“Not going to boy,” Ace grunted, putting as much effort into his swings as he could. Pulling on his years of experience he made sure that every lash was laid down one inch down from the next, allowing the burn to radiate from every welt. Just ten minutes later, Devin was struggling to hold onto the bars, but Ace was thrilled that he continued to hang on tight.
Unfortunately that wiggling ass was tempting Ace’s control with every second. Finishing a final welt that ran straight across the swell of Devin’s pink buttocks, Ace dropped his belt and snicked open the button on his jeans.
“Have to fuck you, mate,” Ace said, stepping up behind that heated ass. The sensual heat coming off of Devin’s body made him groan.
“Yes, amatus, fuck yes.” Devin moaned in reply. Then he leaned his head over his shoulder and said with a small smile, “Lube in my pants pocket.”
“You’re an angel,” Ace said, his answering grin the first to grace his face in days. Quickly he found the couple of single use sachets in Devin’s front pocket, slinging the jeans back on the floor. Less than two minutes later he was sinking his cock into the most delicious heat he had every encountered, his mate’s sinful moan urging him on.
As the two men found their rhythm Ace ran hard hands over the welts on Devin’s back and ass, causing Devin to moan and writhe even more.
“Soon, amatus, please soon,” Devin wailed.
“Wait for me,” Ace grunted, stepping up the pace. His balls felt tight, and the tingling in his spine signaled he was close. As he felt his orgasm reach the point of no return he flicked out his claws and ran them straight down Devin’s back leaving a set of gouges that flared brightly against the welts.
“Now,” he said as he scratched again, deep and sure. Devin screamed. Ace could smell his mate’s spunk as it hit the wall, Devin’s inner muscles milking his balls dry. Ace allowed himself to sag against his mate’s body, confident that his strong vampire would hold him up. The heat from Devin’s skin was intoxicating, but there wasn’t a hint of tension left in the man’s body. It would seem the blood urge had passed for now, at least.
When he had got his breath back under control, Ace carefully pulled out, gathering Devin in his arms and gently carrying him over to the narrow bed, settling them both on the mattress with Devin on his lap. He gently nudged the plaint man’s mouth into his neck.
“Feed,” Ace ordered softly and was rewarded seconds later with the slight pain signaling twin fangs were now embedded in his neck. As had happened the last time, Ace felt an overwhelming sense of calm hitting both him and his wolf as his mate fed. His wolf adored the way that they could provide for their mate in this unique way. Ace kept up a steady rhythm of stroking up and down Devin’s back, the heat already cooling as Devin’s body started to heal. Ace was happy though. This was the sort of aftercare he had dreamed of sharing with another, with an added zing.
When Devin lifted his head, and licked the slight wounds closed, he nuzzled back into Ace’s arms. Despite a possible death sentence hanging over his head, Ace had never felt so complete and so at peace. He nuzzled Devin’s soft hair, soaking in the man’s scent and thanked the Fates for this chance to be with his mate one more time. But all too soon he knew he was going to have to have a discussion with his mate. Devin had to know how serious things had gotten. Pearson’s reluctance to see him was not a good sign, and Ace knew that.
“I am overjoyed you are here, little mate,” Ace said. “But I don’t understand what made you come. Things are not looking good for me right now.”
“That’s part of the reason I should be here,” Devin said firmly. “I did try to follow your orders, I honestly did. But when the urge hit me, and I was so incredibly lonely without you…I remembered how wolf shifters gave a lot of respect to the mating mark, and figured it had to be worth a chance to see you.”
“They’re considering my death, precious. The fact that I haven’t seen the Alpha at all is not a good sign. I plan to tell Pearson about you, if they will let me see him, so that you can be cared for, but you have to accept that under pack law, I could be killed for what I did.”
Ace didn’t bother to sugar-coat his words. Devin was a man, a strong man and he needed to hear the truth. Ace had never regretted his actions against Teric more than he did in that moment. To be torn away from his mate now would be worse than death, and Ace gripped Devin tighter in his arms as though to prevent that from happening.
“I spoke to the Alpha too. I had to, to get them to let me see you,” Devin said slowly. “Amatus, I don’t think you quite understand what it means now that we are mated. If you die, then I will too. That is the way of our kind. Our life threads are entwined because vampires live longer than any other species. The moment you die, I do too.”
“But…but…surely if the mating bond is broken by my death, then you would be free of me. You could take another master.”
Ace couldn’t believe it when Devin shook his head, his violet eyes sad but resigned.
“No, amatus. I have fed from you – my true mate. My body now is attuned to yours. I will never be able to feed from another, and you are now the only one who can help me curb the blood urge when they come. With our life force entwined if anything happens to you, then I feel it. When you die, my life force expires as well. I explained all that, well, at least I thought I did. Isn’t it the same with mated wolves?”
“Not quite like that, no. A mated shifter will usually pine to death if their partner dies, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Not if the wolf has support from pack and family members. It is hard, but it is possible to live after a claimed one’s death. That is how mothers survive the death of a mate – if they have cubs they focus on that and hopefully, usually, the cubs provide enough incentive for the mothers to live.”
Ace let his words trail off as the full horror of what he had done, hit him like a ten ton truck. His nerves were swamped with fear and his panic grew. He had been resigned to his own death. If the Alpha demanded it, then it was pack law and Ace would have submitted. Given up without a fight because despite his issues with other species, Ace was a loyal wolf to the core. But he never dreamed that he would be sentencing Devin to the same fate. It was more than his heart could comprehend and all of a sudden Ace could barely breathe. He started to choke, his throat closed up, his gut cramped and his eyes filled with tears.
“Oh my precious, what the hell have I done?” He gasped.
10
Chapter Ten
Devin could feel the panic the moment it hit Ace’s nervous system. Wrapping his arms around his mate’s neck, Devin stroked Ace’s beautiful thick hair letting his presence and his scent do what words could not. To see his big, strong, dominant mate brought down by the thought of his death was almost too much for Devin to handle. He had already lived many lifetimes and he struggled to find the words that would let Ace know that he would far rather be mated to him for a few short days, than live god knows how many more centuries alone.
“You bastard! I will fucking kill you myself,” A deep voice yelled from the flung open door of the cell. Devin leapt up and crouched on the bed, his fangs and claws bared. It crossed his mind that he was still naked, but that fleeting thought wasn’t important. Not when Kyle was filling the doorway, the anger on his face tangible in the room and Ace still had tears running down his face. No one should ever witness his mate’s weakest moments.
As Kyle came closer, Devin could feel Ace pulling himself together, but Devin was not going to let one rabid wolf shifter hurt his mate. He wasn’t a five hundred year old vampire for nothing.
“Stay away from my mate,” he hissed.
“Get out of the way Prince Devin,” Kyle said mockingly as he got closer still. “This doesn’t concern you, boy. Your mate threatened mine and the Alpha’s going to let him live. I say he deserves to fucking die and I’ll do it myself if the Alpha won’t.”
Devin could feel Ace try and move past him, but he couldn’t let that happen. The Alpha was going to let Ac
e live. Devin had heard those words as clear as a bell. Even if they were banished it wouldn’t matter, they were both going to live. But that all might change if Pearson caught Ace and Kyle fighting. Even if Kyle was clearly going around Pearson’s wishes.
Ace No! Devin yelled through their mind link, praying that Ace would hear him.
Devin? What the fuck?
Yes. You can’t fight Kyle. Stand down, please, amatus. Don’t make this any worse.
Hell of a time to find out we have a mind link. Devin heard Ace’s mutter in his head, but thank the Fates Ace trusted him enough and stayed back.
“You are going to have to go through me first,” Devin said, keeping his focus on Kyle. “Don’t let my size or lack of clothing fool you.”
To his surprise, Kyle stopped advancing, although he was still standing within arm’s reach.
“You are innocent in all this,” Kyle said. “I have no quarrel with you. But I have spent the best part of a month shielding my mate every single day. We haven’t been able to go home, having to stay at the club. I don’t dare let him go anywhere on his own, all because your mate threatened his life. And for what? Because he’s a cat shifter? We’re true mates and I would kill anyone who threatened his life.”
“Ace’s attitudes have changed,” Devin said softly. “He poses no danger to your mate anymore. He just didn’t understand how you could be true mates until he met me.”
“And I don’t understand why a bossy wolf like you thought you had the right to literally put me under 24/7 protection,” came a sultry voice from the doorway. “I’m a freaking assassin in case you had forgotten. More than capable of looking after myself. You could be looking at some serious couch time, mate of mine.”
Both Devin and Kyle turned at the sound of the new voice. So this was Teric, Kyle’s mate. Devin had caught glimpses of the man when he had been tracking Ace but he had never seen the man close up and personal. Definitely a cat shifter, undoubtedly gorgeous with his curly black hair and his bright green eyes. About the same size as Devin, the grace in the man was unmistakable as he moved across the room, Pearson and Dante behind him.
“What are you doing here Kyle?” Pearson said, his low voice calm, but with the hint of a threat underlying it. “You’re my enforcer. I shared with you my decision regarding Ace and his mate as a common courtesy and now you pull a stunt like this. Are you challenging me?”
“No Alpha,” Kyle said immediately, tilting his head to one side and exposing his neck. Devin didn’t know what made Kyle back down so quickly but he could sense Ace submitting as well. Must be some sort of power thing that Alphas had. He made a note to talk to Ace about it later. Teric didn’t seem to be affected so it had to be a wolf thing.
“Prince Devin,” Pearson continued, almost ignoring Kyle completely which wasn’t easy because the Alpha had to look over Kyle’s head to see Devin. “My apologies for the interruption. My mate and I would like to talk to Ace, and Teric has expressed an interest in getting to know you both as well. Perhaps after you have put some clothes on, you could join us for dinner, both of you of course,” he added when he saw Devin looking at Ace.
The longing in Ace’s eyes told Devin all he needed to know. If there was any chance that his mate could get back into his pack, then Devin would do whatever it took – having dinner with the Alpha and Alpha Mate, and a sexy looking cat shifter was hardly a hardship. He was quite hungry for real food now his blood urge had passed.
“Kyle,” Pearson continued. “You are on Dungeon Master duty for the remainder of your shift. Then you are to head to your own home, and Teric can join you there when we have finished dinner. You are not to come back to the club until you have sorted your attitude. Is that understood?”
Kyle looked like he desperately wanted to argue, but he eventually nodded his head taking one last heated look at Teric before he left the room. Teric was hiding a smirk, which blossomed into a huge smile when Kyle left the room.
“You have to be careful with these wolf shifters,” he said as an aside to Devin. “They think they freaking own you. Doesn’t hurt to put them in their place every now and again.”
Devin grinned too. He had a feeling Ace’s protective nature was just one of the joys he would have to learn to contend with as he learned to live with his wolf shifter mate.
~~~~/
Ace wanted to pinch himself as he walked behind Pearson, Dante and Teric, with Devin at his side. Food was an important part of wolf shifter culture and Pearson’s offer of a meal was a huge indication that not only was Ace no longer on death row so to speak, but that he also wouldn’t be banished. Wolves did not share food with non-pack except under exceptional circumstances. Ace knew he would still have to suffer a punishment, but he would accept that – regardless of what it was. In that moment, he would give anything to get back into his pack – except his vampire mate of course, and knowing how Pearson felt about other paranormals and the true mate bond, Ace couldn’t see that happening.
For Pearson and Dante to eat with him, in the pack dining room, was a rare honor. In all of his years at the Bound and Bonded club he had never been invited to eat with the Alpha before. Hopeful for the first time since he left the diner, Ace finally started to relax. He hadn’t had a decent meal in days. Now he had his mate, he hopefully had his pack and…okay, he had to get to know Teric too, but that might not be a bad thing. Lord knows he had spent enough time both before he claimed Devin and while he was in his cell, going over all of things that he had done wrong on that front.
It wasn’t until after the food had arrived that Pearson spoke up.
“Ace, Teric told me some time ago that the Shifter Council had labelled you a ‘wolfist’ and that you had been on their radar for some time. Where did you ever get the idea that wolf shifters were superior to other paranormals or humans?”
“My father,” Ace said immediately. That wasn’t a hard question to answer at all. Everything he had known, all of his belief structures had been beaten into place by a father who saw himself as some sort of elite being. When Ace looked up from his plate he could see the other men at the table looking at him, and he realized his two word answer wouldn’t cut it.
“My father was a lone wolf. My mother was not his true mate and he always seemed angry at her, and later at me, for some reason. My first memories were of him beating me for some minor childhood prank. At nights he would sit at the dining table going on and on about the power of a wolf shifter, how they were the dominant species on earth and all others should be submissive to them. He had many, many rigid beliefs and over the years I guess I just absorbed them all without even thinking about them. I grew up being preached to about the importance of being a wolf shifter and that association with others was wrong.”
“What were his opinions about other shifter species and paranormals?” Dante didn’t have any judgment in his voice either, simply asking a question and because Dante was the Alpha Mate, and Ace was trying to be on his best behavior, Ace answered honestly.
“Cat shifters were solitary animals who didn’t understand the importance of pack and couldn’t be trusted. Bear shifters were loners who would kill you as quick as look at you. Horse shifters and other smaller shifter types were meant to be prey for wolves under the natural order of things. No other shifter types understand the importance of being a wolf shifter and the need for pack.”
“That’s pretty ironic coming from a lone wolf,” Dante said. “So what about other paranormals and humans?”
Ace looked across at Devin, who gave him an encouraging smile. He really didn’t want to hurt his mate, but he couldn’t lie either.
It’s okay amatus, Ace felt in his head. I know your feelings have changed since you met me. Answer your Alpha Mate.
Taking a deep breath, Ace said as quickly as he could, “Humans are weak and useless for anything. They should be submissive to all wolves because they can’t protect themselves and used for sex or chores only. The Fae are sneaky and will make promises that th
ey don’t keep so should be avoided at all costs. Demons are inherently evil and should never be allowed on earth and vampires…”
Ace closed his eyes. He didn’t want to hurt Devin, but it had to be said. “Vampires are the soulless who walk the earth praying on everyone in a mad lust for blood – their only goal in life to take the life force of others and they kill for sport rather than need.”
“Well, that must have made your meeting Devin a bit of a shock,” Teric said, ever the master of the understatement.
Looking down at his plate, Ace ignored Teric as he tried to pull in the scent of his mate, trying work out what the man must be feeling. Ace didn’t really know how he was feeling, so trying to get handle of Devin’s emotions was doubly difficult. He knew he felt ashamed and had battled enough with his guilt when he sent Devin away the first time they talked. He also felt incredibly stupid because he had caused his mate considerable harm by leaving him for five days on his own. A semi-decent wolf shifter just wouldn’t do that.
You needed time to sort things out amatus. I don’t hold that against you and never will. Devin’s soothing voice rolled through Ace’s head, and it did make him feel better.
Don’t ever doubt that you are perfect for me in every way, he sent back, hoping that Devin got the message. From the sweet smile and the waft of arousal that suddenly hit Ace’s nose, it would seem that his message had been received.
“Surely someone around you must have helped shape you into the wolf you became? I mean you have loyalty and understand the pack hierarchy and your place in it. That had to come from somewhere.” Pearson’s voice sounded curiously gentle and not for the first time, Ace wondered about Pearson’s story. No one knew a lot about their Alpha’s history, but the man had some very definite ideas of his own.
“That would have been my mother,” Ace said softly as he thought about his lovely mother. She had been beautiful and kind, and loyal to a fault because she never said anything negative about his father, no matter how badly he treated her.
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