Shad

by Catherine Lievens

  Gabriel continued downward, kissing his mate’s stomach and bypassing Shad’s weeping cock to push his briefs even lower down his legs. Shad’s head was lolling from side to side as Gabriel tortured him and kissed his hip.

  Shad jutted his hips forward and bit his lower lip, his gaze almost pleading. Gabriel ignored it and continued peppering his mate’s stomach and hips with small kisses, spurred on by the noises Shad made every time Gabriel’s lips made contact with his skin.

  “Please, Gabriel. Please don’t stop.”

  Gabriel chuckled, “I thought you wanted more.”

  Shad groaned. “You love making me beg, don’t you?”

  “A little, yes,” Gabriel admitted. “But I like seeing you like this more. Helpless. Completely mine.”

  Shad moaned. “I’d never have pegged you for being possessive.”

  “Well, I am, and you’ll have to get used to it if you want to mate with me.”

  Shad whined. “Ugh, please. You’re killing me. I need you to start touching me again or I swear I’m going to explode.”

  “That would hurt,” Gabriel said, tickling his fingers just under Shad’s ribs.

  “Gabriel,” Shad gasped as his back arched. “I need you to hurry up, because if you don’t, I’ll take matters into my own hands and take care of my dick myself.”

  Gabriel growled softly, “Don’t take your hands off the headboard.”

  “Then hurry. The. Fuck. Up.”

  Gabriel decided to give Shad reprieve and finally wrapped his hand around his mate’s dick. Shad’s hips jerked up in an uncoordinated rhythm Gabriel tried to follow with his strokes.

  Gabriel went back up, to Shad’s torso, and began to nose along the junction of his mate’s neck and along his clavicle. Impulsively, Gabriel sucked a deep, purple mark to stake his claim on his mate. Not that he would need the mark, not after he bit Shad, but his tiger rumbled with satisfaction.

  Gabriel never once slowed his fist, still tight around Shad’s cock. Shad was moaning in approval, his head thrown back either in bliss or to give Gabriel more room on his neck.

  “Looks like there’s another way to shut your mouth,” Gabriel teased gently.

  “O-Only if you put s-something in it,” Shad replied, his eyes shining. Gabriel reached up to Shad’s mouth. Shad parted his lips when Gabriel pressed a finger on the bottom one.

  “I think I might take you up on that.” Gabriel hissed as he slipped his finger into Shad’s gorgeous mouth.

  Shad sucked at Gabriel’s finger and moaned, and Gabriel felt a spurt of hot precum over the hand that still held Shad’s dick.

  “You really like this, don’t you?”

  Shad nodded and sucked even harder on Gabriel’s finger, making Gabriel groan as his hips humped the mattress almost as if they had a mind of their own.

  “Shit, Shad, that’s just-holy fuck...”

  “Gabriel, please...”

  Gabriel couldn’t hold back, not anymore. He moved quickly, grabbing the lube from just above the headboard, where he’d started leaving it when Shad had basically moved in.

  Shad took advantage of Gabriel moving away to flip on his belly and raise his ass, presenting it to Gabriel. Gabriel gulped and grabbed his mate’s hips, lube forgotten. “You’re mine, Shad.”

  “Only yours,” Shad agreed, arching his back so that his ass rose even higher for Gabriel to use.

  Gabriel finally got the lube and drizzled some of it right into Shad’s crack. Shad shivered but didn’t ask him to stop, so Gabriel hurriedly but carefully prepped him, his fingers trembling as he moved them against Shad’s skin, inside his body.

  Shad whined and pushed back against Gabriel’s fingers. Gabriel leaned down and lapped at the rim around his fingers.

  “S-S-Shit,” Shad stuttered, his body trembling under Gabriel’s touch. Gabriel had to be careful of his fangs, since they never retreated. He could feel them prick Shad every so often, and Shad jolted every time. He never told Gabriel to stop, though, so Gabriel continued eating him out.

  “Come on, Gabe,” Shad groaned, his arms shaking.

  Gabriel couldn’t take it anymore. He practically ripped his boxers off, throwing them behind himself. Gabriel slid a finger inside Shad’s ass to check if he was loose enough. Slick eased the way and the muscles around his finger gave out without much resistance.

  Shad whined and pushed back, and Gabriel knew they both were on the edge. He gently pushed Shad’s hip until Shad understood what he wanted and turned to lie on his back. His lower lip was swollen where Shad had bit into it as Gabriel prepped him. His cheeks were flushed, his eyes shining and his pupils huge. “What are you waiting for?”

  Gabriel chuckled and shook his head. Not leaving Shad the time to complain again, he pushed into his mate’s body, sinking into the tight, wet heat. He parted his mouth in a silent gasp and jerked his hips forward on impulse.

  Shad’s eyes fluttered closed while his mouth opened on an O. He pushed back against Gabriel, meeting him on every single thrust. “Shit-shit-shit,” Shad chanted, reaching for Gabriel’s shoulder, digging his nails in his flesh.

  “Gabe, I can feel them,” Shad panted.

  “Huh?”

  “The barbs.”

  Gabriel froze. “Are they hurting you?”

  Shad shook his head. “No. It’s... I love it. Come on, you can’t leave me like this.”

  Shad whimpered a little when Gabriel started moving again.

  “There!” Shad hissed on one of Gabriel’s thrusts. “Right there, Gabriel—” He grabbed onto Gabriel roughly, his fangs lengthening out as he growled. Gabriel’s mind blanked out and he felt his tiger take control for the first time ever.

  Gabriel was shocked to feel his fangs sink into Shad’s flesh as Shad arched beneath them. He froze again, afraid of what he’d just done and moved away. “S-Shad?”

  “S’good. Come on, claim me.”

  Gabriel hesitated. He saw the exasperated look in his mate’s eyes just before Shad snapped up and sank his own fangs into Gabriel’s neck.

  Gabriel’s back bowed, pushing his dick even deeper inside Shad, and his mouth seemed to find the way to the bite he’d just given Shad on its own. He closed his lips on it and sucked the blood trickling down.

  He felt Shad do the same and his orgasm exploded out of nowhere. Gabriel emptied himself into his mate, his lips never leaving Shad’s neck.

  Shad groaned and his body tightened around Gabriel’s cock. Gabriel felt hot stickiness spurt between them just as something appeared in his mind. It wasn’t the same as the tiger, and it felt like Shad.

  Gabriel could feel contentedness pouring from him, along with a hundred other feelings. It was almost too much, and Gabriel stopped sucking on Shad’s wound. He licked it, instinct taking over, and was amazed to see it was already closing, leaving a scar.

  Shad mirrored Gabriel’s movements, then slumped back on the pillow, a lazy smile on his lips. Gabriel leaned his forehead on Shad’s shoulder and breathed through the onslaught of feelings until he could marginally control it.

  Shad squirmed under him. “Do you think you could get up? I feel kind of sticky.”

  Gabriel cleared his throat for a moment. He knew he couldn’t, but Shad clearly had forgotten about it. Gabriel was glad, because it meant his mate wasn’t hurting. “We, um, can’t start on that just yet.”

  “Why not?”

  Gabriel moved a little only to be stopped from pulling out when the barbs hooked themselves inside Shad. Shad gasped and his ass tightened around Gabriel’s dick. “I think you get my point.”

  “Y-Yeah,” Shad said with a whimper. “So... how long until we can, you know?”

  “I don’t know. This... it’s never happened before. I haven’t had sex since I became half tiger.”

  Shad’s eyes widened. “Are we stuck? Are we going to have to call Jared and ask him to come free us?”

  Gabriel looked away. “I don’
t know. I don’t think so. Why don’t we just... wait?”

  “Wait, huh?” Shad settled more comfortably against his pillows. “Yeah, okay.” He opened his arms. “Come here.”

  Gabriel smiled, relieved that Shad didn’t think of him as a monster, not even now. “I love you.”

  Shad’s answering smile was blinding. “I love you too.”

  Chapter Seven

  Shad and Gabriel had been holed up in their room for the past few days. They’d gone to talk to Dominic and to Jared, and they’d given Jared the pills. It hadn’t taken him long to examine them, and once he knew what they were made of, to replicate them. He’d suggested they might even be able to find a way to completely cure Shad now that they knew what the pills contained, but Shad wasn’t surprised it would take a while.

  The only other person they’d seen had been Darin, when Shad had told him about what he’d done. The conversation had gone better than Shad had imagined it. He’d gone in thinking his brother would hate him, maybe wouldn’t want to see him again, but Darin had just hugged him and told him he loved him. They’d cried on each other’s shoulder for a while, and after that, it had been as if nothing had happened.

  Shad and Gabriel hadn’t been avoiding people on purpose, to be honest. It was just nice to be able to finally really rest without thinking about illnesses, pills, moles, and tiger parts. They’d spend a lot of time in bed, talking and watching TV and yes, having sex.

  But it was time to come out of their self-imposed isolation, and Shad wasn’t sure he wanted to.

  “You can’t stay in here forever,” Gabriel pointed out.

  Shad pouted. “I can try. I don’t even have to get out to work.”

  “But you do need to eat.”

  Shad batted his eyelashes at his mate. “You can bring it to me.”

  Gabriel chuckled and sat next to Shad. “Why are you so against going downstairs? Shouldn’t I be the one to do that?”

  “No! You’re better now, you should go downstairs!”

  “I won’t without you.”

  Shad knew Gabriel well enough to know he wouldn’t budge from that decision. He had his stubborn face on, which probably meant that Shad wouldn’t be able to wiggle his way out of explaining what was wrong with him. He sighed. “It’s not that I don’t want to go.”

  Gabriel took Shad hand and squeezed. “What is it, then?”

  “What if they know?” Shad asked in a small voice.

  “Know what?”

  “That I spied for Glass.”

  “How would they? Did you tell them?”

  “No!”

  “Then how? I’m pretty sure Dominic, Darin, and Nate aren’t about to tell anyone, and Jayden has more than enough on his hands right now to gossip, if he even knows about it, and I have my doubts on that. Besides, even if he did know, he’s your friend. He wouldn’t do that to you.”

  They’d been very lucky with the whole mole debacle. No one had notice anything, since it had happened in the middle of the night, and Jayden really had too much to deal with to actually start wondering about why Shad, Dominic and Nate had been alone in the woods in the middle of the night. Dominic and Nate had tried to quietly investigate to see if anyone in the pride was hurt, but so far they hadn’t gotten results. Whoever it was hadn’t gone to Jared and had managed to act as if everything was fine.

  “You’re right.”

  Gabriel smirked. “Of course I am. Now, are you ready to go downstairs and enjoy Christmas breakfast with everyone, or are you going to hide in here while I go and have fun?”

  “I’m coming, I’m coming,” Shad rumbled. He knew Gabriel could feel he wasn’t angry, or even just ticked off. As afraid as he’d been that someone might have found out, he wasn’t really going to let Gabriel go downstairs on his own. He really wanted to see the expressions on the other pride member’s faces when they saw how Gabriel looked now.

  Because Adrian had been right, of course. Shad and Gabriel’s mating had helped with the tiger parts Gabriel had had to deal with for the past few years. He still had the fangs and his nails still looked more like claws than human nails, but it was better. The tail and the ears were gone, but Gabriel’s eyes were still amber and slit. He didn’t look completely human, but he could pass for one easily if one didn’t look for the tiger.

  Shad put on jeans and a thick sweater, along with the Santa Claus socks Darin had gifted him, and they made their way downstairs. They could hear voices and laughter coming from the living room, where everyone seemed to be gathered.

  Keenan had explained that that was where they had breakfast on December twenty-fifth. Whoever volunteered for cooking breakfast got up earlier than everyone else, and cooked and baked for an army, then put everything on a table they’d moved into the living room especially for that occasion.

  Shad smiled when he saw the scene. Everyone was either sitting on the couches, the chairs that had been brought in, or even the floor. The Christmas tree was tinkling softly next to the window, piles of presents stacked high under it. Shad noticed Keenan and Nysys eying the piles, but the rule was to wait until everyone had eaten before starting to open the gifts.

  The tantalizing smell of pancakes, bacon, eggs, and everything else, made Shad’s stomach grumble. Gabriel grinned at him and pulled him inside the room and toward the buffet table. It took a little while for anyone to notice them, but Shad had been right—it was funny when they did.

  Nolan was the first one. He casually looked their way as he talked to Derick and his eyes widened. Shad didn’t know if it was because Gabriel was out or because he looked better, but it didn’t really matter. Nolan patted Derick’s arm and pointed their way with his chin. Of course Derick had to look, and from there every head slowly turned their way.

  Gabriel loaded two plates and Shad looked around for two empty seats. He should have known Keenan would immediately try to get their attention, of course. He watched as the human almost pushed Isaiah from the couch in his haste to make space for Shad and Gabriel. He waved at them. “Here! You can sit here!”

  Gabriel shook his head and walked to the couch with a chuckle. He sat next to Keenan and Shad sat on his other side. It was a tight fit, especially because Isaiah hadn’t let Keenan push him to the floor, but they made do. It was actually nice to be so close to others, to feel like a family.

  Shad searched the room with his eyes, trying to find his brother. Darin was looking at him from a chair near the window and smiled warmly before going back to his conversation with Jayden. Shad noticed Heath was there too, looking a bit lost but like nothing or no one could have pried him away from Jayden’s side.

  He ate quietly, listening to the conversations around him. Keenan was yammering on Gabriel’s other side, but Shad hadn’t expected anything else from the man.

  “I think I’ll miss the ears.”

  “I won’t,” Gabriel answered.

  “They looked soft, though. And I guess my present won’t be useful anymore. Couldn’t you have waited until the new year or something?”

  “Seriously?”

  Keenan sighed. “No, but now I’ll have to find an idea for a new present, and you won’t have it today with the rest of us.”

  “Keenan, I don’t care about presents. You can give me whatever you’ve chosen and I’ll be happy with it.”

  Keenan narrowed his eyes. “You sure?”

  Gabriel nodded. “Yes. Don’t sweat it, really. I’m happy just to be here.”

  “How did you get rid of them anyway? You waited for months, and now you’re normal again and Shad’s better all of a sudden. Isn’t that weird?”

  “Not really. Jared and Adrian found a way to cure Shad, and he just had to claim me to make the ears and tail go away.”

  Keenan’s eyes widened. “Shad’s cured and he claimed you? When were you going to tell me?” He launched himself forward and managed to hug both Gabriel and Shad at the same time. Shad had a hard time keeping his plate up
right, but Gabriel was laughing beside him, and he was happy for the first time in a long while.

  Keenan kept on talking as people started handing gifts out, and Shad looked at the small pile in his and Gabriel’s lap when they all sat back down. He hadn’t expected anything, except from Darin and Gabriel, but there had to be at least ten small boxes and packages on his legs.

  He took a deep breath and pushed the tears away. He wasn’t going to cry, not for happiness and not at Christmas. So he watched Gabriel open his gifts—cupcakes from Darin, a book on photography from Dominic and Ani, a frame with a stolen picture of Shad and Gabriel from Jayden.

  Then Gabriel opened a soft looking package and laughed. “Oh, Keenan. I love it!”

  He held the gift up for everyone to see and Shad chuckled at the sight.

  “Did you crochet it for me?” Gabriel asked, and Keenan nodded. The beanie he’d made for Gabriel was orange, tiger orange, and had two ears poking from the top of it. Keenan had thought of everything. It was a bit lumpy, and Shad was pretty sure he’d seen a few holes, but it was beautiful anyway.

  Gabriel put it on his head, even though the ears flopped down since they were empty. The smile on Keenan’s face was worth it, though.

  “What are you waiting for?” Gabriel asked, looking at Shad. “Open them!”

  Shad looked down and grabbed the first package. He’d never imagined this Christmas would be a happy one. He’d thought he’d be sick, or worse, dead, or maybe that Dominic would have kicked him out by now. But he was glad he’d been wrong.

  The End

  About the Author

  Catherine lives in Italy, country of good food and hot men. She used to write fantasy as a child, but it was reading her first gay erotic romance novel that made her realize that that was what she really wanted to write.

  After graduating from college in English language and translation, she divides her day between writing, reading, taking care of her son and reading some more.