Crossing the Moon - 11. The Elder and the Alpha

The curtains were securely covered even though it was still late at night. The lamplight was just bright enough to be able to read clearly, even though it was the single source of light in the room. January found himself sitting up against the headboard and several pillows, closest to the lamp. Elias had his head on the vampire's lap, and his legs draped on Pax's lap. Jany asked if he could gently rake his fingers through the Omega's hair and the werewolf eagerly approved.

"Would you both like for me to read aloud?" Jany asked.

"I'd like that, yes," Pax stated.

"Read to us," Elias added his consent.

The vampire couldn't help the smile that formed on his face. A small part of him was still in shock about the situation he found himself in. But, the majority of his feelings centered around the sheer joy of being a soulmate to such a wonderful trio of werewolves and the immense gratitude he felt for the gods to have led Quinlan back to him.

January continued to gently rake through shaggy, auburn locks as he began to read. "He holds my deepest respect. No other alpha would have dared to walk into the lion's den..." he said in a steady story-telling tone of voice. "The asymmetrically short, messy hair was a soft brown color with natural blond highlights faded by the sun. He was masculine and muscled in all the right places. But, there was something about the determination in those blue-green eyes that made me catch my breath. Such a brave young man to enter alone. I stood up to greet him and was surprised that, when we came face to face, we were able to look each other in the eye without either of us having to look up or down..."

::::

Henry kept his head high, and shoulders squared as he took in the vampire before him. He certainly didn't look like an ancient creature. The vampire looked no older than Henry, though the similarities ended there. The elder's hair was a deep Prussian blue that fell to his knees. His eyes were pale silver, but his skin was as dark as one of the native peoples who sometimes came to town. It made him appear mysterious and exotic.

"Vampire, I am Henry Teague, the alpha of the wolf clan nearby," Henry said, voice sure and level. "I've come to end the violence running wild around us."

Lucian lifted an elegant Prussian blue brow as he regarded the alpha before him. "Werewolf," he responded in kind. "I am Lucian Everhart, Elder to this particular group. And I ask that you explain what you mean. Those that live under my roof are pacifists."

Henry's teeth clenched, the muscles in his jaw jumping as he held back a snarl, certain that the vampire meant to mock him. As if the basic nature of any blood-drinker could be anything other than violent and murderous. Which was why he had to find a way to stop the mounting casualties. His pack was larger than many, but the vampire covens' territories surrounded his own. If something didn't change, his pack would dwindle and disappear. It wouldn't happen for many years, but it would happen.

"I've come to discuss a path to end the outright fighting between our people," the alpha said stiffly, a growl creeping into his voice.

Lucian's eyes narrowed. "And I repeat that you are under the assumption that my people are involved in your fights," he countered. "As far as I know no one under this roof would partake in such uncouth activities." He let out a sharp breath, taking a fearless step forward. "However, I understand your plight, and would be more than willing to form an alliance to combat the covens that wish you ill will."

"You'd agree to help me so willingly?" The alpha took half a step back, surprise written on his face before it closed down. "And what price would you demand of us? I won't allow you to hurt any of my people. If a sacrifice such as that is to be made, I'll make it myself. But I want to know the cost of your generosity."

The vampire's countenance changed as a small fire lit his silver eyes. "I could very well ask for anything if you place yourself in that position. You should not give yourself up as a bargaining piece." He warned. "Someone as desirable as you would end up in unsavory hands."

"I'll give up nothing I can't bear to part with, vampire," the alpha growled. "I'll make no deal that takes too much from me or mine."

"What I seek from you, you can't give," Lucian decided. "For now, you will have your alliance at the cost of a favor that has yet to be determined."

"Only a fool would take such an open-ended debt," the alpha scoffed, imagining terrible things the vampire might demand. Henry wouldn't bargain his people's safety now only to hand them over into suffering later. Some of his advisers had warned him the vampires might demand the blood of their young or even their Omegas as payment. Perhaps even their lives. "You could ask for anything, and I'd be honor bound to deliver."

"Let's talk privately," the vampire insisted. He led the werewolf to a private study where they wouldn't be disturbed. "As I've stated, what I seek from you, you can't give."

"And what is it you seek?" Henry asked stiffly.

Lucian folded his arms across his chest as he looked the alpha over. His silver eyes were downright searing. "You. I seek you."

"Are you trying to jest?" Henry barked. "You are not amusing."

"Why would I jest?" Lucian hissed in response. "Were it any other vampire before you, they'd have asked for your death, is that not so?"

"And I was prepared to give it to keep my people safe," the alpha snarled.

"Your death serves no purpose other than to frustrate me," the vampire insisted. "I propose an arrangement...be intimate with me once a month as a lover would. For every month, I will extend the alliance, should you fulfill your end."

The alpha roared, pulled back his fist and hurled it at the depraved vampire's face.

Lucian moved faster than the human eye could track. He held the fist in his hand firmly as he dove in to press his lips firmly against Henry's. He pulled back and frowned. "Now for the last time, I do not jest."

"Once a month, if I allow you to rape me," the alpha said, pale eyes flashing. "You and the vampires in your territory will stay out of pack land and do whatever necessary to keep the other blood drinkers out of our land, as well?"

The elder vampire shook his head. "As I have said, you cannot give me what I want," he responded as he held open the door for him to leave. "And you're not even ready to listen. Intimacy is not the same as rape, neither does it always mean carnality."

The alpha didn't move toward the door, eyes locked on the elder vampire in consideration for long moments.

"I accept your proposal," the alpha said quietly. "What do you require of me, at this time, to finalize this agreement?"

"A kiss," Lucian responded frankly. "A satisfactory one. Dominated by you."

"How will I know if it is satisfactory?" Henry asked, rather stunned that the vampire hadn't asked for his blood or body.

"I will draw up a contract immediately afterward," the Prussian-blue-haired man replied.

"So, I kiss you until you're content with my work, at which point you'll wander off to find some ink and paper?" Henry asked, unable to keep the corners of his mouth from curling into an amused smile.

Lucian cut a line down the palm of his own hand. As he placed it down on the table, a contract appeared, stating that the Everhart coven would form an alliance with the Teague clan. "If I'm satisfied with the kiss, I will sign this."

The alpha's eyebrows lifted, but that was all that betrayed his surprise at Lucian's magic. Henry read the contract quickly, brows lifting higher. The protection Lucian was offering his pack was more than Henry had ever imagined would be offered, while costing his people nothing more than a solemn vow not to invade any vampire's territory with violent or malicious intent. No Omegas or pups would be sacrificed. None would be bled or harmed in any way.

And all Henry had to do to make this impossible deal a reality was give the vampire a decent kiss.

"How do you like to be kissed?" Henry asked seriously, stepping closer to the elder vampire. The decision was easy. He just had to make sure he didn't screw it up. "Gentle? Deep? Passionate? Sweet? For this, I will kiss you any way you wish, and I'll do it eagerly."

"Kiss me how you prefer to be kissed," Lucian decided. "Should you actually fail, you can try again until you succeed."

"That is exceedingly generous of you," the alpha was forced to admit, taking a deep breath before closing the distance between them. "How I prefer? Are you certain? What if I only enjoy chaste pecks on the cheek?"

A feral smile formed on the aged vampire's face, which ironically only made him appear younger. "Then, I would accept it if I deem it authentic enough," he admitted.

Henry looked at the vampire thoughtfully as their bodies drew closer until they were touching and the alpha's arms seemed to wind around Lucian without any direction from Henry's brain. The alpha could do that, kiss the vampire on the cheek, but it felt wrong somehow. Other than a confusing desire to get in Henry's trousers, Lucian had been nothing but generous and well-mannered. The wolf couldn't bring himself to try to weasel out of such a small request when it would gain his pack so much.

The werewolf's arm lifted to curl behind Lucian's neck, drawing the vampire's cool lips to his own. Henry sucked in a breath. He'd expected the man to be colder, like the dead. Strange, but not unpleasant. The wolf threaded his fingers through the locks falling from the nape of Lucian's neck. They were startlingly soft, and Henry couldn't help practically petting Lucian before the alpha remembered himself and held the vampire still by a gentle hold at the back of Lucian's head.

The alpha parted his lips, and the vampire followed suit. The wolf didn't know why his heart was beating faster or why his skin felt so warm. Henry's tongue teased Lucian's lips before slipping into the vampire's mouth, the slick tip tracing the edges of the silver-eyed vampire's fangs in undisguised curiosity. Henry's mind seemed to leave him as his arm tightened around Lucian's waist until no space existed between their bodies. The wolf was too busy mapping the inside of the vampire's mouth and tangling their tongues together to notice certain things. Things such as the fact that Henry was grinding his clothed erection into Lucian's hip.

Lucian had secretly taken some werewolves to bed throughout the years. Humans had shared his bed, not to mention his own kind, which were also quite experienced. And yet, he couldn't help the steady arousal rising within him at Henry's hesitant exploration. Each slide of his tongue and every millimeter he drew closer, he felt it all. If he were a nobler and more selfless vampire, he'd abide by the contract on that mere first encounter alone. In fact, that was his original plan, to begin with. All he had wanted was a taste of him. However, the werewolf was exquisite. Lucian wanted more, much more. He would settle for this encounter…at least, until the next time they'd meet.

The vampire began to respond in earnest, paying forward what Henry had provided in the form of a kiss. He somehow managed to urge the werewolf to sit on the edge of the desk and began to gently grind against him.

The alpha panted into the kiss, head spinning with confused arousal. Henry's leg wrapped around Lucian's waist, forcing their bodies tightly together, slotting like puzzle pieces. Henry's cock was painfully hard. Every rolling motion of Lucian's hips sending sparks of delicious pleasure into Henry, turning his body pliant in the vampire's arms.

The elder vampire wanted to pleasure the alpha until they both found release, of that he had no doubt. However, their agreement had been to a kiss, not to outright seduction. He slowed the kiss down and held the alpha's face in his hands as he pulled away. He then reached over to sign the contract.

::::

"...there were many things I regretted throughout the years, but as my signature stretched along the parchment, I came to regret what it would imply...that the two of us could only meet once a month. And that any feelings developing between us were only under duress," January said as he concluded that diary entry.

The door opened, and Mateo and Quinlan entered the bedroom. The pair had damp, tousled hair and languid smiles on their faces. January recognized the pants Quin was wearing as his own. Although, it was difficult to see them, since the shirt he was wearing hung nearly to his knees.

"And there weren't any other shirts, hmm?" Quinlan asked Mat teasingly.

"Uh, I didn't see any. I think we need to do laundry," Mateo answered awkwardly. "Did you not want to wear my shirt? I can try to find you something else." It sounded like the last thing the big wolf wanted to do.

The human shook his head. "I don't mind wearing it," he admitted as he lifted the collar to his nose and drew in a breath. "It has some of your lingering scent. It's nice."

The two of them clambered onto the bed to join their other mates. The bed was made up of two grand king beds shoved against each other, so it was immense. Quinlan found himself snuggling up to Pax, Mateo joining him from behind. He felt the bond tugging him towards the golden-eyed alpha, but he still needed to recover. For the time being, just a general skin to skin contact was enough.

"Any clues yet?" Mateo asked aloud.

"Yes, actually..." Pax pointed out while January skipped a few entries ahead. His fingers gently raked along the back of Quin's scalp. "The elder vampire Lucian and the alpha Henry seem to be quite drawn to one another, much like we were through our mate bond."

"It seems like Henry really fought it, but Lucian was all in from the start," Eli piped up from where he'd insinuated himself on January's lap, the vampire reading over his shoulder with his arms around the petite Omega to hold the diary. "But Henry totally wants the D."

Mateo nodded, grasping the gist of it. One of his arms was draped over Quin's waist, which he human didn't mind in the slightest. "So, more digging is needed," he deduced.

"This entry seems promising," Jany spoke aloud. "The frustrating alpha's mouth was around my straining shaft once again..."

"Wait a sec," Quin gasped in surprise. "I thought we were reading a diary, not porn!"

"Lucian is quite descriptive of his experiences," Pax explained as he smirked at his new mate.

"Guys, let Jany read, it's getting good!" Elias urged.

When everyone settled down once again, January once again read out loud. "The frustrating alpha's mouth was around my straining shaft once again, and I was beyond keeping up appearances by then. Every sound I made spurred Henry on, so I didn't stifle a single moan or keen. I eagerly allowed them to fall from my lips..."

:::::

"Henry!" Lucian hissed as his finger clenched soft brown locks. "I near my peak, I swear it..."

Defiant blue-green eyes rolled upward to catch the vampire's heated gaze. The wolf paused, sucking gently on the rod of hot, hard flesh. Henry smirked around his mouthful and rubbed his tongue against the underside while he pushed his head down, taking Lucian as deep as he could and sucked hard.

"Gods!" the blue-haired vampire gasped as he spilled himself inside the werewolf's mouth.

After a moment of deep breaths and Henry wiping the corners of his mouth, the alpha lifted an eyebrow. "Gods in the plural sense? Not a particular one?"

"With the way our patron gods argue, if I called out for Anubis, Khonsu might come down on us," he mused aloud. "If I called out for Khonsu, Anubis might come down on us."

Henry frowned at the reminder as to why they had an alliance in the first place. "It is disheartening when our patron gods can't come to a compromise themselves, let alone our people," he confessed.

"Henry, what do you know about our gods?" Lucian asked. "In some of our more ancient texts, Khonsu is referred to as a male god, not a female. One of them is called the Moonlight Tome," he said as he thought aloud. "Do your people happen to know more about that, about Khonsu's past and whether his sex was male or female?"

"That can't be right. Khonsu is a mother goddess." Henry frowned, pulling away from the vampire. Now that their lust was spent, the alpha's discomfort at the direction their relationship seemed to be moving began to rise up again. Every time Henry touched Lucian, the wolf half expected his goddess to strike him down.

"She is the Lady of the Moon, a light in the darkness," Henry told Lucian. "Your god is the darkness, the cold of the night."

The elder vampire let out a long sigh. "I see...perhaps our texts simply assumed that all gods are male," he pacified. Though, he wondered if that was really the case. Could the goddess be keeping secrets from her own children? "Henry...we've managed to keep your clan safe. The other vampire covens seem to still hold some respect for us. But, I do worry about the gods. They can't be happy with our alliance."

"I know my goddess will crush me for what I've done," Henry was forced to admit. "She has no mercy for the children of her enemy. It's simply a matter of time. I accept it. It's worth it for the lives saved."

"You might accept it, but I don't," the silver-eyed vampire hissed. "Why should both our people suffer for what the gods themselves can't decide?" He placed a gentle hand on Henry's shoulder. "In spite of our differences, I respect you and would call you friend."

"If it weren't forbidden..." Henry shook his head with a snarl, hands clenching into fists. "I don't care anymore. I'm sick of holding myself apart from you, pushing you away. I tire of pretending I don't want what you offer, cursing myself when you touch me. And I'm reminded of how it pleases me and how I hunger to please you just as well."

For the first time in decades, the elder vampire felt his heart racing as he gazed at the other man. "Henry..." He whispered as he reached out to take hold of the werewolf's hands. "If what you've said is the truth, then I confess that I feel the same. I care a great deal about you, and I think I may have fallen for you."

::::

"My words were true and sincere. I was afraid that Henry did not feel the same and, though I was pleased to know that I was not alone in my feelings, I still feared for us both," January recited. "I vowed to somehow get my hands on the Moonlight Tome to see if there was any way that I could fight back against our very gods..."

"The Moonlight Tome...could such a book still exist?" Mateo asked aloud. "Not even abuela ever said anything about Khonsu being referred to as male before."

"If it does exist, how would we go about finding it?" Pax added.

"The Acacia Library," Jany replied. "At the center of town. If there are any ancient books in the area, that's where they would be."

"Are you sure?" Elias wondered aloud.

"My kind generally gathers all information in a central library, any books written or brought to this town," the vampire explained. "Our archives date back to a time before even Viktor was born. So, there's a good chance the Moonlight Tome might be there."

Quinlan nodded solemnly as if he knew what that meant, but then he spoke. "Yeah, I still have no clue what's going on, Jany," he admitted. "I mean, I'm barely grasping the fact that I'm actually a soulmate to you guys, and that's only cause I keep feeling those mega-whoosh sensations of peace after I join with any one of ya." He glanced at Elias and then Mateo. "Which, by the way, were both quite mind-blowing experiences."

Elias made a little happy, cooing noise while Mateo grinned.

"I can get everything we need to get the windows blocked out tomorrow. I can work on that then," Mateo said, still smiling like the cat who got the canary. "I think it might draw attention if we all went to the library in a big group. So, who's going and when should we do it? I think I'll be more help as manual labor than research." Mat said sheepishly. "I'm more brawn than brains."

"And since I'm still lost in limbo, I think I'll stay behind and help, too," Quin added.

"So that means Jany, Eli, and me," Pax deduced.

January reached over to cup the side of Quinlan's face. "I'm truly sorry this has been so much in such little time," he apologized. "To make a long story short, vampires and werewolves have never been officially recorded to be soulmates. And yet, here we are. But, our gods have always had an animosity between them, and we're trying to figure out a way to stay together without succumbing to their wrath."

"In other words, we have to keep Jany hidden away until we do," Elias added.

"Do I have to be hidden away, too?" Quinlan questioned.

Mateo shook his head. "No, it's not uncommon for a human to be an Omega's mate," he explained. "Just vamps."

"That's kinda biased, ain't it?" Quin commented.

"Yeah, Khonsu really doesn't like vamps." Elias shrugged. "And when I think about it, I've never heard a good reason why, just insinuations that they can't be trusted, blah, blah, blah. And that Anubis is evil and bad. But I can't remember ever hearing what bad things Anubis had actually done or got his vamps to do."

"According to this diary," January pointed out. "Anubis either turned a blind eye to the rowdiness of the covens around Henry's clan, or he didn't pay them enough attention."

"So, Khonsu is the werewolf god and Anubis is the vampire god?" Quin affirmed.

"Yes, but as long as we've known it to be so, Khonsu's always been a goddess...female," Pax responded. "If we find any truth in the Moonlight Tome, then that would be a start as to understanding what happened."

"So tomorrow you three will be doing detective work, then?" the blond human concluded. "I think I get it now. Can I ask one more thing?"

"Anything," Pax prompted.

"When are you and Jany gonna claim me?" Quin asked. "I've barely kept myself from dry humping your leg this whole time. I think you guys better do something about that before you leave tomorrow."

A flicker of heat flashed through January's purple eyes. "How about we claim the vivacious Kyanite together, Pax, mi topacio?" He purred. "Have him settled once and for all?" (mi topacio= my topaz)

"Oooo, can we watch?" Eli whispered. "I'll be good, I promise."

"And I'll keep him busy while we watch," Mateo suggested, worrying about Eli's eager scratching.

Pax looked from one mate to another. "Alright...but, how-" he began only to be interrupted by the vampire.

"It's simple!" January responded enthusiastically. "You take Quin while Quin enters me. Two birds with one stone."

The silver-haired werewolf frowned. "That doesn't sound every simple at all..."

The blue-eyed man glanced at January in surprise. In their previous interactions, the vampire had always taken him and not the other way around. "I rather like that idea," Quin decided as he grinded against Pax's leg.

January quickly tossed Quinlan a lubrication tablet. "Don't think, just do," he said as he knelt up on the bed and took hold of the headboard with both hands. The vampire then carefully spread his legs and jutted his backside out further. "I don't need much preparation, and you don't have to be gentle."

Elias and Mateo scooted over, giving them plenty of room. Although, it was more of Mat dragging a drooling Eli.

"All my guys are so friggin' sexy, and not jerkfaces, either," the Omega moaned, pushing down on his already rigid cock to try and get it to settle down. "It's like I won the mate lottery super-duper jackpot."

"I agree wholeheartedly," Mateo stated as he quickly tugged his t-shirt off and began tugging Eli's flannel pajama pants down.

Right beside them, Quinlan was doing the same. He carefully shrugged out of the shirt he borrowed from Mat and wiggled himself out of the pants he borrowed from one of Jany's bags. January himself slept in the buff, so he was already buck naked. Pax only wore boxers, which were simple enough to get out of.

As the blond's lube-slicked fingers slipped inside the vampire, he realized that January was right. The flesh gave way fairly easily to his fingers, even when he added a fourth digit. He passed the bottle of lubrication tablets to Pax as Quin eagerly coated his shaft and shifted forward on his knees to press the tip between the pale alabaster mounds.

"God, I've only ever dreamed of taking you like this, Jan," Quinlan admitted as he gently rocked his way inside. "Fuck, it feels so good...we never had the chance to do it this way."

January let out a throaty moan as he wiggled back against him. "Consider it...a reward for coming back," he responded as he glanced at him over his shoulder.

"Didn't come back for any rewards," Quin replied with a shake of his head. "I came back for you...the rest was just a ginormous bonus." He added with a grin, the dimples on his cheeks showing.

The vampire felt his shaft throb in response. The human's smile had a way of making him feel a little weak in the knees. "You better leave a note or a message of some kind if you ever leave again," he warned, his voice almost trembling. "I don't care if it's to the store around the corner and back."

"I'm sorry," Quinlan apologized as he pulled almost all the way out and then thrusted back in sharply to the hilt. "And I promise never to forget to leave a note ever again."

Pax came up behind the human when the blond settled his hands on Jany's hips. Unlike the vampire and other werewolves, Quin really did need proper preparation. The only thing that saved them time was the fact that Mateo seemed to have taken him twice just moments before. Since the mocha-hued werewolf was a little bit larger than Mateo, he was still careful as he worked his way in.

Suddenly, every man in the room seemed to feel something. A slight surge of pleasurable energy.

Quin wasted no time in rolling his hips back against Pax and then forward into the vampire's heat. In no time at all, he found his quick pace and kept it going consistently.

"Mmm, fuck, Matty," Eli moaned softly, rubbing up against his big mate. "Can you feel them? What is that?"

"Don't know," Mateo answered, nearly panting himself. "Something with the bond being happy?"

"Feels so good," Eli purred, rolling on top of Mat and rubbing their lengths together as he reached under a pillow to nab some lube. The Omega slicked Mateo's length as the bigger wolf groaned, then quickly rubbed the remaining on his entrance impatiently. "Let me ride you, Matty. Please?"

"Hell yes," Mateo agreed, his voice low and excited.

Eli straddled his dark-haired mate, leaning back to hold Mat's shaft. Elias wriggled back until he felt the hot tip against him. The Omega took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he pushed down, not stopping until he was sitting on Mateo's thighs.

"Holy fuck, Eli," Mat groaned, kneading the Omega's hips.

"Hnnn, so big...you feel really good..." Elias murmured as he rolled his hips, nearly making Mateo shoot off early as the smaller man tightened and relaxed his muscles over and over as he moved his body sinuously to press Mat's cock over every sweet spot, large and small.

Royal blue eyes were drawn to the Omega's movements, and the human found himself slowing down to match Eli's pace. "Is that how you like it, Eli?" He teased while Jany let out another moan and Pax gripped his hips a little tighter. "Nice and slow?"

"O-only at first, usually," Eli gasped out. "Sometimes it's nice..."

"Very nice," Mateo agreed. "But by the end, the words coming out of your mouth are usually 'harder, faster, deeper, more.'" He punctuated each word with a thrust up into his mate's body, making Elias cry out and push back into each one.

"Hmm, what about you, Jany?" Quin taunted as he grinded into the vampire's depths.

"Slow, fast, soft, hard...no me importa," the vampire panted. "Just give it to me." (no me importa= I don't care/it's not important to me)

The human complied, once again building up to his usual fast rhythm.

Pax kept as still as he could, despite wanting nothing more than to join in the thrusts. His hands traced as much of Quinlan's body as he could reach, learning the different surfaces and texture.

Eventually, Quin slowed back down to carefully tilt Jany's face into a rather fervent kiss. When they broke away, the golden-eyed werewolf took over the pace, rocking the blond further against the redhead. His large hand covered one of Quin's shoulders, using it as leverage to drive himself in harder.

Eli's eyes shifted from Mateo's handsome face to the men next to them. The Omega lifted himself, rolling his hips as he dropped, drawing moans and sighs from both his own mouth as well as Mat's as he moved faster, matching the rhythm Pax had found as he thrust deep inside their human mate. Elias whimpered, his nails dragging down Mateo's chest, causing the big wolf to drag in a sharp breath.

Elias was exquisite as he chased his pleasure, Mat decided, as he watched his Omega move sinuously atop him. The bite of pain from Eli's nails made Mateo's cock throb. He slammed his hips upward as Elias shifted back, making the smaller wolf cry out, then wail as Mat began fucking up into his depths. The larger werewolf's hands gripped Eli's hips, pushing and pulling the Omega faster, harder until Elias was keening and the Omega's tip was dripping a puddle on Mat's tight abs.

Quinlan reached low to take hold of January's shaft as he picked up the speed of his movements again. The sounds and the heat that surrounded him encased him in a wave of euphoria until he found himself cumming deep inside the vampire. Only Pax's insistent thrusts kept Quin's pulsing member sliding inside Jany. Barely a moment later, he both felt and heard the redhead's release.

It wasn't until Pax spilled himself into Quin that another wave of pleasurable peace hit the entire group.

As soon as the bond strengthened and flowed between them, Eli stiffened and cried out. He pressed down on the thick length stretching him, grinding his hips as his untouched cock jerked and shot streams of white across Mateo's chest.

"Fuck," Mat groaned, pistoning his hips up and down, his fingertips digging into Eli's hips as the Omega seemed to continue in his euphoric bliss.

Mateo slammed his Omega down on his shaft a final time, filling Eli up as he shouted his completion with the smaller man's body still spasming around him. When Mat could see through his sparkling vision, he looked worshipfully up at Elias, who smiled beatifically back at him. The Omega moaned softly as his eyes rolled back and he slumped over, passed out.

Mat carefully cradled the smaller wolf in his arms just as the others realized that the vampire was equally out cold. They rearranged themselves so that both redheads were nestled between them. When Mateo glanced over at Jany in concern, Quin shook his head.

"It's probably so close enough to 3 AM that he just plain fell asleep," the human explained. "So long as we don't mention him by name, he should be asleep until around noon."

"I'm guessing you found that out the hard way?" Pax mused as he gently raked through Quin's blond hair.

"Yeah, it was both scary and cool to wake up next to a sleeping vampire," the dimpled man confessed softly.

"I totally agree," Mat replied with a grin of camaraderie before snuggling closer to their Omega.

"We should all get some rest if we have to travel tomorrow night. Mateo and I also have to call in to work to let them know we found another mate," Pax pointed out.

"A shame we can't get that extra week for Ja-," Mateo began until he remembered not to mention the vampire's name. "...for our amethyst."

"All the more reason why we have to do everything we can," Pax affirmed. "What we feel as our bond continues to solidify is as real as it gets. He's our mate, and he should be treated with the same respect as any other mate."

Quin pressed a gentle kiss to January's shoulder. "Trouble sure has a way of finding him, doesn't it?" he whispered.