Lone Wolf Ripples 03 - The Fire of a Lone Wolf's Heart (3 page)

They exchanged all sorts of stories, and Clay ended up telling Perry about his job as an exotic dancer at V's club. The wave of embarrassment-arousal-jealousy that flared over the car nearly made Clay pull over. If he didn't, it was only because at the back of his mind, he always remained focused on the fact that this was for Perry, for his safety and for his future.

The fairy circle they were aiming for was far closer than he'd have liked. Even if these days, the portals were pretty rare, Clay had no trouble finding it. He half-expected something to go wrong, but no one stopped them, not even human patrols. He headed onto rougher roads, into a deep forest, and the trees started to block the moonlight. If not for his advanced senses, Clay would have had real trouble maneuvering through the terrain.

All too soon, Clay reached his destination and parked the car. "I think we need to go on foot from here."

"Have you been in this area before?" Perry asked as they abandoned the vehicle.

Clay nodded. "Back before I met V, when I left my pack. I know it well, which is why V asked me to come with you to begin with. Of course, at the time, I wasn't aware there's a fairy circle nearby, but you learn new things every day." And this had definitely been a day for revelations.

In truth, Clay had no idea what to look for in terms of the fabled fairy circle. V had given him a tentative map with references that he understood, and he could only hope that he didn't get himself and his mate lost. He needn't have worried. They were just about to reach the area Clay was roughly heading toward when his mate suddenly stopped.

"Perry?" Clay asked. "What is it?"

"Nothing." Perry stared up at the sky, or at least, at the foliage blocking their view of it. "I can see the fairy circle ahead."

He pointed to a grove a hundred feet from them. To Clay, it looked like just another random clearing, with nothing particularly special about it, but obviously that wasn't what Perry saw.

Clay's mouth went dry. This was it then, the moment when they had to say goodbye. "I—"

"No, wait," Perry interrupted him. "Here's the thing. The two of us are mates. It's fair to assume that the danger I'm in won't pass overnight, and as long as that's the case, it's not safe for me to be around you. But... Right now, tonight, V's spell still protects me. It won't hold, I know that, but just for a few hours... Would you stay with me?"

A weight lifted off Clay's shoulders. His mate was perfectly right. V had already explained that her spell would not be able to keep Perry safe, since, unlike in Clay's case, Perry was actively being tracked down by a very determined group. However, right now, not even the hunters could find them so quickly. The fairy circle was very close, and if something happened, Perry could easily make his escape. They had some time to themselves.

By rights, it was a bad idea to prolong this any further, but Clay couldn't bring himself to say no. "Of course I'll stay. I'll always stay. I'll always be here for you."

Something seemed to click inside Perry at his reply. In the blink of an eye, Perry was in his arms, soft lips pressed against Clay's own. The world exploded into a rush of need and desire, and everything beyond this moment ceased to matter. For now, he had his mate in his arms. For now, they were together, and nothing could keep him from taking what was his.

****

Perry had not intended to push his mate into sex. Sure, he'd wanted it. How could he not? His mate was a walking wet dream, all rippled muscles and virile Alpha. Perry wanted nothing more than to lick him all over.

He'd tried to keep his libido in check, and for the most part, he'd succeeded—with one notable exception when Clay had mentioned his job. But when he'd gotten close to the fairy circle and realized that in minutes, he'd lose the one chance he had to touch Clay... He couldn't bring himself to take that final step into the glittering magic.

It was selfish, he knew that. It would make their separation more painful. But Perry didn't want to think beyond this moment. Because it was unfair, unfair that he'd finally found what he'd been looking for, only for it to be torn out of his hands. It was unfair that Clay had lost his pack and would now have to lose Perry too. He couldn't, couldn't allow it to happen sooner than he absolutely had to.

Perry might have been the one to make the first step, but after that first moment, Clay took over. He thrust his tongue into Perry's mouth, devouring him with a hunger Perry could have only ever found in a predator.

He buried his fingers in the werewolf's dark hair and succumbed to his mate's domination, moaning as Clay pinned him to a tree trunk. The bark was rough against his back, but the feel of it seemed to add to the sensation of being owned, being taken, being claimed. Clay's scent, his taste, his strength overpowered everything else, made him forget, disregard his past, his fears, his doubts into the wind.

The need to breathe forced them apart, but Clay didn't pull away. He licked over his neck and nibbled on his earlobe, whispering gruffly, "Please tell me this is okay. Tell me I can have you."

Given that Perry had kissed Clay first, the question should have seemed superfluous, but Perry understood what he meant. This was more than sex. Clay wanted a real bonding, a real claiming, by the ways of his kind.

Deer-shifters didn't have individual mates, not like werewolves did. They often coupled in groups of three or more people. But Perry was different. His magic had already sensed the truth about Clay, and in his heart, he saw no reason to wait. In fact, he thought the only way he could survive the separation was if they bonded now.

"Yes," he agreed eagerly. "I'm yours."

No sooner had he said the words than his mate was kissing him again, devouring him with even more greed than before. And Perry knew then that he'd never spoken truer words in his life, that he did belong to Clay and had belonged to him before they'd even met.

The thought inflamed him, and the kiss, no matter how intoxicating, no longer satisfied him. He clawed at Clay's shirt, desperate for skin, desperate for more. He couldn't quite get a good enough grip to tear through the stupid thing, which frustrated him beyond belief.

And then, Clay hissed and the scent of scorched cotton filled the air. Perry's eyes widened when he realized he'd accidentally summoned his magic and had burned a hole through Clay's shirt.

"Oh, no," he gasped out, breaking their kiss. "Did I hurt you?"

Clay didn't reply, at least not through words. The growl he released was all wolf, wild and feral with unleashed lust. Perry took one look at Clay and realized his pixie fire had not burned Clay's flesh. It had, however, demolished whatever barriers had been keeping Clay's true self in check. And Perry had truly never loved his magic more, because the next thing he knew, he was on his back on the grass, his mate's hands already working on his clothes.

Despite Perry's propensity for speed, even he had trouble tracking down the blur of Clay's motions. He was dizzy with lust, with need, his magic pulsing wildly under his skin. He tried to control it, and maybe to a certain extent, he was successful, because the flame under fingertips turned into light instead.

For a few moments, Clay stopped, watching Perry with wide eyes filled with something akin to awe. Perry smiled and a wave of light curled against Clay's cheek. Just like that, Clay shot into action again.

It was quite literally, like magic. Clay seemed to weave a spell around him, because the moment Clay's mouth found the first patches of his skin, Perry lost track of the sequence of events. His tunnel vision focused on Clay's clever touches, but he couldn't quite take in everything Clay did.

It was Clay's touch and the heat of his mouth that made him aware that he was naked. When Clay's clever tongue zeroed in on his nipple, he gasped and realized his shirt had at some point been the victim of Clay's zeal. When Clay's fingers gripped Perry's dick in a tight, almost ruthless hold, he finally grasped that his pants had followed in the shirt's wake. He wondered if he should have been amused by the fact that he had no idea if he was still wearing socks and shoes. Quite frankly, amusement couldn't have been further from his mind.

Clay bit down on his nipple, making him groan in delight as pleasure zinged through him and pooled straight into his cock. His free hand tweaked the other fleshy nub, while the other toyed with the tip of Perry's cock, driving him wild with ecstasy. It was so good, and yet not nearly enough.

Perry spread his legs wider in wordless invitation. His mate didn't delay in taking him up on it. He released Perry's nipple with a wet pop, and while Perry immediately felt the absence of the caress, the anticipation burned through him even brighter. Clay kissed down his chest and abs, his fingers trailing over his sides and his hips. Completely at his mate's mercy, Perry could only lay there and burn.

When Clay lowered his mouth over Perry's cock, Perry almost came right then and there. He wasn't exactly a virgin—he'd done some things with other deer-shifters in his herd—but right now, he felt like it. Nothing he'd ever experienced in his life had prepared him for this.

Clay devoured his dick the same way he'd done earlier with his lips. He didn't tease, didn't wait, didn't give Perry any quarter. He bobbed his head up and down Perry's cock, all the while keeping up that weirdly arousing growl that sent pleasurable vibrations through Perry.

The ecstasy kept building up, waves and waves of bliss threatening to choke him, to stop his heart and his breath. It all came to a mind-melting crescendo when Clay thrust one single dry finger into his ass. The burn of the invasion propelled Perry over the edge, and he came and came and came, filling his mate's mouth with his seed.

It would have been easy to succumb to the lassitude of orgasm, but his mate was nowhere near done with him. In fact, Perry only got a few moments to catch his breath, seconds Clay used to discard his own clothing. After that, it started all over again, in an impossibly better way. Slick fingers slid inside him, and Perry realized his mate was using his seed to prepare him. Perry's dick—still half-hard despite his climax—went fully erect again, and his senses cleared, the buzz of the afterglow exploding into renewed desire.

Somehow, throughout it all, he managed to actually say something, "Come on, Clay. Fuck me."

In response, Clay crooked his fingers inside Perry, hitting Perry's prostate dead on. "No," he said, voice so low it was barely understandable. "I won't fuck you. I'll claim you."

That was the only warning Perry got before Clay pulled his fingers out and replaced them with his dick. It hurt, and it burned, Clay's girth stretching Perry beyond what he'd have thought he could take. But take it he did, and he loved every moment of it. Clay didn't rush him. He moved slowly, giving him time to adjust. Even with Perry's magic flowing between them and feeding their shared desire, Clay was almost excruciatingly careful.

And when Clay finally bottomed out inside of him, Perry had a moment of clarity when he realized that yes, it was possible to find love within the expanse of one evening. Then Clay started to move steadily, and Perry's thought processes shattered into an incoherent mess. He could only hold on as his mate thrust in and out of him, branding him from the inside out with his strength and his heat.

He didn't know how long it lasted, how long they lost themselves in the sinuous dance of their bodies. The slower, gentler motions gradually turned harder, faster, and at one point, Perry could barely feel the moments when Clay was out of him. Clay seemed to have an uncanny knack of hitting his prostate every single time, and with each second that passed, Perry kept climbing higher and higher toward another explosive orgasm.

Knowing he would not be able to take it for much longer, Perry tilted his throat, offering his submission and his whole self to his mate. Seconds later, Clay struck, and with the sharp pain of the bite came an unfathomable wave of pleasure and a bright light that surpassed any magic Perry could have hoped to summon.

Perry could now see the link snap into place, burning bright with his dancing, enthusiastic magic. A howl of triumph echoed in his mind, followed by a simple mental whisper,
"Mine."

"Yes,"
Perry managed to reply.
"Yours."

He wished he could have said more, but he didn't have words left, not when their hearts and minds came together, bonding them for all time. Perry saw the very same emotions he'd experienced echoed in Clay's mind, and he clung to them, clung to Clay as hard as he could. He didn't want to return to reality, didn't want to let go of his mate.

Unfortunately, they didn't have much choice. As the pleasure finally started to dissipate, the knowledge of their imminent separation returned. Perry only realized he was crying when Clay kissed one of his tears away. "It's okay. This is only temporary. I'll find you again."

Maybe it would have been harder to believe the words, but Clay hadn't slid out of him yet. The head of his dick seemed to have grown, keeping them bound together. Clay rolled them in a more comfortable position, ended up spooning him from behind, and somehow, Perry found comfort and strength in it. "Yes. Of course. It's temporary."

For a while, he just lay there, enjoying the closeness and the contentment that flowed through their new bond. At one point, he must have dozed off, because when he stirred again, the sun's rays filtered through the tree leaves. Clay was still by his side, but watching him with a small, sad smile.

Perry swallowed around the knot in his throat. "It's time, isn't it?"

Clay nodded. "We can't afford to delay any longer."

Perry couldn't argue with that. He'd have liked to, but the whole point of his departure was keeping the people he loved safe. He'd already pushed his luck beyond what would have been wise. As such, he cleaned up as well as he could, thankful that V had apparently anticipated the possibility of their bonding and provided them with a change of clothes.

Once he was ready, Clay walked him to the edge of the grove. A few steps away, Perry could see the bright circles of magic, flaring and already responding to his presence.