Story excerpt

The smell of blood and fear hit his nostrils, rousing the predator within him. His beast paced, anxious, and Maddox was a step away from shifting when he spotted something white in the grass.

As he approached, Maddox realized the “something” in question was actually a fallen bird, a beautiful white dove. It was still twitching, and waves of panic and confusion flowed off it. Upon first sight, Maddox couldn’t tell the gender of the dove, but his wolf instincts somehow identified the bird as being male. Not only that, but there was intelligence in the bird’s erratic emotions, an intelligence unlike that of animals. Maddox knew that what he was looking at was no common animal, but a shape-shifter.

At the same time, it was easy enough to see that the bird also suffered from an injury, a gunshot wound. Protectiveness swelled through Maddox at the sight, and he slowly picked up the frightened dove, his heart hammering as the small shifter cooed in terrified protest.

“Shh,” Maddox whispered, gently caressing the dove’s wing. “Don’t worry. No one’s going to hurt you.”

The bird shifter quieted down, his black eyes still pained. Maddox eyed his wing, trying to assess the injury. The bullet was not lodged into the dove’s flesh, but the appendage did look broken. For a normal bird, the injury would mean its guaranteed death. He would have fallen victim to predation in no time. But a shifter could change into his human form and set the bone back in place.

However, the dove clearly feared exposing himself. Not only that, but Maddox heard a normal human making his way toward them. It must be the person who’d shot the beautiful bird. For a few moments, Maddox seriously considered shifting into his wolf form and hunting down the guy. The damn human wouldn’t like being hunted like he did with harmless doves. He only managed to suppress this instinct because this plan would imply abandoning the dove. For some reason, Maddox couldn’t stomach that thought. He wished he’d brought his own trusty shotgun, but in truth, he rarely used it, and it wasn’t exactly something he kept with his fishing tackle.

At last, a large, burly man appeared from the trees. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Maddox. Maddox was not surprised by the man’s reaction. His size and muscles were intimidating for most normal humans, and this guy was obviously used to dealing with people smaller or weaker than himself.

Still, the stranger’s stupidity must have been just as large as his ego. “Hey, what in the world are you doing, man?” he called out. “That’s my prey.”

Maddox just stared at the guy, just barely managing to control his fury. “Are you an idiot, or are you crazy? This is a dove. They’re a domestic species. You don’t hunt them down with shotguns.”

In fact, most pigeons were protected by law. Some species could be hunted down as pests, but not the white dove, or the white homing pigeon. Doves in particular were quite helpless, as they lacked the homing instinct other birds boasted. Maddox didn’t know to what extent his dove had it, or how the small shifter had gotten here in the first place, but he did know that he would not allow any harm to come to the dove.

“I don’t care about that.” The stranger sneered at him. “Those laws are for tree huggers and pussies. I’m getting bird dinner tonight, and no self-righteous prick is getting in my way.”

And with that, he pointed his large shotgun at Maddox. Maddox couldn’t believe his eyes. Slowly, he placed the dove on the ground, regretting the loss of contact even as the beautiful bird cooed in protest. The guy smirked, obviously believing Maddox meant to back off. But Maddox intended no such thing. Instead, he shot forward, reaching the intruder before the man could even blink. The guy released a shocked sound, but he didn’t get the chance to flee or shoot his weapon. Maddox snatched his shotgun then grabbed him by his neck and lifted him in the air, squeezing relentlessly. He pinned the stranger to a nearby tree, his voice nearly a growl as he spoke. “You fool. Don’t ever dare to point a gun at me. Who do you think you are? You’re nothing, no one. I can kill you right now, and no one would ever know.”

The man’s eyes were wide, and he was starting to get a little blue due to Maddox blocking his air supply. He futilely tried to claw at Maddox’s hand, but Maddox was relentless. He didn’t enjoy hurting people, but this time, he reveled in seeing the man’s fear and pain. His wolf howled in satisfaction, demanding retribution for the hurt the stranger had caused.

However, he was no killer, and he didn’t have the time to dispose of the man. The beautiful, injured dove needed him. “Now, get the fuck off my land. If I ever see you roaming around here, I’ll shove this shotgun up your ass.” He shook the guy for good measure, just to get his point across a little better. “Got that?”

He dropped the man on the ground and spat on him. Even if he wasn’t one to kick a person when he was down, he couldn’t resist directing a kick toward the stranger’s abdomen. Thankfully, he managed to keep his strength in check because a blow with his full power might have caused internal injuries.

The guy grunted and tried to crawl away. Maddox just walked back to his dove, making no attempt to follow. He was satisfied with having kept his beast sufficiently in check. What little use he’d made of his abilities could have simple explanations for normal humans. His size and build allowed for that. In any case, the stranger was unlikely to return, and Maddox had more pressing concerns.

ADULT EXCERPT

“God, Maddox, fuck me!”

How could Maddox deny him? It was what he wanted, too, what he desperately needed. Even as he hollowed his cheeks, sucking Avery with all he had, he opened the tube of lube and squirted a generous amount on his fingers. He rubbed one slick digit against Avery’s opening and slowly breached it, seeking that special spot that would make Avery fly. He took his time, and only when Avery didn’t tense up did Maddox dare to add a second finger.

Avery pushed back against the invading digits, his passage squeezing them so tight Maddox could only imagine how it would feel around his cock. Encouraged by the response, he scissored his fingers inside Avery, crooking them just so until he found his mate’s prostate. Avery arched his back and cried out, going wild. The dove’s apprehension seemed to have melted completely in the heat of desire. Maddox could no longer feel any fear coming from him, just need, and yes, confusion. Clearly, Avery was not used to such sensations, which made it even more important for Maddox to take it slow.

By now, Avery’s voice had dissolved into a litany of “Fuck me, fuck me, fuck me,” peppered by Maddox’s name, over and over. It was growing increasingly hard for Maddox to resist the lure of doing just that, with hard being the operative word. Maddox thought that he might have a permanent case of blue balls if he didn’t get to fuck Avery soon.

Even so, he didn’t rush, choosing to add a third finger inside Avery instead. He started sucking on Avery’s prick even harder and then took the dove’s cock deep into his throat and swallowed around the head. With a choked cry, Avery came, and Maddox almost found his peak as well just at the taste of Avery’s passion.

The only thing that held him back was his need to be inside his lover when he came. He drank down every drop and released Avery’s still-half-hard cock from his mouth. Avery looked up at him, his eyes glazed with the aftermath of pleasure. Maddox had never seen a more beautiful sight in his life.

Knowing that Avery’s body would be relaxed now due to the orgasm, Maddox lifted his mate’s legs on his shoulders. They didn’t need protection since Maddox’s most common sex partner was his own hand and Avery was clearly a virgin. Besides, the S.E.X. factor influencing their genes had ensured that most diseases didn’t stick to them.

Maddox slicked his cock up with a liberal amount of lubricant and pressed his cock against Avery’s fluttering hole. Slowly, he pushed inside his mate’s passage, all the while holding Avery’s gaze, studying the dove for any signs of pain.

Avery clung to his shoulders and released a small sound that seemed like a cross between a moan and a whimper. There was so much emotion written in his eyes, in his beautiful expressive face. In that moment, Avery was an open book for Maddox, and the things he read there humbled him.

Avery was so tight that it took a superhuman effort not to thrust in violently like his body demanded. Instead, he slid in slowly, gritting his teeth as the hot velvet of Avery’s passage engulfed. Finally, he was balls-deep inside his mate, Avery fully impaled on his prick.

He remained still for a few moments, allowing Avery to get used to the sensation of being invaded.

It was the longest wait of his life, but at last, Avery smiled up at him and nodded. “I’m okay. You can move.”

Maddox almost lost it right then and there. He pulled out of Avery, then slid back in slowly. No matter what Avery said, it always paid to be careful with a virgin. When there were no signs of pain on Avery’s face, Maddox allowed himself to increase the pace. He pulled Avery closer and shifted the angle, thrusting against Avery’s special spot.

If until then Avery had seemingly enjoyed the mere union of their bodies, now it became completely different. Avery pushed back against him, meeting Maddox thrust for thrust. They turned into beings of pure pleasure, the sexual energy arching between them snaking over their flesh. With each push, Maddox began to lose it more and more, until his resolve to remain in control dissipated in the heat of passion. Avery was simply too beautiful, his white-blond hair clinging to his sweaty forehead, his full lips swollen from Maddox’s kisses, and his heart reaching out to Maddox’s.

Over and over, Maddox thrust his prick inside Avery, each time harder than before. An almost insane urge gripped him, the desire to bury himself so deep they wouldn’t ever be separated. The bed creaked, protesting the abuse, and the noise added to the symphony of pleasure rising around them. Grunts, groans, moans, and gasps, and the distinctive sound of flesh slapping against flesh surrounded Maddox and Avery, enveloping them in a cocoon of their own making. In that moment, only the two of them existed, bound by their bodies and their souls.