Power [The Angel Pack 11] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove)

by Maggie Walsh

  “Looking for this, big boy?” Sage said with mirth.

  Slade looked back to Sage and smiled. His beautiful mate was holding the tube in his hand and wiggling it around. “Such a good mate,” Slade growled and reached for the tube. Taking it from Sage, he popped the top and drizzled a generous amount on his cock, then tossed the tube to the side. Wrapping his fingers around his shaft, he gave it a few tugs to make sure it was fully coated. He grabbed the base of his cock and lined the tip up with Sage’s glistening hole, then looked up and his gaze met his mate’s.

  Sage’s beautiful deep blue eyes were filled with desire. “Pull your legs up for me, sweetness,” Slade instructed and Sage grabbed the backs of his knees, drawing his legs up to his chest.

  “Damn, that’s the second most beautiful thing I have ever seen,” Slade growled.

  “Second?” Sage questioned and Slade could hear the slight hesitation and hurt in his voice.

  “Yes, second, because you are by far the most beautiful thing I have ever laid eyes on.”

  The hurt in Sage’s eyes was immediately replaced with joy and Slade realized he only wanted to see this look from his mate for the rest of his life. He would do everything in his power to make sure his baby was always happy. Slade pushed forward until the head of his cock popped through the outer ring of muscle, gripping him deliciously tight.

  “Shit!” Sage cried out and Slade froze. He released a harsh breath as he tried to hold off his orgasm. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes,” Sage panted. “Just…just give me a minute. I-I kind of like the burn.”

  Slade stayed still until Sage nodded, then he slowly slid farther inside. “So fucking good, sweetheart,” Slade declared through clenched teeth.

  Slade pressed forward slowly until his full length disappeared inside his mate’s heavenly body. Sage arched up off the bed, then his body went stiff as he cried out. Slade smiled to himself. He guessed he found his mate’s sweet spot.

  Slade thrust his hips in small jabs so he would keep tapping on Sage’s prostate, driving him insane with pleasure until Sage’s cries turned into incoherent moans and groans. Slade leaned forward and Sage released his legs, wrapping them around Slade’s waist. Slade slid his hands under Sage’s shoulders and placed them on top, locking Sage in place. With their faces only inches apart, Slade stared deeply into his mate’s eyes as he began a slow rhythm, thrusting in and out of his mate’s body. Sage’s eyes glazed over and Slade could see he was fighting to keep them open, so as not to break their connection.

  Slade nailed Sage’s prostate again and Sage grabbed on to his biceps tight as he threw his head back. Slade snapped his hips, once more hitting Sage’s sweet spot. He fucked Sage slow, keeping the rhythm gentle. Then Slade lowered his head, closing the few inches between them, and claimed his mate’s lips. Sage opened for him and Slade slid his tongue in, then tilted his head to deepen the kiss.

  Sage’s hands roamed over his flesh, up his shoulders, and around his neck. Sage ran his fingers through Slade’s hair and pulled him closer. The blissful sensation of his mate wrapped around him and his cock was too much, causing Slade’s orgasm to build quickly and threaten to explode. He felt the need to thrust harder, faster. Slade broke the kiss and pressed their foreheads together. “I need to feel you come, sweetheart. I can’t hold back anymore,” Slade confessed.

  “No! Don’t hold back! Take me, Slade. Fuck me with everything you’ve got! Claim me and make me yours!”

  That’s all he needed to hear. Slade picked up his pace, thrusting faster and snapping his hips harder. Sage turned his head and exposed his throat in a sign of submission. Slade could feel his eyes shift to his vampire and his fangs burst through his gums. Slade licked the side of Sage’s neck and the taste of vanilla and oranges bathed his senses. Slade struck, sinking his fangs into flesh. Sage cried out under him and Slade felt his mate’s warm release fill the space between them. He wanted to stay right here in this moment forever, inside his mate as he gave him pleasure, drinking his mate’s delicious, life-sustaining goodness.

  Which was a new concept for him. Slade loved the freedom he had moving around the country wherever and whenever he wanted. But right here, right now, with his mate, was the best place he had ever been and he could see a whole new life. One that included his amazing mate and a home. Something Slade hadn’t had in a very long time, but now found himself longing for.

  Releasing Sage’s neck, he licked across his bite, healing the skin. Then he felt it. Sage’s canines broke through his flesh, claiming him, and it was the last push he needed to send him over the edge. Lights exploded behind his eyes as an orgasm more intense than any he had ever had before shot out of him, filling his mate with his seed.

  Slade felt as if they were floating weightless in a beautiful clear blue sky, the sun’s rays warming their naked bodies. Slade could feel Sage around him and in him and it was so peaceful.

  Slowly they floated back down, landing on the bed and Sage released him, sliding his teeth from Slade’s throat, then he licked across his mark. They lay there wrapped around each other as they tried to catch their breath.

  After a few minutes, Sage broke the silence. “That was…well. That was. Oh holy shit, I think you fried my brain. Fucked it right out of my head,” he panted.

  Slade chuckled and kissed Sage’s forehead, then pulled from his body and rolled them over so that he lay on his back and Sage lay pressed to his side, his head on Slade’s chest.

  “I have to agree. That talented mouth of yours sucked my brains out right through my cock,” Slade teased.

  “Oh, we are a match, aren’t we? Two brainless wiseasses.” Sage laughed and ran a hand down Slade’s sweaty chest.

  “I particularly like your ass. Wise or not.” Slade smiled. He had never had more pleasurable or fulfilling sex in his life, and he had never laughed so much, even out of the bedroom. He had rarely smiled and he had never joked during sex. Sage was a first for a lot of things for him and he found that he liked it.

  “I agree,” Sage snickered, then got serious. “It was everything I always hoped it would be.”

  Slade froze as he stopped breathing. Did he just hear his mate correctly? He pulled back and looked down at Sage. Their gazes met and he could see the insecurities there. “Are you saying…was that…? Were you a virgin?” Slade asked in disbelief.

  Sage looked down but not before Slade saw the embarrassment in his eyes. Slade placed a finger under Sage’s chin and lifted his head until their eyes met. “Sweetness?”

  “I thought you said you knew what I had done,” Sage whispered.

  “I do, but when you just said it was everything you hoped it would be…”

  “I was talking about being claimed by my mate.”

  “Oh. Well, it definitely was perfect.” Slade kissed the top of his head and tightened his hold on his mate and Sage cuddled in, resting his cheek against Slade’s chest. They both lay silent for a few minutes. Slade could tell that his mate was thinking hard, and the content feeling that came from mind-blowing sex, had faded, and was replaced by unease. He didn’t like the feeling in his mate. “So what has you so anxious, mate?” he finally asked.

  “I was thinking that it’s too late now. You’re stuck with me as a mate. We both got carried away and now you’re trapped with me. I’m really sorry, Slade,” Sage said in defeat.

  Slade could feel the anger begin to build and it was about to boil over. Did his mate now regret them fucking and claiming each other? Oh hell no! He was not going to let his mate take this magical moment away from them and tarnish it. What the hell was wrong with him? What was he thinking? He had never experienced any of these emotions before, so he wasn’t sure what to do.

  After a few moments in silence, Sage started to pull away and a thought hit him. Maybe Sage needed to hear that someone wanted him? Maybe even though he felt the words to some degree, he was hoping Slade would disagree. He tightened his hold and pulled Sage back to him. “You’re not going anywher
e. And stop talking like that. I am honored to call you mate and I will fight with everything that I am to keep you. Now stop getting all negative and remember you are not alone anymore. We’ll figure all of this out together,” Slade said confidently, meaning every word. He kissed the top of Sage’s head again and he could feel his mate relax as he lay his head back down. “Now get some rest. We go asshole hunting in a few hours.”

  Sage chuckled and cuddled up closer to him. Yeah, this was right. This is where he belonged. For the first time in his life he felt complete. Slade closed his eyes and let sleep take him.

  * * * *

  Sage strolled into the kitchen holding his mate’s hand. He still couldn’t believe it, he had a mate. Yes, technically they had only met earlier today, but Sage knew this was right. Even though he still had deep fears of the black magic of the Tribeca taking him, there was now another voice in his head just as strong. One that refused the notion and would fight against the force if it tried to consume him. He loved the family he had with Evan. He loved this pack. He now had a real blood family in Raith and Maddy, as well as their mates. And he had his own mate. A mate he was quickly learning wasn’t as fierce as he showed the rest of the world, but a kind, gentle soul, who like himself, just needed the right person to ground him. And that was the thought Sage would hold close as he faced the evil forces threatening to claim him and take all of that away. He couldn’t let it happen because he would lose all of this, and his mate if he lost.

  “I hope you’re both rested?” Micah addressed them as they entered the kitchen, bringing Sage out of his thoughts.

  “We’re good,” Slade said blankly and Sage smiled. As soon as others were around, his mate turned back into that cold, ruthless warrior. But he knew better. Slade had been so loving and gentle with him, showing him the gooey middle. Sage laughed inside from his thoughts. If his big bad mate ever knew he used the words gooey middle in reference to him, the man wouldn’t be happy.

  “I’ve talked to Demi and Lucifer and they’ll be waiting if we need them. I’ve also asked Zane to join us. He knows everything about both sides of witchcraft and can help us stop Francis,” Micah informed them.

  “Thank you, Alpha. Knowing that I have all of you to help me, makes this a little less scary,” Sage said.

  “We will all do everything in our power to help and protect you, Sage,” Micah promised.

  “I know you will, and I can never repay you for that. I just…” Sage trailed off.

  “What is it, mate?” Slade asked as he squeezed Sage’s hand gently.

  “I just hope these powers aren’t so strong that I will repay you by turning on you once they claim me.” Sage softly confessed his biggest fear.

  “I may not hold the powers of my family’s bloodline like Rory does, but I do hold some of them, as well as being the Moiria guardian. And as such, I have been taught every spell known, including that of black magic and old magic,” Zane said as he joined them. He stopped next to Micah and met Sage’s gaze. “From what Micah has told me of this Francis, and him being the Genesis of the skinwalkers, that means he is very old and will be calling upon powers of old magic. That’s why you haven’t been able to fight or counter his spells. You have only received some of your mother’s powers upon her death and haven’t had time to fully learn about them and what they can do. Once your birthday comes, the rest of those powers will search you out. They are probably already looking for you, but the pull is the strongest on your birthday. Especially your twenty-first. That is the day the veil of magic is thin and it is easier to claim them. From what information the others were able to gain from the prisoner, your familiar doesn’t hold those powers. They are just sitting there waiting for you to come to them. Francis knows exactly what he needs to do to steal those powers, and at the exact moment he needs to do it. When the veil is weak.”

  “I know how to use them more than you know,” Sage mumbled under his breath as he looked down at his feet.

  “What does that mean, Sage?” Micah asked curiously.

  Sage’s head snapped up and his scared gaze met Micah’s. He didn’t think anyone could hear him, but shit, with Micah being a wolf shifter his senses were better than most. But him being an alpha only made those abilities stronger. He should have remembered that.

  “Mate? What is it? I can feel your fear,” Slade asked gently.

  He loved that about Slade. He was hard and fierce to others, but gentle and tender to him. Damn it, he couldn’t tell them. No wait, rephrase that, he was scared to tell them. He had been afraid of them finding everything out before and ran, but they had come after him and only wanted to help him. Should he tell them everything? Could he? Damn it! Just get it all out and see where the shit falls and deal with it.

  Sage looked to his mate and saw the worry in his eyes, then he turned his gaze to his alpha’s and could see concern there. Sage took a deep breath and released it. “I had some of these powers before Allison died,” he confessed, dropping the bombshell.

  “What? For how long?” Zane asked, astonished.

  “The first time I realized something was different about me was when I was about five,” Sage answered.

  Zane stepped closer, his eyes showing his shock. “Five? What happened? What did you do?”

  Slade growled from beside him and Sage looked at him. Slade’s eyes had shifted to red, showing his vampire was close and they were focused on Zane. Sage knew he needed to calm his mate before something bad happened. He placed a hand on Slade’s chest and rubbed him gently as he spoke softly. “It’s okay, mate. Zane isn’t threatening me. He’s just obviously surprised by what I said.”

  “Exactly. Thank you, Sage. Let me explain. Those, like us, Maddy, and Rory, who are direct descendants of the original six lines are born with our powers. Usually we have our parent around to help us learn how to use them as they grow, like my father did because he knew I would be the next in line as the Moiria Guardian. Rory’s mother bound his powers when he was a small child because he almost burned their house down when he was three.”

  “She did? Does Rory know this?” Micah asked.

  Zane looked to Micah. “Yes. I’ve explained all of this to him already.” Zane turned back to face Sage. “Once the parent who holds power is ready to die, they transfer their power onto us. My father did to me right before he passed. But Rory is the one in the family who would get the full power of our bloodline because his mother held it and he was her firstborn. My father’s power paled in comparison to Rory’s mother. Now the same is true for your bloodline.”

  “But Maddy doesn’t have any power,” Sage argued.

  “I have been thinking about that and can only come to the conclusion that Allison bound his powers as well. He grew up with her, but you didn’t, so she was never able to bind yours and she wasn’t there to help you with them. I never even thought of that. You have had your powers all along and had no one to teach you how to use them. You haven’t gained any of Allison’s powers. You just have your own. If the parent who holds the bloodline power dies before they bind that power to their firstborn, then their magic is usually passed on to the familiar to hold on to until the next in line comes to claim them. Rory’s powers didn’t seek him out because his mother knew something was going to happen to her. So she gave up her powers while she was still alive and gave them to their family familiar, Adam, to keep safe for Rory until the day he came to claim them. She purposely bound them to Adam to keep safe.

  “But Allison never got the chance to bind her powers to anyone. And they couldn’t find you so they went to her domain, her coven home, where they await to be claimed by the firstborn. Now as I said, we are born with these powers, but they slowly grow and build and our parents are usually there to help us, but you had no one there to guide you. Your powers grew as they normally would and upon Allison’s death―” Zane stopped suddenly as his eyes opened wide. It looked as if he just remembered something. Something not good, and Sage had a new wave of fear wash over him from th
e look.

  “What?”

  “Do you have a tattoo? Did one suddenly appear? It would have been about a year ago. The same time Allison died,” Zane asked.

  “How did you…” Sage began to ask in surprise, but trailed off.

  “You do, don’t you?”

  “Yes. What are you getting at?”

  “It proves that you are the next in line for your family’s power. May I see it?” Zane asked.

  Sage looked to Slade, then back to Zane, before he took a step away from his mate. Pulling up the sleeve of his long-sleeved T-shirt, Sage exposed the inside of his wrist. Zane moved closer and stared at the tattoo.

  “The sign of the Tribeca, but why are there two? And why is one half covering the other?”

  “I don’t know. When I researched it, all I came up with was the black triangle as the mark of the Tribeca. I couldn’t find anything about the double triangle. One light, one dark.”

  “I have a theory, but I need to check some things out first,” Zane stated.

  “What are you thinking it may be, Zane?” Micah asked.

  “Maddy. You are a twin. As I said, it’s just a theory and I would have to do some research, but my gut is telling me it has something to do with you being a twin.” Zane glanced once more at the tattoo and then met Sage’s gaze. “You have had powers your whole life without guidance. What have you done with them? How did they appear to you?”

  “What does that mean, how did they appear to him?” Slade asked.

  Zane’s eyes filled with sadness. “They made you do things you didn’t understand. Things that may not have been good,” Zane said to Sage sympathetically.

  Sage’s eyes filled with tears and he began to shiver. “Yes,” he whispered, then swallowed hard. “When my parents would fight I would wish bad things would happen to my dad and they did. He was always so mean to my mom. I hated him. Then when Mom got sick, he wouldn’t do a damn thing to help her. He wouldn’t even take her to the doctor. If he had, then they may have caught the cancer sooner and maybe she would still be here. I was too young to drive her. This one time when she had gotten really sick, I called a cab to come and get us. Dad was too busy fucking around with his girlfriend. He didn’t think we knew, but Mom and I did. When I got her to the hospital that’s when they found the cancer, but it was too late. She was already in stage four and the cancer had spread to different areas of her body.