by V L Moon
“Soon, pup. I’ll give that body of yours the workout it needs. But first….” A slow sultry grin spread across Roman’s gorgeous face. Tobias was momentarily mesmerized by the deadly display of beauty. He was aching and hard. Thankfully, the whimpering wolf thrown at his feet dragged his mind out of the gutter and put his thoughts firmly back on Sage.
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Chapter Nineteen
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Warm blood gushed down his throat. Tobias shook the wolf between his teeth, tearing the flesh from his back. The wolf whined and dropped to the ground. Any fight left in him vanished when he saw his pack mates, or what was left of them. Tobias didn’t have long. The light was dimming in the other wolf’s eyes. He needed answers about Sage. Gripping the older wolf firmly around its throat, Tobias used the distraction of pain to plunder into the dying wolfs’ mind.
“Show me what I need to know and your death will be swift,” Tobias snarled through the open link. Fear rippled through his mind, bringing with it the savagery of Khurn’s rule. Mental images flipped through his mind; Khurn taking pleasure in turning them against each other. Rabid from power and blood lust, they’d attacked on command.
Tobias’s stomach rolled at the scene playing out in his mind. Sage’s bloodied, beaten body lay helpless on the floor. They’d forced her to change, attacking her mid change, in both human and wolf form, two and three at a time. He’d seen enough. Clamping down hard, Tobias gave a last push into the darkest reaches of the dying wolf’s mind. “Where is Khurn?”
“Long gone. He sent the best of us after that female, and then took off after one of HIS kind turned up.”
“Show me,” Tobias growled when the wolf’s eyes latched on to Roman. Whoever it was couldn’t be good. A brief image of Darklon filtered through the link. Their worst nightmare confirmed. Tobias snapped the wolf’s neck and swiftly changed back to his human form. Jorn and Malachi needed to know about Darklon’s involvement. By allying with each other, Khurn and Darklon conspired against everything the new treaty represented. Not that Darklon’s treachery came as a surprise.
Khurn's involvement, however, combined with his abhorrent treatment of Sage wouldn't go down well within the pack or Malachi's court. For every step made in the name of progress, there was always someone waiting on the sidelines ready to trip someone up. Well, not this time. Khurn had always been a wild card, one Jorn insisted on keeping on a tight leash. But this time, he'd signed his own death warrant and Tobias was going to make him suffer for every second of pain he'd inflicted on Sage.
When he returned to his human form and wiped the blood from his hands and face, the first thing Tobias noticed was the stillness of the night. Nothing moved. The usual scurry of critters and chirp of crickets had faded into silence. Fog swirled around the bloodied remains of the wolves. It covered the corpses. The night held its breath as the deadly predator within its midst grinned showing needle sharp fangs.
“Did my pup get what he needed?” Roman’s green eyes flashed toward the carcass at Tobias’ feet. Tobias growled at the term of endearment and turned his attention toward the offered hand.
“We’d better head out. I love that sweet bare ass, but I prefer to see it in the privacy of our bedroom. I find I don’t like to share.” Roman smiled wickedly. “And, I believe, I promised you a workout.” The words and the lusty grin hit Tobias right in the balls. He wrapped his arms around Roman and drew him in close.
“Thank you for coming; I gather it was you that evened out the numbers?”
“Well, I couldn’t let the love of my life go walk about without giving him a sendoff to remember, could I? As soon as Jorn let me know what was going on, I came. I will always come for you. Now, tell me what your plans are and what route you’ll be taking. I’ll follow as soon as I can. However, if you should need me, for anything, you only have to call.”
Tobias had never imagined finding a love as great as the love he shared with Roman. It was a powerful emotion that filled him with pride while having the capability to bring him to his knees.
“You on your knees; I do love it when you tease me.” Roman winked, showing his carefree, playful side. Tobias rarely got to see it due to their other obligations.
“It won’t always be this way. We will have our time, and when we do, I’ll prove to you every night that you’re the center of my world.” Romans’ lips brushed against Tobias’s neck making him shiver. Before Tobias could reply, Roman engulfed his body with a strange energy that made his head spin. “Hold tight, pup.”
Tobias staggered and reached out to steady himself. Roman’s hand caressed his shoulder keeping him grounded until his head stopped spinning. When he opened his eyes, he was shocked to find they were in the comfort of Tobias’s rooms at his father’s home.
“How?” Lost for words, Tobias ass-planted on the bed, indifferent to his nakedness.
“I don’t know. I’ve only ever ported solo. I wasn’t sure I’d have the strength to take you, too, but I had to try. I don’t want to waste a second of my time with you. We get so little time as it is.” Tobias recognized the pain in Romans’ eyes, understood the need in his words.
Their bond affected them physically when they parted. The manifestation of their need for each other intensified with distance, which wasn’t overtly problematic if Roman was at his own enclave. At least then, they were on the same side of the world. However, with Roman being part of Malachi’s inner circle, he seemed to be spending more and more time in Rome.
Their situation worried the Summus and the vampire king. Rather than risk their lives by breaking the bond, they’d personally intervened to make sure Roman and Tobias didn’t suffer when Roman was called to Rome. By elevating Tobias to the official ambassador for the wolves, they’d solved the problem of taking Tobias from his pack, where he was needed, and resolved the problem of their separation. If Roman was needed in Rome, then Tobias went with him, either as an advisor or as Roman’s mate. The situation with Sage would be problematic if Roman was called away, however, little could be done about that. They had the night and Tobias agreed with his mate. They were not going to waste it.
“Malachi and your father have been informed about Darklon’s and Khurn’s treachery. Now, what can I do to ease my wolf’s burden?” Roman’s words flowed as smooth as melted chocolate. So did his hands. His cool touch against the heated surface of Tobias skin made his body come alive. Oil slickened hands worked up his calves while a deft tongue and sharp teeth inched along his inner thighs.
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Tobias widened his legs, opening himself up to Roman’s ministrations. He’d never get enough of his wolf. To touch, kiss and own the male that stole his heart with his boyish charms, it brought out the possessive beast inside of him. Beneath him, Tobias’s body writhed. The glorious display of naked tanned flesh begged to be bitten and tasted. Roman planned to answer that plea.
Tracing his fangs over the heavy weight of Tobias’s balls, Roman teased while savoring the heady aroma of his male. He inhaled deeply, letting it fill his lungs as his tongue flicked the soft skin of Tobias’s perineum. He moved lower and lapped at the tight ring of flesh. Roman purred. Tobias whimpered and grabbed his hair. He drew Roman in to feast, and feast he did until Tobias’s whimpers turned to soft howls.
The scent of their sex thickened the air. Roman shifted and lifted Tobias up onto his knees with his back to Roman. Roman spooned their bodies together. They melded; a perfect fit, light against dark. Tobias arched his back bringing his arms up to clutch Roman’s hair and drag his head down. The wolf devoured his mouth.
The heat of their passion exploded. Tobias opened and stretched to accept Roman into his body. They moved in sync, lifting with each thrust.
“Take me. Please.” The plea slipped from Tobias’ bruised lips. Roman thrust up hard and spread the wolf’s thighs further apart. His hand slid around Tobias’s waist to palm his prominent arousal. Snarls and sweat dampened flesh made Roman’s fangs throb. His hand gripped Tobias
tightly. He worked his male’s cock hard and fast to match the same rhythm of his body as it ploughed into Tobias. Skin slapped against skin as they rocked back and forth. Tobias’s cock throbbed in his hand, his wolf was close.
Hard pants between hot messy kisses urged Roman to take what he wanted. He struck hard, sinking his fangs deep into his wolf’s shoulder and drank. He swallowed fast, filling his mouth with the metallic kiss of life. Tobias released a guttural howl. His spine bowed as he spilled his essence all over Roman’s hand. Roman couldn’t stop. His body reacted to the delectable scent and took on the speed of his race. His entire body shook as he filled his wolf with seed until it dripped down his lover’s legs.
“Fuck!” Tobias sank onto the bed, his limp body shimmering in the candlelight. He was so beautiful. Roman leaned in and licked the milky cream from his lover’s fingers, tasting him and moaning at the bitter sweetness of the love they shared.
They’d both fed. Roman through Tobias’s blood, and in turn, Tobias had restored his energy through the bond they shared. Roman worried less knowing his wolf could sustain his diet through fresh meat while away. He brought Tobias in to his chest and smiled at the low rumble that emanated from the lightly furred chest. His wolf was sated. Roman held him close to his body while kissing his flawless face. He ran his fingers through the white gold mane of hair that reached past Tobias’s shoulders. He’d have to leave soon. Dawn approached fast. He closed his eyes against the sudden ache in his chest and swallowed back the pain.
“Soon, my wolf,” Roman whispered as he pressed his lips to those of his beautiful male. He held on tight, nuzzling against Tobias’s heat.
“For always,” Tobias whispered against lips that misted into thin air.
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Chapter Twenty
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Ontario, Canada
Even with the added protection of the borrowed clothes and the higher than normal body temperature that came from her wolf, Sage ached. The bruises on her body were healing at a much slower rate than they normally did. Worry over the internal injuries plagued her journey toward Lake Superior. There had been no trains or other public transportation heading east once she passed Fox Lake so she had to use her own initiative and her own two feet.
With at least a two day walk in front of her, Sage knew the journey ahead would push her physical boundaries. But, with her father’s ancestral home so close, Sage couldn't chance letting her wolf out. If Khurn sniffed a hint of her so close to the lake there would be no stopping him. He would figure out her destination. She had to make it on her own, in human form.
Using her enhanced sense of smell and her wolf’s affinity for direction, Sage ploughed on, taking the direct route running down the Trans-Canadian Highway Seventeen. She rested every couple of hours and ate small portions of the food Ivy had packed for her. When night came and her wolf senses seemed more finely tuned, Sage let its instincts guide her through the numerous short cuts.
Her wolf shined as it took her on a detour of the National Park lands and great open lakes. Sage longed to change, let her beautiful beast free from the constrictions of her human skin to run and stretch and heal. But she couldn't. Fear of being found and tortured clogged her heart and subjugated her beast. It was as if her wondrous wolf somehow knew being caught would mean an unwarranted slow and painful death.
The mere thought of being captured gave Sage a surge of strength. It invigorated her with a sense of courage and determination and made her wolf howl with pride. She smiled, mentally stroking the long white coat of her wolf.
Sage loved her wolf form, loved the sense of power that filled its great beating heart when it ran and fed. She basked in the hunt and the thrill of the chase as her pack moved with her as one. Each one of them connected to the other as they worked as a whole to make their kill. They reveled in the release of their alpha’s power as he fed from the flesh. In turn, he poured his own strength out through his pack, feeding them as their leader while he took his fill. Once their alpha was full, the ranking wolves took what they needed to assuage their hunger before making room for the lower more subservient members of their pack. And then, they all scampered home.
Sage sighed when the first stab of grief collided with the wall of her chest. Clutching a fist to her breast, she heaved with the struggle not to cry. The memories of home, of falling into the warm loving mass of fur and limbs as one of the pack, full and sated from a kill, nearly broke her. Tears came thick and fast. Sage would never again know the intimate touch of her fellow wolves or the warm slide of fur against skin. She was alone, her innocence lost along with her pride and her love for who and what she once was.
When the tears stopped falling, Sage became resolute. Pushing on, she eventually ended up back on the highway with more miles than she cared to think about cut short by her wolf. Still, with dawn breaking on the horizon and the scent of fresh snow threatening the journey ahead, she had to make a decision.
Against her better judgment, she took advantage of an old man's kind offer of a lift and climbed into a warm rusty truck. A wistful smile and a nod of the head was all Sage absorbed before her eyes grew too heavy to keep open. Sleep dragged her down into the nightmare of her memories and the loved ones she knew she'd never see again.
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The grinding of the gear shift and the truck’s sudden lurch to a stop woke her. A panic induced scream filled the cab of the truck.
“It's alright, child. It was just this old rust bucket’s clutch. Nothing to fear. You slept good, must have been mighty tired. You were out like a light as soon as your head hit the backrest. You mumbled something about heading out to Superior, and…seems as I was heading in that direction, I thought I'd let you sleep.”
The old man's smile cracked his thin lips, but it was warm and very sincere. By the hard look in his eyes, he’d lived a tough life, probably seen too much sorrow to be truly kind. But that was ok; it was how people survived, especially out in the frozen North. Sage rubbed at her puffy eyes and winced slightly when the pain pushed back at her. She was stiff from sleep, sore from the pain, but at least she was a little closer to getting where she wanted to go.
“Thank you. I’m sorry I fell asleep on you.”
“S’ok. I’m used to riding these roads alone. Kakabeka Falls is just over yonder. Nice place to sit and eat. Here, you’ll need a toque. Look after yaself, eh.” The old man grinned while holding out a knitted hat in his weathered hands. “You get to wherever it is you’re needing to go safely. No place for a young girl to be wondering about on her own, especially at night, eh.”
“You’re very kind. Thank you again for the ride.” Sage gave him her warmest smile, and accepted the hat. She slipped out of the truck and watched it disappear from sight. Following the old man’s directions, she walked toward the roaring sound of falling water. Taking a seat on the bank of the small pool, she pulled out the last of her food. She ate until she was full. The food wouldn't last another day. Although the bread was still fresh, the beef was starting to spoil.
With a full belly, she relaxed and took in the beauty surrounding her. Her wolf stretched. It wanted the freedom to run, hunt and roam, but Sage shied away from the longing to change. The sound of the water crashing onto the rocks eased some of the tension in her body. She breathed in the moist air and closed her eyes. The scent of pine and earth mixed with the freezing air to cleanse Sage’s tired mind. She wanted to curl up and sleep. Her body needed the rest in order to heal.
With no money for a room she needed to find somewhere safe to hide for the night. She’d been fortunate so far, but her luck would run out if she was caught sleeping out in the open in human form. She wasn’t worried about the cold; her wolf would keep her warm. Inching toward the edge of the falls, Sage scoured the rock formation below until she found what she was looking for in the shadows. The climb down to the cave wouldn’t be easy, but once inside, the water would mask her scent and keep her hidden.
The arduous climb left he
r body covered in cuts. About halfway down, she started to shake, and her hand slipped. Clawing at the rocky ledge, Sage yelped at the pain of her nails grating on the rock. She lost her fight to hold on and fell into the rush of falling water. Her body tumbled under the torrent of crushing water battering down from the river. Sage flailed in the water, using all the strength she could muster to pull herself out of the squall. Her lungs screamed, burning from the lack of air. Her mind and her body struggled to hold on to her human form. In a bid to save itself and Sage, her wolf began to force a sudden and violent change. Sage’s mouth opened in a silent, painful scream as she fought against the change and kicked out her legs in a bid to break free from the clutches of the water’s deadly hold.
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Thank fuck for Google. Copi sighed, placing the empty blood bags in the biohazard bin. Stealing from blood banks wasn't something he was proud of; it went against everything he'd trained to do as cop. But, that same training and quick thinking under pressure had been the reason he'd fed. After leaving Roan’s territory, Copi had managed to cover quite a lot of ground before his hunger started to peak.
With so much at stake, he couldn't deny himself the blood he needed. It was a double edged sword, a battle of wills between the gift Vischeral had given him and the curse of his beast. The vampire won out. Thankfully. He’d never submit to the psychotic nature of what hid within him.