Chapter 22 #2
“Ten cocks long,” Crush said dryly, shooting down the remaining attackers. “Good to know.”
“That was bigger than ten cocks!”
“I think Hansel just has great expectations.”
“He’s going to be so disappointed by reality,” Killian said.
Crush snorted. “He’s older than both of us combined. I think he’s very familiar with reality.”
Gavric turned to them, his forehead wrinkling. “We were just attacked, and all you can talk about is dicks?”
The hurt wolves were already getting back to their feet. All the same, Killian felt bad that they were bleeding because of him.
Gavric wasn’t looking at Killian, though.
Instead, he was scowling at Crush, eyebrows drawn low.
“I didn’t want to say this in front of the whole pack last night, but what gives, Crush?
For years, you’ve been distant with us. Sure, you attend the big pack dinners and birthdays, and sure, you dumped a ton of cash into the pack coffers.
But you haven’t been around; you haven’t been a brother to me in years, it feels like. ”
Crush froze, his eyes growing wide. “I’ve never treated you differently.”
“No, you just disappear all the time!” Gavric flashed his teeth. “What did we do wrong?”
Crush was so still, he could’ve been marble. “No. Fuck. That wasn’t you, it was me.”
Gavric scoffed. “Yeah, that’s what they always say.”
Crush glanced around, his ears twitching as he listened for danger. “Look, this isn’t the right time to talk about it. But I promise it was nothing you did. I just had something I was going through. Am still going through.”
Oh, Killian realized. This was about the old medical debt and Crush’s guilt about the omegas that he had never managed to find.
“You should stop punishing yourself,” Killian said quietly, slipping his hand into Crush’s. “It’s been long enough.”
“I can’t when they’re still somewhere out there.” Crush sighed heavily. “If they’re even still alive.”
“You have more friends now, right?” Killian said. “Maybe someone might know something, or they might find something new.”
But he knew how difficult it was to tell someone a humiliating secret, much less multiple people.
Crush sighed. “I’ll work on it.”
Gavric was watching them both shrewdly. “Is this why it’s taken you so long to get together with Killian? Because of whatever you’re hung up on?”
Crush stiffened. “What?”
“We heard about the omega you were obsessed with, the day you met him,” Gavric said with a glance at Killian. “But there was no news about you doing anything with that attraction until now.”
Crush scowled deeply. “I was working through my issues.”
“Yeah, you only showed up when he needed help,” Gavric said dryly.
Crush’s ears turned red. “I was giving him time to recover from the kidnapping.”
Gavric rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Good to know I’m not the one who messed things up.”
He reached out though, clapping Crush on the shoulder. “Don’t be a stranger. Come home more often.”
Crush relaxed slightly. “Yeah. I will. Thanks.” He gripped Gavric’s forearm and pulled him into a quick hug, then glanced around at their packmates. “Are Bond and Weir...?”
“They look fine. I’ll give you updates,” Gavric said. “Go help Titan’s furry butt.”
Crush nodded and shifted back into a wolf. Killian took Crush’s gun, climbing onto his back. “We’re heading to Uriel first, then Titan. Send backup.”
“Will do.”
Crush checked that Killian was holding onto him. Then he took off at a graceful lope toward Uriel and Bruiser.
“Are you okay?” Killian asked after a few seconds.
Crush sighed. “I wasn’t expecting to be hit with that.”
“Are you going to tell the pack?”
A long pause. “I should, shouldn’t I?”
“I don’t know,” Killian said. “I’m far from being the morality police.”
“You’re—”
“I’m?”
“You’re amazing,” Crush said. “It’s just... you fit my broken parts so well.”
Killian shrugged. “You don’t mind my foot-in-mouth disease, so I think we’re even.”
Crush huffed. “While we have time, tell me more about those spells, so we’re not making rushed decisions in the middle of a fight.”
Killian pulled out the attack spells. “‘Jabbing their balls mercilessly for 5 min. Pain.’ ‘Like shooting jizz into your eyeballs but 100 times harder, and also, stinky jizz.’ ‘Fireball but hotter. Lavaball. Aim it at dicks for Ball VS Balls.’”
Crush coughed. “Any bigger ones?”
Killian flipped through the spells and found one. “‘The biggest of the big. Will win all dick contests. Fireball, 30 cocks wide. Or 1 giant cock.’”
Crush snorted. Killian was about to read the next spell when purple light flashed ahead.
That was definitely magic.
“I don’t know if we’re equipped for a magic fight,” Killian said uncertainly.
“We’ll stay further back. Have some of the defensive spells ready. We’ll attack first and be ready to dodge.”
“Because a barrier one cock thick will save us,” Killian said dryly. “Hopefully it’s the size of your cock instead of mine.”
Crush huffed. As they approached, they heard yelling.
“What the hell are you doing?!” Uriel bellowed.
“Getting out of this fucking trap myself!” Bruiser yelled back. “There’s no way I’m letting you save me.”
“Yeah, because why would I save an idiot gecko?” Uriel snapped. “This is a damn waste of my time.”
“I didn’t ask you to show up! Go back to where you came from!”
“Wait,” Uriel said urgently. “Don’t—”
Something snapped loudly. Then came an equally loud squelch, sounding so thick and gooey that Killian cringed.
When Crush crept closer, they found Bruiser sitting in a deep puddle of mud, his muscular alpha body completely covered in goop. Uriel had one hand flattened over his face. “This is the last time I’m babysitting a gecko.”
“I’m not a baby, and I’m not a fucking gecko,” Bruiser seethed.
“Then act like it!” Uriel snapped.
Killian and Crush looked at each other. Slowly, Crush backed away.
“I think we should go,” Crush whispered. “This feels a lot like...”
Foreplay, Killian mouthed. Crush nodded solemnly.
Bruiser glanced in their direction.
“What is it?” Uriel growled.
“Nothing,” Bruiser said. But he stared very hard at them.
Crush turned away and loped deeper into the forest. When they were at a safe enough distance, Killian whispered, “I think I would be mad, too.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because Uriel clearly wants to fuck him, but he’s mad that he wants to.”
Crush chuckled. “Yeah?”
“Have you seen the way he can’t take his eyes off Bruiser?”
“He could just be watching for an enemy’s movements.”
“You know that look though.”
Crush rumbled. “It’s the same look you give me.”
“Oh gods! It’s not!” Killian blushed hotly.
“You don’t know that. You’re not looking in a mirror when you look at me.”
“That’s... surprisingly deep.”
“I’ll show you deep,” Crush purred. “When I’m back in my human shape.”
They raced toward Titan’s bakery—it was closer to Cartfalls than the pack’s territory, and there was a lot of ground to cover. Killian hunched against Crush’s back so there would be less air resistance.
“I hope we’re not too late,” Killian mumbled, tucking his face into Crush’s fur.
“We won’t know for sure until we get there. But if it helps, I haven’t heard any distress howls.”
“Yet,” Killian said.
“Yet,” Crush agreed. “Here, relax a little. Tell me what’s got you so invested in Uriel and Bruiser.”
Killian’s face burned. “It’s like those hate-fucking books.
The characters want to bone each other so much, but they’re so mad at each other.
Then they fuck, and the sex is just so rough and primal.
And the omega can’t stop thinking about how good that alpha cock was in their ass.
It’s like their enemy’s cock is the magic wand of all cocks.
” Killian sighed. “And for some reason they keep bumping into each other, and they keep fucking, and suddenly they catch feelings. Now I want to read their book.”
“Uriel and Bruiser are not a story that you can just read,” Crush said dryly.
“Maybe someone will write their book someday,” Killian said hopefully.
“You said one of the dragon brothers writes books? Maybe he’ll write it?
Just with the names changed.” He chewed his lip.
“Do you think Uriel would read a book that’s secretly about him and Bruiser, and it’ll convince him to give Bruiser a chance? ”
Crush coughed. “You can hope.”
“I know! Maybe if the sex scenes are really juicy,” Killian said. “It’s going to sound like this: The fair prince Ulgon tore himself out of Burnzinger’s arms. ‘We hate each other!’ he cried. ‘Why do we keep doing this?’
“‘You know why. You keep coming back, stuffing yourself silly on my sword,’ Burnzinger growled. ‘Even now, you can’t stop looking at my meat rod. The sight of it makes you wet and ready for me.’”
Crush snickered. “I can’t believe you’re doing their voices, too. It’s good.”
Killian preened. “See, this is where all my years of reading come in handy! Ulgon’s going to hiss, ‘Your meat rod is the only part of you I can stand to look at. But my heart will never beat for you.’” He clutched his chest and sighed.
“Burnzinger’s going to be so mad and so offended.
Maybe Ulgon has another suitor, and Burnzinger is irrationally jealous.
But he can’t say a word because they both hate each other. ”
“Oh, the drama,” Crush said dryly. “You know, maybe it’s better if they stay the hell away from each other. Otherwise they’re going to tear each other apart. At least Uriel isn’t an omega, and he can’t get accidentally knocked up.”
Killian winced. Luckily, Crush was facing forward and missed his reaction. Uriel’s secret wasn’t Killian’s to tell. “Yeah, maybe he shouldn’t play with Bruiser’s meat rod. That’ll get messy real fast.”
“I’ll talk to Zenith,” Crush said. “Maybe he’ll write that book for you.”
Killian’s heart swelled to the point of bursting. He threw his arms around Crush and hugged him. “You’re amazing.”
“Anything for you, sweetheart.”
Killian hid his smile against Crush’s fur. Somehow, Crush wasn’t mad that he had gotten involved in this mess. Maybe, when this was over and Crush’s pack banned Killian from the territory, maybe Killian could hide in one of Crush’s homes and never meet them again?
He was about to ask Crush about it, when a roar shattered the quiet around them.
Crush tensed. “Titan!”
Instead of jogging along like he had been, Crush broke into a full run.
“This is bad,” Crush said urgently. “That was a distress call.”