by Marie Medina
“You gonna strip for me?” Vadik said as he began unbuttoning his shirt.
“Afterwards,” Asmund said.
Vadik took his clothes off slowly, enjoying watching the king admire him. That admiration only grew when Vadik transformed. He stalked forward and let his mate stroke his ears and neck. His head came up to the king’s chest, and he had an idea as Asmund ran a hand down his back. He went down on his belly and then turned to look at Asmund, gesturing with his nose.
Asmund stopped and looked at him, running both hands over his back now. “You want me to scratch you here?”
Vadik moved his head back and forth, hoping his meaning came through. Asmund frowned and looked at him. “You want me to climb on?” he said, sounding unsure. The king stepped back and eyed him. “You’re huge, and I’m sure you’re strong, but—”
Vadik cut him off with a growl.
Asmund shuddered a little, which pleased Vadik very much. “All right, just stop doing that.” He straddled Vadik and held to the fur on his back. “Won’t be fun doing this if my cock is painfully hard.”
Vadik chuckled to himself and shook his body a bit to make sure his mate was secure. Then he took off, delighting in the way Asmund yelped in surprise and then gripped him even tighter. They moved across the field and up a hillside, Asmund laughing and then shouting excitedly as they barreled back down. When Vadik finally came to a stop a few minutes later, Asmund slid off of him and lay on the grass beside him, petting him absently with one hand.
“Never imagined doing something like that a week ago,” Asmund said.
Vadik nuzzled Asmund’s neck and licked his face, making the king laugh. The laughter faded to a contented smile when Vadik changed back and stretched out beside him.
Vadik drew Asmund into his arms. “I believe you were implying that hearing me growl gets your cock hard.” He slid his hand down to the king’s waist, letting it rest just above his cock.
“Pretty much everything about you does that,” Asmund said, leaning in to bring their lips together.
Vadik growled against the man’s mouth and was rewarded with a hungry kiss and demanding fingers tangling in his hair.
Epilogue
The Wedding, Two Months Later
Clad in light green robes with an impressive train, Asmund strode down the aisle, his hands clasped behind his back and his wedding party following behind him. Jared was at his right and Erik at his left. Dane and three of Asmund’s cousins walked behind them, and they all took their place in a line at Asmund’s side once they’d reached the dais at the end of the ballroom. Jared grabbed the end of his train and pulled it out of the way quickly, taking a few seconds to straighten it, and Asmund was silently grateful his cousin hadn’t fussed with it too much, as he’d teasingly threatened to do. Asmund turned and waited for Vadik to enter and walk down the aisle next. They’d debated which one of them would walk first, and it had been settled when Asmund had said he wanted to enjoy seeing everyone admire his handsome wolf.
The doors opened a second time, and Vadik walked in. Asmund felt his body tighten at the sight. Vadik wore rich brown leather from head to toe, and though the clothes weren’t as form-fitting as the ones he’d been wearing the day they’d met, the sight still took Asmund’s breath away. His thick, dark hair had been pulled back and braided. Asmund had never seen it bound before, and though he loved the wildness of his mate’s hair, he had to admit Vadik looked extremely handsome. His own wedding party was made up of shifters, and they had all changed to their wolf forms to accompany him down the aisle.
The guests all turned to watch them, mouthing things to each other and openly admiring the wolves. For the briefest of moments, the three delegates sent by the Sons of Fenrir didn’t look painfully bored. One of them even stood up a little straighter and bowed his head slightly, as if acknowledging the passing of something sacred. The king glanced to the pack Alpha on the front row, and he enjoyed seeing Gregor beam with pride. Asmund smiled at his mate, who winked at him as he stepped onto the dais. The ceremony began, and the service seemed to pass almost too quickly as Asmund held hands with his mate and exchanged vows with him. Every moment of it was precious, and he wanted to remember all of it. The kiss seemed too short as well, although the reaction of the guests told Asmund it had lasted much longer than any kiss at a royal wedding ever had before. They walked back down the aisle quickly, the wolves running ahead of them and clearing a path out of the room.
“I quite like our new honor guard,” Asmund said with a smile. “Any chance of recruiting them?”
“Tell me you want them, and I’ll make it happen,” Vadik said, stopping and taking Asmund’s face in his hands once they’d reached the courtyard where the reception was being held.
“Shouldn’t that be my line? I’m the one who’s king, after all.”
“You are, but I’m your mate. A king has many powers, but a mate?” He stroked Asmund’s cheeks with his thumbs. “For a truly devoted mate, nothing is impossible.”
“I see,” Asmund said softly. “So I need only make a request?”
“Of course.” Vadik took his hand and kissed it as they moved toward the head table, where a very large cake waited for them.
“Then I do have one.”
They stopped before the cake as people began to join them. “And what is that?” Vadik asked.
“The next time I think I know what’s best for me better than you do, be just as determined to convince me otherwise.”
Vadik chuckled and drew him close. “Shall I use the same methods?” he said against Asmund’s ear.
“Oh, you better.” He drew back and kissed his new husband, wishing the embrace could go on but knowing they had an expectant crowd around them. “I can’t wait for our honeymoon. I wish you’d tell me where we’re going.”
Vadik smiled down at him. “A cabin in the middle of nowhere. Not a soul around but you and me.”
Asmund laughed. “Perfect. Just like you.”
Vadik laughed, too, leading Asmund over to the cake and picking up the knife. “We’ll see if you say that after two weeks alone with me.”
Asmund held a plate while Vadik cut the first slice. “And how do you think you’ll feel after two weeks alone with me?” he asked as he lifted a bite-sized piece of cake to the shifter’s mouth.
Vadik turned to him, smiling, and growled as he took the cake, and both of Asmund’s fingers, into his mouth.
Asmund felt his face heat as Vadik licked his fingers, but he somehow managed to eat the bit of cake Vadik offered to him without choking.
“I’m going to get you for that,” he whispered to Vadik.
The wolf smiled at him. “I’m counting on it.”
The End
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Other Books by Marie Medina:
www.evernightpublishing.com/marie-medina
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A Muse to Live For by Katherine Wyvern
Balls for Breakfast by Louise Collins
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BONUS SAMPLE CHAPTER
CATCHING HIS FOX
The Year of Suns, 3
Marie Medina
Copyright © 2017
Chapter One
Valladora
3155, The Year of Suns
Byron adjusted his bag on his shoulder and hurried toward the stables. As he did so, he glanced around in every direction. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see his parents, but he had stayed away a long time. Telling Vane he was going to pursue his mate was one thing—his brother would keep it a secret, at least for a time. They understood each other, given how Vane had been forced to be without his mate as well for even longer than Byron had. Byron felt too nervous to go into the subject in depth with anyone. He just wanted to get on the road, to start his journey toward Kit and whatever future lay ahead of them. With his mother clo
se to giving birth, he hadn’t expected them to be traveling at all, let alone to actually be at Vane’s castle. He managed to get his bag secured to his favorite black stallion, Saint, and was just about to mount when he heard a throat being cleared behind him.
“What did you do? Grab a quick bottle of blood and head right back out here?” his mother asked.
Byron turned to look at Evane, noting her crossed arms and the rhythm of her foot tapping in the dirt. “I changed clothes and drank some blood. Cleaned up a bit. I had a brief chat with Arion and Vane, too.”
Evane came closer. “And where are you off to in such a hurry? Not back off with His Majesty, I hope. He’ll wear you out.”
Byron tilted his head to look down into her eyes. “I’m not going back to King Jareth. I only lingered as long as I did because I still had some things to think about.”
“Things, hmmm?” She arched one dark brow at him.
“I daresay you already know, given that look in your eyes.”
She smiled, her expression wistful. “A guess. Seeing Vane and Arion has you thinking about your own mate, I’d wager. If they could work things out, there’s hope for anyone, hmmm?”
Byron nodded, as there was no point in denying the truth. “Yes. I’m going to go tell him he’s my mate. And see what happens.” He shifted his weight and ran one hand through his hair. “I might be back pretty quickly.”
Her smile disappeared. “You fear rejection so much?”
“He’s terrified of vampires. He’s also nineteen and might not like men.”
“That often doesn’t matter with mates. Age or sexual preference are only obstacles if you let them be so. The call of the mate bond is strong, even for humans and shifters.”
“Yeah, but there’s no getting around the other problem.”
“I take it you know why he’s scared of vampires? And you know where he is?” A breeze whipped through the stable, and she tucked a few stands of hair away, her quick movements showing her agitation. “We certainly don’t know any of those things. He might as well live on one of the moons, for all we know about him.”
Guilt stabbed at him. He knew his parents worried out of love. “Maggie’s ward. Kit. Over in Gregor’s dominion.”
Evane hesitated, her brows coming together. “But surely he’s over all of that! That madman wasn’t even a real vampire. Just a lunatic. Gregor has said before that Kit’s friendly with him.”
“He has?” Since Byron had kept his mate’s identity a secret from everyone but Maggie until today, the subject had never come up with Gregor. Byron had avoided it, in fact, as he’d avoided the topic in general with everyone else.
“Yes. I mean, Kit’s not crazy about other vampires, but he’s polite, according to Gregor. At least last I heard.” She fixed him with a stern look, recrossing her arms. “It’s been a while since I asked about him, since I had no clue he was my son’s mate.”
Byron thought about apologizing then, but the gesture seemed empty. “He probably trusts Gregor because he saved him.”
“It’s been several years since that tragedy, Byron. Your chances may be much better than you think at this point. He’s grown up and may feel differently.” She shrugged. “I don’t know. Have you been talking to Maggie? What does she say?”
“We’ve written to each other. She gives me general updates and answers some of my questions.”
“But she doesn’t encourage you? Say anything about your chances?”
Byron shook his head. “No. She’s … I don’t know. Stoic, I guess. She seems to think things will work out if they’re meant to. She says being fated mates is no guarantee of anything. That I shouldn’t force it any more than I should abandon hope.” He tried to smile. “You know, the kind of advice that doesn’t help you at all.”
“What does he look like? Is he a red fox?”
“Yes, he shifts into a red fox. And he has red hair and green eyes. Fair skin. He was tall and thin the last time I saw him. And now he’s nineteen, which is of age for humans.” Vampires were still considered minors until they turned twenty-one, but most humans were considered adults at eighteen, often marrying even earlier than that.
“Was that what you were waiting for, him to turn a certain age? Or are you just telling yourself that?”
Though the comment irritated him, Byron came forward and hugged Evane to him. “Mother, I tell myself a lot of things every day. And it’s driving me crazy.”
Evane wrapped her arms around him, as if sensing his pain and struggle. “I don’t mean to push. I’m just frustrated. Don’t mind my teasing. I didn’t mean to upset you either. I know this must be hard.” She hugged him as close as her swollen stomach would allow. “Tell me what you need. Your father and I will do anything. Your brothers, too. All of us.”
“That’s just it.” He stepped back but kept hold of her hands. “I have to be the one who does this. Not you or Father. Not my brothers or their mates. Or Maggie or Gregor. If I can’t even look Kit in the eye and tell him the truth, how can I hope for anything else?”
“But it’s not always easy. Human or shifter, it doesn’t matter. Anyone who isn’t a vampire might react negatively to being a vampire’s fated mate, especially if he’ll be wary of you biting him. You’ll have to have some plan for approaching him. You can’t just walk up to him and announce it.”
Byron chuckled. “I’ll be so nervous I might not be able to talk at all.”
“Oh, shut up. You’re very charming.”
Byron laughed again. “Did you just tell me to shut up? Been years since you said that to any of us.”
She drew her hands away and reached up to cup his face. “Just go. Quit thinking and start doing. If it doesn’t work out, come home. You’re only thirty-five, and this boy is not your only chance at happiness.”
Byron struggled to believe that, even though he knew many vampires—the king and queen included—were happy with mates they hadn’t been fated to by the gods. He patted his mother’s right hand and turned back to Saint, placing one hand on the saddle horn. “You’ll tell Father?”
“Yes. Once you’ve gotten a bit of a start. Hard to say how he might react.”
“He might be angry.”
“Maybe, but it’s your life. Your mate.” She shrugged one shoulder. “Doesn’t mean everyone isn’t going to have opinions, but that’s all they are. I think he’ll be glad you’re taking action, at least.”
Byron mounted his horse and took the reins. “I’ll write to Vane if there’s anything to report. Will you stay here until the baby comes?”
She braced her back with one hand. “Yes. The very idea of getting on a horse or being tossed around in a carriage makes every inch of me ache. I’m staying here.” She smiled. “Arion’s so sweet. He seems excited about having a little one around.” She blinked, her expression changing a bit. “Did they tell you they set a date for their matehood ceremony? It’s another reason we’re staying. I don’t want to miss it in case the baby is stubborn, the way you were.”
“What?”
She actually rolled her eyes at him, rubbing her stomach. “You were two weeks late. I thought I would burst. So, yes, stubborn.”
“Not at all. I just loved you so much.” He grinned at her.
She seemed to be holding back a biting retort as she screwed her lips up. Relaxing and giving a shrug, she finally said, “Well, you get back here if you can. It’s on the last day of the month.”
“I’ll do my best.” Byron thought about Vane and Arion and all the craziness they’d gone through to get their happy ending. Things weren’t perfect, he knew, but they seemed to truly love each other. He’d never imagined they would ever be together, or even see each other again, after what had happened when they first met. Finally seeing Vane so happy gave Byron strength, in a strange way.
Above all, it gave him hope.
“Bye, Mother. Maybe I’ll send home good news soon.”
She smiled and moved aside as he guided the horse out of the stabl
e. “You better. We have a bear and a lycan in the family. A fox would round things off nicely.” She nodded down at her belly. “Maybe the gods will hitch this little one up with a leopard.”
Byron slowed as people all turned to look. He nodded to his mother, watching her laugh. Knowing she’d called out so loudly on purpose, he simply sighed and made his way out of the castle grounds. Seeing her so happy helped keep his resentment, and embarrassment, under control. He had bigger things to focus on than his mother continuing to intentionally embarrass him at his age.
****
Kit sidled his way in the back door with the buckets of well water. He called to Maggie as he climbed the stepladder and dumped the water into the reservoir. The line between the well and the house was being repaired, so they were using the repurposed beer keg Maggie had used before Gregor had insisted on connecting the well to the main house on her homestead. Based on the stories he’d heard, she’d complained the entire time the men had been tearing up her land, but now she wasted no time sending word to Gregor the moment anything went wrong with the more modern system.
“Maggie?” Kit called a second time. When she didn’t answer, he put both buckets by the back door and shut it. “Hey, Maggie?”
He found her standing in the foyer reading a letter. She refolded it quickly when she saw him standing there. “Yes, dear, sorry. Does Rowan or one of the men need something?”
“No, they’re done for today. Light’s fading too fast with all the cloud cover. They’re heading home for the day.”
She studied him a moment before asking, “You going to spend the evening with Rowan again?”
Maggie had been teasing him about the amount of time he’d been spending with Rowan since repairs began a few days ago, but something seemed different today. “No. He’s heading back with the other guys.” Truth be told, Rowan was only interested in sex. Kit still liked him, but he wasn’t quite ready yet. He wanted to have sex, and the idea of being with Rowan excited him. But he lacked the confidence to go through with it. He felt pretty sure Rowan wouldn’t like teaching a virgin how to do things. Part of him thought it might all just click once they started, and then Rowan would never even have to know it had been his first time. But he was still kind of scared.
