Kallen's Atonement (8 page)

Drake had worked his way up so they were facing each other again. He pressed their lips together into a hard kiss. Kallen immediately opened up to him, his mouth allowing Drake’s tongue in to stroke and caress. Kallen tasted just as good as he smelled, and Drake couldn’t hold back his moan of approval.

Reaching down between them, Drake fisted both their cocks with one hand and began to jack them off. Kallen gasped into Drake’s mouth before he let out a moan of his own, but he continued to keep his hands in place, just as assuredly as if they had been bound there by chains.

They continued to make out, their tongues sliding together, while Drake jacked them off. Then, just as he felt Kallen reach the brink, Drake pulled his hand away.

Kallen let out a cry of protest. “Why did you stop?”

“Don’t worry, you’ll be coming many times tonight, but the first time will be when I’m inside you. Now turn around and get on your hands and knees.”

Once again, Kallen quickly obeyed the order. Once he was in position, Drake reached over to the nightstand and grabbed his bottle of lube. Cracking open the lid, he poured out a liberal amount. He didn’t know how long it had been since Kallen had last had sex, so Drake wanted to make sure Kallen was well-slicked.

Drake slid one finger inside, being careful to watch for any signs for discomfort. When all he got was a moan of pleasure from Kallen, Drake smiled to himself, then slowly moved the digit in and out.

“You like?” he asked.

“I love,” Kallen replied with a hiss.

Drake took that as permission to add another finger, stretching Kallen even farther. Kallen rocked back against Drake’s hand, a fine sheen of sweat breaking out over his body.

Finally, Drake felt that Kallen was ready for him. Which was good because by that time his dick was so hard that it was to the point of bursting. He took out his fingers and lined the tip of his cock to Kallen’s entrance.

“I’ve waited so long for this,” he said, right before he thrust inside.

Kallen let out a keening wail of pleasure, his back arching as his fingers clawed into the bed. Drake paused to give Kallen time to adjust, but Kallen would have none of that. He thrust back against Drake.

“Fuck me, already,” Kallen demanded.

Okay, so it would seem that Kallen wasn’t totally submissive when it came to sex. Drake could deal with that. Grabbing Kallen by the hips, he gave Kallen the pounding he was asking for.

Kallen dug his fingers even deeper into the bed and hung on, letting out a cry of pleasure so loud it was a wonder the entire HQ didn’t come running to see what was going on.

“Yes, just like that. Right there. That’s the spot!”

So Drake made sure he hit it again and again. At the same time, he reached around and grabbed Kallen’s cock, stroking him off in time with their thrusts. Kallen let out a snarling sound, then he came, hot ropes of come covering Drake’s hand and the bedding below them.

The sound was so sexy it sent Drake over the edge. It was unlike anything he’d heard before. Crying out Kallen’s name, he gave one last thrust and came, his cock filling Kallen’s tight ass.

Kallen’s collapsed, taking Drake with him.

“Ugh, I just landed in the wet spot,” Kallen said, “The worst part is I’m too tired to care enough to move off it.”

Drake got up and dragged Kallen with him. “None of that, lazy bones. Into the shower with you. I promise I’ll even wash you up if you go.”

That seemed to perk Kallen up. “Nobody has ever done that for me before.”

“Well, I get the honor of being the first.”

After their shower, in which Drake did wash Kallen from head to toe. Drake changed the bedding, and they climbed in and got comfortable.

“Hey, I thought you said we were going to do it more than once tonight?” Kallen asked.

“I was planning on it.”

“Then why change the sheets?”

“Somebody was complaining so much, I thought I better,” Drake teased.

Kallen cuddled in closer. “You take such good care of me. I could get used to this.”

“I hope so, because I don’t plan on going anywhere soon.”

“Promise?” Kallen asked, his eyes full of hope.

“Promise. As far as I’m concerned, you belong to me now, Kallen, and I’m not letting you go. Does that scare you?”

“It should, but for some reason it makes me happy.”

And that made Drake the happiest Tiger in the world.

* * * *

The next morning, when Kallen walked back into his home, he was met by a very unhappy Gage. Kallen skidded in his tracks, finding himself face-to-face with his angry brother. Gage had both his arms over his chest, frowning, and looked two steps from ripping somebody apart.

“Problems?” Kallen asked in a careful tone.

“You want to tell me where you were last night?”

“I was with Drake.”

“All night.” The frown on Gage’s face deepened.

“Well…yeah.”

Branson, Gage’s mate, who was also in the room, called out, “Cut him some slack, Gage.”

“That’s easy for you to say. It’s my brother who is coming in here, after only one date, having spent the day with some guy, reeking of his scent,” Gage huffed.

Kallen perked up. “I smell like him?”

Gage made a face. “Are you kidding me? I can catch his scent on you from across the room. Did he roll all over you or something?” He held up a hand. “Wait a second. I don’t want to know the answer to that.”

Kallen ignored him and ran over to Branson. “Do you smell it, too?”

Branson sighed. “I may be blind, but my nose works. Yeah, I can detect it just fine, thank you very much.”

Kallen jumped and clapped his hands. Gage gave him a filthy look. “I don’t see why this is a moment of celebration. I’m still pissed off at you.”

“Because I wasn’t for sure if my Hyena would let Drake’s feline leave its scent on me. But it did.”

Kallen ran over and gave Gage a great big hug. Gage was so shocked that all he did was hug back. Never in their relationship had Kallen initiated contact. It was a huge step, and one in the right direction.

“So, I take it you really like Drake then?” Branson asked.

“I do,” Kallen said. “He’s the only one who’s ever liked me for me and never judged me for being a Hyena.”

“Hey, I never cared that you were a Hyena,” Gage cut in.

Kallen shook his head. “Let’s be honest, bro. You may have tried, but that was always between us. Because me being Hyena always meant that you were part Hyena, too. You may want to deny it all you want, but I know a certain part of you had to resent me for it.”

“The boy has a point there,” Branson cut in.

“Hey, you’re my mate, you’re supposed to be on my side,” Gage countered in a hurt voice.

“But if you ever want to have a good relationship with Kallen, you need to get everything out in the open. Otherwise, this issue is always going to be between you,” Branson reasoned.

Kallen knew there was a reason why he’d always liked his brother-in-law so much. He’d always been so down to Earth and got to the heart of the matters.

“Fine,” Gage said begrudgingly, his face full of shame. “I guess there was a part of me that resented you for it. I’m not proud of it, though.”

Kallen gave him a sad smile. “I don’t begrudge you for it. I would feel the same way if I were in your place. It must be hard to think that you’re one thing your entire life only to find out the worst way possible that you’re something else entirely. I didn’t exactly tell you the nicest manner. To say I dropped it like a bombshell would be understating things.”

Gage looked down at his feet for a few minutes. “It still doesn’t excuse the way I’ve been treating you.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Branson cut in.

“It’s okay, really,” Kallen assured them. The last thing he wanted to do was to get in between a pair of mates. Especially his brother and Branson. From what he heard, they had gotten off on a shaky start to begin with, and they didn’t need him adding to their problems.

“When are you going to stop doing that?” Branson asked Kallen.

“Stop doing what?” Kallen asked, confused.

“Putting yourself last. You always are willing to put your own needs and feelings aside in order not to make problems for others.”

Wow! Had the dude just been reading his mind or something? Or was it just that Branson was very good at deciphering what people’s motivations were? Kallen was going to bet on the second one.

“It just comes natural with me. I’ve been doing it for so long,” Kallen admitted.

“Well, I think it’s time that Kallen puts his needs first for once. What do you want out of life?” Branson asked.

The room fell silent while Kallen mulled that one over. Since he’d never thought he’d get the chance to have what he wanted out of life, he had to scramble for a while.

“I want Drake,” he finally said.

“What else?” Branson pushed.

“I want Gage to love me for me and not hate me because of what I am.”

“Anything else?”

“I want the coalition and cast to accept me as an equal.”

“Is that all?”

A tear fell down Kallen’s face. “I want to be free to be myself for once in my damn life. Just to be me and not to have somebody judge me, hate me, yell at me, beat me, or want me to be something different. Is that too much to ask for?”

“No it’s not,” Gage answered, his own eyes tearing up a bit.

“Then why is it that I have never had it once in my life? Ever since I could remember, I was never good enough. I just want one day where I’m accepted. That’s all.”

Kallen wiped impatiently at the tear. He’d learned long ago that crying did nothing to solve his problems. If anything, they only made them worse. So, why waste the effort?

Gage came over and hugged him. “You deserve more than a day. You deserve to have it for the rest of your life.”

“I’m beginning to think that’s too much to even dream for, let alone ask for,” Kallen nearly whispered in return.

“I’m so sorry. I should have done more to stop the coalition and cast members from treating you the way they have been.”

“I understand why you didn’t. You were afraid that some of that hate may have been transferred to you.”

Kallen really meant it, too. He did see why Gage had done what he did. Had he been in Gage’s position, he might have done the same thing. It must have been so scary for Gage to realize that he was part of one of the most hated breeds in shifter society.

“There you go again, putting your own needs after somebody else’s. It doesn’t excuse what I did. I was a straight-up coward, and nothing can excuse it away. I was a terrible brother, and I should have done better by you,” Gage declared.

“Well, since I tried to blackmail you when we first met, we can call it even,” Kallen said with a dry laugh.

They broke apart, but Gage still kept his hands on Kallen’s shoulders. “No, we’re not even. Not even close. But from now on, I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure that things are better. If somebody says anything bad about you, they’re going to have me to deal with.”

Even as the declaration sent a warm feeling through Kallen, he rolled his eyes. “Oh no. First Drake, and now you. Half the cast and the coalition are going to be going around with black eyes.”

“If that’s what it takes for them to learn to respect you, then so be it,” Gage said. “They should already be treating you better to begin with. Lord knows you’ve treated more than half of them in the infirmary. I’ll bet they were more than happy for your help then.”

Yeah, they had been. But then again, they had been bleeding or broken. It was hard to care that their aid came from a Hyena at that point. They had just wanted their owies fixed.

Gage locked gazes with Kallen. “So, are we okay?”

“We’re more than okay. We’re family.”

Chapter Nine

Kallen found that he wasn’t any less nervous about his second mission than he was his first. If anything, things were worse because now he had Gage and Drake beside him in the back of the van. It should have been comforting, but, instead, they were taking the time to order him around.

“Make sure you stick close to me,” Drake commanded.

“Don’t get so caught up in your medic duties that you lose track of your surroundings,” Gage said.

“Keep your gun close no matter what the situation is,” Drake added.

“Remember, you’re no good to anybody if you’re dead,” Gage said.

“Will you guys give the guy some breathing room?” Ash admonished. “He knows his job. It’s been beaten into his head during training.”

“We just want to make sure he comes back in one piece,” Gage defended.

“Yeah,” Drake said. “He’s very important to us.”

“Don’t worry, he knows his job,” a Hawk called.

Kallen was shocked that some strange Hawk would come to his defense. He recognized him as a friend of the Hawk that he’d saved on the last mission.

Another Hawk nodded. “Kallen is a damn good medic and a scrappy fighter. He’ll do just fine.”

Ash gave him an I-told-you smile while Kallen basked in the praise. He didn’t have too long to linger in it though, because the van lurched to a stop. They all jumped out and were right into the middle of action.

It was one of the missions that Kallen knew was common for the soldiers. An abandoned warehouse that had been converted into a slave compound. More and more had been popping up lately, and the coalition and cast were doing their best to do damage control and save as many enslaved shifters at the same time.

Shane and his dwindling team of assassins had already been inside to kill the guards. Now it was left to Kallen and his team to deal with the ones on the outside. This time, it looked like they were expecting them, too, since they were met with a hail of gunfire.

Kallen lifted his gun and began to fire, all the while keeping his ears open for the cries of
medic! medic!
A Raven came swooping down in bird form, barely missing Kallen’s head. Kallen raised his gun, and he, Drake, and Gage all fired as one to take the thing out.

“Watch out! That thing was gunning straight for you,” Drake shouted.

Kallen knew it was because it sensed that he was a Hyena, and it saw him as a traitor. Oh well, it wasn’t like they hadn’t foreseen that kind of thing happening. Kallen was prepared for it and just counted it as an extra sucky thing he had to look out for on the battlefield.