by J. D. Light
He wasn't really a big guy, but like Ridley, he was tall and thin. The one guy I'd ever seen him with––I hadn't watched or anything, but we'd all been in the same room, so I'd seen a few things––had been very small and delicate. My date had been quite a bit bigger. Still smaller than me, but not by a lot, because with my extra strength, I'd been terrified I was going to hurt him.
Thankfully, most of the people on Terra Mortis were supernaturally inclined, and every partner––okay, I'd had like a total of five the whole time I'd been there––had been plenty strong, and I hadn't had to worry about hurting them as much, so I'd gone after the ones that were more my type. Tall and thin with pretty eyes and pouty lips.
It also hadn't hurt if their hair was so deep a red, it was almost dark brown with pale skin
I was the same way as Dyer when it came to sex. It had taken me a long time to even work up to doing anything with my ass on my own, and the idea of letting a complete stranger anywhere near it, just seemed… completely unappealing, and relationships weren't in the cards for me either, for many reasons, but the main two were the mate thing, and the fact that I was super busy with work all the time, and completely unwilling to spend my video call times with someone I didn't enjoy even a quarter as much as I did looking through the screen at my beautiful friend's face, listening to him gripe about our parents, and the fact that I'd left him to deal with them alone.
Like he didn't have Harris, Lexington and Drew to help.
"Speaking of scents and special someones," Dyer said, interrupting my spacy ways where I'd completely zoned out on his lower lip without realizing it.
It looked soft and shiny where he'd just gotten done licking it and then drawing it into his mouth between his teeth before letting it slowly ease out.
What was he saying?
Dyer's pretty green eyes met mine, holding them. "I'm thinking about going to Crossville and maybe going without my necklace for a while."
"What?" I jerked back, my body going taut with immediate worry. He wanted to go to Crossville? "Why?"
But I knew why. It was one of the safe places since nearly the entire city was under the protection of Uncle Axel and his streak, and there weren't many shifters who violated that. Not that Dyer really needed the protection. He was a chosen child, not a chosen. He didn't have a mark that signified to other shifters that he could give them special children with special abilities, but being the son of Flynn Becker, the alpha of our leap, had its own set of worries, since it would be very easy for people to use Dyer as leverage with Flynn.
And with Crossville being mostly safe and the fact that there were many, many unattached shifters and chosen there, it meant more of an opportunity to find his mate among people who already knew about shifters and chosen children’s abilities.
"I want a mate," he said softly, confirming my worry, and making dread tighten the knot in my stomach. "I know he's not guaranteed to be there, but it might be worth a shot."
"But you're only twenty-three," I threw out there lamely, knowing damn well, that wasn't a valid argument.
"Which is older than your dad and mine when they found their mates."
"Yeah, but Papa was nearly a million."
He huffed out a small laugh, reaching up to pull the necklace from under his shirt, looking down at the pretty symbol on the front. A gift from Ridley when he was fourteen, the centerpiece made from crushed delphinium and a very porous material that looked almost like limestone. "I'm just worried I might be missing my mate by keeping my scent hidden."
It was a decision a lot of us would have to make eventually. Our parents had been so protective of us around unknown people when we were younger, and when we got to the age where we were traveling from place to place, we'd each gotten a necklace or piece of jewelry of some kind so that we couldn't be tracked by random shifters.
I'd been particularly guarded, since like my Papa, I was both chosen and chosen child. I doubted many people would see my mark, since I only ever shifted with my leap, or with the Walts when I was in Terra Mortis, and even then, I was a pretty modest fella. I was not above hiding behind a bush to strip. Hell, I didn't even let my hookups see me naked. But there was always the chance someone would get a quick peek and know what it meant.
Being so loved could be exhausting sometimes, and since we all wanted what our parents had, not many of our group had been in any kind of relationship, because we were waiting for our mates. For me, that meant putting a great deal of focus into my career, to wait out the time when Dyer found his mate, before I even thought about finding mine, but for Dyer, that meant longing for companionship, and even though I hated the idea of losing my best friend to someone else so early, I kind of understood it.
"Yeah," I grumbled, sighing. "I just can't believe you're already thinking about finding your mate."
He turned his head, his beautiful eyes finding mine again. "You don't want to find that person that means everything to you and is meant to be by your side forever?"
I felt the earth shift just a little as I continued to watch his face, my head shaking before I even made the conscious decision to deny it, because… "I have that person. You."
His eyes widened in surprise before he let out another short laugh, smiling enormously. "Yeah. I think that's why I've been thinking about it so much lately. I miss you. Sure, I have the group, but I need my companion." He licked his lips, frowning slightly before nodding like he'd made a big decision. "I'm not going to do it unless you go back to Terra, or whatever, but as much as I love everyone here––"
"Go with me," I blurted quickly, cutting him off. "If I even go. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do. My boss at the other facility is amazing, and she promised she'd help me get a transfer if I wanted, or I could just go back, but if you're ready to leave Purdy now, come with me."
His mouth fell open, his face going slack. "I was still in school when you left," he whispered, and I could see by the way his eyes were blinking rapidly that his mind was racing.
"I know." I waited a moment until he focused back on me, and I thought he might actually be looking at me again instead of through me while he worked through all the possibilities. "You know I needed to go, right?"
He nodded, his eyebrows going up in surprise before he reached out and grabbed my forearm. "I know, and as much as I've hated these last three years without you, it's obvious you're more confident in your abilities as an agent now. We both always knew that you were more than just Thompsyn and Bennett's son, but I think you needed to actually see it."
"You always have faith in me, Beebee."
He blushed, looking away with a chuckle before turning back to smile brightly "Okay."
He was so damn stunning, sometimes I wondered how it was possible there would ever be anyone I found more attractive than this man. Was that going to cause problems for my mate and me?
That was another reason I wasn't sure I wanted to find that person. What if they tried to tell me I couldn't hang out with Dyer? He was everything to me, and I knew my mate was supposed to be perfect for me, and for me, that meant them loving this man too, but I couldn't imagine someone being okay with the level of dependence I had on him. I needed him in my life.
"Okay what?" I asked finally, this time, my mind racing as my stomach churned just thinking about what could happen.
"Wherever we go, we'll go together," he said simply, still giving me that beaming smile.
I gasped, my heart giving a giant thump in my chest. "And the mate thing?"
Shrugging, he tucked the necklace back under his shirt. "What do I need a mate for when I have you?"
Exactly!
Chapter Four
"Ellison, my darling granddaughter, let the man speak," Bennett said, leaning forward and avidly watching Davis, clearly anticipating what would come out of his mouth next.
Ellison whimpered, letting her hand fall from her father's mouth, glaring at her other father when he chuckled and wrapped the chubby man up in a tight hug fro
m behind, leaning down to nibble Davis's neck.
"She's not your granddaughter," Hunt said with a sigh. "Davis is not your son." He turned quickly to Davis, eyes wide. "Not that I wouldn't love to have you as a brother."
Davis smiled, reaching out to pat Hunt's shoulder, but Bennett was waving him off, grabbing Davis's hand out of the air and nodding hard.
Hunt grumbled, but moved to stand beside me, and I couldn't help but lean into his warmth. He was the best space heater around.
"You actually explained the ins and outs––" Bennett broke off giggling, and my dad joined in making Hunt and I both roll our eyes "––of anal sex to an elderly lady at the nursing home?"
Davis let out a whimper. "She seemed curious about my life."
Ward chuckled, dropping his chin to his mate's shoulder. "She asked him about our new dog, and then he started rambling about how it humps everything in the house and how I wanted to get him neutered, but he didn't want to, because I make him want to hump things all the time and that didn't seem fair. Then he told her that we like to switch things up and that lead to how one performs anal sex. She already knew. She patted him on the head and said, Sweetie, I could give you pointers."
"And believe me, she did. I have…" he trailed off when his children, Ellison and Sharp groaned, and Davis blinked, looking back and forth between them. "Nothing. I have nothing new. Now, I'm a hit at the nursing home. Apparently, elderly people really like talking about sex."
I sighed happily because now that Hunt was back, it finally felt like my life was complete again. This beautiful, goofy group were filling up the back yard of Hunt's family home, and it felt… right.
Hunt reached around me, bending down to grab a pop out of the ice chest by my feet, and I tried hard not to notice how close that warmth I liked so damn much was to my dick, but when his shoulder actually brushed against the damn thing, it was a little hard to ignore anything about the man.
He turned, probably to apologize. It was something he had to do often, because he sometimes misjudged his massive size and had been known to shoulder check people. Unfortunately, he was still bent at the waist, shaking the ice off of the can and found himself face to crotch. His eyes widened and he straightened up fast, nearly nailing me again with those ridiculously wide shoulders, but I managed to jerk my face out of the way just in time.
"Damn," he said quietly, seeming to blush a bit. "Did I hurt you?"
Sucking my lips between my teeth, I shook my head, trying not to laugh out loud, since that would definitely draw attention, and I was trying to avoid being Bennett's focus tonight… as well as Lexington's.
"No, but if you were a good friend, you would have brushed it a little longer."
We both snickered, and Bennett's eyes slowly moved our direction, making us both sober quickly. After a bit too long of a moment, Bennett's focus moved back to the conversation and Hunt made a quick escape, probably so his dad wouldn't keep looking over at us, and I pulled myself up on the edge of the porch, leaning back on my arms and watching the best group of people I knew joke and laugh and smile.
I didn't want to leave Purdy. I never wanted to leave Purdy, but I would give up all of this to not have to go without Hunt in my life again.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I frowned, dragging it out and looking down at the screen, only to find Hunt had texted me, and I glanced around, confirming that he wasn't in the back yard.
Hunt: Can you come to the bathroom across from my old room?
What the hell? Why on earth would he need me in the bathroom? For a heart-stopping moment, I thought he might be calling me up there to do naughty, naughty things and the half chub I'd had since he brushed me sprang to life. I definitely hadn't forgotten the outline of his thick cock through his underwear. Even mostly soft, it had been lovely, and I was just glad he'd been more embarrassed by the situation than anything, because I'd been staring hard enough to catch the twitch just before he covered himself up, and that was fucking embarrassing.
But I knew ravishing me was definitely not what he'd called me up to the bathroom for, though a man could fantasize. I shouldn't, but I sure as hell was still hard when I gently rapped on the door and then opened it to a dark room.
"What's going on?" I asked, reaching up to flip the light switch on.
"Look!" He jerked his shirt up and off, facing me with wide eyes.
If you insist. Nothing out of the ordinary there. Just a ridiculously gorgeous best friend, but I continued to run my gaze over him. You know… just in case. "Umm. Yeah. I already knew you had five thousand abs, Hunt."
Unable to help myself, because I was standing directly in front of him with less than a foot separating us, and the idiot had taken his fucking shirt off, I reached out and touched the taut, beautifully carved skin of his stomach, making him shudder and bite his lip.
"Not those..." he rasped, clearing his throat before pointing over his shoulder, and then looking in the same direction. "That."
I frowned, glancing in the mirror and blinking when I saw the slight glow of something on his back. "What...? What the hell?" I leaned closer, grabbing his shoulders and spinning him around, my heartrate spiking as I realized the glow on his skin was a serious glow and it was his chosen mark. Every bit of it.
"Thankfully, I was in the bathroom when it happened, because it glows right through my shirt."
I reached up, touching the glowing skin, expecting to be burned, but it didn't feel any different than the rest of his perfect flesh.
"You saw this?" Sure, it was glowing, and definitely noticeable if you were looking directly at it, but I couldn't see how it would be visible through his shirt if he was just doing his business. "How did you see it glow?"
He cleared his throat, his face going a bit red. "I had the lights out."
"Lights out?" Why would he… I started chuckling, and his face got even brighter. "You were masturbating?"
It was something that hadn't come up since we were old enough to stop talking about our masturbation techniques, but Hunt had always had an issue with masturbating with the lights on, even in the shower, which seemed a bit dangerous to me. He said he was always worried about there being a camera in the bathroom or a chosen child with x-ray vision or something, and both of those were actually a little valid… just maybe not in his childhood home.
He sighed deeply, giving me a dry, bored look through the mirror. "Can we focus on the glowing mark?"
I sucked my lips between my teeth and nodded, once again glancing down at the mark, only to find the unnatural glow gone. "It stopped glowing," I whispered, reaching out to run my hand over the mark.
"What?" he demanded, spinning to look in the mirror, and nearly taking my face off with one of those massive, Dyer-abusing shoulders. "Well, that's good, I guess."
"We still need to tell our dads…" I smirked, waiting for his eyes to meet mine in the mirror. "But first let's talk about what got you so worked up, you had to come in here in the middle of a leap cookout to take care of things."
He huffed, pursing his lips as he reached out blindly and grabbed his shirt. "No." Roughly pulling the material over his head, he turned to leave the bathroom. "Come on."
"Actually, could you hit the switch on the way out?"
He growled, giving me a look that would impress even Lexington before reaching out and grabbing my wrist to pull me along, and I laughed… all the way up until we were standing in the back yard with our family and friends, all looking a little concerned as Hunt explained what happened.
"You still masturbate in the dark?" Uncle Bennett demanded, raising an eyebrow before turning to look at me. "You're a psychologist. What does that mean?"
Well, he hadn't told him that part, but Bennett could be very perceptive when he wanted to be, and he'd apparently put two and two together on why Hunt would be in the bathroom with the lights out.
Hunt pointed at me when I opened my mouth to respond. "Don't answer that. This is one of those things, Dad. You shouldn't even
know I masturbate in the dark."
"Can we talk about the glowing mark?" Pops asked, getting everyone's attention in the way only an alpha with unlimited patience could. "Did anyone else's mark glow?"
There were several chosen standing around the yard, but they were all shaking their heads no, even Thompsyn, which told me it wasn't because Hunt was one of the rare chosen children who were also chosen, since Thompsyn was too.
"It looked almost like burning coals, but it wasn't hot to the touch," I explained, looking at Hunt, who nodded.
"You were in there with him?" Bennett asked into the silence that followed, and I knew that tone. "While he was masturbating?"
"Not during," Hunt and I said with dry tones at the same time.
Bennett had that stupid smile on his face that made him resemble a certain green man who snuck into people's houses and stole Christmas. "Oh, I bet you were in there during. Maybe in spirit."
"What does that mean?" I asked, vaguely wondering if the man was threatening me.
"Do you think it's something witchy?" My dad asked, reaching out to smack Bennett's shoulder.
Hunt's eyes widened like a child's and he spoke in a hushed excited voice. "Maybe I'm about to get more superpowers."
"Definitely witchy," Bennett said, making Hunt deflate. "I'll call Briec."
Nearly everyone but Bennett and I groaned, at the mention of the crazy-ass redhead that lived on Terra Mortis and tended to leave a path of WTF in her wake.
"What's wrong with Briec?" Bennett demanded, frowning at all the people standing around.
I nodded crossing my arms. "Yeah. I love Briec."
She was insane and a bit of a maniacal, badass genius who acted dumb and planned people's deaths while looking them in the eye… and she made me laugh.
"You tell her not to bring any of Hester's Brew," Thompsyn grumbled, glaring down at his mate with all the force of a cranky bear, and Bennett blinked up at him innocently.
"I don't think she can get that on the plane anyway, Papabear," he reassured the man.