Page 53 of Against the Veil (Endangered Fae #3)

Z ack stared at the screen on Diego’s desk.

It was still Diego’s desk, damn it, even though he’d occupied it for the last six months and still had two and a half years to go.

Most of the time, it was fine. Making decisions on visa requests.

Vetting proposals for the Fae Collective’s Magical Education and Medical Fund.

Seeing to the everyday running of the Consulate.

He could do those things. It was the writing stuff that was tough for him.

He’d been trying to finish the article for Mages Monthly for the past three hours.

Not that he had trouble with the subject matter.

They’d asked for firsthand advice on lycanthropy and Zack had jumped at the chance to share what he knew.

He’d talked about keeping an eye on the lunar calendar, about the importance of a safe room and getting to it in plenty of time at that time of the month.

He discussed the mood shifts and how he dealt with them.

There were detailed instructions on how to construct a safe room and what the beast would need to keep everyone safe.

But he couldn’t just end it by saying, And that’s all I got, folks.

An alert popped up onscreen, reminding him that he had two hours to get to his own safe room that evening. The reminder was followed immediately by an email reminder from Carol, which said the same thing in gentler tones.

“I know, boss lady, I know. I’m getting there,” he grumbled at the message and flipped back to his article, typing at top speed. He’d thought of an ending.

The fae tell me that every thinking being has an animal nature.

For them, it’s easy to see. Many of them have a second form or aspects of their animal half as part of their bodies.

Humans have tried to bury their animal natures for centuries.

I think this might be why lycanthropy takes hold in the right set of circumstances and why it’s so hard for us to deal with.

Something about not ending sentences in prepositions stopped him…but Zack didn’t know how to fix it, so he forged on.

The were-beast, our transitional form, is us fighting against what lives inside us all the time.

That fierce hunger, that terrible emptiness is part of being human and we don’t want to accept it.

As a Were, you’re forced to accept it. You look it in the face and you acknowledge it every month.

You make it part of you or you become one of those Weres who lose their sanity and their humanity.

Lycanthropy isn’t evil. It’s a disease process like any other, and like some diseases, there is no cure.

Knowing how to live with the disease will save your life though, and make it livable again.

I’m not a lycanthropy victim and I’m not a lycanthropy survivor.

I’m a Were. With time, practice and the right support, I’ve found I can live with that.

There. That was the positive, hopeful message he wanted. If it helped even one person through the pain and the fear, he’d call it a success. He couldn’t help a little chuckle. I’m gonna be a published author. Diego would be proud.

He sent it off and still had time to check through the emails Carol had forwarded to him. Most were day-to-day diplomatic business but one caught his eye. The ‘from’ line said Silver Adepts . He smiled and opened it.

Hi Zack—

Hope you and His Highness are doing okay. Caught the clips of you guys at the White House last week. Nate says to tell you that you rocked that tux.

Anyway, we’ll be out there next week to meet with Princess Eithne and stuff and we have something we want to run by you, so Brandon said we better give you a heads up first.

Zack chuckled at that. If Brandon was getting bossy again, the kids were getting back to normal.

We had this idea. Maybe you’ll think it’s stupid but Bran and them think it’s brilliant.

Even Kara. So here goes. You know the plan’s for Nate, Will and Kara to finish up grad school in a couple of years and then we’d thought about starting our own school, right?

But we couldn’t agree on what kind of school and things got icky.

So, I thought since we’re kind of unique, maybe we should set up a special place, like a research institute.

And since Nate will have his Masters in Magical Studies and Kara in Biotech, it should be about kelan studies and human magical genetics, right?

Then Will said, “Where would it be?” and I know you’ll think this is the crazy part, but we thought of Heersford.

It’s abandoned and stuff and it’s a really cool building.

Sure, it needs some work, but Bran and I can get started on that while those guys finish school.

So think about it and tell us what you think when we come see you, okay?

~ Minky

“It’s a freaking incredible idea, kiddo,” Zack said to the screen. He made a note to call the lawyers after the full moon to see who owned the property.

The office phone rang, the double beep for an internal call, so Zack picked up.

“One hour, Sergeant,” Carol said without even a hello.

“I’m on it. Is he back yet?”

“Just arrived. He’s gone upstairs to change. Do I tell him you’re on your way downstairs?”

“Yes, ma’am. I’m going. I’m going. Shutting down now.”

“Just don’t want you rushing and forgetting things.”

He hung up, sent a quick reply to Minky and powered down.

On his way to the stairs, he stopped in the kitchen to scarf down the sandwich Nathair had left on the table for him, a huge monstrosity of rare roast beef and cheese with the horseradish sauce he loved.

A bottle of water washed it down, along with a multi-vitamin.

They’d tried pain meds a couple of times, just to see if they might ease the transition, but the damn things just made him sick.

Nothing sucked more than throwing up when you were in searing pain.

But the vitamins helped in the aftermath, the wolf’s body less depleted when he changed into lupine form.

The containment room door stood open, waiting for him, with Faolchú leaning against the wall beside the door. Just in case Lugh couldn’t make it home in time, he had stand-in spotters— big, strong fae he’d trust his life to. Faolchú was one, King Balor the other.

“Is he coming?” Faolchú growled, a little snarl showing since he obviously already scented the beast.

“He’s here. Carol says he’s on his way down.”

Faolchú let out a soft snort. “Thank the Mother for that. My bones thank you and my teeth thank you.”

“Sorry,” Zack mumbled as he went in and toed off his shoes.

The one time Lugh hadn’t made it home in time for the change, poor Faolchú had lost two teeth and had his wrist broken before the were-beast had changed to wolf.

Of course, being fae, his teeth had grown back, but that didn’t make Zack feel much better.

“No harm done, Zachary. Ah, I hear our bull trampling down the stairs now.” Faolchú gave him a wave. “Luck to you both. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Lugh strode into the room then, the most beautiful sight Zack could hope for with his hair braided out of the way and nothing on but a black kilt. “Have you eaten?”

“Yeah. I didn’t forget this time.”

“Water?”

“That, too.” Zack folded his shirt and jeans in a neat pile on top of his shoes and socks. “Door, babe. I’m starting to feel kinda flushed and woozy.”

In an unhurried fashion, Lugh closed the door of heavy battle silver and set the magical locks.

The calmer he was through all this, the easier it was for Zack to stay in control.

He stripped out of his boxers and sat cross-legged on the mattress, slowing his breathing, willing himself to relax.

No matter what he did, the beginning of the change always sucked, but they had gotten better at dealing with it since that first horrible time.

Lugh sat behind him and wrapped him in a gentle embrace. “My apologies for being so late. There are times when I sincerely wish I could simply tell human diplomats to, as the young humans say, ‘shut the fuck up’.”

“Ha! That’d be a milestone in fae diplomacy. One to tell the kids about.” Zack grabbed onto one hard forearm and hung on tight as the first shot of pain lanced through him. “ Shit .”

“Breathe, love. Slow breaths, in…and out…”

He couldn’t deny the beast, couldn’t prevent it from emerging. It was part of him and part of the change. The ritual they had built over the past six months helped him stay in control, though. The beast got to come out and play, but Zack stayed behind the wheel.

“Ready?” His voice already rasped in the beast’s inhuman timbre.

Lugh freed a hand and pulled off his kilt. “I am. Let it go, Zack. I have you.”

He leaned back into Lugh’s chest, the pain taking over in a red wave as his body creaked and snapped through changing forms. Every time, he tried to hold back the agonized howls. Every time, he failed, but having Lugh hold him tight and pet him through it helped a hell of a lot.

The claws forced their way through elongated fingers. His limbs distorted. His teeth grew sharp and long in thrust-out jaws. “Now!” he roared. “I need it now!”

Lugh flipped him onto his face, one hand on his neck holding his thrashing body down while his other, wonderfully large, warm hand cupped his balls from behind. All the beast’s violent hunger immediately melted into searing sexual need. The beast was predictable and Zack was grateful for it.

He spread his arms, digging his claws into the mattress, pulling his knees up to present his ass.

It wasn’t subtle. It wasn’t romantic. But Lugh responded to the raw, animal need as readily as he did more civilized courting.

The prince lost no time getting lube on his fingers and two fingers shoved roughly inside Zack.

The moan he intended was more of a snarl as he shoved back against those invading digits. Yes, fucking yes . “Do it,” he managed to get out through his unwieldy jaws. “Make it rough. Make it hurt.”

“I won’t cause you harm. I—”

“Now, damn it! Need you now!”

The mattress depressed around his knees as Lugh repositioned himself and spread Zack’s newly furred thighs wide, kneading his cheeks. They went through this dance every time, Lugh still too careful, the beast still too impatient. Somehow, they got it to work.

Lugh grunted as he shoved the head of his huge cock through Zack’s tight ring, far sooner than he would have in Zack’s human form.

Yes, it burned, it hurt, God, yes, but it was what the beast needed and it felt so damn good.

Snarling, Zack shoved back, no longer capable of words, but Lugh still got it.

His hands gripped Zack’s hips tight enough to bruise and Lugh thrust in hard, far enough to slam up against Zack’s overeager prostate. Two more hard nails on that same spot had him coming, clawing and howling, writhing on the thick erection impaling him.

Shudders wracked his body as each hard clench of orgasm rammed through him. He quieted for a moment, panting, until the dick up his ass made him hard again with only a few seconds pause. “More.”

“Already?” Lugh sounded shocked.

“More!”

Lugh slammed back into him with such force that he flattened Zack on the mattress. He hammered at Zack until the next orgasm and the next, his stamina nothing short of miraculous.

After Zack had come six times in quick succession, Lugh’s hips finally lost their steady rhythm and he bellowed out his release.

Fae semen, hotter and thicker than a human’s, satisfied something for the beast. The feel of it seeping out of him, running down his thighs, calmed him, filled some deep, empty place inside.

The fullness gave him enough peace, enough breathing room to force the last part of the change, much earlier than it would have happened on its own.

Lugh gathered him up in his arms, holding him tight as the pain began again.

Limbs shortened. Fur thickened. Ears changed shape. The tail grew from his spine.

The wolf looked up at Lugh and gave a tired lick to his cheek. He was never sure if his internal communication would work right away, but he had to try. “ Thank you. You’re amazing.”

“So are you, my dear sergeant.” Lugh smiled down at him, petting his fur. “That was much faster this time. Perhaps half as long as the last change.”

“Practice, right? You okay, sweetheart? Did I hurt you?”

“No, love, you were a perfect gentleman. Not even a scratch.”

“Good. I think we’re getting the hang of this.”

Lugh stood and opened the door for them. “Shall we go to the kitchen? Are you hungry again?”

“No, I’m good right now. Is it a nice night out?”

“A mite chill but the sky is cloudless and the wind relatively still.”

Zack looked up at his half- sidhe lover, tongue lolling out in a canine grin. “ Wanna go for a run? Bull and wolf? Bet I can beat you to the end of the island and back.”

Lugh’s brilliant smile lit the dim chamber. “Gentleman’s wager. Winner picks something new to try in bed.”

“You’re on.” With a flick of his tail, Zack took off down the hall and up the stairs, leaving Lugh scrambling in his wake to catch up.

Sionnach happened to be in the kitchen and opened the back door for him as he barreled past. Moon shadows danced with bright pools of light in the garden, the scents of earth and wood and plants hitting him like a drug rush.

Lugh clattered out of the kitchen behind him, shifting to bull as he cleared the door, and they ran, the joy of that simple motion, of his strength and speed coursing through him.

The world was bright and new, shining and stretched out beneath his pounding feet. The beginning of innocence, a new life to discover before him.