STORY EXCERPT

There was only one thing Nathan Holfeld could think of that would help a vampire currently in the middle of burning to death and that was this:

To bury him alive.

He didn’t actually stick the guy six feet under, though he would probably really deserved it. No, it was more that Nathan brought him to the first bit of soft Earth he could find, dug it up, and then proceeded to gently scoop the dark, cool mud and dirt on the other man until he was almost entirely covered.

He left a little space for his nose. Nathan didn’t exactly have straws he could stick in there, so it meant there was a small portion of the other man that was exposed to the dim light beneath the canopy of trees.

A few leaves helped with that.

Then it was done. There was no way any sunlight could touch him like this, and Nathan could breathe a heavy sigh.

Holy shit. He’d done it. He’d found him, the source of that amazing smell was right here.

And now he had no idea what to do with him.

“I thought vampires could handle a couple of minutes in the sun?”

That was what he’d thought. It seemed that way with Davin and Billy, the two new vampire pets who had taken up with Triton and Wilson. Nathan especially hated Billy. That damned prick thought he was so smart and so tough, but he was just an asshole looking to show off.

This, on the other hand…

Nathan had no idea what he was supposed to do with this.

He put his hand on the pile of dirt, feeling for the heartbeat. And he was beyond relieved when he got it. Still alive. That was good.

But why was that good? It made no sense. Just because he smelled nice…

Did the others smell this nice?

Nathan rubbed his chin. He was supposed to be keeping watch over the prisoners, but he and Gilles had been called away for a meeting. And that little shithead, Billy, had released all the prisoners when they were gone. It was a stupid move for him, for Gilles, and especially for Triton.

Nathan was kind of convinced the other man called him and Gilles away on purpose, and maybe he had…

Whatever. He couldn’t think about that or the nice smell. The vampire was buried where the sun could not reach him, and that was the most important thing.

The second most important thing was making sure this wasn’t some sort of trap that he was stupidly walking into.

He was most likely walking into some stupid trap.

If he was, Gilles was sure as hell never going to let him live it down. But no one came. It had been long enough. From the moment Nathan had found his little vampire sitting against the pine tree, looking like death was licking at his face, Nathan had thought of the possibility that he was being tricked.

But no one came. Those green eyes had opened through the layer of burned and cracked skin, and still no one came.

It suggested his friends had been forced to abandon him in order to keep going. Maybe they’d even taken what small protection he’d had from the sun, and that was what had caused the burning to accelerate.

Vampires were supposed to be able to handle some small amount of sunlight. A few minutes in direct light at the very most before they started to feel the heat, before their bodies smoked and burned.

Even then, fires weren’t entirely common. It was a slow burn. Kind of a shitty way to die, actually. Even if the man he’d saved was a total blood sucker, that didn’t change the fact that Nathan was glad he’d saved him. At least no one could ever accuse him of being uncaring towards his enemy.

He searched around for something to eat, berries for food and for medicine. They would be going nowhere until the sun dropped, and he hoped his new vampire friend healed fast, because Nathan had zero interest in spending too long out of doors.

He wanted to get back to his pack. Back where it would be safe, and where he was less likely to be ambushed by more blood sucking vampires.

He shifted, finding small edibles he could munch on, and even a stream with fresh water. It had been a while since he’d drank his fill, so that had felt nice. After hunting a deer and filling his belly, Nathan made his way back to the buried vampire.

God, it looked like a grave mound. Too creepy, but still, Nathan could not bring himself to leave the other man alone like that.

He had to stay.

But only because he needed to bring the prisoner back where he belonged. It had nothing to do with that oddly nice smell.

Nathan curled up next to the grave, his tail settling over his paws for warmth. Vampires were meant to sleep during the day. They were nocturnal, meant to wander the nights, and it would be a few hours before night came. He might as well nap until then.

When the vampire woke up, Nathan would take him to that stream for water. Maybe it would help the poor bastard with his wounds, which were going to hurt like hell when he woke up. Nathan couldn’t believe he actually pitied a vampire, but there it was.

He slept fitfully, strange dreams plaguing him, dreams where he was still chasing down the vampire. He was desperate to catch the other man, to bring him back to the pack, but no matter how fast he ran, no matter how much he begged the man to come back, he always stayed out of reach.

And that wonderful smell just kept getting farther and farther away until all he had was nothing. His own emptiness.

And the fear that came with that.

ADULT EXCERPT

Nathan didn’t take his eyes away from the creature. Not until he could no longer see it in the dark brush of woods and trees. Even then, he waited another minute before turning and facing Grim.

The vampire who had seemed so brave a moment ago, now looked a little pale. Even for a vampire, he was white as fresh snow. His eyes were wide, his lips pursed. He was clearly trying to put on a brave front, but it didn’t seem to be working, because Nathan could see right through it.

He shrank back down to something a little more human, and he forgot where he was standing because now Nathan was the one who was waist deep in cold water.

It made his cock shrivel up quick, that was for sure.

“You don’t have to be scared anymore. It won’t come back for you.”

Grim shook his head. “Christ, it wasn’t the bear.”

“It… oh.” Nathan immediately understood, and then he couldn’t help but feel an immense sense of pride and pleasure over that. “Scared of me in my wolf shape, are you?”

Grim glared at him. “Your kind tears my kind to pieces, so yes, it unnerves me a little. But just a little.”

“Uh, no. My kind does not run around mindlessly killing vampires. Don’t get your facts wrong there.”

Grim looked away from him. He seemed annoyed again, but at least there was some color returning to his cheeks. “Whatever.”

Was it just Nathan, or did Grim’s bottom lip happen to look a little puffier? As though he’d been biting it?

“Do I scare you?”

The bob of Grim’s Adam’s apple was apparent. “No.”

He was lying. Nathan wasn’t a mind reader, and he wasn’t exactly the best in the world at being able to tell something like that, but in this, he could tell. He stepped forward, and the fearsome vampire assassin stepped back. “You are afraid of me.”

“I know what you’re capable of. That’s enough to be concerned.”

“I saved your life.”

“So?”

“Aren’t you loyal to Adolphus because he did something for you? I just saved your life twice. You’re telling me you feel nothing? No loyalty? No nothing?”

“What else do you want me to feel other than loyalty?”

That was a good question, and Nathan was pretty sure he didn’t have the answer to that.

But there was something he did feel that he couldn’t ignore, and he was curious to see if the vampire felt it, too. Which was why he grabbed onto the back of the blood sucker’s neck, yanked him forward, and kissed him hard on the mouth.

Grim didn’t move at first. He must have been too shocked by being grabbed and yanked forward like that, not to mention the kiss. Nathan only just got to slide his tongue across the crease of Grim’s lips before the vampire seemed to wake up to what was happening, and he roughly pushed Nathan back.

Grim’s chest heaved. He wiped the back of his hand over his mouth, all the while still glaring at Nathan.

“Don’t do that again.”

Nathan licked his lips, and God, he could still taste the vampire on his mouth.

And he tasted great.

Burned taste and all.

“I think you want me to kiss you again.”

“What?” Grim couldn’t have sounded more shocked if Nathan told him he was pregnant with a litter of kittens. “You’re crazy!”

“Then why do you keep looking at my mouth?”

Grim shook his head. “That’s entirely in your perverted head.”

“Uh huh.” Nathan took another step forward. He was so sure he was right. “You know, if you wanted to try something, no one else is around.”

“Yeah, I know that.”

“So, you’re worried I’ll take advantage of you while no one else is here to protect you?”

Grim stopped backing up. “That’s not what worries me.”

“I didn’t think so. You’re pretty helpless like this, but you could still fight back if you thought I would do something. You wouldn’t win, mind you, but you have yet to throw a punch at me.”

Grim didn’t lie and say he was worried about his skin splitting again. He didn’t bother with that kind of excuse. Maybe he respected Nathan enough to know he would see right through it.

“I’ll give you this chance to say no, so you’d better say it.”

“I’m saying it right now.”

“No, you’re not. You’re just shocked. So say no if you’re that disgusted by a werewolf touching you, otherwise, if you want to try something with me, no one is here to see us, no one can judge us for it. And if you never wanted to talk about it ever again after this, you could totally do that, too.”

Nathan gave Grim a minute to think about that. He could see those thoughts swirling behind the man’s eyes. And he was considering it. That was the best part about this.

He was considering it, and Nathan could see it when the man’s mind was made up.

Grim looked pointedly at him, then glanced around as though making absolutely sure there was no one here to see what he was doing before he pointed his finger in Nathan’s face.

“No one gets to know about this.”

He knew it. Nathan had been right. He hadn’t been the only one thinking these thoughts.

He put his hands beneath the water, reaching out and finding the hard length of Grim’s cock there.

Grim inhaled a hard breath as Nathan stroked his dick. And Nathan was definitely high on his own importance as he started getting the other man off. “I knew you were looking at my dick.”

Grim gave him a dirty look. “H-hard not to look at it when you walk around with it swinging in the breeze like that.”

“Uh huh.” He was enjoying this too much. Grim could bitch about it all he wanted, but he’d been eying Nathan about as much as Nathan had been looking at him.

They were just curious about each other, and since Grim smelled nice, it was no wonder Nathan would want to know how it felt.

In a strange way, he was shocked by how ordinary the man’s cock felt in his hand. He wasn’t sure what he expected a vampire’s dick to feel like, but this was not it.

It was just so… normal.