by V L Moon
With his head in his hands, Copi attempted to gather his thoughts. His head was a mess. Fear and anguish over Vish and what he was going through at the hands of the bastard who took him turned Copi’s vision hazy. The angrier he got the redder it turned. He needed to calm down. He’d never find his way to Rome if he let his anger take root.
He thought of Vischeral, the stoic calm of his persona and the almost graceful way he handled himself even when thoroughly pissed off. Yet, it was there, the lethal tendencies of his vampire nature. The small traits and deadly giveaways that told anyone in his path to get the fuck out of his way. It was the tick of his jaw, the menacing growl and the forbidding way he held himself. But for Copi, it had always been those soulless black eyes. They looked straight into a person’s soul and made them piss their pants. He was deadly, straightforward and viciously cruel. Copi wouldn’t change a single thing about him.
Just thinking about the way Vischeral had looked at him after transitioning from the attack had his cock swelling along with the ever-present ache in his chest. He’d believed they’d have an eternity together, except, Fate had dealt them a lethal blow before they could properly consummate their bond. Copi closed his eyes. He hissed through his fangs before sinking them into the last bag of blood.
Once sated, Copi composed himself enough to work through the next step of his plan to get to Rome. Apart from the obvious heightened senses and speed, he was completely unsure what he was capable of, if anything. And, for that reason alone, Copi chose a common sense approach in planning his route. He’d travel by night to the east coast. Shit! With no passport how was he supposed to get a flight to Rome? He’d covered too many miles to turn back.
At best, he only had one more night of travelling before hitting the Canadian east coast. He was going to have to head south at the border and visit his old stomping grounds. As a former beat cop, he knew where the find the criminal element who could supply a forged passport. A good one would be expensive, more so given his former occupation. They would know his name. But, Vischeral needed him.
If the tables were turned, his vampire would walk through fire to save him. He had already proven that by ripping apart a murderous crazed wolf. The cogs in his brain started to turn and with them came the suspicion that Vischeral had sacrificed himself to save Copi from the clutches of death. From what Roan said, that’s why he’d been found and taken. Maybe it was against the rules in their world to change a human. If it was, he was left with no other option than to use whatever methods possible to get to Rome. Fuck the law, screw the rules. His only reason for being was Vischeral Bourne and Hell could freeze over before he’d let anything get in the way of getting him back.
Copi paced, his fists balling tight in frustration. He’d used Vischeral’s gift of speed and gained some much needed ground, but dawn was breaking over the horizon. Vischeral couldn’t go out in the sun, bringing to life the old fable of vampires and the light. With no time to seek out a room, Copi followed the roar of falling water. Terror filled his veins. What if he couldn’t find a place to hide? What if the sun sought him out before he ever got to look into those hypnotic dark eyes again?
Fate would indeed be a cruel son of a bitch if it let him transition into what he was, and then stole it away from him before he got to see Vischeral again. NO! Copi’s mind screamed. His body thrummed with energy as the beast inside him scratched at the surface of his skin. The burn of energy catapulted Copi into the air, throwing him out into the rush of water and the sanctuary hidden behind it.
He landed hard against the ledge of the cave and scuttled back into its dark abyss to wait out the day. His body refused to settle, but the higher the sun rose, the more sluggish he became. Finally, he sagged against the back of the cave, away from the encroaching daylight until the cave darkened.
Dusk’s call roused him from sleep. God, he’d slept like the dead. The pun made him smirk until the sudden sound of a scream broke through the crazy train going through his brain. Copi dashed to the front of the cave and scoped the area for the stricken owner of that ear splitting squeal. An immediate dilemma faced him. He didn’t hesitate. Instead, he dove in after the petite female being shoved under by the falling water
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Chapter Twenty-One
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Thunder Bay, Ontario
A warm familiar tongue laved Alexa’s cheek. Roused from a fitful slumber, she cracked one eye and gazed sleepily into Khad’s shining blues. Another damp glide followed the first. Shaver. Her nose drew in his familiar scent. A drowsy smile tilted the corners of her mouth. Her pack was home safe from an early morning hunt. She envied them their run. Delia had shown up at the club again the night before, and she hadn’t been able to join them for their adventure.
The bedroom door clicked shut, snagging Alexa’s attention. Damian, in human form, strode naked toward the adjoining bathroom. Through half lidded eyes, Alexa admired the perfect symmetry of his male form. Though she preferred female partners, she still enjoyed a well put together male, and Damian certainly filled that bill.
Just a hair shy of six and a half feet, his lean body moved with the easy grace of his wolf. Firmly toned muscle rippled as he walked, treating the eye to a visual masterpiece from broad shoulders, to trim waist, tight ass and heavy thighs. He disappeared into the darkness of the other room. The sound of running water tinkled into the quiet. In a few minutes, he emerged from the bathroom. His shoulder length black hair hung damp from wet fingers combing through it to straighten out the worst of the tangles.
Khad whined drawing her attention back to the boys. Two snouts, one blond and the other tawny, rested side by side on the mattress. Their noses twitched as they sniffed the air. Without hesitation, Alexa scooted to the middle of the bed and flipped the sheet and coverlet back. She patted the space beside her.
“Up you go, if your paws are clean. You both know Delia’s not here,” she murmured before rolling onto her side. She floated lazily in that in between state, not asleep, but not quite awake. Her mind drifted as she listened to Damian moving around the room preparing for sleep. The soft pad of paws on hardwood pulled her attention back to the younger wolves.
Khad and Shaver leaped up onto the mattress and moved to the foot of the bed tussling playfully. The room, their pack bed was sacred to them all. No sex, no pressure, no outsiders. Just pack and safety. With few exceptions, they all slept in the bed every night curled around each other in either wolf or human form.
Although she’d showered after leaving Delia, she knew she still carried the other female’s scent. It couldn’t be helped with such intimate contact. The others smelled the foreign musk, and it irritated them. From her first encounter with Delia, they’d responded the same way. They tolerated the other she wolf for Alexa’s sake. But, she belonged to them and Delia did not. She knew they would replace the she wolf’s scent with their own.
Two heavy tails thumped against the mattress; Shaver and Khad waiting impatiently for Damian to join them. The bed dipped and Damian slipped in beside her. He flipped the coverlet over the two of them. One of his arms slid under her pillow; the other glided over her trim waist. His scent filled her nose, bringing with it a comfort she never realized she missed until he returned to her side. Other scents registered; the woodsy aroma of the trees and earth, the faint trace of blood from their hunt.
She breathed a sigh of contentment. Damian’s arm tightened around her. She didn’t resist when he pulled her back against his naked chest and fitted his body to the line of her own. Nor, did she complain when he buried his face in the curve of her neck and ran his nose along the line of her throat. Instead, she pressed against him offering him the warmth of her body. His scent bloomed stronger permeating the air around them.
Eyes closed, she smiled when she felt the boys edging up from the foot of the bed. A wet nose bumped her hand. She lifted her arm. When she brought it down, it rested against fur softer than goose down. Her fingers curled, and she scratched the chest un
der her palm. Shaver’s soft whine of pleasure drifted into the room which meant Khad lay curled against Damian’s back. It didn’t take but a few minutes for Damian’s breath to even out and his large body to relax into her. The soft huff of the two wolves soon lulled Alexa back into slumber
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Opting to stay in his wolf form, Khad curled himself into a tight ball and nestled into the small of Damian's back. The deep long breaths of his pack sleeping should have eased him into his own restful slumber, but as usual, the invasion of another's scent within their territory unnerved him. Added to that disquiet, a flare of power crackled in the air and then dissipated when Damian climbed into the bed. Together, they succeeded in pulling Khad away from any notion of sleep.
He was a freak; he kept a secret about himself he was terrified to reveal. It didn't make any difference what form he took, wolf or human, Khad could sense, feel and drink in the strength of a pack’s magic. Their power. He could pinpoint with precision exactly who in the pack was emanating it and who needed it. Yet, he wasn't an alpha and didn’t want to be.
Lying against Damian, Khad was acutely aware of the pack magic radiating like a living aura of light over their sleeping forms. It was a magnificent blanket of color. It swirled like a funnel cloud above them. Alexa's fiery power, passion, love of her pack and her undying devotion curled in whisper like threads of red to mix with the strength, courage and protective blue rising from Damian. They coiled together like their sleeping forms; dancing, touching and drawing to them the yellows and oranges of Shaver's beauty, loyalty and direction.
The power of his friends illuminated the room in a coalescence of unity that rose and fell with each thrum of their beating hearts. Khad watched, hoping; but, as usual, no other color joined the mix of his pack mates. It only confirmed his worst fear; Khad didn't really belong.
As much as he wanted to, and boy did he ever, he didn’t belong to the Gichigami. They weren’t his birthed pack, and Trenton showed no inclination to perform the blood oath that would tie him and his wolf to the pack. So, Khad waited and watched on the outskirts, always wanting, always hoping that he'd one day be more. More of a wolf, more of a friend to Alexa and Damian, and so much more than a friend to Shaver whose tawny coat bristled like silk under Alexa's relaxed touch.
Easing down to the bottom of the bed, Khad whined low in approval as the last of Delia's scent was drowned out. The heady, woodsy scent of the pine forests mixed with their rich musk to wrap Alexa back into the fold. Damian's individual spoor, unique in its dark earthy redolence overpowered Khad's and Shaver's scents. It was so strong it mimicked an alpha’s dominance by marking what belonged to him.
Lingering on the thought, Khad whimpered again. He wasn't the only one keeping painful secrets locked away. Damian, unlike Khad, was blood born into the pack and his strength and agility came from deep inside. Dark by nature, Damian was a mystery, a vault of locked down emotion and power. Together with Alexa, he fed their small, four wolf pack and kept their wolf forms appeased and protected while he himself longed for something more, something always just out of reach. Maybe one day, they'd both get what they longed for; Khad hoped so.
Damian was good, pure and always willing to go that extra mile for those he loved. Nudging his nose along the line of Damian's foot, Khad tried to bury his muzzle between the folds of the sheet between Damian’s and Alexa's feet. But, their bodies were interlocked, coiled tightly around each other sharing their heat and their need for contact.
Khad stretched. Positioning himself along the foot of the bed, he rolled onto his side and sighed. His eyes were getting heavy, and he needed, as always, to see Shaver one last time before his own wolf slept. Following the line of Shaver’s tawny wolf pelt, Khad’s eyes came to rest on the deep blue eyes of his best friend’s stare. Khad held those eyes, let the clarity within their oceanic depths freeze him in place, thwarting any notion to pull away. Not that Khad wanted to; he'd have willingly drowned in their hypnotic hold on his heart.
God, he missed Shaver, missed their closeness. Even with all of them together and safe within their own den, Shaver felt further away than ever. Ignoring the caution of his human side, Khad's wolf let out a long soft whine, calling inadvertently for Shaver’s wolf. Like the true friend he was, Shaver came.
His muscular, tawny body padded gently over the bed until he towered over Khad. Khad rolled onto his back in submission and playfully offered Shaver his throat. Khad's heart soared in his chest when Shaver's great weight lowered down into him, covering the length of his wolf’s honey blonde coat and nuzzling his cold nose into the ruff of Khad's thick neck.
He rubbed there, marking Khad with his unique scent until Khad’s breathing deepened. The last thing Khad remembered before he drifted off was the feel of Shaver's muzzle rubbing against his own, and the heat of both of their bodies snug against each other. The way they'd always been when they slept. The only way it ever felt right.
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Chapter Twenty-Two
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A few days after the club anniversary, Shaver leaned against the blue and silver handle of the shopping cart and fingered the list lying in the seat. Absently, he scanned the items written in Alexa’s bold script. A frustrated breath exploded from his lungs when he realized he’d have to backtrack. Where the hell was his mind? But, Shaver knew the answer to that question. The same place it had been for the last week; back on their pack bed. With Khad.
Exhausted from their shift, their hunt and the emotions that played roller coaster in his head and heart, Shaver had dropped off to sleep almost immediately after Alexa’s comforting arm draped over him. Khad’s restless whining had awakened him, calling to him even as sleep weighed heavy on him. He’d opened his eyes to see the other wolf lying at the foot of the bed, misery in the blue depths of his gaze. Because he knew his best friend so well, Shaver read the loneliness in Khad’s eyes. The other wolf might have been able to hide it from Lexi and Damian, but not from him.
Shaver had acted on instinct and the love that dwelled secretly in his heart. He’d slipped free of Alexa’s arm and padded to Khad’s side. When Khad offered him his throat, Shaver nearly howled in frustration. He wanted far more than what Khad offered. Shaver yearned for the male, craved him with a passion like nothing he had ever experienced before. The need for Khad strangled him. Too often, it was so strong Shaver considered shifting and taking off. Yet, he stayed for those stolen moments.
He’d lowered himself a top Khad’s prone form; his muzzle buried in the soft fur at his best friend’s throat. Oh, how he’d wished it was his lips running up the strong tanned column; that bare flesh rubbed against bare flesh instead of fur on fur. Khad’s response had dried his mouth and fueled his desperate need for the step into intimacy with his best friend.
Wolves, affectionate by nature, relished touch whether in wolf or human form. It soothed when nothing else worked. Obviously, Khad had needed it that night. Unable to deny him, Shaver had curled himself around the other wolf and nuzzled him until Khad’s deep breathing signaled he slept. Shaver had lain awake for hours unwilling to miss a second of Khad’s scent, the pleasure pain of full on contact of their bodies even if it was in wolf form. It was all he had and what kept him tied to the pack.
An explosion of shattering glass and a female giggle in the next aisle snapped Shaver out of his memories and back to Aisle Three at Wal-Mart. He waited, breath held and sure enough, Khad’s deep voice rumbled low in response.
“Ohhhhh my, I think I broke it,” the female simpered. Shaver’s lips curled away from his teeth. He didn’t have to see it to know the scene in the next aisle. Whoever bachelorette number one was, she stood poised with tits and ass out, lashes batting, a hungry smile on her face as she stared up at Khad. Shaver wanted to strangle her. His fingers tightened on the cart handle, and with a curse, he shoved it ahead of him careening around the end cap in the opposite direction.
Quickly and systematically, he ticked off the items on the l
ist until he stood at the front of the store again. He deliberately shoved Khad and the female from his mind. He didn’t want to think about them in the bathroom or the warehouse, or outside.
His train of thought was interrupted by a muscular arm sliding around his waist and hauling him backward. Khad’s scent registered just before the male’s lips pressed against his throat. A tremor shook Shaver to the core. What the fuck?!?!?!
“See, Annalise, I wasn’t lying. Isn’t he beautiful?”
Khad’s breath whispered over the spot he had just kissed. Too stunned to speak, Shaver lifted his eyes to see a pretty brunette staring at him, mouth in a shocked “O” of surprise.
“I thought…you can’t be…he’s…,” Annalise stammered. Her eyes tracked back and forth between the two.
“Gorgeous, eh?” Khad’s lips brushed Shaver’s ear. Fire raced from the point of contact to all of Shaver’s nerve endings. His skin felt too tight, his brain melted into mush and his lungs seized.
“Help me out, Shay baby. I told her I’m gay and you’re my partner.” Khad’s voice slipped into his head, jolting Shaver from his stupor. The earlier rage surged in his gut. Oh yeah, he could so send the female away with her tail tucked.
Relaxing back against Khad’s chest, Shaver raised a hand to cover Khad’s fingers where they rested on his abs. A possessive and predatory smile curved his lips. “Khadlyn darlin’, you know I’m not the beautiful one. We’ve had this argument before. I’m the brains; you’re the beauty.”
At Shaver’s words, the female’s mouth snapped closed and speculation gleamed in her eyes. She sidled closer, twirling a loose curl of her hair. “We could always share him,” she purred, her eyes returning to lock on Khad. Khad tensed at his back, but Shaver responded before Khad could. A growl actually vibrated into the air between him and the female. He felt his eyes shift as his lip curled in aggression.