by Lynn Hagen
That surprised Morgan. “You’re nervous?”
Tilting his head back, Renato nodded. “I thought you dead. Claiming my chosen one wasn’t in my cards. I thought I would live out the rest of my life alone. You’re standing here, in my arms, ready to bind your soul with mine. How could I not be nervous?”
The admittance took a lot of pressure off Morgan’s shoulders. Knowing Renato felt the same way Morgan did made the man seem more…real. From what he’d seen so far, Renato was dominant, cantankerous, and, at times, tender. But to know he had vulnerabilities just like everyone else was reassuring.
He’d been connected to Renato for two decades. Morgan had felt the man’s suffering, but now he knew why the guy had been tormented in the first place. It was for him. Renato had grieved Morgan’s death for twenty years. Talk about devotion. The revelation made Morgan both terrified and downright amazed.
Morgan sucked in a sharp breath when Renato bit gently down on his nipple. The sensation shot straight to his cock, making him even harder. He moaned as he arched his back, his hands combing through Renato’s short hair.
Arms wrapped around Morgan’s waist, Renato picked him up and carried him to the bed. Morgan landed with a bounce, which made him laugh. Renato smiled as he stared down at Morgan. “Such a beautiful sound.”
“I’ve just never been carried before, and you look like a bear that’s just been given a huge jar of honey.” Morgan’s laughter died to a few chuckles. It was true, though. Renato looked as if he was about to step through the gates of heaven.
Morgan groaned when Renato licked his neck. “And I’m going to savor every second of that honey, zaterio.”
Before Renato could do whatever it was he planned on doing, Morgan pulled from under the man. He pushed Renato to his back and then straddled his hips. Renato grinned at him, and it was this sexiest smile Morgan had ever seen.
“What do you plan to do up there?”
“I have a few wicked ideas.” Morgan moved down Renato’s body, kissing the man’s chest, sucking in his nipples, and licking a path downward until he reached Renato’s groin. His cock was hard, throbbing, and leaking precum. Morgan smirked before he took Renato into his mouth.
Renato hissed. “Fuck, man. Take charge anytime you want.”
Morgan sucked Renato’s cock down his throat and then pulled back, smirking at his soon-to-be mate. “Suck a guy’s dick and he’s putty in your hands.”
“Your point?” Renato grabbed Morgan’s hair and carded his fingers through the strands. “For one, I’m a guy. No further explanation needed. For two, it’s been a hell of a long time since I felt any emotions during sex. Not like this.”
“You shouldn’t mention other guys when I have your most precious body part within biting distance.” Morgan bit down on the head gently to prove his point. That only made Renato hiss.
“Come here, zaterio.” Renato patted his stomach. Morgan crawled up his mate.
“What?”
Pulling Morgan down, Renato kissed him until Morgan couldn’t breathe. “Nobody holds a candle to you.”
The way Renato looked at him…wow. Morgan felt branded. Owned. There was a hunger in Renato’s eyes that made fire burn through Morgan.
“Lube?”
“Nightstand.”
Morgan pushed up and away, crawling across the bed. He took the opportunity to not only calm his nerves but to breathe. Being near Renato was like being set on fire—and not just because the guy was burning up from the mating heat. Renato’s presence as an all-consuming force, commanding, dominating.
When he crawled back, Morgan slapped the bottle into his lover’s hand.
“Hands and knees, zaterio.”
Renato blanketed his back, his slick fingers entering Morgan as his chest pressed close. He kissed Morgan along his shoulder, his nape, and his spine. Morgan’s head fell forward as he moaned.
He wasn’t sure how the whole biting thing would work and prayed like hell that Renato wasn’t hurt. The thought dominated his mind as Renato stretched him. “Tell me this is real,” Renato said. “Tell me I’m not hallucinating all of this.”
“I don’t know,” Morgan admitted. He bowed his back as his lips parted. “It feels dreamlike to me.”
Renato nipped him. “I’m not talking about the sensations. I’m talking about you really being here. I used to have dreams that were so vivid I swore you were here with me.”
“It’s real,” Morgan said. “I’m here, and it’s not a dream.”
Renato pressed his lips to Morgan’s ear. “If it is nothing more than a dream, promise you won’t ever let me wake up.”
“If it is, neither of us will.” But Morgan knew this was real. It was as real as real could get. He was about to give himself over to Renato, bind himself to the winged beast for all eternity.
Morgan nearly cried out when Renato removed his fingers. But seconds later, the blunt head of his cock pressed against Morgan’s hole. “Ready?”
No, he wasn’t, but he remembered Renato’s warning about denying the man. As crazy and hellish as his life had been, that had been nothing compared to Renato’s. He was tired of doing this alone, and his very gut told him this was where he was supposed to be. Fate had intersected their souls, and now it was time to finish what she had started.
“Yes.”
Morgan inhaled sharply as Renato punched his hips forward, burying his cock deep. “Sorry, but I didn’t want you changing your mind.”
It took a moment for Morgan to catch his breath. “I said yes, damn it.”
Growling, Renato pulled out, flipped Morgan onto his back, and drove back inside him. Morgan’s eyes widened as he stared up at large, feathery white wings. “Y–you have wings!”
They flapped slowly as a fine dusting fell all around them. It almost looked as if it were snowing, but the particles were too small, and they didn’t melt when they landed on Morgan. They were a shimmering gold color, and the dust seemed to fall everywhere.
“Only my true chosen one would be able to see them.” Renato ran his hand down Morgan’s chest, resting his palm over his heart. “You are my zaterio, Morgan. The one I thought I’d lost. The one I mourned night and day for.”
Morgan arched his back and cried out as Renato moved faster, harder, and deeper. It was as if Morgan’s sighting of Renato’s wings had unleashed something inside the man. His fangs were showing, and Morgan must be hallucinating because it looked as if his mate’s skin held a light blue tinge.
All that vanished from his mind when Renato pulled Morgan up to a sitting position, Morgan’s legs draped over his mate’s powerful thighs. Renato wrapped his arms around Morgan as he thrust upward. “I want to bite you.”
“But…what if my blood hurts you?”
“It won’t, zaterio. I promise you that I am immune.” The need was deep in Renato’s eyes. The craving, the desire to sink his fangs deep.
“I trust you.” Morgan sent up a prayer as Renato’s fangs pierced his skin. His orgasm gripped Morgan to his foundation and shook him. He once again cried out as his cock pulsed with his release.
When Renato pulled his fangs free and licked the wound, Morgan gasped. He saw Renato’s creation. The man hadn’t been born but made. He was in a majestic kingdom with hundreds of other winged beasts. He also saw Renato cry to the heavens when he thought Morgan had died. He felt his mate’s suffering, his pain, and although he’d felt that exact thing over the years, somehow it was stronger now. His chest felt as if it would cave as he watched Renato weep, get whipped, and try numerous times to end it all.
Morgan also saw his birth, his childhood, and the attack in the plant room. He saw all those lonely years of traveling and working, never feeling as if he belonged, always feeling as if he was searching for someone.
He had been. His soul had known who Renato was, even if Morgan had no clue. The two lives raced alongside each other at the speed of light as they played out until they collided together and intertwined, forever binding them.
Morgan gasped as if he’d been drowning and had finally come up for air. He blinked at Renato, and his heart clenched when he saw the tears running down the man’s cheek. “Why are you crying?”
“It’s really you, zaterio.” Renato glanced away, as if embarrassed that he was crying.
He threw Morgan back down on the bed and hammered into him, his eyes wild, his features dark. Morgan wrapped his legs around Renato’s waist and allowed his mate to use him any way the man wanted to.
Moments later, Renato threw his head back and shouted as his cock pulsed in Morgan’s ass. He hovered over Morgan, sweat pouring down his face, his eyes closed, and his body tight. His arms flexed.
Morgan stared up at the man and couldn’t believe that he’d bound his soul to another person. He felt it, the connection. It was as if their souls were one. That sounded corny to Morgan, but that was the only way he could think to describe it.
Renato’s breathing became heavier. He flinched and then hissed as he slowly pulled from Morgan’s body. His expression tightened as he sucked in a breath, his eyes still closed.
“Renato, is there something wrong?” The man didn’t have the look of someone who’d just had an amazing orgasm, someone who had just claimed his mate. In fact, he kind of looked in pain. That didn’t make any sense to him. Morgan didn’t know the first thing about winged beasts, but should Renato look so anguished?
Pressing a hand to his mate’s face, Morgan gasped. The man was burning up. “Renato, talk to me. What’s wrong?”
With a violent twist of his body, Renato flipped over and onto his back. His wings shot out, and he turned a dark shade of blue. Black claws emerged from his fingers. When he finally opened his eyes, they were pure black. Not even the white was showing. They were like two black marbles.
Morgan’s heart thumped heavily in his ears as he scrambled from the bed. He raced to the door and slung it open. “I need help!”
Renato flipped and twisted on the bed, growling and hissing, and then a blood-curdling scream shattered the air around them. Morgan sucked in shallow breaths as he hurried back to the bed and climbed on next to his mate. “Renato, what’s happening?”
The room filled with men, Nazaryth leading them. “What the hell?”
“I don’t know,” Morgan said. “He just started doing this after”—his skin heated with embarrassment—“after he claimed me.”
“Did he drink your blood?”
Morgan had no idea who the woman was or why she was there. “Who are you?”
“Did he drink your blood?” she insisted.
Morgan looked to Nazaryth. He wasn’t sure if he should answer her. “Who is she?”
“Still trying to figure that out,” Nazaryth said. “But did Renato drink your blood?”
Could his mate be going through this because of that? Had Morgan poisoned Renato? Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. He’d told the guy not to do it, but Renato had promised him that it was safe. From the way he was twisting and bending on the bed, Morgan’s blood had been far from safe for Renato. “Yes.”
The woman cursed.
“What? What is it?” Nazaryth asked.
“Is he dying?” Morgan asked.
“I have no idea,” she said. “No one has ever drunk from a hellhound before.”
“Don’t just stand there,” Morgan shouted at everyone. “Do something!”
Renato stilled, his chest rising and falling so fast that it scared Morgan. He couldn’t lose Renato, not after the hell both of them had gone through. They deserved happiness, not death. Morgan cursed fate for keeping them apart all those years. He cursed the hound who had bitten him. He cursed the people in the room for just standing there. But most of all, he cursed himself for letting Renato drink from him. Morgan had known better, and now it would be his mate who paid the price.
“Renato?” Nazaryth said. “Can you talk? Can you tell us what’s going on inside of you?”
With a loud snarl, Renato grabbed Morgan and yanked him behind him. Renato rose from the bed, keeping his body in front of Morgan’s. “Get. Out.”
“Not until we know Morgan will be safe with you,” Nazaryth said in an even harsher tone than Renato had used.
As if colors bled from a canvas, Renato’s dark blue hue faded away. His wings folded in as his claws retracted. Morgan held his breath to see what his mate would do.
A deep, rumbling growl vibrated in Renato’s chest. “You dare say that to me?”
“You’re not exactly yourself,” Nazaryth said. “Your goddamn eyes are black. So you tell me what’s going on with you, or Morgan comes with us.”
Renato snarled. “Try and take him and I’ll cut all of you down.”
“This is bad,” the woman said.
Morgan frowned. “Who the hell are you?”
She pushed past the men and stood at the end of the bed. Morgan grabbed a pillow and covered his groin. He felt exposed as everyone stared at him.
“I’m the one who hid your true identity when you were born,” she said as she stepped around the bed. “The one who made sure no hellhound or demon knew you even existed. But your first shift broke that spell, so now that they know, I will be the one who kills you.”
Chapter Nine
Chaos erupted as the female vanished and then reappeared behind Morgan, pulling him away from Renato. Her hand was around his throat, her irises a dark shade of red. “I can’t allow him to—” Before she could finish what she was saying, Renato attacked.
He yanked Morgan out of her grasp as his beast emerged once again. This time he didn’t try to fight against it. Power seemed to flow through him. Never had Renato felt such a strong rush. His entire body buzzed, his muscles bunched, and he heard his blood coursing through his veins.
“You’ll die for touching him.” Renato reached for her, but she vanished. Anger flowed through him as he spun and glared at Nazaryth. “You let the enemy into our home?”
Nazaryth pulled to his full height. He was a few inches taller than Renato, but it was the hostile look on his face that made Renato’s guard slam into place. “Don’t take that tone with me, Renato.”
The urge to obey his commander was strong. Renato felt an apology on his lips, but he refused to let the words pass. He’d done nothing wrong except try to keep his mate out of that woman’s hands. It was his brethren who had allowed her entrance, and she’d nearly taken Morgan. His teeth ground together at the thought of anyone taking his zaterio away from him. “Everyone out.”
The men filed out of his bedroom. Everyone except Nazaryth. He still stood there with a murderous expression on his face. “She said she was here to help us.”
As if that explained why Nazaryth had broken protocol.
“And you believed a demon?” Renato asked incredulously. “Dude, demons lie.”
Shaking his head, Nazaryth sighed. “She hid it well. I didn’t even smell it on her until she went after Morgan.”
“What was she talking about?” Morgan asked. He glanced from Nazaryth to Renato. “What did she mean when she said she hid my true identity at birth? What identity?”
There was definite panic in Morgan’s voice. Renato pulled his zaterio into his arms as his beast slowly receded. Renato had no clue why he’d felt the immense power, and the only thing he could think of was Morgan’s blood. It had felt as if something had been ripping him apart when he writhed on the bed. There was something different flowing through him. Renato felt it, but he didn’t want to say anything to Nazaryth.
The man was already suspicious enough about Morgan. Renato would figure things out on his own. Hopefully. Nazaryth wasn’t the only person with a well-stocked library in his room, although Renato had never heard of any winged beast ingesting hellhound blood. Then again, he’d never heard of any winged beast being mated to one.
“I don’t know,” Nazaryth said, “but I’m gonna find out.”
Renato watched as his commander left the room and closed the door. He turned to Morgan. “Are you all right?�
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“You mean besides feeling like a freak who just found out he was probably born a freak?” Morgan shook his head, wrapping his arms around his midsection. “I just showed my bits and pieces to an entire room of people. I’m not sure if I should concentrate on what she said or on the fact that everyone saw my junk hanging out.”
“I have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of her.” And that bothered Renato. They were already dealing with enough. The two of them hadn’t even had time to get to know each other. They’d had little bonding time, and although he’d seen Morgan’s life when he’d bitten the man, there was so much more that he didn’t know.
“I think I need to have a talk with my mother.”
“You’ve been gone for two decades, Morgan. I think waltzing up to her front door would give the woman a heart attack. Hell, I’m surprised Jaycee hasn’t barged in here yet.” Renato was thankful for that. He didn’t need Morgan’s cousin hitting Morgan with a thousand questions. His mate was already overwhelmed as it was.
“I know, but I need to know about my birth. I never knew my father. My mom told me that he died in a car crash. If that demon was somehow telling the truth, then my mother has been hiding a secret from me.” Morgan stabbed a finger at Renato. “And I’m going to kill Kyle when I see him. I asked him if there was more than just humans and shifters. The little shit could have warned me about demons and winged beasts.”
Renato inwardly groaned. That meant Morgan was clueless about vampires, fairies, elves, and a whole host of other preternatural creatures. He’d tell his mate, but not now. Renato had a serious migraine.
“And what was that whole writhing thing about?” Morgan asked. He stumbled more than walked to the bed and sank down. “You told me my blood was safe with you. What happened?”
“I don’t know,” Renato admitted. “It felt like something was tearing me apart from the inside out, but… I don’t know. The feeling just vanished.”
“Just vanished?”
“I feel fine.” Renato kept the whole power-rush thing to himself. He needed to until he could figure out exactly what had happened to him. There was no need to alarm Morgan, and to be honest, Renato was a little alarmed himself.