Page 8

Gavin

It had been three hours. Gavin had paced his cabin, cleaned the entire space, and even made room for the few of Stryker’s possession that they’d brought over. Now he was at a loss for what to do.

Should he hunt the boy down?

Or give him more time?

How much more time did Stryker need?

Gavin should probably at least check on him. Maybe bring him a drink? That would be what any good mate would do. Although Gavin was not going to take Stryker an energy drink, no matter how much the boy would probably appreciate it.

He grabbed a cold bottle of water then turned toward the door.

The knock sounded before Gavin reached it.

“Thank fuck!” Gavin murmured with relief. He set the bottle of water down on the side table before answering.

“You don’t have to knock…Rainier? River?”

Rainier was scowling. He also had River by the back of his neck. “We might have an issue.”

Gavin looked from Rainier to River. “What did you boys do?”

“I’ll never tell!” River replied with a pout.

“Boy!” Rainier shook him.

“But I’m not a snitch!” River whined.

“You have five seconds,” Rainier warned.

River huffed.

“What is going on?” Gavin demanded. He didn’t have time for this.

“River returned to our realm a couple of hours ago. Only for a short time,” Rainier said. “But he didn’t go alone.”

Fuck! “Where is Stryker?”

“He won’t tell me,” Rainier shook him again.

“I promised!” Stryker argued.

“And you dragged Noah into this mess with you,” Rainier said.

“I’m pretty sure Noah jumped in all alone.”

Gavin turned to see Dean dragging Noah across the lawn. What now?

“Noah!” Stryker shouted. “You told?”

“I didn’t mean to!” Noah told him. “I was FaceTiming with Cary. I knew he’d get a kick out of the story. Logan overheard me and told Dean!”

“Noah!” River screeched.

“Hey! How did Rainier find out?” Noah asked.

River flushed. “He surprised me and Anton with a visit and we…needed to use the cabin. I got distracted. I forgot I told Anton not to go inside because Stryker was supposed to be hiding in there. Anton forgot too. At least until after when he got embarrassed about being seen by Stryker. Anton didn’t want his new friend to think bad about him.”

He got busted because you were horny?” Noah accused.

“Hey! You got busted by talking too much! At least I got laid.”

“I don’t want to get laid!” Noah yelled. “Asexual, dude!”

Bringing his fingers to his mouth, Gavin gave a sharp whistle.

All four men on the porch winced.

“Where is my mate?”

“Stryker’s your mate?” Dean asked surprised. “Really?”

“Yes, I told him this afternoon. He said he needed some time. I was giving him that time. I guess that was when your familiar and River kidnapped him.”

“We didn’t kidnap him!” Noah and River said in unison.

“He said he needed to think. I just fulfilled his wish. Stryker promised not to leave the property,” River said.

“You took him to another realm,” Gavin pointed out. He was really trying to control his temper. At least he knew Stryker was safe. Well probably safe. There was no telling with River and Noah. This was why Gavin had been worried.

“True,” River said. “I left the pixies to watch over him!”

“The pixies?” Rainier growled. “They’re as mischievous as you!”

“But they’ll watch out for him.”

Gavin shook his head. “Where is he?” he demanded.

River swallowed hard. “Uh, fae land.”

“Fae land?” Rainier repeated.

“That was what Stryker called it,” Noah offered.

This was ridiculous! “Take me to my mate!” Gavin ordered.

“I’ll take you,” Rainier said. He shook River. “He wasn’t at the house. Where is he?”

River huffed. “Behind the waterfall.”

Rainier shoved River down the steps. “Go wait for me with Anton. I will be back after I drop off Gavin.”

“And you.” Dean pushed Noah toward the house. “Let’s go give Lucifer a call. You want to talk to Cary so bad, then you can spend time with him.”

“Oh man! Luci is going to give me his disappointed face,” Noah whined.

“And probably a lecture,” Dean agreed.

Gavin turned to Rainier. “Can you please take me to my mate?”

“Come on.” Rainier waved toward the woods. Where the portal to the fae realm was located. “I’m sorry about this.”

“I knew Stryker and River together were going to be trouble. I just thought we’d have more time to come up with a plan to keep them under control.”

Rainier laughed. “I like River on the naughty side. This is crossing a line though.”

“Don’t be too hard on him. Stryker can be very convincing,” Gavin said.

“He’ll be punished. And I’m sure he’ll enjoy every minute of it.”

“Good.” He chuckled. Gavin had his own plan for his boy.

“If I open the portal, you can enter. Go through the house and ask Gerald if you need anything. You can shift and find the waterfall?”

“I’m good once you open the portal,” Gavin promised. His entire focus was getting to his mate. If Stryker was scared enough to go to another realm, Gavin had a lot more explaining to do.

Stryker had a choice. Gavin should have explained that better. Stryker could refuse their mating. Hell, they had time. They could date and get to know each other. Just because they were meant to be didn't mean there weren’t other options.

“Good luck with your mate.” Rainier gripped his shoulder before opening the portal.”

“Thanks, man.” Gavin stepped through his side of the portal. When he stepped out, he was standing in the long hallway of Rainier’s upstairs.

Gerald slid out of the shadows in front of him. “Master Gavin! I wasn’t expecting you. I have just pulled a fresh fruit pie from the oven. If I recall, you also enjoy black coffee?”

Gavin grinned. “Thank you for the offer, Gerald. Rainier opened the portal. It seems that River snuck my future mate into the realm.”

“That boy.” Gerald smiled wide. “He does keep our king on his toes.”

“That he does,” Gavin agreed.

“I believe the pixies have been taking your mate fruit from the garden,” Gerald told him. “I knew they were up to something.”

“I’m glad he’s being taken care of. I’ll just slip out and shift to collect him.”

“Very good. Please let me know if you need any assistance.”

Gavin smiled at Rainier’s butler. “I appreciate it.”

Gerald led the way down the stairs and through the kitchen. He held the door open, allowing Gavin to exit. Gavin stepped out to the backyard. If someone would call the outside of the property a yard.

The fae realm was filled with intense colors. Brighter than the human world.

The flowers and plants bigger.

Everything just a little more sharper.

It was an amazing place. Gavin would have loved to have been the one to bring his mate to this realm. To take Stryker flying. Show Stryker the good part of the paranormal world.

There were times when Gavin got lost in the past. When all he could remember was tragedy and pain. That wasn’t what the paranormal community stood for though.

They were survivors. Centuries of adversity and threats making the ones that were still alive stronger. Family meant something when you’d lost everything.

Gavin had been struggling. He’d just needed the reminder.

This reminder.

He’d worked hard to rebuild the life that was stolen from him.

Gavin ditched his clothes quickly, leaving them on a chair at the edge of the yard. He strode forward to the clearing that he knew wasn’t far. Once he reached his destination, Gavin held his arms up to the sky.

The power inside him started to build.

Across the purple sky, lightning streaked. A rumble shook under his feet. Gavin took off at a run. He leapt and called on his shift.

He flapped his large wings once, twice. He dipped before rising into the air.

The magic of the realm pulsed down his spine.

Gavin did a few wide circles above the clearing then the house. He could feel the moisture in the air, could smell the waterfall not far away, and headed in the direction of his mate.

* * * * *

Stryker

“Thanks, buddy!” Stryker accepted another bright red apple. He added the piece to the stack. “I really do have enough to eat. I appreciate it but I don’t need anything else.”

The little red-orange pixie chattered, spraying some sort of glitter over him.

Stryker grinned. The pixies were awesome. River had been right about that. He’d been there for a few hours, plenty of time to think, but all Stryker had figured out was that he missed Gavin and his new friends. The fae land was beautiful but he wished Gavin was there to share the experience with him.

Even though he’d spent years on his own, this felt different. He was different.

He was the mate to an amazing, smart, protective shifter. Stryker was the special person that a paranormal spent their entire lives searching for. Was he really willing to give up his future because he was afraid? And it really did come down to Stryker being scared.

If the people that had given birth to him or were supposed to care for him hadn’t wanted him around, why would Gavin? Except, Gavin had found Stryker, had looked for him, and turned the table on him.

Hadn’t Gavin been unlike anyone Stryker had ever met before?

Fuck! Stryker might have screwed everything up. He’d run. Just like he always did. And now he was stuck in a strange land until someone came for him. River had a few hours left on his shift in the human realm. Stryker was now dependent on someone else and that irritated him.

The waterfall in front of him was loud.

Stryker had been tucked into a cave behind the waterfall and away from view. Even with the roar of the water coming down, Stryker heard the rumble of thunder. Damn it! He did not know how a storm in fae land was going to affect him.

The pixies chattered before they made a mad dash for the exit. Leaving him behind.

“Hey!” Stryker jumped to his feet to follow them out. “Come back!”

The sky still appeared clear without any rain falling. Stryker peered around. Interesting.

He spotted a large creature flying for him.

The beast was magnificent.

Stryker couldn’t tear his gaze away. He didn’t know the creatures in this strange land, but that giant bird creature did seem sort of familiar. And he was getting closer. Stryker stepped back into the cave as lightning flashed in front of him.

He blinked and Gavin flew out of the sky, landing in front of him.

“What the fuck?” Stryker screeched.

“Hello, boy,” Gavin replied.

Damn, his man was hot. And naked. Why was he naked?

“Surprised?”

He should be. “Who caved first? River or Noah?”

“They both got busted about the same time. You need better conspirators.”

Stryker shrugged. “It was sort of a last-minute plan.”

“I get that,” Gavin said.

“Are you mad?” Stryker wasn’t nervous. Not at all. He was a grown man that could make his own decisions.

“I’m not mad,” Gavin replied. “Not even that surprised. I really thought you’d go for the bike.”

“I promised not to leave the property,” Stryker pointed out.

Gavin shook his head. “You went to another realm!”

Wow, maybe Gavin was mad at him. “But technically I didn’t leave the property. Smart, right?”

“Smart?” Gavin repeated. “You’re in a strange realm, all alone, hiding from me.”

“I’m not hiding,” Stryker argued. “I just needed to think.”

“Did you? Think? Figure anything out?”

Stryker grinned. “You really want to have this conversation while you’re naked?”

“I had to leave my clothes behind when I shifted.”

“The bird!”

“Thunderbird,” Gavin said.

“You were beautiful!” Stryker was so excited. “Can I go flying with you?”

“Would you like that?” Gavin asked.

“I would love that. It has to be like flying down the interstate on my bike!”

“Just how fast do you drive that bike?” Gavin questioned.

“Fast?” Stryker stalled. “I wouldn’t speed.”

“Little liar,” Gavin said amused. He held out his hand to Stryker.

Stryker let Gavin pull him in close.

“Seriously, did you have time to think?” Gavin asked.

“I did.”

“And?”

Stryker sighed. “I don’t have all the answers. Not yet.”

“Can you answer me just one thing?”

“Sure.” Stryker hoped he could.

“Will you stick around long enough to give us a chance?” Gavin asked.

“You mean not run away,” Stryker corrected.

“Exactly. We don’t have to decide anything right away. There’s time to get to know each other better,” Gavin said.

“We’re mates,” Stryker reminded him.

Gavin chuckled. “I’m aware of that.”

“Isn’t the whole purpose of finding your special person to mate with them?” Stryker asked.

“The purpose is finding that special person.” Gavin drew Stryker back into the cave. “Just finding them.” He sat, pulling Stryker into his lap.

This was not a position that Stryker ever complained about being in. “Noah filled me in on the curse that kept the paranormal from finding their mates.”

Gavin nodded. “It wasn’t always like that. My parents were fated mates.”

“Your parents? Like your real family?”

“Yeah, my birth family. My parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. I even had a brother.”

“You said had?”

“We were hunted to extinction. I’m the last of my kind,” Gavin said softly.

Being alone in the world? That was something that Stryker was all too familiar with. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“I was young. Very young. And I have my family now. A family that I think you might also need,” Gavin said.

“Need?” Stryker scoffed.

Gavin cupped his face. “It’s okay to lean on someone. To trust others to have your back.”

Stryker leaned forward, closing the distance between their lips. He appreciated the words, but Stryker wasn’t ready for that big of a leap. To make such a big commitment. He also had no plan to let Gavin go.

In his time alone thinking, he did figure out that he still wanted Gavin.

Gavin was the only person who’d ever intrigued Stryker enough to make him want to take a chance. Not that he was ready yet.

Stryker gripped the back of Gavin’s neck as Gavin deepened the kiss.

He leaned against Gavin’s strong body giving into the need inside him. Stryker chased Gavin’s tongue, needing more until he had to rip his mouth away to breathe.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to admit to anything. To tell me what you’re not ready to share yet,” Gavin said. He turned, laying Stryker down on the floor of the cave.

Stryker peered up at Gavin. How did he know?

“You don’t have to say anything at all,” Gavin said before he kissed Stryker again.

Spreading his legs, Stryker loved having Gavin settle over him.

The coolness from the cave floor sunk into his back but Gavin was burning hot over him. Gavin rubbed his cock against Stryker’s cloth-covered dick. It was so unfair that Gavin was gloriously naked and Stryker wasn’t.

He pushed up hard. “Please!”

“You want something?”

“I want you to fuck me!” Stryker demanded.

“No lube,” Gavin said as he rolled his hips. “Had to leave everything behind to track you down.”

Stryker huffed. Then why had Gavin gotten him worked up? Was this punishment? Fucker! Beautiful, sexy, fucking asshole. “But—”

“But I guess you didn’t run away, technically, so you should get a reward.”

Stryker was all for rewards. He bucked his hips again. “Yeah?”

Gavin smirked then slid down Stryker’s body. He unbuttoned Stryker’s pants before pulling the zipper down. Stryker’s erection made an indecent bulge in his underwear.

“What’s this?” Gavin asked. He pushed down Stryker’s pants and underwear. Stryker lifted his hips, but Gavin only pushed his pants down to his knees.

“It’s a hard dick!” Stryker felt like screaming. “Now touch it!”

“Patience,” Gavin admonished. “I’ve only gotten started.”

“Started?” Stryker swallowed hard. What did he mean?

Gavin hummed. Wrapping his fingers around the base of Stryker’s cock, he looked up and met Stryker’s gaze. “I’ve been thinking.”

“Thinking?” Thinking was overrated when there was so much more fun to have.

“I need to come up with a plan to keep you from getting bored.” Gavin licked the tip of his shaft.

Stryker jerked. “I’m not bored now.”

“I can’t be buried inside you twenty-four hours a day,” Gavin said.

That sounded like an awesome plan to Stryker.

“And your mouth can only be wrapped around my dick so much.”

“I do like to have my mouth busy,” Stryker argued.

Gavin gave a quick suck then popped off Stryker’s cock.

Stryker kicked his foot against the floor. “Come on!”

“We’re negotiating,” Gavin replied. He licked up Stryker’s shaft.

“Fuck!” Stryker shouted. “I’ll do whatever you want! Just suck me.”

Gavin chuckled. His breath tickled over Stryker’s slit. “That’s a very dangerous thing to say.”

“Please!” Stryker begged.

“I guess we can finish this conversation later. When you’re able to focus better,” Gavin told him.

Stryker opened his mouth to speak but gurgled when Gavin finally, finally, took his cock all the way down to the back of his throat. Gavin sucked him down, came back up, then down again.

His eyes rolled back as Gavin didn’t give him any time to adjust to the fast and frantic pace he set. Stryker couldn’t keep up. Gavin was literally sucking every thought from his mind.

He didn’t care what Gavin wanted. Stryker would give Gavin anything if he’d just let Stryker come. He wanted to come! Stryker sobbed out in frustration when the tingling started, but Gavin lifted his head.

“Just one more question,” Gavin said. His fingers firm around Stryker holding off Stryker’s orgasm.

Oh, Gavin was going to pay for this. Stryker would get his revenge. After he got to come! “What?”

“Who is my good boy?”

Stryker tried to reply. He wanted to. Gavin took Stryker’s cock back in his mouth and that was all Stryker could think about. He yelled as Gavin brought him to climax.