6. Leif

Chapter 6

Leif

N ever in his wildest dreams had he expected to find his soulmate practically on his doorstep. It was as if Fate decided one random day to save him from his lonely existence, and he was not about to question the whims of Fate, not with Alec in his arms, kissing him back with everything he had.

The taste of Alec on his tongue was enough to rouse his body with desire, and his teeth ached to bite his delicious mate on the junction of neck and shoulder, securing Alec to his side for eternity.

And it might very well be eternity—he had no idea what Alec’s lifespan was going to be, as the various fae species all had different life expectancies. Even after centuries, Leif had no real idea when the stolen years he’d inherited would run out. All he could hope for now was a lifetime with his mate.

He wanted to sink to the grass and ravish his mate, but the ground was damp and cold, the meager sun too weak to provide warmth, and he wanted to take his time exploring every inch of Alec .

A swift tingle of magic raced across Leif’s shoulders and he broke the kiss, fighting to focus on what his instincts were telling him. Awareness bloomed and his senses expanded, bringing him information.

Someone was hunting in his territory.

“What is it?” Alec asked, immediately picking up on his tension. “Is someone coming?”

Leif gently released Alec and took a few steps toward the cliff, lifting his face to the wind. While werewolves were supernatural creatures formed from magic, they had less active control over it, unlike practitioners such as sorcerers and witches. What abilities they did have tended to run in the oldest bloodlines, in the claws of the most powerful, the strongest alphas and betas. Leif was one of those wolves blessed with control over his inherent magics. He was from a time long lost to history, and he was raised in an era of ancient primal magics.

All of that meant he knew when a predator was hunting in his land. When the boundaries were broken by something or someone who was a threat.

Those instinctual magics had not been roused by Alec, as he was the opposite of a threat to Leif, and he smiled at that realization even as he caught the cloying, insidious scents of multiple intruders.

“Several men,” Leif told Alec with a growl. No need for a wolf this time—he was going to kill anyone who was after his mate. “They stink of fire, chemicals, and blood. I smell the stench of ozone and gunpowder, too. They’ve got guns.”

Alec moved up to stand at his side, holding a hand over his eyes and looking out over the forest, trying to see who Leif could scent approaching. “That combination means the mafia. They probably accounted for all the bodies and figured out I’m not dead.”

“They’ll all be dead soon, so that won’t matter anymore,” Leif said as he stretched out his arms, opening his mouth as the fangs within grew larger, his muscles bulging.

His lycanthrope form was the bipedal monster popular in movies, though his transformation was not the horrific spectacle that moviegoers lost their appetite over—being so old had its benefits. He had complete control over his transformation, making it smooth and effortless.

His vision changed as the transformation took over. Infrared was added to his sight, and colors were muted, but the shadows were easy to pierce and his range was increased ten-fold. His arms and legs lengthened, fingers tipped by claws, dark brown and gray hair covering his shoulders, and arms, and legs, the shaggy pelt concealing him in natural cover among the trees.

Alec stared up at him in some wonder, mouth agape, and Leif was pleased that he scented no fear from his small mate. He now stood over nine feet tall, three times as wide as Alec, heavy with muscle and yet built for speed and with lightning-fast reflexes, clawed toes gouging the damp earth, and steam rising from his skin as his body ran hot with bloodlust.

Leif crouched to the ground, one massive hand reaching out to gently tip up Alec’s chin so they were eye to eye. “In the chests behind the bed, there are weapons. Daggers, a sword or two. No guns. Arm yourself and stay inside the cabin.”

Alec narrowed his eyes and reached out his own hand, and Leif snorted in shock when his mate flicked his canine nose with a finger, scowling. “I’m getting my shoes. Stay right here. Then we are going to see who’s here uninvited.”

“Dangerous,” Leif protested, words garbled by his longer muzzle, his human mouth transformed to hold a set of three-inch fangs.

“I blew up a drug lab with magic,” Alec retorted, already jogging to the open door of the cabin. He found his shoes by the door where Leif set them the night before, and sat on the stoop to tug them on, and just as quickly he pulled the cabin door shut and rejoined Leif. “I don’t need a weapon.”

Leif was still crouched down, and he rumbled out a laugh when Alec, without missing a beat, climbed onto his back, arms around his neck, and his knees clamped to Leif’s ribs, his back too wide for Alec to wrap his legs around him. Leif stood, Alec’s heart racing where his chest was pressed to Leif’s shoulders, and he put one hand behind himself to support Alec under his ass.

“Do not let go,” Leif ordered. “I’m taking the fast way down.”

“I won’t,” Alec promised, kissing Leif’s neck not too far from where a mating bite would go, and he growled happily. He took one, then two leaping strides to the right side of the yard, reaching the cliff and the long drop below to the forest floor.

The barest pause and then a more powerful leap outward, Alec gasping and clinging to him even tighter, and Leif made sure he kept ahold of his mate as they dropped in a shallow arc, landing on a ledge about halfway down, and with a bend of his knees, Leif took them down the rest of the way.

Their landing on the forest floor was anticlimactic, since no one was around to see Leif stick the landing, but Alec was giggling in nervous astonishment, beyond excited.

“That was crazy!” Alec whispered loudly, shaking a bit, eyes wide as Leif knelt enough for Alec to get off his back and on his own two feet .

“You alright?” Leif asked, sniffing along Alec’s face and neck, ears pricked and listening for footsteps deeper in the woods.

Alec giggled when a cold nose met warm, soft skin, and Leif was startled but pleased when Alec darted in and kissed the side of his furry head, hands scratching behind his ears. “So fluffy,” Alec sighed happily.

“I’m a terrifying monster, little greenbough,” Leif grumbled, pretending his tail was not wagging.

“Of course you are.” Alec dropped his hands to his waist, looking around. “Which way are the people coming from?”

Leif pointed with a long, clawed finger to the west, in the direction Alec had come from the day before.

“Let’s go,” Alec said, and surprised Leif again when he took one of Leif’s drastically larger hands in his, holding firmly, not at all put off by the inhuman fingers or long claws.

He took a few steps but his stride was far too long for Alec to keep up without running. Leif grumbled, but knelt beside his mate, who smiled wide and climbed back up on Leif’s back, and Leif helped arrange him so Alec could tuck one knee into Leif’s left armpit and he could help hold his mate up with light pressure on the bent leg with his upper arm. Alec’s weight was negligible.

Mate secured, Leif took off in the direction of the trespassers. The wind was quiet but there was just enough of a current that he was easily able to follow the scents of the mortal men to their position in a couple of minutes. He took his time, not wanting to get into the line of sight of a rifle, not with Alec on his back.

There weren’t many shadows for the intruders to hide in—the leaves had fallen and the forest floor was thick with them, which helped him pinpoint their position with ease. Sunlight hit bare gray and brown trunks, making the dark forms of the mortal men shrouded in black from head to toe stand out in the autumnal palette of the forest. Leif’s coloration helped him blend in with the trees and the leaf-covered ground, and he moved fast enough that if anyone thought they saw him he was gone before they could turn their heads to double-check.

A slight rise from an uprooted tree gave Leif a safe place to crouch without being seen, and he let Alec slide from his back. Leif held still among the twisting roots that still clung to the base of the tree, giving them plenty of cover. They were about fifty feet from the six armed men loudly walking through the woods in their general direction, and one was sucking on a mint-scented vape that irritated his nose.

A seventh man stumbled along behind the group, middle-aged and out-of-shape, bald head covered in sweat despite the cool temperatures, face pale and cheeks flushed from exertion. He was breathing loudly, clearly winded, and he wore gym shoes, holey jeans, and a thin denim jacket over a stained white t-shirt, standing out like a sore thumb from the rest of the group.

Alec peeked through the roots and hissed in a sharp breath, pulling back quickly into Leif’s side, as if seeking protection. He wrapped an arm around his mate and ducked his head to Alec, who whispered into his ear. “The guy sweating his life away is my stepfather, Stu. The one who sold me to those guys,” Alec pointed to the men in black who were kicking at the ground, probably trying to find tracks or any sign of Alec’s trail through the woods. “I recognize all of them. All mafia men.”

“They’re trespassing in my territory,” Leif grumbled as quietly as he could—he was a bit too large to whisper well. “And they harmed you.”

“I did try to blow them all up,” Alec replied quickly. “I don’t care if you kill them. Leave Stu to me, please.”

“As you wish,” Leif eased away from Alec slowly. “Wait until I call for you to come out. You’re not bulletproof.”

Alec nodded and stayed behind the tree.

Crouching on all fours, he waited for the group to pass their hiding spot before slinking out from behind the tree, none of the humans looking in his direction. He paused, eyed the distance, and then leapt.

Alec

Watching Leif attack the men who held him prisoner for weeks was both liberating and shocking. It felt great to see threats to his freedom and life get struck down with such ease, and only shocking because it was way better than anything he’d seen in a monster movie featuring werewolves.

Shots rang out, and Alec winced, but if a lucky bullet or three found their target, Leif had no reaction, not even a flinch. He picked up one man who fired an entire clip at Leif without reaction from the werewolf, and then bit the screaming man’s head clean off and spit the skull out. Three men screamed in terror and split from the group, but Leif was on them instantly, two others shooting at the werewolf but hitting one of their own with friendly fire.

It was over quickly after that. Two men ran, but Leif caught up to them in seconds after dispatching his previous targets with quick slashes of his claws across throats. Leif squashed one of them by leaping several yards and landing on his back, the crunching of many bones loud in the woods, that man dying with a gurgle from a crushed chest. The last man died with a wail of terror when Leif hamstrung him a few feet from Stu, Alec’s stepfather having fallen on his ass in the leaves, frozen, staring in horror as Leif decapitated the last man with a wrench of his jaws, blood spraying in a fountain over Stu.

Steam rose from hot blood scattered over disturbed leaves and damp earth, the harsh breaths and whimpers of Alec’s stepfather the only sound in the woods.

“It’s safe, little greenbough,” Leif called out, and Alec stood carefully, then made his way over to his mate, doing his best to avoid the worst of the gore and pooling blood.

“Are you alright?” Alec asked, eyeing the numerous bullet wounds on his mate. He was amazed to see the bullets be slowly pushed out by Leif’s healing ability, falling to the ground like bloody stars, loud as they hit the leaf cover. The holes closed, and there was barely any blood on Leif that was his own. His jaws and arms were soaked with blood, and his mate would need another bucket shower from the well before he went in the cabin.

“I am well, my mate,” Leif declared, standing as tall as his lycanthrope form allowed. His voice was a deep rumble of thunder among the trees, blood dripping from his red teeth.

Alec finally turned to his stepfather. “Hi, Stu. Been awhile. What’re you doing out in the woods?”

Stu shivered, a whole-body wrench as his mind tried to re-engage after shutting down in terror. “I..um..they said you ran away. I was… I was looking for you. Worried about my stepson. ”

Alec rolled his eyes, and Leif growled so loudly the dry leaves shook at their feet. “I bet they made you come out here to help find me, or else they’d demand a refund of my purchase price. You were worried about your own hide, not mine. You did sell me to them in the first place. I haven’t forgotten that.”

Stu’s face morphed into a rictus of anger and greed. “You ruined everything, you fucking fairy. Should’ve stayed where you were told. At least your stupid mother made me a profit before she died.”

Alec had never felt rage like that moment—it didn’t cloud his vision or his thoughts, not like it would for a human. For him, the rage fueled his gifts. The world was bathed in light all around him, even the odious Stu, whose blood coursed through vessels nearly clogged by cholesterol and a brain and liver damaged by lifelong bad habits.

Lief roared, a terrible sound that shook the world, and Stu flinched back and tried to crawl away, but Alec moved to stand in his path. He knelt down, and held out his hand. He smiled, and Stu, confused and disgustingly hopeful, took it with a slow motion. Alec squeezed, but instead of helping his stepfather stand, he unleashed his gifts.

It took almost nothing to dislodge several clumps of white flakes in the arteries of the heart, making them denser, heavier, bulky enough to lodge in deeper and block the flow of blood to the muscles of the heart.

Alec let go, and slowly stood, watching as Stu writhed in agony, gasping for breath, hands scrambling at his chest, face going white, moaning in pain.

The heart attack was massive, swift, and merciless. Better than Stu deserved. His stepfather was dead in under a minute, faded eyes staring up at the blue sky through barren branches .

The woods were quiet again. There was only the croaking of ravens in the distance, and the scent of blood was thick in the air, likely to draw in scavengers quickly once they left the area.

Alec looked around, shrugged, and went about searching the corpses, stripping the dead men of cash and valuables, leaving the phones and IDs with the bodies. He figured he deserved the money influx after weeks of captivity. He’d like to buy a refrigerator and a computer. The cabin had electricity, and he wondered how much it would cost for a satellite hookup. He ignored the guns. Those he had no use for.

Alec found an unopened water bottle in one dead man’s jacket pocket, and held it up to Leif, who was slowly transforming back into a man from his massive lycanthrope form.

His mate opened the bottle and washed his face and hands as best he could, though there wasn’t much the sixteen ounces could do against the pints of blood soaking his mate from head to toe. At least his face was mostly clean.

Not a mark remained on Leif from the fight, all bullet wounds gone as if they never existed. He knew werewolves were durable but Leif’s healing ability was amazing, even by supernatural standards.

He stuffed the goodies in the deep pockets of his borrowed pants, tying the drawstring again to keep them from falling off his hips, and rejoined his mate. Leif opened his arms, and Alec, uncaring of the remaining blood, slipped into his embrace and hugged him back, hard. A kiss landed in his hair.

“Do we need to move the bodies?” Alec asked, enjoying the body heat pouring off Leif .

“Not yet.” Leif said, holding him, one hand rubbing up and down his back, soothing. “Are you okay?”

“I don’t know,” Alec answered honestly. “I’ve wanted to kill Stu for years after what he did to my mom. Kinda weird that he’s dead and I did it.”

“Revenge can be both freeing and baffling. It never quite ends up being what you expect it to feel like,” Leif shared. “But in this case, it was deserved and handed out with impressive swiftness. I’m proud of you.”

Alec grinned, and tilted his head back as far as he could to meet Leif’s gaze. “You’re a badass. Very scary. Very sexy.”

Leif grinned as well, tossing his blood-dampened hair back with a proud flip. “Thank you, greenbough.” He paused, then asked, “Do you have plans for your spoils?”

He was afraid Alec would leave.

“Stu came to me, so I don’t need to go back home to find him. Does Amazon deliver out here anywhere? I need a phone and a computer, and we need a refrigerator and a generator. The cabin is great, but I need some more creature comforts. Do you have a washing machine or dryer?”

Leif stared at him with wide eyes, shocked, and then he threw back his head with a peal of delighted laughter. Alec was lifted off his feet and soundly kissed, leaving him dazed and happy.

Leif held him aloft and chuckled, shaking his head a bit. “I have a small fridge at my place but that’s it, except for solar panels on the cliffs and a well. But I’m not a poor man—I’ve been alive a long time, and have more than enough money set aside in banks to fund a new life for my mate and myself. Are you certain you can destroy the curse?”

Alec was nodding before Leif finished asking. “I am. I’ll need to examine the curse again, but we can hide out in the woods for a while, get to know each other.” Alec grinned when heat flashed in those wolfish eyes. “I just got mated, you see, and I need time with my mate. Lots of alone time.”

“May we have all the time we desire, my little greenbough.” Leif pressed their foreheads together, and sighed happily. “I’m so very glad I found you in my woods.”

Alec agreed wholeheartedly. “Fate knew what she was doing.”

Leif kissed him, slow and sweet, and swept Alec up into a bridal carry, making him laugh. “Let’s leave the bodies to the scavengers. We have lots of…learning to do…with each other.”