Down with the Tunes

Who Needs Christmas? 5

Down with the Tunes Twelve elves left the North Pole to be free of all things Christmas and have been living together for decades. All this time they have gone without their mates, but when the first of the twelve finds his, the others have hope of being united with theirs. Why hates Christmas songs for their unyielding cheerfulness, but he wants to do everything to make his mate happy while the two grow closer. As these lovers realize their feelings, an unexpected occurrence threatens to tear them apart. Daran Sullivan is a struggling lawyer with a mentally abusive boss. Outside the workplace, he starts spending time with Why and discovers the satisfaction such a close connection with another brings after having been a loner. Will Why have the opportunity to spend the rest of his life with Daran, or will the appearance of a sinister foe destroy their bond just as it’s beginning? Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Paranormal, Shape-shifter Length: 35,442 words

DOWN WITH THE TUNES Who Needs Christmas? 5

Joyee Flynn

EROTIC ROMANCE MANLOVE

Siren Publishing, Inc. www.SirenPublishing.com

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK IMPRINT: Erotic Romance ManLove

DOWN WITH THE TUNES Copyright © 2011 by Joyee Flynn E-book ISBN: 1-61034-998-9 First E-book Publication: December 2011 Cover design by Jinger Heaston All cover art and logo copyright © 2011 by Siren Publishing, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission. All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

PUBLISHER Siren Publishing, Inc. www.SirenPublishing.com

Letter to Readers Dear Readers, If you have purchased this copy of Down with the Tunes by Joyee Flynn from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

Regarding E-book Piracy This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book. The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment. This is Joyee Flynn’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. Flynn’s right to earn a living from her work. Amanda Hilton, Publisher www.SirenPublishing.com www.BookStrand.com

DEDICATION To Jacob: Who shares my love for all the great music there is out there. Thank you for always helping, sometimes even when I don’t ask. I look forward to seeing you grow into the man you’ll become and never forget to listen to your heart, no matter what your head might say.

DOWN WITH THE TUNES Who Needs Christmas? 5 JOYEE FLYNN Copyright © 2011

Chapter 1 “Seriously?” I groaned as I walked into Maggiano’s and they had Christmas music playing. “Already? It’s only the second week of November! I swear they’re going to start in August one year.” “May I help you?” a young kid asked me with a raised brow. Yeah, yeah, crazy elf talking to himself. “Reservation, Daran Sullivan, party of two?” “Yes, your party is already here. Follow me, please,” he said politely and turned to lead me to my date. Date. What the hell did I know about dating? I’d never had to take anyone out to get in their pants before. When I saw him glance up at me from across the restaurant, my heart started to race. Oh yeah, that’s why I’d agreed to date. He gave me a dazzling smile, and his blue eyes lit up like the stars. Everything in me was screaming to get on my knees and beg this god of a man to be mine. I had a strong feeling Horse and Idiot were right…Daran was my mate. “I’m glad you could make it,” he said, and I saw hesitation on his face. I sat down across from him in the booth, and the host walked away. “Do I call you Luke or Why?”

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“Luke in public, please, but Why is my real name, so when we’re alone or at home, I prefer it.” I saw desire flash in his eyes when I mentioned us going home. “Give in. You want him,” I heard Daran think. “I want you, too, Daran,” I whispered and reached for his hand. He quickly pulled it away, and I realized that was not the way to win him over. “Please don’t do that. My thoughts are private,” he hissed at me. I quickly held up my hands in a gesture of surrender. “You’re right, I’m sorry. It’s not always easy to just shut off like flipping a switch. I know it’s hard for people to understand, but it’s like another sense I have and about as easy to not use as my nose.” “No, no, I can get that,” Daran said quietly as his cheeks heated up. Who knew a six-two, one-eighty, built attorney could blush. And fuck if it didn’t make me hard. “And I didn’t mean to be bitchy. It’s just hard to relax when I’m worried about you seeing inside of my head, and I’m already nervous enough.” “Why?” I asked, curious as to what would make this confident, gorgeous man tense. “You,” he blurted out and then groaned as he rubbed his hands over his face in agitation. “I scare you?” My heart plummeted to my knees. That’s never what someone wants to hear from a date. “Because of what I am?” “Yes. No! Not because you’re an elf.” Well, that was a relief. “Because it’s you.” Huh? “Huh?” My mouth hung open in shock. “Want to run that by me again?” “I’m so not explaining this right.” He groaned, and the noise did interesting things to my dick. “I’m not good at dating or interpersonal relations. Your persistency scares me because I’m drawn to you…” He took a deep breath while trying to finish that thought. I smiled gently at him and decided to lay my cards on the table.

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“I’m not normally this persistent, Daran.” I paused and let it sink in before I continued, “But I’m pretty sure you’re my mate.” Unfortunately he blurted out, “I’m a virgin,” at the same time. “What?” We both gasped. I stared at him a moment, and then we both reached for the bottle of wine he’d ordered. I reached it first and poured him a glass, handing it to him, and then poured my own. We both tossed it back as if it was water. “Like Shely and Idiot? You think we’re like that?” he whispered, and I realized he was starting to shake. I wanted to hold him and make all of his nerves go away. “I think we should get an order to go,” I said gently as he poured himself more wine. “We can’t talk freely here.” “Right. Sure. Okay. Fine.” I quickly signaled the waiter and got two orders of mushroom ravioli, confident in my decision when Daran started nodding. “To go, please, and the check,” I told the waiter with an innocent smile. He nodded and went off as Daran swallowed his second glass of wine. I grabbed his hand when he went to pour his third. “Are you okay?” “Not so much.” He giggled and sipped his drink. Oh boy. I don’t think he had much tolerance for red wine. “I won’t rush you into anything, Daran.” “How could someone like you even want a virgin?” “Someone like me?” I asked hesitantly, not liking where this might be going. “Experienced,” he hissed and glanced around to make sure no one was listening. “I’ve seen your play room, remember? I was at Shely and Idiot’s party. I know what your sex life is like.” “You were at the party?” I started to feel like a parrot, but I’d not seen him that day. “I got about two feet in the door and everyone was naked and three people were having sex in your front hallway. Together. I was way out of my league, so I turned tail and ran.”

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“That’s not normally how things are, Daran. Just because we might be mates doesn’t mean you have to change who you are and start getting into the things I am.” He stared at me for a moment, nodding solemnly and tossing back his wine. When his glance came back to mine, I saw the heat in his eyes. “What if I want to?” “Then I will take you places you’ve never even imagined, baby,” I purred as I rubbed my foot up his shin. “But we can take things as slowly as you need. I’m not even sure you’re my mate yet.” “How do we find out for sure?” “It’s a closeness thing,” I answered, clearing my throat. “We realize it normally during sex when two bodies become one basically. My fangs will pop out.” I shook my head when he went to say something because our waiter returned. I pulled out my wallet and left way more than I knew the meal would be. The kid’s eyes went wide as I slid out of the booth and took the takeout bag from him. “Thank you very much.” “We drove separate,” Daran said as he stumbled to his feet. “I don’t think I should be driving.” “I know, baby,” I replied quietly and wrapped my free arm around his waist. To everyone else it looked like a tender gesture, but mostly I was worried how quickly the wine went to his head. We made it outside and to my car without issue. Daran seemed buzzed and confused but not fall-down, make-an-ass-of-himself drunk. I opened the door for him, and he plopped down on the seat. He grabbed my shirt and pulled me right to his face. “I always thought something was wrong with me. I figured out later than most that girls didn’t do it for me, but guys don’t really either. I thought maybe I was dead inside from losing my family. But then I meet you and instantly I want to curl up along your naked body and purr. That’s why I kept brushing you off. You scare the shit out of me, Why. Why is that?”

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And then he started giggling. Yeah, I got it, my name was funny. I brushed my lips over his, and he stopped laughing and moaned. “We’ll figure this out, Daran. I won’t hurt you.” “What if I hurt you?” he mumbled as I closed the door. That was a really good question actually. What if he did hurt me? Well, everything in life has risks, but I wasn’t going to pass up my potential mate because he had issues and was a virgin. Honestly? A big part of me was thrilled that he was untouched. “Buckle up, baby,” I said as I got in the car. “You’re such a hot little Twinkie.” “I think you mean twink.” I chuckled as I started the engine and pulled out of my spot. “No, I mean Twinkie,” he said with a bright smile. “I bet you have all kinds of tasty, creamy filling.” “Oh shit,” I groaned and pushed my fist against my leaking erection. “Daran, you keep saying things like that and you won’t be a virgin much longer.” “I don’t want to be one. I never did. It just kind of happened,” he blurted out. “Will you fuck me even if I’m not your mate?” “Not drunk,” I said as I grabbed his hand and intertwined our fingers. “How does being a virgin just happen?” “I was confused in high school,” he answered quietly after I got on the expressway back to my house. “I didn’t really seem to like girls or boys. Then in college I realized I preferred boys but none really made me want to get naked. And then my mom died in a plane crash, and my world went to shit. The last thing I had on my mind was sex.” “We don’t have to talk about this right now,” I said as I tenderly squeezed his hand when I realized he was sniffling. “No, you should know right away how fucked in the head I am.” Okaaay then, I thought, but aloud I said, “Whatever you need, Daran. I’m here for you.”

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“You won’t tell your brothers I’m screwed up, right? I’ve been seriously considering the offer to be your attorney. I fucking hate my job. They’re a bunch of bigoted assholes, and I just want to be happy.” “Your personal stuff has nothing to do with your professional life,” I replied adamantly, knowing without a doubt he wasn’t the type of guy to bring drama into his work. “You’re sweet and cute,” he purred as he leaned his head on my shoulder. “I don’t want to tell you all my bullshit. I’m being a crappy date.” “We can save the rest of our drama for the fourth date, okay? You’re not the only one with issues, Daran.” “So you still want me?” He sounded more like a little boy than a thirty-something-year-old man. “Yes, baby,” I whispered as I wrapped my arm around his shoulder and kissed his head. By the time I pulled into my driveway, I realized he was asleep. Note to self: potential mate cannot hold his booze. I might have been annoyed if he wasn’t so damn adorable, but everything inside of me was screaming that he was mine and I would always take care of him. “Sex now?” he mumbled after I came around and helped him out of the car. “When you sober up.” I chuckled. “But I don’t want to be a virgin anymore,” he whined. “I’m a thirty-three-year-old virgin. It’s pathetic.” “I want you to remember it and enjoy it though.” “Yeah, that’s a good idea.” He giggled. Fuck! Daran actually giggled again. I wondered how the confident attorney that I’d met would feel if he realized he was giggling. “What did you do to our lawyer?” Horse asked as we walked through the front door and he ran to help me.

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“I didn’t do anything,” I growled. “He chugged down three glasses of wine and doesn’t handle it well. He got a little freaked out when I said I thought we were mates.” “Well, I guess that’s better than him wigging out after you lose control and bite him.” Horse snickered and shook his head. “I had some fancy dancing to do with Bren after that one.” “I remember.” He made it sound like it was years ago when it had been about a month. Aah, time flies. “I’m going to ’port us upstairs. Can you put our food in the fridge and make sure no one eats it?” “Sure, brother,” he said with a gentle smile. “He’ll come around. Just give him time.” “I’m not even sure he’s my mate, Horse. My fangs haven’t come out yet.” “They will. You’re drawn to him, and all you want to do is take care of him.” It wasn’t a question, but I answered anyways. “Yes. Almost as if I can’t stand to not make his life perfect and him blissfully happy.” “Welcome to being mated.” I shook my head at his words, still having that stupid voice in the back of my head saying not to get invested until I knew for sure Daran was my mate. In a flash, I teleported us up to my room and sat him on the king-size bed. “Oh, bedtime,” he whimpered and wiggled his eyebrows at me. “Get me drunk and take advantage of me, huh?” I would have gotten upset at the accusation if I hadn’t known that he was buzzed and teasing me. “As soon as you wake up,” I answered. I took off his clothes, trying not to be a jerk and leer at his body. I tried but didn’t succeed. My attorney must have hit the gym regularly because every inch of him was perfectly toned. And when I saw his slight treasure trail peeking up from his low-riding boxer briefs, I felt my mouth go dry. Damn! I just wanted to lick every inch of him. Instead I quickly shucked my clothes as well, keeping on my own boy shorts. He was already out again when I crawled into bed with

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him. Instantly he pulled me against him, and I felt a contented sigh slip past my lips. This is what I’d always wanted. Someone special to curl up with at night and then wake up to. But I couldn’t help the slight panic. What if he wasn’t my mate and I had to give him up? Then again, what if he was mine? I had no clue how to be a good mate or in a committed relationship. Either way, I had a feeling I was fucked.

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Chapter 2 I woke to soft lips on my collarbone and a larger, smooth hand down the back of my shorts. I pushed my ass back against it and moaned, tilting my neck to give the lips more room. Shit, this was a good dream! I rolled us over so I was on top and gasped when I was staring down at Daran. “Not a dream,” I whispered. “I think it’s a great dream,” he said back with a shy smile. “I’m sober. I’m sorry I got drunk on you. I was nervous. Do you forgive me?” “If I was ever upset about it, you wouldn’t be waking up in my bed,” I answered with a wink, needing to alleviate his worries. “Does that mean it’s time for sex?” I saw the heated look he was giving me but there was slight hesitation as well. “We don’t have to rush anything, Daran. I can wait as long as you need.” “I don’t want to wait,” he whimpered and grabbed both cheeks of my ass. “I’ve wanted to feel you inside of me since we met, but I was scared. I won’t be chicken anymore. You’ve said I’m more than just some one-night stand to you, and that’s all I needed to know.” “Do you submit to me?” I growled, loving that he was practically begging for it. “Yes, fuck yes,” he moaned as I rubbed my dick against his stomach. I claimed his lips as I waved away our clothes. He gasped in delight and sucked on my tongue when I slid it into his mouth. Hot damn!

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“On your hands and knees,” I said gently as I slid off of him. “It will make your first time easier even though I’m going to stretch you magically so there’s no pain.” He nodded and did as I asked, glancing at me over his shoulder. “Will you listen to my thoughts for a moment? I’m having trouble saying what I want to.” “Sure.” I was a little confused by the request since he’d been so adamant that I not listen earlier. “Is it wrong that I’m hoping and praying you are my mate? You’re already so wonderful and careful with me. You want to take care of me, and I’ve never had that before.” “No, I’m hoping you’re my mate, too,” I whispered gently as I moved behind him. He nodded and dropped his elbows so his head was resting on the pillow. I quickly stretched him with my magic, and he moaned beautifully and stuck his ass out further. “I’m ready,” he whimpered as I rubbed my cock against his hole. “No more teasing.” I wanted to laugh since there had been no foreplay. If he considered this teasing, I was going to have lots of fun teaching my mate some patience. I pushed the first inches of my dick inside of him, freezing when he tensed up and cried out. “Too much?” “No, it’s good. Don’t stop,” he begged. I’d never taken a virgin before, and I was so scared I’d ruin it for him. He pushed back against me, and I got the idea, slowly sliding into him until I bottomed out. “I was scared it wouldn’t fit after I saw how big you were.” “I can make it smaller if it’s hurting you.” I wasn’t sure there was ever a time someone wanted their partner less hung since the common complaint I heard was that their man didn’t satisfy them. But ten inches of fat cock could be a lot for a virgin. “Don’t you dare,” Daran growled. I smiled at his response as I gently grabbed his hips and started slowly taking him. My fangs popped out, and I felt a thrill go through me. Daran was my mate! I ignored the urge to bite him, knowing we needed to talk first. “More.”

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“I don’t want to hurt you,” I panted but still picked up the pace. He moaned and thrust back as I pushed inside of him. We found a nice, comfortable rhythm, but I was dying to see inside his mind for guidance. I reached down and stroked his dick in time with my hips, and soon we were both falling right over into bliss. I milked his cock as his sweet ass milked mine, both of us groaning as a wave hit us. I loved the feeling of marking my mate from the inside. “That was nice,” he panted after we flopped to the bed on our sides. “Nice?” I asked, my pride taking a hit. “Just nice?” “I mean, I know porn’s not real and all, but even those people I saw at your party were screaming and thrashing and shouting their bliss to the heavens. This was more like fireworks at a Sox game when someone hits a home run, instead of Fourth of July fireworks at Taste of Chicago.” He paused for a moment and rolled over so we were facing each other. “Did I do something wrong? Do you not want me anymore?” “I was trying to be gentle since it was your first time,” I answered with a sigh. “I’ve never taken a virgin before, and I didn’t want to scare you.” “So you still want a repeat performance?” he asked, his cheeks heating up. “Because I want you to show me everything and make me scream.” I let my fangs slide back out and smiled as he gasped. “I plan on making you scream every night for the rest of our long, long lives, Daran.” “I’m your mate,” he whispered. I held my breath, waiting for his reaction. Daran reached out and touched my right fang gently, and I couldn’t help but moan at how accepting he was being. He leaned his head back, baring his neck to me. “Make me scream, Why.” “Gladly,” I snarled and pounced, knocking him back to bed as I pushed his knees to his chest. “I’m going to take you at your word,

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baby. If I get too rough or you don’t like something, all you have to do is tell me.” “I promise,” he moaned, and that was all I needed to hear. I slammed my hard dick back into his willing body, preening when he screamed in pleasure and his back bowed. “Oh yeah! That’s what I want.” “I’ll give you so much better than nice,” I growled and wrapped his legs over my hips. I pounded into him as I bit down hard on one of his nipples. “Oh, fuck me sideways. Bite me, Why.” “Not yet, I’m having too much fun.” I dug my fingers into his hips, fucking him within an inch of his life. “Will you submit to me always, Daran?” “Yes! Yes, I’m yours if you want me.” He shouted when I nicked his other nipple with my fang. “I need to come!” “Not yet,” I ordered and stared down into his shocked gaze. “You need to learn the fun of holding out. Your orgasm will be stronger the longer I drive you insane.” I smiled wickedly at him. “And I have a surprise for you.” “What?” He gasped and instead of answering I changed the angle of my thrusts and nailed his prostate. “Fuck!” “Better than nice?” I couldn’t help but ask since my ego had taken a hit. “Jesus, yes.” He shouted as I did it over and over again. “Better than Fourth of July!” “That’s what I like to hear,” I grunted and picked up the pace, moving faster than any human could. Then I used my magic to make it feel as if I was sucking him off at the same time. “Why!” He screamed as his body shook and he came so hard I thought the muscles in his ass may bruise my cock. I waited until he was coming down from his peak and then sank my fangs into his neck. Daran had another orgasm, crying out until he was hoarse. I

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followed him over, filling him to the brink and then moaning when I felt his tight hole overflowing with my seed. I slumped over him when we were done, lowering his legs. We both gasped for air as our hearts ran a mile a minute. I smiled when he started chuckling. “Good?” “Fan-fucking-tastic,” he panted. “When can we do that again?” “After I soak my mate in a warm bath and lick his used hole so he doesn’t hurt. Then I’m going to feed you and introduce you to the play room if you think you’re ready for more.” “You’re going to fulfill my every fantasy, aren’t you?” He moaned as I pulled out of him and got off the bed. “You are the dirtiest virgin I’ve ever met.” I snickered as I lifted him into my arms. “Probably. I can walk, Why.” “I like to carry you and take care of you,” I replied as I licked my bite closed. I filled the tub with warm, almost hot, bubble bath and lowered us into it. Daran groaned as I leaned him back against the tub and started cleaning him thoroughly. “Let me spoil you.” “Mm-hmm,” he mumbled as his eyes closed. I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my lips. I’d tuckered out my mate, and he was completely and happily sated. “Let me love you, Daran,” I whispered so quietly that I was pretty sure he couldn’t hear me. That was all I really wanted. I wanted to love him and him to want me and love me in return. “I can’t work for you guys now though,” he said after a few moments. His eyes popped open and he bit his lower lip. “Why the hell not?” “Conflict of interest.” He didn’t look convinced of his answer, and I realized the issue he wasn’t voicing. “You didn’t get this job because we’re fucking,” I growled. “You had the offer before we met. There are family members who are each other’s attorneys, and this will be no different. Elves are incredibly possessive, and I will die inside knowing you’re working for some

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assholes you hate. I want you to move in with me, Daran. You’re my whole world now. I couldn’t care if you never worked again, but I have a feeling that won’t fly with you.” “No, I went through too much schooling and hell to just give up my career,” he said slowly. “I’m not sure I’m ready to move in here yet, but I’ll give notice at my job and accept your offer.” “Such a wonderful mate,” I cooed and brushed my lips over his. “I’ll clear out a drawer for you and a little bit of closet room, so you don’t have to worry though.” “Fair enough,” he replied with a smile after a few moments of thought. I was thrilled down to my toes that he was taking all this so well. We got out of the tub and dried off before I laid him down on the bed and ate his ass, making sure to use my magic so he wasn’t sore but still getting him off. “Better?” I asked as I lay next to him and ran my fingers though his shorter brown hair. “It never hurt, but you can fuck me raw any day if that’s what I get after mind-blowing sex.” “Now we’re up to mind-blowing?” I asked with a laugh. He gave me a wink as I materialized some low-riding basketball shorts for him. I gave an appreciative purr as he put them on, showing off his chiseled chest and abs. “Finger-licking good.” “Glad you think so,” he replied, blushing as he did a few poses for me. We both burst out laughing. Then I pulled on some much smaller shorts and felt myself get hard as he stared at me as if I was going to be dinner. I could deal with that. “Food,” I said quickly and practically ran out the door before I threw him back on the bed and had my way with him. My mate was just too yummy for words. “I am a little hungry…for meat,” he purred as he walked past me on the stairs. “My gods!” I laughed and followed his firm ass. “Pop your cherry and now you’re a seductress.”

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“You popped who’s cherry?” Idiot asked when we got to the bottom of the stairs. He smiled and rubbed his hands together in glee. “Daran never had sex with an elf before,” I answered firmly, telling my friend to back off as my mate turned ten shades of red with embarrassment. “Once you’ve had elf, you’ll never go back.” Shely chuckled from next to Idiot and gave me a wink that Daran couldn’t see. I mouthed thank you to him to let him know I appreciated his quick thinking. “Nice to see you guys,” Daran said quietly after clearing his throat. He crossed his arms over his chest as if trying to hide his seminakedness. “You, too.” Idiot was practically bouncing as his mate pulled my friend into his arms. “Well?” “Yes, he’s my mate.” Daran turned a deeper red as I ran my hands over his ass. “And I’m keeping him forever. Now that I’ve had Daran, no one will ever sate me again.” “Really?” Shock was written all over his face as he turned to look at me. “Oh yeah,” I purred and rubbed myself suggestively against his thigh. “Best sex I’ve ever had, baby. You’re a tiger.” “Can we skip the food?” He moaned as he ran his hands down my back and nuzzled my neck. “We can eat later.” “I can’t have my mate going hungry. Besides, you have to keep up your strength for what I have planned for you.” “Okay,” he squeaked. I slapped his ass hard and smiled when his cock twitched in his shorts. It seemed we’d have to test the waters on spanking and maybe tying my mate down later. I slid my hand in his and led him to the kitchen. Several of my friends were sitting there chatting but stopped as we entered. “Getting frisky with the help?” Button asked as he waggled his eyebrows. I saw Daran pale at the comment and wanted to kick my friend’s ass. The man was socially inept and never understood how

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his words could affect people. I sent a quick bolt of electricity, zapping him. “What?” “Don’t you ever talk about my mate that way!” Daran wrapped his arms around me when I took a menacing step towards the table. “What did I say wrong?” he asked, looking forlorn and like a little kid in trouble. “He’s our attorney and our employee, too.” He glanced at Horse who we all pretty much deferred to for everything. “Was that mean to say?” “Yeah, Button,” Horse sighed as he scrubbed his hands over his eyes. “It implies that Why was taking advantage of our employee and Daran has no morals to sleep with his boss.” “I didn’t mean it like that!” Button gasped, his eyes going wide. “It’s just after Justice turned out to be Cave’s mate, I was thinking we should hire more and more humans because then maybe we could all find our mates.” “That’s not what you said though.” Cave chuckled and cuffed our brother before turning to Daran. “Don’t get offended by Button, he’s one of those really, really smart people that doesn’t get everything outside of books.” “No worries,” my mate said quietly. He glanced over to Horse. “Idiot made me the offer, but you agreed as well about me coming to work for you. If that’s changed now that I’m Why’s mate, I completely understand.” “Are you shitting me?” Horse scoffed and waved him off. “It works out ten times better because we don’t have to hide anything from you or worry that you might tell someone about us. You were offered the job before we knew you were Why’s mate.” “That’s what I said.” I snickered as I pulled out our food and reheated it. My mate seemed to relax then and joined my friends at the table. “So when can you start? Our old attorney is chomping at the bit to retire, and I don’t want things to fall through the cracks.” I wanted to

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kiss Horse for changing the topic and making Daran know we needed him like yesterday. “I’ll put in my two-week notice on Monday,” he answered. “It seems only fair even though I hate that firm. I don’t want to get a reputation of just walking away or anything.” “No, I think that’s very considerate of you.” Horse smiled at my mate and patted his hand. I was walking over with our food and couldn’t bite back the snarl at seeing him touch what was mine. “Sorry.” “No, I’m sorry,” I said after clearing my throat. “I’m not sure where that came from.” “It gets better after you claim your mate,” Surprise said gently. “I was snarly and jealous constantly until I staked my claim on Benjii.” “You’re still jealous and possessive.” Benjii snickered as he hugged Surprise. “But I like that, so it works out.” “You’re not going to like collar me or anything, are you?” Daran looked hesitant but a little turned on. “Only if you wanted me to, but elves are very possessive. I have no problem ending anyone who threatens you or my place as your mate.” “You’re the only person I’ve ever really wanted, Why,” he said gently as I sat down next to him. “I know I only told you part of my background, but I’ll tell you the rest after dinner.” I nodded as we dug into our food. “Dude, there’s a constant ringing coming from your room,” Shadow said to me as he walked into the kitchen. “Someone’s got a major hard-on for you or something.” “That might be mine,” Daran sighed as he tossed down his napkin and got up. “Who would be calling you at”—I glanced at the clock—“one in the morning on a Friday night?” He smiled as glared at him. “This is funny?”

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“Your reaction is slightly amusing.” He chuckled as he leaned over and gave a peck to my cheek. “It’s probably my boss.” “And why is he calling you now?” “To treat me like his bitch,” he grumbled and then left the kitchen. That wasn’t really an answer, but I realized my mate didn’t want to discuss it right now and probably around my friends. “Attorneys have to bail their clients out of jail sometimes, right?” Cave asked and then winced. “Yeah, that so doesn’t make me feel any better.” “Sorry, I realized that after I said it,” he replied sympathetically. “No worries.” I shrugged. I stood and teleported to the hallway outside my room. “Shit, you scared me!” he exclaimed and grabbed his chest. “I wasn’t sure which room was yours.” “I figured as much,” I said with a smile and held my hands up in surrender. “I would have just come and gotten your phone for you.” “You are too sweet.” He cupped my cheek as he walked past me, and I practically purred. I followed him into the room just as his phone started to ring again. He dove to his pants and answered it. “Yes, sir?” I could hear the other side of the conversation because our senses were amazingly acute. “Finally! What were you doing that you couldn’t take my calls?” “I was sleeping,” my mate lied and rolled his eyes at me. “Sure you were,” the man sneered. Yeah, already I didn’t like him. “You’ve got a new client, and he needs to be bailed out of the twenty-fifth district for smuggling something in through the airport.” “Actually I was going to turn in my notice on Monday, sir. I’ve had another offer that I’d like to accept.” “What?” The man roared. “We’ve put all this time and effort into you, and now you think you’re going to quit? Absolutely not! You’re the only one who deals with the queer clients because you are one.”

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“Can he talk to you like that?” I asked with wide eyes, quietly so his boss wouldn’t hear me. Daran shook his head but answered his boss. “I was fully trained and have only worked for you a year, Mr. Waugh. I found a better position to suit my needs and with an employer who doesn’t refer to me in meetings as ‘the queer one.’ I’ll bail this guy out if you need, but I won’t take him on as a new client. It’s the reason I want to get out. I’m tired of defending scum.” “You are the queer one,” Waugh growled. “Consider this my two-week notice, Mr. Waugh,” Daran replied evenly. “You do this and I’ll make sure no one will ever want to hire you, Sullivan.” “They already did,” he sighed. “Do you want me to bail this guy out or not?” “Of course I do! His name is Kyle Murphy. Go pick him up, and see if you can get the charges dropped or if you’re completely incompetent.” “Murphy as in the Murphy Family? The Irish mob in Chicago?” Daran shuddered in revulsion. “We represent the mob now?” “Alleged mob, but there’s no proof of such connection.” “Whatever,” Daran groaned. “I’ll go see what I can do.” “Good, otherwise we may need to talk about your value to our company.” My mate pulled the phone away from his ear and simply stared at it. “Did he just threaten to fire me after threatening me for giving notice?” “Yeah, you need to get the fuck out of that place.” “Amen to that,” he said, shaking his head.

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Chapter 3 It took less than twenty minutes for us to change and get down to the twenty-fifth district. Daran wasn’t very happy I demanded to go with, but he was going to meet a mob boss, and I didn’t want him going alone. He finally conceded after I promised to stay in the background and not say a word unless I was worried about his safety. “I’m here for Kyle Murphy,” Daran informed the policeman on duty. “His boyfriend?” the guy asked with a raised eyebrow. “Umm, no, his attorney,” he answered. The cop grunted in reply and started flipping through papers. Daran shot me a what the hell glance and I shrugged. Who knew the modern mob was progressive enough to have an openly gay member. “Right, your client was caught with three balloons of heroin shoved up his ass and claims he didn’t know it was drugs. According to him, it was some guy he was playing with and the balloons were supposed to be a sex toy.” “Right, I was just assigned to him, so I’d need to speak with him before I can tell you what’s going on.” I bit my lip to keep from laughing. Did that idiot in lockup think that excuse would really work? “And the little guy?” the policeman asked, gesturing to me. “An associate of mine,” Daran answered. We’d talked ahead of time, and he said I couldn’t go in with him, but then I assured him no one would remember me anyways after I used my magic to make them forget. He relented then, and I honestly think he was happy he didn’t have to go in to meet a mob boss alone. I didn’t blame him.

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Humans were fragile and could easily get hurt. I didn’t want that for my mate. We followed the policeman after getting buzzed in through the locked door. I’d never been in lockup before. I wasn’t sure I ever wanted to be again. We passed large holding cells with everything from obvious drunks to women wearing so little clothing that I’d bet were in for working some corner. Seriously, they were that obvious. He led us into the typical interview room that was in every cop show or movie. And sitting at the table in handcuffs was the ugliest, most flamboyant, ugliest Irishman I’d ever seen. Did I mention he was ugly? I mean seriously, he needed to wash his face, cut his hair, think about getting braces, maybe some plastic surgery, and hit the gym. “Have you come to strip-search me, too?” the douche bag asked with a leer at my mate. Then he glanced at me. “Either of you would work.” I went to open my mouth but quickly shut it when I saw the look that Daran was shooting me. Fine. I’d behave…for now. “Mr. Murphy, I’m the attorney assigned to help you out with your current situation.” I got inappropriately hard at Daran’s commanding tone and assertiveness over the man and what was going on. Damn, he was fine. “My name is Daran Sullivan. Can you tell me what happened?” “Well, I got frisky with a guy down in Colombia, and we were messing around before my flight—” “Let’s remember what you tell me is covered under attorney-client confidentiality, Mr. Murphy.” “Call me Kyle,” the slob drooled as he reached to touch my mate. “And then what happened?” Daran asked as he moved himself out of the way and started taking notes. Slick! “He was supposed to put some anal beads up my ass so I’d think of him during the flight, and when I got into O’Hare Airport, I got dragged off to the side. The fuckers strip-searched me and saw my

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hole was stretched and started fishing out bags of heroin. I think they’re lying though. It felt like anal beads going in.” Just for shits and giggles I listened in to my mate’s thoughts. “This is either the dumbest fucker ever or…yeah, no ‘or.’ He’s the dumbest piece of ugly ass shit ever.” It was truly hard to keep a straight face after hearing that. “I couldn’t agree with you more, my sexy mate.” He flinched when I pushed that into his mind but otherwise covered his reaction well. “Okay this is kind of neat that you can hear me and we can talk like this. But I’ve got to focus right now, or I’m going to burst out laughing.” “Fair enough,” I replied and pulled out of his head. “And this is the story you told the police?” “Yeah, totally,” Kyle answered, bobbing his head like a moron. I decided to dip into his mind. “I want to pound his sweet ass all night. He’s stupid if he buys the story, but I can do cute and stupid.” I slipped right back out because I would end up killing the guy if I kept hearing thoughts like that. The visuals he had were even worse. “And what’s the real story?” Daran asked calmly as if he was talking about the weather. “You don’t believe me?” Kyle looked impressed and affronted all at the same time. I’m not sure how I knew those were the conflicting emotions, but his very pale but freckled face heated up with anger at the same time there was a gaze of awe. “My job is to defend you and get you out of here. Neither can I do if you’re giving me some bullshit story. You want someone to lie to, get a boyfriend. I’m your attorney, and I can’t help you if you don’t trust me.” Kyle’s jaw fell open, and I had to join Daran at the table to hide my hard-on. I gave my mate a heated glance that I was pretty sure spelled out what I wanted to do to him down to which position.

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“Fine,” Kyle grumbled and tried to pull off a cute pout face. I don’t know who’d been lying to him that the look worked for him, but that person was not his friend. “My dad doesn’t like us selling the hard stuff, so I decided to make some friends of my own and bring back a sample. I figured if I could start up a side business, I could have something to fall back on in case the old man never kicks the bucket.” Charming, I thought to myself as I mentally rolled my eyes. “Okay, you’ve got no priors on drug possession or intent to sell,” Daran said as he flipped through Kyle’s rap sheet. Which was quite long. “Mostly minor crimes besides the several assault charges.” “Those were dropped,” Kyle replied with an evil smile. “They changed their mind about pressing charges.” “I understand that, but it still can sway a judge on whether you should get bail or how much to set it at.” “What do you mean should get bail? You can’t get me out of here?” Kyle looked a little panicked at the idea. I personally thought jail might do wonders for this douche bag. “You were caught with almost half a kilo of raw heroin, Mr. Murphy. That’s not normally an offense that someone gets bail on, especially when sneaking it into the country. With your previous record, I’m going to have to do some fast dancing to get you out on bail. I won’t be the attorney representing you at your trial, but I will brief whoever relieves me.” “Why won’t it be you?” Kyle whined, and I seriously wanted to bitch slap the guy. Daran blanched at him, obviously shocked that the man had the stones to ask. I decided it was finally time to step in. “I don’t believe it’s any of your business what Mr. Sullivan does with his time. He’s been professional every step of the way with you. I suggest you do the same.” “Or what, twerp?” He sneered at me, losing the injured-party act. I opened my mouth to reply, but Daran raised a hand.

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“This is counterproductive, gentlemen.” He stood and glanced from him to me. “I’ll see what I can do, and I wish you the best of luck, Mr. Murphy.” Kyle just sat there, going back to his poor me attitude. But I wasn’t fooled. I’d seen the evil in his eyes when I dared to step in his way. There was a certain look someone had when they’d killed before, especially in cold blood. Kyle Murphy had it down, and I did not want my mate around this asshole ever again. “See you soon, sexy. Naked,” Kyle said so softly there was no way Daran could have heard it since he’d stepped out in the hall in front of me. “You better fucking not,” I hissed under my breath and let my power flash in my eyes. Kyle’s jaw dropped as his eyes practically bugged out of his head, and I bemoaned the fact I was going to wipe any memory he had of me when I’d done such a good job threatening him. That was fine though. There was nothing to say I couldn’t pay Mr. Murphy a visit another day and make damn sure he knew to stay the fuck away from my mate. Daran ended up having to fill out a slew of forms while I sat up front in the waiting area. I decided to text our resident hacker and get him to pull up everything he could on Kyle Murphy. Maybe I was jumping the gun or being a little dramatic, but I’d been alive long enough to know that I should trust my gut. And my gut was screaming that Kyle would try to seek out my gorgeous mate, and I wanted to be prepared. About ten minutes later, Box texted me, “You’re going to want to see what I found, brother. If you think he might come for Daran, we got problems.” “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” I cursed under my breath. I hated when I was right sometimes! I waited for Daran to see a judge about bail after he was done with the paperwork. It took forever and finally, about five in the morning, he was done and ready to leave.

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“I can’t believe that there are judges holding court now.” “Welcome to Chicago.” He snickered as I led him out to my car. “They’re more on call really than anything. It’s not like there’s full court sessions going on, but sometimes you just need a judge. And there’s only one courthouse that has these kind of hours.” “Still bizarre.” I got him into his seat and jogged around the car, sliding in and starting it up. “How did it go?” “He’s out on a hundred grand bail.” He sighed and rubbed his eyes, suddenly looking about ten years older. “I hate this job, Why. I feel like I just gave a piece of my soul to the devil. I’m a junior partner in the firm, and they have me dealing with this kind of shit. I can’t prove it, but I know it’s because I’m a queer. I’m just so sick of this shit.” “I know, baby,” I said gently as I reached for his hand. “You gave your notice. Two weeks and you’re free to do boring lawyer stuff for us and any pro bono work you want.” “You guys would let me do pro bono?” Daran gasped, with a twinkle of joy in his blue eyes. “Seriously?” “Anything you want, Daran. We can get another attorney for us, and you can do the pro bono stuff solely if you wanted.” I was hesitant to say it, not wanting to seem as if I didn’t want him to be our lawyer anymore. “I just want you happy. Tell me what would do that, and I’ll do anything to give it to you.” “You’re the best partner in the world,” he said with a happy sigh and leaned his head over on my shoulder. “I want to work for you guys, but I’m thrilled you’d let me take on a pro bono case here and there. I miss doing good, you know?” “Of course, baby.” We drove the rest of the way home in silence, lost in thought. As much as I would have loved to have simply ’ported us there and back home, there were certain places we never, ever teleported. Like courthouses and police stations with way too many trained eyes around. Plus, I didn’t want to freak Daran out with every

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way I was different from humans. I planned on easing him into it as much as possible. At least that was the plan. “Right, so you need to see what I found about this guy, Why.” Box rambled as he paced nervously when we entered the kitchen through the side door from the garage ten minutes later. “It’s not good. And if Daran was my mate, I might think about getting out of town.” “What? Why?” Daran asked, his eyes going wide. “I asked Box to find out what he could on Kyle Murphy,” I said calmly, cringing when I saw the anger flare in his eyes. “I trusted you,” he snarled and walked back towards the door. “I can’t believe you did this.” He grabbed his briefcase that he’d just set down. “I’m out of here. Don’t call me.” “Daran, wait,” I begged as I ran in front of him and blocked the door. “You didn’t see what I saw in the monster’s head. I heard him thinking about you. He’s evil, and Box can find more than police records could. I swear I would never have done this if I wasn’t worried for you.” “Wh–what did you see?” he stuttered, his face paling. “I’m not sure you want to know,” I answered gently and he started shaking. “Please trust me on this.” “Okay, I’m sorry I blew up.” I led him to one of the stools at the kitchen counter and helped him sit down since he was so worked up. “Don’t be sorry. I was going to discuss it when we got home, but Box was waiting for us. I promise this wasn’t me being nosy or overbearing. I’m worried for you.” He nodded his head, and I gave Box the go ahead gesture. “He was denied membership at Leather No Lace and was kicked out of Top and Bottom for ‘unsightly behavior.’” He made air quotes as he said that last part. “I read their report on him off their systems. He likes to make people bleed and has an obsessive tendency toward

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his playmates. He’s also been under psychological care for anger, rage, and a slew of other issues.” “Jesus Christ,” Daran gasped as he turned to me. “And you think he wants me?” “That matches up with what I saw in my head.” I sighed, realizing I had to tell him. “You were chained down, covered in blood, and had cuts all over your body. Kyle saw himself doing despicable things to you. You saw how pissed he got when I stepped in, and when you left the room, he was muttering about seeing you again naked.” “Okay, I believe you and appreciate your concern,” he replied, holding up a hand to stop me from going on any further. “Thank you for having him checked out and wanting to protect me.” “You’re everything to me, my mate,” I cooed and nuzzled his neck as I hugged him from behind. “He’s also a person of interest in a slew of missing-person reports, which was the other reason the club kicked him out,” Box continued as he read his laptop. “They couldn’t prove it was him, but they had a few subs that had been seen with him go missing after he became a member. I think this guy likes to play crazy rough and can’t control himself. I would bet his mob family cleans up his messes.” “Mob-leader Daddy might be getting tired of it, and that’s why Kyle’s looking into branching out,” I mused out loud. “Daddy might be at the end of his rope and ready to cut him off.” “What do we do now?” “You go nowhere alone,” I answered firmly, brooking no room for argument. “I’ll talk to my brothers and make sure one of us is with you at work.” I held up my hand to stop him when he started to object. “We can make ourselves invisible. No one will know we’re there but you. If Kyle behaves, then we drop it after a few weeks, by which time you’ll be working here anyways. If he doesn’t, then we take the fucker out or talk to his daddy.” “Peter and the pack might know the Murphys since they work mainly as hired muscle,” Box threw in.

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“Good, talk to Cave and have him ask.” “Why didn’t you just wipe the guy’s mind of Daran after what you saw in his head?” Box asked, and I’d thought to do the same thing. “I wanted to, but he couldn’t have had no memory of his attorney coming and then being set free. That would have raised too many questions we can’t afford, and Kyle still probably would have sought Daran out.” “Then you should have just altered the encounter and made Daran ugly to Kyle.” “Fuck,” I hissed and smacked myself in the forehead. “I never thought of that! I’ve never altered someone’s memory or visual, just removed parts. Shit! Fuck!” “Hey, it’s okay,” Box said gently and patted my arm. “It’s always easier to think of the way to handle something after it’s over. Besides, it might not have worked if this guy got as big of a hard-on as you said. Daran’s image could have been ingrained in several parts of his cognitive mind.” “Huh?” Daran and I asked at the same time. “Never mind.” My genius friend chuckled. “Let me know if you guys need anything else. I’m going to leave a note for Cave since everyone else is sleeping.” “Yeah, I need to get my mate tucked into bed as well. Thank you, brother.” “You’d do the same for me.” He shrugged and left the room. I hugged Daran and teleported us to my room, knowing he was way too tired to have to climb the stairs right now. He was quiet as I got him undressed and tucked into bed. “Everything is going to be okay, baby,” I whispered as I held him close. “I know.” He yawned. “You’d never let anyone hurt me.”

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His blind faith in me scared the shit out of me. What if I couldn’t protect him and that sick fuck got him? How was I going to protect him? I had no clue about being someone’s security detail. When I knew Daran was asleep, I slipped out of bed and changed into work clothes, ratty shorts, and a stained tank top. I quietly made my way downstairs and to my workroom off the side of the garage. After I fired up the kiln I started throwing some new vases. My shop was attached to Button’s since we both needed extreme fire sources for our work. I worked for maybe a good hour before I realized I felt the presence of my friends in the room with me. All eleven of them. And where they were, their mates were with them. “Say it,” Horse said gently. I shook my head as my foot fell off the wheel’s motor pedal as the tears started to fall. He ordered me this time. “Say it, Why.” “What if I can’t protect him?” I cried out and crumbled to my knees. I pounded my clay-covered fists on the ground. “I want to claim him to keep him safe so I know he’s immortal, but I don’t want that to be the reason he accepts. I want him to love me like I know I’m already falling for him. But then I wonder if I’m making this whole threat up in my head so he wants me to protect him, claim him. Or could I just be overreacting?” “Who said you’d be protecting him alone?” Horse growled, and I knew this was the issue he’d wanted me to deal with first. “We are brothers, born of blood or not. We choose to be a family, and if you doubt for one second that we wouldn’t stand beside you, then we got bigger problems than a mob boss.” “I never doubted you’d help me,” I whispered as I glanced up at him. “Good, because I remember you there when my mate needed help,” Horse replied with a satisfied nod. “And with the witches,” Idiot said with a smile. “You really wanted to kick the wolf’s ass for me.” Cave snickered

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“I’m pretty sure you threatened my mate six ways from Sunday when he had his head up his ass.” Surprise chuckled as he knelt down next to me. “Our mates come first. It’s a code we live by whether we are the mated one or not. We’ve got your back, brother.” “I know this, I swear I do,” I pleaded with them, trying to make them understand the dilemma. “You will still defer to me on what to do if something comes up, and I could make the wrong decision.” “Yes, you might,” Horse said gently as he kneeled down behind me and hugged me to him. “And we’ve all fucked up over the years, but twelve heads are better than one and we always win the day, brother. Bren is a cop and will help. We have other mates who are human and can blend in to watch your mate. And if that bastard tries to touch your mate, then we go to war with the Irish mob and leave a horse’s head in some guy’s bed.” “An actual horse though.” Cave snickered. “Not Horse’s head. A horse, as in animal.” “Yeah, we all saw The Godfather with you, you dork.” Idiot chuckled and cuffed our friend. “We got the pun.” “Even if you claim Daran, he can still get hurt,” Horse said, turning the conversation back to serious. “But you’re feeling what each of us felt when we met our mates. They’re human, they’re so fragile.” “You know, I’m not sure I’ve ever been referred to as fragile before,” Benjii drawled in his Southern accent with a snort. “Next you’ll be dressing us in Onesies.” “I call footie pajamas.” Shely snickered and bumped fists with Justice. But my focus was on Daran, who was staring back at me with so many questions swimming in his eyes. Fuck. “You’re immortal?” he whispered, looking a little shell-shocked. “Yeah, so are we, now that our mates claimed us,” Bren said gently and then pointed to Shely. “He fainted so you’re doing pretty good. I thought Idiot explained everything about us to you?”

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“I only had like ten minutes before the witches showed up.” Idiot pouted and went to his mate. “I left most of it up to Why.” “So biting me didn’t claim me?” Daran glanced around as if not knowing who to get his answers from. “No, it started the process,” I answered as I stood and wiped my hands on my pants. “Well then finish it!” he exclaimed angrily and threw his hands in the air. “I said I was yours. I thought you wanted me forever.” “I do,” I gasped and raced to him. I took his hands in mine and squeezed them. “I’m falling for you, Daran. You’re my mate and the other half of my soul. Deciding to be with me forever is a huge decision, and we’d not even gotten to the whole immortal thing.” “I don’t care about any of that, Why.” A soft grin crossed his lips as he leaned in and hugged me. “I just want you. I could grow a tail and still be happy. I’ve never wanted someone before and everything in me screams to never leave your side. You took my virginity, and I’m yours in every way. You being immortal makes things perfect.” “How so?” I asked, ignoring some of the wide-eyed looks from my friends at the virgin comment. “Because I’ve lost everyone in my life who’s ever mattered to me,” he whispered as tears formed in his eyes. “I believe in fate, and that’s why we’re meant to be. You can’t ever leave me if you’re immortal.” “No, baby. I won’t ever leave you.” I pulled his head down to mine and mashed our lips together. The kiss got quite heated, and a few people in the room chuckled. “Daran Sullivan, will you mate me and be mine forever?” “I won’t even ask for a prenup.” He snickered, and the room filled with groans. “Always the attorney.” Idiot giggled. “Let’s have a claiming ceremony!”

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Chapter 4 The next morning, or afternoon really, I woke up wrapped around my mate, so happy I wanted to sing from the rooftops. Daran and I had claimed each other lovingly in our bed, and he never hesitated. Then we’d made love again in our room and fell asleep sometime before ten in the morning. “What time is it?” he mumbled as I moved to look at the clock on the far wall by the door to the garage. “Three in the afternoon.” I chuckled. “We slept in.” “Hell, considering we never went to bed last night, it’s more like a long nap.” “What does my mate want?” I whispered as I licked his neck and tweaked his nipple. “You. Only you forever.” “Right answer,” I growled and rolled him to his stomach. In an instant I magically stretched him and positioned my body over his. I pushed inside his ass as I spread his legs with mine. “Fuck, this is new,” he hissed as his hips bucked. I buried my face in his back and reached up to lace my fingers with his. “Are we going to try a new position every day?” “Okay,” I grunted as I thrust into him harder and harder. “But we’ll run out eventually.” “Then we’ll just have to start again on different surfaces.” I moaned at my kinky mate. “Dirtiest virgin ever.” He nodded and angled his ass up for me to have better access to as I sucked up marks on his shoulders. “Best ass ever, too.”

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“Better be the only ass you ever want again,” Daran growled, and I froze. “Where did that come from?” I asked gently as I panted for air. “I’m sorry,” he whispered and buried his face in the pillow. I could barely hear what he said next even with my elven hearing. “I can’t help but worry that I don’t have enough knowledge to keep you. Watching porn is not the same as knowing what you’re doing.” “Baby,” I cooed and nuzzled his neck. “It’s not about what you know but how you react. You react so beautifully to every touch, and every time I love on you, that no one could ever match it. I like to be in charge, and your innocence makes me hot. I fucking love that I’m the only man to have pleased you.” “But I’m not the only one you’ve had.” “No, I can’t deny that,” I said gently when I heard the worry in his tone. “But you’re the only one I’ve ever seen more than a few times. You’re my mate. That makes you more important than all of them combined though that’s not the reason I asked you to move in and want you every day for the rest of my life.” “Really?” “Really, Daran. You’re an amazing person and have a body I can’t get enough of. I look forward to several lifetimes of learning more and more about you.” “Did I ruin the moment?” he asked after several seconds. “I’m still hard,” I growled playfully in answer. “You?” “I can’t stop being hard around you, Why.” He snickered and then moaned when I thrust into him. “Fuck me hard. Make it so I can’t worry about anything but your cock in my ass.” “Gladly.” I pounded his sweet ass, loving the sexy noises he made under me. I knew he’d have some lingering doubts after we’d moved so fast…He was human after all. But elves weren’t like that. For us a mate was as simple as family we’d been searching for. Sure, it wasn’t instant love—that would come later. I just didn’t have the same whatifs that humans seemed to be plagued with at times.

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“I need more.” He gasped for air after we both came, and I was still inside of him. “I don’t know why, but I feel like you can’t leave me yet.” “I know how you feel,” I said gently. “Would you like to see our play room?” “I–I’ve seen i–it.” Daran stuttered and shivered. “Want to experience it?” “Yes.” That one word was all I needed. I ’ported us downstairs and knew exactly what I was going to do to my gorgeous mate. I set us on our feet so my cock was already out of him, and I gently pushed him into one of the leather swings. “What are you doing?” “Showing you how fun toys can be,” I purred as I locked his wrists and ankles up magically. His eyes went wide since only his back and neck were on the swing now with all his limbs restrained in the air. I rubbed my fingers over his leaking hole as his ass hung off the leather, and he moaned. “What does my baby want first?” “Whatever you want, Why. I trust you,” he answered, and I could see the truth in his shining blue eyes. I couldn’t help the next thought. Don’t let me fail him. But then I pushed it away. This wasn’t the time for it…It was time for fun. Lots and lots of fun if I had my way. I smiled wickedly at him and pulled a smaller vibrator off the wall. He watched me, licking his lips as I grabbed a tub of lube and slicked it up. “I want to hear you scream,” I ordered and pushed it into his ass as I turned it on. I hit it right into his prostate, and Daran went wild, pulling at his restraints as his semihard cock perked up and started leaking. “Do you want me to stop?” “No! No! Make me come, please!” He begged at the top of his lungs. “So fucking sexy,” I groaned as I kissed the inside of his leg. My mate was a god of a man, perfect in every way down to the impeccably trimmed patch he had around his cock. Not completely

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shaven off, just enough so there was some friction and temptation when I saw him. “Why, Why, Why!” He screamed louder and louder as his cock erupted. I watched in awe as his seed landed all over his pecs, abs, and thighs. With the swinging motion and how his dick was moving all around, it was spraying like a geyser. I gave him about thirty seconds to recover before adding vibrating nipple clamps and switching him to a bigger dildo. He moaned, and his hole clenched at the invasion, but otherwise didn’t say anything. I let him adjust and waited until his heartbeat leveled out before thrusting the toy in and out of him. “You’re so perfect everyone wants to watch,” I whispered as I pulled on one of clamps. My mate raised his head enough to see a few of my friends along with Idiot and Shely rubbing on each other as they all watched. “Let them,” Daran groaned as I picked up the pace. “Put me on display. I don’t care if they watch. Just please don’t stop until I can’t walk because you fucked me so raw.” “And here I was worried when we found out your mate had been a virgin,” Shadow mumbled under his breath so my mate couldn’t hear. Yeah, I’d had the same thought. Go figure. “What does my mate need?” I asked when it seemed that three in a row might be too much for him. I knew the answer, but it simply flipped my switch when he asked for it. “Bite me, or let me suck your cock,” he whimpered. “Or touch me.” “How about two out of three.” I grabbed his dick and stroked him as fast as I could while I fucked him with the dildo. He moaned and exposed his neck, knowing I would always choose that option as well. I struck fast, biting him hard since I learned he liked it that way. Daran shouted my name to the heavens and came as I drank his sweet blood. I kept up my attentions as he rode his peak like a champion. When he was done, I removed my fangs and licked the

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wound closed. I slowly pulled out the toy as I let go of his flagging dick. “Fuck my face,” he panted as he let his head fall back so I had access. “You need to recover first.” I chuckled. “Am I your mate or not?” His eyes flashed with irritation. “I want to please my man as he did to me. Now give me your goddamn dick.” “Okay,” I said quickly, dropping the toy and positioning myself at his head. He opened his mouth and I pushed the head of my cock into his warm, wet mouth. I moaned as he sucked me off like a champion. I was already close since I had been primed and leaking watching him come twice. “Swallow it all.” He moaned as I yelled his name and shot down his throat. My mate greedily swallowed everything I had to give him, not a drop passing his lips. When I was spent, I pulled out before dropping to my knees and giving him his release magically. “You’re so amazing,” I gasped and turned his head to the side to kiss him. It was a quick but passionate kiss since we both needed air. “I was thinking the same about you,” he replied with a sleepy smile. “Thank you.” “Thank you.” I chuckled and ’ported us back to my bed. I hoped it to be our room soon. I really did. That was the last thought I had before we fell back asleep. **** Our first weekend together had gone well. Lots of sex and learning about each other. I filled him in on everything he’d need to know about being mated to an elf while he told me more about his past. He’d already mentioned that his mom had died in a plane crash when he was in college. But unfortunately, it got worse. His dad and younger sister had been killed in a car wreck going to his graduation ceremony from

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college. And his older brother had died overseas while serving in the Marine Corps after he got into law school. So at twenty-two he’d been an orphan with no siblings. Fuck me sideways! Yeah, it was quite understandable that he had issues with letting someone in ever and trying to date. It was a miracle that he’d ever accepted my date, and I couldn’t get over how I only had to chase him for about a week. When I asked, not wanting to sound like I was ungrateful but needing to know, my mate had explained that his parents had been soul mates. He’d grown up believing in them, and after one night with me, he’d just known. I couldn’t have been more thrilled with his answer. Even now, Monday morning, when I was sitting outside a coffee shop across the street from his office building watching to see if Kyle Murphy or anyone who looked like him showed up. It was unnerving. As if I was reverse stalking my mate but with his permission. Weird, right? After three hours, I’d had so many lattes I decided to switch to tea. To everyone around me I was just some guy chilling, reading his Kindle as if I didn’t have a care in the world. On the inside I was a raging ball of nerves…and then anger. “Mother fucker,” I hissed under my breath and pulled out my cell. I pushed the speed dial for Shadow who was up in my mate’s office standing invisible patrol. We’d all agreed that my being that close to Daran could make things worse. Or we’d just fuck all day. “The douche bag actually showed.” “Man, that guy’s got stones the size of Brazil.” Shadow snickered quietly. “Okay, keep your telepathy open so I can get through to you.” “Fuck that, I’m coming up,” I growled and hung up before he could tell me otherwise. Of course that didn’t keep him from sending me messages in my brain. “This wasn’t the plan if the guy showed up, Why.” “He’s my mate, what did you really expect?”

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“I expected you about an hour ago whether Kyle showed or not,” he answered with a snicker as I gave the waitress some money and then jogged across the street. “So really I’m impressed you held out this long.” “Yeah, me too,” I muttered as I dove for an elevator going up. When I’d gone through the spinning doors, I’d had enough cover to make myself invisible. But that meant I had to go up with someone else on the elevator. Of course, none of the three people with me were getting off on my floor. I slid along the wall and pushed the button I needed. “Anyone getting off here?” a lady asked when the doors opened moments later and no one went to move. “No, must have hit it by mistake,” a guy replied apologetically. No, it’s actually your local invisible elf running to help his mate and friend, I thought to myself sarcastically. Part of me wanted to say it out loud and fuck with the nice people for shits and giggles. Yeah, I’ve got a mean streak…sue me. “Do you know who I am?” Kyle Murphy bellowed at some poor lady I assumed was Daran’s assistant. “I don’t care if he’s in a meeting. I want to see my attorney.” “It’s fine, Janet,” Daran said smoothly as he stepped out of his office. “I’m done with the conference call now. Why don’t you let Mr. Waugh know Mr. Murphy is here and then take an early lunch?” “Right away, Mr. Sullivan,” she squeaked and practically ran off as best as she could in those high heels. I can’t say I blamed her. I’d run from Kyle Murphy any day I could as well. “I didn’t come here to see Waugh, my cute little Daran,” Kyle purred, and I wanted to rip his throat out. “I–I’m sorry, Mr. Murphy,” Daran sputtered nervously as Kyle encroached on his personal space. “I don’t know what impression you got the other night, but I’m in a committed relationship and not on the market.”

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“So what?” Kyle asked, looking confused. “I don’t want to make you Mrs. Murphy. I just want to play.” “Charming, and oh so flattering and all,” Daran growled, getting some of his bravado back now that he was pissed. “But no way in hell would I ever cheat on my partner. I’m not your attorney, and I think you need to leave before I call security.” “What’s going on here?” Mr. Waugh asked as he came storming over. Janet came back after doing as Daran had asked, grabbed her purse, and ducked out for lunch. I wanted to yell after her take the asshole with you! “Mr. Murphy’s a little confused as to what services we provide at this firm,” Daran gritted out between his teeth. I had to give him points for the creative pun yet keeping it polite. “Well, as his attorney, I would think you’d strive to do whatever your client needed.” Waugh gave Murphy a polite smile and raised a brow at my mate. Mother fucker! “Horse, get here now! I need you as Daran’s new employer since I think his boss is about to pimp my mate out.” “Asshole. Okay, teleporting now.” We’d agreed ahead of time to keep the lines of telepathy open with everyone back at home in case we needed help. I had to remember to thank Box for that idea later. I gave my friend a mental image of the office I’d ducked into so he could teleport easier and not end up in the wall of this steel building. In theory our magic would land us somewhere safe always even if we’d never been there before. Being in a wall was safe…just no logical way to get out. “Let’s do this,” Horse said as he appeared in a very expensive three-piece suit. I’d changed my own attire accordingly, and we stepped out into the hallway. “You’re my boss, not my pimp,” Daran said in an elevated voice, cheeks red with anger. Hey, great minds think alike! It seemed, in the couple of minutes I was gone, things got worse.

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“Mr. Sullivan, I apologize for simply showing up,” Horse said as we approached. “And I hope you can forgive my haste, but something has come up. I understand you wanted to give your employer due notice of your leaving this firm, but I must insist we need you right away.” “Who are you?” Waugh practically growled, his balding head flushing with rage. “Rick Smith,” Horse answered with a winning smile. “Head of Smith Enterprises. Mr. Sullivan did tell you he was quitting, of course.” “He mentioned something about wanting to renegotiate his contract,” Waugh said carefully. I snickered, and his and Murphy’s gaze turned to me. “It’s fine, Mr. Smith,” Daran replied after taking a deep breath. “I’ve decided that I don’t need to stick to the notice I gave now that my boss is trying to use me as a hooker.” “Sullivan!” Waugh exclaimed. “You are not quitting.” “Watch him,” I said coldly. “But he’s my attorney,” Murphy whined pathetically. “No, he’s not,” I growled and stepped forward. Horse grabbed my arm, and I didn’t fight him. “My partner has agreed finally to come work for my family. You understand the importance of family, Kyle boy. Don’t you? Maybe we should go talk to yours?” Kyle went pale for a split second but then recovered as he grabbed Daran. “No. I want him as my new toy. You can’t have him.” “Let me go,” Daran hissed and started to try and pull away. He could easily have overpowered the gross Irishman, but I had a feeling he didn’t want it to come to punches…yet. “This is how you let your clients treat your employees?” Horse tsked and shook his head. “No wonder I was able to steal him away for a million a year.” “He’s only a junior partner,” Waugh exclaimed as his eyes went wide. “He’s not worth that much.”

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“We have enough work for him that will make him be,” Horse replied with narrow eyes. “He’s a talented attorney who you obviously underappreciated. He handled a case for us recently with ease and precision. My brother made him an offer on the spot. So I should thank you for treating him this badly to where he’d be willing to leave.” “Let go of my partner, or I will make you and then throw you out the window,” I said to Murphy. He shook his head as he wore that stupid pout face. Finally Daran got fed up and elbowed the guy. Waugh started shouting for security, and I knew it wasn’t for Kyle. I moved my mate behind me. “I quit. Let’s go.” Daran started to walk to the doors, but I hadn’t been blocking my telepathy, so I caught something. “He will bleed for that, and I’ll cut up his little partner as well. Fuck, maybe the whole family. That would be one fun night! Da will be so proud that I took over another family.” “You getting this?” I whispered to Horse as we left. “Loud and clear, brother,” he said with controlled rage. “Loud and fucking clear.” We quickly got on the elevator that building security stepped off of. “I’ll call Cave. We’ll go meet with Daddy Murphy now. Peter knows him and said he’d come with.” “Or we could just kill Kyle,” I suggested even though my mate’s eyes went wide with shock. “No, we do this right. We’re not in the wrong here, and I don’t want us to be.” My friend changed his tone when he saw my hands tightening into fists. “I know he threatened your mate, but I don’t want us to start a war with the human mob if we don’t have to.” “I know, I know,” I said and took several deep breaths. “You saw what was in his mind, Horse. That guy is a sick fuck who needs to be contained. We can keep Daran safe, but what about Kyle’s next victim?” “I said we wouldn’t kill him,” Horse replied with an evil grin. Several of us referred to that smile as his “world domination grin.” He

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only gave it when he had a wicked good plan. “That doesn’t mean I don’t plan on getting him killed. I’m sure Murphy Senior will want to handle this problem his way.” “I get it.” I chuckled. He figured the head of the family would cut off a finger to save the hand. Either way worked as long as my mate was safe. “Okay, now that you guys are done scaring the shit out of me,” Daran said quietly as we got off the elevator and into the lobby. “I just walked out of my job. I didn’t even grab my briefcase or car keys. How do I get my stuff?” “We’ll teleport back there when everyone’s gone, baby,” I replied gently, seeing my mate was shell-shocked. “Don’t worry, love. We’ll take care of everything.” “Okay.” He nodded, looking a little better but not much. I knew he had faith in me, but there was only so much one person could take before cracking. I just hoped he had room for more because this was far from over.

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Chapter 5 We went straight home and filled everyone in on what happened. Cave called Peter, and unfortunately, we had to wait for him to get a meeting with Mickey Murphy. For real, that’s what Murphy Senior’s name was. How could you take a mob boss seriously with the name Mickey? “M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E,” Chiquita sang for about the billionth time while we all ate lunch. The room was tense, so I get why he was doing it, but like enough already. “Next time you’ll be whistling that out of your ass because I’ll be shoving your head so far up there,” Shadow said in a cold, even voice. Thank you! “Amen.” Daran snickered. We’d all changed into more fightappropriate clothes since I couldn’t imagine throwing a punch in a three-piece suit. That would be confining. “Sorry, I’m just going nuts waiting. And everyone’s so tense that it’s like a mold surrounding us.” “A mold, really?” Maze asked before shoving another sandwich in his mouth. “Where do you put all that food?” Benjii was smiling widely, falling back on normal jokes as if nothing was wrong. “I’m a growing elf.” He snickered. “Besides, my metabolism has kicked up since I started hunting—” He shut his mouth, but it was too late. “Hunting what, Maze?” Horse asked with a raised brow.

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“Idiot,” Shadow mumbled, and I started to get a little of the story. The two of them were thick as thieves, and while we were all close, they tended to keep more to themselves than the rest of us. “Yes?” Idiot asked with a confused look. “What does this have to do with me? I don’t hunt.” “No, I was calling him an idiot,” Shadow groaned and rubbed his hands over his face. He stared down our leader and crossed his arms over his chest. “Look, you guys all have your hobbies, Maze and I have ours.” “Yes, but we don’t hide ours since we’re a family and all of that,” Horse said calmly, but I could see the storm of anger brewing in his eyes. “Okay, that’s fair, and we can talk about it later, but this is not the time. We’ve got enough on our plate for me to just dump all this out today.” “That’s fine, but answer me one question, and I’ll table it until you’re ready.” Shadow nodded at Horse’s request, and my friend continued. “Why have you never said you’re so much older than me?” “What?” Several of us gasped, me included. “New powers since you’ve mated?” Shadow asked with a tight smile. “That, and when we’ve combined powers, I’ve felt how much stronger you are. Answer the question, brother.” “I didn’t want to lead,” he answered simply. The mates exchanged glances of confusion while we all understood, so he explained. “In Elven Society the oldest is the ruler. Whether it be Council seat, head of the house, or settlement. I was the last to come with Maze, and you were already established as the Alpha. I didn’t want to be anyways, simply welcome.” “You’re older than Horse?” Maze asked, looking as if he’d been slapped hard across the face. “I knew you were older than everyone thought, but I didn’t know you beat him.”

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“I’m three times his age,” Shadow mumbled as he stared at his shoes. Horse held up a hand to quiet us all down when chaos broke out. “That’s fine, you gave us your reasons, and we can appreciate that. You could have told us, Shadow.” “I didn’t know how.” He shrugged, looking like a little kid about to be sent for time-out. “At first I didn’t know you guys, and I didn’t want you to think I was trying to take over, and then everyone assumed I was young because I didn’t have much control over my magic.” I saw something flash in Cave’s eyes, a combination between rage and hurt. “Did you know how to heal?” “What?” Shadow gasped with wide eyes, no longer gazing at his shoes. “When we were struggling to heal my mate, did you know how to help him?” “No, I swear to you, brother,” he answered firmly. In a flash he was at Cave’s feet on his knees speaking in our native tongue. “I would never have kept it and let harm come to our family or your mate. I swear it on my magic and heritage. I did not know how to heal him, or I would have in a second.” “Okay,” Cave whispered and pulled Shadow into his arms. “I believe you.” I knew everyone in the room did as well. Shadow was an honorable man who’d jumped in to help our mates at every turn. Fibbing about his age was not the same as lying that he could have saved Justice. “Long story short, I was kicked out of the North Pole way before any of you were even born,” Shadow said quietly as he plopped down in one of the chairs. “Not always were they so accepting of being gay. I left when I was sixteen and lived on my own until I met Maze. I was so tired of being alone and missed our kind.” “Thank you for being honest with us, brother,” Idiot said gently and hugged him. Shadow accepted it but looked lost and worried. I

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knew the conversation was closed…for now. As if fate knew we needed an interruption, Cave’s phone rang. He immediately answered and put it on speaker. “I got us a meeting,” Peter said from the other line. “Half an hour, meatpacking district.” “Seriously? The mob is in gay central?” Cave snickered. “That doesn’t seem like a likely place.” “Exactly how they stay under the radar. Bring your A game. I think Kyle ran his mouth because the old man was on alert.” “Thanks for setting it up,” Horse said firmly. “We’re leaving now.” “I’m bringing some wolves just in case,” Peter replied before disconnecting the call. Cave’s phone vibrated, and he smiled. “I got the address. Let’s roll.” His smile could have lit up Michigan Avenue at Christmas. “We seriously need to talk about your tendencies to fight,” Justice grumbled. “You know you love the hot sex we have after I do,” Cave purred as we all grabbed our things and headed out to the garage. “All that adrenaline makes me an animal in bed.” “You’re always an animal in bed.” He snickered. “Glad you think so.” He smacked his mate’s ass as he climbed into one of the SUVs. We loaded up, and I ended up riding with Horse, Bren, Idiot, Shely, Daran, and Box. “So we’re all good with Shadow, right?” I asked as we got on the road. “There’s a pain in our brother that’s very deep,” Horse said quietly as he drove. “I knew we needed to confront him about the age thing, but I think we should leave the rest alone until he’s ready. But I’ve suspected for a while he’s been keeping lots from us. I honestly don’t think he does it intentionally. He just doesn’t seem to know how to open up or trust anyone fully.”

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“I’m not mad,” Box answered me. “He’s family and has issues. We all do.” “True that.” Idiot snickered. I agreed. With the matter resolved, we rode in silence as we mentally prepared. Twenty minutes later, we were parked by the address and getting out of our vehicles. “I just wanted to say thank you for immediately helping me and keeping me safe,” Daran said quietly. “You’re family now, mate to our brother,” Horse replied, and everyone else nodded in agreement. “We protect ours.” “Now let’s go kick some mob ass,” Cave said with way too much excitement. With a nod, Horse led the way down the block to the address Peter had given us. He was standing there waiting patiently with a half a dozen wolves. “Good to see you again.” The werewolf smiled at all of us and then focused on Justice. “You’re looking well. I’m glad your mating has been so blessed.” “Thank you,” Justice replied in shock. Yeah, I was, too. Peter had had a hard-on for Cave and didn’t like when my friend mated. “Elves are cute, but Cave’s always been my friend first. I’m glad he’s happy.” I wanted to coo aww, look at the cute, sweet werewolf. But I didn’t think right now was the time. We followed him down another block and then into a building where the guards seemed to know Peter. “Horse speaks for you all unless you’re talked to directly. I don’t agree with everything Mickey does, but he’s way better than lots of other mob bosses who could be in charge. He doesn’t allow anything but pot, and while, yes, he has a prostitution ring, they’re all willing. The pimps never get violent or crazy clients. He might be a criminal, but he’s one with morals.” “And that’s very rare,” Horse replied, understanding the meaning. The devil we knew was way better than the potential devil we didn’t.

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There would always be crime and leaders of it, but an honorable one was a miracle. “Exactly,” Peter said quietly as he led us through a club. I would never have guessed from the outside that this was a nightclub. The place had seemed like a dilapidated factory and on the inside something like a thrown-together speakeasy from the nineteen twenties. Wicked cool. “If we end up liking the guy, I want to come see this place when it’s hopping.” I couldn’t have agreed with Button more. The place was done to the nines with plush leather, waterfalls behind the bars, and a raised dance floor. When we entered the back room and a large office, I had a feeling we weren’t going to be going shopping with Mickey Murphy anytime soon and chatting as teenager friends. I could practically feel the ice in his gaze and the two dozen guards looked a little trigger-happy as their hands roamed under their suit jackets. Yeah, we weren’t stupid. They were packing. We got the hint. “Mickey, good to see you again,” Peter said with a bright smile. “Thank you for seeing us on such short notice.” Mickey made an unhappy grunt sound before speaking in a perfect brogue. “You threatened to pull all your pack’s help if I didn’t.” Well, well, well! Mickey knew about werewolves. That might make this so much more fun. “And I can’t believe if there’s to be a fight, you’re going to throw your support behind this lot of kids.” “Mickey, I’d figured you’d learned by now that looks are deceiving.” Peter tsked and shook his head. “Besides, you aren’t the scariest fucker in the room anymore. I might be a lot of things, but stupid isn’t one of them.” “Is that right? Then who’s the scariest one here?” Mickey raised an eyebrow as he smirked in a typical I’ll believe it when I see it look. “I am. My name is Horse, and I’m the eldest in my family,” Horse said calmly as he let loose his power and it crackled all around him.

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“We didn’t come here to fight, but understand if it comes to that, my family could end yours without even blinking.” “Is that so?” Mickey gave a nod and his men pulled out their weapons. “Ya didn’t even bring weapons to a gunfight. You’ve threatened my son.” “Because he threatened my mate,” I growled as Horse gave Shadow and everyone else a nod as well. In a flash, we used our magic to have all of Mickey’s men pointing their guns at themselves or Mickey. “You see, we don’t need your fucking toys to take you out,” Horse said calmly and then teleported. Mickey gasped as Horse appeared sitting on his desk right next to the man. “So let’s try talking now, shall we? Or do you need to see more?” “We do like to give an entertaining show,” Shadow purred as he pulled out some throwing knives from the vest he wore and started tossing them up in the air. “Are you who I think you are?” Mickey asked as he went pale. “You’re supposed to be a legend.” Horse raised a brow and glanced at our brother. Yeah, there were a lot of secrets Shadow had been keeping, it seemed. “I’m real, and you fucked with my family,” Shadow snarled. “You be right that you got the scariest fucker in the room on your side,” Mickey said to Peter and pointed to Shadow. “But it be the Shadow there, not this one here. Either way, I jumped the gun. Let’s talk like civilized men.” “Sounds good,” Horse replied as he slipped off the desk. We let go of Mickey’s men, and they put away their weapons. See, everyone flexed their muscles, and we won. Yeah us! “Your son is a problem, Mickey. We’re allies with Peter and he with you. We gave you the respect of coming here to discuss this with you instead of simply taking care of him. Don’t make me regret that decision.”

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“Fair enough. What’s the little asshole been up to now?” Mickey suddenly looked tired. I had a feeling this wasn’t the first time trouble showed up at his door because of Kyle. “For one, he got busted smuggling in hard stuff,” Bren answered, using his best cop voice. “I’m not here as Chicago Police, but I do know vice leaves you be because you keep worse criminals off the streets and out of your turf. You don’t get involved with weapons, heavy drugs, bribes, or any of the shit that makes most people hate the mob. You control the riffraff, and your business is simply stuff that’s illegal here but legal in other states.” “You don’t have to rule with an iron fist or hurt your people to be the Alpha,” Mickey conceded. “Peter understands that, and that’s why we get along.” “But you’ve been covering up for your sick son,” I said, not wanting to ignore the fact that Mickey still was a criminal. “And now he’s making friends in Colombia—” “That sick fuck son of mine wasn’t supposed to make it back alive,” Mickey thought, and I smiled. “So you thought Kyle would swim with the sharks and get eaten?” I chuckled. I was surprised Kyle made it out alive after dealing with Colombian drug lords as well with how stupid the guy was. “Something like that,” Mickey answered with a nod. “Good to know you can read minds, too.” “We have all kinds of fun tricks up our sleeves,” Horse said with a smile. “Tell you what. Peter says you’re a man of honor, and I respect that. You promise to take care of Kyle and help keep my brother’s mate safe and when you need a good mind reader from time to time to keep the worse criminals out of Chicago, we’ll help you.” “Why do that?” Mickey eyed Horse over suspiciously. “You knew I was going to handle my boy anyways.” “If the police don’t have a problem with you owning clubs, selling weed, and having hookers you take care of, why should I?” Horse shrugged as if to play it off. It made sense. Weed and call girls were

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legal in other states. “But your son is looking to start with heroin, and I love my city. We don’t need that shit here. “Plus he’s sick, cutting people up and killing them. We’ll help you, but if we find someone guilty, they get turned over to the police. No cement shoes in the river or any of that crap.” “I ain’t never killed anyone or had anyone taken care of,” Mickey said, shaking his head. “New York or the Italian mob pull that shit because they don’t understand how a family works. They’re all too busy being greedy and trying to take power that they stab themselves in the back.” He gestured to a man over his shoulder. “Sam here would never betray me. Want to know why?” “Actually, I would,” Horse replied, and I felt the same way. “Tell them, Sam.” “I was some punk on the streets who never even made it past ninth grade,” Sam said with a sad smile. “Mickey took me in and gave me a legit job as I finished. Helped me get into the Army and serve my country. When I got out, he introduced me to my wife, who was a waitress at one of his clubs. As a wedding present he bought us our first apartment.” I saw tears brimming in the big man’s eyes, and I knew this wasn’t going to be a happy ending story. “Two years ago my Sharon got diagnosed with cancer. Bad shit, spread everywhere. I came to Mickey for help, and he sent her to one of the best doctors in the country. Saved her life. She beat it and manages this club now, and I work security for Mickey. I’d give my life for him after what he did. We’re happy. Have a comfortable life when we would never have dreamed of it as kids. I ain’t got no need for anything more than that.” Okay, so it was a happy ending. I was glad. But it also made me respect Mickey. I didn’t think a typical mob boss would treat his people like that. “That’s family,” Mickey said firmly and shared a look with Horse.

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“And you do whatever you have to, to protect your family.” Yeah, Mickey, Horse, and everyone in the room agreed on that one. “Take my offer, and let’s be allies.” “What do you want in return?” Mickey didn’t get to be in power by being stupid. I’d want to know if I was him, too. “We want Kyle handled and our family safe from him.” “Done.” Mickey immediately agreed. “And we like this club—” Horse started to say. “You can’t have my club,” Mickey growled but stopped when Horse held up a hand. “We were thinking maybe a VIP table? Check it out when we have a free night?” Horse chuckled. “That’s all?” Mickey looked shocked enough to be pushed over by a feather. “Mr. Murphy, we’re elves. We’re immortal, and I’m almost four hundred years old. Don’t take this the wrong way, but there’s nothing you could give me that I don’t already have or couldn’t buy if I wanted. We help the pack, they help us. We won’t get involved in anything illegal since we need to keep our cover, but we’d like to be friends.” “Friends are always a good thing to have,” Mickey replied with a smile. “Especially powerful friends who don’t leech. And as a sign of good faith, I’d like you and your whole family to be my guests tonight at this club. It’s fitting since it’s actually Men Only night, and the entertainment will be male.” “I have to say, I didn’t think the Irish families were so progressive,” Benjii said in his deep drawl. “I know my old-school, Southern douche bag of a daddy ain’t.” “Doesn’t bother me any who’s attracted to who as long as their money is green,” Mickey replied with a wide grin. “We lay low in the meatpacking district, and the gay population likes the club. I have male and female escorts and strippers. I’m a businessman, not judge and jury.”

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“We accept your kind offer,” Horse said and moved to shake hands with the mobster. “And I know you know about Peter and his pack, so we would appreciate the same discretion.” “If I may ask,” Mickey replied and Horse nodded. “What are you guys?” “Elves.” Horse turned and let his ears turn to their normal pointy selves. We all followed suit and did the same. “Well, hot damn, you weren’t kidding!” Mickey cackled and slapped his thigh. “You’re not like any elves I ever read about.” “No, we’re not,” Horse replied firmly and let his fangs pop out. “And we never let anyone forget that, lest they think we’re weak. Even our friends.” “I hear you loud and clear, Horse. Loud and fucking clear.” He smiled as he said it, but we all saw the understanding in his eyes. “One more question.” Horse waited until Mickey nodded. “Can we teleport to your office tonight so we don’t have to drive?” I thought Mickey and half of his men were going to faint they paled so fast. Yeah, flexing our muscles was smart. Threatening wasn’t the way to go with the mob. Good thing we were actually quite unaggressive most of the time. Most of the time.

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Chapter 6 “I can’t believe we didn’t even get to fight.” Cave pouted as we ate dinner. We’d decided to celebrate our victory with dozens of Lou Malnati’s deep-dish pizzas. Hey, nothing said we rock like Chicagostyle pizza. “But we might have gotten to find a new hangout in the process.” Cave still pouted though his mate was trying his best. “A club with strippers. Male strippers.” “I do like strippers.” Cave giggled and rubbed against Justice. “You’re my favorite stripper.” Justice let out a snort. “Normally you just wave away my clothes. That’s not exactly stripping for you.” “Are you complaining, baby?” “Fuck no. It’s hot that you can’t wait until I actually take off my own clothes.” We all shared a laugh as we finished up. “Anyone know the dress code of this place?” I asked as I tossed an empty box in the garbage. We had an industrial-size fridge and outside garbage cans in our kitchen. No, we weren’t a houseful of men who couldn’t cook. Insert sarcasm at any time. “Peter said dressy but no ties,” Horse answered, and I knew what I’d dress my mate in. We all separated to get ready, and I’m not sure how, but Daran and I were able to take a shower together and not have sex. I think we were saving all our energy for the club and after. He smiled as I dressed him magically, making his shirt the exact same blue as his eyes. Stunning. I’d also picked expensive shoes and gray suit pants that molded to his ass. “Perfect.”

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“I’m glad you think so.” He chuckled. “Does this mean I get to pick your outfit?” “If it makes my mate happy, I’m willing to oblige.” I slowly pulled on little boy shorts that I knew he loved and made sure to preen in them so he got a good look. “You are just too sexy for words,” Daran purred as he ran his hands over my ass. “Someday I want to know what it feels like to be inside this fine ass.” “How about tonight?” I panted and pushed back into his hands. “Really?” “Of course.” I chuckled at his shocked reply. “We’re mates, Daran. I might be a top and dominant, but that doesn’t mean we’re not equals.” “Good to know, but now we need to cover up your lithe body before I throw you on the floor and fuck you right now. We can’t be late to party with our new friends.” “No we can’t, but I think you should jump me like that another time.” My cock was so hard I could pound nails with it, so obviously it agreed. He ended up picking out black leather pants that were so tight they looked painted on. Then matching boots and a see-through shirt that only appeared to be dressy. But it was really for clubbing anyways. We hurried and met everyone down in the media room, where Champ was hopping from one foot to the other with impatience. “What’s his deal?” Shely asked and gestured to our friend. “Strippers, Shely. This place has strippers,” Champ answered, practically salivating. “Male strippers.” He waved around a hand full of five-dollar bills. “They let you grope if you tip well.” “Fucking horndog.” “Hey, you guys are mated,” Champ said with a pout. “Leave us single guys alone.”

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“You’re right, I’m sorry,” Shely replied, looking properly chastised. “No worries.” My friend giggled. “Just send any of the ones hitting on you my way.” “No one better be hitting on my mate but me tonight,” Idiot growled and pressed himself up against his man suggestively. “All mine forever.” “You got that right.” “Same apply to you for me?” Daran asked as he wrapped his arms around me. “You never have to doubt that,” I purred and brushed my lips against his. “Okay, we’re all here. Let’s go,” Horse announced. I held on to my mate and ’ported us back to Mickey’s office. “Holy fucking shit!” the man shouted as his men pulled out guns. “Stand down. It’s our friends.” “Whoops, sorry,” Horse said sheepishly. “Yeah, I didn’t think to call and warn you. It makes sense you might be in your own office though.” “No worries.” Mickey chuckled, but I saw the way he was still holding his chest. “Just took a few years off my life.” He turned serious then. “Kyle disappeared after his meeting with Mr. Sullivan today.” Nice to know that he checked us out and learned what his son had been up to. “I’ve got my people and Peter’s guys looking for him. It will be handled, but I suggest keeping your guard up until it is.” “Thank you for the warning,” Horse replied with a bow. “Now, let’s have some fun. We hate fighting and conflict. Time to blow off some steam.” “I have a few booths reserved for you.” Mickey stood and led the way for us. Not only did he set them aside for us, but we got rock-star seats! It was two huge booths with their own stripper poles on the table and entertainment right there.

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“Yes!” Champ exclaimed when Mickey gestured to a few of the strippers for us. He raced to sit at the end of the booth that was closest to the pole. “Well, he’s in heaven.” Daran snickered as we slid into the seats next to him. “I’ve never seen a stripper before.” “You can do more than just look, baby doll,” a hot, medium-build man purred as he swung around our pole. “No, he can’t,” I growled and plopped myself on my mate’s lap. “He’s taken. You can turn him on, and he can touch me.” “I love it when you growl,” Daran whispered in my ear as he pushed his hard-on up against my ass. “Do it again. Should I touch him to make that happen?” “Touch the entertainment, and I won’t just growl. I’ll bite and not in the way you like, my mate.” “Hey,” he said gently as he turned me on his lap so I had to look at him. “I was just teasing. That guy’s hot, but he’s got nothing on you, my love. I don’t want anyone else here but the wonderful man staking his claim on me.” “Am I really your love?” I asked, my heart soaring with hope. “Yeah, I think you are.” My mate blushed so beautifully I wanted to fuck him right there. It wasn’t that kind of club though. Looking and a little pawing were all good, but clothes stayed on. “You’re mine, you know,” I said against his lips. It wasn’t the glowing declaration of love I’d always dreamed of, but it was a great start. “I’m glad.” He mashed his mouth to mine, and I moaned as he squeezed my ass. “Oh! My! Gods! It’s full nudity,” Champ screeched loudly next to us. And just like that the moment was gone. “Do you have a boyfriend?” “Several,” the stripper answered with a wink as I turned back around. “Want to be dominated later by a man with a ten-inch cock?”

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“Subtle, Champ.” Horse snickered from across the table. “Ten inches, really?” the man purred and practically shoved his ass in Champ’s face. “Talk to me after work, baby. We’ll see if we can’t play.” “Your hole needs to be filled,” Champ said seductively as he ran his hand over the guy’s ass to slip a twenty in what was left of the Gstring. “I can take you places you didn’t know existed.” The stripper eyed him over for a moment. “I believe you can, honey doll. I think I’ll take you up on that offer.” “You’re just a stripper, right?” Champ blurted out after a few minutes of watching him dance some more. “You think I’m a whore?” Yeah, this was so going south. The guy looked pissed enough to chew metal and spit out nails. “Mickey said he employed male and female hookers and strippers,” I said quickly, trying to save my friend. “It kind of made it sound like all sexes did both. He didn’t mean to imply anything.” It worked because the guy’s face immediately softened. “Stripping is a job, but sex is for my free time.” “Your body was made for both,” Champ said, practically drooling. It was true. The guy was perfectly toned, not too small or too big for dancing. The type of person you’d desire and get aroused by but not someone you couldn’t necessarily ever forget. That probably worked best for him, or he’d have a line of stalkers out the door. He was pretty though, I’m not denying that. But he wasn’t breathtaking or someone with movie-star looks. But he moved like he knew every sinful pleasure a man could ever want. Then again, that was part of the job. We ordered some drinks, joking and laughing while the entertainment danced. And suddenly I wanted to dance with my man. I pushed Champ out of the booth since there were so many people on the other side of us. He yelped in shock but got the idea when I dragged Daran after me. “I can’t dance,” he yelled over the thumping music.

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“I’ll help you,” I said as I moved us onto the floor. As soon as we were off to the side from everyone else, I spun in his arms and pushed my ass into his groin. “Feel the beat and move as I do.” “Sweetie, I ain’t thinking about dancing with your body against me like this,” Daran replied in a playful drawl. It wasn’t quite as good as Benjii’s since Daran really wasn’t a Southern boy, but it turned me on nonetheless. Which I was pretty sure was his goal all along. I moaned deep inside as he moved one hand on my hip and his other arm across my chest. There wasn’t an inch of space between us. He got the rhythm, and I had a feeling it wasn’t that he couldn’t dance but he never tried or had been too embarrassed. We were back at the table, gulping our drinks several songs later when the perfect night started to go south. “Can I borrow your dance partner for a while?” a big guy asked my mate. “Sure,” Daran answered with a smile and sat down. “What?” I asked with wide eyes, completely pissed off. He looked at me funny as if he didn’t understand. I turned to the guy and put on my best smile. “Maybe later, but I have to talk with my husband first.” “No worries,” the guy said and immediately backed off. Okay, so at least he wasn’t a jerk and simply wanted to dance. My beef was with Daran. “Hey,” he yelled as I grabbed his hand and pulled him out of his seat. I wasn’t listening right then. I dragged him to the back of the club and out the employee’s entrance into the alley. “What the fuck was that?” we both exclaimed at the same time. I kept going though. “You’re so ready to get rid of me that you’d let some other guy paw at me?” “He didn’t ask to paw at you, Why,” Daran answered evenly, obviously the calmer of the two of us. “He asked if I minded if you guys danced. I don’t. I get that you guys are all possessive and get jealous, but that’s not my thing. I trust you that it would just be

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dancing and nothing more. People dance together all the time, and it’s not cheating or screwing. It’s just dancing, and if that guy crossed that line, I know you’d stop it.” “Oh,” I whispered as the wind blew right out of my sails. We stared at each other for a few minutes as we both calmed down. “I’m sorry.” “I don’t want to get rid of you, Why. I love you.” “I love you, too, Daran,” I said as my eyes burned with tears. “I don’t mean to be a brat, but it was no big deal to you after we were just dancing as foreplay that it hurt my feelings. You’re right, I wouldn’t have danced with him like I was with you.” “I know that.” He chuckled and kissed me. “We good now? First fight over?” “Yeah.” I giggled and hugged him. “That was an easy one.” I reached up and cupped his cheek. “You mean everything to me. You know that, yeah?” “Without a doubt.” I had an idea then of how I could show him that he was the only one for me. I pulled him after me until we were up against the side of the building out of sight from the street. “What are we doing?” “I’m getting fucked for the first time,” I purred as I undid my pants and pushed them to my knees. I leaned my hands on the wall, shaking my ass seductively at him. Using my magic, I stretched and slicked myself up. “Take me.” “Right here?” he squeaked, but even as he said it I heard his zipper being pulled down. “You want your first time to be right now in an alley?” I glanced at him over my shoulder and put all the love I felt for him in the gaze. “I only need my first time to be with you, baby. I don’t care the when and where. But if you don’t fuck me, I’m fucking you. I need my mate.”

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“Fuck, that’s hot,” he moaned and molded his body to mine. Daran pushed his hard, fat cock in me slowly, and I gasped at the feeling. “Too much?” “No, it feels fantastic,” I answered honestly. “You won’t hurt me. I want it down and dirty.” “I do like dirty.” And with that he thrust into me hard, bottoming out. We both moaned at the sensations it caused as he wrapped his arms over my chest, pushing my shirt out of the way. “You feel like heaven, Why.” “It’s always heaven with you.” He grunted his agreement as he started a punishing rhythm. “Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Oh Fuck!” “That’s it, my love. Let go, and let me take care of you for once.” “So good,” I whimpered as he reached down with one hand and cupped my balls. I never wanted it to end. The alley was filled with grunts, moans, and skin slapping skin. It was fan-fucking-tastic. “Harder.” “Pushy bottom.” He snickered but did what I said. I cried out as he nailed my sweet spot, loving the way his hips smacked my ass hard enough to sting. Daran buried his face in my neck as he pounded into my tight hole, stretching me to the brink. “I love you.” “I love you more.” It was cheesy, but I liked a little sweet talk now and again. He moved his hand that had been on my sac and started stroking me furiously. “Shit, I’m gonna come.” “Do it,” Daran growled. “Come for your mate, and show me how much you like this.” “I do,” I gasped as he moved faster. “I didn’t think I would, but I really, really do like this.” “Good, because as much as I love the feeling of your monstrous dick inside of me, I think I’ll become addicted to your sweet ass, too.” That was fine by me! I wanted him to be hooked on me in every way possible. “Daran!” I screamed as my peak found me and sprayed the wall with cum. My asshole spasmed and clamped down on him. My mate

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grunted out my name and filled me with his seed. He thrust deep inside of me as if marking me and trying to connect us as much as he possibly could. Holy shit! When we were both spent, we slumped against the wall, the brick biting into my skin. I didn’t care. Daran was sated and happy, I was too tired to move much, and it didn’t hurt too badly. “Shit, Why,” he gasped and turned us so his back was on the wall. “I didn’t mean to smush you.” “It’s all good.” I giggled as he slipped out of me. I spun in his arms and nipped at his chin. “I’m full of your cum.” “It’s a good look on you.” He moaned as I made a butt plug appear. “You want me to keep it in you?” “Does that turn you on?” I purred, knowing full well it did from the lust shining in his eyes. “I think we found a new kink my mate likes.” “Oh yeah.” He snatched the toy out of my hand and reached down to put it in. I’d never been much into using toys on myself, but after seeing what it did to Daran, I knew I’d do it as often as he wanted. My mate wiggled it a few times as I moaned like a slut and spread my legs wider. “You are so fucking gorgeous.” I blushed at his praise but stepped away. “We better get back in there. I don’t want us to get arrested or worry anyone.” “I’d be your prison bitch any day.” He sounded completely serious, but I saw the smirk he had on his face. We both quickly got dressed after I magically cleaned us up and slipped back in through the door. I walked hand and hand with the man of my dreams to our seats. “Smells like sex,” Champ mumbled with a pout. “I want one.” “A Daran? Or a mate of your own?” I asked gently. “Both, but not like I’d ever try to steal yours. He’s just such a great mate I can’t help but wonder if he has a twin.” I genuinely felt bad for my friend. I’d been feeling the same thing when Horse met

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Bren. It was like we were all happy for him but couldn’t help being jealous. “Sorry, no,” I replied with a soft smile. “But the way we’re all finding mates, I bet there’s something in the air. I think fate is saying we’ve been good elves. Hundred bucks says we’re all mated before the new year.” “I’ll take that bet,” Champ said firmly, but I could see the hope shining in his eyes. Yeah, I hoped I was right, too. “I’m going to get us some drinks,” Daran said as he scooted back out of the booth over us. I had seen him trying to flag down our waitress, but the club was hopping now, and she was way too busy. “Thank you, my love.” I gave him a quick kiss, and he was off. Leaning back against the booth I watched the dancer with appreciation but no real lust. I had everything I wanted. And unfortunately it went missing. I glanced at Champ about twenty minutes later and asked, “Did Daran come back yet?” “I haven’t seen him,” my friend answered, immediately ignoring the entertainment and scanning the club. In my defense, I had been worn out from hot sex, tons of drama, and basking in the fact that my mate loved me. I swear, otherwise I would have noticed my mate had gone missing. “Daran?” I called out as I checked the other booth and the surrounding area. Nothing. Fuck! I dove over everyone else to get out of our table and started calling out my mate’s name as I scoured the club. I didn’t even feel bad that I barged in on someone doing their business when I kicked in each stall in the bathroom. He’d live. “Alley,” I said loudly and raced back out to where Daran and I had shared something special. Again it was empty with no sign of him. “You think Mickey double-crossed us?” Horse asked as everyone joined me.

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“Not going to wait to find out,” I answered and teleported to where my mate was. It had now been over half an hour at least since I’d last seen him, and I was freaking out. And I didn’t do it right off the bat since we’d been in a crowded club, and I thought I simply didn’t see him instead of that he was missing. I appeared in a rundown food-processing plant. I was hidden out of the way, but my knees crumpled at the sight before me. Daran’s hands were bound and hung over a hook from the ceiling. This must have been a meatpacking plant or something because there were hooks everywhere. He didn’t look hurt besides the split lip, but he didn’t look comfortable either. “You smell so sweet,” a man cooed as his fangs popped out. Fangs? Vampire? Holy shit! He sank them into my mate, and I caught his red eyes. I mean, creepy motherfucking bloodred eyes. Daran cried out in pleasure and came in his slacks. What the fuck? Holy shit and every other cuss word I could even think of. I didn’t even know what to do.

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Chapter 7 I teleported back, sobbing in grief and confusion. “Vampires? He came!” To my surprise it was Shadow who took over and shook me out of my stupor. “Did you say vampires?” “One, I think, but they aren’t real,” I cried as I shook with fear. “Yes, they are, brother,” he replied with a coldness that had me trying to snap out of my crying. That wouldn’t help right then. “They have bigger fangs than we do but don’t use them with their mates only. They really drink blood, have fucked-up red eyes, and are vile, soulless beings.” “He bit Daran and—and he—he—” I couldn’t even finish. Was my mate just turned on by biting? I thought he climaxed because it was me biting him. “He came,” Shadow finished for me, speaking gently now. “That wasn’t his fault, Why. There is a chemical released when they bite someone that shoots enough hormones and happy juice throughout his body he couldn’t help it. It would be like him trying to stop his heart from beating.” I glanced at him as if I wasn’t buying what he was selling, but he’d never lied to me. “I swear it on my honor. I’ve seen it more times than I’d like to have.” “That’s what you hunt,” Horse said with a gasp. Yeah, I’d made that correlation as well. “What do we do now?” “Everyone ’port home to the gym,” Shadow replied loudly. We all did in a flash, everyone making sure to grab their mates. We all turned

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up in the lower level of the house where we’d set up a home gym. I never used it, but some of us did. I knew Shadow and Maze worked out like a hobby. Now I wasn’t so sure that’s what they’d been doing. “What about Daran?” I asked, having recovered from my earlier blubber fest. “I’m going to give you the world’s quickest rundown instead of even bothering trying to convince you to stay here.” Smart man. Shadow quickly punched in a code into a keypad I didn’t even know was there. A huge door opened in the floor that had been covered by mats. Wow! “Silver kills them. If silver touches their finger, it disintegrates and dies. You need to sever the head or stab them in the heart. Only way without getting too close and personal to kill them.” “Use throwing knives or stars to distract and hurt them before going in for the kill.” Maze picked up the instructions as he led us down the stairs and into the biggest weapons hold I’d ever seen. He started passing out swords…yes, motherfucking swords and knives. “Holy water doesn’t work though going on consecrated ground would burn them up. They are soulless, horrid beings, not cutesy, loveable, misunderstood creatures like in the movies.” “They are faster and stronger than we are,” Shadow warned as we all armed ourselves. He and Maze had custom-fit sheaths for their weapons, but we were all just stuffing shit in pockets or holding it. “The good news is they don’t have magic like we do. They can pass for human, you’d never know the difference. They smell like sick humans with a little bit of—” “Death,” Horse and I said together as we stared at each other. We knew where we’d smelled that. “Who?” Shadow asked firmly. “Daran’s old boss, Mr. Waugh. I knew he was soulless rat bastard. But he smelled a little sickly and like a funeral parlor. I assumed it might be cancer or something and dismissed it.” “So did I,” Horse agreed with a wince. “So he took Daran.”

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“I don’t know if it was him,” I said, trying to think of what I saw. “He was mostly hidden behind Daran, and I was just focused on the fangs and bloodred eyes.” “You need to teleport us back there right now. They don’t have much control like sharks when there’s blood in the water.” A soft cry slipped past my lips. “We’re ready,” Benjii said as he spun one of the knives in his hand. “Fuck that, you’re not going,” Surprise snarled and the little equipment room broke out into elves and mates yelling at each other. “Enough!” Shadow roared and everyone went silent. “We don’t have time for this. The mates come but they stay behind us in case we need the help. None of you should go without training.” “We can’t be killed,” Horse said, implying what’s the big fucking deal? “A vampire can drain our magic,” Shadow replied calmly and we could have heard a pin drop the room got so quiet. “They are pure evil. We are pure with magic given to us by the gods. They can’t drink from us, but if they cut us with their claws enough, we can bleed out and lose our magic.” “Which would kill us,” Flower whispered. “Yes.” Shadow gave us all a steady look. “Unless there’s a huge nest, Maze and I should be able to handle this. There’s no shame in hanging back or staying home. But you need to make the decision, and we need to go now.” “We don’t abandon our own,” Cave growled and grabbed my shoulder. “Take us there, brother.” “Thank you,” I said quietly as they all touched some part of me. I blinked back tears. This was so not the time for a group hug, but they had to touch me so I could teleport them. I did it and almost dropped to my knees when we were back in the meat plant. I’d never teleported so many people before, and it was a little taxing.

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“You good?” Horse asked quietly, and I nodded. We spread out so we had room to fight but not so much we’d be divided. “Aww fuck,” Mr. Waugh groaned from next to Justice as another vampire fed off my mate. “I knew you were paranormals, but I didn’t know you were elves.” “Release my mate,” I snarled as my fangs popped out. “Ha. Ha. Mine are bigger,” he jeered and hissed at me to prove his point. Time for me to prove mine. I sent an electrical zap at the asshole still drinking my mate. As I’d hoped, he instinctively cried out and pulled his fangs out of Daran. I hadn’t wanted to just fling him across the room because he could have torn out my mate’s throat in the process. “That may be, but we’ve got skills you haven’t,” Shadow said with a snarl as he threw a knife in the vamp’s heart that just released my mate. They guy had a split second to scream before turning to dust. Whoa! “Ahh. You must be the legendary Shadow my kind talks about like the boogeyman.” Waugh seemed thrilled like a kid who’d just been told he could eat the whole candy store. “I’m going to have fun killing you.” “You and what army?” my friend scoffed. “This one,” Waugh hissed. Suddenly there were vampires everywhere. I swear they must have crawled out of the walls like roaches. He looked as if he was going to move closer to Daran, and on instinct I did something stupid. I ’ported right in front of my mate and held up my sword. I didn’t know how to wield a sword. I was so out of my league. It couldn’t be helped because I couldn’t just stand there and let this vile thing touch my mate. “Don’t do it,” I said calmly but firmly. “He is mine.” “Why do you think we wanted him?” Waugh laughed like he knew some inside joke. I didn’t even glance at Shadow because that could give this douche an opening. “We can’t drink magical or supernatural blood, but their human mates are fair game. I realized

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you were mated when you came storming into our offices. Daran here is a rare catch now, and I plan on enjoying him until he runs out.” “Over my dead body,” I sneered and then lunged for him. I figured the foreplay was getting old. We were going to fight. Waugh was going to attack eventually. I could either catch him off guard and take my chances or risk he was faster than me. It ended up working. Well, he didn’t die, but I did get one of his arms with the silver blade. “Fucker!” Waugh screamed as his arm disintegrated and fell off. “You will die for that.” He had an evil grin on his face, and I was starting to doubt it had been smart to do. “Kill them!” Yeah, probably not. But it wasn’t like they were just going to let us leave or at least leave with my mate. And that was not an option. The second the words were out of his mouth, I lunged for Waugh again. I missed this time and left myself open for those nasty ass claws of his. Seriously, I thought they looked a lot like Wolverine’s from X-Men except they were out of his fingers and not his knuckles. In a flash Waugh was tackled to the ground by Shadow as everyone else advanced on us just as quickly. I did the only thing I could. I got my mate the fuck out of there. I touched him, ’ported him to our bed, and teleported right back. None of his wounds would be life threatening since we’d mated, and I wasn’t going to leave my friends alone to fight this battle. I ended up coming back into the building and had a vampire on the end of my sword. It seems where I’d appeared a vampire had been and my weapon pierced his heart when I showed up. “Thanks!” Horse said with a smile as we turned to take out other vamps. “Teleport home!” Shadow yelled as he beheaded another vampire. “You and Maze coming with us?” our leader asked with a raised brow at he sliced off one of the guy’s arms and then stabbed him in the chest. “No, we’ll clean this up.”

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And of course there came a chorus of “fuck that!” What had he expected? That we’d leave two of our brothers here to fight off at least a couple hundred vampires? It ended up turning into something like a Lord of the Rings movie. Champ started it as he danced around and chopped off another vamp’s head. “I got five!” “Three,” Box called out. Then several comparable numbers were shouted. “Fifteen,” Shely hollered. What? I knew I wasn’t the only one who glanced at him with shock before the fight drew us back in. “I’ve had training with a sword. I was a naval officer for years.” Right. Good point. “Twenty-eight,” Maze announced with pride. “Fifty-two,” Shadow said as he spun around and decapitated another one. “Fifty-three.” “Damn,” I replied, completely impressed. I heard several other comments of awe as well. “Fuck! I’m covered in dirt,” Button whined. “That ain’t dirt.” Benjii snickered and threw another knife. He and his mate, Surprise, had a good tag team going. Benjii was apt with the knives, and then while the guy was reeling from the injury, Surprise would chop off its head. That was when Benjii didn’t hit the heart right on. “Nope!” he called back. “From now until hell freezes over this is dirt. The other option is just too gross. Let me have my delusions.” “Whatever makes you happy, sweetheart,” Benjii drawled. I had just a few seconds to rest in between advancing vampires. We’d all spread out and were waiting basically for them to come to us. Then there was Shadow, and to a lesser extent, Maze, who jumped right in the middle of them all. But Shadow…Wow! He was poetry in motion. I know that sounds corny, but I couldn’t think of another way to describe it. He twirled and ducked as he wielded his sword as if it was a choreographed dance he’d perfected.

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If there wasn’t so much death, destruction, and fighting around us, I would have sworn I was at the ballet. I wasn’t attracted to my friend, but even I had to admit he was breathtaking. And then I was right back into fighting. I ducked with absolutely no grace and accidently cut off one vamp’s leg when I’d been aiming for his head. I don’t even know how that one worked out. But it still kind of worked since he toppled over, and I had easy access to his head then. Go me. I ended up being able to tell which ones were older, which had a few years, and which were brand-spanking-new. The newbies were the easiest. They hadn’t seemed to get their sea legs yet, or vampire abilities as it was. It took another twenty minutes of fighting until we were the only ones left standing. Literally, since Waugh was on the ground flopping around with no arms or legs. How had I missed that one? And umm, gross. “How did you get so many?” Shadow asked as he advanced on the newly made Mr. Potato Head. It was creepy, but I guessed that Shadow had planned this so he could interrogate Waugh without him being a hindrance. “Fuck you,” the man spat out. “You’ve got two options as I see it,” my friend replied as he lowered his sword to Waugh’s groin. “I could cut off your dick for what you did to my brother’s mate, or you could tell me what I want to know and I’ll kill you quick. Think about it. How painful would it be to leave you this way and without your manhood until you died of thirst?” “You wouldn’t,” Waugh stuttered. “You fucked with my family,” Shadow snarled. “The hell I wouldn’t!” “I didn’t know that guy was your family,” he whimpered as Shadow ran the blade over his clothes. It seemed the silver had to

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touch flesh and only the clothes on the limbs cut off turned to ash. Again, nasty. “Too bad, so sad. Now tell me what I want to know! Vampires don’t have huge nests like that.” “I wanted an army,” Waugh snarled. “I didn’t know the Shadow was in Chicago.” “You need to do your homework better next time.” Maze chuckled. “Why did you want an army?” “We knew there were werewolves here, and if we were going to take over the pack and steal their mates for food, I needed more soldiers.” I heard Cave gasp before he teleported him and Justice out of there. I’d bet he was going to get Peter, the head of the wolves. “They have a lot of human mates, and mates of paranormals are better. Their blood is stronger from the bond, and we don’t have to feed as often.” “Where did you get all the humans to turn?” That was news to me. So vampires were once humans. At least Hollywood got something right. “People would have noticed that many people going missing.” “I travel a lot for business, and no one misses a dozen or so homeless people or hookers.” “So people with no fighting skills,” Shadow said with a snort. “There was the first flaw in your plan.” “Wolves can be hurt by silver but not to the extent we are. They would have shifted and tried to take us down that way. It would have made them easy prey if we got enough of a force.” “He’s right,” Peter said. Guess Cave was back. “I didn’t even know vampires were real.” “They don’t normally come to cities and hide like the vermin they are,” Shadow informed the Alpha. “Was this all of them, or are there other nests in Chicago?” “I don’t know,” he replied. I was trying to read his mind, but it was like he was a blank chalkboard…like he was dead. Gross. “I

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didn’t count how many of us you killed. I don’t know of any other nests in the area.” “Anyone else have any other questions?” Shadow asked as he raised his sword. “Who else did you tell about my mate?” I took a few steps towards the defenseless vampire. “Will anyone else be coming after him, or did we kill all the threat?” “The vampire threat might be gone, but I bet Kyle Murphy will use your mate as his new plaything.” He gave an evil smile as if he’d won something. “We’ve already handled that with Murphy Senior,” I said with an evil grin of my own. His face fell, and I knew we’d won. “Kill this fucker, and let’s go home.” “Okey dokey,” Shadow replied before plunging his sword in Waugh’s chest. “At least we don’t have to worry about the police finding bodies and guts,” Bren said as he leaned heavily against Horse. “I just want a hot shower and to sleep for a week.” “We need to get everyone’s gashes tended to. There is venom on vampire claws that prevents healing and clotting. It weakens their prey like a toxin.” Maze was glancing around as if taking in who needed the most help. “Don’t be the one to teleport if you’re injured.” All of us nodded and I grabbed onto Champ, Button, and Box, who all had cuts. I had a few bruises from falling or crashing into people but no claw marks. I ’ported us back to my room and gasped at the amount of blood on the sheets of my bed from my mate. “Horse!” I screamed, hoping he was already back in the house. He’d showed us how to use our powers to heal, some of us stronger than others because of our age. But this wasn’t something I could fix alone. I leaped onto the bed and bit into my wrist. “Drink, baby,” I said gently as I pushed it to his mouth and cradled his head in my lap. Daran was barely conscious enough to make his throat work as he drank me down. Some of his color

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returned, no longer looking deathly and gray. But he was still bleeding too much. I tore off part of the sheets and held it to the three bites he had on his neck. “Shadow! Horse! Please, I need you. How do I heal my mate?” I spoke with all my power, hopefully pushing through any barriers they had to keep their telepathy closed off. It worked because they both popped into my room, Horse with his mate. “You can’t lick them,” Shadow said immediately. I nodded and he glanced at Horse. “You’re better at healing, but now you know I’m stronger. Can you siphon my power and help everyone?” “It’s the best plan I got,” Horse replied. “Do I treat this like a poison or straight gash?” “Poisoned bullet wound, not just a gash would be my suggestion.” Shadow didn’t look happy about what he was saying and gave me a sympathetic look. Yeah, it sounded bad. I kept letting Daran drink from me though he took a few small breaks. I couldn’t keep the tears at bay when he finally opened his eyes, and they were full of fear. Then he passed out and would no longer take my blood. “Fuck, we’ve got to hurry,” Horse said as he grabbed Shadow’s hand, and they each took Daran’s in theirs. They didn’t need to actually touch the bite marks, just my mate. I’d done some healing, so I knew the game. Horse was mapping out Daran’s body as if he were one big MRI machine and attacking the wounds from the inside out. It was wicked cool, and I might have appreciated it more if I wasn’t afraid my mate would bleed to death. Silly little things like that. “Give me his wallet,” Bren ordered Box, who was sitting on the floor by the bed resting and waiting for his turn to heal. I hadn’t realized Bren had been injured, too, because he didn’t look like he was moving anytime soon from the sofa I had in our room. He wasn’t the only one recouping. And it warmed my heart that everyone was in here showing their support.

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The room would have to be massively cleaned, so in a way it was good we kept it all to one location as well. “Why?” he asked, and I knew he wasn’t talking to me but simply asking a question. Yeah, with a name like mine, it was a fine art learning the difference. “Why is pale and probably gave too much. Daran’s license should say what blood type he is, and one of us might be able to donate.” “He can’t have any other elven blood than mine. And we don’t have a blood type even,” I said in defeat. “But we do,” Benjii said and reached into my mate’s back pocket before Box could. Maze raced back into the room from gods only knows where, carrying a doctor’s office of medical supplies. I knew why he didn’t just ’port wherever he needed to go. Magic was a funny thing. Sometimes we used it and it was exhausting, sometimes it was invigorating and like drinking tons of caffeine, and sometimes it was no big deal. That being said, it was all taxing after the large amount of energy we’d used. It was like running up the stairs. No big deal. But if I ran up the stairs a hundred times that day, number one hundred and one would have me moaning that I was tired. It was the best analogy I’d come up with over the years. I just really hoped we had enough energy and magic left to heal everyone.

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Chapter 8 “I match,” Shely announced before yanking off his shirt. “Anyone have enough medical training to do a transfusion?” “Yeah, I do,” Benjii answered and started getting supplies from where Maze dumped them. “We’re almost ready for you,” Horse whispered, his face pinched. Shadow looked fine, but obviously they needed help. I glanced at Cave, who must have thought the same thing I did, though it was Peter who said something. Wait? Peter was there? Fuck, I was distracted. “Can someone zap me to my pack’s healer? He’ll be able to help.” “On it,” Cave said and grabbed Peter’s hand. “Done,” Horse gasped and swayed on his feet. “Give him blood.” “Thank you, brother,” I said quietly as tears kept rolling down my cheeks. “You do so much for us.” “Nothing you wouldn’t do if the situation was flipped.” He kissed my head as Shely and Benjii were getting the transfusion set up. It was all a haze really. I kept pushing Daran’s hair off his sweaty forehead and rotating between words of love of begging him to open his eyes. I must have missed the whole thing because when I realized they were moving again, Benjii was pulling out the needle in my mate’s arm. Shely was doing the same in his, and I saw that the wolf healer was back and had tended to most of the minor injuries along with Horse. “How did you know how to do that?” Shely asked Benjii.

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“Growing up on a horse ranch, there are too many instances where you could be hurt in the middle of nowhere. It made sense to me that one of us should be a certified medic on the ranch just in case. They all thought it was stupid, so I took the training. I’m glad I did. This isn’t the first time it’s come in real handy.” “Smart and sexy,” Surprise purred as he hugged his mate. “I was so impressed and turned on with the way you used your hands and handled those knives.” “Let’s make sure everyone else is okay and then how about I handle you?” “Yes, please,” Surprise whimpered and then quickly pulled away. “But we’re so showering this dirt off first.” “Yes, my love.” Benjii snickered. Benjii ended up helping me give Daran a quick shower that I insisted on. There was nothing worse than waking up from being hurt or sick and having that nasty feeling. When we were done, my friends had already changed the sheets on our bed, and I felt worlds better. I think what had me so out of reality was seeing and having sat in my mate’s blood like that. It was just too scary. His wounds were now closed. The bed was remade. He was clean. I was clean. Now all I needed was for him to wake up. But he wouldn’t. “What now?” I asked Shadow. Most everyone had left once they were healed to go clean up alone or with their mates. Shadow was one of the few still in my room, helping the healer. “I’d say bite him to get that connection again, and maybe it would help snap him out of it. But I think that might make it worse now that he’s been traumatized by the vamps. Give his body some time to rest and heal, mentally and physically. It’s only been about an hour since we started helping him.” “You’re right, you’re right,” I said quietly. My friend lifted the covers for me and gestured to get in bed next to my mate.

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“He needs you, Why. Let him know you’re there, and I’m sure he’ll be up tomorrow morning with you.” “Okay,” I replied, not feeling as confident about it as my brother sounded. Shadow was the expert here. If he thought resting snuggled against my mate would give him succor, then I would do it. I crawled into bed and molded my body to Daran. As I listened to his heart beat in a smooth, steady rhythm, everyone started leaving once they were finished up to rest as well. Shadow’s got some ’splaining to do, I thought before drifting off. **** I woke the next morning and shuffled to the bathroom to take care of morning business. It was sometime during brushing my teeth that yesterday’s events came slamming back to me. I didn’t even bother finishing and raced to my mate. He was still out. “Daran, baby, wake up,” I said gently as I shook his arm. He was alive. I could hear his heart beating, his steady breathing, and everything seemed fine. So why wasn’t he waking up? “Please, Daran? I need you to wake up, okay? You can’t leave me like this.” I kept repeating it as I pulled his body into my lap. I must have gotten loud or shouted because people came flying in the room. I knew I was feeling hysterical, but I hadn’t realized I had reflected that in the volume of my voice. “Calm down, Why,” Horse said firmly, and I nodded as I snapped my lips together. “Screaming in his ear won’t help.” “I’m sorry, I didn’t know I’d gotten so loud,” I whispered as tears pooled in my eyes. “I know, brother.” He sat next to me on the bed and hugged me as I did the same to Daran. He reached down and touched my mate’s head tenderly. I could feel his magic vibrating and realized he was scanning my mate. I held my breath and waited for what seem like forever though I know it was less than five minutes. “He’s healed.”

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“So why isn’t he waking up?” “I don’t know,” Horse answered sympathetically. “It’s not a head wound like we had with Justice. I think it’s emotional. His mind and body might be cocooning itself until he realizes he’s safe again. Did he ever wake up after you brought him home?” “For a second he opened his eyes,” I replied and then the tears started falling. “He looked so scared, Horse. I mean it was intense, blinding fear that even froze me up, and then he was out again.” “I say give him today to rest more.” He held up his hand when I went to speak again. “He went through something traumatic, Why. Give him a break and don’t push. He’s healed, but his body probably took all night doing that. Let him have today to heal himself emotionally and mentally. If he’s not awake by tomorrow morning, we’ll try and go in through his mind and wake him up. It’s trickier than just listening to someone’s thoughts or putting thoughts in.” “Could it hurt him?” “Depends on what’s going on in there,” he answered as he tapped Daran’s temple. “But no, not normally. It should be as simple as joining him in a dream.” “Okay, but I don’t want him left alone in case he wakes up.” “We’ll sit with him while you get washed up,” Idiot said gently. I glanced around the room then and saw that pretty much the whole gang was here. How had I missed that? Oh yeah, my mate was in a coma or some shit. “Shadow and Box are running out to get a bunch of sweets and coffee cakes from Deerfield’s Bakery.” “The combo fruit one?” I asked with a smile, trying not to show how badly I was freaking out. “Of course.” He gave me a grin, but his eyes said that he knew exactly what I was feeling. “Go take a nice hot shower, and let it seep into your muscles. We’ll stay with Daran and talk with him so he can hear our voices and know he’s safe.” “Thank you,” I whispered as I wiped my tears and slid off the bed. Idiot hadn’t said talk at him. But talk with Daran as if he’d be up at

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any moment. It gave me hope that if they could all believe he’d be fine, then my mate would snap out of this. I was scared. The mind was a crazy thing. I turned on the shower and let it warm up as I got undressed, thinking about what was going on with my mate. Could it be as simple as just letting him decompress? I mean we’d all needed it when we’d gotten back from the fight. Maybe since Daran had passed out, he was simply doing it in that state instead of awake and relaxing. I like that theory, I thought as I got in the shower. For one, it wasn’t as mind-numbingly frightening as other options, like his brain short-circuiting from being taken, bitten by vampires, and losing that much blood. And I felt guilty. I had assumed his wounds weren’t life threatening when I’d teleported back to the plant to help my friends. I knew we were immortal and indestructible, but we could still break inside. I didn’t even know what could happen to a human mate. It was my own belief that being mated to me made him untouchable that helped put my mate in that condition. As I washed my hair, I knew who I had to call for help. It so wasn’t a call I wanted to make, but for Daran I would do anything. Even if that meant calling my centuries-old father who didn’t like me or my choices very much. I quickly finished up my shower now that I had a plan. After drying off, I wrapped a towel around my waist and went back into my room. “That wasn’t a very long—” I cut off Idiot with a raised hand and picked up my phone. I took a deep breath and dialed my parents’ house. “Why?” my mom asked after a few rings from the other side of my phone. I could hear the confusion and questions in her tone. I couldn’t blame her for it since I’d only called a few times since I’d left the North Pole a few centuries ago.

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“Hi, Mom,” I said and started tearing up again. “I need Dad’s help.” “After all this time, you call us when you need something?” She didn’t even hide the outrage in her tone. “You leave here with barely a word and—” “Mom, it’s my mate,” I said, cutting her off. She could lecture or yell at me all she wanted later, but right now I needed her to understand the severity of the problem. “He was attacked by vampires. Horse healed him, but he won’t wake up. Dad’s the only one I know who is powerful enough to help him, and that I trust. I don’t think we can handle this.” “Crab!” my mother called out. Yes, my father’s name was really Crab. It was a similar story to Horse’s. Elves have weird names. That’s what happens when you let five-year-olds name themselves. “Why is on the phone.” “What does he want?” I heard my dad grumble in the background. My mom quickly told him in a hushed voice and handed over the phone. “We’re coming now,” he said and hung up. I knew they would. Mates always come first in Elven Society. No matter the feud, issues, or bad blood between people, we would do whatever it took to help each other’s mates. I quickly moved to my dresser and pulled out some shorts. Normally I would have dressed myself magically, but I was still tired from yesterday and thought I might need my strength to help my mate. I’d just pulled them on when my parents appeared in my room. “Son,” my father said and extended his hand. It was a cold reception, but I didn’t care as long as he helped my mate. It was like looking in the mirror now that I’d reached maturity. He had my dark brown hair, though he didn’t wear it shaggy like I did, and the same chocolate eyes. “Father, thank you for coming.” I shook it and looked at my mother. “I appreciate it. You both look well.”

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“You look like shit,” she blurted out. That was my mother though. She always believed no one would tell me the truth like family. She always taught us to be truthful and honest. I simply thought she didn’t always have to be quite so blunt. Sugarcoating worked sometimes. “I feel like it.” I chuckled and gave her a quick hug. “It’s been a hard twenty-four hours.” “Is this your mate?” my dad asked as he nodded towards the bed. I was proud of the way he was keeping his feelings in check. Most elves were very accepting but weirded out when someone broke tradition, like being gay. But my dad? Oh no, he was a straight homophobe and didn’t hide how he felt about my choice to be gay. Yeah, because it was a fucking choice. “It is,” I answered as I sat down next to him. “Tell me everything.” And we did. I started, but when I got too worked up to find my voice, Horse took over the story with Shadow, who had returned with Box from their run for baked goods, throwing in what he knew about vampires and victims of their bites. “I’m surprised you called,” my dad mused as he sat on the other side of my mate. “This is probably something that would have worked itself out in the next day or so.” “Would you have taken that chance with Mom?” He glanced at me for a second, and for the first time in my life, I could see we were on the same page about something. My dad, for all of his faults, loved my mother with a fierceness to be reckoned with. “No. No, I wouldn’t have. Are you okay with me rummaging in his head?” “I trust you, Dad,” I answered quietly. “You may not agree with the life I live or who I am, but you’d never hurt me or my mate. I wouldn’t have called you if I doubted your honor.” “That’s more than I deserve,” he mumbled but then touched my mate’s head before I could ask. I didn’t want to interrupt him then, but I filed away the comment to ask about later. Then he started talking to

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himself in his systematic way of checks and balances. “Circulatory system fine.” A few minutes later. “All his organs are working properly.” I started to tune him out when my mom sat down next to me and wrapped her arms around me. She was obviously the human in their mating since elves couldn’t mate with any mystical or magical beings. “He’s very handsome,” she whispered in my ear. “You love him?” “With all my heart, Mom,” I answered with a nod and let her comfort me. “He’s the kindest, sweetest, most wonderful man. I couldn’t have asked for a better mate. I’m not worthy of him. He’s lost so much in his life, and all I want to do is take care of him and make it all better.” “What do you mean?” I quickly explained about Daran’s family and how he’d been left alone in the world by his early twenties. Yeah, he’d been an adult but way too young to have to worry about losing his loved ones. “Physically he’s fine,” my dad announced. I didn’t roll my eyes and Horse didn’t seem offended. We’d told him Horse had scanned Daran already. But then again, my dad had tricks up his sleeve that my friend didn’t. So it was probably better to double-check. “His brain has him stuck in a loop.” “But it’s not brain damage? It’s a defense mechanism?” Horse asked, and I was glad one of us was thinking clearly. “Yes, would you like me to show you how to see it?” my dad replied, and I didn’t know who was more shocked…me, Horse, or my mom. “Yes, sir.” Horse sounded almost giddy, and I didn’t take offense that he was wanting to root around in my mate’s brain. It was just how Horse was. He was very curious, liked to learn, and always wanted to expand upon his power knowledge. Which thank the gods he did because he’d saved our asses more than once.

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My father took his hand while still touching Daran. Both of their eyelids slightly fluttered as they explored his psyche and dreams. “Make sense?” “Yes, sir,” Horse answered as they let go. He shot me a sympathetic look. “I don’t mean to be crass, it’s—” “I get it, brother.” “He’s not your brother,” my mom said, but she was always wearing a huh? face. “We are in the human world with our names, but we are family,” I explained gently, not wanting to hurt their feelings, especially when they came to my aid. “We chose to be each other’s family when we found each other.” “I–I’m glad you found like-minded friends.” She smiled sadly, and I wasn’t sure what to make of it. Either she was really glad and she missed me. Or we were back to my parents wishing I didn’t choose to be gay. “We’ve missed you though, son. I hope when your mate gets better you might come by and have dinner.” Guess that answered my question. It was said with so much love I believed her. I glanced at my dad and did a double take. He had tears in his eyes. He never cried. “Dad?” “I was wrong,” he said with so much emotion in his voice it killed me. “I know your life is here now, and I accept the way you are. But your mother is right. We miss you and hope you might come visit now and again. Or we can visit you.” “I’d like that.” I moved around the bed as he did and met him at the foot. My dad hugged me until I felt like I could barely breathe. “We can talk about this more later. Let’s help your mate first, okay?” “You can help Daran?” I wanted to bawl with relief. I glanced over at Horse. “You wanted me to wait. I’m sorry I called in for help, but I knew—” “You did the right thing, Why.” Horse gave me a smile, and I knew he wasn’t upset with me. “I know you guys defer to me because

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I’m the oldest.” He shot a glance at Shadow, who nodded. He didn’t want to be the oldest and lead. I couldn’t blame Shadow. I didn’t either. “But that doesn’t mean I have all the answers. If I thought my parents would take my call, I would have done the same thing.” “We know your family. They miss you terribly,” my mom said gently. I saw a quick flash of anger before Horse schooled his features. “The phone works both ways, Hilda.” “It does.” She agreed with a nod and then looked at me still in my dad’s arms. “But the more time that goes by, the harder it is to make that step. Plus we’re parents. We’re supposed to always be right and it’s difficult to admit when we’re not and change our ways of thinking.” “First let’s help Daran. I don’t like where he’s trapped.” I think my dad saw the potential for this conversation to head south. “Tell me,” I said firmly as I stepped back over to my mate. “What’s going on?” “Simply put, when he was taken and hurt, his mind tried to shut down so he wasn’t fully aware of everything going on,” my father explained and then winced. “It didn’t really work. I’m glad you called because more time wouldn’t have healed him, it probably would have made things worse.” “Okay, so his brain shut down. How do we reboot him?” “It didn’t shut down all the way. He’s stuck in a loop of fear. I saw him taken, him fighting the vampires, being bitten and beaten. And then it will start all over again as if he’s trapped in his worst nightmare.” “Fuckin’ A,” Benjii cussed and then winced. “Sorry, Hilda.” “I’m used to it,” she replied, waving him off. “So how do we fix him?” “I’ll take Why in with me, and he can show Daran what happened next. We let you push your memories into his mind at the end of the loop before it starts over again.”

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“Will it work?” I let my dad see how much I needed to hear he could do this. “It should, but I’ve helped people with smaller stuff, son. I won’t lie to you on that. I know how to do it, sure. But he’s been through more than the people I’ve worked with. It might take more than one try.” “What happens if we can’t get it to work?” “Then he’s stuck reliving what he experienced for all eternity now that he’s immortal. He’ll literally be reliving his worst nightmare for the rest of time.” My dad and everyone else looked ill at the idea. I couldn’t blame them. But I seemed to have chosen another way to handle the stress of losing my mate to his nightmares. I blacked out.

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Chapter 9 “There he is,” my mom said as I came back to the world. “Your father needs to learn how to use some tact.” “Pot calling the kettle black,” I groaned as I sat up clutching my head. Everyone had swarmed me, and I shooed them away. “I just need a minute and some air. I’m fine.” “I’m sorry. I just didn’t want to keep anything from you and wanted to prepare you before we go in his mind and you see what he’s going through.” My dad looked like a little kid in a time-out. “No, I’m glad you did. I’ve simply had a lot of stress the past week or so, and hearing that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Or made me faint, in this case.” I stood up and wasn’t dizzy or anything. “I’m fine now, I swear. Let’s help my mate.” “Okay.” My dad agreed after a moment of eyeing me over. He took my hand in his and then touched Daran. “Try not to scream or startle him in any way. I know he’s your mate, and this is going to be hard, but I need you to be the strong man I raised and you are.” “I’ll do my best.” It wasn’t a glowing no problem or of course I can handle this because I wasn’t sure I could. But it was all I could offer right then, and I wasn’t going to lie. Suddenly we were standing at the bar at Mickey Murphy’s club. I saw one of the vamps grab Daran, who was on the other side right by one of the emergency exits. No one around noticed one guy pulling another guy’s arm in such a crowded place. Daran elbowed the vamp in the sternum, and the vamp hit him over the head with a closed fist in return.

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I could tell my poor mate was dizzy and having issues, but he wasn’t out yet. He was scared. Gods, he was frightened out of his mind because he knew the guy wasn’t human and would kill him. Shit! Not only did I have to watch this but I was getting Daran’s feelings as if they were my own. Next we were out in the side alley. Not where we’d had sex, but the one adjacent to the main street. Two more vampires were there waiting and started punching my mate. He finally stopped fighting back after a couple of ribs cracked, and he was in intense pain. Why will come save me, he thought and slumped to the ground. Asshole from inside the club lifted Daran up into his arms and into a waiting van. Douche bag, as I’d named the second guy, drove off and then we were in the van with him. The third guy I deemed Fucknut. It helped me keep it all straight in my head. “Can we taste him?” Fucknut whimpered pathetically. “I’m so hungry.” “No, Waugh said he gets first taste,” Asshole answered. “If we piss him off, then none of us will eat, and I heard mates of paranormals taste the best. We can wait.” “Fine,” the other man grumbled as if he was told he couldn’t have a cookie. The only comfort I felt during their discussing my mate like he was cattle was the fact that I knew they were all dead now. The ride was quick, and then we were following along as they dragged my barely conscious mate into the meatpacking plant. They restrained him and slung him over the hook. My mate felt shock and fear coursing through him when Waugh stepped into the room. “I always knew you were soulless,” Daran said and then spat at him. “You’re making a huge mistake. My mate will kill all of you.” “That little runt? Please,” he drawled out the last word. “What is he, a gnome?” “Fuck you.” My mate thought if he showed his cards the vamps would run with him and I’d never find him. Waugh took a taste and then let Asshole bite him as well. Then I popped into the room and no

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one noticed me but him. He’d seen me! And more importantly, he saw me freak out and leave. My mate fell into a deep despair and was resolved to die like that. He thought I’d felt betrayed or just turned tail and ran, not thinking he was worth the trouble of saving. His mind started to shut down and things went fuzzy. I knew the loop was about to start again. “Now, Why,” my father said in barely a whisper. “Think of what happened when you teleported back to your friends.” I did, and I felt Daran’s mind stir. He watched as I played out what went down over in my head. I thought about the order of events up until the time my dad helped me into his mind. Suddenly and very forcefully we were thrown out of his head. I blinked and tried to fight the nausea I felt. “Welcome back,” Horse said gently. I glanced at him, but he wasn’t focused on me. I turned to see Daran’s bright blue eyes staring at me. “You came back for me,” he whispered as tears pooled in his eyes. “I wasn’t leaving you, baby,” I cried out as I moved next to him and wrapped him in my arms. “I was going for more help. I didn’t know what they were and knew I couldn’t rescue you alone. I would never just abandon you. I know your reaction to the bite wasn’t your fault.” “I love you.” He held on to me as his body started shaking with sobs. “I love you, too, Daran. It’s okay now, you’re safe.” He nodded that he understood but still let all his emotions out from what he’d experienced. I kept whispering loving, encouraging words to him. “I’m here, baby. They’re all dead and can’t ever hurt you again. You’re safe and at home.” It took a little bit for him to settle back down. When he did, I mopped his tears and brushed my lips over his. Then he pulled me even closer and moved the covers over us. “So tired, Why.”

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“Everyone get out, please,” I said as my mate drifted off. “Thank you for your help and we can talk later. He needs me now.” “Of course, son,” my dad said with a smile. I could see the relief in both my parents’ features as Horse escorted them out of the room along with everyone else. I was glad that they weren’t just going right back to the North Pole. I wanted to spend some time with them and give them a proper thank-you. I held my mate as he took a nap, thanking the gods in the heavens for giving him back to me and even allowing me such a perfect mate in the first place. He only dozed about forty minutes or so before he came awake with a cry and shot up in the bed. “I’m here, Daran. We’re home now, and you’re safe. I love you so much.” “I’m okay,” he panted as he pushed away from me. “I just need a little breathing room. Give me a minute.” “Whatever you want, baby,” I said gently and backed off. Daran nodded and ran his fingers through his brown hair as he sat against the headboard. His breathing started slowing down along with his heart rate, and a few moments later, he was fine. “Hey,” he whispered with a hesitant smile. “Did I dream it, or did you say you weren’t mad at me for reacting to the vampires’ bites?” “You didn’t dream it.” I chuckled. “Someone called you son?” “I went to my parents for help when you wouldn’t wake up.” “Right, that,” he said with a shiver. “It was like being stuck in a horror maze I couldn’t get out of. I don’t ever want to go through that again. It was way worse than getting beaten up and fed off of.” “I’m sorry you thought I was leaving you. That’s what set you off.” “No,” Daran replied firmly and pulled me into his arms. “I was too hurt and exhausted to be thinking straight. Plus their bites fucked with my body. I knew in my heart you wouldn’t abandon me. It was during the nightmares that I felt lost and you wouldn’t come. But in

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the reality of it, I figured you were popping to another part of the room for a better position.” I wasn’t sure if he was telling the truth or saying what I’d want to hear. Since he knew I could read minds, I went with the first one and let it go. I chose to believe him even if he was lying to himself because I knew my mate would never lie to me. Deep in my heart I knew it without a doubt. “I trust you,” I said as I nuzzled his neck. “What does my mate need?” “Food.” He snickered. “I swear I’m starving. I appreciate you cleaning me up, but after food, I want another shower.” “Deal.” I helped him off the bed and used my magic to dress him in presentable pajamas so he didn’t have to waste effort in getting dressed. He thanked me as he held on to me. I teleported us into the kitchen and sat him on one of the stools. He wasn’t in pain or sore from an injury though I suspected that his previously broken ribs might be tender. It was more emotional wear and tear. Exhaustion. “How are you, mate to my son?” my dad asked as I hurried up and got some tea for my mate. “I’ll mend,” Daran answered with a soft smile. “Thank you for your help and what you said to Why. I know what it feels like to lose your family, and while he has made his own family here, nothing takes the place of one’s parents.” “Handsome, sweet, and smart.” Hilda chuckled. “I do approve of the mate fate has granted you. I think you complement each other nicely.” “I love your son very much and would do anything for him. I hope that to be enough, but either way, I’m never letting him go.” I could hear the underlying threat of if you don’t approve, too fucking bad. It made me smile that he’d go up against my parents to keep me. I brought him his tea and made some plain eggs with toast appear as I placed a chaste kiss on his temple.

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“Nothing or nobody is ever going to take you from me,” I whispered as I rubbed his back tenderly. “We claimed each other. You’re stuck with me.” “Wouldn’t want it to be any other way.” He chuckled. I let him eat as I turned to my parents. “Is there anything I can get you? Are you hungry? I haven’t been a proper host.” “Your friends—I mean brothers—have been gracious on your behalf. The circumstances warranted for you to be otherwise engaged.” My father gave me a slight nod implying that all was well between us. “You won’t offend us by referring to us as his friends,” Horse said with a wide grin. “We’re both. We’ve bound ourselves legally to each other to make our family, but we were friends first and always. Besides, we’re really easygoing and nothing really ruffles our feathers.” “I’ve noticed.” My mom snickered and pointed to the fridge. “And what is that doing in a home kitchen instead of a restaurant?” “We don’t cook very much,” I admitted, and she raised a brow. “Or ever really.” “Then you must all be homesick for the traditional meals we have in the North Pole.” Instantly everyone was on their feet except the mates. “I’ll go shopping, Hilda,” Button offered. “Anything you need, of course.” “We’ll help,” Maze said as he gestured to Shadow, Champ, and Box. “We could be quick as a flash.” “It is lucky that it’s so close to Thanksgiving. Otherwise we might not be able to find birds large enough to feed this many grown men,” she mused and gave me a wink. I knew full well she’d cook for the small army we had, but she would tease them first. “I could teleport anywhere you like and bring back a fresh bird,” Horse said, and I could see he was practically salivating.

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“You don’t hunt or like to get your hands dirty.” Bren chuckled and looked at all of us in shock. “What’s with you guys?” “You’ve never had a real elven dinner made by someone who’s spent years cooking in the North Pole,” Horse answered and elbowed his mate. “Be nice and offer her whatever she wants. I’m dying for a home-cooked meal.” “What could I offer?” Bren’s facial expression was priceless. He was looking at Horse as if his mate had grown a second or third head. “It’s not like they’d have parking tickets I could get them out of. That might be my only use when she’s already mated to an elf.” “I could use a potato peeler.” The grin on my mom’s face was quite impish. “I am at your disposal, my lady,” Bren said with a bow. “Instruct me, and I will obey your every command.” “Oh, he’s a charmer.” She laughed. “Can I ask y’all a question?” Benjii still looked confused. His mate nodded, and he had our attention. “I don’t mean to be rude, but you guys can create anything out of thin air. Why not just plop it on the table and save yourselves the effort?” “I will forgive you such a blasphemous comment since I would have asked the same thing when I mated Crab.” My mom stood on her toes and kissed Benjii’s cheek. “The real thing is always better than what they can imagine and create. Plus half the fun is the bonding of cooking and the smells in the house.” “I will agree with you on that, ma’am.” He nodded and looked a little sad, too. “My momma used to make the best pies in four counties, and I never got tired of the house smelling like them.” “I’m sorry for your loss.” My mom had always been very in tune with people’s emotions and what was going on around her. “Thank you. It was a long time ago, but holidays are always rough.” “Well, you are mated to Surprise,” she said thoughtfully. I guess everyone had introduced themselves while I’d been busy with Daran.

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I was grateful because, with this many people, that could take a while. “And Surprise is my son’s brother, so that would make me your mother-in-law. But I’m the nice kind.” She turned to my mate then. “Are you up for a field trip to the store? I wouldn’t want to miss out on making your favorites.” “I’d love that, thank you.” I could feel that my mate was overly emotional after what he’d been through. This was also the first family meal he’d ever been to since he’d lost his own. Everyone was rushing around to quickly get ready to go. I let Daran have a moment as he made an egg sandwich for his breakfast as I went to my mom. “Thank you for this,” I whispered as I hugged her. “He needs this so much after losing his family and what he’s been through.” “He does, but he’s not the only one,” she said gently. Go Mom! She was no dummy and knew me better than I knew myself sometimes. And I knew she didn’t just mean me. It must be in mother DNA to know when people need them and the willingness to take care of complete strangers simply because someone they love cares for that person. Extraordinary. We piled into four SUVs after making the decision that if we all crammed into three that there might not be enough room for the groceries. Plus, it wasn’t far, so it wasn’t like we were wasting gas. And we might have been overestimating on how much room we needed, but when we actually went for groceries, as rare as that was, it was a huge field trip. We didn’t just have the industrial-size fridge. Oh no. There was also another one in the garage, both with massive freezers as well. We liked to stock up. Ten minutes later we were walking into Dominick’s, and each of us grabbed a cart. “How much food are you guys buying?” Bren asked with wide eyes. “How long have we been mated?” Horse shot back. “Over a month. Five weeks almost?”

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“Have you seen any of us go shopping in that time?” “No,” he answered and turned back to Justice and Shely. “Maybe we should grab a few more. I miss having snacks around that I can grab on my own without whining about needing food.” “Amen, brother!” they said together. The two of them ran back to get more carts. Just then “Jingle Bells” came on over the store’s speakers. “Are you kidding me? It’s not even Thanksgiving, and they’re starting this shit already. I swear it’s like people think the earlier they start, the more holiday shopping we’ll do instead of annoying the shit out of us so we hate leaving our houses.” “Note to self,” Daran said slowly and calmly as I worked myself into a good tizzy. “Don’t play music around Why.” “It’s not all music,” I sighed and leaned against him. “I love to dance and listen to music. It’s just Christmas music. To me a good song encompasses numerous emotions. But Christmas songs are, we’re so happy all the time only happy give me more happy. And it makes me want to barf with all the incessant rhyming and cheer.” “Okay, we can be grumpy and yell at the radio when they come on.” Daran said it with such a serious tone that I couldn’t help laughing. Yeah, because we’d just stop what we were doing and pout when extra-perky music came on. Goofball. And I loved him for it. We started in produce and filled the first cart almost instantly. I let Daran push ours since he was still pretty tired and it gave him something to lean on. He was quiet, taking it all in and seeming lost in his own thoughts. While I understood the need to decompress from stressful situations, I started to worry that there was something I was doing wrong. Maybe there was something I needed to do differently. Did he want to talk or not be around others? I wasn’t sure what to do and I started to panic. And then I realized…this was Daran, the love of my life. All I needed to do was be real and stop starting drama neither of us needed.

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“Are you okay?” I asked as we turned into another aisle ahead of everyone else. “Is there something you need?” “No, I’m okay,” he answered as he pulled me into his arms. “I’m just trying to adjust, if that makes sense. I was trapped in that nightmare for less than a day, but it felt like forever. I keep having this feeling like when you just wake up and you’re not sure if you really are yet? It’s like that might have been real and this was the dream. I can’t seem to ground myself.” “I’m your grounding,” I said firmly as I took his face in my hands. I wasn’t sure it made much sense in the words, but I knew he understood the meaning. “I am real. We are real. What’s between us is as real as it gets, and it’s forever.” “I know that. I swear I do, and I’m hanging on to it. It just might take me a bit to feel like me again.” I nodded my understanding and gave him a quick kiss. “You take all the time you need, baby. Anything you need, you just tell me, and I’ll do my best to help you.” “I never doubted that for a second. Thank you for being so understanding.” “I’m proud of you, Daran. You’re stronger than any human I’ve ever known. I know I wouldn’t be handling this half as well as you have. I know it’s rough right now, but it will get better, and we’re going to have a long, long, happy life together.” “Alright you two, we’re in public,” Justice teased as he and Cave strolled by. I met Daran’s gaze, and we started laughing like school kids with no worries. It was great, and I swear I could feel my mate start to slowly heal. I’d have to remember to thank Justice and give him a big sloppy kiss. Okay, then again, maybe not. We quickly picked up my mate’s favorite snacks for later and more of what we’d need for the meal my mom was making tonight. Horse and Bren were joking around as they made the fresh turkeys dance. Then there were Shely and Idiot who were juggling potatoes.

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Maze and Shadow were bringing bottle after bottle of wine to see which my mom wanted to complement the meal. The short version was we were having fun. Honest to goodness, calm fun with no drama, no paranormals, and no heartache of any kind. By the time we were heading to the checkout, Daran was teasing me like a little boy, trying to sneak candy into our cart. I’d joke that he had to put it back, and then he pouted until I relented. It was stupid and childish and the hardest I’d laughed in a long fucking time. I swear I thought I was going to pee myself. It took way too long to pay for it all and load it all up, but an hour and a half later, we were back at home. Granted we bought half the store, but there were almost twenty people tracking down what we needed and most of what we bought was just a large quantity of basic things. When we got back home, Daran and I excused ourselves to go take that shower. Once we were alone in our room, we were all over each other. It started with soft touches as we took off each other’s clothes. Then it was light kisses that morphed into something more passionate. It was right after I turned on the shower that I realized something by the aggressive way he was acting…He needed control. Daran needed to regain some of the control he’d lost even if it was as simple as the sex we were about to have. I submitted as soon as I understood what he needed. I was more than willing to comply. Hell, I might be an Alpha, but every Alpha needs a time where they let go and simply feel. Today was my day. “I need,” Daran moaned against my neck. As soon as the water was warm enough, I stretched myself magically and jumped into his arms. He got the idea and let out a sigh of relief. I wrapped my limbs around him, and he pushed his hard cock right into my needy hole. “I love you,” I whispered as I nibbled on his ear. “Love you more,” he replied and thrust up again. “Thank you.” “The pleasure is all mine,” I moaned. “I need you, too. We belong together.”

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“Yes we do.” There were no more words after that. He made love to me. Oh sure, it was hard and kinky with my back against the tiles as he took what he needed from my body. But the emotions were there choking back any words we could have said. Though there are just some times in life where words don’t do justice. And right then was one of those moments. “Daran!” I cried out as I came, filling the space between us with my seed. He followed me right over, and I relished in the feeling of him shooting deep inside of me. Daran shook from the force of his peak and probably the emotions we were both feeling. “I’m grounded,” he whispered, and while cryptic, I knew exactly what he meant. Our coupling showed him what was really real and what had been the dream. I smiled widely, feeling relief that I’d helped my mate. “I’m glad.” He slid out of me and lowered me onto shaky legs. We quickly cleaned up, toweled off, and then got dressed. My mate was smiling like a loon, and I felt just as happy. We could make it through anything, and all I needed was to ask him one little question. “Will you move in with me?”

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Chapter 10 “What?” he asked as his eyes went wide. “Will you move in with me and share my home, my bed, and my life forever?” I was getting a little nervous that my question came as such a surprise to him. “I–I th–thought I already d–did,” Daran stuttered as he backed away from me. “We mated.” “You were agreeing to moving in when we claimed each other?” Now it was my turn to be shocked. “I thought you needed more time.” “Why.” He chuckled as he hugged me, kissing each cheek with a flourish. “I promised to love you, give myself to you, and be with you forever. You don’t think that didn’t include living with you?” “I don’t know how humans do things,” I admitted sheepishly as my face heated up. “You always see it on the movies that someone asks the question about moving in.” “Oh, you are just the sweetest thing ever.” I knew my mate was teasing me, so I didn’t feel embarrassed, and it did work. “Wonderful, loving Why, I would gladly move in with you and have hot, sweaty sex every day of the week and twice on Sundays.” “Just once a day?” I gasped and rubbed against him suggestively. “I think your mate needs more than that.” “Five times a day?” “More than that until we’re at least out of the honeymoon phase.” “I’ll just always walk around naked after your parents leave so you can ravage me at will.” He laughed and hugged me to him. “Sounds good.”

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“Until then, how about you go spend some time with your parents while I have Horse explain your accounts to me. I need to start working on that so your lawyer can retire.” “You don’t want to cook with us?” I asked in shock and a little hurt as we left our room and headed to the kitchen. “Why, you’ve not seen your parents in a long, long time,” he answered gently and squeezed my hand. “Go spend some time with them, and I’ll keep myself occupied for a bit.” “I’m still worried about you,” I admitted, hoping it wouldn’t be some big hit to his manliness that I was implying he was still fragile. “Don’t be.” He kissed my temple as we got to the bottom of the stairs and could hear everyone else. “Getting back into my routine and working will be good for me. I won’t be leaving the house, so I know I’m safe.” “If you need me, you just have to holler. We have really good hearing, and I’ll come to you in an instant.” “Deal.” We walked into the kitchen, hand in hand, and joined everyone else. Daran went over to Horse to ask for what he needed while I jumped in and helped my mom. I couldn’t help but laugh at Bren and Benjii grumbling as they peeled pound after pound of potatoes and carrots. Hey, they offered. I watched my mate leave with my friend, and while I appreciated his kindness in knowing I needed time with my parents, I couldn’t help but worry about him. “He’s going to be just fine, son,” my dad said as he wrapped an arm around me. “Fate gave you a good man.” “I hate to shoot a gift horse in the mouth, but why are you suddenly okay with my being gay?” “I don’t think I was ever not okay really. I just didn’t understand it and thought you were making a choice. And your mother was upset because you know how much she wants tons and tons of grandkids. It took us both a while to realize it didn’t matter who you were attracted

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to because fate would bring you the mate you needed. Wasn’t for us to say one way or the other or judge.” “Thank you,” I said with a sigh. I hated fighting and was glad they’d finally come around. I figured better late than never, and since elves lived forever, they tended to do things very slowly, like changing their minds. “Will you forgive us?” He seemed hesitant as if my dad really thought I’d just throw them out of my home after all the help they gave me. “Nothing to forgive,” I answered firmly. I gave my dad a peck on the cheek and smiled at him. “You’re here, and we’re family. That’s all that matters, Dad.” “Good, then let’s help your mother before she beats your friends with a pan.” He sniffled a few times, and I could see that he was battling his emotions. I just wanted all of us to be happy. Bygones to the past. Everyone makes mistakes and dwelling on them takes so much more effort than simply forgiving and moving on. “I heard that,” my mom yelled from across the kitchen. “Get your butts to work.” “Yes, ma’am,” we both replied and started to laugh. I helped my mom, Box, and Shadow prepare the birds. The stuffing was done and inside the turkey along with the vegetables. Mom had been making her secret glaze, and once we got it on all five turkeys, they went into the huge oven we had. Don’t ask me why we had two huge double-door ovens when none of us cooked. It just fit when we redid the kitchen since the house was actually a mansion. The kitchen had originally been meant for a staff to feed a boatload of people. Either way, today I was glad for them. When the birds were cooking, I went to help Bren and Benjii along with Shadow and Champ. We were chopping everything up and throwing chunks of potatoes into pots. They’d need to cook to become mashed potatoes after all.

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“Can I have a different job?” Cave whined and Justice nodded in agreement. They two of them were covered in flour and were so not faring well with making dough for the pie crusts. My mom shooed them away and gave them cleanup duty since everyone was making a mess. It was so much fun. Idiot and Shely seemed to be the only ones who knew what they were doing as they got the cranberries ready for the sauce. I knew I wasn’t the only one waiting for Flower and Chiquita to chop off a finger as they cut fruits for the pies and got the guts out of the pumpkin. “Done!” Benjii announced and jumped to his feet with his hands in the air as if he’d just scored a touchdown. “Good, now you can mix up some more stuffing,” my mom informed him and brought over what he’d need. “Yes, ma’am,” he replied and slumped back down in his chair. I glanced at the clock and saw it was early afternoon. It might be a late dinner since the birds needed a long time to cook, but it would be worth it. At some point and time Cave and Justice had put out large snack trays someone must have picked up at the store. It made sense since we wanted a light lunch before a massive dinner. Finally at about five in the afternoon everything was done, cooking, or being kept warm. “Two hours until the food is ready,” my mom announced as I heard Daran yell for help. In a flash we raced into the study where he was working since it was close enough to just get there on foot instead of all of us teleporting and adding to the confusion. “You are mine!” Kyle yelled at my mate just as I hit the door. Daran was backing up into a corner with a pair of scissors pointed at the man. Now, Daran was bigger, more fit, but my guess was he had never been in a fight. And after his trauma with the vamps, I didn’t blame him for not wanting to try one now. “I will kill your little twink if that’s what it takes.”

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“You’re in the twink’s home,” I snarled as I adjusted my size to almost seven feet. Kyle spun around and his eyes went wide as he saw me. “I am so fucking tired of your shit. Your dad’s looking for you.” “Fuck my father,” he sneered. “Gross, but whatever floats your boat.” I stormed over to him, wanting to laugh at the confusion on his face. Guess he didn’t get my joke, surprise, surprise. Before he could even reply, I decked him in the face, and the second I hit him, teleported his ass to Mickey’s office. “How did he get in here?” Daran asked as he shook. I pulled him into my arms and whispered soft words of love to him. “I don’t know, but we’ve all been kind of distracted.” Box winced as he realized what had probably happened. “I bet we didn’t reset the alarms when we got home. I mean no one’s ever stupid enough to try and break in here, and we have wards all over the property to keep people out.” “Keep magical beings out that we don’t welcome,” Flower clarified. “I have to say that was kinda anticlimactic. I thought you were going to tear out his heart or some shit.” “We’ve had enough fighting and promised Mickey that he could handle Kyle. This isn’t one of those romance novels you read with the huge blowout endings, Flower. Most times the simplest solution is the best and how real life works. We won, that’s all that matters. Now Mickey can get rid of Kyle, and we don’t have to worry about him ever again.” I added that last part more for Daran and he calmed back down. “I’m glad because I sooo didn’t want to go with him.” He chuckled, giving it his best effort. I snarled at the idea of that creepy, disgusting man touching my mate. “You are mine,” I growled and straddled his lap. Then I glanced over my shoulder. “We’ll be back for dinner.” Without another word, I ’ported us up to our room in our bed. I ripped off my mate’s clothes. His body jerked with my hasty motions,

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but I could tell it also turned him on as his thick cock slapped against his stomach, already leaking. Nice. I knew how much it got him hot when I went all caveman on him, and I was more than willing to play the part. “Who do you belong to?” I asked as I slapped his now-naked ass after pushing his knees to his chest. “You, Why,” he gasped and moved his hands to his legs to hold them there for me. “I belong to you.” I decided I wanted more spanking until he was begging for my cock. I rolled him over onto his knees and his shoulders buried in the pillows. Daran turned his head to the side so he could still answer my demands. “This is my ass,” I snarled and smacked it several times with both hands. “Say it!” “My ass is yours,” he cried out in pleasure as he pushed it in the air more. “Claim it.” I knew he meant sex, but I had another idea with how tempting it looked. I bit him, moaning as my fangs pierced his soft skin. Daran screamed almost loud enough to rattle the windows and came as I drank down his blood. I retracted my fangs and licked the bite to make it stop bleeding but only once so the marks would stay. “I like my bite there,” I cooed as I rubbed my fingers over his twitching hole. “Anyone who sees you naked will know you’re claimed.” “I fucking loved it,” he groaned as his chest heaved. “It was so kinky and erotic. You can bite me anywhere, anytime you want, Why.” “Such a good mate,” I cooed before magically stretching and slicking him up. After watching such a breathtaking sight, I was harder than fucking steel. I pushed into him slowly, drawing out the connection. “Being with you is heaven on earth every day.” “I feel the same way,” Daran whispered and then groaned when I bottomed out inside of him. “Fuck me, my strong mate.”

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“You want me to dominate you?” I pulled out slowly and then thrust right back in. “Yes!” And I did as he asked. I fucked him with everything I had. Then I pulled him up onto his knees so his back was against my chest, changing the angle. His dick perked right back up, and I felt a thrill go through me that I could please him that much. “Touch yourself,” I ordered and immediately his hand went to his cock. He stroked it furiously in time with my hips. We were lost in passion and the sounds of our sweaty bodies colliding. It was fanfucking-tastic, pun intended. “I’m coming. I’m coming!” he shouted. I reached around his body and grabbed his sac. It set him off, and he came again. I followed him right over and filled up his ass. But I knew once wasn’t enough. It would never be enough. I loved my mate and was addicted to him. I pumped my seed into him until we were both spent, and then we fell to the bed on our sides. “It gets better every time,” I moaned as my dick moved inside of him, not even having gone soft. We were in agreement that we wanted more. “Show me again.” He chuckled, knowing what I needed. “Best mate ever.” I made slow, passionate love to him in that position, wrapped around my mate like he was the most precious thing in the world to me. And he was. Even if I had to spend eternity proving it to him, I would and adore every second of it. When we were done, we cleaned up and went back downstairs. I ignored the knowing looks we got. I was sure they’d heard us since we’d been so loud. Daran seemed oblivious to them he was so happy. I’d been so scared after almost losing him that I’d never see that bright smile again that lit up his beautiful eyes. But he smiled as we ate, talking with everyone and getting to know my friends and family. I could tell they liked him as much as he did them. And that just made my mating that much sweeter. Hell,

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even stupid Christmas carols couldn’t have brought me down right then. Not that I was volunteering to put them on.

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Epilogue: Surprise That night after our feast, I was ready to be rolled up to my room I was so full, but instead I was waiting for Benjii. He made me go in the bathroom and wait while he did something in our room. I wanted to ask my mate if I’d ever struck him as a patient person, but that seemed rude since I knew he was trying to do something special for us. That didn’t mean I didn’t pace the entire time. “You can come out now,” he called out, and instantly I was opening the door. I gasped at what I saw. “Still think that stockings are ugly, cheesy decorations?” “No, no I don’t,” I purred as I moved towards him. My hot cowboy was wearing a thong that had a stocking on the end of it covering up his bits. It was kinky, dirty underwear that was sold around Christmas at lingerie stores, and I was impressed he got it so early. It was red with white stripes that complemented his tan. And even better, he had fucking red thigh-high stockings on his legs with garters holding them up. I ran my finger down the garters and in the elastic of those hose. “You like? I didn’t want you to think I was secretly saying I’m a transvestite.” “I know you’re not,” I whispered against his chest and licked his nipple. “Even if you were, that wouldn’t bother me any. I promise I will never look at another stocking and think it’s a stupid decoration and get pissed that people think elves wear them.” “That’s what I wanted,” he panted as I bit down slightly as my hands ran up his thighs. “My loving mate should never be full of hate.

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You’re too good a person, Surprise. You’re always happy and excited, and that’s how I want you to be.” “Did you shave your legs?” I asked, interrupting his beautiful speech like a moron. His legs were hairless though, and I couldn’t believe it. “Yeah, um, it looked stupid to put the hose on and have my leg hair under it or poking through. So that’s what took me so long.” “Why didn’t you have me wait in here and you could have shaved in the bathroom?” “That would have made more sense except I didn’t realize it until I was getting dressed,” he answered sheepishly as his face and neck heated up. “I had to go steal someone else’s razor. You don’t like me all silky smooth?” “I love it actually,” I moaned as I kept touching his legs. “We might need to do this again.” “Your turn next time though because shaving is a bitch.” He chuckled. “Though I think I’d like to see what your body feels like all smooth and slicked up with lotion.” “Anything you want, cowboy,” I purred and grabbed the stocking on the thong. “Any damn thing you want.” I saw the lust flare in his eyes at my declaration. “Bend me over the couch and fuck me hard and fast. We’ve not done it on that sofa yet.” I growled my approval and moved us over there before he could blink. I bent him over the back of it and moaned at the wanton sight he made. “So fucking gorgeous.” I ran my hands over his ass lovingly. “This is the best gift I’ve ever gotten, Benjii.” “Glad you like, now shove that fat meat in my ass.” “Pushy bottom.” I chuckled and pushed aside the string of the thong as I undid my jeans. There was no way I was going to rip it off of him when it was so pretty and sexy. Plus, then the garters might fall off, and I was finding I really, really liked them on his toned hips.

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As soon as my cock was free, I stretched him magically. I thrust up and into him, adjusting my height taller so it was a comfortable position. I was a little short, given the height of the couch and my mate. “Yes,” Benjii hissed as I bottomed out inside of him in one shot. “Fuck your mate like you mean it.” “I always mean it.” I chuckled and started a punishing rhythm. He was so fucking sexy I couldn’t help myself but to pound into his sweet ass over and over again until I felt as if my brain was going to melt out my ears we were so hot and bothered. “Come now!” I ordered before sinking my fangs into his neck. Benjii screamed out my name as he shot the proof of his climax all over the back of the couch. His ass massaged my cock as it spasmed, and I moaned in pleasure as I kept moving. Two more thrusts and I emptied myself deep inside of my mate. I pulled my fangs out of him and went to lick the bite closed. “Leave it,” he gasped, needing air after that performance. “I like wearing your marks.” “Really?” I asked and just licked it once to stop the bleeding but keep the marks there. “Yes, my hot little sex-piston elf.” I pulled out of him, and we both collapsed over the back of the couch and onto the seats. Somehow I ended up sprawled all over his large body, and I couldn’t have planned it better if I tried. “I love you, Surprise. I’m proud to be your mate and would wear a sign if people wouldn’t think I was crazy.” “I love you, too, baby,” I said as I nuzzled his neck. “And I loved my surprise. I will return the favor.” “I thought the sex was my gift back?” I could hear the joy in his tone and knew he was teasing. “Oh no, we have an eternity of time for me to repay how much this meant to me. It might take that long to show you, too.” He kissed the top of my head, and I knew he understood. Benjii would always

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be the one I turned to and needed for everything, as I would be for him. That’s the way a mating should be…plus the mind-blowing sex kept things interesting.

THE END WWW.JOYEEFLYNN.COM

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Joyee Flynn grew up in Chicago living in the same house all her life until she left for college. Though she has a great life, she loves to get lost in fantasy that only books could bring. Her wide interest in reading was reflected in her writings. Currently Joyee lives with her dog, Marius, named after a vampire from Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire series. She dreams of one day living out in Montana, enough land to have a few horses, and find a couple of cowboys of her own. A lover of men, Joyee’s all about them in any form in her books. Vampire, werewolf, military, doesn’t matter at all as long as they are hot, hard, and sex fiends!

Also by Joyee Flynn Siren Classic ManLove: Who Needs Christmas? 1: Screw Santa Siren Classic ManLove: Who Needs Christmas? 2: Hell’s Bells Siren Classic ManLove: Who Needs Christmas? 3: Stupid Mistletoe Siren Classic ManLove: Who Needs Christmas? 4: Holy Stockings

For all other titles, please visit www.bookstrand.com/joyee-flynn

Siren Publishing, Inc. www.SirenPublishing.com