Touch of Gray 4 - Runaway Moon Read online

  “Bitch, you watch your mouth,” I growled, still slowly turning, waiting for her to show herself. “You know nothing.”

  “I know everything,” she whispered, sounding as if she were against my ear. “I know that you are not blood. I’ve always known. Because you are one of us. Your bitch pseudo-mother, Brie Grayson, stole you from one of mine. But now, you will come back to us. We will take your soul and keep it safe.”

  “Lies!” I yelled. “Show yourself.”

  “Cole, look out!” Darla screamed, but she was too late.

  Bryce hit me with all of his weight, knocking me to the ground, pinning me with his muscular body, claws in my chest, almost breaking the skin but not quite. His green eyes had turned to violet, and I suddenly knew where Morgana had gone. The bitch was trying to possess him.

  Jaws covered my throat, Bryce’s fangs scraping at the soft skin over my Adam’s apple. If I even swallowed too hard, he’d pierce my skin and turn me into a shifter.

  “Well,” I said, careful to keep still. “This wasn’t how I expected the night to go.”

  From the corner of my eye, I saw Sebastian move forward, but I put out a hand, silently telling him to stand down. This wasn’t a fight he could help me with. This would turn into a battle of wills between Bryce, Morgana and me. And considering the only one who seemed sure of themselves, at the moment, was her, I didn’t really care for our odds.

  “Bryce, do you really want to do this?”

  “I can see inside his mind, exterminator.” Morgana’s voice wasn’t coming from Bryce’s body, as his mouth was still clamped over me. It filled the air as if she were speaking from heaven. I guess being a ghost had certain perks. “He loves you. A sick, twisted, unhealthy love for you. But also, there’s such hate in him. He hates your humanity. He hates that Sebastian has so much of your heart. He’s scared, hunter. Scared you’ll only ever see him as a brother, not as the partner he wants to be.”

  “Bitch, leave him alone,” I warned her.

  “He’s so full of emotion,” she said, with a tsk. “His heart bleeds for you. And part of him believes that if he turns you now…” The jaws on me tightened slightly. “Your beast will be more willing to get over the family history than you are as a human.”

  “Bryce,” I whispered. “I know you can hear me. If you really want to do this, then do it. Turn me. But I promise you, if you make me like you, you’ll be my omega for the rest of your furry fucking life. I own you now, and I’ll sure as hell own you then. You’re mine. You and Sebastian. You belong to me. And if you make me a panther, I’ll own your whole goddamned pack, too. So either turn me or get the fuck off me, ‘cause we have work to do.”

  For a minute, I wasn’t sure what would happen. Then the fangs let up from my skin. His whole body shook as he tried to regain control from Morgana. I knew there was only one way to ensure she was evicted from him. I took a deep breath, and before I could change my mind, I raised the shotgun and fired into Bryce’s chest.

  Morgana’s scream mixed with Bryce’s, and I heard Sebastian’s cry of protest, too, but it worked. I rolled to my feet and looked down at Bryce. His green eyes glared up at me, and I knew he was himself again.

  “You’ll be okay,” I promised him. “It was just rock salt.”

  “Dick,” he moaned, struggling to catch his breath.

  “Later,” I said. “Jesus, do you ever think about anything but my cock?”

  “I hate you,” he wheezed.

  “I know,” I told him. “Listen, asshole, how the fuck am I supposed to kill a ghost?”

  “The same way you kill a witch,” he said. “Get her into the goddamned lake.”

  Right. How the hell was I going to do that?

  “Hey, Morgana!” I yelled. “For the record, I’m the top.”

  “You’re all a bunch of animals!” she screamed, her voice whipping through the group like a physical wind. “What the hell is wrong with you? Why won’t you just die already?”

  “I was thinking the same thing about you,” I said, backing toward the lake. “I think the truth is that you want me. That’s it, isn’t it? You don’t want my soul. You want my disco stick.”

  “You filthy… You disgusting… I will kill you. Forget your soul. It’s so despoiled I wouldn’t want it anyway. I’m just going to rip it from your body and send it straight to hell!”

  Okay, now, she was good and pissed. That was something. I just had to figure out how to get her to make a mistake.

  I looked over at Bryce. He was still on the ground, blood dripping from the puncture wounds in his chest, but he was breathing and moving so I knew he’d be okay. It probably hurt like hell, but his shifter healing would ensure he wouldn’t even scar.

  “Hey, bitch!” I called, looking around as I dropped fresh rounds into the gun. These were a mix of steel and salt, so I had to be more careful where I aimed. The cats would be pretty pissed if one of them got clipped with buckshot. They’d heal, too, but it wouldn’t be as easy as if it were just salt rounds.

  “Watch your tongue, mortal.” Her voice was more solid now, and she sounded as if she were by the water. Perfect.

  “Why don’t you watch it for me?” I asked as I walked closer to the shore.

  “You are such a child,” she hissed.

  “And you’re a cunt,” I said, shrugging. “We all have our crosses to bear.”

  Frigid air washed over me from the right, and I spun, raising the gun at an angle as her body formed. I fired a shot, and it knocked her out over the water, her form dispersing into wisps of green smoke. Morgana’s scream rent the air, and I fired again into the haze of fog she’d become. The tendrils turned to ash as they blew out into the lake, the water rippling and hissing as the frozen ghost dust hit its warm surface.

  Deafening screeches followed as the rest of the specters, who had been held at bay by snarling cats, dissipated into the night, Morgana’s absence apparently rendering them unable to stay corporeal any longer.

  Silence fell over us like a wet blanket, heavy and oppressive. Then Darla stepped forward and let out a roar. The other cats followed her lead, and as the eclipse started over us, the sounds of the panthers carried on the wind.

  Chapter Nine

  “I can’t believe you shot me,” Bryce growled.

  “Well, I had to get a load of salt in you somehow. It was shoot you in the chest or stick my dick—”

  “Do not fucking finish that sentence,” he said, shaking his head in apparent disgust.

  “You boys watch your mouths,” Pops hissed. “There’s a lady present.”

  We were all sitting at Agate Beach, watching the end of the eclipse. Most of our clan were out splashing in the lake, but Bryce and Sebastian were lying on either side of me, Bast with his black head in my lap. The rest of the cats had taken off in search of prey and sex, not wanting to waste the rest of their moon trip.

  “They’re fine, Jack,” Cadence argued. “They’ve had a rough night. A little foul language never hurt anyone.” She turned to look at me, a sad smile on her face. “I’m so sorry about the ghosts, Cole.”

  “It’s not your fault,” I said. “Morgana would have come after us regardless of whether you talked to her or not. She was an evil bi—” I glanced over at Pops, who’d raised an eyebrow. “She wasn’t a nice person, and she was an even meaner specter. None of this was because of you.”

  Cadence looked relieved to hear it and leaned against Pop’s chest. Silence fell as the Aurora Borealis started to light up the sky over the lake. Sebastian sighed, and I pet his head softly. It was nice to have my family together again.

  I looked over at Bryce. He watched me, his green eyes narrowed slightly as if angry.

  “You’re going to have to get over the whole me-shooting-you thing,” I told him. “It was necessary.”

  “It hurt,” he complained.

  “Duh.” I reached over and scratched behind his ear, but he shook me off.

  “Well, boys,” Cadence said through a y
awn. “I think I’ll head off to bed.”

  “Yeah, I’ll walk you back,” Pops told her as they both got to their feet. “You boys coming home tonight?”

  “No,” Bryce answered. “We’ll sleep out here.”

  Pops and Cadence walked off down the beach, holding hands and talking softly to each other.

  “Is that how we’ll be when we’re old?” Sebastian asked.

  “Sure,” I answered. “Except, you know, gay.”

  “Cole,” Bryce said, sitting up on his haunches. “What Morgana said earlier, about you being one of them…”

  “I’m not going to get into that right now,” I snapped. “As far as I’m concerned, the White can suck it. I’m Gray, through and through.”

  “Are we going to talk about what happens now?” Sebastian asked, also rising to sit.

  “No,” Bryce and I answered together.

  “Well, are you coming home with us?” he pressed, staring at Bryce.

  Bryce didn’t answer, he just stood and stalked off down the beach, leaving Sebastian and me alone. I didn’t blame him. It was a big decision. He’d probably gotten comfortable out here with Pops. And his beast had to be happier in the wild than cooped up in a big city.

  “Sorry,” Bastian said, lying down next to me. “I didn’t mean to make him run away.”

  “It’s not you,” I told him, leaning against Bast’s warm stomach. “He’s got a lot of shit to work out.”

  “Hey, Cole.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Ask me now.”

  “Ask you what?” I knew exactly what he meant. I was stalling. When I’d first asked him to marry me, he’d turned me down and said when the time was right, he’d tell me to ask him again. I’d thought that meant he’d be ready then, but that wasn’t his end game at all. He knew that Bryce and I had too much of a hold on each other for either of us to ever truly belong to someone else. And I think he wanted the three of us to be together in a way that he felt marriage just wouldn’t fit. The truth was, with everything that I’d learned about Bryce, with our tryst in the woods, I wasn’t sure what our future held anymore, and I couldn’t ask him again.

  “This is why I couldn’t say yes,” Sebastian said, not at all fooled by my question. “Because part of you has always loved him, too. You told yourself it was because you were family, but deep down, you’ve always wanted more from him. I understand why you buried it. But now that you know the truth, everything makes more sense, doesn’t it?”

  “You’re too smart for your own good,” I told him. “Just because I may or may not have inappropriate feelings for Bryce, it doesn’t mean I don’t still want to marry you. I love you. I want to spend my life with you. None of that has changed, and it never will.”

  “I know that,” he said. “But now, it’s okay to admit you don’t want just me. I’m not going anywhere until one of you asks me to. I’m with you, both of you, for as long as you’ll have me.”

  “So, forever then?”

  He licked his sandpaper tongue up my cheek.

  “Ugh! Cat germs. Unclean. Unclean,” I joked.

  He huffed and stood up, knocking me to the ground as he moved. His tail flicked me in the face as he went.

  “Where are you going?” I called after him.

  “To fuck my alpha, if I can find him,” he answered, running down the beach.

  “Great,” I muttered. “I’ll just stay here then.”

  Since Pops and Cadence had probably gone back to the cabin together, I didn’t want to show up and interrupt them. It was a small house, and they shouldn’t feel uncomfortable in their own home. I could have gone to the tree house, but I wasn’t really ready to go to bed yet.

  I sat on the rocks for a while, watching the light show overhead and trying to figure out what I wanted. It seemed as if I’d taken care of Bryce and seen to his needs for my whole life. But now, I had to decide what I really needed and where my cats fit into all of it.

  Sebastian wasn’t wrong. I’d always had what I thought was an unhealthy fascination with Bryce. Everyone else had seen it. Always complaining that we were too close, that we spent too much time together and shut out everyone else. I’d never stopped to think about what that meant.

  He was my brother. Even if not by blood, it was how I’d always perceived him. It would be difficult to get past that and be in an actual relationship with him. And with Sebastian.

  My Bastian. I was completely clear where he was concerned. From the moment I’d found him, he’d belonged to me. He’d stolen my heart, and I wasn’t sure I had enough left to give to Bryce in the way he needed it.

  If I were honest with myself, I couldn’t actually see a future without both of them in it. I loved them, and for some reason, they both loved me. How could that be wrong? Was it really so difficult to turn my feelings for Bryce into romantic ones?

  After the last two months without him, I’d have given anything for the chance to share Sebastian with him again. Hell, I was even fine with what had happened earlier in the woods. We could have spent forever making love to Bast together, but Bryce had said that wouldn’t be enough for him. That he wanted me, as well. Could I give him that?

  I’d have to figure that out pretty fucking fast. It wasn’t fair to keep him waiting forever. He’d finally laid his cards out for me, and it was up to me to pick them up or walk away.

  With a groan, I got to my feet and headed back toward the cabin, ready to get back in the tree house and sleep. It had been a long night, and there was still one more to get through before I could go home. I just hoped I’d be bringing all my cats back with me.

  As annoying as it had been to play camp counselor to the pack, I cared about them. I wanted them close so I could keep an eye on them, even if their alpha decided to stay gone.

  * * * *

  “What are you doing?” I asked groggily, blinking against the sunlight streaming through the windows.

  Strong hands had unzipped my jeans and released my cock. Warm, wet lips wrapped around my shaft, and I reached down to run my fingers through his hair. Instead of Sebastian’s soft, smooth hair, I felt coarse, thick strands against my palm.

  Looking down my body, my gaze caught Bryce’s green one, his tongue flicking out to lick my tip. I moaned, gripping his hair tighter, guiding his head back down. He swallowed me whole, his throat convulsing around me as I fucked his gorgeous mouth.

  His fingers dug deep into my thighs, and I knew I’d have bruises later. Perfect circles in my flesh to remind me of this moment. My balls tightened painfully, but I fought against my release, not wanting this to end.

  I sat up with a start, my chest heaving as I looked around the tree house. Sebastian was lying next to me, a smirk on his face, but Bryce was nowhere to be seen.

  “Why do I think that hard-on isn’t for me?” Bastian asked coyly. “Sweet dreams?”

  “Fuck off,” I said, scrubbing a hand over my face. “Jesus Christ.”

  “Tell me,” Bast pleaded. He pulled me back down to the mattress, climbing over me and rubbing his ass against my aching erection. “Please, baby.” He leaned forward and sucked my earlobe between his teeth, biting gently. “I want to know what he was doing to you.”

  “I can’t…” I was so hard it was painful, and I just wanted to throw down Sebastian and fuck him until we couldn’t move. But he had me pinned, his body rocking into mine, the friction driving me crazy.

  “Were you fucking him?” Bastian purred against my ear. “Were you dreaming about being buried in his tight ass? Or was he fucking you? I know you like to top, but I’ve always thought you secretly want to bottom more. Bryce is dominant enough to do that for you.”

  “Bastian, please stop,” I begged, gripping his hips in an effort to hold him still.

  “Or was he sucking your beautiful cock?”

  My dick twitched under Bastian’s ass at the memory of the dream, and he grinned down at the reaction.

  “It’s okay,” he whispered. “I dream about him blowing
me, too. Those perfect bow-shaped lips wrapped around my shaft, it’s enough to make me come in my sleep.”

  “You’re killing me,” I panted.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” he teased. “Did you want me to go get him for you? Maybe, he could take care of this.” His palm pressed firmly against my crotch, and my hips jumped at the touch, knocking him off balance.

  I used my momentum to flip him, wrenching down his pants with one hand while freeing my cock with the other. He reached his hand between his body and the bed, and I could tell he was jerking himself, his ass raising up toward me like a cat in heat.

  With a quick spit in my hand, I slid my palm up my shaft and over my tip, groaning as I had to clench every muscle to keep from exploding all over my lover’s back. I positioned my tip at his entrance, pushing forward without prepping him. He always begged me to take him raw and hard, but I was too afraid of hurting him. But right now, our need was so immediate I caved to his wishes and stretched him wide with no foreplay.

  He keened into the mattress, pushing back against me, his body swallowing my shaft to the hilt. As he bucked, his own release causing his muscles to shudder, I drilled into him, unable to hold back my own orgasm. With a yell, I emptied my balls into him, and we collapsed together, my weight pinning him to the bed.

  “That was amazing,” Sebastian murmured. “Thank you.”

  “Thank you,” I said, placing a kiss to his neck before sliding out of him then falling to the mattress on his right.

  He rolled over and looked at me, a satisfied grin spreading over his handsome face. I reached up and cupped his chin, leaning forward to capture his lower lip between my teeth, nipping gently before lying back down.

  “What are you going to do?” Bastian asked, fighting a yawn.

  “I’m going to go take a shower,” I answered, standing up and buttoning my pants. “Then I’m going to eat something. I’m fucking starving. I never did get any food yesterday.”