STORY EXCERPT

Nathan stood slowly. His ankle hurt. It had been an awful fall. Fortunately, the ground wasn’t far away. He took in his surroundings. Enclosed by stone walls, the villagers’ chatter reverberated in the mountain. The packed marketplace ahead covered most parts of the stone walls, while several cracks sheltered tree roots. Although shape-shifters of different kinds, the villagers were as tall as Nathan. What a good chance to blend in.

Making his way to the market area as his father had instructed, Nathan jolted once someone shouted. The residents’ immediate reaction was to flee to their homes as fast as they could. They carried and led their children to safety as well. Since that crowd from before had been stopped by Brian, Trent and Noah, it could only be that blue-eyed man.

Panting and trembling, Nathan noticed a couple of kids holding on to their mother. “Wait,” he said weakly and followed them, the villagers nearly running into him. Nathan used as a shield a thick tree root that protruded from the floor. He watched as the blonde woman climbed the stone stairs with her children. Through the cracks above, sunlight shone on the herbal store in front of her. But she continued up the stairs beside the building carved in stone and wood. “Wait,” he repeated louder this time.

The woman stopped and looked over her shoulder. “Young man, are you alright?” She looked at him from head to toe. “Come with us.”

Nathan smiled and sighed in relief. “Thank you.” He went up the stairs once he could, supporting part of his weight with his hand on the humid wall. A man in a gray suit approached them. Nathan looked at her in worry.

“This is Shawn. He’s with us,” she said and regarded the other shape-shifter. “Can you help him? He appears to be injured.”

“Of course,” the man said. He held Nathan’s arm and led him up the stairs. “Did you hurt your leg?”

Nathan didn’t want to tell them that he’d been the one on whom they'd placed a reward. It had been partially his fault that the village got invaded. “I think it’s only my ankle. I fell just a moment ago.”

“You’ll be alright. Sophia takes care of everyone,” Shawn said with a kind smile and helped him up the stairs. “Are you from the upper grounds?”

Nathan nodded, looking away. “I was afraid of them, so I came here because—I’m not sure who they’re after.”

“The word spreading around is that they finally found the only human in this world. But no one expected them to know what that person looks like. Believe it or not, they’ve been searching for the human for years,” Sophia explained and opened the door to her house. “At first it was only a rumor. Some always said that it was a boy who lives in this island and never shifted. Come on in. We have to take care of those scratches, too.”

“Thank you,” Nathan murmured and bowed as it’d been a tradition before entering someone’s house.

“What’s your name?” one of the kids asked shyly once they crowded the kitchen.

“Nathan. Don’t be scared, okay? They will go away soon,” he said. Shawn pulled a chair and helped him sit at the table.

“I am not afraid,” the other boy said with his head held high. They seemed to be between five and ten years old from the way their green-pointed elf ears stood out.

Nathan chuckled. “You’re brave.” He trembled visibly compared to the boys. As long as no one saw him coming into this house, the small family would be fine.

Sophia brought the medical kit and put it on the kitchen table. “With this you’re going to be as good as new,” she told him with a gentle smile, and opened the kit.

Nathan looked around. The house was full of pictures of various generations. A certificate hung on the wall as well. Evidently, this was the mayor’s house. Nathan had been concerned that he wouldn’t be able to go back home or coach his swimming team until those people left. They knew where he’d been living. Even though he sought shelter at Sophia’s house, her being a mayor didn’t mean that she was a powerful shape-shifter.

That reporter had ways of finding out about him. However, he didn’t think of himself as having much importance. He was just a human among the others. With so many different races, there should certainly exist more humans, but there wasn’t. Humans weren’t extinct.

He watched Shawn close the curtains. “They might see us. Until we know who they’re after, we all have to be careful. There might be more operations going on between them,” he said before he walked out of the kitchen.

ADULT EXCERPT

“Why are you so far from me?” Felix complained.

Nathan disregarded the other man and faced his back to him. The edge of the bed was comfortable; the best spot. He closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep. Felix’s hand nudged his shoulder. “Leave me alone,” Nathan said.

“Is it true...what Yara told me?” the shape-shifter asked. He scooted closer to the human. “You know, I’m the leader, so they are more faithful to me than you.”

Nathan felt heat rising to his cheeks. “I...don’t want to talk about it right now. I’m tired.” He avoided the answer. For the short amount of time they’d spent together, he could tell how stubborn Felix could get.

“Yes or no? Just answer me,” Felix demanded. Nathan remained quiet, so he turned the human to him with a swift move. “Admit that you like me at least a bit. I haven’t hurt you or anything.”

“What if it’s true?” Nathan said, frowning as usual. “That doesn’t mean you can use me.” He tried to turn around, but the shape-shifter held him in place. Nathan’s frown vanished as he stared at Felix’s serious expression.

A grin formed on Felix’s lips. “If I can’t use you, you can use me instead. See this as me redeeming myself for what happened yesterday.” He got on top of Nathan and shoved his hands under the other man’s shirt.

“I don’t need you for anything. L-Let me go,” Nathan told him. He gasped once Felix held his knee. Could that hand reach his ankle? He looked into Felix’s alluring eyes. Nathan wouldn’t dare ask what was in store for him.

Felix moved Nathan’s shirt up and pressed a kiss to his abdomen. “Enjoy,” Felix whispered with his deep voice. He kept pushing the other man’s shirt until he could see his nipples.

“Don’t look,” Nathan mumbled and turned his eyes away. Felix gazed at him with such desire. For some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to stop the shape-shifter. For the most part, he got curious with what Felix could do.

Sliding his hands on Nathan’s sides, Felix made a trace of kisses on the human’s chest, stopping to have a taste of the pert nipples. Nathan arched his back as Felix licked each of them.

A quiet moan escaped Nathan’s mouth once the shape-shifter nibbled one of his nipples. He opened his eyes and looked down as Felix slid his hand along his hip, until it roamed into his pants. Once Felix wrapped his hand around the stiff cock, Nathan gasped. He couldn’t speak. If he did, the only thing that would come out of his mouth was to tell Felix to stop. Perhaps the shape-shifter hadn’t been the only stubborn one. Nathan didn’t want to give in, though.

Felix crawled backwards until he could see the other man’s twitching shaft. All of a sudden, Nathan’s hands got in the way. “Hey,” Felix protested and looked up at Nathan’s blushing cheeks. “I won’t stare at your dick any longer, so let me do this.” He stared as Nathan moved them away hesitantly. Gulping, Felix pressed a sloppy kiss to the human’s cock.

Giving up for now, Nathan slid his hands through his hair as Felix did whatever he wanted to him. The sucking was passionate, yet painfully slow. Felix seemed strangely into it for someone who he’d met days ago.

Felix bobbed his head as best he could to please Nathan. He lapped his tongue on the tip, teasing the slit of the cock. He turned his eyes up to gaze at Nathan’s expression. Grinning, the shape-shifter licked two of his fingers while his other hand stroked the other man’s shaft as a distraction.

Nathan widened his eyes once he felt a slick finger circling his entrance. “What the...?” That finger slid into his ass without hesitation, thrusting in and out immediately. It wasn’t as bad as he’d thought, though. Felix became gentle in a brief second.

Bending the human’s legs, Felix lowered his head again and engulfed his cock. A jolt of Nathan’s body confirmed that he’d found his hidden sweet spot. So he slid another finger into the eager hole and thrust them all over the prostrate, earning blissful groans and pleas for more.

Nathan grabbed Felix’s hair, the messy ponytail undoing, and the long, soft hair scattering all over him and the bed. With half-lidded eyes, he gazed at Felix. Why did he have to look so breathtaking? Unable to hold back any longer, Nathan threw his head backwards and buried his feet on the mattress as he came in Felix’s hand. The jolt of pleasure was so intense that he couldn’t utter a single sound.

Gulping, Felix crawled on top of Nathan, his hands on the human’s sides. He watched the other man panting, shaking and sweating. Although in a daze, Nathan looked satisfied. “See? You’re like this, but I’m not going to take advantage of you. I can control myself. Do you still hate me?”