The Swan Who Flew After a Wolf (3 page)

Jace and Derek immediately went to greet their sister. Anson

briefly considered taking the coward’s way out, but he knew he

needed to face Reed. The likeliest reason why the swan had chosen to

come to the mansion, or to even stay on Soren’s pack lands, for that

matter, was Anson. He had to find a solution before both of them lost

their minds.

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Scarlet Hyacinth

He followed after the two younger wolves and met up with Reed

and Melanie just as the new arrivals entered the mansion. Instantly,

Jace and Derek assaulted Melanie with questions, pulling her aside.

Anson suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. She was quite capable

of taking care of herself, in his opinion, but apparently, her brothers

had forgotten about that in their zeal to protect her. Anson suspected

this might be one of the core reasons why they were having problems

to begin with, but it wasn’t his place to intervene. Besides, he had

problems of his own.

Reed’s gaze met his, and Anson’s mouth went as dry as a desert.

Jesus fuck
. Why did Reed have to be so beautiful? His scent invaded

Anson’s nostrils, and Anson’s body responded, his cock going as hard

as a rock. Sinful images flooded his mind, ones he indulged in during

all his lonely nights. Some were memories of the times Reed had

offered himself to Anson, with the end result modified.

He could so easily imagine Reed kneeling in front of him, taking

his hard prick in his mouth, those beautiful, full lips wrapping around

the swollen head of Anson’s shaft.

In many ways, Reed was a lot like his adoptive swan father,

Shiloh. They shared the same blond, black-eyed look, and their

personalities were also similar, to a certain extent. But there was

something about Reed that Anson had never found in Shiloh, a

gentleness and a warmth unique only to Reed.

“Hey, Reed,” he greeted the younger man softly.

“Hi.” Reed licked his lips, and Anson’s gaze immediately went to

that pretty, pink tongue. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

Anson stole a look at Jace and Derek, but they were still

engrossed in a conversation with Melanie, and they were paying no

attention to Anson and Reed. “Sure,” he said at last. “Come this way.”

It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Reed wanted them to

speak in private. Anson led the swan away from the three young

wolves and into the office. Thankfully, Soren was out running with

Daniel and most likely wouldn’t be back for a few hours.

The Swan Who Flew After a Wolf

19

As soon as he closed the door, Reed was on him, literally. He

pounced on Anson, wrapping his slender arms around Anson’s neck.

He crushed their lips together in a kiss that stole Anson’s breath and

threatened to scatter his thoughts. Unable to deny Reed, he thrust his

tongue in the other man’s mouth, tasting, claiming, devouring his

mate, just like he dreamed to every moment of the day.

When they broke apart to breathe, reason started to return. “We

can’t do this, baby,” Anson said, even as he peppered kissed over

Reed’s face. “You know that as well as I do.”

“Of course we can,” Reed shot back. “We’re doing it now, aren’t

we?”

Anson lifted Reed in his arms, and Reed wrapped his long legs

around Anson’s waist. As if of their own accord, Anson’s hands went

to Reed’s ass, kneading those tempting cheeks. His cock throbbed,

hard and aching. In that moment, there was nothing Anson wanted

more than to tear Reed’s clothes off and bury his prick inside Reed’s

tight little ass.

But he knew better than to surrender to these urges. Leashing his

wolf, Anson released Reed, placing him down on a couch. Reed

refused to let him go, pulling Anson on top of him instead. “Reed,

please,” Anson begged. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”

“You’re the one making the situation unnecessarily horrible.” His

determined expression turned sad. “Do you really not want me to be

your mate?”

That was the problem. Anson wanted that with a desperation he

couldn’t even begin to explain. But no one would understand,

especially not Reed’s parents and friends.

“You know that’s not it,” he replied. “I’m too old for you. For

crying out loud, I could be your dad.”

Reed rolled his eyes. “But you’re not. Besides, age is irrelevant

for shifters.”

“Uh-huh. And what about my history with your father? Is that

irrelevant, too?”

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Scarlet Hyacinth

A vein twitched in Reed’s forehead. Anson hated upsetting his

mate, but the swan had to acknowledge the extent of the factors

separating them.

Once upon a time, during his youth, Anson and Liam had been

lovers. In a way, Liam had been Anson’s first love, and he had been

shocked when Liam had taken Shiloh as his mate. He’d probably

reacted poorly during those first days, as even now, Shiloh hated his

guts. The older swan was very jealous and possessive of Liam, not

that Anson could blame him.

It made for a tense pack dynamic to say the least, and while

Anson had managed to safely tread through the minefield of his social

life for a decade or so, that had all changed once Liam and Shiloh’s

adoptive son had grown up into a very handsome young man.

The truth of the matter was that Anson had always felt close to

Reed, ever since Reed was only a cygnet. At the time, he hadn’t

acknowledged the reason, but once Reed had grown up, sexual

attraction had set in. By now, Anson had five years of controlling his

body, leashing his wolf, and barely managing to keep himself from

claiming Reed.

“So what do you suggest, then?” Reed asked defiantly. “Are you

going to hide behind your past to avoid claiming me? Are you never

going to take me as your mate because you’re afraid of what my

father will think?”

Anson dropped on the couch next to Reed. “I know I’m being

unreasonable, but I’m worried about you, baby. They love you so

much, and you love them. And you know as well as I do that Shiloh

hates me with a passion. What will they think if we go through with

this?”

“I don’t care, Anson,” Reed replied. “Do you know how many

people would have missed out on their matings had they worried

about what others would think? I shouldn’t have to tell you this. You

were there.”

The Swan Who Flew After a Wolf

21

Yes, Anson had been there, and it had hurt at the time. But, of

course, he realized that his relationship with Liam had only

represented an illusion. They were good friends now, and nothing

more. And when he held Reed in his arms, Anson wondered how in

the world he’d ever confused the great sex he’d shared with Liam as a

potential mating.

Taking a deep breath, Anson considered his options. The truth

was that, no matter how much he dodged the issue, he could find no

way out of it. There were two choices. He could indefinitely continue

to refuse Reed on account of his concern for the young swan, but that

would make them both miserable. Or he could claim Reed as his

mate, take a leap of faith, and the hell with what everyone else

thought.

The latter option sounded much more appealing, because

honestly, what kind of life would they both have without each other?

False modesty aside, Reed might suffer if he had a falling out with his

parents, but being separated from his mate was even more painful.

In a way, this entire debacle with Tyrell had put things into

perspective. During those awful moments when he’d been tortured,

then very close to dying, he’d realized how many things he’d missed

out on. He’d never even told Reed just how much the swan meant to

him. Hell, if Anson had died, he’d undoubtedly have been missed by

many, but the only one who’d truly, really mourn him would have

been Reed.

“I’m sorry, baby,” he replied to his mate. “You’re right. You’re

absolutely right.”

“I am?” Reed sounded surprised. Clearing his throat, he corrected,

“I mean, of course I am.”

“You’ve been right all along. We can’t allow fear to part us.” He

dared to entwine his fingers with Reed’s. “We’re mates. I’m not going

to be a coward anymore.”

Reed gave him a look of disbelief that tore into Anson’s heart.

“Are you serious?”

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Scarlet Hyacinth

“Very.” Anson cupped Reed’s cheek gently. “Thanks for not

giving up on me.”

“How could I?” Reed seemed dazed, as if he still couldn’t quite

trust what was going on. “But…Anson, I…I’m not really sure what to

say.”

“You came ready for a battle, didn’t you?” Anson sighed. “I’m

sick of fighting this, baby. Why should we, after all? Sure, many

people will hate that we’re together, but like you said, other even less-

likely bonds have formed and survived. Why shouldn’t we take this

chance?”

“Why, indeed?” Reed murmured. Before Anson could say

anything else, the swan straddled his lap, nibbling on his neck and

pressing light kisses over his face.

Anson didn’t delay in answering, touching every bit of Reed he

could reach. He started to unbutton Reed’s shirt and ended up sucking

a spot on Reed’s neck. His wolf was more than pleased when the

aggressive assault left a visible hickey, thus marking Reed as

belonging to Anson.

Anson didn’t know what they’d have gotten to had he not

suddenly felt a familiar presence approach. With a great deal of

regret, he broke away from his mate. “Fuck. Soren’s coming. We

need to get dressed.”

“God, Anson.” Reed moaned. “Don’t tease. At least let me suck

your cock.”

Anson groaned, the words making his already-throbbing prick

strain against his jeans. There was nothing he’d have liked more,

except perhaps actually claiming Reed, but they didn’t have time.

Anson didn’t want to be caught with his pants down, fucking his best

friend’s son in his Alpha’s office.

“We can’t, baby, not here. Besides, I don’t want our first time to

be rushed and over Soren’s desk.”

The Swan Who Flew After a Wolf

23

“I’d be more than happy with that option,” Reed said mournfully.

Nevertheless, he moved away from Anson and began arranging his

clothing.

No sooner had they managed to look a bit more decent than Soren

burst into the room. Daniel followed in his tracks, with Melanie

behind them. “Can we talk for a moment?” she was asking.

“Sure, Mel,” Daniel replied. “Come in.”

Soren nodded at Anson, and Anson took his cue to leave the

room, dragging his mate with him. Thank God for Melanie’s

intervention, because otherwise, the Alpha would have surely sensed

the arousal on him and Reed.

“So what now?” Reed asked in a whisper.

“Go home,” Anson said with a great deal of reluctance. Reed

looked like he wanted to protest, but Anson silenced him with a brief

kiss. “I need a clear head, and I can’t even think with you here since

Soren will probably want to discuss this Tyrell situation after his chat

with Mel.” Anson paused. “But tonight, at eleven, wait for me. At that

grove you used to run off to when you were a kid.”

“I’ll be there,” Reed replied, his eyes glazed with lust. After

sharing one last kiss, Anson released his mate. He led the swan to the

front door, doing his best to control his wolf.

“I’ll see you tonight, okay?” he asked in place of a good-bye.

“I can barely wait,” Reed said from the doorway.

And with that, the swan left the mansion and started to walk away.

To his credit, he never once looked back, something which said a lot

about Reed’s strength. For his part, Anson kept staring at the swan

until the young man disappeared. It was only then that he at last

closed the door and turned, intending to go back to the office to check

in with Soren.

To his surprise, he ran straight into Derek. It spoke volumes of

Anson’s level of enthrallment with his mate that he hadn’t even felt

the young wolf approach.

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Scarlet Hyacinth

Derek arched a brow at him, and Anson immediately went on the

defensive. “What?”

“Nothing. Sheesh. Don’t take my head off. I’m just surprised,

that’s all.”

Anson crossed his arms over his chest, berating himself for