Real Love

by Sophie Martin

  “That’s enough,” Lucas interrupted the kiss. “I think I’m ready.”

  “Are you sure?” Jack needed to check.

  “Yeah, yes, I’m sure.”

  “Okay.” Jack withdrew his fingers and reached for the lube.

  “Shit!” Lucas’s exclamation startled Jack.

  “What?”

  “We don’t have condoms.”

  “Oh, uh.” Jack paused mid-way through applying lube to his dick. His mind was momentarily blank. “Um.” He shook his head to clear it. “I was tested after…you know. I’m clean. I know it’s asking a lot for you to trust me, but…”

  “It’s not,” Lucas interrupted him. “I do trust you. I trust you with my and my children’s lives. Why would you think this would be any different?” He paused then said, “I haven’t been tested, but I’ve only ever been with Ariana since we split up. There was nobody else during our marriage nor after she died. And if there’s one thing I’m certain of when it comes to my late wife, it’s that she never cheated on me. We should be safe. I know you should never assume when it comes to these things…” It was Jack’s turn to interrupt.

  “I believe you. If you’re willing to do it, I’m glad to.”

  “Yeah?” Lucas looked hopeful.

  “Yes.”

  “Okay,” Luc grinned, “bareback it is.”

  “Oh, thank gods.” Jack breathed with relief. He was so wound up it felt like he wouldn’t be able to stop now. He was glad he didn’t have to test his willpower. Lucas only chuckled, but Jack could tell by the look in the man’s eyes that he was just as impatient to continue.

  Jack hastily coated his dick thoroughly in lube, before lining it up to Luc’s opening. Their eyes locked and Lucas smiled.

  “Do it,” he said. “I want to feel you.”

  Without further ado Jack obeyed. Holding his dick by the base, he pushed slowly but steadily. He heard Lucas release a long breath as he worked to relax his muscles, but he couldn’t look away from what he was doing. He watched Lucas’s hole loosen up and stretch until finally the head of Jack’s dick sunk in. He didn’t pause but rather pressed on until he bottomed out. Only then did he look up. Lucas was watching him with his typical focus. It filled Jack’s heart with sudden joy, and he leaned in for a kiss. Only once their lips were locked did he start to thrust. Lucas moaned into the kiss, and Jack knew he had the right angle.

  It didn’t take long for Jack to near his peak. He slowed his thrusts, wanting to extend the pleasure. Lucas had other ideas. His arms came around Lucas’s neck, legs wrapping around his waist, and pulling him as close as physically possible. Jack couldn’t deny his man’s unspoken request. He quickened his thrusts, his slick dick sliding effortlessly in and out of Luc’s tight channel. Every few thrusts he would hit the man’s prostate as witnessed by Lucas’s loud moans into their never-ending kiss.

  “Gods, Luc, I’m close.”

  “Fuck yeah, fill me up with your cum.” Lucas panted into his ear. “I want to feel your hot jizz flooding me until it leaks out of my ass.” The dirty talk threw Jack over the edge, pulling the orgasm out of him with force. To his utter embarrassment, a low whine escaped his throat as his dick pulsed jets of hot semen deep inside Lucas. He had just enough presence of mind to reach between them and take hold of Lucas’s cock. It didn’t take more than five pumps until Luc too was coming. A whole-body shudder overtook the man as they clung to each other in aftershocks.

  They fell silent and still for the longest time. Finally, Jack stirred. Pulling his softening dick from Lucas’s hole, he grimaced. They’d made quite an impressive mess. Jack looked around for something to clean them with.

  “Mmm,” Lucas mumbled, opening one eye, “use this.” He reached over the far side of the bed and picked a towel off the floor. Jack raised an eyebrow but took the offered item. Noticing his look, Lucas snorted. “I’m messy, sue me.” Jack grinned. Some things never changed. Lucas used to discard his towels after shower when they were together, too. All the mess wiped off, Jack threw the towel back to the floor, then collapsed against his lover. Lucas pulled him closer, until Jack was cuddled against his chest, then released a long sigh. Unanimously they cuddled in silence. Jack’s thoughts tried intruding on this peaceful moment, but he kept chasing them away until they finally gave up, slowed down, and before he knew it, he dozed off, comfortable in his lover’s embrace.

  Chapter Eleven

  “So,” Toby said as he sat at the table where Jack was drinking his coffee and reading the news on his phone, “how’s things between you and Lucas?” Jack looked up at the alpha’s mate, then put his phone away with a sigh. There was no way to avoid Toby’s interrogation. He would pretend to relent, then catch you unawares until you spilled the beans. It was easier to just give in.

  “We’re okay,” he said, running a hand through his hair.

  “It’s been a few months since the aunty-witch episode. Are you thinking of asking him to mate with you?” Toby wasn’t one to pull any punches. Jack gave his answer some thought.

  “I did consider it,” he finally said. “But I’m not sure if it’s not too early. I mean, he has just learned about the paranormal. Dropping the mate bomb would be a bit much, don’t you think?”

  “But doesn’t he already know about mates? Didn’t you explain about me, Ty, and Jay-Jay?”

  “Um, yes, and I explained the commitment behind it etcetera. But I told him about it in general terms, without disclosing cuberows’ particularities.”

  “Details about cuberows…?” Toby frowned in thought. “Oh. You mean…the human thing?” His eyes widened.

  “Yeah,” Jack sighed in answer. “The human thing.” He had thought about explaining it to Lucas, but it seemed like quite a big revelation. Jack felt secure in their relationship. Ever since the auntie-witch episode, as they took to calling it, he and Lucas spent a lot of time together, both on their own and as a family, taking kids on daytrips and such. The kids took well to him too. There was no tension and they acted naturally around him. Lucas was also giving him all the right signs that he was ready for the next step. If he were any other type of paranormal, Jack would have asked Luc to mate with him already. But he was a cuberow and that stopped him.

  While all the stories about vampirism or lycanthropy spreading through a bite were just that, stories, there was one group of paranormal beings who could change a human. Cuberows were unique within the paranormal community. If they mated with a human, this person would then change into an Abyssinian wolf themselves. As Lucas had only learned about the existence of paranormal few short months ago, Jack was reluctant to bring it up with him.

  “Don’t you think you should just tell him everything and let him decide?” Toby didn’t sound judgemental, only honestly curious. Jack grimaced.

  “I know. I know I should, but I just… Every time I’m about to bring up the subject it’s like I freeze. This is the last obstacle to our relationship, and I have this irrational fear that it’ll blow up in my face.” He took a deep breath, trying to calm down as he could tell he was working himself up for nothing. “I mean, logically, I know once I tell him, there’s no rush. He can decide to do it and I’ll be ecstatic. He can decide not to do it and we can still be together, just without a biological bond. Or he can decide that he wants more time to make his mind and then we carry on as normal. I know it all logically, but some irrational little part of me is terrified that this will be the straw that broke the camel’s back. That this last little bit of information will convince him that I’m too weird, that I’m not worth the trouble.” Jack grimaced, all his anxiety coming back as he voiced his fears.

  “Oh, Jack.” Toby leaned forward and squeezed Jack’s hand reassuringly. “You are so worth any trouble that might come with you. You’re the kindest, most considerate person I know. You’re the cornerstone of our pack and we all value you tremendously.” Toby smiled at him earnestly as he spoke. “Lucas is a very smart man. I’m sure he realises what a treasure you are.�
� The young man paused again. He patted Jack’s hand as he sat back in his chair. “I’m certain that I could tell you that hundreds of times, though, and it wouldn’t change anything. You’re seeing Lucas today, aren’t you?”

  “Yeah, he’s taking the kids to his parents for the weekend, then we have a date.” Jack couldn’t help but blush. All their dates ended in incredibly hot sex. He looked forward to it.

  “Well, why don’t you tell him today then? Don’t make a big deal out of it. It’s not some dark secret. It’s simply another thing connected to your paranormal identity. Just tell him about it. You don’t even have to mention the two of you mating. Just tell him what happens when an Ethiopian wolf-shifter mates with a human. Let him take it in before you ask him to mate with you. This way he has time to digest this piece of information and consider it, without the pressure of possibly disappointing you.” Jack listened closely. Of all the pack members Toby was maybe the smartest. Not in a well-learned, has a ton of knowledge kind of way, but life smart. He always gave good advice, and his input was valued by all the pack members.

  “I…” Jack was stumped. He didn’t know why he hadn’t thought about it before. “I never thought of doing it this way.” He shook his head at the simplicity of the idea. In his head the mating talk and the changing into a wolf talk were always inextricably connected. But they didn’t have to be, did they? Lucas liked to learn new little bits about paranormal world. They often discussed these things on their dates or family outings. There was no reason why he couldn’t bring it up as one of those curious worth-knowing things. He could start with a conversation about how films had it wrong and normally shifters couldn’t change anyone and then… His mind set to plotting, Jack barely noticed when Toby left him in the kitchen on his own.

  * * * *

  Dominic huffed as he fell on the sofa in his cousin’s flat. Tim was shut in the spare room working on an order, and Joel was browsing the net or maybe researching a case. Dom didn’t much care. Joel lifted his eyebrows as he put aside his laptop and smirked at Dom.

  “Are they at it again?” his cousin asked, and Dominic’s wolf gave an annoyed growl. He didn’t like the situation any more than human Dominic did.

  The first meeting with his estranged grandparents went as well as could be expected. The couple didn’t look older than their late forties, and it felt incredibly weird to Dominic when his father called them mom and dad. Louisa was a generously built brunette with a friendly attitude and eyes that missed nothing. Her mate was of slight built, but he had a dangerous edge to him that subtly told people not to mess with him. His salt-and-pepper hair was cut short, and his pale blue eyes seemed cold until he looked at his son. It was clear that Dominic’s grandparents loved and missed his dad. It was all obvious in the watery smiles and long hugs. There was some awkwardness when they were first introduced and Dominic’s wolf went on full alert, but his grandmother did something, Dom still had no idea what, and his animal settled, still watchful but no longer alarmed.

  The ice was broken, like Dominic knew it would be, by Jimmy being his usual self. His grandparents were immediately charmed and very congratulatory. His grandfather later explained that being a fey’s mate was considered a great honour back in the old days. There weren’t many such matings after fey wars, but the lore was still there. All in all, the situation seemed fine, and Dominic worked hard on building a relationship with his grandparents. Unfortunately, some parts of that relationship were entirely too annoying.

  Somehow his grandmother and mate became best friends. They were inseparable. If they weren’t fussing over the kittens or sharing kitten pictures and stories, they were chatting about something or other. Dominic was happy for them, he really was. Jimmy deserved to have friends, and Dom had nothing against his grandmother. But his inner wolf rebelled at having another alpha take his mate’s time. The wolf didn’t mind his grandmother. Dominic supposed their inner beasts had an understanding, but it wasn’t happy with their mate’s time being monopolized in such a way. It wasn’t angry—the damned thing was pouting. Dominic could also catch himself reflecting that inner pout, hence his escape to his cousin’s apartment.

  “I guess that’s a yes,” Joel said, turning to face Dominic. “And how are you doing, cuz? The lessons with your grandparents going okay?”

  Dominic shrugged. Almost as soon as they arrived, his grandparents jumped right into teaching Dom the way of the wolf. His grandfather taught him meditation and history of their people. Meditation was to achieve peace with his inner wolf. Although his grandparents never called it that. For them, the wolf was not a separate entity, just a different set of instincts. They were quite surprised when they learned that Dominic felt the beast as a separate being inside him. Fortunately, they just rolled with it. As doubtful as he’d been about meditating, it did seem to help calm the wolf’s impatience.

  His grandmother’s lessons were more difficult. She tried to cover the alpha abilities in them. He knew about forcing other shifters to submit, and change. But all the others were foreign to him. Bonding to the territory and pack, sensing the pack’s needs, it all sounded exceedingly difficult. He was slightly more excited about his grandmother teaching him about a partial shift. He’d achieved that before, but it was in times of danger or distress. Her teachings were meant to enable him to do it on purpose. The running theory of his grandparents was that the more he exercised partial shift, the further he’d be able to push it until something finally snapped into place and he’d shift fully into wolf. Dominic really hoped that was going to be the case.

  Now his biggest challenge in partially shifting was the strange feeling he got of his inner wolf and his human self somehow melding into one. Neither the human nor the wolf parts were happy about it. Human Dominic feared the beast getting out of control and hurting someone. The wolf was generally disgusted with the humanness of his other half. While Dominic didn’t tell his grandmother that was what was stopping him from accomplishing partial change, he did make the decision to talk to his grandfather about it. While Louisa was very intense and, though Dom would never admit it aloud, intimidating, her husband was much more laid back. Dom was starting to feel a connection to the old man. He was easy to talk to, and one almost wanted to share one’s burden with him. Somewhere in the back of his brain Dominic thought that it was almost like with Toby. The alpha’s mate was easy to talk to and competent. While Dom would hesitate about telling Jason of his problems, he could easily imagine himself confessing them to Toby. He made a mental note to ask his granddad about it as well. Was it an alpha mate thing or just an individual personality thing?

  “They’re fine, I suppose. I’m learning quite a lot about different kind of alpha powers and some of wolf society rules and traditions,” he said, his voice lacking any enthusiasm. His cousin gave him a knowing look.

  “And your wolfing out lessons?” Dominic snorted at that but didn’t comment. Joel seemed to understand anyway, and he looked concerned. “Dom, if it’s not working, maybe we should ask Jason to, you know, do his thing?” Dominic rolled his eyes at his cousin’s wording.

  “You know perfectly well that Jason is not supposed to, ‘you know, do his thing’ if he can avoid it.” Dominic inserted sarcastic finger quotes around his cousin’s description of their alpha’s powers. “And this is definitely not something that we need to involve him in. This is up to me.” He sighed and decided to confide in his best friend. “I’ve been…well, maybe not slacking off, but I haven’t given it my best. When I’m having my, as you so poetically put it, wolfing out lessons, there’s this odd sensation. It’s weirding me out, and I might have been hesitating to go through with it because of that. I know!” He lifted his hands in a surrender gesture at Joel’s querulous look. “I know how important these lessons are. And don’t worry, I already decided to discuss it with Leon. I’m hoping he’ll be able to help me get over it.” Joel sighed and shook his head.

  “Far be it from me to tell you what to do. You’re an adult, and it
is your problem to solve. You’re the one in most danger here, so I know you’ll do whatever needs to be done.” His cousin smiled and changed the subject. “So, when are you taking your grandparents to meet Jason? Didn’t you say a courtesy call whenever visiting another’s territory is a thing?”

  “Yeah,” Dominic grimaced, “that was one of the first lessons in paranormal manners my grandfather gave me. Visit the ruling alpha to say hello, whenever you stay any length of time in their territory. Jason was busy this past week, but we have a dinner planned this Saturday in that Italian place in town. Grandparents are really looking forward to it. Louisa said she’s never met such a strong alpha. Apparently, I’m strong enough that I could have claimed my own territory if I wanted, so she’s impressed that I’m deferring to someone. She’s very curious about Ty and Toby as well. Apparently, ménage a trois matings aren’t unheard of, but they are rare. Rarer still for alphas for some reason. And obviously Jimmy’s been talking about his friends, so she’s even more curious to meet them in person.” Joel made a humming sound, and his eyes got a distant look as if he were thinking of something.

  “She wants to meet Ty in a restaurant in town…” he said. They shared a horrified look.

  “Oh my god.” Dominic face-palmed, squeezing his eyes shut. Joel spoke in an uneasy voice.

  “I’m sure he’ll be on his best behaviour among humans.” They looked each other in the eye and said at the same time, “No, he won’t!” Dominic took a deep breath and repeated.

  “No, he won’t, but Toby will be there to keep him in check.”

  “Yeah,” Joel agreed, but neither of them was reassured. The annoying tiger thrived on causing trouble. No wonder he and Dom’s sweet mate were best friends. As cute and lovely as his mate was, Jimmy was a magnet for trouble. “So, anyway, I’m working on this scammer case right now and was wondering if you could take a look, because I think I’m stuck.” His cousin changed the subject to something mundane, and Dom gratefully jumped tight in.