Chapter Nine

Simon felt sick, thinking of the emotional harm his delay had been doing to his mate. Yes, he was methodical by nature – yes, he would think through every major change in his life, looking at the implications of that change from every angle. There was also the little matter of his mating situation with Kolton not matching any of the dreams he used to have about fated mates when he was younger. Sitting in his breakfast nook, still in his sleep pants, a gigantic hound semi-scrunched down, looking at him with puppy eyes as if too scared to approach, had never factored into any of that thinking.

“Aren’t you a gorgeously intimidating puppy,” Simon made sure he was smiling, holding out his hand, encouraging the hound closer. “ My gorgeously intimidating puppy.” The hound’s back end waggled in excitement and Simon suddenly found himself with a lap full of half a hellhound. “Careful, my lovely mate, you’ll knock me over.” But he hugged the hound around his middle with his free arm and didn’t push the hound away when he got a tongue in his ear for his trouble.

“If you’re keen for your collar, you’re going to have to sit on the floor.” Simon didn’t think he’d laughed so much. The hound’s excitement was contagious. “You don’t want me to drop it.”

Bam. The hound sat on the floor so fast, his eyes bright, his ears pricked forward as he panted softly. A hellhound was never expected to look pretty, and in any other circumstances, Simon wouldn’t want to meet such a huge beast in an alley at night, but nevertheless, there were genuine emotions in those dark eyes, and the hopeful expression could not be ignored. Simon could sense the pull from his own “other half” and knew he’d be arranging play dates for both shifted sides in the very near future.

“Okay, I see this doesn’t have a catch at all, but I think you said that was something to do with Lord Hades’ magic. So all we need to do is…” Simon reached forward, his hound scooting closer as if worried about Simon’s arm length. This is it, and that thought was almost enough to make Simon hesitate again – to think things over just one more time. But then he thought about the last month and how wretched he’d been seeing Kolton care for someone else and knew his heart couldn’t be ignored. The Fates are never wrong, Simon reminded himself and while nothing in his mating had gone the way he’d dreamed so far, his mate was here now, in fur, making the best darn impression of puppy dog eyes Simon had ever seen.

“Here we go.” He wrapped the collar around the hound’s neck, feeling a deep click in his soul as he brought the two ends together. The hound froze for a second, not even breathing, and then all of a sudden he was off, racing around the kitchen and the table, bounding into the living room, jumping on the couch, and then running back to Simon again, howling to the ceiling and beyond.

His hands clasped to his chest, a huge grin stretching his cheek muscles, Simon reveled in the simplicity of the hound form – a happy puppy racing around his space, our space now, with the sheer joy and abandon only a dog could pull off.

“I take it you’re happy with the claim then?” Simon laughed out loud, his own soul feeling a lot lighter. “When you’re ready, I’ll claim your human side in the way of my kind.”

The shift to Kolton’s human form was instant. He was naked, his cock hard and already dripping. “How does your kind claim their mates?” he asked, his voice deep and gravely, which was likely because of the sudden change.

Simon stood, stepping into Kolton’s space. “I knew you were my mate the moment I touched your arm at the hospital. To claim you, I need to touch all of you, with all of me. It might take us a while.”

“Now I know why you insisted on us eating first.” But before Simon had a chance to chuckle at the dry delivery, Kolton’s hand was around his neck, their chests were smashed together, and his mate’s lips were on his. That’s a damn good start.

/~/~/~/~/

Kolton’s initial feeling was one of relief – the sensation flooding his senses immediately the moment his collar snapped around his neck. He hadn’t fucked things up. Somehow he’d found the words that Simon clearly needed to hear to take a chance on him. And Kolton knew Simon was taking a big gamble. Yes, he was loyal and a hardworking packmate, but Kolton knew he tended to ramble if he got worried or stressed, and he wasn’t as knowledgeable as some of his fellow hounds.

But the one thing he did know was how to give another person pleasure, and as he sucked on Simon’s bottom lip and then went back to kissing again, he made sure their chests were close enough not even an ant could get between them.

There was some stumbling as Simon whirled them around, clearly heading for the stairs but not keen on letting him go. Not wanting to hurt his mate, or cause him to fall down the same stairs, Kolton broke off their lip lock, keeping a solid grip on Simon’s hand as they raced up the stairs.

Simon’s room had a big bed, the sheets still tossed back and rumpled from where Simon had jumped out of bed to save him from Consort Ali. Simon took the two seconds necessary to shove his sleep pants down his legs and kick them off, and then they were both horizontal, flat on the bed, chests and hips together, legs entwined.

Kolton moaned at the sensation of skin on skin. He’d hugged his packmates on the odd times he’d seen them, that sort of “nice to see you, bro” type of hug that men who were comfortable with each other did. The mates didn’t mind giving scritches to needy hounds when they were in their fur, but it had been a long time since Kolton had been fully naked with anyone and his skin was almost screaming with joy at being touched.

Simon’s hands were firm as they mapped out Kolton’s back and butt. Kolton had already guessed he’d be bottoming, and while it had been a good century or more since he had, he wasn’t going to object. If Simon had to touch him everywhere to cement their claim so none could tear them apart, Kolton would turn himself inside out to make that happen.

Under his hands, Simon was a delight. In clothes, the man gave off a professional vibe, unassuming and yet with a quiet authority all at the same time. But out of clothes, Simon’s body was a masterpiece of muscles in all the right places. His sun-kissed brown hair, short at the back and longer at the top, had a wave to it that seemed designed with Kolton’s fingers in mind.

There was a lot of rolling on both sides. It seemed when Simon said he needed to touch Kolton everywhere, he was determined to be thorough. At one point Kolton was flat on his stomach, Simon laying completely over his back, their legs matched side by side, as Simon ran his fingers through Kolton’s blond hair. Kolton found he loved it when Simon kissed his ears, and he shivered all over, when Simon nibbled down his neck.

That wasn’t the only place Simon’s mouth went. Being licked from one end of his spine to the other wasn’t something Kolton was used to, although his balls were already ready to pop from the sheer deliberation of that tongue. When Simon spread his butt cheeks, Kolton had a passing thought – he wouldn’t, would he – but it turned out that when Simon said he was going to touch everywhere, he meant every single inch he could reach with that talented tongue. Kolton was fast melting into the mattress, where the only thing with any hardness left in his body was his cock.

It would seem there was something to be said for mating with a doctor. Simon seemed to know all of Kolton’s hot spots and found a few ones even Kolton wasn’t aware of. By the time the lube had been found and Simon had a finger in Kolton’s hole, Kolton was a puddle of molten glue, sinking into the mattress, hanging onto the sheets as if it were the only things stopping him from flying away.

There were more fingers added, stretching Kolton’s hole, but Kolton wasn’t feeling any pain. He was floating on a river of pleasure, and he didn’t want it to stop. It was only when Simon’s cock replaced his fingers that Kolton arched up his butt, determined to make the entry easier. Both men groaned when Simon finally hit home. Kolton had never been so full, but his hound was happily prancing in his head, and as for Kolton… Kolton wallowed in being cherished.

He didn’t know if it was the firmness of Simon’s hands, or the deliberate way Kolton had been touched from head to toe, but when Simon said that he deliberated over everything, it was clear he applied that same rule to his lovemaking. Kolton didn’t care where Simon learned his skills, he was just quietly smug that no one else would be the recipient of Simon’s focus in a sexual way ever again except him.

Then Simon started to move, and any scattered thoughts Kolton had disappeared in a puff of lust. With every thrust, Simon demanded his attention. Kolton was on all fours by this stage, his hands clasped in front of him rocking back in time to Simon’s push into his body. Simon’s grunts were getting louder, or that might have been Kolton’s, but they moved together, their rhythm speeding up as their need scented the air.

It was Simon’s hand that was Kolton’s undoing, wrapped with that same confidence around Kolton’s cock as he moved. It was exactly the same pressure Kolton would use on himself. How did he know, Kolton’s brain screamed above the wash of hormones that swamped Kolton’s body as his balls unloaded onto to the covers below. Simon thrust hard, and then one last time before freezing over Kolton’s body, letting out a long groan.

“Oh, my mate.” Simon was still panting. Kolton had no idea how the man was managing to form words. His brain was still offline. “My special, special mate. I promise to care for you for all time.”

Kolton nodded, reaching up with a weak hand to pat Simon’s shoulder. He just wanted to wallow in the bliss of being touched and cared for. He’d been on his own for a very long time.