Chapter 10
Dawn slowly washed the room in rays of light.
The slow build had Drake feeling the energy in his bones.
It was more than simple morning time, though.
It was the man sleeping beside him and the mark on his neck.
That mark stunned Drake. It wasn’t just that Jaxom actually had claimed him, it was that Jaxom insisted Drake mark him, too.
Alphas were very protective of their role in a pack.
Usually for good reason. Luna’s usually got to mark their Alpha partner.
But traditionally, extra males did not mark their Alpha partners.
It was seen as a way of keeping hierarchy straight.
They were not as high as the Alpha but not ranked below Betas either.
A right-hand man. Still valued. Still respected, but not an Alpha.
Not the ultimate leader. Jaxom allowing Drake’s mark on his neck meant that they shared Alpha power and authority completely.
Drake could feel that power thrumming through his body.
It made sense why some men couldn’t allow that to be dissipated between fated male mate-bonds.
That marking said so much about his mate.
The guy wasn’t hung up on power. Drake’s marking allowed a level of authority in their personal relationship, too.
They were equals. That’s partly why Lunas were allowed to mark their Alphas.
As the physically weaker partner, they needed a way to protect themselves, too.
Alphas gave that power to their Lunas, to protect their Luna as well as themselves.
A pack without a Luna was a pack without a heartbeat. A strong Luna kept the pack alive.
Drake had spent his life fighting for people to see him as more than just a body. He’d been an orphan, just wanting to belong in a family. He had fought and suffered through two years of sexual assault from a woman who planned on taking him as a forced mate on his eighteenth birthday.
A forced mating would have destroyed him.
He’d never have chosen to mate her and she knew it.
They’d have been physically and emotionally joined with all the power in her hands.
Him a toy for her continued use and abuse.
She’d had a witch make her a potion to mimic a fated mate-bond, but those types of potions always kept the power of the bond in the abuser’s control.
He couldn’t thank the Moon Goddess enough for his dad learning about him and taking action.
Drake slowly crawled out of bed so as not to wake Jaxom.
He needed a shower. A moment to reorient in a brand new existence.
The shower made this all feel normal, real.
Through the mate-bond, especially because of the marking on Jaxom’s neck, he could tell Jaxom was still asleep. Their wolves were still snoozing, too.
Drake smiled at how sore his own mark was, so fresh and new.
Jax hadn’t held back when he bit him. The mark was healed.
The soreness was because an Alpha had claimed him and his body was adjusting to its new status.
That claiming had been so necessary. There had been moments in the last two years he’d wondered if he could have sex again with a woman.
The intensity of the mate-bond had helped him bust past those fears with Jaxom.
The moment he’d seen Jaxom at the pack house he’d just wanted to touch and be touched.
Praise the Moon Goddess for the making Jaxom so dang irresistible, he though with a smile.
He got coffee brewing and sausage links frying.
Jax was stirring and apparently hungry. The knowledge wasn’t like direct knowledge of his own body.
It was a knowing, an index card of general information on his mate.
If he dug deeper, he’d feel more. But, that was for more intimate times, or if they were in danger.
Mates had to find a balance in the bond.
In the beginning, it was tempting to get lost in the feel of each other, but that could also border on obsession.
Drake had been an object of obsession once.
He wasn’t going to do that to Jaxom. The light tether of awareness simply made him feel connected.
That looming abyss of loneliness was gone.
“What’s for breakfast?” Jaxom asked as he leaned against the counter. Drake startled at the sound of his mate’s voice. He’d been lost in thought.
“Coffee for the rush, sausage, and pancakes. That okay?” Drake asked, feeling shy at being watched by those intense blue eyes.
“Perfect. Coffee and maple syrup. That’s what you smell like.”
“I do?”
“You do. Intoxicating. I’ve always liked the smell of coffee, just not the taste. You may be turning me into a coffee drinker. And breakfast is my favorite meal of the day.” Jaxom’s sexy morning voice had Drake’s attention turning to other things. The sausage needed his attention, though.
“I do have one question. You don’t have to answer,” Drake said.
“Fire away, handsome,” Jaxom said in his soft way of assurance.
“Do you feel like you’ve lost Alpha power after marking me?” Drake asked. “The depth of power I feel is deeper than I’ve ever experienced. I just hate the idea that I took something away from you after such an amazing beginning.”
The smile on Jaxom’s face was encouraging.
“I don’t know what it felt like for other wolves.
I feel a deeper well now, too. It’s like you enhanced what I already had.
I’ve always been under the impression my Alpha power would diminish to have our wells of power match.
It doesn’t feel that way at all. Quite the opposite. ”
Drake sighed in relief. “I’d hoped you’d say that. I wonder why it worked different for other wolves.”
“Honestly?” Jaxom laughed, “I don’t care. You are amazing. I feel like the luckiest guy in the world, mate.”
A loud pounding on the door had Drake dropping the tongs. Jaxom looked annoyed as he went to the front door. He yanked it open and look down at a diminutive woman holding a satchel.
“Hazel?” he said cautiously.
“I was told you got yourself a man.” The lady barged past Jaxom and up to Drake. Wild white hair floated on the breeze of her passage. She dropped the satchel and cupped Drake’s face. Her eyes were glowing a light green.
Drake stood mesmerized by the intensity of her gaze. She’d captured him in an instant. Only the witch’s good will would set him free. A hum sounded in the distance as she dove deep into his soul.
“Your second mate needs protection. Don’t let them kill him. You will stand as his shield until he can stand as yours. It is fated. If he lives, and you mate and mark him, you will be marked for death. His life is her coming. The Lycans will rise again.”
Witch Hazel let Drake go and stumbled backwards, almost falling over. Jaxom caught her before she hit her head on the counter. She stood up, picked up the satchel and shoved it at Jaxom’s chest. He took it and eyed her warily.
“I told you, you are special. When he comes, if boy toy over there can save him, you’ll all need to wear bracers. Don’t let them see the mark.”
“Let who see what mark, Hazel?” Jaxom asked in exasperation. “Save who?”
“Have fun having lots of sex, boys.” Hazel was gone with her laughter still ringing in the cottage.
“What was that?” Drake felt like he was going to fall.
“Hazel. That was Hazel.” Jaxom grabbed Drake before he toppled over.
“She’s…”
“Powerful and annoying. Take a deep breath. Have a seat. I’ll be right back.”
Drake sank into the couch. His hands were shaking and he felt weak, like he’d had way too much sugar and was crashing on a sugar low. The witch’s green eyes were still staring at him. Examining him.
Drake was finally able to look up and see Jaxom sitting beside him. He handed him a mug of coffee. It smelled amazing. Jaxom had added something to it. He slowly took a sip.
“Did you put chocolate in this?” Drake asked as he took another sip.
“Yep. Witches do that to wolves. It’s like they take your soul out, dance on it like a plaything and then shove it back in your stomach. Then it has to figure out what its original shape was, but it’s never quite the same.”
“That’s accurate. And chocolate solves the problem?”
“Mostly.” Jaxom grinned in amusement as Drake kept sipping. “Sorry she busted in like that. Locks don’t work and I usually don’t even get a knock. I guess she was feeling polite. I took care of the sausage so we can eat later.”
Drake took four more sips. His new favorite beverage. At least the crazy witch had achieved that in his brief interaction with her.
“Okay, so, what was all that about. Was it prophecy? I’m marked for death?”
“It was a prophecy, but I’m not sure if we both are marked for death, eventually, or just you.
Prophecy is wiggly. And, she gave us three sets of bracers in that satchel.
” Jaxom fetched the satchel and sat back beside Drake.
“There’s a note. ‘Start wearing these regularly now. No one will question their presence. His arrival won’t make them curious about the bracers IF you start wearing them now.
Later will be too late. They shift with you’. ”
“I guess we have to start wearing them now,” Drake mocked her note, then scowled at his empty mug of goodness. “How do we find mysterious ‘him’? He’s our mate, too? Is the mysterious ‘she’ also our mate?”
“I don’t know. Hazel did say we were supposed to mate and mark him.
Can’t say about mystery ‘she’. My guess is that we’ll know when we know, unless Hazel decides to actually do some real communicating.
” Jaxom took Drake’s mug to refill it. “You were out for about ten minutes after she left. The bracers are pretty badass.”
Drake took the three sets out of the burlap satchel. They were made of black leather and stamped with the Lycan insignia. Simple clasps kept the wrap on the forearms.
“Have you tried them on?”
“No, I waited for you to come out of Hazel’s trance. I lost two hours because of her once. Completely annoying.”
“They look too big.”