by A. E. Via
There were a few gasps and widened glares, but he digressed as Macauley placed his palm in the center of his spine.
“I thank the gods that he survived. But as he recovered, I noticed that I was beyond engorged. To the point I was practically sick.”
Orwin St. Charles reared forward as if he already knew where Adres was going.
“I have not drunk from him since. Nor do I have a craving or hunger.” Not for blood anyway. Adres left that part out. He faced Justice and then his many enforcers lining the wall. “I believe, Justice, that if your shifters—unmated ones in particular—are willing to donate blood to resupply the blood banks, it could be a temporary solution to end the hunger pandemic. When the humans see your wolves coming out in droves to help another species… well, I believe people all over the world will recognize it.”
“And potentially want to get involved again,” Orwin continued, then glanced at Justice. “It sounds like it could be a viable option. Justice, your thoughts.”
Adres sat, glad he didn’t have to go into great detail to present his plan. It was really quite simple. Macauley slid his hand up his thigh beneath the table, and Adres felt his cock twitch in response. He threw up one of his shields to keep anyone from smelling his arousal. What was wrong with his cherished? They were amongst distinguished company, and he was trying to flirt with him. He pushed Macauley’s hand away, but he put it right back, only this time a couple of inches higher.
“Stop that,” he mouthed, but Macauley winked and gave Adres’s inner thigh a firm squeeze.
Ahhh gods. Macauley’s fingertips were grazing his sac, and it took all of his will not to close his eyes and moan.
“I would never force any shifters to donate, but I would certainly encourage it. I don’t know how fast it would take off, but all we’d need is a few volunteers.” Justice was looking in his and Macauley’s direction.
Did he ask a question? Adres could only think about the hot palm branding his leg through his thin pants. Adres could not believe what his young wolf had reduced him to.
“You have three right here, AZ,” Bundy said in his deep voice as Anna and Rich stepped closer to Adres’s chair. “We will be the first in line. And I’m sure we can convince more.”
Justice’s smile was proud, but not more than Macauley’s. A few murmurs and hushed conversations began before one of Justice’s lead enforcers stepped forward. “We would like to volunteer as well.”
The vampires were glancing back and forth between one another as if they could not believe that they were all going to potentially have access to the blood of the Mother’s sacred shifters. No one in their right mind would have ever suggested such a thing. But Adres had to think of his people first. It was in every fiber of his being to protect them. “A human’s blood does not have a fraction of the nutrients and protein that a shifter does. So, a vampire won’t need as much consumption at once or as often. Only zero-point-four liters of a shifter’s blood could feed a cherished family of three for a month.”
The king was smiling broadly for the first time since the assassins had invaded their territory. Justice clasped his pale hand where it rested on top of the table. “I think… I think that this plan may work.”
“I agree.” Farica smiled. “I have a feeling there will be more than a few of us willing to give directly from the source.”
Macauley groaned at his sister. Of course she would go there.
“Word has spread quickly about how good a vampire’s bite can feel to us.” She quirked her arched brow and glanced around the table as if daring any of the men to call her out for indulging on it herself. “If that can be an option, we should consider how we can spread the word on doing it safely. Only a certain amount of blood taken that a quick shift can’t replace.”
“Wow.” Macauley glared at her. “Seriously?”
“What?” she said, blinking as if innocent.
“Okay, one thing at a time.” Justice put his hand up to stop their bickering before it could get started. “Let’s get things mobilized first, because we’re going to need wide distribution.”
“Agreed,” Wick said. “Adres. How do you feel about spearheading this mission? You are the Lord of Arms, but since Bell and I have mates that protect us, your duties can shift to being the lord of our people. It was your idea, and you discovered it in a very costly way. I think you should be in charge of it since this kind of collaboration has never been done before.”
“Which is why it is going to work.” Aleksei spoke for the first time. “The vampires have been hesitant to accept aid from us in the past, but with a horseman here… they will follow his lead without question.”
“I would be honored, your grace,”
“How soon before we can get this moving?” another one of Wick’s officers asked.
“Not long at all,” Orwin supplied. “I will get the administrative team going right away.”
“Farica, I want you and Macauley to handle the compound and get as many on board with donating blood as you can. When Taleb returns later tonight, we’ll get him working on communications.”
“Why? Where are you going?” Macauley asked Justice.
“Alek and I are going to go visit with some of the larger packs to explain what we’re doing. It will show a sign of respect if I go in person. This is something huge we’re suggesting. I won’t ask for something like this in an email.” Justice stood. “Wick and I need to start packing. Alek, you and Bell meet us at the bus lot in the morning.”
“No problem,” Macauley said, then reached for Adres’s hand.
He almost bit it, but instead of embarrassing him, he slid his hand inside Macauley’s and allowed him to lead him out of the room. They walked in the opposite direction through a denser part of the woods. Once Adres was sure they were out of earshot of the others, he rounded on Macauley.
“Must you do that in front of everyone?”
Macauley appeared genuinely confused. “Do what?”
“Treat me as if I’m a baby.” Adres gritted his teeth. “I do not appreciate being forced to use my shields because I’m being fondled beneath a table in front of my comrades, nor do I need to be slapped on my buttocks and told to perform. It is disrespectful, Macauley, not to mention childish. Have we not drawn enough negative attention to ourselves?”
Macauley blinked a few times before he parted his lips and rumbled, “I wasn’t treating you like a baby—that was just a term of endearment. I was treating you like you are mine.”
“I am not yours to have fun with however you choose,” Adres said as the wind began to stir around them. “You will show me respect.”
Macauley returned his glower as he crowded into him until their chests were shoved together. His cherished stood over him, his dark hair whipping around his head, appearing unfazed by the sudden drop in temperature. “You are my true mate. I should be able to touch you no matter who is around. I’m not ashamed, Adres… but maybe you are.”
“You are going too far now.”
A look of disappointment and anger transformed his beloved’s gorgeous features. “If you don’t want my touch, fine… rest assured… I won’t disrespect you anymore.” Macauley turned and walked away, leaving Adres standing there alone in the center of the cyclone.
Adres cursed up a storm under his breath and took off into a sprint. Has he gone mad? The mere thought of Macauley refusing, or even insinuating that he would not touch him again had Adres moving so fast that his energy caught on the wind, his feet flying from under him as he sailed into the air. He flailed a couple of seconds before he soared over the twenty-foot privacy bushes surrounding the perimeter of Macauley’s cabin and hit the earth with a ground-trembling thud near his front door.
Macauley came to an abrupt stop, his betas almost stumbling to the ground behind him from the force of the quake. Adres stood just beyond the entrance to his cabin, glaring at him as if he could eat him alive. It made Macauley’s cock press against the front of his denims.
“I would advise you not to threaten me with your touch, young wolf.”
“What the fuckin’ hell?” Bundy gaped as he steadied himself. “Man. Did you just like… fly over here.”
A triumphant grin stretched across Macauley’s face. He didn’t take his eyes off Adres when he told his betas, “Can you guys leave us, please? Adres and I need to clear the air.”
“‘Clear the air’?” Adres echoed as Macauley’s betas left them to their misunderstanding.
If Adres only knew how sexy he was when he attempting to be menacing, he wouldn’t question why Macauley couldn’t keep his hands to himself. Maybe it would lessen in intensity when they were fully mated. Because even now, he was just restraining himself from throwing Adres over his shoulder and hauling him upstairs. His mate’s powers were manifesting daily, and it was such a turn-on for him that maybe he was taking things a little far.
Okay, so fondling Adres’s balls under the table in a room full of officials was perhaps a bit much. He was still learning how old-fashioned his mate was, and if he didn’t like to make a spectacle of himself in public, then Macauley should at least try to respect that.
Adres’s steps were calculated as he came towards him. His hood was low over his face, meant to protect his identity, but Macauley was able to see through it now. Dark eyes glared at him as if he were a target, his movements languid, wistful, and borderline seductive. Goose bumps ran down his nape as he got swept up in the warm breeze blowing around his face. It was a freezing winter evening, and the mountains held a fresh cap of overnight snow, but the wind seeping into his soul felt as if it was coming off the desert sands of Arizona.
Macauley’s throat went dry at the enticing smell of him. And you want me to keep my hands off you when you can make me feel like this.
Adres didn’t stop advancing until he was close enough to graze his fingertips across Macauley’s abs, making the muscles clench as he pushed some of his light into him. He bit his bottom lip and threw his head back, his eyes on the moon as he accepted Adres’s power inside him. Macauley’s stomach fluttered with excitement like when he was about to shift and race. He pictured himself on a tropical beach as heat broke through the chill and encompassed his spirit. Macauley pushed his own energy towards it, and the moment Adres’s light touched his, a surge of electricity shot through his veins as ecstasy exploded inside him.
They were the perfect match.
“Put your hands on me, wolf,” Adres commanded, his voice masculine and powerful
Gods, fuck, he liked the way Adres said that. His mate had lasted a grand total of ten minutes without his touch. Macauley gripped Adres around his waist and lowered his head until his mouth hovered near his ear. He slid his hand under the soft material of his hood and touched his jaw. “Say it again.”
“Macauley,” Adres warned, his voice dropping lower until it was just a breathy gust of air across his Adam’s apple. “Touch me now. Everywhere.”
Macauley’s last reserves snapped as he yanked Adres in harder, his body going pliant as he tilted his head in the opposite direction. “When I come down from that mountain in the morning, I’ll count the hours until you wake… until I make you mine.”
Adres did a terrible job of hiding how much that thought excited him. He gripped the back of Macauley’s neck and wrapped both legs around his waist. Macauley didn’t have to hold him up or even support his back as Adres ground his hard dick into his stomach.
The need throbbing between his thighs drowned out his rational thought as he slammed his mouth over Adres’s slack lips. With every flick of his tongue against his, Adres’s godlike taste saturated his rational senses. He delved for more sweet plum nectar as Adres clumsily returned his kiss.
“No,” Adres objected. “I want you now.”
And his mate had the nerve to call him insatiable. Well, Macauley wasn’t the one riding the wind and humping him like a madman. But after the spat they’d just had, Macauley was relieved that he wasn’t the only one feeling the way he did. As if there was nothing more important than them becoming one.
“Give me something, a mark, anything, for tonight.” Adres ordered and there was no way he could refuse.
Macauley nudged at Adres’s throat, licking his cool skin before he bit him hard enough over his pulse to leave a possessive purple bruise. The discoloration would heal almost instantly, but his deep-rooted tooth marks would remain a couple hours.
Adres slept like shit, and he’d woken a lot earlier than he typically did. He peeked out one side of the blackout drapes in his slumbering quarters before he reclosed them, as the sun was just setting behind the mountains. It wouldn’t be long before the pack lands were bustling with activity in preparation for the full moon. He went to the westernmost corner and slowly knelt in a meditation pose. He put his young wolf to the back of his mind and concentrated on his core, using his light to work on unlocking more of his memories.
He came out of his mediation to the sound of wolves howling in the distance. He knew Macauley was up in those freezing mountains, alone. He wondered if he was thinking of him, just as he was. Adres would think of his wolf the rest of the night… and listen for his howl.
Adres dressed and left his cabin a little after 8:00 p.m., wanting to have a conversation with Belleron before he and his mate left with the king to spread the word of his plan. He figured the best place to find him would be in Justice’s home. The air was thick with pheromones when he stepped out of his front door, and the moon was bright enough to light the entire compound. While the parents were off deep in the woods doing gods knew what with each other, the young pups were down here chasing either other around, having tussling matches, and being downright rambunctious. Adres knew the moon brought out the beast in the wolves, but this was lunacy.
A gray wolf and a taller reddish one ran up to him and brushed their flanks across his cloak before darting away. He turned around, but they’d already vanished behind a cabin. Ridiculous. Adres didn’t smile when a tawny wolf yipped in his direction, leaning on its elbows with its hindquarters wagging in the air. Adres waved at it. “Go on now. Join your friends.”
The wolf leapt forward as if it was imitating a kangaroo and grabbed the hem of Adres’s cloak and tugged. He pulled the fabric from the wolf’s slack jaws and pointed sternly at it. “Enough, you.” His so-called reprimand appeared to do nothing but challenge the little runt to try harder.
Adres could not believe what was happening. Why had Macauley not warned him? More young wolves ranging from perhaps five years old to teenager began to join in on the game, and before he knew it, Adres was whirling back and forth and yanking his cape away, just as another would attack him from behind. “Oh, for heaven’s sake. I do not play, you silly things.”
Adres managed to wrestle his cloak into his arms so that they had nothing else to grab. He continued walking, trying to ignore them. At least he knew now that the young pack members were not afraid of him after what he’d done to their alpha.
Though he still was not playing!
Three teenage wolves that could’ve been identical triplets leapt in front of his path, all of them dropping into those ridiculous playful poses and barking at him.
“Have you all nothing better to do? Go and run?” He waved, continuing forward, but they gave him little snarls, challenging him to try to get around them.
Adres turned his head at the sound of an airy chuckle and saw Farica standing in front of a duplex-style cabin with a few other women who he assumed were her betas. “Looks like you’ve made some friends, Lord Adres.”
“A little help, then, please.” Adres gestured to the gathering mob circling him.
“Oh, I don’t think you need any help, my Lord.” A woman with blonde curly hair smiled. “Rumors of your abilities have already begun. The pups are just curious, that’s all.”
Adres gritted his fangs, wondering if it appeared as a smile. He doubted it. Instead of continuing to ask for help that he wasn’t going to receive, he deci
ded he would give these little scoundrels a taste of what they wanted so he could be on his way.
Adres released his cloak and lifted his hand towards the west, pulling on its elements. He gathered an abundance of warm air pressure to create a whirlwind strong enough to lift the three wolves off the ground. They flailed and barked as Adres blew them about twenty feet over his head and set them down near the women who stood shocked with their mouths hanging open.
Once the triplets were placed safely on their feet, there was complete silence for about five seconds as everyone stared as if they were in some kind of daze, before cheers, barks, and yips came from everywhere. What in all the god’s names? He was sure that would’ve sent them all fleeing. Farica and her friends were laughing as Adres prepared to run as though the hounds of Hell were chasing him. Pups were tumbling over themselves to get to him and barking and leaping up almost to his head, wanting a turn next.
“La naiba!”
“Oh, you have done it now, Adres.” Farica’s laugh seemed to have an even worse effect as she released her fun, carefree energy into the atmosphere that the pups seemed to absorb like goddamn candy.
Sugar and young ones were never a good combination.
Adres needed to seek refuge. He untangled himself and used his flash speed to clear the compound and up Justice’s porch steps. He could hear them chasing him, but he didn’t stop until he had closed the door and locked himself inside. Adres leaned against the heavy wood and caught his breath. Damn, those pups were fast, and clever. He peeked through the glass on the side of the door and saw the little buggers were sticking around, knowing he’d have to come out eventually.
You will pay for this, Macauley.
“Is everything all right, my Lord?” Henry asked from the hall that led to the kitchen. He wore a pristine white apron over his black dress shirt and slacks, so Adres knew what he’d been doing. “You look… frightened.”