Rise to Submit [Rise of the Changelings, Book 4] (Siren Publishing Epic Romance, ManLove) (12 page)

“Smells good.” Mason got up and walked to the dresser, but Ian wasn’t hungry. There was only one thing he wanted, and it was the one thing he couldn’t have.

Mason looked over his shoulder at Ian, his eyes lowering slightly. “Your scent has changed.”

Ian began to pant, gritting his teeth as he swore he heard the black gates of hell opening up and welcoming him in as the cravings pulled him under. “No!” Ian slammed his head into the wall where the headboard should have been. He had to stop the cravings. He had to stop himself from going insane.

He wanted that rush. He needed it.

“Ian!” Mason pulled him away from the wall, pushing his body down into the bed. “Breathe, damn it, just breathe.”

Ian arched his body into Mason’s strong hands, fighting as sweat poured off of him. He tried to suck in enough air to do as Mason asked.

He couldn’t. Breathing had become impossible.

“Come on, Ian. Don’t give in. Don’t give up.”

“It hurts,” Ian cried. He fought against Mason. Ian fought against wanting to run back to Newman. Ian fought for his very sanity.

Mason flipped him over and grabbed his face in a vice grip. “Focus on me. Focus on my eyes. Do you hear me, Ian?”

Fists flying, Ian starting battering Mason’s head. “Let me go!”

Mason released him and Ian jumped up from the bed, fell to the floor, and began to crawl on his belly toward the window. His backside was screaming in pain, but that didn’t matter.

Nothing mattered.

Mason dropped to his knees next to Ian. “Look at you, Ian. You’re crawling like a worthless piece of shit. That’s not who you are. You’re stronger than this.”

Ian pulled himself another inch and then collapsed, curling into a ball, fighting the pain from nape to ankles as he cried. “I’m just a fucking junkie! Get away from me!” He rolled to his stomach again, trying to go somewhere, anywhere, but Mason was blocking his way.

“Friends, Ian. Even when you are crawling, I’ll be there.” Mason pulled Ian from the floor, cradling him in strong arms as Ian fought to get free.

The door opened and Bryson hurried over to them.

“No drugs,” Mason said to Bryson as he rocked Ian back and forth in his arms, running his hand over Ian’s head. “No drugs.”

“I just want to check his vitals.”

Ian was pouring with sweat as he pulled at Mason’s shirt, clinging to him, pushing against him, and wondering how he could live through such pain.

“F–Friends,” Ian said between chattering teeth.

“Friends,” Mason said as he held on to Ian while Bryson checked the man’s vitals.

“D–Don’t let me go.”

“Never,” Mason promised as he brushed the hair from Ian’s face that was matted by sweat. “I told you I have your back.”

Ian closed his eyes and nodded, and then they flew open. He couldn’t sleep. If he slept, Newman would come after him. But he was so damn tired.

“Hey,” Mason said as he gave Ian a slight jostle. “Stay with me.”

“I–I’m here.”

“Here’s a blanket.” Bryson tossed a blanket over Ian. “Keep him warm.”

Mason tucked it around Ian and then scooted until his back was against the wall.

“You done checking him?”

“Yeah, I’m going to check on him periodically through the night, though.”

Ian prayed Mason held on to him, because fighting this, fighting Newman—hell, even fighting his craving for what Mason could give him—was wearing him down.

He curled tighter into Mason’s heat, drawing on it as the cravings that had been trying to tear him apart slowly ebbed. Ian became more relaxed as he felt the power of Mason surround him.

When Mason’s hand brushed Ian’s hair back, Ian took a chance and kissed the palm of the man’s hand. Ian thought he made a grave error when Mason went stiff.

“I’m sorry,” Ian quickly said. He knew better than to take liberties with a dominant male. He feared he messed their friendship up by pushing beyond the lines of what was acceptable among friends.

Mason relaxed, wrapping his arms around Ian. “No worries.”

Ian’s eyes fluttered closed when Mason laid a chaste kiss on the top of his head. He wanted more. Ian craved to have the right person guiding him, taking over his life.

He wasn’t sure Mason was the right person, even though he had asked the man to be his Master.

Tilting his head back, Ian studied Mason’s strong features. His dazzling blue eyes seemed to draw Ian in, making him ready to beg Mason to do something, anything to relieve the building pressure inside of him.

His heart once again began to beat faster when Mason grazed Ian’s lips with his own. He wasn’t sure what this meant. Ian wasn’t foolish enough to believe Mason really wanted him.

It could be the intense situation that was pulling them together. Ian wasn’t sure, but he opened, allowing Mason to slide his tongue inside Ian’s mouth, giving himself to the strong man.

He whimpered when Mason’s fingers tightened in Ian’s hair, giving the strands a slight tug as teeth and tongues collided. Never before had Ian been kissed like this. It was powerful, possessive, and made Ian’s stomach flutter with nervous butterflies.

Scooting a bit closer, Ian tilted his head, opening wider as Mason drove his tongue deep.

Ian damn near cried when Mason pulled back, staring down at Ian and giving him a small smile. Ian rested his head against Mason’s chest, licking the taste of Mason from his lips, and sighing at the power that was wrapped around him, wishing to the gods he could burrow inside of it forever.

* * * *

Nate checked his clip and cursed. There was no way he and Selene could hold the Breed Hunters off much longer with such little ammo. They had to think of another way out of this mess.

He glanced over at Selene who was pinned down behind some barrels, keeping her head low as the Breed Hunters shot at them.

Her chartreuse eyes locked with his, and Nate knew things weren’t good on her end either. They were both low on bullets, but it seemed their enemy had plenty.

As he stared at her, Nate knew he couldn’t let her die here. There was no way either of them was dying here. Even though Rick—in his glorious nuclear meltdown—had told Selene and Sasha that he was attracted to them, Nate hadn’t said it yet, and he’d be damned if he was going to die without telling her himself.

He just wished he hadn’t run from the Yukon and left his phone behind. Calling for backup would come in real fucking handy right about now.

Selene’s cell phone lay in a broken mess on the road about a mile back. Neither could call for help.

They were so screwed.

“Come on out, animals. I promise to make your deaths quick,” one of the men shouted.

Nate rolled his eyes. “Be a little more original and I just might consider your offer.”

Selene glared at him.

Nate winked at her and smiled.

Selene shook her head and then turned, pressing her back into one of the barrels.

“You want me to sweet-talk you out of there?” the man chided from across the steelyard.

“Just as long as I don’t have to kiss your ugly face,” Nate shouted back.

Selene glared at him.

No sense of humor.

“Oh, I have something you can kiss. It comes with a bullet, too.”

There.
Nate spun from behind the Bobcat and fired, hitting center mass, and then spun back behind the large piece of equipment.

Idiot.
Didn’t the guy know Nate was only trying to get the man to talk to pinpoint his location?

Amateurs.

A hail of bullets shot past, around, and over Nate. He was trying his best to keep the gunfire away from Selene. She would be pissed if she knew that.

The woman was too damn stubborn for her own good.

Nate’s heart thumped in his chest when Selene whirled from the barrels, began shooting toward the Breed Hunters, and then skidded behind the Bobcat.

“Are you fucking nuts?” he asked her with a growl as the bullets continued to fly.

“I have to be since I’m partnered with you.”

“I was trying to figure out where he was standing. What in the hell was that stunt you just pulled?”

She snorted as she checked her clip. “Don’t you dare get all macho on me. I’m not an enforcer for nothing. Now stop bitching at me and let’s get out of here.”

God, Nate was getting turned on by her hard-core attitude. She was everything a guy could want in a woman.

She carried a gun.

How sexy was that?

“I spotted some propane tanks where they were standing,” Selene continued, either ignoring his lust or unaware of how hard he was. “That’s what that little stunt was for.”

“I have about seven bullets,” Nate replied.

“Five,” Selene said.

“Then we have a dozen bullets between us to blow those tanks.”

Selene nodded and then they both rose from behind the Bobcat, shooting and praying the plan worked.

Rick watched Benito and Miguel walk up the driveway, devilish grins on their faces.

“You two were supposed to be back an hour ago. I was about to send Freedman and Sasha to look for you.” He moved down the steps of the back porch, eyeing them both. “Did you check the town out?”

Miguel nodded. “Yep. All is well. No Breed Hunters or other nasty groups in sight.”

Rick eyed them both. He could see happy little sparks in their eyes, sparks that only a man had when he got lucky. “Okay, spill.”

Benito bit his bottom lip and snickered as Miguel tossed his arm over his cousin’s shoulder. “Well, you know how we heard that there are some humans who view us as rock stars?”

Rick was not liking where this was going. “Yeah, but I haven’t heard anything about it since the war started. Did you two—”

“Hell, yes!” Miguel laughed as he pulled his arm from around Benito’s neck and high-fived the man. “We scored with some very feisty fans.”

As mad as Rick wanted to be that they were doing other things besides scouting out the town, he chuckled at the two when they couldn’t stop grinning. “Tell me you didn’t let them know who you were.”

That would be bad. Real bad. If anyone found out there was a Rebellion group nearby, shit would hit the fan, and fast. Rick didn’t want the people with him to turn into spinsters, but he had to make sure they were extremely careful. Benito and Miguel were young, and Rick remembered the days when he was…well, a little feisty himself.

“Nah,” Miguel answered.

“I was Nick and Miguel was Fred,” Benito quickly blurted out. “We didn’t say a word, alpha. The only thing we did was let them know we were changeling and the next thing Fred and I knew, they were all over us.”

Rick laughed. “It sounds like you had a good time.”

Benito blushed. “The best in a long while.”

Miguel sobered as he glanced over at Rick. “We didn’t mean to take so long. Sorry about worrying you. I would have called, but—”

“We were too busy getting lucky,” Benito cut Miguel off as he chuckled. “Sorry, but it’s been a while.” The man curled his lips in, his eyes darting everywhere but at Rick.

“Well, as long as you took care of our business first and no harm came. Send a damn text next time.”

“Yeah, kinda wasn’t thinking about—”

Miguel slapped a hand over Benito’s mouth.

“You have our word,” he said and then glared at Benito.

Benito just shrugged.

“I have to talk to both of you about something,” Rick said as he waved a hand toward the back of the house, looking down the driveway and scanning the area before he headed toward the porch.

“Are you about to yell at us?” Benito asked.

“He just said as long as we’re responsible it’s cool,” Miguel answered. “Chill out before you end up pissing the man off and then we won’t be allowed to scout anymore.”

“That’s a part of what I wanted to talk to you about.”

Miguel glanced at Rick. “So then, we are in trouble?”

“No,” Rick replied. “I wanted to let both of you know that I’ve noticed how you two have stepped up with your responsibilities. You have not only proven yourselves, but I think it’s time you were given your place in our pack.”

Miguel and Benito both looked stunned as they stared at Rick. “You’re serious, aren’t you?” Miguel asked.

“I am,” Rick replied as he took a seat on the top step. “I am officially making you both enforcers. You’ll start at the bottom of the rank, but I’m pretty damn sure that you two will be up there with Nate and Selene in no time.”

Both Miguel and Benito dropped to one knee, placing both hands on their right knee as they bowed their heads. Rick stood, walking down to them. He stopped, staring first at Miguel’s bowed head, and then Benito’s. It would have been nice to have the entire pack to witness the two finally finding their place. It was always a cause for great celebration.