Breaking the Ice

by B. A. Tortuga

  Kell began to sweep, and the firebox was full of dry wood. Within an hour, they had the kettle on, music filled the air, and he could breathe.

  Liam wandered in from beating rugs. “Oh, it smells good in here, love.”

  “There was meat in the freezer, some veg. I made stew.”

  “Yum. You’re going to spoil me.” Liam had been so tickled to see his house unoccupied and ready for them, swinging him around and around and kissing him.

  “I’ve wanted to, for so long. I was stupid to have waited.”

  “We were both idiots.” Liam winked broadly. “Do I need to bring in more wood?”

  “Is there enough for tonight?” He wasn’t sure, but he was so excited to sleep inside, to make their nest.

  “I’ll get some more, just in case.” Liam whistled along with the music he’d put on.

  “I’ll fluff the pillows upstairs.”

  Look at them, playing house.

  Kell grinned. He’d imagined it a million times. The reality was so much better. He arranged the pillows and blankets, hanging his new suncatcher in the bedroom window.

  It sparkled, catching his eye, and he watched it for long moments, until Liam came looking for him. “Okay, love?”

  “Yes. Yes, the pretty! Look!” He brought Liam over, and they admired, blinking slower.

  “That’s really cool.” Liam swayed against him, seeming almost as mesmerized as he was.

  “It’s beautiful. We’re home, lion.” Together and whole.

  “We are. My raven.” Liam hugged him close. “Thank you.”

  He looked up into those golden eyes. “Your raven.”

  A knock came to the door, shocking them both. They sprang apart as if they were guilty of something, and Liam headed down to the main part of the house, Kell following, chewing his lower lip.

  “Stop it, bird brain. You belong here.”

  “Liam!” He always cracked up when Liam called him that. Always.

  Liam peeked through the little window next to the door. Then he grinned, stepping back to open the door. “Well, look at all of you.”

  Nathan stood there with a huge basket of food that smelled delicious. Mai and Ash had drinks in a box, and even Halian was grinning like mad, holding a huge batch of cut flowers.

  “We have all your things, Kell. And blankets and pillows and candles.” Halian beamed at them. “I made you both afghans too.”

  Liam stared, blinking hard. “You forgive me.”

  Ash was the one who snorted, pulling Liam into a hard hug. “Silly kitty. You’re home. Family always forgives.”

  “Thank you.” Liam’s voice was suspiciously thick.

  “Come in!” Kell said. “We have stew to share, and you brought all this lovely stuff. You have to come see my new sparkle!”

  “Of course. It looks so nice in here. Comfortable. How can I help?” Little Halian always needed to be of service, busy. Kell understood, but he didn’t envy Nathan.

  Nathan chuckled. “Well, it’s a bit of a climb, and I’m not a black bear, but it’s cool.”

  They all chuckled, but Kell bounced, remembering. “Oh! We have something for all of you.”

  “Presents!” Ash cheered and Mai laughed, and suddenly it was okay. They were home and their family was there, and most importantly, most wonderfully, his mate was there.

  He was so happy. Kell watched his friends mill around, setting up to feast, which was what they did best together. He went to Liam, making sure his lion knew all was well.

  Liam held out a hand, smiling for him. “Is this okay? I could grump.”

  “You could. I love you however I can have you.”

  “Mmm. But I don’t need to, right? I mean, I’m glad they’re all here. If you want them to go so we can eat stew, I’ll growl.”

  “Let them celebrate us. I don’t mind.” He leaned a little, then the reason they’d come home so quickly made him sigh, shake his head. “We need to tell Maicoh about the other side.”

  “We do. And about how hard it was to get through the veil. For us. Not Martin.”

  They looked up, finding everyone staring at them.

  Mai was the one who started—which didn’t surprise him at all, because he was, somehow, the pack alpha. Weird.

  “So, how was it, Liam?”

  “Hmm?” Liam looked adorably confused.

  “On the other side?”

  “Cold. It was snowing.” Liam was looking a little grumpy, so Kell took his hand. No one liked to remember being alone and banished.

  “It was snowing. It was scary and wonderful and loud and different, and there were wolves.” He didn’t like beating around the bush. Bushes were placed to hide.

  They all stopped, staring at him, quiet descending.

  “Explain,” Nathan finally said evenly.

  “We went to the city—”

  “Town,” Liam corrected.

  “Town, and we were talking about coming home, and there were wolves there suddenly, so we thought it best to be discreet.”

  Kell watched as Hali pushed close to Nathan, while Ash looked to Mai.

  “What kind of wolves?” Mai asked.

  “They looked like you.” Liam shrugged when Mai gave him a sharp look. “Big. Brawny. Lots of hair.”

  “What did they want?” That was Ash.

  “How should we know? We didn’t ask.” This wasn’t an interrogation. This was a favor.

  Liam squeezed his hand. “They overheard me mention Halian, and they knew his name. After that, we stayed out of sight.”

  Halian shrank back, but Nathan took him by the arm. “No, mate. No one can take you back.”

  “Of course not,” Kell exclaimed. “We would tear their eyes out.”

  Hali looked at him, and then Nathan began to chuckle, big, deep sounds that filled the air. “See, mate? All is well.”

  Liam kissed his knuckles, chuckling along with Nathan. “My fierce bird.”

  “Yours, lion.” He leaned and looked at Mai. “The veil is heavy and near impossible to see from out there.”

  “But I just walked through. Halian?”

  “I don’t know. I smelled you, I think. But we… wasn’t I going to the other side to meet Owen for lunch?”

  “Yeah, and Owen got lunch and brought it back, remember?”

  “Martin went today,” Liam said. “I mean, whoosh, and I couldn’t even see Kell anymore.”

  “I cross all the time.” Ash looked over at them, a frown on the lean face. “All the time.”

  “Not right now. Right now you stay with me. I won’t lose you again, Ashkii.” Maicoh’s voice was rough and brooked no argument.

  “I’ll try? I think sometimes I don’t know it when I do. But it’s too cold for rafting, so I’ll hang close.” Ash winked.

  “I’ll make sure, pup.” Mai went to Ash and kissed him fiercely. “Mine, mate.”

  Hali was looking on with a sweet, not even a bit wistful smile. Kell understood. It was good to have your own mate.

  “Will they go away?” Liam asked. “I mean the pack.”

  Mai exchanged looks with the other wolves. “That depends on what they want. If they’re looking for me, we might be able to convince them Ash and I moved on and they would probably go. If they’re just angry at this point and looking for revenge, then no. They’ll stay until they tear it all to the ground.”

  “What do we do?” Kell didn’t know what was right, but he knew he needed time with his mate. The bond was huge, but it was still new in its intensity.

  “You two bond,” Nathan said. “We have lots of help to watch. We’ll put the word out, and if they see wolves come across, we go from there.”

  “I could always go talk to them,” Mai said quietly, his voice even, although his shoulders were very tense.

  “No!” That was Ash and Hali and Liam in concert.

  Mai laughed, holding up his hands. “Okay. Okay. So I hide with Ash if they come. Unless we have to fight.”

  “If we have to fight
,” Liam stood and held Mai’s gaze. “I can take five wolves alone. Nathan can take the same. We will fight together.”

  Nathan held out one big paw of a hand. “I’ll swear on it.”

  Liam put his hand out, as did Nathan. Kell, gently, rested his hand on top of all three. He wasn’t as strong, but he was fast, and he could fly.

  Hali and Ash joined them, murmuring their oaths, but Kell hoped those two would be able to stay safe. They didn’t stand much of a chance to fight those brutes they’d seen.

  They needed to stay and protect the Glen Wood, the river.

  All of them moved back as one man, then milled around, eating snacks and looking at Kell’s sparkles. They’d made their decision about what to do, and that was that.

  They would defend their home. They would settle for the heavy part of the winter and be ready. Together.

  They would bond, heal, eat, and create their nest. Their den.

  He was so excited to start their life together. Kell thought Liam was too. His grumpy cat was positively beaming, touching him every time he came near.

  It made him want to bite Liam’s ear a little. Just a tiny nip.

  So he did, teasing, and when it earned him a growl, he got all shivery.

  “Stop it, bird brain. We still have company.”

  “We do. In our nest.” Kell loved that. Just the thought made him flutter.

  “Thank you for saving our house.”

  Kell lowered his voice. “I always wanted to live here.”

  “Ah, you just needed me for my house.” Liam winked at him to show him it was a joke, but he could feel the laughter too. It rang through him, sending butterflies through his tummy.

  “Yes. For your house. Your laughter. Your fur. Your…” He looked down at his lover’s crotch, pointedly.

  “Yes. Oh, yes.”

  “Stop it, you two.” Nathan came rambling over to hug Kell. “We still have food to eat.”

  “Now I know how Mai and Ash felt,” Liam muttered.

  “And how Nathan and Hali felt.” Kell leaned into Nathan with a hum. “I’m so glad we’re home, bear. I missed your cooking.”

  “Did you? I missed you both so much. Hali fretted terribly, Liam. You were a great space in our lives, one only you can fill.”

  Liam flushed. “Thank you, friend. You forgive me?”

  “I had already forgiven you, Liam. Before you left.”

  “Hali too,” Kell said. “He told me all the time.”

  “He did bring a blanket.” Liam looked so pleased. “It’s lovely and soft.”

  “He made it for you. To welcome you both home.” Nathan grabbed them in a hard hug. “Food now.”

  “Please. We had two good meals the whole time over there,” Kell grumped. “Not enough for someone who has to eat his own weight most days.”

  “Spoiled bird.” Liam grabbed his ass, playing with him and making them both laugh.

  They all piled into the kitchen. Nibbles were done. Now was time for the meal.

  Together they ate and laughed, celebrating and cheering as they reminded themselves what they had missed, being away. Hali was a hugger, and he finally worked his way to Liam, hugging the man tightly. Liam caved right away and hugged back.

  “Sorry, lad.”

  “You were scared and angry. I understand. I hope it’s better now.”

  “It is. I have Kell with me.” Liam glanced at Kell. “I just hope…” “They didn’t follow us.”

  “If they did, we’ll drive them out. They can’t have our wolves.”

  “No. Not them.”

  “Where did you go?” Hali asked, laughing. If it was a bit strained, no one said so.

  “Do you like sweets, Halian?” Kell asked. “We had the most amazing cakes at tea at the big hotel. We’re going to see if Angela can make them.”

  “I love sweets. Love them. Peanut butter cookies are my favorite.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” Kell loved peanuts, and Liam liked salty too… Surely he could make cookies.

  If not, Nathan could, and Nathan would share.

  He twirled, which made everyone laugh. Ashkii grabbed his hands, swinging him into a romping little dance. His friend was almost as good at that as a bird.

  “Poor bored puppy! Is Mai not keeping you busy?”

  “He’s amazing. I just feel good. He feeds me more than I’m used to, I guess. I have energy to work off.”

  “You always do,” Liam said. “Definitely a puppy. Makes us old folks exhausted.”

  “Old folks.” Ash peered at Liam. “Shouldn’t you go fuck your mate and feel better, or can you not get it up anymore?”

  Ash barely ducked Liam’s swat.

  “Going to bite you, baby pup.” Liam bared his teeth, looking like he was grinning madly.

  “See? You’re doing it wrong,” Ash teased. “Bite the bird.”

  They all cracked up, Liam lunging for Ash and missing, then staggering into Nathan.

  Nathan grabbed them both up, hugging them hard. He gave the best hugs, and Kell was so happy to have had so many today. Friend Nathan was amazing. So sweet and forgiving. They could have ruined his life and his chance at being mated.

  Now Nathan was so happy.

  And so was he. His lion was everything he’d ever wanted.

  Now they just had to learn to live together and stay that way.

  Chapter 8

  Liam woke up, stretching, his tail flicking up over his back. He was warm, and the snow had stopped falling in him. In fact, his den smelled like home…

  His eyes popped open. Oh. Home. Kell.

  His raven was sleeping hard, curled up against his belly, head hidden under one wing.

  Liam wanted to lick him. Just to see what he would do.

  He leaned in, huffing softly, making Kell’s feathers flutter.

  Kell twitched, but never looked at him. So he stuck out his tongue, touching one flight feather.

  Oh. Smooth and pokey, all at the same time. How odd.

  He sniffed, then sneezed, which made Kell squawk and flap away from him. Liam rolled to his back, stretching out his paws. This was fun. Baiting the bird. He loved it.

  Well, until Kell swooped at him and bopped his nose.

  Liam yowled, scrambling to his paws. “No fair! I’m going to get you, bird brain.”

  “You’ll try.” Another swoop, and Kell grabbed his tail.

  Liam whirled around, snapping, not actually trying to get close. He’d hurt Kell once. Never again. Not even in play. He’d never forgive himself for the first time.

  Kell trusted him, though, staying close enough he could snatch the black bird from the air.

  He rose up on his back legs, swatting gently, no claws.

  Kell landed on the mattress, shifting to hug him with his man-self in a single motion.

  Liam rubbed cheeks with his mate, then shifted himself so he could take a kiss. Because he had to.

  “Lion. Good morning.” Kell wrapped around him, rubbing against him sweet as pie.

  “Good morning, sweet love. Did you sleep well?”

  “I did! Nothing dripped, and I didn’t have to wear five blankets.” Kell bobbed up to kiss his nose.

  “And we have a real bed and warm milk for sleeping.”

  “We do. Well, you do. I like a little jerky.” Kell kissed him again, and all he could do was moan. Kell’s kisses were sharp and needy, the hunger in them irresistible.

  Liam understood. They had waited so long, and now they could touch and kiss and make love. He wanted to do it every day.

  More.

  The world was light and bright, the watery sun shining on the fallen snow. Today seemed full of all the possibilities. Of course, the best thing they could do was stay home and make this house theirs.

  “Do you want me to build a fire while we make breakfast?” He stroked Kell’s night-black hair, so silky. His fingers loved to touch.

  “Do we need to get out of bed?” Kell winked at him, leaning back into his touch.
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  “Not if we don’t want to.” They had raced around the bedroom and ended up right back where they needed to be. They could snuggle under the covers, touch and laugh like this was all new.

  Which it kind of was.

  He had no real precedent for having a live-in lover, let alone a mate. Liam had to feel his way.

  Kell straddled his thighs and stretched out against him. “Oh, I have dreamed about this for my whole life.”

  “Your whole life? Was I a faceless mate back then?”

  “No.”

  No?

  How could the answer be no?

  “I haven’t known you your whole life, baby.”

  “I know.” Kell turned to grab the blanket, draping it around them, hiding his face in the black hair.

  “Why are you hiding from me?” He ducked under the blanket with his lover.

  “Not.” Kell kissed him, but he could tell it was to shut him up.

  He hummed, but Liam wasn’t going to let it go. “No, tell me.”

  “Tell you what?”

  “What you meant. About dreaming about this.” He tipped Kell’s chin up, the blanket sliding away.

  “I just dreamed around you, lion. For as long as I can remember. I know it makes no sense.”

  “Tell me about it?” He curled around Kell, protecting from everything, including weird, embarrassing dreams.

  “I knew, even when I was little, that I didn’t need to be scared of mountain lions, that I knew this golden furry beast was good to me.”

  Liam stroked that long hair, feeling emotions he had no idea how to deal with. “I did hurt you, though.”

  “I’m not scared. I hurt you first.” Kell blushed dark. “I didn’t mean for you to be gone. I swear. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  “I know.” He took one kiss, then another. “I know.” They were like fire and gasoline sometimes. And the longer they denied their connection, the harder it got. Now it was like they could breathe, could communicate.

  Well, as much as Liam communicated.

  “You do just fine.” The thought whispered into his brain.

  “Thank you. I love you so.” That he could do. He could flood his mate with care, with love.

  Kell smiled at him, the simple joyous expression ringing between them.

  He nuzzled a little, thinking this lazing around in bed thing was good. “Well, I’m glad I’m the lion you chose.”