CHAPTER 9 THREE DAYS OF HUNTING
Dawn broke cold and clear over Eli's territory, the forest waking to birdsong and the rustle of small prey moving through underbrush. Eli stood at the cave entrance in human form, watching the sun paint the eastern ridge in shades of gold and amber.
Behind him, Jace stirred in the furs, stretching like the cat he was. "You're up early," he murmured, his voice still rough with sleep.
"Couldn't sleep," Eli admitted. "Too much energy."
Jace sat up, the furs pooling around his waist. His hair was wild from sleep, his skin still marked with faint scratches from the night before. He looked beautiful and thoroughly claimed, and Eli's wolf preened with satisfaction.
"Want to hunt?" Jace asked, reading Eli's restlessness easily.
Eli turned to look at him, something warm and possessive settling in his chest. "Yeah. I want to see what we can do together."
They'd hunted near each other before—that first chase through the forest, the coordinated takedown at the waterfall. But this would be different. This would be deliberate. A bonded pair working as a unit, testing their compatibility in the most primal way possible.
Jace stood and stretched, his lean muscles flexing under golden skin. "Then let's go. I want to see if you can keep up with me."
Eli's wolf rose to the challenge immediately. "Keep up with you? I'll be the one waiting for you to catch up, cat."
Jace's grin was wicked. "We'll see about that."
They shifted together—Eli flowing into his massive wolf form, all dark fur and heavy muscle, while Jace became the sleek golden cougar Eli had first seen in the ancient oak clearing.
For several seconds, they stood facing each other, predator to predator, and Eli felt the rightness of it settle deep in his bones.
This was what he'd been missing. Not just a mate, but a partner. Someone who could match him, challenge him, hunt beside him as an equal.
Ready? Jace's voice came through the bond—that telepathic connection that had strengthened with their physical bonding. It was still new, still developing, but already Eli couldn't imagine being without it.
Lead the way, Eli responded.
Jace took off into the forest, and Eli followed.
They moved through Eli's territory like shadows, their paws silent on the forest floor.
Jace's cougar form was built for speed and agility—he could navigate the dense underbrush with ease, leaping over fallen logs and weaving between trees with fluid grace.
Eli's wolf was heavier, more powerful, built for endurance and strength rather than quick bursts of speed.
But together, they were devastating.
Jace spotted the elk herd first—a small group of six, grazing in a clearing near the northern stream. He signaled Eli with a flick of his tail, and they both dropped low, circling around to approach from downwind.
The doe on the left, Jace suggested through the bond. She's favoring her right foreleg. Easier target.
Eli studied the herd, his wolf's instincts analyzing the terrain, the wind direction, the escape routes. I'll flush them toward the ridge. You cut off the doe when she breaks left.
Got it.
They moved into position with practiced silence. Eli's heart was pounding—not with fear, but with anticipation. This was what he was made for. What they were made for together.
He burst from the tree line with a snarl, his massive form sending the elk herd into immediate panic. They scattered, hooves thundering against the earth, but the injured doe broke left just as Eli had predicted.
Jace was there.
The cougar launched from a low boulder, his golden form a blur of speed and precision. He landed on the doe's back, claws digging in, teeth finding the vulnerable spot at the base of her skull. The elk went down hard, Jace riding her to the ground.
Eli was there a heartbeat later, his jaws closing around her throat to finish what Jace had started. The kill was clean, efficient, and over in seconds.
They stood over their prey, both breathing hard, both riding the high of a successful hunt. Eli's wolf was singing with satisfaction—not just at the kill, but at the coordination, the teamwork, the way Jace had moved exactly where Eli needed him to be.
That was incredible, Jace said through the bond, his mental voice breathless with exhilaration.
You're fast, Eli responded, genuine admiration in his tone. I've never seen anyone move like that.
And you're strong. The way you drove them exactly where we needed them... Jace trailed off, but Eli could feel his pleasure through the bond.
They shifted back to human form, both flushed and wild-eyed from the hunt. Jace's chest was heaving, his skin gleaming with sweat despite the cool morning air. Eli couldn't look away from him—from the way his muscles moved under golden skin, from the fierce satisfaction in his eyes.
"We're good like this," Jace whispered.
"Yeah," Eli agreed. "We really are."
***
The adrenaline from the hunt was still singing through Eli's veins, making his skin feel too tight, his body too hot. He could smell Jace's arousal mixing with his own—that heady combination of sweat and musk and the lingering scent of their kill.
His wolf wanted. Needed. Had to have.
Jace must have seen it in his eyes because he took a step back, his own pupils dilating with answering desire. "Eli—"
Eli moved.
He crossed the distance between them in two strides, catching Jace around the waist and spinning him toward the nearest tree. Jace's back hit the rough bark with a gasp, his hands coming up to grip Eli's shoulders.
"Here?" Jace asked, but there was no protest in his voice. Just heat and want and the same wild need that was driving Eli.
"Here," Eli confirmed, his voice coming out as a growl. "Now. Need you now."
Jace's answer was to wrap his legs around Eli's waist, using his core strength to lift himself up. "Then take me."
There was no time for preparation, no careful stretching or gentle coaxing. This was raw and primal and everything their careful lovemaking the night before hadn't been. Eli reached between them, finding Jace already half-hard and getting harder by the second.
"You want this," Eli said, not quite a question.
"God, yes," Jace breathed. "Stop talking and fuck me."
Eli didn't need to be told twice.
He spat into his palm—crude but effective—and slicked himself quickly before positioning at Jace's entrance. Jace was still loose from the night before, still open, and when Eli pushed in, the slide was easier than it should have been.
Jace's head fell back against the tree, his mouth falling open on a moan. "Fuck, yes. Like that. Hard."
Eli gave him what he wanted. He braced one hand against the tree trunk beside Jace's head and used the leverage to drive up into him, each thrust deep and claiming. Jace's legs tightened around his waist, his heels digging into Eli's lower back, urging him on.
"More," Jace demanded, his voice breaking on the word. "Harder, Eli. I can take it."
Eli's wolf surged forward, and suddenly his control was fraying.
He fucked into Jace with abandon, the sound of skin slapping against skin echoing through the clearing.
Jace's claws came out—not fully shifted, but enough—and raked down Eli's back, leaving burning lines of pleasure-pain in their wake.
"Mark me," Eli growled against Jace's throat. "Want everyone to know I'm yours."
Jace's claws dug deeper, and Eli felt blood well up along the scratches. The pain only heightened his pleasure, made him thrust harder, faster, chasing the release that was building at the base of his spine.
"Bite me," Jace gasped. "Want your mark too."
Eli's teeth found the junction of Jace's neck and shoulder—the same place he'd marked before, but this time he bit down harder. Not enough to break skin, but enough to leave a bruise that would last for days. Jace cried out, his body clenching around Eli's cock, and that was all it took.
Eli came with a roar, his hips jerking as he emptied himself deep inside Jace. The sensation triggered Jace's own orgasm—he came untouched, his release spilling hot between their bodies, his inner muscles clamping down on Eli's cock in rhythmic pulses.
In the quiet that followed, they stayed locked together, both trembling with aftershocks. Then Eli's legs started to shake, and he carefully lowered them both to the ground, still buried inside Jace.
They collapsed onto the forest floor, breathing hard, covered in sweat and come and each other's scent.
"That was—" Jace started, his voice wrecked.
"Different," Eli finished, pulling out carefully and rolling onto his back beside Jace.
Jace turned his head to look at him, a slight smile playing at his lips despite his obvious exhaustion. "Good different?"
"Very good different," Eli confirmed. He reached over to trace the bite mark on Jace's shoulder, feeling possessive satisfaction at the sight of it. His wolf wanted to lick it, to mark it further, to make sure everyone who saw Jace would know he belonged to someone.
But he caught himself. That was the possessive instinct talking, the one Jace had asked him to be careful about.
Instead, he just pulled Jace close, tucking him against his side. "We should eat," he said after a moment. "The elk won't keep forever."
Jace laughed, the sound breathless and happy. "You want to eat raw elk meat right now?"
"We're predators," Eli pointed out. "It's what we do."
They did eat—tearing into the fresh kill with teeth and hands, comfortable in their animal nature in a way Eli had never been with anyone else.
Jace ate delicately despite the raw meat, his movements still graceful even when covered in blood.
Eli watched him, feeling something warm and possessive settle in his chest.
This was his. This beautiful, fierce, perfect creature was his.
And he was never letting go.
***