12. Chapter 12
twelve
Cyrus was forced to get out of the bed and put his shirt back on. He tossed Gabe his pants and shirt.
“Do we have to?” Gabe asked. His voice was low, and need was thick within his tone.
Cyrus turned to look at him. Gabe was flushed a soft, perfect shade of pink. His hair was already a mess on his head. He laid there, half propped up by his elbows, in only his boxers, his cock straining against them.
“God…” Cyrus mumbled, dizzy, and shook his head. “Yes. Unfortunately.”
He took a slow breath, hoping the straining within his jeans would die down soon enough.
He gave Gabe a few minutes to get dressed and then a minute to cool down and fought the urge to tackle Gabe back onto the bed before they headed out of the room. The cooler air in the hallway hit Cyrus, and he shivered.
As they made their way downstairs, Cyrus couldn’t help but think about how good that had felt, how much he wanted just to pin Gabe to the bed, fuck him until they both fell asleep. It was a dizzying feeling. For that brief moment, Cyrus had felt like he actually could move on.
It had felt good. Better than anything, he had felt in a long time; but he was forced to move on from it quicker than it had started.
He sighed as they made their way into the backyard and the circle forming. Candles lined the circle—a thick red blanket in the middle. Rachel and Evan were standing at opposite ends of the blanket.
There was no one else in the middle of the circle or stepping into it. When it came to claiming rituals, there were standards that you learned when you wanted to do them, and you added in things to make it your own, very much like a wedding.
It wasn’t guided by anyone except those that were doing it, and those around them often offered gifts of support and blessing.
Instead of bowls like in the initiation ritual, there were small woven baskets around the circle to put things in that they wanted to give those partaking in the ritual.
Some people did this and left, others stayed to watch.
Cyrus stood a few feet away from Gabe, trying not to look at him, and only at the scene before them.
He caught Gabe from the corner of his eye, moving to walk around the circle, and looked up, seeing they were now eye to eye with each other even if he looked down, he could still see Gabe’s form from the top of his vision.
He sighed softly, shifting slightly to lessen some of the tension in his pants.
Shaking his head, smirking a little, the dizziness had not left him entirely. He looked back toward the pairing.
The candles around Rachel and Evan were flickering and casting shadows all around. They were warm and expressed the love of the two people.
Cyrus took a slow breath.
Rachel and Evan came closer, holding small candles in their hands.
The wax dripped slowly, and they tilted the candles once they got to each other to drip the wax along each other’s palms for a moment before switching candles.
They each used their candle to light one unlit candle in the circle’s center before blowing them out and setting them to the side.
No words were spoken yet, just glances and gazes of love, possession, desire.
Cyrus couldn’t help but be fixated by the way they linked fingers as they stood there.
There was no need for a preacher, a pastor, or anyone. It was between them. The Alpha being there meant his blessing was given, which was all that was needed. Gabe did not need to say a thing.
Cyrus looked over at Gabe and noticed Gabe’s eyes on Rachel and Evan, too.
When he looked away, he was almost positive Gabe looked at him.
Rachel and Evan leaned close to each other and nuzzled each other’s shoulders, left then right.
“I am yours, always,” Rachel told Evan.
“I am yours, always,” Evan replied.
They sank to their knees near the candle they had lit with a small bowl and a knife. They each drew just enough blood for a teaspoon or so of their blood and swirled it together.
They placed their thumb in the blood and crossed their arms with each other so that one of their hands rested along their cheeks. They smeared the blood along each other’s cheeks before their hands split.
There was something in how they did everything of the claiming ritual that was different.
While the candles, blood, and general vibe were the same, the things they tweaked and little gestures that they added to be special to them were heartwarming.
Cyrus couldn’t help but feel a tight ache in his chest.
He blinked back the stinging of tears in his eyes and looked away for a moment.
Kasper and him…he shook the thought away.
When he looked back, the more intimate part of the ritual occurred.
Each piece of the ceremony was intimate, but this part was even more so.
Rachel and Evan were kissing, their shirts were soon laid to the side, and they were holding each other, caressing each other’s bodies.
It was only a second into this when the tension was rising.
Cyrus could feel it, and as he looked across at Gabe, he knew he could as well.
Cyrus felt both heartache and desire well up within him.
He swallowed hard and looked away from the two; it was several more moments that felt as though they were going on forever until the two were shifting into their wolf form and running off into the night.
Cyrus looked after them nervously before looking at Gabe.
“They were told not to go further than the property line, right?” Cyrus asked as Gabe walked over to him.
“Yeah, and I made sure a few people will be keeping track of them,” Gabe told him.
Cyrus eyed him. “Good,” he replied.
Cyrus then turned around and started heading back inside.
His pulse was so quick he could barely stand it.
He didn’t know if Gabe was going to follow him back to his room.
Most of everyone was still outside, drinking and celebrating the union of sorts, but the Alpha and his second in command were no longer required to stay out now that the ritual was officially done.
Cyrus didn’t look behind him, but he heard and felt Gabe following him and ducking into his bedroom. As he was doing so, Gabe did as well. The door closed, locked, and much to Cyrus’s surprise. His own back was pushed up against the wall beside the door.
He inhaled sharply, and his eyes closed as Gabe’s mouth connected with his.
The kiss was hot, needy. It was clear they’d both gotten riled up at the ritual, and not to mention emotional. Cyrus felt like he could very well melt into Gabe as long as there were no more interruptions.
Gabe seemed to waste no time, sliding his hand against Cyrus’s bulge through his jeans between their bodies and rubbing. Cyrus groaned into Gabe’s mouth, and his own hands moved down to help Gabe get his pants off quickly.
His head was dizzy as his mouth moved fervently against Gabe’s, nipping at his bottom lip, his tongue dancing around the other man. Until Cyrus felt his hard cock spring free from its confines, and Gabe sunk to his knees.
He gasped as Gabe’s warm mouth encompassed his length. His wet tongue circled the tip before he started to bob his head.
“Fuck,” Cyrus groaned as he tilted his head back against the wall for a moment, but he couldn’t resist the urge to look down and watch the pitch-black hair bounce with each movement and a pair of autumn-colored eyes gaze up at him now and again.
His hips shifted slightly with each move of Gabe’s head until Gabe pulled back with a pop, off of Cyrus’s dick. The cooler air in the room was even colder with the saliva left on his length, and Cyrus groaned.
Gabe stood back up, and Cyrus reached out to pull his head to him and kissed him deeply. He was tasting himself there on his lips.
Quickly they made their way toward the bed, getting the rest of Cyrus and Gabe’s clothing off as they did so.
The ache Cyrus felt from not being able to touch Gabe even for a few seconds was intense, and finally, they were falling back onto the bed, naked bodies against each other, Cyrus on top of Gabe as he had been before.
Gabe cocked his hips up against Cyrus, rubbing their cocks together, and Cyrus moaned as he leaned down to bite at Gabe’s neck and shoulder. Sucking rough and needy hickies into his skin.
Gabe moaned in pleasure and reached a hand down to grab at Cyrus’s ass.
Cyrus’s lips found Gabe’s once more and sucked his bottom lip into his mouth, biting at it and letting it slide out from his teeth. Their breath was heavy, their bodies grinding and rubbing against each other desperately.
Gabe leaned his head up and bit at Cyrus’s shoulder, hard, perfect, and Cyrus tilted his head down into his shoulder, groaning, and felt his asshole clench and his cock throb.
“Fuck me…” he moaned, his hand quickly darting out and fumbling to open the drawer of his bedside table, searching aimlessly until in his hand was a tube of lube and a condom.
Gabe’s breath was quick, heavy underneath him. Cyrus could tell he was nervous.
“Have you—done it before?” Cyrus asked, breathless already.
Gabe swallowed.
“Yes…not in a while, but, yes,” he replied, and their lips met again.
Cyrus felt so dizzy and hot he couldn’t think straight. Not that thinking straight was even remotely needed at that moment. His lips moved desperately against Gabe’s until he suddenly found himself on his back on the bed.
Gabe took the two things from Cyrus’s hands, and Cyrus watched with hungry eyes as Gabe put the condom on.
Gabe set the bottle of lube down and leaned down for another moment to kiss Cyrus and urge him onto his stomach.
Cyrus grunted as he did so and slid a pillow underneath his stomach and hips, causing his slick cock to rub and push up against the fabric and his ass to be a bit more pushed up.