STORY EXCERPT

Renato rolled his shoulders and listened to his vertebra crack. Tension began to build inside of him, and he felt his gums aching, and then his fangs slid free. A thought occurred to him, but the idea was impossible. 

There should be no way he was going through the mating heat.

Had fate given him another chance with another guy? Renato didn’t see how that was possible. A winged beast was gifted with only one chosen mate. There were no second chances. None that he’d heard of anyway.

And if he had been given another chance, where the hell was the guy? It was only Renato, Trigg, and Dog on the street, and he knew for a fact neither one of them was his mate.

Renato needed to figure out why something was pulling him in this direction. He needed to figure out why his body was reacting this way. But mostly, he needed. The heat wasn’t letting up, and Renato had to either find out what the hell was going on or fuck his way through Brac Village until the fire licking its way through his body was extinguished.

“I think he’s finally gone over the edge,” Dog whispered to Trigg.

“I think we need to call Nazaryth,” Trigg whispered back. “Something is definitely going on here.”

With his lips pinched together, Renato stared up at the sky. He scrubbed a hand over his face before letting out a deep, frustrated sigh. If the two didn’t shut up, he would throttle them both.

“Do you think you’re finally going crazy?” Dog asked. When Renato glared at his friend, Dog’s brows shot up, and he waved his hands back and forth. “What? We all thought it a miracle that you didn’t lose your ever-loving mind back then. Now you’re standing here looking like you’re about to attack someone. Not to mention your damn wings are fluttering. What the fuck, man?”

“Leave him alone,” Trigg snapped. “You want him to flip out right here on the street?”

“He’s already flipping out.” Dog pointed to Renato. “Don’t you see that?”

“I’m calling Nazaryth.” Trigg whipped out his phone and dialed, giving Renato and Dog his back.

“Stop watching me so closely, creeper,” Renato said to Dog as he rolled his shoulders again to try and dispel the tightness in his skin.

“I’ve been watching you for a long time.” Dog leaned against the building and crossed his arms over his chest. He continued to watch Renato, and the close scrutiny only added to Renato’s irritation. “We all have. You’ve only gotten worse over the past decade. Do you think I like watching my friend slowly wither away? Do you think I don’t know about those scars on your body?”

“Fuck off,” Renato snarled as rage began to build inside of him. “It’s none of your business what I do in my spare time.”

Pushing from the building, Dog got into Renato’s face, his nostrils flaring. “Fuck if it ain’t my business. You’re not suffering alone. We all feel your pain.”

Shoving his hands into Dog’s chest, Renato growled. “You have no clue what this pain feels like. Have you lost your zaterio? Have you lived with such anguish that your very fuckin’ soul cries out to end it all? No, you know nothing about what I go through, so shut the fuck up!”

“I might not suffer the way you do, but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel your pain,” Dog retorted. “That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t give anything to take that agony away from you. We’re all concerned, Renato.”

“Keep me out of this,” Trigg said as he hung up. “I’m not about to go toe-to-toe with Renato.”

Dog glared at Trigg. “Pussy.”

“Damn right,” Trigg snapped. “Stop pushing him, Dog. Leave Renato alone.”

“That’s the damn problem.” Dog paced away from Renato. “We’ve tiptoed around him for so long, afraid he’ll flip, afraid of reminding him of what he’s lost. But damn if I’ll let him stand there and tell me we don’t suffer along with him.”

Renato had turned, ready to walk away, when he squinted at the apartment building next door. There were four guys approaching the front entrance, and although they looked ordinary, there was something about them that made the warning bells in Renato’s head go off. He jutted his chin toward the men. “Why do they seem so familiar?”

Dog cursed. “You’re definitely off your game. Those are hellhounds.”

Renato was not in the mood to chase down hellhounds, but it was his job to send as many of those nasty bastards back to hell as possible. His current dilemma would have to wait, and that didn’t sit well with him. On the other hand, as aggressive as Renato felt at the moment, beating the shit out of some hounds before he killed them was the perfect solution.

Dog and Trigg stepped over the small shrubbery that separated the police station from the building. Renato followed.

ADULT EXCERPT

Arms wrapped around Morgan’s waist, Renato picked him up and carried him to the bed. Morgan landed with a bounce, which made him laugh. Renato smiled as he stared down at Morgan. “Such a beautiful sound.”

“I’ve just never been carried before, and you look like a bear that’s just been given a huge jar of honey.” Morgan’s laughter died to a few chuckles. It was true, though. Renato looked as if he was about to step through the gates of heaven.

Morgan groaned when Renato licked his neck. “And I’m going to savor every second of that honey, zaterio.”

Before Renato could do whatever it was he planned on doing, Morgan pulled from under the man. He pushed Renato to his back and then straddled his hips. Renato grinned at him, and it was this sexiest smile Morgan had ever seen.

“What do you plan to do up there?”

“I have a few wicked ideas.” Morgan moved down Renato’s body, kissing the man’s chest, sucking in his nipples, and licking a path downward until he reached Renato’s groin. His cock was hard, throbbing, and leaking pre-cum. Morgan smirked before he took Renato into his mouth.

Renato hissed. “Fuck, man. Take charge anytime you want.”

Morgan sucked Renato’s cock down his throat and then pulled back, smirking at his soon-to-be mate. “Suck a guy’s dick and he’s putty in your hands.”

“Your point?” Renato grabbed Morgan’s hair and spread his fingers through the strands. “For one, I’m a guy. No further explanation needed. For two, it’s been a hell of a long time since I felt any emotions during sex. Not like this.”

“You shouldn’t mention other guys when I have your most precious body part within biting distance.” Morgan bit down on the head gently to prove his point. That only made Renato hiss.

“Come here, zaterio.” Renato patted his stomach. Morgan crawled up his mate.

“What?”

Pulling Morgan down, Renato kissed him until Morgan couldn’t breathe. “Nobody holds a candle to you.”

The way Renato looked at him…wow. Morgan felt branded. Owned. There was a hunger in Renato’s eyes that made fire burn through Morgan.

“Lube?”

“Nightstand.”

Morgan pushed up and away, crawling across the bed. He took the opportunity to not only calm his nerves but to breathe. Being near Renato was like being set on fire—and not just because the guy was burning up from the mating heat. Renato’s presence was an all-consuming force, commanding, dominating.

When he crawled back, Morgan slapped the bottle into his lover’s hand.

“Hands and knees, zaterio.”

Renato blanketed his back, his slick fingers entering Morgan as his chest pressed close. He kissed Morgan along his shoulder, his nape, and his spine. Morgan’s head fell forward as he moaned.

He wasn’t sure how the whole biting thing would work and prayed like hell that Renato wasn’t hurt. The thought dominated his mind as Renato stretched him. “Tell me this is real,” Renato said. “Tell me I’m not hallucinating all of this.”

“I don’t know,” Morgan admitted. He bowed his back as his lips parted. “It feels dreamlike to me.”

Renato nipped him. “I’m not talking about the sensations. I’m talking about you really being here. I used to have dreams that were so vivid I swore you were here with me.”

“It’s real,” Morgan said. “I’m here, and it’s not a dream.”

Renato pressed his lips to Morgan’s ear. “If it is nothing more than a dream, promise you won’t ever let me wake up.”

“If it is, neither of us will.” But Morgan knew this was real. It was as real as real could get. He was about to give himself over to Renato, bind himself to the winged beast for all eternity.

Morgan nearly cried out when Renato removed his fingers. But seconds later, the blunt head of his cock pressed against Morgan’s hole. “Ready?”

No, he wasn’t, but he remembered Renato’s warning about denying the man. As crazy and hellish as his life had been, that had been nothing compared to Renato’s. He was tired of doing this alone, and his very gut told him this was where he was supposed to be. Fate had intersected their souls, and now it was time to finish what she had started.

“Yes.”

Morgan inhaled sharply as Renato punched his hips forward, burying his cock deep. “Sorry, but I didn’t want you changing your mind.”

It took a moment for Morgan to catch his breath. “I said yes, damn it.”

Growling, Renato pulled out, flipped Morgan onto his back, and drove back inside him. Morgan’s eyes widened as he stared up at large, feathery, white wings. “Y–you have wings!”

They flapped slowly as a fine dusting fell all around them. It almost looked as if it were snowing, but the particles were too small, and they didn’t melt when they landed on Morgan. They were a shimmering gold color, and the dust seemed to fall everywhere.

“Only my true chosen one would be able to see them.” Renato ran his hand down Morgan’s chest, resting his palm over his heart. “You are my zaterio, Morgan. The one I thought I’d lost. The one I mourned night and day for.”

Morgan arched his back and cried out as Renato moved faster, harder, and deeper. It was as if Morgan’s sighting of Renato’s wings had unleashed something inside the man. His fangs were showing, and Morgan must be hallucinating because it looked as if his mate’s skin held a light blue tinge.

All that vanished from his mind when Renato pulled Morgan up to a sitting position, Morgan’s legs draped over his mate’s powerful thighs. Renato wrapped his arms around Morgan as he thrust upward. “I want to bite you.”