Authors: Erin M. Leaf
Raphael trembled. “Yeah, right
there.
Almost there, Gabriel.”
He writhed in Gabriel’s
arms, hot and slick and incredible. “God!” he finally burst out, hips going
still as his cock pulsed hotly between them.
That was enough to send Gabriel
over. He groaned
,
biting down as he climaxed, the
pleasure so intense he couldn’t see for a moment. His entire world narrowed
down to Raphael: his smell, his energy,
his
gorgeous
wings, so white they blinded him. Gabriel held on tightly as they glided
clumsily for a few seconds, wobbling in the air until he could unclench his
muscles. He caught the edge of the winds barely keeping them steady and controlled
their flight, shuddering in the aftereffects of the most incredible orgasm of
his life.
After a few moments, Raphael’s
wings gently unfurled. Gabriel unknotted his fingers, sliding down Raphael’s
arms until they were holding hands. It was difficult to fly this way, but he
didn’t care.
“I guess that answers that
question,” Raphael said, amusement threading through his voice.
“What question?” Gabriel asked. His
voice was wrecked. Had he been screaming?
Raphael flicked a wing at him. “I’m
really an Omega. That’s kind of insane.”
Gabriel smiled. “Well, I had no
idea I was gay. How’s that for crazy?”
Raphael look of surprise was
comical. “No idea?”
Gabriel lifted a shoulder. “What
can I say, I’m a late bloomer.”
Raphael laughed and ran his hands
down Gabriel’s wings again. “We’ll just have to make up for lost time.”
Gabriel shivered at the sensuality
of his mate putting hands on him like that.
“God.
Why
does that feel so good?” He looked down, guiding them closer to the ground.
Raphael leaned in, kissing him. “Our
wings are sacred.”
Gabriel kissed him back
passionately. “You are sacred to me, Raphael.”
Raphael broke the kiss, mouth wet
as he looked at Gabriel. “I can’t believe this is real.”
“It’s very real,” Gabriel
said,
half-grimacing and half-smiling as he realized they
were both covered in spunk. “And I think we need a shower. It doesn’t get any more
real than that.” He brought them down into a careful landing. They were in the
woods just outside his house.
“I hope no one saw that flight,”
Raphael muttered, stepping back. “I never even imagined it was possible to have
sex while flying.” He grinned suddenly. “Hey! We’re part of the mile-high club
now.”
Gabriel groaned. “That’s not
funny.”
“It totally is,” Raphael said,
chuckling. He
glanced
around
. “Where are we?”
“My house,” Gabriel said. He
pointed through the trees.
“The house where your
mother
lives?”
The horror in Raphael’s voice made
Gabriel chuckle. “Yes.”
“Oh dear God, this is totally not
how I wanted to meet my mother-in-law,” he muttered, wiping at his stomach. It
didn’t help much. He smeared the mess around some more before giving up.
“Don’t worry. She’s not home right
now.” Gabriel tugged him into the yard. He absolutely did
not
find
Raphael’s embarrassment cute. He eyed his mate, smiling.
“Okay, fine, but what about your
sister? Ariel will tease us forever if she catches us like this.”
Gabriel stopped short, horror
trickling down his spine. “Oh, crap.” Before they could take another step, the
front door slammed open. Gabriel looked at the porch reluctantly, already
knowing what he’d see. Sure enough, Ariel stood in front of the door, eyes wide
and shocked.
Damn,
he thought, cringing inside. He didn’t try and cover
himself. It was already too late. Raphael ducked behind him. He didn’t blame
the man. His own cock had shriveled up and was even now futilely trying to
crawl inside his body.
“Holy shit, Gabriel!
When you said you were
going to claim your mate, I did
not
expect the two of you to show up
naked in the front yard!” Ariel shrieked.
Gabriel flinched. He had no idea
his sister’s voice could go
that
high.
His mate sighed resignedly behind
him. “‘Crap’ is not a strong enough word for what I’m feeling right now.”
Chapter Five
Raphael leaned back in the kitchen
chair, finally semi-relaxed. His borrowed sweatpants were warm and comfy and
smelled like Gabriel. That made him happy. He was eating a delicious bowl of
homemade chili. And his mate was smiling at him, seemingly not at all disturbed
to have participated in an incredible flight that included mid-air gay sex. Not
having to deal with a sudden attack of I-thought-I-was-straight panic was
definitely high on Raphael’s list of things to be thankful for.
More importantly, aside from the
initial freak-out she’d had on the porch, Ariel had been incredibly nice and
relaxed and kind about the entire Omega-mate-claiming thing. Gabriel hadn’t
even had to say anything to her to calm her down. As soon as she realized how
embarrassed they were and how loud she was being, she’d clapped a hand over her
mouth and backed into the house. She’d mumbled ‘sorry’ and fled to her room
until he and Gabriel showered and dressed. Now, all three of them were
functioning comfortably under the illusion that she hadn’t seen either him or
her brother naked. He could totally get behind that kind of epic repression.
“So, are you nervous about the
challenge thing?” Ariel asked him, sipping her water.
Raphael blinked, taken aback by the
blunt question. What was she talking about?
Challenge?
He frowned, thinking about Samael. He’d hoped they wouldn’t have to deal with
him until they’d both had a chance to settle into their mating. Something must
have happened before Gabriel came to get him at the park, dammit. Maybe his day
wasn’t actually going to end as smoothly as he’d hoped. One look at Ariel’s
face told him that it definitely wasn’t. “What challenge thing?” He glanced at
Gabriel who glared at his sister.
“Ah, hell,” she said, quickly
setting her water on the table. Some sloshed over the edge and she pushed a
napkin at it, trying to sop up the spill. “You didn’t tell him?” she asked her
brother.
“No, I didn’t tell him,” Gabriel
ground out. He glanced apologetically at Raphael.
“Yet.”
Raphael carefully placed his spoon
on the side of his plate. “Let me guess—you’re going to challenge Samael for
leadership of the People.” For some reason he felt like he couldn’t breathe
properly. Was it hot in here? The windows were open, though. The filmy curtains
moved in the breeze.
“Uh, not
going
to challenge,”
Gabriel said quietly. “I already did.
Sort of.
We meet
tomorrow night at ten.”
Raphael frowned, not sure he
understood.
Tomorrow?
He couldn’t be serious.
“Gabriel didn’t challenge him, per
se,” Ariel explained earnestly. “Samael showed up here, all pissed off. He’d
heard rumors about Gabriel’s wings. When he saw the change, he freaked out.”
She reached out and clasped Raphael’s hand. “There was no choice.”
Raphael slid his hand away and
stood up, pacing over to the window above the kitchen sink. “I just got you and
now I might lose you.” He whirled around, not sure if he was angry or
frightened. “I don’t want to lose you. Not so soon. Not
ever.
”
Gabriel walked over to him and
cupped his face with his hands. “You won’t. I’m going to win.” His body pressed
into Raphael, strong and sure.
Raphael looked into Gabriel’s
golden eyes, seeing nothing but confidence there. “You can’t know that.”
“He can,” Ariel said, standing and
walking over too. She slid an arm around Gabriel’s waist, hugging him for a
moment. “It’s long past time that the People had a good leader.” She gestured
to their legacy marks. “We haven’t had a true Alpha and Omega in centuries, if
ever.” She touched Raphael’s arm. “Now we have both. I know Samael is scared, I
saw it in his face when he was here. He knows he’s been a dictator, as was his
father and grandfather before him. The People deserve better. Surely, as a
teacher, you know that. You’re the keeper of our history.”
Raphael swallowed hard. Everything
she said was true. “Well, shit. When you put it that way…” He trailed off.
Gabriel smiled at him. “We
will
win,” he repeated, kissing Raphael
swiftly.
“My brother’s going to kill me,”
Raphael muttered, smiling helplessly back.
“Your brother?
You have a brother?”
Ariel asked.
Raphael snorted. “He’s kind of
reclusive.” He looked at Gabriel’s face. “Don’t worry, he’ll accept you.
Us.
He’s not homophobic. I’ve been gay since birth. He used
to beat up the kids who picked on me when we were children.”
“I think I like your brother,”
Gabriel said, moving next to Raphael.
“I hope you still feel that way
after you meet him,” Raphael said, chuckling. “He can be a little intense.”
“I’m an Alpha archangel. You are my
Omega. I think together we can handle him.” Gabriel chuckled.
Raphael shrugged,
then
decided to just get it over with. There was never any
easy way to mention his brother’s power. “He’s a sorcerer.”
Ariel paled. “Wait, what? That’s
impossible.”
He raised his eyebrows at her. “So
is this.” He traced his silvery marks.
“There’s no such thing as magic,
not anymore,” she insisted. “God took that gift away from us.”
Raphael looked at Gabriel, sure of
one thing even in the midst of his worry. “Things are changing. And nothing is
truly impossible.”
****
Early that evening, Raphael lounged
against Gabriel, soaking up the fading sunlight. He’d taken his Alpha home to
the little cabin he rented on the edge of a state forest. It was secluded here.
Quiet. He’d chosen it for that very reason, knowing that the year he’d spend
with the People’s preeminent clan would test his ability to keep his mental
balance. He needed to be alone to meditate, to absorb the stories he was
learning. He’d had no idea, back when he first came here at his brother’s
request, that
he wouldn’t actually be leaving after his promised
year was done.
“We’re going to live in the castle.
Castle Archangel, the seat of our People in the new world,” he said, idly
tracing a finger up Gabriel’s chest. Neither of them wore shirts, but the
warmth his mate gave off kept him from growing chilled as the evening cooled
down. “That’s going to be very weird.” He shoved his toes under the blanket at
the foot of the bed.
“Not as weird as realizing that you’d
suddenly become Alpha.
And that your destined mate was a
dude.”
Gabriel laughed.
“A ‘dude?’”
Raphael lifted his head,
smiling. “Those words sound weird coming from your mouth.”
“I can’t be the serious Alpha all
the time,” Gabriel said, poking him.
Raphael squirmed,
then
his smile faded. “Does it freak you out? That I’m a
man, I mean.”
His mate sighed. “It freaks me out
that it
doesn’t
freak me out.” He
rolled over, snuggling up against Raphael as he pushed him into the mattress. “I
ought to be completely weirded out by my attraction to you, but instead when we’re
close you just make me feel like I’ve come home.” He kissed Raphael lightly,
then
nibbled down his jaw. “I’ve had a few girlfriends, but
something was always missing. We never really connected.” He pulled away and
shrugged, smiling. “I don’t know why it never occurred to me to date guys. I
just never thought about it.”
Raphael bit his lip. “Maybe it’s
not so much that you’re gay or straight as it is that you’re Alpha. You have
one destined mate. You’re our chosen leader, regardless of what happens at the
challenge. Your wings and strength show this. And as a species, our instincts
are not human, much as we pretend they are for convenience’s sake so we can get
along in the world.” He paused, thinking. “We haven’t had an Alpha in so
long,
it’s not as if we can ask what it feels like. Our oral
histories convey acts, not emotions.”
Gabriel’s smile faded.
“Instinct.
That’s what it felt like when I first saw you.”
“That was before the change, wasn’t
it?”
Gabriel nodded.
“God chose us,” he said, feeling
his gut tighten at the thought of such a responsibility. He ran his hands down
Gabriel’s back. “I suspected our People would be changing, years ago.
When my brother’s wings first began to turn to midnight blue.”
“He is a true sorcerer, then?”
Gabriel asked.
Raphael nodded. “He has the power
of the wind.”
“He will need to come here,”
Gabriel murmured, obviously thinking of the future.