by Zoe Perdita
“Colder than I expected,” Felan said and scooped some on his fingers, slipping it over the wound on Ari’s side.
Ari sucked in a breath. Felan was right. He hadn’t realized his skin was so flushed until the coolness of the salve soaked into him. He hoped he wasn’t running a fever. But he didn’t feel sick with anything but lust. “That’s enough.”
Felan hummed and put a bandage over it, smoothing out the tape with his clean hand. “Are you sure we shouldn’t rest tonight?”
Ari wiped the salve from his fingers and stared at Felan, his breath catching in his throat. “Is that what you want to do? Rest?”
“No,” the alpha said and grabbed him by the wrist, leaning forward until Ari had no choice but to fall back into the mattress, Felan hovering over him. The heat from his body felt like standing next to a furnace.
“Good,” Ari grunted and wrapped a thigh around Felan’s legs, hitching his hips up to meet his lover, and caught Felan’s mouth in a scorching kiss.
Felan moaned, and let his chest rest gently on Ari’s, but his arms and legs took most of his weight. “I found your present. Who was it for?”
“What if I said you, dog?” Ari asked before he captured the alpha’s lips again, sucking on Felan’s bottom lip until he growled in pleasure.
“Is that what you want?” Felan asked when Ari leaned back.
He knew that Felan would do it. Let Ari claim him the way the alpha had claimed Ari all those years ago. The way Ari had topped Felan at some other point. The intimate details of those nights had been lost in a blur, along with the rest of their relationship, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t make new memories.
They’d start tonight.
Ari answered Felan’s question by kissing him again. He reached between them, his fingers gliding over the alpha’s taut stomach, closer to his thick cock. “I want this.”
Felan growled. His mouth scorching as his tongue twisted with Ari’s own.
His body was going to burn up into nothing if they kept this up, and he was okay with that. Ari’s fingers twisted in the back of Felan’s hair, while his other hand grabbed the heat between the alpha’s legs. It twitched and throbbed in his grasp, and he smiled against Felan’s lips.
Good thing they weren’t wearing anything. He was too impatient to undress himself or anyone else.
Ari’s mouth felt sticky and red when Felan pulled back, chest heaving, and eyes bright with need.
“On your back, alpha,” Ari said and nudged Felan with his knee.
Felan raised an eyebrow, but did as he was asked without complaint. At least he caught on quickly and didn’t need to question Ari. That’s how it’d been before, he recalled, and his skin flushed with that memory. They never needed words to communicate in moments like this. Just actions and expressions. He’d never had another lover like that. Someone who could read him with a glance.
He missed it more than he’d realized.
The bag with the lube crinkled under Felan’s left shoulder. Ari rolled over and grabbed it, smirking as he freed the bottle. The rest of the contents went on the nightstand that was more of a small table. Bottle open, he squirted some in his hands and scooted down the bed, straddling Felan’s thighs.
“That won’t hurt your side?” Felan asked, his voice thick and husky. His hands crept up Ari’s legs to his hips, the touch hot.
“As long as you’re gentle it won’t,” Ari said. The cut on his side wasn’t deep, and the stitches and herbs helped. Plus, there was no way he could talk his body into backing out now.
His cock was already stiffening, curling toward his belly. The desire was so thick on the air he breathed it in. Smelled it on Felan and himself.
“May I?” Felan asked as Ari slipped the slick over the alpha’s cock, hard for the second time that night.
Ari nodded and leaned forward, letting the alpha feel his way to Ari’s ass. The coolness that coated his fingers slipped over his feverish flesh, and he focused on the look of hunger in Felan’s eyes.
The alpha’s forefinger found his entrance and nudged inside.
Ari bit his lip, stifling a moan. “It’s been a while,” he admitted.
“Same for me,” Felan said and eased it in slowly, taking his time to massaged the tight ring of muscle.
Ari breathed.
Relaxed.
Leaned back into the digit that probed him.
Felan’s chest rose and fell in time with Ari’s breath, quickening with each nudge.
“Another,” Ari said, voice thick.
The alpha pressed a second one inside, spreading them apart, and Ari groaned.
Waited for a third.
“Hurry. I want you inside me,” he grumbled.
“I am,” Felan said, his voice far too light for the moment.
“You know what I mean,” Ari said and felt another finger pinch inside.
Spread him wider—wide enough for the alpha’s cock.
“Ready?” Felan asked, his fingers popping free.
Ari couldn’t do anything but nod. His voice caught in his throat, and a drop of sweat trickled down his back. Felan’s cock was still slick with lube, and he slipped over it. The alpha spread Ari’s cheeks, opening him wide, as Ari sat back.
The blunt head split him in two, and he let out a gurgled moan as it filled him.
Felan kept a hold of his hips, easing him onto it gently, letting him get used to the intrusion. It really had been a long time—more time than Ari wanted to admit.
His ass ate it up, squeezed it, and the slick heat inside him was almost too much. If he moved, he was sure he’d come far too quickly after all that ass play.
When he peeked at Felan, the alpha’s eyes were just as lost in lust as Ari felt.
“Can you move?”
Ari licked his lips.
“I want it deeper. To the hilt,” Ari said as he moved up, then back as far as he could go, until the tip hit that bundle of nerves, and he jolted at the sudden pleasure that filled him.
Felan’s fingers dug into his hips so hard they felt like they’d bruise, but they grounded him. Kept Ari from losing his goddamn mind. How could he have forgotten what this was like? What Felan was like as a lover? It was like his mind closed a door on their past and refused to let him open it.
He wished he hadn’t been so fucking stubborn.
Had learned to move forward like this earlier.
The alpha wasn’t forcing anything. Pushing Ari to go faster. He never did. He was just a constant. Reminding Ari that he was loved, and he needed to know that now more than ever.
“You can join in,” Ari managed, working himself into a rhythm.
Felan groaned, his hips bucking up to meet Ari’s ass.
“I love—oh,” Felan said.
Ari moaned, moving down to meet Felan’s hips—his cock. The way it throbbed inside him, so hot and slick. The friction built with every moment. His balls swelled and ached. He was so full. So fucking close. “I know. I want . . . . Deeper.”
He wasn’t sure if Felan nodded or not. The room was too dark, and the shadows played tricks on his eyes. But the alpha’s full length thrust into him, and Ari let out a choked cry as the orgasm slammed into him. He rode it out as his cock spurted across Felan’s chest, and Ari trembled, ready to collapse, but not until the alpha got his fill.
“Fuck, Ari,” Felan growled and pounded inside him.
The heat of his come filled Ari’s ass, slick and so fucking perfect that Ari whimpered. His body jolted—the aftershocks rocketing through every nerve.
How had he lived so long without this?
He wasn’t going to do it again, that was for damn sure.
Ari didn’t remember climbing off Felan’s lap or laying down, but there he was, and the alpha had a wet cloth and wiped up their messes from Ari’s stomach, ass and thighs.
“Good. Didn’t want to be sticky in the morning,” Ari managed, his voice thick with sleep.
Felan chuckled and kissed his temple. “
Me neither.”
Then the alpha wrapped him in warmth, and Ari’s mind drifted, peacefully, into oblivion.
12
He should’ve stayed up and kept watch. Felan knew that, but the need for sleep tugged at his body and mind. His eyes stung for it, and Ari looked so perfectly peaceful that it was difficult not to give in and pass out next to him.
If the hunters found them, at least they would both die happy.
The sound of footsteps clomping through the woods woke him, and Felan sniffed the air, caught the hint of magic and shifter, and wrinkled his nose. It was familiar, but his mind was still half asleep. If not for the wound, he probably would’ve realized it was Alwen and Sharp before they burst through the door and caught him with one leg in his boxers.
At least he’d put on his boxers at that point.
However, Ari was still in bed, naked under the covers.
The look the wolf and seer threw him said they knew what had happened. Alwen smiled while Sharp looked torn between congratulatory and annoyed.
Alwen nudged Sharp’s shoulder. “You owe me dinner, big guy. Don’t cheap out. I want steak and expensive booze.”
Sharp grumbled under his breath, then his mouth snagged into a smile that pulled on his scars. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“Did you find out anything or were you just dropping in for a visit?” Felan asked, keeping the growl that threatened his lips inside. This was Sharp’s territory, regardless of how much the alpha wanted to protect his naked and vulnerable mate right then.
“We should wake up Ari for this since it’s about him,” Seth said, glancing toward the bed.
“I’m awake. Talk,” Ari grumbled from under the blankets. He didn’t even poke his head out, and Felan imagined it was because Ari’s cheeks were bright red.
Alwen raised an eyebrow and shrugged. “He’s so cute when he’s embarrassed. Anyway, we went by Ari’s house. It’s been tossed, but they didn’t break everything. I don’t think they found what they were looking for. Ian Black got attacked yesterday, and that was a mess, but Jin Yue is taking care of the clean up over there.”
“What about Tyler Harrison?” Felan asked. He hadn’t seen Tyler since that evening, when Felan had asked for his help. If the hunters knew he was friends with Felan, they might target him too. Ari was right. No one they knew was safe.
Bile rose in the back of his throat.
Sharp shook his head. “We haven’t looked for him, but if something happened, Quinn would’ve told someone.”
The unicorn would’ve told Davis or Ken first, not the police, but Felan kept that thought to himself and nodded. Not having a cell phone was more annoying than he’d first realized.
“Any idea who the buyer is?” Ari asked.
Alwen and Sharp exchanged a look.
“No, and we don’t think they’ll call the hunters off until they get what they want,” Sharp said, crossing his arms.
Felan figured as much. So had Ari.
“Which means we need to lure them out into the open so they reveal themselves,” Alwen said.
Ari threw back the covers and shook his head. His hair stood on end, and his eyes shone bright in the morning light. “No. We don’t need to do anything. You and Connor find a way to clear my name. I hired the Black Wolves for the dangerous part. If you want to do something, lend me your phone for now. That’s all I need. If you can figure out who their contact is in the department, that’ll give us a clue who they are.”
Felan kept his expression neutral, because that wasn’t what they’d discussed the night before. For one, Ari hadn’t hired the Black Wolves for anything. But he knew how Ari felt. Even if the healer didn’t want to admit it, he had a big heart and didn’t want to put anyone in danger. And getting them involved further did just that.
Sharp snorted. “The first one on the scene was Benson, but, according to Hunt, he hasn’t been out from behind a desk in years. He asked the captain for permission to investigate that case out of the blue.”
Alwen nodded. “Yeah, that was weird. And he questioned the hunters too. But if we get IA involved, it’ll turn into a huge scandal, and we’ll become pariahs in the department.”
The color drained from Ari’s face, and he nodded slowly. “Then don’t bother. Figure out who he might be connected to, and we’ll let Ian and his cronies deal with it.”
Alwen’s violet eyes watched Ari for a long moment before he sighed. “Will do. Feels more like we work for everyone but the actual police anymore.”
“Sometimes justice is bigger than the police,” Sharp grumbled.
Alwen threw him a weary grin and nodded. “I know, and it has so much less paperwork.” Then he turned to Ari, and his expression cleared. “Whatever happens, be careful, Ari. We all need you around too.”
Sharp furrowed his brows at his partner as they left.
Felan waited for the rumble of their car engine to fade before he looked at his mate again.
Ari stood up and put a hand to his side.
Felan’s chest clenched. He took a breath and adjusted his glasses. He hadn’t hurt Ari last night, right? If he had he doubted Ari would admit it, stubborn jackass. “What are you hiding?”
Ari shook his head. “Nothing. Not from you. You know what I’m hiding from them.”
“You looked like you’d seen a ghost when they said the name of the detective they think is involved,” Felan said and watched as Ari strolled into the bathroom to relieve himself.
“The name is familiar, but it doesn’t make sense. Not really. If it is—never mind. We can’t clear this up based on mere suspicion. Let’s eat and call Ian, then we can—”
The glass to the window over the bed shattered and cut off whatever Ari was about to say.
“Get down,” Felan growled and bent into his alpha form, claws growing from his fingers as they morphed into paws. He hadn’t bothered to take off his glasses, and he hoped they didn’t get smashed. Thankfully, he hadn’t dressed in more than his boxers yet.
Ari popped his head out of the bathroom a moment later. He was on the ground, belly and chin pressed flat against the wood, his eyes wide with a mixture of terror and fury. Felan had only seen the look once before, and his heart stung to think of it now.
“Hunters?” he mouthed.
Felan nodded his great head and pushed his fallen glasses along the floor to Ari. If anyone would keep them safe, it’d be his mate.
“Not how I wanted to start the day,” Ari grumbled under the blast of another gunshot.
Felan didn’t waste time trying to figure out how the hunters found them. He guessed they followed Alwen or Sharp. It was the only way. They had to stay downwind of Sharp the whole time too so he didn’t sniff them out which wasn’t easy.
That meant these were professionals, not those fox thieves or even the kids who broke into Ari’s shop. Felan needed to end this as quickly as he could to avoid Ari being hurt or—he didn’t want to think about the other possible outcome.
The healer managed to pull on some clothes while crouched low, and Felan lifted his lips into a snarl.
He smelled them now.
At least four unless more were hiding downwind. The strong scent of silver stung his nose, brought pricks of pain to his eyes. It always did that, reminding him of that old injury, as if the glasses didn’t do it enough already.
Not being able to speak while in that form was a problem, but he hoped Ari had enough sense to hide.
Felan motioned his head toward the door, and Ari jerked a thumb toward the bathroom.
“Hidden exit,” he whispered.
What the hell was Ari talking about? The bathroom was nothing more than a lean to with an interior door. There wasn’t even a window, but sure enough, when he looked inside, Ari pointed at a small door, about the size for a child, with a bar over the top of it. It was tucked behind the towel rack and easy to miss.
The hinges opened inward and the door led straight into an overgrown bush. At least it wasn’t cov
ered in thorns.
Feet charged toward them, and a loud thud banged into the door.
The alpha surged, rippled under his flesh. There was no way he could hold back when his mate was so close especially since Felan knew who these bastards were after.
He pushed his wet nose into Ari’s hand and nudged him behind the tub, then turned and slipped out the door. He hoped Ari managed to grab Alwen’s phone, but he hadn’t noticed it in the healer’s hands.
Even more reason to finish this quickly.
The bushes surrounded the perimeter of the cabin, and Felan moved, peering between the oversized leaves and sniffing the air in an effort to pinpoint all the hunters. He saw a couple near the door, crouched on either side, but he knew they were being covered by someone out in the woods. If he went after them, no doubt he’d get shot.
Perhaps fatally.
He couldn’t do that to Ari.
But that meant he’d have to sneak into the woods and take out the farthest hunter first, leaving Ari defenseless inside. His gut twisted, but there was no other choice.
Dammit.
He slunk around to the back and charged into the woods. The scent of humans and silver overwhelmed that of the soil and fresh growth.
The first hunter crouched a good hundred feet off, ducked behind a tree with a crossbow in his hands that was aimed at the cabin. He was a small man with lines of age on his face. He chewed on a toothpick like he wished it were something more.
Felan watched him for a good minute before he attacked. If he’d had time to do it properly, he’d have watched the hunter for at least three. His leg was still a bit stiff, and he hadn’t fought anyone in this form (or any form, really) in far too long. He’d been complacent, insisting to his pack and himself that keeping out of the way of danger was better than engaging it unnecessarily. While that may have been true to a point it bit him in the ass now.
The only thing he could do was act.
He leapt from the ferns and latched his jaws around the hunter’s shoulder and neck. He bit until he heard the crack of bone and felt the muscle tear under the weight of his mighty teeth.
