didn’t like any of them.
“Hey, this isn’t your fault. You didn’t know. And maybe this is a blessing in disguise. Before I came here, I was dreading the unknown. And while last night hurt like hell, I know that I got you and one of the bad shifts behind me. I’m closer to the end rather than fearfully anticipating the beginning.” Colin reached over and swept a stray strand of dark hair out of Sloan’s eyes. “Okay?”
“Okay,” Sloan choked out.
“You’ll both have to be careful of that need. Most shifters have control of their wolf by the time they mate. This need you have to take care of one another has to be balanced. You’ve proven that you’ll put yourself in harm’s way to protect your mate. Make sure others around you help you out and listen to their voice of reason.”
Oh shit. The Elder must have known Colin was sick for the last two weeks without telling anyone. Fear for Sloan had put him in danger and basically made it so everyone was sucker punched when he went through his shift.
Elder Lewis stood. “I’ll go and explain to the guards what is going on. We’ll have to make some adjustments for you two. Being mated and separated just won’t work anymore.”
Elder Lewis walked out, taking the chair with him.
Colin stared at the stone ceiling for a moment, his body aching. “What are you thinking?” he mumbled when he could no longer take the silence.
“Is this what you want?” Sloan turned and faced him. “Do you want to be with me for life, I mean?”
Doubt crept into Colin. “Do you not…"
“No!” Sloan sat up on one elbow. “I love you. I want this. It’s just you’ve been through so much.”
“And you’ve been there for me every step of the way, even when I was virtually a stranger. I love you too. I want this as well.”
“Then, it’s you and me for life?” Sloan's full lips widened in a beautiful smile.
“For life.” Colin smiled back, feeling all the love consuming him.
Sloan reached over and gently adjusted Colin onto his chest, feeling completely at peace with the man he loved.
Three days later, Colin awoke for the day to utter bliss. The aches and pains were finally gone. Thank gods for his new shifter-healing ability. But what had him moaning and groaning was the feeling of a warm mouth wrapped tightly around his cock.
“Hmm, morning,” Colin moaned.
Sloan glanced up, smiling around his cock, hazel eyes full of mischievous intent.
Colin stared at his mate as the man licked, sucked and tasted every inch of his cock. The pleasure was getting so intense. Fire raced through his body, and a guttural groan escaped Colin.
Colin thought it couldn’t get any better until he felt Sloan circle his entrance with a wet, large finger. Sloan barely penetrated him before he felt the pleasure becoming too much.
“Sloan, I’m gonna—” That was all the warning he gave Sloan before he was shooting down his lover’s throat.
Sloan kept licking and tasting his cock while he probed two more fingers inside him. His dick twitched, and he felt it trying to rally back.
Sloan removed his fingers and sat up. Lining up his cock, Sloan slid home. The lovemaking was just as rough as the first time, wild like the shifters they now were.
Colin grabbed his cock, jacking it in time to Sloan’s powerful thrusts.
Leaning down, Sloan took him in an all-out mouth-fuck. Teeth collided and bit, tongues dueled, and they captured each other’s moans.
When Sloan sat back, he gazed down at his slick cock as it went in and out of Colin’s ass.
Colin watched his lover’s savage face before he could no longer take it. With a hitch, Colin’s cock erupted, painting his stomach, chest and chin.
Sloan’s gaze followed the spray, then he leaned down and licked the cum off Colin’s chin. Afterward, he sat back up, roaring out his own release.
For sure, the whole damn hall heard since there were only bars for doors. Well, Colin hoped that somewhere down the line that could be remedied.
Sloan fell to the side, panting before he leaned over and began licking the rest of the cum off him. “Love how you taste.” Sloan’s hoarse voice ended on a groan as he gave one last lick to his stomach, eyes closed. The man was captivating.
Getting up, Sloan made his way toward the small sink and grabbed a cloth to clean them both up. Then, they got up, getting dressed for breakfast. It was their first full day back. Classes were about to resume, and now, Colin found himself in Omega and post-shifter classes. He was hoping that maybe he would get a couple of classes with Sloan.
They made their way out into the busy hallway. Dalton, Oren, Brendan and Knox were waiting for them just down the hall a bit.
Before they even got to them, Knox said, “Damn, boys. That was hot.”
Colin blushed, but Sloan growled. “Did you watch?”
Knox laughed. “Hell no, and you can thank us for stepping in and preventing others from coming down. But damn, you two sure are loud.”
Colin spotted Brendan. “How are you?”
Brendan appeared to be okay, but his puppy-dog eyes seemed to be a little haunted. “I made it.” Brendan glanced down.
That was about all you could say for your first shift. Colin knew the feeling. He'd made it. He didn’t need to elaborate about the pain or the fear. Others around them hadn’t gone through it yet, and they didn’t need to add to what they were already hearing on nights of the full moon.
“Colin!” A shout from down the hall had Colin staring into the crowd. His brother Peyton broke through, moving slowly toward them. Colin ran down the hall and hugged his brother.
“It’s so good to see you up and about,” Colin murmured into his neck.
“It’s good to be up. How are you feeling, shifter?” Colin could feel Peyton’s smile against his neck.
“Good because of you and Sloan.” Colin gave his brother one more squeeze before pulling back.
“I’m happy for you two.” Peyton walked over and embraced his brother’s mate.
A loud bang resounded down the hall, and a team of guards came in with the biggest motherfucker Colin had ever seen. The man must have been close to six foot ten. He looked young though—maybe twenty-four? Chains rattled as he walked down the hall. Colin observed the muscular man, seeing chains on his ankles and a metal belt around his lean waist that led to thick chains at each wrist. Looking up, Colin stared at the eyes. Completely wild. Shifter-feral.
Taking a step back, Colin collided with Sloan. Almost immediately, Sloan switched spots with Colin, protecting him from the crazed-looking shifter that was coming down the hall.
The shifter came even with the group before he stopped and whipped his head to the side, nose raised in the air, scenting. Sloan and Knox growled, guards intervened as the feral went after them. The guards took out their cattle prods, shocking the feral to his knees.
