Bonded Read online

  “I want you to turn me.”

  Cage swallowed and lowered his breakfast sandwich and took a hasty sip of coffee. The alpha’s eyes darted around the area.

  “Nobody is within ear shot.”

  “You don’t know wolves,” Cage scoffed.

  “If their hearing is anything like mine, then yes, I think I do.”

  Cage smirked at that comment.

  “Now, answer me. I want you to turn me.”

  “We need to talk about it.”

  “Then let’s talk.”

  “Not yet.”

  “When?” he demanded.

  Cage opened his mouth and then closed it. Was Cage having second thoughts? Fear turned Jace’s mouth sour and he shoved away his food and squeezed his hands together in his lap to hide their shaking.

  “Don’t you want that for us?”

  “Of course, I do,” Cage growled and scooted his chair closer. As if sensing his fear, Cage reached for his hands and lifted both of them up from his lap to kiss his fingers. “Can you understand that I’m terrified?” Cage finished gruffly.

  “What?” Cage was scared? “Of what?”

  “What if something happens? What if something goes wrong?”

  “Oh, baby, nothing is going to go wrong,” Jace breathed out, slipping his fingers through Cage’s curling hair.

  “You don’t know that.”

  “I do. What Roman and Marcus had is our proof.”

  “What if Marcus was the only hunter to make it through the bite?”

  “I don’t think he was. And when this shit is all over with, after we clear your name and become a bonded pair, we’ll put the word out for others to come forward,” Jace said, brushing his fingers along the corner of Cage’s lips. “I bet there are hundreds out there.”

  “Yeah?” Cage looked so damned hopeful, it made Jace’s heart hurt.

  “Yeah.”

  He smiled when Cage clutched him close.

  Drawing back, Jace stood and motioned to Cage’s coffee. Once the alpha lifted the cup, Jace took Cage’s free hand and drew him back to their room.

  “What now?”

  “Don’t be so paranoid,” he laughed. His big, tough alpha actually looked scared to go back to the room with him. “We have hours to kill and I want to cuddle.”

  “Cuddle?” Cage croaked.

  Jace laughed loudly, opened their room door, and shoved Cage inside. He clicked the lock and sauntered to the bed. Reaching for the remote, he flipped on the television and stretched out on the bed.

  Ignoring Cage seemed to work. Before long, Cage was climbing into the bed and pulling him closer.

  Jace set his cheek to Cage’s chest, but kept his eyes on the local news. He wanted their blood bonding to be natural.

  Of course, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t force Cage when it came right down to it.

  He smiled and brushed his hands down the alpha’s forearms.

  The hot mouth surrounding Cage’s dick drew him from a deep sleep and he groaned, thrusting gently upward.

  Jace took all of him into the back of his throat and sucked him hard. Sleek palms caressed the inside of his thighs, pressing them apart. Fingers toyed with his balls, rolling them around just as a tongue swirled down the vein of his dick and he spasmed, his back bowed, spilling every bit of hot seed into Jace’s mouth.

  “Oh fuck, baby,” he moaned a few moments later, reaching to grasp Jace’s hips as slick fingers lubed up his entrance.

  Jace’s cock probed at the tender folds of skin before slipping through his tight ring of resistance. His legs were lifted and draped over Jace’s arms, spreading him, and his cock rose swiftly to the position of being vulnerable. His hands dug deeply into Jace’s hips, trying to force the hunter to move.

  A low, hungry chuckle was his answer in the dark room. His wolf snarled at the teasing. Jace ended it, abruptly thrusting deep, and Cage’s wet cock bounced, slapping against his abs.

  “Yes,” Jace groaned with a catch in his throat, letting Cage know he was just as affected by their connection as he was.

  The wolf bled through, Cage couldn’t help it, his gasps becoming guttural as he was taken. Power flowed through Jace with a crackle and Cage felt his canines drop.

  “Jace, don’t,” he growled, fearful.

  “Yes!” Jace hissed, plunging deep with mind-blowing power. “Bite me.”

  “Wait. We need to talk.”

  “No more talking,” Jace growled, his voice just as deep and powerful as his own.

  “I don’t want you to regret this.”

  “Fuck that.” Jace’s lips drew back in a feral smile, exposing his teeth in a flash of white, and then the hunter was thrusting, lifting his legs higher until he had no purchase to control anything. Jace released his own power, and Cage felt it through every nerve ending in his body.

  His wolf went wild and, after another second, Cage gave over and let the wolf bleed through. The room changed from darkness to a golden hue. Pleasure raced up his spine and zapped at his balls with a force so hard he yelled.

  “Fuck!”

  “Bite me!”

  “Tell me you’re sure.”

  Jace’s hands cupped his face and eyes the color of the sky held his. “I’m so sure, baby.”

  Needing no further words, Cage snapped forward, wrapped his arms around Jace’s shoulders, and set his mouth to the man’s throat. He wouldn’t do this savagely. He licked at the skin and Jace sucked in a quick breath, his thrusting faltered, and then he groaned and convulsed.

  The hot flush to his insides was the only thing Cage had been waiting for and he sank his teeth into the curve of Jace’s neck where it met at his shoulder just as he found his own release.

  His ass clenched around Jace’s dick as he drank his blood and then he released his neck with a snap. Cleaving teeth into his own bottom lip, he gripped the back of Jace’s head and with his fingers digging deep into silky strands of hair, he crushed his mouth to Jace’s and sealed their fate forever.

  Jace undulated his hips and moaned into his mouth, kissing him, swallowing and sucking at him like a starving man. Another hot wash of release hit him and he painfully orgasmed again with the last bit of cum he had left.

  Jace gasped against his mouth and groaned, convulsing in a hard, forward curl, and Cage knew his lover was caught in an endless circle of pleasure. Several minutes went by before the pleasure ebbed and Jace collapsed against his chest.

  Cage sucked in air and his hands trembled as he ran them over Jace’s back, down to his ass and then back up again. Jace shuddered, his heaving chest finally calming down enough to stop the tremors.

  Fear kept him mute.

  What if Roman and Marcus were a one-off? This could have been the biggest mistake of their lives. What if he lost Jace? Then it would be over for him. Cage would turn himself over to the hunters because there would be nothing left for him to live for.

  “Cage.”

  “Hmm?”

  “I can hear your brain spinning.”

  “Cannot.”

  “Can too. Your muscles are tensing. Where before you were like a soft, warm mush, now it’s like laying on bricks.”

  He huffed. “Okay. I’m a bit worried.”

  “I would know if—” Jace’s words were cut off abruptly and then silence greeted him.

  “What?”

  He jerked his head up, Jace’s cobalt blue eyes were almost silver. “Jace?”

  Jace rolled from him and Cage stayed with him as the hunter stumbled. He enclosed his arms around Jace, but in the next instant, his arms were filled with air.

  In a burst of light, Jace was gone and a large black wolf stood in his place. He was the most beautiful creature Cage had ever seen. A deep, onyx black-colored wolf with silver blue eyes. Not as large as his alpha Dire wolf, but very large by shifter standards.

  Jace leaped onto the bed, then jumped down. He raced across the room, almost hit the wall, and then bounded back.

  Cage chuckle
d. “Shift back, we’ll go outside and run.”

  Just as the words left his mouth, Jace was in human form again. He’d taken to shifting as naturally as breathing, and Cage was so fucking proud of him.

  The blood bond between them was strong. He could feel Jace’s presence in his heart, mind, and soul. And it would strengthen the longer they were together.

  Jace walked into his arms and Cage held him tightly, breathing in his scent, drinking in the familiar taste of his mate.

  “I hope to the powers that be that you’re all in, baby,” he whispered against Jace’s ear. “Because there’s no going back now.”

  He’d waited his whole life for a man like Jace.

  “I’m all in, Cage, and I have been for a long time,” Jace said, drawing back to search his gaze.

  Cage could only swallow and nod as he crushed Jace to his heart.

  “Mine,” he breathed, and his wolf howled in triumph.

  “Yours,” Jace breathlessly agreed.

  Cage cupped the back of Jace’s head and brushed his lips over Jace’s mouth before easing back.

  “Let’s go for a run.” Their room was situated at the back of the motel, the forest only a few feet away. It was springtime in Alaska and while still cold, the lush growth of the new season was beautiful.

  “Will I be able to hear and speak to all of the pack?” Jace asked, coming to stand at his side.

  “Yes. You’ll be able to find their link and talk to them individually or as a group.”

  Opening the door, he took Jace’s hand and led him away from the motel and into the woods. Once far enough, he shifted and waited until his mate did the same.

  Jace took off like a bat out of hell. With the wolf’s laughter ringing in his head, Cage gave chase. His wolf sang at being together with his mate. It was a feeling like no other and the bond between them grew.

  Can you hear me? He tested their wolf link.

  Yes. Oh my god, Cage. Yes!

  Jace took off like a rocket and Cage barreled after him. They ran that night for several hours before Cage called a halt.

  Sitting on his haunches, he lifted his muzzle and howled toward the dark sky. The wolf song caught his mate immediately and Jace’s howl soon joined him.

  After a minute, distant howls joined theirs and within moments, the Swiftcrest pack surrounded them, their songs drifting on the air, lingering in the night. They converged around the alpha and his mate, sniffing and bumping noses.

  Once they were all acquainted with the smell of Jace’s wolf, Cage moved toward the trees.

  At a hard run, he ran with Jace and the pack at his side.

  It was one of the most thrilling times of his life.

  The new power that came from being a wolf shifter settled well inside.

  Jace still felt bonded to his swords, but he felt more bonded to Cage. It was the man, not the metal that now grounded him. He wore his swords when he was in human form and then left them in the jeep when they traveled as wolves. The sense of freedom he felt when running as a wolf was indescribable.

  Several of Roman’s pack members drove the jeeps with a few of the wolves in human form. The rest of the two packs, Cage’s and Roman’s, traveled in wolf form. They moved at night through the Alaskan wilderness and reached the Canadian border. Cage approached the Yukon Territory alpha and they were once again allowed to pass through.

  When they traveled, Jace loped with raw power at Cage’s side. His large paws ate up the earth as he easily kept pace with his alpha.

  The rest, as well as Roman’s pack, spread out from there. Roman had ended up bringing just twenty-five wolves and left the other thirty behind to protect his territory.

  They made camp just over the Montana border. Quickly and efficiently for so many wolves, they had the camp set up in a few minutes and food cooking soon after. The organization of each pack was amazing and all Jace could do was watch.

  “Thanks.” Jace smiled when Trent approached and handed first Cage and then him a hot plate of food. “I’m freaking starving,” he muttered, taking a seat in one of the fold out camping chairs.

  Cage dropped down into the chair next to him with a sound of agreement before wolfing down the food.

  “It’s your metabolism.” Alex gave him a quick smile. The arm was already healed. The young wolf really was gorgeous and from Jace’s observation, Griffin couldn’t take his eyes off of Alex for long. Of course, when Alex gazed at Griffin with lovesick eyes, the enforcer turned away and ignored him.

  “I hope I don’t get fat,” Jace teased Alex.

  “You won’t. Look at me.” Alex patted his flat stomach. “I come from a long line of fit people.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah.” Alex cleared his throat and dug into his food.

  Savoring the hot bread and stew, Jace gave the wolf his space and figured Alex would share if he needed.

  The food disappeared quickly, and Jace set his bowl aside. “Compliments to the cook.”

  Alex smiled. “I helped, but it was all Griffin and some of Roman’s pack.”

  “If you’re done wasting time, I could use some help with the empty pots and pans,” Griffin appeared and grumbled, gazing at Alex through squinted lids.

  “And that’s my cue.” Alex rolled his eyes, Griffin grunted, and Jace chuckled.

  Once the pair was out of earshot, he turned to Cage.

  “I need to tell you something,” he said.

  Cage slanted him a look and then squinted, setting his empty bowl aside before lifting Jace’s bowl and putting them both on the ground.

  Jace sucked in a quick breath when Cage pulled him to his feet.

  “Just say it.”

  “Marcus is alive. He’s working for Leopold.” Stepping closer and under his breath, he told Cage everything.

  “Fuck.” Cage shot a look across the distance to where Roman stood near the campfire speaking with his enforcer.

  “Yeah. How the hell do you tell someone something like that?”

  “He needs to know.” Cage reached out and gripped the back of his neck in a reassuring squeeze.

  “I know.” Jace leaned closer and notched his head beneath Cage’s chin, soaking up his strength. He felt as if they were one. Bound by more than blood, bound by heart, body, and soul.

  Cage closed his arms around him and rocked. They swayed to the sound of the night with a handful of stars above.

  A throat cleared, drawing his attention, and he turned in Cage’s arms to find Roman smiling at them.

  “I hate to interrupt,” Roman said.

  “No, it’s okay,” he replied.

  “Have a seat.” Cage nodded toward the empty fold out lawn chairs.

  “Jonas Welsh runs the territory from Montana through Idaho. His pack house is in Pocatello. I called him. He’s expecting us. From there, we can head down to Nevada,” Roman said as he settled into the chair.

  “I’ll talk to Jonas. He can call the council once we reach his place,” Cage said, tugging Jace down into the two vacant chairs next to Roman.

  “Who exactly is Jonas?” Jace frowned and stretched out his legs to cross at his boots.

  “One of the council alpha leaders. Jonas represents the West, one of the four regions of the United States as well as parts of Canada and all of Alaska. He’s part of the elected party of shifter leaders,” Cage answered.

  “It’s pretty damned interesting that we haven’t heard a word from your wolf council,” Jace pointed out.

  “Interesting isn’t the word I’d use,” Roman muttered. “You can bet they know nothing about any of this.”

  “If they did, they would have come and met us or collected us,” Cage assured Jace.

  “So, that means the hunters are keeping this quiet.” Roman slanted Jace a glance.

  “I suspect they don’t want war,” Jace agreed. “Leopold wants Cage dead so he can go back to doing whatever the hell he wants. Before that guy is imprisoned or killed, I want to know why he made up the lie.” Jace le
t out a frustrated sigh.

  “Hopefully, he’ll tell the truth once confronted,” Cage said.

  “And how do you feel?” Roman asked him, curious. It took a moment to realize Roman was anxious about his blood bond with Cage. Anxiety was reflected in the older alpha’s kind gaze as if he had a stake in all this. And in a roundabout way, Roman did have a stake. The secret Jace held about Marcus suddenly weighed heavily on him.

  “I feel… powerful.” He clenched and unclenched his fingers, shoving the thought of Marcus aside for the moment. “Like my whole body is alive. All of my senses are firing beyond all cylinders. I can hear and see farther, and even taste things better than ever before.”

  “It’s the wolf in you.” Cage smiled, lifting his hand to his lips. The touch brought a smile to Jace’s mouth.

  “I’m so glad for you.” The skin at the edge of Roman’s eyes crinkled.

  “Thank you.” Jace swallowed. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

  “What is it?”

  “It’s about Marcus.”

  A line creased between Roman’s brows. “What about Marcus?”

  “He’s alive.”

  “What?” Roman said roughly.

  “He didn’t die in an attack nor was his body burned.” Jace went on. “He’s working for Leopold. He was the one who held me captive and tasered me for information on Cage. I don’t know what he would have done if Alister hadn’t rescued me.”

  Roman lifted a shaking hand to his suddenly pale face. Jace reached out and gripped the alpha on the shoulder.

  “So that’s why,” Roman muttered.

  “That’s why what?” Jace frowned.

  “I can still feel him.”

  “I’m sorry, Roman,” Cage offered his friend.

  “Maybe he was forced,” Jace suggested even though there was no love lost between him and Marcus, but he hated seeing Roman in such pain.

  “You know, I had this weird thought that he was going to leave me. Sever our bond,” Roman murmured.

  “Oh?” Cage frowned. “You didn’t tell me any of that.”

  “I didn’t want to admit it.” Roman looked away. “Marcus was acting strange a week before his death…er disappearance. I chalked it up to nerves. This was after I had suggested we take our relationship to the wolf shifter council,” Roman admitted, gazing back at them.