Dakota grabbed the bottom of his shirt, pulling it up and exposing his well defined abdomen. Evan brushed his fingertips to his abs, idly wondering how it was possible that the pudgy young man he’d grown up with had become such an impeccably built specimen. His fingers traced a path down his lover’s stomach, following the thin trail of hair that lead to his groin. A soft gasp spilled past Dakota’s lips, and he pulled back just enough to slide out of his jeans.
“Oh my god.” Evan gasped, the fog that clouded his brain seeming to intensify as he lay eyes upon Dakota’s throbbing manhood. Before he could truly react, he was shoved face down on the bed, with the larger man all but draping himself across his small lover. The feeling of being pinned might have incited some sense of claustrophobia in Evan, at least, it might have in the past. For now, however, it simply fueled his desire until the sheet beneath him was all but soaked with his precum. He stiffened, biting his own knuckles to smother a cry of desperation as the other man spread his asscheeks and rubbed a lubed up finger against the tight ring of muscle held within. Evan rutted against the sheet beneath him as Dakota slipped a finger knuckle deep inside of him, gently working him until he could take a second finger-- then, a third. Evan could see nothing, feel nothing but the overwhelming sensations of his lover’s ministrations. Abruptly, he felt something much larger press against his tight hole, and he all but yowled in anticipation. He was answered with what sounded little more than a growl, and the men simultaneously screamed in exquisite agony as Dakota buried himself within the other man. Evan arched his back, looking like a spring pulled taut and ready to snap. Dakota grabbed his lover by the hips, pulling him back against him with each thrust forward. Time seemed to stop as the two twisted pleasurably against each other, their climaxes building at a fever pace until Dakota hilted himself entirely inside of Evan, shooting string after string of his seed deep inside of the other man. Evan all but screamed as too-sharp teeth found his shoulder, sinking into the flesh there and marking him as Dakota’s own. His own essence spilled on the bed beneath him, and the two came to an abrupt stop, the fog that had settled over them slowly beginning to fade.
“Wow.” Dakota murmured, unable to give voice to the other thoughts racing through his head. Evan gasped for breath, a pleasant ache settling over him as Dakota drew him into his arms, keeping himself settled firmly within the other but shifting them into a more comfortable position.
“What…” Evan muttered, his head spinning as his senses came back to him in a rush. “I’ve never felt like that before… it was… Christ.” He sputtered, tilting his head to try and get a better look at Dakota. The larger man rumbled softly, resting his chin comfortably atop Evan’s head.
“I tried to explain.” He offered hesitantly. Evan struggled to recall the conversation before their exchange, something popping to the forefront of his mind.
“You said something about pheromones…?” He said inquisitively, and Dakota chuckled. “I don’t quite understand what you meant by that.” He added softly.
“It’s a mating thing.” Dakota said in an attempt to remain casual. Evan slowly quirked a brow, going unseen by the other man.
“Mating.” He repeated, snorting derisively.
“Yes. I probably should have explained before offering to let you live with me, but… a lot has changed since you cut off communication with all of us.” Dakota hummed, and Evan shifted away just enough to face the man.
“Did you get bitten by a werewolf or something?” He grinned, seeming all too amused by his little joke.
“Werebear.” Dakota corrected unthinkingly, receiving a guffaw in response. He narrowed his eyes at the smaller man, who continued to snort and giggle at his side. “I’m serious, Evan! I’m… a werebear...” He said, trailing off. Evan rolled his eyes, drawing away from Dakota and sitting up, arms crossed over his chest.
“You drugging me would be a much more reasonable explanation.” He said drily, and Dakota rolled his eyes in response, grumbling unhappily.
“I agree, but in the years we’ve known each other, have I ever lied to you?” The larger man said sourly, receiving an appraising look in reply. Evan mused that it was ridiculous that he was even considering Dakota’s explanation. One thing was true, however, and that was the fact that Dakota had never lied to him. Even when they were children and Dakota had forgotten to feed his goldfish. When the fish was dead upon Evan’s arrival home, Dakota had immediately confessed, though in retrospect, any number of things could have led to the fish’s demise.
A werebear, though…?
“How can you expect me to believe that?” Evan said plaintively, receiving a self deprecating snort in response.
“I suppose I can’t, really. I wouldn’tbelieve me either, truth be told. But what reason would I have to lie?” Dakota inquired, though there was little fire behind his words. Evan hesitated, looking over the man he could now call his lover.
“Show me.” Evan said carefully, reaching up to brush a lock of hair behind his ear. Dakota stared incredulously at him, lips quirking unbidden into a giddy little grin.
“You believe me!” He beamed, lurching forward to wrap his arms around the smaller man. Evan chuckled, pressing into his embrace. It was true he was giving some consideration to what his long time friend was telling him, but he wouldn’t quite say he believed it. At least, not yet.
“I’ll believe it when I see it.” He said with a faint smile. Fortunately, Dakota seemed more than happy to oblige. He rose from the bed, gathering his clothes where they lay abandoned on the floor. He waited for Evan to rise as well before guiding him into the living room. As they got dressed, they planned out the so called exposition. Dakota insisted it happen after the sun had set, which Evan supposed he saw some sense in, though he did have his doubts.
“Should we be wandering the forests after dark?” He murmured, giving voice to one of his doubts.
“What are you afraid of? Bears?” Dakota retorted snidely. Evan hesitated, narrowing his eyes towards the other man. Dakota simply smiled deviously, “Anyway, we used to play around in the woods after dark all the time when we were kids. Just because our parents didn’t like it…” Dakota trailed off, noticing the suddenly sad look in his mate’s eyes.
“Seems my parents don’t like much about me anymore.” Evan said with an air of melancholy to his tone. Dakota frowned, pulling the other man into his arms and rumbling unhappily.
“Their loss is my gain. Come on. I’ll treat you to dinner at the diner.” He said in an attempt to comfort Evan. Evan smiled faintly, nuzzling against Dakota’s shoulder. “And not just because I get free food for working there.” Dakota murmured, pressing a kiss to the side of Evan’s head before drawing away, stepping towards the door. Evan barked out a laugh, trailing after the other man and approaching his truck. Dakota stopped just short of the driver’s side door, and before Evan could inquire as to the holdup, he spotted a tall and slender man who bore an uncanny resemblance to himself. At least, if he had forty tattoos and an undercut. “In the truck.” Dakota said softly, glancing towards Evan from the corner of his eye before taking several long strides towards the other man. Evan obliged, slipping into the passenger seat but leaving the door open so he could eavesdrop on the conversation. He couldn’t make out much besides the general sounds of yelling, with Dakota sounding much more aggressive than he had ever heard him act before. He glanced towards the two men where they stood at the end of the driveway, and the blonde gestured angrily in his direction before trying to pull Dakota towards him. Dakota easily deflected the slimmer man, and there was only one way to take Dakota’s shouted orders.
“Fuck off!” He snarled, marching towards the truck and Evan. Evan stared uncertainly at his near doppelganger, remaining silent until Dakota pulled himself into the driver’s seat. “Sorry. That’s the guy that’s been stalking me.” Dakota growled, turning the key in the ignition and backing out of the driveway. The man shifted just out of the way of the truck, and smiled toothily at Evan as
the truck backed away, past him. There was something eerie in his smile, something that Evan couldn’t quite put his finger on. As if the other man knew something he should not. Breathing a sigh, Evan remained silent for the duration of the truck ride, trying not to fidget at the obvious irritation that permeated the atmosphere.
“Are you okay…?” Evan muttered, reaching out to rest a hand on Dakota’s arm. Dakota glanced towards him, smiling uncertainly.
“He just said some stuff that got me really riled up. Said some bull about you smelling especially fertile, and I just… didn’t like the way he said it.” Dakota groused, driving at a leisurely pace in the direction of the diner. Evan’s eyes widened, and he drew his lip between his teeth.
“..Fertile?” He managed. Dakota laughed it off, focusing on the road ahead of them.
“Supposedly, a werebear and their mate can reproduce regardless of physical sex. He seems to think we’re going to end up with a bushel of cubs. That’s just old legend, though. No proof to it.” He said casually. Evan laughed awkwardly, unable to ignore the sudden sinking sensation in his gut. It was impossible by normal human standards, but for a werebear…
He shook off the thought. There was no need to panic. This was clearly some elaborate joke that Dakota was trying to pull on him. The larger man was just pulling his leg. There was no such thing as werebears, and a man could certainly not bear another man’s children. As they pulled into the diner, he had nearly managed to dispel the traitorous thought. However, a few hours later, as they finished their meal and the sun began to set, the unsettling feeling was growing in his gut once more.
There was something about Dakota’s demeanor that was changing as the sun sank in the sky, something almost feral in his mannerisms and actions. Halfway through their drive to the forest, the larger man pulled the truck over.
“You drive the rest of the way.” He barked out, leaving no room for argument as he passed Evan while circling the truck. He bypassed the passenger side entirely, hopping into the bed of the truck and thumping the top of the cab to signal that he was ready to move once more. Evan was beginning to think that the trick, or prank, or whatever was dragging on just a bit too long. Once they were near the woods, he pulled the truck over, fully prepared to give the larger man a piece of his mind. However, as he looked out towards the bed of the truck, he was not met by the tender gaze of his best friend turned lover. Bathed in a backdrop of moonlight, a massive brown bear stood hunched in the bed of the truck, watching Evan with a hungry expression. Evan stared. Blinked once. Twice. Then, all went black as he promptly fell unconscious; in a dead faint.
When he next awoke, it was to the sound of the shower running in the master bathroom of Dakota’s trailer. He snorted, dismissing the night before as a bizarre nightmare before rising out of bed and slipping into the bathroom, intent upon joining Dakota. He drew the curtain back, a shriek spilling past his lips as he took in the sheer amount of blood that still covered his lover’s body. It spilled off of him in waves as the clean water from the shower cascaded over him, and Evan stumbled back, clutching his chest in an attempt to soothe his pounding heart. Dakota looked towards him, baring his slightly pointed teeth in a hesitant smile.
“Oh my god.” Evan managed. Dakota hesitated before moving to draw the curtain closed once more.
“I’ll be out in a few, just gotta get all this mess off of me. Fish guts. Bleh.” He called out, and Evan inhaled shakily, internally trying to reassure himself. Fish guts, Dakota had said. It seemed like a lot of blood to come from fish, but perhaps there was some truth to it. Perhaps…
He shook off the thought, stepping away from the shower, the idea of showering with the bear man feeling less appealing. In fact, it set a rather significant amount of nausea brewing in his gut. Feeling it wash over him in an abrupt wave, he lurched towards the toilet, retching into the bowl. He noticed Dakota peeking out of the shower, but could say little between bouts of spilling his guts into the toilet bowl. A nagging thought made itself known in the back of his mind, making a single phrase appear in the forefront of his mind, unbidden: Morning Sickness. As impossible as it seemed, it seemed equally impossible for werebears to exist. Though it seemed too soon to be experienced the symptoms of a potential pregnancy, he didn’t exactly know the werebear protocol. Tears spilled down his cheeks as he continued to retch into the toilet, sensing more than seeing Dakota slip out of the shower and stand behind him.
“What did you do to me!?” He demanded, choking out a sob as Dakota gathered his hair up, keeping it from getting all the mess on it.
“I didn’t…” Dakota murmured, hesitated, then sighed. “I didn’t think we could actually have cubs.” He finished.
“I can’t believe this. How am I even supposed to…” Evan trailed off, another gag shaking his body. Dakota rubbed his back gently, exhaling an unhappy sigh.
“I’m not sure. There are other werebears in the area, maybe they’ll know more than I do.” He offered, helping Evan to his feet and flushing away the mess once the smaller man had nothing left to spill past his lips. Evan leaned heavily against the man at his side, fury the predominant emotion he felt, though he dare not mention that there was a certain sense of wonder to the situation as well. He clutched his stomach as the two stepped out of the bathroom, taking wobbly strides towards the couch and all but collapsing onto it. He could feel Dakota’s worried eyes upon him, but felt little need to comfort the larger man. It was his fault they were in this mess, after all. “I’m gonna go get dressed. You can… watch some tv…” Dakota offered, receiving a withering glare in response. Evan kept his gaze on Dakota until the man was out of sight before reaching for the remote, clicking on the tv and flipping through the channels before settling on a local news channel. He watched with little interest as the news anchors reported on petty subjects-- along the lines of who had won the best teacher award for the week. He yawned, unhappily rubbing his stomach and wondering how long it would be before he got fat, the hormones already seemed to be having some effect on him. He closed his eyes, idly listening to the news.
“Breaking news! A recent string of deaths, as reported last week, have been identified as bear maulings. The local wildlife experts advise…” The female news anchor announced, though the rest of her statement fell into obscurity as Dakota yanked the remote away, clicking the television off.
“Hey!” Evan growled, leveling a glare at the other man. Dakota met his gaze unwaveringly, bearing his teeth in a snarl and throwing the remote across the room. Evan flinched as the electronic device smashed against the wall, falling to pieces on the floor.
“You shouldn’t be paying any mind to local news. It’s just going to stress you out, and the baby could suffer.” Dakota rumbled. Evan considered the taller man, eyes widening as the reality of the news story settled in on him. He pointed an accusing finger at the man he called his lover, hand shaking as he spoke.
“What… what did you do?” He demanded, trying to sound firm but falling just short. Dakota quirked a brow, seeming confused for a moment before narrowing his eyes upon the smaller man.
“What are you talking about!? You think I killed those people?” Dakota demanded in a loud snarl, the sound resonating through the room. Evan cowered away, drawing his lip between his teeth and looking uncertainly towards the front door. “Evan. You can’t be serious. You think I killed those people? Why on earth would I do something like that?” The werebear implored, in that same insistent tone. Evan hesitated, and Dakota seemed to finally sense his unease. The man bear exhaled shakily, shaking his head and slipping towards the door.
“Where are you going?” Evan called out, shifting off of the couch and moving to trail after the other man.
“Out.” Dakota replied simply, grabbing his keys and swinging the door open. Evan stared plaintively at him, grabbing him by the arm.
“You’re just going to leave me here, alone?” He demanded. Dakota smiled bitterly, shrugging off Evan’s hand and taking another step away.
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“I’d think you’d be happy, considering what you seem to think of me. How could things have changed so much, in so little time…” Dakota muttered, trailing off. Evan opened his mouth, prepared to argue, but fell silent as he went ignored, settling to simply watch Dakota get in his truck and drive away. He wanted to shout after the other man. He wanted to curse his childhood friend’s name. He wanted… somehow he just wanted things to go back to normal.
Unfortunately, things were too far gone to return to any sense of normalcy. At least, in the sense of what normal used to be.
“This is a mess.” Evan muttered, lingering at the door frame and glancing back into the house he had come from. Perhaps living with Dakota had been a mistake. Living in a home with parents who hated him was beginning to look the better option, compared to a man who seemed as if he would snap at any moment. Exhaling slowly, he stepped out the door, pulling it shut behind him. It had been some time since he’d walked the streets of the small town alone, but it wasn’t as if he had a ride to his parents’ house. He gently touched his hand to his stomach, whispering a prayer to a God he wasn’t quite sure he believed in anymore. Then, he started off in the direction of his parents home.
The Dragon’s Flight: Gay Paranormal Romance Page 15