Chapter 14

Staring down at his mate, Tristan found Heath’s piercing blue eyes locked on him, waiting for him to move. So he did. Pressing his cock against Heath’s hole, Tristan leaned down and gave his mate a kiss filled with every emotion coursing through him, especially his love for Heath. When his mate’s lips parted slightly, Tristan thrust his tongue into Heath’s mouth and, at the same time, slipped his cock into him.

A myriad of sensations began zinging through Heath’s body from the duel assault; it was almost too much, and yet not enough. It spurred him on to begin pumping his hips as he felt his mate’s cock filled him completely.

Sucking in a quick breath at Heath’s sudden movement, Tristan forced himself to remain still for a moment, allowing the muscles gripping his cock to get used to the sudden intrusion. But his tongue, refusing to be denied, entwined itself with Heath’s, driving him crazy with his mate’s delicious taste. Tristan knew there’d never be a day when he didn’t want more of it.

His mate’s kisses were devouring Heath from the inside out. Electrifying sparks ran up his back as his blood grew hot, and when the two sensations came together, they ignited into a firestorm that swirled throughout his body. Unable to fight it, Heath’s hips began to pump. He wanted—no, needed—Tristan as much, if not more, than he needed his next breath.

Lifting his head, Tristan saw Heath’s wolf glowing in the eyes staring back at him, drawing his own wolf forward. Finally, for the first time in his life, Tristan understood who he was meant to be. Withdrawing his cock until only the tip remained sheathed in his mate, he paused for a second before thrusting its glistening shaft balls-deep into Heath. The urgency to make Heath his own drove him on until his hips were pumping like a well-oiled machine. Keeping his eyes locked with Heath’s, Tristan knew their wolves were eagerly anticipating the moment they’d become one.

His mate was everything Heath had always hoped for but feared he’d never have. Gripping Tristan’s biceps, his hips moved in sync with his mate’s, his ass muscles clenching the rock-hard shaft that filled him. Sweat coated their bodies and, when a drop of Tristan’s landed on his lips, Heath sucked it in. His wolf howled and Tristan’s wolf answered. The firestorm in him grew, consuming his body as it pushed him closer to the precipice , yet it was still so far away. “Please Tris…bite me!”

Encouraged by his mate’s pleas, Tristan shifted slightly, allowing his cock to repeatedly stroke his mate’s prostate prompting cries of ecstasy to reverberate throughout the room, but he knew Heath still needed more. Reaching down between their bodies, Tristan wrapped his hand around his mate’s leaking cock, matching his strokes to the pumping of his hips.

It was just the impetus Heath needed to go over the cliff and free-fall into the pleasure pool waiting for him below. Crying out as his cum shot out between their bodies, Heath’s wolf issued his mating call.

Fangs readied, Tristan sunk his teeth into his mate’s neck, claiming him as he filled Heath with a burst of cum. When his wolf answered Heath’s wolf call, the two wolves came together, wrapping around each other, becoming one as they ascended upward toward the stars .

It was then he felt it—the presence of Heath in his mind avowing his love for Tristan. Slowly drawing back his fangs, he gazed at the teeth marks he’d left in Heath and smiled. He’d claimed his mate, and from now till the end of their lives, Heath would be with him. Licking the wound tenderly, Tristan lifted his head to gaze tenderly at his mate for a moment before lowering himself to give Heath a soft, sweet kiss.

“I love you,” Tristan whispered against his mate’s lips. “Now and forever, I swear to always treasure the gift the Fates have given…and be there for you always, no matter what adversities we face. Thank you for claiming me even after I acted like a jerk.”

Smiling, Heath murmured, “But a lovable jerk who gave me the best blueberry muffins I ever ate.”

Wrapping his arms around Heath, Tristan rolled over onto his back with his mate now on top of him. Cupping his mate’s face, Tristan grinned and said, “I promise to give you blueberry muffins every time I’m a jerk.”

“Or you could just let me fuck you,” Heath whispered against his mate’s lips before kissing them.

“That would work, too,” Tristan replied, grinning. “Look at us…sorting out how to fix our problems before we even have any.”

“Very adult-like,” Heath agreed.

“Very!” Tristan murmured, gazing into his mate’s darkening blue eyes. The lust he saw there had his cock growing hard again. “I need you,” he growled.

“Then take me, my lovable jerk.”

~/~/~/~/ ~

Hiding in the bushes surrounding the Alpha’s house, Oliver waited until the shifters inside had gone to bed before creeping forward to peer into one of its small basement windows. He’d been searching for his aunt and uncle for several years, but each lead he’d gotten had always fizzled out. Frustrated, he was about to give up until he overheard a shifter in a local bar bragging to his friend about the slaves his Alpha had. Claiming an empty bar stool next to the shifter, Oliver nursed his beer while listening to the conversation.

Slaves had been outlawed by the High Council years ago, so if the shifter was telling the truth, the Alpha’s slaves were illegal. But if that were the case, how come no one had reported it; it just didn’t make sense. After thinking it over, he decided the shifter was just bullshitting, but that assessment suddenly changed when the shifter referred to some of the slaves by their names.

That lent enough credence to the shifter’s story to make Oliver decide to follow him home. Fading into the shadows when they arrived, he watched as the man entered the Alpha’s house. Smiling grimly, he was sure he’d finally found a solid lead on the whereabouts of his aunt and uncle, prompting him to begin creeping through a tangle of prickly bushes surrounding the house.

Reaching a basement window, he peered inside, seeing nothing other than several empty boxes. Disappointed, he nevertheless refused to give up until he’d checked the other windows. Pausing for a moment, he lifted his nose, sniffing the air to make sure he was still alone before crawling to the next window where, once again he failed to find any evidence that supported the shifter’s claim of slaves on the premises .

After looking through four more windows with the same results, Oliver again began to doubt the shifter’s story. Nevertheless, he pushed on; there was still one last window to check out. As he headed for it, his animal began to pick up a sound that came from inside the basement. Curious now, he inched forward to the window and looked in. His heart began to race at what he saw.

Quickly pulling back, Oliver sat on his heels while he considered his options, finally settling on one. When the moon disappeared behind a cloud, he made a hasty exit, sticking to the shadows until he was out of the Alpha’s territory. Then, breathing a sigh of relief, he headed to the highway to hitch a ride south.

~/~/~/~/~

Tristan turned at the sound of his mate padding into the kitchen, his hair damp from their recent shower. His eyes roamed over Heath, noting his naked chest dotted with drops of water and his sweatpants hanging low on his hips. He was immediately turned on as he remembered how good it had been when they’d made love the second time.

Claiming Heath had been a fast and furious affair and, while it was amazing, Tristan knew his mate deserved more. He licked his lips as he remembered rolling Heath onto his stomach and touching, licking, and kissing every single inch of his body starting at the back of his neck to the tips of his toes. And when he’d finished that, he turned his boneless mate over and repeated it all over again. By the time he was through, the room was filled with Heath’s whimpers for more.

Granting his mate’s wish, Tristan slowly entered Heath inch by inch. Leaning over his mate, Tristan linked his fingers with Heath’s on either side of his head, before brushing his lips lightly over his mate’s. Then he continued licking and kissing every part of Heath he could reach while moving his cock at a tantalizingly slow pace.

Heath felt loved and cherished in a way no one had ever made him feel before. And even though his mate’s slow lovemaking was reducing him to a quivering mass of need, he wouldn’t change a thing. The build-up to their orgasms seemed to take forever, but when they reached the pinnacle, Heath shouted out, “Tris! Tris!” as they both came at the same time. It was perfect.

After showering together, Tristan had wrapped a towel around Heath, chuckling when he heard the growl coming from his mate’s stomach. “Hungry?” he asked.

“How didja guess?”

Pointing to his head, Tristan replied, “Psychic.”

“Do you think the chow hall is still open?” asked Heath.

“Nope…but lucky for you, my freezer is filled with frozen pizza.” Removing a large pie from the freezer, Tristan popped it into the oven and set the timer, recalling the Friday nights with his mother when they used to talk about anything and everything. Frozen pizza had always been on the menu.

Memories of those times quickly faded, though, as Tristan stared at his mate, struck by the realization Heath would never know how much fun his mother was.

Seeing his mate absorbed in thought, Heath walked over to him, putting his hands on his mate’s hips. “Hey…where didja go right now?” he asked .

Shaking his head free of his memories, Tristan smiled wanly at his mate. “I…I was back in bed…making love to you.”

Studying his mate, Heath saw the sadness Tristan was trying to conceal. “Hey…” he murmured, tugging his mate toward him until their bodies were touching. “Tell me the rest…I want to know.”

Searching Heath’s face, Tristan finally nodded. “I was thinking about my mother, Friday nights, and frozen pizza.”

Raising an eyebrow, Heath murmured, “That’s quite a combination, and even as smart as I am…I’m still going to need a teeny, tiny bit more information.”

Grinning, Tristan said, “You do…do you?”

“Duh…who wouldn’t?”

“Me.”

The answer stunned Heath for a moment, before he burst out laughing. Poking Tristan’s chest, he said, “Just for that, smart-ass, I get the last slice tonight.”

“No problem…especially since I was already gonna give it to you,” Tristan replied, smirking. Just then, the beeping timer announced that dinner was ready. Turning around, Tristan opened the oven and took out the pizza, sniffing as the aroma filled the kitchen. After setting it on the island, he grabbed some paper towels and handed several to Heath. “No plates…just hands. What do you wanna drink? I have beer and water.”

“Just the essentials I see,” Heath joked. “Beer’s good.”

Grabbing two bottles from the fridge, Tristan handed one to Heath before sitting down next to him. “When Reeve told me they didn’t serve alcohol at the chow hall, I had him pick me up a case of beer.”

“Why no booze?”

Shrugging, Tristan replied, “It’s a holdover from when Josiah was Alpha, so my guess is he didn’t want to spend any more than he had to on his pack members. And as you saw, he spent as little as possible. Enough about that asshole…tell me about your family.”

Chewing slowly, Heath thought about his family and the fact he owed his father a phone call, but that could wait. Taking a swig of his beer, he washed down the pizza before beginning. “I have nine siblings…”

“Whoa…there are ten kids in your family?”

Chuckling, Heath nodded. “I’m the oldest son, but I have a sister who’s older.”

“You’re from England, right?”

“What gave it away?”

“Every so often I can hear your accent…which I find very sexy.”

“Bloody hell! Like that?”

“Exactly!”

“Good to know,” Heath said, grinning. “My family lives in Snowdonia, and my father is the Alpha of all the English and Welsh wolves there. He wanted me to follow in his footsteps, but after I told him I was gay, we both agreed it wouldn’t work.”

Frowning, Tristan asked, “Why not?”

“Couple of reasons…one, I really didn’t want to do it. Too much work babysitting the different packs. It would drive me crazy to have to listen to all the petty sq uabbles that are never-ending…besides, my brother is much better at that than I ever was. When we were young, he always settled any disputes between us kids so no one ended up angry.”

“What was the other reason?”

“As head Alpha, I had to have an heir…and being gay…”

“You could’ve had one through surrogacy.”

“I know…but at the time, it didn’t appeal to me,” Heath replied. “After taking care of eight younger siblings, being a parent just wasn’t something I was keen on.”

“And now?”

“Honestly, I haven’t given it much thought, especially since I hadn’t found my mate. What about you…do you want kids?” asked Heath.

“I don’t know…it wasn’t something I thought much about either when I was younger…but now…maybe in five years or so.”

“After you get your pack stable,” Heath murmured.

“Right,” Tristan said. “There’s so much work to do first that would take me…and you…away from our pup…and that wouldn’t be fair to him or her. So if you agree, can we shelve any discussions concerning kids for at least five years?”

“Works for me,” Heath replied, grinning. “See, adulting isn’t that hard…we’ve agreed on two issues already.”

“So we have,” smirked Tristan. “What about your siblings? Any of them mated? Or are you the first?”

“My brother found his Fated Mate a couple of years ago. ”

“Is he the one who’ll take over your father’s position?”

“No, he got his own pack once he claimed his mate.”

“How did he do that?”

“His Fated Mate was the only child of the Alpha of the Green Valley Pack, so when they mated, her father stepped down and handed the pack over to my brother. It was pure chance because my father had sent my brother to warn the Alpha of potential challenges and that’s when my brother met his daughter. It was a case of perfect timing—her father was getting on in age and knew that his time as Alpha was coming to an end.”

“I can’t wait to meet your family,” Tristan said, wistfully. “There was only me and my mother.”

“Well, I doubt you’ll have to wait long,” Heath grinned, as he pictured how that encounter would play out.