15. Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

Jack was so full he thought he would explode from the ass out. Maltin wasn’t only bigger, he was hotter. He felt as though his ass was on fire as Maltin pushed in as easily as he could, but that wasn’t easy by any stretch of the imagination.

Baring down, using his own new power, he released into his body the endorphins that would take the pain and turn it into a pleasure like nothing he’d ever felt in his life.

Flying high, like he was weightless, soaring through the clouds, he barely felt his body, but he felt his mate inside him. Maltin touched parts of him he didn’t know he had. His hands curled into fists as he dropped to his elbows, smiling, singing out a moan like there was a chorus of voices instead of only one, his.

When Maltin became brutal, it was exactly what they both needed. They needed to fuck hard. They needed it all, every bit of it inside him, connecting to his mate in the most fierce way. They were animals; they were hell animals, able to take on the most powerful creatures in the world and drag them back to hell.

So, being creatures of unfathomable powers, their coupling made its own power. The air was sparking with it; the two of them glowed, and the warmth alone could melt the rest of the snow that had dumped on the city from that terrible blizzard.

Maltin banged into him like he was trying to break his bones, but he was stronger than that. He could take it and wanted it harder. Their love was new, but it was solid, unbreakable. They were fated mates, hellhounds, men, in any order, they were in love.

Maltin pulled out of him and quickly flipped him over, falling on his palms to stare into Jack’s eyes when he pushed back inside him. Sneering, as if showing his fangs, Maltin’s smile was wicked, and he leaned in, kissing Jack roughly, growling into the kiss.

“Mine. My mate. You’re mine, no one else’s, ever! Ever! Take my seed, make my children!”

Jack’s power vibrated, sending him into a climax that rocked him into a new place. He was no longer on that floor but tumbling end over end in a space free of care or worry. It was warm there, a kiss of breeze across his neck.

When he came back to reality, Maltin was carrying him down the metal stairs. Once on the concrete floor, Maltin tossed him on the hood of a ’72 Camero and flipped him onto his stomach. “Need you here,” he grunted, then pushed back into him, and he didn’t stop there. He moved his body over Jack’s, and Jack soon felt sharp teeth, fangs, biting into the back of his neck and holding him still like that. Jack screamed so hard that he left a cloud of vapor over the cold metal hood.

Jack reached for the end of the hood and slipped his fingers between the metal and the windshield wipers. The metal bit into his fingers as Maltin pulled back on Jack to meet each brutal thrust. The air was chilled, keeping him from sweating for only a moment, and then he was hot, sweat rolling off him, making a layer between him and the hood so he was moving steadily over the hood, but Maltin didn’t stop. He’d never stop.

Blood trickled down his neck and the smell of it took over his senses. He smelled that blood and felt his fangs growing. He wouldn’t shift, he wasn’t on a mission, didn’t feel threatened, but part of him wanted his fangs out, and he bit into his own arm, needing the taste of blood on his tongue.

“Ahhghghhh,” he screamed, but it was muffled and gurgled by his own blood. Maltin went harder, and the car began to move again, just like it had the first time they’d fucked on one.

Soon, metal was crunching into metal, and the cars that Maltin had held so precious were being totaled—not from some random wreck, but from them, their coupling. It was incredible and joyous to hear that screaming metal as it clashed in that warehouse.

Being fucked so hard on that car, his fangs hitting bone, then healing again, he began to cry with the joy of it. All his life, he wanted powers to belong and wished for them. What he needed most was to belong first, and then he received them. That was all it took. For him to belong, and he did. To one glorious man, his family, and then his own.

The first time Maltin knotted, Jack felt like he’d be torn apart, his bottom half torn away from the top. He panted through it on the hood of the Camero, holding onto the edge of the metal, and laughter poured from him as he felt life beginning inside him.

“One down,” he said between harsh breaths. “How many are we trying for?”

“I’ll decide when I’m through with you.”

They made it to the bed for their second round and then to the bathroom, where they’d tried to wash off some of the sweat, dried blood, and saliva.

He was hung over the railing after the shower, hands gripping the metal rails as Maltin pushed into him, and he felt as if he were flying over the room.

The living room floor, their bed again, busting the bottom out of it and not stopping when they did. The slapping of their flesh as they fucked was echoing through the loft and warehouse, loudly, viciously combining with their screams and guttural grunts.

Jack’s ass should feel like ground beef, the way he was fucked over and over those few days. Night into day, day into night, and once Maltin knotted, and then the swelling left, Jack healed, ready to go again.

He had no idea how many days it had been that they rutted. The entire warehouse was a mess of tangled metal and busted tires. Not one car was left unscathed, but it was the last time they were together in that way that Jack would always remember most.

Maltin carried the mattress from the bed down to the living room like it weighed nothing at all. He laid it on the floor, made it with fresh sheets and brought the pillows down for Jack to lay his head. He stood over Jack as Jack lay on the bed, and he smiled in such a way that Jack saw tears about to fall.

“I can’t believe how happy I am. I’m not tired. I’m not sore. I could do this another month, but I don’t think we have to. I think it’s time to celebrate being together instead of copulating for our future.”

Jack lay a hand over his stomach. “I know you’re right, Maltin. You’re my love, forever.”

“Good. This is just us now, just…being together.”

Jack opened his arms, and Maltin knelt on the bed, crawling over him and kissing him as deeply as he ever had. He moved to his side, and Jack followed, facing one another, smiling, laughing under their breaths.

Maltin’s hand tenderly ran down Jack's side, resting on his hip while his lips kissed over Jack’s top lip, then his bottom, each corner, and then each eye.

Loving caresses, humming noises as they kissed fully, Jack’s fingers threaded through his mate's thick hair, his need for the man having nothing to do any longer with satiating his heat.

No, Maltin was right. Like it was their wedding night, Maltin took Jack as if it were the first time they’d ever touched. He was inside Jack gently, moving in slow, deliberate circles, their eyes barely taken off the other.

When Maltin came, he didn’t knot inside of Jack. He lay there, breathing heavily as he placed his hand on Jack’s stomach, smiling as tears finally flowed down his cheeks. “We’re going to give them the life you should have had, baby. They’re going to know they’re loved. They’re going to know that no matter what power they might or might not have, the greatest power is our love for them.”

“That’s all I can ask for, Maltin.”

They slept finally, for two straight days and nights, never moving away from one another. Jack woke when hunger tore at his gut, and he rose as the sun was setting.

The place was a mess, including the kitchen. He barely recalled fucking in there, making the pots and pans rattle and crash to the floor. As he picked them up, he laughed silently, knowing the rest of the loft and warehouse would be nearly impossible to tidy.

But he forgot that his mate was powerful and able to use it. Just as he had breakfast finished and the coffee poured, Maltin woke with a groan and waved a hand for the loft to be set right, as it had been before they’d coupled. “You’ve got to stop making such a mess, Jack,” he said as he paused on his way to eat to kiss his mate.

“Me? You were the animal.”

“You make me do these things. I’m usually much more reserved.”

They ate together, and then Jack followed him to the warehouse so Maltin could restore the cars to pristine condition. “My poor cars. They’ve taken a beating lately.”

“Next time we go see my parents, can we take one? They live so simply, and I’m sure they’d like a ride in one of the fancier ones.”

“I’ll do one better, Jack. I’ll give them one. But though you’d think they’d appreciate one of the fancier ones, as you put it, where they live? I think the Escalade would be best. Four-wheel drive and all that, heated seats.”

“You’re right, of course. But, Maltin, that’s fancy too, you know?”

“Pish, posh,” he said, laughing, mocking his uncle. “It’s a hideous thing I bought when they first rolled out. I only got it on a lark.”

“I miss your mother and uncle.”

“We’ve been fucking for like four or five days, and you miss them? I must be doing it wrong.”

Jack smacked him playfully. “You know that’s not what I meant. I just…it’s true. I have my real family now, but they were first.”

Maltin kissed him on the cheek. “I know. They’re special. Arrogant and spoiled, but special.”

“You were, too, when I first came here.”

Hanging his head, he admitted, “You were too beautiful. I could see you, Jack, that you weren’t some…tradesman. You were someone I could fall for, and I haven’t let myself fall for anyone in a very long time. You see, my darling, I never knew I would have a fated mate. I only thought I would go through my life alone or heartbroken.”

“And now?”

Maltin sighed happily. “Now I have the entire world.”

Rodney and Trudy did come again about a month after they returned to France after meeting Jack’s family. Jack greeted them with open arms, taking their hugs and kisses to his cheeks.

Rodney was the first to comment on his belly. “Where is that slim, trim young man I recently met?”

“I’m not fat. I have babies inside me.”

His hands rested on his stomach. Trudy placed hers over his. “Jack, do you…know…?”

“No. When we saw the doctor, he asked if we wanted to know the sex of them, and Maltin got so pale, he looked like he was about to faint.”

“Where is my son?”

“Delivering his latest script to the studio. He finally finished it, only a month late.”

Rodney waved a hand over the table and served lunch, Trudy insisting to sit near Jack. “When I was pregnant with Maltin, he gave me terrible heartburn the entire time.”

Jack laughed and pointed to his stomach. “Well, his kids are doing the same to me. No acidy foods, no juice, no eggs. The babies hate them.”

“What are you craving, dear?”

He giggled and admitted, “Raw meat.”

“Oh heavens!”

Rodney laughed. “You, my darling sister, are the one that mated with a damn beast from hell.”

“I suppose. Tell me you’re at least telling the doctor all of this.”

“I am. He says what I am craving is likely what my body needs. He’s also said I am gaining the perfect weight, that all the heartbeats are strong, and there are three.”

Neither of them had told their parents how many children they were having. Jack had secretly wished for more, though he’d never shared that with Maltin. Their one and only shot at having kids, and he’d dreamed of a house filled with little voices. Three, however, was a good number.

“Three,” Trudy whispered. “Oh, dear, that is a joyous thing!”

“You two are hearing it first. Maltin and me are…saving most things for the two of you to know first. You were my family first.”

Trudy hugged his shoulders and then insisted she had to powder her nose and left for the bathroom. Rodney whispered to him, “She’s going to cry, and you’ll never see the proof of it. She’ll be perfectly made back up when she emerges.”

“I didn’t mean to make her cry.”

After a wink, he said, “She loves to cry, and they’re happy tears.”

Maltin got home just as they were finished eating, and after Trudy came back to the table, full makeup intact. “Son, how are you?”

“Better now, Mother.” After greeting his uncle and mother, he kissed Jack quickly. “I have a surprise for you, my darling.”

“Oh? What is it?”

Maltin sat at the table, and Rodney waved his hand to produce a plate of food for Maltin. They all stayed at the table while he ate and told them his news. “Well, I have been thinking about the kids, where we should live, and everything. A loft over a warehouse of cars isn’t ideal.”

“Thank goodness, Maltin,” Trudy said. “This is nowhere for growing children.”

“No, of course not. So, I’ve been meeting with a realtor. I didn’t want to tell you, Jack, until I was sure. She has some houses for us to look at on nice, quiet streets, grass, trees, a yard where we can build them a play area.”

Jack’s heart began to thump wildly. “A house?”

Trudy corrected him. “A home, dear.”

“Let your mother decorate, Malty. No more steel pipes and bricks, for goodness’ sake,” Rodney quipped.

“I happen to like the décor Maltin’s put in place, Rodney,” she told him. “But not for babies. They need more light and less metal.”

“Yes, Mother.”

“A home,” Jack whispered, suddenly ready to cry, but that wasn’t unusual, exactly. The pregnancy brought a lot of tears, both happy and sad ones. It had also brought with it morning sickness, strange cravings, all those stereotypes he thought he might avoid, being a man and a shifter to boot.

Trudy handed him a lace handkerchief and settled an arm around his neck as she stood behind him. “It’s almost over, dear. There, there.”

Maltin winked at him, and Jack appreciated him more than ever. He’d put up with all the mood swings, and they’d been bad at times. He’d bared his fangs more than once at Maltin, with every intention of tearing out his throat.

“My darling, it is almost over. Another two to three weeks at most.”

The time had flown. Sure, his gestation was short as a shifter, but he knew he’d miss it, no matter the downsides. “I know. I’ll miss them being so close.”

“I felt the same with Maltin,” Trudy told him as she retook her seat. “They are born, and you actually miss them, even while they’re in your arms.”

“That makes no sense, Trudy,” Rodney said as he and Maltin stared at the two of them.

Jack gazed at her and said, “It makes all the sense in the world.”

While Maltin slept peacefully next to him, Trudy and Rodney safely at the best hotel in town, Jack read over the book Ms. Tempest had given them. Learning about himself, about his mate and their children, Jack found himself wanting to know more.

Books could only contain so much. As he felt the children in him move, he knew it was difficult to express how scared he was and how excited he felt. Simultaneous fear and anticipation. It was crazy, but he had both crowding him.

In the morning, once Maltin was occupied at his desk writing a movie for After Life Streaming Services, a little tale of a hellhound shifter finding his fated mate, Jack decided to go out for the morning. “I’ll be gone for a couple hours,” he told his mate.

“Why not wait for me, darling? I’ll only be another couple of hours.”

“I’d rather go alone. I love you, but I won’t be alone soon, once the babies are here.”

Maltin kissed his forehead and whispered, “Be very careful, Jack. You’re precious cargo.”

“The babies will be fine.”

“I’m not just talking about the babies, Jack. You’re every bit as precious to me.”

With that to cloak him in love and security, Jack drove the Thunderbird out of the industrial district. He found he’d miss it, though Maltin would never give up the warehouse. Not only were his cars stored there, but so were the memories of their meeting and falling in love.

Jack drove to the city with one destination in mind. He hadn’t been back to the library, that wonderful place of knowledge and entertainment, since he and Maltin had checked out the book on the seat beside him.

Smiling wistfully, thinking about that day, how nervous they were, and how curious, Jack knew more than he had but still wondered.

He parked in the lot behind the library, walking slowly to enjoy the cool of the day. The apple trees were leafless, but they were beginning to bud, and the green grass was taking over the yellow in the soil between those trees.

An old city, a vibrant one, Valleywood had given him more than he’d ever imagined.

He stopped on the sidewalk to pay it thanks, seeing the rising buildings downtown, watching the cars hurrying to the studios to make their movies and shows. Every kind of car from the most expensive money could buy to old beaters, like he’d once owned. The hierarchy of the city of dreams for all beings supernatural.

Continuing to the wide stairs secured by the winged lions, Jack felt his babies begin to flutter madly in his stomach. “What is up with you kids?

The closer he got to the doors, the more movement he felt from them. He laughed, as it kind of tickled, like they’d found all his tickle spots inside him. “Settle down! You have to be mellow in a library. Oh well, you’ll learn that the first time Ms. Tempest scowls at you.”

Inside, he didn’t see her at the front desk, so he started strolling around the stacks, in no hurry. He saw the great authors of both human and supernatural realms. Tomes of witchcraft for beginners to the highest priests and priestesses.

“Jack, how are you?”

He turned to see her pushing a cart of returned books. “I’m…”

As he laid his hands on his big, round gut, she smiled warmly. “I can see. I’m happy for you.”

“I am, very happy, that is. Maltin is…wonderful.”

“I’m glad of that. Not all fated mates are good. It’s the roll of the dice, I’m afraid. More than I’d like to admit don’t live happy lives just because fate deemed them to join together.”

“How did you…know? Who are you, really? I read in that book that there are…gods at play with certain shifters.”

As her lips curled into a smile, Ms. Tempest suddenly lost all the lines and wrinkles formerly on her face. Her hair grew thick, coming out of the bun she usually wore to cascade down her shoulders.

A very young woman, she stood before him, leaning on the handle of the cart, her bright blue eyes shining in the dim light of the room. “You’re too smart for your own good, Jack Pengrove.”

“Jack Graves,” he said proudly. “I took Maltin’s name, because…well, biological parents, adopted ones, it doesn’t matter. He and the babies are my family now.”

“Don’t cast away those that you’ve been born to, whether you came from their genes or not, Jack. All of us have our tests and trials, and we don’t conquer them all, but there are a few we succeed over. Hold onto those.”

Jack heard this and it all but confirmed his suspicions. “I’ve read the book you gave me. It speaks of a fury, a goddess of the underworld, the avenger of murder.”

“Don’t believe everything you read, Jack,” she scolded as her smile grew.

“Your first name, Ms. Tempest. It wouldn’t happen to be Tisiphone, now would it?”

With a dismissive wink, she waved a hand over herself, and she was once again the old woman with the lines and harsh gray bun. “You have a strong mind, Jack. Use it for better things than learning about things that are best unsaid.”

With that, she backed out of the stack and disappeared around a corner, the clanking of the cartwheels the only thing marking her leaving.

Jack smiled, knowing he’d been in the presence of a real goddess, in all senses of the word.