To Enchant An Eagle

When  love  is  on  the  line,  crossing  it  is  the  only
path to take.

Eaton Franks has had his eye on Marty, the leader
of the hawks, for a long time. After he rescues the
bad boy, things take a tragic turn and it looks as if
the  gang  leader  might  never  fly  again.  When
Eaton  has  the  chance  to  use  a  sorcerer  to  fix  the
love of his life, little does he know it  will lead to
his own abduction.

Marty is beside himself when his eagle shifter is

stolen. He knows they are mates and he’s willing
to do anything to get him back. However, now he
has to decide if he is willing to give up his hawk
half in order to save his eagle. Sometimes love
makes a man do crazy things.

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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters,
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imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance
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entirely coincidental.

To Enchant An Eagle

ISBN: 978-1-77111-523-0

Cover art by Angela Waters

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To Enchant An Eagle

Banded Brothers Book Three

Amber Kell

Chapter One

I think you need to recheck your numbers.”

“Hmm?” Eaton kept his gaze outside even

though his mind was focused on other things. His
thoughts  bounced  around  like  a  ball  in  one  of
those old time lotto machines, spinning around in
an  air-filled  dome  without  rhyme  or  reason.
Concentration  vanished  as  he  tried  to  grasp  a
small sphere of an idea, but lost it to the spinning
masses.

Marty lay in other room while concern and fear

nibbled  at  Eaton  in  equal  measure.  Would  Marty
wake  up?  Even  the  doctor  didn’t  know.  Eaton
worried  his  bottom  lip  with  his  teeth  as  concern
creased  his  brow.  He  pressed  his  face  to  the
window, letting the cool glass absorb some of his
heat and soothe his restless spirit.

“You have an error.”
Eaton sighed. “I probably have several.” He still

didn’t turn around. His studies beckoned, but he
ignored their call. Instead, he watched the hawks
circling Harris’s window. He had a bet going with

“I

Amber Kell

Carey about long it would take the patient bear to
get out his rifle and start picking the birds off one
by one. Harris hated it when people messed with
his light while he was painting.

“Your

conclusion

lacks

supporting

documentation, and you skipped a few steps,” the
annoying man continued.

Eaton groaned before turning back to his study

partner.  Somehow  lab  work  for  his  advanced
physics  class  failed  to  grab  any  of  his  attention
while  his  life  lay  in  tatters.  How  could  even  the
beauty  of  a  perfectly  balanced  equation  compete
with  the  love  of  his  life  unconscious  in  the  next
room? Still, he did owe Gallen an apology.

“Sorry, I guess I’m distracted today,” he told

his lab partner.

Gallen Theos narrowed his eyes at his Eaton. “I

don’t know why you’re so scattered, Eaton, but
you need to pull it together. This test is thirty
percent of your grade. If you don’t pass this class,
it won’t matter how brilliant your dissertation is—
you won’t be able to present it.”

Eaton nodded. He knew that, he did. He just

couldn’t seem to care.

“You’re right.” He forced his feet to walk their

way back to the table, then sat down. No matter
what happened with Marty, he needed to pull his
shit together and make sure he didn’t flunk out of
college. Eaton’s dissertation only had a bit more to

To Enchant An Eagle

go before he could defend it to his board. First,
however, he needed to finish all his classes.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Gallen asked.
Eaton blinked at his lab partner in surprise.

Gallen had a reputation for being a cold, uncaring
sort of person. With his icy blond hair and silver-
green  eyes,  Gallen  could  have  men  or  women
eating  out  of  his  hand,  but  he  never  appeared  to
notice any of the people watching him. More than
one person mentioned Gallen’s standoffishness to
Eaton  when  he’d  been  assigned  Gallen  as  a  lab
partner. Eaton never responded to other students’
probing questions. He didn’t gossip, he knew too
well  how  much  it  hurt  to  be  pointed  out  as
different.

Eaton figured either Gallen had someone

already  or  he  was  so  focused  on  being  an  A
student he didn’t allow for any distractions. Eaton
had  met  grad  students  before  who  had  almost
tunnel  vision  and  weren’t  interested  in  anything
other  than  their  research.  He  didn’t  know  Gallen
well enough to decide if that was how he thought
or if he was indeed a cold bastard.

Gallen’s focus on studying even outdid Eaton’s

own obsession. Now that he thought about it, he
didn’t know Gallen’s major or even the subject of
his doctoral thesis. His lab partner never even told
Eaton his specific field of study.

“My boyfriend is in a coma,” Eaton blurted out.

Amber Kell

He winced as the words escaped his mouth.

Marty  would  probably  molt  if  he  ever  heard
himself  described  as  Eaton’s  boyfriend.  Did  they
even  have  a  relationship?  One  that  consisted  of
more  than  Eaton’s  unbridled  crush  on  the  hawk
leader? A sigh slid from Eaton, long and heartfelt.
He wished he’d taken the opportunity to let Marty
touch him. Now he might never know the feel of
the hawk shifter’s hands across his body.

He’d nervously stayed away, hoping Marty’s

feelings  for  him  might  grow.  His  desire  to  be
something  more  than  another  feather  on  Marty’s
belt  had  led  to  him  resisting  Marty’s  advances.
Now he worried Marty wouldn’t wake again and
Eaton  would  never  forgive  himself  for  the
opportunity lost.

“I didn’t know you had a boyfriend. Is he an

eagle, too?”

Eaton blinked to focus. He frowned as Gallen’s

words sank in. “You know I’m an eagle shifter?”

Gallen nodded.
Eaton scraped his memory, but couldn’t recall

telling Gallen he was any kind of paranormal at
all. “How?”

Gallen laughed. “I’ve known a lot of shifters. I

grew up in a shifter town. Besides, Eaton, you’re
probably the only person who hasn’t asked me
about my eyes, which immediately pegs you as a
paranormal. I creep out most of our classmates.”

To Enchant An Eagle

“I figured if you wanted me to know, you’d tell

me.”  Eaton  shrugged.  He  didn’t  care  what  a
person  was  as  long  as  they  treated  other  people
well.  If  they  were  jerks,  he  kicked  their  ass  and
moved on. He might not look like a tough guy, but
Aden Gage, his best friend’s dad, had taught him
how  to  fight  dirty  and  handle  a  gun.  No  one
messed with him more than once.

When Gallen had been paired up with him as a

lab partner, it hadn’t occurred to Eaton to protest.
He had wondered about Gallen’s unusual silvery
eyes,  but  not  everyone  enjoyed  discussing  their
true nature. Eaton rarely told anyone what he was
unless  he  knew  for  a  fact  they  were  friendly  to
paras. Paranormals might be the worst kept secret
in  Seattle,  but  as  long  as  no  one  confirmed  there
were things that went bump in the day and night,
humans could live in their happy bubble of denial.

“I’m a sorcerer,” Gallen confessed.
“Oh.” Eaton tilted his head as he regarded his

fellow student. He’d never met a sorcerer before.
At least not that he knew of. “Why are you
studying physics?”

“Physics and magic have a lot of the same

properties. There are rules that both must follow.
A  natural  guideline,  if  you  will.  If  you  wander
outside  either  of  those  boundaries  there  are
consequences.”  Gallen’s  gaze  slid  up  and  down
Eaton’s  body  before  he  looked  away.  “What’s

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wrong with your boyfriend?” he asked abruptly.

Remembering Marty’s broken body brought

anger rushing through him and his fingertips
transformed into talons. It took several long, slow
breaths before he could speak and even then he
could feel the bird trying to come out. If he hadn’t
already killed the hawk that had hurt Marty, he’d
go back and rip him apart, slowly. A bullet to the
head was too fast for the bastard.

“He’s in a coma recovering from an attack. I’m

worried he won’t ever be able to shift and use his
wings again.” Pain ripped through Eaton at the
thought of a grounded hawk. His hawk. Nothing
felt better than the breeze sliding across his animal
form, and he didn’t know a single bird shifter who
felt differently. To be denied that pleasure would
rip out Marty’s soul. Eaton stood up and began to
move back and forth across the room, unable to sit
still while Marty lay so still. As if compelled into
action for both of them.

Gallen tilted his head as he watched Eaton pace.

“He’s an eagle, too?”

Eaton shook his head. “No, a hawk.”
“That explains the flock circling your house. I

wondered about that,” Gallen said, amusement
lighting his silvery eyes.

When Carey had returned to town, he’d settled

the hawks into the third floor, cleaning out the rest
of the attic rooms that had been abandoned long

To Enchant An Eagle

ago.  Every  few  hours,  one  of  the  hawk  shifters
located their balls and dared to peek in on Marty,
but none of them stayed for long, not after Eaton
glared  them  down.  They  hadn’t  protected  Marty
when  he  needed  it,  they  didn’t  deserve  to  watch
over him now. Eaton didn’t allow any of them too
close to his hawk. They knew better than to defy
him  after  he  put  a  bullet  through  the  arm  of  the
first hawk shifter who got mouthy.

They feared him now.
Eaton couldn’t stop the smile of satisfaction.

He’d never considered himself violent before, but
after what they’d allowed Marty to suffer through,
he’d quite happily pluck them all bald. Marty had
protected and led them for years, and they had
turned their back on him the first time he wanted
something for himself.

Eaton had told them they were all free to go

and  find  new  nests.  He  refused  to  do  anything
except  board  them  until  Marty  woke  up.  He
wasn’t going to be a leader of hawks. He wanted
their  true  leader  to  wake  up  and  kick  their
collective  feathered  asses  himself.  However,  they
were  Marty’s  hawks  until  a  new  leader  was
chosen. Eaton didn’t have the right to kick them to
the curb until Marty gave him the go-ahead.

The sound of heavy footsteps heralded the

arrival of Harris before he lumbered into the
room.

Amber Kell

“How’s Marty doing?” he asked.
Being a bear shifter, Harris always held a

commanding presence when he walked into any
room. The fact that he was in fact a gentle-hearted
artist with a beautiful soul often took most people
by surprise.

“No change,” Eaton offered Harris a half-smile.

He couldn’t quite ramp up the energy for
believable fake happiness. “He’s healing slowly.”

It might be better that Marty remained asleep

for a bit. He couldn’t transform until his bones
fused back together. Lance, the sadistic fucker,
had shattered Marty’s arms and legs.

“I hope he wakes soon. The hawks are starting

to swoop in formations around the mansion. I’m
gonna start practicing my shooting soon if they
don’t stop blocking my light,” Harris grumbled.

Eaton bit his lip to hold back the laughter. It

amused  him  sometimes  how  well  he  knew  his
friends.  It  took  a  lot  to  upset  Harris,  but  no  one
messed  with  his  lighting  when  he  was  trying  to
paint.

“I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one who

finds them annoying,” he commiserated with
Harris.

“I’m also tired of fishing them out of the

fountain when they crash,” Harris said, a frown
marring his handsome features.

“Next time leave them there. Maybe after a few

To Enchant An Eagle

of them drown, they’ll stop,” Eaton advised. He
didn’t even try to hide his derision of the hawks.

“Eaton!” Harris protested.
“What? They didn’t even try to save Marty! Not

a one of them had the guts to stand up for
themselves. They’re lucky I don’t bury the lot of
them under the house.”

He heard Gallen chuckle behind him.
Harris shook his head. “Fear does strange

things to people. Give them a chance.”

Eaton folded his arms across his chest. “They

had their chance and they proved to be worthless.
If they cared about him at all, they would’ve
protected him. Any of them could’ve challenged
Lance, but not a single hawk tried.”

He wouldn’t cave on this. The hawks had let

their leader down. Eaton didn’t trust any of them
to  watch  over  Marty  now.  What  if  one  of  them
hoped  to  finish  Marty  off  and  take  the  hawk
leadership for himself? It didn’t matter that Marty
had tried to leave the group. They wouldn’t accept
his  resignation.  Now  since  Eaton  killed  Lance,
they tried to make him their leader but he refused.

“Just give them another chance,” Harris said.

“They might be annoying, but I think they really
care about him.”

“Friends don’t let friends get buried in the

cellar,” Eaton said pointedly.

“Hi, I’m Gallen,” Gallen interrupted their

Amber Kell

conversation to offer his hand to Harris. Eaton
jolted. He’d almost forgotten about his fellow
student’s presence.

“Hi, Gallen.” Harris returned his gaze to Eaton.

“You didn’t tell me you knew a sorcerer.”

Gallen laughed. “See? I told you everyone else

could tell.”

“How did you know he’s a sorcerer?” Eaton

asked.

“The eyes. All sorcerers have the same look,”

Harris explained.

“What look?”
“Suppressed magic. Their eyes have a silver

glow because they have trapped magic inside.”

“Huh. How did I never know that?”
Harris’s gentle smile scolded Eaton louder than

words. “Because you only focus on things
important to you. You don’t care about sorcerers
so you never learned about them.”

Eaton didn’t know if he should be offended that

his daydreaming bear shifter friend apparently
had a better grasp on reality than him or not. “I
guess I’d better start paying attention.”

A nod was his only reply.
For the first time, Eaton noticed the bear shifter

had on his good pair of jeans and one of his few
shirts without paint on it. “Where are you going?”

Harris blushed. “I got a call from a client of

Denton and mine, named Anderson. I sent him the

To Enchant An Eagle

design  he  asked  for  and  pictures  of  my  latest
works.  He  loved  my  art  so  much  he’s
recommended  me  to  a  vampire  friend  of  his  on
Capitol Hill. They want me to put in a bid to paint
a  mural  for  the  entryway  of  their  new  club.  I’m
heading over there to check out the space.”

“You’re not going by yourself,” Eaton

protested.  No  way  would  he  send  his  gentle
shifter  friend  into  a  location  where  he  could  be
bled  dry  before  he  even  knew  what  was
happening. Harris had the misfortune of believing
the best of everyone. A nasty habit Eaton had tried
to talk him out of in the past.

“Why not? It’s business. They aren’t going to

jump me for a quick snack when I’m there to do
work for them,” Harris said as if he couldn’t
contemplate a world where a vampire would bite
an unsuspecting shifter.

Silly old bear.
Eaton narrowed his eyes at Harris’s pink

cheeks. “Which one do you like?”

“Which one what? I’m just going there to do a

job.” Harris pushed his hands into his pockets, but
wouldn’t meet Eaton’s eyes.

“Uh huh. Which vampire do you have your

furry little heart set on?” It had never occurred to
Eaton that Harris might have a love life. In the
past several years, he’d only seen Harris on a
handful of dates. Flesh and blood people couldn’t

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usually compete with Harris’s first love—his art.

Harris tapped the tip of his right shoe against

the wooden floor. “Nothing will come of it.”

Crap, Harris really did have a crush! Eaton had

only been kidding before. He did the only thing he
could at that point. “Carey!” he shouted.

“Eaton!” Harris hissed at him, his eyes wide

with alarm. “What are you doing?”

A few minutes passed, then Carey rushed into

the room. “What happened? Did Marty wake up?”

Carey might be the only human among the

friends, but he was the one they all looked to for
problem solving. No one was better in a crisis than
Carey, except maybe his father.

Without a hint of guilt, Eaton spilled the beans.

“Harris has a crush on a vampire and is going to
visit the coven alone!” Okay, he felt a tiny bit
guilty for being a snitch, but only a smidgen.
Harris’s safety came first.

“Is this true, Harris?” Carey asked in that quiet,

dangerous tone that always indicated impending
doom. Chills ran up Eaton’s spine and he began to
really feel bad.

Harris nodded.
“Which vampire?”
Of course, Harris offered up the name right

away. You didn’t hold things back from Carey.
“Rohan.”

Eaton gasped. “The leader of the coven?”

To Enchant An Eagle

Harris nodded. “I know. It’s stupid, but he

completely does it for me. He’s gorgeous.” Harris
sighed.

Carey let out a piercing whistle.
Three hawks tumbled into the room, stumbling

over each other to get inside. Eaton didn’t
remember their names, but he glared at them
anyway. Idiots.

“You three go with Harris. I want him

protected at all times,” Carey ordered.

“Yes, sir,” they said in unison.
Harris sighed. “Do I have to take them?” A

slight whine pitched his tone like a sulky teen.

“Yes,” Carey said. No room for contradiction or

wiggling  out  of  it  existed  in  his  voice.  Harris
would  be  taking  the  trio  of  hawks  with  him.  “I
know  you  don’t  think  Rohan  will  harm  you  and
you might be right, but we have no idea how the
rest  of  his  coven  feels.  Make  sure  you  take  your
cell  phone  and  check  in  with  me  every  hour.
Understand?”

“Yes, Carey, but I’m sure I’ll be fine,” Harris

rallied. Eaton shook his head. He could already
anticipate how this would end.

“Better safe than dead.” Carey patted Harris on

the back and sent him on his way with the trio of
hawks.

Yep. There he went. A large bear shifter and his

three stooges. Maybe Eaton would get lucky and

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Harris would lose them along the way, leaving
three less hawks to worry about.

Eaton frowned at Carey. “Keeping them in your

back pocket now?” He didn’t know why, but a
stab of resentment pierced his chest at the idea of
Carey taking over the flock.

Carey shrugged. “They needed something to

do. If they dive-bombed my office one more time,
I was going to thin the hawk shifter population.
Marty might not appreciate having a third of his
flock slaughtered while he sleeps.”

Tears prickled the back of Eaton’s eyes. “I don’t

know if he’s ever going to wake up to care.”

“He will.” Carey squeezed Eaton’s shoulder.

“He has a lot to return for.”

“Lance did a number on his back. I’m hoping it

won’t  cripple  his  wings  when  he  heals,”  Eaton
said  worriedly.  He  bit  his  lip  as  he  shared  his
anxiety  with  the  one  person  he  trusted  most  on
this  earth.  Like  the  other  three  of  the  quartet,
Eaton expected Carey to fix everything. He’d hate
for  Marty  to  be  the  first  problem  Carey  couldn’t
solve.

“When Marty wakes up—if he still can’t shift,

we’ll find someone to help him heal.” Carey’s
confidence unraveled the knot twisting Eaton’s
insides. Carey never let Eaton down. If there was
any way to save Marty’s wings, Carey would find
it.

To Enchant An Eagle

“Thanks. Sorry to interrupt whatever you were

doing,” Eaton said.

Carey laughed. “I was putting off working in

the garden. I thought maybe I’d recruit the winged
team and have them to do something besides take
up space.”

“Good plan. You should also give them kitchen

duty.  I  mean,  they  don’t  do  anything,  but  fly
around  and  sulk  that  they  aren’t  on  their
motorcycles,”  Eaton  replied.  The  lack  of
motivation from the hawks to do anything useful
irritated him.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got all kinds of things for

them to do.” Carey’s grin almost had Eaton
concerned for his feathered comrades.

Carey nodded at Gallen, but didn’t shake

hands. “I’ll let you two get back to work.”

“Thanks.” Eaton really needed to wrap up his

paper. He reluctantly followed Gallen back to the
large  table  that  had  their  laptops  and  papers
strewn across in a tangle of words and equations.
Physics was Eaton’s only love besides Marty and
he doubted either returned his affection. The past
few months, his dissertation work had slowed to a
trickle. Between the wolf shifters attacking Carey’s
mate  and  the  saltwater  crocs  attacking  Denton,
moments  of  peace  lately  had  been  few  and  far
between.

“Good luck with that. I’m going to rally the

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garden crew.” Carey paused halfway out the door.
“You don’t have to forgive the hawks, but if Marty
wakes up and takes them back, it’ll put you in an
awkward position. If you can’t accept them,
maybe you should let Marty go.”

“Maybe,” Eaton agreed. He wouldn’t promise

to forgive the bastards who let a psycho harm
Marty. He hadn’t killed them yet, they should be
grateful, not whining to Carey.

“Think about it,” Carey advised.
He watched Carey leave, then turned back to

his work. He needed to focus on his research, but
his mind kept drifting back to the man
unconscious in the other room.

“He’s unusual for a human,” Gallen

commented in a thoughtful tone.

“Yes. Carey’s a strong alpha. He’s mated to a

jaguar shifter.” Eaton was almost certain Carey
was the alpha in that relationship, too. Broden
might be big bad kitty cat, but Carey didn’t have a
submissive bone in his body.

Gallen laughed. “A human alpha? Why do the

hawks even listen to him? Aren’t you their
leader?”

“I won’t claim them. I keep hoping they’ll fly

off  and  become  someone  else’s  problem.  Marty
told  them  he  wanted  to  leave  life  on  the  road.  I
don’t  know  why  they’re  hanging  around,  except
maybe  they  hope  he’ll  change  his  mind.  He

To Enchant An Eagle

won’t.” Eaton had hoped Marty planned to stay in
one  spot  for  him,  but  he  didn’t  know  the  real
reason.  Before  Marty’s  attack,  the  two  of  them
never  really  got  a  chance  to  talk.  For  all  Eaton
knew, Marty just became tired of all the traveling
and wanted to hang around and work at his bar.
His decision might have nothing to do with Eaton
at all.

“Can I see him?” Gallen said.
“Why?” Eaton’s attention snapped fully to

Gallen. His protective instincts flared as he
evaluated Gallen’s expression for danger.

“Because I might be able to help. I have some

healing ability from my mother’s side of the
family. She comes from Fae blood.”

“Oh,” Eaton perked up at hearing that news.

Fae  were  known  for  their  healing  abilities  and
were  also  very  hard  to  find.  The  Fae  were
dwindling  in  numbers  and  few  were  willing  to
step into the paranormal limelight due to the high
incident  of  kidnapping.  Both  other  paranormals
and humans were easily enchanted by the Fae and
often  became  obsessed,  leading  to  a  high  level  of
abductions.

“Sure, you can come see him. It’s about time for

me to go check on him anyway.”

Their project didn’t appear to be progressing

very far. Marty filled all of Eaton’s thoughts. He
needed to snap out of his obsession and get his

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work done.

A loud noise in the other room lifted his spirits

and made Eaton’s heart skip a beat.

“Fuck!” Marty’s voice, hard and angry, had

Eaton racing from the study.

“He’s awake!” Eaton shouted. Abandoning

Gallen, he rushed down the hall into the bedroom
where they’d placed Marty. Eaton skidded to a
halt when Marty’s gold gaze pinned him to the
spot.

The hawk shifter sat up in the bed, but hadn’t

moved any more than that.

“Hey, you shouldn’t try to get up,” Eaton

protested. “You’re still recovering.”

From Marty’s guilty expression, Eaton knew

that was exactly what the hawk shifter had been
attempting to do.

To Enchant An Eagle

Chapter Two

arty’s back burned like the fires of hell, but
the scent of Eaton and hearing the soft

timbre of his voice in another room had Marty
instinctively trying to seek out his mate.

Finding he couldn’t move had the hawk inside

him screaming its protest. He couldn’t be injured.
His Eaton deserved a whole mate, someone who
could keep him safe while still letting him spread
his golden wings. Marty refused to let his mate be
unprotected.

The sight of Eaton standing beside another man

made the hawk try to come forward. Marty’s inner
beast yearned to sink its claws into someone he
saw as a threat.

“Come here,” Marty held out his hands. He

groaned  as  the  motion  sent  searing  pain  through
him.  His  arms  and  legs  ached.  He’d  had  broken
bones before. Not so many at a time, but he knew
how  that  injury  felt.  Lance  had  done  a  thorough

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job at making sure Marty couldn’t shift to heal the
damage he’d caused. When he got his hands on
the other hawk shifter, he’d kill the fucker.

Eaton studied Marty for a long moment as if

trying to determine the reasoning behind his
request. After a slight pause, he walked forward
until he stood beside the bed and within grabbing
distance.

“What?”
Marty placed his hands on Eaton’s hips,

holding him still. The eagle shifter always fidgeted
when nervous and Marty could almost feel the
tension pouring off Eaton.

“I was coming to find you.” He hadn’t gotten

any further than sitting up, but the thought had
been there.

“Why?” Eaton asked. “You aren’t in any

condition to be looking for anyone. You need to
settle down and get some rest. I don’t know what
you are thinking, trying to get out of bed. You’re
injured.”

Marty scowled. “I needed to make sure you

were all right. That bastard, Lance, said he’d go
after you. How did I get here?”

“I shot Lance in the head; he’s never going to

touch anyone else again.” Eaton’s grim smile of
satisfaction had Marty’s cock rising. His baby had
a vicious streak Marty found extremely attractive.

“How did you find me?”

To Enchant An Eagle

“Denton discovered where you were, and

Harris got you out. I killed Lance, and we walked
away,” Eaton summarized.

Marty caught the haunted look in Eaton’s eyes,

and he knew it hadn’t been as easy as Eaton said.

Unable to resist the lure of his mate, he cupped

Eaton’s  face  and  pulled  him  gently  down.  Their
lips  brushed,  and  heat  poured  through  Marty  at
the  contact.  His  inner  hawk  screamed  its
agreement.

A spasm of pain jerked him out of his lustful

haze. Marty gasped from the ache.

Eaton stepped back. “Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t

think.” The guilt emblazoned across Eaton’s face
had Marty quick to reassure.

“No, my mate, I needed you.” He wouldn’t let

Eaton blame himself. Not after all he’d done for
Marty.

“Mate?” Eaton’s gold-brown eyes widened.
“Crap.” He hadn’t meant to say that. Just

because  he’d  finally  admitted  it  to  himself  didn’t
mean  he  wanted  Eaton  to  know  just  yet.
Unfortunately,  from  the  light  glowing  in  Eaton’s
eyes, it was too late for take backs.

“We’re mates. That explains everything. Why

didn’t I know that?” Eaton frowned. Marty could
feel the bond between them thrum as if Eaton had
just discovered their connection.

Eaton’s tension and anxiety over being unaware

Amber Kell

hummed along with it.

“Because you’re just a baby,” Marty soothed.

“And a virgin.”

Marty didn’t even try to keep the satisfaction

out of his voice. Not wanting anyone else to have
a chance at the eagle shifter had led to his decision
to settle down now. He didn’t plan on allowing
Eaton to spread his wings with anyone else. Ever.

Eaton blushed at Marty’s words, but rallied

quickly. “So if I’d had sex with someone else, I
would’ve known we were mates.”

“You would’ve had something to base your

experiences on. Whether you would’ve been able
to tell we were mates, I don’t know.” Marty tried
to be honest. He’d never lied to Eaton before, he
wasn’t about to start now.

The sound of someone clearing their throat

reluctantly pulled Marty’s attention away from his
mate.

Marty turned his attention to the slim man with

light  blond  hair  and  silvery  green  eyes  who  had
entered  with  Eaton.  Marty  wished  he  had  the
sense of smell of Eaton’s croc friend. He would lay
a  bet  that  this  newcomer  reeked  of  jealousy  like
spicy hot peppers.

Eaton followed Marty’s gaze. “Oh sorry. This is

Gallen. He’s in my advanced physics class. He’s
helping me with some equations.”

Gallen shrugged before saying modestly, “I’m

To Enchant An Eagle

not in the same league as Eaton. I’m just pointing
out flaws with no idea how to fix them.”

Marty didn’t like the fond smile Gallen gave

Eaton. Now that he was awake, he’d definitely be
making sure their friendship didn’t go any further.
Anyone who touched Eaton would lose some
fingers, even if he had to hire out a hit man to do
it.

“No, you’re really helping,” Eaton corrected,

turning back to face Marty. “I wouldn’t be half as
far as I am if Gallen didn’t help find the errors in
my equations.”

Marty wished he felt better so he could rip out

Gallen’s heart. The smug look Gallen flashed
Marty over Eaton’s shoulder sent a spark of
annoyance through him.

“I’m always glad to help,” Gallen said.
The urge to growl at Gallen almost made him

smile. Soon he’d be snarling like the cat shifters
mated to Eaton’s friends. That sobering thought
had Marty relaxing against the pillows.

Eaton pulled out his phone and dialed. “Hello,

Dr. Frennem, Marty’s awake now. Yeah, thanks.”

“What does the good doctor have to say?”

Marty asked.

“He’s on his way,” Eaton replied.
“Good, maybe he can tell me if it’s safe to shift

again.” Marty wouldn’t heal if he couldn’t shift,
and he couldn’t transform into a hawk without the

Amber Kell

all clear. Without proper guidance, he could
completely shatter his wings and never fly again.
No way would he trap Eaton with a flightless bird
shifter as a mate. He’d rather rip off his own arms
right now.

Eaton twisted his fingers together as anxiety

poured off him. “There was a lot of damage.”

“What do you mean?” Marty frowned. “I don’t

remember much. Lance attacked me from behind
and all I can recall is him slamming a bat into my
legs so I couldn’t get up.”

“Bastard.” Something dark shimmered through

Eaton’s eyes, and his sweet shifter’s face held an
expression that made Marty glad he hadn’t gotten
on his mate’s bad side yet. He’d never thought of
Eaton as an aggressive man before, but he might
have to re-evaluate his opinion. After all, the fates
only granted people their perfect match.

“Hey,” Marty caught Eaton’s hand in his.

“Thanks for taking care of him.”

The idea of Eaton rushing to the rescue had

Marty caught in admiration of his mate. He was
kind of sorry he missed the chance to see Eaton in
action.

“I’ve offered my services as a healer if the

doctor says you aren’t healing properly,” Gallen
interrupted. “I have some Fae blood and might be
of some assistance.”

“Thank you, but that won’t be necessary,”

To Enchant An Eagle

Marty said. He barely kept his calm tone. Marty’s
nails began to lengthen. He ruthlessly  shoved his
hawk  back  down  beneath  his  skin.  Transforming
wasn’t  an  option.  Not  yet.  That  didn’t  stop  him
from contemplating pecking out Gallen’s eyes.

Something must’ve shown in his gaze because

the sorcerer took a cautious step back from the
bed. “Why don’t I see you later, Eaton? Call me if
you need anything.”

“He won’t,” Marty said.
Eaton gave Marty a reproving look before

telling his friend. “Thanks for your help.”

“No problem, see you at school tomorrow.”
Gallen left with one last longing glance at

Eaton.

Marty let him go without another comment,

considering it a victory. After all, Eaton stayed by
his side and didn’t even show his friend out.

“Does the doctor think I’ll fly again?” He tried

not to let Eaton know how much his answer
mattered to him.

Eaton’s sad smile sent shivers of dread down

Marty’s spine. “We don’t know. Lance broke your
arms and legs into little pieces. You need to heal a
few more days before you can even try flying. I
don’t want you to reinjure yourself if there’s any
chance you can heal.”

Marty swallowed back the bile rising in his

throat. He couldn’t imagine never flying again.

Amber Kell

His  inner  hawk  screamed  its  dissatisfaction  over
that thought. Both of them wanted to feel the wind
flowing  through  their  feathers.  For  a  bird  shifter,
soaring  through  the  air  was  one  of  the  reasons
they existed.

Flying cleared his head and soothed his soul. If

it turned out he wouldn’t be able to change or fly
again, he’d have to make sure the flock knew they
had to take care of Eaton. Since they hadn’t made
love  yet,  they  weren’t  completely  bonded.
Between  the  flock  and  Eaton’s good  friends,  they
could take care of the eagle shifter and make sure
he  had  a  good  life.  After  all,  if  everyone  had  a
mate  and  not  everyone  found  one  then  it  made
sense  some  shifters  lived  and  died  without  ever
bonding  with  the  supposed  other  half  of  their
soul.

Eaton sat beside Marty on the bed. Marty gave

in  to  his  instinct  to  scoot  closer.  Pressing  his  face
against  Eaton’s  neck,  he  inhaled  his  mate’s  scent.
Eaton  smelled  of  peppermints  and  sunshine.  The
eagle shifter must’ve flown earlier to be so soaked
with the fragrance of outside.

“Did you go flying?” he asked.
Eaton shook his head. “No, not yet.”
Interesting. His mate naturally smelled like all

of Marty’s favorite things in the world. Curious,
he tilted his head, exposing his neck to his mate.

“What do I smell like to you?” he asked.

To Enchant An Eagle

Not giving Marty a chance to change his mind,

Eaton  slid  his  nose  along  Marty’s  neck.  Goose
bumps  popped  across  Marty’s  skin  as  shivers  of
sensation danced through his body. He bit back a
moan  as  Eaton  rubbed  his  cheek  across  Marty’s
flesh, marking Marty as his.

“I didn’t say mark me, I said smell me,“ Marty

complained with little heat.

“You smell like mine and now everyone else

will know that, too,” Eaton replied simply.

Marty lowered his head to meet Eaton’s gaze.

His mate’s eyes had turned pure metallic gold as
Eaton’s inner eagle peered back at him. Marty
froze. He didn’t know if the eagle approved of a
mere hawk shifter trying to bond with its human
half.

“What’s wrong?” Eaton asked.
“I didn’t want to spook your eagle,” Marty

explained, feeling foolish.

Eaton laughed. “Marty, I know you’re a badass

biker, but I’ve got Aden as my guardian. I’m much
harder to startle than you might think. You’re like
a baby chick compared to him.”

Marty opened his mouth to object, but then

snapped it shut. Memories of Aden’s frigid stare
had him agreeing with Eaton’s assessment.

“Fair enough. Where are the hawks?”
Hawks didn’t have the same sense of smell as

wolves, bears or even croc shifters. However, they

Amber Kell

could often sense when others from their flock
were near. He could feel them close. Not
necessarily in the house, but nearby.

“They’re

around,”

Eaton

shrugged

indifferently.

“What did you do to the hawks?” Marty asked.

The lack of inflection in Eaton’s voice told him his
eagle didn’t mesh well with Marty’s flock.

Eaton’s eyes flashed gold again. “Not as much

as I  should’ve. They are living on the third floor.
Carey’s  been  giving  them  things  to  keep  them
occupied. They claimed I am their new leader, but
I  told  them  where  they  could  put  that  idea.
Unfortunately, they still stuck around.”

Marty nodded. “They won’t go until I appoint

someone new or you do.”

Eaton jumped to his feet. “I can just pick an

alpha? Why didn’t they tell me that? I thought it
had to be a big fucking deal.”

“No one said anything?” Marty asked,

surprised.

Eaton folded his arms across his chest and

refused to meet Marty’s eyes. “We’re not exactly
on talking terms.”

“Why not?” Marty didn’t understand why his

flock wouldn’t talk to Eaton. He knew they didn’t
have problems with him being gay, and they were
perfectly free to go back to their bikes and
continue their trek across the country. The entire

To Enchant An Eagle

fight between Marty and the rest of the flock
derived from Marty not wanting to travel away
from his mate anymore. Eaton was a nesting kind
of bird and wouldn’t be happy on the road.

To tell the truth, Marty had tired of that lifestyle

a long time ago, but it wasn’t until he’d met Eaton
he realized the urge to settle down had been an
itch for a while.

“I didn’t know you had a problem with my

flock.”  For  the  first  time,  Marty  wondered  if  he
would be able to keep both flock and mate.  He’d
already  proven  he’d  take  Eaton  over  the  hawks.
He  wondered  if  his  behavior  had  caused  the
tension between them.

“I didn’t have a problem with them until they

let you be tortured and didn’t lift a feather to
help.” Eaton’s growl told Marty his mate held a
big ass grudge.

Marty sighed. He knew his explanation

wouldn’t go over well before the words left his
mouth. “I told them not to.”

“What? Why?” Eaton glared at Marty. “That

asshole Lance didn’t deserve to lead your people.”

“I wanted any challenger to be free to fight me

without  worrying  about  the  rest  of  the  flock
attacking  them.  I  didn’t  count  on  Lance  not
following  the  rules.  When  I  told  them  not  to
interfere,  I  didn’t  think  Lance  would  come  after
me with a bat.”

Amber Kell

Honestly, he was glad Eaton had killed Lance,

that  way  Marty  didn’t  have  to  deal  with  a
renegade  hawk.  Everyone  knew  what  the
challenging rules were. To have someone blatantly
ignore  the  guidelines  infuriated  Marty.  He  might
permanently pay the price for Lance’s betrayal.

“He deserved to die,” Eaton snarled.
Marty wondered if he’d underestimated his

pretty eagle this entire time. “Wow, I never knew
you were so hard-hearted, my golden one,” Marty
said.

“You don’t betray your friends. I’d kill all the

hawks before I let that psycho get hold of you
again,” Eaton said.

Marty slid a hand across Eaton’s head, petting

him. “Not everyone has your loyal heart, my love.
Some people think of themselves before their
friends.”

He’d have to meet with the flock separately and

determine what they wanted to do. He would be
more than happy to cut them free to fly elsewhere.
The meeting might go better if he didn’t bring his
volatile mate. Eaton apparently wasn’t the forgive-
and-forget type.

“No friend of mine would consider themselves

first,” Eaton said with conviction.

Marty sighed. It wouldn’t be easy explaining

the difference between Eaton’s friends and other
peoples’ relationships. Eaton’s connection with the

To Enchant An Eagle

other three men was almost more of a mating
without the sex. They were all intricately bonded
through life and common experiences. He
struggled to explain the difference to Eaton.

“But you are in an exceptional situation. It

works for the four of you, but hawk hierarchy is
different. I’m responsible to my flock. They aren’t
responsible to me. If I can’t protect them, then I’m
useless.”

“You aren’t useless.” Anger flared in Eaton’s

eyes. “You’re a strong man who’s been tortured. I
don’t know if we are truly mates or not, but I’ll be
here until you get back on your feet and in the
air.”

“I know you will.” Marty touched Eaton’s face

with the back of his fingers in a gentle caress. Even
that short motion had the air freezing in his lungs
as pain surged up his back in a tsunami of agony.
“You’re one of the good guys. Too bad I wasn’t
there to see you come to the rescue, guns blazing.”

Eaton laughed. “If I’m one of the good guys,

what are you?”

“One of the lucky ones because you belong to

me.”  He  couldn’t  stop  the  heartfelt  words  even
though  the  soppiness  of  the  statement  should’ve
made him ill. Somehow when it came to Eaton, his
usual barriers vanished. His emotions overflowed
until  he  had  to  spout  romantic  nonsense  like  an
idiot  poet.  He’d  have  to  turn  in  his  badass  card

Amber Kell

soon. Perhaps he should consider a new hobby,
maybe Harris could teach him how to paint. Marty
barely held back a snort at that thought. His
artistic talents went more toward draining oil than
dabbling in it.

Eaton apparently liked Marty sappy. The eagle

shifter leant forward and gave Marty a wet, open-
mouthed kiss.

“Mmm,” Marty moaned. Gripping fistfuls of

Eaton’s  hair,  he  let  Eaton  take  control,  unable  to
pin  his  mate  in  place  with  his  current  limited
mobility. By  the time he lifted his lips, they  were
both panting and Eaton’s erection pressed against
his leg.

Eaton licked his lips, pulling another groan

from Marty. “I want you to get better so you can
fuck me into that mattress.”

Marty kissed Eaton again, careful not to move

too much. “You really do know how to motivate a
man, don’t you?”

He liked the image Eaton painted in his mind.

A  vision  of  Eaton  tied  to  Marty’s  bedposts  and
fucked  until  he  screamed  with  pleasure  had
Marty’s  body  waking  up  completely  from  its
slumber. His muscles tensed as he spread his legs
to make room for his growing erection.

A gasp burst from him before he could stop it

as pain ricocheted through his body like a Ping-
Pong ball in a racket ball court.

To Enchant An Eagle

“Shh.” Eaton slid careful fingers across Marty

in soothing circles as if trying to absorb Marty’s
pain. “I’ve got you, love.”

After a few minutes, the searing agony faded.

“You took it, didn’t you?”

A new crease formed on Eaton’s forehead. “I

took some of your pain. Not all,” he rushed to
correct. “I don’t have that kind of ability.”

“Oh, babe, I don’t want you hurting. Next time,

let me suffer. I never should’ve turned my back on
Lance.”

“But I’m the reason you were in the situation to

begin with. If you weren’t trying to leave the flock,
Lance wouldn’t have attacked you,” Eaton
protested.

Marty sighed over his own stupidity. “I thought

he’d just take the flock and move on. I didn’t think
he’d try to take over the bar, too. It doesn’t make a
ton  of  money.  Hell,  it  barely  covers  expenses.  I
only  bought  it  so  the  hawks  could  have  a  home
base. I wanted us to have something to come back
to.  It  wasn’t  until  I  met  you  that  I  realized  how
important that had become to me.”

Eaton’s smile brightened the entire room or at

least it did for Marty.

“Sorry to interrupt.” A new voice broke into

Marty’s fixation on Eaton.

Blinking, he sought to change his focus to the

newcomer. The interloper had the smell of an

Amber Kell

avian shifter and the movements of one, too. Most
flyers had almost twitchy movements from time to
time in their human form, a habit from having to
move constantly while in flight. The man before
them had rather plain features, but kind eyes and
dimples. Marty judged him to be a young doctor,
probably in his early fifties.

“Sorry, Carey let me in,” the man apologized in

a thick German accent.

“Welcome, Doctor.” Eaton jumped off the bed

to shake hands with the man. “Doctor Frennem
took care of a gunshot wound for Aden a few
years ago. He really specializes in shifters, but he’s
a good doctor all around,” Eaton concluded.

Marty didn’t like how the doctor’s eyes

followed Eaton, but he couldn’t blame the man.
Eaton was like visual crack, looking once only
made you want to go back for more.

“Nice to see you awake.” The doctor nodded

toward Marty. “I’ve reviewed your x-rays and I’m
sorry to say the results are not good. It will take a
long  time  before  you  will  heal.  I  wouldn’t
recommend  shifting  for  at  least  five  months  and
even  then  there  is  the  risk  of  permanent  wing
damage.  I  can  provide  you  with  drugs  to  help
hold  back  your  urge  to  shift,  but  I’m  afraid  it
might  drive  your  hawk  mad  if  you  suppressed
him for so long. The choice is, of course, yours to
make.”

To Enchant An Eagle

The doctor’s sympathetic look hurt almost more

than the words he spoke.

Marty swallowed back the lump in his throat.

“So you’re saying in order to possibly heal and fly
again, I might end up destroying my animal half.
Are there any other alternatives?”

Frennem shrugged. “You could shift now, but

your  bones  as  a  hawk  will  more  than  likely
crumble  and  you’ll  be  unable  to  ever  fly  again.
Taking  time  to  heal  will  at  least  give  you  a
chance.”

“Oh no!” Eaton’s heartbroken whisper

conveyed Marty’s opinion of the tragic news.

Marty tilted his head back, blinking rapidly.

Either way, he’d have to give up his precious
mate. He couldn’t let Eaton bond with a broken
man.

“So you’re saying if my hawk turns insane, I

might snap and shift anyway?” Marty asked. He
could barely believe the news was even worse
than anticipated. Even if he managed to suppress
his hawk in order to heal, it might be pointless in
the end if he went insane.

Frennem stood silent for a moment, as he

appeared to consider Marty’s words, maybe
translating them in his head before responding.

“Yes,” he said finally. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be of

more help.”

Marty nodded. He wanted to say something

Amber Kell

sharp and cutting, but the compassion in the
doctor’s eyes stopped him. Frennem might admire
Eaton, but the man hadn’t stepped one toe out of
his professional setting.

“Thanks, doc.”
“Wait,” Eaton called to the doctor when

Frennem turned to leave. “Could a Fae save him?”

The doctor frowned. “From what I’ve heard of

the  Fae,  they  have  abilities  far  greater  than  any
other species. Whether you could find one willing
might be a different matter. I’ve never met a Fae,
but  I  have  heard  they  are  excellent  healers.
However,  the  one  warning  I  have  is  the  Fae
always  extract  a  price.  No  Fae  can  give  you
anything  without  asking  for  something  in  return,
it  goes  against  their  nature.  For  the  Fae  there
always has to be an equal balance. They never do
anything for free.”

“Okay, thanks for the warning, doc.”
“You’re welcome,” Frennem said. With a last,

lingering look at Eaton, the doctor left the room.

“I probably should’ve shown him out,” Eaton

said, shrugging. “I never remember all those social
niceties. I’m kind of awkward that way.”

Marty dredged up a smile for his mate. “Honey,

I run a biker gang, we aren’t exactly up on our
manners.”

Eaton chewed his lip for a few seconds as if

contemplating something that took a great amount

To Enchant An Eagle

of thought.

“Gallen offered to help you, but I didn’t know

about the price thing. Do you think he knows
about that?”

Marty rubbed the back of his naïve young mate.

“I’m betting he does, sweetheart.”

Eaton turned guileless eyes up at Marty. “What

do you think he would want in exchange for your
wings?”

Marty smiled a sad, bitter smile. “Nothing I’m

willing to give him. I might be broken, but I
wouldn’t give you up for the sun and the stars,
much less the ability to fly.”

“Don’t be an idiot,” Eaton growled. “You need

to rest. I’m going to call Gallen and see what he
can do, if anything. Maybe the doctor was wrong
and you’ll heal faster than you think.”

Marty had no doubt that Frennem knew what

he was talking about. The physician had a
competent air about him. Marty doubted the man
ever made mistakes.

“Oh, I’ll fly,” Marty said, putting determination

in his voice. “There’s no way I’m going to be land-
bound for the rest of my life.”

He hoped he hid the fear well. Eaton worried

enough  without  him  knowing  the  terror  rushing
through  Marty  at  the  thought  of  never  flying
again.  On  the  road,  he’d  occasionally  met  avian
shifters  who’d  lost  their  ability  to  fly.  They  were

Amber Kell

shadows of their former selves. He’d rather end
his life than become one of those sad imitations of
his previous existence.

“I won’t let you,” Eaton vowed.
For a moment, he wondered if Eaton had read

his mind, but then he reviewed his words.

He offered a slight smile to his mate. “My head

would  feel  better  if you  came  and  snuggled  with
me.”  He  hoped  he  put  just  the  right  amount  of
sadness  in  his  voice.  He  really  yearned  to  feel
Eaton’s body beside him.

“Umm. That isn’t going to happen. You’re not

up to whatever you think you’re going to do.”
Eaton’s scolding voice lightened Marty’s mood.
The longing in his mate’s eyes had Marty push a
bit more.

“Come on, Eaton, you know you’re my mate,”

Marty coaxed. “I’ll heal faster if you’re beside me.
Besides, a romantic like you can’t resist saving his
love.”

Eaton threw back his head and laughed until

tears ran down his cheeks. “What makes you think
I’m romantic?”

Marty’s mouth dropped open as he stared at

the eagle shifter. “Because you came to my rescue.
Only a romantic would save his man with guns
blazing.”

A smile teased the corners of Eaton’s mouth. “I

hate to ruin this illusion you have, but I don’t have

To Enchant An Eagle

a romantic bone in my body. I just protect what is
mine, and you are mine.”

“For a guy who didn’t know we were mates,

you’re awfully protective,” Marty said.

Eaton kicked off his shoes and began to climb

on the bed.

“Sorry, this is a no clothing zone,” Marty

protested.

“You’re wearing clothes.” Eaton pointed at

Marty’s long-sleeved T-shirt and sweats.

Marty nodded. “That is a problem. You should

help me with that. After all, you should take
proper care of your mate.”

“Oh, I’ll take care of you.” Eaton’s eyes

darkened until they resembled burnished antique
gold unlike their usually shiny color.

Amber Kell

Chapter Three

aton stood beside the bed. He knew Marty
couldn’t do anything too adventurous.

However, Marty’s erection definitely needed some
attention, and as Marty’s mate, Eaton felt he
should definitely take care of that big problem.

Stripping quickly, Eaton approached the bed

only to have Marty point at the door. “I don’t
want an audience.”

“Oh, good point.” Who knew if the hawks

would  choose  to  drop  in  during  an  awkward
time?  Eaton  didn’t  mind  stripping  in  front  of
others  for  shifting,  but  he  wasn’t  an  exhibitionist
at  heart.  He  had  no  wish  to  have  the  hawks  or
even  his  roommates  watch  him  have  sex,  no
matter  how  limited. He  walked  over  to the  door,
then  shut  it  firmly  before  turning  the  lock.  The
doors  stuck  sometimes,  and  if  it  wasn’t  closed
completely, the lock wouldn’t engage.

“Just to remind you, eagles mate for life, which

To Enchant An Eagle

is  one  of  the  reasons  I’ve  never  dared  have  sex
with anyone before.” Eaton’s parents had bonded
young  and  had  never  really  loved  each  other.
Eaton  had  no  intention  of  becoming  a  mate  of
someone just because they had sex. “I’m not going
to throw  everything  away  because  I  want  you  so
badly.  I  still  have  to  finish  graduate  school  no
matter what you decide to do with your flock.”

Eaton ran his hand through his hair as he gave

Marty his boundaries for their relationship. Eaton
had never had a relationship before. He didn’t
really do anything except hang out with his
friends and go to school. If Marty were indeed the
one he was fated to be with the rest of his life, he
planned to start how he meant to go.

His education was something he cherished. No

one  paid  his  way  through  school,  and  luckily,  a
scholarship  covered  most  of  his  expenses  so  he
didn’t  have  to  get  a  job  to  pay  for  books  and
classes.  The  money  he  received  for  playing  with
the  band  was  put  into  the  household  coffer  with
his friends. Denton still put in his money because
he said he still had his crap there and didn’t want
the others to be caught short. Carey made enough
now, he told Denton he didn’t have to contribute,
but the croc shifter insisted. They all felt connected
to  the  old  house  on  Queen  Anne.  When  your
childhood memories were caught in something, it
became difficult to let it go for any reason.

Amber Kell

“Hey, remember me?” Marty’s voice jerked

Eaton out of his thoughts.

“Oh, sorry.” Eaton shook his head.

Approaching  the  bed,  he  let  his  gaze  slide  across
Marty’s bare chest. Luckily, shifters rarely scarred
and  none  of  the  scratches  were  a  problem  with
Marty’s health. It was the broken bones. Both his
legs were broken and his lower back had snapped
in  three  places;  the  vertebrae  were  shattered.
Besides that, his arms were shattered.

Because he was a shifter, Marty’s bones had

fused enough to be barely attached on the surface,
but not enough to put weight on his body or shift.
If  his  bones  were  not  solidly  connected  in  places
where  they  were  supposed  to  be,  when  he  went
from  human  to  bird,  it  could  prevent  him  from
ever flying again.

“Don’t look so worried, babe. Come make me

feel better,” Marty coaxed.

A sharp pain speared Eaton’s heart. “I wish I

could make you feel better,” he whispered.

He could bleed off some of the pain while they

made  contact.  Eagles  were  the  best  at  touch
healing,  but  Marty’s  wounds  were  too  extensive
for  Eaton’s  skill.  He  should’ve  suspected
something when  Denton let Marty stay there. He
bet the croc shifter had known Marty was Eaton’s
mate.

He made a mental note to yell at his friend

To Enchant An Eagle

later.

“Denton should’ve told me,” Eaton complained

as  he  climbed  up  beside  Marty. Immediately,  the
slide of his skin across Marty’s settled his eagle. A
contented  sigh  slid  from  him  as  his  eyes  closed.
He  hadn’t  slept  well  since  Marty  had  been
kidnapped.

“Remind me to pounce you in a bit,” he

murmured.

Marty laughed. “See? I knew you were a

romantic.”

Eaton smiled. “I’m tired. Hold me while I

sleep?”

“Always.”
He tumbled into darkness between one breath

to the next.

“Baby, wake up.” A deep rumble vibrated

beneath Eaton’s ear. He snuggled closer.

A delightful scent filled his nose. Nestling

nearer to the source, Eaton absorbed the warm
skin beneath him. He rubbed his cheek across the
flesh and frowned as he decided this person
needed more of Eaton’s scent.

His.
Eaton’s inner eagle screamed his agreement.
“I’m more than happy to be marked, but you

have to wake up,” the annoying voice continued.

Why would it say such stupid things? Of course

Amber Kell

Eaton didn’t need to get up. He was right where
he needed to be.

Bang! Bang! Bang!
Eaton jolted up. “What the hell is that?” He

tried to unscramble his thoughts as the noise
continued for a few more minutes.

“Eaton, if you don’t answer this door, I will

take it down,” Carey shouted.

Eaton scrambled out of bed and rushed to get

the door. Swinging it open revealed Carey with
two hawks standing behind him.

Carey raised an eyebrow at Eaton.
“What? I was sleeping, Mr. Poundy.”
“I was worried about you. You left your papers

all over the table and you weren’t answering my
knock.”

“I could’ve been having hot sex,” Eaton replied.
“Then you are the quietest ex-virgin ever,”

Carey replied, folding his arms over his chest in a
move eerily similar to his father. Eaton resisted the
urge to mention Carey was becoming more like
his dad every day. He liked his ass un-kicked,
thank you very much.

Eaton sighed. “I was sleeping.”
“Sorry, but I got a call from Harris. He said he’s

going  to  spend  a  few  days  with  the  vamps.  I’m
working  on  a  project  for  Broden,  so  I  can’t  leave
right  now.  Could  you  head  over  there  and  make
sure he’s there under his own power?”

To Enchant An Eagle

“I thought he took some hawks with him.”

Eaton frowned, trying to pull the memory from
his sleep-drugged mind.

“He did, but they came back saying he’d agreed

to stay. I’m worried they don’t know Harris well
enough to tell if he’s under someone else’s
influence or not,” Carey continued.

“True.” Eaton didn’t want anything to happen

to Harris because he was too lazy to drive over to
the vampire coven and check on him. “Okay. I’ll
head over there in a bit.”

A relieved smile crossed Carey’s face. “I

appreciate that. Denton is at a job site, and I didn’t
want to pull him off unless you couldn’t go.”

“No problem. I’ll get dressed and go,” Eaton

promised.

“Thanks.”
Eaton nodded and began to close the door

when a hand popped between the door and the
wall.

“I don’t think you want to do that,” Carey

warned the idiot who intercepted.

Eaton whipped the door back open to glare at

the hawk shifter standing in front of the others.
“What?”

The hawk shifter bit his lip before he spoke.

“We want to go with you.”

“No.” Eaton began to close the door again.
“Eaton!” Marty shouted from the bed.

Amber Kell

He looked over his shoulder at the injured

hawk shifter. “What?”

“You take some people with you,” he

demanded.

“But I don’t want to,” Eaton whined. Damn, he

sounded just like Harris. That thought only made
his scowl harder.

Marty frowned. “I don’t want to be worrying

about you the entire time you’re gone.”

Eaton sighed. Marty didn’t need additional

stress, not when Eaton could see the stress on
Marty’s face over his injuries.

“Fine, I’ll take you.” Eaton growled. He

slammed the door closed and didn’t feel the least
bit guilty when the hawk had to yank his hand out
of the way at the last minute.

“Next time, could you please dress before you

answer the door?” Marty asked.

“Why? It was only Carey and some hawks.

Carey’s seen me naked tons of times and
somehow I doubt your hawks are shy,” Eaton
reasoned.

“It could’ve been anyone,” Marty argued.
Eaton rolled his eyes. “Fine. I’ll try to remember

to keep my clothes on. Do you want me to dress
before coming to bed, too, or are you okay seeing
my sinful, naked flesh?”

Marty smiled. The sight of which had Eaton’s

heart skipping a beat. Surely if his mate could still

To Enchant An Eagle

find amusement in things, he would be all right.
“You can be naked with me any time you want.”

“As long as there aren’t others around,” Eaton

finished.

“Exactly,” Marty agreed.
Eaton thought about it for a bit. “As long as it

isn’t right before a shift, I can agree to those rules,”
he said after a moment of contemplation.

“Good. Now get dressed and going. The

quicker you go, the sooner you can come back to
me,” Marty ordered.

Eaton approached the bed. He kissed Marty

with  all  the  pent-up  passion  he  had  concealed
inside. He hoped his mate healed quicker than the
doctor  anticipated  or  soon  his  balls  would  be
glowing  so  blue  they’d  distract  planes  circling
overhead.

He dressed quickly and gave Marty one last

kiss before yanking on his shoes.

“Bye, love. Stay out of trouble.”
Marty flashed a devilish grin. “What would be

the fun in that?”

Eaton shook his head and walked out the door.

He had the uncomfortable sensation that his mate
was just showing Eaton what he wanted to see.
Eaton made a note to call Gallen later. Any price
would be worth having Marty walk again.

* * * *

Amber Kell

Marty barely waited for Eaton to clear the room

before he wiggled his fingers and toes to assess the
damage. At least he had feeling. He’d panic more
if he didn’t have any sensation.

“I can do this. I bet I can walk,” he muttered.

With excruciating slowness, he sat up completely
and swung his body around until his feet dangled
off the side of the bed.

“What are you doing?”
Marty’s head jerked up. He tilted his head to

meet the cold eyes of Aden Gage. He should’ve
heard the man approach, but his experience with
the creepy human told him no one heard Aden
unless he wanted them to.

“Umm, I thought I’d see if I could walk,” he

said. The words had sounded stronger in his head.
Somehow  when  confronted  with  Aden,  Marty
wanted  to  offer  his  neck  like  he  would  to  a
stronger  alpha.  Carey  serving  as  the  alpha  of  the
house  didn’t  seem  such  a  strange  thing  after
meeting his father.

“Wow, they really do make hawks stupid. I

thought it was just a rumor,” Aden mocked.

“You don’t have to stay and witness my

stupidity,” Marty snapped. “I’m sure I’ll be fine
without an audience.”

“If you hurt yourself further, Eaton will be

crushed, and I don’t let anyone hurt my boys.”

To Enchant An Eagle

Aden let the threat hang in the air.

Marty gave a scoffing laugh. “What could you

possibly do to me that is worse than this?”

“Set you on fire,” Aden replied.
The speed with which the human found an

answer to that question sent a deep chill through
Marty’s body. He swallowed back the knot of fear.
“Um, how about you don’t?”

“I didn’t say I would,” Aden said quietly. “I

said it was worse. I don’t think Eaton would
forgive me if I burned you. I’d have to make sure
it looked like an accident.”

The blood drained from Marty’s face. He’d

stared down shifters three times his size, taken on
homicidal rival gangs and more than once looked
down the barrel of a gun, but none of them scared
him as much as the human standing calmly before
him. It wasn’t just the coldness in Aden’s eyes. It
was the practicality in his voice. Marty had no
doubt in his mind if he needed to be eliminated,
Aden Gage would kill him and not lose a second
of sleep over the action.

“I’m Eaton’s mate,” he said. Maybe that would

give him the edge. If Aden didn’t want to harm
the men he’d accepted as part of his little group,
surely killing one of their mates would be taboo.

Aden nodded. “That’s what I heard and it’s

why you’re here instead of at the bottom of Lake
Washington with Lance.”

Amber Kell

“You put Lance at the bottom of the lake?”
Aden shrugged. “He had to go somewhere, and

with all the development around here, burying a
body just isn’t practical. They all get dug up.”

“I-I see. Yes, that would be inconvenient.” See

him  talk  nice  to  the  homicidal  maniac.  Marty
knew  if  he  were  at  full  strength,  Aden  wouldn’t
intimidate  him  as  much,  but  helpless  and  barely
able  to  move  wasn’t  the  best  time  to  deal  with
psycho man here.

“Exactly.” Aden smiled as if pleased Marty

appreciated his resourcefulness.

“Dad!” Carey’s voice broke through Marty’s

paralyzing fear. He’d never been so relieved to see
a human in his entire freaking life.

Aden turned to face his son and his entire face

transformed. The cold-blooded killer turned into a
fond father whose adoration of his offspring
transformed a handsome face to a stunning one.

“How are you doing, Carey?”
The two men exchanged hugs. This close

together, Marty could see the striking resemblance
between  father  and  son.  Marty  decided  Carey’s
mother  must’ve  been  stunning.  While  he
resembled  Aden,  Carey’s  face  had  more  delicate
beauty than his father’s purely masculine face.

“What are you doing here?” Carey asked.
“Besides coming to see you, I thought I’d see

how Eaton’s mate was doing.” Aden’s hard gaze

To Enchant An Eagle

swept across Marty. “He apparently thinks he can
walk.”

“Hmm,” Carey shook his head at Marty’s

stupidity.

“Speaking of Eaton, where is our eagle?” Aden

asked.

Marty relaxed at the fondness in Aden’s tone.
“I sent him to check on Harris. Our bear friend

has decided to work for the vamps. I wanted to
make sure he chose to stay there.”

Aden nodded. “Good idea. Let me know if you

think Eaton needs back up.”

Carey shook his head. “I sent him with some of

the hawks. I figure they could at least determine if
the situation required further action.”

Aden nodded. “Good plan. Call me if you need

anything. I’ll be going out of town for a job and
will be gone for a few days.”

“I think we’ll be all right. I expect Eaton will

return soon and say everything is fine. Harris can
handle himself if he really wanted out of there. I
think it’s just a case of poor judgment in romantic
partners.”

“He’s got the hots for a vamp, huh?” Aden

asked.

Carey nodded. “Rohan.”
Aden threw back his head and laughed. “At

least when he goes bad, he goes all the way.”

“Don’t encourage him, Dad,” Carey scolded.

Amber Kell

Aden shrugged. “I’m not encouraging him, but

you have to admit Harris doesn’t usually pick out
guys to fixate on. You need to keep an open mind
in case this vampire turns out to be Harris’s mate.”

Carey scowled. “I hope not. Vampires give me

the creeps.”

Marty bit back a laugh. Laughter right now

would hurt more than anything. Carey must’ve
seen his expression.

“What? They are creepy. You don’t think a

being that exists only to suck out your blood isn’t
wrong?” Carey shuddered.

Marty gave in and laughed. Yep, it hurt just as

much as he thought it would.

“Why don’t you take a nap? I’m sure Eaton will

wake you when he returns,” Carey said.

With those words, father and son left the room.
Exhausted, Marty moved back to lie down on

the bed. The nap idea sounded really good.

To Enchant An Eagle

Chapter Four

ome people had an innocent cast about them in
slumber. To Eaton’s mind, Marty appeared like

a fallen angel, taking a break from sin until he
could gather more energy.

Harris had appeared quite content at the

vampire coven. Those damn vamps were fawning
all  over  the  bear  shifter,  making  sure  he  had
whatever  he  needed  while  he  sketched  out  ideas
for  their  mural.  Apparently  Harris’s  attraction  to
Rohan wasn’t completely one-sided.

Locking the door behind him, Eaton quickly

stripped.  He  knew  exactly  how  to  wake  Marty
from  his  nap.  A  quick  blowjob,  then  he’d  call
Gallen  and  find  out  how  he  could  cure  Eaton’s
mate.

No way would he let Marty become a cripple or

go insane just because there might be a price to be
paid. Eaton liked Gallen, surely he wouldn’t ask
for anything Eaton couldn’t pay.

Amber Kell

Marty still didn’t wear a shirt. Eaton hoped that

was a sign the man remained stark naked beneath
the covers. Curious, Eaton reached out and
wrapped his fingers around the edge of the
blanket.

He jumped when Marty’s hand wrapped

around his fingers, trapping them in Marty’s hold.

“I thought you were asleep,” Eaton pouted.

“You’ve ruined my surprise.”

“If your surprise has anything to do with your

mouth on my erection, don’t let me stop you.
Come show me what you can do.”

Eaton pulled the blanket down farther,

revealing Marty’s thick cock filling and rising to
greet him. “Part of you isn’t sleepy,” he
commented.

“I sensed you coming closer. How can I rest

when I know you are near but not beside me?”
Marty asked.

Careful of Marty’s legs, Eaton climbed onto the

mattress and settled between them. “Let me know
if I do something you don’t like. I’ve never done
this before,” Eaton warned.

“Never? You mean you are completely

untouched?”

Marty’s tone had Eaton glancing up at his mate.

“What did you think virgin meant?”

“Well, I figured you would’ve at least

experimented. Maybe touched someone else.”

To Enchant An Eagle

Eaton shook his head. “Unlike other shifters,

the first person I have sex with will be the one I
bond with. Eagles imprint on their first lover. I’ve
always been careful who I touch.”

“So if you had sex with someone other than me,

you would’ve been their mate?” Marty asked, a
low growl rumbled in his voice.

“No. Just because we bonded wouldn’t

necessarily mean you were my mate. Some eagles
actually find their mates after they already bond
with someone else. Which is why eagle shifters are
so rare. Those meetings usually end with someone
dying,” Eaton explained.

“No wonder you’re so careful.” Marty slid his

fingers through Eaton’s hair. “You don’t have to
worry about that, love. I’m positive we’re mates.”

Relief rushed through Eaton. He’d heard so

many  horror  stories  when  he  was  younger  that
he’d  been  afraid  to  be  involved  with  anyone.
However, he’d been unable to get Marty out of his
mind  after  their  first  meeting.  He  used  to  think
maybe  it  was  Marty’s  bad  boy  image,  but  in
reality, it was the man himself. Marty cared about
his people, and he might have a tough biker gang
reputation,  but  he  always  watched  out  for  his
flock.

Eaton licked the tip of Marty’s cock. His lover’s

flavor exploded across his tongue, sticky with a bit
of sweetness and bitter. “Do all men taste the

Amber Kell

same?” Eaton asked.

Marty shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. I’m not

much for sucking cock.”

“Oh.” Eaton sat back on his heels. “Would you

rather I don’t…”

He’d assumed all men liked oral sex, but maybe

he’d been mistaken.

“No, honey, you can suck me all you want. It

isn’t my favorite thing to do, but I will definitely
make an exception for my mate when I’m healed.”

Eaton would address Marty’s healing after he

figured out what to do. Wrapping a hand around
Marty’s erection, he lapped at the liquid oozing
from the slit. He kept that up for several minutes
until curiosity had him wrapping his mouth
around the tip and giving it a tentative suck.

“Don’t tease an injured man,” Marty scolded.
Eaton responded by sucking harder. He held

Marty’s hips in a firm grip to keep the hawk
shifter from moving and possibly hurting himself
further. Marty had more muscle mass, but with his
injuries, Eaton had strength on his side.

“More, babe, just a little more.”
Eaton had one more trick to show Marty. He

wasn’t  the  college  hot  dog  eating  champion  for
nothing. It had a lot to do with his complete lack
of  a  gag  reflex.  Without  pausing,  he  swallowed
Marty  down,  letting  his  throat  caress  the  long
cock.

To Enchant An Eagle

“Oh, fuck.” Liquid spurted down Eaton’s

throat. He pulled back a little to allow some of the
liquid to land on his tongue. He wanted the
essence of his lover. Marty’s cock softened beneath
Eaton’s attention, and he slowly let his mate slip
from his mouth.

Eaton rubbed Marty’s hips where he would

undoubtedly have bruises. “Better?”

Marty nodded, a languid smile crossed his lips.

“For a newbie, you did an amazing job.”

“I’m glad you approve. Does that mean I get

the position?”

“Once I’m healed, you can do any position you

want,” Marty quipped.

Eaton nestled beside Marty, barely touching.

Marty moved him until Eaton’s head rested on his
chest and Marty’s arm wrapped around him.

“Doesn’t that hurt?” he asked cautiously.
“Yes, but it hurts more for you to be so far

away,” Marty replied.

“I’m going to call Gallen and have him examine

you.”

“What if he asks for something you aren’t

willing to give?” Marty asked.

Eaton sat up to look his lover in the eyes.

“There is little I wouldn’t give to have you whole
again. You need to be able to fly.”

“You think your friend can make this happen?”

Disbelief colored Marty’s voice.

Amber Kell

“I don’t know, but he hinted he might be able to

help. I’d like to hear what he might have to say,”
Eaton said.

“Okay, call him, but if he can’t perform a

miracle, I don’t want you to be upset,” Marty
warned.

Eaton blinked back tears. “I just want to explore

all avenues.”

He slipped out of Marty’s hold to dial Gallen’s

number.

“Hey, Eaton, what’s up?” Gallen’s voice came

over the line.

“I was wondering if you have time to come by

and  see  Marty.  I  would  like  your  magical
assessment.  See  if  maybe  you  can  help  him,”
Eaton  said.  His  voice  shook  at  the thought  of  his
poor hawk shifter unable to shift for months while
waiting to heal.

“I’ll be by in a bit. I’m just down the hill

drinking some coffee.”

“Great! I’ll make sure the gate’s unlocked.”

Eaton hung up after a few more pleasantries.

“He’ll be here soon,” he told Marty.
“Good. I hate waiting.”
Another reason the wait-and-see healing plan

wouldn’t work well on the hawk leader.

After calling Carey’s phone and alerting him

that Gallen was on this way, Eaton dressed in his
jeans and shirt, then slipped on his wool socks to

To Enchant An Eagle

protect his feet against the cold floor for later.

Climbing back onto the bed, he cuddled up

against  his  lover.  They  spent  their  waiting  time
talking  about  casual  things  like  the  weather—
rainy—and  Carey—bossy—until  a  knock  on  the
bedroom  door  had  Eaton  jumping  off  the  bed  to
answer it.

Pulling open the door revealed Gallen standing

on the other side.

“Hey, thanks for coming,” Eaton said sincerely.
“No problem, but I can’t make any guarantees

until I examine him closely,” Gallen said,
approaching the bed.

Eaton watched the sorcerer carefully. He hadn’t

thought  of  Gallen  as  a  threat  when  he  studied
beside  him  for  hours,  but  now  with  him
approaching Marty, he had to clamp down control
over  his  eagle  who  wanted  to  shred  anyone
coming too close to their injured mate.

“May I touch you?” Gallen asked. He might

have posed the question to Marty, but his eyes
went to Eaton when he asked.

Eaton reluctantly nodded his permission.
Gallen pressed his hand in the center of Marty’s

chest. Since Marty didn’t make any sounds of
protest, Eaton didn’t think it hurt his mate any.
After a minute, Gallen’s hand began to glow and a
white light emitted through his fingers.

“What are you doing?” Eaton asked. He didn’t

Amber Kell

really understand magic. Shifters were beings of
magic, not manipulators of power. Until now
Eaton would’ve sworn he didn’t know any magic
users.

“I definitely think I can heal you,” Gallen said

after about five minutes of putting his glowing
hands over different parts of Marty’s chest. “It will
take a lot of energy, however.”

“What is your price?” Marty asked.
“A kiss,” Gallen said. He spun around. “From

Eaton.”

Eaton gasped. “Why?”
“Because I’ve been watching you for two years

now, and you’ve never noticed me before. I want a
kiss in exchange for healing your boyfriend,”
Gallen said.

He clasped his hands before him and waited for

their response.

“Could you give us a moment?” Eaton asked.
“Of course. I’ll be right outside this door. Call

me when you’re ready.”

“We will.” Eaton didn’t say a word until Gallen

closed the door behind him. “I’ll do it.”

“No!” Marty snarled. “What if it’s a trick?”
Eaton shrugged. “What if it is? That still

wouldn’t change what we need to do.”

“We need to make sure that bastard doesn’t get

his hands on you,” Marty said.

“It’s only for one kiss!” Eaton shouted. “What is

To Enchant An Eagle

one kiss if it can stop you from being crippled?”

“What if he does something freaky and gets me

killed?” Marty protested. “I think you’re putting
too much faith in Gallen.”

“And I think you aren’t putting enough. I think

Gallen genuinely wants to help.”

Marty scowled. “If you think we can trust

him…”

Eaton walked over to the door and flung it

open. “We’ve decided to take you up on your
offer, but you have to heal Marty first in order to
get your kiss.”

“Fair enough,” Gallen agreed.
Eaton followed the sorcerer back to Marty’s

side. He clenched his fists so he wouldn’t give into
his  urge  to  snatch  Gallen  away  from  his  mate.
After  tasting  Marty,  he  knew  Marty  had  spoken
the  truth;  the  hawk  shifter  was  indeed  his  mate.
They still weren’t bonded yet, but Eaton could feel
the pull of the mating bond trying to lure him to
the side of his beloved.

“I’m not going to lie, this is going to hurt,”

Gallen said. “The Fae are great healers, but we’re
not particularly compassionate.”

Eaton gritted his teeth. His inner eagle flicked

his wings and tested the limits of Eaton’s control.

“Maybe you’ll want to step outside for this,”

Gallen told Eaton.

“But.”

Amber Kell

“Please, babe,” Marty begged, “I don’t want

you to accidentally attack Gallen if I start
screaming.”

Eaton thought over the chances of that

happening before he nodded. “Okay. But do what
you can to make sure he suffers the least amount.”

Gallen walked over to Eaton and took his hands

in his own. “I will promise to give your boyfriend
the very best care I can.”

Eaton squeezed Gallen’s hands tightly before

giving his lab partner a small smile. “Thanks,
Gallen, I do appreciate you doing this.”

“No problem.”
Eaton released Gallen and walked over to

Marty. “You get healed so I can fly with you.”

Despite them both being aerial shifters, they’d

never had the opportunity to fly together.

“I look forward to that,” Marty said.
Eaton kissed Marty, then walked out the door.

He heard Gallen lock the door behind him,
probably a good precaution.

Rubbing his hands up and down his arms,

Eaton wondered if the chill going through his
body was merely the drafty house or the icy
fingers of premonition.

To Enchant An Eagle

Chapter Five

hen Gallen turned back Marty, he didn’t like
the gleam in the half-Fae’s eyes. His smile

took away the little hint of doubt over Gallen’s
intentions. “I thought it might take longer to get
my hands on my pretty eagle, but you helped land
him right into my hands.”

The cold smile crossing Gallen’s lips had Marty

opening his mouth to protest, but Gallen waved
his hand and no noise came from Marty’s mouth.

Fear trickled down his spine. Helpless, he

couldn’t do anything to stop the sorcerer from
doing whatever he wished.

Idiot!
He silently berated himself. He let his only

layer of protection walk out the door.

“I’ve been watching Eaton for years,” Gallen

said in a wistful tone. “He’s so beautiful, don’t you
think?”

Gallen waved a hand at Marty. “It’s all right; I

know you agree. I mean, who wouldn’t. Once I

Amber Kell

have him fully beneath my enchantment, he’ll be
perfectly happy as my mate. It’s lucky for me that
you were stupid enough to hand him over on a
silver platter.”

He slid a scornful glance over at Marty. “You

don’t deserve him. When he’s my mate, I’ll never
let another touch him. I’ve been waiting to give
him this.”

Gallen pulled a silver chain out of his pocket. It

shimmered  and  shone  in  the  sunlight  streaming
through the window. A small silver eagle dangled
from  the  necklace.  “This  is  a  Venus  chain.  It  will
keep Eaton under my thrall long enough to bond
with  him.  In  fact,  it  will  convince  him  I’m  his
proper  mate.  Eagles  are  fierce  warriors,  but  not
particularly  strong  willed.  Once  Eaton  is
convinced  he  was  meant  to  be  mine,  he  won’t
even acknowledge your tiny bond.”

Satisfaction all but oozed from Gallen.
“Don’t worry. I don’t plan to cause him any

harm.  He’ll  live  a  perfect  life  as  my  mate.  My
family  has lots of money,  and once he graduates,
I’ll set him up with the best lab money can buy so
he  can  tinker  with  all  his  ideas  and  experiments.
He’s quite brilliant, you know. A  bit head-in-the-
clouds,  but  I  guess  that’s  part  of  being  a  bird
shifter.”

Gallen laughed, a beautiful light-hearted noise

that made Marty hate him even more.

To Enchant An Eagle

The thought of his free-spirited eagle trapped in

a loveless mating for the rest of his life caused
more pain to Marty than his fractured bones.

He tried to move. His jaw dropped open as he

screamed without noise.

“Take it easy. It will take longer to heal you if

you thrash about.”

Gallen waved a hand. White ropes of energy

wrapped  around  Marty  like  sizzling  snakes,
wiggling  and  hissing  with  power.  Heat  poured
through the bonds, warm and comforting. If he’d
been  less  concerned  for  Eaton,  he  would’ve
enjoyed  the  sensation.  Instead,  he  struggled
against  the  healing  bonds.  He’d  rather  remain
broken  and  useless  than  have  Eaton’s  free  will
stolen from him.

“Settle down. I plan on keeping my half of our

agreement. If you do anything to ruin your
healing, I can’t claim payment,” Gallen
complained.

That sounded just fine to Marty. He tried to

move some more.

“Be still.” Gallen placed a palm against Marty’s

neck and he froze.

He couldn’t move. Not his nose, not his pinky,

nothing on his entire body could so much as
twitch. He was more frozen than the top of Mount
Rainier.

Somehow his lungs operated enough to allow

Amber Kell

him to breathe, but that was the extent of his
motion.

“I’m rebinding your bones, but I’m trapping

your hawk inside,” Gallen said casually. “Sorry,
but I can’t have your animal half calling to Eaton’s
eagle. According to my studies, the bond between
your shifter halves is stronger than the human
one.”

Marty didn’t know if this was true or not, but

despite hating Gallen, he was impressed the man
had done his homework. Maybe Gallen’s
obsession with getting everything right could
work in their favor.

He had no doubt the sorcerer would take Eaton

with  him.  After  all,  Marty  couldn’t  do  anything,
and  with  the  necklace,  Eaton  would  think  it  was
all  his  idea.  His  pretty  naïve  shifter  would  be
putty in the hands of the ruthless sorcerer.

With his stomach tied in knots, even the relief

of his bones sealing together wasn’t enough to
remove the pain from his heart.

“Easy, almost done.” Gallen’s voice, calm and

soothing, had Marty’s eyes starting to droop.

He shouldn’t fall asleep. He knew there was a

reason for that. A fog began to settle in his head.
Why shouldn’t he rest? There must be a reason.

“That’s it. Go ahead and take a nap; healing is

hard work.”

Yes, a little sleep would be good. He could rest

To Enchant An Eagle

for a bit and then he could go for a flight.

Flight.
Now he remembered. Marty fought against his

heavy  eyelids.  He  needed  to  stay  awake.  He  had
to  tell  Eaton  about  Gallen’s  deception.  His  friend
wasn’t  really  a  friend  at  all.  Gallen  only  wanted
Eaton  for  himself,  to  keep  him  as  a  pet  or
something.  Marty  wasn’t  quite  clear  on  what
Gallen  wanted  Eaton  for.  A  mindless  mate?
Whatever  nefarious  reasons  he  wanted  Eaton,
none of it could be good. Eaton belonged to Marty.

“Relax. It will all be over soon and Eaton will be

in a good place. Don’t think I won’t take good care
of him. I will. My father has taken excellent care of
my mother over the years and I’ll do the same to
Eaton.”

Crap.
Now he knew how Gallen got his Fae half, his

mother  must  have  been  one  of  the  abducted.  A
hundred years ago, magic wielders had stolen an
entire  branch  of  Fae.  Most  of  them  had  escaped
over  time.  Apparently,  Gallen’s  mother  hadn’t
been  one  of  the  more  fortunate.  A  man  raised  to
think  abducting  your  mate  was  a  good  idea
wouldn’t give Eaton up without a fight.

Marty needed to get stronger to take Eaton

back. He settled for raising his eyelids high
enough to glare at the sorcerer.

“I know you think I’m insane, but everything

Amber Kell

will be fine. You can go back on the road with
your hawks knowing I’ll take care of Eaton.”

Gallen made it sound as if they were friends,

and he was doing Marty a favor. If he could talk,
he’d tell the sorcerer where he could shove that
favor.

“Deep breaths, accept the magic. You have to

take  it  inside  so  you  can  heal  faster.  Eaton  isn’t
going  to  wait  forever,  and  if  he  interrupts  your
healing,  I  won’t  be  responsible  for  any
consequences.”

Marty didn’t know if the consequences would

be for him or Eaton, but he couldn’t chance it. His
stupid wish to speed up his healing had gotten
them into this situation.

Closing his eyes again, he took slow, even

breaths. He could feel the magic tingling along his
skin, poking at him to accept it. Not being able to
move a muscle made relaxation close to
impossible, but he did what he could.

Warm soothing heat slithered down his spine

and spread throughout his body. He thought this
was supposed to hurt. Maybe it was a ploy to get
Eaton out of the room. Sleep tugged at him again.

Gallen stroked a finger down Marty’s right

cheek. “I can see why Eaton is so enamored of
you. You are a handsome man, just not right for
my eagle. This is the part you’re not going to like
so much.”

To Enchant An Eagle

The sorcerer flicked his finger across Marty’s

chest.

Marty screamed. A soundless noise that hurt

his throat as molten lava burned him from inside
out. He could feel tiny bits of bone fusing together,
bonding as if reattached with magical cement.
Every fracture, every snapped off piece realigned
with pure energy.

He trembled from head to toe, fine shivers

shaking his frame despite the magical blanket laid
across his body.

“Shh, it’s almost over,” Gallen soothed. “This is

the worst part, I’m told.”

Minute blended into minute until Marty

wondered if these were his last moments on earth
and he’d chosen to spend them in agony instead of
curled up beside his beloved. Tears dripped from
his eyes, leaving wet tracks down the sides of his
face.  He  couldn’t  move  to  wipe  them  away,  but
that  didn’t  matter.  What  would  happen  after  he
healed?  Would  Eaton  understand  to  not  go  with
Gallen?

Gradually, so slowly it took a moment to realize

what  was  happening,  the  pain  faded.  Sweeping
back  like  a  receding  tide,  it  eased  off  bit  by  bit.
Marty  did  an  internal  inventory.  Healed.  His
hawk  however  remained  silent.  Marty  tried  to
access his spirit animal, but it remained quiet. The
entire purpose of becoming healed was moot. He

Amber Kell

not only couldn’t fly, but he couldn’t even find his
hawk.

“The disassociation from your bird will only

last a few months,” Gallen assured him. “Long
enough for me to bond with Eaton. I wouldn’t
want him to feel rushed.”

The false concern from the sorcerer made Marty

want to smash Gallen’s face in.

Gallen placed his palm in the center of Marty’s

chest.  He  remained  there  for  a  long  moment
before  nodding.  “Yes,  you  are  all  healed.  Your
hawk  is  having  a  little  nap,  but  he’s  not  gone
forever. I did good work.”

Marty tried to tell Gallen exactly what he

thought of Gallen’s work, but of course he
couldn’t speak.

“I’m going to go get Eaton. He’ll be thrilled!”

Clapping his hands, Gallen went to unlock the
door.

Eaton rushed inside, immediately heading to

Marty.

Soft hands brushed Marty’s cheek, stroked his

hair and petted his chest in soothing motions.
“How are you, my mate?” Eaton asked, concern
shimmering in his gold eyes.

“I’m afraid he can’t talk right now. Sometimes

the process causes temporary paralysis. He’ll be
fine in a few hours,” Gallen smoothly assured
Eaton.

To Enchant An Eagle

“But he’s healed?” Eaton asked, a frown

marring his forehead.

“Absolutely. Every single bone is whole and

right where it needs to be,” Gallen assured him.

“Oh, thank you.” Eaton threw himself into

Gallen’s arms, exuberantly hugging him.

Marty’s fingers curled into a fist.
Wait.
His fingers moved. Gallen’s eyes widened over

Eaton’s shoulder as he caught the motion.

Gallen carefully set Eaton away from him. “I

believe you owe me a kiss,” he told the eagle.

Eaton sent a cautious glance over to Marty.
“You promised,” Gallen scolded.
“I know. I did.” Eaton dipped his head shyly

before stepping into the circle of Gallen’s arms.

“I expect a good one, too. I did quality work on

this one.”

“I won’t cheat you. I just haven’t ever kissed

anyone but Marty before,” Eaton confessed.

Marty’s stomach churned as he realized what

he’d blithely agreed to put his mate through. He’d
kissed hundreds of men in his life, an embrace as
meaningless as a handshake to him. However, his
chaste, faithful eagle had only kissed him. Now it
as his own damn fault for giving away the
precious gift of his mate’s innocence for his own
selfish needs.

If he hadn’t felt like a heel before, he certainly

Amber Kell

did now. If he didn’t know Gallen planned to take
away Eaton’s free will, he might’ve let the other
man have him. Marty wondered briefly about
Gallen’s mother. Did she enjoy her captivity after
all these years or had she only just become numb?

“I’m ready when you are,” Gallen said,

snapping Marty out of his inattention. Whatever
Gallen had done with his magic, it had fogged
Marty’s mind.

Eaton went to his tiptoes and pressed his lips

against Gallen’s.

Marty watched as Gallen slipped the necklace

out of his pocket and snapped it deftly around
Eaton’s neck.

Eaton jerked back. “What?” He lifted the chain

to get a better look.

“It’s an eagle,” Gallen told him. “It will

magically adjust whenever you wish to shift and
fly.”

“Oh, thank you.” Eaton flickered a cautious

look toward Marty.

“Marty told me it was fine to give it to you,”

Gallen lied.

“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
Marty opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

Apparently, the one hand was the extent of his
ability. He had to do better. There! His foot
twitched.

To Enchant An Eagle

“I only have one more surprise, my eagle

friend,” Gallen said.

“Surprise?” Eaton’s eyes lit up.
Marty struggled harder to move.
“This necklace has a special ability,” Gallen

purred.

Eaton tilted his head. “Besides adjusting its

size.”

“Mm hmm. Ready.”
Eaton flashed another glance at Marty. When

Marty  didn’t  protest,  he  shrugged.  Marty’s  heart
ached  from  the  misplaced  confidence  Eaton  gave
him.  The  eagle  shifter  trusted  Marty  to keep  him
from harm, and he was all but gift-wrapping him
for his abductor.

“I guess.”
Gallen pressed the eagle between his fingers.

“In Venus’s hands, my will I’ll keep.”

A golden glow surrounded them.
“Whoa, what?” Eaton blinked at Gallen as if his

lids became too heavy to lift for more than a
second or two at a time.

Marty watched as the bright light of curiosity

that usually flowed in Eaton’s eyes dimmed.

“You’re going to come home with me now,

Eaton. You are going to be my bonded,” Gallen
said.

Eaton didn’t agree, didn’t argue, didn’t do

anything but stand there.

Amber Kell

“Come along, love. Once the spell settles, you’ll

feel a lot better. Maybe you’d enjoy a good flight
later, hmm?”

Gallen waved his hands. With little fanfare, a

black transportation hole appeared in the middle
of the room. “Bye, Marty. Have a good life. Don’t
worry, I’ll take excellent care of him.”

Gallen led Eaton through the portal.
The hole vanished behind them just as the spell

wore off Marty.

Marty screamed, not the sound of a hawk

shifter, but the broken noise of a man who’d just
lost the other half of his soul.

To Enchant An Eagle

Chapter Six

isses sprinkled across his face, his lips, and all

over his naked body. Eaton wiggled beneath the

attention.

“Marty,” Eaton whispered.

“Always, my love,” Marty replied.
The hawk shifter lay beside Eaton. They were both

naked. Eaton’s mouth watered at the sight of his
beloved in all his bare glory. “I want you. Please make

me yours,” he begged.

“You are already mine,” Marty said. He kissed

Eaton’s shoulder, dragging his lips across Eaton’s skin.
“You will always be mine.”

Marty nipped at Eaton’s neck, sending a shivering

thread of desire through his body.

Eaton looked into his lover’s passionate gaze.

Marty leaned forward, but just as their lips almost

touched, he transformed into a hawk and flew away.

Eaton cried out, reaching for his vanished lover.

Eaton blinked as he tried to bring his world into

Amber Kell

focus.  He  lay  on  a  large  bed  in  an  enormous
decadently  luxurious  room.  Antique  furniture
rubbed  elbows  with  expensive  textiles.  Eaton
knew  exactly  what  some  of  this  cost,  because
when  Carey  had  redecorated  the  manor,  most  of
the  items  like  this  fell  into  the  too  expensive  to
purchase pile.

He rubbed his scalp as a mild ache pierced

through his head. A memory skated across his
mind only to be erased like writing on a
whiteboard, crumbling to dust.

“Where am I?” he whispered.
The last thing he could remember was studying

with  Gallen  and  figuring  out  a  particularly  hard
physics  problem.  Eaton  took  stock.  He  wore  his
jeans,  the  T-shirt  he  remembered  dressing  in
earlier  and  his  favorite  green  wool  socks.  His
stomach  rumbled  its  dissatisfaction  over  its
current emptiness.

Maybe if he left the room, he could find

somebody with food. He was obviously in
someone’s house. There must be a kitchen. A brief
scan didn’t reveal his shoes, but if he stayed inside
that shouldn’t be a problem.

Working on the theory that all homes had

places to prepare food, especially ones with rooms
this nice, Eaton headed for the door.

The knob turned easily. Eaton paused,

wondering why he thought it might not. Did he

To Enchant An Eagle

think he’d been abducted? Eaton laughed at his
own silliness. Who would steal him?

After opening the door, he peeked outside to

the hallway, looking for dangers or people of any
kind. No one. Confident the house was apparently
free  of  ninjas,  Eaton  exited  the  room.  A  quick
glance  up  and  down  the  hall  determined  there
was  only  one  way,  which  appeared  to  have  a
staircase.  The  other  end  led  to  a  long  row  of
doorways that dead-ended with a solid wall.

Instinct had him trying to walk silently, but

eagles  were  only  graceful  in  the  air.  For  the  first
time,  Eaton  wished  he’d  been  born  a  cat  shifter.
Broden  could’ve  scoped  out  the  entire  building
and no one would’ve heard him.

A man stood at the bottom of the stairs. Tall

with cropped dark hair and insanely broad
shoulders, he eyed Eaton with a cold gaze. He had
the air of a bodyguard, probably why the house
was ninja free.

“They are expecting you in the dining room.”
“Oh. Um.” Eaton looked down at his feet. “I’m

not sure where my shoes are.”

The man sighed as if Eaton had turned into way

more work than he was prepared for. “Come with
me.”

Eaton followed the man like a lost puppy

who’d found the first nice stranger and decided to
follow him home. He really wanted to ask who

Amber Kell

was waiting for him and why, but he had a feeling
he could ask all the questions in the world only to
have them completely ignored.

The room he was led to was a giant closet with

dozens of shoes and outfits placed according to
size if the signs were any indication.

A pair of sneakers with a familiar star caught

Eaton’s eyes. “Cool, I love these kicks.” He
snatched them up, happy they were in his size.

Once his feet were covered, he straightened.

“Take me to your leader.”

The dark-haired man’s mouth kicked up on one

side. “You are taking all this rather well.”

Eaton tilted his head as he examined the man.

“I’ve learned to go with the flow.”

Aden taught him to assess all threats before

attacking,  in  order  to  have  a  better  chance  of
success.  Eaton  wouldn’t  do  anything  without
knowing  his  odds.  If  they  thought  of  him  as  a
simple,  easy-going  prisoner,  all  the  better  to
escape.

He followed the man, whose name he still

didn’t know, back down the hall and through a
pair of double doors. At least twenty people sat
around a long dining table. He recognized one.

“Eaton, you’re awake,” Gallen rushed to his

side. “Come sit with me.”

Without giving Eaton a chance to ask any

questions, Gallen pressed his hand along Eaton’s

To Enchant An Eagle

back and escorted him close to the head of the
table and to an empty seat three spots down.

“Everyone, this is Eaton, my bonded. He’s an

eagle shifter.”

Murmurs of approval went around the table.
“Nice job, son!” a deep voice resonated through

the air.

Eaton turned his attention to the speaker. He

looked like an older version of Gallen, if the
younger man had been stripped of his soul and
pure evil had been stuffed inside.

He still didn’t know why he was there, but if

this man had anything to do with it, it wouldn’t be
anything good.

“That’s my father,” Gallen whispered.

“Everyone calls him Theos.”

Eaton decided people probably had several

names for the scary bastard, but kept that thought
to himself. Somehow, he didn’t think they’d
appreciate his sense of humor.

“Although I wish you were born at least

bisexual, you have brought honor to the clan,” the
man grudgingly said.

“Thank you, Father,” Gallen bowed his head as

if he were just given the highest praise. From the
stench of animosity pouring off Gallen’s father, he
probably didn’t give even half-hearted backward
compliments very often.

Eaton kept his gaze empty and let the man

Amber Kell

think he was completely under their control. A
tingle along the chain on his neck had him
wondering if there were some sort of spell on it.

Good thing Aden had inoculated them all with

anti-spell  venom  when  the  four  of  them  were
young.  Anti-magic  shots  were  super  rare  and
outrageously  expensive,  but  Aden  had  saved  the
life  of  the  inventor’s  son,  and  in  return  had
everyone  injected  several  years  ago.  Sometimes,
Eaton  wondered  if  Aden  had  a  little  seer  in  his
blood. The man had considered every possibility.
Some people might  call him paranoid, but so far,
everything he’d taught them had come in handy at
some point in their  life. As much as they  bitched
about  his  lessons  in  escaping  handcuffs  and
unbinding  rope,  not  one  of  them  ever  refused  a
lesson by Aden Gage.

A covert glance around the table revealed

others were wearing the same sort of chain. Their
empty eyes and wooden motions had a stilted
aspect as if they weren’t completely moving under
their own power.

It was like a freaky puppet paranormal show.

Chills raced up and down Eaton’s back. This was
what  Gallen  had  wanted  for  Eaton.  Eaton
swallowed the bile rising in his throat. He’d have
to  be  more  careful  and  pretend  to  be  just  as
affected.  The  spell  must’ve  worked  at  least
momentarily  before  the  antidote  kicked  in  or

To Enchant An Eagle

Eaton would never have agreed to come along.

Marty was going to have a fit.

Marty!
Eaton’s inner eagle screamed it’s discontent at

their separation. He wondered if Gallen had truly
healed Marty or if he’d just put on a good show.
Memories of Marty unmoving had him biting his
lip. He quickly released it. Any sign of nerves or
indeed any emotion would only draw attention he
didn’t want.

“Did he bond yet?” Gallen’s father asked.
“Nope. His mate had an accident which

shattered him. He was unable to solidify the
bond.”

“Excellent.”
Gallen motioned for a servant. “Please bring

Eaton a plate of food. He prefers salmon and rice.”

Eaton wondered when Gallen had learned his

preferences. Apparently, this wasn’t a kidnapping
of opportunity. Gallen had studied Eaton’s habits.

It didn’t take long before the servant set a plate

of food before Eaton. He waited for direction.

“Go ahead and eat, love,” Gallen said, sliding a

finger down Eaton’s arm.

Eaton stomped down the urge to slap Gallen’s

hand away. He had to pretend to accept Gallen’s
advances or at least not flinch away from them.

“Introduce me to your man, Gallen?” A soft

musical voice cut through the silence only

Amber Kell

punctuated by the clatter of metal against china.

“Eaton, this is my mother, Bellion.”
Eaton glanced up to meet the eyes of a woman

who  all  but  glowed  in  the  dim  room.  Her  eyes
were  a  piercing  blue  as  if  created  by  someone
cutting out a piece of the sky on a perfect day. Her
skin  gave  off  a  faint  shimmer  and  her  lips  had  a
violet tint to them Eaton was certain didn’t come
from a tube of makeup.

Her gaze held his for a moment and he could

tell she knew he wasn’t under the thrall of
enchantment.

“Nice to meet you, Eaton.”
Eaton nodded, not speaking. He didn’t know if

his voice would give him away.

“Eaton just arrived. He’s not up to talking yet,

Mother.” Gallen’s condescending tone made Eaton
want  to  shift  just  to  claw  out  Gallen’s  eyes.  He
could feel the eagle just beneath the surface ready
to  take  charge,  talons  ready.  However,  if  he
shifted  in  the  middle  of  this  elegant  dining room
with these equally elegant and cold people, he had
no  doubt  their  combined  magic  could  more  than
take him out.

He needed to be sneaky. Luckily, birds tended

to be crafty as a default.

Eaton let the people talk around him. From

eavesdropping, he learned Harris’s friendly
neighborhood powerful vampire was giving the

To Enchant An Eagle

sorcerers  a  run  for  their  money.  The  sorcerers
wanted  the  prime  land  around  Capitol  Hill  and
the vampires weren’t giving in. They claimed the
territory from the hill all the way into downtown
and  apparently  a  huge  chunk  of  the  local  crime
cartel.

“We need to expand our property.” Gallen’s

father slammed his fist down on the table, making
the silverware clatter. “We can’t let the vampires
take over. If we give on this, we might as well roll
over and show our bellies.”

“It is unfortunate the Salties didn’t work out as

planned,” Bellion said.

Eaton wondered if he was the only one who

detected a note of satisfaction in her voice.

“We still haven’t discovered what scared them

away. They were supposed to be our in for the
brothels,” Theos complained.

The urge to enlighten the ass teased the tip of

his  tongue,  but  Eaton  resisted.  It  was  in  his  best
interests  to  stay  silent.  He  now  wondered  if  the
vamps  had  a  hand  in  the  Salties  sudden
disappearance. They had given up a bit too easily.

“Our new plan will take care of them. Once

they drink the poisoned blood, it will be all over.”
Theos grinned at the idea.

Eaton set down his fork. The salmon swirled

uneasily in his stomach. He needed to get the
word to Harris. His friend would be devastated if

Amber Kell

his love interest died. Eaton didn’t know if Harris
and Rohan were mates, but rarely did anyone
catch Harris’s attention more than his art.

Keeping his eyes down, Eaton set his hands on

his lap. No way could he eat any more. He had to
find a way out of this place and get a note to
Harris somehow.

From beneath his lashes, he scanned his choices

of possible accomplices. All of the sorcerers were
immediately crossed off his list. He contemplated
using Gallen’s mother for a brief moment, but he
didn’t know if she had grown used to her
captivity and now was one of them or not. If she’d
been captive since Gallen’s birth, she might have
grown to love Mr. Evil beside her.

Eaton didn’t see the attraction, but not everyone

understood his obsession with a motorcycle biker
gang leader either.

To each his own.
The people he spotted with necklaces like his

own looked too brainwashed to be of much help.
Eaton  didn’t  understand  the  appeal  of  having  a
zombie  for  a  mate,  but  maybe  that  was  the
sorcerer tradition to make sure your mate couldn’t
turn  on  you.  Almost  all  the  people  Eaton
identified as sorcerers had a zombie/mate  beside
them.  The  few  that  didn’t  had  an  empty  chair
between  them  and  the  next  person.  Eaton
wondered if it were a mark of shame to not have

To Enchant An Eagle

your own special mind-controlled other half.

Gallen certainly had seemed proud of his

accomplishment.

The rest of the conversations didn’t reveal

anything new to Eaton. Besides the fact they were
a  table  full  of  whiners  who  had  ungrateful
children,  lazy  servants  and  paid  too  many  taxes.
Apparently,  buying  a  politician  cost  more  every
year.

Eaton’s head began to ache even more. He

wondered if it was the effect of the necklace
fighting his inoculation.

Gallen rubbed a hand across Eaton’s back.
“Excuse us, Father. I think Eaton is feeling

unwell, probably from the bonding. If you’ll
please excuse us.”

“Of course. Let me know if you need me to

send for a physician.”

The man sounded actually solicitous. If Eaton

didn’t know Gallen’s father would probably slit
his throat as soon as he became a problem, he
might like the guy. He wondered how Marty was
doing. Asking would more than likely send up red
flags so he had to stay quiet for now.

Gallen led him back to the room he’d snuck out

of.

“Here we go. This is your room. Mine is

through those doors. Father believes it’s important
that everyone has their own space. I always

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suspected it was because Mother didn’t want to
share with him,” Gallen muttered.

Eaton suppressed his smile.
Gallen sighed. “It didn’t work, did it?”
Eaton dared to glance up, fear drying his throat.

“What didn’t work?”

“The necklace. I followed all the proper steps,

too. Maybe eagle shifters are just different.”

Eaton opened his mouth, but then quickly shut

it again. He didn’t dare tell Gallen the true reason.
For all he knew, the man’s father kept an antidote
in the fridge.

“Sorry?” Gallen looked so defeated Eaton

almost felt bad for the guy.

Gallen plopped down on Eaton’s bed. “What

are we going to do now?”

“You could free me,” Eaton proposed. “I won’t

tell anyone.”

For a moment, it appeared as if Gallen was

going to give that idea a proper thought. Then he
shook his head. “No, Father would gut me if he
thought I let you go unbound.”

“Well, I have to get back to my mate!” Eaton

said, anger rising to the surface.

“He can’t find you here,” Gallen said. “The

entire place has been reinforced by layers of
magic. Most people forget it’s even here.”

Eaton almost asked where they were, but he

knew it was a step too far. “If I can get word to my

To Enchant An Eagle

friends, they’ll come get me. You can’t be blamed
if outsiders take me back, right?”

Gallen lifted his head. “Marty would gut me.”
Eaton sat down beside Gallen. “Did you really

heal him?”

A long silence almost had Eaton ready to gut

Gallen himself.

“I healed his bones, but I put a temporary

suppression on his hawk. Both because shifting
too soon would rebreak his newly healed wounds
and because I thought he’d find you faster in his
animal form.”

“What were you going to do if he found me?”
Gallen shrugged. “I was hoping if you were

under my spell, you would tell him to go. I can
make your life good here. Please consider it,
Eaton.”

“What’s with the zombie thing?” Eaton asked,

genuinely curious.

“It has to do with an ancient sorcerer, Ballinea.

Her lover turned on her when she had taught him
all about her power. Now we bind our mates so
they can never betray us.”

“But don’t you want genuine emotion? Real

feelings? All those people out there had nothing
going on inside. Except your mother.”

Gallen’s miserable expression softened Eaton’s

heart. “I know. I do. I just wanted Father to be
proud of me for once. And you’re so beautiful, so

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full of energy and happiness, I wanted that for
myself. I didn’t mean to destroy your life, Eaton. I
just wanted some of your joy for myself.”

“Maybe you just need to get away from this

place.” Eaton waved a hand, indicating the
building around him. “This house has a toxic
atmosphere. And don’t take this wrong, but your
father gives me the chills.”

“I know. I think he uses me to keep mother in

line.  I’m  never  allowed  to  talk  to  her  alone,  so  I
don’t  know  how  she  feels  about  everything.
Besides,  where  would  I  go?  No  one  wants  to
harbor  a  sorcerer.  Not  only  will  the  others  hunt
me  down,  but  Father  would  take  great  joy  in
making  an  example  of  me.”  The  fear  in  Gallen’s
eyes went bone deep.

After meeting his father, Eaton wished he could

say the terror was exaggerated, but he worried it
wasn’t. “We’ll think of something.”

Eaton kicked off his new shoes and curled up

on the bed. Gallen pushed his shoes off, too. When
he caught Eaton’s expression, he gave a wry smile.
“I just want to cuddle, besides it will make them
less suspicious.”

“True.” Eaton scooted over. He still wanted to

kick Gallen’s ass, but he better understood the
man now.

“Try to get some rest. We’ll figure out what to

do tomorrow.”

To Enchant An Eagle

He doubted he’d be able to sleep, but

apparently fighting magic drained a person. In no
time, darkness claimed him.

Amber Kell

Chapter Seven

arty lay there for a moment. He could feel
the spell breaking down, chipping away

beneath the onslaught of his will. His hawk half
still slumbered, but maybe he could at least get his
human part moving.

“What the hell happened?” Carey walked into

the room with Broden quickly following.

Opening his mouth, Marty still couldn’t speak.

His one scream had apparently taken all his sound
ability for the moment.

“I don’t think he can talk, love,” Broden said.

The cat shifter examined Marty with an unnerving
stare. For a moment, he had a flash of insight of a
bird’s emotions when spotting a cat stalking it as
prey.

“That sorcerer friend of Eaton’s was going to

stop by here,” Carey said.

“Well, he did some sort of spell, that’s for sure.

This place reeks of magic,” Broden wrinkled his

To Enchant An Eagle

nose at the scent.

“Hmm, I’m going to call Denton and Harris. I

need to rally the troops. Eaton wouldn’t abandon
Marty like this. Something happened.”

“I’ll call my cats in also. If Eaton has been taken,

we have the best trackers.”

“We can look from the sky.”
To Marty’s surprise, Tim, one of his hawk

shifters, entered the room with a couple other
hawks on his heels.

“You want to help?” Carey’s surprised tone

reflected Marty’s viewpoint.

Tim folded his arms and looked directly at

Marty. “We didn’t get upset because you wanted
to  stay  in  one  place,  Marty.  We  were  upset
because  you  didn’t  ask  us  to  stay  with  you.  We
will follow you anywhere, but you just gave up on
us.  We’ll  help  get  your  mate  back  even  if  he
doesn’t  like  us,  but  we’d  like  to  have  a  group
meeting afterward.”

“I’m sure he’d be happy to talk to you,” Carey

spoke for him. “Let’s hope the spell wears off
soon.”

Broden sniffed. “It’s already fading.”
“Good.”
“Tim, you go gather the hawks. Broden, get

your cats together and I’ll call my friends.”

“Don’t forget your father,” Broden said. The big

cat shifter winced after he said those words.

Amber Kell

Carey laughed, but shook his head. “We might

have to do this without Dad. He left town.”

“Damn, the one time I was hoping to see

Aden,” Broden muttered.

“I’ll text him what’s going on and get his

advice,” Carey said. “He can help us remotely if
necessary.”

Everyone scattered. Marty had to admire the

quick thinking Carey used in marshaling his
resources. No wonder Eaton spoke so highly of a
mere human.

Marty had to agree with Broden though. This

was one time he would’ve been happy to see the
slightly psychotic father figure.

A cramp went up his spine. “Crap,” he

muttered.

Excitement rushed through him. Marty tried to

sit up. He laughed when his muscles obeyed and
he gained full mobility. The aches and pains from
his broken bones had all disappeared. If Gallen
weren’t such a backstabbing mate stealer, he’d kiss
the man right then.

Wiggling his fingers and toes, he sucked in his

breath. Pins and needles stabbed him as his
circulation returned.

“Oh good.” Carey smiled at seeing Marty

mobile. “Get dressed. We’re meeting in the living
room in thirty minutes.”

Marty nodded. He’d wait to tell his story until

To Enchant An Eagle

everyone had assembled.

A half hour later and Marty found himself the

focus of the strangest collection of shifters ever. By
nature,  avian  and  furred  shifters  didn’t  mix,  but
that  didn’t  stop  the  hawks  and  assorted  cat
paranormals  from  crowding  the  living  room  at
Carey’s behest.

“Hello, everyone. A sorcerer has captured

Eaton.  He  goes  by  the  name  of  Gallen  Theos.  He
claims to want Eaton to be his bonded and that he
will  take  good  care of  him.  However,  in  order  to
do  this,  he  is  stealing  Eaton’s  will  by  using  a
necklace to control him.”

Denton made a derisive snort. The croc shifter

sat on the lap of his mate Isaac, a puma shifter.

“Something you want to say?” Marty

challenged.

“Eaton can’t be spelled; he’s been inoculated,”

Denton explained.

“Really? The necklace looked like it was

working,” Marty said, not daring to hope his
beloved was truly safe.

“It might have initially, but when the counter-

spell kicks in, he’ll be fully cognizant,” Carey said.

“That might not be a good thing.”
Marty turned to the new speaker. He knew

without the sight of the bear shifter standing
protectively near that the interloper was none

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other  than  Rohan,  leader  of  the  vampires.  The
man’s  supernatural  energy  whipped  through  the
room like an electric shock, setting the shifters on
edge.  Marty  wondered  how  Harris  could  stand
being that close to the vampire.

“Why not?” Marty couldn’t understand why

Eaton controlling his own thoughts could be
dangerous.

“Because sorcerers enslave their better halves, if

you  will.”  Rohan  made  air  quotes  around  better
halves.  “In  order  to  be  bonded  with  a  sorcerer,
you have to give up your will. If they find out that
Eaton  can’t  give  up  his  free  will,  they  might  kill
him to keep their secrets.”

“Then we’d best save him quickly,” Marty said,

his heart sinking at the news.

“I’d like to offer my vampires to assist,” Rohan

said unexpectedly.

Marty saw Carey wince at Rohan’s words. He

remembered the human didn’t like vampires, but
he knew from their interactions that Carey
wouldn’t refuse anyone’s help if it would get him
back his friend.

Biting back a smile, Marty nodded. “Welcome

to our rescue group.”

“Thank you. Harris told me how much Eaton’s

friendship means to him.” The vampire’s gaze
settled fondly on the big bear shifter, who blushed
beneath his regard. “I don’t want him upset.”

To Enchant An Eagle

“Well, thank you for coming,” Carey sounded

as if he had to scrape the words off his soul in
order to get them out, but he said them
nonetheless.

“Does anyone know where the sorcerers live?”
Most of the paranormals tended to stick to their

own neighborhoods. The shifters mostly stayed in
Queen  Anne,  Green  Lake,  Fremont  and  West
Seattle with a few dotted through downtown. The
vampires  took  over  Capitol  Hill  and  part  of  First
Hill. There were rumors of necromancers living in
Ballard,  but  no  definitive  sightings.  Humans  still
took up most of the space, but there were pockets
where  non-paranormals  shouldn’t  go  at  night.
Marty had heard the Fremont Troll had rampaged
during  the  last  earthquake,  but  the  media  had
hushed it up.

“They are in Magnolia,” Rohan offered. His

tone brooked no argument.

“Where?” Carey asked.
Rohan shrugged. “We aren’t certain. There

aren’t a lot of places for them to hide. I’ve always
suspected they were squatting on Fort Lawton
property. Too many times the Army has changed
their mind about what they wanted to do.”

Marty turned to the hawks. “You guys do a fly

by and check it out. Report back anything
suspicious. Pay special attention to any possible
magical influence.”

Amber Kell

They shifters nodded and left the room.
“We’ll wait for their report,” Marty said. He sat

down on the closest surface, a beautiful
upholstered couch.

Carey gripped his shoulder. “It will be okay.

We’ll get him back. Eaton may look delicate, but
he’s pretty tough.”

“How tough can he be without his guns?”

Marty asked.

“You’d be surprised. My dad trained him on

how to protect himself. He won’t go down
without a fight.” Carey patted Marty on the back
before moving on to talk to the others.

Marty put his face in his hands and didn’t even

look up when the couch cushion dipped beside
him.

“I could not help noticing you are apart from

your hawk,” Rohan said in his softly accented
voice.

“Gallen suppressed my hawk nature so I

couldn’t find Eaton as easily,” Marty explained.

“I can fix that for you.”
Marty sat up, giving Rohan his total attention.

“How?”

“Many don’t know this, but vampire blood

helps break enchantments. If you were to take a
sip of my blood, it would awaken your inner
animal,” Rohan explained.

Joy rushed through him until Marty realized it

To Enchant An Eagle

would  mean  taking  someone  else  inside  of  him.
He held back his instant agreement. “I already lost
my  mate  because  I  selfishly  thought  of  myself
instead  of  what  was  best  for  my  beloved.  I  don’t
know  how  he  would  react  to  my  taking  your
blood,” Marty replied honestly.

Rohan nodded. “From what Harris has said, he

is a good-hearted man and would want what was
best for his mate.”

Marty nodded. “He is, but I’ve already made a

lot of mistakes in our relationship. Maybe I should
ask Carey, he knows Eaton best.”

“Harris has told me about his friend. Frankly,

the human terrifies me.” Rohan’s wary glance
toward Carey made Marty laugh.

“Thank you for the offer. I’ll think on it.”
Rohan nodded. The vampire stood and walked

straight back to Harris who smiled at his
approach. Marty could almost see the hearts
floating in the air around them.

Half-hearted conversation sputtered and died

as they all waited for the hawks’ report.

An hour later, the flock returned. They headed

directly to Marty to give their report.

“What did you learn?”
Tim served as the group’s spokesman. “If you

approach the fort on foot, it looks like an
abandoned Army base, but if you fly over it, you
don’t see anything.”

Amber Kell

“So you didn’t see any sorcerers?” Defeat

weighed heavy on Marty’s chest.

“No, you don’t understand,” Tim corrected.

“You don’t see anything. It’s like the entire place
vanishes.”

“Magic,” Marty said with satisfaction. “At least

we know where they are hiding. Now we have to
figure out what we’re going to do about it.”

A bang on the window had everyone spinning

around to see a pigeon slamming against the glass.

“Stupid bird,” Carey opened the glass door to

shoo the creature away.

To Marty’s surprise, the bird flew inside. A few

people made half-hearted swipes to encourage it
back outside, but it easily escaped the motions.

The small bird landed in the middle of the

Oriental rug. Before anyone could grab it, a
shimmering glow surrounded the pigeon and in
its place stood a fully dressed young man wearing
black jeans and a red T-shirt.

“There are pigeon shifters?” Carey asked in

astonishment.

“No. There’s not,” Marty replied absently. “Not

naturally.”

The young man gave Marty a bitter smile. “You

have  that  right.  However,  never  try  to  break  up
with  your  sorcerer  boyfriend  or  he  can  turn  you
into something you hate. Let’s just say if I were to
do  it  again,  I’d  find  out  if  my  ex  could  do magic

To Enchant An Eagle

before I tossed his clothes on the lawn when I
caught him cheating.”

A world of pain lived in the young man’s grey

eyes. Marty wondered how long he’d been cursed.
“What are you doing here?”

“Are you Marty? You match the description I

was given,” he muttered.

Marty nodded.
“Just so you know, if you let Eaton down, I will

follow you around and crap on you for the rest of
your life. That’s kind of my superpower,” the
pigeon shifter said.

“What’s your name?” Carey asked.
“Kurtis. Eaton freed me and sent me here. He

wanted me to tell Marty that he was trapped at
Fort Lawton and to tell Harris that the vampires’
new donors might have poisonous blood.”

Marty saw Rohan whip out his cell phone and

begin dialing. Even kidnapped, Eaton tried to save
others. “How did he rescue you?”

“My asshole ex keeps me in a cage in the lobby.

Eaton picked the lock. I think the guy with him is
beginning to regret kidnapping him. I heard him
say he’d try to get him out of there. Theos, the
head sorcerer, is kind of an asshole though. I don’t
think he lets anyone leave voluntarily. If he finds
out Eaton freed me, there will be hell to pay.”

“Do you have anywhere to go?” Carey asked.
Kurtis shook his head. “I’ll be fine. I mean there

Amber Kell

100

are shelters and stuff.”

“You can stay here while you get on your feet.

It was nice of you to come here when you could’ve
just flown off,” Carey said.

“I always pay my debts,” Kurtis said.
“Good, then you can let me repay mine,” Carey

said with a friendly smile.

“Thanks.” Relief crossed Kurtis’s face. Marty

couldn’t blame him. Stay at a beautiful mansion or
live on the streets—not a super hard decision.

“Maybe we can look into fixing your curse,”

Carey offered.

“I’d like that,” Kurtis replied.
Rohan got off the phone, his face hard and a

new  resolve  in  his  eyes.  “Three  of  my  vampires
were  poisoned  and  might  die  because  of  the
sorcerers.  Eaton’s  warning  saved  the  others  in
time.  We  will  go  first  to  counter  the  sorcerers’
attack.  It  is  the  least  we  can  do  to  repay  Eaton’s
help.”

“All right,” Carey agreed. He turned to Marty.

“How do you want to do this?”

Marty smiled at Carey for turning over the

leadership to him. He knew the human usually
took charge and was only deferring because he
recognized Marty as Eaton’s mate.

“I think Rohan makes a good point. Send the

vampires in first to block out any magic, then
shifters. The hawks first then Broden’s people.

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101

Everyone agreed?”

A chorus of agreement resounded.
“Where do you want me?” Harris asked.
“Here,” Rohan said promptly. “I don’t want

you in the line of fire.”

Carey burst out laughing. “That’s not quite how

it works, vampire. When one of us is in trouble,
we all go to the rescue.”

Denton and Harris nodded.
“Then I want Harris next to me, where I can

keep an eye on him,” Rohan insisted.

“Agreed,” Harris said.
“Okay, let’s arm up,” Carey announced.
Denton and Harris moved the large coffee table

out of the middle of the floor. Carey whipped back
the carpet to reveal a large door. It had iron
brackets and a ring for a handle. The human
pulled a key out of his pocket and unlocked it.

At Carey’s nod, Harris pulled on the ring and

lifted the solid door. It banged open to one side.
Carey reached inside and flipped a switch. Unable
to resist, Marty stepped closer to look. His jaw
dropped open as row after row of weapons were
revealed.

The staircase went down into the darkness with

enough  guns,  ammo  and  grenades  to  blow  up
Seattle.  Carey  waved  a  hand  to  the  bunker.
“Welcome  to  the  armory,  gentlemen.  Take  what
you  need.  We  always  have  more.  Please  return

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102

everything when you’re done.”

“I think I’m going to like being part of this

family,” Marty said.

Rohan raised his eyebrows as Harris pulled out

a weapon that looked big enough to take out a
submarine and propped it comfortably on his
shoulder.

“What?” the bear shifter asked, his eyes

widening at finding himself the object of Marty
and Rohan’s stares.

“Nothing, beloved,” Rohan said. “I was merely

thinking your weapon suited you.”

“It should. Aden bought it for my sixteenth

birthday.” With those words, Harris grabbed a
couple of grenades with one hand and sauntered
off.

“Well, you can’t say they are boring,” Marty

offered.

Rohan bared his fangs. “I think I need to meet

this Aden,” he replied.

Marty smirked. “You might regret that wish.”

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103

Chapter Eight

I had hoped my son wouldn’t follow in his
father’s footsteps,” a feminine voice spoke

behind Eaton.

He turned to find Gallen’s mother standing

there with a look of disappointment on her face.

Eaton bit his lip as he moved to block her view.
She gently pushed him to one side. “Excellent,”

she said, eyeing the empty cage. “So you aren’t
entirely under his spell.”

“Not at all, actually,” Eaton said. It was too late

to cover up. At this point, she already knew he’d
freed  the  pigeon  shifter.  When  Gallen  had
mentioned  Kurtis’s  plight,  Eaton  knew  he  could
help  the  tortured  man.  Eaton’s  winged  half
rebelled at the thought of any bird being caged. To
have  it  happen  to  someone  who  wasn’t  even
intended  to  be  a  shifter  sounded  like  the  worst
kind of torture.

He’d quickly located Kurtis and got the pigeon

“I

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104

shifter  to  agree  to  send  a  message  to  Marty.  He
hoped  the  man  actually  delivered  Eaton’s
message. He figured he had a fifty-fifty chance of
Kurtis  keeping  his  word.  It  had  been  two  hours
since  he’d  been  freed;  Eaton  hoped  to  have  a
response  soon.  He’d  come  back  to  the  cage  to
check and see if the shifter might have returned.

“Why do you stay?” Eaton asked. He could see

she wasn’t under the influence of anything. She
didn’t wear one of those necklaces and her eyes
were clear of enchantment.

“My son. Whenever I try to leave, I worry that

Gallen’s father will finally completely twist his
soul. He’s the reason I stay.”

“What will you do if he finally breaks free of his

father?” Eaton asked.

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve been under

Theos’s thumb for three centuries, and in all that
time, I’ve only had one child. I’m hoping my true
mate is out there somewhere. I’d like to see if I
could find him.”

Eaton smiled. “Good luck.”
“You might need it more than me,” she replied.

“When they find out you are lucid, they will try to
discover why.”

“I don’t plan on being here much longer. My

friends will come for me.” Eaton has no doubt in
his mind that Carey had already devised a plan.

Bellion gave him a sad smile. “You think they

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105

will trouble themselves over one eagle shifter.”

“I know they will, because I would do the same

for them.” Eaton had not even a twinge of unease
when he made that statement.

“You really believe that.” She stared at him for

a long moment.

“What?”
“I see absolutely no doubt in your aura. You

have complete faith in your friends.”

“I grew up with them. I was there for Carey’s

first  bullet  wound  and  Denton’s  first  toothache.
I’ve  seen  my  shy  friend  go  from  crayons  to
brilliant oils to become an amazing artist. They are
extensions of my soul. You don’t turn away when
part of you is missing. You hunt it down and get it
back.”  Huh,  maybe  Aden  had  rubbed  off  on  him
over the years after all.

“I wish you good luck, Eaton. I hope your faith

isn’t shattered.”

“It won’t be.”
A loud explosion rocked the house. Screams

echoed through the mansion.

Eaton smiled. “Harris has arrived.”
Gallen came running down the hall. “We’ve got

to go!” he shouted, grabbing onto Eaton.

“Go where?” Eaton asked.
“To the bunker. It’s spelled so no one can get

inside unless they have sorcerer blood or a chain.”

Eaton jerked his wrist out of Gallen’s hold. “I’m

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106

not going anywhere. My friends are here. I’m
going with them.”

“You can’t. Father will kill me. He’ll know

you’re the reason our home was destroyed.”

“Go with him,” Bellion urged. “Now is the

time, son. Start fresh; be the person I always knew
you could be.”

Gallen paled. “Marty will kill me!” He shook.
“Then don’t go with me. Nothing says you can’t

strike out on your own,” Eaton said practically.

“What about you, Mother?”
Bellion smiled. “I think I’ll quite like travelling

about. I’ve only stayed for you, my sweet boy.”

“You could come with me,” Gallen offered.
She shook her head. “It’s time for you to be

your own man. Good luck, my son.”

Eaton smiled when she vanished, leaving in her

place bits of pink glitter.

“She always did have a flare for the dramatic,”

Gallen said.

“Gallen! This is your fault!” Theos appeared

from around the corner.

Eaton could hear the older man begin to chant.

Darkness swirled around him as he continued to
mutter words Eaton couldn’t understand.

“Don’t do this, Father,” Gallen pled. His fingers

moved quickly. Eaton figured Gallen must be
doing a silent counter chant, because no words left
Gallen’s mouth.

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107

With a shout Theos released his spell. Except

instead of aiming at Gallen, he sent it toward
Eaton.

Gallen leapt in front of Eaton, blocking the spell

with his body.

“No!” Eaton shouted. He grabbed Gallen as the

sorcerer toppled to the ground. Gallen’s skin
turned ashen as if all the life had been sucked out.
His eyes slide closed shutting the world out.

“What did you do?” Eaton screamed at Theos.
“I did what he wanted,” Theos said, a scowl

crossing his features. “He wants a true mate, now
Gallen will have to find him in order to come back
to life.”

With a scathing look at the pair of them, Theos

stomped away.

Eaton picked Gallen up, determined to save the

sorcerer  before  his  friends  burnt  the  building  to
the  ground.  Smoke  filled  the  air,  making  Eaton’s
eyes water and singeing the hairs inside his nose.
He  could  see  and  hear  the  crackle  and  spit  of
flames, but he couldn’t smell any fire.

Taking a chance, he marched through the

inferno. The spell tickled his arm as he walked
past the illusion and straight into the circle of his
friends.

“Hey, Eaton, took you long enough,” Carey

said. His favorite spell flame weapon sat propped
on his shoulder. “I thought I might actually have

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108

to set the place on fire to get you out.”

Eaton grinned. “It’s good to see you, too.”
“What happened to the sorcerer?” Marty

rushed to his side.

“His father spelled him. Something about

having to find his soul mate or some crap in order
to come back to life,” Eaton said.

“Aw, the snow white curse mixed with a little

necromancer power.” A tall elegant vampire
approached, his interested gaze swept over
Gallen. “Interesting application. I’ve never seen it
used like that before.”

“Cool, I’ve always wanted one of those glass

coffins in the garden,” Harris said. “It’ll make a
great conversation piece.”

“Yeah, for the police,” Denton said dryly.
Harris scooped Gallen out of Eaton’s arms. “I’ll

take him.”

Eaton’s hands were only empty for a brief

moment before Marty wrapped himself around
Eaton and squeezed him tight. “Don’t you ever do
that to me again.”

“Do what? Get kidnapped? Well, I’ll try, but I

didn’t exactly plan it the first time.”

Marty kissed Eaton and every other thought

melted from his brain. “Let’s go home.”

Eaton barely slammed his bedroom door shut

before he began stripping off his clothes. Marty

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109

pulled  off  his  attire  with  equal  speed  and  soon
they  were  writhing  naked  on  the  bed,  wrestling
each other for dominance. It was only for show on
Eaton’s  part;  he  didn’t  want  to  be  on  top,  but  he
thought Marty needed to work for it.

He grinned madly when Marty flipped them

over until Eaton lay pinned completely by the
larger man.

“Gotcha,” Marty said with satisfaction, his

erection pressed against Eaton’s stomach.

“Yes, you do,” Eaton agreed. “Now what are

you going to do with me?”

“Oh, I have several ideas.” Marty wrapped one

hand around both of Eaton’s wrists before he
grabbed the lube out of Eaton’s side table.

“Afraid I’ll escape?” Eaton asked.
“Neither of us is going anywhere until I’ve

claimed you. I was terrified Gallen would bond
with you before I could get you back.”

“Despite his actions, Gallen knew what he was

doing was wrong,” Eaton protested. The sorcerer
was an odd mix of wanting to please his father
and wanting to do what was right.

“Let’s not talk about him right now.” Marty bit

Eaton’s nipple.

“Sorry.” Eaton gasped at the sensation before

wiggling to get even more.

Marty smiled. “I don’t know that you really are,

but I am.”

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110

Eaton froze at the seriousness on his lover’s

face. “What are you talking about?”

“If I hadn’t been so focused on being healed, I

would never have let another man touch you. I’m
an ass,” Marty said.

“I forgive you,” Eaton said. “You are

completely healed now, right?”

“I’m healed enough to show you what you

were missing by not letting me screw you earlier.”

Marty released Eaton long enough to remove

the cap off the lube. He slicked up his fingers and
carefully  loosened  Eaton  up.  Eaton  gasped  as
Marty  penetrated  him  slowly,  widening  him  by
twisting  his  hand  back  and  forth,  up  and  down,
bumping  something  inside  that  made  Eaton
wiggle, trying to get him to do it again.

“Ahh, I found it, I see.” Marty’s victorious smile

made Eaton grin.

He’d never seen this carefree, happy side of

Marty before, and he wouldn’t mind seeing it
more often.

Marty removed his fingers and applied more

lube to his erection. “Are you ready? We will be
bound forever in the way of your people. Do you
choose me as your mate?” Marty asked, his
serious gaze unwavering.

“Yes. Make me yours.”
Marty pushed inside. A whimper burst from

Eaton before he could help it. It hurt. His body

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111

sought to reject the intrusion. Marty whispered
soothing words and stroked Eaton’s skin until
Eaton relaxed enough to take more. Each time he
tensed, his mate took a little time to relax him. He
couldn’t ask for a more patient lover.

“Almost there, love,” Marty moaned. He

moved his hips in slow increments until finally he
filled Eaton completely.

Eaton clenched and shifted beneath his mate,

trying to align their bodies and get more
comfortable. “Just relax,” Marty said, rubbing
Eaton’s ass.

“Move!” Eaton ordered. He needed something,

something more.

“Whatever you want!” Marty’s stunning grin

warmed Eaton’s heart.

Marty slid out, then back in. The first few times

were awkward until Marty found the rhythm and
Eaton’s toes curled as his lover pegged him over
and over in the most delicious way possible.

“Marty, touch me!” Eaton needed more than

Marty’s cock; he needed his hand.

“Bossy, bossy. I see you are going to top from

the bottom,” Marty teased.

“I’m going to punch from the bottom, too, if

you don’t get busy,” Eaton ordered.

Marty laughed. Wrapping his hand around

Eaton’s shaft in a loose grip, he continued to drive
Eaton out of his head with a combination of

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112

squeezes and pumps until Eaton made noises he
didn’t even know could come out of his throat.

A loud eagle scream burst from him as he came.

His  fingers  shifted  into  talons  as  he  gripped
Marty.  Unlike  the  cat  shifters,  Eaton  didn’t  have
teeth  in  his  shifter  form  so  he  used  his  talons  to
slash  at  his  lover’s  neck.  Slicing  a  line  along
Marty’s throat, he lapped at it, taking in his mate’s
blood to finalize the ceremony.

After he sealed Marty’s wound with his saliva,

he sliced his own neck. “Drink!” he demanded.

Marty quickly dipped his head and suckled

down a few drops of blood before closing up the
wound.

A hawk’s cry vibrated Eaton’s eardrums as

Marty pumped his essence into him, adding to
their bond. Replete, Marty slowly slid out of Eaton
and collapsed beside his lover.

Eaton could feel cum sliding out of his ass and

onto the blanket below. “How come no one ever
mentions how messy sex is?”

“Because wet spots aren’t romantic.” Marty

grabbed Eaton and pulled him into his arms until
he lay across his lover’s chest. “I can feel him
now.”

“Feel who?”
“My hawk. Gallen had done something to put

him to sleep, but now I can feel him again.”

“Of course, you can. You ingested my blood. It

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113

woke him back up.” It made perfect sense to
Eaton.

“Rohan offered me blood, but I refused him.”
“Good. I don’t want you to take anyone’s blood

but mine.” Eaton sighed with satisfaction, his
entire body replete.

“That’s what I thought you’d say,” Marty

replied. “I don’t want you to ever regret taking me
as your mate.”

Eaton sat up so he could look Marty in the eye.

“The only thing I’ve ever regretted about us was
that I should’ve bonded with you a long time
ago.”

“Good.” Marty snuggled Eaton back against his

chest. “Get some rest, babe, we’ll have sex again
after our nap. We need to double check that the
bond worked.”

“It worked,” Eaton said.
“Hush, like I said, we’ll double check. You can’t

be too careful about things like that.”

Eaton laughed. “Okay, we’ll make certain of it.”
Cuddled next to his mate, his bonded, his love,

Eaton fell asleep.

About the Author

Amber Kell lives in Seattle, WA with her husband,
two sons, three cats and one extremely stupid dog.
She loves to hear from her fans at
amberkellwrites@gmail.com