STORY EXCERPT

Kendrick stumbled through the darkness, the sounds and scents of the city assaulting his advanced senses. Distant screeches of hostile voices echoed in his head. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t think. Every single muscle in his body hurt, down to the last strand of fur.

He deserved this, didn’t he? “You’re a monster,” his mother had said as the sorcerer’s curse had settled on him.

“The least you can do for this pack is to stay here where we put you,” his sister had told him as she closed the door to his cage.

Kendrick barely remembered their faces now. They were a blur in his head, just like everything else. But those words had stuck to him, because they made sense.

He had always known he was a monster. Or had he? Well, he didn’t remember a time when he hadn’t been one. He supposed it was possible, if only because he recalled his siblings and they weren’t like him. But that changed nothing about his situation, and most days, he liked to think he’d accepted his lot in life.

No, he hadn’t. Had he? What was happening to him? Where was he?

He had to find his Alpha. His Alpha would help. Surely, he would know what to do. But no… His Alpha had rejected him too. Kendrick had gone against him one too many times. The wounds he’d gotten in his fight with his Alpha had healed, but he’d still received them, and it was a sign that he was a failure.

There was a light shining in front of him, and the image of a man reached out to him from the nothingness. For a few moments, Kendrick thought it was his Alpha’s mate, but a few seconds later, he realized he couldn’t have been more wrong. The physical similarities were there, but in every other way, they were different. 

His soul glowed with such brightness and fierceness that surpassed any other person in the world. He was stumbling through the darkness too, but the strength and defiance in his slim shoulders drew Kendrick like a moth to the flame. Kendrick caught a few glimpses of his face, and he could tell that his beautiful brown eyes held the sharp, but energizing bitterness of fresh java. 

Even knowing he shouldn’t, Kendrick reached out to his mate. “Karantez…”

His words gave  the beautiful man pause, and Kendrick managed to catch up with him. He begged and pleaded for him to stay with Kendrick. Maybe then, the pain would go away. Maybe everything would make sense again.

But his karantez didn’t stay. He recoiled, his eyes widening in horror. When he disappeared, Kendrick knew he could have probably stopped it, but he couldn’t bring himself to. It was like this then. Even his other half knew he was a monster.

He couldn’t remember what happened after that. The world was a blur, and he let his instincts take over, no longer having the strength to control his twisted body. It was irresponsible, but there was nothing he could do about it.

He didn’t know when he finally succumbed to the unavoidable. At one point, he just stopped moving. He found a hiding spot in something that looked like a maze. It felt more comfortable and familiar than anywhere else he’d been for ages. 

Time seemed to dilate. His body took over, keeping him alive even if he hadn’t eaten in what seemed like forever. He felt someone reach out for him, but he couldn’t follow that call.

And then it happened—his miracle. His horrible reality faded into a dream. His karantez stepped into view, and he was just as beautiful as Kendrick remembered him to be. 

“Oh my God,” he whispered. “What happened to you?”

Against all odds, his mate kneeled by Kendrick’s side. A shaking hand reached for him and sank into his blood-stained fur. “It’s okay. You’re safe now. You’re going to be fine.”

His mate had no way of knowing that, but somehow, Kendrick believed him. An unfamiliar feeling of hope flowed over him. Kendrick blinked, and the next thing he knew, his body was twisting painfully, his limbs reshaping, his sense of self realigning to his true identity. 

It hurt, but it was a good pain. His curse fought him every step of the way, but Kendrick felt the moment when it yielded, when it lost its full hold on him. And then, he was back in his human form, for the first time in decades, maybe more.

His mate pulled away so suddenly he fell back on his ass. “What the actual fuck?”

Kendrick froze, barely breathing as he struggled to get his suddenly humanoid limbs back under control. As his head cleared, he realized he might have misjudged things entirely. This wasn’t a dream. This was happening in real life, and his mate had just witnessed him turn from a monster into a man.

If he’d had any hope of winning his karantez over, he’d probably lost it. The moment that thought processed, his skin rippled again and he couldn’t help but let out a hiss.

He instinctively curled in on himself, trying to hide both his pain and his monstrosity. His mate should have just enough time to flee and maybe summon some assistance. His karantez could still escape, before Kendrick did something drastic and harmed him.

ADULT EXCERPT

Bailey was falling into an abyss of ecstasy. He didn’t know what was happening. Well, no, that wasn’t quite true. He knew one very important thing, the only thing that mattered. He was with Kendrick, and Kendrick was touching him.

The heat of Kendrick’s hands left trails of fire on his skin, sinking deep into his bones. The sharp bite of Kendrick’s fangs made his nerve endings short-circuit, turning pain into pleasure. And when Kendrick squeezed the base of his cock, his mind went blank.

“Don’t worry, karantez,” Kendrick told him. “I’ll take good care of you.”

Bailey believed him, even if his words were barely understandable, even if he sounded more like an animal than a human. Or maybe he believed him precisely because of that, because there was humanity in that animalistic desire, a deep need that echoed what Bailey himself felt.

He slumped on the bed, content to be at his lover’s mercy. Kendrick’s claws were nudging his dick, so it might have seemed like a stupid choice. But that made it better, realer, more exciting. Mere days ago, he wouldn’t have imagined falling into bed with a supernatural creature. And now, here he was, with a man who was most definitely inhuman.

Granted, Kendrick had morphed back from his previous shape and looked far more humanoid than before. But there were traces of the wolf still left behind. The claws and fangs were only the beginning. Kendrick was much larger than he was as a human. He’d grown in height and in muscle, and even his dick was bigger. His tail hadn’t vanished, and the shape of his eyes and his jaw were different. 

It was almost as if Bailey was looking at him through a cracked mirror, or through stained glass. He found it beautiful, in a different way than he usually did.

His surrender exacerbated Kendrick’s lupine instincts. His eyes flashed gold and he bared his fangs, a threat and a promise. Bailey didn’t flinch. Following an instinct of his own, he bared his throat, waiting for his mate to claim what was his. 

It worked beautifully. Kendrick snapped, and fell upon Bailey like a feral beast devouring its prey. He bit and nibbled on Bailey’s skin, his hold on Bailey tighter, fiercer. It hurt, but it was a good pain, a pain Bailey welcomed[ . 

No part of him escaped unscathed. Kendrick explored Bailey’s chest, his arms, and even his fingers. He nibbled on his thighs and left frantic kisses on his feet. Bruises bloomed wherever he touched, and Bailey loved it, loved the unrestrained sensation of Kendrick’s passion.

He’d waited so long for something like this, to finally feel like he belonged, like he was wanted in every way. He wasn’t unaware of the dangers Kendrick’s nature posed, but he trusted his lover, and he knew Kendrick would never hurt him, not really.

Even as his pleasure escalated, Kendrick didn’t fail to keep Bailey’s climax at bay. Bailey didn’t know how he was doing it. He was fairly sure that, at one point, Kendrick let go of his cock. But the scent of him and the power he exuded were so overwhelming that Bailey’s body refused to obey its own needs. It was as if he was suddenly programmed to follow Kendrick’s wishes, automatically falling in line with his lover’s desires .

There was such freedom in that, and Bailey closed his eyes, becoming one with the sensation. He didn’t fight it, even as it was dragging him down, threatening to swallow him whole.

But Kendrick was nowhere near done with him. He flipped Bailey around, positioning him on all fours. Bailey instinctively pushed his ass back, demanding his lover’s touch—and Kendrick didn’t disappoint. Slick fingers invaded Bailey’s body, relentless but unclawed. It was a rough brand of gentleness, so much like Kendrick, and it almost brought tears to Bailey’s eyes.

Considering the size of Kendrick’s cock, it was probably a good idea to receive preparation. Hell, Bailey had never been reckless in the past with something like this. But right then and there, he simply didn’t care. He needed to be filled, to feel Kendrick deep inside him, as deep as he could possibly go.

“Kendrick. Fuck me.”

The words came out both breathy and sharp. Bailey was proud that he managed to utter anything at all, and hadn’t dissolved into a puddle of incoherent pleasure. To punctuate his message, he squeezed his ass muscles around Kendrick’s fingers.

Kendrick got the message very quickly. If he thought Bailey’s idea was unwise, he didn’t show it. His fingers left Bailey’s body with a wet pop. Seconds later, his cock head nudged Bailey’s hole, so hot and thick it was almost threatening.

When Kendrick’s dick popped past the ring of muscle, Bailey’s vision went fuzzy. He’d thought he was prepared for this, for the feeling of having Kendrick inside him. But maybe he’d been a little too ambitious.

The stretch and the burn made every single part of Bailey come alive in a way he’d never been before. But that was exactly why he hadn’t been ready. Until this moment, he hadn’t realized that he’d lived an empty existence. He buried his face in the pillows, suddenly having trouble breathing.