Hyacinth, Scarlet - Werewolf's Way [Chronicles of the Shifter Directive 1] (Siren Publishing Epic Romance, ManLove)

by Scarlet Hyacinth

  For his part, Graham had put all his efforts in making sure their home was ready for their boy. A crib waited for the arrival of the newest family member, and he was experimenting with carving toys.

  In fact, one of his works in progress had somehow ended up on the floor, and as he walked with his mate in his arms, he tripped on it and nearly fell over. It was only his naturally excellent athletic skills that kept him from going down.

  Fortunately, he managed to get to the bed with no other incident. “What the hell?” he muttered under his breath as he placed his mate onto the mattress. “How did that get there?”

  Caelyn shrugged. “Must have fallen from the table.” Making himself comfortable on the pillows, he threw off his sandals and extended his hands at Graham. “Now come here and kiss me.”

  The toy, the room, and Eternelle itself was forgotten as Graham’s thoughts melted in the heat of Caelyn’s eyes. He crawled onto the bed, on top of Caelyn, and pressed his mouth to that of the fae.

  Moaning, Caelyn parted his lips, granting Graham entrance. His hands tangled in Graham’s hair, pulling hard, and his erection nudged against Graham’s hip. The scent of his arousal was like the sweetest of perfumes, making Graham drunk with lust and wild with desire.

  As he thrust his tongue into Caelyn’s mouth, Graham tore at his mate’s clothing, needing skin to skin. Since he was already naked, his mate had the advantage, but that was all right since Graham enjoyed the challenge of unwrapping the lovely present that was his mate. Neither of them was too willing to make the sacrifice of pulling away from each other, so Caelyn’s clothes were the ones that had to go, one way or another. Graham decided for the quick and efficient approach. Using his claws, he tore the seams keeping the robes in place on both sides of Caelyn’s body. After that, a few tugs had the material yielding to Graham’s efforts. Discarding the remnants of the robes, Graham progressed toward Caelyn’s underclothes and dealt with them in a similar fashion.

  At last, he had his mate naked underneath him. He broke the kiss half because he had to breathe, but mostly out of the sudden need to observe his mate. Of course, he was not disappointed. No matter how many times he and Caelyn came together, the sprite still made Graham’s heart race. He was so beautiful, with his lovely blond hair mussed, his lips slightly swollen from Graham’s kisses, and the light blue of his eyes darkening in desire. His nipples had already pebbled, as if begging for attention, and his slender cock stood rigid, already leaking copious amounts of fluid.

  Graham didn’t even know what to touch first, but in the end, he went with something he had wanted to do the entire day. He pressed his lips to Caelyn’s swollen belly, an expression of both his desire for his mate, but also the awe and gratitude he felt every day, just upon waking up at Caelyn’s side.

  Once again, Caelyn caressed his hair, their passion bubbling under the surface of Graham’s gentleness. The sprite’s grip on Graham’s locks tightened as he swirled his tongue over Caelyn’s belly button. As Caelyn’s pregnancy advanced, his body was becoming even more sensitive to Graham’s caresses, and Graham looked forward to exploiting that, again and again.

  Of course, Graham could only keep things platonic for so long. The aroma of Caelyn’s pre-cum practically made his wolf pant and howl in distressed want. On impulse, Graham kissed over Caelyn’s chest and tongued his mate’s nipples, while his fist engulfed Caelyn’s erection.

  Caelyn released a choked gasp that could have been an attempt to utter Graham’s name, or something else entirely. But between them, passion didn’t have to be vocalized. Already, Caelyn’s pleasure was swamping Graham, bursting inside him through their connection.

  As he moved his hand up and down Caelyn’s dick, it felt strangely as if he was touching himself, and yet not. In fact, his needy prick throbbed, and if it had been able to speak, it would have likely screamed at him to get on with it.

  “I think I agree,” Caelyn panted out, having obviously overheard his thought.

  “Mmmm…” Graham released Caelyn’s nipple from his mouth with a wet pop. “You would. But you know what? It’s not up to you.”

  Before Caelyn could try to say anything else, Graham crawled down his body and took his mate’s dick in his mouth. If Caelyn had wanted to protest, that certainly shut him up. Of course, it shut Graham up, too, but that was quite all right since he had every intention of letting his body and their bond do the talking.

  Swimming in Caelyn’s rapture, Graham bobbed his head up and down the sprite’s prick. Caelyn didn’t delay in responding to his ministrations, thrusting his dick in and out of Graham’s mouth. The pure, uncomplicated pleasure swept them away in a vicious circle of lust, fueling the bright flame of their passion.

  But it was not enough. Graham would have loved to make Caelyn come just by using his mouth, but he’d run out of patience. He needed his mate, now. He had to be inside Caelyn. Otherwise… Gods, Graham couldn’t even think about what would happen.

  Tearing his mouth away from Caelyn’s dick, Graham reached for the nightstand, intending to find the oil. The bottle landed in his hand before he could do so, courtesy of Caelyn’s own urgency. Normally, Graham would have cautioned Caelyn against using his powers, but he knew that, at times like these, Caelyn couldn’t help it. Not to mention that it definitely came in handy.

  As Caelyn spread his legs, Graham opened the bottle and poured a generous amount in his palm. The oil had been an unexpected gift from the priestesses, and Graham found it much better than any lubricant he and Caelyn had used before. The slick liquid heated against his palm, and Graham reached for Caelyn’s opening, slowly sliding two fingers inside.

  His mate’s body swallowed the digits right up, now eager for Graham, almost trained for it. Graham couldn’t help a small groan. He’d never have thought that he’d be jealous of his own fingers, but there it was.

  “You don’t need to be jealous,” Caelyn whispered, each word punctuated by a gasp and a whimper. “Come on, Graham.”

  Graham bravely fought Caelyn’s lure for as long as he could. He thrust his fingers in and out of Caelyn’s ass, stretching his mate, making sure Caelyn wouldn’t be in any way hurt. Naturally, he took advantage of the opportunity to rub Caelyn’s prostate, but that worked against him since the rush of Caelyn’s bliss sabotaged Graham’s every attempt to keep his calm.

  In the end, Graham’s need to claim his mate could no longer be contained. He removed his fingers from Caelyn’s ass and used more oil to slick up his dick. Lifting his mate’s legs on his shoulders, Graham positioned his cock against his mate’s anus and slowly breached the tight ring of muscle.

  The volcanic heat of Caelyn’s ass almost made him come right then and there. It didn’t help that he could feel the onslaught of pure nirvana that flowed through their bond, originating from Caelyn. Through some miracle, Graham managed to hold back. As he bottomed out inside Caelyn, he stopped, giving both himself and Sari a few seconds to get used to the sensations.

  But Caelyn had never been very patient when it came to intercourse. Clutching Graham’s shoulders, the sprite bit his lower lip in that way that Graham found so endearing and begged, “Please, beloved, fuck me.”

  The sound of those filthy words coming from Caelyn’s pretty lips snapped the final threads of Graham’s already-frayed control. With a snarl, he pulled out of his mate’s channel and thrust back in, so hard he nearly dislodged Caelyn’s hold on him. Caelyn didn’t seem to mind at all, though. He buried his fingernails into Graham’s flesh and hissed, “Yes, just like that. More.”

  Graham gave Caelyn what he demanded. He started a quick, hard pace, one bordering on violent. In the past few months, he’d grown a little less fearful that he’d crush Caelyn during intercourse, and they were both enjoying the results of this realization. Caelyn moved with him, so very open to everything Graham offered, so uninhibited in his pleasure. He was pure sin and pure beauty, and Graham couldn’t get enough.

  They came together in a dance of passion that made
both their souls and their bodies connect at the deepest level. There was nothing in this world quite like this, nothing that could even compare. Graham wanted to get deeper inside his mate, so that they would become one and never be separated.

  As their pleasure spiraled higher and higher, Graham knew he could not prolong this for much longer. With his beautiful mate writhing under him, he had no hope to contain the desperate urge to claim, to mark what was his. Fortunately, he didn’t have to. Caelyn tilted his head, offering himself to Graham. Instantly, Graham reacted, burying his fangs in Caelyn’s flesh.

  The moment Caelyn’s sweet blood hit Graham’s taste buds, his whole world, no, he himself melted inside Caelyn, within their bond. That connection expanded to engulf everything, from their breaths, their thoughts, their memories, to their identities, and for all Graham knew, the entire universe. All the pain Graham still kept bottled in, the frustration that he couldn’t help his people, his concern for his brother and his pack came out, free once more. Similarly, Caelyn’s melancholy, his questions, and his enduring wish to have done more echoed inside Graham’s mind. But stronger than all of this was the love, so beautiful and bright that it seemed like a second sun. It was a love emanating from their connection, but also from the new life growing inside Caelyn, the baby they both treasured so much.

  Alas, nothing quite so perfect could last forever. The sensations finally began to die down, and Graham found himself drifting back to reality. His dick slid out of the snug hold of Caelyn’s ass. A part of Graham regretted it, but he was more than compensated for it when Caelyn cuddled close to him.

  For a few moments, they just lay there, enjoying the quiet and the warm peacefulness of the afterglow. Oddly, the air seemed to glow in all the colors of the rainbow. It might have been that Graham’s brain had been short-circuited by the climax, but somehow, he doubted it. Stranger things had happened, and Caelyn was more than capable of doing that, and more.

  Before Graham could inquiry into the oddity of it, Caelyn broke the silence. “You know, Sari thinks you’re handsome,” he whispered in Graham’s ear.

  Graham grunted. “I don’t care. There’s only one guy whose appreciation I’m interested in, and I’m looking at him.”

  “Is that right?” Caelyn laughed, crawling on top of Graham. He kissed Graham’s nose and brushed a gust of hot air over his ear. “Then how come you were parading naked in front of Sari?”

  Graham chuckled and rolled them over, climbing on top of Caelyn once more. “Maybe it wasn’t him my display was meant for.”

  Caelyn arched a brow. “Who else would have been the target? I was the only other person there, and I’ve already seen everything you have to show.”

  Graham couldn’t help it. He burst into scandalized laughter. “So you’re bored with me. Is that it?”

  “Well, you have been a bit lax about tending to my needs.” Caelyn grinned, clearly showing that he wasn’t serious.

  “Oh dear.” Graham did his best to look concerned, but probably failed abysmally. “That’s an unforgivable mistake.” Shaking his head, he gave Caelyn a glance full of mock regret and started to pull away. “I’m so ashamed of myself. I don’t even know how I could begin to fix such a serious oversight.”

  Caelyn grabbed his arm and stopped him, wrapping a leg around Graham’s leg. “I’m sure you can figure something out.”

  Growling, Graham fell upon his mate once again, and he spent the rest of the day proving to Caelyn that he was more than qualified to tend to every need he had. He had remained aware of the things he’d left behind and sacrificed, but in the end, it had been worth it. He had found his way, his true path in life, by Caelyn’s side, and he would never leave it.

  * * * *

  Sari knelt in front of the monument and brushed his hands over the engraved surface. Closing his eyes, he sought the answers that often came to him whenever he visited The Obelisk of Eternelle. “What am I to do?” he asked his ancestors. “Why am I so restless? What’s going to happen?”

  Voices seemed to whisper in his ear, images flashing through his mind’s eye. They made no sense to him now, and likely, they never would, but in those images, Sari felt the powers he had come here looking for.

  The obelisk was said to hold the restless spirits of princes Talrasar and Kaelezrin. Sari didn’t know if that was true, and his mother had never given him a straight answer, but regardless, he was always inexorably drawn to this place, like a moth to the flame.

  At times, he thought he could understand what the voices said, but more often than not, it seemed like a fool’s errand. How could he, with his limited comprehension, possibly grasp what messages his ancestors might be trying to transmit? If they were even doing so, that was, and Sari wasn’t completely insane.

  Today, the obelisk didn’t provide him with a real answer, not that Sari expected it to. Still, when he opened his eyes, he felt a little calmer, more prepared to face whatever happened. And then, he saw it. At the base of the monument sat a toy carved out of wood. How strange. Sari hadn’t seen it there when he’d first arrived. He was pretty sure it belonged to Graham and Caelyn, since Graham had been crafting them for their still unborn child. But what could it be doing here?

  Sari reached for the item and took it in his hand. This particular toy was actually a depiction of a howling wolf. There was a button on the animal’s belly, but when Sari pressed it, nothing happened. He guessed Graham mustn’t have finished the mechanism yet. He didn’t know what he expected to find, but there was no mysterious answer in the wooden eyes of the wolf. Even so, Sari found himself pocketing the item. He’d apologize to Caelyn and Graham the next time he came to visit. Maybe he would explain. He didn’t think they would mind anyway.

  Nodding to himself, Sari took one last look at the monument and said, “Thank you. I’ll take good care of your gift, and I won’t fail you.”

  And as he walked away from the obelisk, Sari thought he distinctly heard the words, “No. You won’t.”

  * * * *

  “They’re really dead, aren’t they? Those bastards killed them.”

  Raleigh clenched his fist around his gun, fighting back helpless tears as he turned toward Caroline. “I’m sorry, Carol. It’s all over the paranormal grapevine. Prince Shtamakarein Tersain murdered Caelyn and Graham.”

  Unlike him, Caroline couldn’t suppress her tears. She fell into his arms, sobbing, her tears wetting his shirt. Raleigh just held her, knowing that nothing he could ever say would make her feel better.

  In front of him, his adoptive parents stepped out of the shadows, followed by Caroline’s father. His mother was still wearing her cook apron, which clashed horribly with the gun in her hand. “We’ll make them pay, Carol,” she promised. “I promise you that.”

  Raleigh closed his eyes and remembered Caelyn’s smiling face, his easy laughter and honest affection. He remembered the way Graham would wrap a possessive arm around Caelyn’s waist and how the werewolf had grown closer to Raleigh’s family as time passed.

  The couple had never realized that Raleigh and the others knew the truth about their identities and had their own stakes in the paranormal world. It hadn’t been very hard to figure out, since Caelyn’s rejection of Prince Shtamakarein was common knowledge. The Connors had connections with numerous sources that had kept them informed, without Caelyn and Graham being able to figure it out.

  In spite of the fact that there had always been those secrets between them, Raleigh had cared about the two deeply. Their love had been like a flame that encouraged Raleigh to believe that he could find someone, too, one day. And now, it had been extinguished by that monster.

  Raleigh didn’t say anything else to his family. In his mind, though, he made a promise of his own, a promise to his dead friends. He wouldn’t let the Dog-Catcher get away with this. Shtamakarein Tersain would regret the day he ever messed with Caelyn Sutharlainn and Graham Powers.

  End of Book 1: Werewolf's Way

  To be continued in

&n
bsp; Book 2: Draechen's Mate

  WWW.SCARLETHYACINTH.WEBS.COM

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  A native Romanian, Scarlet was born in 1986 and grew up an avid fan of Karl May and Jules Verne, reading fantasy stories and adventure. Later, when she was out of fantasy stories to read, she delved into her mother’s collection of books and, of course, stumbled onto romance.

  As a writer though, Scarlet Hyacinth was born one sunny summer day, when a dear friend of hers—the same friend who introduced her to GLBT fiction—proposed they start writing a story of their own. As it turns out, the two friends never did finish that particular story, but Scarlet discovered she had a knack for writing and ended up starting to write individually. And so, between working on her dissertation, studying for exams, and reading yaoi manga, she started writing the Kaldor Saga. Along the way, Scarlet met a lot of wonderful people who supported her, and in the end, she found her story a home and, in the process, fulfilled a beautiful dream.

  For all titles by Scarlet Hyacinth, please visit

  www.bookstrand.com/scarlet-hyacinth

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com