by Lynn Hagen
Nazaryth led him down the hallway of bedrooms until he reached the last door and pushed it open. “Theo, I need you to—”
“Oh, no!” Theo protested loudly. “The last time I had to watch him, the slippery little bastard took off on me. I’m not having Wolf come after me because I lost his mate again.”
“I was scared,” Jaycee defended himself for the hundredth time. He couldn’t seem to catch a break about leaving. He was beginning to wonder if they would hold it against him for the rest of his life, and from what Wolf said, that could be a very long time.
“Then you should have said something and we could have huddled in a damn corner together somewhere. You should have seen how crazy Wolf went when he discovered you were gone.”
“Really?” Jaycee asked, a little surprised…and a whole lot pleased by Wolf’s reaction.
“No,” Theo said. “You will not have a pleased look on your face when I talk about Wolf almost handing me my ass.” Theo wiggled a finger at Jaycee. “You better look repentant.”
“He did not almost hand you your ass,” Nazaryth mumbled under his breath.
Jaycee bit back the chuckle.
“Get your skinny ass in here, and if you so much as move one toe out of place, I’m tying you down.”
Jaycee looked over at Nazaryth, but the commander just shrugged. “He’s the boss.”
And here Jaycee thought winged beasts were fierce men.
Pussy.
Wolf blinked a few times and then shot up, glancing around the room. It took a second for his surroundings to register. He patted his chest and then his legs, hissing when he hit the injured one. It didn’t hurt as badly as it had earlier, but damn if it still didn’t throb with pain.
He pushed from the bed, careful about the pressure he applied to his leg. Where was his mate? “Zaterio, where are you?”
“Getting the evil eye from a wolf.”
It took Wolf a second to figure out that Jaycee was talking about Theo. “Why, what is going on? Why aren’t you with me?”
“Nazaryth thinks me seeing a door in some green room is a bad thing.”
Wolf growled. If Jaycee saw the door in the green room, then someone had gotten in. How? He wasn’t sure. Nazaryth had spells and wards all over this mountain. No one should be able to get in.
“You better be lying down, Wolf.”
Wolf groaned. Jaycee was playing mother hen, but had no clue how serious the situation was. “I am.” He hobbled to his bedroom door and cracked it open, peeking into the hallway. It was deathly quiet. The castle was never quiet. Tyson was always sitting on the couch watching a black-and-white movie in surround sound.
Wolf crept from his room, and slowly made his way to Nazaryth’s bedroom. He had to check on his zaterio, even if Jaycee was about to have a fit. He would weather the man’s anger just as long as he could see with his own two eyes that his mate was fine.
“You lived.”
Wolf froze when he heard Morbius’s voice. How in the hell had he gotten into the castle? It was supposed to be impenetrable. “Zaterio, warn Theo that the hounds are inside. Tell him to warn Nazaryth.”
“But—”
“Just do it!”
The bond went silent. Wolf hadn’t meant to snap at Jaycee, but Wolf needed backup quickly. He was in no shape to fight the hound. “Was it Rythicam who died in the fight in Brac Village?” Wolf asked.
“No,” Morbius answered with hatred lacing his words. “It was the other hound and one of the demons. You were supposed to die, not the other way around.”
“Sorry I lived.”
“You will be.”
Wolf leaned against the wall as he laughed. Morbius stared at him like he’d lost his mind, and then the hound snarled. “What’s so damn funny, beasty?”
“Them,” Wolf said as Nazaryth and the other winged beasts came down the hallway, standing right behind the hound.
“What did you hope to accomplish coming here?” Nazaryth asked. “You should have known we would stop you.”
Wolf’s blood chilled when a malicious smile formed on Morbius’s face, and then he was the one to start laughing. “It is already done.”
Nazaryth walked toward the hound until he was nose to nose with the bastard. A low rumbling growl vibrated in his chest as he pulled back his lip in a snarl, his fangs gleaming in the hallway light. “What have you done?” he asked slowly, growling out each word so quietly that Wolf almost didn’t catch what the commander was saying.
Morbius smirked at Nazaryth, showing no fear. “Rythicam and I came back to find a way in. I scented a human. I followed his scent and what to my wondrous eyes should appear? A door.” Morbius laughed as if he were thoroughly enjoying this. “I came inside and found the human looking around…so I bit him.”
“You what!” Nazaryth exploded, backhanding the hound so hard that Morbius spun, slamming into the wall. “Who is he?”
Morbius wiped the side of his mouth with his hand, black blood dotting his skin. Wolf knew how lethal that blood was. The winged beasts wouldn’t die from it, but it would be painful as hell if they got any on themselves. Wolf was already in enough pain.
“How the fuck should I know?” Morbius asked. “But I can tell you he stunk like one of your mates.”
Wolf’s eyes widened when Nazaryth shifted into his winged beast form and went after Morbius, who had shifted into his dog form and taken off down the hallway. The other winged beasts just stood there in shock.
“Whose mate is he?” Trigg asked.
“Find him!” Renato growled. “Search every fucking inch of this castle.”
Chapter Nine
Jaycee’s head snapped up when Wolf came into Nazaryth’s bedroom. He should be mad at his mate for lying to him about being in bed, but he was too damned relieved that Wolf was okay. He found himself running across the room and throwing his arms around Wolf’s neck. “I thought something had happened to you.”
“It’ll take more than a hound to keep me down, zaterio,” Wolf said as he wrapped an arm around Jaycee. “I’m fine.”
“How’s your leg?” Jaycee asked as he pulled back, looking down.
“It doesn’t feel like someone is sawing it off anymore.”
“Then I think I’ll go find my mate,” Theo said as he hurried toward the door. “A hound I can handle. It’s the demons I was quivering in my wolf boots over.” Theo stopped at the door, eyeing the pair. “I didn’t lose him this time as you can see.”
“I see,” Wolf replied. “Thanks.”
Jaycee hugged Wolf tightly, feeling as if he could breathe again. The man was safe. When he had heard Wolf tell him that there were hounds in the castle, Jaycee thought he was going to lose his mind. He actually tried to wrestle Theo to get to the door.
The wolf won.
“You need to lie down.” Jaycee began to pull Wolf toward the door by his hand. “The doctor said a few days’ rest, not a few hours’. Plus I need to look at your wound.”
Jaycee was thankful as hell that Wolf didn’t argue with him. He didn’t have the strength to wrestle with the large man. Even injured, he knew Wolf would win. That would only leave the option of hurling things at the guy, and Jaycee couldn’t see hurting an injured man.
Not that he wouldn’t if it came down to his mate’s health.
They made their way down the hallway and back to Wolf’s bedroom. “So what happened?” Jaycee asked as they took a few steps at a time. At this rate, they may make it to Wolf’s room by sundown. The man was in pain, but was too stubborn to admit it. Jaycee could see the sweat building on Wolf’s brows.
“Morbius got in.”
“Who is Morbius?”
“He’s one of the hounds currently after Theo, and now you, for being a winged beast’s mate. He told us that the king decreed all mates are to be killed on sight when found.”
Jaycee was getting better at not freaking out, but knowing he had a hit out on him, a hit that couldn’t be called off and was being fulfilled by
a creature from hell, wasn’t exactly a good feeling. It was downright scary. But Jaycee had Wolf to take care of. He would melt down in a corner later.
“Did you kill him?”
“Nazaryth went after him. But Morbius said he followed a mate into the castle, which is impossible since any human who comes near this mountain feels a compulsion to get away as quickly as possible.”
Jaycee stopped to turn the doorknob and pushed the bedroom door open. “The spells on the doors make them feel this way?”
Wolf nodded.
“Then where is he?” Jaycee helped Wolf over to the bed and tossed the covers back. Wolf sat down and Jaycee knelt in front of him to unlace his boots. He freed one boot and tossed it aside, working on the other.
“No one knows. The winged beasts are searching the castle for him now.”
Jaycee pulled Wolf’s other boot off and then stilled when Wolf tucked a finger under his chin and lifted his head. “You look damn good down there, love.”
Jaycee swallowed. Wolf’s emerald-green eyes had darkened and were currently filled with so much heat that Jaycee felt his cock harden. “N–No sex.”
“A blow job isn’t too strenuous on my part.” Wolf’s voice had gone deep, sultry, and Jaycee’s heart was pounding as he imagined his lips wrapped around the man’s heavy cock. He remembered from the claiming that Wolf’s dick wasn’t small. In fact, the man had been blessed in the groin department.
He knelt there, staring up into Wolf’s eyes as his mate leaned back and unsnapped his pants, his eyes practically pleading with Jaycee not to refuse him. Jaycee should. Wolf needed his rest. He really did. But Jaycee couldn’t get his mouth to form the words of protest. He was just as excited about giving Wolf head as Wolf seemed to be about getting it.
Jaycee leaned back, watching Wolf’s strong, scarred fingers push past the waistband of his boxers and pull his cock free. It was hard, weeping, and the head was so red that it was starting to turn purple.
Wolf stroked himself a few times, leaning back on one arm. “See, no strain,” he said, his voice a bit coarse.
Jaycee nodded without thought as he leaned forward, placing his hands on Wolf’s knees. His eyes followed every stroke, watching as Wolf’s hand reached the top of his cock, and then his thumb rubbed across the head, the clear liquid smearing until it was a sticky mess.
Jaycee licked his lips.
“Taste it,” Wolf encouraged as he lifted his thumb, the pre-cum pulling into a long, unbreakable strand. Jaycee leaned up and swiped his tongue over Wolf’s thumb, moaning out loud as the taste hit his tongue.
“Lick the head, Jaycee.” Wolf panted. “Clean up my mess.”
Jaycee lapped at the spongy head of Wolf’s cock, trying to lick every last drop that was smeared across the large, bulbous head. But every time he cleared the mess away, more leaked out.
“Suck the head, baby. Wrap your lips around it.”
Jaycee scooted closer, doing exactly as Wolf demanded. Wolf was pushing his erection down toward his mouth, feeding his cock to Jaycee. He suckled with his lips and swiped across the slit with his tongue. Wolf groaned.
Jaycee held on to the cock in his mouth as Wolf maneuvered around, pushing his pants down his legs. Jaycee caught white gauze from the corner of his eye and almost pulled back, until Wolf grabbed the back of his head and held him firmly in place. “Don’t stop.”
Jaycee heard the desperation in Wolf’s voice. He heard the need so clearly that he took the hard shaft a little further into his mouth. The silky skin eased past his lips as Wolf pushed Jaycee’s head down just a little further. He pushed back, and Wolf released his head. Jaycee wasn’t going to let go, but he wanted to see if Wolf was holding him down or just resting his hand. He liked the idea of Wolf resting his hand.
Reaching down, Jaycee placed Wolf’s hand back on his head as he reached between his mate’s legs and ran his fingers over the soft sac. Wolf gave a slight push, and Jaycee felt the tip of Wolf’s cock touch the back of his throat.
His eyes began to water.
Pulling slightly back, Jaycee concentrated on licking up the hard cock with his tongue, following the heavy vein that ran up the side. When Wolf fisted Jaycee’s head and pulled him back, Jaycee chased Wolf’s cock with his lips.
“Get naked. I want to suck you at the same time.”
“But you can’t exert yourself.”
Wolf’s nostrils flared as he stared down at Jaycee. “Fuck, your lips look so damn good wet and swollen.”
Jaycee felt his face flush.
“I’ll lie on my back, promise.”
Jaycee stood, shedding his clothes and then helping Wolf get his pants off. The man’s muscular thighs were a thing of beauty. The lines and dips were so honed that Jaycee wanted to lick every damn golden inch. Wolf pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it aside, scooting back until he was lying in the middle of the bed. “Come straddle my face.”
Jaycee’s cock throbbed at those words.
Carefully climbing over Wolf’s prone body, Jaycee positioned himself over Wolf’s head, feeling a tad embarrassed that his cock was dangling over Wolf’s mouth. That feeling didn’t last long when Wolf grabbed Jaycee’s hips and pulled him down, swallowing his cock down his throat.
Jaycee’s eyes crossed.
He grabbed the base of Wolf’s cock and began to lick the hardened shaft, and then took it into his mouth. Wolf spread his legs wide as he sucked Jaycee’s prick like a pro. Jaycee had a hard time concentrating on what he was doing. Wolf was trying to suck his dick from his body.
Wolf tapped Jaycee’s hip, and he knew he was neglecting his mate. Using his thumb and index finger, Jaycee pulled at the head of Wolf’s cock, widening the slit, and then shoved his tongue inside, wiggling it around. Wolf snapped his hips.
He massaged the underside, where the bundle of nerves rested just below the head, and then swallowed Wolf’s cock, parroting every move Wolf made. It wasn’t like he had done something like this before, and copying everything Wolf was doing to him helped guide Jaycee.
The sultry sounds vibrating in Wolf’s chest encouraged Jaycee to take more, to push a little further. Once he stopped almost gagging, Jaycee took the silky, hard shaft down his throat and then quickly pulled back.
Wolf ran his hands over Jaycee’s ass, his fingers playing at Jaycee’s hole, and then one lone finger slid inside of him. Jaycee pushed back, desperate to feel more. He groaned around Wolf’s cock, and Wolf growled around his. Jaycee grinned. Wolf must really like that. He moaned again and then had to press Wolf’s hips down to stop the man from shoving his cock down the back of Jaycee’s damn throat.
Found one thing that really turns Wolf on.
Jaycee was rewarded with another finger. He rode Wolf’s fingers hard as he hummed and moaned around the man’s dick, feeling the building of his orgasm approaching. Jaycee wanted Wolf to come at the same time. He doubled his efforts, sucking hard and fast, pulling at Wolf’s balls as he continuously tried to swallow the man whole.
Wolf’s fingers bit into Jaycee’s side as his hips shot forward, spurts of cum hitting the back of his throat. Jaycee swallowed every last drop. When Wolf shoved a third finger into his ass and started fucking him with those thick digits, Jaycee’s body exploded into a thousand pieces as a kaleidoscope of colors filled his vision. Wolf didn’t let up. He took Jaycee all the way down his throat, fucking his ass feverishly.
Jaycee rolled from Wolf, landing on his back, his body twitching as he gasped for air. He never knew mutual cock sucking could be so damn fantastic! He wanted to laugh with satiation as his body continued to buzz.
“See,” Wolf said as he rested his cheek on Jaycee’s calf, “no exertion.”
Jaycee smiled as he turned, kissing each ankle on Wolf’s legs before he wiggled around until he was in Wolf’s strong arms. He loved feeling Wolf’s bare, muscular arms wrapped around him.
“Zymtalium, zaterio.”
Jaycee lifted his head. “What does that mean?�
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Wolf ran his hand over Jaycee’s hair and then laid a kiss on his forehead. “I would die one thousand deaths if I ever lost you, mate.”
“Zymtalium, Wolf,” Jaycee replied, seeing the pride and love shine in Wolf’s eyes as he repeated the one word.
“Zymlye,” Wolf said as he pulled Jaycee close. “I love you.”
Jaycee swallowed hard, resting his hand on Wolf’s chest, feeling his mate’s heart beating slowly.
“Z–Zymlye, Wolf.”
Wolf didn’t say a word. He just cuddled with Jaycee until he heard the soft snores rumbling in his mate’s chest. Jaycee sighed as he closed his eyes, thankful that Wolf had come after him and brought him home.
Renato followed Trigg down to the green room, glancing around every corner and under every planter box, searching for the human who was one of their destined mates. Renato was just as anxious as the other winged beasts to find out exactly whose mate the human was, and dreading the news at the same time.
If Morbius was telling the truth, then the human was lying somewhere, dying from the lethal bite of the hell hound. Renato’s stomach was in knots, praying it wasn’t his mate. He didn’t want that fate placed on any of their heads, but one of the winged beasts was going to go mad when they found this man.
“Anything?” Trigg asked.
Renato shook his head as he brushed aside large leaves on a plant that had grown so large that it was climbing up the wall and he glanced behind it. “I haven’t found a clue,” he said as he released the plant. It was driving him crazy not knowing who the human belonged to. Every unmated beast was searching in frenzy.
Everyone wanted to know.
Everyone was dreading knowing.
And everyone was preparing to deal with the beast who found out that it was his mate who was either dying or dead. It was a solemn and sobering search, but the human had to be found.
“I found something,” Trigg said from the other side of the room. He stood there with his hands on his hips, looking down at the floor, his face grim. Renato wasn’t sure what Trigg was staring at, but from the frown on Trigg’s face, he wasn’t going to like it.