by Missy Lyons
“Your mother made a batch of witches brew and is in the kitchen now with a bubbling cauldron of demon stew, but if you want to skip dinner, I understand. It never was my favorite meal.” Chase leaned in close and whispered the last line.
“What! I heard that.” His mother, Pita, held a tin tray lined with wine glasses and a green wine bottle. Her red eyes widened when she saw Tyler for the first time in the main living room. “Why didn’t you tell me Thai was home! Oh, baby, we missed you.”
She set the tray on the thousand-year-old petrified wooden stump they used as a coffee table and hugged her son. She kissed him on both cheeks before he was able to push her away. He sounded irritated even to his own ears, but she grated his nerves when she did the mom thing in front of everybody. He groaned, “Moo-uuum! Not in front of everybody.”
Pita’s hands flew to her hips, and her scathing tone sharply reprimanded Tyler. “Oh please! You’ll always be my baby even when you think you don’t need your dear mommy anymore.”
Here come the waterworks.
Tyler sighed. “Mama, I didn’t ask for drama. I just want you to try and tone it down a notch.”
She sniffled.
Tyler rolled his eyes.
His father poured the homemade witches brew into glasses. It bubbled, and a mist settled over the top of each glass when it was full. He handed a glass to his wife and then another one to Tyler. “So what brings our prodigal son home? Whatever it is, I think it’s worth a drink.”
“Earth must have run out of willing sex toys.” Ryodan snickered behind his hand.
All three of his brothers laughed hard, but his parents waited expectantly for him to answer. The pregnant pause made everything suddenly feel awkward.
“Oh, it’s definitely worth a drink.” Tyler idly turned the stem of the wineglass between his fingers. The mist spilled over the edge of the cup and stung when it splashed onto his skin. “I found my mate.”
“Your soul mate?”
“Seriously?” Ryodan screamed.
“Seriously,” Tyler said.
He wasn’t sure how they would take the human part. He was still reeling from the fact his mate was human and left him on the eve of their mating, but he was determined to make this work no matter what the cost was. He needed him, physically, sexually, and he felt a better demon for having been with him just once.
A round of congratulations went around, and then the questions came.
“Well, where is she? We want to meet your mate.” His mother looked around the room expectantly as if a woman was about to jump out of the shadows.
“Mother!”
“What?”
Tyler clenched his teeth, bracing himself for her overdramatic reaction. She was his mother, and while he excused her behavior most the time, he expected outbursts and judgment. “My mate is not a woman. He’s male.”
“Oh.” She paused. Her smiled dropped, but then her face brightened. “Well, I still want to meet him. You only get one chance at a lifemate. You’re lucky you found one at all.”
“Exceptionally lucky. Especially since he is human.”
The groans went up in unison. His mother dropped to a faint on the couch. Chase fanned her with his hands.
Ah, here it comes. He expected judgment from his friends, but not family. “But I’m happy about it, and I’m going to make this work. I want it to work. He’s been claimed, and my mark has accepted him already.”
“Your brand left you unprotected? Has your mate accepted the brand into himself yet? Why aren’t you with him now? You should be strengthening your bond with your mate,” his mother ranted.
“Mom, for crying out loud. I know!” It was not like all of this hadn’t been drilled into his head from a very young age.
“Then why aren’t you with him now?”
“It’s complicated. I need to take this slow. I need him to accept me, and if I move too fast, I may lose him forever.”
“There are demons who would kill him in hopes you would die, too. Then they could take your place in our caste system.” His mom gasped and covered her mouth. “You didn’t tell anyone, did you?”
“I claimed him in the circle in front of witnesses, and that’s kind of why I’m here. I don’t want interference from anyone. I need your help to try and keep the news quiet and the lower caste out of my way while I try and get my mate under control.”
“We can do that, son, but we can’t control those above us in status. You may still have trouble with your mate.”
“Then I’ll deal with that on my own, but I’m going after him,” Tyler said.
“I can’t believe you got a human as your mate.” Ryodan snickered, but the look on his face mingled between eagerness and tenderness.
“Just wait until it’s your turn, squirt.” Tyler folded his arms, but he felt the earlier tension in the room begin to melt. “When you find your mate, you will turn your world upside down to be with them. Just like I would move heaven and Earth to be with Joshua.”
* * * *
Joshua felt like shit. He dragged his battered body into the bathroom and was so preoccupied with the protests of his body that he didn’t realize he wasn’t alone.
“Hey, looks like you had fun last night.”
Joshua looked up to see Kevin enter the group showers. His blond head was shaved in the military-like style of the police cadets, but his boy-like charm was all him. Kevin was the class clown and always had a positive word for everyone. Joshua still didn’t care to see his smile. With what he had been through last night…He hoped he was up early enough he wouldn’t have to engage with anyone in an awkward bathroom conversation, but that was the downside of living in a dormitory while in the academy.
Joshua didn’t care to tell his roommates where he went that night, or share the fact he was gay and looking to get some quick action.
“Yeah, sort of,” Josh began but didn’t want to elaborate or lie. He was a terrible liar.
“Are you kidding me? Someone had a hell of a time to have given you those love marks. You have to give me some details, Josh. Dude, was she pretty?”
Josh was horrified Kevin knew anything. A weight in his stomach dropped about three feet and hit the tile floor.
Denial braced on his tongue.
“What are you talking about? I didn’t—” Joshua stopped towel drying himself and reached around his back. It was sore and he felt deep scratches running the length of his back.
“Man she must have been a hellcat in bed to have left that kind of damage. You have to share the deets, dude,” Kevin begged.
“First off it was a guy, and second off—no way.” Joshua was in shock. He had just finished convincing himself last night did not happen. He beelined it to the line of white sinks where the mirrors were and twisted his back to get as good a look as he could. Deep red gouges marked the length of his back. He imagined it was where the cowboy hung on as he fucked him.
Or something.
His stomach clenched as his mind processed the details.
He felt like he was going to throw up and then he saw the frosting on the cake. That damn tattoo he first saw last night on his lover’s chest was sitting on happily sitting on his. He touched the ink drawing on his chest, and it didn’t move. The gargoyle sat rigidly on his skin as if it was just an ink drawing. Joshua scrubbed at it and scratched deep with his nails. It still didn’t come off. How the hell had it transferred itself onto his chest? He didn’t remember many details from last night. There was fucking involved, and the rest he wanted to blank out.
A horned beast hung like a horse and a six-foot wingspan had slid his cock down Joshua’s ass. He felt his cock stir at the memory.
His imagination wasn’t going on overtime. He did have sex last night.
Joshua’s stomach churned violently.
Hell, he was going to throw up.
“Oh that is one hell of a cool tattoo. Where’d you get it?” Kevin asked innocently.
“Can you please shut the fuck up
!” Joshua’s angry outburst surprised Kevin. His eyes flared wide in response, and his hands went out defensively.
“Hey, I didn’t mean to step over any boundaries. I was just trying to be friendly.” Kevin took a step back.
“Look, I’m sorry, Kevin. I didn’t mean to snap on you. It’s just that I am going through some stuff, you know?”
“Sure, yeah. I understand.” But Kevin wasn’t a good liar. He had this rejected, hurt puppy look on his face.
“Look, I don’t want to get into trouble with any of the instructors.”
“Oh, I get it.” Kevin beamed back. Their behavior was watched closely during their time in the academy. They had higher expectations than the rest of society, and they could get dropped if the academy felt their behavior was less than perfect.
“I’ve come this far. You won’t tell, will you?” Joshua asked sweetly.
“Nah, I’ve got your back. No worries there.” Kevin seemed happy he was being trusted. There was an unspoken code of chivalry here, a respect for one another, and Joshua appreciated it now more than ever.
“Thanks, buddy.” Joshua let out a sigh of relief. He was only a week away from graduating, and the last thing he needed was an investigation as to whether he was conducting himself properly on his off hours. If he got drunk, it was on his weekends, and when he went looking for a good time, it was rare, but he needed to let loose once in a while. Especially with all the pressure he was feeling lately.
“It’s a very cool tattoo. Can I look at it a little closer? It’s totally wicked looking.”
“No!” Joshua panicked for a moment. He remembered the black gargoyle from last night, and while it was on Tyler, it came alive and moved. If the tattoo so much as blinked while Kevin examined it, there would be no keeping a secret. “It still hurts!”
He covered the mark on his chest with the Academy-issued sterile white towel.
“Sorry.”
“It’s not you, man. It’s something I didn’t mean to do. You ever get so wasted you do something stupid? I didn’t mean to get that tattoo, and as soon as I can afford to see a doctor about removing it, I will.”
“Okay, man. I didn’t mean to make you so sensitive. It’s a pretty cool tattoo from what I can see of it.”
“Thanks,” Joshua muttered. “I’m just not a tattoo kind of guy.”
“Well, you might wait a while and change your mind. You got really lucky to get a tattoo artist that is so talented. It looks so real. It’s just wicked cool.”
Wicked cool or not, that tattoo was coming off.
Joshua walked to his clothes and put on a clean folded white undershirt. He hoped no one else would see his artwork until a doctor took a look at it. He didn’t want anyone getting the wrong impression of him.
The Academy had drilled into them how important moral codes were. From the first day it was drilled into their heads that they put Integrity first, Service before Self, and Excellence in everything they did, whether they were wearing a badge or not.
“I appreciate you keeping it to yourself, Kevin. See you in the gym today.” He quickly threw on the rest of his workout clothes and waved on the way out of the bathroom.
* * * *
Joshua ignored the early morning chatter and did his warm ups alone, stretching his muscles a few feet away from the rest of the guys in his group. A loud shrill whistle signaled the men into formation, and Joshua followed orders without conscious thought.
“Listen up, cadets.” The head instructor, Officer Stephen Wilcox, began pacing in front of the neatly lined rows of cadets. “We have a new instructor today. Unfortunately your last instructor was hit by a train on the way to work and we had to get a last-minute replacement for your last week or so here at the Academy.”
The entire class murmured in protest.
“No, no, no.”Officer Wilcox quickly laid their joint fears to rest. “There is no reason to be upset. Your instructor, Officer Gregory O’Bannon, will be fine, but with his broken pelvis he’s going to be out of commission for a little while, but we managed to find a really good last-minute replacement.”
None of the cadets responded. They had been trained to remain quiet until they were asked a direct question.
“May I introduce to you Officer Tyler Drummond, who is a retired officer from the NYPD. We are very lucky to have such an experienced and highly decorated military man among us. He has served thirteen years in the armed services, worked as a sharpshooter in the Vietnam War, and for the last five years he has been working as a physical trainer for the Dallas Demons football team. He may only have a week to work with you, but he will make you the very best you can be when you graduate.”
“Why, thank you for that lovely introduction, Officer,” the new instructor said in a slow Texas drawl as he walked up to address the troops. “As you all know, my name is Officer Drummond. I am looking forward to working very closely together for the next week, and I expect all of you to give me a hundred and ten percent.”
Joshua recognized the voice before he ever saw the face, and he thought he might be sick on the spot. Heat flooded his cheeks. His stomach turned over, and he clenched his mouth shut, but he stood still, paralyzed in fear he was going to recognize the face from his dream.
It was him.
He instantly recognized the fucking hot bartender from last night who was standing in front of him, determined to give him hell as the new instructor.
He stopped breathing. The breath froze in Joshua’s chest.
Tyler was here!
How the fuck was that even possible?
It was his personal hell in the flesh, and the only thing that made him feel slightly better was the fact Tyler didn’t have black reptilian wings, horns, or a tail. This time he wore black combat boots, a clean white button-down shirt, and khaki pants that somehow looked better on him than anyone else. Even though it was the same uniform issued to every officer and cadet on the campus.
Damn.
Joshua’s dick recognized Tyler and stood at attention.
Double damn. Joshua had just about convinced himself that last night had not happened. Everything Tyler seemed to be saying was going in one ear and out the other. There was a dark space in Joshua’s head that still didn’t want to believe, clinging to denial, but seeing Tyler in the flesh was enough to shatter that barrier, even if the claw marks running down the length of his back and the tattoo on his chest were not enough proof.
Black silence ended when everyone else but him yelled, “Yes, sir!”
Tyler immediately zeroed in on Joshua, his dark eyebrows furrowed low over his emerald-green eyes.
Tyler walked to within inches of Joshua, his lips within kissing distance if Joshua only leaned in. Joshua wanted to, but he resisted the intense sexual attraction he felt.
“Are you even listening to me?” Tyler asked.
“Yes, sir!” Joshua tried not to show fear. He didn’t dare so much as blink.
“What’s your name, cadet?”
“Joshua Morrison, sir.”
“Do you have a problem I need to be aware of?”
“No, sir.” Joshua’s only problem was that he still wanted to fuck Tyler. Even after he witnessed a demon-like creature take Tyler’s place and everything go shit-ass crazy. Some of those twisted fucks around the bonfire had tentacles. Freaking tentacles with suction cups like the kind of monsters one saw in horror flicks. There was no reason his body should want to get fucked again. He should be scared as hell and running for his life.
Damn his weak body.
“Then you need to be respectful and follow orders when I give them. I don’t have any problem failing any one of you, even if you are only a week out from graduating. It’s my job to make sure only the best of you graduate.” Tyler backed away from Joshua’s personal space and addressed the rest of the class, but he kept his eyes on Joshua. “Do I make myself clear, Mr. Morrrison?”
“Yes, sir.” There was no way he would underestimate what Tyler was capable of.
“Joshua, I need you to stay here. Everyone else, I need you to start by pairing off and getting ready to spar. Today we will be practicing takedowns and getting ready to use the proper amount of force. I will need a volunteer to be the attacker.”
Everyone listened to the orders and left for the blue mats.
Joshua swallowed hard. Waiting to be left alone with his personal demon was a hell like no other. What did he plan to do? Tyler couldn’t do anything bad in front of witnesses could he?
“Mr. Morrison, is it?”
“Yes, sir,” Joshua said not quite as enthusiastically as he liked.
“So formal all of the sudden?” Tyler’s voice was silky smooth as sin. “I need to see you privately after class, and don’t make me wait, Joshua. I expect you to be in my office as soon as we’re done here.”
Joshua blinked once. Twice.
Tyler did not wait for a reply. He simply walked away.
Damn if that didn’t just blow him out of the water. Joshua was shell shocked and nowhere near ready for a personal meeting with Tyler. When he got ready for work today, he was certainly not expecting this turn of events.
Joshua could just not bother to show up.
Joshua could also say good-bye to his dream of ever graduating from the police academy now.
Chapter 5
Tyler sat behind the mahogany desk, pretending to care about grading papers, when he really only cared whether or not his mate showed up or he’d have to go hunt him down in the city somewhere. It was best if Joshua came to him, but he couldn’t be patient forever.
An incubus had needs, and his weren’t being met. Tyler had every right to be cranky.
He felt Joshua approach the office and stood out in front of it for nearly a minute. Joshua hesitated, but then after counting to at least twenty, he turned the knob to the office, walked in, and shut the door behind him, leaving himself alone with Tyler.
Alone.
Tyler found it difficult not to smile. “I was beginning to wonder if you’d show up at all.”