Chasing the Moon Read online

  “I did. Thanks for the food. I’ll bring elk sausage tomorrow.” Liam’s growl was almost nice.

  “Thank you.” He rubbed Liam’s back, then sat down between Liam and Halian. “It smells so good in here. Thank you for sharing food, my friends.”

  “Kell went to find treasures for Ash to barter on the other side. He said thank you for the cookies.” Liam gave him an enigmatic smile.

  “You’re welcome.” Such a busy bird, that Kell. He kept them all in tiny luxuries, though.

  “Everyone has their jobs, hmm?” Halian asked.

  “We do.” Angie gave him an approving glance. “We all contribute. Well, Liam, come on with me. I need help lifting some boxes.”

  “It’s almost time to hunt, bear.” Liam grumped, but his heart wasn’t in it, Nathan could tell.

  “Is it? Just let me know.” Nathan wished Liam was happier. His friend made his heart hurt.

  “I will. Enjoy the pup, hmm?”

  “Night, my friend.” He hugged them all off, and then suddenly they were alone.

  “Oh.” Halian laughed. “Now it’s so quiet.”

  “Does the noise bother you?” He would hate that, for Halian to be upset, but Halian just shook his head.

  “No. No, laughter is magical.”

  “It is.” Halian understood. Nathan took a kiss, surprising a gasp from Halian. “Now, where are those peanuts?”

  “I don’t know. Where do you keep them?”

  “Um, well, assuming Kell hasn’t stolen them, in the top shelf of that cabinet there.” He waved a hand to the cabinet farthest from the sink.

  “Okay.” Halian climbed up on the counter, quick as a bunny.

  He watched, stunned by Halian’s flexibility and speed. In fact, Halian made his mouth a bit dry.

  “Are they in a bag or a jar?” Halian’s ass was right where he needed it.

  “In a bag. The honey is in a big jar.” Liam brought him that in giant mason jars.

  The bag of peanuts appeared, and he walked up, breathing Halian in.

  He wanted to touch, but he waited until Halian grabbed the honey and had set the glass jar on the counter. Then he slid his hands over that taut ass.

  Halian pushed back into his touch, the motion easy, natural, unafraid. Halian seemed to want Nathan as much as Nathan wanted him, and truthfully, not because he was worried he would be sent away.

  There was a hunger in Halian, a passion, and Nathan could feel it.

  He pulled and Halian did a free fall into his arms. Nathan chuckled. “Hi.”

  “Hello, Nathan.” Pretty, warm eyes.

  “Can I kiss you again, sweet? I want to.”

  “I would love that. Very much.” Halian lifted his face.

  So Nathan kissed him, softly at first, then harder as Halian wrapped around him. When he pressed with his tongue, Halian opened, and he took everything deeper. Halian breathed with him, their hearts pounding in unison.

  He turned to lean against the counter so he could lift Halian up against him. Hands under that fine ass, he rubbed Halian against him. His little wolf was hard as diamonds, prick pressing and sliding against his belly.

  Nathan moaned. He was damn hard too, and he wanted more. Friction and skin and sweat. Halian nodded, licking into his lips.

  Nathan groaned. Were they rushing things? Of course they were. Halian was still pining for Mai. It didn’t matter. He had a need so big he couldn’t hold it.

  “Comfort isn’t bad. Comfort and touch is good, bear.”

  “Yes.” That they could agree on. “I like the way you feel. The way you smell. I want you naked.”

  “Yes.” Halian tugged off his shirt, showing off a lean, scarred, flat belly.

  Nathan stared down, then began walking. They needed a flat surface. Or mostly flat. The pillows and blankets in front of the fireplace would do. That way he could trace those scars with his hands and mouth.

  He laid Halian down, then stretched out beside him. Nathan knew better than to ask what had happened. That kind of scar could kill the mood with explanation.

  Besides, it proved how strong his little wolf was, how brave. He wouldn’t allow anyone to hurt Halian again.

  He loved on the biggest scar with his fingers, sending good thoughts to it.

  Halian watched him, expression cautious, but when he didn’t make a big deal, his pup relaxed. So he bent to trace that same one with his tongue.

  “Oh…,” Halian moaned, wiggling in the blankets.

  “Mmm. You taste so good.” Like all his favorite things.

  “Thank you. I want you to like me.”

  “I do.” He raised his head. “Are you all right? I don’t want you to feel as if you have to do this.”

  “I’m not a virgin, bear. I like touching. I like licking.”

  “Good.” He smoothed his hand along one hip. He felt like people wanted things from him sometimes, or wanted to make him happy, and he wanted Halian to desire him. Period.

  “Yes.” Halian tugged at his shirt. “I need to see you too, please.”

  Skin on skin. As much as he liked to eat, he liked to do physical things too, so Nathan was proud of his body. He pulled off his shirt, showing off. He didn’t have a six-pack maybe, but his belly was flat, his chest developed, his shoulders wide.

  “Oh….” Halian sat up and ran his hands up Nathan’s belly, toward his fuzzy, broad chest. “So beautiful.”

  “Thank you, love. So are you.” He cupped the ball of one shoulder. Halian was thin, but his ropy, wiry muscle spoke of strength.

  Halian leaned forward, nuzzling into his chest, lips parted and hungry. His nipples drew up, his belly pulled in, and Nathan grunted, a little shocked at how fast he’d gone from “let’s explore” to “let’s get busy.”

  “Are you okay, bear? You’re well?”

  “I’m perfect.” Hard as a rock.

  “Okay. You smell so nice. So right.” Halian groaned and rubbed again, this time nudging his nipple.

  “Mmm.” He mirrored the movement, rubbing Halian’s nipple with his thumb. The tiny nub went hard, filling immediately. He glanced down. “Too many pants.”

  He hoped the size of his cock didn’t scare his little wolf. It had startled Mai pretty badly.

  “Too many pants.” Halian stripped, exposing the lean, fine body, long cock, heavy sac.

  Look at that. His mouth watered, and he lifted Halian’s cock against his palm.

  “Bear….” Halian arched into his hand, sliding over his palm.

  “Yes, sweet. Just like that. So hard for me.” He squeezed as gently as he possibly could, making Halian grunt.

  “For you. Your hands are… perfect.”

  “You feel amazing in them.” He got so lost in touching and stroking he missed the frustrated noises Halian was making for long moments. Those nimble fingers had gotten Nathan’s pants open but couldn’t get them off.

  “You too, bear. Please. Please, I need to know.” Greedy lover.

  Releasing his prize for a moment, he rose up to yank off his pants. He wanted to rub and touch and feel Halian all over him.

  Halian gasped when he bared himself, and he braced for shock or worry. What he got was Halian’s hands wrapped around his prick.

  Nathan caught his breath, his chest hitching. “That feels so good.” No one had ever touched him so easily, without the least bit of hesitation. Some lovers had tried to brave it out, but it had always been with trepidation.

  “You’re beautiful.” Halian lapped at his tip, tongue dragging over the slit.

  “Oh!” When he bucked, it almost threw Halian off. “Oh Goddess.”

  “Bad?” His dear love was so worried.

  “That’s amazing. Oh, sweet. Your mouth.” He’d had dreams like this, but the other partner had always been a shadowy man with no face. Now Nathan knew who he’d been waiting for. This little wolf had everything he needed.

  He got a smile, and then a lick, and another lick, and another. Halian sucked the tip of his cock betwee
n those soft lips, too, making his eyes try to roll back in his head.

  His body rocked, and he stroked Halian’s hair, then his cheek. “Are you going to let me taste you too, sweet?”

  “Uh-huh. You’re sweet, bear. You’re sweet to me.” Halian groaned softly and licked again.

  “I love that.” He did. Halian was a generous lover, hot as fire and eager as anything. For the first time in his human form he felt… right. Not huge or obscene or bumbling. Halian seemed to think he was perfect, which made Nathan feel as if he were.

  He stroked what skin he could reach, touching Halian’s neck and shoulders, cheeks and chest. He loved how fascinating Halian’s marked skin was compared to his, how warm.

  Halian looked up at him, dark pupils blown out, hair wild and thick and so soft.

  “Come here, love.” He pulled Halian up gently, letting that lean body rub against his every inch as he moved. Nathan wanted more kisses.

  “So warm and fuzzy, bear.” Halian wriggled and snuggled, all the way up.

  “Mmm.” He took a kiss, finding that long cock again with his hand. Halian bucked and drove toward him, a soft whine sounding.

  “That’s it. Oh, Halian. You feel so good.” He stroked up and down, tracing every inch.

  “I—I can’t be patient like this, Nathan.”

  “We don’t have to be this time, sweet. This is about saying hello.” Nathan understood. The urgency built heavy in his balls.

  “Hello. Yes. Oh, so good….” His little wolf arched against him, hips moving quick as a bunny’s.

  “Yes. No pressure to be anything, so anything. Just feel each other.” He stroked all the way down to the balls, tight now with need.

  “Please. Feel me.” Halian was so close that Nathan could sense it everywhere.

  “You’re amazing.” Nathan reached down to press those balls up against the base of Halian’s cock, rolling the whole handful in a slow circle.

  Halian’s lips parted, and Nathan watched as he shot, coming hard. So lovely, so his.

  That one he thought to himself, deep inside only.

  “I—oh… I couldn’t wait.” Halian looked so stricken.

  “No worries, sweet. I wanted to taste you.” He brought his hand to his mouth, licking it. Rich and male, salty and addictive—he groaned, and his cock jerked.

  “Oh, I felt that.” Halian gave him this amazed look.

  “Did you?” He wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.

  “I did. Your dick jerked so hard. I did that.” Okay, so good.

  Halian kissed him, this embrace confident, hungry. The hand that found his length never faltered either, Halian working him up and down, jacking him hard. He’d ever been touched so confidently, like his wolf meant it.

  Nathan let his head fall back, his hips rocking back and forth. His asscheeks clenched, and he knew he was close.

  Halian worked the tip of his cock, making him gasp. He couldn’t see, he needed so badly.

  He rocked and rolled and his toes curled, and when Halian swooped back down to suck him deep, Nathan came as hard as he had in recent memory. Lord, that was good.

  Halian’s moan was sweet, low, making him feel intensely sensual. He jerked and danced, finally coming down off the ceiling a few minutes later.

  “Damn, sweet. You make me yell so loud.”

  “That’s good. You should make noises.”

  “I suppose so. Thank you.” He traced those swollen lips with his thumb. Halian looked… debauched. Nathan loved the whole situation.

  “Thank you. Are we okay? Good?” Halian leaned into him.

  “We are far more.” He tugged Halian into his arms one more time, sagging into the softness of the rug and cushions. The fire was nice now that they were cooling off, and he hummed, his little bear noises coming through as grunts.

  Halian snuggled in, the soft sigh reminding him of Ash. His best friend always sounded like that, when he finally relaxed. He supposed that being the pack whipping boy was all stress all the time.

  Nathan could say that he understood the pack, the weird hierarchy of a large group, but he didn’t have to. He was a bear.

  All he had to do was eat and sleep and occasionally work.

  And love on Halian. He was tickled to add that to his to-do list.

  4

  Halian believed in hard work, and he intended to be allowed to stay. He cleaned Nathan’s house, Angela’s house, Mai’s house. He cleaned the coffee shop from top to bottom, then he cleaned the bookstore next door for Oliver, the happy bobcat, and then the weird three-story frat-kitty house where Oliver lived with his triplets Oakley and Owen.

  Cleaning was physical, but his mind was free while he did it, so Halian kind of liked it. He could daydream, as long as he didn’t spill anything.

  He was wearing down by Friday afternoon, though. All those stairs and the triplets were… kinda gross. Kind of a lot.

  Except for Oliver. He had the top floor, and it only needed the basics—kitchen, bathroom, floors, dusting. The others? They needed keepers.

  “Dude!” Owen surprised him on said stairs, making him teeter. “This place is like, spotless.”

  “That’s what you hired me for. Good afternoon.” The bobkitties were bouncy and full of life, these joyous blond boys that looked solid as rocks, for all they were little. Halian didn’t doubt they could kick his ass.

  They were sweet, though. Kitties. Who knew? His old alpha would have told him none of these shifters could all live together, but he’d found out better.

  Everyone was pretty happy, except for Liam. Liam was a grouch.

  “Good afternoon. You want a beer?”

  “Oh, I’m working.”

  “Dude. You work all the time. Come have a beer.” Owen was… boingy.

  He guessed he could. This was his last clean for the week. He could. “One beer, if you don’t mind.”

  “I don’t mind at all, dude!” Owen hopped down the stairs.

  He followed Owen slowly, bringing his supplies down. Silly kitty.

  By the time he got to the kitchen, which sparkled, Owen had pulled out two longnecks. “This kitchen has never been this clean.”

  He manfully resisted pointing out that the kitchen had been a sludge pit. He’d scraped gum off the floor. Gum.

  “Dude, you can say it. It was a tar pit.” Owen was laughing, popping the top on his beer. To his credit, he tossed the cap in the trash, not on the floor. Which was good, because Halian might have wolfed out and ripped his bobcat ears off if he had.

  “It’ll be easier from here on in.” It had better be, anyway.

  “It’s way harder to make a mess when it’s so nice. Oliver might even come down now.”

  “That would be something. Is it nice, having brothers?”

  “Most of the time?” Owen sipped his beer thoughtfully. “I mean, it’s hard to compare, because mine look just like me, so sometimes it’s like having three mes.”

  “Which could be cool, could be weird as hell.”

  “Yeah.” Owen shrugged. “We grew up that way, huh?”

  “Yes. I was the runt. My littermates… they’re very strong.” And he wasn’t. He was… him.

  “Oh. Yeah. I get that. Like, Oliver is super smart, and Oakley is all popular, and I’m a dork.”

  “I like dorks. Can I be your friend?” He figured he’d ask.

  “I would totally love that. Like really.” Owen beamed at him, his whole body wiggling.

  “Me too. Nathan is my friend, but….” With sex. Not a lot of sex, because Nathan seemed scared about his dick being too big, which was weird, because did guys ever think about that? Still, Halian was being gentle. “We’re closer than friends.”

  “Oh, yay. He’s this super nice guy. Like wow. I like him a lot.” Owen leaned close. “I want someone, you know, more racy. Nathan is like a warm robe, but that’s why there’s someone for everyone.”

  He nodded, although he didn’t agree. Nathan could be intense. Halian needed to prove he wa
s trustworthy of that need. “There is someone for everyone.”

  “Coolios. That gives me hope. Well, maybe not for Oliver.”

  “He was very nice to me. I bet his mate is waiting for him.”

  “Not here. I think…. We’re thinking about heading out. At least some day.”

  “Out where?” Halian frowned. “Oh! You mean crossing the river?”

  “Yes. Mother Owl says the veil is closing, getting tighter. Who knows what will happen.”

  Veil? Closing? What did that mean? Had he caused it? Who was Mother Owl? Nathan had mentioned a wise old owl, he thought.

  Oh, he needed to talk to Maicoh. Maicoh would know, right?

  “Are you scared?”

  Owen blinked at him. “Scared? Nah. Concerned, a little. If we go, it’ll be to find another place for us. You came over as a man?”

  Halian shook his head. “Through the river. I followed my nose.”

  “Ah. That’s different. That’s how Ash came too. Mai walked over the bridge like we did.”

  He didn’t understand. At all. “So…this is a safe place?”

  Owen nodded. “Safe but small. You have to remember that most things that are safe, tend to be small and limited. We need…a little more space, the three of us.”

  “Oh. Well, I hope you stay.” He didn’t mind small. He loved the idea of a den for him and Nathan.

  “Anyway, can I have a hug? If we’re friends?” Owen didn’t seem to be asking in a gross way, just a little wistful.

  “Of course. Hugs are the best!” He opened his arms and hugged Owen tight.

  Owen hugged him too, hard, voice muffled in his neck. “I need a friend.”

  “Well, you have me.” He nuzzled in, holding on. He didn’t understand, but he didn’t have to. His job was to clean up and love people.

  Nathan seemed to get that—how to love people. How to make them feel good. Halian wanted to be like that.

  Together, Halian thought that he and Nathan could love damn near anyone.

  He grinned, then patted Owen’s back. “I really need to get home. Nathan invited Maicoh and Ashkii to supper.” Not that he wanted to clean more, but he would if Nathan needed him to. If not, he would help cook.

  “I’ll see you next Friday?”