by Mary Rundle
Uh, what’s this? Expecting to find his wolf in a defensive position, Ulfric was shocked to see him relaxed and grooming himself without a care in the world. What the fuck? He looked again at Slate and found him watching him closely. Schooling his face so none of his inner turmoil showed, Ulfric stared back in return, waiting to see what Slate would do. Without realizing it, he was testing this man, wanting to see his reaction to a challenge such as Ulfric was giving. Instead of the expected reaction, he received a warm, broad smile from Slate in return. Hope returned.
“When are we going to start?” Arald asked.
“Alpha Ordovic should be here any moment. In fact, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll just check to make sure there aren’t any problems with my men letting him through.”
Arald waited until Slate had left the room before turning on Ulfric. “What the fuck are you doing? Have you forgotten what I told you? Do my men have to make a visit to your wife to make sure you obey me?”
Shaking at the thought of his wife in danger, Ulfric bowed his head in deference and said, “I haven’t forgotten. When I arrived this morning, I had no idea that I was first. I even waited a little while to give you time to arrive.”
“What did you say to him?”
“He asked me my goals for the conference and I said exactly what you told me to say. Honestly, Arald, we only talked for a few minutes before you showed up and it was all about the conference.”
“Remember how you are supposed to treat me.”
“I remember—always defer to you, always agree with your ideas and never challenge you. Got it.”
“You better or else. Here they come now. Put a fucking smile on your pathetic face, asshole.”
The door opened and Slate ushered Ordovic into the room, indicating where he should sit. Glancing at Arald and Ulfric, Slate could sense tension between them, but seeing a smile on their faces, he said, “Gentlemen, with everyone here, this peace conference has officially started. Before we go any further, let me introduce myself. I’m Slate Valentin, COO of Dire Enterprises. At Alpha Arald’s request, I organized this conference in an effort to stop the violence that has besieged your packs for far too long.
“I’m sure everyone knows of my company’s role in building the new hospital and clinic. And we have other plans to provide jobs and better health care for every member of each of your packs. But in order to make that happen, stability and safety must be restored so families can once again enjoy the outside without fear of attacks. Now, why don’t you state your name, the particular issue or issues you would like resolved and any ideas you have for accomplishing them.”
~/~/~/~/~
Clear blue sky greeted Cody and Dylon as they shifted just inside the edge of the forest. Taking the lead, Cody ran deep into the forest, now wanting to show his mate all the places he loved. Once again, he relished letting his wolf run free. Stopping to shift only for lunch, they resumed their trek once more as wolves, Cody leading the way up to the waterfalls again, where they finally lay down, curled around each other, and slept.
The sun was setting when they awoke, but Cody was in no hurry to head back to the house. Instead, he decided to have some fun with his mate. Leading Dylon over to the cold mountain water pooled at the base of the waterfalls, Cody indicated to Dylon that he should drink. As his mate lowered his snout and began to drink, Cody moved behind him and gave Dylon a shove. Losing his balance, his mate fell head first into the water.
Cody’s wolf chuffed in enjoyment until he realized Dylon was climbing out and heading for him. Backing away, Cody did the only thing he could think of—lowering himself and flipping over, exposing his belly.
Dylon stood over his mate, dripping wet. He knew Cody thought he was angry, but he wasn’t. He was actually happy to see his mate so playful but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to get back at him. Standing over Cody, he gave a playful growl before shaking vigorously, spraying his mate with water.
Cody’s wolf whined as the cold water hit him. Almost instantly, he felt Dylon’s tongue licking his face before moving on to the rest of his body. By the time, his mate had finished his erotic overtures, Cody’s cock was hard and leaking.
Wanting to be taken by Dylon’s wolf, Cody flipped his body and crawled out from beneath his mate. Turning around, he wagged his haunches, trying to entice his mate, before lowering himself to his belly once more as he lifted his tail out of the way. Chuffing his need, Cody wiggled his body, begging for Dylon’s hard cock.
Unable to resist, Dylon mounted his mate and heard Cody let out a bark of pleasure as his cock slid in. Fucking his mate, he felt his orgasm build. Cody was whining and growling and Dylon knew his mate wanted more. Burying his snout in Cody’s thick ruff until he reached skin, he felt his cock release its seed as his jaws opened and bit down through fur and skin to find his mate’s blood. Dylon could feel his mate’s cock spasm before he released Cody’s neck and lifting his head to the sky, let out a long, loud claiming howl that echoed off the surrounding mountains.
Chapter 26
Cody’s wolf collapsed, eager to rest. Amazed at the smugness of his wolf, who rolled over on his side and puffed out a sigh, Cody realized how hard it had been for his wolf to endure what was happening to the human side of him. Lying there on the mossy ground, Cody was finally able to understand how his wolf half had kept him sane—by taking the brunt of his mental pain, sheltering him from the worst of it.
Cody shifted back to his human form as did Dylon who snuggled up to his back, draping his arm over Cody’s waist. The serenity of the moment was only interrupted by the calls of the birds, once again reasserting their claim to the forest. Cody’s eyes drifted up through the trees to the sky above and he smiled at how everything seemed so bright, so vivid, so alive. During his descent into his personal hell, he had stopped noticing the world around him, consumed by the darkness in his mind.
Cody knew the darkness would be with him always, but now with Dylon’s strength coming through their life thread, he would have no problem keeping it at bay. Now it was time to start doing what the Fates intended for him and that meant they had to go to Tajikistan—sooner than later. He had a mission to complete.
Feeling his mate’s body against his, Dylon closed his eyes and waited until Cody was ready to talk. As soon as he had bitten his mate, Dylon was privy to Cody’s thoughts but Cody could not hear his until the final claiming act was completed—hopefully tonight. He dipped his hand down Cody’s abdomen and found his mate’s hardening cock. No matter how many times he took Cody, Dylon always needed more. Grasping the leaking cock, he slowly tugged it, just wanting to tease his mate.
Cody shoved his ass against Dylon’s groin, teasing him right back. And as much as he would have liked to pursue getting his ass filled again, he needed first to talk, something he had put off far too long. Turning over, he looked at those beautiful eyes radiating so much love. “Babe, before we go further in that direction—and believe me I want to go there—I need to talk about Tajikistan.”
Dylon grew serious. “I know, ma moité, go ahead.”
Cody squeezed Dylon’s hand. “You’ve seen my visions and the terrible things that are done to shifters who are helpless to fight back. It took me a while to figure out why the Fates gave me these visions but when I did, I knew there wouldn’t be anyone or anything that would keep me from helping the shifters I saw.”
“I know.”
“The first visions I had of these shifters were not painful. I guess the best way to described them is to say it was more like setting the scene than anything else. But as the months wore on, the visions grew in detail as to exactly what was occurring over there. The one I had just before Colton healed you was so vivid and painful, I honestly don’t know how any of those shifters could have survived.”“It’s their will to survive, ma moité.”
“Yes, it must be. But the time has come. I am stronger than I have ever been before and with you at my side, I know I will be successful. But my mate, this won’t be
the last rescue you and I will be involved in.”
“I understand, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Remember when I told you how I would beat up bullies at school?” Dylon asked, then continuing after Cody nodded, “It’s why the Fates picked me to be your Fated Mate. It’s in my DNA. I must defend the defenseless and that makes me perfect for what the Fates want you to do. So yes, I will be by your side when we go over there and kick some ass. I’ll keep you safe and you know I’ll always be able to find you so you have nothing to fear.”
“Thanks, babe. So, what’s the plan?” asked Cody.
“First, we need to finish the claiming so our bonding is unbreakable by any force.”
“I want to do that tonight—you know, bite you.”
“Perfect.”
“We need to meet with Oracle so she can give us the limits of my gift…”
“And I have to make arrangements for our flight over…”
“We should also talk to Steel because we will need his brother’s help…”
“Why?”
“Because Slate is over there now trying to mediate peace between the packs. Oh, and we should talk to Ian. That was his last assignment before he came here. He might have some insights for us.”
“We need to get permission from Jackson for you to go…”
“I was thinking Jackson and Steel should be in the meeting we have with Oracle,” added Cody. “Is that all right with you?”
“That makes sense. And maybe if we run into a problem with getting permission, she can help us.”
“Good point. What about your parents?”
“I have to think about that. I won’t tell my father about your ability or gift any more than I would tell him about Colton and Jackson’s gifts. Mmmm…”
“Maybe we can bring it up at the meeting with Oracle and Jackson? They might have a way to handle your parents, well, your father really.”
“Yup, okay, add that to the list,” Dylon said.
“Carson has been trying to connect through our mind link,” Cody said, pausing as Dylon growled, “He wants to apologize as does Zane. Don’t be angry at him, babe, he only wanted to protect me. He doesn’t know what I’ve been going through so when he saw me chained, his fear of losing another family member overwhelmed him. Please, babe, I want to give him the chance to tell me he regrets his actions. If something were to happen to us over there, my brother would live with the guilt for the rest of his life.”
“Humph, well…”
“Please babe, it will be better for me if I know my brothers aren’t upset about anything other than me leaving.”
Dylon leaned forward and kissed Cody. “You don’t have to ask my permission. If it makes you feel better, then yes, go ahead and clear the air with them.”
Cody smiled broadly and then licked Dylon’s nose. “I wasn’t counting on getting wet when I pushed you in, but I must say it was worth it just to have you lick me all over.”
“Oh yeah? Then that is definitely something I want to do when you are not covered in fur,” Dylon said, chuckling, “Maybe, I should save it for a punishment when you misbehave.”
Cody’s body was consumed by shivers of delight thinking about being restrained while at the mercy of Dylon’s talented tongue. “That’s not fair,” he pouted.
“Why not, my pet?”
“Because now I want to disobey you just to get my punishment.”
Laughing, Dylon said, “That’s the goal, ma moité,” as he took his mate’s cock in hand again, teasing it with slow strokes.
Cody buried his face in Dylon’s neck, kissing and licking any spot he could reach. Knowing his mate would keep him safe, he closed his eyes and breathed in his scent. Reflecting about his journey to this point, he finally acknowledged how hard it had been and the unknown strength he had that allowed him to make it to this moment in time. He snorted. It would have been helpful if the Fates had given him an instruction manual about what to expect with his foresight ability, but he’d managed it—somehow—up to a point.
He wasn’t so cocky, though, as to think he would have made it to the other side without Dylon’s help. No, my mate arrived just in time to save me. And that thought consumed his body with murderous rage at what his uncle had done to Dylon. I swear he will pay for it! Somehow, someway, I will make him pay for hurting my mate. Suddenly, he was flooded with love through their life thread as his mate sought to calm him.
“Ma moité, shhh, I promise you, Josiah will answer for his crimes. My father already believes Jackson’s account of what happened to your family. Now it is a matter of finding the proof to present an air-tight case to the High Council. It will take time, and maybe a bit of luck, but it will happen.”
“But what about you? They nearly killed you,” Cody said, shaking from the thought of never finding Dylon.
“That too. Trust me, my pet, I have no intention of letting Rudy get away with what he did. But this isn’t the time. We must focus on saving the shifters who are in so much danger. After we do that, we can turn our attention to Josiah.”
Cody sighed, “I know you’re right. It’s just so hard. You’re my world, babe, and the thought of any harm happening to you brings up feelings I never knew I had. Moments ago, if Josiah were here in front of me, I would have killed him without a second thought. I never felt that way about him when he killed my family. Oh shit, that doesn’t sound right. I mean, yes, I hated him for killing the rest of my family—especially my mother who acted as my anchor before you came into my life—but I never felt rage. It was more sorrow and worry about the safety of my brothers.”
“That makes sense, ma moité.”
“Why would you say that? No, I don’t think you’re right. I should feel the same about each injustice that is done to someone.”
“Life doesn’t work that way. Different situations will evoke greater or lesser feeling of anger when you see harm happening to people. For instance, did any of your visions show what was going to happen to your family?”
“No, they only left me with a feeling my family was in danger. But I didn’t get a sense it was immediate. Many times, nothing ever happened so I wasn’t really worried. I thought once I got home, I would get a better sense of the danger—if there was any. And of course, I would talk to my mom about it to help me figure out my vision. She did that a lot.”
“What did you think when you saw what your uncle had done to me?”
Cody shuddered. “I was furious—no, I am furious. When I saw you for the first time, I hated my uncle.”
That’s the difference between the two types of visions you have. One, you had only a general sense of what might happen and in the other you actually saw what had happened. Seeing will always evoke stronger feelings, my pet. That’s why your visions affect you so badly now.”
“Probably,” said Cody, thinking about his uncle. “It’s just strange because I never felt the kind of hate before that would make me want to kill. I’ll let it go with my uncle for now as we have to focus on Tajikistan. But don’t think I’ll forget.”
“No, I know you won’t, my pet. Ready to head back? I want to be claimed, ma moité.”
Cody nodded, rose and shifted, waiting for Dylon to do the same. Once the sounds of shifting died down, Cody padded over to the trail that would eventually lead them back to the house. The days of exploring the woods had changed his world in so many ways and he was a little sorry for them to come to an end, but he couldn’t deny his excitement at what lay ahead for him and his mate. Reaching the spot where they stashed their sweatpants, they shifted.
Once dressed, Dylon grasped Cody’s hand and together they entered the pack house. He was still in awe of the size and magnitude of the building but it was perfect for the Blackwood Pack’s needs. He was thinking about Cody’s dream and how to make it a reality when his mate gasped and stopped short in the doorway of their bedroom causing Dylon to bump into him. Peering around his mate, Dylon couldn’t hold back his surprise, either.
�
��Holy shit! Who did this?”
“One of my brothers and by the smell coming from the sitting room, I’m guessing Dakota.” Stepping into the room, Cody saw lighted candles everywhere, their flickering flames casting dancing shadows everywhere. The room was aglow, accented by rose petals strewn on their freshly made bed. He could hear the tiny popping of bubbles coming from their bathroom and his stomach growled at the scent of meat wafting in from their sitting room. Cody was frozen, not knowing what he was supposed to do.
Picking up on his mate’s quandary, Dylon took charge. “Tonight, the rules will not apply. I want you to claim me the way you want to, so you are free to order me about when we are in bed—just for tonight, my pet. But first, let’s enjoy the bath before we eat. Then my love, I’m all yours.”
Cody nodded, still enthralled with the romantic setting to celebrate the claiming of his mate. It was perfect. He took the hand Dylon offered and they walked over to the bed. Glancing at his mate, Cody saw Dylon reach for the waistband on his sweatpants. Releasing his mate’s hand, he fell to his knees in front of Dylon, brushing away Dylon’s hand. Slowly pulling the pants down over Dylon’s luscious round cheeks, Cody felt his mate’s large cock suddenly spring free as it was released from its confines. Pausing for a moment, his mouth watered at the sight of it and its low hanging balls, loaded with cum.
Dylon looked down at Cody kneeling before him and was once again struck by the beauty of his mate. So perfect for me in every way. When his sweatpants had dropped to the floor, Dylon slowly lifted one foot and then the other as Cody threw them aside. Closing his eyes, he felt a light touch at first, but as it grew firmer, he knew his mate was stroking the cock now bobbing in front of him. Already on edge because of what was to happen tonight, Dylon, unable to wait anymore, grabbed his mate’s arms and lifted Cody off the floor until he was standing. Stripping Cody, he carried him to the bathroom, setting his mate into the bubble bath. Sliding in behind him, he pulled his mate between his legs. As Cody leaned back and rested on his chest, Dylon sighed with pleasure.