Heartsblood Read online

A small natural pool was formed by the rocks below it before the water cascaded down another set of boulders to hurtle downstream. It was a secluded spot and one that Gabe had always loved since Nicky had shown it to him a few years before. Gabe had told him that Nicky said it was one of his favorite places to come and get away from things—to relax and think things through.

  Gabe lay on the flat rock beside the stream now, with Zack stretched out beside him. Zack glanced over at him and saw his face clouded with worry.

  “What’s the matter, baby?”

  Gabe sighed and sat up. “It’s Nicky. Just the thought of what happened last night makes the butterflies in my stomach start up again. I was so happy to see Nicky again, and I tried hard not to show how shocked I was at the changes in him.”

  “Try not to think about it, honey.”

  “But he’s so different. Still handsome, but quieter and more reserved. Not nearly as outgoing as he’d been before. And his size! He’s almost as tall as you, Zack, though not quite so muscular. He’s gorgeous, but it was the change in his personality that bothered me the most.”

  Gabe picked up a little rock and threw it in the water. “I know you don’t like me staying so close to another wolf, but at the time, I thought it was just silly jealousy. I tried to chatter away and keep the conversation going, but I sensed Nicky wasn’t really listening. He did stare at me pretty intensely, though, and it made me nervous. So nervous that I kept patting Nicky’s arm or touching his leg to reassure myself that this was still my friend Nicky and that nothing had really changed. It has, though. Everything’s changed and when Nicky leaned over and-and kissed me, I nearly fainted.”

  Zack frowned, knowing he had reacted predictably, and the huge fight started. After that, he honestly didn’t remember much of what happened. He’d wound up taking Gabe back to the guest room, pushing him face down in the covers with his ass in the air, and thoroughly pounding him into the mattress. For once, Gabe hadn’t even teased Zack. Maybe he knew he’d played a big part in what had happened, and that Zack needed to remind him to whom he belonged.

  “I can almost hear those little wheels turning in your brain, sweetheart. I brought you out here so you could relax.”

  Gabe turned toward his mate and tried to smile. “I know. I’m relaxing. I’m just a little…”

  “Worried about me and Nicky?”

  “Yes,” Gabe replied in a small voice.

  Zack sat up on one elbow, pushed his sunglasses up on his forehead and sighed. “Don’t be. I overreacted. I know Nicky is going through a lot of changes in his body and his mind right now. I shouldn’t have jumped him like I did, and I plan on going down to apologize to both him and Marco later this afternoon.”

  Gabe reached out to run his fingers down Zack’s chest. “A lot of it was my fault.”

  “Yes, most of it was. You know better than to flirt with another wolf the way you did, leaning all over him, touching him on the arm and batting those eyelashes at him.”

  “But it was Nicky. I never thought about him like that. It’s hard to think of him as a wolf. And anyway, I did not bat my eyelashes.”

  “Yes you did. I don’t think you can help it. I truly believe it’s in your DNA.” He sat up beside Gabe and put an arm around his shoulders. “I usually don’t even mind it so much, but with Nicky last night, I just lost control. There was something about him, right from the start of the evening that rubbed me the wrong way. I can’t even put my finger on it exactly.” He dropped a kiss on the top of Gabe’s head. “Of course it doesn’t help that he’s so damn good looking.”

  “Is he? I hadn’t noticed.”

  “Right.”

  Gabe moved his hand down toward Zack’s groin. “You know I never really look at any other men besides you.”

  “Tell me another one.”

  “Zack, that’s not fair. I admit that I may, in the past, have flirted a little with other men, but since I met you, I haven’t—well, there was that one time after you sent me away.”

  “I didn’t send you away. I explained to you that you’d have to be a member of my pack and follow the rules, and that if you couldn’t or wouldn’t do that, then you’d have to leave. I gave you plenty of money and told you I’d always take care of you. Besides, I knew you couldn’t stand to be away from me for long.”

  “Hey!” Gabe said, punching Zack in the shoulder. “You came after me.”

  “After the man I sent to watch over you reported back that you were drunk, shaking your ass and dancing on a bar at some dive.”

  “It wasn’t a dive at all. It was a nice little local bar.”

  “Oh, well then…”

  “And you carried me out on your shoulder and took me back to my hotel room to abuse me.”

  “I made you take a cold shower and sit in a corner for an hour.”

  “That’s abusive.”

  Zack grunted and lay back down on his back, pulling his sunglasses back over his eyes. “Yeah, you’re pitiful.”

  Gabe plopped down on his chest and kissed one of Zack’s nipples. “I really don’t think I learned my lesson last night. I think I need another demonstration of how much you love me.”

  “Oh, is that right?”

  “Unless you’re not up for the job.”

  Gabe squealed as Zack grabbed him around the waist and flipped him over on his back, then made himself comfortable on top of Gabe’s body. “You were saying something about a demonstration?”

  “I thought you might need to show me who’s boss again.”

  “I can do that. And you’re going to scream like I’m killing you, and we’ll probably alarm the wildlife for miles around. What do you think about that?”

  “Sounds interesting. Tell me more.”

  “First you tell me. Who do you love, baby boy?”

  “Well…let me think about it.” Gabe lay on his back, his eyes darkening with passion. Zack bent over and engulfed his dick in his mouth, holding him down with his weight and showing him no mercy. He took him in all the way to the root of his shaft.

  Gabe arched his back and moaned, still laughing a little. “Okay, okay, you. You! I love you.”

  Zack ignored him for the moment, pulling him beneath him and holding tightly to his hips, denying him any freedom of movement. He moved his tongue up and down on his cock until he had Gabe writhing under him and then released him so that Gabe could pump his hips to a screaming orgasm. Zack sucked down every drop and licked the length of his cock before leaning up on one elbow and smiling down at him.

  “Now jerk yourself off for me, baby. You say you love me, so you need to show me. Get hard for me again. C’mon dirty dancer, let’s see what you got.”

  Gabe whimpered as he put his hand around his half-hard cock and pulled at it. Zack knew it was always painful for Gabe to have stimulation after he’d come, but Gabe stroking himself was the hottest thing he’d ever seen. “That’s right, baby, you’re doing just fine. That’s so hot, sweetheart. Get yourself ready for me again, and then I’ll to fuck you so hard you’ll feel me for a week.” He bent over and teased his nipple with his tongue, making Gabe whimper. “You like that, baby?” He bent over and bit the other nipple, causing Gabe to stop jacking himself and shudder.

  Zack helped him by putting his hand over Gabe’s and helping him to move his hand up and down over his cock again. “Don’t stop, baby, get yourself ready for me. Show me how much you love me.” Gabe started up again and this time, Zack nipped at his thighs and his balls until he was almost crying with need. By this time, Gabe’s cock was hard and weeping with pre-cum. Zack rolled him over and pushed up his legs. “Sweet, baby, very sweet.” Gabe started arching his ass back at him and Zack laughed. “You need something? You need my cock up your little ass?”

  He bent and licked his way up Gabe’s crease, stopping to thoroughly lick around his puckered hole.

  “Please, Zack…please…”

  “Please what, baby? Do this? Or this?” He licked up his crease again, driving Gabe cra
zy, just the way he wanted him. He bent down and nipped at his ass cheeks, making him cry out. He bit all over his ass, sinking his teeth in a bit, then licking the bite until Gabe was almost sobbing. “Keep stroking baby. You’re doing so well.” Zack used his tongue to lick all the way up the crease in his ass again, then lapped at it to moisten it and get him ready.

  “Please, Zack!”

  “First you got to tell me how much you love me. Tell me, baby, or I won’t let you come for a long, long time.”

  “I love you Zack! Only you!”

  “That’s right, and whose little ass is this?”

  “Yours,” he whimpered.

  Finally he lined up his cock and thrust inside Gabe, gently at first and then harder, holding his hand to Gabe’s stomach so he couldn’t move away. Within minutes, they both came in an explosive orgasm that rocked Zack to his core.

  Zack stayed deep inside him even as he softened, kissing him on the back of the neck before gently pulling out. Gabe cuddled back into him, breathing hard, not wanting to move. Zack rolled to his back, pulling Gabe with him, enjoying the feel of his mate stretched out across his body. He looked up at the blue sky, listening to Gabe’s little snoring sounds and gently rubbing his back.

  Because of the gentle, steady breeze blowing away from them, Zack wasn’t even aware of being watched from the bushes behind him on the bank of the stream. And he never heard so much as the crackle of a twig breaking as the watcher backed slowly and carefully away to head back up the trail.

  * * * *

  Marco sat across from Cade and Zack in his office and stared at Zack when he apologized to him.

  “Nicky was way out of line,” he said, sighing. “I probably would have reacted the same way—I think any of us would have, though just for future reference—the next time you threaten my mate, I’ll clean the floor with your ass, no matter how close we are.”

  “Fair enough,” Zack said, one shoulder lifting in a shrug. “I’m still sorry for the unpleasantness and for ruining the dinner party. I would hate this to come between us.”

  Marco sighed and shook his head. “It won’t. Nicky was sorry about it too. I think all this has been too hard on him. The lines between what he was before and what he is now are blurry and confusing for him. He loves Gabe as a friend, that’s all. But he was inappropriate, I’ll admit, and I know he’d want me to apologize.”

  “Let’s forget it, okay? Chalk it up to a misunderstanding.”

  Marco nodded and sat back despondently in his chair. His entire demeanor changed as his shoulders drooped. “I wish that was all it was.”

  Cade and Zack glanced at each other and then back at Marco. Cade leaned forward. “What is it, Marco? What’s going on, really?”

  Cade thought for a moment that he wouldn’t answer, but then he sighed and rubbed his forehead. “It’s Nicky. He is confused and having a hard time, but I honestly don’t know how to help him. His wolf is…out of control. It’s like it’s not even a part of him, but something alien, or, hell, maybe even psychotic. I’m afraid that bastard Tate put a monster inside of him, and I don’t know what to do.” He dashed angrily at the moisture in his eyes and looked back up at the other wolves. “Damn it. I lost him once, and I can’t lose him again. I won’t.”

  “What can we do to help, Marco?” Cade stood up and came around the desk to perch beside him. He was Marco’s first cousin and when they were younger, they’d been the closest of friends too. It was Marco he’d turned to when he had to leave Louisiana and Marco had offered him land to build on above his own lodge. All the pack members were interrelated and bore a striking resemblance to each other, but with Cade and Marco, it was particularly strong. Cade hated to see Marco so upset, and he knew he’d probably feel the same way if it were Jax, his own young mate.

  “I don’t know, Cade. Maybe nothing. I tried making him shift like you said, and he shifted for a few minutes, but then he attacked me and retreated back inside Nicky.”

  “He attacked you?”

  “His wolf did, yes. Nicky said he doesn’t recognize me as his mate when he’s in his wolf, but it’s only me that he seems to hate. He shifted with Ian and once with Rory, too, and he didn’t particularly like them, but he didn’t attack them. Nicky told me it was like two different minds inhabiting the same body. He knew what his wolf was doing, but he couldn’t stop it.”

  “What did this wolf do, exactly?” Zack asked, looking concerned.

  “He leaped at me, tried to fight. He was smaller, so I subdued him and tried not to hurt him. When my wolf clamped down on his snout, he whined and shifted back, and suddenly I was staring down at Nicky in his human form. It’s a wonder I didn’t injure him accidentally.”

  “No shit.”

  Cade looked thoughtful. “I wonder if the doctor can mix something up to give him—some drug that will inhibit his shifting back so quickly, but won’t hurt him. If we can keep him in his wolf for a while, we can try to train him—teach him to be a respectful member of the pack.”

  “What the hell kind of drug would that be?” Marco said irritably. “I won’t allow him to be experimented on. He’s been through enough.”

  “Well, we can ask about it, can’t we?” Cade replied. “That won’t hurt anything. We have to do something. If Nicky keeps this up, it’s going to drive him crazy. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to have your wolf at war with you, hating your mate and wanting to kill him. When Jax resisted his wolf coming out, we got in arguments almost every day. It almost tore our pack apart. C’mon, Marco, get Dr. Cornsilk up here. It can’t hurt to ask.”

  By the time the doctor arrived, Marco was pacing by the window. He left it to Cade to explain, making it clear he didn’t like any of this. Cornsilk looked thoughtful. “Shifting requires a high amount of adrenalin in the body, and we’ve given small doses of adrenal extract to young wolves to help them through their first shift for years now.”

  “You have?” Marco stopped his pacing and looked at the doctor in surprise.

  “Yes, for at least the past ten years. Even humans take adrenal extract by mouth for all kinds of conditions. Things like low adrenal function, stress, severe allergies, certain skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis. Oh, and rheumatoid arthritis. Lots of conditions. For the young wolves who have problems completing their first shift because they’re nervous or have low adrenal function, the extract seems to work fine.”

  “And it’s not dangerous?” Marco asked.

  “Oh no, not if administered by mouth in proper dosages. It’s even given to women sometimes to prevent miscarriages, I believe, though that’s not my area.”

  “So if you gave it to Nicky, what might happen?”

  “Well, probably nothing would happen, unless he tried to shift. Then it would help him transform and help him to maintain the transformation longer.”

  Cade smiled. “It’s worth a shot, Marco. If the doctor can get the medicine for us, we can make sure Nicky takes it and then take him out on one of the trails and make him shift for us. Then we can all get a look at his wolf and observe how he interacts with ours. See if it’s only your alpha that he distrusts or if it’s all alphas.”

  Marco finally nodded his agreement. “Okay, we’ll try it, but only if Nicky agrees. I won’t go behind his back on this.”

  “Understood,” Zack said. “So when do we try this thing? Gabe and I have to get back home soon.”

  “If he agrees, then we can do it tonight. Why don’t you all stay for dinner? And then afterwards…”

  Cade slapped Marco on the back and smiled at him. “In the meantime, cheer up. We’ll get Nicky to agree, see what’s happening with his wolf and with any luck get the whole thing straightened out. You’ll see, by this time tomorrow, things will be much better.”

  “I hope so,” Marco said softly. “God knows they couldn’t get a whole lot worse.”

  * * * *

  “To say things couldn’t get any worse is a failure of the imagination,” Nicky said, aft
er Marco explained what would happen after dinner that night and repeated his comment to the other alphas. “Things can always get worse. It’s like a law or something.”

  Marco seemed nervous, but he was smiling at Nicky, pretending everything was fine. At least Marco was telling him about it. In the old days, back when Nicky first became Marco’s mate, Marco might have just slipped him the drug and never warned him at all, forget about asking his permission.

  “You don’t have to do it just to satisfy Zack and Cade’s curiosity. We can go on like we have been and keep trying to get your wolf to accept me.”

  “No,” Nicky said. “I guess I need to do it. At least I want to try this. I know we can’t go on this way. When do we do it?”

  “Right after we eat, I guess, if that’s okay.”

  “Why not?” Nicky got to his feet, shoving his hands down in his pockets. “Is that all? I need to get a shower before dinner. I helped Casey out in the garden earlier and I’m filthy.”

  “Sure.” Marco watched him walk to the door. “Nicky?” Marco said softly as his hand touched the knob. “Please be careful tonight at dinner. Zack apologized for his temper last night, but things are still a little strained. If Gabe starts…anything…just walk away, okay? I think Zack is talking to him about toning things down, but you know Gabe. And I really don’t think another brawl is going to help anybody.”

  “Gabe can’t help himself. He’s such a little slut.” He grinned to indicate the true affection he felt for Gabe beneath the words. When Marco still frowned, he turned and put a hand over his heart. “But I can help myself. I promise, okay? I’m not so sure about this crazy son-of-a-bitch inside me, though. I think he seriously has the hots for ole Gabe.”

  He laughed and walked out, aware that Marco had not so much as cracked a smile at his remark.

  Dinner at the lodge was always at six-thirty, late enough for everyone to be in from work but early enough for the younger members of the pack to eat and still have time for baths and stories and other bedtime rituals. Nicky surveyed himself in the mirror before he went downstairs. He was wearing a new pair of jeans and a shirt that he probably should have chosen in a larger size. Seriously, had he grown more in the few days since he’d bought the damn thing? Marco would probably love it, but then again, he wouldn’t like the other wolves admiring Nicky in it. It was hard to please the bastards.