by Stormy Glenn
“I’ll take that.” Zus held out a small white envelope, sealing it tight after Bay dropped the bullet in. “Silver is poisonous to shifters.”
Jace gasped. “That man shot Stefan knowing he was using silver bullets?”
“Ezra Craigen and his boys have been a thorn in my side since I took over as alpha after our parents passed away.” Mikhail grimaced as he rubbed the back of his neck. “If he had his way, my brothers and I never would have been born.”
“Why?”
“Simple, Jace,” Zus said. “He wants power.”
“It’s more than that,” Mikhail said. “My grandfather didn’t have any male heirs, and the alpha line won’t pass down to a female. So, when my mother came of age, there was a lot of competition for her hand. Whoever married her would take over as alpha.”
“I thought you said shifters mated when they found their forever mates?” Jace asked.
“Not everyone is lucky enough to find their forever mates, Jace,” Zus said. “Very few of us do in fact. Most simply find someone they are compatible with and mate with them. The bond isn’t as strong as the one you have with a forever mate, but there is one.”
“Ezra tried to win the hand of our mother,” Mikhail said. “He almost succeeded, too, but our father came through town before they could mate. Mom took one look at him and knew he was her forever mate. She refused to accept any other bids for her hand and mated my father.”
“As you can imagine,” Zus continued the story, “Ezra was pissed. Not only did he lose our mother, who was a beautiful woman, but he lost his opportunity to become alpha.”
“But he went on to mate someone else, didn’t he?” Jace asked. “He has sons.”
“He did, but he never forgave my parents for mating. He’s caused problems ever since.” Mikhail’s face paled for a moment when his eyes met Zus’s. “We suspect that he had something to do with our parents’ deaths but we could never prove it.”
Zus’s upper lip curled back as he growled. He knew for a fact that Ezra had something to do with the death of his parents. There might not be any evidence of it, but he still knew. Ezra was determined to take the pride he felt should have been his to rule, and he didn’t care who he had to kill to do it. The attack on the house and Stefan’s shooting proved that just as much as the death of his parents.
“Then why not kick him out of the pride?”
If only it was that easy. Zus’s hands clenched, renewed anger flowing freely through him. “Ezra has never done anything big enough to give us a reason to kick him out, always skating the edge of the law. He has to break one of our more serious laws before I can banish him.”
Jace’s eyebrows shot up as he waved his hand toward Stefan’s still body. “Will that do it?”
“Yep.” Mikhail’s jaw clenched. “I just have to wait until next week when we have our monthly pride meeting. I can present the evidence then and banish Ezra and his boys from the pride, and the sooner the better. Now that Ezra knows about you all, he won’t stop until he’s either banished or dead.”
“Why? What does that have to do with us?” Jace asked. “Why did he try and force us to leave?”
“A mated alpha is a better leader,” Zus replied for his brother. “He fights harder and makes better decisions because he wants to provide a safe, happy place for his mate, and by extension, the rest of the pride.”
Jace frowned as he looked between the two brothers. “That sounds pretty good. Why would Ezra be upset about it?”
“Because if I find my mate,” Mikhail said, “he doesn’t have a chance in hell of disrupting the pride and taking over, and he knows it. My family has a reputation for creating the strongest pride around for our mates. It’s been that way for centuries.”
“I guess that means I’ll be pretty damn safe now that I’ve decided to stick around.”
Zus glanced over when he felt Rue stiffen next to him. Was his mate having second thoughts about staying? He grabbed Rue’s arm and drew him to the corner of the room, away from the others.
“You are not leaving me, mate.”
Rue’s brow furrowed. “No.” The man’s voice rose with each word as if he was offended by Zus’s question. Hurt shined in his mocha-brown eyes. “Why would you say that?”
“You seemed upset that Jace had decided to stick around.”
“Because Bay won’t leave until Stefan is okay and that might take awhile. We have a lot of stuff to pack up, clients to inform. Not to mention transferring all of our business stuff. Bay usually handles all of the billing stuff, and if he’s not there…”
Zus blew out a relieved breath. “Okay, I get it, babe. There’s a lot to do to get you and your friends here.”
Rue’s hair flopped around his forehead when he nodded. Zus smiled as he reached up and pushed it back, tucking the brown strands behind Rue’s ear. “I suppose it would be easier to move your business here if you had a place to move it to.”
“Stefan told Bay that you guys could build us a home office attached to the house.” Rue seemed nervous as if he was afraid he might be speaking out of turn.
Zus smoothed Rue’s hair back again then slid his hand back even further, wrapping it around the nape of Rue’s neck. “Then I guess it’s a good thing we work in construction, isn’t it?”
Rue’s smile was as bright as the morning sun. “Yeah.”
“I like the idea of you working from home, always here when I want you.” Zus pulled Rue close to whisper in his ear. What he had to say was only for his mate’s ears. “I could come home from work and fuck your tight little ass whenever I wanted and you’d be here waiting for me, wouldn’t you?”
Rue’s eyes rounded as if he had never even considered that possibility. He gulped then licked his lips. Desire flashed in his eyes. “Yeah.”
Zus inhaled deeply, the scent of Rue’s arousal thick in the air around him. “Would you like that?”
Rue whimpered.
Zus slid his hand down Rue’s back to the small of his back and then to his butt. He brushed his hand down the middle of Rue’s ass, pressing on the butt plug he had put there earlier.
Had it just been this morning?
Rue’s breathing hitched, the man leaning into Zus’s body even as he pushed his ass out into Zus’s hand.
“You need so beautifully, love.” Zus tapped the butt plug a couple of times, hard enough to give Rue something to think about until they could be alone together again.
“Jace,” Bay called out, gaining Zus’s attention. “We’re not done here.”
Jace swung back around and stepped up to the table. “What do you need?”
“We have to clean the wound so that an infection doesn’t set in.” Bay dapped at the wound to wipe away the fresh blood welling up since he took the bullet out. “An infection can kill him just as fast as a bullet.”
“Stefan just needs to shift,” Mikhail said. “Now that the bullet is out, he shouldn’t have any problem.”
“Then why isn’t he shifting?” Bay snapped.
Zus glanced between Mikhail and Bay when his brother’s steely eyes narrowed at Bay. He wasn’t sure exactly what was going on between the two men, but obviously he had missed something.
He knew his brother was getting pissed when he saw Mikhail’s nostrils flare. “Maybe he doesn’t think he has a reason to shift,” Mikhail said.
“But you just said he won’t heal if he doesn’t shift,” Bay insisted.
Mikhail’s features tightened. “Nope.”
“He’ll die!”
Zus’s heart ached at the tear that trickled down Mikhail’s cheek. “I know.”
Zus lifted his head when he heard Mikhail walk into the living room several hours later. He held his breath as he stared at his older brother, waiting to hear whether his baby brother was alive or dead. Zus really didn’t know what he would do if Stefan didn’t make it.
“He shifted a moment ago.”
Elation filled Zus. He clenched his hand around a fistful of Ru
e’s hair and pressed his lips against the side of the man’s head, his eyes closing briefly.
Stefan was alive.
Mikhail walked over to the overstuffed chair his mate was curled up in. He scooped the man up in his arms. “I’m taking my mate to bed. I suggest the rest of you do the same. We could all use a good night’s sleep. I don’t think this thing with Ezra is over, and we need to be on our toes.”
Zus couldn’t think of anything he wanted to do more other than get a quick look at his brother, just to see for himself that Stefan was okay. He lifted Rue up in his arms because the man was out cold, and carried him toward the dining room.
He grinned when he peeked inside the room and saw Bay stretched out on the table with Stefan. Both men were awake, talking in voices too low for Zus to hear. That was enough for Zus. He could talk to Stefan more in the morning after everyone got a good night’s sleep.
Chapter Ten
“Time to wake up, mate.”
Rue groaned and pushed at the hand that swatted at his ass. He wasn’t ready to get up yet. He was having the most wonderful dram about this gorgeous green-eyed man that made his toes curl in the most delightful way. A niggle at the back of his consciousness said yesterday was crazy, and he wasn’t ready to face today quite yet. He needed to stay in his dream world.
“Rueben, don’t make me repeat myself.”
Rue jumped when he got spanked again and rolled to his side, rubbing his sore ass. That swat had hurt. But god, his ass was warming right up and his cock had taken a definite interest in being spanked again.
“Shower time, love.”
Rue’s head popped up.
Shower time?
His eyes followed Zus as the sexy and confident man strutted toward the bathroom door. And the man did strut. He had a right to. Rue could probably bounce an entire roll of quarters off the man’s tight rounded ass.
The moment the gorgeous body he was drooling over disappeared from sight, Rue forgot all about being tired and the chaos of yesterday. All he could think about was their morning routine. He rolled out of bed and hurried into the bathroom, skidding to a halt just as soon as he saw the man from his dreams standing there with a stern look on his face and his arms crossed over his naked chest.
Rue swallowed hard.
Oh man, he was in trouble.
“Hands.”
Rue thrust both hands out. Zus grabbed them by the wrist and pulled Rue into the shower, securing his hands above his head. As soon as Rue’s hands were restrained over his head, Zus grabbed a washcloth and a bottle of body wash. He quickly added some soap to the washcloth then began washing Rue’s body.
Restrained as he was, Rue could truly appreciate the large shower with its many showerheads. There were three on each side of the shower stall, and two rainfall ones in the ceiling. Rue didn’t even have to tilt his head back to keep the shower spray from hitting him in the face. Zus had adjusted them so that they hit well below his neck.
“You made me repeat myself this morning, Rue.”
Rue hung his head. He could hear the disappointment in Zus’s voice, and it ate at his soul. “I’m sorry, mate.”
“I know you are, but you still have to be punished. You will never learn what I expect out of you if I allow you to get away with that type of behavior.”
“No, mate.” Rue wasn’t sure if he was elated or scared, but his skin was tingling, his breath short. His cock was hard, jutting out from his hairless groin, leaking pre-cum.
“I think we’re going to practice a little orgasm denial.”
Rue almost wept.
“If you can be a good boy, I might let you come sometime today. Otherwise, it could be awhile.”
Rue gulped. “Yes, mate.”
Rue winced when Zus’s fingers grabbed his chin and pulled it up. He felt shaky and uncertain when Zus’s dark-green eyes locked onto his. He truly did not know if he could keep from coming if Zus continued to touch him. The man’s touch was like gold.
“Zus, I don’t—” Rue swallowed hard. “I don’t know if I can keep from coming.”
“You will.” Zus’s look wasn’t stern, but it definitely brooked no argument. He had a lot more faith in Rue than Rue did. Rue was pretty sure he was going to explode just from being denied an orgasm. “You will because you want to please me and this will please me.”
Rue shuddered as he tried to rein in his need to orgasm. He did want to please Zus. He wanted to please the man more than he wanted to climax.
But it was a close thing.
“Now, turn around so I can wash your hair.”
Rue turned. He shuddered again when Zus’s fingers threaded through his hair and started scrubbing. This was a different kind of pleasure, luckily one that didn’t make him want to come. He wanted to stretch his sore muscles and then cuddle into Zus’s side, sleep the day away.
“Close your eyes, pet.”
Warm water cascaded down Rue’s face as Zus rinsed him off. When he was all clean, Zus jiggled the butt plug in his ass, pushing it in and out until Rue’s legs began to shake and he started considering just how upset Zus might be if he came.
Rue cried out when Zus pulled the butt plug out. He had been so close, right on the edge of what he was sure would have been a earth-shattering orgasm. The smirk on Zus’s face said he knew it, too.
Zus released Rue’s hands only to restrain them behind his back, locking the clip between the two cuffs together. “Bend over.”
Rue shuddered with need, knowing what was coming. His legs shook so hard he could barely stay standing as he bent at the waist and spread his legs wide. He swayed toward the wall and rested his head against the hard tile. The pleasure skating along his skin started to seep into his body until there wasn’t a cell that wasn’t vibrating.
He whimpered.
“On your knees, pet.”
Oh god.
Rue entire body started to tingle when he dropped to his knees, his eyes narrowing in on the hard cock bouncing in front of his face. He knew what was expected of him. He even looked forward to it.
But he also knew that his torture wasn’t over, not by a long shot. His suspicion was confirmed when Zus attached the bottom of the dildo in his ass to the rubber mat suctioned to the floor of the shower stall.
Rue didn’t have a single clue how he was going to survive much less keep from coming. Every movement sent the dildo deeper into his ass. Each breath made Rue’s inner muscles clench around the thick rubber dick.
“Suck me, pet.”
Rue’s eyes snapped up, meeting Zus’s eyes. Every thought he had about his own need to come faded away when he saw the lust burning in Zus’s eyes. All he could think about was pleasing his mate.
The man’s arousal, along with the clear liquid seeping from his cock, filled Rue’s lungs, making his mouth water for just one taste. With a feral smile, Rue swallowed Zus’s straining erection, wrapping his lips around the flared head of the man’s cock. The taste of pre-cum—the flavor tangy and hot—exploded on his tongue, and he knew he wanted more.
“Jesus, baby.” Zus’s eyes rolled, his head smacking back against the wall tiles.
Rue grinned around the cock stretching his lips to their limit. He felt the hard length pulse when he swallowed, and did it again as he bobbed his head forward and back.
As he sucked and licked and swallowed, Rue flexed his hips, driving the dildo into his ass. He knew he shouldn’t. He knew it would send him closer to disobeying Zus. He just couldn’t help it. It was physically impossible for him not to move.
He ached almost to the point of pain. Just like the day before, his hands were restrained behind his back. His ass was full. His mouth was full. He was pleasuring his mate with not only his mouth but his obedient behavior.
Rue was in submissive heaven.
Again.
It was becoming increasing clear to him that Zus had the ability to keep him in submissive heaven for the rest of his days. The man was just about perfect in Rue’s eyes.
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Rue watched the wildfire in the man’s eyes, saw the lust that filled them as Rue fought to please the man who was quickly becoming important to him.
Zus’s fingers glided through Rue’s hair, massaging his scalp as Rue sucked and licked, swallowing the man’s pre-cum. “Close, baby. Real close.”
Rue slowly pushed the cock to the back of his throat, further still, letting his throat muscles relax. He pulled back, sucking on the head, his tongue working magic around the helmet, circling the bundle of nerves. Rue sucked the engorged head of Zus’s cock. He massaged Zus’s prick with his tongue, and his lips stretched as he began to bob his head faster and faster, sucking in until his cheeks concaved.
“Gonna…come, pet.” Zus groaned.
Another groan rumbled through Zus right before his hips thrust forward, driving his cock deep into Rue’s mouth, causing Rue’s body to scream with pleasure, with an overload of sensations that made Rue whimper around the man’s cock.
“Rueben!” Zus shouted as warm liquid quickly filled Rue’s mouth. Zus’s hips hitched a few times. Rue swallowed greedily, savoring the salty taste of his of the cream filling his mouth in great spurts. Rue didn’t release him right away. Instead, he cleaned every drop before allowing the softening shaft to leave his mouth.
He leaned his head against Zus’s leg and just breathed, the need to come rearing up now that he had pleasured his mate to competition. It might have even been worse.
“Look at me, Rue.”
Swallowing hard, Rue tilted his head back and looked up into the satisfied eyes of his mate. The approval and pleasure in Zus’s deep-green eyes took Rue’s breath away. That was the look he wanted, the look he craved. It made everything in his world complete.
Rue’s eyes widened with awareness when Zus held up a small black device in his hand. He would never survive. “Mate, I—”
“Come.”
Rue screamed as the vibrator inside of the dildo deep in his ass hit an all-time high. Every inch of his body vibrated and short-circuited. He could feel it all the way down to his toes. His thigh muscles quivered as his balls drew so tight to Rue’s body that they actually hurt.
