The Gazelle Who Caught a Lion (8 page)

thing to push him over the edge. He dug his fingernails into Clark’s flesh, exposed his neck, and released another breathless “please.”

He didn’t know what he wanted, but Clark apparently did. The

lion’s fang sank into his throat, and the hot pleasure-pain washed over Angel, breaking away every remaining barrier in Angel’s heart, body, and mind. This time, his climax wiped away everything except Clark,

and he actually felt their connection click into place.

Wet heat filled his clenching channel, and a burst of ecstasy

flooded their bond. Angel choked, unprepared for the assault, now

clinging to consciousness by sheer force of will. He didn’t want to

lose a single second of their time together. In that moment, he felt as if he could see into Clark’s heart, and was awed at the extent of the trust and the love.

Clark released his hold on Angel’s neck, and his voice appeared in

his mind.
“Only to you. I’d only ever surrender my heart and soul to
you.”

The lion hugged him tight, and like that, embraced, as one, they

rode their pleasure, until at last, the wave of ecstasy began to dim.

Clark’s cock, now spent, slipped out of Angel, and finally Angel could make himself speak.
“And I, to you. My mate.”

“Your mate,” Clark confirmed. Their lips met into a sweet kiss,

one of happiness, not lust. When they broke apart, Clark rolled off

Angel and cuddled him to his side. The small bed made it so that they needed to be very close together, but Angel didn’t mind.

“Now get some sleep,” Clark said out loud, every bit the contented

feline. “You need your rest.”

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55

It was exactly what Clark would have said before, and Angel

realized then what he’d done. He’d actually mated Clark. He almost

couldn’t believe it. And yet, it felt so right.

Angel had first loved Clark as a brother, when they’d been young

kids. They’d been best friends, accomplices in pranks, and their

connection had only strengthened with time. Having Clark as a lover

should be confusing, but instead, it seemed natural, like a completely normal progression of their emotions once they’d grown enough to

accept it.

Satisfied with his conclusion, Angel obeyed his new mate and

closed his eyes. He couldn’t even remember why they were in his

room and not at classes, but it didn’t matter. The only thing that

mattered was that at last, he had his mate, and nothing would ever be able to part them. With the sound of Clark’s growling purr ringing in his ears, Angel surrendered to peaceful slumber.

* * * *

“This is very risky,” the lion told his lover in a whisper. “I want

Williams-Wade out of the way as much as you do, but I’m not sure it’s a good idea.”

“Don’t be silly.” The other man pressed a kiss to the lion’s neck,

making him shudder. “What could possibly go wrong?”

A million things could go wrong, really, but when his lover spoke

to him like that, the lion couldn’t even remember what they were. His brain turned off, all the blood pooling into his cock.

“Besides, if you don’t go for that date, I have to,” the other man

added. “And you know what’s going to happen then.”

Possessiveness swelled inside the lion. He hated that he had to

share his lover with other people. This was his chance to get rid of one of them. He wouldn’t chicken out. He’d take it.

“You won’t be going anywhere.” He growled at his man. “I’ll

teach that guy not to mess with me.”

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His lover snickered, self-satisfaction obvious. The lion might have

tried to say or order something else, but the other man reached for his prick, and all thoughts dissipated. The sound of the zipper seemed

obscenely loud in the darkness of the supply closet, but no one was

around other than the two of them. Besides, even if they did get

caught, it wouldn’t matter. Who cared about two students having a fun romp when there were much more important things going on?

The lion groaned as his lover released his cock out of its confines.

“Fuck. Suck me.”

“Shh,” his man said. “I’ll take care of you.” A skilled hand

wrapped around his cock, massaging gently. “As long as you do what

I want.”

“Anything.” The lion growled back. “Anything you want, baby.”

He saw his lover smile in the darkness and distantly wondered

when he’d become such a slave to the other man’s whims. The doubts

disappeared when his lover knelt at his feet and took his erection in his mouth. Pleasure exploded over his senses, and all apprehension

melted as pure sex and need took over. Oh, yeah, he’d do anything his lover wanted, as long as he got to keep this.

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Chapter Five

Carson Williams-Wade stalked over the pathways of the Academy

angrily. He couldn’t believe the accusations that had been directed at his kids by people who should honestly know better. After everything Carson and Brody had done to help the common cause, here they were

now, having their sons threatened by a cheetah who’d been unable to

control his beast. As if that weren’t enough, the parents of Leiland, the cheetah in question, now claimed it had all been Angel and Clark’s

fault, and most everyone in the PE class seemed to agree with them.

One of the wrestlers competing with Clark, someone named Jonathan,

even claimed Clark had been particularly violent that day.

“Slow down, little lamb,” his mate told him from behind him.

Carson turned around and glared at his mate. Brody had never

gotten over his original nickname for Carson, even if Carson had

actually stopped being a lamb years back. He was now officially a

ram, with horns and everything. He’d have loved to use them on all

those people pointing accusing fingers at Clark and Angel. Right then and there, his hands were tied, and he just wanted to see his sons and go home.

Brody cupped his cheeks and pressed a kiss over his nose.

“Breathe, Carson,” Brody murmured. “I know how you feel, believe

me. But we can’t let the kids see it.”

As Brody hugged him, Carson nodded and struggled to calm

down. Their sons needed them to be level-headed, not to fall apart

under the first threat. After a few moments in Brody’s embrace, he felt like he wouldn’t explode if he saw one single cheetah in front of him.

“All right. I’m calm.”

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Brody pressed a brief peck to his lips. “Besides, you heard Sara.

They’ll be studying the video feeds, and no matter what anyone says, the truth will come out.”

That thought made Carson feel a bit better. He was convinced his

sons were telling the truth, so their innocence would be proven by the recordings.

Brody released him from his arms, and hand in hand, they made

their way toward the M dorm, the building especially erected for

magical and mythological beings. Angel had told them on the phone

that he would briefly be staying with a new student, an incubus named Alexis Whitaker. Brody and Carson had been a bit concerned, but

when they’d arrived, they had met Alexis and they found him to be a

friendly, polite young man, who showed genuine concern for Angel

and Clark. That made him all right in Carson’s book.

Carson didn’t know exactly if his two sons were there, but he went

with his instinct and with his logic. They were unlikely to go to

Clark’s room, where it was teeming with other felines, and it would

make sense to seek solitude in a building that was nearly empty except for them and a couple of guards.

Outside the dorm, they found a couple of bored-looking guards

who demanded their identification. After showing their visitor passes and explaining they were Angel’s parents, the guards let them through.

Carson gathered they must have known in advance about the visit

because they didn’t give Carson and Brody too much trouble.

They went up to the first floor, heading toward the room that had

been assigned to Alexis and Angel. As they reached the destination,

some sort of odd feeling settled over Carson’s heart. It wasn’t bad, per se, but rather strange and a bit disconcerting.

Brody seemed to feel it as well. He knocked at the door and

waited for an answer. A thump and curse sounded inside. “Yeah?”

It was Clark’s voice, and even if he sounded as calm as ever,

Carson was a parent, and he could sense something was different. “It’s us,” he replied. “Can we come in?”

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“Just a minute,” Clark replied.

Carson shared a look with Brody. “Is everything okay, son?”

Brody asked.

“Everything’s fine, Dad,” Angel replied just moments after. “One

second, and we’ll be right there.”

Angel had never been a good liar, and Carson could hear the

anxiety in his antelope son’s voice. Even if normally, he’d never have burst in on his sons or intruded on their privacy, the day had played havoc on his state of mind. Without allowing himself to hesitate, he pushed the door open and stepped inside the room.

At first, the sight that met his eyes didn’t really process. He stared, blinked, rubbed his eyes, then stared again. Yes, he was seeing things right. Angel and Clark were half-naked, struggling with the sheets in an obvious attempt to camouflage what they’d been doing. It was

quite a no-brainer, really. The entire room smelled like sex, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out what had happened.

His two sons were completely frozen. Clark could have very well

been a statue. Absolutely no emotion showed on his face. Angel,

however, had a deer—well, a gazelle—in the headlights look, as if he couldn’t quite believe this was happening.

Sensing their fear and uncertainty, Carson smiled. “Get cleaned up

and dressed. Your dad and I will wait outside. Come get us when

you’re ready to talk.”

With that, Carson pushed his mate out of Angel and Alexis’s

room. Brody finally snapped out of his own daze. “What in the world

was that about, Carson? Were they—?”

Carson silenced his werewolf mate with a kiss. “Shh. They’ll hear.

And don’t tell me you’ve never suspected because I know that’s a lie.”

It was true. A part of Carson had always sensed the deep affection

between Angel and Clark hid something different, something that

even the two young men might be reluctant to pursue. Brody had

shared his suspicious, and they’d always tried to teach the boys that it was all right to love whoever they wanted. Carson and Brody

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wouldn’t care about them any less, no matter who they chose as their mates.

Of course, the fact that he’d somehow seen this coming didn’t

eliminate his surprise. Shape-shifter parents were generally accepting of sexuality in their children, but for Carson, it still came as a shock.

Faced with the reality of his two sons’ maturity, Carson couldn’t quite wrap his mind around the fact that his boys had grown up so quickly.

At the same time, Angel and Clark clearly thought they were doing

something wrong, but the more he thought about it, the more Carson

was convinced this was the way things were meant to be. It would

have been stranger for him and Brody had they not sensed it already.

As it was, Carson thought that he could easily accept it, if this was truly what his two boys wanted.

“Do you think they’re mates?”
Brody asked him through their bond.

“I think so,”
Carson replied.
“And what better match could we
hope for?”

Brody nodded then sighed.
“It’s just that…It won’t be easy for

them. Not everyone is as accepting as we are.”

Unfortunately, that was true. Even after twenty years, Brody and

Carson still received ugly glances on account of their relationship.

Shape-shifters weren’t used to having prey and predator mating, and

even if the Academy officially encouraged the mingling of various species, most students and parents remained uncomfortable with the

concept. After all, thousands of years of prejudice didn’t change in a couple of decades.

“We’ll help them,”
Carson said,
“and they’re fighters. They’ll
know how to defend their love for each other.”

Before Brody could say anything else, the door to the room

opened, and Clark gestured them inside. Brody and Carson accepted

their son’s silent invitation and stepped into the room. Carson took a deep breath. This would probably be the hardest conversation he’d

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61

have with his sons, but above all, he needed to point out that, no

matter what happened, he was on their side.

* * * *

Clark waited as his parents sat down, suppressing the urge to

fidget. There were two things he feared in the world. The first was

losing Angel, and the second losing his parents. He’d been through

that already, with his real mother, and while he didn’t remember her too well, he did recall it had hurt, and he’d missed her.

Thankfully, his dads had never tried to make him forget about that

part of his past, or his mother. Once, they’d even told him and Angel they were thankful to her, thankful for saving Angel’s life and

protecting Clark. They’d always given him so much affection that

Clark couldn’t imagine how much a rejection from them would hurt.