Page 21 of Elas (Mate’s Mark #2)

Elas

“What do you think about the new commander?”

I glance over at Urul, who’s a Nu’vak like me.

He’s been my watch partner these past few days, although before this assignment we’d rarely interacted.

His tusks are longer than mine, and a small golden hoop adorns the tip of one, glinting in the sunlight.

His hair is shaved on the sides, and the long middle is pulled into a ponytail.

Fucker’s cooler than me, and it pisses me off.

“How do you get away with that piercing?” I ask instead of answering his question. He chuckles as we make the trek from our current station on the northwestern corner of the base to relieve the soldiers at the southeastern tower.

“The last time someone that outranked me complained about it, I fucked her until she forgot what she’d been complaining about.”

“Classy,” I mutter, and he chuckles again .

“Keep mouthing off and see where it gets you, Elas,” he teases.

“You think you’re packing enough to make me forget anything?”

He shrugs, trying to hide his grin. “Could always try.”

“Thanks, but no thanks.”

“Got a man you haven’t told me about?”

“No,” I say automatically, but the mark on my hand flares in annoyance under my glove, reminding me of the deliciously sweet human waiting for me in my bed. “Maybe?”

“Well, that’s a non-answer if I ever heard one.”

“It’s complicated.”

Urul snorts, clapping me on the shoulder as we approach our new watch station. “Love usually is, my friend.”

I shrug him off with a glare. “You expect me to take relationship advice from you ? There’s probably a bleeding trail of broken hearts behind you, all of them hypnotized by that fucking tusk ring and thinking they’ll be the one to tame you.”

“Hey, now,” he says with a barking laugh as he shoves me, and this time I can’t help my grin. “I’m not that bad.”

“Oh,” an unfamiliar, feminine voice says in surprise, and I glance up to find a soldier staring wide-eyed at my partner.

“Hey, uh, Urul. It’s, uh, been a while since I…

since we…” She gulps and tries to smile, but it’s all terribly awkward.

Finally, she puts everyone out of their misery and flees through the door we just entered, head ducked.

“Not that bad, huh?” I ask, and he punches me in the arm as we settle in to our station .

“You going to tell me about this latest conquest or not?”

“He’s not a conquest,” I snap, and Urul snorts.

“Not the type to kiss and tell? Fair enough, I can respect that, even if I don’t understand it.” He gives an exaggerated thrust of his hips, and I sigh as I ignore him.

“There’s nothing to tell,” I mumble, and he stops humping the air to grab my arms and force me to face him.

“You’re this bent out of shape about a man you haven’t even fucking kissed ?”

August’s face pops into my head in a replay of the times we’ve been close to each other, breathing in that shared air.

The pillow-soft pink lips that are always upturned, and the way it makes his hazel eyes crinkle.

That perpetual smile on anyone else would mark them as either na?ve or an idiot, but not him.

Despite the ugliness of this fucked-up life, he views it through August-colored glasses and finds beauty in this wasteland of a world.

I wonder how those lenses color his impression of me.

And then there’s the cryptic file he saw at the clinic.

Ljómur… glow . I stare at my palm through my glove, clenching and unclenching my fingers.

A flyer warning the public about a glowing mark can’t be a coincidence.

We were told the story of the mate’s mark, and instructed by our commanding officers to report it immediately if we or anyone we knew developed one. But that’s never happened…

Has it?

In a hundred years, there’s never been a reported case of mates. It’s why we all thought the prophecy was a hoax. But if those flyers are as old as he said they looked, it means the military has been actively searching for them for a long time. They’ve just kept it hidden.

Maybe this is the first breadcrumb that anyone has ever dropped.

“Elas? You fucking daydreaming over there?”

Urul has a snarky grin on his face, and I shoot him a glare as I huff, crossing my arms over my chest as I turn away. “Of course not,” I mutter, as I fall back into my thoughts and do exactly that.

A few uneventful hours later, I haven’t gotten anywhere with conspiracy theories, other than convincing myself there’s more here than what meets the eye.

The sun is freshly set when a Cavese in uniform approaches.

I tense as my mind immediately identifies them as Xeni, but as soon as they step into the dim light of the watchtower, I realize it isn’t him.

“Officer Elas?” they ask, and I nod. “Commander Khors sent me to relieve you.”

“Relieve me?” I parrot, and they hand over an envelope stamped with an intricate wax seal.

It tests my willpower not to snort at the show of extravagance.

I move under the light as they take my position at the northern-facing window of the tower and I tear open the envelope.

I rip it from the side out of spite, just to avoid his fancy little seal.

Elas,

You are relieved from this watch rotation. Report to my office at 0800 tomorrow morning to discuss your next assignment .

~Commander Khors

That doesn’t bode well. I think back to our last conversation and my offer to help track Ronan. Does that mean there are updates on his location or what happened to him? How far will I have to go to ensure my best friend’s safety?

What am I willing to sacrifice?

August’s face flashes through my mind again, and I’m torn between the exhausted relief of finally knowing something and the crippling dread of what I might learn.

“Everything okay?” Urul asks, his normal carefree joviality missing as I glance at him.

“Yeah, great. New assignment, so I’m afraid this puts an end to your nights staring at my beautiful face, dreaming about what you can’t have.”

“Ah, I can still dream, pretty boy,” he teases with a wink, and a suspicious flush colors his new partner’s pale white cheeks. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out where that’s going to end.

“Behave,” I warn Urul with a shake of my finger before I turn towards the winding stone stairwell.

“Never!” he bellows from behind me, and I chuckle to myself as I make the trip to my barracks. Fresh worries fill my head as I try to guess what news the commander might have for me. But there’s no way to know, and I’ve never been one to borrow from tomorrow’s stress.

The base is quiet this late, the pathway lit by a few dim lights that hang from the buildings.

It’s nearing midnight, which means anyone not on patrol is in bed, or at least inside their barracks for the night.

The few I pass are focused on their job and simply nod as they continue to their destination.

I’m silent as I unlock my door, stepping into the complete darkness. My vision adjusts as I glance around the room.

The perks of being a predator.

Nu’vak are known for our fighting skills because of our sheer size and strength, but we are also some of the best trackers alive because of our heightened senses.

We see in the dark almost as well as we do in the light, our sense of smell is unmatched, and our hearing can detect sounds others would never identify.

And right now, every one of my senses is hyperaware and laser-focused on my bedroom.

My nostrils flare as I catch August’s scent. It’s stronger than usual, the smell of my soaps mixing with sweat and something more. Sheets rustle and his breath comes in puffs, soft grunts and gasps, making it abundantly clear what’s happening in there.

Xeni .

Logic is tossed out the window, jealous anger fueling my silent movements. My mind is so locked on my target, it doesn’t register that no other scents mingle in the room. Only August.

Only what’s mine.

Blinding rage colors my vision into shades of red as I make it to the open doorway and stumble to a stop. My heart hammers against my ribs, beating so hard it threatens to escape. August lies in the center of my bed, alone.

Blissfully, blessedly alone .

Sprawled out on top of the covers, he’s wearing one of my t-shirts that swallows him like a blanket, and nothing else.

His knees are bent and spread wide, and his fingers wrap around his cock as his hips thrust off the mattress.

I’m frozen, not even fucking blinking as his powerful thighs flex, driving into his fist as his other hand clutches at the sheets.

A series of the most delicious sounds escape his throat as I stand, transfixed. I tell myself to look away, to leave and give him the privacy he deserves. Instead, my eyes stay glued to him, roaming every inch of that exposed skin. Just as I’m finding the strength to walk away, he mutters a word.

Just one.

“ Elas. ”

Barely stifling a moan, my body comes alive and my already hard cock fills until it’s painful.

My palm drops to grip myself through my leather pants, but the friction does nothing to take the edge off and only leaves me needing more.

I imagine it’s me on top of him, his knees hooked over my elbows as I fucked him until he lost control.

Picturing the way he’d feel around me as he fell apart.

“Elas,” he moans again as his back arches from the bed, and I groan as my hips jerk against my palm. He stiffens, his balls hugged up against his body as he comes. Even in the dark, I can see how his hole pulses, squeezing in time with each stripe of cum that lands on his stomach.

My core throbs, my body begging me to claim him as I fight the urge to rip my clothes off and tackle him to the bed. August releases a blissed-out sigh as he slumps onto the mattress, and his eyes drift open in a lazy, satisfied flutter.

And then they land on mine.