The Link That Binds

by Dawn H. Hawkes

  When Tucker, the idiot wolf, attacked Link, Jace’s mind had popped a fuse. In a second flat his Triferus shot forth and decided to teach the insufferable pup a thing or two. It was one thing to be threatened by your mate’s former lovers if they were unmated; it was a whole other thing attacking them if they were.

  His superior, an alpha wolf named Saber, had apologized and explained that Tucker was a half-breed who’d only first shifted less than a year ago and hadn’t quite mastered his wolf yet.

  It sounded perfectly understandable, but that didn’t mean Jace or his leopard would tolerate any more indiscretions. There was a line and the idiot had crossed it once. Jace was adamant it not happen again. Even if that meant a certain puppy turned into kitty kibble.

  Jace’s leopard rumbled, pressing as close to Link as he could. “I’m still mad at you, by the way,” Jace muttered between kisses.

  Link’s hands had found his ass and kneaded his soft globes. “Why?” he panted into his ear as Jace sucked up a mark on his neck and reached down to unbutton Link’s pants.

  “You told me you had kids,” he rumbled, and then purred as he fished out Link’s dripping dick.

  “Yeah?” Link asked confused.

  “You didn’t tell me you had frickin’ teenagers.” Jace accused and squeezed Link extra hard in reprimand.

  “You didn’t ask,” Link hissed out. His dick was hardening despite the bite of pain.

  Or possibly because of it…

  “I didn’t ask?” Jace growled as he nipped his mate’s nipple. “You, my mate, didn’t give me a chance to ask before you had your dick buried up my ass, with your fucking ex on the phone, for Christ’s sake. How the hell was I gonna form enough mind power to ask something like that, in that kind of situation?”

  Link chuckled, which earned him another nip, leaving his nipple red and irritated.

  “Does it matter?” Link asked, suddenly tense.

  “At least I don’t have to be on diaper duty,” Jace conceded. “But I would have liked to have known, Link. I should know these things.”

  Link lifted his chin and made him look into his eyes. “We’ll get there, kitten, but it’s not like I know all there is to know about you, either… that cat-shift thing of yours for one.”

  Jace felt himself pale. Link had never known about the third shape feline shifters took? Suddenly nervous, Jace hoped his mate hadn’t found his Triferus disgusting. The form was primarily used for fighting and wasn’t exactly made to be pretty, as much as a terrifying sight.

  “Jace?” Link asked, sounding concerned.

  “Are you disgusted with me?” Jace asked cautiously, trying hard not to break eye contact with Link.

  “Of course I wasn’t disgusted!” Link burst out, seeming almost outraged at the notion, “It’s not that I wasn’t somewhat weirded out, ‘cause I was. I never knew you could change like that and it definitely caught me off guard, but I was never disgusted.”

  Jace let out a shaky breath, weirded out, he could handle that.

  “So if you weren’t disgusted by it…” Jace started, wondering if this might not be the best time or place to ask, but still. “Do you think I could possibly… fuck you like that… sometime?”

  Chapter 14

  Link got quiet and Jace wondered if he’d pushed matters a little too far. Jace hadn’t even fucked him in his human form yet and he asked this… he was about to brush it off when Link cleared his throat.

  “How far off is your birthday?”

  “My birthday? In about a month… why?” Jace frowned, having a vague idea of where this was heading.

  Link had a thoughtful look on his face and his lips quirked. “Well, not quite sure how to wrap that but hey, why not.”

  He was gonna let Jace claim him! Fully!

  Jace’s leopard nearly mounted his mate right then and there and Jace suddenly noticed he still had his mate’s throbbing cock wrapped in his hand, which twitched at the idea of their coupling. Jace moaned. Not only was Link gonna let him claim him, Link was getting turned on by the thought of it.

  “I’m not letting you in until I’ve had you like this though.” Link added and Jace growled.

  Tearing down Link’s pants, Jace slipped a finger behind to stab at Link’s back door, swallowing down the surprised yelp as he forced his tongue down Link’s throat. More determined than ever, Jace pressed his mate hard up against the wall, ignoring the few jackets that still hung there and forced his finger in to the knuckle.

  Breaking free, Link panted, “I didn’t mean right now.”

  Jace simply rumbled, neither he nor his cat were backing off now. Jace could even feel his pupils shift to slits.

  Swearing when he realized that keeping this up would only serve to hurt his mate, Jace broke away and frantically started checking through the jackets in the small closet, looking for something… Aha!

  Hand lotion!

  Jace pulled forth his spoils of war triumphantly and started pouring the liquid into his hand, then coating his dick and fingers.

  “Shit, we’re really gonna do this, aren’t we?” Link gasped as Jace pushed the first digit to the hilt into Link’s ass.

  Jace sensed his mate was nervous and slowed down. “Have you ever had anyone down there, mate?” he asked.

  “Not past finger play,” Link admitted, with the tiniest flush to his cheeks.

  If Jace hadn’t been solid before, his dick could definitely pound nails now. “Fuck.” He growled and started stretching Link’s ass with renewed vigor, two fingers now scissoring inside of Link’s impossibly tight opening.

  Link gave an out-of-breath laugh and teased, “That turn you on, Jace? That you’re gonna be the only one to ever pound my ass?”

  Squirming, Jace whined. “Shut up already or I’ll blow before I can even stuff you with my cock.”

  “That’s quite a mouth on you, kitten. You ever gonna put it to use?” Link’s voice was strained and hitched slightly when Jace brushed his prostate.

  “You just wait ‘til it’s my birthday and I’ll give you a rim-job worthy of a god.” Jace promised, knowing very well the pleasure his cat-like tongue could bring his mate.

  “Christ!” Link gasped.

  Unable to hold himself back anymore, Jace gave his mate a hard demanding kiss before flipping him around so that his chest was to the wall and his ass stuck out for Jace’s hungry eyes to devour.

  He pushed in a third finger, wiggling them around briefly before pulling out and adding more lotion to Link’s ass.

  Lining his aching hard-on up to Link’s entrance, he rubbed against his mate’s back ‘til the tension he felt started to ebb, then gently started to push.

  “Relax, baby, open up for me,” Jace soothed when Link tensed up again. “Let me in.”

  “Fuck, Jace!” Link growled. “I’m not some fucking blushing bride here, just push it in already!”

  Link couldn’t have seen the smirk that spread across Jace’s face, or he’d probably have anticipated the hard thrust that let Jace almost all the way in. Instead, the thrust nearly knocked the air out of his lungs.

  “Shit!” Link groaned.

  Jace purred at the extreme sensation of being buried in Link’s ass. Letting his mate adjust to the sudden intrusion, Jace continued with some small calculated thrusts, making Link moan. Soon he was buried as far as he could get without literally crawling up his mate’s ass.

  “God, you feel so good!” Jace purred out as Link tested his muscles and tightened around Jace’s buried shaft. Purring louder, Jace noticed his mate become more restless, actually fucking back against him to get Jace to move, and it wasn’t like Jace to play hard to get, not when he had a hot, willing mate wrapped around his tool.

  Wrapping his own hand around Link’s shaft and holding him by the hip with the other, he started stroking as he began to move in earnest. The leopard had held off until now, but with his mate’s consent they both let loose inside of Link.

  Slamming him hard against the wal
l, the only thing keeping Jace from fucking him through it was the fact that it would make Jace come in an instant; hard enough holding back already with Link’s ass rhythmically squeezing around him.

  “Shit, Jace!” Link roared as he started shooting.

  A thrust later and Jace started filling Link’s ass with his cum, silencing his own roar by striking at Link’s neck, sinking his canines deep into the mating mark as he pumped his release into his mate.

  Jace felt as if he’d gone into heat again. He’d never experienced such an intense release before. If he hadn’t been holding his mate around the waist, he’d have collapsed to the floor.

  “You all right?” Link asked with a rough voice.

  Laughing, Jace gently extracted from Link’s body, feeling his mate twitch when he did so. “Shouldn’t I be the one asking that?”

  With his mate turned to face him again, they kissed leisurely, which was quite different from the starved kisses they usually shared. It kinda made Jace’s heart melt a little.

  “That’s disgusting!” A voice interrupted their post-coital bliss.

  Jace turned just in time to see Link’s oldest son Kyle slam the door shut on them, his face red and not just because of anger.

  “Fuck!” Link cussed.

  “That about sums it up,” Jace agreed. “And call me crazy, but I don’t think Kyle’s gonna be my biggest fan.”

  Gathering their clothes, they dressed quickly. Jace knew Link was upset. Even if his mate happened to be open about their relationship and what they meant to each other, it didn’t mean he wanted his son to catch them in the act.

  Still, Jace couldn’t help grinning inside when he sensed how Link basically reeked of his scent… he wondered if he might convince Link to maybe wear one of his butt plugs the next time he got to fuck him. The idea of having Link walk around with his seed sealed inside his ass almost made him harden again.

  First though, they were probably in for some damage control.

  Back in the living room, Sol was in conversation with Saber, discussing strategies. Tucker was performing some damage control as well, vying for Debra’s attention, who promptly ignored the guy.

  Serves him right.

  “Debra, did you see where Kyle took off to?” Link asked.

  “He was in the kitchen last time I checked. Jason went to look for him,” Debra answered. “He’s not too happy with you either. He just got settled at school and then this? Guess bringing the tomcat didn’t help much.”

  “Hey!” Jace sneered. No way was he taking crap from the ex. “You don’t fucking know me, Debbie, so you just keep your lopsided, ex-married ass out of my mating and start focusing on your own!”

  Debra glared and Tucker eyed him cautiously, but still tensed for a fight should Jace launch at his mate.

  “Who the fuck said I needed a mate in the first place!? I’ve been doing perfectly fine on my own.” She sneered back at him and Jace saw Tucker flinch.

  “So, you’re telling me that seeing Tucker go all guard dog because he thought you were threatened didn’t turn you on? ‘Cause guess what, sunshine. This room is filled with people who know exactly how your juices flowed when he did.”

  Debra’s mouth fell open and her face turned pink.

  Yeah, shifter senses could be a bitch sometimes and apparently so could she, but that didn’t mean Jace had to take any of it.

  “You guys done yet?” Link asked, looking only mildly amused at the situation. “As entertaining as this is, I need to talk to Kyle for a moment.”

  “You want me to come with?” Jace asked, perfectly understanding if Link wanted to go talk to his son alone. Particularly considering the fact that their only real meeting was with Jace and Link bare-assed naked in a closet.

  “He’s gonna have to get used to you some day, might as well be today,” Link said and took Jace’s hand, leading them towards the kitchen.

  Holding hands wasn’t something Jace was used to, but being lead around like this was kinda… sweet…

  “Kyle?” Link called out when they entered the kitchen only to find it empty. “Jason? Where are you guys? Quit acting like four-year-olds and get out here, we need to talk to you.”

  Again there was no answer. A dreaded thought entered Jace’s mind and he scented the air. There weren’t any traces of vampires here, but the kids’ scents were definitely heading towards the kitchen door.

  “Guys?” Link called out again.

  Jace raced for the door, hoping the kids had only gone outside for some fresh air, but their scents only led away from the house.

  “God, Jace, where are they?” Link asked when he joined him on the back porch, his complexion a lot paler than normal.

  “Look, Link, I’m gonna track them, okay? But you need to get Sol and the other guys.” Jace raised his hand to stop his mate from interrupting. “They’re probably fine, but I’m gonna go ahead, just in case.”

  “I’m not gonna let you go alone,” Link argued.

  “Wasting time here, babe. Now go fetch Sol. You’ll only slow me down if you go by foot.” Jace reminded him as he threw off his clothes. Thankfully the yard was mostly closed off by tall fences; otherwise some old lady would surely have had a heart attack at seeing Jace as he let the change take him.

  Skin gave way as fur and bones realigned to send him down on all fours. Jace briefly rubbed against his mate before he took off towards the gate, following the scent of the cubs.

  Chapter 15

  The shift looked a lot neater than Link had expected and the beautiful cat it left behind was out of this world. Jace’s eyes definitely shone through in the ice-blue irises of the white cat with the spotted coat.

  Jace went over to him and rubbed his head against his chest, incredibly soft fur brushing against his throat, before taking off.

  Link had no idea how Jace would ever make it around town without being caught, but he nearly flickered from Link’s view long before he reached the gate.

  Heading back inside, he took off in the direction of Solomon.

  “Sol, the kids are gone!” Link called out even before he entered the room. “Jace is tracking them right now and told me to get you.”

  “Shit!” Saber let out. “Lee, why the hell weren’t you watching the back like I told you to?” the wolf growled to one of his comrades.

  “I didn’t think they’d take off and, frankly, with Tucker’s little outburst earlier I kind of figured I was needed here,” the guy defended.

  “What kind of warriors are you guys!?” Debra shouted. “You let my kids take off in the middle of the night!”

  “No point arguing,” Sol stated and got his keys out of his pocket and threw them to Link. “You’ll need to drive if I’m going to be able to sense him.”

  Link had no idea what that meant, but he wasn’t about to waste time asking. Tucker and some of the other guys took another SUV and Debra reluctantly agreed to stay behind, her eyes wet, even though she didn’t outright cry, as she ordered them to get her babies back safe.

  Link spun out onto the road in the direction he’d seen Jace heading as Solomon lowered the window.

  “Now how the hell do we find Jace?” he demanded. There was no way he was going to let Jace and the kids get hurt. Hopefully this would end with nothing more than Kyle getting grounded for a month and being banned from anything electronic.

  “Shh!” Sol admonished. “I need to focus for this to work, been a while since Jace and I had sex.”

  “Hey!” Link growled. Not like he needed to be reminded of the fact Jace had been sexually involved with his goddamned pride leader. “What the hell does that have to do with you finding him?”

  “It’s a thing I do. I can keep track of people I’ve exchanged bodily fluids with. Doesn’t have to be through sex. Blood is much more effective, but I never took Jace’s blood. Too big a risk of bonding.”

  “This some weird shifter thing?” Link frowned, noticing a pale glow from Solomon’s blue eyes. He’d never heard of shifter
s being able to track like that. As mated shifters sure, or by simple tracking, but sex partners in general?”

  “Nope, it’s not so much a shifter thing as a tiger thing, well, white tiger, that is. We tend to carry some extra traits,” Solomon explained. “Head off to the left here.”

  Turning down a deserted street, Link still didn’t see a trace of his family. They shouldn’t have gotten this far. Kyle didn’t have much of a head start on them and he had Jason with him.

  “This isn’t right, Sol. Where are they?”

  “Keep going.”

  “Can’t you, like, talk to him or something? Telepathically?” Link asked. There had to be some way of getting hold of them. His hands turned white from how hard he gripped the steering wheel.

  “No, unless you’re a wolf, that’s pretty uncommon and it only works on mated pairs,” Sol stated before cursing. “Shit. I smell vampires. And blood.”

  * * * *

  Jace would have attacked Shamus the moment he saw him if the guy hadn’t pulled a gun on the kids as he stepped out of the dark blue van.

  Jace was fast, but he wasn’t Superman and he couldn’t risk them getting shot before he could pounce and disarm the vampire.

  They’d only been a few blocks away, but they had taken some shortcuts through people’s back yards. He’d heard Jason trying to make his older brother go back, but Kyle hadn’t been listening. The kid might have grounds for being pissed, but when a team of good-guy soldiers take you to a safe house, you fucking stay put.

  When Christa stepped out of the van, Jace’s muscles tensed even further, preparing to attack. Shit, he needed to do something. If he waited, there’d only be more of them to deal with. So waiting for a better advantage than what he had now wasn’t an option.

  At least the wind was on his side as he stalked through the shadows, hoping the small glimmer would allow him to stay unnoticed. The glimmer didn’t make him invisible, just sort of bent the light around him so he wouldn’t be seen. But he could be spotted if one knew what to look for.