A Mate Beyond Their Reach

STORY EXCERPT

Drew stopped the car and offered Paulie a comforting smile. He’d have preferred his son to remain focused on his annoyance with their closest relatives. “I’m going out to see. You stay inside, Paulie.”

Surreptitiously, he retrieved the baseball bat he always kept with him when he went out driving. One never knew when he might run into maniacs, and Drew would do anything to protect his son.

Gripping the bat, Drew left his car and headed toward the shape he’d seen. The blackness of the night surrounded him, the only light coming from his headlights and barely reaching his position. Nothing moved, and Drew held his breath, anxiety coursing through him.

As he approached, he identified the figure as an animal of sorts. It seemed too big to be a dog, but Drew could not in good conscience just leave it there to be torn apart by other beasts. He knelt into the grass and reached out, blindly feeling toward the animal. His hand fell onto soft, wet fur, and Drew gasped as a shock of something like electricity passed through his hand.

He almost retracted his hand, the odd sensation confusing him. Judging by the feel of the fur and its tentative size, Drew thought the animal might be a wolf, a male one. He should just abandon it here. Taking it close to Paulie was out of the question.

Instead, he found himself pulling the animal from the bank and into the light. It was difficult, since its bulk weighed heavily on Drew, but somehow, he managed. The wolf growled lowly, but other than that, it didn’t stir.

When the light fell on the animal, Drew realized why it didn’t move. Bullet holes pierced its flesh in at least two visible spots. Drew felt for injuries around its rib cage and legs.

The wolf let out a low whine, and Drew winced. Whoever attacked this wolf—clearly a human hand—had done quite a number on it. Drew couldn’t tell the true extent of the damage just by such a superficial exam, but clearly, the animal boasted several broken ribs, at least.

In this state, the beast wouldn’t be dangerous, not even to a newborn, but Drew couldn’t very well carry it in his car. For one, it would never fit, and Drew had Paulie to think about. He considered calling the vet, but the two of them didn’t get along. Poaching was not unheard of in these parts, but to Drew’s knowledge, wolves didn’t represent a member of the area’s fauna. As such, the veterinarian would probably suggest killing the animal. For whatever reason, Drew couldn’t accept that.

Paulie cracked the car door open and peeked outside. “What is it, Dad?”

“I told you to stay inside,” Drew said in a chastising tone. “Don’t make me ground you.”

Paulie huffed and closed the car door. Once his son was back to safety, Drew retrieved his cell phone. Thankfully, they were close enough to the town to have reception. He dialed the one number he could think of. Deputy Daniel Lawson might be sleeping at this hour, but Drew’s friend Dan would jump to the rescue, as he always did.

A sleepy voice answered his call. “Lawson here,” the man said.

“Hi, Dan, it’s Drew.”

“Oh, hey, man. What’s up?” The sound of sheets rustling came over the connection. “I thought you were in Denver.”

“Don’t remind me,” Drew replied. He rubbed his eyes tiredly. He’d have preferred to skip the customary Denver visit altogether, but Chad and Judith always claimed they were too busy or too old to make the journey to Tennington and needed to see Paulie anyway. As much as Drew disliked them, they were his son’s grandparents, and they could cause him trouble again if he didn’t oblige. The mere memory of the custody battle that ensued after Paula’s death made Drew sick to the stomach.

Dan’s voice shook him out of his musings. “Hey, Drew, you there? Everything all right?”

“Yes, I mean no.” He took a deep breath, hating this sudden outburst of feeling. “I found a wolf in the woods. It’s injured, badly. Gunshots, broken bones, you name it. There may be internal injuries as well, but I won’t know until I look him over better.”

Dan cursed. “Poachers again? But a wolf, Drew? Since when do wolves show up in Tennington?”

“No clue,” Drew answered. “Maybe it escaped a circus or something along that line. Anyway, I need your truck to carry him.”

“Sure, man, coming your way as we speak. On the road toward the Interstate?”

Drew nodded. “Yup. Twenty miles from Tennington, near the river bank.”

After thanking his friend, Drew closed the connection and put his cell phone back in his pocket. He threw one more gaze toward the car to make sure Paulie wasn’t going to rebel in his typical teenage fashion, and then knelt next to the wolf.

As he caressed the wet fur of the animal, he whispered, “Who did this to you, boy? Just hang in there. Help is on the way.”

ADULT EXCERPT

They were beautiful together, Valerius’s two mates. Valerius wanted them both so badly it hurt. His entire body begged for their touch, and Valerius couldn’t recall why he’d ever wanted to hold back.

So what if Drew was human? So what if having a third mate didn’t fit with the nature of the spirit wolf? In the end, it didn’t matter. They were bonded, and together, they could get over anything.

As Drew and Trent broke their kiss, Valerius pulled them both toward his bedroom. He never brought people here, not because he particularly cherished his house, but due to his acute need for privacy. Whenever he’d needed to scratch an itch, he just went out and found a willing one-night stand. But this would be different. This would be his first time with his mates, and he wanted to make it perfect.

He pushed them both onto the large four-poster bed and went to his wardrobe. The hedonist in him led him to always have the necessary supplies at hand, a fact for which Valerius felt very thankful now. As he retrieved a tube of lube from his stash, he briefly considered taking some anal beads or perhaps a cock ring, but decided against it. This time, just the three of them would be enough.

He made his way back to the bed and froze when his eyes fell upon the amazing sight of Trent’s hands roaming over Drew’s nude body. Apparently, Trent wasted no time in getting their mate naked, and Drew didn’t disappoint either, getting rid of Trent’s clothing with swift, efficient motions. Valerius felt awed by the beauty of the two men.

Trent gripped Drew’s hard shaft in a large fist and jacked it slowly, all the while throwing a gaze Valerius’s way. “Come on. We’re waiting.”

Drew moaned and spread his legs wide. He crooked his finger at Valerius and beckoned him forward. “Come, Val. Fuck me.”

No one had ever called Valerius like that in his life, but strangely, he found he liked it. He grinned at his two mates. “I’d love to.”

In a flash, Valerius made his way to his mates. Trent flipped Drew on all fours, exposing the perfect twin globes of Drew’s ass. Eagerly, Valerius parted Drew’s cheeks, and desire swamped him at the first sight of his lover’s little hole. His cock throbbed with need, the desire to claim Drew’s body escalating to unbearable proportions.

Swiftly, he tore his own clothing off and uncapped the lubricant tube. He poured a generous amount on his fingers and spread it on Drew’s hole. Drew gasped when Valerius inserted a finger inside his passage, and Valerius echoed the sentiment entirely. The hot tightness that engulfed his digit almost made him lose every last remnant of his control. He took a deep breath and focused on preparing his mate. The last thing he wanted was to make this experience painful for Drew. He added another finger, scissoring them inside Drew. He expertly found his mate’s gland and rubbed it, unsurprised, but still aroused when Drew let out a moan of pleasure.

A groan drew Valerius’s attention to his second mate. Trent’s gaze washed over him, burning him, and Valerius suddenly had an image of the three of them, connected in the most intimate way three men could be. He wanted to fuck Drew while Trent pounded him in turn.

His thoughts must have shown on his face as Trent leaned over Drew and shared a quick kiss with their mate. “So beautiful,” he murmured as he caressed the side of Drew’s face. “We’ll be together in a minute.”

Drew nodded, and Trent crawled across the bed until he reached Valerius. Valerius retreated his fingers from Drew’s body and met Trent halfway. Their lips crushed against each other, and Valerius realized Trent still tasted like Drew, their combined flavors so intoxicating it drove Valerius wild. “I want you so bad,” Trent said as they broke apart.

Wordlessly, Valerius nodded. He shifted on the bed, allowing Trent the space to maneuver behind him. He caressed Drew’s flanks, taking in the softness of the other man’s skin. “Ready?”

“Yes, please. Oh, God, yes,” Drew frantically replied.

Satisfied at his mate’s enthusiasm, Valerius positioned himself at Drew’s hole and slowly pushed inside. Drew tensed beneath him, and Valerius froze. “You all right?”

“I’m fine,” Drew answered, but his voice sounded a bit strained. “Sorry. It’s just been a while. Go on.”

Valerius obeyed, but he kept his motions slow. When he at last embedded himself fully inside Drew, Valerius stilled. It must’ve been the hardest thing he’d done in his life, but he needed to allow his mate to get used to his girth. Valerius’s pause made Trent shoot into action. Fingers prodded at Valerius’s hole, spreading lubricant around his opening. “Just do it,” he said. “I like it rough.”

In spite of his words, Trent still took an inordinate amount of time preparing him, inserting one finger, then a second inside him. Valerius couldn’t take it anymore. He needed to move, to fuck and be fucked. Drew clung to the sheets desperately and gasped. “Please… Fuck me. Val, Trent, fuck me.”

Mates in Life and Death

STORY EXCERPT

Linden grabbed his stuff and made his way out of the pub. Darkness enshrouded him almost instantly, the night heavy and impenetrable. The occasional street light cast eerie rays through the gloom, but they marked Linden’s way home like the proverbial breadcrumbs.

Truth be told, a part of Linden would have preferred to stay inside. Leaving work at this hour held some risks, even for a man. In the past, the night shift wouldn’t have bothered Linden. Timber Lake wasn’t exactly the Bronx, and the crime in their town rarely represented a problem. But an increasing shadow now weighed in the corner of his mind. Lately, the townsfolk had become cool to him, more so than usual. Even his bosses seemed aloof, making Linden fear for the state of his employment. He wanted to blame his apprehension on this, but he felt as if some sort of presence loomed over them, watching them from the darkness.

He couldn’t talk to others about this, but he did have his mother. She was the only one who believed him, who didn’t mock him when he told her about his premonitions. Both of them held a strong belief in the existence of the supernatural. But this time, he couldn’t tell her. She’d forbid him from going to work, and God only knew they needed the money.

Shaking himself, Linden ventured into the darkness. He walked as quickly as he could. At this hour, most everyone retreated to their homes, even the regulars at Jake’s pub. The streets looked strikingly bare, but the same feeling of being watched returned. Linden gulped, his heart beginning to beat faster and his palms sweating. He increased the pace, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.

Behind him, he could clearly hear the sound of something approaching. Not a human, Linden knew, but some sort of animal. Linden took off running. He knew his flight would just trigger the hunting instinct in some beasts, but he couldn’t just wait around to become a snack.

Predictably, his speed proved insufficient for him to lose his pursuer. A loud growl was his only warning before a heavy weight landed on his back. The creature tore into his knapsack, and the rough material of the bag kept its claws from reaching Linden. He tried to squirm away, but the animal pinned him against the tarmac. Terror and pain showered over Linden at the realization these would be his final moments. He never should have taken the chance of working at night. Who would care for his mother now?

Just when he thought the beast would surely kill him, the weight above him vanished. As he struggled to recover, he heard a pained yelp and something that sounded like animals fighting.

He tried to scramble to his feet, but his body wouldn’t obey. And then, all of the sudden, something else hit him, a weird sense of warmth that strengthened him. Casting away his fear, he got up and looked behind him.

He’d intended to see what type of creature attacked him, but instead, his gaze fell on a tall, nude man. Dark hair flowed over the stranger’s back in thick waves. A deep gray gaze scanned Linden from head to toe, as if analyzing for injuries. Linden drank in all the bulging muscles in his immediate proximity and swooned.

The other man rescued him once again, catching him in strong arms. “Are you all right?” he asked.

Linden nodded, feeling dazed at the entire experience. Had he died and gone to heaven? He could find no other explanation for this. The incredible sense of familiarity that surrounded him couldn’t be real. For fuck’s sake, he couldn’t be jumping from being at the edge of death to having his cock throb in his pants. And yet, he could not have denied it if he wanted to.

Acknowledging the necessity to return to reality, Linden pinched his arm. The stranger didn’t vanish and just gave him an amused look. “I’m real,” he said. “You don’t have to hurt yourself to check that.”

Linden could swear the man’s tone sounded husky, and something like arousal made those gray eyes stormy. This couldn’t be happening to him. Sure, Linden had a lot of weird experiences in his life, but so far, none of them brought anything good.

He broke away from the embrace, trying to keep hold of his reason. First things first. He still needed to see his attacker.

This time, no hot hunk blocked his sight from the huge wolf lying on the tarmac. Its fur was tainted with blood and its body very still. But Linden could still spot the sharp fangs and wicked claws. His knees turned to jelly, the shock and fear slamming into him, choking him. He could have died. He would have died, if not for the appearance of this mysterious man.

“Shhh,” the stranger whispered. “You’re fine now. It’s dead.”

Linden took a deep breath and focused on his rescuer’s calming words. It occurred to him that he had no clue how the stranger even saved him. And who ran around in the buff killing wild animals? Who was this guy, Tarzan? No, Tarzan at least wore a loincloth. The man didn’t have anything to shield his more than generous package from Linden’s gaze. God, Linden, don’t look, don’t look. This is not the time for eyeing his damn cock.

“What just happened?” he forced himself to ask. “Who are you?”

“I’m Ash,” the man answered. “And as for what happened, clearly, I killed the wolf.”

ADULT EXCERPT

The sight of his mates’ naked bodies scrambled all the glum memories away. In fact, his brain almost shut down altogether, reverting to the primal “fuck now” mode. God, and he’d never even had sex. Would he know what to do?

Before he could worry himself to death, Ash and Dan walked up to him. “Are you all right?” Dan asked.

“More than all right,” Linden murmured back.

Ash and Dan sandwiched him from both sides. While Dan peppered kisses over his face, Ash whispered in his ear, “We don’t know how this is going to work, but together, we can manage.”

Linden nodded without a word. He didn’t think he could speak, his heart overflowing with emotion. Ash and Dan guided him to lie down on the grass, and he obeyed them. His legs already threatened to give out, simply because of the proximity of his two mates.

Dan and Ash took their time with him. Dan unbuttoned his loose shirt with excruciating slowness, placing featherlight kisses on each patch of skin he revealed and sending goose bumps all over Linden. Ash took position between Linden’s legs and unbuttoned his jeans. When Ash pulled the zipper down with his teeth, Linden whimpered. Dan chuckled, and his mouth enclosed over Linden’s right nipple. A shock of pleasure swept over him, pooling straight into his throbbing cock. “Dan, Ash, please…”

Dan’s mouth abandoned Linden’s nipple and traveled up his chest to his lips. Their first actual kiss began gently, like an exploration, a rediscovery of each other. No, this wasn’t their first kiss. Even if they’d been different people back then, their souls remained the same, and their love had not faded. If anything, they had at last become complete, through Ash’s appearance.

Their motions began to turn frantic. Linden’s clothes felt constricting, but his mates caught onto his wishes and got rid of his shoes, shirt, and jeans. Ash didn’t even bother with taking off Linden’s underwear the civilized way. He just tore the simple white briefs and discarded the useless material in the grass.

When Ash’s mouth lowered to Linden’s cock, Linden thought he’d died and gone to heaven. The wet warmth around him engulfed him so perfectly it seemed surreal. Ash took him deep, bobbing his head up and down the shaft, all the while massaging Linden’s balls with clever fingers. Dan’s kisses returned, his hands sweeping over Linden’s chest, tweaking his nipples. Energy arched through Linden, powerful and intense. He’d never experienced such a thing in his life. The double sensations made his pleasure soar higher and higher, until his climax was just within his reach. And then, Ash went even lower and swallowed around Linden’s cock, deep-throating him expertly.

Linden cried out, and his climax burst out of him, wild and untamed, just like the lovers that caused it. The pleasure went on and on, and for a few seconds, Linden’s vision darkened.

When at last he recovered, two pairs of hands soothed him, turning him over. Dan supported Linden to stand on all fours and Linden gasped when he felt his second mate spread his ass cheeks. Ash rubbed slick fingers against Linden’s hole, and Linden had a distant thought as to where Ash could have gotten lubricant before he figured out his mate used his own seed for it. It was strangely arousing, the thought that their coupling would be untainted by anything coming from the other world. Linden felt something so very magical in making love here, in the heart of the forest. Quiet surrounded them, the scent of the trees and the soft wind creating a magical cocoon around them. And when his mate inserted a finger inside him, Linden took it with ease, relaxed, no longer afraid. He accepted the second one in the same way. The third one took a little to get used to, but then Ash hit something deep inside him, the special spot that made stars burst in his vision. Linden pushed back against the invading fingers, needing more of the delicious sensations. Through the haze of pleasure, he stared up at Dan. “Please,” he said.

Dan caressed his cheek, his expression both warm and reverent. “Don’t worry, love. We’ll give you what you want.”

Slowly, Dan fed his cock into Linden’s mouth. His unhurried motions drove Linden crazy, and he forced himself to suck his lover’s shaft deeper. Much to his dismay, he gagged, Dan’s size being too great for him to take.

Dan’s hands landed in his hair. “Easy. You’re new at this. Just take as much as you’re comfortable with and go slow.”

Linden obeyed and focused on the cock in his mouth. Dan tasted intoxicating, and Linden wanted to make him come, to feel Dan’s hot seed on his tongue. He greedily explored the delicious flesh, all the while pushing his ass against the fingers invading his backside.

Groans filled his ears, and Ash said, “I never thought I’d say this, but you look so hot with his cock in your mouth. Just like that, beautiful, take him.”

Ash’s words fueled the fire already burning bright inside Linden. He wiggled his ass, wordlessly telling Ash what he needed. His mate didn’t disappoint. After a few seconds, Ash retracted his fingers and positioned his cock at Linden’s entrance. Like Dan, he took his time pushing inside. This time, Linden felt grateful for the gentleness. Ash’s cock was much bigger than three fingers, and it speared Linden in two. It made him lose his concentration, and he could no longer keep a pace on Dan’s cock.