Read The Swan Who Flew After a Wolf Online
Authors: Scarlet Hyacinth
Tags: #Romance MM, #erotic MM, #General Fiction
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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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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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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“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