Exiled 02 - Wolf

by Lynn Hagen

  Wolf’s eyes shot over to Nazaryth, his expression pleading. Nazaryth held his hands up and shook his head as he backed away. Wolf glowered at him.

  “Suck it up,” Dog teased.

  “Suck this up.” Wolf flipped Dog off.

  “Behave,” Jaycee scolded Wolf as he began to bandage Wolf’s injury.

  Nazaryth shook his head, amazed at Jaycee and how he had set aside his fears and handled his business. He had nothing but respect for the human now.

  “Come on,” Nazaryth said to Dog. “We have a village to put back together.”

  “And some bodies to burn,” Dog reminded him a little too gleefully.

  Jaycee was a nervous wreck. Not only was he terrified he would bump Wolf’s injury again, but something had snapped inside of him when he was told Wolf was badly injured. Jaycee had thought his heart would stop beating.

  He couldn’t understand the attraction he had to the man. It was crazy. It was confusing. And Jaycee knew he was an idiot for sticking around all of this madness. But he couldn’t deny that the longer he stuck around Wolf, the stronger the attraction he felt.

  His head was still reeling from finding out that Wolf would go mad if he didn’t fuck Jaycee. That wasn’t something Jaycee ran into every day. He didn’t want Wolf to go mad and have to be killed, but damn. Why him? Jaycee just couldn’t understand how he was picked for Wolf out of the billions of people who inhabited the earth.

  He knew Wolf said they were mates, but Jaycee still had a hard time believing any of this existed.

  “Stop shaking,” Wolf said as he placed his hand on Jaycee’s. He hadn’t even been aware that his hands were trembling.

  “I’m just afraid of hurting you again,” Jaycee admitted as he blew out a steady breath and began to bandage Wolf’s leg once more.

  “The only way you can hurt me is by leaving again.”

  Ouch. Talk about straight to the point. Jaycee hadn’t a clue what to say. He had felt justified in leaving, but when Wolf reminded him of the fact that he had left, it hurt like hell.

  “Come here.” Wolf held his hand out, and Jaycee took it. “Sit down.”

  Jaycee carefully took a seat, making sure he didn’t accidently bump Wolf’s leg again.

  “I didn’t say that to hurt you. I just wanted you to know what could cripple me, zaterio. I never want to hurt you, ever.” Wolf reached up and pushed Jaycee’s hair aside, rubbing his thumb over Jaycee’s cheek. “You were created just for me. Did you know that?”

  “No,” Jaycee whispered as he stared into Wolf’s sparkling green gems. “How do you know that?”

  “Because, the gods told me.”

  Jaycee wasn’t too sure about the gods telling Wolf anything, but he had witnessed some very strange things in the past two days. He wouldn’t doubt that what Wolf was telling him was the truth. Now that Jaycee wasn’t freaking out and was thinking things through, he realized that—just as long as no one was trying to attack him—he liked being with Wolf. The man was easygoing, caring, and nice to look at. Wolf was someone Jaycee would like to get to know better. He wasn’t like anyone Jaycee had ever met before, personality wise, not the whole otherworldly thing.

  Wolf grinned up at Jaycee with a heart-stopping smile. “I told you, I was created, not born as you were.”

  “And they told you that I was created for you? I wasn’t even born two thousand years ago,” he pointed out.

  Wolf chuckled. “No, you weren’t. The gods told the winged beasts that we would know when we found our mates, that we would feel it in the very depths of our bones. You will be granted only one mate, and he will be referred to as the chosen one,” Wolf said as if reciting something he had heard, running his fingers over Jaycee’s cheeks the entire time. “And you, my Cheerio, are my chosen one.”

  Jaycee was panting heavily as Wolf pulled him forward, brushing his lips across Jaycee’s. It was soft, tentative, as if Wolf was waiting for Jaycee to give the go-ahead. His mind was telling him that he needed to pull back, that this was insane, but Jaycee wasn’t sure if he could pull back. As much as he wanted things to slow down, another part of him, the lower half of course, was screaming for him to move full steam ahead. Jaycee wasn’t sure which to listen to, so he ignored them both and sealed his lips over Wolf’s.

  Wolf didn’t pull him down or become dominating as Jaycee would have thought. The kiss remained simmering, with just an edge of desire. Jaycee scooted a little closer, and wound his fingers into Wolf’s hair. It felt as soft as it looked. He found his fingers had a mind of their own as they rubbed through the silky strands as Jaycee licked Wolf’s bottom lip.

  “I am wounded, yet I cannot stop thinking of taking you.”

  Jaycee heard Wolf’s voice in his head, but didn’t let it freak him out this time. He was kind of growing used to it. And in a small way, it was becoming comforting. But the thought of letting Wolf have him was a bit intimidating. The man wasn’t small in any form.

  “Slow down.” Jaycee pushed the thought into Wolf’s head. “Please,” he added.

  Wolf grinned into Jaycee’s mouth as he nipped his bottom lip. “I know you need time, zaterio. I would give you all the time in the world—”

  “But you’re on a deadline.”

  Wolf nodded.

  Jaycee pulled back enough to look into Wolf’s pretty green eyes. He could see small flecks of black that he had never noticed before. The coloring was amazing. “How long until you lose your mind?”

  “Twenty-four hours.”

  Jaycee closed his eyes and sighed. “That’s not enough time, Wolf.”

  “I know.”

  Chewing his bottom lip, Jaycee glanced up at the man. “I tell you what. Can you handle twelve more hours?”

  Wolf shrugged, brushing back Jaycee’s hair from his eyes. The man seemed to love touching Jaycee’s hair. “I’m not sure. I’ve never gone through the mating heat before. But it will only get worse the longer you are left unclaimed.”

  Geez. It had a name? Why did it have to be called mating heat? It sounded like something a cat went through. “Okay, maybe twelve hours might not cut it, but I don’t want to say yes and then end up with an asshole.”

  Wolf laughed as he cupped Jaycee’s face. “I have shown you my true self, zaterio. But if you want to see my beast, I can show it to you.”

  “The funky green thing you changed into when you left the living room to go fight the demons?” Yeah, Jaycee remembered Wolf’s beast. It had freaked him out at the time, so he pretended he hadn’t really seen it. If he was going to stick around and be Wolf’s mate, then Jaycee needed to start accepting things around him, even The Incredible Hulk. His feelings were growing stronger toward a man he had just met yesterday, and Jaycee couldn’t understand that, but there was no denying that he had felt a great loss when he had left Wolf.

  “That would be my beast, yes. Our coloring all depends on our age and our rank. Nazaryth’s beast is red because he is our commander. My green coloring indicates that I was one of the zenyons of our group of twelve.”

  “What is that?”

  “In translation, it means that I was responsible for guarding the king as he slept. Trap and Tyson also had that honor as well. It was the highest honor a king could bestow on a winged beast. They put their lives in our hands as they closed their eyes and rested. But that was before Zephyr took over. He banished anyone from his bedchamber. He didn’t trust us.”

  “I can see why,” Jaycee commented. “But if you guys were created, wouldn’t you be the same age?”

  “No, it takes one hundred years to create a winged beast. The process is long and involves a great deal. Not all have survived their creation. I was created four hundred years after Nazaryth.”

  Jaycee felt as though Wolf was telling him some sort of fairy tale. It didn’t seem possible that all of this was real. But it had to be because Wolf was lying right here on the bed. “I’m scared as hell, Wolf. From what I gather, once you claim me, that’s it. There is no going back
.” And Jaycee wasn’t sure what he would do if Wolf turned out to be an asshole. The winged vampire had found him at the center. Was there nowhere he could run if he wanted to escape the man?

  “If you refuse me anytime during the claiming, the bond will not form. You are my only chance at happiness, Jaycee. I would never risk harming you. I would be the greatest fool alive to do such a thing.”

  Pretty words, but did the man mean them? “If you turn out to be an ass, what can I do about it?”

  “Tell Nazaryth,” Wolf said with dark heat in his voice. The man’s face was fierce as he stared at Jaycee. “Nazaryth would torture me for a millennium if I hurt you in any way. He, along with all winged beasts, knows how precious a zaterio is. They are to be treasured, not abused. You will understand once we are mated that it is you who has the power in this relationship. You are the sole person who holds my heart, zaterio.”

  Gods, Jaycee wanted to say yes. He honestly did, but he was so damn scared to put his trust in another’s hands. He would live in this world, be a part of it. He would deal with hell hounds and anything else that came his way. Could he do that? Could he endure whatever came after him just to be with Wolf?

  “Do you refuse me, Jaycee?”

  “I don’t want to.”

  “Then come to me, mate,” Wolf said as he lay there. Jaycee was waiting for Wolf to pull him closer, but Wolf didn’t move. Maybe the man was afraid Jaycee would resist. He did say that if Jaycee refused him anytime during the claiming, it wouldn’t work.

  Jaycee placed his hand on Wolf’s broad chest, wondering what he should do. “How does this work?”

  “I will claim you with the core of my being,” Wolf said as he turned onto his side, pulling Jaycee down next to him. “I am injured, so I will not be as graceful for you.”

  Jaycee really didn’t care about Wolf being graceful. “The only thing I care about is you taking your time with me.” He couldn’t believe he had said that out loud.

  “I plan on taking my time, zaterio. I plan on exploring every inch of your sexy body,” he murmured as he ran his hand down Jaycee’s side until he felt the hem of his mate’s shirt. He slid his fingers under the material and shuddered at the feel of his mate’s silky, soft skin under his fingers.

  Wolf leaned in closer, inhaling his mate’s scent. His beast shifted around inside of Wolf, a growl rumbling in a place that was deep inside Wolf, telling him that the claiming had begun. “It has begun, zaterio. If you refuse me now, we will not be bound together.”

  Jaycee’s eyes lifted until they met Wolf’s, his small pink tongue flickering out and wetting his lips. “I don’t want to refuse you, Wolf.”

  Wolf could see the sincerity in the depths of Jaycee’s dark-brown eyes, eyes that had begun to darken with desire. He prayed Jaycee spoke the truth. The man had been running from him since he had opened his eyes yesterday. Wolf was afraid, but it was too late. The claiming was unfolding right there between them. His cock was full and pulsing in his jeans, begging to be released.

  “I may need help undressing.” One leg of his jeans had been cut off to care for his wound, but the doctor had left his pants on.

  Jaycee’s eyes widened, and then he glanced down at Wolf’s pants, a blush stealing across his cheeks as he nodded his head, a wisp of hair falling across his mate’s face. Wolf reached up and tucked it behind Jaycee’s ear. He loved how his mate’s hair felt. He could play with it for hours.

  Jaycee placed his hand on Wolf’s chest, guiding him to his back. Wolf’s wings spanned out, fluttering wildly in anticipation of claiming the human. Jaycee crawled between Wolf’s legs and unsnapped his pants. Wolf could see his mate’s fingers shaking slightly.

  He didn’t say a word. He allowed Jaycee to take as much time as he needed. His zaterio had asked Wolf to go slow, and he would. He would give his mate anything he wanted and more. He was Wolf’s happiness, and Wolf wasn’t going to screw this up.

  “You have to lift your hips,” Jaycee said. “But do it carefully.”

  Wolf held back the hiss as Jaycee pulled the rough denim over his wound. He didn’t want Jaycee to call a stop to this because he was worried about Wolf’s leg. Even with good intentions, Wolf feared that by stopping, the bond would be lost to them forever.

  Jaycee tossed Wolf’s jeans aside and then helped him pull his shirt over his head. Wolf lay there naked, his cock ramrod straight and pulsing against his stomach. Jaycee just knelt there for a moment, staring at it with liquid heat blazing in his eyes.

  “As much as I love you staring at my body, I’d like to see yours,” Wolf said and then reached for Jaycee’s shirt. Jaycee lifted his arms and his shirt was tossed aside. Wolf ran his hand over Jaycee’s sinewy stomach, feeling the hard, flat planes under his fingers. He reached up and brushed his thumbs over his mate’s nipples, smiling lightly when Jaycee shivered and his nipples turned into two hard pebbles.

  Jaycee leaned away from Wolf’s touch. He frowned until he saw his mate shucking his pants. A blaze of lust flared inside of Wolf when Jaycee’s cock sprang free, the head already an angry red. His mate’s body was slim, pale, and so gorgeous that Wolf almost whimpered to be inside of his mate.

  Jaycee released his jeans over the side of the bed and then stared down at Wolf from the fall of his bangs. The prolonged anticipation was almost unbearable. Wolf reached a hand behind Jaycee’s head and fisted his mate’s hair, bringing him down as Wolf claimed Jaycee’s lips. Wolf’s calm was shattered with the hunger building up inside of him. His wings fanned and his cock became impossibly harder.

  The touch of Jaycee’s lips against his was a heady sensation that Wolf was now addicted to. He wasn’t used to feeling a goatee scraping against his skin, but he knew he could kiss Jaycee for hours on end and never tire of the man’s sweet taste. The rough rasp of Jaycee’s goatee only added pleasure to the already-explosive kiss. Wolf grabbed the length between his fingers and gave a light tug. Jaycee moaned and parted his lips, and pleasure radiated outward as Wolf’s tongue swept into the moist, cavernous mouth of his zaterio.

  Jaycee’s hands skimmed over Wolf’s chest until his fingers began to play with Wolf’s nipples. He groaned at the sensation. Wolf’s legs parted, and he pulled his mate between them, their cocks brushing against one another, making Wolf’s thoughts spin out of control. Feeling their skin touch unhindered was more exquisite than Wolf even dreamed it would be.

  His mate broke the kiss and scooted down Wolf’s chest, taking one lone nipple into his mouth. Wolf hissed, running his fingers through Jaycee’s dark hair, gently scraping his nails over his mate’s scalp.

  Jaycee closed his lips over the peak and then gently bit Wolf’s flesh, rolling the nub around with his teeth. A growl ripped from Wolf’s throat. The caress of his lips on Wolf’s body sent Wolf up into flames.

  “Zaterio, you torture my body so sweetly.”

  Jaycee gazed up at Wolf, his swollen lips parting in a smile. Wolf growled at the erotic portrait his mate painted and grabbed the man, pulling him up until Jaycee was straddling his hips. Jaycee’s cock jutted out and Wolf wrapped his fingers around the heated flesh. His mate moaned as his head rocked back on his shoulder as Wolf began to slowly stroke his mate.

  “You are mine for all eternity, Jaycee. I will never let you go. You are my zaterio, my chosen one.” Wolf reached behind his mate with his free hand and circled his mate’s tight ring of muscles, dipping the tip of his finger inside and then pulling free. He reached over to the nightstand and prayed there was some lube inside the drawer. He wasn’t in his bedroom after all.

  He snagged the bottle and released Jaycee’s cock, spreading the clear gel onto both hands and then dropping the bottle. He used one lubed hand to stroke his mate’s straining erection while the other made its way back to Jaycee’s ass.

  “Lean forward.”

  Jaycee pressed his hands into Wolf’s chest, his breath coming out quicker as he stared down at Wolf with so much trust and desire that Wolf felt his heart seize
in his chest from the emotions tightening his chest.

  Sliding one finger into Jaycee’s ass, Wolf gripped his mate’s cock harder, their eyes never straying from each other.

  “That feels so damn good, Wolf,” Jaycee moaned. “Add another finger.”

  Wolf obliged his mate, slipping a second one in next to the first. He hated that he was wounded. Wolf wanted to show Jaycee his stamina, his prowess as he mated the man. But he knew that he had limited mobility at the moment.

  Jaycee leaned forward and nipped Wolf’s chin, his tongue skimming across Wolf’s jaw. Wolf’s chest began to rise and fall more quickly now, the head of his cock brushing Jaycee’s ass and throbbing with need.

  His zaterio brushed a featherlight kiss across Wolf’s lips, grinning. “I thought your lips would be hard, but they’re soft and warm.”

  “Why?” Wolf asked, “Because I am a warrior?”

  Jaycee nodded.

  “There are many places on my body that are hard, zaterio.” Wolf hitched his hips, his cock stabbing into Jaycee’s ass cheek. “But my lips are not one of them.”

  Wolf speared a third finger into Jaycee’s ass and moaned at how silky his mate’s channel was. It sucked his fingers in greedily as Wolf stretched his fingers apart, twisting his wrist and looking for Jaycee’s hot spot.

  “Wolf!”

  Wolf had found it, and stroked his fingers over the walnut-sized gland over and over again until his mate’s arms began to shake.

  “When I am healed, I will show you many more ways your body can sing with pleasure from my touch.”

  “O–Okay,” Jaycee said as he swallowed hard.

  Wolf pulled his hand free, grabbed Jaycee’s hips, and rolled so quickly that he bit his bottom lip to keep the howl of pain trapped behind them. He pushed the pain aside, shoved it deep down inside of him, and locked it away as best he could so he could claim his mate properly.

  “Wolf—”

  “My zaterio,” Wolf growled and then lined his cock up to Jaycee’s well-lubed hole. “My mate.” He thrust forward, Jaycee crying out as Wolf’s wings spanned out to their five-foot length. They began fluttering and fanning, the mating dust falling on them like fresh, new snow. It was light, as light as fine dust, but it was a part of the ritual that would bind them for all eternity.