STORY EXCERPT

“But I’ll bet you had to participate in a few of those spells that made you so uncomfortable, right? Poor you. You know, one of my friends was brutally murdered by your coven. His animal shoved inside of Tom to be used as a deamon.”

“I know, I heard about that,” Seth said.

Dread slowly but surely filled up inside of him, building a small pool that was quickly becoming too deep for him to navigate.

Maybe this shifter hadn’t saved him for the reasons that Seth thought at all. Maybe he just wanted someone to take his anger out on.

“Did you also know why he was given that deamon?”

That was embarrassing. So embarrassing that Seth lowered his head in the shame of it. He didn’t want to admit that he did know why Tom had been given the deamon, but he figured it was best to be honest right here. This was a werewolf. That meant that this man could listen to his heart beat and determine whether or not he was lying or something, right?

“I didn’t know in the beginning. At first, all I knew was that he wasn’t around to play as much anymore after his grandfather died. I didn’t figure out what his father was going to do to him until after he was given the deamon and then taken by a pack of wolves. That’s when all the rumors started running around.”

And Seth thought of something right then that made his eyes go wide.

“Was it your pack that stole him? That’s it, isn’t it? That’s why you were put up on that tree! Is he here? Is he okay? Can I see him?”

The shifter in front of him lifted a brow, the crooked brown that was above his scarred eye, and Tom wondered if he could see out of it.

The man seemed to be trying to determine if Seth was being truthful or not, or maybe he just didn’t expect this sort of energy to come out of him.

Finally, he answered. “He’s here, and so is your brother, Jeremy.”

“My…” Seth couldn’t believe it, and all kinds of horrific ideas entered his head.

The shifter in front of him glared at him. “Get that look off your face. We didn’t kidnap or hurt him, he came to us.”

“He…so that’s how you knew I was on the tree?”

The shifter nodded. “Yeah. And here’s where you’re going to learn right now what this means. I made a deal with your brother in order to go and get you.”

So much for thinking he’d been rescued by a grouchy Prince Charming. The man was a mercenary, it seemed. Jeremy had to pay him with something in order for this man to even consider rescuing Seth.

All the anger and suspicion was back and this time, there was no way in hell that Seth was going to bother with trying to hide it.

“If you made him do something he didn’t want to do, or offer something he couldn’t give—”

“What? You would what?” Archeron asked, smiling down at him with a cocky grin.

“I’ll fry you into a thousand pieces!” Seth screamed.

Seth thought of all the ways that sorcerers liked to bargain with each other, how they made their deals and cast their spells behind closed doors.

Sex was a huge ingredient in a number of light spells, and dark spells. It was what Tom’s father had wanted him for in order to gain a few hundred years more life out of him.

That thought, of a father willing to cast a spell like that on his son, was disgusting enough, but just knowing that Jeremy, who was still sixteen, offering himself like that in order to save Seth, made fury fill him up like acid, like boiling water that couldn’t be contained, and he wanted to attack anyone and everyone who might’ve had a hand in making his little brother do anything he didn’t want to do.

Seth had done his best to protect Jeremy from that. It was the reason why he’d been put up onto that tree, not just for what he’d done with this shifter here—the shifter who continued to smile at him like he was a cat who was playing with a mouse.

“Yeah, right. I’m so sure you could hurt me with those horrific healing powers of yours.”

“What?” Seth demanded. “I can do it. I can melt the flesh right off your body, don’t think I can’t!”

“Uh-huh, Tom and Jeremy both said that your specialty is healing. You’re good at it, and other light spells, but otherwise, you’re as useless as Tom is. Why do you think I didn’t shackle your hands apart? You’re nothing to be afraid of.”

Seth’s stomach dropped. Why…why would they tell these werewolves that he wasn’t good at offensive magic? That was the worst thing that anyone could do. Being able to threaten another man with pain was still just as good as causing the pain itself, and on more than one occasion, Seth had gotten himself and his brother out of trouble by threatening away other sorcerers who wanted to start something.

The shifter nodded. “That’s right, you’re not going to hurt me. Besides, you can’t hurt me anyway. Your brother made sure of that.”

Seth still felt completely breathless by the things he’d just learned. “What are you talking about?”

The shifter smiled at him. “Do sorcerers call their owners ‘master’? I’d really like to know, considering I own you now.”

Seth sputtered. “Wh—? No you don’t!”

“Yes I do,” said the shifter, still smiling like a complete and total jerk. “I made the conditions, and Jeremy, your own flesh and blood, agreed to them. If I saved you, you belong to me. And you do. You’re mine now, and the last time I checked, a blood pact was as strong as anything.”

ADULT EXCERPT

Archeron took his time with this. Part of him still thought that he shouldn’t be doing this, shouldn’t be kissing and touching this young man after Derek told him that he wasn’t allowed, but he couldn’t help himself.

It was like every lick of his tongue was met with cool, fresh water after being stuck out in the desert for weeks on end. He’d felt like he’d been so dehydrated, wasting away with the lack of what his body needed, and now here it was. This was what his body had been craving for so long.

It was going to take another attack from rogue alphas before he was able to pull himself away, he knew that much for certain already.

He bobbed up, and then down again, feeling every shiver that passed through Seth’s body on his tongue, and his hands as he touched Seth’s hips, slid his palms up and down that smooth flesh.

For a man, Seth had remarkably smooth skin, although Archeron supposed that was a real possibility for someone like him to have a complexion like that, considering sorcerers never had to do any hard labor in order to survive.

Archeron admired Seth’s skin as he touched it, admired the feel of the man’s cock in his mouth, its thickness, and the vein he felt on the underside of the shaft.

He slowly, sensuously licked and stroked Seth’s dick with his lips and mouth, enjoying the man’s hands in his hair, loving it as Seth pushed his hips forward, trying to get deeper.

He might be smaller than Archeron was, but he was well endowed. Archeron even choked a little when Seth tried pushing forward too quickly.

“Sorry, sorry,” Seth said when Archeron quickly pulled away.

Archeron smiled. This little man was such a gentleman, it seemed.

“That’s all right,” Archeron said. “Do you think you can do the same for me?” he asked, smiling at the younger man.

It seemed to take him a few seconds before he realized what Archeron was asking for. Seth really wasn’t used to all this.

When he did get it, his eyes lit up, and he tried to shift on the bed to get closer to Archeron, but Archeron put a gentle hand on Seth’s chest, keeping him down.

“No, don’t move,” Archeron said at the confusion on Seth’s face.

“But how will I—?”

“Like this,” Archeron said, and he climbed up Seth’s body, being careful with his weight, not wanting to put any amount of pressure on Seth’s chest just in case the man wasn’t able to handle it.

It took some doing, but he managed to get his knees down on either side of Seth’s head, with the man’s shoulders lying on Archeron’s calves.

Archeron had his jeans down and tossed across the room a while ago, and now his cock was hard, thick, and dark in front of Seth’s face, inches away from his pink lips.

He wanted to touch his cock to Seth’s cheek, but he wasn’t sure how well that would be received, considering the man had never done this before. Would he even like it if that was done to him? Archeron had a few lovers who absolutely hated that, but the ones that enjoyed it really enjoyed it.

He settled for keeping things simple for their first time. If there was another time, they could learn more about each other, and what they liked and didn’t like could come later.

God, he really shouldn’t be doing this. He should not be doing this.

But the sight of Seth’s tongue, his pink, glistening tongue, gently wetting his lips before he opened his mouth and put his lips around the head of Archeron’s cock, was too damned much.

It was almost like the man was testing the waters or something, making sure he liked what he tasted before diving in a little deeper.

Archeron moaned, and he couldn’t help himself when that sudden heat surrounded him. It was wet and hot, and fuck, Archeron moaned again when Seth proved he’d been paying attention when Archeron went down on him, because he moved his tongue around the shaft, turning his head as he bobbed back and forth.

Seth’s hands came up and moved along Archeron’s naked thighs, his fingertips doing exactly what Archeron had done, and just explored his skin, using the sensation of touch to make the stimulation to his dick that much better.

And it so worked, especially when Seth moved his hands down to front and center, gripping Archeron’s cock at the base where his mouth couldn’t reach, and also gently cupping and massaging his balls.

Archeron squeezed his eyes shut for just a few seconds, clenching his teeth so damned hard it hurt, and surged forward in one deep thrust.

He was done. Just like that he came down Seth’s throat. Seth was surprised by it, and he choked a little, but quickly recovered, and he realized without Archeron saying a word to him that it would be better if he just continued on, without being told to do so. The suction of his mouth never stopped, not until Archeron was completely spent, and there was nothing left for him to give.

He might’ve spilled inside of Seth’s mouth, but his cock was still hard. He didn’t need time to recover like Seth had. Archeron was ready even as he carefully pulled his dick out from between the man’s lips.

“That was great,” he said, panting for breath, and then looking down and realizing just how pink Seth’s lips were. He looked as if Archeron had been kissing him for hours. His hair was messy and he just had the appearance of a man who wanted to be fucked.