Dire Desires_A Novel of the Eternal Wolf Clan

by Stephanie Tyler

  “You’re aware that I can see and hear you, right, Vice?” she asked.

  “Of course he is,” Stray grumbled.

  “Part of his charm,” Killian tacked on.

  “Least someone appreciates me,” Vice huffed.

  “Do you have the key Walter gave you?” Stray asked and Vice nodded. “Think Cyd could track the scent?”

  “This thing’s passed through many hands.”

  “Recently, yours, Walter’s and the man who owns the storage facility. That’s three,” Stray said and Vice shot him the finger.

  “Fine, worth a try, I guess. But let’s try New York, otherwise it’s a wild-goose chase,” Vice said.

  “Maybe both twins were placed in New York,” Killian said hopefully.

  “Why so close to us, though?” Vice mused.

  “My parents moved to New York when I was five,” Gillian said suddenly. “Before that, we lived in Texas. From before I was born, my parents lived there.”

  “Guess Cyd and I will get our cowboy boots on,” Vice said and Cyd did a loud yeehaw that turned into a howl. “We’ll work on that. Come on, Were, let’s go pack for our trip.”

  “I’m totally hanging my head out the window the entire time,” Cyd said as they left the apartment.

  “Do you think they got freaked out over the prophecy?” Stray asked Killian.

  “It said brothers,” Jinx pointed out.

  “I never said the pack was smart,” Killian snapped. “I guess they didn’t want to take any chances.”

  “I wonder if they’re identical?” Stray mused and Gillian left them to their searches and speculation in favor of sitting with Rogue and Cain and finding out more about this twin bond they seemed to have.

  “Even with Cyd gone, I can feel him. Hear him, actually, if need be,” Cain told her. “It’s been that way for as long as I can remember. Close your eyes. Concentrate.”

  “Might be tough for her because of Jinx—that bond they have might interfere,” Rogue pointed out and she was glad he’d said that. Because every time she closed her eyes, she saw Jinx’s face. Not a bad thing by any means—just not what she was going for at the moment.

  Still, she gamely tried everything they said. They even went up to the roof, because she felt more open there. And still, nothing.

  “Just keep concentrating. Keep trying,” Cain told her.

  “What if she doesn’t know she’s got a twin?”

  “But what if she does?” Rogue asked.

  “Do you always play devil’s advocate?” she asked and Rogue gave a wry smile and said, “Unfortunately, I have no choice.”

  He left her and Cain together, and Cain sat next to her as they dangled their feet off the rooftop and looked out over the buildings.

  “She’s out there somewhere,” she said, wrapping her arms around herself.

  “And we’ll find her. Cyd’s a great tracker. If he can’t find it . . .”

  “It doesn’t exist,” she finished and he sighed and nodded. “You know, the missing part . . . I thought it was just family. But even after meeting all of you, and Jinx, especially, I was so happy. But something still nagged at me. But she’s what I’m missing.”

  “Sounds like it,” Cain said.

  “Would I know if she was . . . dead?”

  “Yes,” Cain said seriously.

  “But if I’m immortal . . .”

  “I don’t know if she is. I don’t know how these Dire abilities get parsed out. It would stand to reason she’d have an ability as well,” Cain said. “Maybe you could appeal to the Elders?”

  “Jinx forbade me to do that. And I understand why—I want nothing to do with them.” She practically spat the words and Cain smiled a little. “What?”

  “You’re such a goddamned Dire.”

  “I’m hoping that’s a compliment.”

  “It is,” Cain assured her.

  “And you’re in love with Angus Young, by the way,” she said softly.

  “The guy from AC/DC?” he asked and she smiled a little.

  “I hope he loves you back.”

  “Me too,” he muttered.

  Chapter 31

  Cain and Vice walked out of the penthouse together after Jinx had come for Gillian. Cain was drained after his discussion with her, but helping the Dire was necessary.

  “You were good with her,” Vice said.

  “I like her.”

  “Don’t say that in front of Jinx,” Vice warned. “You need a ride home?”

  “No.”

  “You shouldn’t be running alone, wolf.”

  “I’m staying in the apartment tonight,” he admitted. “I just figured I’d walk you out.”

  “My bodyguard,” Vice said sarcastically. “I guess we’re going to your apartment to talk.”

  “I actually was going to call Jinx about this.”

  “Is this a twin thing?”

  “It’s a mate thing.”

  “I know a little something about that.” The Dire wouldn’t take no for an answer so Cain didn’t bother trying. Angus was meeting him later, but if the human walked in while they were there . . .

  Turned out he didn’t have to tell Vice shit. Even though Cain was able to hide his scent on Angus, he could do nothing about Angus’s scent in the apartment.

  “It’s on you, too. Faint, but it’s there,” Vice told him as he sprawled out on the couch and Cain locked the door behind them. “I figured it was just from when you spoke to him in the woods. Turns out, I was wrong.”

  “He’s been here, yes.”

  “You’ve been playing with fire, wolf.” Vice’s eyes glowed.

  “That might be why it’s been so good.”

  Vice gave a soft laugh and Cain hung his head. “He’s my mate, Vice.”

  “Get the hell outta town.”

  “Yeah, that too. I’m supposed to, with Liam.”

  Vice sat down next to him, handed him a silver flask and lit himself a hand roll, which Cain took from his hand and inhaled. Strong shit. He took another toke and then a few long swallows of the strong whiskey that burned going down.

  “You’re sure about the mate thing?”

  “He told me I goddamned glow.”

  “I hate to say this, Cain, but he’s a hunter. Maybe he heard the lore—”

  “How would he know what I was? He saw me glow long before he was a hunter. He’s got nothing to gain with that shit. Makes it even worse for him.”

  “Did you protect him?”

  “I had to.”

  “You did. You’re right.” Vice lay down onto his back, blew smoke rings as he considered the situation. “Jinx would come talk to you if you called him. You know that, true?”

  Cain did. But Jinx appeared to have more than enough problems. “I haven’t even told Cyd any of this. I tell him everything. But this was all kinds of sacred.”

  “So you decided I was the right person for sacred?” He and Vice both laughed at the Dire’s words, but the truth was, in some odd way, Vice was sacred.

  “Vice, what am I going to do? I’m mated to a human.”

  “One you happen to have fallen hard for.” Vice stared at him. “And dude, I’m the last one you should be asking for advice on your love life.”

  • • •

  Cain decided he needed to tell Angus before he did anything else. After Vice left, he paced again with the window wide open until he scented the human. And blood. He had the irrepressible urge to lock the man in the apartment again and never let him out.

  Because that went over so well the first time . . .

  He practically dragged Angus into the apartment, stripping him down to check him as Angus said over and over, “It’s not my blood, Cain—I’m fine.”

  “I’ll be the judge of that.” His mating instinct
s were in full force. They wouldn’t be as bad as Rifter’s . . . but they’d be tough to handle for a human.

  He’s tough enough.

  He’d have to be. He stared for a long moment at the handsome brown-haired man who was a couple of inches taller than he was and then dragged his eyes along the lanky chest, nearly growling at the old scars. His wolf wanted to scar Angus, but in the good way.

  Get ahold of yourself.

  Once he had Angus naked and was convinced that no part of him was bleeding, Cain threw the clothing in the washing machine and dragged the man into the showers. “Don’t want you smelling like anyone but me.”

  Angus didn’t say anything, but his stance was calm. He stroked his hands through Cain’s hair as they stood under the spray, Cain still fully clothed. He didn’t protest when Cain spun him around and barked, “Hands on the tile.”

  The human shuddered a little but he did as requested. Cain soaped his hands and spread them along Angus’s back and shoulders, watched as the tension bled out of him at the gentle touch. He moved a little closer and soaped the man’s chest, then moved lower to circle his cock with a soapy hand.

  Angus jumped and Cain asked, “Want me to stop? I will.”

  “I know. And no, don’t.” Angus’s eyes were screwed shut and his breath came fast and Cain knew it wouldn’t take long. The man was rock hard.

  He stroked gently even as he kept his body from touching Angus, so the man wouldn’t feel boxed in. There was just Cain’s hand and Angus’s soft moans and he cried out Cain’s name as he spilled onto Cain’s fingers.

  He pressed his forehead to the tile and Cain released him. The man shook and Cain realized it was in relief, not panic.

  “Come on, Angus—let me finish,” he said quietly, his wolf calmer now. Angus let him wash him down completely and then dry him. He wore a pair of Cain’s sweats and Cain stripped off his wet clothes, which landed with a heavy thump on the tiled floor, before drying and dressing himself in a similar fashion.

  Angus looked relaxed, like he could fall asleep. He also deserved an explanation. “Come on—I’ve got to talk to you.”

  “Okay.” Angus let Cain tug him out to the couch, where he sat calmly, but Cain smelled the fear rising again. And fuck it all, he was nervous too. “If this is bad news—”

  “It’s not. Not exactly. Fuck.” He slid a hand through his hair. “I don’t think it is. But it’s . . . unexpected.”

  “Cain, if you don’t start telling me what it is—”

  Cain held up a hand. “Okay, look, the other night you mentioned the glowing thing. And the mating thing.”

  “And you told me I had the wrong information.”

  “What if I told you that you didn’t?”

  Angus blinked. “I was right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “But that means . . .”

  “Yeah,” Cain said softly. This was worse than an out-of-control roller coaster—too fast, too many twists and turns and he wasn’t sure if he could handle the trip down. But he was balanced at the top and all it would take was one little push. . . .

  Angus moved next to him, took his face in his hands. “Good.”

  And then the man kissed him and Cain roared down the tracks at a hundred miles an hour. He forced himself to tamp it all down, to wait for the mating instead of doing this now and possibly scaring Angus more. Because the human still was scared, no matter how much of a show he was putting on.

  He also loves you. Cain knew that, even though Angus hadn’t voiced it yet. And he let Angus kiss him, reveling in the fact that the human wasn’t asking for chains or trembling. Maybe it was the bond he’d put on him the other night to cover his own scent or maybe he was just trusting Cain to control himself.

  Which was why Cain would. Slowly, reluctantly, he pulled away from the kiss, kept his hand on Angus’s thigh.

  “Is that why . . . the smell, the shower?” Angus said, his sentences as jerky as his breathing.

  “It’s the wolf. He’s really possessive. He’s been that way since the beginning. He knew before I did, I think.”

  “And that’s why you locked me in here.”

  “That’s one explanation. I want you safe, Angus. If you can’t figure that out by now . . .”

  “I can.”

  “Good. Ask your questions.”

  “What makes you think I have any?”

  “Okay, FBI.”

  Angus shoved him. “Fine. With this mate thing . . . even if I didn’t like you—”

  “You liked me from day one.”

  “You were a murder suspect.”

  “Maybe that turned you on,” Cain said with a smirk. “You said yourself that you’re addicted to danger.”

  Angus grew serious. “Are you only with me because we’re mates?”

  “That’s not how it works. There has to be an attraction there for fated mates to even be an option,” Cain explained.

  “There definitely was.”

  “You were letting that guy touch you on purpose?” Cain demanded and Angus shrugged. “You’ll pay for that.”

  “That’s kind of what I was hoping.”

  Cain led him to the bedroom, where he chained himself to the bedposts again. He wanted Angus comfortable and the man had already received enough information tonight to make his head spin. And when he rutted against Cain, making the men come nearly at the same time by jerking them off together, his palm hot and sure against Cain’s cock, Cain did howl, a low, harsh sound.

  And that made Angus come again immediately, his body jackknifing, the look of surprise on his face making Cain flush with pride. It took several minutes before he got his breathing under control and Cain wanted to rip the damned cuffs off and hold the man.

  As if Angus knew, he finally pushed himself up on his elbows and used the key. Cain brought his hands down around the man’s shoulders. “Is this okay?”

  “Holy mother of God,” Angus muttered in response.

  “I’ll take that as a yes. But what would the nuns you grew up with say?”

  “Probably that I was going to hell,” Angus admitted. “And right now, I could give two shits. I mean, what was that?”

  Cain nuzzled his neck. “The wolf’s pull is strong. Just means your body’s accepting it. Submitting to it.”

  “I’ve never considered myself submissive.”

  “You’re not going to have a choice with this.”

  Angus stared up at him. “Somehow, I don’t think I’m going to mind much. Are you doing that protection thing again?”

  “For now, I have to do it every time we’re together.” His mate was protected, but still so damned vulnerable until the true mating happened. “I don’t want to rush you, but I can’t have the normal human courtship, Angus. There’s too much at stake. Too much danger,” he explained. “Wolves work fast. When an omega finds his mate, he usually claims him within twenty-four hours. That’s why my wolf’s getting controlling and impatient. I can’t hold it off much longer.”

  “How does it all work?”

  “I mark you as mine. It protects you, but it also could make you a target.”

  “What happens when . . .” Angus shook his head like he didn’t want to go there.

  “When you die?” Cain asked and Angus nodded. “I only get one mate. I mate for life.”

  “But you’ll live longer than me. How is that fair to you?”

  “Already trying to hook me up with someone else?”

  “No,” Angus said so quietly the word almost didn’t register.

  “What happened tonight?”

  “The blood was another hunter. He got into it with a trapper at a bar. No big battle or anything. I just played medic.”

  Cain nodded. “You’re marked as a hunter now, but you know, that will have to end.”

  “I never sai
d I was giving that up. You can’t ask me to do that.”

  “The fuck I can’t,” Cain roared, pinning Angus to the bed. The ex-fed struggled, put up a better fight than most, but he was no match for the wolf.

  “Is this how every fight between us is going to end?” Angus asked as he looked into Cain’s lupine eyes.

  “You are fucking lucky you’re cute.”

  “Cute?” Angus huffed. Tried to ignore his raging hard-on as Cain traced the scars that ran along his neck to his shoulder, then along the bite marks on his chest made by a wolf named Jamie, who’d risked his life to help Angus and the Dires. Not a bad reminder of where they’d been.

  Cain had a feeling Angus had brushed over this marking thing too quickly, and although he was reluctant to bring it up, he figured he’d put all his cards on the table and see how badly Angus reacted. “There’s a little more to this mating thing.”

  “I’m not wearing a dress but I’d consider running around naked under the moon.”

  “I’ll take you up on the second one,” Cain said.

  “Look, I know,” Angus said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “After Shimmin told me, I explored the lore a bit.” He swallowed a little harder than normal.

  “And you’re freaked the fuck out.”

  “Some. But I trust you.”

  “You still have nightmares about what happened. Every night,” Cain said. “Don’t lie.”

  Angus remained silent and Cain touched his arm. “I try to stop them before they start—that’s why I wake you.”

  “I thought that was for sex.”

  “Well, that’s kind of a bonus.”

  “Thanks.” Angus paused. “When you bite me, you link your life span to mine, right?”

  “Or in this case, yours to mine.” Cain said somberly. “But I’m hard to kill. And you won’t age. You’ll heal faster.”

  “But I won’t turn into a wolf.”

  “No. But I’ll still love you.”

  Angus grinned. “Where do you have to bite me?”

  “Wherever I want,” Cain said. “Gotta leave a visible scar so you’re marked.”

  “And then everyone who sees it will know I’m yours.”

  “Yes,” Cain answered absently. He was still trying to decide if Angus was better served with a public mark or a private one.