Page 10

Gavin

“You’ve got it,” Leo said grinning at Gavin.

Gavin beamed at his brother. It felt good to have Leo proud of him. Gavin had been struggling as he learnt to build a fire, but he finally got it. He’d made a fire with nothing more than what they’d found in the woods. “But why do I have to learn if you already know how?” Gavin asked.

Leo patted his back. “We’re a team. It’s important to know everything I do just in case I’m busy or something.”

Gavin didn’t know what to think about that.

A lot had been going on lately.

They’d had to leave their nice big house behind with all his toys. His mom and dad would whisper to each other anytime Gavin was in the room. They thought he didn’t hear them or what anyone else said. Gavin did hear though. He was getting really good at sneaking around like Leo showed him.

Not that Gavin would tell Leo. His brother was hiding things from him too.

Hunters.

The word was said with fear.

Gavin might be young but he knew they were running from something. Why else would everyone in his family from grandparents to aunts and uncles have packed up and moved with them?

If it was these hunters that everyone feared then Gavin vowed to learn how to fight them. Leo and Dad wanted Gavin to learn how to survive off the land. It was boring stuff that was awfully hard. Gavin wanted to fight! He’d been practicing when he snuck away from his family.

He was getting faster too.

Even though he was too young to shift, Gavin wanted to be an asset. He wanted to make his family proud.

A loud snap came from farther in the woods and Leo stiffened.

“What—” Gavin started.

Leo slipped his hand over Gavin’s mouth. “Shh.”

Gavin nodded and Leo removed his palm.

Gavin strained to hear what was happening. His senses weren’t as good as Leo’s but Gavin had been practicing. Leo’s eyes widened before he whispered ‘run!’

He pushed off the log he’d been sitting on. Leo was beside him, urging Gavin to run faster. He tried. Gavin wanted to be able to keep up with his brother, but Leo’s legs were longer.

“We need to get back to the cabin,” Leo told him. He wasn’t even breathing hard.

Gavin was. He couldn’t catch his breath.

Did the hunters find them?

Were his mom and dad okay?

What about his grandparents? They were too old to run!

“Leo?” Gavin panted out as he leapt over a big branch.

“Everything’s fine. We just need to get home. It’s late.”

Gavin could smell his brother’s fear.

Fear stank. It was foul and made Gavin’s stomach hurt.

He’d run faster! Gavin could do it! He needed to get to his family. Run! he told his little legs. Run fast!

“Gavin!”

He sat up in bed, clutching his chest, and he panted, trying to catch his breath. Stryker was holding on to his arm with his nails digging into Gavin’s flesh.

“Fuck, man!” Stryker released him to run his hand roughly over his face.

“Are you okay?” Gavin asked.

Stryker dropped his hand to glare at Gavin. “I’m fine. You were the one thrashing in bed.”

The nightmare. Damn it, Gavin had hoped that he’d move past this. “I’m sorry I woke you.” He moved to get out of bed, but Stryker grabbed the wrist he’d braced on the mattress. “Where are you going?”

“I’ll let you get back to sleep.”

“Where are you going to go?” Stryker demanded.

“I just need some air,” Gavin said. He was doing his best not to show how much the dream had affected him.

“Okay.” Stryker rolled out of bed.

“What are you doing?” Gavin knew the nightmare was still messing with him when he just stared stupidly at Stryker.

“Well, Papi, you need air. Let’s go get some.” Stryker bent to grab a pair of shorts off the floor.

“You can go back to sleep,” Gavin offered.

Stryker yanked the shorts over his hips. “Or we can get some air.”

Shaking his head, Gavin climbed off the bed. He wasn’t in a place to argue with the boy.

“Come on,” Stryker coaxed. He grabbed the top blanket from the bed. “I saw a pretty comfortable-looking rocker on your porch. I’ll sit in your lap and cuddle while you tell me about the dream.”

“You want to cuddle?” Gavin asked in disbelief.

“Hey! I can totally cuddle.” Stryker smirked. “I think.”

Gavin laughed, catching himself off guard. Usually, he spent hours in the air after a nightmare, but that meant leaving Stryker. And he was already feeling better. Just seeing Stryker sleepily drag the blanket from the room helped.

“Come on, Papi,” Stryker said. “I’ll even let you give me a few kisses to make sure you’re feeling better.”

Little brat. Gavin followed behind though as Stryker strode to the front door. Stryker had been calling him Papi more since their scene in the kitchen earlier. Gavin hadn’t meant for things to play out that way, but Stryker had submitted beautifully for him. Which led Gavin to believe that the nightmare wouldn’t plague him. He’d been wrong.

Stryker opened the front door, allowing the cool night breeze inside. Gavin shivered but it wasn’t from the cold. His overly heated skin pebbled though. Stryker threw the blanket over his shoulders before gesturing Gavin out the door.

Gavin sauntered forward and paused in front of Stryker to place a gentle kiss on his lips. The boy had promised him kisses after all.

He drew back and winked before stepping outside and onto the deck.

The wind brushed over his naked form as Gavin stood peering out at the property in front of him. Another reminder that he wasn’t alone. His chosen family was there.

Gavin had kept the nightmares to himself although according to Levi, the family was worried about him. He hadn’t wanted to share with them his past trauma but maybe it wouldn’t be too bad to talk about it with Stryker. His mate.

Decision made, Gavin turned.

Stryker sat on the arm of the chair, watching Gavin with a sweet look on his face.

Gavin walked over and sat in the chair that Bo had custom made for all the cabins. “Bo made this chair,” he informed his boy.

“The hellhound alpha?”

“He makes custom furniture,” Gavin shared. He pulled Stryker into his lap and fixed the blanket to make sure that Stryker was covered. “These chairs are special though.”

Stryker ran his hand over the arm he’d been sitting on. Bo had carved the image of a thunderbird into the wood. “What makes these so special?”

“The wood is from hell. It looks like the oaks of our world, thanks to Adam’s abilities, but it originated from hell.”

“That’s pretty cool,” Stryker commented.

“It means that it’s fireproof.”

Stryker’s eyes widened. “Really?” He looked back at the chair with renewed interest.

“All the cabins have been made with the same material. Add in a little magic and we never have to worry about being burned out of our homes.”

“Is that a concern?” Stryker asked.

“It was when I was a kid,” Gavin told him. “The hunters would set fire to the homes of the paranormal creatures they were hunting. Once the paranormals tried to escape, they would run right to the people trying to kill them.”

“Fuck,” Stryker spat.

“It didn’t matter if it was women or children. Predator or prey. The paranormal weren’t people to the hunters.”

“And you went through this? I remember you saying something about the hunters when we were tracking the coven,” Stryker said.

“I was young but yes. My family was small, but we were close. When rumors began to spread about the attacks, my parents moved all of us from our homes. We hid out in an old farmhouse in a town that was close to some woods.”

“You had to leave your homes?”

Gavin nodded. “It was good that we did. When I went back, there was nothing left.” His entire childhood house had been burned to the ground. Gavin had tried to scavenge and luckily his grandma had a cellar of canned food, but it had nearly broken Gavin. It had been about a year after he’d been the sole survivor.

“You had to see that?” Stryker asked. “I’m sorry.” He kissed Gavin’s chin.

“Thanks.” Gavin did not want to reflect on that time in his life. He was trying to explain without falling into a flashback. “It was only material things, but it hurt. To see my childhood toys burned to ashes. The pictures of my family. The pillows my grandma made. I didn’t understand how anyone could be so cruel. Why they would do that. Even after it was a fire that had taken us out.”

“Not all of you,” Stryker pointed out.

“My father made an escape path under the floorboards that was only big enough for me,” Gavin explained. “I could hide there and if need be crawl out to an exit into the woods.”

“By yourself?”

“I was the only one unable to shift. I hadn’t hit puberty yet. They needed a way for me to hide.”

“Huh, I hadn’t even thought about if you could shift from birth or not.”

“It’s different per shifter species.”

“There’s so much I still don’t know. This paranormal shit just keeps getting more and more interesting.”

“If someone was writing a book then it could go on forever,” Stryker mused.

“Maybe someone will.”

“So, if you couldn’t shift like everyone else than you needed a way to run,” Stryker said.

“The plan was for me to go into the woods. Wait. I did that but no one ever came for me.”

“They were killed? All of them?”

Gavin swallowed hard then nodded. “My parents, my grandparents, my brother, aunts, uncles, and cousins. That was when I became the last of my kind.”

Stryker’s eyes filled.

Gavin was shocked by the unusual show of emotion.

“It’s okay.” He grasped Stryker’s hand.

“You were just a child. Alone. Afraid.”

Ah, so that hit close to home. Gavin didn’t know Stryker’s full story, but he’d put enough of their conversations and things that Stryker said when he was bragging about his hacking to know that he’d been failed by those who should have protected him.

“My father and brother made sure I knew how to survive. My mother and grandma showed me other life lessons. Each member of my family made certain to teach me whatever skills they knew. I was the most well-trained child in all the realms.”

“They wanted you to be prepared.”

“I think they knew,” Gavin admitted.

“Knew what?”

“That we wouldn’t be able to outrun the hunters. No matter how far we went. Eventually the hunters would catch us. Our days were numbered.”

Stryker hissed. “I don’t know what would be harder? Knowing there was nothing you could do to keep the ones you loved safe or being the one left behind.”

Gavin had asked himself that same question for decades. Would it have been better to die with his family? “I chose to live.”

“I’m glad you did,” Stryker said.

“Me too.”

“If I'd been there, I would have fried every electronic they owned. They would have been powerless against my masterful hacking.”

Gavin chuckled. “You do realize this was before the internet, right?”

“Wow,” Stryker drawled. “You really are an old man.”

Gavin pinched Stryker’s side. His hands were under the blanket, but it was all he could reach.

“Now tell me how you hunted the hunters,” Stryker demanded with a little bounce.

“What makes you think I did?” Gavin asked.

“Really?” Stryker rolled his eyes. “You’re my Papi! Of course you hunted them down. They killed your family.”

“I did,” Gavin revealed. “It was after I met Axel. I’d just turned twenty-five.”

“You met Axel that long ago?”

Gavin peered around the property in front of him. “There was nothing but wilderness here. Axel had a connection to this land. He wasn’t an alpha yet, but he knew this was where he was meant to be.”

“That’s so cool! Tell me more. And I want all the gory details! Did Axel help?”

“Not at first,” Gavin said. “We shared a few meals while camping out in the forest. I didn’t realize at the time that I also felt a connection with the land here. I thought it was just being around another paranormal. One as old as I was.”

“So, you were on a solo mission?”

“I’d seen the devastation that the hunters left behind. They wiped out entire species,” Gavin said. “They needed to be stopped.”

“And you stopped them.”

“I played my part. I’d been living in the woods for so long that some of the other paranormal creatures had banded together. I missed the bloodiest of the battles but there were a few dozen groups that had scattered.”

“Like Mason and Jason’s family,” Stryker said.

“Yeah, their great- great-great-grandfather. Their family spent generations sharing the secret of paranormal creatures. Learning to hunt us. They were both smart and determined. The worst of the worst.”

Stryker snorted. “Humans have proven to be the cruelest of creatures.”

“Time and time again,” Gavin agreed. “I hated humans for a very long time.”

“I still hate humans,” Stryker told him.

Gavin grinned. “It didn’t matter if they were hunters or not. I never thought I would trust a human until I met up with Axel once again.”

“But wasn’t it just the paranormal of you at first?” Stryker asked.

“Axel never restricted his protection to just our kind. If a human needed help, he would help,” Gavin said.

“The ultimate alpha,” Stryker quipped.

“He really is,” Gavin agreed.

“I’m glad you found him.”

“I think the fates played a hand in it,” Gavin shared.

“Like they had a hand in us?” Stryker questioned.

“There was a reason that you were captured by the witches,” Gavin said. “That Dean and Noah were there to rescue you. It might have taken a long time, but the fates made sure we met. The rest is up to us.”

The smile fell from Stryker’s face.

“What is it?”

“Can I hate the fates a little even if I’m glad they put us together?”

“I do,” Gavin assured him. “I think it’s okay.”

Stryker closed his eyes before he nodded. He opened his eyes to look up at Gavin. “Okay.” He leaned forward to hover in front of Gavin. “Thank you for telling me.”

“It was easier than I thought,” Gavin told him. “You make me feel…”

“Feel?” Stryker asked when Gavin didn’t continue.

“Just feel. You make me feel when I haven’t in too long.”

Stryker nodded. “You make me want.”

“Want what, boy?”

Stryker shrugged. “Everything”

What an amazing, complicated, and sweet young man. Gavin imagined not many saw this side of Stryker. Just like Gavin was certain that no one had ever seen Stryker’s submission before either. “I want to give you everything.”

Stryker began to close the distance between their lips. “I think I promised you kisses.”

“You did indeed.” Their lips were only a breath apart.

“We can start with kisses,” Stryker said. “Then maybe you can fuck me.”

Gavin chuckled. “What if I want to keep you out here with me? Maybe I’m not done getting air.”

“Who said we had to go inside?” Stryker countered.

Gavin ran his hand from Stryker’s side to the front of his shorts. “I’m going to have to start carrying lube everywhere I go.”

Stryker laughed. He wiggled and squirmed before his hand came out of the blanket as he held up a travel package of lube.

Gavin plucked it from his fingers. “Where did you get this?”

“I grabbed it when I picked up my things. I didn’t only have a freezer full of nuggets,” Stryker said.

“Well then, boy,” Gavin said. “I think you need to get rid of those shorts and come ride my cock.”

“Yes, Papi,” Stryker breathed out.

* * * * *

Stryker

Rolling over in bed, Stryker was surprised to find that he wasn’t alone. Pleasantly surprised. Gavin lay on his back with an arm thrown over his head. His naked chest moved in a rhythmic up and down as he breathed deeply in sleep.

It was so different than watching from his monitor.

Better because he could reach out and touch. As a matter of fact, Stryker would do just that. Lying on his side, Stryker placed his palm over Gavin’s right pec. Under his hand, Gavin’s heart was a steady beat. His skin was warm.

And Stryker didn’t need to only touch with his hands either.

Leaning over, Stryker took the chance to run the tip of his tongue across Gavin’s left nipple.

In his sleep, Gavin moaned.

Ha! Stryker liked that response. So he did it again.

There was a hint of sweat from their earlier antics. Gavin had fucked Stryker so good that Stryker had passed out on Gavin’s chest. He hadn’t woken until Gavin carried him to bed. Carried again. Gavin seemed to like to do that and Stryker was not going to complain.

Scooting lower, Stryker pushed the sheet down Gavin’s body to reveal his stomach. Abs. Gavin had real, sexy, firm abs. Perfect for Stryker’s tongue to play with.

He licked from ab to ab as he saw Gavin’s erection growing under the sheet.

Mmm, something else for him to lick.

Stryker lowered the sheet even more, stopping when it reached Gavin’s upper thighs. And right in front of his face was Gavin’s big thick cock. Yummy! Maybe even better than a handful of chicken nuggets from the air fryer.

Oh! Stryker needed to introduce Gavin to the air fryer that he kept from the RV. Maybe he would do that after a little morning appetizer. Stryker wrapped his fingers around Gavin’s cock before bringing it to his mouth.

“You know how to suck me,” Gavin murmured. “Get to it.”

Stryker peered up. “Yeah?”

“Yes, do it.”

Stryker stroked Gavin. “Are you sure? You were just sound asleep.”

“Someone woke me up by drooling all over me,” Gavin said.

“I wasn’t drooling! I was licking!”

“Then lick my cock before you put it in your mouth,” Gavin ordered.

He did love when Gavin got all bossy. Stryker licked Gavin from the base of his cock to the tip. He twirled his tongue around the head before sucking down half of Gavin’s dick.

Gavin thrust up, shoving the rest of his length deep.

Stryker gagged but that wasn’t enough to have him stop. He pulled up and caught himself before he dove back down. This time Gavin’s cock hit the back of his throat. He gagged again as his eyes watered.

“Such a good boy.” Gavin gripped his hair as he started to thrust again. “You’re doing so well. Come on, boy, take me down that tight throat of yours.”

That same floating as the night before began to fill him.

Giving up control, Stryker relaxed and let Gavin use him.

“That’s it.” Gavin plunged deep. “Perfect. Such a good boy.”

Stryker’s hard cock pulsed along with each thrust of Gavin’s hips. What a fucking way to wake up! This was going into the plus side of his mental list for mating.