by Zoe Perdita
Slowly, he found the entrance and nudged inside. Tyler grunted, burying his face in Quinn’s neck and taking sharp, quick breaths.
“Does it hurt?” Quinn asked, lips brushing Tyler’s ear.
“Hmm. Keep going,” Tyler said, which wasn’t a real answer, but his hips pressed into the digit, his muscles squeezed, deliciously tight.
“It’ll hurt if I don’t go slowly,” Quinn breathed and pressed the finger deeper, past the knuckle and pulled it to the edge.
“Don’t care,” Tyler growled, his fingers digging into Quinn’s sides.
Soon, Quinn eased a second finger next to the first, rolling and stretching and searching for that little spot of pleasure buried inside. When he found it, Tyler groaned and bit his neck, sucked at the flesh until Quinn’s cock hardened, and his groin ached.
“I think you’re ready,” Quinn said.
“Mm-hm,” Tyler groaned and scooted forward.
The rock they were on was large and flat-ish—flat enough for this, at least. Quinn freed his fingers and pulled Tyler forward by his hips. The flesh under his palms burned.
The alpha straddled him, thighs tense and the muscles throbbing under them. The dark hair on his legs was upset, and he groped for Quinn’s cock and found it.
Quinn held Tyler steady as he eased himself over it, the blunt head pressing past that tight ring and the singing heat sent a shock to every nerve in his body. Quinn moaned and fell back, his sweat mixing with the damp green carpet beneath him. He’d only been in this position a few times; most of his lovers preferred it if Quinn were on the bottom, and now he knew why.
Watching Tyler engulfed in the sudden pleasure was enough to take his breath away.
“Fuck,” Tyler growled and took several deep breaths. His chest heaved and his eyes widened. They glowed faintly in the fading light.
The stallion charged, and Quinn let it. He leaned forward as far as he could and pulled Tyler’s mouth to his. The kiss scorched his lips, and Quinn’s hips rolled up to meet Tyler’s perfectly tight ass.
Tyler groaned.
He was all hands that grasped at Quinn’s shoulder and lips that snagged and nipped. The rest of his body tensed and snapped with every sharp thrust, and his chest heaved with each breath.
Quinn couldn’t bring him close enough, and the squeezing heat threw every other thought from his mind. If he were never freed—if he never saw Tyler again—he might be content to know the alpha was his, no matter how heartbreaking the eventuality would be.
Another insubstantial thing inside him snapped, but it was so far away he barely noticed it. Quinn’s attention was focused on the here and now and nothing else.
The way Tyler’s teeth brushed his jaw, the roughness of his beard scratching Quinn’s cheek. The way Tyler’s fangs dug into Quinn’s flesh enough to bruise—to bring a deep moan from his throat as they brushed his Adam’s apple.
Neither of them relented. Soon, the clearing was awash with their combined musk and the thick scent of sex. Every rustle in the trees was drowned by their breath and the moans that Quinn could no longer keep track of. It didn’t matter if they were his or Tyler’s.
That tight ball in his groin squeezed in on itself, and Quinn’s hand wound between them and gripped the ironclad need that curled into Tyler’s taut stomach. He slipped his fingers over the shaft with every thrust.
Tyler leaned back, his hips moving from one form of pleasure to another. Then Tyler’s breath hitched and his body tensed as his come spilled across Quinn’s hand.
The warmth engulfed him as the ball broke open and shot pleasure from his fingers to his toes. It jolted through his limbs and left him panting, the air thick in his lungs. Still, Quinn pulled Tyler close and pressed his head into the alpha’s chest.
His heart throbbed steadily, and Tyler’s strong hands wrapped around Quinn’s back.
“Shit,” Tyler huffed after several minutes of sweaty silence.
When Quinn didn’t move, Tyler’s hands brushed through his hair.
Nudged his cheek.
Tyler was his—the only thing that was his, and that meant protecting Tyler from Bradley and the mirror was up to him as well.
With that truth settling in his bones, one thought filled Quinn’s mind: how could he keep Tyler alive?
14
Tyler never imagined he’d be in this situation, his ass sore and wet with another man’s come. Or that he’d enjoy it so much that the frown on Quinn’s lips snagged in his chest and brought the whole moment of perfect elation to an abrupt end.
Shit. Quinn was moodier than Ken, and that was saying something.
He rinsed off his ass and thighs in the weird pool (that didn’t feel quite like water) and slumped back on the rock as the last rays of sunlight faded to darkness.
The moon rose quickly, and Quinn wasn’t harmed, well, as long as you didn’t count that fucking chain around his neck.
When Tyler wandered upon the stream and found Quinn chained like that, a stone lodged in his throat. It was worse than seeing the bag of heroin on the floor—not that the temptation was easy to deal with.
It crawled up his flesh and bore into his bones, a sick desire that sucked all the moisture from his mouth. But it wasn’t a healthy desire, not the kind he felt for Quinn. The kind that actually made him better instead of worse. The kind that made Tyler feel like he was worth something for the first time in his life.
After several deep breaths, he got over it. Then he called Rory and left a message about Bradley dealing heroin with a plea to tell the detectives everything that was going on.
Finally, Tyler made his way to Lake Orlando.
By the way Quinn acted, Tyler figured this happened every full moon. He was chained to a rock and left in the woods to deal with the elements all alone. No way Tyler would let that happen ever again.
Well, if he survived.
As long as Davis got through the barrier, everything should work out.
Tyler touched Quinn’s smooth cheek and kissed his lips, perhaps for the last time. “Bradley thinks he can do whatever the fuck he wants to me and you, and that he can get away with it. But, I’m not gonna let him win. We’re not gonna let him. I have a plan. Just trust me, okay. No matter what.”
Whatever happened, Quinn would get his freedom.
No cost was too great.
The moon rose, and Tyler felt the urge to change before he even spotted the pale silver light in the darkening sky.
“I do trust you, just remember not to look,” Quinn said sulkily. “It’d be safer if you left.”
“I said I’m not leaving you,” Tyler growled right before his body bent and twisted into his wolf form.
He sat on his haunches and watched Quinn transform.
The pale hair grew into a mane that was the same color as the moon, each strand like spun silk. His coat was just as pale and perfectly smooth. He sat with his legs folded under him elegantly, not awkwardly like a horse or a goat. Those glass green eyes with sparks of gold at the center lit up with their own internal glow, but the most astounding thing of all was the spiral horn in the middle of his forehead. It looked like twisted mother of pearl, opalescent, and the tip was a deadly sharp point that gleamed in the first shafts of moonlight.
Quinn’s tail flopped from side to side like a cat about to bite. Stop staring. You’re embarrassing yourself.
The voice raked inside Tyler’s head, and he looked around more out of surprise than anything else. No one else was in the forest just yet. The only sounds beside their beating hearts was the distant rustle of raccoons and the hoot of an owl in the trees that towered above their heads.
Great. Quinn could talk in that form too. Well, if he didn’t want Tyler to look at him, he wouldn’t. Tyler turned in a circle and settled on a bed of moss and dead leaves to wait for Davis’s arrival.
The barrier seemed to mess up his senses.
For one, he didn’t even know he’d found it until he turned and walked away from a certain a
rea for no reason. He did that three times before he realized what he’d done. It was the stupid misdirection spell that kept turning him around. In the end, he figured it was his own stubbornness that allowed him to slip past the spell and get inside.
The weak point was heading into the barrier straight on—if he slipped in at an angle it actually worked. Although figuring that out took hours (after a night of no sleep and the temptation Bradley forced him to face), then he had to deal with Quinn trying to chase him off.
Well, he got a few good things out of the day. All in all, it was worth the trouble.
Quinn was worth the trouble.
If Quinn’s nature was to get people to look into his magic mirror, then he was already going against it by asking Tyler to leave. Hopefully, the rest of his plan worked.
If not, Tyler wouldn’t be around to live with the consequences.
He would’ve howled at the moon if he thought it would help, but she only talked to Quinn, apparently, so he didn’t bother. His nerves burned and his body buzzed. Weariness soaked into his bones, but he wasn’t about to give up.
Not until it was actually too late.
A rustle sounded in the forest.
Voices rumbled in the distance.
Feet pounded across the path in no effort to be quiet.
The distinct musk of a familiar alpha filled the air, along with the reek of rotting flesh and magic rolling together as one.
Tyler laid his ears flat to his head, and his hackles rose.
He stood and was met with the sharp tip of Quinn’s horn.
Tyler lifted his lips into a growl.
Quinn let out a breath and the silvery whiskers on his cheeks rustled. His eyes narrowed into green-gold slits and the point of his horn glinted in a ray of moonlight.
I released you from our bargain. It’s over. I trust you, but I’m not going to let you die for me. Get out of here and never come back. Go! Please!
Something shattered inside of him—like a piece of glass breaking into a hundred minuscule pieces—only it was his insides and some power he hadn’t even felt until it was gone.
Quinn really broke their bargain, just like that. Why it worked now, he didn’t know. Maybe it had something to do with the bonds that held the unicorn and the power of the full moon.
No time to think about it.
Tyler growled and turned away. He leapt over the rocks and fallen logs that clogged the forest around them. His paws felt like they hardly touched the ground as he moved, slipping past ferns and moss covered trees.
He skidded to a stop when the reek of Bradley overwhelmed him.
When they rounded the corner—Tyler’s blood froze.
If this didn’t work, he’d have to break the spell the only way he knew how—looking into that damn mirror himself.
If Bradley was right, and that sick memory that flooded his veins when he saw that asshole’s present was anything to go by—he was fucked.
But—no! He didn’t want that as badly as he wanted Quinn.
His limbs froze, but Bradley trudged closer with Davis snarling behind him. The man looked worse than ever, his skin drawn and ashen on his gaunt cheeks. Like Tyler thought, Bradley was the type of guy who talked big but cowered when shit got tough. Not to mention, the moon gave shifters the advantage.
Davis went easy on him. If Tyler had gotten a hold of him (and the pain wouldn’t have hurt Quinn instead), the bastard wouldn’t have been so lucky.
Tyler turned and charged back toward the clearing.
He broke through the trees and stared at Quinn, who stood now, bathed in moonlight and prouder than any alpha Tyler had ever set eyes on. He’d probably give Jin a run for his money as far as haughtiness was concerned.
I said to go! Quinn roared inside Tyler’s mind. He won’t be able to resist me, but you might not either.
Tyler sat on hunches and waited.
“You can’t force me to do anything. Soon enough, my magic will be stronger than ever and I’ll incinerate you!” Bradley huffed.
A moment later, Bradley stumbled into the clearing. He kept his eyes downcast and his face looked as pale as Quinn’s coat. “I won’t look! You can’t make me!”
Davis nudged him hard in the back, and Bradley fell forward to his knees.
Tyler was ready to sink his fangs into the man’s shirt and force him to the edge when Quinn’s voice chimed in his mind.
Do it, Bradley Montgomery. Find out the truth.
Bradley’s colorless eyes widened and his mouth dropped slack. He shook like a bag of bones, as if he wanted to resist, but the pull was too strong.
Too urgent.
He crawled on hands and knees to the edge and peered inside.
Tyler didn’t know what happened next. For one, he hadn’t expected Quinn to be able to compel that bastard to do anything. He just hoped one of them could force Bradley to look.
Tyler kept his back to the pool, his eyes on Davis’s tail. He’d warned his brother about the dangers, and Davis wasn’t dumb enough to look in it on accident.
A tense moment of silence followed.
The wind rustled the trees over their heads, and the cool air settled across his fur.
Tyler begged the moon for this to work. For Quinn to be free.
Suddenly, Bradley screamed—a high-pitched screech that rang through the clearing and shook the branches on the trees.
Then he heard the heavy thud of a body hitting the ground followed by a quiet as deep as the sea.
Nothing else happened.
He took a breath.
And another.
His ears perked to the sky and waited for Quinn to say something.
A heavy sigh.
He’s dead, but the bind holds. It didn’t work.
Tyler’s heart sunk, and he hoped everyone forgave him for this.
Somehow.
He only had one option left.
Tyler turned.
Don’t! Quinn cried.
Tyler didn’t listen.
He padded across the moss and fallen leaves and looked into the pool of water. It swirled with smoke and smoothed into a perfect mirror.
Then it showed Tyler what he wanted most.
15
Tyler froze when he looked into the mirror, his gaze transfixed on the slick surface.
Quinn might’ve froze too. His joints locked and the last piece of his heart—the bit that hadn’t broken when he freed Tyler from the bargain, splintered.
The day Bradley Montgomery died was supposed to be the best day of Quinn’s life—not the day he lost his mate as well.
If Tyler died too—
Something else broke inside him. A deep fissure ran through his center, from his head to the tips of his toes, and it felt as if it cleaved him clean in half. A gentle tinkle of metal rained from his neck, and the collar that held him clinked onto the rock at his hoofs.
Quinn started.
Stared at the ground.
The necklace that bound him for so long lay in pieces, scattered on the moss.
The spell was broken.
He was free.
But how?
Tyler stood still, focused on the mirror, but he didn’t let out a terrible howl or writhe and collapse the way Bradley had, thick white foam leaking from his lips. Instead, his great brown eyes were hooded, and his teeth were gently bared.
The other wolf let out a mournful howl, and he kept his eyes averted from the mirror, thankfully.
He’s alive, Quinn said.
He moved as close to Tyler as the chain would allow, which wasn’t quite far enough to reach. Then he lowered his horn and touched Tyler’s head.
The alpha stirred.
Raised his gaze.
He let out a joyous bark and padded to Quinn’s side.
Together, they settled on the rock to wait out the night.
Everything that happened in the next few days left Quinn dizzy. When the moon set the following morning, Tyler regained his human form, and Quinn
learned that other alpha was Tyler’s older brother, Davis.
He’d settled with his back to the pool and waited out the night with them, like a sentinel.
After they’d all transformed back into their human shapes, Davis rounded on Tyler and grasped his shoulders in a bruising grip. “You fucking idiot! What were you thinking? You told me not to look in that pool, then you do it!”
Quinn would’ve done the same thing if Davis hadn’t gotten around to it first.
Tyler shrugged him off and kicked a rock with his bare toe. “I said he’s my mate. Wouldn’t you do anything for Ken?”
“Yeah, I—Fine. I get it,” Davis said with a heavy sigh that turned into an unexpected grin. “You know what this means? Next month. Camping trip. Neither of you can get out of it now.”
Tyler smiled, and Quinn did too.
Tyler found the key to the chain on Bradley’s body, and he freed Quinn before the police showed up—one of them being Seth, the seer.
There were a lot of questions about Bradley’s wrongdoings, and a brightly lit police station which separated Quinn from Tyler for a time. But Seth listened to the real version of events, which Quinn could now actually explain. Since human law didn’t cover shadow folk, they tweaked the official story to exclude the spell and Quinn’s true form, but most of it remained intact, including Quinn’s kidnapping and imprisonment.
The police even arrested Dr. Ross for his involvement, and Quinn hoped it stuck. Seth also said something about Bradley’s money and a settlement for Quinn from the attorney (whom Quinn had never met), but he wasn’t sure what that meant.
It didn’t matter, because he already got what he really wanted.
Quinn was free.
An alpha detective and Tyler grumbled in the corner about Bradley’s death for a long time, but once the detective conceded that Bradley died of something unexplained, he relented and let Tyler go.
When the police finally released them, they retreated to the food carts across the street. Quinn chose Greek this time, his stomach rumbling.
“How did you know that would work? Or what you’d see in the mirror?” Quinn asked around a bite of his falafel.