“I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember. Ever since you smirked at me and threw me down on the ground as we fought just to see who was more dominant.”
“I won that one,” Liam said with a laugh.
“And I won the next. Because we’ve always been even. We’ve always been exactly who we needed to be for each other. And I should have told you long before this. I love you, Liam. And I shouldn’t have hidden from you. I know you’re my soul mate, and I will always regret wasting so much time worrying. Not saying anything.”
“If you can regret that, then I can do the same. I want to put this behind us.”
Alec nodded. “It’s just you and me. Right now. ‘Cause I don’t want to wait any longer. I don’t think I can.”
“You’re usually a man of few words.”
“And you’re usually the one taking action.” And then Alec’s lips were on his, and they both groaned. It was decades’ worth of angst and temptation. There was no soft kissing, no tentative exploration. That would come later. They both knew that.
They ripped at each other’s clothes, the rending of fabric splitting the air as Liam’s shirt hit the floor. He didn’t care, didn’t want to think about what they were going to do in the morning. They would find Charlie, they would deal with the rogue, they would deal with Kit. They would deal with their Pack. All of that would come.
For right now, it was just the two of them.
Alec tasted like coffee and man. Like his best friend. And Liam wanted him inside him.
Alec groaned, and they both growled, their claws out as their wolves pushed at them. Their other halves wanted this, wanted the mating bond that had been so long denied.
“I’ve wanted this for so long,” Liam whispered against Alec’s mouth, and then he tilted his head as Alec bit down on his shoulder. It was a hard, fast bite, a claiming.
“No time for finesse,” Alec growled out. And then Liam kissed Alec hard on the mouth and bit down on Alec’s lip, just a gentle nibble. He loved seeing the surprise in the other man’s face, and then he moved to Alec’s shoulder and bit down hard, another claiming bite. They were each other’s soul mates, and they were so close to being fully mated. He needed release, needed something. And then Alec’s hands were on Liam’s jeans. The snap was undone, the sound of a zipper, and then the denim was shoved down to his ankles. Liam tore off his shoes and socks and then shucked his jeans the rest of the way.
Alec was still wearing his pants, and Liam was standing there naked. Then Alec’s hand was on Liam’s cock, and they both groaned.
“You know, I’ve seen you naked before countless times.”
“Because we shift in the nude,” Liam said, rocking his hips into Alec’s fist.
“Yes, then, too. And I’ve done my best not to stare.”
Intrigued, Liam let out a slow breath. “I haven’t been very good about not staring.”
Alec raised a brow and squeezed, forcing Liam’s eyes to cross. “I’ve noticed.”
Alec reached down between them and undid his pants. He shifted to remove them completely. And then they were both naked, and Alec was groaning into Liam’s mouth. Liam reached down and gripped Alec’s thicker cock, and they rubbed against each other. He loved it. Hell, he’d been waiting his entire life for this.
“You think the dragon has lube in here?” Liam asked, and Alec laughed.
“I think he’s married to a very large bear, and they have a beautiful wife that they have constant sex with. She’s a succubus, after all. I’m pretty sure they have secret lube stashes in every inch of that house. And the guest house.”
“I sure as hell hope so.”
They tumbled onto the bed, and Liam crawled over Alec to search the nightstand. “Jackpot.” He waved a bottle of lube, and Alec grinned, his hand on his cock as he slowly slid his fist up and down.
“Who’s going first?”
Liam swallowed hard and looked down at Alec’s girth as he nodded. “Well, we both know neither of us is more dominant, so I say we just take turns.”
And then Liam found himself on his back, Alec’s mouth over Liam’s cock as he swallowed him whole.
Liam didn’t even have time to think before his hand was tangled in Alec’s hair and he pumped up into his mate’s mouth.
“You win, this time.”
“You can take me next time.”
And then there was no more talking. Alec’s mouth was warm, soft, and he sucked like a dream.
Liam was almost to the point of orgasm before Alec pulled away, and then the sound of a bottle opening filled Liam’s ears.
He couldn’t think. He kept his gaze on Alec as both of them touched and loved and caressed each other. Alec worked him slowly, and then when they were both ready, Alec hovered over them and slowly, inch by inch, filled him.
They both gasped, the burn intense, the feelings more intense. They were chest to chest, touching everywhere, and it was everything.
Alec slowly worked in and out of him, and both of them groaned, holding each other. When they came, at the exact same time, the mating between them worked its magic, and they each sucked in a breath.
Liam could feel the bond snap into place, a slow ache that had waited centuries upon centuries to reach them. They were mated, perfect halves of a whole, and he finally had his soul mate. His lover, his best friend, his everything.
They kissed again, slowly, methodically. Everything.
And when they fell asleep, only for a few short hours because they had to hunt in the morning, Liam held his mate close and knew he would never let him go again. Because he had waited far too long for this.
Tomorrow, there would be blood, there would be death. Tonight…tonight was perfection.
Chapter 5
Every time Alec took a step, he could feel Liam within his soul, steady, controlled, and on the hunt. His. Leaves crunched under their feet, even as they were as quiet as they could possibly be. The smell of decay was prevalent, rot along with the freshly mown grass from the park across the street. Birds chirped in the distance. Yet not a single one perched near. It was as if they knew there was a predator in their midst, and he and Liam were not that threat.
His wolf pushed at him, wanting to shift. They couldn’t, not yet. They were far too out in the open to change into their wolf forms.
And that meant they had to fight as men, not wolves, and hope to hell that the human authorities didn’t show up.
They couldn’t use warding or spells to keep them safe, and that meant they needed to make sure things worked for them this way.
However, with each step, with each intake of breath, he could feel his mate.
They had wasted so much time. So much fucking time trying to make sure the other was good enough, that they were good enough for each other. They wouldn’t be wasting any more time. Alec had his mate by his side, his wolf, his future Beta or Tracker.
First, they had to kill his brother.
Just the idea of having to end a life wasn’t something he wanted to do. The fact that it was Charlie, his brother, the person who was supposed to be his best friend and someone he could always rely on, put a foul taste in his mouth. He couldn’t go back and change anything, so he wasn’t going to.