by Fel Fern
Ryder buried his face into the side of Aiden’s neck, his unmarred side. He licked at the pulse point there, felt Aiden shudder as he unsheathed the sharpened part of his teeth and bit, just a little. He drew back and looked into Aiden’s face.
His kitty looked him right in the eyes without fear.
“You’re born to be mine.” Ryder didn’t bother with words. He willed his claws to return to normal human fingers, and then he cupped Aiden’s cheek. Aiden beat him to the punch and kissed him. Ryder returned the kiss, roughly, not holding back.
Sweetness exploded on his tongue. Aiden parted his mouth. Ryder thrust his tongue down his throat. With his other hand, he undid Aiden’s pants and freed his prick. He ran his big, calloused fingers over Aiden’s lengthening shaft.
When he pulled away from Aiden’s lips, he said, “I wanted to wait for you to recover. I know the past few days haven’t been easy for you. Price uprooted your entire life, and you’re just coming to terms with being a shifter.”
“Maybe you’re my cure,” Aiden whispered. “Part of me is starting to think maybe everything happened for a reason. Price Changed me so you could save me. I’m yours.”
“You have no idea what you’re saying,” he whispered.
Aiden shouldn’t be giving him false hope. Ryder hated expectations. People who made promises they couldn’t keep. His family, the very people who he thought would have his back, had betrayed him. Left him alone.
Ryder thought he’d consigned himself to his fate, to his lonely existence on Ashfall Mountain. Then Aiden came along and all those plans went to shit. Ryder started wishing for something better. For a chance with his mate. To experience the same happiness Dom, Kris, and Alec had found.
“I think I do. Right now, I sense you’re holding back because you think you might hurt me.”
“I can never keep nice things because I have a tendency to destroy them,” Ryder murmured.
“I won’t wreck easily. I promise. Stop tiptoeing around me.”
Ryder reached for the hem of Aiden’s shirt. Aiden raised his arms so Ryder could peel it off. Aiden’s pants and boxers went next.
“We shouldn’t have bothered dressing up in the first place,” Ryder drawled.
Ryder took a step back, admired every inch of his mate. The scars Price had left behind still bothered Aiden. Ryder could tell, because Aiden spent an extraordinary amount of time in the bathroom every morning. Once, Aiden forgot to close the door and Ryder saw him grimacing at the mirror as he touched the rake mark on his neck. Aiden still didn’t believe how perfect he was.
Aiden began to put his hands over his chest but halted at Ryder’s warning growl.
“Don’t cover yourself. You’re fine the way you are.” Ryder took off his pants, and Aiden dropped his arms, looked right at his thickening prick. He grinned. “You like what you see, kitty cat?”
“Oh yeah.” Aiden licked his lips. “I mean, I’ve looked a few times, but seeing it again is always impressive.”
“You took a peek? Bad kitty.” Ryder widened his smile. Aiden blushed, turning red at the ears. Aiden might have a backbone of steel, but he got embarrassed so easily. His mate was darn cute.
Mate. That was right. They weren’t leaving this forest until Ryder had filled Aiden’s ass with his cum and put his mating mark on Aiden’s neck. That way, Price and his panthers wouldn’t mistake Aiden for prey again. If they messed with Aiden, they had to face him, and Ryder had no mercy left for those bastards.
Chapter 9
Aiden’s heart beat like the wings of a hummingbird. This was really happening. All those nights of sleeping alone in Ryder’s bed and having fantasies of Ryder slipping into bed with him and deciding to do whatever he wanted with Aiden disappeared. Aiden’s fears about Ryder losing interest in him hadn’t been unfounded after all.
Ryder closed the distance between them. The touch of skin against skin was too amazing for words. Ryder’s chest was like a solid rock wall. Ryder pinned his arms above his head and took his mouth again.
Ryder’s prick curled up against his belly. It was thick, long and hard. He could already imagine Ryder slipping it right inside his ass. Would Ryder take him on all fours, like a beast? His face got red as the erotic image lingered in his head. Got stuck there.
“You should only be thinking about me,” Ryder growled out after the kiss.
“I am,” he whispered. Aiden took a deep breath and told Ryder about the filthy thoughts in his head.
The devil was in Ryder’s smile. The dominant werewolf left hot kisses down his neck, alternated them with his bites. Ryder’s hands felt rough and warm as he dragged them down the length of his body.
Aiden’s skin burned fever hot. He burned for his wolf. Aiden wanted this more than anything. Ever since Ryder blew him in these very woods but didn’t fuck him, he kept hoping for a second time. Good thing he no longer had to wait.
Ryder planted one more kiss over his left pectoral, where his heart beat fanatically for his sexy cowboy.
Ryder closed his fingers over Aiden’s dick and began to work him, slow motions. Fast ones. Aiden’s breath hitched. All that time, Ryder watched him like a wolf. A shudder swept through his entire body. It didn’t take long for the pressure building inside him to burst. Aiden came, spilling his jizz all over Ryder’s waiting fingers.
Aiden slumped against the tree for balance.
“That was amazing,” he whispered.
“That? I haven’t even fucked you yet. Come here.”
The command in Ryder’s voice sent a shiver of anticipation down his spine. He went to Ryder, who still had that grin on his lips. Ryder tugged him close and whispered in his ear, “All fours, kitty. Ass in the air. I want to fuck you deep and hard, just like you want.”
Aiden got on his hands and knees. He pressed his chest and shoulders to the fallen leaves on the ground. Ryder picked up something from the back pocket of his jeans. Lube. What an embarrassing position, and yet Aiden was more turned on than ever. Even if he just came earlier, his cock woke up again. One of the benefits of being a shifter, he supposed.
“Were you always carrying that around?” he asked.
A stab of jealousy swept through him. A guy like Ryder would have plenty of ex-lovers. Wait. Why was he thinking about this now? Aiden always let his insecurities get to him. He wants us, said the smug new voice in his head. Only us. It was the other who spoke. His panther. Aiden was slowly coming to terms with the beast, was on a path to acceptance.
It was Ryder who had taught him, assured him he wasn’t like Price or his crazy panthers even if Price was the one who bit him.
“In case of emergencies. For times like these,” Ryder answered.
“Do you—” Aiden faltered, but he had to say it. God, he’d sound like some jealous lover, and it wasn’t like Ryder was his boyfriend or anything like that. Yet. The human in him might be unsure, but the panther in him wasn’t. The big cat was confident it was only Ryder for them. Their wolf wasn’t going to look at anyone else.
“Do I what?” Ryder uncapped the lube, applied plenty on his fingers, then moved behind him. Aiden felt Ryder’s foot parting his thighs and it occurred to Aiden that like this, Ryder could see all of him. Balls, cock, and pink ass hole. He bet his face and neck were redder than ever.
He made his brain work. “Have lube all the time just in case.”
“Is that jealousy I hear in your voice, kitty?”
Aiden cringed and was glad Ryder couldn’t see his expression. It turned out he had nothing to worry about, because Ryder slapped his ass, making him jump.
“That’s so fucking sexy, but you don’t need to worry. There was never anyone serious before, until you. You understand, kitty? There’s no one else but you for me.”
“Why is that?” he asked.
“Because you’re my mate. Haven’t you figured that out already?”
He couldn’t remember what he wanted to say next, because Ryder slid one wet finger inside his hole and a
dded another. Aiden moaned as Ryder began to make twisting motions. His wolf widened him for access while his dick continued to get hard.
“Fuck me already.” The crass words out of his mouth shocked him a little, but what did it matter? With Ryder, all his inhibitions seemed to fly out the window. Shame no longer mattered, not when Ryder made him feel so good.
Ryder finally replaced his digits with his cock. His wolf gripped his ass cheeks. Ryder didn’t push in immediately. He left smears of pre-cum over the globes of Aiden’s ass, his crack. Ryder was marking him the way a wolf claimed territory, he realized, heart racing.
Was it wrong he found that dirty and erotic?
He parted his legs wider, at an obscene angle now. Hearing Ryder’s rumble of what sounded like approval made him feel good. He gasped as Ryder finally penetrated him. Ryder went slow, eased his dick inside Aiden’s ass. He breathed hard, heard Ryder grit his teeth behind him.
“That’s it, baby, take all of me. I know you can. Your ass feels amazing,” Ryder said.
Ryder was making sure he wasn’t hurting him. Sweet wolf. Aiden thought a dominant shifter like Ryder would go for what he wanted, but Ryder cared about him deeply. Ryder was even willing to wait for him until Aiden was ready. His wolf finally sheathed his fat cock in him fully. Ryder rested his balls against the curve of his ass.
“You’re so—wow,” Aiden uttered. It felt like Ryder’s dick filled him completely.
“You hurt?”
“It burns a little,” he admitted. “I never had anything so big inside me before.”
“I’ll make you fly in a second.” Ryder delivered on his promise. His wolf began pound in and out of him, slow strokes at first, before picking up speed. Aiden gasped, clawed at the ground. Soil clung to his fingers as Ryder dug his fingers into Aiden’s ass and rutted him without mercy.
Ecstasy replaced the initial pain as Ryder rode him faster, deeper. He panted. Sweat beaded Aiden’s body. His dick felt full, his balls ready to burst any moment. He thrust his hips at Ryder, met him for every push. Ryder plowed him, reached his most intimate places.
His inner panther purred in pleasure inside of him. With every stroke, it seemed his soul, his cat could move away from his body and touch Ryder’s own soul, his heart. Never before had Aiden felt so intimately and profoundly connected to another man. Except Ryder wasn’t just any normal man.
Mate, his panther whispered.
Aiden didn’t understand how that word could mean so much. His entire body was like a furnace. Ryder ramming in and out of him was too amazing for words. He panted, groaned, arched his back when Ryder hit that special place in him. He gasped, dug his fingers into the dirt. Ryder made sure he hit Aiden’s prostate over and over again.
The dam inside him threatened to burst. His balls tightened against his body. The trees fell away from his line of his sight. Ryder’s next plunge shattered him. He cried out, spilling his seed into the forest ground. His vision hazed over as his mind flew.
Ryder pumped him a few more times, before emptying his warmth inside his ass. Aiden slid on the ground, body feeling completely limp, satiated. He sighed in contentment as Ryder joined him, curled against him. Their bodies felt like a natural fit.
He slid closer to his mate, until his back and ass hit Ryder’s chest. Ryder pulled him into a protective embrace, held on to Aiden so tightly, as if Ryder was somehow scared Aiden would disappear. Well, it wasn’t like Aiden had plans involving leaving.
“See? Never hold back,” he said, when he finally found his voice.
Ryder chuckled behind him. Aiden could feel Ryder’s warm breath on the side of his neck, then Ryder’s teeth.
“Do it,” he whispered, unsure where he was getting this courage from.
Ryder pulled back. “I can’t. You don’t understand.”
“Don’t treat me like I don’t know anything about shifter culture. I’ve been talking to Sam and Teddy.” Aiden turned on his side so he now looked Ryder eye-to-eye. Seeing Ryder’s golden eyes kick-started his heart. It wasn’t just Ryder he was talking to, but also the monster wolf that shared Ryder’s skin.
Aiden realized he accepted them. Both of them. He wanted them, craved a future with them. Crazy talk if he were human, but Aiden was a shifter now. He understood. Newly Turned shifters didn’t have a high chance of survival. Most went crazy, taken over by the beasts that lived inside of them. Aiden had survived, and tried to understand the panther thanks to Ryder’s help.
Ryder’s presence steadied him. Them.
“Then know I won’t warn you again. I want this, too, Aiden. More than you know,” Ryder said. “But do you understand what I am? My pack mates and I are here for a reason. The world thinks there’s no hope for shifters like us.”
Aiden touched Ryder’s cheek, saddened by those words. “I don’t believe that. Screw what other people say. Look at Teddy and Dom. At the other mated couples. They work. The Wild Manes Pack is only getting stronger. We’ll be like that.”
“You’ll never leave me.” Ryder phrased that as a statement. Not a question.
To another person, Ryder might’ve come off as dominating, controlling, but Aiden understood Ryder exposed the vulnerable part of himself to Aiden. No one else. He knew where all this was coming from. Ryder’s family had abandoned him when they should’ve supported and helped him adjust to his new life as a shifter. Aiden had been fortunate he didn’t have to go through this process alone.
“Never,” he said.
When Price had stolen his humanity away, Aiden realized he didn’t really have a lot going for him. Just his job at the bar. Tom looked out for him, sure, but sooner or later, Aiden had to be a real adult. To deal with his own problems. He worked day in and day out, trying his best not to think about his nonexistent future. If he’d never met Ryder at the bar that night, Price would have stolen him either way. Changed him. Except even as a panther shifter, he’d be at the mercy of Price and his cats.
“I’m sure,” he said.
Ryder sat up, flashed Aiden his most brilliant smile yet. Genuine. Ryder held out a hand to him. An open invitation. Aiden sat up and slid into Ryder’s lap, his heart racing. Zero doubts lingered in his head. He wanted to be Ryder’s mate. He was born to become his. New Aiden wasn’t uncertain of his future. He knew what he wanted and went for it without question.
Chapter 10
Ryder slid one arm around Aiden’s ass, made sure his mate wouldn’t fall off. His own heart beat steady and confident in his chest. His wolf no longer felt angry or pushy. Both the man and the beast in him had waited for this one moment their entire lives. Aiden looked at him, eyes full of trust. Trust that Ryder would never betray.
Aiden was a gift. His. Ryder would keep him safe, would cherish him for the rest of their lives.
He unsheathed his fangs. Aiden tilted his head to one side, exposing his neck. He leaned in close and bit down. Hard. Ryder drove his fangs deep until he finally hit bone. Aiden cried out in pain, gripping his biceps. Good kitty.
Ryder pulled away. He could sense it, the mate bond forming between them.
“Is that it?” Aiden asked, sounding relieved. “Not as painful as I imagined.”
“Not yet. Your turn.”
“I have to bite you. Where?” Aiden asked, looking worried. “I don’t want to screw this up, so tell me what to do, Ryder. Please.”
“Relax. It’s easy. Pick a spot. Anywhere. Bite down. Your panther will do the rest,” Ryder said in his most reassuring voice.
“Okay,” Aiden whispered. His kitty thought about it for a few moments, before he leaned in close and left his mark right on his left shoulder. The bond snapped between them. It felt like a rush, like adrenaline surging through his entire body.
“I’m yours?” Aiden asked him.
“Mine,” Ryder agreed, stroking Aiden’s spine.
He knew his pack mates would have a thing or two to say about this, but what did it matter? Ryder had found his mate, and for a while, he’d thought
a broken shifter like him wasn’t meant to have someone as special as Aiden.
They didn’t speak for a few moments, which was fine with Ryder. He didn’t mind basking a little longer in these quiet moments. Sooner or later, he needed to confront his pack mates. To deal with Price once and for all, because the new Black Claws Alpha couldn’t be planning anything good. Since rescuing Aiden, Ryder had managed to persuade Max to check on the town. Once they returned, he’d ask the silent shifter about his findings.
“Your neck’s still bleeding, but it will stop soon,” Ryder remarked, brushing a finger over the mark on Aiden’s neck.
“Will it always stay there? Your mark, I mean,” Aiden asked him.
“It will. Does that bother you?” He had to ask. A mating mark was something to be proud of, to show off, but Aiden already bore a monster’s bite on the other side of his neck. Aiden didn’t associate any good feelings with it.
“I don’t mind that,” Aiden said, surprising him. “I still want to cover Price’s bite and rake mark with ink but not your mark.”
Pride filled him at those words. “Even if you’re afraid of needles?” he teased, unable to help himself.
“Yeah,” Aiden said. “I’ll be okay, as long as you’re right there.”
“Of course. I’m your mate. You can’t get rid of me easily anymore.” Ryder patted Aiden’s left thigh. “Let’s go wash up. There’s a river nearby. Then we’ll head back to camp.”
“It’s been a long day,” Aiden said. “I could use a nap.”
Ryder nodded. Aiden wasn’t used to changing forms yet. It took plenty of energy. His mate needed food in his belly and some downtime. Aiden got off his lap. They gathered their clothes and walked to the river instead of running in animal form.
It wasn’t far, only a ten-minute walk, but he noticed Aiden was panting. Maybe today’s wanderings in the woods had tired his mate out more than he thought.
“I can hear the water,” Aiden told him, sounding excited. His man dropped his bundle of clothes and ran right into the water.