Quinn Ellen Spirit Walkers 2 A Spirit's Freedom

Spirit Walkers 2

A Spirit’s Freedom

Gregor Kranski had spent too many years alone, trapped without
the one thing that could free his soul. When he finally meets his
spirit walker and thinks freedom is within his reach, the man
comes with a little baggage. Not that you could call a twenty-odd-
foot crocodile little.

Darian Ramoth had been kidnapped and forced to work for his
family. He was also being used to blackmail his wayward spirit
walker. When he escaped, he'd had to leave Jonah Monack behind,
but he'd gone with the promise he would return.

Jonah is brutally held for his knowledge and abilities. Darian had
managed to escape but is now returning against Jonah's wishes.
Not only that, he is returning with another spirit walker. Shifters
don't have two walkers, do they?

Finding your destiny, obtaining your destiny, safeguarding that
destiny, and loving those within it are getting more and more
complicated by the hour.

Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Ménage a Trois/Quatre,
Paranormal
Length: 41,231 words

A SPIRIT’S FREEDOM

Spirit Walkers 2

Ellen Quinn

MENAGE AMOUR

MANLOVE

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

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A SPIRIT’S FREEDOM
Copyright © 2012 by Ellen Quinn
E-book ISBN: 978-1-61926-764-0

First E-book Publication: July 2012

Cover design by Harris Channing
All cover art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

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Letter to Readers

Dear Readers,

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Regarding E-book Piracy

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DEDICATION

For Kla and Sarah

Thank you for listening and supporting me in achieving my crazy dream!

A SPIRIT’S FREEDOM

Spirit Walkers 2

ELLEN QUINN

Chapter One

1660 Western Russia

Alden shook his head. He could not do it. Katarina was a nice

enough girl and his cousin, but he would not claim her. He had never
been interested in females, no matter how beautiful folk said they
were. He preferred lean, firm bodies, sculpted muscles—not massive
as he was, but slender. Shorter was a given, as at six foot ten, few men
were taller than him or his twin brother, Gregor.

Alden knew he had left it late. He should have informed his father

weeks ago. The ceremony was tomorrow, and the families were
already here to witness it. His clan did not believe in spirit walkers
being the way to true love and happiness. That, according to his
father, was just a fairy tale the women believed in. Alden believed it.
He also believed his walker would be male. He could never be happy
any other way.

Tossing down the last of the spirit he was drinking, he went to

face his father. He found him in the great hall with his uncle and his
brothers, Mica and Tomas, laughing at some story one of them had
told. He would have rather done this with the man alone, but that was
not going to happen now so close to the big event.

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“Father, may I speak with you?” Alden asked, standing tall in

front of him. His brothers sat up looking at him, wondering what was
about to happen. Gregor would know what was coming as he’d spent
hours with his twin trying to hash out a way around this damn
ceremony. Gregor had tried to persuade Alden just to go through with
it then let the woman go, without claiming her. Or set her up away
from the clan and live their lives independently. Alden hated the
thought of abusing the poor girl like that. It would not be fair to either
of them. He wanted to be true to himself, and for that reason, he
would go through with this. Gregor, he noticed, was not here.

“Speak up, my son, drink with us to celebrate your forthcoming

nuptials.” His father laughed, raising his glass to Oswin, his uncle and
Katarina’s father.

“There will be no ceremony tomorrow, Father. I will not go

through with this. It is not something I want, nor ever will.” His father
looked at him then burst out laughing.

“Now that was a good joke. Alden is not usually the joker in the

family. We leave that for my younger son, Gregor.” His father spoke
to the room at large. His mother and her friends had wandered over
from where they had sat by the great fire.

“He is only younger by mere moments, dear. Alden was born just

before sunrise. Gregor came just after.” She laughed at her statement
even though his father glared at her for her interruption.

“I am not joking, Father. I will never marry. I have no feelings for

Katarina, and it would be cruel to her to force her to marry someone
who will never love her.”

“Marrying is not about love. It’s about being a man. You need to

produce an heir. I want fine grandsons to continue our prosperity.”

“You will not get them from me,” Alden replied. “Ever.” Alden

finally thought he was getting through to his father. Alric Kranski
cursed all sodomites and would not allow one in his clan. Alden knew
he would also do anything to prevent any member of his family
admitting to it.

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Now his father had realised what Alden had been trying to tell

him. He knew he would now have to face the consequences. What
they might be, he did not know, but at least Alric now understood
why Alden would not be going through with the ceremony.

“Men,” he yelled as his warriors came forward. “Take him to the

cells. Then go find my first born, Gregor.”

Alden smiled to himself. He’d been disowned publically in front

of his family. It was to be expected, he just hoped Gregor was ready
for what was coming, and he silently said good-bye.

* * * *

Gregor smiled as he watched Phillip close his mouth over his

cock, sliding his tongue over the slit, taking in the pre-cum that
dribbled from the top.

“Ah yes,” he moaned. “Swallow me down. How much can you

take?” He knew Phillip could not take him all. Most men’s hands
barely went around his throbbing shaft, never mind taking all ten
inches into their mouths.

Phillip slid his lips around his hard, pulsing cock, meeting the

hand that was sliding up from the base. He swirled his tongue along
the deep vein running up the underside of his shaft before licking the
sensitive spot of nerves just under the head.

“That’s good, babe, just a little more. Suck harder, take me down

that beautiful throat,” Gregor encouraged, starting to thrust his hips
into Phillip’s face. Phillip pushed his other hand between Gregor’s
cheeks, circling his sweet, puckered hole. As Gregor felt himself
reach his peak, Phillip pushed a finger in his ass, and Gregor flew off
the edge, pouring ropes of hot cum down Phillip’s waiting throat.

Phillip swallowed every drop, licking Gregor clean before sitting

up and grinning at his friend and part-time lover.

“I guess that hit the spot?” Phillip chuckled.

A Spirit’s Freedom

“You could say that. How about you?” Gregor liked his lovers to

gain pleasure from their coupling. He loved them all for the pleasure
they gave him. But he hoped one day he would find his spirit walker,
and then he would truly know love.

Phillip looked down his naked body to the streaks of cum

covering his chest and abdomen. He ran a finger through his juices,
licking it from his hand. “I guess I’m good.”

Suddenly, there was a loud banging outside the door of the main

chamber.

“Who the hell is that?” Gregor muttered under his breath,

grabbing some pants. He went to the door, yanking it open angrily.

“What the hell is going on?” he asked a nervous-looking boy

standing outside his chambers door.

“Your f-father requests y–your presence,” the boy stammered and

bowed then disappeared off at breakneck speed.

Alden had gone and done it. He was proud of his brother, the elder

by a mere sunrise. So what now? He returned to his room, telling
Phillip to make himself scarce in case any trouble happened. He’d
hate his little playmate to get hurt.

He dressed, taking his time, not sure if he really wanted to find out

what his father wanted with him. He wanted to go and find Alden
make sure he was safe. He doubted his father would do anything
terrible to Alden. He was a drunk, not a tyrant. But whatever
happened, he knew he would stand beside his brother. He slowly left
his chambers and walked toward the great hall.

“There you are, son,” Alric yelled. “See, Oswin? No difference.”

His father laughed and clinked tankards with his uncle. Mica and
Tomas were in on the joke. He looked at them for an explanation.

“Tell him the good news, boys,” his father instructed as he saw

him looking at them.

“Well, dear brother, as Father’s eldest son—”
“I’m not the eldest, Mica, and you know it,” Gregor interrupted

him midsentence.

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“Ah, but you are, dear Gregor,” continued Tomas. “Eldest of his

three sons.”

So that’s what his father had done, disowned Alden. Well it

looked like he would be leaving, too.

“Yes, and as I was saying, as the eldest of Alric Kranski’s sons,

you get to wed the lovely Katarina.” Mica smirked at Gregor.

Did they know? They obviously knew about Alden. He and Alden

had never really mixed with their younger brothers. Those two spent
most of their time impregnating the local town girls. Father probably
had more grandkids and illegitimate heirs than he’d care to count.

“That is not going to happen,” he answered Mica before turning to

his father. “You requested my presence.”

His father looked dumbfounded. “You, too?” he screamed.
“‘You, too,’ what, Father?” he asked.
“Your filthy brother will not bed with women,” he spat.
“Is that what he said?” he prompted, taking the emphasis away

from himself, though not helping his poor brother, he realised.

“No, but he would not fulfill his commitment to wed Oswin’s

daughter or produce an heir,” he stated, staring straight at Gregor and
raising his eyebrow in question. Both his brothers smiled. As younger
sons, they had always come second in their father’s eyes. If he did not
accept his brother’s disgrace and take his place as eldest, they would
quite happily replace both him and Alden at their father’s side.

“I will not take Alden’s place or produce you an heir, Father,”

Gregor answered, for once following in his brother’s honourable
footsteps. He knew his brother would be true to himself and honest to
Katarina. Of all his family, his brother was the only one who had any
worth or moral fibre. The rest just enjoyed their status within their
clan of bear shifters, himself included. It was time for him to prove
his worth, especially to his brother.

His father snorted, looking at him with disgust. “Take him to

Alden in the cells,” he demanded.

Gregor gasped. He’d imprisoned his own son.

A Spirit’s Freedom

“They can keep each other company while they rot.”
His mother stood behind his father, resting her hand on his

shoulder, not even looking at her son. But he would never regret his
decision. Alden had always stood beside him, now he would do the
same.

* * * *

Alden sat in the cell and prayed Gregor would do as he had

advised him to do. He loved his brother. His fun-loving attitude and
lighthearted love of life had kept him going in this household. He’d
thanked the Gods many times that he’d been born first, if only just,
saving Gregor from all the stupid expectations.

He jumped to his feet as the lock turned in the cell door. One of

his father’s men opened the door, and Gregor walked in, the door
closing once again behind him.

“What are you doing here?” he asked in surprise and then fear. He

knew what his brother had done before Gregor said a word. “Gregor,
of all the times to stand up for your beliefs, why now did you not take
your own advice?”

“I love you, too, brother.” Gregor smiled. He didn’t look the least

bit concerned.

“What are you up to?” Alden asked.
“I have no idea, but they can’t keep us in here forever. Plus if we

shift I reckon I could take out the door and you could just stand here
and look pretty.” Gregor grinned.

“How do you keep so happy? We are in our father’s cells for

sodomy. Well, I am. I’m not sure in your case. Maybe idiocy would
be a better label.”

“Good ole Alric decided to just interchange us. ‘Where’s the

difference?’ he asked Uncle Oswin. Apparently, the difference he was
hoping for didn’t come about. So poor Katarina has now been rejected

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by two of his sons. She’s the one I really feel for. She didn’t ask for
any of this.”

“That’s true. So you really do have some moral fibre in there,”

Alden said, punching his brother in the gut.

“Oomph! Hey, my moral fibre is just fine, thank you, especially

when it comes to my men.”

“‘Your men.’ How many do you have?” Alden couldn’t believe

what he was hearing. He’d had lovers, but not many and rarely more
than one-night stands. Sailors were always good. They just wanted
sex and didn’t care who with, plus they were gone with the next ship
out. Not what he wanted deep down, but if you had an itch you
scratched it.

Gregor just grinned.

* * * *

“What was that?” Gregor jumped up, letting his brother, who was

leaning on his side sleeping, fall to the floor.

“Thanks a lot, brother!” Alden said sarcastically.
“Shush, get up and be quiet,” he whispered. Alden mumbled

under his breath as he picked himself up off the floor. “Stay there and
I’ll go and stand by the other side of the door.” Looking at his brother
he saw him nod once and knew he understood. The key turned in the
lock and was slowly pushed open.

“Alden, Gregor, are you in here?” a very feminine voice called

from just outside the door.

“Who is it?” Alden demanded from the cell. Gregor didn’t move

and remained quiet.

“Katarina,” was the reply.
“Why the hell are you here? You will get into trouble.”
“I brought you some food,” she said quietly. “And to say thank

you and then beg for your help.”

“Thank you and help?” Alden asked as though it was a question.

A Spirit’s Freedom

“I’ve met my spirit walker. He’s a really good man, a human and

a carpenter. I’ve only got eleven days left to bond with him, but my
father says I have to marry Alric’s eldest as was promised before my
birth. If I do that, I’m condemning three people to a brutal half-life. I
love Carl, and I need your help to get out of this compound. I brought
the key to the outer door, but will you please take me with you? Carl
is waiting just outside the compound with horses, but I can’t make it
on my own.”

Gregor moved out from behind the door. Katarina gasped and

dropped the tray of food. The metal plates clattered on the stone floor,
but no one bothered to come and investigate the disturbance.

“They’re all drunk,” she said with disgust.
“How did you get the keys?” Gregor asked, thinking she must

have bribed the guards to do it.

“A man called Phillip gave them to me, said he had to try and help

but couldn’t be seen going down here since he is your manservant,”
Katarina retold them, obviously not understanding the meaning
behind what he had said. The brothers looked at each other and both
knew what they had to do.

Gregor took the keys from her hand. “If we are going we’d best

go now,” he explained. “If they are all drunk, their abilities will be
impaired, which gives us an advantage.”

“I’ve not packed any of my things,” Katarina wailed.
“What’s more important, Katarina? Getting free and going to be

with your spirit walker, or your things?” Alden asked as he walked
over, taking her arm and leading her out of the cell.

She looked up into his eyes and whispered, “Carl.”
“Then let’s go,” Gregor said, pushing them both quickly down the

corridor outside the cells. Climbing up the stairs to the main floor,
they could hear the carousing going on in the main hall. They edged
toward the main entrance when someone whispered to them.

“Hey, quick, this way. Use the servants’ doors.” Looking down

the hallway, Gregor saw Phillip’s face peeping round a small door. He

Ellen Quinn

trusted Phillip. The man had been his on-and-off lover and
manservant for quite some time.

The servants’ areas were nowhere near as pleasant as the main

part of the house, situated at the rear where all the rubbish and crap
was left. Still, no one even looked at them leaving. Once out of the
building, they headed to the edge of the large compound. It was
surrounded by a tall, solid wooden fence with a heavy, locked gate.
When they finally reached the gate, Gregor looked at his man.

“Why?” he asked. “Why help us? Why not turn us in? None of the

servants said a thing.”

“Not once in my time with you have you ever said a harsh word or

been cruel or violent, either of you. They are grateful and respect both
of you for the kindness and consideration. And for that, they will help
you and remain quiet while letting you go.”

“Thank you, my friend,” Gregor said, pulling his lover into his

arms. He kissed him with all the passion and gratitude he contained.
“You take care now, my love. I wish you well.”

Alden opened the gate enough for them to slip through. Taking

Katarina’s hand, he led her through the gap. Gregor handed the key
back to Phillip. “Stay safe,” he said, and he pulled the gate, too.

“Was that the reason?” Katarina asked, looking at both of them

and then to the closed gate where Phillip had once been.

The brothers looked at each other. “Yes,” they answered,

wondering if she now regretted her decision to help them because of
their sexual orientation. She looked a little unsettled and restless, but
if she’d met her walker and not bonded then this is what could
happen.

“Well, thank you again for not putting me through a sham of a

wedding. I can’t say I understand, but I still wish you no malice.” She
smiled at them and then turned. “Carl. I can smell him. He’s close.”

Out of the trees along the main path came a man. His face looked

tired and drawn. The time apart from his walker was obviously having
an effect on him. He rode a huge horse, pulling two more behind him.

A Spirit’s Freedom

As soon as Katarina saw him, she ran. He jumped down and
completely enveloped her in a hug, which, considering she was a six-
foot-two bear shifter, took some doing! Carl tilted his head to first
look at Gregor and his brother before turning to Katarina. She smiled
up at him and simply said, “Yes.” To a question Gregor neither heard
nor saw him speak. Carl’s mouth came down on hers in pure
possession. She was his, and Gregor knew he would never let her go.

Their lips slowly parted as the brothers approached.
“These are Alden and Gregor, my cousins,” Katarina introduced

them. “They would not marry me, so they were imprisoned. Gregor,
Alden, this is Carl Oltsberg, my spirit walker.”

“I’m glad you did not marry my Katie,” Carl said. “I would have

tried to kill you if you had.” He looked at Alden.

“It was never my intention to marry your spirit walker. I would

never come between such sacred bonds.”

“She said that of you.” Carl smiled.
He was a plain man, though tall and with great muscles. He had

none of the stunning good looks Gregor and his brother were known
for, though by the looks Kata—Katie, Gregor corrected, was giving
him, he was absolutely perfect in her eyes.

“We need to make haste before they discover our absence,”

Gregor said. He knew time was not their friend at the moment.

“Before we head anywhere, I would like to know how you did all

this,” Alden said.

Always the more cautious of us, Gregor thought.
“I was always in contact with Carl through our mind bond,” Katie

answered, sounding shy and a little uncertain. “I know what your
father is like and I wanted to be prepared. Carl was coming down here
to collect two large ploughing horses for his father, which proved
fortunate as we have you with us.”

“So you weren’t going to go through with the ceremony anyway?”

Gregor asked, thinking they could have avoided a lot of trouble this
way, but he would not have wanted to place that burden on his cousin.

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“No, cousin, I could not have gone through with it, I just didn’t

know how to get out of my father’s promise.”

“We really need to move. These are not swift horses, though they

can work for hours, so we need to head out before we end up with
someone on our tail,” Carl cut in, worry etched on his brow.

“Thank you,” Alden said, though Gregor was not really sure what

for. They quickly took the two spare horses while Carl sat Katie on
his mount. “This way,” he said as they rode off into the night.

A Spirit’s Freedom

Chapter Two

“Welcome home, my love,” Carl murmured to his Katie as they

dismounted. She beamed up at him. The place was modest but clean
and seemed well organised. There would be no servants for Katie
now.

“We must continue on, Katarina,” Alden said.
“No, I’m Katie now, Carl’s Katie.” Carl took his place by her

side, placing his arm around her shoulder.

“I love her and will take very good care of her,” Carl said,

standing tall and proud beside her. He must have been at least six foot
six, just four inches shorter than the brothers. Gregor smiled to
himself. He would have made for a fine lover. Katie was a lucky girl.

“We know you will, Carl, and we will not inform any of the

family of your whereabouts,” Alden said. They handed over the
horses, for as much as they could use them, Carl had Katie to support
now, and they could not take such valuable items.

Thanks were said all round, and then the brothers disappeared into

the trees.

“Where to now, Gregor?” his brother asked when they’d made

their way north for a couple of miles.

“St. Petersburg. We should find work at the docks either

transporting out on a ship or by road to trade goods.”

Alden nodded at him. “It’s probably a good place to hide with so

many people there.”

“St. Petersburg it is!” Gregor smiled. Life was looking up, and he

was going to become a sailor!

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* * * *

Five days later, they arrived on the outskirts of St. Petersburg.

They were hungry and tired and needed a place to stay. They both had
a little gold and silver to barter with, as neither had had anything
removed from them when they’d been imprisoned. They walked
toward the town square. What they saw there nearly made them sick.

Phillip was manacled and being dragged toward a trading post—a

trading post for slaves. What was even more upsetting was his state.
He’d been beaten so badly his body was just a mass of swollen red
welts and purple and green bruises. One eye was so bad Gregor knew
he could not possibly see out of it and the welts down his back
showed he had been heavily whipped. All he wore was a ragged pair
of britches that barely covered his abused flesh.

“No!” Gregor yelled before he could stop himself.
The two men with him turned and smiled as Gregor found himself

face-to-face with Mica and Tomas. He smashed his fist into Mica’s
face, knocking him to the ground as the rage fired through him. “You
bastards,” Gregor cried as he went for Mica again.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Tomas said as he held a knife

at Phillip’s throat.

“No!” Gregor yelled again and would have gone for Tomas if he

hadn’t have been held back by Alden.

“He will cut his throat, Gregor, without a second thought,” Alden

said with venom in his voice. Phillip whimpered in Tomas’s grasp.
Tomas smashed his fist into the much smaller man’s face. Phillip
would have fallen over if Tomas hadn’t had a stranglehold on his
neck. Mica got up and went over to Gregor and spat in his face.

Gregor growled, his rage barely controlled, but he knew he

couldn’t shift in the middle of the market square. But that didn’t mean
Mica and Tomas would be safe all the time.

A Spirit’s Freedom

Still holding him even in his enraged state, Alden looked at them

and spoke. “What is going on? Why are you here with Phillip and
who did this to him?”

“We don’t have to answer any of your questions but where else

would my idiot brothers head to get away quickly and get their fill of
all those sex-starved sailors. Now shut up, you just need to listen. We
will trade good old Phillip here for the pair of you and the location of
my future bride. If not, Phillip here is to be sold into the sailing
establishment.” He laughed. No one else did.

“Us for him,” Alden said. “But Katarina is bonded to her spirit

walker by now and long gone.”

“Oh, that’s no good. We’ll have to say you killed her if I don’t

bring her back,” Tomas said with a smug smile.

“Us for him,” Alden said again. “Katarina is gone and will not be

coming back.”

“Okay,” Tomas said with a shrug. “Follow me. Mica, walk behind

them. I do not want then getting away.”

They walked to the opposite side of the market, where a

blacksmith was shoeing horses. Mica removed Phillip’s manacles, but
gripped him tightly round his throat.

“You can keep the metal,” Tomas said to the blacksmith, “if you

solder these onto these two men.”

Gregor gasped as two sets of metal cuffs were pulled out of a bag

that Tomas had given the blacksmith. He’d been very careful not to
touch the metal in any way, and Gregor knew why. They had to
contain silver.

“I’m not putting those on until you let Phillip go,” Gregor said

with hate in his tone.

“Fine. One of you before we let him go. The other after.” Tomas

obviously loved this game he was playing, judging by the sadistic
smirk on his face. Gregor swore to himself and all that was holy that
he would get revenge on his brothers. Alden held his hands out to the
blacksmith, who walked up with the cuffs, placing one round each

Ellen Quinn

wrist. Pulling a hot iron out of the fire, he laid it across the join. Alden
screamed and fell to his knees. The blacksmith quickly did the second
wrist, but this time Alden just clenched his teeth. With menace in his
eyes he stared hard at Tomas.

“Now let him go,” Gregor said, knowing his brother was in too

much pain.

“No problem.” Tomas nodded at Mica, who let go of Phillip, who

crumpled to the floor.

“Go, Phillip. Get as far as you can from these thugs,” Gregor said

as he helped the man to his feet.

Phillip nodded and whispered to Gregor, “I’m so sorry,” before he

stumbled his way into the crowds.

“You’d better not be thinking of backing out now, brother dear,”

Tomas said, placing the knife at Alden’s throat. Gregor held out his
hands and the blacksmith quickly soldered them on. The pain that
ripped through him was immense, but he would not show any
weakness in front of his brothers.

Tomas’s eyes got a little worried at Gregor’s show of strength. He

stepped back from them as Gregor helped his brother rise. He turned
to Mica. “We need to get them to The Rogue Lady. They’ll be waiting
for them.”

Mica pushed them from behind as they went through an alley to

the water’s edge.

“Here’s your new home,” Tomas said as he turned to show them a

huge ship. “I’m sure you’ll both be very happy onboard.” His laughter
at his little joke was forced and died quickly when the captain came
down the gangplank.

“Are these them?” he asked with a scowl at Tomas as he nodded.

“You weren’t lying when you said they were huge. These men will be
great.” He pulled a small pouch out of his pocket and dropped it into
Tomas’s hand.

“Move it, you two, there’s work to be done.”

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* * * *

Just under an hour later, the ship was ready to set sail. Alden and

Gregor stood at the edge of the deck.

“No!” Gregor screamed as he saw Tomas and Mica with Phillip

held between them. As the brothers watched, Tomas pulled out a long
dagger and went to shove it through Phillip’s chest.

Suddenly, the captain shouted, “Mine!” His dagger flew through

the air and straight into Tomas’s eye. Tomas’s look of horror was
frightening before he fell to the ground, blood oozing from the
wound. Mica bent down and grabbed the knife, pulling it out of his
brother’s eye, standing and staring in disgust. Just then the law
enforcers arrived, alerted by the screams from the crowd. They found
him with the weapon and jumped to the wrong conclusion, grabbing
him and clubbing him into submission.

“He’ll be hung before sunset,” Alden said.
“Shame, I would have liked to have killed him,” Gregor replied.
The captain flew off the ship and picked up Phillip, lifting him

with such care and tenderness, Gregor wanted to hug him. He knew
he’d lost his lover the moment his father had imprisoned him, but now
at least he knew Phillip was safe. The captain brought him on deck
and growled to the two of them.

“No,” said Phillip in barely a whisper. “These are good men.

Please don’t hurt them. They are my friends.”

Gregor walked up and looked straight at the captain. “He is my

friend. His name is Phillip Shiloh, and he is a good and loyal man. Is
he your spirit walker?”

The captain looked at Phillip and raised an eyebrow. “He is my

spirit walker.” He paused and looked at both brothers. “You need to
get back to work. When he is well again, you shall be his
bodyguards.” He turned and left the deck, shouting to the hands to
weigh anchor and get the hell out of there.

Ellen Quinn

Both brothers went back to the lower deck, which was to be their

home for who knew how long.

A Spirit’s Freedom

Chapter Three

Nineteen years later

“I’m going to miss you guys,” Phillip said with a hitch in his

voice. “Why won’t you come with Ralf and me? We have been
together so long now, it breaks my heart to leave you.”

“It will not be forever, my little one, but we will not live in Russia

again.” Gregor smiled at his longtime friend and ex-lover, though
with Ralf Petrov, he never mentioned the latter part.

“Yes, I’m sure our paths will cross once again,” Alden added. As

Captain Petrov walked toward them and took Phillip’s hand, he
looked at the two brothers.

“I’m sorry to lose you men. You have served me well on The

Rogue Lady and guarded Phillip admirably. There are too many
pirates out there now for it to be safe for my Phillip, and I will not risk
him. He is my life.” The giant polar-bear shifter smiled down at his
spirit walker who looked no older now than he did when he was
bonded to Ralf. He did look a hell of a lot healthier, as Ralf spoilt him
rotten. Gregor was pleased for his old friend. He deserved every
minute of happiness with his walker.

Gregor prayed he would be that lucky. They had sailed all around

the world, but neither he nor Alden had smelt the scent they craved.
Both brothers envied them their love and their bond, but it also gave
them hope that one day their spirit walkers would finally walk across
their path.

“Take good care of each other,” Phillip said as he walked down

the gangplank, waving as the tears slid down his cheeks.

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“Good-bye.” Ralf nodded and followed his walker into their

future.

* * * *

Captain Lec Kryaichen was a fool. He’d hadn’t walked onto the

ship until three days after Phillip and Ralf had left, leaving the crew
unsure when he would turn up. His family said he had to make his
own fortune, so he’d decided to become a sailor. He’d bought The
Rogue Lady and was now pretending to be a captain.

He took on cargo and then spent it, never delivering any of the

goods he was given. And after twelve months, he was wanted in most
European countries and considered a great pirate.

Alden and Gregor knew it was only a matter of time before The

Rogue Lady was brought in or taken. Good ole Lec thought it was
great that he was an infamous pirate in all the courts of Europe and
swore he could have any queen or princess he wanted. He treated his
crew as his own personal workforce, to fetch and carry, clean and
cook. Half the time when he took the helm, they ended up going
round in circles. Food was poor and the drink was sour, leaving his
crew hungry and often sick. He had failed to notice the crew getting
smaller and smaller with every stop they made in a port. Luckily, you
could sail The Rogue Lady with a crew of three. She had been built to
last and was a sound sea vessel.

They’d left port only the day before and hadn’t really gone

anywhere. The only men left were Gregor and Alden, a French man
who still hadn’t sobered up, and Lec, who had brought with him two
tarts from the local tavern. Gregor smiled. Yeah, they really were a
pair of princesses.

“What are you grinning at?” Alden asked as he came up from the

stern.

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“The crew consists of one drunk, one fool, two tarts, and us!”

Gregor’s shoulders started shaking. His humour always got him into
trouble, but for once it lightened the load.

Alden laughed. “Trust you to see the joke that is this crew.”
Suddenly, Alden pointed up. “There he is again.”
Gregor looked in the sky to catch sight of the largest eagle he’d

ever seen. “I’ve never seen one of those before. It looks like a golden
eagle, but its feathers are really dark. Do you remember the fish
eagles we saw? I’m sure it’s one of those.”

“What about its size?” Alden asked.
“It’s huge. So?” Gregor frowned. He realised what his brother was

getting at. Bird shifters were rare, almost as much as those that swam
in the sea. “It can’t be. They’re rarer than hen’s teeth.”

“I don’t know, but I’m sure it has been following us.” Alden was

frowning at the bird which was so high now only a shifter could see
him.

“How long has he been tailing us?” Gregor asked, annoyed he’d

missed something like this.

“Two days before we docked. When we were in port I only saw

him once, but he’s been up there on and off since we left.”

“If he’s a shifter we should be able to take him together.” Gregor

looked down at the cuffs attached to his wrists. His bear had been
dormant for so long now he’d forgotten what it was like to shift. He
would have to lose both his arms then let them regrow if he ever
wanted to shift again. It was the only way to escape the cuffs. Neither
he nor his brother felt secure enough to go through with it, not even
with Phillip and Ralf. Would there ever be a time?

“One day, Gregor, one day we’ll be free. We’ll help each other

through it.” Alden placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder and
squeezed. Gregor loved his brother, always had and always would.

“We’d best keep our eyes open ‘cause I’m damn sure Lec’s not

going to bother. I want to know what that is and what it’s interested
in,” Gregor said after a pause.

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“Me, too, brother, me, too,” Alden agreed.

* * * *

Craig Kashmerle looked down at the ship wandering, as you could

not say it sailed, down the coast of France. He knew the ship. The
Rogue Lady had been Captain Ralf Petrov’s vessel for decades. But
he had his spirit walker now, and it was male. The hope that had
given him had been immense. Alas, his lover for the past seventeen
years was not his spirit walker, but he was never going to give him
up. He would stay with Matthew James Kashmerle till the end of his
days. Craig had taken his name and given him his heart.

He swooped down onto the deck of their boat. They had wanted to

purchase The Rogue Lady but had been along the eastern coast of
Italy and couldn’t get back in time. It was a shame, but there were
other ways.

“Hello, my lovely,” Matt said, standing in a silk robe, holding a

glass of wine, and grinning at Craig’s naked body. He leaned down to
pick up his britches from where he’d left them on the deck. “Oh no,
darling, please don’t get dressed on my account.” Matt pouted
beautifully. Craig dropped his britches. He’d tell Matt about his plan
in the morning. Both he and his cock had other plans right now.

* * * *

It was just before dawn, and Gregor was on deck. They’d barely

moved in the last two days. Lec kept showing off his prowess to the
tart princesses, as he and Alden had started to call them. The hold was
more or less empty, and unless he fancied eating rat for tea, all there
was left to eat was stale bread and mouldy cheese. Lec had enough for
himself or course, but his crew could starve. Even the drunk French
chap had left. Who knew he could swim? He and Alden had watched
him swim to shore yesterday morning much to Lec’s annoyance as he

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now had to help sail the ship. Hence, they were now anchored in the
bay.

Gregor had been looking for their friend the eagle as they now

thought of him. He appeared most days, and neither he nor his brother
felt threatened by him anymore. As if on schedule, he appeared. Only
today, he was suddenly much closer, eye-level off the starboard bow!
Gregor ran down onto the lower deck and grabbed Alden from his
hammock.

“Our friend is here,” Gregor said. “Grab some clothes quick.

Something is going on.”

He ran back up to the main deck to see the large eagle perched on

the helm.

“Oh, crap,” he said. He looked at the bird perched there as if he

owned the damn ship. Gregor started to laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Alden asked as he caught up to Gregor on the

deck.

“Captain Feathers over there seems to have taken command,”

Gregor answered with tears rolling from his eyes.

“Well, he’ll probably do a better job than our fool captain,” Alden

said, looking at his brother with amused tolerance.

“And don’t forget his hardworking tarts,” Gregor added, really

finding the whole situation hysterical.

“Hello, boys,” said a sweet voice from the port side as a small but

beautiful man hopped over onto the deck. “I love the Captain Feathers
title, don’t you, darling?” he asked the bird.

The bird then shifted. Alden had been right. The man was tasty,

too. He was about six foot with black hair, black eyes, and a black
beard. Nice, thought Gregor, though he was clearly with the small
man on the deck who handed him some clothes. Lucky Bird! Lucky
man!

“Now, my very large, handsome sweethearts, we want to take

your ship,” the small man stated.

“It isn’t our ship, sir,” Alden replied.

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“Oh, my dears, I forgot introductions. How rude of me. I’m the

Duke of Kashmerle, but please call me Matthew, and this here
beautiful man is the love of my life, Craig. But you boys can call him
Kash.”

“Hello,” Gregor said. “This is Alden, my older brother, and I’m

his twin, Gregor.”

“You’re the Kranski twins?” Kash suddenly spoke.
“Well we’re possibly one set of Kranski twins,” Alden answered.
Gregor was confused as to how this man knew of them.
“What do you mean?” Gregor asked cautiously.
“You got quite a reputation for up and leaving your family, then

getting one of your brothers killed and the other badly beaten up and
hanged.”

Gregor laughed. “Yes, as if that’s the truth. Tomas was killed by

the spirit walker of the man he’d badly beaten up, and Mica, being
stupid, pulled out the dagger and got blamed for it.”

“Not a bright pair then,” Kash said with a look of disbelief on his

face.

“You could say that,” Gregor said with a smile.
“Why leave your family in the first place, my dears? Were they

really that bad?” Matthew asked.

“We would not bed with women and give our father heirs,” Alden

said, giving both men a stern look. This, Gregor thought, was funny,
considering these men thought the same way.

“Phew me, too, boys. What a horrid thought,” Matthew said,

pulling a face. Kash smiled. It was the first time Gregor had seen any
emotion on the man’s face. Gregor decided that, whatever the
outcome, he was not going to hurt these men unless his or his
brother’s life depended on it.

“So back to business. We want this ship. We would have bought it

from Ralf, but we were unavailable at the time,” Matthew said.

“I don’t think Lec Kryaichen could put up much of a fight if you

wanted to take it,” Gregor said.

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“It’s not Lec I’m worried about, sweethearts. It’s the pair of you,”

Matthew said with a small smile.

He could charm the birds from the trees, Gregor thought as he

smiled back at Matthew. Kash growled, and he quickly put up his
hands and stepped back. Of course, it looked like he had already
charmed one bird from a tree.

“Oh, behave, you,” Matthew said, tapping Kash on the side of his

bicep. “He can get a little jealous, but don’t worry. I’ll make him feel
better later.” He grinned at Kash, who raised an eyebrow and grinned
right back.

“We come with the ship,” Alden said. “We were bought by Ralf

and sold with it when he left.” This was basically true, though they
hadn’t felt like true slaves while working with Phillip and Ralf.

“Oh no, my sweethearts, if you stay with the ship, you will be free

men, and I’ll see you paid and looked after.”

“Supply food and a bed, and I’ll be happy,” Gregor put in. “Those

damn hammocks are a real pain.”

Matthew looked at Alden who nodded. “A bed would be nice.”
“Done,” Matthew said with a big smile across his face. “So where

is the rest of the crew?”

Gregor burst out laughing and Alden shook his head. Gregor

answered through his laughter, “The rest of the crew consists of the
old fool of a captain and his two tarts.”

“Oh, how lovely,” Matthew said with a grimace. “Now when will

these delightful people raise their illustrious heads?”

“They won’t,” Alden replied.
“They usually start demanding food around midafternoon, but

they rarely come out of the captain’s cabin,” Gregor added.

“Good. We need to transport our goods onto this ship. Then

anything that belongs to them, outside of the captain’s cabin, to our
little boat. One person can sail it back into the harbour with a little
effort,” Matthew advised with a cheeky grin.

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They all got to work. Matthew ran here and there, telling them

where to place things. Bless him, he was only tiny, well over a foot
shorter than Gregor. He tried pushing a casket across the deck and
ended up pushing his feet backward. By midday they were done.
They’d even set up two bow cabins for Alden and Gregor complete
with bed linen and blankets.

Now for the fun part, Gregor thought as he went to the captain’s

cabin to expel their current captain.

Lec came stumbling out of the cabin, staring at the man who’d

roused him. “Oh, good, you got more crew. My companions and I
require more food. Be quick about it,” he said, turning as if to head
back into the cabin.

“They are not your crew, Mr. Kryaichen, and this is no longer

your ship. Your Rogue Lady is alongside, and these delightful
gentlemen are going to help you and your crew aboard.”

“Gregor, throw this man off the ship,” Lec declared as if he was

still in charge and this little man in front of him had lost his marbles.

“I don’t think so,” Matthew said with a charming smile. “Take

him to his Rogue Lady, my dear Craig. The Lady Jane does not
require his services any longer.” Matthew turned and, looking toward
the brothers who had not lost their smiles, asked, “Shall we go and get
rid of the rubbish?”

* * * *

Both of the women were unclothed and unconscious. “Ew,”

Matthew cried, closing his eyes. “I never ever want to see that again.”

It took just under an hour to rid the room of the rubbish,

depositing all of its old occupant’s belongings into the little boat.

“Bon voyage, Captain Kryaichen, the port is in that direction,”

Matthew called over the side, pointing the way as he did. Alden and
Gregor released the ropes and smiled.

Good riddance. thought Gregor before turning to Matthew.

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“Did you call her The Lady Jane?” Gregor asked when the

screams and shouts of outrage from their previous pompous captain
and his crew had faded away.

“Oh, sweetheart, she was my great aunt and the only one of my

blessed family who had any time for the duke’s small, weak, but
divine son.” Matthew giggled. “She was one great lady.”

“The Lady Jane it is,” Gregor said, liking this small, weak,

absolutely divine man. Shame he was taken.

“Behave, brother,” Alden whispered in his ear before asking, “So

what do you want us to do now?”

“First, my lovely men, we shall get those cuffs off. I will see no

harm comes to you while we do this, then we are going to become the
pirates of pirates. I have just finished building my beautiful home and
now I need funds to keep it.”

“Home?” Gregor asked. How he’d missed having a home.
“Yes, my dear gentlemen. Your home is now Kashmerle on the

western coast of Scotland. That is, if you choose it to be so.”

Alden looked at him, and he smiled. Guess life was looking up.

Ellen Quinn

Chapter Four

2011 Mangalore, India

Jonah sat silently on his cot in his cell. What the hell is going on?

He could hear people walking up and down the corridor outside, but
as yet no one had come to explain why the hell he was in here.

Darian, his gorgeous lover, and his two friends had been removed

from the house they all lived in, but they had been taken away from
him. He prayed they could keep each other safe. Though they had
only known each other for three months, Darian had come to mean
the world to him. Now that they had bonded, if they kept them apart
for much longer, they would wither and die. They had only been apart
for eight days and as yet he felt no sense of loss, so he thought it
would take time for the separation to break down his body. He had no
real idea of the time scale as no one he knew had had been bonded
and experienced time apart.

Footsteps echoed down the path more than one set if he had heard

right. Just as he thought they were going past they stopped.

“Open the door,” the voice of a man who called himself Sheik

Unbar ordered. He was no more a sheik than Jonah was a pink gorilla!
Jonah thought to himself.

Would he have the peregrine with him? Jonah smiled. The

peregrine was another shifter, Matty. He had some kind of
intermittent long-term amnesia he’d explained when he got a chance
to shift and talk to Jonah and Darian. Poor guy could only remember
parts of his past, but he did know he was looking for his Captain
Feathers. Whether Matt was crazy Jonah didn’t know, but he was

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such a charming little man Jonah hoped there was a Captain Feathers
somewhere and that one day they would be reunited.

“Ah. Hello, Jonah,” Unbar said as he walked into the room. “I

hope you’re feeling more cooperative after eight days apart from your
lover?” He emphasised the word ‘lover.’

Jonah’s head snapped up. How the hell did they know, he thought.
“Yes, my little crocodile, it’s amazing how careless your friends

can be when they think they’re alone.” Unbar smiled, looking very
pleased with himself.

Jonah had not uttered a word and, knowing this would eventually

wind the man up, decided not to say anything.

“Now you see we know you shifters have to stay close otherwise

you die, and we can’t have that, losing all this amazing talent, but
you’ve not been working, so we thought we’d give you a little
incentive.” Unbar paused, trying to give Jonah time to understand the
meaning behind the words.

Jonah knew what he meant. All right do your job, and we won’t let

the bond break you. He wished he knew how this Unbar bloke knew
so much about the world of shifters. As far as he could tell, the man
was human.

“Bring in the young man,” Unbar called to a guard who must have

been just outside.

Jonah looked up and gasped as Darian walked into the room.

Darian was obviously more affected by their separation then him, but
that couldn’t be right. They were both shifters so the reaction should
be the same.

Jonah frowned at Sheik Unbar. “Yes, he does look a little worse

for wear, but we found he had a phone so he had to be punished, such
a naughty boy.” Unbar laughed at his comment. Neither Jonah nor
Darian said a word.

“Humm, well you have twelve hours together, so you can go and

bump uglies.” The man giggled, again with no reaction from either
Jonah or Darian. “After which you will be separated,” he said without

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any amusement. “If you refuse to work after that then we will keep
you apart, and don’t think you can just try and die on us, your time
apart will not be pleasant unless you are being productive.” With that
he turned around and left. Neither of them moved as the footsteps
faded down the corridor.

As soon as the sound had gone Jonah jumped up and Darian ran

into his arms.

“Oh my God, Jonah, are you okay?” Darian gasped, running his

hands all over Jonah’s face and neck as if to reassure himself.

Jonah put him out of his worry. “I’m fine, my love. They are just

throwing threats around at the moment to get us to do their dirty
work.”

“I’m sure the new stones we are recutting are not legal since

there’s no paperwork with them. T’narr said he’s been dismantling
old jewellery which is then sent to us to be recut. They keep moving
him round so he sees a lot more than the rest of us.” Darian paused,
looking right into Jonah’s deep-green eyes. Darian was not a small
man, but as Jonah was six foot ten, most people had to look up at him.
“I’ve rung the man Jez Kelly, from Kashmerle, and they are going to
get us out, as I think Umbar and company may be tampering with
their stock, too, although their stones do have the correct paperwork,”
Darian explained, his voice barely a whisper.

“We really have landed in a crock of shit,” Jonah grunted.
“Yeah, my stellar family strikes again,” Darian said in disgust.
“You’ve only got your uncle Nasik and Assyn, and Assyn’s one

of the good guys,” Jonah tried to cheer up his walker, thinking about
the slightly over-the-top tiger shifter.

“No, there’s one more, and though her heart may be in the right

place, she’d sell her soul twice over if the money was right.”

“That made no sense, Darian.” Jonah was really confused. On top

of everything else, they now had somebody else to worry over.

“Nah, don’t worry about it. I doubt she even knows we’re here.”

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With his own slightly dysfunctional family, Jonah decided not to

press the matter. They had far more urgent things to sort out. “How
long apart do you think we can last before the bond begins to
crumble?”

“I don’t know, my love, and that is really scaring me, and I don’t

mind admitting it,” Darian answered. “The only thing I do know is
when one of the women in a neighbouring village was killed by
hunters, she was bonded and her walker barely lasted three weeks.”

“If that’s the case then, as we’re both alive,” Jonah said, sliding

his hand down the front of Darian’s body, “we will probably last a
little longer.”

“Yes,” Darian moaned as he melted into Jonah’s touch. Jonah

kept stroking Darian’s abs, even though his mind was chasing an idea.

Lifting his lover up, Jonah laid him on the cot, placing himself

over Darian. “You have to promise me something,” Jonah said
carefully.

“Yes, my love,” Darian replied instantly.
“If you get the chance to get out, you go without me.”
“No!” Darian cried, trying to twist out from under Jonah.
“You have to my love, for me. If I know you’re safe, I’ll escape

this tin hut and come and find you.” Jonah held his lover firmly
beneath him. He could feel his lover’s heart rate pounding.

“If we get out without you, I’ll go and make sure T’narr and Syn

are safe. But then I’m coming right back for you even if I have to
come in with guns blazing,” Darian said, anger glowing in his eyes.

“Give me some time to get out as well, my love. I’ll send an e-

mail once I’m free, and we can decide what to do from there. I think
we could last up to six weeks apart if we use that women’s husband as
a benchmark.”

“Okay,” Darian said, which surprised Jonah as he’d been

expecting more of a fight.

Darian smiled and rubbed his hard length against Jonah’s ready

and willing erection. Jonah wasn’t sure if he’d just won or lost that

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argument, but with Darian underneath him, driving his body and mind
crazy, he didn’t really care.

* * * *

Darian looked up into his lover eyes. He didn’t want to lie to him,

but it would be a cold day in hell before he left this man behind. He
may have to go with T’narr and Syn first, but he would come back, he
would not leave Jonah.

Darian slipped his hands up around his lover’s neck and brought

him in for a kiss. It was a soothing, loving kiss, hopefully showing his
lover how much he cared, but he knew the way their bodies reacted to
one another it wouldn’t stay that way for long. Heat crawled up his
body as Jonah took the kiss deeper, delving his tongue deep inside
Darian’s mouth. Darian couldn’t get enough of his lover’s erotic taste,
clashing their tongues in a sweet duel he knew he wouldn’t win and
didn’t want to.

Long moments later they pulled apart, their breath coming in

gasps. “I want you,” Jonah moaned. They pulled at their clothes until
they both lay naked on the cot.

“You have me, my love right here,” Darian answered, though he

understood Jonah’s obvious frustration. No lube. Sliding his hand
between their hot, hard bodies, he rubbed his fingers over the smooth
head of Jonah’s cock and rubbed the pre-cum down his rigid length.
Doing the same to his own length had Jonah moaning once more as
Darian slicked them both up. Who said frotting couldn’t be just as
good as fucking, huh!

Their slicked cocks eased the fiction as they rubbed themselves

together. Darian’s dick had never been so sensitive. He could feel
Jonah’s sculpted abs slide up and down his length and Jonah’s cock’s
solid length alongside his own. He lifted his hips, rocking to get more
fiction, winding both of them up to heady heights. He felt the spark
going through his body. He wouldn’t be long. He smiled up at his

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lover, whose breath was harsh and shallow. Darian slid two pre-cum-
covered fingers into Jonah’s mouth. Jonah groaned around Darian’s
long, slender digits, coating them with liberal amounts of saliva.

Darian knew he was ready to explode as Jonah’s movements got

more erratic. Slipping his fingers free, he pulled Jonah’s cheek back
and teased his lover’s hole with his warm, moist fingers.

“Yes,” Jonah cried, and Darian plunged one finger in his smooth,

waiting hole.

“Agh,” Jonah screamed, and his cock fired off shot after shot of

hot creamy seed. The smell of Jonah’s sex was all it took to push
Darian over the edge with him.

* * * *

As their breathing slowly wound down, Jonah knew this man was

his forever. They were being held captive by his uncle, doing God
knows what for his illegal scheme, and yet his heart felt on fire, ready
to burst with the feelings it contained for the gorgeous man held
beneath him.

They would get out of this hell hole. He wouldn’t let his man get

hurt. If he had a chance to escape, he was going, and Jonah would
find his way to him if he had to kill every last one of them in this
compound. He just wasn’t going to let his lover know the lengths he
was willing to go to, until they were both out of here and safe.

“You’re thinking about something, and it better not be about

breaking out and putting yourself in harm’s way. If I get out I will
come back for you. With one on the outside, breaking you out should
not be a problem,” his lover said, his eyes so serious Jonah knew not
to argue.

Jonah smiled at his lover. “Okay,” he said.
“Liar, we’re both as bad as each other.” Darian huffed.
“Look, let’s meet each other halfway,” Jonah said, hoping this

would give them both a common baseline to work from. “If these

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people you know can get you out, go, see if this is a place where we
would both be safe. Meanwhile I’ll try to find a way out of here. We
may be able to escape together, but they are keeping a real close
watch on me, so my chances are definitely slimmer.”

“You’re the only stone historian they have, which is why you’re

under more security. Stonecutters in this place are ten a penny,”
Darian interjected.

“Not as good as you though,” Jonah replied quickly, not liking the

fact Darian was putting himself down. “If we can keep in touch over
the distances, we can let each other know how things are going and
then decide whether you need to come back or not.”

Darian nodded, hopefully coming round to Jonah’s way of

thinking. “That’s seems logical, just stay safe, we’ve only just found
each other. I want more than three months!” Darian said defiantly.

“I agree, love, but we need to get through this first. All my

documents are at the old house. You will need to get them as well as
your own. Once I’m free, I’ll get you to send them to a secure address
so I can get out of here, though that may be quite a way from this
place.”

“You’re going to swim,” Darian gasped.
“The mangroves are great to hide in, and I can move great

distances in the water. I’ll stay safe, I promise you, I’ve too much to
lose to be stupid.” Jonah could see the resigned look on Darian’s face.
He wasn’t happy, but Jonah knew he would go along with his scheme.

“Now,” Jonah said, sliding his finger through the rapidly cooling

seed coating their abs, “it seems we have some lube...”

A Spirit’s Freedom

Chapter Five

Present-day Kashmerle, Scotland

Gregor could smell him. Fuck, he hoped it was a man. Enda had

gotten lucky. Why not him? Somewhere in this castle was his spirit
walker. It had to be. The smell was so good, spicy like Christmas.

“There it is again,” he said to his brother. “It’s just like

Christmas.”

His brother snorted. “Seeing as it is Christmas in a few weeks,

you may be hallucinating.”

“Fuck off! I know what I can smell.”
“I’m sure you can, brother dear, but the rest of us don’t really

want to know.” Alden smiled at him.

Gregor knew his brother had given up on ever finding his spirit

walker. After so many years and so much travelling, he had decided
the Fates had just not bothered with him. They were so different in
some respects, yet people always put them together. But looking alike
was only one of the few things they had in common. Alden was the
strong, silent type, to use the Hollywood description. Gregor was
strong physically, there was no doubt in that, but emotionally, now
that was a very different story. He hid behind his humour. Being the
joker in the pack made Gregor feel safe. It was a lot easier to hide his
vulnerable side that way. All his life, his partners had considered him
to be the dominant one in the pairing, the one to top. And hell yes, he
liked being on top, but he had other desires, deeper, private needs, to
be loved and cared for, to have some tenderness in his life, and he so
hoped his spirit walker would understand and anticipate his needs.

Ellen Quinn

* * * *

Gregor was getting as frustrated as Enda must have been when he

had trouble trying to find his spirit walker. The scent of Christmas
was everywhere, and no one seemed to understand.

He and his brother entered the conference room for their pre-full-

moon forum. Daniel was being officially brought into the pack. As
Enda’s spirit walker, he had been immediately entered into the pack
anyway, but he still had the oath to take along with those tigers.
They’d all sneaked in to see Daniel at W&P’s. Hell, he now had a
peach jumpsuit thing to show for it. Bloody Percy was a minx.

As they all sat down and the tigers came in, that scent came with

them even stronger than before. Gregor growled under his breath, but
he really wanted to scream. He didn’t dare, as he had no idea which
one of the tigers was his.

Gregor didn’t listen to a word of the business discussed. He was

too busy glancing at the men. One was very pale and so beautiful but
looked very arrogant and not very friendly. He hoped it wasn’t him.
The other two were of a darker complexion. They had an amazing
golden colour to their skin. Their hair was a shade darker and streaked
with black and gold. Gregor felt his cock go hard so fast it almost
hurt. It had to be one of them. One was slightly smaller by an inch at
most but more heavily built. His clothing was dark, subdued, black,
low-slung jeans that slid over his thighs and hugged his ass. He also
wore black boots and a dark-gray T-shirt which outlined his amazing
chest. He really could get used to that. The other shifter was very
outgoing and flamboyant. His bright-red shirt would have made Percy
proud, and he kept touching his friends in a sensual but reassuring
manner. That would drive Gregor wild if he was his spirit walker.
He’d have to kill those other two for letting him touch them.

Jez started to talk about the men, so Gregor tried to concentrate.

Explaining about their work, Angus made a comment about the

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legitimacy of their collection, as Kash always called it. Gregor
couldn’t have that. “Nah, we were the Robin Hoods of the pirate
world,” he countered.

“Lord, I hope not. The idea of you in green tights, brother, is

enough to put anyone off their work.” The room roared with laughter
as Gregor watched the more subdued of the three men. He raised an
eyebrow at him just before his unasked question was answered.

“Do bears wear tights?” His smooth, sexy voice floated over

Gregor, and he thought he was going to come in his pants. The
subdued one was his!

“Mine!” he yelled, jumping up onto the table to get to his spirit

walker. As he got closer he felt that magical pull, the feeling of finally
being whole. Their spirits were uniting. His walker felt so good. He
felt like he’d joined him twice in totally different ways.

As he approached, his walker jumped up, screaming, “Noooo!”

He ran for the door.

This wasn’t right. The man looked upset, but there was also

confusion in his eyes. Did he not know of spirit walkers? Gregor had
to get to him and explain before the man left the room.

“Stop!” Enda bellowed, glaring at Gregor before he continued.

“Sit back down both of you, please. Gregor, we will sort this out as
men, not animals.”

Gregor was lost. He had to do as his Alpha instructed, but the

need to get to his walker was overwhelming.

Gregor sat back down close to the tigers, barely containing

himself. He tensed when Jez asked if they still wanted to stay with the
pack. The subdued one would. Gregor wasn’t about to let him go.
Daniel asked a question, but he didn’t hear it. He did hear the answers
though, as he watched each man give his name.

“I’m Assyn Tibet, but please call me Syn,” the flamboyant one

said whilst smiling at Daniel. Next came the pale, arrogant one of the
three.

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He stood up. “I’m T’narr Salem,” he said proudly, nodding his

head before sitting back down.

So mine is…, Gregor thought, waiting for his man to speak. “I’m

Darian.” He paused but finished quickly. “Darian Ramoth.” His voice
was a contradiction. It was so soft, sliding over Gregor like pure silk.
But there was steel in it, a tone so subtle you could easily miss it. This
man had power and an inner strength which he didn’t need nor want
to show.

It turned Gregor on. His cock was throbbing, his pulse racing, and

the object of his need was just there in front of him.

* * * *

What the hell was going on? Darian was so confused, and he

hated being confused. He had felt the bond take place, but it shouldn’t
have. So why had it happened? His spirit was now firmly united with
this mountain of a man.

Shit! Shit! Shit!
He kept glancing at Gregor, who looked totally bewildered. That

poor man. What had he done? He had probably been waiting years to
find his spirit walker to end up with a man that could not be his. What
should he do? He knew he had a moon cycle to claim him, but the full
moon was tomorrow night. It gave him thirty-one days to get back to
Mangalore, find Jonah, another mountain of a man, get back to
Kashmerle, and work out what was going on.

God, he wished it were that simple. Syn and T’narr relied on him,

and they needed his quiet support. They did have the pack now, and
he had a feeling this was where they were meant to be. But he had to
find Jonah.

Darian went through the process of joining the pack. They needed

the safety it provided, though the complication of Gregor was
something he could have done without. He knew his friends were

A Spirit’s Freedom

unsure about what had happened, and he needed to talk to them about
this whole mess.

He couldn’t talk to Gregor at this moment, as he had no answers

to the questions that were going to come. As soon as the meeting
closed, he ran. This time, thank fuck, he managed to get the door
open. Their rooms were on the ground floor in the east tower, past the
amazing library and media room. He ran straight up the stairs to the
main reception hall, through the giant closet, and into the hallway
outside the great ballroom. Going around the library, he finally ended
up outside his room. After his door was locked, he sank to the floor,
and his body began to shake. He did not want to run. He hated
showing weakness, but that is exactly what he had done. He let a sob
out and slammed his fist on the floor. What the hell was he supposed
to do now?

A knock echoed on his door. He did not want company. He

needed to think. “Push off!” He growled.

“Darian, darling, let us in,” Syn said, worry clearly ringing in his

voice.

“Not now, Syn...” He paused. “Please.” He tried not to sound

pitiful, but this whole situation was really cutting him up.

“What do you want us to do about the huge bear coming up the

corridor?” Syn asked subtly.

“Keep the damn bear away. I’ll talk to you later,” he answered,

hating the pathetic stance he was taking. He was the man that got
things sorted, that worked out their problems. He had organised
everything with Enda, even though he’d let Syn be the spokesperson.
He was not going to run away. Well, not for much longer.

He heard a scuffle outside, but he knew that Gregor would not

hurt them. From what he’d seen of the tall, muscular man, he was a
gentle giant. Just the sort of man he loved. He looked dominant, but
could feel he had a tender side to him. This drew Darian more than his
powerful body. Though Darian had to admit he was not sore on the
eyes. The man had to be about six foot ten in his stocking feet. His

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shoulders were so broad and sculpted, their definition had not come
from working out in a gym, but from hard work. Whatever Gregor
did, he hoped he kept on doing it. His back was broad, too, but
tapered down to a lean waist. It wasn’t slim like his own, but there
wasn’t an ounce of fat on it, either. His legs were long but built like
tree trunks. He wouldn’t fancy trying to knock Gregor over in a
scrum. Darian laughed to himself. The man’s face was still what held
him, though. Gregor Kranski had eyes that smiled. They were a warm
hazel in colour with flecks of black and gold. They sat in his strong,
rugged face, his chestnut brows adding to how expressive they could
be. He had a dangerous look to him, yet instinctively, Darian knew he
would never hurt a hair on his head and would probably kill anyone
who tried.

Darian was getting a feeling of having done this all before. All

he’d wanted from life, right from the moment he learnt his mother had
been murdered in a roadside shooting, was someone who would care
for him without wanting something in return. That may sound selfish,
but since his uncle had put him to work at the age of nine, the only
love he got from them came with his pay cheque. He’d taught himself
to read and write over the years and had become one of the best
cutters in the business, but everything he had always seemed to come
at a price. Someone somewhere seemed to have been listening to him,
considering what had happened today. It looked like the Fates had
given him exactly what he’d asked for and then some. Be careful what
you wish for.

Thinking about that, Darian knew he had to go back home, his old

home, he reminded himself. He always planned to, and hell, he had
wanted to bring Jonah with him. But Jonah couldn’t be found. Jonah
didn’t cut stones, but he could place them. You could give him any
stone, and he could tell you which mine it originated from. This
meant they could disguise the stones better with ideas of their origin
and history. Histories were also an integral part of his field. They

A Spirit’s Freedom

could cut stones, and Jonah could give them a whole new and
believable history for the world market.

He thought Enda and Jez would be interested, especially with his

bond, but Jonah had been at a different site, and they’d had to
disappear. The more he thought about it the more he realised his and
Jonah’s plan was flawed. He should not have left. Jonah was well
capable of looking after himself, but they should have stayed together.

* * * *

The noise outside his room had turned into a loud grumble, and it

was obvious Gregor was walking up and down the corridor.

His room adjoined Syn’s, and there was a connecting door. He

walked toward it, unlocking the catch. Suddenly, it was flung open,
and Syn ran into his arms. Bless the kindhearted tiger. He really was a
dear.

“What is going on?” Syn asked, absolutely frantic. For all the man

appeared confident and self-assured, he was their worrier.

“I don’t know, sweetheart, but you need not worry. I will sort out

this mess. I just need you to calm down and keep things quiet for me
for a while.” He smiled at his friend. They were from the same area,
born a year apart. Their mothers were sisters and good friends. They
stuck together, helping each other with their cubs. But who Darian’s
and Syn’s fathers were was any one’s guess. Tigers tended to be
loners until they found their spirit walker, and the males who
impregnated the sisters were long gone. The only thing they had from
these tigers were their names.

“You’re going back,” T’narr said from the open doorway. It

wasn’t an accusation, just a plain statement.

“I have to. I need to work out what has gone wrong.”
“Is Jonah dead?” T’narr asked with concern, knowing the

consequences of that would leave them without Darian.

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“No, he’s still alive. I’ve not heard from him in days, but the

connection is still there.”

“You can’t leave Gregor,” Syn said. “He going demented out

there. He has no idea what is going on.”

“I’m going to find Jonah and bring him back. I need to know what

the link is between the three of us,” Darian answered.

“When do we go?” T’narr asked. “It’s the full moon tomorrow. It

would be better to leave after that. I know you only have thirty-one
days, but we’ll work better as a team.”

“No, T’narr, I need you here. I need you to keep Gregor safe,

when I return I’ll need him to help sort out this problem.” Darian
shook his head. “I don’t like us splitting up, but I have to work
quickly. Jonah is very important with his historical knowledge of
stones both rough and cut. They are not going to let him out of their
sights. Sneaking around is a lot easier on my own.”

“He’s going to follow you no matter what, Darian,” Syn said,

looking at him with that ever-present worry.

“You both have to stay and try to distract him. I will not risk

either of you or Gregor. I will go alone.” Darian was getting
frustrated. He had to find Jonah, and he didn’t want half of Scotland
following him.

“Kiss him,” Syn said quietly. “Give Gregor the link so he can talk

to you.”

“I can’t. If he’s my spirit walker, I don’t want to be linked to

him.” Although he was arguing against it, he could see the merits of
having it. But would it break his bond with Jonah and what would that
do to him? If he was linked with Gregor then at least he’d be
connected and could communicate with the man and Gregor wouldn’t
suffer the insanity that came with not bonding. Would he suffer too if
they did not bond? He felt so confused and disoriented. He’d never
even heard of this happening to any shifter before.

“Do it.” Darian nearly jumped out of his skin.

A Spirit’s Freedom

“Jonah, where are you? I’m coming for you. Please wait for me to

get you out of there.” His reply was frantic. He hadn’t heard from
Jonah in days. “Are you all right? Do I need to bring you anything?”

He heard a soft chuckle slip through the connection before Jonah

spoke. “Bolt cutters, I need bolt cutters.”

“Shift to get free,” Darian urged.
“They are ingrained with silver. I can’t shift, and I’ve no

strength.” Jonah paused. “I couldn’t contact you, as they darted me
as a crocodile and have kept me sedated for God knows how long.”

“Just short of a week, I think.”
Darian’s decision was made. He was going for him. To hell with

everything else, he had to save Jonah. He was his spirit walker.

Darian headed straight for his door. He had to find Enda. He

needed to see if he could borrow the money to fly back and then bring
him home or if he’d be able to use the pack resources. God, he hoped
so.

“What’s going on?” T’narr asked.
Darian had forgotten about the pair of them still being there.

“Jonah just contacted me.”

“Yeah, we figured that,” Syn replied wryly.
“He’s been imprisoned using silver chains and they’re keeping

him drugged now. I have to go and save him.”

“Who has him now?” Syn asked.
“Jonah, are you still there?” Darian asked, praying he still got an

answer.

“There’s another problem,” Jonah answered. “It’s Nasik, and

he’s Syn’s father.”

“No.” Darian was stunned. No one knew who Syn’s father was.

Nasik had never given another name to Syn to imply he knew who it
was. Syn just assumed he was given the name Tibet because it was
the family name.

Ellen Quinn

“Look, I can hear voices. I can’t carry on. Get to Mangalore as

quickly as you can and bring reinforcements. I think we’ll need
them.” Jonah voice suddenly stopped. Darian heard nothing more.

Darian knew he needed Enda or Jez. They had been with them in

India and knew more about the bullion and stone business. He was
certain this had something to do with that.

“It was your father apparently, Nasik Tibet,” Darian answered

Syn’s question.

Syn gave a short gasp. “No!”
“I have no real idea how this relates to Jonah or me. I’m sure it

has to do with our expertise rather than family ties. He also said to
bring reinforcements, so we are going to have to ask the pack.”

“What about Gregor?” Syn asked, but Darian was already heading

for the door.

A Spirit’s Freedom

Chapter Six

Gregor heard the door click and headed straight for it. He shifted

as he reached the door and the object of his desire, Darian.

Before his spirit walker could do anything, he brought his lips

down and crushed Darian’s mouth to his, passion exploding between
them. He dominated the kiss until he felt a hand in his hair. It gripped
him and pulled him back. The look of shock on Darian’s face did not
bode well. But Gregor was past caring. He wanted to know what was
going on. His spirit was bonded and now his mind would be, too.

Glaring up at him, Darian pushed Gregor away, though he

couldn’t disguise the look of desire that passed through his eyes as he
stared at Gregor’s very naked and aroused body. His cock was hard
enough to pound nails and leaking pre-cum down his belly. He didn’t
care. If he had to stay naked all damn day to get Darian to notice him,
he would.

“What have you done?” Darian gasped.
“I thought you might have worked that out by now. I’m bonding

with you, my spirit walker,” Gregor answered, just managing to keep
a grip on his control.

Darian shock his head. “You don’t know what you’re doing.”
Gregor raised an eyebrow. This conversation was making no

sense. Of course he knew what he was doing, for heaven’s sake. He’d
waited centuries for this, dreamed about it, prayed for it.

“I’m sorry, but there is more going on than you know, you must

let me sort this out.” Darian spoke to him, and it was heaven.

Ellen Quinn

“Wow, this is so much more than I imagined. And I’m sorry, but if

there are things you need to do, you can do them, but you are not
going anywhere without me.”

Now that he had his spirit walker, he would protect him no matter

what. The man could tell him to do anything, and he would do it, with
the one exception. He would never leave him.

Darian gasped. Gregor realised he had heard all of that. He

grinned when he looked into Darian eyes and, instead of seeing anger
or hurt at the supposed lack of freedom, he saw raw, naked lust. He
hoped like hell that Darian viewed his spirit walker as his path to
freedom, because Gregor certainly did.

Darian eyes widened. “Oh, heaven help me, I need both of you, all

of you, forever. I don’t know what is going on, but I hope you’ll both
forgive me,” Darian said. His body was shaking with anticipation,
making Gregor’s cock jump in anticipation. He didn’t understand
what Darian meant by “both of you.” Maybe it was a cat thing.

He soon found thinking overrated as Darian grabbed Gregor’s

neck, pulling him down for another scorching kiss. “Grab my ass and
pull me up, please,” Darian pleaded. Gregor was in agony, all
thoughts lost. It was perfect. He pulled Darian up as the man wrapped
his legs around him and started humping against his painfully hard
cock. The rough denim of Darian’s jeans was almost too much to
bear. He wanted the man’s clothes off.

Gregor held Darian tight and opened the door opposite him.

Darian was still devouring his mouth, running his tongue over his
teeth, tasting every corner. Gregor didn’t think he’d noticed they were
moving as he walked into another guest room, closing the door with
the back of his foot and heading straight for the bed.

“Let me taste you. I don’t know what is happening here, but I

have to taste you,” Darian whispered. Hell, Gregor had to bite the
inside of his mouth or he was going to come with Darian just talking
to him. For all he seemed quiet and subdued with what Gregor had

A Spirit’s Freedom

thought to be shyness, once you stoked the fires, the smaller man lit
up.

Placing Darian down, Gregor sat down on the edge of the bed,

trying and failing to take a steadying breath. Darian dropped to his
knees in front of him and looked up into Gregor’s eyes. Gregor
thought he had never seen a more beautiful sight. His skin was the
shade of pale mocha and perfectly smooth. His face was narrow and
the angles sharp, which might have made the face look hard if it
wasn’t for the huge, soft, chocolate-brown eyes that Gregor could
quite happily drown in. His mouth also softened those lean angles on
his face. His lips were full and pale, dusky-mocha that glistened as he
ran his tongue over them. Gregor groaned as Darian lowered his head.

Darian traced his tongue over Gregor’s plump glands, sliding his

tongue through the pre-cum pooling around his slit. He licked his lips
again before opening his mouth and swallowing him down until the
tip of Gregor’s cock hit the back of his throat. Gregor bucked his hips
and fell back, putting his arms out to stop him from hitting the bed. If
Darian kept this up he was going to lose it any second.

Gregor reach back and pulled Darian up, hearing the pop as

Gregor’s cock slipped free. He fell back onto the clean sheets and
pulled Darian with him. Darian pulled away, sitting up, and pushed
his denim-covered ass over Gregor’s almost-painful erection. He
whimpered. Six foot ten, over three hundred pounds, and he
whimpered! He didn’t give a damn.

“Oh God, yes,” he cried as he felt Darian’s strong hand circle his

hard cock. His fingers didn’t meet, but the hard squeeze had him
losing it. He thrust twice more into Darian’s firm grip and erupted.

“Agh!” he screamed, and long ropes off cum shot from his cock,

covering his neck and chest.

“That was so fucking hot,” he heard in his head. The voice was

deeper and more rumbling than the last time Darian spoke to him. But
it removed any embarrassment Gregor had for shooting so early.

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“Humm,” Darian murmured as though agreeing with his own

thoughts. The man slowly slid down his body, licking the cum from
Gregor’s neck and chest. He kissed him as he continued to worship
his body. Darian was still clothed, but Gregor didn’t try to change
that. He loved being naked with this man, loved the slightly
vulnerable feeling it gave him. Most people were intimidated by his
size, making him feel clumsy and awkward. Vulnerability was
something he rarely felt, but giving this to Darian was freeing.

Darian reached for his spent shaft, which was quickly reassessing

the situation. He licked it from base to tip, circling his tongue around
the head.

“Oh fuck, fuck!” Gregor screamed, his cock was so sensitive. Just

the feel of Darian’s tongue sliding over the head again had Gregor
reeling. The pleasure he was receiving from this gorgeous man, his
gorgeous man, was going to kill him, but what a way to go.

“Lube?” Darian asked shyly.
“New tube always placed in the bedside drawers,” Gregor said in

a hoarse whisper. Darian leaned over his body to reach for the drawer,
giving Gregor time to run his hands under Darian’s shirt. The skin
was so smooth and hard, the muscles toned to perfection. His firm abs
led up to hard pecs and pierced nipples. “Fuck!” Gregor said as he
pulled up the shirt to see the gold barbells he was teasing with his
fingers.

Darian moaned in response.
“You can take off my shirt, if you want,” Darian said with a

warm, shy smile that completely melted Gregor’s heart.

Gregor did not need telling twice. He undid the buttons from the

bottom, exploring each inch of skin revealed. Darian moaned as he
slid the shirt off his shoulders, running his hands down his long, lean
biceps. Gregor shoved the shirt away and explored the skin in front of
him. Darian had no chest hair, and he liked the contrast to the soft
brown hair that covered him. He liked the feel of it on his chest and
the tingle he got when he ran his hands over it. He leaned up, pulling

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one of the barbells into his mouth. Darian shivered and gasped as
Gregor tugged on the metal. Darian leaned down so he could play
with the other one. Gregor continued laving attention on Darian’s
pebbled nubs as his hands slid lower and ran around his waist. Using
his right hand, he flicked open the jeans, and with his left, he slid it
down to grip one tight globe of his ass. Popping the rest of the
buttons, Gregor slowly pulled the jeans down. Releasing his nipple,
he let Darian kick off his boots and rid himself of the jeans. As soon
as the clothes had gone, Gregor grabbed Darian and flipped them over
before leaning over and devouring him in a kiss. It was frantic, and
passionate, desperate, and yet so very, very tender in a strange,
aggressive sort of way.

Darian pulled back gasping for breath, lust filling those soft

chocolate eyes. “I need you. I need you inside me. I want to feel you
fill me, please.” The last word was said in a whisper.

Gregor groaned at his words, quickly searching for the lube.

Darian smiled and held out his hand, revealing the tube he’d pulled
from the drawer. “Thank you,” Gregor said with a smile filled with
anticipation.

He popped the lid and squeezed a liberal amount on his fingers.

Darian smiled back, pulling his legs up and revealing his most
intimate place. Gregor almost swallowed his tongue at the sight that
was before him. “God, you are so beautiful.” He leant down and
slowly brushed his tongue over the tight, puckered hole.

“Ah, yes,” Darian moaned as Gregor circled his tongue round the

edge of the pink rosette. Dragging his tongue up the perineum, he
sucked at Darian’s balls. Darian was now moaning and pushing his
hips toward Gregor. He pulled back quickly, licking the pre-cum from
the head of Darian’s engorged cock.

Gregor ran his slicked finger over Darian’s hole before pushing in.

His finger slid right inside. He slowly slid it in and out, letting the
muscle relax around his finger. “More, Gregor, please don’t tease.”
Darian moaned as Gregor quickly inserted a second and then a third

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finger, gently stretching his hole. His twisted them round until he felt
the small nub of nerves inside.

Darian’s hips rocketed off the bed. “Now, Gregor, please. I need

to feel you,” Darian begged as Gregor looked into his lover’s lust-
filled eyes. He could lose himself in those eyes. They spread a warm
feeling through him that he couldn’t explain.

Gregor wanted to be inside him. He wanted the bonding complete.

He wanted to be free.

“Okay, baby, are you ready for me?”
“Yes, please, love, I need you, fuck me!”
“Love?” Gregor looked at him quizzically as he withdrew his

fingers. Darian blushed and then groaned at the loss. He quickly
recovered when Gregor pressed the blunt tip of his cock to the pulsing
rosette.

“Give it to me, fuck me. I need this, you, please.” Gregor smiled

at Darian’s disjointed sentence. He must be getting it right.

Gregor paused, leaning over Darian. “You ready, my love?” he

asked, his voice trembling with the statement. Darian’s eyes glazed
with emotions, and he nodded just before Gregor thrust himself deep
inside his spirit walker.

“Oh God, you’re so hot and tight.” Gregor thrust deeper as Darian

moaned in pleasure, his body covered in a sheen of sweat.

Gregor began thrusting fast and hard into Darian’s gripping hole.

He just couldn’t hold back. He leaned down and sucked on his nipple
bars, causing Darian to flinch and then groan in pleasure. Gregor
tilted his angle, nailing Darian’s prostate with every thrust. He felt so
powerful, grinding into Darian, and Darian took it and begged for
more.

“I’m close,” Darian yelled.
“Come for me, my love.” His canines extended, and he leaned

forward to sink his teeth deep into Darian’s neck.

“Agh!” Darian roared as he came, his hot seed painting both his

chest and Gregor’s.

A Spirit’s Freedom

Gregor watched his lover as Darian reared up and cried his

release. This was the final trigger that caused him to orgasm for the
second time, his seed coating the walls of Darian’s ass, filling him.

Gregor leaned up, careful to fall alongside his walker when they

both came down from the aftershocks, feeling replete and listening as
their heartbeats combined to complete the bond. He smiled. It
sounded like there were more than two.

“You are amazing, my wild Russian bear, and I can’t wait to meet

you!”

Gregor froze. “Who the hell was that?”
Darian looked over nervously at his spirit walker. “I think we

need to talk.”

Darian leaned forward and kissed Gregor softly on the mouth

before sitting up and looking down at his lover. “I have a spirit
walker,” he said simply.

“Yes, me!” growled Gregor. He didn’t like this feeling that there

was someone else with them, a part of them.

“No, Gregor, I have another spirit walker other than you,” Darian

said firmly.

“No!” Gregor roared. He was not doing this. “You are my spirit

walker. I’ve waited over three hundred fifty years to find you. We’ve
bonded. I know you felt it, Darian, so don’t even think about denying
it.”

“Yes, I felt it, too, but that still doesn’t explain away the walker I

already have. I’m not doing this to hurt anybody, but I will not deny
him.” Darian sighed, looking straight at Gregor.

“I felt it, too,” the deep, rumbling voice spoke.
“Is that you in my head?” Gregor asked Darian, who just shook

his head without saying a word.

Gregor frowned. How could he have someone else in his head?
“My name is Jonah Morack. I’m a hybrid giant Indian gharial

and Australian saltwater crocodile.” The man paused and then
quietly dropped the bomb. “I think I’m your spirit walker, too.”

Ellen Quinn

“I need to think,” Gregor said. Darian peered at him with a

melancholy look in his eyes.

“It doesn’t make any sense to me, either. But the pull to be with

you is just as real as the one I have for Jonah.”

Gregor stood and looked for his clothes. Realising eventually that

he had none, he headed to the door. “I’m not sure what is happening,
and I need to do some thinking. Please do not leave without me.” He
walked to the door. “Don’t go anywhere. Remember, it’s the full
moon.”

Without waiting for an answer, he opened the door and shifted,

and letting out an anguished roar, he headed down the corridor with
no thought to where he was going.

* * * *

Alden heard the roar. His brother sounded really upset. What the

hell had happened? Had his spirit walker refused him? Alden and
Gregor had spent three hundred seventy-six years together. He was
the only family he had left, and he wasn’t going to lose him.

Heading toward the library, he saw a big brown bear cross into the

reception. He knew where Gregor was heading. The northeast gate on
the lower ground floor headed straight into the forest, and Gregor
could lose himself for a while.

Alden knew he could find Gregor, so he headed for the tigers’

quarters and Darian in particular. As he approached their rooms, a
supposedly vacant guest room opened and Darian walked out. He
carried his boots and shirt and looked somewhat dishevelled. Had
they bonded after all? Now he had even more questions.

Darian looked up as he heard Alden’s footsteps. His eyes dimmed

as he realised he had the wrong brother.

“I hope you’re in a chatty mood, as I have a horde of questions,

and you are the only man who can answer them. The first being what
the hell have you done to my brother?”

A Spirit’s Freedom

“If I’m going to have to talk, I’m only going to do it once, so

you’d better get hold of Enda and bring him in here as he needs to
hear this, too,” Darian replied, not looking to happy with the situation.
Alden didn’t give a shit if his brother’s spirit walker was upset.
Something was up, and he intended to get to the bottom of it.

“Enda’s left with Daniel. They won’t be back for some time and

certainly not today. The full moon’s coming, so we’ll be stuck until
after that for Enda to be available. You’ll have to make do with Kash
and Jez.” He looked at the man who headed back down to his room.
He followed, suspecting the little shit might just disappear. Standing
in the doorway, he listened to Darian as he quickly explained the
situation, and Syn and T’narr decided to come, too.

“So you’re all going to come?” Alden asked. He got the feeling it

wasn’t for moral support, but there was something brewing, and he
wanted to know what was up.

* * * *

They all headed down to Jez’s and Kash’s offices on the lower

ground floor. Jez looked up as they all walked into his office.

“Er, hello,” he said, somewhat confused. “Is there a problem?”
“Yes,” the tigers answered.
“You could say that,” Alden put in. “Is Kash around?” he asked.

He’d feel safer with more support close at hand.

“I’m right here. What is going on?” Kash asked as he walked into

Jez’s office.

Darian sighed. “It’s to do with my spirit walkers,” he said quietly,

obviously waiting for the questions to erupt.

“‘Walkers,’ what the hell do you mean by ‘walkers’?” Alden

demanded. What the hell was he doing to his brother?

“Exactly what it means, ‘walkers’ as in two, Jonah Morack and

now Gregor, apparently.”

Ellen Quinn

“He’s lying!” Alden growled, jumping up. Gregor was Darian’s

spirit walker, and that was it for a shifter, there were no others. No
wonder Gregor had sounded so devastated. He lunged toward Darian.

Kash and T’narr grabbed hold of him but only slowed him down

in his determination to get to Darian.

“Stop!” Jez yelled, using the Beta command to make them obey.
Alden froze but still growled menacingly at Darian.
“It has been known to happen,” Kash said quietly into the room.
“What?” Darian and Alden asked together.
The room stared at Kash, looking confused and a little shaken.

The spirit walker was every shifter’s destiny, told to them as children.
Alden knew this. He’d been brought up listening to the tales. They
were mostly myth, but Enda had found his, so maybe there was some
truth in it.

“It’s not that uncommon,” Kash continued. “Though, it is more

usual with mixed bonding. What is your other walker?”

“What the hell do mean by a mixed bonding?” Darian asked.

“We’re all shifters but different predators, so we’re mixed but not
mixed?” Alden’s head was now thoroughly confused.

“Sort of. You’re all shifters. That is more unusual.”
“What are we actually talking about here?” Alden asked. The

questions and answers were not helping him help his brother.

“Okay, let me explain,” Kash replied, looking at both Alden and

Darian. “We as shifters have a spirit walker. Yes, we all have one, and
in many cases they are from the same species of shifters, wolves with
wolves, and so on. And again with the majority, it is a straight pairing.
Where it changes is with gay pairings. In the past, these were not
allowed by most shifter groups, and even today we are the exception,
not the rule. But in my travels I’ve met other gay pairings. They
usually stay hidden and keep to themselves, for obvious reasons. The
tri-walkers have crossed not only different were creatures but
different supernaturals, a vampire, magic user, or elemental.”

A Spirit’s Freedom

“You mean my spirit walker could be a vampire or demon?” Syn

squeaked.

“Possibly, but they would never hurt you. They are your spirit

walker. The bond is instinctive and they, though different, will feel
the same compulsion as you,” Kash reassured Syn with a smile.

“Mine are both shifters, so is that wrong?” Darian asked with a

frown creasing his forehead.

“Heavens no, it cannot be wrong, Darian. When it comes to your

spirit walker or walkers you always get what you need. You, Gregor,
and Jonah, for whatever reasons the Fates have decided, belong
together.” Kash paused, looking at the group of shifters who sat
silently in the room.

“They would have to bond at the same time, though, otherwise it

wouldn’t work?” Jez asked, obviously trying to get to grips with this
like everyone.

“Yes. They’d go mad without the third, you can’t be separated

from your walker.” Syn added.

“I don’t think that’s how it works,” Kash paused, as if trying to

work something out. “Look, the way I see it when you meet your
walker you form the bond. This is like a ring going round you both,
with no beginning and no end. Once it’s formed it can’t be broken.
With tri-walkers the ring doesn’t fully form until all three are
together. Darian and Gregor can part without fear of withering away,
and Jonah will survive without Darian, too.”

“That’s correct,” Darian said. Alden looked at him in total

surprise. “When they separated us,” Darian continued, “neither of us
felt any side effects, though we were apart for over a week at a time
as well.” Alden looked at Kash for confirmation.

“I had an idea that was how it worked, and I think whatever

happens you’ll still be bound by the bond once the three of you are
together.” Kash smiled at Darian, supporting his pack as he did best.

Ellen Quinn

Alden slumped in a chair feeling shaken and somewhat bemused.

So being gay could mean you get two spirit walkers and not
necessarily at the same time. Go figure.

* * * *

Gregor stood in the open doorway to Jez’s office. He’d gone out,

but there was too much he couldn’t reason out, and he needed a
sounding board to bounce his thoughts off of. Whenever he felt like
that, he had always looked to his brother or Kash. Coming back, he
had dressed and followed his brother’s scent. He shook his head. It
looked like his brother had found his answers for him, but he had one
more question.

Stepping into the room, he looked straight at Darian. His heart

beat a little faster as he looked at the tall, lean man with those
beautiful eyes. He knew the man held his heart even now, after such a
short time, but he did not understand his treatment of Jonah. He
needed to know what had happened in India with these three and his
other walker.

“So if we have a second spirit walker, where the fuck is he and

how the hell could you leave him?”

A Spirit’s Freedom

Chapter Seven

Darian jumped to his feet, angry and upset that Gregor was

accusing him of abandoning his walker.

“I did not leave him behind. We have been separated physically

for five weeks.” Darian sobbed, trying to control the turmoil of
emotions running through him. He’d lost one walker and found
another who was now tearing into his heart, reminding him of what he
had done.

“He was taken the same time as we were in Mangalore. We were

the cutters. His job is history, stone history. There isn’t a stone out
there that he couldn’t place. Or a cut one he couldn’t relay its history,
from where it was mined to what it has been placed in.”

“So what was his use to Nasik?” Kash asked, interrupting

Darian’s conversation.

Syn gasped and looked at Darian, obviously wanting his

permission to reveal more of the story. Darian nodded. “He gets Jonah
to write up new histories for the stones we recut, making sure they
can’t be traced,” Syn replied.

“Clever,” muttered Kash.
“That still doesn’t answer why he was left,” Gregor said, still

looking straight at Darian.

“He was never kept with us. When we were taken, they decided to

use our bond as blackmail. I can easily be replaced, but Jonah’s
knowledge cannot. Although he is young, crocodiles have been
around longer than I care to go back, and knowledge is handed down
to each new generation. Jonah’s family on his father’s side have been
working with jewellery for as long as anyone can remember, hence

Ellen Quinn

his knowledge. To guys like Nasik, he is the key to legitimising
illegal stones.”

“How did he use you?” Gregor asked, frowning. “If you are

replaceable...”

“I was the reason, so to speak. They threatened to hurt me if Jonah

didn’t help them. With our bond they knew we could communicate,
which is one of the reasons we were taken. Spirit walkers will do
everything to protect their own.” Darian looked directly at Gregor.
“The second being our interest in coming to work for you guys.”
Darian looked down at his hands, which were clenched in tight fists.

“I don’t know where they took him. He can’t get an idea on his

location as they move him in a container inside a vehicle, and when
he’s let out, they keep him in some sort of enclosed room. It’s
ventilated, but the windows are always blacked out. Jonah thinks it is
actually a prison compound, and they just drive around and then bring
him back to the same place, just placing him in different cells.”

Darian looked at his coworkers and friends. “You knew I was

always going to go back.”

Both Syn and T’narr nodded.
He looked at Jez. “I’m sorry we used you for our escape and that

my intention was always to return. We had no other way of getting
out. I did not expect to find a second walker here...”

“We understand, Darian, and we are here to help any who need

it,” Jez answered quietly.

Darian shook his head, but smiled at Jez in thanks. But what the

hell was he going to do? He now had two walkers on opposite sides of
the world, and the pull to both of them was killing him.

Looking back at Gregor, he smiled. “I am going to go and find

him.”

“Not on your own, you’re not,” Gregor answered.
“I have to. Syn and T’narr are safe now. And I know the pack will

protect them. No one else knows Mangalore and its outlying regions
better than me. Having a group of foreign shifters who will stand out

A Spirit’s Freedom

like a sore thumb will slow me down, and I do not want to take any of
you into a hostile environment. It is not an option.” He looked straight
at Gregor.

“You are not going alone.” Gregor growled. “You are mine to

protect and watch over. I will not let you leave without me.”

Darian knew Gregor would feel that way, but he was not going to

lose another walker. Gregor was staying here safe with their pack, and
he would bring Jonah home.

* * * *

Syn’s body shook as he looked up at Darian. “If my father has

hurt Jonah, do whatever you have to. I’ve known him a long time and
never once has he admitted to me who he is.” Rage boiled through
him. He would love to go back and take him out, but he now realised
it was Darian’s fight for his spirit walker, and his father wasn’t worth
the energy it would take.

* * * *

Gregor knew Darian did not want his company. He followed him

all through the full moon hunt, after they had welcomed Daniel’s
arctic fox to the pack. It still hurt that Darian thought he could leave
Gregor without a backward glance. Were Darian’s feelings toward his
other spirit walker different? Gregor knew very little about cat
shifters. He only knew Sunan, and he was such a shy little thing. All
Gregor ever wanted to do was cuddle the snow leopard and make him
smile. He guessed that cuddling others was off the cards now he was
bonded with Darian. He wasn’t sure how Darian would handle
Gregor’s “caring side,” as Alden called it. There was nothing really
sexual in his affection for others. He was just very tactile. It was his
nature to care and want people to be happy. He sounded like a sap.
But hell, if he didn’t care, who would?

Ellen Quinn

He finished packing his bag with the basic essentials he needed

for this trip. He knew he’d have to be ready to grab and run. Darian
was not about to leave without him, though he knew the tiger would
not make it easy for him.

Gregor felt uneasy with the fact he did not trust his spirit walker.

Darian’s emotions were there under the surface, and he knew he was
trying to keep Gregor safe. He was strong, but he kept it hidden
behind a soft voice and calm, quiet manner. That still didn’t appease
Gregor. Darian needed him, and he was not going to let his walker
down.

Gregor’s heart beat faster just thinking about him. He wanted him

badly. That hot, sweaty, naked body in his arms, driving Gregor’s
senses wild. He wanted to lick all that creamy, golden skin until
Darian was screaming for him to take him. He wanted that lean, lithe
body pressed against him, their cocks hard and heavy, rubbing against
each other, before Gregor would slid his into Darian’s hot, waiting
ass.

Gregor looked at the bulge in his jeans. His cock was so hard he

could see the fabric straining under the pressure. Popping the buttons,
he slid his hand down and encased his erection in his beefy hand.
Slipping his thumb over the slit, he gathered the pre-cum, sliding
down his shaft and imaging it was Darian’s hands on his cock. He
pumped a steady rhythm, and his cock swelled in his palm, aching
with need.

“What about my hands? I want to see that thick, heavy cock of

yours. Will you let me taste you? Wrap my mouth around your shaft
as I suck it down my throat? I’d love to taste the sweat off your body.
Is it sweet or salty or both? To slide my tongue down the inside of
your thighs before licking my way back to your cock.”

“Aghh, Jonah...” Gregor moaned through their link.
“Are you close? I am, I’m ready to blow. I want to come all over

your chest and face as I ride your cock deep in my ass.”

A Spirit’s Freedom

That was it. Gregor sailed over the edge, sending streams of

pearly-white seed across the floor, his knees giving out beneath him
with the strength of his orgasm.

“Jonah?” Gregor sent the tentative thought out.
“Yeah, I’m here. This is great but a little weird. I haven’t even

kissed you yet.”

“Are we going to?” Gregor asked, unable to believe he had just

shared a fast and explosive orgasm with some man he had never even
met on the other side of the world. This was not supposed to happen.
Once you had your walker that was it. Unless what Kash said was
true.

He heard quiet chuckling in his head.
“You okay, Jonah?”
“Yes, I’m good for now. They’re treating me well. They need me.

They know they can’t hold Darian over me anymore as blackmail, so
they are trying to butter me up with promises of money, women, and
freedom.” He huffed again. “I’m not sure what they think a gay man
will do with these women, but they’re all idiots. Hell, I could write
any history I wanted for these stones of theirs, and they’d believe it.”

“Be careful,” Gregor murmured. His connection to this man was

tenuous, but he felt their bond. Okay, it was through Darian, but he
knew it was there.

“We’re coming for you. Do you have any more clues as to your

location?” Gregor asked as the compulsion to go and find this man,
his supposed second spirit walker, grew to obsessive heights.

“No! Leave me here. I will escape and then I’ll let you find me.

These guys are not going to kill me. I’m too valuable to them. Darian
and you are expendable, and if they get their hands on either of you…
Shit no, wait till I get away.”

Gregor looked up as his bedroom door opened. Realising his cock

was still on show for all to see, he blushed as he stuffed it back in his
pants. Darian walked into the room.

Ellen Quinn

“He is right, you know. I should wait. He’s six foot eleven and a

clear three hundred pounds of pure muscle. He will eventually get
out,” Darian stated, smiling sadly at Gregor. His pink cheeks became
redder. Gregor was shocked at the fact their telecommunication
seemed to be a three-way thing.

“We’re not going, too, though, are we?” Gregor stared into the

most beautiful, golden-brown eyes and found Darian unwavering in
his belief.

“Hey, guys, talk to me. Tell me you’ll wait. You have to, it’s just

too dangerous,” Jonah pleaded through their bond. “Shit, they’re
coming. I’m going to have to go. They haven’t taken me on a trip in
three days, so I’m due a move. Mind, it bloody stinks here. You’d
think they could find somewhere that didn’t smell like a sewer. Fuck,
love you.”

Gregor and Darian looked at each other as Jonah faded away.

Sorrow and pain filled Darian’s eyes. Gregor felt guilty. He heard
Jonah’s endearment to the man. How he wished it was for both of
them.

“I cannot leave him, but I cannot risk you as well. I’ve been

blessed with two spirit walkers, and so far my ability to protect them
is crap.” Those expressive eyes pleaded with Gregor where the man
would not. “Stay here. Keep in touch with Jonah, and I will bring him
home.”

He walked up to Gregor, taking his face in his hands, and brought

him down for a kiss. His lips brushed over Gregor’s in a soft caress,
promising heaven. Gregor wrapped his arms around the smaller man,
tracing his tongue over his bottom lip, asking for entrance. Darian
groaned and opened for him, letting him take control. Passion flared
up between them, and Gregor could feel his cock filling, swept along
in the tide of emotions flooding through him.

“I need you,” Gregor said, his voice husky with his desire. His

hands roamed down his lover’s back feeling the smooth, toned
muscles tense and relax beneath his fingers. “Your body’s perfect.

A Spirit’s Freedom

Your skin feels like silk,” he said as he slid his hands underneath the
tight black T-shirt covering his walker’s chest.

Darian looked up into his eyes. “You’re quite the contradiction,

aren’t you?” His soft, strong voice made Gregor tremble with lust.
“This strong, rugged bear of a man contains the heart of a poet.”

Gregor chuckled. With all the turmoil in his life at the moment, he

could still lose himself in this man’s arms. “Don’t let my secret out.
I’d hate to lose my street cred as the joker in the pack!”

“Your secret’s safe with me, my love,” Darian answered, his hand

cupping his face, his thumbs gently rubbing his swollen lower lip.

“Love?” Gregor’s breath hitched as he said the word.
“Yes, love. Now make love to me before I have to go.” Darian

pulled his face to him and kissed him hard, dragging his fingers into
his hair. Gregor greedily took what was offered. He lifted Darian into
his arms and carried him to his bed. Clothes were removed and
Gregor honestly had no idea where they had gone. He sank onto the
bed, pulling his walker down with him.

* * * *

Darian straddled Gregor’s hips as he sat in Gregor’s lap. He could

feel his engorged shaft pulsing against his ass. He knew what he was
doing was wrong, but he had to stop Gregor from trying to leave with
him. And even more so, he needed to feel the essence of his spirit
walker with him on his journey. Reaching down, he grasped his pants,
pulling a small packet of lube from the pocket. As Darian righted
himself, facing Gregor again, the man nuzzled into his neck, grazing
his teeth along the sensitive skin below his ear. Darian shivered. He
slicked up his finger and was about to reach behind him when Gregor
stopped.

Gregor’s hazel eyes shone with a deep emotion which Darian

knew he couldn’t focus on right now or he’d be lost.

Ellen Quinn

“What are you doing?” Gregor murmured, his voice trembling as

he asked.

Darian smiled at his gentle giant. “I want you inside me. I need to

feel you within me, filling me with your seed.”

“Oh,” was Gregor’s only reply. Darian rose on his knees and

slipped two fingers into his hole. He groaned as he slowly stretched
himself to take his lover’s thick, beautiful cock.

“Oh God, Darian, please,” Gregor begged, “I need you.”
“I know, my love, and you shall have me.” Darian smiled. In the

space of a very short time, he’d found himself in a position where he
couldn’t live without his two jokers. He’d always been quiet and a
little too serious. He wasn’t weak, but he was no showman, either.
But somehow, these strong, outgoing, rough-and-ready clowns
completed him. They may seem like rough diamonds, but both were
incredibly tender and caring, thinking of others always before
themselves. He had to have them both. He was greedy. He wanted it
all, but he was not going to risk one for the other. Nor was he going to
let them risk each other.

“Hey, where’d you go?” Gregor asked, a concerned look upon his

face.

“Sorry. I was just getting excited thinking about having both my

spirit walkers in my arms.”

“Oh fuck.” Gregor shuddered just as Darian lifted himself and

sank smoothly down upon Gregor’s shaft.

* * * *

Darian placed his hands on Gregor’s chest, pushing him down on

the bed. His fingers raked through the soft, downy hair that covered
his chest. “Please,” Gregor moaned, desperate to move his throbbing
cock but waiting until Darian was ready.

“What does my lover need?” Darian asked as he began rocking

himself on Gregor’s cock.

A Spirit’s Freedom

“Move, now. Yes?” He knew he wasn’t making any sense but

Darian’s ass was squeezing his shaft, he was so tight. Gregor
desperately wanted to thrust inside him.

“Make me,” Darian announced, with a cheeky grin creeping up

his face. Gregor’s eyes widened. Was that a dare? Darian giggled at
him. He must have a classic look on his face right about now.
Darian’s grin got even wider, and he wriggled his eyebrows at
Gregor.

Gregor’s control snapped, and he rose up swiftly, taking Darian

with him. He turned them around, withdrawing from Darian as he
threw him down on the bed. Darian groaned as Gregor withdrew
though his eyes burned with lust as if he knew what was to come,
which Gregor knew he did. Gregor lunged after him, grabbing his legs
and placing them over his shoulders as he thrust straight back inside
Darian’s tight, sweet hole.

“Now, please!” Darian screamed, meeting every one of Gregor’s

powerful thrusts. Gregor could feel his body rise with the tension, a
deep-seated fire building inside him as the heat rose throughout his
sweat slicked body. His balls tightened, and he knew he was close. He
reached between them, gripping Darian’s long, smooth cock, stroking
with the same rhythm as his thrusts.

“God, that’s so fucking good, I can’t control it...agh...” Darian

cried as his cock exploded, his sweet-scented seed covering both
Gregor’s hand and his walker’s chest.

That was all Gregor needed to send him over the edge, shooting

pulse after pulse of his hot seed. Gregor collapsed alongside his lover,
sinking his teeth into Darian’s tender neck, prolonging his orgasm and
sending Darian off again. The pressure of Darian’s warm, smooth
channel around his pulsing cock was absolute heaven. His body was
still trembling with the ecstasy of his release.

When both their breathing had evened out, Gregor opened his

eyes, sleep creeping up on him. He wrapped his arms around his
walker and whispered softly into his ear.

Ellen Quinn

“I will never leave you. We are going for our spirit walker, and

we are all coming back home.” He tightened his arms around Darian.
No, he was never letting this man go.

* * * *

Darian lay in his lover’s arms. Soon, he thought, soon he would

lie in both their arms. He was going for Jonah, and he was going to
keep his spirit walkers safe. He was not going to fail again. This time
he would not have to worry over Syn and T’narr. He could
concentrate on his walker, and he would get him out. He hated
deceiving Gregor, but Gregor’s life was even more precious than his
friends’, and he’d known Syn and T’narr an awful long time. He had
to prove to himself that he was worthy of their love, something he
knew he craved but didn’t quite believe he deserved. Gregor’s soft
snores rumbled over him. He knew he was falling head over heels for
his Russian bear, which made him even more determined to keep the
brave giant safe.

Sliding down the bed, he wiggled out of Gregor’s embrace. He

stood quietly, searching for his clothes that had been dropped around
the room. Smiling down at his lover, he desperately wanted to kiss
him one more time, but he knew he couldn’t risk waking him.

Darian looked around Gregor’s bedroom. It was simple yet

masculine. There was only one wardrobe on the back wall next to a
door that must lead to the bathroom. Not into suits, Darian thought,
but what did make him smile were the three dressers that lined the
wall opposite the biggest bed Darian had ever seen. It looked like
Gregor subconsciously knew he would have two walkers. Now he
was really counting his chickens as he slipped from the room into the
living area. You couldn’t really call it a room, as it was vast. After
what he was going to do, Gregor would probably not want to have
Darian anywhere near him and his amazing home, but he could hope.
He took a last look at what he still hoped could be his and Jonah’s

A Spirit’s Freedom

home. The room was like his lover in a way, straightforward. Darian
noticed a kitchen area, study corner, entertainment area, and a huge,
full-sized snooker table plum centre. Nothing fancy, just practical and
built for purpose right down to the two enormous couches in front of
the entertainment centre. Darian knew thinking of himself and his
lovers wrapped in each other’s arms naked on those couches would be
what would keep him going through the next few days as he went for
his beloved Jonah. Bowing his head, he slipped out of the main doors.

* * * *

Gregor’s eyes sprung open as soon as he heard the outer door

close. He knew Darian was going to try something like this. What he
didn’t expect was how much it was going to hurt. Quickly grabbing
his clothes, he got dressed. Pulling his mobile from his pocket, he
dialled the one number he knew would help him.

“Hey, Alden, I could use a little help here.” God, he really did

love his brother.

Ellen Quinn

Chapter Eight

Gregor sat in the back of the helicopter. The flights were booked

and he was going. Kash and Jez had refused to let him go with just
Darian and Alden, adding another to their party. In a way he was
grateful. If anyone had his back, it would be these two. They knew
each other so well, especially Alden. They were so different, and yet
just the same. He could always sense where Alden was if they were
fairly close, and it came in very handy if they had to fight together.
He wondered if other twins were like that or if it was just them. He
didn’t know, and he knew he wasn’t the type to go and figure it out.
He wasn’t stupid, but the academic side of life held no interest for
him.

It had only been an hour since Darian had left his rooms. His

place was quite simple compared with others, and he hoped his two
men, if that was the case, would share it with him. He shook his head.
His mind was jumping from one topic to another with no discernible
pattern that made any sense.

He heard Alden and Darian’s footsteps coming up the road. The

men were arguing. But Gregor knew Darian was not going to get
round Alden. His brother was even more stubborn than he was.

“You are not going with me. I can work so much faster on my

own,” Darian pleaded. He did not sound happy.

“You are pack now, Darian. We look after our own. We are not

going to send someone out into a hostile situation with no backup.”
Alden’s calm voice brooked no argument. Gregor smiled.

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“Backup? What do you mean by backup? How many are fucking

going?” Darian yelled in frustration. Gregor could feel the anxiety all
around him.

“Just us four, mate,” said Angus from where he sat beside Gregor.
“No,” Darian almost sobbed as he stared at Gregor.
Gregor gave his lover a resigned smile and repeated his earlier

words. “I will never leave you. We are going for our spirit walker,
and we are all coming back home.”

“No, you idiots. Now I’ll have to watch all of you as well as

finding Jonah!” Gregor was sure he could see the steam coming from
Darian’s ears. He knew his smaller walker didn’t mean it. He just
wanted to keep those precious to him safe. At least, that’s what he
hoped it was.

“He’s got a real temper on him, hasn’t he?” Angus asked with a

smirk on his face. Gregor had yet to see the man get upset. He was so
laid-back he was practically horizontal.

“Yeah,” Alden replied. “It’s going to be an interesting trip.” He

sighed as he slung the last of the bags in and took the pilot’s seat.

“Angus, ride shotgun. You can interface with air traffic control,

now and”—he looked at Gregor and Darian—“on our flight.”

“Our flight?” Darian questioned Gregor.
“We’re taking the company jet,” Gregor answered. “We need

Alden and Angus as captain and copilot.”

“Oh,” Darian replied, taking the seat Angus had filled as the wolf

shifter got up front with Alden.

“Buckle in, love, we’ve a short hop to Glasgow airport.” Gregor

was impressed he sounded so calm. Half of him wanted to scream at
Darian for trying to leave him behind, the other wanted to rip his
clothes off and fuck him senseless until he man knew he was never
going to be without him.

The propellers slowly started to turn and silence descended.

* * * *

Ellen Quinn

“Okay, lads, we’re coming into Indian airspace. We will be

landing soon,” Angus informed them from the cockpit of the company
jet.

Gregor looked at Darian. “What’s our first plan of action?”
Darian sighed. He knew he was stuck with them so he might as

well use them. But if Gregor put himself in danger he was going to
tan that man’s ass. Knowing his luck, though, the sod would probably
enjoy it.

“Jonah’s mentioned a bad smell when he’s been communicating

with us, so I have an idea which of Nasik’s compounds he’s in. I also
think Jonah was correct in his assumption that Nasik was keeping him
in the same place, just moving him round to try and confuse him.”

The plane swung round as it came in to land. “This isn’t

Bangalore’s airport,” Darian said, looking round at what looked to be
a disused airstrip.

“If we use the main airports, it will advertise our presence here.

Plus customs is a lot quicker here,” Gregor explained.

“Where the hell are we?” Darian now needed to rethink his whole

plan. He knew Nasik’s compound was situated slightly north of the
coastal town of Mangalore, where all the illegal shipments left from
to avoid detection and cause any suspicion.

“We’re a lot closer to Mangalore, that’s for sure,” said Angus,

coming from the cockpit as Alden manoeuvred the plane into an open
hangar.

“Yes, and where would that be?” These men were going to drive

him insane.

“A delightful little retreat called Udupi.” Angus grinned,

obviously liking the name of the town. Ironically, they would have to
drive past the compound to get to Mangalore, but Darian was not
going to give them the pleasure of realising they had got themselves
in an excellent position. Well, not yet.

“Okay,” he said. “What’s available to us here?”

A Spirit’s Freedom

“We’ve two fully equipped Land Rover Defenders,” Angus said

as his grin got even bigger.

“If he could have gotten away with it, he’d have had two bloody

tanks,” Gregor countered with a smirk.

“Boys, settle. We need to listen and work with Darian on this.

Leave the arsing around for when we get back home,” Alden directed.

Ever the sensible Alden, Darian thought. He was beginning to

notice big differences between the two brothers. Their determination
and loyalty were constant, but where Alden was sensible Gregor was
impulsive. This was going to be fun. Not! Darian shuddered.
Knowing both his walkers could look after themselves was not
helping his worry. He was desperate to find and free Jonah but just as
committed in keeping Gregor safe. He knew why his walker had
come with him, but it would have been so much less stressful to know
he was safe in Kashmerle waiting for them. Still there was nothing he
could do about that now, especially as they were so close to getting
his other lover back.

“Right. We take the trucks—”
“Defenders, please,” Angus moaned.
“Okay, whatever.” Heaven help him and vehicle freaks!

* * * *

Gregor was not impressed with the plan. Darian was basically

going into the compound alone. Alden was staying with the Defenders
while Angus, in wolf form, was circling the compound. His job was to
sit and do nothing but try and reach Jonah with his mind.

Not going to happen.
Angus stripped, leaving his clothes in the back of the Defender.

Gregor admired his muscular frame and sculpted pecs with his
smattering of ginger hair. He had just enough to make it interesting.
Alas for poor Angus, it did nothing to excite Gregor anymore. He
could still admire, but the need was gone, proving more of the spirit

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walker ties. Angus shifted into a glorious red wolf. He yelped,
nodded, and then slunk off into the undergrowth.

“Give me fifteen minutes to get into the compound,” Darian said,

frowning at Gregor. “And keep your mind on Jonah, not some hot red
wolf.” Darian growled.

“Sorry.”
“Humm,” was his only reply. Darian had changed his clothes into

the local dress. His plain, pale-brown drawstring pants and a smock-
like top of the same colour would blend in with most of the people
they’d seen in the area. Gregor thought he looked edible as he wore
nothing underneath and although the clothing was loose when it
touched his body, it hinted at the lean, lovely, lethal man beneath.
Gregor’s body shuddered with need.

“Okay, Gregor?”
“What? Sorry.” He smiled at Darian, letting his eyes wander down

his frame. Alden smacked him on the back of the head. “Agh!”

“Listen, you can play all you want when this is over.” Alden

scowled at his brother.

“Sorry, you want fifteen minutes, right? And then we move in and

get you.” Gregor raised his eyebrow at Darian when he said this.

“No, I’ll contact you to let you know what is happening and how

we are proceeding. Until I know where they have him, I won’t know
the best way to get him out. And please remember, if you see twenty
feet plus of crocodile, it could well be Jonah.”

Gregor and Alden agreed with his statement and watched the man

disappear down the dirt track that ran from the main road. Hauling the
Defenders back and covering them in undergrowth, the brothers stood
together, looking down the track.

“How long are we going to wait before we head in?” Alden asked.
Gregor grinned, picking up his M1911 and extra cartridges. “I’ve

finished waiting. You coming?”

His brother nodded and followed him as they headed down the

track, keeping in the verges so as not to be seen. Eventually, they

A Spirit’s Freedom

came to what had to be the perimeter fence. They moved away from
the gate until they found a break in the links. Looking at the wisps of
red fur, Gregor knew this had to be where Angus had gone in. Gregor
pointed at the small gap, grabbing the fence and pulling it wider apart.

“I don’t think Darian came this way,” Alden said, looking at the

lack of footprints.

“Either that or we are looking for one huge tiger!” Gregor headed

through, taking it much more cautiously inside the compound. They
passed some derelict homes before they found themselves looking
down into a small, dry valley that housed what could only be
described as what looked like an old World War II military base.
There were two H-block structures joined by a long corridor and what
looked like a main entranceway.

“I remember those from the last war. The air force base I was at in

Worcester had the exact same buildings. Each leg of the H houses
small rooms, single down one side for senior men and double on the
opposite side for service guys,” Alden explained.

“These were probably built at the same time,” Gregor said. “It

explains the different rooms Jonah said he was being kept in.”

“Look.” Alden pointed at a group of cars pulling up in front of the

building. Men ran out and opened the doors, revealing the occupants.

“Well, well, hello, Mr. Lawrence Kingdom, a nervous local I

suspect, and some old sheik with a pigeon.” What on earth was
Daniel’s father doing in India? Gregor thought. He really didn’t like
what he was seeing.

“How bad is your eyesight?” Alden asked.
“Perfect. Why?”
“Well, that pigeon is an abnormally large peregrine falcon.” Alden

shook his head.

“It’s a bird, right? What more do you want?” Gregor had no idea

what his brother was getting at. He had other things on his mind.

“When something is abnormally large, what does that usually

mean?” Alden spoke his words slowly, implying Gregor was clueless.

Ellen Quinn

“It’s a fucking bird, Alden. It can’t be a shifter.” Gregor looked

again at the creature.

“Well, what the hell is Kash, a bloody fish?” Alden said, sarcasm

dripping from his tongue.

“Hell, look.” Gregor pointed again to where two small men

escorted a huge bloke out of the entrance. Gregor’s heart stopped.
“Jonah,” he whispered with what little breath was left in his body.
The man was breathtaking, literally.

“How do you know?” Alden asked.
Suddenly, in front of the group of men, a tiger lunged, jumping for

the local man. At the same time, the towering man swung his arms
back into the faces of his escorts. Shots started to ring out as both man
and tiger ran back into the building. Glass could be heard breaking,
and from their vantage point, Gregor saw a streak of gold and black
slink into the trees and bushes behind the building.

Mr. Lawrence Kingdom and the sheik had dived to the ground.

The bird that was somehow attached to the sheik was shrieking
loudly, flapping its wings and having what looked like a desperate
attempt to peck the sheik’s eyes out. Its main problem being it had
one of those falconry hoods, so it couldn’t see.

“A natural falcon, when hooded, wouldn’t act like that,” Alden

said.

“I don’t give a damn about some bloody bird. Those are my

walkers down there. Are you going to help or what?”

“Head back to the trucks and wait for your men. I’m just going to

see if I can help the pigeon.” Alden didn’t wait for any reply as he
disappeared down into the small valley.

“Damn pigeon,” Gregor muttered. He was not heading anywhere

until he knew what was happening. Sniffing the air, he recognised
Angus’s scent. He sat and waited till the large red wolf slid up beside
him. Angus gripped his shirt in his razor-sharp teeth and tugged.

“I can’t go without them, Angus,” Gregor shot toward the wolf.
Angus growled and nudged him toward the fence.

A Spirit’s Freedom

“Damn it, man, no!” Gregor was not leaving without Darian and

Jonah.

Suddenly, Darian was there. He growled at both of them and then

ran toward the fence.

Both Gregor and Angus followed.

* * * *

“Where the hell is Jonah?” Gregor demanded as soon as Darian

shifted back.

“Calm down, he’s fine,” Darian responded quickly. “He is

swimming down a small, man-made waterway that goes under the
main road out of Udupi. We’ll pick him up at the crossing and head
straight to the airport. I have all his documents with me, so there
shouldn’t be a problem.”

“He has an Indian passport with a current visa for Britain?” Angus

asked, amazed at Darian’s organization.

“No, Jonah’s Australian. I got his documents through the

consulate in Mumbai. I already had his passport so it wasn’t difficult.
I got all of this together when things were escalating before,” Darian
explained.

It wasn’t until after both men were dressed and booted up ready to

go, that either realised Alden was missing.

“Where’d he bugger off to?” Angus asked. “Did he need some

fresh air or decide we were getting too lucky so he had to mess things
up?”

“Neither,” Gregor snorted. “He went back for a pigeon.”

* * * *

Jonah could not believe his luck. He’d been chained up with cuffs

laced with silver since he’d been caught. Today, they had wanted to
show him off to two of their most important investors, so with guns

Ellen Quinn

trained on him, he had been released to be paraded in front of the
money. He knew it was his chance, and he was going to make it
count. To have his spirit walker run out and take down Nasik was just
the icing on the cake.

The man-made waterways around here were rundown, but as far

as he could remember they had always held water, vital to the
communities they passed through. So when the water dried up and the
bed filled with silt, Jonah was surprised. He now had two choices.
Waddle along on his short, stubby croc legs or shift into a six-foot-
eleven naked man and jog to the side of the road. His clothes he’d left
in the water some way back now. He had carried some small bags
inside his mouth when he set out but left his clothes. Great thinking,
Jonah. He stayed in croc mode. Not many people would advance on a
twenty-four-foot croc, whereas an unarmed naked man even as big as
him was probably a far less formidable option.

As Jonah approached the road, the scent of blood hit his nostrils.

He crawled up the dry bank, hiding in the tall grasses that lined the
dried-out waterway. He remained entirely motionless and listened.

“He will come out here, Lanka,” a weak voice stated.
“How do you know, sir?” Lanka replied, his voice far stronger.

Jonah assumed the weaker voice was the boss. It was probably Nasik,
as he had just been attacked by the most beautiful tiger on record. Not
that Jonah was biased, of course.

“He’s a croc shifter. He’ll head for water. They move far faster

that way. I silted the waterway up once we had him so if he escaped
we’d have a chance of heading him off.” Nasik’s voice barely made it
to the end of the sentence before a wracking cough took over. Jonah
could smell the fresh blood he was coughing up.

“Sir, you need to shift to heal,” Nasik’s companion urged. Jonah

agreed. Then he could kill the bastard properly.

“Later. We need Jonah back, and Darian, if we can get the idiot.”

Nasik started coughing again as Jonah rumbled in the back of his
throat. Darian was no idiot.

A Spirit’s Freedom

“Sir, I can hear a vehicle coming.” The man looked urgently

around, trying to gauge its direction.

“Shit, put the tranquiliser gun down and take cover. We need to

shoot the driver. It won’t be Darian.” Nasik started coughing again.
As he did, Jonah edged closer.

As soon as the Defender appeared, Jonah lunged for Nasik,

clapping his massive jaws around the man’s right arm. Nasik let out a
bloodcurdling scream. Things happened so fast after that Jonah had
no real idea of their order. Nasik’s companion jumped up with the
dart gun and fired. Pain ripped through Jonah’s side, though he did
not release his grip on Nasik’s arm. Nasik pulled his gun out from his
right hand and, using his left, pointed it right between Jonah’s eyes.
There was a loud bang, and then everything went black. That
definitely happened at the end, he thought, as he lost the world around
him.

* * * *

Angus drove at a fast but steady pace whilst trying to watch for a

twenty-plus-foot Indian crocodile and avoid being shot at or
ambushed. Wasn’t life fun when you went on holiday with your
mates? “It’s about five hundred yards past this left bend,” Darian said
as Angus manoeuvred the Defender along the road. “Shit, that’s
Nasik’s truck. It’s got the container. They move Jonah in that thing
when trying to confuse him.”

Gunshots suddenly started to ring out, one shattering the

windscreen.

“Anyone hurt?” Angus demanded.
“No, we’re both fine,” Darian answered as Gregor took his

M1911 out. He aimed it at the truck and fired twice in quick
succession. Angus knew he wouldn’t miss, and with swift precision
he slid the Defender to a stop beside the vehicle, obscuring the view
to passersby.

Ellen Quinn

“Jonah!” Darian screamed as he scrambled out of the back of the

Defender, running toward a huge fucking crocodile. Angus shivered.
Life was going to be really interesting back home. They had a
swimming pool on the second level of the castle, though he didn’t
imagine it was going to get much use if that thing was swimming
around in it.

He got out and looked at the Defender. All the shots had either

missed or gone into the cab. The damage really pissed him off. “Look
what they did to my Defender!”

“Oh, for Christ’s sake, Angus, help us with our walker,” Gregor

yelled.

Angus looked up to see Darian and Gregor staggering with a very

large and somewhat floppy crocodile.

Angus couldn’t help it. He burst out laughing.

* * * *

Gregor growled. “Fuck off, Angus. This isn’t funny.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean it. Is he okay?” his friend replied.
“No, he’s been shot with a tranquilising dart. He’s out cold.” It

wasn’t so much the weight that was the problem. It was the fact that
he was so bloody long and limp, for want of a better word. “He’s
long, heavy, and limp, Angus. You try carrying him.” Gregor
snickered. He shouldn’t have said that, but once it came into his mind
he had to let it go. Darian frowned at him. “Sorry.” He was saying
that a lot lately.

“You two are idiots. It’s not Jonah’s fault. And let me remind you,

he is going to be one grumpy crocodile when he wakes up,” Darian
huffed. He was not pleased.

Both Angus and Gregor were shaking as Angus grabbed the croc

in the middle, tears of amusement filling their eyes.

Darian turned on Gregor as they carefully placed Jonah in the bed

of the Defender. “Jonah is hopefully your walker. You’ve never met

A Spirit’s Freedom

him before, and now you think he’s a joke!” Darian was shaking, but
Gregor realised it was for a very different reason than he had been
previously.

“No! God no, my love. Sometimes when I’m stressed, I get silly.”

Gregor realised he was digging a deeper hole for himself. But how did
he explain it? He’d been terrified when he saw Nasik pull out a gun
and point it at Jonah’s head. He hadn’t been certain he’d killed the
man quickly enough. To then find his walker, and he knew without a
doubt that Jonah was his walker, unconscious and unresponsive had
shaken him up beyond anything else he had ever lived through. So
when life got too much for him to cope with, he reverted back to
humour.

“Silly, huh?” Darian looked at him before turning to look at

Jonah. “You two have more in common than you realise.”

Gregor wasn’t sure exactly what he meant, but he needed to move

quickly and get Jonah and Darian to safety.

“Have we the usual selection of explosives?” he asked Angus.
“Of course. I prepack all the vehicles. Everything you might need

will be there.” Angus huffed indignantly.

“Good, I’m going to stage a car crash followed by an explosion. It

wouldn’t pass a CSI investigation, but I doubt it will be questioned
too much here.”

“Ka boom!” was heard from the truck. Gregor turned to see Jonah.
“Wow,” he whispered.
“Back atcha, baby.” Jonah smiled.
Now lying in the bed of the Defender was an Adonis. An Adonis

of extremely large proportions. His shoulders were as broad as
Gregor’s with each of his muscle groups clearly defined. Gregor
wanted to slide his palms down his smooth, hairless pecs, squeezing
those hard, brown nipples between his fingers. God, he was gorgeous.
His abs rippled under his intense gaze. Jonah’s cock was slowly
filling with blood and had begun to drip pre-cum onto that firm
abdomen. Gregor’s cock strained for release.

Ellen Quinn

* * * *

“Mine!” they both said simultaneously. Gregor jumped into the

back of the Defender and crushed his firm, full lips against Jonah’s
mouth. Jonah dragged his hands through Gregor’s soft, rusty-brown
hair, not letting him pull away, yet knowing Gregor had no intention
of doing that.

“Boys, we can’t play now,” Darian’s voice moaned with no real

conviction in it, more a request to join in. Both of them groaned but
stopped. “We’ll have time for this soon, my loves. Gregor please set
the charges. Angus will help, I’m sure. I’m unfortunately going to
help Jonah cover that delectable body then we need to get back to
Alden.”

“Why do you get all the best jobs?” Gregor asked as he and Angus

set to it. Gregor paused as he was setting things up, suddenly turning
to his walkers. “Darian, what do we tell Syn?”

Jonah and Darian looked at Gregor and then at the body that had

once been Assyn’s father. “He didn’t know him as his father. We
thought he was just an uncle. Syn would probably have hated himself
for what he had done to Jonah,” Darian said to Jonah’s surprise.

“Syn had nothing to do with what happened to me my love,”

praying like Gregor that Syn didn’t take this badly.

“Will he miss him?” Gregor asked.
“How can you miss what you have never known, Gregor? Would

you miss your father if you loss him?”

“You don’t know my father.” He snorted, a scowl crossing his

face.

“No, I don’t, but you and Alden never mention family. None of

the pack really does. And tigers are even worse, and it’s got nothing
to do with sexuality. We just don’t do family.”

“Why are you with the pack then?” Angus asked, having stopped

to listen to the conversation. “We’re family.” Jonah almost didn’t

A Spirit’s Freedom

want to hear the answer. He liked family even if his was a little iffy.
Having people who cared about you was important to every man, if
not necessarily his beast.

“I suppose we see you guys as friends, people we’ve chosen to be

with, not forced upon us by nature.” Darian paused again before he
smiled. “Yes, that’s a much better family in my eyes.” He looked
directly at Gregor and Jonah. “The Fates chose you two for me
because we fit, and the pack we chose for ourselves to complete our
family.” Jonah smiled, understanding Darian completely and agreeing
with every word.

“I like your walker’s way of thinking,” Angus said with a grin

plastered on his face. “But we really need to get this show on the
road.”

Ten minutes later and two miles down the road they all heard the

explosion.

“Ka boom!” Jonah said, knowing time was of the essence but still

having an unnatural love of explosions. Just like a certain animated
penguin he’d seen and loved.

Ellen Quinn

Chapter Nine

“Alden’s still not here,” Angus stated as they returned to the other

vehicle.

“Shit, and can you smell the smoke?” Gregor asked as he climbed

from the vehicle. They all got out and looked at the sky. Billows of
smoke plumed into the air.

“Is your Alden a bit of a fire starter as well as a pigeon hunter,

mate?” Jonah asked with a smile. Well, Gregor had had to tell him
something about his brother.

Gregor still couldn’t get used to the slight Australian accent. He’d

expected something totally different. Jonah had explained on the drive
back that his mother was an Australian saltwater crocodile, and he
had spent his formative years with her before he was dumped on his
father at fourteen. There he’d learnt his trade. Apparently, he looked
more like the giant gharial crocodile, so he used that to describe his
shift. Hell, Gregor didn’t care what he sounded like. He’d just love to
get that mouth round his cock, or his mouth round Jonah’s. Either
would do, he wasn’t fussy. He heard Jonah chuckling. Shit, he must
have heard that.

He grinned at Jonah. “I never knew he was a pyromaniac, but I do

know he’s still okay.”

“How?” Darian asked as he rubbed his hands up and down his

men’s backs.

“Don’t know really. It’s nothing like the connection I have with

you guys, but I feel him with me. He’s alive, and he’s not hurting as
there is no discomfort with the connection.” Gregor looked at the
men. “All I can suggest is we leave a coded note of our whereabouts

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in the vehicle. He knows where that is, so he can come back to it if we
leave it here and give him twenty-four hours to contact us. After that,
we head back to the plane and decide where to go from there.”

“That’s a plan,” Angus said as he slid back into the driving seat,

grabbing what he needed for the note.

“You okay with just leaving him out there?” Darian asked.
“Yeah, I know it seems strange that I’m not worried, but we’ve

been connected like this since birth. I know he is okay, and as he’s
just as stubborn as I am, he will get back to us. We just need to leave
a few clues. And think about it, guys, he is a seven-hundred-pound
brown bear!”

Gregor smiled as Angus came back. “Job done. Let’s head to

Mangalore. I need to see if I can get the Defender patched up.”

“Where will we stay?” Gregor asked Darian.
“In the safest place I know for a group of gay men.” Darian

smiled.

“God, he’s good,” Jonah said, leaning in and giving Darian a

scorching kiss.

“I’m still no wiser,” Gregor said, feeling decidedly left out.
“Why, we will be residing in Daisy May’s brothel, of course,”

Jonah said, pulling Gregor in for his turn.

“We’re going to stay in a brothel?” Angus asked incredulously.

“What the hell would we do there?”

“They’re not going to get much trade.” Gregor laughed.
“No, but who’d think to look for gay men in a brothel?” Darian

asked, unable to stop a giggle.

Gregor grinned. He had to agree. Darian had a point.

* * * *

Jonah dropped the small bags on one of the beds.
“Where are they from?” Gregor asked.

Ellen Quinn

“They’re the last of Kashmerle’s stones.” Jonah held them up for

Gregor to see. “These are the ones Nasik wanted to frame Enda and
the rest of you with, using my damn histories.”

“I have an idea about that,” Darian said as he wrapped his arms

around Gregor’s waist. “But right at this moment, I want to bond
again with both my walkers.” He peered at Jonah with a shy smile.

The grin that spread across Jonah’s face was wicked. “Now that

really does sound like a plan,” he answered as his hands went to
remove his shirt.

“You can start undressing, too,” Gregor told Darian. God, Gregor

loved it when his men did as they were told. Watching Jonah remove
his clothes was agony. He wanted to touch and taste every inch of the
man’s gorgeous skin. His started to undress, but his T-shirt got caught
over his shoulder, and in his state he just ripped it from his body.

“Fuck, mate, that’s hot!” Jonah gasped as he slid his jeans down

his long, muscular legs. His cock sprang free, hitting his abdomen. He
had to have at least ten inches of uncut cock that was leaking copious
amounts of pre-cum. It was thick, too, but smooth, the head purple
from the blood pulsing within it.

“Ditto,” Gregor croaked as he slid his own jeans and boxers down,

kicking them off somewhere on the floor.

Darian stood between them, still in his pants, though he had

unbuttoned them. His eyes were completely dilated with
unadulterated lust. He slid his hands down their chests, slipping his
fingers through their pubic hair. Jonah groaned and pushed his head
back, biting his bottom lip, his dark mahogany hair falling back onto
his shoulder as he did so. He slowly raised his head. His green eyes,
flecked with flashes of amber, stared straight at Gregor.

“You are both so beautiful,” Darian said rather breathlessly as he

slid his thumbs over the slits of both men’s cocks before licking the
pre-cum from them.

“Fuck, Darian, please,” Gregor begged.

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“Undress me, please,” he said to the room, and both Gregor and

Jonah grabbed his pants and pulled. Gregor smiled at the frantic way
both he and Jonah were going about it.

When they were finally all naked, Gregor could hardly believe

these two gorgeous men belonged to him. He moved in closer,
slipping his hands around Darian’s waist, pressing his chest against
Darian’s back and dipping his fingers into the soft curls surrounding
Darian’s cock.

“Yes.” Darian hissed as Jonah also moved close. Gregor watched

as he placed his hands on Darian’s hips and ground their erections
together, sliding his hands round to the firm globes of Darian’s ass
and rubbing his fingers against Gregor’s cock.

“I hate to disappoint you, boys,” Gregor gasped. “But I’m so close

I could blow any minute.”

“Oh, my love, that would never disappoint me,” Darian said

softly, turning in their arms, his eyes bright with desire. “Why don’t
you and Jonah go relax on the bed and let me find the lube?”

Jonah slid his finger around Gregor’s dick and led him to the bed.

Darian giggled as he watched them progress. Jonah sat down and
promptly swallowed Gregor’s dick right down. “Holy fuck!” Gregor
yelled, pushing his hands through Jonah soft, mahogany curls.

“It’s one of the advantages of being with a crocodile shifter.

Incredibly deep throats,” Darian whispered in Gregor’s ear.

“Hell yeah, if I wasn’t enjoying this so much I’d say his mouth

should be declared illegal.” Gregor was slowly losing the power of
speech. Darian solved that problem as he pulled down Gregor’s head
for a kiss.

Jonah’s tongue licked down the fat artery that pulsed along the

underside of his cock before he sucked and nibbled at his balls.
Darian’s ran along the edge of his jaw to nibble that sweet sensitive
spot behind his ear.

Gregor legs trembled with the pleasure coursing through his body.

Jonah moved to swallow his cock again as he squeezed and rolled his

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balls round his palm. Suddenly, Darian moved and was right behind
Gregor. Sliding his slick fingers sliding down Gregor’s crease, he
circled his puckered hole and pushed a digit in.

It was too much for Gregor. His balls pulled up and Jonah sucked

right down as his orgasm hit with a vengeance.

Jonah swallowed every drop and carefully licked him clean before

Gregor’s knees finally gave out and he sank onto Jonah.

“On the bed, my love,” Darian told him as he lifted himself up off

Jonah and lay down beside him. Jonah was running his hands over his
body.

“I love this soft brown fur you’re covered in,” Jonah said as he

leaned over and ran his tongue down between Gregor’s pecs, tracing
the ridges across his abs.

“Joys of being a bear shifter,” Gregor said as his heart started up

again and his cock filled with renewed interest. “Holy fucking shit, I
never refuel this quick!”

“You are my amazing wild Russian bear,” Jonah said through

their bond. Gregor was sure he’d heard that somewhere before, but for
the life of him he couldn’t remember.

“Technically, I’m a Eurasian brown bear.” Not that he really

cared at this point in time.

“May I finish stretching you, my love? I’d love to have Jonah

claim you while I ride that gorgeous cock,” Darian said tentatively as
he ran his still-slick fingers down his perineum. Gregor lifted his legs
to give Darian access.

“I was wondering who’s going to get to be the filling in the

sandwich,” Jonah said as he grinned at Gregor. “I guess this time it
will be you, you lucky Eurasian brown bear!”

“He needs us both so we can complete our bond. But I’m sure our

turns will come, my love.” Darian was so soft and tender. Gregor just
ached with his need for the man’s quiet strength, yet he also craved
Jonah’s robust strength and humour to compete with his own.

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Darian smacked them both on the ass and giggled before he

climbed up to straddle Gregor. Jonah leaned down and gave him a
soft but passionate kiss before grabbing the lube from Darian and
moving off to stand behind him. Darian’s moans as Jonah stretched
his waiting hole almost had Gregor losing it again. He was really
going to have to work on his stamina with two walkers to satisfy.
Gregor’s breath hitched as he felt Darian stroke his erection, covering
it with slick.

“He’s all yours,” Jonah said, kissing Darian on the side of the

neck. “Slide home, sweetheart.” With that, Darian rose up, aligning
Gregor’s cock to his waiting hole and, in one smooth motion, sank
home.

“God, you feel so tight,” Gregor moaned, placing his hands gently

on Darian’s hips, sparks of pleasure racing up his spine.

“You fill me so full. God, how I need you both of you.” Darian’s

body was trembling in Gregor’s hands. He slid them up Darian’s sides
to his smooth chest and pulled at those tiny gold barbells, causing
Darian to moan and sway. He loved touching as much skin as he
could reach with these men. He was becoming addicted.

“Lift up, my loves,” Jonah said from behind Darian as he

somehow managed to place a pillow beneath Gregor’s hips.

“You ready for me, baby?” he asked.
“Yes,” was the dual reply as Gregor’s ass was filled with hot, hard

cock.

“Ahh...Shit!” Gregor groaned as his eyes rolled back first with the

burn and then in pleasure. Slowly, Jonah started rocking, Darian
picked up the rhythm, sliding up and sinking back on his cock.

“Harder, faster now,” Gregor gasped. “Not going to last long.”
Jonah started thrusting harder, moving the angle, which meant he

pegged Gregor’s prostate with every thrust. Gregor could feel his
balls pull up as that glorious tingling sensation began at the base of
his spine. He slid one hand up over Darian’s muscled chest, rubbing
his fingers over his pecs to nip at his pierced nipples.

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“Yes, touch me Greg. I want to feel your hands on me,” Darian

moaned. He did not need telling twice. Using his other hand he
grasped Darian’s thick, throbbing shaft and pulled from base to tip
before sliding his thumb through the pre-cum that was leaking from
the top. Using it as lubricant, he stroked the shaft with the same
rhythm they were fucking him with.

Suddenly, Jonah’s movements became more erratic. “Lean down

and let him bite you, baby,” Jonah said as he laid a hand on Darian’s
back to push him down. He stared over at Gregor, lust pooling in his
eyes. “Bite him!”

That was all the instruction he needed. Gregor reared up and sunk

his canines into Darian’s neck. As the sweet, coppery blood flowed
down his throat, his climax hit him, and he surged inside Darian,
coating his inner walls with his cream. Darian shuddered as Gregor’s
canines sank into his neck, and Gregor felt the hot warmth of Darian’s
seed spreading between them.

“That’s my gorgeous boys,” murmured Darian as he slid to one

side of Gregor without releasing him. Gregor felt Jonah pounding into
him before he let himself fall off the edge. Leaning down over Darian,
Jonah sank his teeth into Gregor’s neck.

“Agh!” Jonah screamed as his climax hit him, spreading his wet

warmth deep inside Gregor. Gregor roared as he felt Jonah’s teeth
sink into his neck and a second climax hit him, pulsing into Darian’s
already slicked hole. He felt it leak from Darian and it was the sexiest
thing he ever known.

As their heart beats slowed together, Gregor felt the pulse that

now ran between them. They were now joined mind, body, and spirit,
for eternity, and Gregor had never felt so good.

* * * *

Outside their room sat one of Daisy’s girls. She was smoking a

cigarette, waiting. The soft sound of snores and the heavy, slow

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breathing from sleep crept through the door. Still she waited.
Finishing her cigarette, she flipped open her phone, pressing a known
number quickly.

“They’re at Daisy May’s in the end room on the second floor, red

door number eight.” She clicked the phone closed and slipped it back
into her pocket. She looked at the rolled-up wad of money in her other
hand. Life was cheap, and this would help feed her family for months.

“Sorry, Darian,” she whispered as she disappeared down the

corridor and into a different room.

* * * *

Angus sat in what could only loosely be described as a bar. He’d

left his pack mates for obvious reasons and knew he needed to give
them time. Plus, the idea of lying in the room next to them, listening
to them bonding, was not what a single shifter really wanted to do.
The shack he was in was down near the water. The bar was stacked
empty crates with a door thrown across the top. Very classy! Angus
looked at his beer bottle. Talk about recycling, the bottle had been
used so many times he couldn’t even make out the original name of
the beer. Sometimes he was really grateful shifters couldn’t catch any
human diseases. He took another sip of his lukewarm beer before
raising it to the man who sat behind the bar to indicate he wanted
another. He handed over his money as the man broke the cap off.

Angus looked around the town square. It was surprisingly busy,

considering the lack of wealth in the area. The market was easing off
now. Most things closed down by the early afternoon. But the shacks
surrounding it were still open for trade.

He was just about to take a sip of his beer when a group of cars

sped through the square. They obviously had no thought to the locals
who had to scramble away as the vehicles failed to slow down for
them. The hairs on the back of his neck began to rise. Those were the
cars he’d seen in the compound, minus the one Nasik had been riding

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in. That was in a ditch a long way up the road. But that didn’t explain
these cars. So where were they going? And what was the rush?

Angus finished his beer and headed back to the men who were

working on the car. It was very much a botched job, but it would do.
Paying the bill, he jumped in and headed back to the joys of Daisy
May’s brothel. He was going to have to disturb Gregor and his
walkers, but something was definitely up.

* * * *

Gregor came round slowly. What the hell had happened? One

minute he’d been blissfully snuggled up to Jonah and Darian, and the
next thing, all hell broke loose, followed by complete blackness.

Something sticky was sliding down his face, but he couldn’t move

to touch it to find out if it was what he thought it was. He opened his
eyes more fully, and panic slowly began to build in his gut. The room
was wrecked, and his walkers were nowhere in sight.

Gregor roared and shifted into his bear. The ropes that were

binding him fell apart, shredded through the bear’s strength. Once he
was free, Gregor took in great gulps of air. He had to be calm. Bears
weren’t common in this neck of the woods, and he needed his human
form to be able to get to his men. Gregor slowly came to grips with
his anger. It was still there, and he knew he wouldn’t let go of it, but
both it and his bear were contained, and his shift back slowly took
place. Scrambling up, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. It
was surprising to find the only damage was a graze down his temple
that was healing up pretty fast. Looking at where he had lain, he
reckoned it had come from someone’s boot scraping his head round to
check if he was unconscious.

He looked around. Darian’s and Jonah’s clothes had gone, but his

were still left on the floor. He knew he didn’t have much time and
was desperate to go find them, but he didn’t have any transport until
Angus got back. He ran into the bathroom washed his face and

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cleaned himself up as best he could. He slipped on a fresh pair of
faded denims and an old Metallica T-shirt. He was ramming his boots
on when someone started pounding on the door.

“Gregor, Darian, Jonah, come on, you guys, put each other down.

Something strange is going on.”

“Angus,” Gregor yelled as he yanked open the door.
“Whoa, mate, what’s up?” Angus asked, looking at the wrecked

state of the room.

“Darian and Jonah have been taken.”
“Shit, how?” Angus asked incredulously.
Gregor turned round, quickly scanning the room for what he was

looking for, finally noticing a dart on the floor. “I think we were
tranquilised,” he said, holding up the dart. “It’s the only way they
could have taken us all out.”

“How did they find us so bloody quick?” Angus asked as he

began collecting their things together.

“What are you doing?” Gregor asked, ignoring Angus’s question

for the moment.

“We’ve got to get out of here, firstly to find your walkers and

secondly so whoever it was doesn’t come back for us.”

Gregor started to help when he suddenly realised there was

something else missing. “Damn it! They have taken the stones as
well.”

“What stones?”
“Jonah had the last of the Kashmerle stones that were in

Bangalore for recutting. He thought Nasik was trying to frame Enda
with them, using histories from Jonah,” Gregor explained.

“But Nasik’s dead. Why are his people still coming after us?”
“I’m fairly certain this whole business is much bigger than any of

us thought.” Gregor sighed. “And somehow my walkers are caught up
in the middle of it.”

“Which could explain how they knew where we were,” Angus

continued. “If the whole operation is so much bigger, they’ll have

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their spies all over the place. In a place like this, for two bits of
bugger all they’ll sell their own grandmother.”

“True, but where do we go from here? I have their scent, but if

they were in vehicles it will be much harder to follow.” Gregor was
getting restless, but he had no clue which way to head next.

“Fuck, sorry, with all this mess I forgot why I came back.” Angus

shook his head. “I was in the market square when those cars we saw
at the compound raced through.” Gregor stopped and Angus rose up
slowly from where he’d been stuffing a bag full of their stuff.

“Shit!” they both said in unison.
With everything stuffed in bags, they chucked them into the back

of the Defender and headed out of town through the square.

* * * *

A door opened on the second floor of Daisy May’s and a man

staggered out with a stupid grin on his face. A few minutes later, a
girl appeared, her face solemn and disillusioned. She walked down
the corridor and pushed open door number eight. The room was
wrecked, and she knew the cost would come out of their wages. She
sat on the edge of the bed and felt something hard under her thigh.
Sliding her hand underneath the comforter, she pulled out the small,
lumpy object.

The tiny pouch was soft and slightly damp. She felt the bile rise in

her throat. She did not want to think about where it had been. Holding
out her hand, she emptied the contents, and small coloured gems fell
into her hand. She knew what they were. Her brother was a
stonecutter, though he was long gone now.

Putting them back, she pulled out a strap which she wrapped

about her leg. Inside it she placed her mobile, the money, and the
gems. Silently, she left the room.

Later that night, there was a furore in the town about rogue tigers.

Somebody swore he’d seen a tiger disappear into the undergrowth by

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the side of the road that led south out of Mangalore. He was
convinced it had something strapped to its hind leg.

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Chapter Ten

Darian groaned. His body felt as if he’d been stuffed into a sack

and carried on the back of a donkey for a week. He slowly opened his
eyes. Wherever he was, the room was dark, and there was a large
body lying across the room from him. Apart from that, the room was
empty. He tried to lift himself up, but he could barely move. He had
cuffs on his wrists and ankles, and they were slowly draining his
strength. Silver, they had to be laced with silver. The stench in the
room was unpleasant. This must be where Jonah had been when he’d
mentioned the stink, which gave Darian a pretty good idea where they
were. The scent coming from the body was divine, and he knew it was
Jonah. He tried to drag himself across the room, but it was slow
going. His right arm ached, and there was a red swollen patch on the
upper side. That had to be how they’d subdued them. A bonded
shifter would fight to the death to protect his walker, or walkers in
their case. The only way to stop them would be to surprise them and
tranquilise them real quick.

He finally reached Jonah. Two darts were still embedded in his

thigh and ass. Guess I got that part right. They’d put a shirt on him,
but because of the darts, they’d left his jeans off. Darian didn’t have
the strength to put them back on, but at least they had the decency to
leave them here.

He stroked Jonah’s hair as he leaned against the wall, pulling

Jonah’s head into his lap. How did they know? Someone had to have
told them their whereabouts, but only his close friends knew he would
go to the brothel, and they were in Scotland, he hoped. He prayed
they, whoever they were, had not found Syn and T’narr.

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101

Listening quietly, he could tell there was a lot of commotion

going on outside. Maybe they’d discovered what was left of the
abandoned black saloon they’d blown up in the ditch. Whatever it
was, it didn’t sound like everything was going to plan. It certainly
wasn’t for him or his walkers.

Walkers! Where was Gregor? God, he’d been so lost in thought

he’d forgotten about Gregor. Shame filled his heart. How could he
have done that to his walker?

“You didn’t do anything wrong, love.” Jonah’s mind invaded his

thoughts. “You’ve just thought about him now, and considering
what’s been done to us, I’m grateful I still know my name!”

“Thanks, Fred,” he answered with a smile.
“Huh, very funny. Leave the jokes to me and Gregor. It really

isn’t your forte.” Jonah shifted and groaned, his movements just as
sluggish as Darian’s.

“How are you feeling?” Darian asked quietly.
“Like I’ve been hit by an eighteen-wheeler,” he moaned. With

Darian’s help, Jonah sat up and leaned his back onto the wall. Darian
leaned against his side, making sure he was steady and upright.

“We need to contact Gregor, if we can,” murmured Jonah, worry

and dread written all over his face. “Have you felt him?”

“I hadn’t gotten round to trying that, I’ve only just remembered

him.” Darian stared at his hands fisted in his lap. In the bedroom with
his men he felt like a prince, surrounded by his beautiful, gentle
giants. Well, they weren’t always gentle, but he felt wanted, needed,
and part of an unbreakable bond. For the first time in his life, he felt
special. Yet now he felt torn apart, as he’d let down not one but two
walkers. Could he make a bigger mess?

“You think you’re in a mess.” Jonah had started to tremble, but it

was beginning to develop into full-blown shakes. Tears were pooling
in the corners of his eyes.

Darian turned and smiled at his and Gregor’s Jonah. He placed his

arms reassuringly around the man he had grown to love. Somehow

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they would survive all this, and they would have their happily ever
after.

“Come on, let’s see if we can feel our grumpy old bear.”

* * * *

Gregor checked the vehicle, grateful to find the “Ka boom” he

needed.

“What are you doing?” Angus asked.
“I’m just making a little surprise for the bastards that have taken

my men.” Gregor answered, showing Angus the various explosive
devices.

Angus chuckled. “Okay, I get ya.”
“These guys are up to something, and I don’t think it’s just on a

local scale,” Gregor explained.

“We need to contact Enda and give him the heads-up about what

is happening here.”

“We will, but first...” Gregor stopped. He was sure he’d just heard

them. He had tried earlier but had had no luck getting through at all.
He assumed they were still asleep from the drugs. Who was he
kidding? He’d been praying they were just asleep.

“Gregor.” There it was again.
“Gregor, you all right?” Concern laced Angus’s voice.
“Sorry, yes. I think they are trying to contact me, but it’s very

weak.”

“Does that mean they are far away?”
“No. I heard Jonah crystal clear when he was out here and I was in

Scotland.” Gregor started to tremble as he thought of what could be
causing his walkers to sound so frail.

“Darian, Jonah, are you both okay?” Gregor’s heart was

pounding.

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103

“Yes, my love, we’re both fine,” Darian answered, relief flooding

through the connection from both of them. “What did they do with
you?”

Gregor realised they had no idea that he had been left or he was

physically okay. “Sorry, guys, I’ve been trying to contact you. They
just left me on the floor.” Gregor heard a sob, but he didn’t know who
it came from.

“Hey, my love, he’s okay. We’re all okay, and we are all going to

get out of this mess, I promise.” Darian’s voice was soothing and
gentle, something Gregor hadn’t felt in a while, but he was so grateful
for it at this moment.

“Don’t make promises you, you might not be able to keep.”

Jonah’s voice trembled.

“Jonah, Jonah, please believe him, because I will make sure we

get out of this mess so Darian will keep his promise.” Gregor so
wanted his walkers in his arms at that moment. To not have them
there was like a dagger being twisted in his heart. He thumped the
side of the Defender as the rage boiled up inside him.

“Where are you? I coming for you,” he almost yelled through

their bond.

“Gregor, love, we are okay. The only thing they’ve done to us so

far is dart us and cuff us.”

“Cuff you?” Cold ice ran through Gregor’s veins. He rubbed his

wrists, remembering the years he worn those cuffs his brothers had
soldered to his wrists.

“Yes, but that’s all. They obviously know we’re shifters as they

haven’t chained us. They are just relying on the silver content of the
cuffs to keep us weak.”

“They’re slave cuffs, Darian. Years ago some families sold

members of their clan to humans as a punishment, knowing they could
reclaim them years down the line and then sell them again. The cuffs
don’t affect your immortality, they just deplete your strength to that of
a human.”

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“How do you know this?” Jonah’s question was hesitant. For a

giant of a man, he had the tenderest heart. Gregor knew at that
moment it was love. And it was for both of his walkers. His brave
Darian who would stay strong for them no matter what and his tender
giant of a man would embrace him with humour and love.

“It was a long time ago, and very much a part of my past, but I

was sold as a punishment for being gay, or as in those days, it was
referred to as sodomy. I was and am a sodomite.”

“Oh, my love.” Darian’s voice was filled with sorrow.
Gregor shook himself. Those cuffs were coming off and soon.

“Do you have any idea where these people have taken you?”

“We’re at the back,” Jonah moaned, “by the cesspit of Nasik’s

villa. The idiot didn’t place the pit far enough away from the house so
the place always has a bad smell.

“Phew.”
“Yes, you have no idea. I think this is the headquarters of

whatever is going on with Nasik and those men who came with him.
I’ve been here before, and he has an office taking up most of the top
floor of the building. I was rarely allowed in there.”

“So when did you go there last?” Gregor asked.
“It’s where I was taken from last time they caught me. They tied

me up in there before they shipped me out with T’narr and Syn. It is
full of documents and files. There’s also a locked safe in which he
keeps all his digital records.”

“Looks like we will be going on a paper chase as well as a rescue

mission,” he said both through his mind and verbally to Angus.

“We need to head out. Where will I find this smelly house?”
“Nasik wasn’t clever. He built it on land behind the compound we

were at yesterday. Instead of heading into the compound, keep
following the road round, and about three miles down the track is the
house.”

“Okay, sit tight. I’ll be in touch when we get closer.”
“Soon,” was the answer he heard from his walkers.

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105

* * * *

Jonah was getting angry. He could feel it inside him. Usually,

when these feeling came over him, he’d shift and go for swim in the
mangroves or whatever waterway was available to him and let the
calm, steady patience of the crocodile take over. He knew people
thought he was weak. He rarely got angry or violent, but there was a
reason for that. His temper was violent, and combined with his
crocodile cunning and stealth, he was deadly.

Luckily for others, he was also born with a heart. According to his

mother, a stupid, soft heart, which was killing his natural crocodile
instincts. She was a lethal saltwater croc from Australia. She had
wanted to breed and picked his father because of his size and strength.
Once she was impregnated, she’d split. No man or croc was going to
interfere in her life.

She’d been passable as a mother until he shifted. He’d had to

bring himself up. She was not exactly a “hands on” kind of mum, but
there had always been food in the house. As he’d grown, she had kept
a closer eye on him, anticipating his first shift. When it had finally
happened, her rage was phenomenal. And why? Because he was more
like an Indian gharial than an Aussie saltwater.

She’d not abandoned him. No, he was deposited on his father’s

doorstep and informed he was his father’s problem now. His dad had
been shocked but reasonable. There had never been much love lost
between them, but his father had trained him in the ways of his
family, so Jonah had worked and learned. It was unfortunate really,
because that’s what had got them into all this trouble.

He simmered in Darian’s arms, the man’s strength seeping into

him now they were more fully conscious. He felt Gregor with him
also. Their bond was strong, maybe because there were three of them.
Who knew? Shame it didn’t pass through to their physical strength.

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Darian leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss upon his lips. He

tasted of sweet, sweet honey. He ran his tongue along Darian’s lower
lip, drinking in his essence. Darian opened for him, and his tongue
delved in and devoured his man. His tongue swept over his teeth,
running over the roof of his mouth. His fingers traced Darian’s chest,
feeling the contours of his muscles. His calloused palms trembled as
they skimmed over his silken skin, his fingers tweaking those pierced
nipples.

Darian gently pushed him back, sliding his hand down over his

very naked and aroused cock. He bucked his hips into the touch. This
was not going to take long, especially as he watched Darian lower
himself down and slowly lick the pre-cum oozing from his purple
head.

He flicked open the top of Darian’s jeans and pulled the zipper

until it gave way, releasing Darian’s warm, hard cock. Jonah spat into
his hand and, using his saliva as lubricant, began to stroke Darian to
the same rhythm that his cock was getting.

Darian’s tongue massaged the underside of his cock, driving him

wild as it pressed on the pulsing artery that ran along the base.
Darian’s hand gripped the base of his cock, keeping that same rhythm
while his other massaged his balls.

“God, Darian, I’m close,” he cried as heat crept up from his spine.

He felt Darian’s canines extend, and he dragged the edge of his
canines down the side of Jonah’s cock.

Lights exploded behind his eyes as his seed erupted down

Darian’s waiting throat. He swallowed every pulse. It was only when
Jonah’s heartbeat began to find its normal rhythm again that he
realised his hand was covered in Darian’s cum.

He lifted it to his mouth and slowly licked his hand clean. His

eyes never left Darian’s. “Sorry, I missed that.” He grinned up at
Darian.

“No worries, mate, I enjoyed the show.” Darian’s smile slowly

faded. “How are you feeling now?”

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Jonah shook his head. God, he loved this man. “The anger has

receded. It’s still there, but I can control it now. Just leave off the
Aussie jokes. I don’t want to fall ill.”

“Sod.” Darian shook his head. “Come on, my love. Much as I like

the view, you need to get your pants back on. I don’t think we’ll be
left alone for much longer.” Jonah pushed up and slid on his jeans,
tucking his cock away.

“There was a lot of noise earlier, and I know cars have been

coming and going for a while. Something is happening, and I’m pretty
sure we’re part of it. The tranquiliser is wearing off, so some of our
strength is returning, though I’m not sure how much we’ll regain.”

A beam of light broke through a window as shutters were pulled

back. Jonah grabbed Darian, pushing him behind as a tranquiliser gun
appeared and two shots were fired. Both hit Jonah in the arm. Darian
grabbed them quickly, pulling them free. Jonah hoped not all the drug
had gone in.

Jonah staggered to his feet, and his vision became blurred, but he

had to remain conscious to protect Darian. He felt his knees begin to
give way, and before he fell to the floor he heard another single shot.

“Nooo!” he screamed before darkness swept him away.

* * * *

Darian opened his eyes, or he tried to. One was completely

swollen shut. Every bone in his body ached some with sharp, stabbing
pain. He huffed to himself. What a bunch of miserable cowards. The
bastards had knocked him out and then beaten him up because they
were too scared to take on a shifter debilitated by silver. “Bastards,”
he tried to scream, but his throat was so dry it came out as a raspy
whisper.

They’d moved him. He was now strapped to a frame by the cuffs,

and his clothes had been ripped from him. He was in some sort of
torture room. There were a variety of vicious-looking whips and

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knives on the benches he could see. The way his back felt and the
sticky substance he could feel sliding down his body and around his
feet, someone had really gone to town on him. But why beat him up
when he was unconscious? He took a shuddering breath, and pain
lanced across his chest. Some of his ribs must have fractured, as
breathing hard really hurt. All the injuries would heal relatively
quickly if left alone for a bit, but Darian didn’t know if that was what
they had in mind.

A door opened behind him, and a sickly-looking chap came in. He

reeked of BO so much so that Darian wretched.

“Ah, you wake, good man.” The man then turned and kicked a

lever on the floor. Darian noticed for the first time that the frame he
had been strapped to wasn’t on the floor but on wheels. The man
grabbed the whole frame and pulled.

Darian gritted his teeth as the cuffs cut into his skin. The man

threw some of the equipment onto the base of the frame, wedged the
door open, and pulled him through.

Darian held his head up. He was not going to look weak. He was a

tiger shifter, and if he ever got out of these cuffs, he was going to rip
the throat out of every man here. He was wheeled down a long
corridor that looked well kept and was surprisingly clean. They must
have brought them inside the house. Each room was obviously
decorated for a purpose.

At the end of the corridor he was taken into a large, airy room

with plenty of light. The walls and floor had been whitewashed and in
the corner stood a large digital camera and a viewing screen. Now he
knew what they were up to. He was the threat they were going to use
on Jonah to get him to write and falsify those stones. They’d roughed
him up to start the process. He sent out his mind desperate to find
Jonah.

“Jonah, love, can you hear me?” No reply came. The man

approached the camera, but before he turned it on, he pulled out his
phone.

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109

“When do you want me to start?” He walked round the back of

Darian, but he could still hear the voice on the other end.

“You can turn it on now. Just let it run. Turn the screen on there,

and we’ll direct you over the link.” The phone clicked off. The man
walked away, flicking a device attached to the far wall, and the screen
came on. Pictured within it, sat at a table, was Jonah.

“Jonah, please hear me,” Darian cried. “Don’t believe what you

see. I was unconscious when they did this. I’m okay. Please don’t let
the anger take you. I don’t know what they’ll do to you if you go feral.
And Gregor and me, we won’t survive without you.”

“We’re here, Darian. What’s happening?” Gregor mind came

through loud and clear. He had heard Darian’s plea and was obviously
worried.

Darian explained what had gone on through their link, making

sure that he sent it out for both of them. He did think that was a given
and any messages, if they were listening, could be picked up by both
of them. Partway through he saw Jonah raise his head and look at the
screen. They must be set up in a similar way so that looking at the
screen also meant you were looking into the camera.

“Can you hear us, Jonah?” Jonah nodded. It was so slight, if

Darian hadn’t been staring at the screen and Jonah, he would have
missed it.

“Keep control, I’m all right.” Darian could see the frown. He

knew he was a mess. In the light he could see a lot more of the welts
and bruises covering his skin. “Shit, I’m okay. Please don’t lose it.
We’ll be okay. Gregor is here. He’ll help us.”

Darian listened, but it was suddenly deathly quiet on their link.
“If anybody has so much as touched you, I am going to kill them,”

Gregor screamed through the silence.

“Don’t bother. They’re already dead,” came the ominous reply

from Jonah.

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Chapter Eleven

Gregor seethed. He didn’t care that Darian’s torture had taken

place while he’d been tranquilised, for Christ’s sake. It was probably
the only way they could do it if they were human. Still, no one
harmed his men. As he looked at Angus he knew the red wolf shifter
was not far behind him in his anger. His eyes glowed with barely
contained control. Darian and Jonah may not be Angus’s walkers, but
they were pack, and a wolf’s loyalty to pack was stronger than any
other shifter out there.

Darian had explained that he was on the second floor. His view

from the window was of the tops of trees. “I’m going to find Darian
and see if we can get the information from the offices to work out
what the hell they are doing,” Gregor explained. “Jonah is somewhere
on the ground floor. Can you search for him?”

“I know his scent, I’ll find him.”
A shot of red-hot jealousy ran through Gregor’s body like a blade.

“How the fuck do you know his scent?” He growled.

“Because you bloody reek of him, you idiot. I’m not that stupid.”

Angus laughed, although the humour never reached his eyes.

“Oh, okay, as long as that’s it. My walkers are off-limits,” Gregor

confirmed savagely.

Angus shook his head. “I’ll find him, my friend, and unless he

needs physical or medical help, I will not lay a finger on him.”

“See that you don’t,” Gregor replied to the now-naked man in

front of him as he shimmered into his beautiful red wolf. Angus
trotted off as though he didn’t have a care in the world. Looks could
be so deceiving.

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111

Gregor didn’t shift. No, he needed his hands. He pulled on a loose

jacket and filled the inner compartments with explosives. As his
walker would say, “Ka boom,” though thinking of the animated film,
Madagascar, Jonah, and penguins, maybe not.

Gregor shook his head and, taking a deep breath, he focused. His

bear wanted out and was ready to rip everyone’s throat out to get to
his men. Even then, Gregor didn’t think he would be able to stop until
his men were free and this whole damn place was blown to
smithereens.

The guards were sloppy, so getting to the building was easy

enough. They sat half-asleep on broken chairs, drinking their warm
beer.

“Idiots,” Gregor muttered as he went through a side door into

what looked like a kitchen. It was empty. Carefully, he placed and
primed the explosives before moving toward the door. He needed to
find the stairs. With a building of this size, there should be two
staircases, one for servants and one for the owners. It was very much
an old colonial manor. He could hear voices outside the kitchen. He
jumped behind the door as three men walked into the room. He slowly
slid down the wall behind the door as they wandered over to the
pantry.

“Get the beer, grunt,” an ugly-looking man said as he pushed the

smallest into the door. The larger two left by the back door. Neither
had turned to see the giant man crouched behind the internal kitchen
door. As the smaller man entered the pantry, Gregor slipped out.

“Idiots,” he muttered again.
The smell on the first floor was unpleasant, stale sweat, sex, and

something rank that Gregor was not going to put a name to. Peering
into one room, he noticed four soiled mats on the floor. Dirty clothes
littered the space as well as empty bottles, used condoms, and
cigarette ends. Quite your home away from home, not, he thought.
Mind you, at least they were practicing safe sex. He laughed. The

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whole floor was empty, so he placed his explosives quickly along the
length of the building. He needed to look for Darian.

Using the same stairwell, Gregor entered the second floor.

Keeping himself in the stairwell, he glanced down the corridor.
Halfway down he saw the sheik that had been at the compound. He
was talking agitatedly to a pale European man. Gregor eased back, but
he listened.

“Mr. Kingdom will meet all your jewellery needs, Sheik Unbar.

The histories we provide are accurate and completed by a very skilled
craftsman.”

“Darling, I don’t give a rat’s ass if they are accurate or not. As

long as it makes them legally viable then I’m happy. Now where the
fuck is my falcon? Your men said they would find and return him
unharmed. A falcon that size is priceless! He is worth more to me
than a few stolen stones. Where the hell is the guard I gave him to?”

“The guard we had w-was never given the bir-falcon, sir,” the

man stammered. Gregor could feel the fear rolling off him.

“He was a huge, strong man, dark, foreboding, and sexy! You

could not miss him.”

At least now Gregor knew what Alden had been up to. Collecting

his pigeon!

“Look, Sheik Unbar, we will locate your hawk,” the man said,

trying to calm the Sheik down.

“Falcon, you idiot, a peregrine falcon!” The sheik’s footsteps

started as he walked away from Gregor. “You will have my falcon
and my legitimised stones within the hour, otherwise heads will roll.”

Gregor glanced down the corridor to see the sheik disappear down

the stairs. Sheik my ass, that man sounds more like he’s just left
Birmingham.

“Shit, Malcolm. Get your sorry ass here,” the European yelled as

he ran down the corridor. “We’ve got to get that croc to work. Mr. K.
is going to skin us alive if we don’t.”

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113

A voice came from a door farther down. “I’m already here. Our

plan isn’t working. Every we time we turn on the screens to
encourage him, he goes mental. We’ve had to put him in the silver
cage.”

“Why don’t those damn cuffs work?” the man asked as he entered

the room. Gregor crept down the corridor.

“Those cuffs aren’t working because you have his walker, you

idiots.” Gregor growled to himself as he peered into the room. Filing
cabinets covered all the internal walls with a row of desks facing the
windows. There were just the two men in there.

“Maybe we should really rough him up. If we do that maybe he’ll

do the paperwork to make us stop,” Malcolm said, chuckling to
himself.

“You are such a clever, evil bastar—” The man never finished his

sentence. He couldn’t because a huge Eurasian brown bear had just
ripped his throat out.

“Holy fuck!” The seated man, Malcolm, jumped up and tried to

run. Gregor just swung out his paw and repeated the process. Both
men slumped to the floor. Gregor shifted back. His clothes were in
shreds as he had just gone for them when they began to threaten
Darian. But he didn’t care. The explosives were still intact, as they
hadn’t been set, so they were all still viable. But all he wanted was to
find Darian.

The corridor was empty, and the only signs of life were coming

from the door at the end. He approached the door, but as his hand
reached for the door handle, it swung open into the room.

“Will you miss me, my big bad tiger? Uncle Iman is going to find

out what he gets to do next.” He chuckled as he turned to leave the
room, and then walked straight into seven hundred pounds of angry
bear. Gregor roared and Uncle Iman was no more. Gregor looked
down at him. Well, he technically still existed, but he didn’t look well
and his chest wasn’t moving.

Gregor shifted and said one word. “Die.”

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“Huh? What do you mean?” Darian’s voice was surprisingly

strong considering what he’d been through.

“He asked what he gets to do next. I answered him.” Gregor

looked at his walker and suddenly jumped into action. He unhooked
the cuffs and gently took Darian out of the frame.

“Gregor, Darian, what’s happening?” Jonah sounded desperate.
“Don’t worry, my love. Gregor’s got me.” Darian smiled at the

camera.

“We’re okay?” Gregor asked, raising an eyebrow at Darian.
“We are now.”
“How were the cuffs put on?” Gregor asked, looking closely at

Darian’s wrist.

“I don’t know,” Jonah said. “They were on us when we came

round.” Darian nodded.

“If they’re not soldered I’ll be able to get them off now.” Picking

up a sharp pair of metal cutters off the frame, he pushed them
carefully around one of Darian’s wrist cuffs. Using his strength, he
squeezed the clippers down. The clip broke and the cuff fell to the
floor. “Give me a minute, baby, and I’ll have you free.”

Tears began to creep into Darian’s eyes. Gregor was desperate to

get the cuffs off. He hadn’t even bothered to get out of the room. He
just couldn’t bear them. “How long were you in cuffs, my love?”
Darian whispered gently, stroking Gregor’s russet-brown curls.

Looking up from what he was doing, Gregor replied. “Nineteen

years, two months, and thirteen days.”

* * * *

Darian felt a tear fall slowly down his cheek, seeing the pain in

Gregor’s eyes. There was so much he didn’t know about his walker.
He stared up at the screen. He smiled sadly. He’d opened his mind
with Jonah, so he could hear their spoken conversation as well. Tears
were freely flowing down his face. They both knew in times past

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when shifters were cuffed it meant they were slaves. Gregor had
hinted at it earlier, they just hadn’t known the extent of Gregor’s
suffering.

Gregor released the last cuff and physically shook with relief. “I’ll

get yours off, too, Jonah,” Gregor said with strong conviction.

“I love you,” came through the bond from both of his walkers,

one overlaid on the other.

Gregor stood up from where he’d been kneeling by Darian’s ankle

and looked at his men. “Love you back,” he whispered as a single tear
slipped down his cheek.

“Ommph!”
Gregor suddenly found himself with arms full of naked, highly,

aroused tiger shifter and he was purring. “Come on, love, we need to
get out of here before I blow this joint.” Gregor smiled.

“Holy fuck, you guys are so hot!” Jonah gasped. Gregor and

Darian looked at the screen to see their walker slowly stroking his
hard cock. He’d released it from his pants and was obviously enjoying
the show, even though he still had tears in his eyes. Gregor looked
down and realised both he and Darian were naked and hard and in full
view of whoever had access to the screen.

“We are going to have to finish this show later.” Gregor smiled as

Darian chuckled and pressed a gentle kiss on Gregor’s neck.

“Yes, my loves, later,” Darian purred.
There was an almighty crash onscreen and suddenly, a large red

wolf arrived, diving in through a shuttered window. Wood splintered,
glass shattered, and Jonah quickly tucked his cock away. Angus
shook his head and shifted. He looked up at the screen and grinned.
“God, the telly in this place is hot!”

Jonah growled. “Get out of there and find some clothes, that is my

show and no one else gets to watch it!”

“Okay, my love, tell him what’s happened. We need to get the

information and place the last of the explosives,” Gregor informed
Jonah as he grabbed Darian and they left.

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“Guess I missed one hell of a show, huh?”

* * * *

“What are we looking for?” Gregor asked as they entered the

office room.

“Clothes, according to Jonah.” Darian huffed. “We’re going to

have to take them off the bodies.”

“Oh, joy.” Gregor grimaced. He really did not want to go over the

bodies.

“Well, it’s either that or we walk out of here naked. I’ve no idea

where they put my clothes.”

“Look, let me go and look for an alternative. I ripped these guys’

throats out so they are a little bloody. I also need to finish placing the
explosives so this whole mansion goes down.”

“Okay, I’m going to see if I can find any relevant information.”
“I’d look under K,” Gregor said as he headed to the door, picking

up his tattered jacket on the way.

“Kay?” Darian looked confused.
“Kashmerle and Kingdom,” Gregor explained as he slipped out of

the door.

There were still no others on this floor. He got the feeling that

only certain people were allowed up here. That office must hold some
pretty important secrets. He just hoped Darian found the relevant
ones. The first door he tried was a bathroom. There was a second door
inside, and when he opened that one he entered a rather grand
bedroom. He guessed this was where his shifty sheik or the enigmatic
Mr. Kingdom stayed when partaking of the unfortunate Nasik Tibet’s
hospitality.

Opening a large wardrobe, he found what he was looking for, that

is, if he wanted to look like a sheik. The second wardrobe was more
for the English businessman. Maybe the sheik and Mr. Kingdom were
roomies!

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117

Darian was more Mr. Kingdom’s size, so he grabbed a pair of

slacks and a polo shirt. He’d be fine if he needed to go and play golf.
He grabbed a pair of pumps in navy blue. He wasn’t sure if they’d fit,
but they matched the outfit. Going back to the sheik’s wardrobe he
grabbed what looked like pyjama bottoms and a light cotton vest, but
he was not wearing the tent-like garment over the top. They would be
such a snug fit it may excite his walkers. Before he left, he grabbed a
second set of pyjamas, just in case Angus was feeling shy.

* * * *

Darian knew all the information was kept in here. He had only

been in the room a couple of times before, but Nasik had been a
creature of habit. All the files were alphabetised, and sure enough,
under K he found both Kashmerle and Kingdom. Both files were
huge. It looked like he’d been doing business for years with both
companies. It wasn’t until he looked at the dates, Kashmerle’s records
went back over a century, yet Kingdom’s file was less than ten years.
Looking around, he found a small waste basket. He tipped the few
pieces of paper on the floor and put the records in the bin. It was
being untidy, but hell, they were going to blow this place up in a few
minutes, so making a mess wasn’t really an issue.

He glanced around the room. In the far corner was the small safe.

On closer investigation, he found it to be a simple combination lock.
With his hearing, he could easily hear the click when each code
engaged. Taking his time, he slowly broke down the combination to
swing the door open. Inside was a large metal case. The case itself
turned out to be a file, and there were around twenty box sets of
computer discs inside. These, again, were alphabetised.

“Bingo,” he said with a smile.
“Are you playing games now?” Gregor asked as he entered.

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“No, but I think I just hit the jackpot,” Darian replied. “The

Kashmerle and Kingdom documents are in the waste basket and this
case holds a complete set of computer discs, so I’m ready to roll.”

Gregor handed Darian his clothes. “It’s almost a shame to cover

such a beautiful body. I’d have to scratch everyone’s eyes out, but
some things have to be done,” Gregor muttered almost to himself.
“You’ve healed really well, sweetheart.”

“I don’t think their aim was to really destroy me. They just wanted

Jonah to work for them. If they’d nearly killed me, they’d have
nothing left to hold over him.”

“Yeah, I think you’re right. They’d have upped the ante, though,

every time they had a go at you, knowing you’d heal in the
meantime.”

“Gregor? Darian?”
“Hey, Jonah, you ready?” Gregor answered his walker.
“Yeah. Angus managed to break the locks.” Jonah sounded a little

uncertain.

“What wrong, baby?” Gregor asked, seeing the concern on

Darian’s face also.

“Sheik Unbar has my last set of histories. They took them before

we could stop them.”

“Leave it, and don’t worry. Just get yourselves out, and we’ll

meet you down the track.”

“Will do.”

* * * *

“Are we all set, love?” Darian asked as they picked up the case

and files and headed for the door.

“Yes, we just need to get the hell out of here.” Which may be

easier said than done, Gregor thought.

“You, you thief,” screamed Sheik Unbar as they entered the

corridor.

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119

“Oh, crap!” This was all he needed, some crazy west country

sheik chasing after them.

“Where is my falcon, you bastards? How dare you think you can

steal my peregrine?” A bullet rang out, but either the sheik was a
lousy shot or he was just trying to frighten them, as it missed both of
them. They jumped back into the office room as more bullets were
fired then Gregor heard a click.

“His cartridge is empty,” he told Darian.
“Bullets, bullets, I need more bullets,” the sheik yelled running

obviously going to fetch more.

“Now let’s move it,” Darian muttered, letting Gregor know he

knew what was happening. Gregor smiled. He guessed tigers had
damn good hearing, too.

“There may be more guards down the main stairs, but running

down the length of the corridor with our backs to the lovely sheik
when he reappears isn’t going to do us any favours, either,” Gregor
yelled as he headed down the stairs. He could hear footsteps coming
from below and dived into one of the first-floor rooms as soon as he
hit the landing.

Darian was right behind him. Footsteps thundered along the

corridor, but no one checked the room.

“How well can a bear jump and climb?” Darian asked.
“If I was a black bear I would possibly manage climbing.” Gregor

had no idea where this questioning was going and didn’t think now
was the time for that discussion.

“We’re only on the first floor. We could climb out and jump

down. I’m sure you Russian bears can do that,” Darian encouraged as
he opened the window and peered out.

“I’m actually a Eurasian brown bear, and this particular one is not

proficient at climbing or jumping!” Gregor was saying this as he
climbed out onto the deep ledge of the window.

“Wow, I’ve never heard you sound pompous before.” Darian

grinned.

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“Okay so I don’t like heights, all right? I’m a loving-the-ground

type of bear or travelling-on-water kind of bear. I’m not a climbing
and jumping bear!” At that point Gregor looked down. His head went
all fuzzy, his eyes rolled back, and he fell off the window ledge.

“Well, that’s one way to get down, I suppose,” Darian said as he

leapt from the ledge, landing safely on his feet. Tigers were very good
at climbing and jumping.

* * * *

Angus ran out in wolf form and nudged Gregor. He groaned. It

felt like he’d just fallen out of a first-floor window. Jonah followed
quickly and swooped down to pick up Gregor. “What should we do
about all these papers?”

In his pitiful escape, he had dropped the basket of files, and the

papers were scattered everywhere.

“We’ll have to leave them. We need to get out of here and blow

this place up. They’ll probably burn in the aftermath,” Darian offered.

Shots rang out from the top floor and all four, with Gregor in

Jonah’s arms, headed for the undergrowth.

* * * *

Gregor sat on the ground five hundred metres from the mansion.

He could hear shots, but it sounded like the whole place was in chaos.
He closed his eyes as he tried to block out the pain his body was
complaining about. Then he remembered and opened his palm, taking
the detonator from it. He looked up at Jonah. “Would you like to do
the honours?”

Jonah smiled. “Ka boom.”
“Oh, yes, ka boom.” He showed Jonah the switch and then leaned

back, trying not to think about what he’d managed to break and how

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121

much damage his poor little body had taken. Sometimes he really felt
like a wimp.

Ka boom, boom, boom!
In the next second he jumped and groaned. That was so not a good

idea.

“Now that was impressive,” Jonah said with a huge smile.

* * * *

Farther down the track, leaning on a hidden Defender, Alden sat

with what his brother had called a pigeon.

“Guess I know where he is now,” he said to the falcon, who was

very securely strapped to his gloved hand. He no longer had a hood,
as Alden was certain he was a shifter, but as yet he’d had no
responses from him. That was okay, though. Alden could be a very
patient man.

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Chapter Twelve

They all watched the old colonial house burn. The remnants of

stonework were scattered in a wide area but well away from the small
group of shifters. Smoke drifted up before being blown inland by the
sea breeze coming in from the west.

“That smoke is going to draw attention to this place,” Angus

murmured quietly. The whole area now had a strange stillness about
it.

“True,” Darian replied. “Plus with the blown-up car the law

enforcers will be pretty antsy at the moment.”

“Yeah, but they never do anything. It’s why Nasik based his

operations here,” Jonah responded. He was sitting behind Gregor,
supporting his back while Darian carefully ran his hands over
Gregor’s body looking for any injuries. Gregor just smiled. He
thought this was heaven, lying in the arms of one walker whilst his
other ran his loving hands all over him. His pain was slowly receding,
but at this moment he couldn’t care less.

“I don’t really think he’s hurting too much, you know?”
Gregor scowled at Angus. ”Leave them alone. They are just

taking care of me.”

“And enjoying every minute of it,” Jonah said as he slid his arms

around Gregor’s waist, gently rubbing the contours of Gregor’s abs.
As he did, Gregor’s whole body shivered.

“I know how you feel, baby,” Gregor moaned under the dual

onslaught.

“Right, I hate to break up the party, but you lot definitely need a

room, and we all need to go.” Angus huffed. He’d put on the pyjama

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123

pants, but not the vest. He’d slung that over his shoulder. He shook
his head, taking a last look at them before he headed back to the
vehicles.

“Okay, all right, we’ll move,” Gregor complained, though he

failed to move a muscle.

“He’s right, you know, love. We’ll have plenty of time for all our

loving once we’re back home. You’re just going to have to be patient,
both of you,” Darian reasoned.

“You got the wrong twin,” Gregor grumbled as Jonah helped him

stand. “Alden’s the one with all the patience. I’m more impulsive.”
He leered at Darian, remembering how he’d nearly jumped the man in
their first meeting. The only thing that had stopped him was his
Alpha.

“I didn’t get the wrong twin, my love, and impulsive suits me just

fine.”

Jonah gasped as Darian walked up and drew Gregor down for a

kiss. Gregor became instantly distracted. The kiss was slow, gentle,
and yet it teased Gregor with the fire and passion that lay beneath it.

“Wow!” Gregor gasped as he pulled away.
“That goes for you, too, my love,” Darian said as he turned to

Jonah. Gregor watched as Darian gave Jonah the same mind-blowing
kiss.

“We are so fucked,” Jonah said, obviously having been as easily

distracted as Gregor. Darian walked away and went to pull up the case
of discs he still had with him. Gregor felt like he was holding up
Jonah, not the other way round.

“Not yet, boys, but you will be.” Darian turned his head and

winked at the pair of them, giving them a leer all of his own. He
walked back past them and on down the track swinging his hips
provocatively.

They shuffled forward as quickly as they could while supporting

each. “You are so right,” Gregor moaned. “We are so very much
fucked.”

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Jonah giggled. “Yeah, but we love it.”
“Oh, hell yeah, we do!”

* * * *

“He’s close.”
“Who?” Jonah asked as he walked with Gregor.
“My brother, Alden,” Gregor answered a smile spreading across

his face. “I told you he’d be fine.”

“You never even mentioned you had a brother to me, mate,”

Jonah said sounding somewhat disgruntled.

“My twin, Alden.” Gregor frowned as he realised that Jonah

hadn’t even met Alden never mind not hearing about him. “Sorry, I
guess I should have told you he came with us. He got caught up with
that pigeon the sheik had.”

“You’re not too hot with birds, are you?” Jonah asked, his face

clear of any resentment. Gregor was grateful for the open, honest
heart Jonah had. He was obviously not one to hold a grudge. Gregor
had apologised. That had been more than enough to gain his
forgiveness. Gregor swore then to never take advantage of that quality
in his walker.

“Nope, neither variety has ever interested me.” He leered at Jonah.

“But I’m absolutely fascinated by Indian gharial crocodiles and those
Bengal tigers.”

Jonah laughed. They were back on solid ground and all was

well...for the time being...hopefully.

As they approached the Defenders, the tall, strong back that could

only be his brother’s stood out as it leaned against the hood of the
vehicle.

“Yo, bro, I’d like you to meet someone really important to me.”

As Gregor said the words his brother turned with a smile on his face.
“This is Jonah.” He stopped. He couldn’t remember if he’d ever heard
Jonah’s last name.

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125

“Seems to me we’ve both been remiss with our information,”

Jonah interrupted Gregor before turning back to Alden. “G’day mate,
I’m Jonah Morack, giant Indian gharial crocodile and spirit walker to
Darian and Gregor here.” Jonah grinned and held out his hand. Gregor
smiled, his walker loved throwing in his Aussie accent when he
wanted to throw people off.

“It’s great to finally meet you.” They shook hands firmly, a

genuine smile crossing Alden’s face. Gregor was pleased to see they
were going to get on.

“How’s your pigeon?” Gregor asked while looking round for

Darian. As soon as he caught Darian’s eye, the man hurried over,
slipping in under Gregor’s spare arm.

Jonah shook his head in despair. “You mean Matthew James

Cashmerlon, the peregrine falcon.”

“Matty to his friends,” Darian added on, gently stroking the

feathers on the chest of the falcon perched on Alden’s wrist. Both
Jonah and Gregor growled. “Oh, don’t be silly, boys. Matty is lovely,
but he rarely shifts, and you know that, Jonah.”

Gregor and Alden stared at each other. Gregor knew they were

thinking the same thing. Of another time and a different Matthew
James Kashmerle.

Was this just a coincidence? Gregor very much doubted it. This

pigeon could be...surely not?

“What are we going to do with him?” Gregor asked the group in

general, leaving his thoughts unspoken. Angus had also approached
now that he’d changed into his own clothes.

“I suggest we make a move for the hangar. We need to refuel

before we take off. We can just take the pigeon with us. If he’s a
shifter he’ll have no diseases.”

The falcon squawked loudly at this point.
“Well, at least we know he understands us,” Alden piped up

helpfully, a sad smile touching his face.

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“Yeah,” continued Angus, staring straight at the bird. “If he

doesn’t want to go he’ll have to shift and tell us.”

“Okay, let’s get in and go. I’ve had more than enough of India to

last me a lifetime,” Gregor muttered.

“Me, too, my loves, me, too.” Darian smiled.

* * * *

“I’ve called Enda. He wants us out of India right away. The

bullion and stone grapevine is full of rumours about the stonecutting
industry in India,” Angus informed them, coming to their vehicle
when they arrived at the hangar. “Alden’s lowering the ramp so we
can put the vehicles on the plane. Grab what you need, and I’ll take
the vehicle round.”

“How did the news get out so fast? Nasik and Sheik Unbar are

dead. Well, I don’t think Unbar survived,” Jonah questioned.

“Yes, but one man got away,” Darian replied in his soft, quiet

voice.

“Would he have anything to do with your theory, love?” Gregor

remembered the smaller man had mentioned something about that a
long time ago. Fuck, it was only a day ago!

Darian nodded as he climbed out of the Defender with his

walkers. Jonah had driven as Gregor was still healing. Well, that’s
what he’d said.

Angus jumped in, and they walked round to the stairs and climbed

onboard.

“Hell, I really have gone up in the world!” Jonah said as he

entered the Kashmerle jet.

“Shit, I never thought Jonah, do you have any stuff you need us to

collect for you? Documents, books, files, personal stuff, you know?”
Gregor asked, feeling ashamed as he’d just thought they would come
pick him up and go home.

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127

Jonah looked down. “Nah, mate, my stuff will be gone now. It’s

been six weeks, more even, since we were taken. My place will have
been ransacked by now. Didn’t have much anyhow. Mom kept all my
stuff when she dropped me off here. Since then I didn’t see the point
of having much.” He looked up and shrugged.

Gregor smiled. “How old are you?”
“I turned sixty-three this year, at the end of June. Why?”
“You’ve got plenty of time to start learning how to collect things

again. I’ll introduce you to a friend of mine. He’s been collecting for
over five hundred years. You’d never be able to pack him up.” He
grinned.

“So how old are you, old man?” Jonah asked with a wicked gleam

in his eyes.

“Now, that’s not nice, Jonah. Leave the poor man alone in his

dotage.” Darian giggled.

“Geez, make a man feel good, why don’t you? Especially after he

fell out of a window,” Gregor whined giving them his best hard-done-
by eyes.

“Look, I’m ninety-nine. I’ll be a century next year in August.”

Darian beamed at his achievement.

“Oh, hell, now I’m never telling either of you.” Gregor sat down

and waited for the others to climb onboard.

When they got on, Jonah grinned. Looking at Gregor, he

whispered, “Gotcha!” Turning to look at Gregor’s brother, Jonah
opened his mouth to speak.

Suddenly, Gregor knew what his intentions were. “No,” he yelled,

jumping up and grabbing Jonah around the waist before putting his
hand over his mouth. They both came crashing to the floor at Alden’s
feet. “Hey, remember, I’m fragile after my injuries.” All of which had
healed by now.

Totally ignoring his walker’s complaint, Darian supplied sweetly,

“What Jonah was going to ask was your age, Alden. Gregor seems to

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Ellen Quinn

have a problem with it.” This would have worked had he not been
grinning from ear to ear.

Alden smiled. “You know you should never ask a shifter his age.”
“Hell, it’s no secret they’re both three hundred seventy-six, seven

on the fifteenth and sixteenth of February.” Angus ducked as Alden
went to punch him.

“I thought you were twins. So how do you have different

birthdays? Were you born either side of midnight?”

Gregor let go of a chuckling Jonah. “No, if we had it would have

been a really interesting story. But the reality is the Kranskis couldn’t
remember which day we were born, on the fifteenth or the sixteenth,
so as Alden came first he was given the fifteenth.”

“And my dear old brother here got the sixteenth.”
Gregor growled.
“Wow, really?” Angus asked, having never heard of this fact.
“Yes!” the brothers said in unison.
“And it’s time to go,” Alden continued. “Us old folk will start.

Angus, you can take over after we’ve refuelled in Mombasa. There
was only enough here to get us that far.”

“No problems, Gramps.”
“We are going to have to draw straws as to who gets to kill him,”

Gregor muttered as he headed into the cockpit.

“Not if I get my hands on the red wolf first.” Alden huffed as he

followed his brother.

“Hey, where did you stuff that pigeon?”

* * * *

“Did you see what Alden did with Matty?” Darian whispered to

Jonah. He didn’t want to wake Angus, who was snoring loudly in the
forward seats of the cabin.

“He has to be up here, doesn’t he?” Jonah answered, looking

about for any hint of his whereabouts.

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129

“He’ll be with the Defenders as the whole plane is pressurised.

Alden will have left him down there so he feels less threatened,” the
previously snoring wolf called out. “You can get down there through
the lower back stairs.”

“Thanks,” Darian mumbled as they both headed down the stairs.
“Matty, Matty, come on, love, where are you?” Darian scanned

the lower deck but didn’t see the bird anywhere.

“Darian, he’s here,” Jonah called out from the back of one of the

Defenders.

Sure enough, Matty was attached to a secure bird stand which was

part of a container. That had he been a real falcon would have been
excellent. Unfortunately, Matty was not and as with many bird
shifters, he hated flying.

Darian had known Matty since Sheik Unbar had captured him

some twenty-nine years ago. Matty had been searching for someone
his whole life, or so it seemed to Darian whenever he managed to
speak to the small man. This someone he was looking for, Matty only
ever referred to as Captain Feathers. Whenever he did, it was with
such confusion and loneliness that Darian had never wanted to dig
deeper and cause the man more pain. He’d assumed his capture had
separated them.

“Let’s get him out of here. Alden’s done his best, but our Matty

can’t be happy like this.” They carefully removed the ties that held
him secure and let him jump free.

He flew up in the limited space, going up and down the bay.

Finally, stopping just in front of the two men, he stood on the deck
and shimmered.

“Hi, Matty.” Darian smiled.
“Hello, my friend,” Matty replied, his voice husky with lack of

use.

“You okay?” Jonah asked. Matty shook his head and started to

shake quite violently. Jonah enveloped him in a warm embrace while
Darian rubbed his back in a soothing motion. He was such a small,

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Ellen Quinn

sweet thing. Though there was nothing sexual in it for either Darian or
Jonah, they’d both looked out for the fellow every time the sheik
brought him by.

“I can smell him, Darian, I smelled him on that man. It was only

faint, very faint, but he had been in contact with my Captain
Feathers.” His voice was so strained. He looked at Darian with those
pale green eyes, innocence and a desperate hopefulness shining within
them. “I’ve been waiting to find him for over two hundred fifty years.
I’m close I know I’m close.”

“I’m sure he is out there, sweetheart,” Darian encouraged.
“He’s been here in this plane. I can smell his beautiful scent.”

Matty was close to tears as his eyes began to glisten.

“This is the Kashmerle Company jet, maybe he’s one of the

pack?” Jonah offered.

“Kashmerle, Kashmerle,” Matty wavered.
“Yes, it’s a very similar name to yours. We thought that when we

heard it,” Darian added, trying to relieve the tension that had come
over the small shifter’s body.

“Kashmerle...my Craig.” Matty collapsed on the floor,

shimmering as he went down, so in the end he was left as a large
peregrine falcon with piercing black eyes.

“What did he say at the end?” Jonah asked.
“‘Kashmerle’ again, my love.” Darian looked up at Jonah as he

carefully picked up the unconscious bird.

“I’m sure he said something after that.” Jonah frowned.
“It was probably just ‘Kashmerle’ again.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“We can always ask him later if you want. He’s in no shape now

to explain himself.” Darian laid him down on a soft jacket in the back
of the Defender, making sure all the windows were open for easy
access for the bird.

“Sleep well, my little Matty.”

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131

* * * *

Gregor wandered into the main bay of the plane, Angus having

taken over from him. He needed to sleep. They all did. It had only
been, what, three days since they’d left Scotland, or was it four? God,
he had no idea. He’d been running on adrenaline for days now. He
looked around, but he couldn’t see his walkers. He grinned. They
were in the back, they had to be. He knew the pigeon was okay.
They’d told him they’d already checked on the bird. So that only left
the living areas, and knowing his walkers, they just had to be cuddled
up to each other somewhere on this plane.

He ventured down the corridor, pushing open the doors. Right at

the back was the main sleeping area, though what he found was not
what he expected. A huge, glorious Indian gharial crocodile was laid
diagonally across the bed, its tail curling round. Wrapped around this
beast was a beautiful Bengal tiger. They’d left a space which Gregor
decided was definitely Eurasian-brown-bear shaped, if a little tight on
space. He removed his clothes with absolutely no finesse and dumped
them in a pile on the neatly folded clothes of his lovers. Letting his
bear take over, he crawled onto the bed. He’d never cuddled a croc
before. It was unusual but hey, he smelled great. Gregor closed his
eyes and drifted off.

* * * *

An hour later, Darian was looking at his two lovers. Both of them

had decided to move and in the process had completely wrecked the
bed. It now leaned precariously to the side.

Crunch! Okay, now it didn’t. Neither man, or should he say beast,

as he was also in tiger form, had woken. He shook his head. They
would have to go bed shopping when they got back and not just for
the plane.

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Chapter Thirteen

Alden was tired. He’d completed the whole flight, but he didn’t

begrudge his brother’s time with his walkers. It actually gave him
hope that maybe, just maybe, his walker was out there. He also knew
that he should travel more. Both Gregor’s walkers had been in India,
for heaven’s sake, and it was only by a quirk of the Fates that their
paths had crossed.

He had a lover, and they had been together for a good long time

now, but they weren’t each other’s spirit walkers. Their connection
had come from grief and loneliness, and he loved him deeply. But he
had a feeling things were soon going to change. And in his case, not
for the better.

He lowered the ramp to unload the Defenders. Angus was going

to drive them back with him while the lovers were returning on the
helicopter. He was certain that the falcon they had found belonged
with their pack, he just hoped it was not for the man he loved. It was
probably a futile hope, of course, but he could pretend just for a little
longer that his lover was still his.

“Squawk!”
“No!” Alden screamed as the beautiful falcon took to wing.

“Don’t go, please don’t go. There is someone you have to meet. He
needs you back. He has missed you every single day for the last two
hundred sixty odd years.”

God, how long had it been since Matt had died? He was ashamed

to say he couldn’t remember the exact year. He knew someone who
would know, though, and he was certain deep down in his heart that
that falcon and his old friend, Matt, were linked. How, he didn’t

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133

know, but they were. It was just so right and so obvious. He was sure
the Fates had done it on purpose, one of the many games they played
in shifters’ lives.

He looked at the beautiful falcon. He knew he couldn’t stop him

from leaving, but he also knew the bird could understand him. “Please
listen,” he said, and the bird turned in the air to look at him. “Craig
Kashmerle. If you are who I believe you to be, that will mean
something to you.”

The falcon cried out again. It was a cry of loneliness and despair.
“He’s here at Kashmerle, and he still loves you.” Tears were

rolling down Alden’s face. Not being one to show his emotions, it felt
a little strange to him. But he was basically handing over his love, and
the hurt went deep. “Please go home, you know where it is.”

The falcon cried out again. It still sounded lonely, but stronger.

The falcon dipped its head and turned, leaving Alden stood on the
asphalt at the end of the ramp.

“Go find him. He’s always been yours.”

* * * *

Kash, Jez, and Enda sat in the offices on the lower level of the

castle.

“Do you think Darian may be right?” Kash asked.
“I think he’s right about Nasik just being a wheel in the system. I

also think it was no loss to this Sheik Unbar or our illustrious Mr.
Kingdom when he died,” Enda replied understanding Kash’s concern.

“It’s a shame most of those discs were corrupted.” Jez scowled.
“Yes, but the most interesting fact was what Darian said about

those paper files. How ours and Kingdom’s were the same size, yet
the dates differed from a century to just a decade.”

“He’s always wanted to be a major stone dealer in the world

market,” Kash added. “There’s only our company in the UK which is
bigger than Kingdom’s stone dealership.”

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“Ay, and we deal on the world market. Even his European

connections are limited,” Enda said.

“I think he wants our commercial market. He wants our traders.

That’s why Jonah was needed to try and frame us.” Jez smiled. “But
he can’t compete with our suppliers as they are nonexistent. He can’t
interrupt the flow of our recourses because we’re sitting on top of
them. So how does he stop us from trading? By providing evidence to
prove we are working with stolen or misappropriated gold and
stones.”

“Fuck, I think he’s got it!” Enda piped up.
“Well, our collection is stolen and was misappropriated.” Kash

grinned.

“Right again, but that’s just a minor detail,” Enda said, trying to

stop from shaking with laughter at the irony of all of this.

“Jonah brought nearly all of our stones back. He says there’s just

one bag missing. Those stones haven’t been to the assay office, so
they’re only invoiced as ours. They’re not registered,” Jez continued.
“We need to make sure we shut down any leads.”

“We’ll still need to look out for the stones, as Jonah’s family can

still be used to file false histories,” Enda said, rubbing his chin. He
knew Daniel was upstairs in his quarters, and he really wanted to call
it a night.

“We can look out for them. Just don’t claim them.”
“That’s easy enough done. You’ve always monitored the trading

of large stones, and we’ll just have to keep an eye out through our
contacts for those particular ones,” Enda spoke in answer to Jez’s
suggestion.

“The only thing left is where we ship our stones from now on. We

can’t go back to India. We need to have the impression of a supply
feed to legalise our collection,” Kash said.

Jez grinned. “Conrad, he’ll do it.”
“Conrad?” Enda looked at Jez, seeing the scepticism all over his

face.

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135

“Conrad is a good man. Okay, he spends most of his time chasing

female lions down on the Amboseli game reserve, but he can be
trusted.”

“So we trade out of Kenya. That could work,” Enda agreed.
“And Tanzania and Zanzibar, they’re close and are large ports.

Well, Zanzibar isn’t, but the black market is rife there, and they’ll
close their eyes to anything for a dollar,” Kash added.

“Let’s try not to break too many laws,” Enda finished as he stood

up. “I’m still going to invite Mr. Kingdom to the Christmas party. It
will be interesting to see how he deals with it and us.”

Enda walked out of his office at a near run. He had four levels to

climb to get to his bedroom via his very own staircase. He reckoned
he was going to break his record.

* * * *

They walked toward his rooms. Gregor was feeling very nervous.

They’d collected Darian’s things and surprisingly a lot of Jonah’s,
too. Gregor should have known Darian would bring Jonah’s clothes
and personal items as well as his own. He was the heart of their spirit
and would forever look out for them with his quiet strength and love.

He was nervous about their future home. He had one of the

smallest apartments in the castle. He had never got used to having
space. He was a bear. He liked cosy and warm. Enda had an amazing
suite of rooms, but he’d feel lost with all that separate space. He really
did contradict himself, as he also liked his home open and everything
in one area. He supposed it was his bear nature, everything in one
place with no enclosed spaces. When he’d set his home up it was with
his walker in mind, but it had only been one walker. Now he had two.
His home had nowhere they could go to have some quiet time unless
they wanted to shut themselves in the bedroom or bathroom or climb
the stairs to the roof terrace. He opened his door and let his men
through.

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Ellen Quinn

Jonah grinned. “Wow, look at this place.”
“I told you you’d like it.” Darian smiled. He looked at Gregor,

shaking his head. He asked, “Why so worried, love?”

I must look really stupid, Gregor thought.
“I know it’s just one big room, but if you want your own private

space we can break it up or join it to another section of the castle
below us so we have two floors. Then you can all have your own
rooms, somewhere to hide and be alone.”

“Why the hell do we need more rooms?” Jonah asked, frowning at

Gregor. “If you didn’t want us in your space you just had do was say
so, I’ll go share with Darian.”

Jonah did not look happy.
“No, no, that’s not what I want,” Gregor jumped in.
“Then what do you mean? I know you like your freedom, and I

understand why. We don’t have to invade your space. This is your
home.” Darian looked so sad, and Gregor could tell he was
desperately trying to work out what Gregor meant.

“No, I’m explaining this all wrong.”
“Well, explain it right, mate, ‘cause if you keep hurting Darian

like this, walker or not I will flatten you!”

“Jonah, don’t you dare. Now let’s just sit down and let Gregor say

his peace,” Darian intervened, slowly pushing Gregor to the huge
sofas at the far side of the room.

Gregor sat down on one and expected them to sit on the other, but

Darian was having none of that. Darian sat in the middle and Jonah on
the opposite end, though Jonah did grab Darian by the waist and pull
him into his arms, a frown still marring his gorgeous face. Gregor felt
a fool, they’d been in his home less than five minutes, and he’d
already fucked up big style.

Idiot!
He looked down at his hands, getting his thoughts together. Shit,

here goes...

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137

“Freedom has a slightly different meaning to me than you realise.

Yes, I was a slave for nearly twenty years, but that was a long time
ago, and although I will never ever like those slave cuffs, it’s in the
past.” Gregor paused to look at them. “My freedom is you, my spirit
walkers.” Looking down again he continued, “I’m three hundred
seventy-six years old.” He smiled as he said it. “And I’ve always been
alone. Yes, there have been men in my life. I can’t deny that. But a lot
less than you’d think. You get real tired of one-night stands after a
while. And when I watched what loving someone who wasn’t your
walker did to Kash, I swore I would never go down that path. I was
trapped in a very lonely cage, and you set me free. My home is open
because I knew when I found you I wouldn’t want any walls between
us, that I’d want to be able to feel like I was with you wherever you
were.” His voice hitched as he swallowed a sob.

Looking up, he nearly jumped out of his skin, as both Darian and

Jonah had moved. They were practically on top of him.

“I love you, both of you...”
That was all it took. Darian flung himself into Gregor’s arms as

Jonah wrapped both of them in his embrace.

“I love both of you, too, and I never want a wall between us

again,” Darian said while placing indiscriminate kisses all over
Gregor’s face. Jonah was leaving kisses all down Gregor’s neck,
murmuring soft words of love.

“I love you two as well, and I don’t need anywhere to go and

hide,” Jonah said as he lifted his head and smiled. “Mind you, if you
happen to have a swamp nearby that would be so cool.”

Gregor started laughing, and soon all of them were nearly crying

in a heap on the sofa.

“I’m hungry,” Jonah said when they eventually calmed down.
“Oh, crap, there’ll be nothing in the kitchen over in the corner. I

very rarely eat in here. The kitchens always have food.” Gregor
stumbled, worried again he was not providing for his walkers.

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Ellen Quinn

“I don’t think it was that sort of hunger,” Darian said as he slid his

soft, loving hands down both their cocks. A wicked smirk was
covering his beautiful features.

“You got that right. I’m after a walker sandwich with extra cum.”
“Oh, phew, Jonah, agh!” Darian screamed when both Jonah and

Gregor stood up and pulled him into their arms.

“The only door here leads to the bedroom,” Gregor said, pulling

both Jonah and Darian in that direction.

“And it’s never to be closed. Well, unless we’re all inside and

don’t care,” Darian filled in before he giggled and started undoing
Gregor’s shirt. When Gregor finally got them in the room, he tossed
Darian on the bed. He bounced and looked up, grinning at his lovers.

Gregor and Jonah looked at each other and smiled. Turning, they

both stared down at Darian and said, “Strip!”

Clothes were tossed everywhere until all three men were naked

and fully aroused. Darian started to slowly stroke his cock, and
Gregor knew he hadn’t seen anything so erotic. Jonah groaned beside
him as they stood at the end of the bed watching Darian pleasure
himself.

“Let’s give him a show,” Gregor said as he pulled Jonah’s

shoulders round so they were facing each other, their erections
bumping together.

Jonah gripped both their cocks in his large hands. “Yes,” he hissed

as his pulled on their erections. Gregor pulled him closer and crushed
their lips together. Just as he did so, he heard Darian whimper from
the bed.

“God, that is so damn hot, and you’re all mine!” he squealed out

as he moved up the bed and ran his hands up their muscled thighs. He
leaned in and followed his fingers with his tongue, sliding his palms
round their firm buttocks. His fingers eased gently down their creases,
the light caresses making Gregor’s whole body shiver.

He pulled away from Jonah and motioned them onto the bed. He

went round and grabbed the lube from the bedside cabinet and slicked

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139

up his fingers. He grinned as he handed it to Jonah. “Why don’t you
get our tiger ready?”

“Now you’re talking, mate.” Jonah grinned as he applied an ample

amount of lube to his fingers.

Gregor laughed. Whenever Jonah got excited or unsure of himself

his Aussie accent crept out. And he was damn sure his walker wasn’t
uncertain at the moment.

Jonah tossed the lube on the bed and leaned over Darian, who was

waiting. His eyes were dilated with lust as Jonah kissed him. Sliding
his knees between Darian’s legs, he spread them wide as he continued
devouring his lover.

He leaned up and looked at Darian’s exposed hole. “God, that’s

perfect,” he said before tracing his slicked finger around his entrance.

“Please, Jonah, I need you in me,” Darian moaned as he thrust his

hips as best he could to impale himself on Jonah’s fingers.

“Okay, baby, you asked for it.” Jonah eased a finger deep into his

hole, sliding in and out quickly before adding a second.

“Kiss him,” Gregor demanded as he watched Jonah prepare their

walker. He felt no jealousy. He couldn’t. They were of one spirit, a
spirit that had walked alone for a long time before it found its home.

As Jonah leaned forward, he slid his finger into Darian. “Fuck

yeah!” He growled as Gregor showed him no mercy, either.

“Now, boys, I’m ready. Let’s fuck please!” Darian begged.
Jonah whipped his fingers out and used the last remnants of lube

on his engorged cock. “Here I come, baby,” he said as he pushed deep
inside his lover. He kissed Darian as he settled deep within him.

Darian whimpered, “I love you, both of you.”
“I love you, too, baby,” Jonah murmured.
“Me, too, my lovers.” Gregor paused and looked down at the pair

of them. “You ready, sweet cheeks?” he asked, a smirk crossing his
face.

“Sweet cheeks?” Jonah growled.

140

Ellen Quinn

“Well, from where I am it certainly looks that way.” As Gregor

finished he thrust his cock into Jonah, whose reply was suddenly lost
in his groan. Jonah was so tight Gregor knew he wasn’t going to last,
so he slowly started rocking. Jonah caught on to the rhythm and began
to push with him. Together, they built up momentum.

“Holy fuck, this...wow, it’s...oh yes, harder, it’s like nothing...oh

yes, you’re both fucking me...” Darian was getting very vocal but not
really making any sense. Gregor loved it. Suddenly, Darian screamed
out their names as ropes of cum exploded from his cock, covering
both Jonah and him. Darian’s reaction must have tipped Jonah over
the edge. As his climax hit his whole body shuddered, and his channel
pulsed around Gregor’s cock.

“I love you!” Gregor managed before his sight blurred and white

lights flashed before his eyes. His orgasm was like nothing he’d ever
felt before. His spirit was complete, and his search finally over.

He slumped down beside Darian, his arm crossing over the

smaller man to rest on Jonah’s hip. Jonah had lain on the other side of
Darian and ran his hand across the man’s chest.

Darian snuggled between them, holding onto them as sleep began

to creep over them. “You know, boys, one of these days I’d like to
top.” Darian paused, waiting for their reply.

“Of course, my love,” Jonah answered.
“Anytime, I’m good with that.”
“Good. It will be one hell of a ride!” Darian giggled.
Gregor smiled. He didn’t know what Darian was on about.

Sinking into sleep, he didn’t care. He had his walkers in his arms, and
he gave out a deep, quiet rumble. His bear had never been more
content.

A Spirit’s Freedom

141

Epilogue

One month later

Gregor sat on his balcony. No, he didn’t. He sat on their balcony

and smiled. It was early in the morning, and his walkers were sound
asleep, wrapped around each other in their huge bed. They were still
settling in, but deep down in his heart it felt so damn right. They’d
widened and deepened the pond by the castle with a little help from
William and Percy. He’d spent half the afternoon fighting over a huge
fallen log with a very stubborn crocodile. Who’d ever have imagined
a seven-hundred-pound brown bear could have so much fun with an
eight-hundred-pound Indian crocodile? They’d even built a raised
deck to one side, on which perched a four-hundred-pound tiger who
watched their silly games with both amusement and just a little
disdain.

Gregor laughed. Life was good. He gazed along the balconies that

ran along this side of the castle. Two down, his brother also sat on the
railings, looking out over the land and sea. He smiled and lifted his
hand in salute. His brother had been acting strange ever since they got
back, almost as though he was pushing himself away from everyone.
He’d cornered him this evening and finally got the truth out of him. It
all related to that bloody pigeon and the fact he had found his walkers.
Gregor had known about Alden and Kash being lovers. He’d also
known it was just a way to combat the same loneliness he had felt
before Darian and Jonah had arrived on the scene. It wasn’t worth the
pain it left behind. Both Alden and Kash were now sullen and nothing
had happened about the pigeon.

142

Ellen Quinn

He hoped like hell all his pack mates found their walkers. It was a

feeling not one of them should have to wait for.

“Gregor, honey bear, where are you?” Darian’s soft voice floated

out from their bedroom.

“Just out on the balcony, love,” he answered.
“You okay?” Jonah’s concerned voiced joined the conversation.
“Never better.” He smiled. He was going to have to go back in as

they would now mither him to death until he convinced them that was
so.

“It’s much cosier in here,” Darian said in the most seductive

voice. “I’m sure we can find something to do to keep you occupied
until you can get to sleep.”

“I could rub your back,” Jonah said with enthusiasm. “And your

front,” he added with a chuckle.

“And I could always top you.” Darian giggled rubbing his own

cock. Both he and Jonah growled. Now that was definitely something
to go back to bed for!

Gregor shook his head. His walkers were insatiable, and he loved

it.

Standing up he waved goodnight to Alden and disappeared into

the warmth and love he knew he’d find within.

THE END

WWW.ELLENQUINN.CO.UK

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ellen Quinn loves writing when her family has finally all gone to

sleep. In the early hours she will be found creating stories about
amazing heroes and charming rogues.

Also by Ellen Quinn

Siren Classic ManLove: Spirit Walkers 1: Spirit Found

Available at

BOOKSTRAND.COM

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

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