Star-Crossed Mates (2 page)

But now, Wolfram found his own mates, two of them. Dietrich and Fritz could take on Klaus’s duties. His time had come. At last, during the celebration for Wolfram’s mating, Klaus approached him.

By rights, Clay should have pushed his mate away. He knew the other man used to sleep with the Magistrate on occasion. He suspected it stopped after Klaus met Clay, but even so, Klaus chose to stay by Wolfram’s side. The betrayal still made Clay’s soul hurt, but he’d been unable to refuse Klaus. After all, he could feel the other man’s pain and desire just like he did his own.

After his family left the Magistrate’s Den, he’d stayed behind to explore the new possibilities. The sex was amazing, but Klaus showed no intention of claiming him. Clay decided to confront Klaus tonight, to ask him outright if they ever had a chance of making their relationship a true, official mating. He didn’t feel ready for it, but then again, he doubted he ever would.

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As he sat there, the door opened, and Klaus’s familiar figure appeared. A smile spread on his handsome face. “Hey there, babe,” he whispered huskily. “To what do I owe this wonderful surprise?”

Warmth spread through Clay and arousal pooled into his cock.

Klaus’s honey brown eyes turned almost black in an echo of Clay’s need. Just like that, Clay forgot all about serious conversation. His brain switched off, and his body turned to “fuck now” mode.

He somehow remembered to offer Klaus a reply. Unsurprisingly, it came out flirty and coy. “What? Can’t I come visit my own mate?”

Klaus’s smile widened. “But of course. You’re always welcome in my room and in my bed.”

Clay didn’t have the time to process those words. Klaus crossed the space between them and jumped on the bed. In a flash, his mouth crushed against Clay’s. The other man licked across the seam of Clay’s lips and Clay eagerly allowed him entrance. He tasted his mate with greed, loving Klaus’s flavor. Their tongues dueled in a battle for dominance. Clay didn’t know who won. Perhaps they both did because the kiss just seemed to get better and better.

Their hands desperately worked at clothing, reaching for zippers and buttons. Shoes, shirts, and pants flew off in a flurry of material as they struggled to get skin to skin. Clay was pretty sure some of it didn’t survive the frenzy of their passion, but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered in front of the need to be together.

At last, they were naked, writhing as one on Klaus’s silken sheets.

Klaus’s hard dick throbbed against Clay’s thigh. They broke apart briefly to position themselves better on the bed. Klaus’s fist engulfed both their cocks, and the touch of Klaus’s talented hands on his prick made Clay groan in pleasure. He thrust against Klaus, their shafts sliding against each other with their own pre-cum facilitating the slide.

Clay couldn’t get enough. He wanted more, more of the delicious contact, more of Klaus. He swept his hands over Klaus’s sweaty skin,
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loving the feel of each and every inch of flesh. “Fuck me, Klaus,” he whispered. “I need you to fuck me.”

Klaus growled lowly and flipped Clay on all fours. His hands cupped Clay’s buttocks, making him shudder in lust and need. When his mate separated his cheeks, Clay pushed his ass up, wordlessly demanding what they both needed. He ached to feel Klaus’s cock spear him, to have it fill him to the brink.

Klaus’s touch briefly vanished while he rummaged in the nightstand for the lubricant. A few seconds later, the cool trickle of lube slipped over Clay’s crack, making him tremble in anticipation. In the time he’d spent here, his body had already developed a Pavlovian reaction to the feel of the slick liquid, knowing what it foretold. Klaus rubbed the lube into his hole, the light teasing touch, sending shocks of pleasure through Clay. Slowly, the digit wormed its way inside Clay’s body. Clay pushed back against the invader, his desire for him urging him to speed things along.

Klaus chuckled. “Patience, my love,” he murmured. “I’ll give you what you need.”

A distant thought appeared in Clay’s mind, a doubt lurking at the edge of his consciousness. Was he really Klaus’s love? Clay shook himself and pushed the idea of way. He shouldn’t allow foolish fears to ruin this moment.

His thoughts scrambled when Klaus’s exploring finger hit his prostate. As his mate rubbed the little nub mercilessly, electricity swept over Clay’s nerve endings, awakening each and every cell in his body. “Please, Klaus,” he cried out. “Please.”

Klaus inserted another finger, then another, fucking Clay with them, playing him like a virtuoso would a musical instrument. His mate prepared Clay with excruciating determination, and he could do nothing but withstand the sensual assault.

At last, Klaus retracted his fingers, and his cock nudged at Clay’s hole. One thrust, and his mate entered him. Clay couldn’t contain a gasp at the delicious burn that swept from his ass into his whole body.

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His mate was well-endowed to say the least, and every time they fucked, the sensations just seemed to get better and better.

Klaus started a slow, unrushed rhythm, his thrust deep, hard, and measured. Clay clenched his fists into the bedding and pushed back against his mate. Every motion jostled the special spot inside him, sending renewed pleasure all over his body.

Soon, Klaus began to speed up, and the slow seduction of his body turned carnal, raw, so intense Clay wondered how the sheets didn’t simply burst into flames. The heat between them felt so potent, stronger than even the fire of the sun. The sweet friction, the beautiful pain, all of it became too much.

There was only more thing he needed to make the moment perfect. He ached to feel Klaus’s fangs sink into his flesh, to be claimed by his mate in the way of their people. He had the presence of mind to bare his throat and growl, “Bite me, Klaus. Bite me.”

Klaus didn’t bite him. Instead, he reached for Clay’s cock, fucking him even harder. The staccato rhythm made the bed groan in protest.

Clay could swear the wall actually cracked where the massive four-poster hit it. Of course, he couldn’t care about it. His body and his mind were completely focused on Klaus.

“Go on, Clay,” Klaus growled in his ear. “Come for me.”

The heat of Klaus’s cock in his ass and the skilled touch of his mate’s hand on his cock defeated any barrier Clay tried to put up.

Against his will, Clay found his peak, the pleasure too intense for him to bear. With another thrust, Klaus filled him with hot seed, and the feel of his mate’s essence bathing his inside prolonged his bliss.

But as the physical pleasure began to dwindle, Clay felt bereft and shocked. Klaus’s cock left him, and his mate abandoned the bed.

Acute loneliness filled him. This was not the first time Klaus ignored his request to bond them together. He no longer knew what to think.

Klaus returned to the bedroom, carrying a wet washcloth. He wiped Clay down, the gentle motions strangely out of place in the awkward silence between them.

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Clay couldn’t take it any longer. He snatched the cloth from Klaus and pushed his mate away. “Why?” he shouted.”Why didn’t you bite me?”

Klaus looked away from him. “I just don’t think you’re ready.”

Anger swelled inside Clay. “So I’m ready to be fucked, but not to be a mate. Tell me, Klaus, how exactly does that work?”

His mate had promised. He’d promised during Wolfram’s mating ceremony that they could be together now. Of course, he never actually said he’d claim Clay, but how could he mean anything different? Clay assumed Klaus intended to mate him, but apparently, he’d been wrong.

“Clay, my presence is still required here. The Magistrate needs me.”

Clay bit his lip so hard he tasted blood. The Magistrate again.

“Yeah, and? Can’t I just stay like I have these past days?”

Klaus shook his head. “It doesn’t work like that. It’s too dangerous, and I’ll be distracted. No, you can’t stay.”

Clay threw his hands up. “You’re talking in riddles. But at any rate, I’m willing to take the chance.”

“I’m not,” Klaus shot back.

The anger drained out of Clay, replaced by pure desolation.

“Fine,” he said. “Have it your way. I’ve lived without a mate for ten years. I can do the same from now on.”

Mustering the remnants of his shredded dignity, Clay hastily put on his clothes and left the room. That same day, he arranged for a helicopter to take him back to his parents’ compound. He didn’t even grace Klaus with a good-bye. At this point, he didn’t think his mate would care anyway.

* * * *

Ross stared at the doors in front of him in nervousness. His palms felt clammy with sweat, and he wiped them against the material of his
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pants. He knew it would be useless. His fear would show whether he liked it or not.

It could have been a moment or an age, but at last, the door opened in front of him. He stepped inside the room like an automaton, knowing he didn’t have any choice. No matter what he did, his master always won in the end.

At first, he didn’t see the other man. Even so, he knew Joseph was there. He could feel it in the chill coursing down his spine, in the way his skin crawled like a million bugs climbed over him. Even after all this time, he couldn’t get used to Joseph’s presence. He felt strangely thankful for it. The moment his mind and body accepted his master’s possession, he could very well say he’d died.

A tall silhouette emerged from the shadows. “Come in, come in, Ross,” Joseph said. “I’m so glad you decided to visit.”

Ross almost snorted. His master called him here in the first place.

Ross hated these games, but he didn’t dare say anything. He never did.

“It’s so nice to see you, Ross,” the man continued. “I have a very important mission for you.”

“A mission?” Ross repeated, half-hopeful, half-terrified. It could mean getting away from his master, but at the same time, it could hurt others.

His master nodded. “Yes. I’m in need of your talents for a delicate operation.”

Ross’s heart fell. Sure, he’d expected it, but the way Joseph spoke didn’t bode well for Ross or whoever this mission targeted. In the past decade, Joseph had been training Ross’s mental abilities for his purposes. Much to his dismay, Ross learned his telepathic power could be boosted and harnessed by his master. He’d also been introduced to several horrifying facts of life—such as the existence of werewolves. He’d seen his master turn into a wolf with his own eyes, far too many times for his comfort. So far, he’d only trained his
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mental abilities on humans, but he had a feeling that would change soon.

“I see you’re beginning to understand.” Joseph chuckled. “Yes, I plan to introduce you to more of my world. Come.”

Joseph dragged Ross off and out of their house. They’d moved to Chicago the week prior, something that intrigued Ross at the time.

Now, Ross wondered if maybe it had anything to do with this mission.

His master drove them to what looked like a random alley in one of the poorer neighborhoods of the city. Occasionally, he’d sniff the air and snicker to himself, as if he were privy to some hidden knowledge Ross couldn’t grasp. He pushed Ross to the very end of the alley and said, “Right. This is a good spot.”

“A good spot for what?” Ross asked, both confused and terrified.

“You see, my boy, you’ll be my bait, the poor victim attacked by a beastly werewolf. Someone is going to come to save you, and when they do, you’ll destroy them.”

Ross didn’t know which part horrified him the most. “Victim?

Destroy? What?”

He didn’t get to say anything else. A low blow sent him to his knees on the dirty ground. With dazed eyes, he took in the sight of Joseph undoing his pants and taking out his hard cock. As realization struck, he immediately regained focus. “No!” he shouted. “Don’t.”

Joseph had never attempted to force himself on him before, at least not physically. He’d used and abused Ross’s mind plenty, but at least he’d kept his filthy paws off his body. Ross would die before he allowed that to change.

Joseph glared at him. “Keep your voice down, or else.”

He grabbed Ross by his hair, dragging him closer. The werewolf’s cock bobbed obscenely in front of Ross’s face. “Open your mouth.

Suck me, and do it good, or else.”

Ross tried to will his master to let him go, but it didn’t work. The man knew all his tricks. He knew how Ross’s mind worked. Already,
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Ross could feel Joseph work his way through the threads of his own mind, trying to control Ross, to push him into doing what he wanted.

“I’ll bite it off if you force me,” Ross shot back. “I swear to God I will.”

“You won’t,” Joseph answered. “You can’t resist me.”

Ross huffed—something very inappropriate to do in his current position. “Are you willing to take the chance? Just try, and it will be the last thing you do with it.”

Apparently, Joseph believed him because he released his grip on Ross’s hair and pushed him away with a sneer of disgust.”Fine. Have it your way.”

From that moment, Ross’s world turned into pain and darkness.

He found himself falling in the side of his brain reserved for moments such as these. His mind cocooned in itself, going into survival mode.

Probably, if Joseph had now suggested a blow job in exchange for stopping the torture, Ross would have agreed. But Joseph didn’t.

Instead, he beat him up until Ross thought he’d surely die.

And then, Joseph pulled him up and sank his fangs in Ross’s shoulder. The agony multiplied by a thousand, and when Joseph released him, Ross collapsed on the alley tarmac. He only registered the following events with a distant part of his mind. He saw Joseph jack his cock, and the heat of his master’s cum splashed all over him, scorching his skin.

Joseph grabbed him again and forced their eyes to meet. “You’ll tell them someone tried to force himself on you. You refused, and he bit you. Got it?”