"Blaze! Cut it out, I want to talk to my friend and I can't do that if you're making me horny," Tal admonished
Blaze gave a wolfish grin before playfully nipping the side of his neck and stepping away. Without another word he returned to his chair, dragging Tal along with him by the hand, before he sat down and pulled the smaller man down into his lap.
"So you two know each other or something?" Blaze questioned, unmindful of the way his hands caressed Tal's stomach.
Tal bounced in his lap and muffled a groan of aroused agony. Blaze struggled to focus on his mate's response, but found it hard to do with the other man wriggling up and down on top of him.
"Yes! We met in this teen chat thing over five years ago. I was nervous about coming out to my parents and he didn't know if he should. We've been friends ever since." Tal smiled.
Blaze's wolf howled within him. Tal had never smiled at him like he did Mailon. Tal belonged to Blaze, not the Elder, so why didn't Tal smile at him like that?
"I was so worried when I didn't hear back from you, I know how attached you are to your messenging device. I thought something might have happened to you," Mailon admitted.
"Something did. My sister and I crashed landed here on our way to Strawxig, then I met Blaze and well… you know the rest." Tal shrugged and smiled shyly up at Blaze.
He grinned back. He liked the smile much better than the one Tal had given his Epsilon. He had to fight the childish urge to stick out his tongue at the other wolf.
"Your sister? Josie's here? Where is she?" Mailon asked with a grin, "I've always wanted to meet her. She seems so cool."
The room went quiet and Tal looked away from Mailon for a moment. Blaze felt his mate's grief and anger over the fact his sister still hadn't been found and more than that, he felt his mate's guilt over the fact he smiled and enjoyed his mating when his sister's fate remained unknown. Mailon obviously noticed his friend's reaction and said nothing, merely looked at Blaze in confusion. Blaze discreetly shook his head, letting the other wolf know not to say anything. Tal had to get himself under control, no one could do that for him.
"Josie still hasn't been found yet," Tal finally responded, lifting a hand to brush away a tear. "But Blaze is doing all he can to find her. Right, honey?"
Tal held so much hope in his eyes and Blaze felt his throat tighten, but he only nodded in the affirmative and hugged his mate gently.
"I sure am, baby. We'll find your sister. I'm doing everything I can to bring your entire family back together again," he whispered.
Tal wouldn't understand what he meant by the cryptic statement and Mailon's left eyebrow lifted in question as well, but as he'd just finished telling the Elder, there were some things he couldn't tell his mate. The fact Tal's younger brothers, two teens Tal obviously didn't remember, were somewhere out in the galaxy, but he couldn't be sure where exactly, or what they were doing, or even if they were still alive, happened to be one of those things he had to keep to himself. Even if his mate got angry with him about it, Blaze would willingly make the sacrifice.
* * * *
Elder Bryce Morgasen walked into his home and slammed the door angrily. Livid didn't begin to describe his feelings. How dare Alpha King Blazell walk into the Hall of Elders with that… that… abomination and claim him as his mate! And then for the One to bless the union and to inform them all that… thing carried the heirs of Tumaro? He felt ill, physically ill. He pulled off his jacket and tossed it over the nearest chair in his sitting room, his house surprisingly quiet even though it had gone past the middle of the morning.
He poured himself a shot glass of the illegal brew of Volcanic Volauntic Moonshine, angrily tossed the liquid back and drank it down with one gulp. Hissing at the burn, his eyes filled with angry tears when the liquid made its way down his esophagus, feeling like claws scraping down the delicate lining until it landed with a firm kick in his stomach. The drink had been banned on Tumaro and on most planets affiliated with the GPA, because its effects on the body were akin to drinking poison straight. But he liked burn. He liked the way it made him feel, but more than that, he loved doing something he shouldn't.
Throwing back his head, he yelled, "Anglania! Get your ass out here!"
He waited for the younger woman to appear, pouring himself another glass. He caught her intoxicating scent before she even walked fully into the room and gave a growl of pure, masculine pleasure. God, he loved the way the voluptuous blonde smelled. Almost as much as he loved the way that she looked.
She approached him, her hips swaying delicately, her blonde hair blowing with the flow of the wind coming in through the window. She stopped before him and put her hands on his chest, sliding them up to his shoulders, and then behind his head before pulling him down into a kiss. He growled and grew aroused at the heady taste of her. After a moment, she pulled back from the kiss and grinned up at him seductively.
"You bellowed, my mate?" she asked.
Her blue eyes twinkled and she smiled, but he knew her smile to be almost as false as the rest of her. Anglania lived to connive and manipulate, just like him. Probably the reason they were fated mates. No one would ever know that fact. It wouldn't be conducive to their plan, and at that moment, their plan, along with the orders he'd been given from Master Torqran, were the most important things in the world.
Way more important than staking his claim.
"Yes, call your brother, love, we're going to have to step up our plan to get you bonded with the Alpha King. He's found his mate, some filthy Vermithian named Talon Versuthion," he spat out angrily.
Anglania gasped. "Isn't that the name of…" she whispered, anger filling her voice.
"Yes, that's him. The Versuthions are the prophesied saviors of the humanoid races. They're also the ones who are supposed to help bring true harmony to the galaxy. And as we both know, that harmony would destroy any chance we have of truly ruling Tumaro as we were meant to do," Elder Bryce stated, wrapping his fist with her long, blonde hair and pulling her head back, her neck stretched, waiting for his tongue, his bite… just waiting.
His wolf panted within him. It had been fifteen years and still he had not claimed his mate and he wouldn't do it just then either. Not until they were ruling the kingdom.
Instead he swiped the length of her neck with his tongue. "I have been given my orders from the master and so I now give them to you."
"What are the orders, Bryce?" she asked.
He grew harder at the sound of her ambition and drive. Nothing turned him on more than a ruthless, single-minded, low morals woman.
"We are to get rid of the Vermithian, by whatever means necessary. Have you mate with the Alpha King and then we are to get rid of him. But you must be forewarned. The Vermithian is already pregnant, so security will have increased around him," Elder Bryce pointed out.
"Let me handle it. Tal is as good as dead and so is Blaze. And then you and I will rule Tumaro… together," Anglania promised.
Elder Bryce grinned before pulling her down to the carpeted floor.
* * * *
Buck lifted the cigarjoint to his lips and took a deep drag of the smoke before exhaling it out slowly. He looked around discreetly to check out his surroundings, the darkness of the night wrapping around him tightly. He'd grown so sick of clandestine meetings, sick of being at the man's beck and call. Not for the first time he wished he'd never taken the first job. If he hadn't, he wouldn't be at the very edge of Anglethow, the city were the palace stood, waiting to meet a wanted criminal, hoping he wouldn't lose his life before he got home. Instead, Buck would be back in the palace, mated to Percy, the man he loved, the man he wanted more than life itself, but the one he'd sworn to protect. He sighed and thumped his head back on the wall behind him. Maybe if he just ended his life now Percy would be safe forever and this whole business, all of his secrets would die with him, no one would be affected, and his brother's claim to the throne would be fine.
"There now, why are you trying to bash your head into the wall, Prince? Problems got ya' down?" a lilting voice called out from the darkness.
Buck shivered. He hated that voice. With every fiber of his being, he hated that voice. He opened his eyes and breathed out a frustrated sigh. Too late to leave now. He'd been spotted. His opportunity for suicide, for escape, for blissful peace and rest had ended.
Eyole stepped forward into the dim illumination from the only streetlight at this part of town and stopped. He loved to watch Buck look at him and Buck couldn't help himself from doing so. Eyole had to be the most beautiful blue bird shifter Buck had ever seen. His long blue hair hung down in thick waves to right below his ass. He had beautiful hazel eyes, full pink lips, a thin nose, high pale cheekbones, and a long graceful neck. But those things didn't make Eyole stand out. Not even his pale skin stuck out drastically on the planet of Tumaro while surrounded by tanned wolf shifters. His firm, mouth-watering bubble butt that could bring full-grown male shifters to their knees and made female shifters burn with envy didn't top the list. Eyole could be considered beautiful, stunning, downright punch-you-in-the-gut gorgeous, but the truly remarkable thing that made him stand? His voice.
Seductive and sensual, even when he only spoke, Eyole made the person he conversed with horny as hell and he used it to his advantage. One of the reasons he'd become one of the best criminals ever born. It also made him the most wanted criminal in the galaxy. One of the most loved and most hated men ever created, he never had a shortage of men or women lining up to sleep with him.
Buck slept with Eyole because of his voice, once a week, every week, for the past ten years, to get information, to bring the men blackmailing him to justice, to keep his mate safe, even if he had to betray his mate to do so.
"Any word?" he asked, dispensing with the niceties.
"My, my, aren't we testy? Could it have something to do with your brother, the Alpha King, finding his mate in a Vermithian orphan who is already pregnant with the Tumaron heirs?" Eyole asked with a teasing lilt to his voice when he trailed his fingers up over Buck's chest to the back of his neck.
"Just tell me, Eyole," Buck growled between clenched teeth, reaching up to jerk down the other man's hand.
"Uh uh uh," Eyole tsked.
He puckered his lips and tilted his head back. "Kiss first, information second, fuck me third, and then what you really want to know last."
Buck growled low in his throat before he yanked Eyole forward, mashing his mouth down on the other man's, sucking at his lips, forcing his tongue between, not caring about the blood he drew, just desperately wanting to get the kiss over with so he could return to the palace.
To Percy.
After a few minutes of kissing he pulled away and restrained himself from spitting out the taste of the bird that lingered in his mouth. Eyole smiled with his eyes closed, the smaller man smoothing his hand down over his chest to his groin where he blatantly adjusted his rock-hard cock. Buck didn't have to, he remained as soft as a wet noodle in his own pants and Eyole knew that as well. But it wouldn't last, the bird loved to make Buck get hard against his will.
"You've had your kiss, give me the information," he gritted out.
Eyole licked his lips for a second before opening his hazel eyes and gazing at Buck unflinchingly. "I certainly hope your precious little Percy is worth all of this. I almost got shot today finding out this information. Is he?" He crossed his arms and stared at Buck.
Buck sighed. "You ask me that every week," he breathed. "And every week I tell you he's worth my life, your life, my brother's life, everyone and everything. Trust me, he's worth it. Now tell me what you know."
"I can tell you that he hasn't changed his mind. He also hasn't engaged in anything criminal recently, not him or his mate, to warrant you killing them or even arresting them, though I know you would rather neither of them breathed again. They did have a young girl come and stay with them for a bit, but I don't know why she was there. And I also know one of them is looking into slave ships that have been spotted in the galaxy. Don't know why and I don't know who it's for, but they have a lot of money put aside for two different reasons, in two different accounts and I definitely know I heard one of them say something about checking up on your precious Percy to see if he knew anything."
Buck froze in place before, with a loud howl, he turned to leave. He had to go and protect Percy. He growled angrily when Eyole grabbed his arm.
"Hey! What about my fuck?"
"Do it yourself!" Buck snarled, attempting to pull away without hurting the other man too badly.
"Don't you want to know about your brother's new mate and his younger brothers?" Eyole teased, stepping back and unbuttoning his shirt.
Buck watched him, his cock hardening in spite of his revulsion. If he ran off to check on Percy while one or both of Buck's blackmailers were there, it would do more harm than good. Blaze would also want whatever information Buck could get on Tal's brothers. Slamming his fist into the wall with an angry howl, he turned to follow Eyole into the darkness, unbuttoning his own shirt on the way.