Page 5

Ulkna lounged on the blanket, watching Trey devour his second sandwich—a roast beef one after polishing off a ham first. His mate was also working on a canister of BBQ Pringles. There was an open container of fruit—cantaloupe, watermelon, grapes, and kiwi—and, occasionally, Trey would pluck a piece with his forefingers and drop it into his mouth.

The way Trey sucked the juices from his fingers damn near had Ulkna’s cock twitching. He wondered what his mate’s lips would feel like around his dick’s crown and immediately had to shove the thought away. Ulkna knew he needed to wait, to see to Trey’s needs first.

Every once in a while, Ulkna would take a piece of fruit for himself, mostly the cantaloupe. He enjoyed watching his mate eat heartily. Ulkna figured carrying people up and down the canyon burned plenty of calories, and shifters ate more than was standard as a general rule.

“Thank you for letting me stuff my face,”

Trey mumbled after swallowing a chip. His cheeks had a hint of pink to them, but that didn’t stop him from taking another bite of his sandwich.

Ulkna smiled.

“It pleases me to watch you eat,”

he admitted. Scoffing, he told him.

“I know I didn’t really make the food, but”—he paused for a second, analyzing his feelings—“it still gives me this sense of satisfaction. As if I’m providing for you.”

Trey chuckled as he swallowed. “Yeah.”

He grabbed a grape, and before popping it into his mouth, he stated.

“I know it’s a shifter thing.”

“Exactly.”

Ulkna nodded.

“So, I’ve already told you a bit about myself,”

Trey pointed out as he glanced from his half-eaten roast beef sandwich to Ulkna and back again.

“How about you tell me a little about you while I’m finishing up?”

Trey waved his sandwich in the direction of where the guys were setting up camp about a quarter of a mile away.

“How’d you end up with them?”

With a laugh, he shook his head.

“They sure seem to be an eclectic group.”

Ulkna let out a laugh.

“You don’t even know the half of it.”

Humming, he eased to a seated position and rested his forearms on his upturned knees.

“I suppose I could give you the Reader’s Digest version because the in-depth version would take too damn long.”

Trey’s dark brows shot up, betraying his surprise, confusion, and probably interest.

“So, uh...”

Ulkna thought about just where to begin.

“Well, I’m a snake shifter. I share my spirit with a coral snake.”

He figured the basics would be best. To his relief, Trey nodded, not showing the least bit of reticence or fear—so many people had an issue with snakes. He was glad that, evidently, his mate wasn’t one of them.

“My kind aren’t real family-oriented, but we did live in a loose pod.”

Ulkna waved a hand dismissively.

“That was a long time ago. Over two hundred years, and I haven’t spoken to anyone from there in...over a century.”

“How old are you?”

Before Ulkna could answer, Trey added.

“I’m one hundred forty-two.”

“Two hundred and fourteen,”

Ulkna told him. Although, beyond confirming that a mate had reached the age of consent, most shifters didn’t really care. Their long life spans made that sort of thing irrelevant.

“And the gang?”

Trey lifted his sandwich to his lips.

“How’d you get mixed up with them?”

Before taking another bite, Trey asked.

“Is it because the guys are gay, so you felt comfortable joining them even though they’re not snakes?”

Shaking his head, Ulkna shared.

“No, I’ve only been with them a little over a year. I was captured and held by a circle of witches who drew my blood to use in their spells.”

He grabbed a chip from the canister and lifted it to his lips, his focus on it.

“I was rescued by the Horseman of Death and his demons. They—”

Hearing Trey begin coughing, Ulkna snapped his attention from the chip to Trey. “Shit,”

he hissed. After dropping the chip, Ulkna rocked forward and began patting his mate on his back.

“I should’ve waited until you’d swallowed. I’m so sorry.”

He grabbed the open Gatorade that Trey had been drinking and held it to his mate’s lips.

“Take a few sips.”

Trey obeyed, slowly regaining his composure. His voice sounded a bit hoarse as he asked.

“Did you say the Horseman of Death?”

Ulkna nodded as he changed to rubbing Trey’s back, enjoying the smooth play of muscle beneath his palm even through the thin shirt.

“Yeah. Death as in one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.”

Trey stared at him with wide eyes, the scent of his shock rolling off him. With a smile and a shrug, Ulkna returned to resting on his ass.

“Uh, so, the witches drew the Horsemen’s attention when they started kidnapping their demons.”

Waving his hand, Ulkna shook his head.

“Anyway, that’s a long story for another time.”

Trey took a few more sips of his drink as he nodded.

Easing backward, Ulkna settled cross-legged.

“So, there were a half-dozen of us freed, and Death took us to Alpha Kontra and his gang for rehabilitation,”

he explained, trying to finish up the basics swiftly.

“I’ve been with them for over a year now.”

“Wow,”

Trey whispered, his amazement clear. His deep brown eyes were wide as he stared at him.

“I-I don’t know if I should say that I’m sorry that happened to you or not.”

It was Ulkna’s turn to be surprised, and Trey obviously sensed it, for he scoffed and told him.

“You’re here now because of that path, and it’s led you to me.”

Trey set his bottle aside and reached out, cupping Ulkna’s jaw.

“Which I think is the greatest gift.”

Ulkna nuzzled into Trey’s hold for a few seconds, before turning and pressing a kiss to his mate’s palm.

“And I agree with you,”

he assured his mate. Keeping his voice low and intimate, Ulkna held Trey’s gaze.

“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t change anything. Fate has gifted me for my reward for overcoming tribulation.”

Lifting his hand, Ulkna cradled Trey’s hand where it still rested on his jaw and nuzzled into it again.

“You’re my greatest gift, too, Trey.”

Pulling away, Trey tossed the last couple of bites of his sandwich into the container of fruit before sealing the lid. Then he screwed the cap onto his drink. He shoved everything into the cooler the guys had provided.

Watching with bated breath, Ulkna could only stare as Trey rocked forward and rose to his knees. He began crawling the short distance between them. Levering over Ulkna, Trey kept coming, bumping his chest into Ulkna’s and urging him backward on the blanket.

Ulkna was only too happy to recline back, anticipation flooding him when Trey straddled his thighs. Reaching up, he gripped his soon-to-be lover’s upper arms, encouraging him down. Trey pressed his chest to Ulkna’s, lowering his head to the crook of his neck.

Tipping his head to the side, Ulkna welcomed Trey’s sniffing and licking. He groaned in pleasure upon feeling the gentle nips his mate slipped in at the point where his neck met his shoulder. Ulkna’s cock strained against his jeans, and his snake hissed in his mind.

He was totally on the same page as his animal. He wanted his mate’s teeth deep in his shoulder in the worst way. His prick actually oozed a bead of pre-cum, and his balls began to tingle. He’d been on edge all day, and he feared just the prick of Trey’s canines would send him over the edge.

Except, that wouldn’t be so bad.

I could definitely stand to take the edge off.

With that thought in mind, Ulkna groaned and rocked his hips. His groin rubbed against his mate’s, the fabric too thick between them. Still, Ulkna could make out the feel of Trey’s erection pressing against his own.

“Shit, Ulkna,”

Trey hissed, grinding against Ulkna’s jeans-covered cock. “I know—”

He rocked against him again, sending another surge of heat through Ulkna’s veins before he started again.

“I know we h-have a shit-ton to talk about.”

Trey continued rocking, grinding, seemingly unable to stop as he struggled with his words.

“B-But I w-want this. W-Want you.”

A low growl escaped Ulkna’s throat, more than on board with that. “Yessss,”

he snarled, tightening his hold on Trey.

“Let’s get this party started.”

Trey snickered for a second, and while Ulkna appreciated the sound, he wanted to taste his mate even more. He turned his head and captured his new and forever lover’s mouth. Working his lips, Ulkna parted Trey’s so he could slip his tongue between them.

Ulkna groaned into Trey’s mouth as his mate’s flavor exploded across his taste buds. His unique, masculine muskiness was mixed with the food and drink he’d just eaten. The potent essence set Ulkna’s blood on fire, and his groin tightened so-damn-fast.

He didn’t know if it was the fact that it’d been so long since he’d been intimate with someone or if it was that this was his mate, but the tingle at the base of his spine told him he was nearing the edge.

Shoving a hand between them, Ulkna grappled with the fly of his jeans. A quick flick of the button and a shove of the zipper freed his throbbing shaft. Never had Ulkna been so relieved that he went commando.

Needing Trey right there with him, Ulkna gripped the elastic band of his sweatpants. He pulled them forward, then pushed them down. Ulkna felt Trey’s shaft slap against his own, ripping a groan from his throat. Grabbing both their cocks, he began jacking them swiftly.

“Yesss,”

Trey hissed against Ulkna’s lips, not even bothering to break the kiss. Then he went back to exploring Ulkna’s mouth, using his tongue to map his cavity.

Ulkna groaned into Trey’s mouth, reveling in the way Trey ravished him. His body shuddered as his balls drew up, and he didn’t fight it as his hormones sent him flying over that bliss-inducing edge. Ecstasy rushed through his veins as he unloaded, his orgasm sending his senses soaring.

A second later, pain stabbed through Ulkna’s shoulder, there and gone so fast he barely registered it. The intense pleasure that followed nearly fried his brain. His body bucked in Trey’s hold as a second release pulsed through him.

With Ulkna’s senses bliss-drunk-blinded, his instincts took over. He tilted his head, opened his mouth, and struck. His canines sank into soft, warm flesh, and delicious, iron-rich blood poured over his tongue. Grunting with pleasure, Ulkna sucked, coaxing more onto his tongue.

One thought reverberated through Ulkna’s brain.

Mine. Mine. All mine.