Troy almost fell over as Little Shit stuffed his face in his crotch. “Whoa there, buddy.” Troy chuckled, squatting to look in the wolf’s eyes. Beautiful green emeralds looked back at him; Jesus Christ, the wolf was beautiful. He’d never seen anything like it. “Wow, you are beautiful, aren’t you? Bet you get all the hot chicks.”
“Wow, I think Little Shit likes you, Troy.” Xander leaned against the front porch, smiling at his brother; Sawyer had finally found his mate.
Troy picked up the wolf’s face, looking into its eyes. “Yeah, I like him too.” Little Shit whined softly and Troy rubbed his muzzle. “Hey buddy, what’s wrong?” Troy patted his head, rubbing the spot behind the ear that Little Shit liked so much.
“Little Shit needs to get back, its dinner time.” John raised a brow at his son. “Go on boy, we’ll leave you some scraps.”
“Little Shit, Little Shit!” Wyatt giggled and clapped his hands.
“Jesus.” Joe sighed and rolled his eyes. “Let’s get inside for dinner guys, go wash up before Nadine scrubs you down.”
~~
Sawyer was absent from dinner and John looked at Sam, who promptly shrugged his shoulders. Dinner talk revolved around Sam and Dakota’s engagement. Nadine put another platter of ham slices down and looked at the clock.
“Where’s Sawyer, it’s not like him to miss a meal.” Nadine sat down and handed the plate to Troy, smacking Xander’s hand away from it.
“Oh, he just met his boyfriend today, so he’s probably nervous about seeing him again.” John looked at her with a wink. Nadine stood there stunned, a look of confusion on her face, until John cocked his head in Troy’s direction.
“Oh my God!” Nadine almost screamed. She covered her mouth with her napkin, trying to hide her elation that Sawyer had finally found his mate.
Troy’s forehead wrinkled. “Okay, that doesn’t make sense; he just met his boyfriend today? How is he a boyfriend if they just met today? Did shit change on the reservation that much while I was gone? Arranged marriages and boyfriends?”
“Yes, Troy. We arrange marriages now. That’s why I went and plucked Dakota from Alaska, he was betrothed to me.” Sam sat back and laughed. “Ow!” Sam looked at Dakota. “What was that for?”
“Wait, Sawyer? You mean little ‘what’s this do?’ Troy smiled and took a sip of his beer. “I haven’t met him, have I?”
“Nope, but you will.” Sam smiled wide and looked at the time. “It’s bonfire and beer time, who’s up for it?”
~Chapter three~
Sawyer threw another log on the fire and sat down stoking it; he took a sip of his beer and closed his eyes. Thank God he’d gone hunting before he came back. He knew he wouldn’t have been able to sit at the table with his mate and control his lupine side. Why did his mate have to be human? Sawyer couldn’t complain, after all, he’d finally gotten what he had been praying for. Sawyer’s body had gone completely haywire in Troy’s presence, and Sawyer knew then that Troy was his mate. He knew it just as the sun would be up in the morning and the sky was blue.
Sawyer knew the exact moment Troy stepped out of the house. His scent carried on the wind and Sawyer’s eyes shifted and his teeth elongated. All the blood rushed south to Sawyer’s cock as the tantalizing scent of his mate drew closer. He closed his eyes, trying to control the claws in his fingers from emerging more. His back broke out in a fine sheen of sweat as the wind carried Troy’s scent even closer now. “Shit.”
“Sawyer?” Troy walked over to the bonfire.
“Yeah?” Aw hell. Even his voice was fucking sexy. Sawyer turned slowly, waiting for his teeth to recede before facing Troy full on, and…Oh. Fuck. Me. Jesus Christ, could the God’s have made a more perfect human being? It took everything Sawyer had to control his fucking libido as Troy made his way closer. Oh God, his eyes were beautiful. In the light of the fire, they blazed hazel.
“Little ‘what’s this do’ grew up.” Troy smiled.
“Yeah, I did.” Sawyer noticed the quirk in Troy’s lip; Troy was checking him out, slowly. Sawyer was almost shaking, where the hell was everyone? Troy made his way closer into the light of the fire and Sawyer almost groaned. His dick was rock hard just looking at his mate, never mind the damn scent rolling off of him in waves, tickling Sawyer’s nose and sending a delicious tingle down to his cock. The feeling was spreading through him and Sawyer backed off a bit, hoping the wind would carry his scent a little further away from him. Damn wind.
“Should you be drinking?” Troy cocked an eyebrow.
“Well, I don’t plan on driving heavy machinery any time soon.” Sawyer crossed his arms over his chest and fixed Troy with a look.
“I meant, are you of age to be drinking?” Troy looked at Sawyer’s body in the light of the fire. Damn, his dick was rising to the fucking occasion at an alarming rate.
“I’m twenty four.” Sawyer tried to hide his look of shock, Troy thought he was underage? Well hell, this was going to be so much fun.
“Oh.” Troy looked closer; he couldn’t see much but the outline of Sawyer’s face. It was as if he was purposely hiding from him. “You just have a young look about you.”
“Well, you wouldn’t know much about me or my brother’s, seeing how you left before we even got to meet you.” Sawyer felt his body relaxing. Ah, so anger was good. It was keeping his lupine side from emerging. “I’m surprised you knew who Xander was.”
“I’ve gotten pictures over the years.” Troy heard his sarcastic drawl and kicked himself. He was not making a very good first impression on Sawyer. In fact, he was coming off as an asshole. “Look, I’m sorry—”
“Don’t apologize.” Sawyer waved his hand in the air. “I’m young and need to be in bed.” Sawyer threw his beer bottle in the recycling bin by the fire and stalked past Troy. He felt a hand on his arm and looked up into one hell of a beautiful face.
“I didn’t mean to piss you off, it’s just that…” Troy was instantly mesmerized by emerald green eyes looking back at him. His hand was seared by the heat coming off of Sawyer.
Sawyer yanked his arm away, he turned his face away and felt his teeth elongating and the world went black and white. Fuck. “I need to go to bed, nice meeting you Troy.” Sawyer practically ran back to the house. Dakota was on his way out as Sawyer came in. He felt the push in his mind and opened up the lines of communication.
“What’s wrong?” Dakota cocked his head to the side.
Sawyer shook his head. “I can’t control it when I’m near him, anger seems to help, but shit. I can’t stay mad at him forever.”
“Go shift and then come back out, ok? Then you can at least spend time with your mate without freaking him out.” Dakota smiled and squeezed Sawyer’s hand.
Dakota watched Sawyer leave then turned his attentions to Troy standing by the bonfire. He had a look of confusion on his face and Dakota shook his head, making his way over. “So, I see you met Sawyer.”
Troy ran a hand through his hair and let out a loud sigh. Jesus, he was really making a great impression. “I think I pissed him off. I didn’t mean to, I just thought he was younger, you know?”
Dakota smiled and took Troy’s hand, sitting them down on the stumps around the bonfire. The man looked miserable somehow and Dakota pulled Troy’s face up. “Don’t worry. Sawyer will get over it, I’m sure he will.” Dakota sat back, watching Troy peeling the label off of his beer. His eyes scanned the darkness and saw Sam coming out with Archer and John, Joe right behind them. “So, how long has it been since you’ve been back?”
Troy’s heart sank and he tried to smile, but failed. “I stayed for a bit after my parent’s died, but then I went off to private school in Seattle. I couldn’t be here, seeing…” Troy turned away and squeezed his eyes shut.
“I’m so sorry for your loss.” Dakota leaned over and patted Troy’s leg. “Nadine loves you. The look in her eyes when you came back, I could tell she missed you. You’re like a son to her.” Dakota watched Sawyer trot over, tail wagg
ing. “Hey, Little Shit.”
“Well, hello again.” Troy pulled the face of the wolf up to his own and got a lick across his face. “Oh wow, thanks.” Troy laughed and mussed the wolf’s fur. “Well, at least I haven’t pissed you off yet. Huh, Little Shit?” Troy smiled when the wolf pressed up against him and let out a soft whine. “Wow, he is truly beautiful.” Troy ran his fingers through the wolf’s coat.
Sam sat down next to Dakota and smiled at Troy.
“Yep, he likes to fetch things.” Sam laughed. “Isn’t that right, Little Shit? You want me to go get the tennis ball?” Sam laughed as Sawyer gave him the raised eyebrow look. They’d all managed to get it down, with the help of Dakota, who was the king of facial expressions in wolf form.
“Troy.” Archer sat down and took a beer from John. “We have set up one of the houses down by Sam and Dakota’s for you. Once we knew you were coming, we started work on it. I did not know if you wanted to stay in your old house.” Archer’s face was one of sadness. “But we have fixed it as well.”
Troy sat back and looked at the family he’d missed; it seemed like forever since he’d been back. The thought of staying in the house he shared with his parents was comforting and daunting at the same time. To be in the house with so many ghosts; Troy cleared his head and looked at Archer. “I’ll stay in my parents’ house, for now.”
“It is late my friends.” Archer looked at the men. “We will talk more in the morning; I must rest my old bones.”
“Yeah right,” Sam rolled his eyes. “You are one of the youngest old guys I know, Archer.” Sam looked at Dakota and saw the lust in his eyes and felt his body responding. “Well ok then, we’ll see you for breakfast at Nadine’s house, Troy.”
“Yep, make sure there’s plenty of caffeine though, you know how cranky I get.” Troy winked and smiled at Sam.
“Oh, I do Troy.” Sam clapped him on the back. “I do.”
~~
Troy made his way down the path to his old house. Little Shit was following him from a distance and Troy turned and looked at him. “I’d like it if you came with me, you don’t have to hide.” Troy smiled as the wolf trotted to catch up and he turned back to the path, making his way down. From here, the ocean could be heard and Troy swore he felt the spray of it on his face. His parents’ house over looked it and Troy stopped right in front of the house, his hands sweating. He hadn’t been back, because he didn’t know if he could deal with the pain of coming home. Now he was faced with memories he couldn’t seem to shake loose.
Troy put his hand on the knob, willed himself to turn it. He felt the wolf at his thigh and bent over, gripping its fur. He heard the soft whine and dropped down to be eye level with Little Shit. “I don’t know if I can do this.” He whispered. Little Shit rubbed up against him, then pawed at the door, looking at him. “Okay, it’s time, isn’t it?” The wolf licked his hand. Troy turned the knob and stepped inside the house.
Looking around, Troy noticed nothing much had changed. Magazines still splayed across the coffee table and pictures hung on the wall, pictures of Troy and his parents. Troy made his way to the bedroom he’d once slept in; he sat on the bed and closed his eyes. Mental images of his parents came forward and Troy felt the tears slipping through his lashes. Little Shit was licking his hand, he looked up and smiled. “Hey now, I’ll be ok.” Troy wiped his eyes and got up, making his way to the linen closet. Fresh towels and bedding sat neatly folded on the shelves. Troy grabbed a towel and headed for the bathroom.
When he came out, Little Shit was curled up on his bed. “So, I guess we’re having a sleep over? You don’t drool or anything, right?” Troy scooted the wolf over and got under the blankets. Little Shit came closer and relaxed beside him, letting out a soft whine. “Night buddy.” Troy ran his hands in the soft fur and closed his eyes. Maybe tomorrow would be a better day. He could try and fix things with Sawyer.
~Chapter Four~
The smell of gun powder filled the air and Troy let out a scream.
Pounding. Pounding was coming from somewhere and there was a cold nose in his face. Troy opened his eyes and saw Little Shit looking at him. More pounding at the front door and he got up and threw some pants on making his way down the hall. “Okay, okay. Shit, I haven’t even had my coffee.” Troy swung open the door and Sam stood there looking at him.
“Well it’s about time! I’ve been knocking for five minutes.” Sam stalked in and turned to face Troy. “Are you alright?”
“I was, until some crazy guy started pounding at my door.” Troy made his way into the kitchen to make coffee. It didn’t take long to find everything. The kitchen was just how Nadineas js was set up. “Oh hey, let Little Shit out, will ya?”
Sam eyed Sawyer sitting on the kitchen floor watching Troy’s ass. “Little Shit, would you like to pee?” Sam cracked a smile as Sawyer huffed at him and trotted to the front door. Sam let Sawyer out then went and sat at the kitchen table. “I was worried you know, when you decided to sleep here.”
Troy sighed and rested his hands on the counter. “I’m fine Sam, I needed to do this. I have to face the ghosts sometime.”
Sam stood and put his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Come on down to the parents’ house for breakfast. Okay?” Sam turned him around. “I really did miss you.” Troy’s face was pale; he hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep. “How was Little Shit? Did he piss in the house?”
“Nope.” Troy smiled and made his way back to the bedroom. He found a shirt from his bag and threw it on with some shoes. “Coffee made?”
“Yup.” Sam smiled taking his hand and dragging him out of the house. “With lots of creamer.”
The walk to Nadine and Joe’s wasn’t far, less than a mile. Troy heard the sounds of wood cracking and noticed Sawyer was the one making the noise. His broad back flexed with every swing of the axe and his biceps rippled. “I’m going to see if I can repair the damage from last night.” Troy winked at Sam and headed towards Sawyer.
~~
Sawyer swung the axe again, hoping to relieve some sexual tension from his body. Having spent the night lying next to Troy, he’d not managed to get a lot of sleep. He’d spent too much time just watching his mate with a kind of awe. Not to mention the sight of the man naked in the shower. Sawyer was getting hard again just thinking about last night.
Sawyer had sat on the floor in the bedroom last night until he’d heard water. His ears had perked up and he snuck into the bathroom and had been greeted with an ethereal sight. There Troy stood, all six feet four of him, naked. Sawyer had actually salivated. Water cascaded down Troy’s chest and divided at his naval, slicing down his hips and alongside one impressive dick. His strong hands rinsed his hair and the biceps flexed with every movement. The only thing Sawyer could think of at that moment was, ‘Oh holy hell’ and ‘thank the Gods my mate is drop dead gorgeous’. He’d snuck back out before Troy had noticed his stalker; the sight of naked Troy would be with him for a very long time.
Sawyer shook his head clear of last night’s memories and felt the hair on the back of his neck stand straight up. His cock filled and his eyes refused to see color. He counted to ten and tried to control his body. “Good Morning, Troy.”
Troy stopped mid walk and looked at Sawyer. “How did you know it was me?”
“The smell of asshole drifted my way.” Sawyer chuckled and swung th e axe again, cracking the log in two. “What can I do you for this morning?”
“You could do me.” Troy had to smile; every muscle in Sawyer’s back went rigid. He had two ways of dealing with angry people. Flirting or giving them back as much anger as they dished out. He’d screwed up last night when he got angry, so he was going the flirtation route.
Sawyer turned slowly and looked at him. “Excuse me?”
Troy let out a soft gasp and almost tripped over a log. Sawyer’s hand caught his wrist before he went down and now they were face to face. Mere inches separated their lips. Troy was captivated by Sawyer’s eyes. “Oh, my God.�
�
Sawyer pulled himself up and backed away from Troy. He flipped the axe and threw it, burying it in a piece of wood. “You’re welcome.”
Troy stood transfixed to the spot; nothing would come out of his mouth. Sawyer Quinton in the light of day, was absolutely beautiful. His black hair was in a ponytail with snippets hanging in his face, but it was those eyes that had Troy. Well, that and the damn body. Troy knew he was doing a slow once over, and yet he couldn’t stop himself. His eyes took in every inch of Sawyer and he realized Sawyer had one hell of an impressive hard-on. And then it hit him full force like a wrecking ball. He was looking at the fortune teller’s prediction. Oh my God, this is the one for me. “Is that hard-on for me?” Oh shit.
Half Moon Rising Page 3