Blood Prince [Wolf Creek Pack 4] (6 page)

Leaning up, he sank his teeth into the soft flesh of Devlin’s throat. Hot, sweet liquid flooded his mouth again. Devlin roared. Zacarius felt hair brush his body. The arms holding him thickened, became bigger, as did the body above him.

Zacarius braced himself as the beast took control. Devlin’s face slightly extended. Ears grew out of the top of his head. Fur covered most of his body. Claws grew from the werewolf’s fingers. And the cock lying between Zacarius’s legs grew both in length and width.

Zacarius groaned. He doubted he would be able to sit for a week. Devlin grabbed him, flipping him onto his hands and knees. Before Zacarius could even settle down, Devlin drove his cock deep into his ass.

He cried out, the pleasure overriding the burn he felt at being so filled. Devlin didn’t give him any time to grow accustomed to his increased size before pounding into his tight grip. Zacarius spread his legs, digging them and his hands into the blankets.

Devlin was relentless. He didn’t pause. He didn’t slow down. He didn’t take prisoners. He fucked Zacarius so hard and so fast that Zacarius forgot where he began and Devlin ended. His whole world dwindled down to the man thrusting into him. He felt nothing else.

He was so tuned into being fucked he yelped when Devlin suddenly pulled out and flipped him back over onto his back. Devlin instantly came back, thrusting into Zacarius again before he could even protest.

His hands were gathered together and held over his head by one of Devlin’s. He couldn’t move away, even if he wanted to, which he didn’t. Devlin pinned him to the bed by the weight of his much larger body and the strength of his hand.

“Mine,” Devlin growled down at him, his face fierce.

“Yes!” Zacarius grinned, tilting his head back and baring his neck to the werewolf claiming him. Devlin’s beast understood even if the human side did not. Never having been bitten before, Zacarius felt a little shocked at how arousing it felt when Devlin sank his long canines into his neck.

“Yes, my darling, yes!” Zacarius shouted as emotions of possessiveness, contentment, and deep satisfaction overwhelmed him. His shout turned to a high pitched cry as his cock erupted and he filled the space between them with his second release.

When Devlin roared above him, hot lava filling his ass, Zacarius felt like he climaxed for a third time. It felt exhilarating knowing he brought his mate to such heights of pleasure. And then the knot at the end of Devlin’s cock extended, lodging into place against his prostate.

Zacarius inhaled swiftly as Devlin continued to move with small thrusts meant to prolong their pleasure. It rocked the knot, stimulating Zacarius to a before unreached level of ecstasy. He whimpered beyond groaning and moaning. His hands clenched, searching for something to hold onto, but Devlin still held them over his head. His body bucked, too sensitive to stay still.

When Devlin lifted his head and licked the small bite mark in his neck closed, Zacarius’s body lost its battle with reality. The touch of Devlin’s hand on his over sensitized cock was the last straw.
 

An orgasm of monumental proportions ripped through Zacarius’s body, short circuiting every nerve ending he possessed and ending in his cock. His eyes rolled back in his head and light exploded in his eyes. Then everything went black.

* * * *

Zacarius opened his eyes slowly. Both lids felt glued closed. It took all of his effort just to lift them and glance around for his mate. He expected Devlin to be in bed beside him. He wasn’t.

A sudden spark of energy hit him as panic set in. Zacarius rolled to the side of the bed. He grabbed the sheet off the mattress and wrapped it around his body before making his way to the outer room.

Zacarius sagged against the doorframe when he spotted Devlin leaning against the window, looking out into the night sky. He was fully dressed right down to his shoes, a small bag at his feet, a glass of liquid in his hand. Zacarius assumed it was scotch. Devlin liked scotch.

“You could have told me,” Devlin said without even turning his head.

“I could have, but would you have believed me?” Zacarius asked.

“Maybe, maybe not,” Devlin replied. He shrugged his shoulders before turning to glare at Zacarius. “But it should have been my choice.”

Yeah, okay, Devlin might have a point. Zacarius knew he and Devlin were mates before they slept together. He should have mentioned it before he forced Devlin to shift and claim him. He felt guilty, but not enough to let the man off the hook. Devlin claimed Zacarius fair and square, and he wasn’t giving up without a fight.

“You’re right,” Zacarius said. “I should have given you the choice. I can’t change that now, though, and I wouldn’t want to. You claimed me. I belong to you.”

“And if I don’t want you?” Devlin growled, sending an arrow straight to Zacarius’s heart. “What then, your highness? Are you going to command me to be your mate? Will you send me to the dungeon if I refuse?”

“N—no, of course not,” Zacarius stammered, his heart plummeting to his feet. He never considered the possibility that Devlin might not want him. Sure, he knew that his mate had misgivings concerning a relationship between a vampire and a werewolf, but he figured they could work that out. Could he have been wrong?

“You’re free to leave whenever you want,” he whispered. He prayed Devlin wouldn’t take that option, but the fierce look of betrayal on his face said he would. Zacarius tried to hide his heartache behind a façade of detachment.

Devlin picked up his bag and stalked across the room, heading for the door. He paused next to Zacarius. The look in Devlin’s eyes when he glanced at him made Zacarius’s heart shrivel in his chest.

“I knew I never should have trusted a bloodsucker,” Devlin snarled. “They’ll betray you and stab you in the back every chance they get.”

Zacarius could garner no response. Devlin was right. He lied. It was a lie of omission, but still a lie. Zacarius didn’t have the right to stop Devlin when he stormed out of the room. He still raised his hand to stop him, whimpering in distress when Devlin pulled his arm free and walked away without a backward glance.

Zacarius winced as the door slammed behind his mate. Numb, he walked to the phone and dialed Alfred. He came on the line immediately.

“Alfred,” Zacarius said, surprised that his voice sounded so steady when the rest of him crumbled to the floor, “Mr. Morgan is on his way down. Please see that he makes it safely to his car.”

“Certainly, your highness,” Alfred replied.

“Thank you, Alfred. I need some rest. I don’t wish to be disturbed.”

“Is everything okay, your highness?”

Hell no!
He just lost his mate.

“Everything is fine, Alfred.”

Chapter 5

Devlin tossed back another beer. His fifth… no, sixth beer of the evening. If he had his way, it would just be just one of many. He’d do whatever it took to get rid of the amethyst eyes he saw in his head, looking at him, pleading with him.

He’d been back in Wolf Creek for nearly two weeks. He never went more than a few minutes without thinking about Zacarius. He bounced between fits of rage at for Zacarius lying to him to wanting him so much his teeth ached.

He was pretty much useless to everyone. His mind kept wandering, reliving the stolen moments in his prince’s arms. He couldn’t seem to concentrate on anything worth a damn. Every time he thought he’d licked it, Zacarius would wiggle his way back in.

“Want to tell me what happened?”

Devlin glanced over at his drinking buddy, Reece, and shook his head. He didn’t want to share his time with Zacarius with anyone. That might make it real. He also felt possessive about Zacarius. No one else needed to know about him.

“Why don’t you tell me anyway?” Reece asked. “I’ll find out eventually so you might as well tell me while you’re still sober.”

Devlin chuckled. “I’m not sure I can tell you while I’m sober.”

“So, have another beer, then tell me.”

Devlin stared down at his beer. Could he tell Reece about Zacarius? Reece was his best friend, someone he trusted more than any one. At this point, he trusted Reece more than he trusted his own mate, and that sucked.

“I found my mate.”

“Wow, cool,” Reece said, slapping him on the back. “Congratulations, my friend. It’s about damn time. Tell me about him.” Reece paused. “It is a
him
, isn’t it?”

“Oh yeah, he’s all male.”

“Well, that’s a relief.” Reece chuckled. “I was afraid you would tell me you got mated a girl.”

“No,” Devlin said, shaking his head. “That would have been easy.”

“Mating a female would have been easy? Have you lost your mind?”

Devlin looked at Reece, letting all of his frustration, rage, and grief seep through the tight control he held in since he walked out on Zacarius. “Having a female for a mate would be a hell of a lot easier than a vampire prince.”

“Fuck!”

Devlin nodded, starting to laugh as the ridiculousness of the situation filled him. Not only did he mate a vampire, he mated a vampire prince. Could his life get any more fucked up? He laughed so hard tears fell from his eyes.

“You should see him, Reece,” Devlin said through the tears streaming down his face. “He’s the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen. Pale white skin, long black hair, and amethyst eyes that are so deep I swear I can see my soul in them every time I look at the man.”

“Have you claimed him?”

“Oh yes.”

“Then what in the hell are you doing here?” Reece exclaimed. “Why aren’t you with your mate?”

Devlin’s laughter dwindled away as he recalled why he sat here in Wolf Creek instead of with his mate. Nothing seemed amusing about that. He wanted to be with Zacarius. He didn’t even care that he was a vampire.

He just couldn’t seem to get past the lying. Mates shouldn’t lie to each other even if it is a lie of omission. It felt wrong, a betrayal of all that mates stood for. Zacarius knew before they had sex they were mates. He didn’t say anything, and that said more than any words could.

“He lied to me.”

“He lied to you?” Reece asked. “How?”

“He knew we were mates before we slept together. He never said anything. He didn’t give me a choice.”

Reece was quiet long enough to peak Devlin’s curiosity. He glanced at Reece again, who looked a little pale. He stared at his hands, twisting them together in his lap.

“Reece?”

“I never told Keeley before I claimed him,” Reece said. “I didn’t give him a choice either. Doesn’t that make me just as bad?”

Devlin waved his hand at Reece and settled his head back against the chair he sat in. “It’s not the same thing. Keeley knew you were a werewolf before you claimed him.”

“You knew your mate was a vampire before you claimed him,” Reece reasoned. “How is it any different?”

“It just is,” Devlin insisted.

“How? If he knew you were a shifter and you knew he was a vampire, how is it any different?”

“He lied to me, Reece!” Devlin exclaimed. “He could have told me that we were mates. He could have given me the choice as to whether I wanted to claim him or not. He didn’t. Instead, he got me so aroused that I shifted and claimed him.”

“And?”

Devlin growled. Reece just wasn’t getting it. Zacarius betrayed him. What part of this didn’t Reece understand? It made perfect sense to Devlin.

“I’m not seeing the problem here, Dev,” Reece said. “He’s your mate. He knew it before you did. So what? Would you have not claimed him if you knew you were mates before he did?”

“That’s not the point, Reece,” Devlin snapped, slamming his beer down on the table. “It doesn’t matter if we were mates or not or that we knew what species we each were. What he did was wrong.”

Devlin shoved his hand through his hair as he tried to figure out how to express his issue to Reece. “If he can lie to me about something as important as our mating, what else will he lie to me about?”

“Having a vampire prince isn’t your problem then?”

“No,” Devlin said. “While it’s a little unusual, it’s not something I couldn’t get used to.”

“So, it’s the lying?”

Devlin nodded. “He kept something from me, Reece, and it wasn’t something small either. I know he’s a prince and all, he’s used to getting his own way but you’d think something that important, at least between mates, he wouldn’t lie about.”

“Okay, I guess I can see where you’re coming from. As a prince, he might not see anything wrong with withholding information about something like mating or anything else. He certainly didn’t start things off well, but does that mean there’s no chance for you two?”

Devlin shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know.”

“Did you try to talk to him, explain your concerns?”

Devlin felt his face flush. Not only did he not try to explain things to Zacarius, but he meant his last words to hurt as much as possible. He wanted Zacarius to feel Devlin’s pain. He’d made sure he did.

“No.”

“I know that look, Dev,” Reece said. “What did you do?”

“I left.”

“Just like that? Did you leave a number or tell him how to get in touch with you?”

Devlin shook his head.

“Did you discuss anything with him?”

Devlin chuckled. “We didn’t do a whole lot of talking, dude.”

“Christ! You really know how to fuck things up, don’t you?”

“Hey!” Devlin snapped, outraged. Reece was his friend. He should be on Devlin’s side.

“Even if the man wanted to come talk to you, to apologize, how can he if he doesn’t know where you live?”

“He knows I live in Wolf Creek, that Daniel is my alpha,” Devlin replied. “He could find me if he really wanted to. Well, it’s been two weeks, guess he’s not looking.”

“Did you give him any reason to?” Reece questioned. “Or did you just storm out after throwing a temper tantrum?”

“I never—”

“Devlin?” Keeley said as he walked into the room, interrupting Devlin’s denial. “There’s a strange little guy at the door looking for you. Someone named Alfred?”

Devlin jumped up and out of his chair before Keeley finished speaking. He nearly ran to the front door. Sure enough, Alfred stood on the doorstep. He looked ruffled, mussed, unlike his usual calm and collected self.