Searching (Hidden Truths Book 1)

by Quell T Fox

  I’m really enjoying this though, feeling his cock between my lips. I free him from my mouth, running my tongue along the underside one last time before I stand and straddle him.

  If I can enjoy being in control with his cock in my mouth, I bet I’ll enjoy this even more.

  Thorne grips himself, sliding his hardness back and forth along my slit, spreading my juices everywhere. Each time he hits my clit, I cry out softly. I love when he touches me, I love everything he does to me. There are so many things I want to do to him and with him.

  He finds my entrance and pushes upwards just a bit. I slide onto him, going slow. The stretch is still painful but I know it won’t hurt for long. Once I’m fully seated on him, I let out a sigh of relief. Bringing my hands to his chest, I slide them up and over his shoulders, enjoying each and every line I feel. Lines of muscles run everywhere over his body and I swear to myself I’ll touch each and every one of them before I die.

  “You’re fucking gorgeous, you know that?” Thorne asks, rocking his hips up. “Just go slow.”

  I move my hips forward and then backwards, moving slow like he said.

  “What if I don’t want to?”

  “If you don’t want me to come too soon you will,” he groans, biting down on his bottom lip. His eyes are focused on where we connect, he watches himself slip in and out of me and I love the look in his eyes as he does.

  “I like when you come,” I whisper.

  “Fuck,” he hisses, grinding into me. The pressure starts to go away, each second that goes by he begins to feel better. I move faster. Thorne grips my hips, lifting me up just the slightest as I move forward and I realize this motion feels completely different than the last, so I do that instead.

  Soft, rugged groans come from Thorne the entire time. And when he finally can’t take it anymore, he picks me up and flips me over so my back is on the couch. He pulls out of me and slams back in. Hiking my leg up over his chest he fucks me with promise. A promise to always satisfy me in each and every way he can.

  The now familiar feeling begins to grow in my belly and soon enough, I’m coming as quietly as I can, remembering there are people upstairs and also my family next door. Thorne follows only moments later, releasing himself inside of me.

  We lay there for a while, our slick skin sticking to each other, trying to catch our breath.

  And I think it’s in that very moment, for the first time, I truly realize I’ve found my mate.

  I want nothing more than to stay here and spend the night with him, but it’ll only cause a mess for the morning. So I get dressed, kiss him good night, and make my way back to my room. My phone dings as I plug it into the charger and I check it before sliding into bed.

  Thorne: I miss you already.

  Miss you, too, big guy

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Leona

  Elias shows up right after we’re finished with breakfast the following morning. I’ve met him a few times before, he’s always been really nice. He’s one of the only people outside of their Circle my family trusts completely. He’s done a lot to help them and that’s why I know he can help me too.

  He's a good enough looking guy, his hair greying in some spots. He has kind eyes that are framed in glasses similar to Callan’s. They look adorable together, like two dorky brothers.

  “How does the process work?” Callan asks, intrigued by this new test Elias has been working on.

  He used to work at the school with Callan, in the science department. He relocated a few years ago, when one of the guys in his own Circle got a better job, which in turn got him a better job. He now works in a lab, studying Paranormal DNA. He researches things like their powers, chances of Paranormals being born, and if there is a way to change it. I don’t necessarily agree with parents choosing how their babies come out, but I can see how it may be important to some. His newest experiment is looking at mates and if there is any connection through the blood and how it reacts with the other. Which is what he plans to do now, for us.

  “I’ll need samples from each, two from Leona. One for the Paranormal link and the other to use for the mate process. Basically, we’ve found there is no component which links mate DNA to one another. Now we want to study any interaction the DNA will have with one another by conducting different tests.”

  “What kind of tests?” Callan asks. Hunter rolls his eyes and I almost punch him for it.

  Don’t be rude to my family, asswipe.

  He blinks a few times and his eyes search the room as if he’s looking for something.

  I ignore him and return my focus on Elias.

  “Inserting the genes into mice to see how they react to one another, mostly. But there is a new one I am trying out today and I’m interested to see how it works. I’m confident this one is going to give us the results we are looking for. I’m sure you will find it as fascinating as I do, which is why I’ve decided to complete it here. If that’s okay, of course.”

  “More than okay,” Callan says, pushing his glasses up his nose. He’s standing by Elias watching everything he does with his complete attention. He’s usually fidgety when he’s excited, which is why he isn’t sitting down like the rest of us.

  Elias draws blood from all of us, mine taking the longest since he needed the most. He will be able to tell the percentage of Paranormal I am and what type, where I came from, etc. It’s the same idea as humans getting a DNA test done to find their family members.

  “Is this all you need from us, Sir?” Castor asks politely as Elias puts the last vial into the holder. It amazes me how he can go from sweet schoolboy to savage demon in a matter of seconds.

  Elias looks up squinting, his glasses perched at the end of his nose. “It is, yes.”

  Castor excuses himself and Hunter and they head back to the guest house. They’ve spent most of their time in there, but have come out for meals, so they aren’t being completely antisocial. They’re just keeping distance as best as they can. I’m okay with it because even though they haven’t actively been jerks to me recently, I haven’t forgotten how they’ve been.

  I refuse to make myself look like the ass by lashing out at them because I can’t control my temper as well as they can. At the same time, I’m worried my family will catch them being a jerk and then any chance of a relationship will be gone.

  Thorne said they still need time and that’s fine. They can have it.

  I am not rushing or forcing anyone into anything.

  Thorne moves his chair closer to mine, taking my hand. Callan’s eyes dart to us. I shift slightly, feeling uncomfortable at the PDA in front of him, knowing how my family has been about me dating but he just barely smiles at me and turns away.

  He has been the most accepting of this process, and of course he has; he’s a man of science. To him, the mate bond is strictly scientific, part of nature. It isn’t about the guys shoving their junk into me, like how Maddox and Lenny make it out to be. It’s more than that, and Callan knows it.

  “Do you want to stay here?” Thorne asks, brushing his thumb up and down the top of my hand.

  “Yeah, is that okay?”

  “More than okay,” he responds, bringing my hand to his lips and kissing it softly.

  I focus my attention back on Elias and Callan. I don’t enjoy this as much as Callan does, though I’m not sure anyone would, but I do like a good experiment. Science is my favorite subject, until I got stuck with a sour lab partner, that is.

  “What is it you’re putting in there?”

  “A mixture of pheromones and a high dose of Oxytocin. Small amounts of serotonin and dopamine.”

  Callan nods, leaning in closer. I watch as Elias carefully puts a few drops of my blood into three separate test tubes. He then takes a few drops of Thorne’s blood, mixing it into the first tube, Castor’s into the second, and Hunter’s into the third.

  He then takes his own concoction of pheromones and chemicals, placing one drop into the first tube. He picks it up, gently swirlin
g it around. We watch intently, waiting for something to happen but nothing does. He moves on to the next, adds a drop and then mixes it together. Again, nothing. He does the third. Nothing happens.

  He lets out a sigh. “Well, this is what experiments are for, right? There could be an incubation time. I’ll just take these back—”

  “Wait!” I say suddenly, “Look.” I point to the first vial, the one that has both mine and Thorne’s blood in it. Small bubbles begin to form at the bottom, slowly rising to the top. It then begins to change color. It gets brighter, the deep red turning into a light shade of pink. It then changes into purple and then a bright, fluorescent blue. It stays that way and we only look away when the next one starts to do the same. This one however, stays purple and doesn’t change to blue. Hunter’s does the same but ends at green.

  “Well, I can’t say I was expecting it to work at all. Callan, if you’d be so willing as to allow me some blood and then draw mine, I will use them as the neutrals, to see if they react in the same way or at all.

  He takes three more tubes, mixing each of theirs with mine and then theirs together. Once they are done and Elias has gone through all the same steps, the tube with Callan’s blood mixed with mine is the only one that has a reaction, but it isn’t even remotely close to how it reacted with Thorne’s, Castor’s, or Hunter’s. It seems whatever concoction he’s come up with, works in some way.

  “How extraordinary,” Callan comments. He’s bent over, his nose only inches from the tubes as he looks at each of them.

  “I cannot be sure, as this is the first time I am conducting this test and I don’t have any other information to go on, but based on what I can see here, I can only assume those three boys have some kind of bond with you. This experiment will take some time, though it doesn’t matter much for sure. If you all are mates, you’d be able to feel it.” Elias speaks as he begins to pack up his things, not looking at us but eager to get his things in order, no doubt to go back and finish working on this. He pauses abruptly. “The DNA study will take a couple of days. I’ll email the results. Callan, if you and your family would be so kind as to allow me to draw some blood, I could use you as my next case study. I will, however, take this back to the lab to give myself better working conditions. I only thought I’d try it here for you to get a good look at it.”

  “Of course, Elias. We appreciate you coming up here, we’d love to contribute to your study.” Callan claps him on the back as he pulls out his blood drawing equipment again. “And thank you for doing this here, it was intriguing.”

  “You know there is a job waiting for you with me, if you ever want it.”

  Callan laughs. “Much appreciated, Elias, but I’m not so sure I’m ready to relocate. We have many things going on here.”

  “Of course.”

  Thorne and I get to our feet. “We can make lunch,” I offer. “You stay here and do your thing.”

  “Very kind of you, Leona. I appreciate that. I’m just going to get everyone down here so Elias can get what he needs and be on his way.”

  Thorne and I look through the fridge and cabinets and decide on BLT’s. We get through six pounds of bacon and I’m still not sure it’s enough. With all the men in this house, I’m surprised we’re so well stocked with food. They all eat their size at mealtimes, never mind what they eat for snacks too. Thanks to Callan’s semiweekly trips to the grocery store, we never run out of anything. If you ask him, he’d say it’s biweekly and then Lenny would have to argue biweekly means every two weeks. Which would make Callan come back with his explanation of the term Fortnite, causing Lenny to get flustered for a minute but then excited when he remembers how much he loves the video game.

  I’ve heard this exact argument once or twice. Can you tell?

  Even though we know he will decline, we ask Elias to stay for lunch. He thanks us but says he must be on his way; he has a long drive back.

  The rest of us sit around the table and eat lunch together. We don’t talk about the results of the test to anyone, not yet. I’m sure Callan will explain it to Friday and the guys later, and Thorne can have the conversation with Hunter and Castor tonight. I’d rather not be the one to tell them it’s basically a sure thing even though I’m positive they already know.

  Thorne can feel it and has said they felt it too. It’s why they’re being so cold towards me in the first place. They thought I was lying to them. Hell, they still think I was lying to them. They don’t trust me, which is the biggest problem. I can understand why they didn’t believe me in the beginning. It’s hard to believe something that goes against what you’ve been taught your entire life. Growing up a shifter, being around shifters, you know how things work. You know your animal comes to you at a certain point in your life. It’s what has always happened around you. So when someone you don’t know tells you otherwise, why would you believe them? You don’t. But I cannot understand why they don’t believe me now.

  I try to give them the benefit of the doubt because I don’t know what they’ve been through in life. Even though they aren’t giving me the same courtesies, doesn’t mean I shouldn’t give them any.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Leona

  The rest of the weekend is uneventful, including Halloween. Maddox, Callan, and Lenny take Milo and Briella out for a couple of hours. They even bring Grim who is dressed up as a hotdog. The rest of us stay in, watching scary movies. I sit on the recliner, cuddling with Thorne while the other two sit sour-pussed on the couch. Friday catches up on sleep while Alec catches up on his work. Halloween was always something Lina and I did together and doing something without her this year didn’t feel right—not that I’m in the mood for Halloween festivities anyway.

  Everything will be okay once Hunter and Castor pull their heads from their asses. Maybe then it’ll be possible for me to find normalcy once again.

  It’s Monday morning now and after a lot of arguing, begging, and pleading, I am off to school with Thorne, Castor, and Hunter. Lenny was begging me to homeschool while Maddox was demanding it.

  “It’s not safe!” Lenny argues.

  “Listen to me, Lenny. I’m not having this argument with you,” I look to Maddox. “Or you. I’m almost eighteen. This is my senior year. My last year. I’m not going to sit around and hide away. Callan will be at school, and so will the guys. You’re the one who said I would be safest with them—”

  “Yeah! After the ma—” Lenny says.

  “I will be fine!”

  Thorne takes a step closer, placing his hand on the small of my back. “I’ll keep her safe,” Thorne says, trying to help out.

  Maddox slams his fist on the table and his eyes flicker black before he turns and storms out of the room. My eyes find Lenny’s. He shakes his head, taking in a deep breath and letting it out.

  “I was hidden away my entire childhood, Lenny,” I say in a softer voice. “All it did was mess me up. I can’t do it again.”

  “Okay, sis. Okay.” He turns around and follows after Maddox.

  I don’t want to hide any longer. I can’t be kept in this house against my will. I can’t.

  I’m shocked when I leave my first period class and Castor is standing across from the door, leaning against the lockers. He looks me over and I turn down the hall, heading to my next class.

  He calls after me, but I think I must be hearing things, so I keep walking.

  “Leona,” he calls again. I turn around and find he hasn’t moved, still leaning against the lockers, one foot bent up and resting against the metal, his hands shoved into his pockets. He definitely has the bad boy thing going on. If only he wore a leather jacket and rode a motorcycle, it would totally finish the look.

  Instead, he’s in a pair of dark jeans, a black t-shirt, and a blood red beanie. And I don’t think I would have it any other way because those dark colors on his dark skin with his dark features, only makes him more mysterious.

  And the problem with a mystery is, everyone wants to know the secret.
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  Myself included.

  I raise an eyebrow, refusing to go to him. If he wants something, he can come to me. He pushes himself off the wall, walking straight towards me. All students in his path walk around him like he’s protected by an invisible forcefield.

  “I was hoping we could talk,” he says politely once he reaches me. He takes a step closer, completely invading my personal space. His scent catches my attention. He smells like expensive cologne, but there’s something else there too. I close my eyes and breathe him in. His scent affects me almost the same way Thorne’s does. I let out a sigh, recalling the conversation I had with Thorne last night.

  “You just have to be patient with them. We’ve been through a lot and it’s not easy for them to trust people. They’re suspicious by nature. Everyone is guilty, they really can’t help it.”

  “I’ve been through a lot, and no one ever went easy on me,” I say, feeling a little resentful.

  “Is that really true though?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.

  I groan. “No, I guess it isn’t.”

  “Look, I’m not saying forgive them and forget. I’m just saying take it easy, hear them out. Baby steps.”

  “Sure,” I finally say, knowing it’s the right thing to do. If this were Hunter though, I’d have kept walking. He spent days at my house and didn’t say two words to me. Even after everything I’ve said and done, he’s still acting like an ass. Castor is at least putting in a little effort. I will not put time into someone if they aren’t doing the same. Hunter isn’t doing anything so neither will I. Mate or not. He can kiss my ass.

  Castor turns around and starts walking. When I don’t follow, he looks over his shoulder. “You coming?”

  I sigh before forcing myself after him, the hallway slowly clears out as people get to their classes. I know I won’t be attending second period and I have to let Thorne and Callan know or they’ll call the cavalry the moment they find out I’m not where I’m supposed to be. I pull out my phone and send them both quick texts. I expect to be scolded from Callan, but it doesn’t happen. He’s been very understanding during this entire ordeal.