Chapter Three #2
Brownie’s gaze shot to his, as if he heard that thought.
“You’re mine. I’ve told you a dozen times hellhounds aren’t wolves.
Our world isn’t like yours. The only way hellhounds are created is by Lucifer’s hand.
Nothing is expected of me but to guard him…
and now to be your mate. I’m not a wolf,” he repeated, sounding angry.
He stood and plucked Yuri’s tightly wrapped body from the ground.
In a flash, Yuri found himself over Brownie’s massive shoulder.
He ground his back teeth, trying not to think and piss off Brownie more than he obviously had.
Brownie slung Yuri’s backpack over his other shoulder and took off like a shot.
Oddly, Yuri didn’t feel the least bit unsecured.
He didn’t get beaten to death by a bumpy ride.
Brownie kept him tucked tightly in a way that simply had Yuri along for his run.
But his position made it hard to keep up with where they were.
He sort of recognized the floor of Frost’s house before a leap through the mirror had him staring at Lucifer’s bed.
That disappeared just as quickly as Brownie strode through the castle at a clipped pace.
If they passed Lucifer or Riku, Yuri didn’t see them or hear them.
The air left his lungs as he landed on a soft mattress.
Everything smelled like Brownie. Yuri wanted to roll around in the scent and keep it for later.
But his gaze refused to budge from Brownie long enough for him to do anything.
Brownie stripped. He was so fucking sexy.
The scar, showing him as Yuri’s mate, caught and held his attention.
It nearly blended with a ragged scar Brownie already had.
That thought led to another. A pain sliced through his chest. “I’m not your first mate.
” He hadn’t really thought about that before.
Brownie had said the scar came from a bar fight. Only mates could scar each other.
Brownie’s eyes flashed dangerously as he finally focused on Yuri. Yuri recoiled a hair at the rage he saw in Brownie. “I’m not a fucking wolf.”
Yuri swallowed. “Okay.” Even he heard how small he sounded. Everyone was always angry with him. Brownie was the one person he didn’t want to feel that way with.
Brownie swiped a hand over his face. He looked defeated. His eyes seemed almost sad as he straddled Yuri’s body. While keeping his weight balanced on his knees and heels, Brownie effectively kept him pinned. “Please listen to me.”
At the pleading in Brownie’s voice, Yuri nodded. “Of course. Anything.” He meant it. Yuri would always do anything Brownie needed.
Brownie’s muscles relaxed. He obviously recognized Yuri’s loyalty.
Yuri would always give him anything. “I know I’ve said this all before, but I need you to really hear me.
Hellhounds aren’t part of your world. We aren’t created or ruled by Odin.
I’m not like you. My skin scars. I can talk in animal form and my blood would boil away anyone else’s skin.
Yet you drank it… like only a true mate could.
We don’t procreate. In fact, most creatures on this side of heaven never receive mates.
It’s almost unheard of unless we leave here to serve Celeste.
My only guess is you’re the one she blessed.
Not me. I’m only benefiting from the grace she’s extended to you. ”
Yuri clung to every word. He was fascinated and confused. His mate was a mystery to him in so many ways. Yuri realized how little he understood about the underworld.
Thankfully, Brownie kept talking. Yuri knew he wouldn’t let Yuri live in the dark.
“Hellhounds don’t kiss or care about each other.
We don’t have parents. There’s no such thing as nurturing.
We exist to serve Lucifer. In our downtime, maybe we’ll fuck, but that’s also an act of bravery.
It’s vicious and dangerous, since we might choose to tear each other’s throats out.
This world is nothing like yours. Being with you, there’s no way you can understand what that’s like for me.
You are softness and sunshine. Laughter and warmth.
You’re everything I never knew before you.
There’s nowhere else I’d rather be right now.
There damn sure isn’t another beast I want to touch.
” He motioned between them. “This is a blessing I couldn’t even dare to dream.
There’s no one else, period. You’re everything. ”
Yuri sniffed. He hated how close to tears he was. Life had been way too hard. Brownie felt way too much like Yuri had a new family.
“I’m your mate. I am your family.”
The softly spoken words broke Yuri. He rolled upward, tossing the blanket aside, and snagged Brownie’s neck, hauling him down. Yuri claimed Brownie’s mouth, and all thought vanished. He was just a man beneath his other half. Yuri couldn’t get close enough.
Brownie had gone from never kissing to unable to get enough in a single day.
There was no way he could have known exactly how carnal the act could be.
He was transfixed. Nothing existed but Yuri’s mouth.
He should have realized how amazing this would be simply by how desperate he always made Brownie to groom him.
Brownie had never spent so much time licking every inch of anyone.
He had never groomed anyone other than himself before Yuri.
Why hadn’t he immediately recognized Yuri as his mate?
The way he had wanted to take care of him from minute one was unfathomable before him. This wolf was his.
Brownie desperately wanted to be inside Yuri.
He was just as out of depth here as he had been with kissing.
Brownie wanted every second to feel good to Yuri.
He didn’t want to hurt him. That wasn’t something Brownie knew how to do.
But he felt everything Yuri felt, so he hoped he would figure it out.
His mouth moved to Yuri’s ear. He wanted to lick it. “I want to make love to you.”
“Yes.” The breathless whisper cut through Brownie’s soul.
The way Yuri gripped his arms and writhed beneath him said a lot about his restlessness.
He wanted Brownie too. That still fucked with his head.
Yuri was so flawless… except for Brownie’s bite mark.
Brownie’s stomach growl. His. Yuri belonged to him.
“Hold on. Just give me a second.” It really took some rooting for Brownie to find lube.
He owned it, but—as he had told Yuri—his life was very different from Weres.
The sexy way Yuri’s whiskey-colored eyes watched his every move had Brownie near to panting.
He wet his fingers and got to work, getting Yuri as wet as possible.
Fuck. He was a man on the edge. Everything was so goddamn gorgeous about Yuri.
They genuinely didn’t match. He couldn’t stop being blown away that Yuri even let him touch him.
His hunger turned dangerous. He was used to claiming what he wanted.
Brownie turned more treacherous by the second.
The demon dog inside him was barely held at bay.
“I want you inside me.”
Brownie swore he lost sight at Yuri’s desperate-sounding words. A red haze coated his vision. He sounded demonic when he responded. “I’m barely me right now. Don’t toy with me. The hellhound inside me wants to claim you.”
In a show of strength, Yuri rolled upward, grabbed Brownie, and twisted. Brownie blinked at the ceiling. He didn’t get taken down. His confusion lasted for less than a second when Yuri’s tight body sank onto him. Brownie’s back bowed as Yuri’s heat squeezed his cock.
“Holy fuck, Yuri. I—” He had no idea what he meant to say.
His brain flew out the window when Yuri lifted and lowered himself, taking Brownie even deeper.
Everything short circuited. His claws tore through the sheets.
He fought to keep them clear of Yuri’s beautiful skin.
The sounds he made were as unfamiliar as finding himself on his back.
Yuri’s tongue circled Brownie’s nipple.
Brownie realized he could slightly separate what he felt from what Yuri felt.
Damn. He wasn’t in pain. Yuri wanted this every bit as badly.
He used Brownie’s body to take his pleasure.
That was all he needed to know. It was also the last coherent thought he had.
Yuri’s fangs sank into Brownie’s chest, right above the nipple he had just licked.
His entire body reacted. The growl he released would have scared any other beast. He felt Yuri’s pride, along with his pleasure.
Brownie was no longer in control. His needs were.
He flipped, pinning Yuri beneath him. Brownie tore into Yuri’s throat and drank.
A blinding light of ecstasy flashed through his mind.
The sweet taste of Yuri’s life-giving force brought Brownie slamming back down to reality.
Yuri had already been lightheaded once tonight from blood loss.
Brownie quickly licked the wound, sealing it. Even as he watched the scar appear, his pride didn’t outmatch his worry. “I’m sorry. Damn. I wasn’t thinking. You have to make me stop before I do stupid shit. I’m so sorry.”
Yuri’s tongue filled his mouth, silencing him.
Brownie’s heart slowed. His mind stilled.
Peace and satisfaction settled on his shoulders.
He had never experienced anything truly beautiful before.
This had been soul-searing. He floated on a cloud.
Brownie had felt pride and attachment. Being Lucifer’s protector gave him that.
Brownie had never felt this before. It was something new.
Something he didn’t know how to name. It was beautiful and ugly.
Affection and jealousy. This was a deep possessiveness he would tear anyone and anything apart to keep.
If it had a name, he didn’t know it yet.
All Brownie knew was they were for eternity and nothing could touch them.
A cold wind washed over Fen’s skin. He shifted in his sleep, searching for his blankets.
The air burst from his lungs on a gasp before icy water filled them just as quickly.
All he saw was murky blue sea water in every direction.
He tried swimming in what he hoped was the direction of the sky.
His arms ached. He was too panicked to even question how he had ended up here.
Then Fen stared into a huge electric-blue eye. He was transfixed. Almost hypnotized. The eye shrank until it became the size of a human’s. Frost-colored hair and perfect features accompanied the eye. There were two of them now. He stared at the most flawless man in existence.
A wicked-looking smile stretched the man’s lips, as if he heard Fen’s thoughts. Warmth engulfed him. He stood dry and firmly on the ground. His surroundings didn’t matter. Only those blue eyes existed.
A finger trailed down his bare chest. “You smell like him. Why do you smell like him?” He leaned in close and took a long sniff of Fen’s neck.
“Who are you?”
“I see. His mutt has a mate. You drank his blood. All his creations smell just like him. It makes sense his dog’s mate would also carry his scent.”
“Who are you?” Fen repeated the question a little louder. He hated being ignored.
Blue eyes snapped to his face again. “I should really stop wiping your memory. This constant reintroducing myself is tiresome. Unfortunately, I don’t think you’d play the good little spy if I let you remember me. You may call me Monnie. Show me what you’ve seen.” Monnie cupped his head.
Fen felt the guy trying to flip through his every thought, like reading a book.
He fought him. Fen wasn’t weak. He didn’t know what the hell was happening, but he knew Yuri was his friend.
He had offered his blood in a way most creatures would never.
Fen couldn’t let this being, or whatever he was, have his thoughts.
Monnie rolled his eyes and dropped his hands. “Another game we play each time I see you. We’ll make a trade. Give me what I want, and you can have my blood.”
A memory tried clawing at the back of Fen’s mind. His inability to satisfy his hunger. It was this one. Whatever was in his blood was addictive. Fen wanted more every second of every day without knowing what it was he needed.
“Nae. I don’t want your blood.” Yuri had fed him. His powerful blood had helped. Fen didn’t want to go back to craving something he couldn’t have. Fen squared his shoulders and planted his feet, readying himself for whatever punishment would come. He was a warrior for a reason. Fen could take it.
Monnie invaded his space. His silky blue robe opened.
A flawless body pressed against him. Fen’s cock stirred.
His body betrayed him. Monnie was sexual in a way Fen couldn’t describe.
Fen smelled the blood pumping through his veins.
It smelled like sherbet ice cream and something else he couldn’t describe.
The desire and cravings were crippling him.
Then a sensation yanked at his gut—like getting hooked and reeled away.
“No!”
The vision of Monnie’s enraged face disappeared.
The cold water filled his lungs again, choking him.
He watched the murky blue water zip past him.
Finally, the warmth of his bed engulfed him.
Fen shot upright. His gaze darted to every corner.
He was completely dry. Fen shook his head.
What a weird-ass dream. Everything had felt off since he had been abducted.
Maybe he should ask Frost to take a look at him.
Maybe there was something wrong. He knew next to nothing about any of the gods.
Maybe they poisoned the skin the same way a demon did.
He settled back down and dragged more covers over him. There was a chill in the air. No wonder he had dreams about freezing. Fen shouldn’t really need sleep, but he hadn’t done much else in his off time for a while. As darkness tugged him under, a whisper brushed his mind. “Bring me the wolf.”
Fen was asleep before he had time to grasp a word.