Sage's Mystery (9 page)

Frowning, William turned his head at a slight noise coming from the hallway. Was Sage back? When Terror began to tremble and whine, William became nervous. He listened harder, trying to make out the noise.

He was a chicken, so it could just be the house settling, but to him, it was ghosts, zombies, or werewolves coming after him. He had a very vivid imagination when it came to things that went bump in the night.

He had a very good reason to fear the dark.

William scrambled over to the blanket with Terror still tucked under his arm when he heard the floorboards creaking right outside the bedroom door. The entire house was dark with no electricity, making his surroundings all the more terrifying. The only light offered to him was from the moon spilling into the bedroom through one of the windows.

He held his breath, his grip on Terror strangling as the bedroom door squeaked open. William could feel his entire body shake as he
Sage’s Mystery

69

saw a large werewolf standing in the doorway, his teeth bared as his fingers curved into the wolf’s palms and then uncurled.

This wasn’t Sage.

Oh hell, oh hell, oh hell…

The werewolf took a step into the bedroom, his eyes narrowing as he watched William. He knew this wolf wasn’t just going to sniff him and go on his merry way. No, the look in the creature’s eyes said he had other plans, more diabolical plans for William.

He shouted and tried to crab-crawl backward but the werewolf was quicker, leaping at William and sinking his teeth into the soft spot of skin between William’s neck and shoulder. He kicked and fought without success as the pain hit him hard, feeling as though his skin was being torn away.

Terror barked and ran around the werewolf, biting him on his back leg as the wolf clamped down even harder into William’s tender flesh. He banged his fists into the creature’s face, but that did nothing to detour the thing from trying to eat him.

William’s shoulder felt like it was on fire as the werewolf released him. He collapsed to the floor, crying out as lava-hot fire raced through his blood.

“Welcome to our world. Tell Sage that Brody said hello,” the creature said with disdain before turning and running from the room.

William rolled over to his knees, his shoulders scraping across the floor as he tried to crawl away from the pain. It was so intense that William felt as though he were burning alive.

His ears started ringing as his skin became cold and sweaty at the same time. His eyes felt like they were two sizes too big as his body flopped over and began to shake uncontrollably. He could hear Terror barking and whining in cycles, but William was too far gone to comfort the dog. The entire room began to spin as William rolled over and vomited violently.

Tears streamed down his eyes as he prayed for death. He hurt so badly that William actually felt like his body was going to combust.

70

Lynn Hagen

His mouth dried out and his skin felt tight, making him flex his muscles to try and rid himself of the rigidity.

“William.”

William’s lips parted as he heard his name being called, but no words formed. He was on a roller coaster to hell with no conductor as his head fell back and a loud, curdling scream left his lungs.

* * * *

Sage pulled William from the floor, rocking him in his arms as he watched the fragile human writhe in agony. He saw the bite mark on William’s shoulder and rage unlike anything he had ever felt before consumed him. He wasn’t even this enraged when his father made him leave. Who in the hell had bitten the small man?

“Don’t fight it, William. You have to let the venom flow through you,” Sage said as his hand cradled the back of William’s head. “Let go.”

“Who did this to him?” Jeremiah asked from beside him, indignation flowing from his words. “I saw no werewolves get past us.”

Sage shook his head as he pulled William’s small body to his chest. There was only one way to stop the pain from consuming the human. Sage was going to have to mate him. His bite and seed would counteract the painful venom the unknown person had inflicted upon him.

Whoever had done this had made sure he bit William in a way that brought him the most pain. When Sage found out who it was, the bastard was dead. “Leave us,” he said to Jeremiah.

His best friend nodded as he backed out of the room, taking Terror with him. Sage looked back down at William, praying the small human would understand him. “William, can you hear me?”

William nodded slightly as his body jerked uncontrollably in Sage’s arms. Sage could feel tears prickling at his eyes as he ran a
Sage’s Mystery

71

clawed finger over William’s sweat-soaked cheek. “William, listen to me. In order for me to stop the pain, I’m going to mate you.”

The human cried as he clawed at his own skin, tearing at his clothes as his breathing became labored. “Make it stop. Sage, please, make it stop.”

“Do you understand what I’m saying, William? I’m going to mate you, bond you to me for life. Do you understand?”

William groaned as his head wobbled unsteadily on Sage’s arm.

“Do it. Do what you have to. Just make it stop.”

Sage wasn’t sure William understood what he was saying, but he knew that if he didn’t mate William, the human would endure hours of pain as the venom coursed through his veins, making William go mad.

A bite did hurt, and there was some pain associated with the werewolf DNA settling into its new host, but Sage also knew that there was also a way to bite someone to inflict so much pain that the host felt as though he was dying, actually prayed for death.

Sage knew he would make the bastard who had done this pay. He lowered William to the floor and then leaned over him, biting into his shoulder in the same exact spot that the other werewolf had bitten William. His soon-to-be mate cried out, thrashing around wildly. Sage would give anything right now to take William’s pain away. He did the only thing he was capable of doing.

Sage tore the back of William’s jeans and then plunged his cock deeply into William as he eased his grip on the small man’s shoulder.

He allowed his venom to work its way into William at a slower pace as he thrust deeply, trying his best to bring William as much pleasure under the circumstances, replacing what the other wolf wrought.

Sage could feel the heat that was rolling off of William in waves slowly ebb, his body cooling down. William stopped whimpering as his body became less rigid and more relaxed. It was working.

For a moment Sage had been afraid it wouldn’t work. They were both males. He had never heard of two males mating, but from
72

Lynn Hagen

William’s relaxed posture, Sage could tell it was working. Sage couldn’t deny that the thought of mating William pleased him. The small man had grown on him over the course of just a week.

Still, guilt was the prevailing emotion as he spiraled higher, the bond more prominent inside of him now as William began to moan out his pleasure. Sage removed his canines as he pushed the hair from his mate’s forehead and eyes. “William, sweet William.”

William lifted his head, gazing up at Sage with an emotion that was hard for Sage to decipher. It wasn’t hate or repulsion at being taken by a werewolf, but Sage was hard-pressed to put a name to it.

“Sage, you came back,” William said in awe as his arms circled around Sage’s neck.

“I’m so sorry, slim,” Sage said as he pulled William closer to his body. “I’m so sorry this happened to you.”

William’s head fell back, small sex noises falling from his lips as his body molded to Sage’s. He was astonished at the sight. William had suffered a fate worse than death from the bite, and yet the man was willingly giving himself over to Sage once more. The small slip of a man had just wound himself around Sage’s heart in that moment.

William closed his eyes as he cried out, his hole pulsing around Sage’s cock as his orgasm ripped through him. Sage watched in utter enthrallment as William rode through his throes of ecstasy. The man was stunning.

Sage’s head fell back as a howl tore from his chest, his seed shooting into William’s silky channel. His cock throbbed as his seed spilt, binding them together.

Gently lowering William to the floor, Sage pulled his still-hard cock from William’s tender body and then curled up around his mate.

William was bound to him now, and Sage would do whatever it took to protect the small man.

He just prayed William didn’t kick his ass in the morning for this.

* * * *

Sage’s Mystery

73

Jeremiah leaned against the wall in the living room, gazing out of the window, watching for any sign that there were more werewolves over in the ghost town. He lifted his head and looked up at the ceiling as he heard Sage howl.

His best friend was mated now. He just hoped the small man didn’t spaz out in the morning when he came back to his senses and realized he was stuck with Sage’s hairy ass. Jeremiah loved Sage like a brother, but the man could be moody and stubborn at times. He just prayed his mate could deal with it.

As he lowered his head and glanced back out of the window again, Jeremiah wondered what it would be like to have controlled shifts. He was still in his werewolf form and would be until the sun rose, but what would it be like to be able to shift at will, no longer chained to the full moon?

Jeremiah stiffened when he saw a small sliver of light come from the town and then disappear just as quickly. It happened so fast that he thought that maybe he imagined it. His eyes locked onto the spot where he had seen it, but nothing else happened. He waited longer, but when the town stayed dark, Jeremiah pushed away from the wall and found a spot to lie down on that wasn’t covered in filth.

What the hell had his best friend been thinking when he bought this dump?

* * * *

William’s eyes shot open as he lay perfectly still. Memories of last night came flooding back as he felt a heavy weight at his back. He was sweating profusely as he turned his head slowly, seeing Sage wrapped around him, cocooning him in, and giving off so much body heat that William’s brain was about to cook.

He was afraid to move, though. William was afraid last night had been a dream and he didn’t really belong to Sage. Of course, he hoped
74

Lynn Hagen

the attack was a dream because no sane person wanted that crap, but somehow William doubted it.

His bad luck wouldn’t have left him at such a pivotal moment in his life. William pulled his arm from under his body and felt his neck, wincing when a slight pain radiated from the tender area. Nope, last night had really happened.

His hand lowered when he noticed that Sage’s breathing had changed, no longer relaxed. William could tell the man behind him was awake. He lay there quietly, unsure of what to say. He had heard Sage last night. They were mated now, bonded for life.

Whatever that meant.

All William knew was that Sage had wanted him. It hadn’t been just once, and it hadn’t been just for a few hours. But as the memories began to play vividly in his head, William wondered if Sage only bonded them together to stop the pain. Did the guy really want him around? Sage was a rebel who didn’t look as though he needed anyone, least of all a guy like William.

“Good morning.” Sage’s deep and gruff voice sounded behind William, sending shivers down his spine. A large hand grazed through William’s hair as he lay there soaking it all up.

Oh, yeah, right there…

William could get spoiled waking up like this every morning.

“How do you feel?”

“I can work,” he quickly admitted. A vibrating chuckle rumbled through his back as Sage laughed.

“That’s not what I asked, slim.”

William was glorying in the nickname falling from Sage’s lips once again. Maybe his bad luck had finally moved on to another victim. “Like I was a hood ornament for a freight train that forgot to stop and crashed into a wall head-on.”

“That bad?” There was worry in Sage’s voice as his hand continued to play in William’s hair.

“Okay, not
that
bad, but sore.”

Sage’s Mystery

75

William’s toes curled when Sage nuzzled his neck, licking over the bite mark. “Good sore?”

God, yes.
His rear end felt like it had been plowed like a well-seeded field. And William wouldn’t change that for the world. “Uh-huh.”

William yelped when Sage rolled him over, cupping his face and laying a mind-boggling kiss on his lips. He whimpered when Sage broke the kiss. He hadn’t ever remembered someone kissing him so thoroughly that his mind fragmented. William leaned up and recaptured Sage’s lips. If the man was in a giving mood, William was taking.

He arched his back when he felt one large hand run the course of it and then pull him closer to a well-muscled chest. The warm skin made William’s cock grow hard as he lifted one leg up and placed it over Sage’s thick, ripped thigh.

The kiss was amazing.

Phenomenal.

Godlike.

Praiseworthy.

It was—

“You guys up yet?” Jeremiah called from the other side of the bedroom door.

“I knew I should have taken him out,” William muttered under his breath. A loud booming laughter filled the room as Sage hugged William close.

“You were going to take my best friend out? Like snuff him?”

William’s eyes widened as he glanced up at Sage. “Is that who he is? I thought he had come here to hurt you.”

“And my mate was going to take him out. This is good. This is real good.” Sage chuckled.

“You don’t have to find so much humor about it. I could if I wanted to, you know. He may be big, but, yeah, you know.” William
76

Lynn Hagen

curled his lips in. He was digging a bigger hole than he could climb out of the longer he talked.

Sage leaned forward and kissed William. “I think it’s amazing that you were going to take Jeremiah out. You’d really defend me?”

William could feel a blush creeping across his face as he shrugged. “Yeah, so.”