Chapter 6
Leif
Never in his wildest dreams had he expected to find his soulmate practically on his doorstep. It was as if Fate decided one random day to save him from his lonely existence, and he was not about to question the whims of Fate, not with Alec in his arms, kissing him back with everything he had.
The taste of Alec on his tongue was enough to rouse his body with desire, and his teeth ached to bite his delicious mate on the junction of neck and shoulder, securing Alec to his side for eternity.
And it might very well be eternity—he had no idea what Alec’s lifespan was going to be, as the various fae species all had different life expectancies. Even after centuries, Leif had no real idea when the stolen years he’d inherited would run out. All he could hope for now was a lifetime with his mate.
He wanted to sink to the grass and ravish his mate, but the ground was damp and cold, the meager sun too weak to provide warmth, and he wanted to take his time exploring every inch of Alec.
A swift tingle of magic raced across Leif’s shoulders and he broke the kiss, fighting to focus on what his instincts were telling him. Awareness bloomed and his senses expanded, bringing him information.
Someone was hunting in his territory.
“What is it?” Alec asked, immediately picking up on his tension. “Is someone coming?”
Leif gently released Alec and took a few steps toward the cliff, lifting his face to the wind. While werewolves were supernatural creatures formed from magic, they had less active control over it, unlike practitioners such as sorcerers and witches. What abilities they did have tended to run in the oldest bloodlines, in the claws of the most powerful, the strongest alphas and betas. Leif was one of those wolves blessed with control over his inherent magics. He was from a time long lost to history, and he was raised in an era of ancient primal magics.
All of that meant he knew when a predator was hunting in his land. When the boundaries were broken by something or someone who was a threat.
Those instinctual magics had not been roused by Alec, as he was the opposite of a threat to Leif, and he smiled at that realization even as he caught the cloying, insidious scents of multiple intruders.
“Several men,” Leif told Alec with a growl. No need for a wolf this time—he was going to kill anyone who was after his mate. “They stink of fire, chemicals, and blood. I smell the stench of ozone and gunpowder, too. They’ve got guns.”
Alec moved up to stand at his side, holding a hand over his eyes and looking out over the forest, trying to see who Leif could scent approaching. “That combination means the mafia. They probably accounted for all the bodies and figuredout I’m not dead.”
“They’ll all be dead soon, so that won’t matter anymore,” Leif said as he stretched out his arms, opening his mouth as the fangs within grew larger, his muscles bulging.
His lycanthrope form was the bipedal monster popular in movies, though his transformation was not the horrific spectacle that moviegoers lost their appetite over—being so old had its benefits. He had complete control over his transformation, making it smooth and effortless.
His vision changed as the transformation took over. Infrared was added to his sight, and colors were muted, but the shadows were easy to pierce and his range was increased ten-fold. His arms and legs lengthened, fingers tipped by claws, dark brown and gray hair covering his shoulders, and arms, and legs, the shaggy pelt concealing him in natural cover among the trees.
Alec stared up at him in some wonder, mouth agape, and Leif was pleased that he scented no fear from his small mate. He now stood over nine feet tall, three times as wide as Alec, heavy with muscle and yet built for speed and with lightning-fast reflexes, clawed toes gouging the damp earth, and steam rising from his skin as his body ran hot with bloodlust.
Leif crouched to the ground, one massive hand reaching out to gently tip up Alec’s chin so they were eye to eye. “In the chests behind the bed, there are weapons. Daggers, a sword or two. No guns. Arm yourself and stay inside the cabin.”
Alec narrowed his eyes and reached out his own hand, and Leif snorted in shock when his mate flicked his canine nose with a finger, scowling. “I’m getting my shoes. Stay right here. Then we are going to see who’s here uninvited.”
“Dangerous,” Leif protested, words garbled by hislonger muzzle, his human mouth transformed to hold a set of three-inch fangs.
“I blew up a drug lab with magic,” Alec retorted, already jogging to the open door of the cabin. He found his shoes by the door where Leif set them the night before, and sat on the stoop to tug them on, and just as quickly he pulled the cabin door shut and rejoined Leif. “I don’t need a weapon.”
Leif was still crouched down, and he rumbled out a laugh when Alec, without missing a beat, climbed onto his back, arms around his neck, and his knees clamped to Leif’s ribs, his back too wide for Alec to wrap his legs around him. Leif stood, Alec’s heart racing where his chest was pressed to Leif’s shoulders, and he put one hand behind himself to support Alec under his ass.
“Do not let go,” Leif ordered. “I’m taking the fast way down.”
“I won’t,” Alec promised, kissing Leif’s neck not too far from where a mating bite would go, and he growled happily. He took one, then two leaping strides to the right side of the yard, reaching the cliff and the long drop below to the forest floor.
The barest pause and then a more powerful leap outward, Alec gasping and clinging to him even tighter, and Leif made sure he kept ahold of his mate as they dropped in a shallow arc, landing on a ledge about halfway down, and with a bend of his knees, Leif took them down the rest of the way.
Their landing on the forest floor was anticlimactic, since no one was around to see Leif stick the landing, but Alec was giggling in nervous astonishment, beyond excited.
“That was crazy!” Alec whispered loudly, shaking a bit, eyes wide as Leif knelt enough for Alec to get off his back and on his own two feet.
“You alright?” Leif asked, sniffing along Alec’s face and neck, ears pricked and listening for footsteps deeper in the woods.
Alec giggled when a cold nose met warm, soft skin, and Leif was startled but pleased when Alec darted in and kissed the side of his furry head, hands scratching behind his ears. “So fluffy,” Alec sighed happily.
