Chapter 1 Adri
“Give me your pain, sweetheart.”
“I’m not your sweetheart.” Adri gritted his teeth to swallow back a rumbling growl as he resisted the urge to roll his hips up and shove his ridged cock further into Rafe’s mouth.
There was a lot of pain to give, but the combination of the heavy bandaging on Adri’s shoulder and the doc’s healing power like liquid moonlight in his veins was keeping him from feeling it so long as he didn’t tense up or move.
Something that was almost impossible when a sexy-as-fuck, silver-fox of a wolf shifter was making it his mission to suck his soul out through his dick.
This was not supposed to happen.
Adri couldn’t even remember how he’d ended up in Rafe’s bed.
Not a bed in the doc’s clinic, either. His literal fucking bed.
He could tell it was his bed because when he’d woken confused and hurting, Rafe’s intoxicating scent suffusing the sheets, pillows, and everything else had reassured him he was safe.
Even though he hadn’t been in the same room as the doc in over a decade.
Even though he didn’t need or want anyone to save him.
He hadn’t meant to challenge the doc as soon as he entered the room to check on him. He definitely hadn’t meant to throw the covers off his naked body and tell him just how to make him feel better.
“You’re thinking too hard,” Rafe said, pulling off his cock to press whisper-soft kisses up his chest.
“I’m clearly not thinking hard enough. Why am I here?”
Rafe swore under his breath and pulled a blanket back over Adri before he had a chance to protest.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I shouldn’t have done that when you only just woke up.”
“Fuck that. You might be an old man, but I’m not a child. You don’t need to coddle me.”
“Do you remember what happened at the fight last night?”
Adri’s brow furrowed as he searched his fuzzy memories—the fantastical artwork like he’d never seen before at the ring, facing off against the new wolf shifter fighter who went by Black Fang, and then … Marco Lunetti stepping in with his Alpha command for some reason?
“Why haven’t I healed already?”
“The other fighter turned feral. Your arm was holding on by a literal thread. You almost lost it.”
He owed Rafe his arm? Fuck. Now that he was taking the time to look, the doc looked drawn and exhausted. Probably from expending his healing power to save Adri’s limb. Rafe was the one who should be resting.
Adri’s good hand shot out to grab Rafe’s arm as he went to leave. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“You need food. And rest.”
“I need you to finish what you started,” Adri snapped, annoyed at himself for his weakness but unable to concentrate on anything but the throbbing ache in his cock.
He needed to come, and then he could get the fuck out of here.
Even better if luring Rafe back to bed meant the doc caught up on some sleep after.
Rafe’s nostrils flared, and he shook his head like he was trying to clear it before half-heartedly trying to pull away again.
Adri’s eyes trailed down his lean, muscled body, landing on the distinctive bulge in the sexy doctor’s slacks. “Looks like you need to finish as well.”
“I thought you didn’t do repeats,” Rafe said, his voice carefully flat as he stared at the bedroom door like it contained the answers to the universe instead of meeting Adri’s glare.
“Come on, Doc. Don’t be like that.”
“Are you planning to leave once you get off?”
“I need to get back to work.”
“You need to heal. In bed. If you walk around with your arm in that state, the weight and gravity will undo all my efforts to reconnect the tissue.”
Adri growled in frustration. “How long?”
Rafe placed a hand over his bandaged shoulder, eyes closing as the cool wash of his healing shifter magic sank into Adri’s skin. “Three days.”
“Fuck off! No way do I need to spend three days in bed.”
“Another day in bed, and then two days not lifting anything or making any sudden movements. I want you here where I can keep an eye on you.”
Adri rolled his eyes. “We all want things we can’t have. I’m not staying a minute longer than I need to.”
He had obligations back home—young fighters he needed to ensure were safe.
Especially now. They’d be freaking out after what happened.
The problem was that he had no idea if Rafe’s demands were reasonable or not.
Adri had ended up adopted by his human dad’s sister as a baby when his parents died.
Jaguars were notorious loners, and his mum’s family, if she even had any, had never come looking for him.
Thanks to the Supernatural Council’s strict rules about exposing their kind, his aunt and uncle had been oblivious to their sister-in-law’s shifter nature.
They’d raised him as their own, but he’d grown up knowing nothing of the rest of the supernatural world until he was kidnapped and trafficked by the Cruor Coven at eighteen.
If it weren’t for the whole indentured cage-fighting thing, he almost would’ve been grateful to discover he wasn’t alone in the supernatural world.
All that meant he’d never seen an injury like the one he’d sustained, and he didn’t have the benefit of growing up in a shifter family to know what was normal in terms of healing.
He had no idea how much he’d be risking if he left.
“What will it take to get you to rest for once?” Rafe asked, his eyes flashing gold with frustration.
Adri reached out to grab his jaw, forcing the older man to look at him. “I’m sure you can figure something out.”
Rafe huffed a laugh. “If you’re a good kitten and eat your lunch, I’ll think about it.”
Fuck that. As soon as Rafe disappeared down the hallway to deliver on his promise of food, Adri turned onto his good side and dragged himself upright and out of bed.
Black spots floated across his vision as he stood swaying against a tide of wrong radiating from his abused shoulder joint.
His forearm and fingers appeared normal at a glance, but they were void of sensation, totally numb.
He was sure that wouldn’t last. He wanted to be back in his den before the full brunt of the pain bowled him over.
His apartment wasn’t much, not with how much money he poured into paying off the debts of his fellow fighters, but it was his.
He made it halfway to the dresser before the room tipped sideways, and he found himself up close and personal with the wool carpet. Polished leather shoes filled his vision as he tried to figure out how to push himself back to his feet without twisting his body or using his right arm.
“Do I need to handcuff you to the bed?” Rafe growled from above him.
Nothing about the way Rafe picked Adri up off the ground hinted at the frustration he’d heard in his voice.
A gentle hand stabilised his injured arm as Rafe lifted him from the floor like he weighed nothing before depositing him back on the bed, this time with a few extra pillows propping him more upright.
“I was going to let you feed yourself, but it looks like you decided to use all your strength falling over instead,” Rafe said, moving to fetch something that smelled divine from the hallway.
Adri winced. “I can manage.”
Rafe ignored him, scooping up a forkful of salmon and rice and holding it to his lips. “Let me take care of you. Please.”
Too tired and sore to keep fighting, Adri opened his mouth and let the doc feed him. It didn’t mean anything. And that definitely wasn’t a purr of contentment rumbling in his chest.
Adri jerked awake to the sound of raised voices from somewhere below. Night had fallen, but he had no idea how long he’d been out. Adrenaline surged through him at the thought of someone getting aggressive with Rafe. No way was that fucking happening.
The food and sleep had helped, because this time when he hauled himself upright, he only swayed for a moment before staggering his way across the room. He was still naked, but he didn’t have time to stop and find something to wear. Rafe needed him.
Prowling like the jaguar that lived hidden inside him, he slipped down the stairs, pausing in the shadows just before the open door that led to the waiting room of Rafe’s clinic.
“This is the third time this month, Doc! I know you know more than you’re telling me. Let me take care of it.” The Lunetti Pack Alpha’s voice was deep and commanding, tinged with a growl of frustration.
“I deal with a lot of vulnerable, upset people, Marco. This isn’t pack business. I’ve got it covered,” Rafe replied, voice calm.
Adri could hear a rustling of movement, like the doc was moving supplies around as they talked. What was going on? Everyone knew Rafe’s loyalties lay with the Lunetti mafia family. Why was he refusing his Alpha?
“Carter, stop lurking in hallways when you’re injured! Get your ass in here,” Marco called to Adri, making him flinch. Dammit. Of course, the Alpha shifter had sensed his presence.
A low growl left Rafe’s mouth the second Adri stepped into the well-lit room.
The doc became a blur of motion as he grabbed a towel and shoved it at him.
Adri was too distracted by the mess of his clinic to respond.
Someone had trashed the place. Wooden chairs lay in splinters, medical supplies were scattered everywhere, and the door to his examination room hung off its hinges.
“What the fuck happened here?” Adri snapped.
“Put the damn towel on before I lose my shit, kitten,” Rafe shot back.
Adri’s head jerked toward the doc in surprise, and he finally noticed how his eyes glowed gold as his fangs lengthened. Rafe’s eyes dropped to Adri’s exposed semi-hard cock and back up again, jaw clenched tight as his body blocked Marco’s view of him.
Oh.
Adri’s eyes narrowed as he grabbed the towel and wrapped it around his waist. It wasn’t his fault adrenaline got him going, especially with Rafe’s enticing scent permeating the space.
“I thought shifters didn’t care about nakedness, especially doctors.”
Marco was smirking from where he leaned back against the wall, watching them. “I’m not going to touch what’s yours, Doc,” he told Rafe.
Adri snarled, attempting to lunge forward to get in Marco’s face and tell him he didn’t belong to anyone but himself, but Rafe was right there blocking his way before he could take a step.
“If you damage your arm again in a pissing contest with an Alpha, I’m going to be very disappointed, kitten.”
Adri swallowed hard, a hint of guilt slipping in. Rafe still looked exhausted. The last thing the doc needed was to expend more energy patching him up again.
“Fine. Who trashed your office?” he asked Rafe, mirroring Marco’s position as he leaned back against the wall where the doc had caged him in.
“Not important. I’m old enough to take care of myself, as you so love to keep reminding me,” Rafe said, moving away to grab a broom and continue cleaning up.
“Enough. You and Adrien both need to rest. We’re moving this discussion upstairs. My people will clean this up,” Marco said, typing out a quick message on his phone.
Rafe flashed the Alpha an annoyed look, but then his eyes met Adri’s and he immediately dropped the broom to come wrap an arm around his waist.
“Come on, kitten. Marco’s right. You need to sit down and eat some more.”
Adri scowled up at the infuriating doctor. “Stop calling me that. And I’m not going back to bed.”
“Didn’t ask you to,” Rafe replied.
“Wait ’til he’s begging. It’s more fun that way,” Marco chimed in, moving past them to lead the way.
Adri’s cock twitched, swelling even harder, and he almost lost the towel wrapped round his waist. His hand resting on Rafe’s shoulder as the doctor helped him up the stairs flexed, gripping Rafe tight and sparking a sharp inhale in response.
Damn Marco for the image he’d just put in his head. How was he supposed to resist that?