by Lynn Hagen
“No, what you’re gonna do is go lie down while the winged beasts handle this. You’re in no condition to deal with this.” Morgan tried to steer him toward the door, but Kyle jerked out of his friend’s grip.
“I told you I’m not gonna go lie down,” Kyle argued. “Would you if Renato was in trouble?”
The look on Morgan’s face said it all. Hell no the guy wouldn’t go lie down. He would be screaming his head off for something to be done. If Kyle’s stomach didn’t hurt so badly, that was exactly what he’d be doing right now.
Renato squeezed Kyle’s shoulder. “We’ll find him.”
Kyle wasn’t so confident. If Nazaryth couldn’t sense Nikoli, what chance did they have of finding Kyle’s mate? His head started pounding harder as the sweat built heavily on his face and body. His stomach cramped, and Kyle staggered.
“Crap.” Morgan grabbed Kyle before he could crumple.
Kyle hated the fact that he really did need to go lie down. Nikoli needed him, and Kyle was useless.
Renato started to exit the room. Kyle grabbed the man’s arm. “Please, bring him home to me.”
The warrior gave a quick nod before he exited the room. Kyle let Morgan lead him to his bedroom.
“Wow,” Morgan said as he stepped into Nikoli and Kyle’s bedroom. “I love how he decorated this place, but where’s the bed?”
Kyle pointed to the pillows.
Morgan led him to the pillows and helped Kyle lower to the floor. He took a seat and pulled Kyle into his arms. “I’ll wait with you while they find your mate.”
Kyle couldn’t have stopped the tears if he’d tried. Everything felt so overwhelming. He just wanted life to stop for a while so he could catch his breath.
“There, there.” Morgan rubbed a hand down Kyle’s back. “It’ll all work out. I’m gonna get you some water. Is there anything else you need?”
Kyle shook his head. “Just my mate.”
“They’ll find him,” Morgan reassured Kyle before he got up and left the bedroom.
Kyle lay there with his arms wrapped around his stomach, wishing for more of that tea. He needed sleep desperately but was too afraid to close his eyes. He feared that if he did, someone would come to his room to tell him that Nikoli was dead.
The thought brought fresh tears as the air stirred around him. Kyle lifted his head to see a stranger standing at the foot of the pillows. Before he could open his mouth and utter a single word, the stranger grabbed Kyle’s arm and vanished, taking Kyle with him.
Chapter Ten
Nikoli opened his eyes to searing pain. He clenched his jaw as he looked around the room. He was spread out on a bed, was naked, and his wrists and ankles shackled. When Nikoli tried to yank free, the shackles held.
“No use trying to escape.” Kirk came into his line of sight. He held a knife in his hand, the tip pressed against the finger of his other hand. The guy smiled down at Nikoli. “I’m far from finished with you.”
Nikoli must’ve been still drugged because he saw two Kirks as the room slowly spun. “What’dya give me?”
“It’s a little recipe from a black book. Nothing to worry about.”
Black book. “Dark magic?”
Kirk patted him on the cheek. “You’re quick on your feet.” The man looked him over. “Or should I say quick on your back?” The man smiled as if he found himself amusing. “I actually bought it off this nasty demon, who, by the way, has agreed to help me. For a price, of course.”
Why in the hell did evil men feel a need to explain their plan? Nikoli already had a massive headache, and listening to Kirk drone on wasn’t helping. The fog his brain had been submerged in had finally started to lift, and Nikoli was able to think more clearly. “Less pop and more sizzle.”
Kirk frowned.
“It means you’re boring the shit out of me. Get to the point.”
“I know what it means.” Kirk grabbed Nikoli’s hair and yanked his head back. He slid the blade across Nikoli’s throat. He didn’t break skin, but the threat was understood. “I have killed my toys for less. I’d watch your mouth if I were you.”
Releasing Nikoli, Kirk took a step back. “I’m going to really enjoy torturing you. I had planned on making it quick because you touched my pet, and you’ll have to pay for that. But now that I see you’re a low-life piece of trash, I’m going to make you scream for mercy long before I give it to you.”
“Still boring me.” Nikoli blinked a few times, wishing like hell that the drug would wear completely off. He yanked at his wrists again, noticing the scrollwork etched along the metal. Just great. He was bound with enchanted shackles. There was no way he was getting out of them with brute force.
Nikoli ground his teeth, forcing his scream back down his throat when Kirk slammed the knife into his thigh. The bastard twisted the blade before he pulled it free.
“I warmed you about your mouth.”
As he breathed through the pain, Nikoli turned his head toward the window. Through the slightly parted curtains, he saw that night had fallen. Just how long had he been out of it? He had no doubt that Kyle was worried sick but prayed his mate didn’t come looking for him.
Nikoli’s gaze traveled down to the wall-mounted air conditioner. There was a round table and two chairs seated in front of it. The art on the wall was tacky, and there was a flat-screen television mounted on the wall. They were at a motel. Nikoli wasn’t sure if it was the motel in Pride Pack Valley, though, since he’d never been inside one of the rooms.
“You can stop looking toward the door,” Kirk said. “No one is going to rescue you. The demon placed a spell on this room to block anyone from sensing you here.”
The shifter had definitely covered his tracks.
Kyle, can you hear me? Nikoli used his mating bond to try and talk to his zaterio through their mental link. He got nothing. Either the demon’s spell was truly powerful, or… Nikoli closed his eyes, refusing to think that something had happen to his little impala.
Nikoli’s worst fear came to life when a stranger popped into the room, Kyle in his clutches.
Kyle spun and vomited right on the demon’s feet. He hadn’t been able to help it. The travel method the demon used had made Kyle nauseous, but he wasn’t about to apologize for what just happened.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” The demon curled his upper lip as he shoved Kyle toward Kirk before heading into what Kyle assumed was a bathroom. He turned and looked at the man in front of him.
Kirk.
Standing there staring at the man he’d been running from for the past five years didn’t seem real. This had to be another one of Kyle’s nightmares. His heart beat so heavily that it felt as if he was having a heart attack. Kyle took an automatic step back, and that was when he noticed from the corner of his eye that someone was on the bed.
Kyle gasped when he stared down at Nikoli’s naked form. His left leg was bloody, and sweat glistened on his bronzed skin. His dark, shoulder-length hair was matted to his face and neck, and his eyes were a bit unfocused.
“What did you do to him?” Kyle screeched at Kirk before he could stop himself.
He was rewarded with a backhand to his face. Kyle spun sideways and hit the end of the bed before crumpling to the floor.
“How dare you question me, pet.”
Kirk took a menacing step forward, and Kyle hated himself for cringing away. He stared up into cold, blue eyes that couldn’t possibly have a soul. They were filled with too much madness, too much cruelty.
Kyle scrambled away, crawling to put the bed between him and Kirk. He pushed to his feet and jumped on the bed, brushing away Nikoli’s hair from his handsome but bruised face.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered to his mate. “I never meant for this to happen to you.”
It was only his deep love for Nikoli that made him throw caution to the wind. It didn’t matter that Kirk stood there. Nothing would’ve stopped him from checking on his mate.
“How touching.” Kirk w
aved toward the space next to him. “Now come kneel at my side as you watch me take this worthless piece of shit apart.”
Kyle had held nothing but terrifying fear in his heart for Kirk. He’d done whatever the man had said in order to avoid punishment. But when he threatened doing even more damage to Nikoli, a kernel of fire ignited inside of him.
He straightened his shoulders, glaring at Kirk, even though he was shaking apart on the inside. “No.”
Kirk looked at Kyle as if he couldn’t comprehend that he’d refused an order. “What did you just say?”
Kyle began to tremble. His heart migrated to his throat. His palms became sweaty as the burning in his gut worsened. “I’m not going to let you torture him.” He hadn’t said mate because if Kirk knew, there would be no force to stop him from tearing Nikoli apart and punishing Kyle to the point he’d be lucky to survive.
Kirk rounded the bed and pulled Kyle away by his hair. He dragged Kyle back to where he had stood, forcing Kyle to his knees. Nikoli’s beatific brown eyes filled with horror as he yanked and struggled against the shackles binding him.
“Get your fucking hands off of him!”
Kirk smiled in triumph. “You’re going to watch my pet pleasure me, and there isn’t anything you can do to stop me.”
A tear raced down the side of Nikoli’s face. His gaze shot to Kyle as he continued to struggle against his shackles. “Just look at me, kitten.”
Kyle’s chest tightened to the point he couldn’t breathe. He’d rather die a thousand deaths than have the image of him sucking Kirk off burned into Nikoli’s brain for all eternity. Their relationship would never survive this.
Kirk set the knife he’d been holding on the end of the bed, unzipping his pants. He freed himself, and Kyle nearly threw up again. The man palmed his erection and gave it a few strokes. “Do your duty, pet.”
When Kyle looked back at Nikoli, the tears were freely falling down his mate’s face. “I swear to god,” Nikoli said between clenched teeth, “when I get my hands on you, you’ll be the one begging for a mercy I’ll never grant you.”
Kyle leaned forward, his lips close to the head of Kirk’s cock. At the last second, he dove sideways and grabbed the hilt of the knife on the end of the bed. He drove it into Kirk’s upper thigh. Kirk howled as Kyle pulled the knife free and shoved it into his stomach.
Something snapped inside of him as Kirk fell to the floor. The room faded away as his vision filled with red. He pulled the knife free and plunged it back in, over and over and over again. His hand became slick with blood, the scent of the air turning coppery, but Kyle couldn’t stop himself. Years of abuse flashed in his mind as he continued to stab Kirk. “I hate you!” Kyle screamed at Kirk. “I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!”
The door flew open, and in stepped Renato. He raced to Kyle and pulled him back as Kyle screamed at the top of his lungs. He struggled to get free, to get back to Kirk, but Renato wouldn’t release him.
“He’s dead,” Renato said in his ear seconds before Nikoli dropped to his knees and pulled Kyle into his strong arms.
His mate was in his winged beast form, and although he looked intimidating as hell, Kyle grabbed onto Nikoli like a lifeline.
The room was filled with winged beasts. One of them must’ve freed Nikoli, and Kyle was damn grateful. He collapsed against Nikoli and openly wept as he dropped the knife from his grip.
His mate rocked him, making soothing sounds in Kyle’s ear. “It’s over, kitten. It’s finally over.”
“Well, glad I was paid up front,” the demon said as he stepped from the bathroom and then vanished.
Kyle and Nikoli stayed curled around each other for the longest time as Kyle’s mind tried to comprehend that Kirk was no longer a threat, that the shifter would never come near him again. Kyle was finally free.
“Ready to go home?” Nikoli asked.
Kyle nodded as he wrapped an arm around his stomach. Hopefully his nightmares would finally go away and the stress would ease. Fuck if his body could handle any more drama.
Nikoli cradled Kyle in his arms as he exited the room. His mate took flight, soaring through the air as the other winged beasts surrounded the two. Kyle glanced down to see that Nazaryth had stayed behind.
Someone had to get rid of the body, and Kyle hoped they dumped Kirk in a landfill. He deserved nothing better.
His mate took the long way home, chancing anyone seeing him, and Kyle could only guess that Nikoli did it because he knew Kyle loved flying. He curled deeper into Nikoli’s arms. “I love you.”
Nikoli glanced down at him, and so many emotions flashed through the man’s eyes that they became misty. “I love you, too, my chosen one.”
Kyle sighed when Nikoli nuzzled him. They landed on the balcony of the castle. Nikoli took Kyle straight to their bedroom. He laid Kyle down, stretching out beside him before he slowly transformed back into his human form.
“Get those clothes off,” Nikoli said as he grabbed the jar of oil.
Kyle practically ripped his pants getting them off and then yanked his shirt over his head. He hadn’t had any shoes on, seeing as how he’d been taken from his bedroom.
He spread his legs, welcoming his mate as Nikoli inserted his fingers into Kyle’s puckered hole. They lay there lazily kissing as his mate stretched him. He clung to Nikoli, afraid to let the man go. Visions of his mate lying there bloody and bruised flashed through his mind.
“Don’t think about it,” Nikoli said as he kissed his way down Kyle’s neck. “We’re safe, and that’s all that matters.”
Nikoli took Kyle with a force that left Kyle breathless. His mate pounded his cock deep into Kyle’s ass, growls and grunts erupting from Nikoli’s lips. Kyle knew what the man was doing. He was erasing the image of Kyle on his knees in front of Kirk. He was reclaiming his zaterio.
Kyle didn’t mind. He cried out with every stroke, groaned with every kiss. Nikoli was his entire world, and he’d nearly lost his winged beast.
“I love you,” Kyle cried out as his mate pegged his kill zone.
“Love you, too.” Nikoli thrust harder, deeper. His hands sank into Kyle’s sides as he punched his hips forward. Kyle rocked on his hands and knees, barely able to catch his breath.
He knew what was coming when Nikoli blanketed his back with his strong body. Kyle tilted his head to the side, giving his mate access to his neck. Nikoli sank his fangs deep, drinking deep drafts as Kyle’s cock throbbed with his release. Spurts of cum shot from his cock, and his body felt as if he was flying.
Seconds later, he felt Nikoli’s seed fill his ass. His mate licked the wound closed, pulling Kyle with him as he collapsed onto the pillows.
Kyle curled around his mate. He never thought he’d ever be this happy, but he was. Nikoli had been exactly what Kyle had needed. He no longer felt that familiar fear riding him. Kyle, for once in a very long time, was completely relaxed.
Nikoli shifted from under him and sat up. “I need to get this wound looked at.” He waved to his leg. “Thinkin’ it needs stitches. It’ll leave a nasty scar.”
“Scars are sexy,” Kyle said as he wiggled his brows. “Will make me want you more.” He glanced down at Nikoli’s thigh. It no longer bled, but the wound did look rather wicked. He reached to touch his mate’s thigh, but his hand fell short. “I’m sorry he did that to you. He does have a tendency to leave behind nasty scars.”
Nikoli cupped Kyle’s face. He gave him a soft but quick kiss. “Didn’t you just say that scars were sexy?”
“You’re not right in the head.” Kyle looked into Nikoli’s gorgeous brown eyes. “Physical ones are sexy, not internal ones.”
“Both our wounds will heal, my little impala. All we need is time and a whole lot of lovin’.”
Kyle couldn’t agree more. He wrapped his arms around Nikoli’s shoulders, pulling his mate close. “How did I get so lucky?”
Nikoli snorted. “Say that again after living with me for a few years.”
Kyle la
ughed as he stood. They dressed before Kyle led Nikoli from the room, going in search of someone who could stitch his mate up.
“I think I like having you look after me,” Nikoli teased as they walked down the hallway. “Are you gonna dress up in a nurse’s uniform for me?”
“In your dreams,” Kyle said.
“You only have to wear the shirt,” Nikoli said. “Your bottom half has to be completely naked.”
“You’re a perv.”
“Only for you,” Nikoli said as he pulled Kyle into his arms. “Only for you, kitten.”
Nikoli wasn’t sure why he was so nervous. It was a house, for crying out loud. But as he got out of the car, Kyle getting out of the passenger’s side, he looked at the white cottage with blue shutters and felt a sense of home envelope him.
“I think we did good,” Kyle said as he joined Nikoli at his side. “I finally get that garden I’ve been dying for, and we have all the privacy in the world.”
Nazaryth hadn’t been happy about Nikoli moving out but hadn’t fought against the decision. His commander had even gone to the Keeper for protection spells to place over Nikoli and Kyle’s new home.
“I already planned a house-warming party for this weekend,” Kyle said as they stepped into the spacious living room. The stone wall to their right held a large fireplace, with plenty of bookshelves on its sides. The house had all wood flooring and a spiral staircase in the kitchen that led to the three bedrooms upstairs.
Nikoli loved the kitchen. It was large and had a quaint island in the middle, but it was the large bay windows that had sold him. They looked out to a forest in their backyard, giving the place a sense of serenity.
Nikoli had set the master bedroom up to look exactly like the one he’d had at the castle but had allowed Kyle to decorate the rest of the house. The furniture was supposed to arrive by the end of the week.
He wrapped his arms around Kyle, staring at their new home. “Are you happy?”
Kyle glanced up at him, love shining in his light-blue eyes. “I don’t think happy adequately describes how I feel. You saved me, stuck by me, and loved me regardless of what I’d gone through. My heart feels like it’s gonna burst with how I feel about you.”