Devin’s hands cupped Ace’s jaw, and Ace noted how much bigger they were. It was as though Ace’s entire head was encased in his mate’s gentle embrace. It was comforting, and Ace didn’t feel a scrap of fear. He knew in his heart that Devin would never hurt him – no matter what his form.
“You need your pack, amatus,” Devin said in a low voice. “I know your wolf needs his pack to survive. And you didn’t let me down. You were just trying to follow orders.”
“I’ve been without before, and I can do it again. But I can’t do without you,” Ace assured him. “Just don’t hurt them. They don’t understand.”
“Actually, we understand all too well,” Pearson said and Ace looked up and saw to his shock that the bound men were untangling themselves from the chains. He looked up at Devin and saw that he didn’t have to stretch his head up as high as he did before. Devin was returning to his original form. As soon as Devin hit his human size, Ace grabbed Devin tight inhaling his scent and kissing all over the lovely man’s face. Ace didn’t have a clue what was happening but he didn’t care.
Striding over to Kyle, who was still bound in his chains, Pearson snarled at him. “I should make you stay in these chains for the next two weeks so you can see for yourself what it is like to be without your mate. I would do it too, but Teric hasn’t done anything wrong. Since when do you defy my orders and keep Ace on DM duty five nights in a row? What right did you have to prevent Devin from coming to the club?”
“I didn’t prevent him from coming to the club, Alpha. I just said he couldn’t talk to Ace while Ace was working.” Kyle sounded like a broken man. Guess the threat of losing your Alpha and Alpha Mate all in one go would do that even to the strongest enforcer.
“You had no right,” Pearson thundered, and Ace’s wolf winced. He didn’t like it when the Alpha was angry. “Devin is a part of this pack. It is his right to come to the club, spend time with his mate, get to know the other pack members. And Ace is mated. You know I don’t allow mated pack members to work seven days a week. All wolves have the right to spend uninterrupted time with their mates, and Ace more so than anyone given Devin’s needs. You denied them that because of your own stupid grudge.”
“The vampire threatened you and the Alpha Mate. He should be put to death for that.” Ace figured Kyle just didn’t know when to shut up because he could already see from the grins on Teric and Steel’s faces that the whole thing had been a set up. Devin was going to be punished for his part in this all right. But it would be under Ace’s hands, not the Alphas’.
“This was my plan to get you to see reason,” Pearson said in a calmer voice. “Keeping the pack secure is more than having the sheer brute strength to fight off attackers. It also means knowing the needs of every individual member and meeting those needs. Devin is over five hundred years old and a vampire. If he doesn’t spend time with his mate he could go into a blood rage. You were told that and you didn’t listen because you put your own petty grievances before the good of the pack.”
Ace wanted to hear more, but he felt Devin tremble in his arms. Looking down Ace saw Devin’s eyes were red again and the man’s fists were clenched tight. The first time might have been an act, but Devin was fast losing his control.
“My apologies, Alpha,” Ace said quickly. “But Devin needs help, now. Can I?”
“You’re excused,” Pearson said with a smile. “Kyle and Teric will be here for a while longer. You have a two week holiday coming and I understand that Steel has given Devin the same time off. We clearly need to factor in additional mating bond time when vampires are concerned.”
“Yes Alpha,” but Ace wasn’t really paying attention. He had heard the magic word, “excused,” and that was all he needed. Tucking Devin up under his arm, he looked down at his mate and said, “Five minutes, mate. Focus on me and give me five minutes.” Devin nodded, but didn’t say anything. Ace could see his mate’s fangs had dropped again. Five minutes was going to be cutting things fine.
Chapter Thirteen
Gritting your teeth while
not
impaling yourself with your own fangs is not easy, but Devin had had plenty of experience. He let Ace drag him through the club, trusting his
amatus
to get him somewhere safe, but he wasn’t sure he would be able to retain his human form once they got there. And if he turned, before Ace got him bound, well, Devin just hoped Ace was a flexible Dom. Killing everything in sight wasn’t the only way to work through a blood urge – it was just the effect that made the most mess and caused the most gossip.
By the time the two men got to the door of one of the playrooms, Devin could feel his skin start to stretch, his bones elongate to account for his additional size. He knew his eyes would be glowing red orbs, and he felt a familiar tingle as his claws started morphing out of his fingertips.
“Holy shit, not again,” Ace said, as he got the playroom door open and shoved Devin inside, bolting it behind them both. As Devin went through the change he could hear Ace yelling at him, trying to get him to stand down and take the submissive role, but as immeasurable power and a hot fire burned through his blood stream, Devin chose not to listen.
Having only changed less than an hour before, this second time would be a lot harder to control, if Devin even gave that option a thought. Which he did, for about two seconds flat. But the words he said to Kyle, the resentment Devin felt over being kept from his
amatus
by a puny wolf pack, and the fact that he hadn’t fed in ages all stoked Devin’s need for control and he roared as he felt the fire coursing through his blood stream.
This was what made vampires so dangerous. The addictive feeling of power over all others, the strength that matured with every year a vampire aged – God, Devin hadn’t wallowed in his vampire identity for decades. He stretched out his arms, as he roared again. It felt fucking marvelous.
With energy zinging through his veins like an overdose of caffeine, Devin searched the room, every sense heightened by his change. No threats. Nothing to fight. Nothing living in the room at all, except his beloved
amatus
. Ace stood in the center of the room, his arms crossed and Devin couldn’t get a read on the expression on his
amatus’
face. That solid, dependable face topping a thick, strong body. Ace wouldn’t break under the pounding from a vampire, and Devin didn’t even try and hide the salacious grin that graced his face.
A look of uncertainty crossed Ace’s features, but Devin ignored it. Striding over he reached out and gently caressed Ace’s face and dragged his claws through that long chestnut hair. Silky smooth and strong, just like his beloved. Devin loved Ace’s hair.
“Devin, are you all right? Do you need to feed?” Good, his
amatus
wasn’t afraid of him in this form. That would make things so much easier. Because Devin had plans and there was nothing on earth that was going to stop him from carrying them out.
“I am going to have you now,” Devin said as the strong scent of rum and walnuts hit his nostrils. “I am going to fuck you and feed from you and claim you in the way of the vampires. You will be mine.”
A frown crossed Ace’s face, and Devin smoothed it out with the tip of one of his claws. He watched, waiting for Ace to come to the same realization he had when they met. He was bigger, stronger, and should be the dominant one. Devin didn’t want to take the Dominance away from his
amatus
, but in this form, Devin wasn’t about to take no for an answer.
“I don’t…I haven’t…I can’t…I’m…No?” Devin almost laughed at the hopeful question. Ace’s wolf wouldn’t put up a fight, but the human side of his muscled hunk just might try.
“No is not an option, precious,” he said firmly. “I will care for you, I will treat your ass like the virgin gift it is, but I will take it. You will not deny your mate. I have waited long enough.”
/~/~/~/~/
Nothing in Ace’s research had said anything about a vampire’s second form and looking at Devin in all of his deadly magnificence, Ace could quickly see why. Most men that looked upon the face of a true vampire would probably be dead, or at the very least, a liquid lunch. Devin didn’t want to eat him, and wasn’t showing any indication that he would hurt him either. But what Devin was asking…Ace had never even considered such a thing before. He was a Dominant wolf. That was why he was so happy when he met Devin, who was supposedly submissive. He would never have to give his ass up to anybody and he had never wanted to.
But the man standing in front of him now was anything but submissive. Ace could smell Devin’s dominance in the air. He could feel the power of it radiating from his mate’s skin. Devin was the ultimate predator – bigger and stronger than anything Ace had ever seen. And the man wanted inside Ace and Ace didn’t think a blow job would cut it. Ace sought out the link with his wolf, hoping for some guidance there, but his silly wolf was already giddy at being in the presence of so much power, and was more than happy for Ace to offer up his anal virginity.
Devin hadn’t moved. He stood silently, his red eyes not leaving Ace’s face for an instant. It was as though they were the only two people in the universe in that moment, and as Ace started to relax, and accept his situation the unbreakable bond between them was all he needed to make his decision. Devin’s scent surrounded him, his mate’s arousal so strong it made Ace feel lightheaded, and for the first time in his life Ace felt the urge to be filled by another. Not just any person. But Devin – his mate, his lover, and the first and only person Ace had ever loved aside from his mother.
Taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Ace stepped forward until his chest was brushing Devin’s. “I love you. I submit,” he said simply, raising his face for a kiss.
One heartbeat. Then another. Then Devin’s eyes glowed an impossibly deep red and he struck. Caught up in a maelstrom of vampire speed Ace found himself stripped and laid out on the bed in the corner of the room in the time it took him to catch his breath. Seconds later Devin’s body blanketed his own, and Ace was smothered in smooth male flesh, the scent of frangipani and oranges and Devin’s need for him branded along one thigh. Fuck, when Devin transformed he kept his proportions. Ace felt his rectum flutter in a twinge of nervousness at the thought of all that meat pounding into him.
Ace’s anxiety soon melted under the concentrated attention of his vampire. Just like the last time Ace had let Devin take control and explore his body, Devin devoured him. The caresses were firmer, the delicious scrape of the nails leaving welts on his skin erotic, the nips drew droplets of blood and soon Ace’s chest resembled a Jackson Pollack painting. But Ace was soaring with the eagles.
Idly Ace wondered if there was something in a vampire’s saliva that encouraged his arousal, but to be honest he was too buzzed to care. When Devin moved down his body and settled between his legs, Ace arched up, his cock crystal hard. But Devin ignored it in favor of licking down across Ace’s ball sack, twirling his tongue until he reached Ace’s hole.
Unable to stop the moans that surged through his throat if he tried, Ace gave up trying. Adages like licking a lollipop or slurping his cream flashed through his head but they were totally inadequate methods of describing Devin’s talented tongue. Ace had felt pretty special after the last rim job Devin had given him. But in this form Devin took talented to a whole new level, his lips and tongue first coaxing and then almost forcing Ace’s body to relax and let him in.
Devin’s hands weren’t idle either, stroking, caressing, scratching across Ace’s skin until every one of Ace’s nerve endings sung a familiar tune –
I need to come
. Devin’s hair tickled Ace’s inner thighs and balls, the man’s broad shoulders effortlessly keeping Ace’s legs apart. Reduced to begging, Ace pleaded, growled, moaned and cajoled Devin – his babble all centered around one common theme – fuck me now, goddammit.
Devin finally lifted his head and Ace thought he would be reaching for the lube. Instead Devin ran the head of his impressive cock over and over Ace’s hole, until it was coated with Devin’s pre-come. Common sense and a strong sense of self-preservation kicked in. Surely Devin wasn’t going to penetrate him without any slick at all?
“Trust me.” Devin’s deep tones rumbled through Ace’s body. “I would never hurt you, beloved.”
That was all it took for Ace to settle. He did trust Devin. He loved his mate and he wanted to provide for his mate in this intimate way. Letting out his breath and relaxing every bone in his body, Ace submitted and Devin pushed in. Ace waited for the pain. He expected it. But there was nothing, not a twinge of discomfort even though Ace felt like he had a watermelon stuck up his ass – he was that full.
Devin pushed in steadily, his eyes locked on Aces’. Up close Ace could see the red wasn’t static. The color in Devin’s eyes swirled in various shades of red with flecks of bright yellow gold flashing in the dim light. It added an ‘other worldly’ effect to Devin’s face and Ace couldn’t look away. He barely grunted when he felt Devin’s thigh’s slap his butt cheeks. The intensity in Devin’s eyes was hypnotic, the look on the man’s face feral in its intensity. This was a side of Devin that Ace had never seen and while Ace wasn’t sure if he liked it, he had to admit that his body was totally on board with what was happening.
“My
amatus
,” Devin said softly, crooning out his words. “My rugged beloved. Ready to be mine for eternity?”
Ace nodded. There really wasn’t anything he could say. His ass was full, his body alive for what felt like the very first time since he had shifted and all he wanted now was for Devin to move.
“Please. Move. I need.” Ace didn’t beg. He was a fucking Dominant wolf shifter, but in that moment he really didn’t care. Devin’s power was overwhelming and he wanted to feel – to belong to someone. To Devin.
It seemed that Devin’s control had been tightly leashed because when the man drew out and then slammed back into his body, Ace damn near flew up the bed. Gripping his hips hard, those claws lightly grazing his skin, Devin stopped Ace from moving anywhere and unleashed a fury of thrusts that would break a softer man. Ace couldn’t thrust back, the entire lower half of his body held in Devin’s grip. Reduced to monosyllabic sounds Ace scrabbled for something to hold onto, settling on Devin’s impressive biceps. Shit, his mate was big in this form.
Devin tilted his body slightly and Ace felt an electrical zing rush through his body. Yes, there it was. Ace had never felt anything touch his prostate before, at least not before Devin, and as Devin kept his cock rubbing that hot spot, Ace’s mind shut down and he became a mindless blob of pleasure filled bliss.
The more Devin pounded, the man a fucking machine on turbo charge, the more Ace lost track of space and time. He didn’t know if they had been going for minutes, hours or days, he just knew he didn’t want it to stop. His own cock was still rampant but Ace didn’t care. He just wanted this feeling of possession and need to go on and on until he fucking died of it.
So lost in his bubble of pleasure, it was a shock when Devin grabbed hold of his cock and started matching his thrusts with the jerk and slide Ace was familiar with. If anything the pleasure levels in Ace increased – something he didn’t think possible.
“You’re gonna come now,” Devin snarled, as a touch of lightening hit Ace’s slit. Devin’s claw. That mental picture was all it took and Ace exploded. White lights behind his eyes so bright they burned him. Tremors running through his body as though he was plugged into a generator. Every nerve ending in his body sang for his mate. In the back of his mind Ace felt a sticky heat coat the inside of his rectum, a loud roar filled his ears and then two sharp pricks plunged into his chest.
Ace collapsed, his mind plunged into darkness, his last sensation that of his mate feeding directly above his heart.