by Shea Balik
Bullets slammed into the door right where he had been a millisecond before. Refusing to think about how close he’d just come to dying – again – Kylo crawled his way over to a wall and crouched there for a moment as he caught his breath.
His view of the inside of the house had been brief when he’d first come in, but he knew exactly where he needed to go and how to get there. The only thing Kylo wasn’t sure of, was if his body would cooperate.
Pushing that negative thought from his mind, he duck walked until he was on the other side of the long wall that separated a hallway from the main living room. Knowing it was do or die time, and Kylo wasn’t about to die, not after everything he’d been through. He literally dove out from behind the wall and rolled to where a small boy, who couldn’t be more than five or six, sat at his mother’s side sobbing for her to please wake up.
Bullets tore into the wall he’d just abandoned and Kylo knew he didn’t have much time. Scooping the little boy up, he dashed for a wall on the other side of the room, praying it would give him enough cover so he could find a way to breathe again.
Kylo pushed the little boy down to the ground, blanketing him with his own body as he gritted his teeth while he was sure flames licked up the right side of his body. He knew there was no fire, but that didn’t stop the sensation from overwhelming him.
How was he going to get them out of there safely? No way was his body going to allow him to carry, even the slim weight, of this boy across the room, racing in front of bullets and out the door. At this point, Kylo would be lucky not to pass out.
But even with him trying to deal with his own agonizing pain, Kylo did his best to keep the little boy calm. “It’s okay. I’m going to keep you safe.” His voice was strained to say the least, but Kylo felt he’d done a decent job at sounding confident. Right?
“I just need you to be quiet, okay?” It was probably expecting too much from the kid, and with all the gunfire, not entirely necessary. But if no one knew they were there, it was better to not alert anyone of their presence.
Big brown eyes looked up at Kylo. The dark-haired child nodded slowly. Considering there was a stream of well-deserved tears, Kylo doubted the boy would be able to remain quiet for long.
He pointed to a large chair that was placed on the edge of the living room yet allowing room behind it to give the illusion of a hallway. “Do you see that chair?”
The little boy nodded. “It’s Alpha Benjamin’s chair,” the kid whispered.
“I need us to run as fast as we can to it. When we get there, I want you to curl up into a ball on the floor behind it, okay?” When the boy once more nodded, Kylo prayed this would work.
He got them both up into a crouch. Taking the kid’s hand in his, he quietly said, “Run.”
This time no bullets followed them. It wasn’t until they’d slid behind the chair, that Kylo kind of wished there had been. Because, instead, a man walked right up to them with an evil grin on his face and a gun pointed right at them.
Fuck.
Pushing the little boy as close to the back of the chair as possible, Kylo shielded him as best he could for what would undoubtedly be their last moments on earth.
Glaring at the man, Kylo found a surge of bravery he hadn’t even known he had. “Takes a big man to kill a kid with a gun,” he spat out in disgust. “What’s a matter? You too afraid to fight me on your own?”
Rage filled the man’s face as his finger went to the trigger. “The effort would be wasted on people like you. You don’t deserve the chance to fight back.” Then he let out a harsh laugh. “Not that you ever could.”
Kylo could see his finger move just slightly. The loud bang of a gun going off had him sending his love out into the world, hoping his mate would feel it. Except…
Kylo opened eyes he hadn’t even realized he’d closed when he didn’t feel a bullet enter his body. Several feet away, the man who had been about to kill him was crumbled on the floor with a hole in his head.
Then a roar that had every damn hair on his body standing on end echoed through the room. He glanced to the door to find Saber standing there, looking like he was about to shred anyone who got in his way. Next to him, Chadwick stood with a smirk on his face, gun at his side.
“You’re welcome,” Chadwick said to Kylo. Then he jerked his head toward the front door. “Our men have the front secure. You might want to get that kid out of here. He’s already seen enough bloodshed.” Then he jerked his head toward mate. “Saber is about to end this battle and no kid should have to see that.”
Kylo did his best to get up as quickly as he could, which wasn’t easy with every nerve ending on his body throbbing in agony. Holding the little boy’s hand, he headed out the front door where a group of sea lions were huddled together. He’d expected the kid to run to them, but he refused to leave Kylo’s side.
Kneeling and forcing himself not to scream as pain sliced through his right side, he looked the boy in the eye. “My name is Kylo. Can you tell me your name?”
“Harry,” he whispered so softly Kylo nearly didn’t hear him. Then, a bit louder Harry said, “Are you gonna be my new daddy?”
With all he’d been through since they’d arrived, Kylo barely managed to keep himself going. But hearing Harry ask that, his eyes rolled up inside his head a heartbeat before he hit the ground.
After that, he had no clue what happened.
CHAPTER 16
For the past hour Yosi had been pacing the length of the hanger. How it started, he wasn’t quite sure, but it was on his fifth trip back to the front that he’d realized what he’d been doing.
“Kylo is fine,” Jazz said to him on what Yosi was fairly sure was his twentieth trip. “You talked to him on video chat. You could see for yourself he wasn’t hurt.”
When Yosi reached the large opening, he stepped out far enough that he could see the sky in all directions, like he did every time. Then he turned back around and headed inside to repeat the process.
“I know. But I also could see the pronounced lines around his eyes and mouth. He’s in pain.” His mate had tried to hide it, but Yosi couldn’t be sure if that had been for his benefit or for those who were traveling with him.
“Okay, then let’s talk about why you came to Miracle in the first place,” Wilder said.
That had Yosi pausing in his never-ending pacing. Turning on his heel, he rushed to Jazz’s side. “I totally forgot. I’m so sorry.”
“About what?” Jazz asked.
Suddenly, all the words he’d practiced over, and over again on his way to Miracle to speak with Jazz flew out of his head. Unable to come up with a gentle way to break the news, Yosi blurted it out. “You’re my brother.”
Jazz’s jaw dropped and his eyes grew huge as he stared at Yosi like he’d lost his damn mind. It wasn’t far from the truth right now. His mate needed him and where was Yosi? Sitting, well… pacing, in a hanger instead of by Kylo’s side where he belonged.
The past three days had given him way too much time to think. After berating himself over, and over again, Yosi had concluded that Kylo had been right. It was time for him to stop hiding from the world. Sure, he’d still take precautions since there were far too many leaders of the world who still wanted him to hack into other government computers and would do anything to get their hands on him.
But, as long as they didn’t announce their plans, they’d be relatively safe, especially with Rus in charge of their security. He didn’t necessarily want to jet set all over the world, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t take a few vacations or help other shifters who were still being hunted.
“I’m your what now?” Jazz asked as if he were waiting for the punchline.
“My father, Nebo Penlev, found his mate after I’d left home. In our prickle it was common for those who hadn’t found their mates to find someone they could love, or at least be friends with, and reproduce.” Yosi was glad that he’d left the prickle before he’d had to do the same.
“H
is mate was a deer shifter.” When Yosi said that last part, Jazz had gasped. “Three days after their child was born, someone killed her and kidnapped the baby.”
Jazz’s head was moving back and forth even as he sank into his mate’s embrace. “I’ve got you, brown eyes,” Wilder whispered as he nuzzled against Jazz’s neck.
The drone of engines reached his ears and as much as Yosi wanted to help his brother, he needed to see his mate. “I’m sorry, I need to…”
But Wilder was already waving him off. “It’s fine. Jazz here is going to need some time to process this anyway. Go see your mate.”
Before he left, Yosi reached out a hand and placed it on Jazz’s arm. “I promise, when this is all over, you and I will have a long talk.”
Not waiting for a response, Yosi raced out of the hanger to see the second and third plane that day land. The first had come in a few hours earlier. Those on board had already been transported to the island via boat. Since the entire remaining colony had decided to relocate to Yosi’s island, the boat was already docked a short distance away, awaiting the rest of their new residents.
Saber, who had taken the Council’s plane to Australia the moment he’d heard what was happening, was transporting those who didn’t fit on Yosi’s second plane. Racing up to the stairs that were being lowered, Yosi barely was able to stop himself from running up them to take his mate into his arms.
If it wasn’t Kylo first to get off that plane, Yosi might change his mind and charge up those steps anyway. Thankfully, he didn’t have to do that as the most beautiful sight he’d ever laid eyes on stood at the top of those stairs. A smile shone down at him that lit up Yosi’s world.
“Kylo,” he whispered as his mate threw himself into Yosi’s arms. That his mate had needed to hold him as much as Yosi needed to hold his mate, apparently not even caring that he was probably in pain by doing so, eased something within Yosi’s soul.
“I love you,” Kylo said as he hugged Yosi tight. “I’m so sorry I said those things to you. You are the most amazing person in the world and deserve so much better than me.”
Yosi wasn’t so sure he agreed, but he appreciated the words anyway. “I need you,” he told Kylo as his whole body was reacting to the feel and scent of his mate. “Like now.”
A deep chuckle erupted from just over Kylo’s shoulder. Baz stood there with a little boy in his arms. “Go ahead. I’ll just go show Harry the helicopter.”
The sweet little boy with his light brown hair and brown eyes looked at Baz as if he were a magician or something. “You have a helicopter?” he asked with his eyes taking up most of his face. “Can I really see it?”
Before Yosi could ask who Harry was, Kylo had taken his hand and started dragging him toward the hanger. “I hope there’s an office or a bathroom in this place,” he muttered as he started lightly running.
“What has come over you?” Yosi asked. First the hug that he damn well knew had to have hurt his mate. Then he’s running, or at least slowly jogging? “Are your wounds healed?” They almost had to be for his mate to be acting this way.
“Nope.” Kylo had zeroed in on a door at the back of the hanger. When he opened it, he said, “Jackpot.”
Yosi was dragged into a small office that had a desk, chair, and filing cabinet with little room to move, but Kylo was right. It was all they needed.
Before he knew it, his mate had stripped, the red gouges along his right side still evident. “Aren’t you hurting?” Yosi wasn’t quite sure why his mate was acting as if he were perfectly fine.
“Yes, but not enough to stop me from feeling you inside of me.” Then Kylo presented him with a single use packet of lube. “Now, take off those clothes and fuck your mate like you mean it.”
The thing was, Yosi had a million questions for Kylo. At the same time, he and his porcupine desperately needed to reconnect with their mate. His mind had been bouncing back and forth between which was more important when Kylo sat on the desk, leaned back against the surface and planted his feet on the edge, showing off his tantalizing pucker.
All thoughts of anything but sinking deep into that tight body disappeared. His clothes were off in record time. Bending at the waist, Yosi licked a stripe that went from the base of Kylo’s cock to the tip. When he was done, he reversed direction, but didn’t stop until he’d reached that star shaped entrance he’d been dreaming about since he met his mate.
The earthiness of Kylo’s scent and taste was enough to drive Yosi crazy. His cock was dripping as he continued to lick and nibble his way around his mate’s hole.
“That feels…I…Please Yosi…I need…right there…” Kylo’s babbling was so damn fun. He loved the fact that he could make his mate nearly incoherent.
He grinned as he placed a kiss at the very center of his pucker. It was time to see if he could get rid of the ‘nearly,’ and turn his mate inside out.
Stiffening his tongue, he pushed the tip inside of Kylo.
“I…Oh…My…What…” He was down to only one word at a time, but Yosi wanted his mate out of his damn mind.
With his hands on the cheeks of his mate’s perfectly round ass, Yosi used his thumbs along the ring of muscle to open him up further, allowing Yosi to drive his tongue in even further.
“Wh…Ughn…Yo…” Much better.
Yosi was grinning as he ate his mate’s ass. If he wasn’t so fucking desperate to claim his mate after being parted for so long, he might have done this for hours just to see how many times he could make Kylo come.
With one last nip along the rim of his hole, Yosi stood back up and had to grab ahold of the base of his dick to stop from coming as he stared at his gorgeous mate. Grey eyes had turned black as his pupils were completely blown. Back arched as if trying to entice Yosi back to what he’d been doing. Body glistening with sweat as he thrashed upon the surface of the desk.
He was like a wet dream come to life. No. He was so much better than that. Kylo was his mate. His everything.
Slicking up his cock first, Yosi then pushed two fingers inside his mate as he leaned down and took those lush lips with his own in a searing kiss that had them both moaning like porn stars. Already on edge, Yosi quickly slid in another finger.
His other hand went to Kylo’s length and stroked him several times. Slim hips pumped in time with his hand as his fingers worked quickly to stretch the muscles guarding Kylo’s channel.
“Now,” Kylo shouted. “I need you now.”
Not one to make his mate wait, at least not this time, Yosi tugged his fingers free and replaced them with the tip of his cock. The sight of their bodies about to join was mesmerizing. It was even better as Yosi slowly pushed in.
The way Kylo’s body swallowed him up was so damn perfect it had Yosi willing the moment to never end. But it did, and as great as sliding all the way into his mate had been, being buried to the hilt was even better.
The tight heat enveloped him, sending his blood to boiling as he struggled to give his mate time to adjust to him. When he felt those sweet muscles relax, Yosi pulled back before thrusting in once again.
He changed his angle on the next thrust and managed to peg Kylo’s prostate. His mate screamed out, his body arching, his eyes wide.
Perfect.
That was a word he would always think of when it came to his mate. Kylo was everything Yosi could have hoped for and so much more.
“Please,” Kylo begged as his hands went to the edge of the desk and held on as his head thrashed from side to side.
Yosi placed his own hands on the edge of the desk right next to his mate’s. He used the leverage to plow into his mate. “I’m going to make sure you feel me for days,” he promised.
“Yessss,” Kylo hissed out as he started to meet each of Yosi’s thrusts.
When his canines dropped, Yosi was already starting to tumble over into the abyss. He leaned over his mate and sank his teeth into his mating mark.
Their cocks erupted at the same time. His filling his mate’s body,
while Kylo coated their abdomens, marking them both.
It was perfect. Just like his mate.
Doing his best to not lay on top of his mate so he didn’t cause him any pain, Yosi’s brain began to come back online as he remembered how Kylo was able to do things that usually he couldn’t. Even having sex like this should have been difficult for him.
“Are you going to tell me how you aren’t in agonizing pain right now?” Yosi asked as he straightened up and slowly pulled out of his mate’s body.
Kylo grinned. “Honestly? I don’t know. I mean, the pain is still there.” He shook his head. “Actually, it’s really bad, but I realized something as I was sitting on the floor, doing my best to protect Harry, with a gun pointed at my head.”
Yosi’s heart stopped as he heard about the gun. No one had mentioned that part before.
“I think it kind of put things in perspective, you know? Yeah, I hurt. The burns are healing but there’s no way to know if I will ever be back to my old self.” He shrugged as he sat up on the desk and stared at Yosi with so much love in his grey eyes. “I’m not saying it will always be easy to ignore, or even do all the things I want to do, but I’m going to push through. If nothing else, it might just help me to find a way to cope better.”
Yosi wasn’t sure he agreed. The idea of his mate in pain was a hard pill to swallow. But if it was what Kylo wanted, he would do his best to support his mate.
They started to get dressed but there was one more question he had before they headed out. “Why did Baz say that he needed to distract Harry?”
Kylo had just finished buttoning up his shirt. A grin spread across his face as he once more gazed into Yosi’s eyes. “He’s our son.”
Spots danced before Yosi’s eyes as he struggled to take in a breath. His mate’s laughter helped to calm the panic that had risen within him, but he was far from back to normal when Kylo said, “Yeah, I fainted when Harry asked if I was going to be his new dad.”
