Chapter 18
18
Kai
K ai sighed and stood from the bed. He knew he’d disappointed Cole by not saying anything in return, but he didn’t know what he felt, and he certainly had no idea how to know if he loved Cole. Did he feel more than gratitude toward Cole? He cared about Cole. The idea of any harm coming to him pierced Kai straight through the heart. Was it love, though?
He entered Cole’s bathroom and turned on the shower, staring at himself in the mirror as he waited for it to heat up. He saw the still-healing marks of Cole’s fangs in his shoulder and touched them with the tips of his fingers. He thought of the way Cole felt inside him, and he blushed. There had been nothing in his life to compare to the way Cole brought his body alive. Every touch, every kiss, made his entire being sing with pleasure and most definitely lust.
A noise from outside the bedroom brought Kai’s attention to the door. “Cole?” he called.
No answer came, and a shiver traveled down Kai’s spine. He grabbed a robe off a hook on the wall, slipped it on, and peeked into the bedroom. A shadow stood in the darkened entrance to the room, and Kai sucked in a harsh breath. The shadow didn’t belong to Cole. He slammed the door and locked it as a body hit the wood.
“Open this door, you little freak,” Jerrod screamed, banging on it. “I knew I’d find you! Did you think I wouldn’t?”
Kai sobbed and looked around him in a panic. A small window ledge above the shower stall seemed to be the only other exit, but he couldn’t fit through as a human and wouldn’t be able to reach it as his fox. He didn’t even see anything he could brace against the door. Jerrod kept throwing himself at it, trying to break through. What happened to Cole? Had Jerrod hurt him?
The banging stopped, and Kai heard nothing for several heartbeats. Then there came a thump on the ground outside the room. “If you don’t open the door, Kai, I’m going to kill this fucking piece of shit fag!”
Cole! Kai had no idea how to save Cole. He couldn’t let Jerrod kill Cole, and he reached a shaking hand for the latch and unlocked the door. When his eyes adjusted to the darkness after the bright lights in the bathroom, he saw Cole lying in a heap on the floor, Jerrod’s foot on his windpipe, waiting to crush it at a moment’s notice. “Pl-Please don’t hurt him, Jerrod,” Kai begged.
An ugly sneer crossed his uncle’s face at his begging. Jerrod resembled Kai’s father, a lot, but for the beer paunch bulging beneath the sweat-stained T-shirt, several pockmarks on his face from poor hygiene over the years, and the repulsive yellowed, jagged teeth visible for a second when Jerrod spoke. Every day for ten years, Kai had clung to the image of his father in the picture, afraid it would be overwritten by the one before him. He didn’t want his father’s kind smile, laugh-lined face, and slim form to take on his uncle’s visage. “Please, Uncle Jerrod,” Kai tried again.
“Shut up, you sniveling bastard. Thought you’d shack up with some disgusting excuse for a man and hope I wouldn’t find you, didn’t you? People remember freaks. It wasn’t hard to track you.” A flash of silver caught Kai’s attention, and he sucked in a breath. Jerrod had a gun in one hand. An evil grin cut across Jerrod’s face, and he waved the gun at Kai. “I should shoot him. Make you watch your boyfriend die as punishment for leaving.”
“No!” Kai cried, dropping to his knees, tears coursing down his cheeks. “Please, don’t.”
Jerrod increased the pressure on Cole’s windpipe, and Kai didn’t know what to do. “I’ll come back with you, Uncle Jerrod. Just please don’t hurt him.”
“You’re coming with me anyway!” Spittle flew out of Jerrod’s mouth, and Kai winced as some of it landed on his cheek and forehead. “Get up!”
Kai struggled to stand on wobbly legs. Jerrod stepped away from Cole and grabbed a pillow, stripping the case off of it. He tossed it at Kai. “Put everything of value in there.”
Jerrod wanted him to steal from Cole. He shook his head in refusal. “No.”
The sound of the gun cocking sent a shudder through Kai. “Do it or I’ll shoot him in the head!”
Kai cried as he started going through the nightstands, drawers, and anywhere he could think of. A Rolex and a smartwatch, some expensive-looking cufflinks, and Cole’s wallet went into the pillowcase. Jerrod motioned to the bedsheets. “Tear some strips off those.”
He set down the pillowcase and picked up the sheet. His hands shook as he tore at it, flinching when the fabric ripped. “Hurry up!” Jerrod shouted.
Kai struggled to get a couple of pieces of the sheet. He figured Jerrod intended to tie Cole up with it. When he held the two strips up, Jerrod grunted and gestured with the muzzle of the gun. “Tie him to the bed.”
Lowering himself to the floor beside Cole, Kai surreptitiously checked him out. He saw blood on the back of Cole’s head and a trickle of it across Cole’s temple. Jerrod had hit him hard with whatever he’d used. Kai cried out as Jerrod kicked him in the ribs with a steel-toed boot. He whimpered at the sound of something cracking, and red-hot pain flared out from his side. “Jesus fucking Christ. You’re worthless! Tie him up!”
Lifting Cole’s arms above his head to the foot of the bed, he tied both strips to Cole’s wrists and then knotted them around the leg of the frame. A change in Cole’s breathing alerted Kai that he was returning to consciousness. A moan flittered from Cole’s lips, and Jerrod jerked the gun toward him. “Get up and pick up the bag. Let’s go.”
Kai saw Cole’s eyelids flutter a split second before they cracked open. He gave a slight shake of his head and managed to keep himself in front of Cole as Jerrod shoved him. “Please, Jerrod, just let me go.”
Jerrod scowled and backhanded Kai, sending him flying into the nearby dresser. A scream of agony wrenched itself from Kai as the rib already injured broke completely and several others protested the impact. A low growl came from close by, and Kai managed to lift his head enough to see Cole wrenching at the bindings. “Touch him again, you son of a bitch, and I’ll kill you!”
A chortle of harsh laughter rattled in Jerrod’s throat. “What are you going to do about it? Not even sure I can call you a man considering you stick your dick in another man’s ass.”
Cole snarled at Jerrod, tugging harder at his bindings. “I’m more of a man than you are, you fucking piece of trash! Beating on a little kid all those years! When I get loose I’m going to rip your balls off and shove them up your ass!”
Kai used the dresser to pull himself to his feet. He pleaded with his eyes for Cole not to antagonize Jerrod. Cole ignored him, glaring at Jerrod. “Why don’t you cut these loose and take me on like a real man?”
Jerrod sneered and pointed the gun at Kai. “Willing to take a bullet for a little freak, huh? Did he tell you what he is? Huh? Did he tell you what he’s done all these years?”
Cole didn’t even hesitate. “I don’t care. Whatever he did, I’m sure he did it because you forced him.”
Rage flooded Jerrod’s face. He pointed the gun at Cole again. “Not even how the little freak used what he can do to steal from dozens of innocent people, huh?”
Kai’s gaze remained locked on Cole’s face. He needed to know what Cole thought. But instead of censure or revulsion as Cole looked at Kai, Cole’s anger at Jerrod faded away to a soft, tender look. Kai’s breath caught in his throat. “Not even a little bit, kit. I love you.”
He’d thought for sure Cole would hate him. How could he not when he’d done such terrible things? But Cole still loved him!
Jerrod lashed out and brought his boot down toward Cole’s face. But to Kai’s shock, Cole grabbed hold of Jerrod’s foot and wrenched it to the side, bringing the paunchy, balding prick to his knees. Tatters of the bedsheet hung from one wrist, the other having made it free entirely. Jerrod swung the hand with the firearm around, trying to point it at Cole, but Cole grabbed his wrist, banging it against the side of the bed frame. Jerrod gave a squawk of pain, but didn’t let go of the gun, instead swinging his other fist into Cole’s stomach. Cole grunted, but held on tight.
Frozen in time, Kai watched the two of them fight and struggle over the gun. He screamed in terror when the pistol ended up locked between them and a loud bang rang out. “Cole!”
He scurried over to where both men had fallen to the floor, ignoring the agony in his ribs. Jerrod lay on top of Cole. “Cole!” Kai sobbed, tugging frantically at Jerrod’s immobile body in a desperate need to get to Cole. “Please be all right.”
A groan shattered the silence, and Jerrod started moving. Kai stumbled a few paces away, terrified. “No, no, Cole!”
Instead of standing, though, Jerrod rolled to the side, and it took Kai several seconds to realize Jerrod lay there, eyes open, unseeing. Cole had blood all over his chest from where Jerrod had been shot. “Cole!” Kai cried and managed to drop down next to him and start raining kisses all over Cole’s face.
Cole slid an arm around Kai’s waist. “Kit,” Cole breathed.
He hugged Kai hard, and Kai yelled out in pain. Cole immediately loosened his grip and sat upright, bringing Kai with him. “What is it? Are you okay?”
“I think he broke my rib,” Kai panted, holding a hand to his side.
Cole swore and parted the robe Kai wore to probe at the offending area. A huge bruise had already begun to form. Kai hissed when Cole prodded his ribs. Cole helped Kai stand and move to sit on the bed. “Don’t move,” Cole demanded.
He grabbed up his pants from the floor where he’d dropped them earlier and pulled out his cell. He punched a number and then hit Send. “Nick? I need you. I’ll explain when you get to the house. Bring Jack.”
He disconnected the call and tossed the phone on the bed. “Let’s get some ice on your ribs. Jack is our pack healer. He’ll be able to alleviate some of the pain.”
Kai clutched Cole’s hand when he went to close the robe again. “Cole?”
Cole stood without looking at him. “Stay here while I go get some ice. Nick and Jack should be here soon.”
“Cole,” Kai said again. This time Cole’s eyes settled on Kai, but somewhere around the middle of his ear. Kai didn’t recognize the emotion on Cole’s face. “Does it really not matter?”
Confusion edged out the unfamiliar emotion, and Cole finally met Kai’s gaze. “What?”
“That I-I stole from people.”
Cole’s eyes widened and he sat down by Kai. “What? No. I told you it doesn’t matter to me. I know you only did what you had to in order to survive.”
“Then why won’t you look at me?” Kai murmured.
Sighing, Cole took Kai’s hand in his. “I failed you.”
“Huh?”
“I promised you your uncle would never hurt you again. I failed to protect you.”
Kai stared at Cole in shock. “What? No, you didn’t. He’d have taken me away again if you hadn’t stopped him.”
Cole reached out and gently touched Kai’s side. “He still broke your rib.”
“And? It’ll heal. I’m just glad you’re okay,” Kai said. “I thought for sure you’d been shot.”
A knock on the front door stopped Cole from replying. “Stay here,” Cole said, and he left the room to let Nick in.
Kai stared at his uncle’s body in stunned silence. He could actually go out and not worry Jerrod would find him. He didn’t have to live in fear anymore. The weight he’d carried for ages lifted off his shoulders, leaving behind a sense of wonder and awe at how much choice he had now.
“Gods, Cole,” Nick exhaled as he entered the bedroom. “Thayne, can you grab the sheet off the bed?”
Thayne came toward the bed. “Hey, kid. Gotta get you to stand for a sec.”
Kai scowled at being called kid, but stood from the bed. He watched Thayne yank the already torn sheet from the bed and lay it over Jerrod’s prone form. He didn’t witness anything further because Cole and a blond-haired stranger came to him, distracting him from what Thayne and Nick were doing.
“Kai, this is Jack Foreman. Jack, this is Kai, my mate.”
Jack set a small bag on the bed, smiled, and held out his hand to Kai. “It’s nice to meet you, Kai.”
He couldn’t put his finger on it, but Kai instinctively trusted Jack. He placed his hand in Jack’s. “Hello.”
Jack squeezed his fingers, and warmth trickled through Kai’s palm and up into his chest. He stared at Jack, surprised. Jack guided Kai to the bed. “Let me take a look at you.”
Kai allowed Jack to part the robe and examine his side. Jack hummed and frowned. “Well, it’s definitely a broken rib, and perhaps a couple cracked as well.”
Running his palm over Kai’s side, Jack closed his eyes. He didn’t push on the injury, but Kai felt a sort of pressure, and he glanced at Cole in question. Cole lay his hand on Kai’s shoulder. “He’s our pack healer. He’s an empath and is able to sort of coax the cells in your body to enhance the healing process.”
Jack opened his eyes and smiled again. “You’ll still be in pain for a couple of days, but it will heal much faster now.”
Kai couldn’t help noticing how attractive Jack was. The man had a slim yet toned body and blue-green eyes that almost seemed to swirl in a strange pattern. A small dark freckle graced his right cheek underneath his eye. Lashes most women would kill for swished against Jack’s cheeks with each blink. “Thank you,” Kai said.
“Don’t thank me yet. I still need to wrap your chest. You’re going to want to make sure to take the bandage off when you bathe.”
Nodding, Kai couldn’t stifle his curiosity as Jack turned to the bag he’d brought in with him. There were bandages, scissors, some sort of tape, and from what Kai could tell, needles. He’d only ever seen the latter when his uncle or one of his latest girlfriends had been shooting up with heroin. Jack took out a roll of bandage and indicated Kai should shrug off the robe.
Cole growled. “Be careful, Jack.”
Kai frowned at Cole.
Jack held his hands up. “Calm down, Cole. I know he’s yours.”
Realization dawned. Cole was jealous. Warmth worked its way over Kai’s cheeks. “Cole,” Kai admonished.
Cole leaned down and murmured in Kai’s ear, “I’m a very possessive wolf when it comes to you, kit. Don’t want anyone stealing you away from me.”
“I would never!” Kai protested.
Jack remained silent as he wrapped Kai’s ribs. He finished off with several pieces of white tape. Cole immediately covered Kai’s body from the others’ eyes with the robe. Although, Kai noticed, Thayne and Nick were gone with Jerrod’s body. He hadn’t even seen them leave. “Where’d they take Jerrod?”
“They took his body to be disposed of,” Cole said.
Kai didn’t know how he felt about Jerrod’s body being discarded as trash. His uncle had been a bastard, but he didn’t know if anyone deserved such a fate. He supposed he should just be grateful Jerrod couldn’t terrorize him anymore. “I see.”
“I think we’re good here, Cole,” Jack said, returning the rest of his things to the bag. He stood and once again offered his hand to Kai. “Welcome to the pack, Kai. You’re going to have your hands full with this one.”
Kai shook Jack’s hand lightly. “Thank you, Jack.”
“No worries, Kai. Take care of those ribs. I’ll be back in a week to check on you. In the meantime, if anything changes, give me a call, Cole.”
Cole walked Jack out of the room and to the front door, or at least so Kai assumed. He remained in the room, staring at the blood on the carpet. When Cole returned, he stopped in the entryway. “Are you okay, kit?”
He didn’t look away from the stain. “It’s really over.”
“Yes,” Cole replied, moving to sit beside Kai. “It’s over. He can’t hurt you anymore.”
Kai raised his gaze to Cole’s. “I can hardly believe it.”
Cole picked up Kai’s hand in his. “Do you know what you want to do now?”
“I don’t.”
Disappointment flashed through Cole’s eyes and Cole cleared his throat. “Do you… want to stay here?”
“What?”
Cole shrugged, looking down at their joined hands. “Since you can do whatever you want now, I just wondered if you were still going to stay here. With me.”
“Of course!” Kai exclaimed. “Why would you think I wouldn’t?”
Relief etched its way over Cole’s face. “I didn’t know if you’d only bonded with me because of your uncle.”
“No! I wanted you to claim me. Don’t you believe me?” Kai asked, hurt.
“Yes, of course I do. I’m sorry. Forgive me, kit?”
Kai studied Cole for a moment and then nodded. Cole still seemed uncertain of him, and he figured he couldn’t blame Cole for wondering if he would leave. Their meeting and mating hadn’t exactly been conventional, according to what Kai had witnessed. “I want to meet your pack,” Kai said.
Cole sucked in a deep breath in surprise. “Really?”
If he had Cole introduce Kai as his mate, Cole couldn’t continue to believe Kai’d only mated him out of necessity. “Yes.”
Cole swept him up in a hug, and when Kai hissed he loosened his hold. “I’m sorry, kit. I got excited.”
Kai laughed. “It’s okay.”
“Let’s get some clothing on you—despite how much I don’t want to cover such a delectable body—and grab something to eat.”
They stood, and Cole helped Kai into a pair of Cole’s sweatpants, tightening them a lot at the waist and tying the laces into a knot. Next he carefully lowered a T-shirt over Kai’s head. Cole kissed Kai and then took him by the hand to lead him out of the bedroom. He followed Cole down the hallway, lost in thought.
The way Kai’s life had dramatically changed over the last ten days made him feel faint and overwhelmed. Nothing could have prepared him for Cole or how things would turn out. He supposed not many people would be able to anticipate anything even close to what had happened. After all, Cole had tracked Kai to a city of thousands, in spite of his fake name, and then stumbled across him in an alley in time to save his life. Kai would be forever grateful to whatever god or unseen hand had led Cole to him. It might have only been a short time ago, but he could scarcely remember his life without Cole in it. Knowing Cole loved him made him feel complete, and he thought maybe, just maybe, everything would be all right. Only time would tell, but Kai had a feeling he’d be okay.
S ix weeks later….
K ai gazed at a box of organic pasta in the pantry and wondered if Cole would be okay with spaghetti, too tired to bother with much else. The last six weeks had gone by so fast he could hardly catch his breath. A week in, his ribs had healed completely, and after meeting the pack a few days after the incident with Jerrod and having a chance to decompress, Cole had insisted Kai enroll in an adult education class in order to get his high school diploma, which would allow him to take some college courses. Kai had spent the last month studying himself crazy. He’d taken the GED test in the morning and could only wait to hear if he’d passed or not. He prayed he had because he hated to disappoint Cole or himself.
A shadow came over the wall behind him, and suddenly he found himself swamped by the heady scent of his mate, the earthy smell of cinnamon and loose soil flooding his nostrils. “Cole,” he protested as Cole spun him around and pressed him tight to the cabinet shelves.
“Kit,” Cole growled before covering Kai’s mouth with his own, thrusting his tongue deep between Kai’s lips.
Kai moaned, opening under the onslaught, eager and hungry for it. He thrust his hands into the smooth auburn locks and tugged Cole tighter to him. Two months ago, the act would have frightened him, terrified him to his core, but now he craved it, needed it in a way he’d never thought possible. Cole cupped his bottom and lifted him high enough for Kai to wrap his legs around his waist. “Oh,” Kai whimpered as Cole carried him out of the pantry into the kitchen and set him on the island counter.
Cole nipped at Kai’s bottom lip as he grabbed the hem of Kai’s shirt, slid it over Kai’s head, and dropped it on the floor. “Need you, kit,” Cole rumbled. “Need you now.”
“Yes,” Kai whispered. “Please, Cole.”
Lips settling at the side of Kai’s throat, Cole suckled heatedly at the spot he’d bitten deep to claim Kai, leaving a dark bruise for the world to see. “Mine,” Cole husked, thrusting his hips forward, grinding their cocks together.
“Yours,” Kai agreed with a sigh, running his shaking hands over Cole’s broad shoulders and down to Cole’s hips. “Off,” Kai whined. “Clothes off.”
Cole crossed his arms and snatched at his shirt, yanked it over his head, and tossed it aside carelessly. Nothing mattered except skin-to-skin contact. Kai gasped when Cole’s bare chest touched his. He grappled Cole’s shoulders and biceps, wanting to sink into his mate, to be a part of him. Cole practically tore their jeans off in eagerness. Kai groaned in pleasure at the sight of his mate’s hard cock standing at attention. He reached down to wrap his fingers around the hot length, but Cole didn’t give him time to savor the feel of it in his palm. He pulled Kai off the counter, spun him around, and pressed him facedown on the counter, ass hanging over the edge.
A loud moan tore from Kai when Cole spread his cheeks and dove in, shoving his tongue in deep. They’d had sex in the shower before Kai’d left to take the test, but no matter how many times they made love, neither of them seemed able to get enough. Cole had encouraged Kai to explore and taught Kai about sucking cock, eating ass, and eventually allowed Kai to fuck him. Kai still preferred Cole inside of him, although the reverse experience had been amazing.
Cole lapped at his ass while one of his hands tugged his cock and the other fondled his balls. Kai gave a mewling cry of disappointment when Cole left him for a moment, a chill racing through him when the air drifted over his saliva-dampened hole. Cole didn’t leave him long. The snick of a bottle opening reached his ears, and then a pair of slick fingers pressed at his entrance. “Cole,” Kai sighed, his forehead resting on the counter.
He had no idea what Cole had used for lube, but his cock spasmed as bolts of electricity shot along his spine when Cole grazed his prostate with those two digits. Cole quickly replaced his fingers with his cock, breaching Kai with little to no resistance from Kai’s outer ring of muscles. A grunt vibrated against Kai’s rounded cheeks when Cole bottomed out. Cole gripped Kai’s hips, holding himself deep inside Kai.
“God,” Cole rasped. “I can never get enough of you, kit.”
“Fuck me,” Kai begged. “Please.”
Cole began to move, pulling out a fraction before pushing back in, eventually reaching full strokes. Their breathing grew erratic, moans and growls echoing through the entire house and sweat building on their skin. Cole changed his pace, removing his cock entirely, then plunging deep again. Kai scrabbled to keep from sliding forward with the brutality of Cole’s thrusts. He was close to coming almost too soon.
“Cole,” he sobbed. “I can’t—”
A growl rumbled in Cole’s chest, and he fucked into Kai harder.
“Oh God, Cole,” Kai shouted as he tripped over the edge, semen splashing over the side of the counter.
Nails dug into his skin, and Cole let out a howl as he followed Kai into orgasm, hard pulses filling Kai’s ass. Cole kept moving, increasing the pleasure of their climaxes. Kai reached behind him to grip Cole’s thigh, begging, “No more, please. Oh fuck.”
Cole slowed to a stop, still buried deep in Kai. He collapsed on top of Kai, panting. “Gods, kit, you’re amazing.”
“I think that’s you,” Kai huffed out with a breathless laugh.
Cole nuzzled Kai and dropped a kiss between his shoulder blades. He stood up and slid out of Kai’s warm body. Kai hissed and shuddered, supersensitive. Cole helped him stand and gathered him into his arms to kiss him tenderly. “Love you, kit.”
Kai swallowed hard and managed to get out the words he’d wanted to say for a while. “I love you, Cole.”
A strange sensation of fullness settled in the center of his chest, and Kai gave a small gasp while rubbing the flesh over his heart. He didn’t know how to identify the emotion that lanced through him. But his fox gave a thrilled chirp in his head, and Kai smiled, looping his arms around Cole’s neck.
Surprise followed by affection flitted over Cole’s face. “I’ve wanted more than anything to hear you say it.”
“I’m sorry it took me so long.”
Cole shook his head. “No—”
Kai covered Cole’s mouth with his hand and said, “I know, I know. I don’t need to be sorry.”
Warmth sparkled in Cole’s green gaze. He removed Kai’s hand from his lips. “Let’s go take a shower.”
Kai smiled. “Okay.”
Cole led the way, Kai watching Cole’s muscular rear end flex with each step. He couldn’t stop the grin spreading over his face. Things might have started out rough between them, and maybe life would never be perfect, but it could definitely come close. Kai knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Cole showing him just how much he loved him. Nothing else mattered.
It didn’t take long for the shower to heat up, and Cole turned to Kai and held out his hand. “Ready, kit?”
“Absolutely.”