Together Bound Read online

  Nick tried turning his face away, but Shaffer’s hand came up and clamped against his head, holding him in place. His other hand moved around and reached between Nick’s legs, long, pointed finger stroking along the groove where hip met groin. Spikes of cold, raw fear shot through Nick, radiating out from his spine.

  “Not interested, boy?” His hand moved to Nick’s inner thigh and Shaffer squeezed.

  “Please…don’t…” Nick whispered, begging.

  A finger trailed through his hair and scraped lightly over his scalp. “Never been with anyone but him, have you?” Nick shivered when its tongue crept down and under the top of Nick’s tunic to slime over his shoulder, another luxurious inhale. “Hmmm…makes you taste so good, smell so good when you think of his hands, not mine, on you. Lucky me, I’ve found a nice young bonded pair, twice the pleasure.”

  “My master…he died…left me…” Nick pushed the words out of a throat closing and tightening around itself. “Please…I don’t want—”

  Shaffer chuckled, grabbed Nick’s shoulder, spun him around, and slammed his back against the wall. “Oh, but I do.” His tongue moved farther under Nick’s tunic, pushing the material away. When it skimmed over the brand, Shaffer pulled his head back, eyes narrowing.

  Hands fumbling at the other man’s—creature’s—hips, Nick shoved against it. “Get away from me,” he grunted when Shaffer snapped his hips forward, pinning Nick even more tightly against the wall. He was much stronger than a slightly out of shape man in his fifties should ever be.

  Upper lip curling, Shaffer moved one hand to hook along the edge of the tunic and slowly moved it away and down Nick’s shoulder. His tongue worked its way up to Nick’s lips and traced over them. When Nick tried turning away, his chin was grasped in an iron grip and held still.

  “Sentry,” Shaffer hissed. “This is more fun than I’ve had in centuries. It’s been too long since I’ve gone against a sentry, hunted one. And now, lucky me, I have two here. Mated, bonded sentries. A true delicacy.”

  Lightning flashed, still far off, fading nearly at the same time it erupted.

  He forced Nick’s lips apart and thrust his tongue deep inside. It slithered down Nick’s throat, making him gag and choke, wanting to spit. Something oily and bitter dripped across his tongue and drizzled down his throat, immediately setting his stomach on fire. A deep, powerful burn raced through his veins, along his too-tight skin. Nerve endings zinged and became over-sensitized. Nick’s cock lengthened and swelled despite his disgust, fear, and sheer desire to escape.

  Shaffer pulled his tongue free. “That’s more like it.” Shaffer’s hands roamed Nick’s body, pressed and rubbed his groin, traced the lines and grooves of his abs, pinched his nipples.

  Nick bit down on his lower lip, refusing to find any pleasure. From the very start, Todd had stressed his fidelity and Nick reciprocated. Nick had never broken that trust, not once. There was no way this vile beast was going to make Nick break that vow and betray his master in such a horrible way. Squirming, Nick tried again to break away.

  This time Shaffer backed up a few paces, leaving Nick shivering and twitching, barely able to keep his legs under him, even with the wall for support.

  “A sentry to hunt. A mated sentry, a bonded pair, so rare, so sweet. Don’t worry, boy, you’ll give him up to me eventually. I’ll sniff him out.” Shaffer leaned in, inhaled against the side of Nick’s face, and then swiped his tongue along Nick’s neck one final time before turning on his heel and stalking away.

  Nick slid helplessly to the floor, curled around and in on himself. His cock ached; his balls were heavy and painful. He wanted, needed release, every bit of him screamed for it, but he refused to let it happen. Gasping in deep breaths, Nick flinched when thunder cracked, loud enough to rattle the windows. The room momentarily flashed bright, and a second peal of thunder bounded through the air.

  Shame fought with lust, finally winning out and softening Nick’s cock. No one but Todd had ever touched him in such a way, aroused such sensations and feelings. Nick had never even entertained the thought that someone else could. Brushing away tears, he was so ashamed of what he’d done, how his body had reacted. He stumbled to his feet. Thunder so loud he felt it in his feet made his body jerk, his heart hammer wildly.

  Nick ran down the stairs and out of the building, heading across the estate to the sanctuary. He barely paid any attention to the looks he got, or how his feet sloshed through wet, muddy grass, the rain that whipped in his face and plastered his hair to his head. He slid to the ground behind a tree when his stomach lurched and vaulted against his ribs. Nick dropped to his knees, retching onto the wet grass. After wiping the back of one hand across his mouth and shaking the last remnants of spit away, he stood on trembling legs and then sprinted the rest of the way to the dorm. He stopped only when he was in his room, wedged between the wall and dresser, huddled on the floor, knees pulled up. Pressing the heels of his hands to his eyes, Nick rocked back and forth.

  What he wanted more than anything was to run to Todd, seek out the power and safety that was his master, his mate, his home. How could he do that, though, after failing Todd’s trust and love in such a way? Feeling nothing but cast out, lost, and alone, Nick stayed there for what felt like hours. Once the storm passed, he was exhausted and sore. He crawled to the bed and climbed in, shivering and wet even though it was hot and humid in the room.

  Sleep slipped to him and then marched away, leaving him tossing and turning, adrift in frightening dreams. He’d grown so accustomed to Todd’s warm, solid body beside him at night. The heaviness of Todd’s arms over Nick, the sound of his breathing and heartbeat in Nick’s ears was what had lulled him to sleep for many months. No matter how he twisted and turned, tried curling around and hugging himself tight, Nick couldn’t find real rest.

  He’d never been so afraid in his life, and for the first time since Todd had taken him from the village, Nick had nowhere to turn, no strong, safe arms to nestle into. No home to run to.

  * * * *

  The last thing Todd wanted to have to do was go into that tunnel at night. It would be dark down there, he knew that, but from what he’d read, the shifter—a kelbit, as it was called in literature—was more apt to return to its tunnels to feed or rest after sunset.

  Any investigating had to be done before nightfall.

  Wasting no time, Todd hurried back to the security building and to his quarters for a silver-edged knife he kept there. Next, he went to the main part of the building where the offices and armory were housed. After collecting supplies he’d need—a firearm, gas lantern, and some rope—he moved quickly down the hall. As he passed Witze’s office, Todd hesitated. The man was a trained soldier, unlikely to completely freak out if faced with the kelbit, but Todd wasn’t sure about taking someone untrained as a sentry in with him.

  Then again, he’d taken Nick, untrained, in with him that first hunt for an angry spirit.

  At the very least he decided he had to inform Witze of his discovery. Todd rapped his knuckles against the door and waited until he heard Witze’s voice granting him entry. After stepping inside, Todd shut the door behind him.

  “I’ve found some sort of access to tunnels in the slave dorms. I’m going to head down there and check them out. It might be how the attacker is moving around.”

  Witze eyed him up and down before standing and moving out from behind his desk. Crossing the room to a cabinet, he unlocked and opened it, taking out a shoulder holster and handgun. “So something did happen to that woman?”

  Todd nodded.

  Witze growled and shook his head. “She’s the fourth one this month alone. Whoever it is, I want the bastard caught. These attacks don’t follow a real pattern. Whoever it is goes after men and women. Some attacks are quite brutal.”

  The relief Todd felt surprised him. He’d worked with his father until his early teens, but from then until he’d claimed Nick, Todd had been mainly a solo act. In just under the two years he’d had
Nick, he’d grown so accustomed to hunting with a partner that the thought of going it alone, even for a short time, was unsettling. He’d do it, but he sure as hell wouldn’t like it. Having Witze, even untrained and untried in work as a sentry, as a backup offered him a small measure of comfort.

  They crossed the bridge and commons to the slave dorm. Todd was happy to see the place was still fairly deserted. Most were still either at work or had left for a late-afternoon dinner. The fewer people around, the fewer questions he’d have to answer.

  Todd set everything down, then found and opened the access door in a few short minutes. They both checked the load of their pistols before Witze handed him one of the lanterns already lit, ignited the second one for himself, and shouldered the coil of rope. Todd stepped through first, taking a better look around now he had better lighting. Witze pulled the door mostly closed behind them.

  The area immediately beyond the door was narrow enough, Todd had to turn sideways to move through. Shoulders brushing the damp, rough walls, he walked cautiously to the hole, leading down to what, he could only guess. Slime and some moisture spotted the carved earthen steps. Free hand against the tunnel side, Todd stepped carefully down, holding the lantern ahead of him.

  Brick wall and foundation stopped a few feet down, where dirt and rock started. Behind him, Witze sucked in a breath and let out a long, low, soft whistle.

  “I never knew this was here, or that the stories would be remotely real.”

  Todd glanced back, one corner of his mouth turned up for a split second. How many times had he heard that or a variation on it?

  A few more yards, and the narrow tunnel widened and branched off into several others. Witze jerked his chin to one side. Todd nodded and stepped along the main tunnel while Witze checked a few yards into each of the smaller ones. Holding the lantern high, Todd followed the main tunnel for a few minutes before coming to a series of chambers carved out like a honeycomb.

  Remains, human and otherwise, scattered the floors. Something thick, green, and smelly covered the walls of each section. Todd was quite sure he didn’t want to know what that something was. Tucked into a corner of one of the larger chambers was a cocoon the size and shape of an adult man. Every few seconds, it twitched or a part of it jerked, making it shine and reflect various pale colors in the lantern light.

  A quick glance over his shoulder when he heard footsteps had Todd backing out of the chamber. He retraced his steps and met Witze just as the other man was about to enter the first chamber.

  “Christ, there’s bones and rotten flesh in some of those tunnels.” Witze looked pale.

  Todd jerked his thumb over his shoulder, “Yeah, same in there.”

  “What the hell are we dealing with?”

  “I’m guessing,” Todd started carefully, “Some kind of animal lives down here, and whoever is responsible for the attacks is using the tunnels to get around.” The last thing he wanted was a crew of people snooping around. Burning the remains here would do no good without catching the kelbit; it would simply jump hosts. To capture and kill it, Todd knew he’d have to wait until it returned to feed at night. “I’d like to not let on we know about this yet, see if I can find more entrances. I want to flush this creep out, not make him or her run.”

  Witze nodded. “Whatever you need, let me know. In the meantime, I’m going to step up security.”

  Todd felt a wave of relief rush through him. He knew what he had to do and would have preferred Nick was there to help him. Not that he didn’t trust Witze, but some things were more easily accomplished without long explanations. Besides, he and Nick were a team, they worked well together, and if there was a direct confrontation with the kelbit, Todd was convinced it’d go smoother and be safer with his mate at his side. His next step was finding a way to trap the kelbit. They’d have to track the thing, since Todd was fairly certain it wouldn’t be down here every night. Possibly it would return to its tunnels only weekly or monthly.

  In the morning, he and Nick would return and find out exactly what was in that cocoon.

  By the time Todd was able to return to the slave dorm for Nick, it was nearly one in the morning. He hurried across the commons from the employee quarters, glancing at the sky every few minutes as he jogged down the stairs beyond the bridge three at a time. The night sky was clouding over, thunder rumbled, and lightning was already streaking the sky. As he reached the dorm entrance, splats of rain began hitting the ground. It was bad enough poor Nick had been left alone earlier when a storm had rolled through. Todd wanted to get to him before this one was much worse.

  Shaking water off as he slipped inside the building, Todd barely spared a glance at the section of wall where the hidden door was. Earlier, he’d placed a small bit of wood in the crack of the door so it couldn’t slide open easily. The makeshift lock was still in place. After rounding the corner, he moved silently down the hall. It was late, and he didn’t want to wake anyone.

  Todd stopped in front of Nick’s door, leaned in the doorway, and rapped his knuckles softly against the door. There was no light from under the door, and he wondered if Nick was asleep. For a few seconds, he contemplated leaving Nick to sleep, but he’d promised he’d be here, and the storm would only get worse, likely waking his young mate. The thought of Nick being needlessly left alone made Todd’s chest clench around his lungs.

  Todd turned the doorknob and poked his head through the door.

  “Nick?” he called softly. It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the dim room. The only light came from outside.

  Nick was tangled in the sheet, asleep but clearly not resting. He tossed his arms one way and his head the other, mumbling, “No…no…don’t…please…not, can’t, no.” Nick’s words were more a whimper than anything else.

  Todd slipped inside and shut the door quietly behind him, and crossed the small room to the bed. He dropped down onto the edge and didn’t hesitate at all, but reached out and took Nick by the shoulders. “Hey, Nicky, come on, buddy, wake up, just a bad dream.” He shook firmly, gently.

  Nick gasped, his eyes opened wide, and he sucked in a breath and held it, gaze darting around the room. “T-Todd?”

  Todd didn’t have the chance to so much as nod before Nick’s arms were around his neck, face pressed to Todd’s shoulder, as much of Nick’s body crushed flat against Todd as possible. “Whoa, whoa, Nicky, hey, easy.” It was sheer instinct for Todd to bring an arm up and around Nick’s back, the other partially around his shoulder, bent at the elbow, and a hand firmly against the back of Nick’s head. Brushing his lips lightly over Nick’s hair, Todd whispered, “It’s me, right here. C’mon, tell me what’s going on.” He’d learned in their very early days together, Nick only had nightmares for a reason. They were often vivid and violent and terrified both men, but they were never without cause.

  The storm picked that moment to break out for real. Lightning lit up the small room, at the same time thunder crashed through the atmosphere.

  Nick scrambled closer. “Can we go? I wanna go.”

  Todd tried moving so he could lean back, tip his head, and look at Nick’s face, but Nick’s arms tightened, muscles bulging and cording, holding them tightly together. Rubbing a hand up and down Nick’s spine, Todd spoke quietly. “You sure? We can stay here. It’s okay.”

  “You can’t, against the rules, remember? Please, can we go to your rooms?”

  “All right, come on. Let’s get out of here before it gets worse outside.” Todd pried Nick loose as gently as possible and stood up. “Do you need to take—” Todd’s words died when Nick bounced off the bed and was in the doorway in three long strides.

  “Please, now, can we go?”

  Shaking his head and chuckling, Todd followed, after making sure the door was shut tightly behind them. Todd led the way down the hall quickly and headed out into a steady downpour. Jogging across the commons and up the steps to the bridge, he was stopped by Nick’s arms wrapping around his shoulders and Nick pressing to hi
s back. “It’s okay,” Todd whispered. He took Nick’s wrist and pulled his mate along. “We’re going to get soaked.” Ducking his head into the wind and rain, Todd clamped down hard on Nick’s arm, making sure Nick kept pace with him, and ran across the bridge and to the building he currently called home.

  Fortunately, it was the middle of the night, and no one was around to take notice of two sopping wet young men, one clinging to the other, slipping in the water they dropped and running down the halls.

  Todd got his door unlocked and shoved Nick inside. Stopping in the middle of the room, Nick looked like a half-drowned rat, and Todd imagined he didn’t look much better. Nick’s normally wavy brown hair hung in strings, each ending in water droplets. His clothes were plastered to his body, and he was shivering violently despite the fact it was midsummer in the south. Biting his lip, Nick started peeling his slave uniform off.

  “Christ, Nick, just go get in the shower and get warm. I’ll get you something dry.” Todd kicked his boots off and turned, intending to grab clean, dry clothes for them both from the closet and dresser.

  Nick’s fingers around his arm stopped him. “Please. Don’t leave me. Please stay. I didn’t…” Nick’s eyes were wide, his face ashen. He was trembling.

  Frowning, Todd looked him up and down. “You didn’t what? Nick, what’s going on?”

  Nick tugged gently. “Stay, please, don’t leave me.”

  Lightning flashed across the sky. More thunder and the sound of rain hitting the window filtered into Todd’s mind. He tried to convince himself it was simply that the storm had Nick spooked. “Nick, what are you…? Leave you? Don’t be ridiculous, I’d never—”

  Backing toward the bath, Nick tightened his grip. If at all possible, his eyes grew wider. A tight nod and Todd moved forward, again taking the lead as he passed Nick. Todd yanked his own clothes off on the way, and by the time he had the water running to warm up, both he and Nick were naked. When he turned and reached for Nick, his mate slid between his arms and pressed against him.