by Apollo Surge
“Bloodlines”
M/M Wolf Shifter Mpreg Paranormal Romance
The Legacy of the Wolf – Volume 2
Apollo Surge
© 2019
Apollo Surge
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This book is intended for Adults (ages 18+) only. The contents may be offensive to some readers. It may contain graphic language, explicit sexual content, and adult situations. May contain scenes of unprotected sex. Please do not read this book if you are offended by content as mentioned above or if you are under the age of 18. Please educate yourself on safe sex practices before making potentially life-changing decisions about sex in real life.
This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner & are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Products or brand names mentioned are trademarks of their respective holders or companies. The cover uses licensed images & are shown for illustrative purposes only. Any person(s) that may be depicted on the cover are simply models.
Edition v1.00 (2019.07.22)
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Special thanks to the following volunteer readers who helped with proofreading: RS, JayBee and those who assisted but wished to be anonymous. Thank you so much for your support.
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Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter One
Charlie had just finished telling Delilah and Thomas how he had met and fallen in love with their son. While he was speaking, Charlie astounded himself by how the chain of events had unfolded. Even though he spoke the words himself, and had lived through it, it still seemed unbelievable.
When he had first met Will, Charlie had been on a date with another man, Ian. Will had been in a bad way, having just been exiled from home, by the very same people that Charlie was sitting with now. Will had sensed something in Charlie, and threatened him to stay away from Ian. Charlie hadn’t paid it much attention at the time, figuring that Will was just another sad soul lost in the abyss of the bottle, slipping through the cracks of the world, but something about the man lingered.
After Will got himself together he tracked Charlie down, and the two of them went on a date. Torn between the two men, Charlie didn’t know what to do. After much wrangling, he ended up choosing Will, and this was after he’d learned Will’s astonishing secret: that he was a werewolf.
Charlie had learned all about the secret society of wolves. They lived a secluded life in the woods near the city, hidden in plain sight. Will explained to Charlie how he had been pushed away from his home because he couldn’t continue the legacy of his parents and give them an heir.
Then he had met Charlie, and even though Charlie still wasn’t sure how this had happened, he had fallen pregnant. Will told him there were rare occasions when it could happen because of the supernatural elements in wolf’s blood. Although Charlie was shocked, he was overjoyed, for carrying a child to term was everything he had ever wanted.
Will had made his dreams come true, and now he was sitting among werewolves, telling them his story. The only thing he was afraid of was that he was going to wake up and find out this had all been a dream.
“That’s wonderful. I’m so happy for your both,” Delilah said. Will’s mother was a slender woman with kind eyes and a soft voice. She had greeted Charlie as though he was a son of her own, and this had put him at ease. “I always knew you were a romantic,” she added, turning to Will.
Charlie glanced at Will and smiled. He was always rugged and tense, hiding his turbulent and powerful emotions behind a shield he had erected. Charlie knew it had taken a great effort for him to lift that shield and let Charlie in, but even so it was strange to see him with his parents, looking uneasy, his entire body rigid with tension.
Charlie supposed he couldn’t blame him. Being exiled from his home had wounded Will deeply. Upon leaving he had vowed to prove his parents wrong, and now he had, but it can’t have been easy for him to sit around like this and pretend that nothing had happened. Charlie couldn’t actually believe that Delilah could ever have been cruel enough to exile Will, although he could believe it of Thomas, Will’s father.
Thomas had been silent through the entirety of Charlie’s story. He sat with his arms folded across his broad chest, and his eyes seemed to gaze into the hidden part of the world. When he and Will had come to this place, Delilah had been relieved to see her son. Thomas had shown no such emotion, and Charlie tried not to look at the man too often. He didn’t want to take any chance of angering him.
“He has his moments,” Charlie said, sliding his hand down Will’s thick forearm, his fingers rippling through the tufts of hair like a fish through a reef, and then squeezing Will’s palm.
“And how are you feeling Charlie? It must be a confusing time for you.”
“It is,” Charlie said after taking a breath, “but I’m really happy. This is something I’ve wanted for a long time, and I’m still actually in the process of accepting that it’s happened. I’m still a little afraid that this is all too good to be true.”
“Many things are, but not this,” Delilah said.
“I’m still not quite sure how it happened. I don’t suppose you could shed any light on this?” he asked.
Delilah looked at her husband and her son in turn, then pressed her lips together and nodded.
“I think perhaps there is, come with me,” she said, and held out her hand. Charlie glanced towards Will, who inclined his head. Charlie took her hand and rose from his sitting position, and then followed her out of the small hut, leaving Will alone with his father.
“Are you sure it’s a good idea to leave the two of them alone with each other? Thomas seems quite intense.”
“Oh he is, it’s what first attracted me to him. I’m sure Will had the same effect on you,” she said with a knowing smile. Charlie blushed. “But they need a chance to talk things out. Besides, it’ll give us the chance to get to know each other a little better as well. I imagine there are a great many things you’d like to learn. I’m sure that Will has explained many things to you, but there are areas where even his knowledge is lacking.”
“There is something I’ve been wondering about more than anything else. I don’t mean to be rude, but why did you exile him? I mean, he told me
what reason you gave, but I don’t understand how you could do that to your own son,” Charlie said, trying to hide the disdain from his voice.
Delilah nodded and pressed her lips together. A moment of silence passed between them. Charlie hoped he hadn’t just ruined the rapport they had established.
“It certainly wasn’t easy for us,” she said eventually as they walked through the village. A number of the wolves looked at Charlie with curiosity. He returned their glances. Some of them smiled at him, others did not. He didn’t entirely feel welcome just yet. There was a large fire crackling in the middle of the village, and small buildings peppered across the green field. Behind him was the forest, a wall of trees that separated this from the outside world, and the rising hills of the green valley lay beyond, hinting at more adventures awaiting over the horizon.
“I suppose it seems cruel, given the world that you grew up in. I will try and explain it to you so that you can understand, but you must accept that there are many differences between the society you live in and ours. You see, when a wolf takes leadership of a clan that leadership stays with the family. Its seen as powerful, and gradually other people get drawn to the clan, and there’s more diversity, more strength. But of course, with that many different bloodlines involved there’s more jostling for leadership. If the leaders seem negligent or weak they are allowed to be challenged, and have to defend their right to lead, which is why it’s important to raise strong children, to keep the clan together. But if there are no children, well, chaos ensures. Sometimes there are more than one interested in taking leadership, other times the clan breaks apart without a central focus and splinters off into smaller communities. This clan has existed for about 150 years, thriving in the shadow of your city. We have seen a lot of change here, but the clan has always seemed eternal.”
“Until Will,” Charlie said, vocalizing her thought.
“Unfortunately, yes. We were only blessed with one child, so all our hopes, all the hopes of this clan, were placed on him. We knew from the first time we saw him that he would be a strong child, a good leader, but that wasn’t enough. When it became clear that he wasn’t interested in having a child, continuing the bloodline, we had no choice but to exile him.”
“But couldn’t you have just waited? There was always the chance that he could have changed his mind, or that, well, that this could happen,” Charlie said, gesturing to his abdomen. It was still early in the pregnancy so he hadn’t begun to show, although in truth he wasn’t sure if this pregnancy was going to follow the usual routine, so he was trying to prepare himself for the unexpected.
“He made a target of himself. When it became clear that he wasn’t interested in continuing our legacy, he made himself an enemy of the clan. Because of him there is going to be chaos when we eventually pass, war between wolves, and that is something nobody wants. We did it for his own safety really…not that he can see that. I know it’s hard for you to understand but perhaps, well, perhaps when your little one has grown up you will.”
Charlie wasn’t sure she was correct. He couldn’t imagine a world in which he pushed his child away like that, but he wasn’t going to argue the point now. All that mattered was that it was over now. Will was home.
“What are your plans? It won’t be easy for you, straddling two worlds, and this is hardly a common sight.”
“No, it’s not. There are baggy clothes I can wear though. I still need to find a suitable doctor. There’s still a lot I need to do. Like I said, I’m still getting used to the idea. I still can’t believe it happened. Will said it was something to do with the mixing of blood, that it was a rare occurrence.”
“It is, very rare, but not unheard of,” Delilah said with an enigmatic smile. “There are many elements that go into the creating of a wolf. It takes timing. The moon must have been shining on you the night the child was conceived. There is more to the world than you humans understand. You think you can conquer everything with science, but some things go beyond that. There are creatures like us, but there are special humans too, and I think that you may be one of them.”
“Special humans?”
“There are legends of humans who exhibited the characteristics of both genders. They were said to have the strength of men and the beauty of women. In the past the lines were blurred, and they had the best of both worlds, but they were rare. They abilities gradually became subsumed into the larger genetic pool, and now they have been diluted with only people like you remaining. I imagine that many of you don’t even know you have the ability to fall pregnant. The odds of you and Will finding each other are phenomenal, but perhaps it was written in the stars.”
“That’s a nice thought,” Charlie said, still processing her words. He’d heard of hermaphrodites of course, perhaps there was some truth to what she was saying. It made sense, after all, there were still parts of the human body that lingered even after they served no evolutionary purpose, like the appendix. Perhaps this was something like that. Maybe that was why he had such a drive to carry a child.
“What are your plans now?” she asked.
“I…I’m not sure really.” Charlie said. He was still getting his head around what she said.
“There is always a lot to think about. You can count on our support. Do you have anyone in the city?”
“Yes, my friend Lisa. She has a little girl of her own so she’s been through this all recently.”
“That’s wonderful. What about your parents?”
“We had a falling out a long time ago. It’s best not to go there really. They could never accept the fact that I preferred the company of men. They saw it as a failure on their part and I decided that I didn’t need that kind of negativity in my life. I don’t know how they would ever cope with knowing that the father of their child was a werewolf. That raises a point, actually. Do you think the baby is going to be a werewolf?”
“I’d imagine so. Our blood is strong,” she said, putting a hand on his arm, squeezing it gently. “And that will bring with it its own challenges. But you can be sure that we will help you in any way we can.”
“I appreciate that, I really do.”
“There will always be a place for you here, a home,” she added. It took Charlie a couple of moments to realize what she was telling him, but she was offering him the chance to stay there. Charlie looked around at this agricultural society, a society that harkened back to a time without electronics, without all the comforts that he was used to. The thought of staying there, of leaving the city, filled him with uncertainty. The future suddenly loomed ahead like a large shadow, swirling with chaos and fear. Charlie’s throat ran dry and a wave of nausea swept through his stomach, so powerful that his knees almost buckled and he almost fell to the ground.
“You don’t have to worry about it now, I just wanted to reassure you that if you needed a place to hide away, where people are going to accept the fact that you are carrying a child, you have a sanctuary here.”
Delilah’s words swirled in his head, sounding tinny and distant. He blinked, clamping his eyes shut, and then the world righted itself again. He wasn’t sure what that was, but he knew he didn’t want to experience it again.
“I’m sorry, I just got a little light-headed there for a moment,” he said.
“You must be hungry. Come, let us get some food,” she said. At that moment, a loud howl broke through the serenity of the wood. Delilah’s brow furrowed as her gaze turned towards the source of the noise. Others of the community followed suit, as did Charlie. He saw a gray streak sprinting across the rolling hills before him, a lone wolf charging forward. As he got closer Charlie saw how large it was, its fur a mottled brown, its eyes mean and cruel. It reached the edge of the settlement and then turned into a man as it strode forward, its limbs forming arms and legs, its long snout with sharp fangs receding into a scarred face.
“Oh no, not him,” Delilah whispered.
Chapter Two
Will had been sitting in silence as Charlie told t
heir story. He was proud and embarrassed at the same time, and things weren’t happening as he wished. He had wanted to prove them wrong the moment they had exiled him, and he had, but he got no satisfaction from the smug air that lingered around him. In fact, it was a hollow sensation. Charlie seemed to have more kinship with Delilah than Will had ever had, and Thomas was as emotive as a stone.
It wasn’t good to be home.
When Delilah had pulled Charlie away, Will felt stunned. At least with Charlie there, the human could soak up the conversation and Will could simply sit there and listen. Now he was alone with his father, and they would have to have words. Even since he had been exiled Will had thought about what he would say to his father upon his return, but now that the moment presented itself, he was lost for words.
“Aren’t you going to say anything?” Will asked.
“What is there to say?” Thomas replied.
Will clenched his jaw.
“Perhaps an apology?”
“I have nothing to apologize for. You would not have met this human if you hadn’t been exiled. If anything we have been proven right. If anything, you should be thanking us.”
“Thanking you?!” Will roared, his eyes apoplectic. Thomas remained resolute.
“You have always shown ingratitude. Frankly, if the boy was not pregnant I would have you thrown out of here. You are fortunate that fate has smiled upon you. I do not know what bargain you have made with the gods, but I hope the price was worth paying.”
“There has been no bargain. It may be difficult for you to believe, but I am capable of love, and this child is a product of that. I would have thought you would be happy. I have finally given you what you wanted. Your bloodline is secure.”
“That is yet to be seen. His blood is not pure.”