Spirit Walkers 7

 

A Random Spirit

Cedric Portrey had a choice which he had no intention of making.
Saul Douben didn’t have a choice and that was there the trouble

began.

Cedric lived behind a flirtatious mask and a wild if unfounded
reputation. Still it kept him safe from believing anyone would love

the man behind the smile instead of the power and prestige of a
sorcerer.

Saul Douben had lost everything or so he thought. He was a quiet
man with a lonely life. But everything changed when he entered

Kashmerle Castle and walked right into Cedric’s arms.

Saul could not take it all in. His spirit walker kept disappearing

amidst screams and explosions. And his only help came from a
sarcastic tortoise called Fred.

Luckily Saul was a patient man and he was fully prepared to wait

for his happily ever after. He just wasn’t sure it was about to
happen any time soon.

Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Paranormal, Shape-shifter
Length: 42,102 words

A RANDOM SPIRIT

Spirit Walkers 7

Ellen Quinn

EROTIC ROMANCE

MANLOVE

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

 

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A RANDOM SPIRIT
Copyright © 2013 by Ellen Quinn
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62740-281-1

First E-book Publication: August 2013

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Letter to Readers

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DEDICATION

For my Mark,

We crossed paths by accident and I will be eternally grateful.

My life is so much brighter with you in it!

 

 

A RANDOM SPIRIT

Spirit Walkers 7

ELLEN QUINN

Copyright © 2013

Chapter One

1853, Paris

Cedric Ulysses Portrey lay naked on his bed. He could sense his

lover as he moved round the room. Cedric really thought he’d found
someone to spend his life with, but yet again he’d been fooled.
Marcus had been charm itself and had wined and dined him like a
king to begin with. The man had been a lot more subtle than Cedric’s
previous conquests, showing no outward interest in his magical
abilities, seemingly accepting him for what he seemed to be. And
there was the crux of the matter. Cedric was not as he seemed to be.
Everyone assumed he was a highly trained and powerful wizard, with
a wealth of magic within him. He was, but he wasn’t. Cedric also
didn’t make a lot of sense.

Cedric did transport a large amount of magic with him, but he

used his familiar to convey it. The act of witches and wizards using
familiars to the paranormal world at large was seen as a dying fashion
item and modern witches carried their own magic internally these
days. Too much like hard work, Cedric thought as Marcus
disappeared into the main chamber of the rooms they’d procured.

A Random Spirit

9

 

“He wants yer bloody magic,” a deep, gravelly voice slowly

stated in his head.

“Oh shush, you, I want to pretend a little longer,” Cedric moaned

back.

“You’ll find a soul keeper eventually, but you might have to take a

chance at trusting one of these buggers you sleep with first,” the
gravelly voice continued, sounding decidedly condescending.

Cedric looked over at the chest in the corner of the room, upon

which sat what looked like a very ugly ornament. Of course it wasn’t.
That was Alfred the Great, his familiar and a Greek tortoise. It was a
grand name for something so small and unsightly, but that was what
he called himself, so he assumed that was his name. Though Cedric
always called him Fred.

Cedric slid his eyes closed as Marcus came back into the room,

the man’s pockets jangling with the sound of moving coins. He
wandered over to the chest and dumped Fred on the ground before
lifting the lid to peruse the contents. Cedric opened one beady eye and
he could have sworn Fred looked at him and grinned.

“Marcus,” he murmured. “Come back to bed. It’s cold.” Marcus

jumped and the chest lid slammed down.

“Ah, sorry, I was looking for some clothes,” Marcus hurriedly

replied as he came up to the bed.

“It’s not even sunrise, darling.” Cedric smiled up at the man and

hoped it looked sincere. Apparently it did, as Marcus removed his
jacket carefully. Cedric still heard the coins but made no comment.
Marcus wasn’t a tall man by any means, but as Cedric was barely five
foot five there were few men he’d had who were smaller. Eventually
Marcus slid between the sheets and pressed his bulky frame against
Cedric’s much leaner one and Cedric grinned. Hey, it may be months
before he found someone else to warm his bed. Just because the guy
was going to try and rip off his magic didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy
his body whilst he was still here.

“Man whore.” Fred’s voice growled through his mind.

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“Oh shut up, just because you aren’t getting any.” Cedric huffed

as he leaned in and kissed Marcus’s throat before pushing himself on
top of the man.

“You see any female Greek tortoises lately that I could hump?”

Fred grumbled right back. The tortoise was really putting him off his
flow as he lay over Marcus, who was busy sliding his already slicked
fingers over Cedric’s pink puckered hole. The man was definitely in a
hurry. Oh well, he could do a quickie.

“Sure you can. Hurry up and ride the bastard. I’m bored.” Fred

wasn’t going to back off the little grump spent most of his time in the
back of Cedric’s mind. The damn animal could stay quiet for weeks
and then all of a sudden he developed verbal diarrhoea.

Cedric looked back toward his soon-to-be ex-lover and decided he

wasn’t going to kiss the man. His eyes were closed, so Marcus was
obviously lost in the moment and hell, he loved cock and this man’s
was like an iron pole along his belly. Rising up over Marcus’s broad
chest, he placed his hands on each shoulder and grinned as Marcus’s
eyes popped open. Marcus leered at him as he lined up the tip of his
weeping cock with Cedric’s hole. It was such a shame he hadn’t been
able to make a connection with this warlock, but yet again he’d
missed whatever sign he was supposed to see that would get him over
his reluctance to commit. He was a magic user. Maybe there wasn’t a
sign, just a choice.

Suddenly Marcus thrust up, pushing the weeping head through

Cedric’s guarding muscles, and all thought fled Cedric’s mind.

“Hell yes,” Cedric cried out as the hot, full heat invaded his body.

He sank down on the invasion, the burn mixing with the incredible
pleasure of feeling so full. Cedric loved it. He didn’t give a shit about
public opinion. Though he often had to conceal his true nature, this
could not be wrong.

He flexed his fingers on Marcus’s chest, the pale hair catching in

his grasp. Marcus gasped and his hands clamped down on Cedric’s

A Random Spirit

11

 

hips as he pumped his cock into his ass. Soon Cedric was joining in
the rhythm as they rose on the tide of lust.

“Harder, you bitch, you can give it to me. I won’t friggin’ break.”

Cedric screamed as Marcus gripped him and flipped them both over.
Cedric fell back on the bed and laughed as Marcus pounded into him
for all he was worth.

“Yeah, oh hell yeah,” Marcus moaned. “I’m close, I’m gonna—”
Cedric screamed as his orgasm hit him and his cock exploded all

over Marcus’s chest. Marcus followed seconds behind and Cedric
could feel it pulse within him as the warm seed coated his inner walls.
Cedric lifted his arms around Marcus’s neck and kissed him on the
cheek. The man wasn’t bad, he just wasn’t the one, and with the look
they both shared they both now knew it. They parted and he smiled at
his now ex-lover as Marcus slumped to the side of him, his softening
cock slipping from Cedric’s hole.

“Sorry,” Marcus murmured as he snuggled into Cedric’s side.
“I know. It’s okay, love,” Cedric answered, feeling generous in

their joint defeat.

“No, I shouldn’t have tried to leave you without saying anything.”

Marcus paused and Cedric waited patiently for the rest.

“And I was going to steal some of your magic.” The last part was

barely a whisper, but Cedric heard the admission as clearly as if
Marcus had spoken it.

“I’m not a wizard, Marcus,” Cedric admitted to the man. “My

magic comes from within, not collected from elsewhere. I do have
that magic but not so much as you’d notice.” Cedric turned his head
to look at Marcus, whose eyes looked like saucers on a table.

“Y-you’re a s-sorcerer,” he stammered. Cedric just nodded. He

knew he was rare. Sorcerers were either born—but as an anomaly
there were no families of them, they just occurred within the magic
user’s world, courtesy of the Fates—or the old girls may interfere and
create one. What made it even stranger was he had a brother, a much
older brother, who had also been blessed with the sorcerer’s curse.

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Ellen Quinn

 

And to him it really was a curse. As wizards grew up into their magic
they gained more control and power along the way and so learnt to
use it and develop their skills. A sorcerer had their magic inside from
birth and it was infinite. Try coping with that as an adolescent.
Especially when Cedric realised he didn’t want anything to do with
girls and had the ability to physically change them if he chose. That
had led to a lot of screaming. So yes, he’d call it a curse.

Cedric had been his parents’ shame, whereas Roman had been

their joy. He didn’t care. Well, he pretended he didn’t.

“Where’d you go?” Marcus asked quietly, still sounding a little in

awe, which made Cedric smile.

“Sorry, Marcus. I probably have a different opinion of sorcery to

you,” Cedric answered, stroking his hand through Marcus’s lovely
blond locks, which were loose down his back at present.

“God, I’m so stupid. Here’s me hoping to pinch a little magic and

I didn’t even know you were a sorcerer.” Marcus sat up and ran his
hands down his face. “I suppose I should be grateful you didn’t turn
me into a frog.”

“Oh, heavens no, that’s what witches do,” Cedric said with a

shudder. “I’d have to do something far more creative.” He smiled at
Marcus, hopefully reassuring the man that he’d escaped this time.

Within the hour they were all packed up and Cedric was sitting on

his chest waiting for the coach. Marcus stood before him, shuffling
his feet and looking nervous.

“Go on, ask. I can only say no,” Cedric stated. He hated good-

byes and really wanted the man to go.

“You know I’m a warlock, the lowest form of magic user.”

Marcus gritted his teeth and looked away toward the city.

“Give him the bloody magic and tell him to bugger off,” Fred

rumbled from inside Cedric’s pocket.

“How did I find the grumpiest tortoise on this earth?” Cedric

moaned back.

A Random Spirit

13

 

“You bloody fell over me when you were drunk!” Fred replied

indignantly.

“Oh hush, you.” Cedric stood and placed a hand on Marcus’s

shoulder and smiled as he gifted a hunk of Fred’s collected magic.

“Go on, Marcus. You’ll progress to a wizard one day, I’m sure.

Give it time, you’ll see,” Cedric said, squeezing the man before
giving him a gentle nudge toward the city.

“Sure, okay. See you around, Cedric,” Marcus said before he

placed his hat on his head and headed into the city.

Cedric watched and shook his head. Maybe he should have

warned the man he had a whole hell of a lot more magic under his
fingertips than he used to. But Cedric liked to keep life interesting, so
he left things exactly the way they were. He knew his good friend
Morta would fill him in on the details later. Marcus never looked
back, so Cedric sat on his chest and simply disappeared.

14

Ellen Quinn

 

Chapter Two

1909, Cooper Landing, Alaska

Saul stood beside the grave of his mate staring at his sons as they

played on the grass. He brought them every year on the anniversary,
just to remember and to beg for forgiveness from the woman he had
never loved. They’d been forced to mate by both sets of parents due
to his and Maribeth’s position as the first-born of the Alpha and the
Beta of the Kenai bear clan.

He looked past Maribeth’s stone to the grave that sat beside hers,

her best friend Hannah’s, the woman who had died in the same
avalanche as Maribeth. Nothing had ever been said of the accident,
but Saul would bet his sons’ spirit walkers that the women had caused
the dramatic snow fall in the valley. He’d suspected for a long time
that they were lovers and not just friends. The women spent all day
every day together, and he knew Knox and Luka had looked at
Hannah as a second mum, Joel too if they’d lived long enough for
him to know them. It was the only way he could work out Maribeth’s
reasons for staying with him. He had barely touched her in the
twenty-four years they’d been mated, only managing to conceive the
three boys, and that he considered a miracle.

He hated the prejudices that were still rife within the clan even

seven years after his father’s death. Both he and his mate and her
lover should have been allowed to live the way they felt was right for
them, but their world just refused to accept their love and affection.
Love should never be unacceptable. His mind drifted back to another
love, his love for a big Kodiak bear, Knox Rosster. His Knox had

A Random Spirit

15

 

disappeared just before his mating and after sharing just one night of
passion Saul knew he would never forget the man or the bear. Hell, it
was the only night of passion he’d ever had. The intimate time with
Maribeth had simply been them performing a service that was
expected of them and passion was the last thing either of them felt.

How things had changed, yet hadn’t. Knox was gone and

Maribeth and his homophobic father were now dead. Physically, he
looked nothing like he did from those days following his ascension to
alpha. It was as though being alpha had forced his body to grow. He
still wasn’t the seven feet he remembered Knox being, but at six foot
nine he wasn’t short. He was also no alpha though, either. He’d only
managed to beat his father because of the rage inside him from having
to live his life as a lie. And yet he was still living it. The clan just
would not tolerate same-sex couples. It was wrong and detrimental to
the survival of the clan, was the argument they threw in his face. He
was one of the few purebred Kodiaks left. Even his sons were half
grizzly due to Maribeth’s species. And he dare not let them know how
he really felt, so he listened to their prejudices and neither said nor did
anything.

Saul pulled his coat around him and looked to the sky. Maybe this

year would be the one when Knox came back to him, and when he did
he was not going to hide. His life was lonely, but the clan kept him
busy. So what if he had no one to warm his bed at night. He had to
hope that Knox would return and he’d wait for that day till it came.
Then he knew he’d find the strength to turn things round. Huh, as if.

Walking away from the graves, the two thoughts he resolutely did

not want to comprehend snuck into his mind like the traitors they
were. Knox could be dead or, just as fatal, with his spirit walker, and
neither could he bear thinking about.

* * * *

2012, Cooper Landing

16

Ellen Quinn

 

Knox Douben watched as his two younger brothers climbed in the

vehicle with his namesake Knox Rosster and his spirit walker T’narr
Salem. He was grateful they were heading somewhere where the
community would welcome them and accept them as the strong,
honest men they were. His grandfather had left a heavy legacy of
bigotry, prejudice, and hatred that would take decades to overcome.
His father had hidden it and now stood beside him, his heart shattered
and his body broken. They had had to fight for the position of alpha.
The clan had not allowed his father to just submit. But at least it had
not been to the death. As a clan they had accepted that that tradition
needed to be rescinded. But Knox had had to prove he was worthy of
the position, so his father had had to fight, otherwise Knox would
have had challenges from half the clan. So they’d fought long and
hard and he’d won. His father would heal, but Knox knew once he
was able he would leave.

Watching his brothers leave with the only man his father had ever

loved was heart breaking, especially as that man, his namesake, now
had his spirit walker. Saul had been alone for so long Knox wondered
if he would ever be able to open up to another man and risk his heart.
His father had saved it for so long for the man who’d now walked
away. Still Knox felt and hoped his father would actually follow
Knox Rosster, as something in his soul told him his father’s destiny
now lay in Kashmerle’s direction.

* * * *

“You need to get out more.”
“What the hell for?”
“To socialise and meet people,”
“You need stronger medication. I finish folk off, I don’t bloody

socialise. Mind if I did and they pissed me off I could just snip.”
Morta made a snipping movement with her fingers then rolled off her

A Random Spirit

17

 

chair in hysterics. Sometimes Cedric wondered how they managed to
get along. But then if he wanted to go shopping Morta was his girl.
She could have a whole department store running round after her and
then walk out without buying a thing.

Cedric had learned at an early age that a sorcerer could call upon

the Fates for assistance or advice if they needed it. He’d overheard his
brother bragging to his friends that he had the Fates in the palms of
his hands and they would come at his beck and call. So Cedric had
called and Morta had answered. He’d got a clip round his ear for that
stunt which would have been grounds for abuse apart from the fact it
was 1598 and nobody listened to children in them days. He also
learned that the advice they gave was often extremely confusing and
best left as just a suggestion. And as for asking for assistance,
especially from Morta, that could have very far-reaching and dire
consequences.

“You are dreadful, you know that. Your sisters need to find you a

random soul keeper or spirit walker to keep you amused,” Cedric said
with resignation. Morta had been giggling all week saying she was
going to find him some random fella and tie their souls together. At
least Cedric knew he was safe on that one. Magic users got to choose
their soul keeper. Admittedly, the Fates did tend to send the right man
for people, but they still had a choice. He laughed to himself, but
Morta caught the smile.

“What’s tickled your fancy, sunshine?” she muttered as she

unceremoniously slumped back in her chair.

“William and Percy,” Cedric replied, still smiling. William was

his nephew and had taken three hundred years to realise that Percy
was and always would be the only man for him.

“Them two are bloody useless. One always has his nose in a book

the other looks like an explosion in a paint factory,” Morta grumbled.

Cedric didn’t know why she did it, as he knew she thought the

world of those two and the rest of the men in Kashmerle. It was like

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Ellen Quinn

 

she was their very own demented guardian angel. Though heaven
forbid you ever said anything to her.

“You need a stabling influence,” she continued.
“That’s a maybe, Morta dear, but as a magic user I get to make the

choice,” Cedric answered, feeling quite smug about it.

Morta grinned. It was not the kind of smile that would fill people

with confidence. Cedric dismissed it. There was nothing she could do.
She may be a Fate and had more power over folk than the gods
themselves did, gods which the Fates had created. But she could not
alter how they’d created their magic users.

Magic users had a choice and after over four hundred years of

being used and abused by men who professed to love him, Cedric had
given up. All those men had wanted was a share of his magic and a
claim to the status of having a sorcerer in their pockets. Cedric was
not going down that road again. He was now an incorrigible flirt and
took his pleasure where he pleased, which sounded good in principal
but actually did more for his reputation than his physical needs.

Morta’s expression hadn’t changed. Well, if he didn’t count the

fact that it looked more menacing. Cedric shook his head. She didn’t
frighten him anymore, and it was time to head back to the large dining
room that went along the southwest wall of Kashmerle Castle. Cedric
was hungry.

“I’m going back now, so you’re going to have to terrify some

other poor soul,” Cedric said as he rose from the large armchair he’d
been sitting in, in front of a fire that was lit with the furnaces from
hell. Well, the old girl did like her creature comforts.

“Humm,” was the only reply Morta gave as she sank back into her

chair.

* * * *

“Don’t you even think about it.” Decima’s voice rattled through

Morta’s head like a freight train with no brakes. At six feet with long,

A Random Spirit

19

 

blond tresses Decima was impressive at the best of times, but Morta
thought she was outdoing herself at the moment.

“What on earth are you on about, you cranky old cow?” Morta

asked as she lifted her feet to rest them on the expensive antique chest
by her chair. She knew this would wind her sister up even more,
which was the only reason she did it.

“You are not going to interfere in that poor man’s life.” Decima

didn’t even pause for breath as she ploughed right on. “It’s bad
enough you spend half your time floating round that castle, but to set
up poor Cedric when he’s been your friend and your only friend for
the last four hundred years is just diabolical!” Decima finally
concluded her tirade with a flick of her long strawberry-blonde hair.

“Someone got your knickers in a twist, didn’t they, dear,” Morta

said, just hoping she could get another rise out of her sister.

“Grow up, Morta, and act your age.”
Morta let out a peal of laughter. “Act my age, act my age, I don’t

even know how old I am. I stopped counting when I got to triple
figures.” Tears formed in Morta’s eyes, but she just let them fall. She
was having far too much fun to worry about appearances.

“You are incorrigible, old girl. Leave Cedric alone and all those

men at Kashmerle. I measure their threads and Fate will provide.”
Decima turned and walked toward the entrance, head held high in
indignation, Morta thought.

“Silly cow,” she mumbled behind her sister. Decima looked over

her shoulder and glared at Morta.

“I mean it. No more playing in those men’s lives. You will cease

your meddling.” Decima waltzed out of the room with an air of
supremacy that Morta really disliked.

“As if.”

20

Ellen Quinn

 

Chapter Three

Present day, Kashmerle

Saul felt like every bone in his body was aching, but traveling the

snow-capped northern regions of Russia was not a jaunt in the woods.
He had no idea how far he had come and he’d refused to take any
money with him when he left the clan. So walking as a bear was the
cheapest and safest way.

Saul hadn’t been able to stay in Cooper Landing any longer. The

rumours about him and his two younger sons were spreading through
the state like wildfires in the outback and he had no longer wanted to
hide who he was. But taking the clan funds to do this was not
justifiable in his eyes. He knew his son, Knox, would let him take
what he needed, but the backlash to his eldest son from the elders was
not worth making Knox’s life and that of his young family hell.

Saul was confident Knox could bring their remote clan into the

twenty-first century. He was a true alpha and would lead them
forward. Saul, for all his strength and alpha inclinations, had never
wanted the role. He was a pacifist and preferred the path of least
resistance, which did not help a clan progress.

Saul loved his chosen human profession, something that he had

come to only fifteen years before. Veterinary sciences had been his
saviour. He had always felt more comfortable with animals than he
ever did with people. He’d put himself through school, only going
away when his boys, as Betas, could run the clan in his absence. He’d
not gone far, just to Anchorage, but he was fully qualified and could
practice wherever his degrees were accepted.

A Random Spirit

21

 

Those degrees had sent him on the path to freedom. Not from his

boys, whom he would love till the end of time, but from the restrictive
life he had in the clan. He’d even researched Kashmerle as a place he
may be able to settle. But this was all before Knox Rosster had shown
up and thrown his plans into turmoil. Had the man been free, he
would have stood beside him and fought, but Knox had come
possessed of his mind and in the arms of his spirit walker. He had
waited for the day that Knox would return, thinking it would be the
start of his new life. It had been the start of his new life, just not in the
way he had hoped. He’d had to let that dream go and it was one of the
hardest things he had ever done. And ironically, the journey on which
he had then embarked had led him here, right back to Knox.

Saul crossed the Bering Strait not a month after his son, Knox had

taken over the clan. The man was fit and capable and Saul knew with
his mate by his side and their cubs growing strong he had the family
he needed to support him. Knox had brought in his own inner circle
and the clan was accepting them. Maybe they were ready for change.
Maybe.

After the Strait he crossed through Russia along the Arctic Circle

in bear form. He was built for the cold and could hunt for food. The
weather had gotten progressively colder, but he’d built up a solid
layer of fat to keep out most of the cold, or so he’d thought. The
journey had not progressed as well when he approached the western
side of Russia, running into some bear clans who were not openly
friendly. He’d ended up beaten and broken and thrown into a cage to
be sold to a traveling circus. Paradoxically, this was what had saved
him, as it was run by shape-shifting men. Despiritov was the name,
and they’d seen him through to St. Petersburg.

The rest of the way he worked his passage. Until the Orkneys,

where his luck ran out. He’d had to jump ship as the fisherman
refused to take him to the mainland when the wind had picked up. But
once he was on Scottish soil he hadn’t stopped. The hunting as a
Kodiak bear in Scotland was nowhere near as simple as it had been in

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Ellen Quinn

 

the wilds of Siberia, and his body had slowly been weakening since
leaving there with the lack of food and sleep.

But Saul had made it and he was going to find out what had pulled

him to this place, because it had been a pull, subconsciously to begin
with, but the longer he travelled the more he realised there was a
purpose to this. It wasn’t his son’s or his one-time lover either. He
needed to be in Kashmerle, but for what or why he did not know. And
the only way to answer his questions meant he had to get there to find
out.

He looked over the headland at the castle. It stood out against dim

afternoon light. The windows, some lit, some in shadow, gave off a
welcoming feel to the imposing place and Saul felt as though
somehow his life was contained within those walls. Slowly, as his
tired legs could no longer move with any speed or grace, Saul
descended into the grounds of the castle, his Kodiak bear easily
scaling a stone wall despite his fatigue. With a purpose came strength,
this place felt like home.

* * * *

Cedric stared round the large dining room that the majority of the

Kashmerle Pack and Coven ate in. The coven that was a laugh, with
two old codgers so wrapped up in each other the world could go bang
and they wouldn’t notice and two apprentices who had yet to realise
they were apprentices. And him, he supposed. He had just turned up
to help out William while he and Percy were on a boating adventure
to Alaska, and he hadn’t left. He still seemed to be needed, which was
nice in a way. With the apprentices now taking up so much of
William’s time and Daniel cutting his hours back, Cedric seemed to
have landed himself a full-time job he hadn’t been looking for and
didn’t really want. Hell, he’d even transported his lovely cottage to
Kashmerle, just outside of the main town by the river. Now if that
didn’t scream of permanence, he didn’t know what did.

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But something felt strange. Something was missing, but he didn’t

know what. He had a very unsettled feeling. His mind drifted back to
the camera he’d taken from Liam’s hand, the Necromancer’s camera
safely stored now in Morta’s care. He knew who the Necromancer
was and he had a fair idea what he wanted. He needed an “in” to get
into the castle. With William and Percy now being sorcerers, the
magic defending the castle was immense. If Enda knew the kind of
wards that were in place he would probably have a fit. But Cedric was
all for it. They did not want the likes of the Necromancer inside these
walls or within smelling distance of Morgana’s Fire. Cedric could
smell it even now when he knew it was hidden away in one of the
many vaults beneath the castle. It was old magic, dark magic, though
not black. That would all depend on who and how the power was
wielded that could change the dark to black.

And then there was the real reason he had to stay in this place

with this strange, uneasy feeling. The Necromancer.

Cedric stood up. He needed to think and he had to open the

outfitters in the morning. Percy was off collecting supplies, William
was working with Gabe, and Daniel wasn’t in, so it would be good ole
naughty Cedric who was opening up.

As Cedric headed to the large closets that surrounded the entrance,

a lovely aroma drifted past his nose. It smelled like autumn, ripe, rich
fruits and honey, and a cool breath of fresh mountain air. Almost in a
daze he headed straight for it but stopped dead when he felt a spirit
twine around his.

“Nooo!” he screamed as panic gripped him. Without thinking, he

ran into the closet and hit a brick wall, a naked brick wall, with a
heavily defined chest. Those pecs are to die for, some irrational and
decidedly lusty part of his brain decided. In fact if he just stuck his
tongue out he could lick over the pebbled nub sat upon those delicious
pecs. Cedric did just that and the taste of the man was hedonistic.
Then he heard the growl and his cock, which was getting more and
more interested by the moment, suddenly sprang to life and Cedric

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knew he really was in trouble. What he couldn’t work out was, was it
good trouble or bad…

* * * *

Saul had staggered up to the entrance where he had been met by

an elderly gentleman who didn’t bat an eyelid at his nudity, nor did he
have any qualms letting him in when he’d told the man his name.

“There are spare clothes in a variety of sizes in the port closet and

dinner is being served presently in the dining room. I will inform the
Duke and your sons of your arrival.” And with that he had
disappeared through the closets, which were more walk-in dressing
rooms, and off to what Saul presumed was the dining room.

He hadn’t stepped into the closet when he felt the pull. His spirit

walker was here and close enough the spirits were joining. This
thought had no more crossed his mind when the most gorgeous man
to ever cross his path walked straight into him.

“Mine,” his mind screamed. And then he felt warm, moist heat

bathe his nipple, which had hardened along with his cock at the
delicious scent that was coming from this man. He smelt clean like
fresh linen that had dried in the sunshine, warm and easy on the skin.
It may seem strange to some folk, but that clean, fresh, warm scent
was heaven.

His arms wrapped around the slender man who didn’t even reach

his shoulders and he lifted him off the ground. The moan that came
from the man’s smooth, pale pink lips rippled through Saul like an ice
cream over jelly sending goose bumps over his skin. He had to have
this man naked and his. Now.

* * * *

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Cedric couldn’t believe it. This gorgeous hunk had lifted him

clean off the floor and instead of demanding to be put down he was
wrapping his legs around him and clinging to him like a limpet.

Cedric decided at this moment to look up and came face-to-face

with the most beautiful hazel eyes. They seemed to be ringed with
gold and at this moment in time they were smouldering. His gaze
drifted to the man’s lips, which were slowly coming toward him as if
giving him a choice, and that’s what undid him. He slipped his hands
behind this man’s neck and kissed him. Really kissed him. Cedric
opened and let the man devour him.

“Saul, my name is Saul,” a strong. deep voice resonated in his

head.

“S-Saul,” Cedric stuttered back.
“You?” the deep voice now known as Saul asked.
For an insane moment Cedric didn’t have a clue who he was.

Saul’s lips were slowly driving him crazy with need. He had not
entertained any man since he’d arrived in Kashmerle even though his
reputation said otherwise. Nor had he in a long while, just the odd one
night stand, in fact it had been Marcus centuries ago that he’d
entertained for more than a moment. So fed up with meaningless
hook-ups that he knew where going nowhere. But this man, this Saul.

“Cedric,” he murmured through the mind link, not that he needed

a kiss to forge that bond as a sorcerer. “Bonds, links, spirit walkers.
No!” His mind came crashing back to him. He couldn’t do this. He
began to struggle in Saul’s arms, letting his legs go, but the man had
him up against the closet wall and was loosening Cedric’s clothes.
Bringing his legs down had only pushed their raging hard-ons
together and it was only then Cedric realised his pants were undone
and his rigid cock was now being rubbed by Saul’s impressive length.
And it was heaven. His shirt was open, meshing Saul’s soft, golden-
brown fur against his own bear chest. The warmth that was coming
from the man seeped into his very soul. But he had to stop. He

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couldn’t do this. Saul would only be after his magic once he knew
what Cedric was. That’s all they ever wanted.

Saul’s hand slid down Cedric’s crease and Cedric knew he had to

move before this poor man bonded with him completely. Morta would
help him free the man. She was a Fate after all. Taking his hands,
Cedric placed them on the warm solid chest, and using power most
folk didn’t know he had, he pushed.

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27

 

Chapter Four

Saul was lost in the arms of his spirit walker. The man felt divine,

all smooth skin covering slender, firm muscle he could not get enough
of. He wanted to be inside his walker, wanted the man wrapped
around his flesh as he pounded them into blissful oblivion. He felt
Cedric’s hands move over his chest. “Yes.” He needed this man to
touch him. He needed to belong to him.

Suddenly, Saul became aware of his body being propelled away.

The force didn’t feel real, as he experienced it through his whole
being, not just against his chest. The power within it was amazing and
he knew it came from his spirit walker, who he now knew was a
magic user not a shifter.

Saul was jolted from his thoughts as his back crashed through the

back of the closet and into a wide hallway. Thankfully the impact
seemed to have drained the blood from his groin. A group of men and
children were heading toward him from what must have been the
dining room. Matt rushed forward and helped him rise, which,
considering he was at least a foot and a half taller than the little man,
was almost comical. The man hadn’t changed any, he was still the
excitable duke with a heart of gold.

“Dad, you came!” Luka’s voice rang out as Saul found himself

enveloped in his son’s embrace.

“Hello, son,” he replied, turning to see his reserved youngest boy

also approach.

“Noooo!” Cedric’s voice came from the closet as the man came

careening out. He at least used the door. His clothes were still in
disarray and he looked as though he was in agony. Saul made to move

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toward him, but Matt stopped him to place some clothes into his
hands.

“Here, my dear, pop these on before all these unattached men start

getting excited.” Matt giggled at his statement and Kash, his walker
growled low in the back of his throat before wrapping his arms
around Matt’s upper torso and chest. Saul didn’t want the unattached
males. He wanted Cedric, who was running away out of his reach. He
threw on the jogging pants and headed toward the doors Cedric had
passed through. Two young boys dashed up the stairs that surrounded
the double doors and led to a small balcony overlooking a beautiful
old-fashioned ballroom. Saul barely noticed, as his eyes were once
again riveted on the beautiful man shaking his head and talking with
the two wizards he remembered as William and Percy. It sounded
more like a heated argument and it definitely concerned him.

“Why did you push me away? Run from me?” Saul asked through

their mind bond. Cedric suddenly stopped, turning to stare straight at
Saul. Saul couldn’t help it, as his breath hitched and he automatically
leaned toward him.

“What is going on?” a good-looking man asked as he approached

Saul. He was looking at the two wizards and Saul assumed his
question was aimed at them.

“I’ll kill her!” Cedric yelled. “That interfering old cow. Oooh, she

boils my piss!” Saul raised his eyebrows. His walker had quite a
colourful turn of phrase. He was also sure he could hear a woman’s
voice chuckling but had seen no females present.

“Hello. You must be Saul, Luka and Joel’s father.” The man had

now turned away from Cedric and was looking directly at Saul with
his hand outstretched in welcome. Saul grasped the man’s hand in a
firm shake. “I’m Enda McCaffry, alpha of the Kashmerle Pack. Please
excuse our Great Uncle Cedric. He can be a little eccentric.” Enda
finished with a smile.

“Saul Douben, and Great Uncle Cedric is my spirit walker.” Saul

heard a few gasps and sniggers that his statement elicited, but it was

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the truth and no matter what they thought the Fates could not be
denied, could they?

“This is not happening. I am not going to let them do this to me,”

Cedric continued.

A shiver rolled through Saul’s body. Why was his walker so

angry? When he’d had Cedric in his arms the man had responded to
him. Saul had felt Cedric’s aroused shaft press into his own heated
flesh. Was it because he was a shifter? Saul didn’t know of any other
such pairings, but then he knew so few who were spirit bonded
anyway, his first love Knox being one of them, but he was bonded to
another shifter. Saul shook his head. He needed to talk to his walker
in private.

“Is there somewhere we could go, Alpha McCaffry?” Saul asked,

using the correct terms for what he hoped would be his knew alpha.

“Of course, Saul. There’s a suite of rooms just down the corridor

from where your sons are staying. Please, boys, set your father up
there. Though I know Cedric has a house on the outskirts of the
village, it may be best to stay here for now.”

“Thank you,” Saul replied, thinking he had nothing to put in his

room.

Enda smiled. “Your son. Knox. sent some of your things over for

you just in case you turned up. They included your degree certificates.
They are all placed in those rooms.”

Saul couldn’t say anything. He had emotions whirling around

inside him. His son had not let him leave with just the clothes on his
back and had sent him his means of earning money in his new home
just as Saul had planned to ask him to after he arrived at Kashmerle. It
showed how perceptive his eldest son was that he had known where
his father was heading. To add to this, he’d been reunited with his
younger sons and now had found his walker. His life was complete…

“I’m sorry, Saul. I will sort this out for you,” was all Cedric said

before he suddenly disappeared.

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Well almost complete, but the one thing Saul had was patience

and he believed in the spirit bond. His walker would come back, the
bond would remain, and that frantic, exotic man would be his.

At this point all the bravado that had filled him from the moment

he had first seen his walker began to crumble. The adrenaline that had
kept his body going fled and he collapsed to the floor.

“Dad, Dad,” Saul heard in the background as his body gave up to

a little unease and exhaustion.

* * * *

“Morta!” Cedric yelled in the main room of Hades. Not the

average home away from home, but the Fates kept it reasonably clean
and tidy. Why was he thinking about cleaning and the state of their
rooms now?

“Cedric, my dear child, why all the tension?” Decima asked as she

descended into the room, a slight frown marring her smooth, pale
skin.

“What’s she done this time?” Nona demanded as she just popped

into the room. “I’m in the middle of a baby boom after the power cuts
in central Asia. Oh, hi, Cedric.” Nona smiled, but he was in no mood
for niceties.

“Where is she?” Cedric growled. “I know she’s down here. Where

is she hiding?”

The Fates looked at each other, then at Cedric. “What has our

sister done this time?” Decima asked with resigned acquiescence.

“She has set me up!” Cedric nearly screamed.
“But she sets you up all the time, Cedric,” Nona answered as if

that explained everything.

“Not with a spirit walker,” Cedric replied through gritted teeth.
“Oh, but that’s wonderful.” Nona smiled.
“Wonderful, wonderful! You think finding you have a random

spirit walker is wonderful?” Cedric was really losing his cool now.

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31

 

“Of course, finding that one soul who will be your bonded love

for all of time is the ultimate goal of all shifters. You will never be
alone again, never think of yourself as a single entity, as you are now
part of an unbreakable bonded pair.” Nona’s eyes became all dreamy
and Cedric knew she had wandered off into her own fantasy.

“Go and get back to your baby boom, dear. I’ll fill you in later,”

Decima cut in before watching Nona slowly disappear. “Now, young
man, explain what my deviant sister has been up to with this random
spirit.”

Cedric took a deep breath and stopped. How should he phrase

this? It was going to sound mighty strange to the Fate when he
described the most amazing man he’d ever seen and he was here
wanting to throw him away. But the Fates had given magic users the
choice. They all had a certain someone for them, but they had the
right to choose and this man, Saul, was not his choice. A small seed of
doubt crept into his brain. If he had to choose would he go for a tall,
broad-shouldered man with muscles on his muscles, warm, golden-
brown hair on his head and dusting his body? Lean hips over those
strong thighs…He must be an idiot. Saul was his epitome of the
perfect male. But that was not all. They had to be compatible in all
ways and he had yet to find a man who hadn’t wanted him for
something, some material or magical gain. No man had ever wanted
him for just him, Cedric Ulysses Portrey.

“You haven’t given him the chance, Cedric.” Decima answered

his unspoken query. He’d forgotten they would always know what
was on his mind. “My sister has played outside the parameters of the
magic user’s usual role, but Fate takes a hand where it is needed. You
are his spirit walker, and for all you have the choice, Saul Douben is
the keeper of your soul.” Decima’s eyes stared into him as though
looking for his soul, which she seemed to think was destined for this
bear-shifting man. Cedric felt a tear fall from his cheek. He had not
realised he’d begun to cry.

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“Why him, why now?” Cedric asked, letting his eyes drift to the

Seeing Eye sitting in its ancient wooden stand near the fire. Decima
wander over and covered the globe-shaped object with a black silk
sheet. Turning back to Cedric, she smiled.

“Fate has dealt her hand, Cedric. It is now up to you how you play

it. It cannot be changed or undone. Your fate is now for you to
decide.” As Decima finished he felt himself being pushed from
Hades, his body drifting back to the land of the living. Before he had
time to blink he was standing in the front room of his small cottage on
the outskirts of Kashmerle.

“Shit,” Cedric spat out, closing his eyes as he tried to organise his

mind with what had happened and what the hell he could do.

“Well you’re in a right state.” Fred’s gravelly tones pierced his

brain.

“Well I’ve had one hell of an evening,” he ranted at the tortoise

that sat on the edge of his comfy chair. “And how the hell did you get
in my seat?”

“Oh, someone’s squashed your nuts tonight, haven’t they, old

man? And I can sit wherever I please. I’m stuffed so full of your
bloody magic I sparkle when I fart!”

“Alfred, that’s revolting.” Cedric shuddered as he pictured his

familiar doing just that.

“It’s true though.” Fred followed this with what Cedric assumed

was a chuckle, but it sounded more like someone was drowning.

“What the hell am I going to do about this, this Saul?” he asked as

he picked up the tortoise and sank into his favourite comfy chair.

“Personally, if I had your body I’d be in bed with the man letting

him give me a good pounding,” Fred replied. Being a familiar, Cedric
knew Fred had been with him in mind all day, so explanations were
never necessary.

“Why am I talking to you? You’re just a dirty old tortoise,” Cedric

grumbled.

“I wish!”

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33

 

Shaking his head, Cedric got up and crawled to his bedroom,

placing Fred on the chest in the corner. He went through the motions
of getting ready for bed, trying to clear his mind so he could think
without his emotions or his libido getting in his way.

It didn’t work, and as he sank into bed he knew his mind would be

full of a gorgeous man whom he could claim as his.

“She really sorted you out this time, eh, old man.”
“Shut up, Fred!”

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Chapter Five

Percy stared down at Saul. The man was exhausted and had

literally shut down. It had taken four of them to carry him to his
rooms in the castle. Percy was sure the castle was so enchanted that it
simply grew with its occupants. The more there were of the pack, the
bigger it became. And the damn place had been huge to start with.
Ironically, none of the coven apart from Liam and the boys had ever
moved in. Ezee and Gabe still lived in town, as did Cedric. Percy
paused in his thoughts.

Cedric.
So Cedric had a spirit walker. The man had been alone so long

Percy could actually understand his insane reaction. Although he
himself had been alone for many centuries, he’d always known
William was out there and one day he would keep his soul. He rubbed
William’s chest, just as the man’s very arms encircled him.

“You keeping it safe, my love?” William always knew what he

was thinking, but it touched Percy deeply that he still asked.

“Always,” he replied, leaning back into the strong embrace of the

man he’d loved since he was barely able to understand the meaning of
the word.

“I hope this man can give Cedric what he needs,” Percy stated, not

sure if he’d get a response.

“I think he’s perfect,” William answered without a shadow of a

doubt in his voice.

“Really?” Percy turned in William’s embrace to look at him.
“Yes, he’s the perfect complement to Cedric, as they are to each

other. Cedric’s flighty and impulsive. Saul is patient and cautious,”

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35

 

William explained. “Cedric’s always wanted someone who is there
just for him, not for his power or magic or the kudos that goes with
being the keeper of a sorcerer’s soul.”

“But what if he doesn’t share, William?”
William looked down on the large sleeping man and grinned. “Do

you really think our Great Uncle Cedric can resist that?”

Percy looked at his lover and the twinkle in his eye just before

they both burst out laughing. They hastily left the room for fear of
waking the poor exhausted man they were supposedly looking after.

* * * *

“He will be fine,” Dr. Banner said as he emerged from Luke’s

father’s bedroom into the main living room. “He is exhausted and his
blood is low on iron, but your father will recover fully boys. Regular
meal’s with plenty of green veg and protein and he will be up active
again before the end of the week.”

“Thanks, Doc,” Luka said, offering the good man his hand.
“That’s going to stick, isn’t it?” Doc asked with a smile

shadowing his face.

“Well seeing as you are the doctor it just might,” Percy replied

with a smug grin across his face. Is that man never unhappy?

“Yes, thank you,” Joel said quickly, following his brother’s

example. Luka escorted the doctor out of the rooms to be met by Finn
hovering in the corridor.

“A’ll show the doctor ’oot if ya want,” Finn stated. His eyes were

shining so bright Luka thought he could see his own reflection in
them, or would have if they weren’t fixed on the doctor.

“Why thank you, Finnian,” Doc replied formally, as the lad

seemed about to burst with pride at the use of his full name. “If you
have any worries, Luka, don’t hesitate to call.”

“Sure and thanks again,” Luka said as he watched the two walk

back toward the main hall, talking quietly together. He admired the

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Doc’s patience, as sometimes those lads could make a saint swear
with what they got up to. Luka snorted and reentered his father’s
suite.

“So who is Cedric and why isn’t he here if he is my father’s spirit

walker? He should be by his side,” Joel demanded.

Luka knew the surprise must have been written on his face, as his

brother scowled at him. But Joel never got angry or loud ever. He had
always been the quiet, reticent one of his father’s sons and to see him
so wound up was a shook. Luka recovered quickly, as thinking about
the topic of conversation he also wanted to know about the man they
knew as Cedric, William’s great uncle and apparently his father’s
elusive spirit walker.

Percy shook his head. “Where do we start?”
“How about the beginning,” Luka said, hoping his brother

wouldn’t be upset letting him take the lead. Joel raised his eyebrow
and lifted the corner of his mouth just slightly. Good enough.

“Cedric’s about four hundred and fifty years old,” Percy said

diplomatically. “He was the second sorcerer born to his family, which
is to this day practically unheard of. His family became quite
renowned in the world of magic users.” Percy paused as a shadow of
melancholy covered his face.

“He was more a status symbol than a child and his brother Roman

was well into developing his gifts by the time Cedric even began to
understand what he was. So he was always overshadowed,” William
filled in.

“But that was centuries ago. Surely he’s learned to deal with that?

I’m the middle son. It happens in more families than you think,” Luka
interrupted. What little he knew of Cedric, he didn’t think he felt
overlooked. The man was always the centre of attention.

“No, he’s never been near his family in centuries. I’m not even

sure he knows where they are. What has always been his problem,
and it’s not really a problem, is the way he is treated because of his

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status as a sorcerer. They are rare and highly prized in the magic
world.” Percy began to explain, “What Cedric dislikes—”

“Hates,” William cut in.
“What Cedric hates is the fact he is a status symbol and carries a

lot of internal and external magic.” Percy finished on a sigh.

“I don’t understand those terms,” Joel said quietly, back to his

more reticent self.

“They’re different forms of magic. External is collected from all

around us, witches, wizards, and warlocks use this mostly. Spells and
potions can help control and direct it. And if you can’t contain it with
in yourself, many store it in a familiar. Sorcerers use internal magic,
and are usually born with it. And the Fates have been known to gift
it.”

Percy paused for only a moment, looking directly at William

before he continued, but Luka caught the hitch and the look that
flashed between the two men. He had no idea of its significance, but
at that moment it didn’t seem relevant to his father’s position.

“Cedric has had to deal with being a status symbol from childhood

and he just wants to be accepted and loved for himself, but feels he
never has.” Percy paused again, looking toward the door where
Luka’s father lay.

“But he’s Dad’s spirit walker. That is something beyond magic

and power. It–it’s sacred,” Joel stammered. “Our father won’t care
about any of that.”

“He’s right,” Luka confirmed. “That will mean little to Dad, in the

face of him being his walker.”

“Your dad is going to have to be very convincing then, as it could

take decades to persuade our Cedric,” Percy explained.

Joel snorted at this and Luka smiled.
“What?” Percy asked, frowning at the brothers.
“My father is the most patient man I know,” Luka answered. “My

only concern is the moon cycle. Their spirits are bonded and by the

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state of them when we first saw Dad and Cedric, I’m fairly certain
their minds are bonded,”

Joel snorted again. Luka looked at him and shrugged his

shoulders. “I’ve never known the pull of the spirit bond, but if it’s
anything like the legends say I wouldn’t be surprised if they’d had the
chance they’d have gone all the way.” Luka’s mind drifted to the
thought of finding his. Please let me find…ahh—

“Shit, Dad will go mad if he doesn’t complete the bonding,” Joel

stated, anger making his voice deeper.

“My uncle is many things Joel, but I truly believe he is neither

cruel nor vindictive. Saul has done him no wrong and even if he had, I
know he will sort this out to an amicable solution,” William answered
seriously. “What I cannot tell you is how, but he will be back sooner
than you think and he will not abandon Saul to his part-bonded fate.”

“How can you be so sure?” Luka asked, feeling slightly sick

inside for what could happen to his father if this all went wrong.

“Because behind all Cedric’s bravado and eccentricities there is a

very good man, unlike some members of his family,” Percy finished
for them.

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39

 

Chapter Six

Roman shivered. Scotland was a cold and inhospitable place. He

could not wait to leave, to go back to his palace in Dubai. He felt his
lip curl up in a sneer. What the hell was his stupid brother doing here?
Not that the bumbling idiot could stop him in the long term, but it was
an inconvenience he could well do without.

The simple human had failed to do his task, well he did have a

little magic but just as a telepath which any descent sorcerer could do
in his sleep. How that Liam boy had failed when all that had really
been needed was for him just to go into the castle with the stupid
camera floored Roman. Even with the boys surviving, which had not
really bothered him either way, all he’d needed was the camera inside
the four walls of that bloody castle.

“Agh!” he screamed and threw his crystal glass of brandy into the

fire. The flames flared for a brief moment then settled back to their
lazy flicker.

Morgana’s Fire was in that castle, somewhere. He just needed to

get inside its walls. Even the ancient magic from time long past
should not have hindered him. He was a sorcerer for heaven’s sake.
Something extraordinary was protecting that place. He knew his
powers were more than capable of breaking and entering any castle
around here, all apart from that one. The killing of the Marquis of
Ayling had been a simple feat and would have been successful had
the stupid man not sold the damn stone to those idiots at Kashmerle.
Kingdom had proved his worth that day in getting the little wife to
play along with their scheme. The woman had barely known anything
about the accounts her husband dealt with and documents were so

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easily forged. Yet with half the Strathclyde police force running round
the castle, they’d still not come up with anything. Even Kingdom’s
stupid blackmail boxes had proved ineffectual and they’d lost some
valuable artefacts in those boxes. Still, the people they were
blackmailing didn’t know they no longer had the goods and the
money kept coming in, so all was not lost.

Roman heard the door open behind him and knew exactly when

Lawrence Kingdom entered the room. The man may have had a
wonderfully deceitful, vindictive, and malevolent mind, but he had
outlived his usefulness. Roman was a dictator and no longer wished to
share power. As Kingdom sat down at the impressive desk near the
bay window, Roman turned toward him.

“Lawrence, my dear man, I need something from you,” Roman

said, picking up an ornate glass jar that he’d placed on the
mantelpiece.

“What do you need now, man? I think I’ve given you more than

enough,” Kingdom harrumphed in a most derogatory tone.

“Oh, nothing much, my dear boy, and it won’t hurt a bit,” Roman

quietly continued.

“Make sense, man. What are you going on about?” Kingdom

asked as he stood and stared straight at Roman.

“Why, Mr. Kingdom, I just want your conscious mind.”

* * * *

Daniel sat by the breakfast nook in his and Enda’s apartments. He

sipped his tea, letting his mind wander to his lover still sprawled over
their bed fast asleep. Enda may be Alpha of the Kashmerle Pack, but
Daniel got to see the other side of him. The man who preferred daisies
to diamonds and treated every member of the pack like a brother.

Syn’s passing had hit the man hard. Enda had never lost a member

of the pack before and it was only now that he was beginning to sleep
more normally and not pace throughout the night thinking about what

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he could have done differently to save Syn. Syn had sacrificed
himself for Liam’s young brothers who were barely into their teens.
The man had touched everyone’s hearts that day and coming to terms
with his loss was something the pack would strive together to do.
Daniel felt contrite due to the fact he hadn’t got to know the man
properly or taken the time to look beyond his flamboyant nature to the
serious, enigmatic man that lay beneath.

Daniel sighed and looked at the pile of post. Most of it was for

Enda, probably based around work, as the majority were in brown
envelopes. But a pale blue letter sat on top. Who writes letters these
days? He picked up the envelope and stared at the neat script on the
handwritten letter. It was addressed to him. The postmark was
Edinburg and there was no sender’s address. It didn’t feel suspicious,
which sounded stupid even to his own ears, but since becoming a part
of this paranormal world he’d come to rely and trust his instincts.

Daniel slipped his finger under the seal and lifted open the

envelope. A single sheet of pale blue paper was all it contained. He
read the note.

28

th

February

Dear Daniel,
Lawrence passed away in his sleep last Sunday. I know you and

your father did not get along, but if only for your peace of mind we
thought you should know.

A Mr. Cencer claims he has your father’s last Will and Testament,

but its content varies greatly to the one the family solicitors hold. We
have been told it is legal and binding and there is nothing left for you.

There is also some confusion over the body and your brother and

I would really appreciate your input if you are so inclined.

Thank you in advance.
Yours sincerely,
Fiona Kingdom

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Ellen Quinn

 

Daniel stared at the pale blue paper.
His father was dead.
Nothing had been mentioned on any news bulletin about his

father’s demise, which surprised him as his father was well known in
the celebrity world of diamonds and gold.

His father was dead.
It was at this moment that a rather gorgeous sleep-tousled man

walked into the room, wearing nothing but an untied robe, and for the
first time ever Daniel did not feel the emotional pull and internal
desire spiralling. Well, that wasn’t true he felt it all right. He just had
no urge to act upon it.

“What’s wrong, love?” Enda asked, concern echoing in his voice.
“I think Lawrence Kingdom may be dead,” Daniel replied. He

looked into his lover’s eyes, and he felt no grief, just a certain unease
that all was not as it seemed. He handed the letter to Enda.

“The woman doesn’t write a good letter. She jumps from topic to

topic. Do you have any idea what may be going on?” Daniel asked,
looking to Enda to see if he had any pearls of wisdom to enlighten
him on what was really happening.

“There has been no mention in any paper of your father’s demise,

and within the gold bullion world if this had happened, it would be
big news.” Enda handed back Daniel’s letter. “You don’t seem too cut
up about it.”

Daniel stifled a laugh. “My stepfather was hardly what I would

call close. I was just a pawn in his arsenal of status symbols, which he
kept to impress. And I wasn’t particularly useful at that,” Daniel said,
looking down at his hands clenched in his lap. “Mourning a man
whom I didn’t like, love, or respect is a waste of my emotions, and the
way he treated those shifters and how he destroyed my family before I
was even born—” Daniel hadn’t realised how high his voice had risen
with the hysteria that was bubbling inside him. It wasn’t until he felt
Enda’s strong arms pull him up and into his embrace that he
appreciated the whine came from him.

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“It’s all right, love. I’ve got you.” Enda’s words of comfort settled

over him as the man gently rubbed his hands up and down Daniel’s
spine.

“Sorry, I just wish he’d been made to pay for all the damage and

cruelty he doled out on a regular basis.” Daniel shuddered, trying to
calm himself. He was not usually like this, seeking out retribution
from the dead.

“Hey, I think everyone in the pack will go along with retribution

for Lawrence Kingdom, especially after losing Syn through his
exploits with that Necromancer chap.”

Daniel looked up into his lover’s eyes and felt himself go a little

light headed at the love and devotion he saw there. It didn’t matter
that his cruel stepfather was no longer with them and his brother was
dealing with the mess that was left behind. Everything Daniel had
ever needed was here in Enda’s arms. He would help his brother
whom he knew to be a good man deep down just sadly misguided by
their father. Still his help would only be from a distance, as he neither
wanted nor needed his father’s corrupt wealth.

* * * *

Charles looked at the papers again. The solicitors had gone

through them and said they were legal and binding. He could contest
them as his father’s son, but it would be long and complicated, or in
layman’s terms, a “fucking expensive” battle.

He rubbed his hands over his face and tried to get a grip on what

was happening. His father had suddenly passed away. The reason,
from the fastest autopsy ever conducted, was his heart stopped. A
fatal arrhythmia, but his father had seemed fine. Certainly there had
been no outward signs that he had a heart condition. Charles shook his
head. What was the point worrying about it now? The man was gone
and he had to deal with the fallout. The fallout being what he was
holding in his hands.

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Lawrence Kingdom had left his entire estate in trust to his wife

Cynthia, which in normal circumstances would have seemed
appropriate, but the man had had barely any time for his wife. And
Charles had been sure that although his father would not have left the
woman destitute, he would not have left his entire empire to a woman
whose decision-making skills ran to what colour her nail polish
should be that day. And then there was the other half of this problem.
A certain Mr Roman Cencer, the administrator to his stepmother’s
now massive trust fund. Charles barely knew the man. He’d turned up
one night a few months ago and suddenly his father had a best buddy.
The only other man who had been this close to his father had been
Fred Lancaster, known to some as the late Sheik Unbar, and he hadn’t
done well. But what did he care? He had his own investment portfolio
and knew he could walk away from his father’s wealth and live
comfortably. Unfortunately his wife wasn’t always as easily pleased.

“Charles, I need you to come to the undertaker’s now,” Fiona said

as she entered his office without knocking. Talk of the devil.

“I don’t want to see my father’s body, Fiona. Can’t we just leave

him be?” he reasoned, though he knew it would be pointless. His wife
had almost as much determination as his father.

“No, Charles, you need to see this. It’s important.” Fiona picked

up his jacket, which he’d carelessly thrown over one of the armchairs
that littered his office. She held it up for him to step into. He knew
there was little point in arguing and he really should see that it was his
father sitting in his very expensive mahogany box.

The inside of the undertaker’s was dark and so quiet it felt creepy.

Add to that the cool temperatures and Charles couldn’t help but
shiver.

“Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Kingdom, I’m sorry to keep you waiting. I’ll

have your father placed in a mourning room immediately,” the
undertaker said as soon as he’d appeared from behind a large black
velvet curtain that covered the entire back wall of their front office.
He bowed his head and disappeared just as quickly.

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Charles was too edgy to sit in the luxurious armchairs provided.

The knowledge that his deceased father was just beyond the curtain
was not a calming influence.

“If you would like to come through, sir, madam,” the undertaker

said quietly, making Charles jump. The man moved without making a
sound. Charles followed the man who had the palest skin he had ever
seen. It was almost translucent. He didn’t seem that old either, yet
gave off the feeling of having been around far longer than he should.
Charles shook himself. He was being stupid. For heaven’s sake he
was only going to look at his father’s dead body.

The man pulled a cord and the curtain pulled back, revealing a

long, wood-panelled corridor with ornate doors evenly spaced along
the sides.

“Your father is in the green room, second door on the left.”
“Thank you,” Charles said. As he entered the corridor he held his

hand out for Fiona, who ignored it and rushed past him.

“Come on,” she mumbled practically running down the corridor.
What the hell is up with that woman?
Fiona walked straight into the room as though her life depended

on it. Charles wished he knew what the hell was up. Yet still he
followed at a much slower rate. Inside the room was panelled with
wood just like the corridor, only this was shaded far darker, and
heavy, deep blue velvet drapes hung closed at the window, if it
actually was a window. In the far corner stood a young man. Charles
couldn’t help but notice his skin was as translucent as the man’s
who’d greeted them. But where the man in the entrance had seemed
self-assured and poised, this man looked terrified. He was also
stunning and that realisation shocked Charles. Never in his life had he
considered a man stunning.

“Come here, Charles.” Fiona’s sharp voice broke into his

shocking reverie. Turning from the man, Charles stared at the casket.
The mahogany matched the walls perfectly. Stepping closer, he

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Ellen Quinn

 

peered into the box to gaze upon the face of Lawrence Charles
Kingdom.

“Look at him,” Fiona insisted.
“I am,” Charles replied, wondering again what the hell Fiona’s

problem was.

“He doesn’t look dead,” she said, staring straight at him with fear

in her eyes.

“What? Of course he’s dead, Fiona. What on earth is wrong with

you?” Charles answered, seriously worried about his wife’s sanity.

“Touch him,” Fiona said with steel in her voice. Charles looked at

his wife and decided to do as she said. He did not want her having a
meltdown in front of the beautiful but twitchy young man or his dead
father.

Charles lifted his hand slowly and placed it on his father’s chest.

He frowned. It didn’t feel as hard as he’d imagined it would. He
looked over at Fiona, who nodded as though she knew exactly what
he was thinking. He placed his hand on his father’s skin. And
Charles’s body started to shake. In this cold room, having come, he
assumed, from cold storage, his father’s body was both soft to the
touch and warm.

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47

 

Chapter Seven

Saul’s eyes flickered open. Where was he? The light in the room

was dim, making things seem hazy to begin with. Kashmerle, this was
Kashmerle, his mind finally catching up with his location. As his eyes
adjusted, he realised he was in the centre of the largest bed he had
ever seen. On each corner was a post at least six feet high that had
been intricately carved with what looked like animals. Bears at the
base, then large cats followed by wolves, he presumed, and each post
finished with a bird of prey perched on the top. There was only one
man he knew who could carve like that.

Looking across the room, he realised that the very man he’d been

thinking of was lying on a large chaise longue with his walker
sprawled all over him. Lucky bastard, Saul thought, but he didn’t
really mean it. He had no desperate need inside him to be with the
man who had haunted his dreams for over a century. In fact, there was
nothing there at all. Sure, the two men together looked hot, but he had
something better. A small, slender man with the most amazing eyes,
grass green with flints of autumn striking through and surrounded by
a warm, dark honey. Saul looked away from the men trying to
remember when he’d looked so carefully into Cedric’s eyes. He had
no idea. It must have been when he had him up against the closet
wall. Oh hell, just thinking about having that man up against his
naked flesh had the blood rushing to his groin. He needed to find his
walker and complete the bonding and work out why the hell he’d run
away.

“Well hello again.” Knox’s deep voice cut into his thoughts. Saul

turned his head and looked up at his friend and one-time lover.

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“Hello, Knox, it’s good to see you,” he replied, hoping the man

didn’t read anything into it, as it was genuinely meant without any

 

implications.

Knox’s spirit walker came up to the man’s side and smiled. Saul

felt slightly ashamed, as he could not remember the man’s name, but
he returned the smile.

“We’re off to get some lunch. Can we bring you anything back?”

Knox asked as he slipped his arm around his walker. Saul’s stomach
chose that particular moment to make a loud rumble and the three of
them laughed.

“I’d rather come with you,” Saul answered, wanting to meet more

of the men who lived and worked here, especially as this was going to
be his and his walker’s home now. He was also after information on
his elusive walker Cedric, starting with where the man actually lived.

* * * *

Cedric was back in Hades, his holiday home from Hell. But he

wasn’t leaving till he’d had words with his Rainbow Bitch.

“Ooh, I like that. I think Rainbow Bitch suits me.” Morta’s voice

echoed round the seemingly empty living room. Where the other
Fates were was of no interest to him. Cedric wanted the one who had
turned his life upside down.

“Show yourself. I know you’re in here,” he snapped, the irritation

evident in his voice.

“Well hello, sunshine. What’s got stuck up your arse?” Morta

replied, materialising in the large armchair with her feet propped up
on a chest. Cedric would swear she’d been there all along but wasn’t
going to waste his time arguing about that.

“You know exactly my problem, as you caused it,” he answered,

walking over to the huge covered globe. He whipped the cover off
and pointed. “Saul Douben, Kodiak bear shifter, father to Luka and
Joel, and apparently my spirit walker, or so the poor man thinks.”

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49

 

Morta just smiled. Cedric felt like he was going to explode. The
infuriating woman. No wonder he was gay. Having to live with that
woman would be purgatory.

“Well someone’s really worked themselves into a tizz.”
“A tizz! Morta, this is no laughing matter. I’m a sorcerer and have

the choice with whom I bond. Poor Saul doesn’t get that. You picking
out a random spirit to try and tie me down is unacceptable.” Cedric
watched as Morta’s eyes narrowed.

“Fate has chosen Saul’s spirit walker and that happens to be you.

What you do about it is your choice, but you need to think very
carefully about that choice, young man. You may be needing him in
the end.” Morta stared hard at him, but Cedric was still certain this
had been a setup, which he could undo.

“No, you are Fate and you can make this right. Saul deserves his

spirit walker and that is not me. You cannot manipulate people like
that. It is both unfair and amoral.” Cedric stood his ground, firm in his
belief that this could be undone.

“Oh, my dear boy, you have no idea how good a bond you two

will make.” Morta smiled indulgently at him, making Cedric’s insides
churn.

“But—” Cedric started but wasn’t allowed to finish.
“No, listen now and listen good. Everything happens for a reason.

You may not know the reason, but there is one. You are Saul’s spirit
walker and that was meant to be. There was nothing random in this
and you will either accept this or Saul will go mad and eventually die.
That is your choice, as you are allowed to make it as a magic user. It
was never taken from you.” Morta stared at him for a moment more
and then she was gone.

“She’s right, you know,” Nona said behind him. “We thought she

was playing games, too. But for once she is not.”

Cedric turned to look at the young Fate, though he knew that was

only a perception, as they were all as old as time. Nona smiled as she
spun threads on her spindle, catching unseen light and weaving it in.

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Ellen Quinn

 

“She is also right that you do still have choices, but make them

wisely. Decima is measuring the thread and there is danger in your
weave, Cedric, and for those around you.” Nona began to walk
backward, never losing eye contact.

“Wait, what do you mean?” Cedric shouted as Nona began to

fade.

“Choose carefully. Your life may depend on it.” Nona’s voice was

barely a whisper, but Cedric heard the words. What the hell was
coming?

* * * *

Fred glared from the top of the bookcase, unseen and unnoticed.

So this was the ever-powerful Roman Tiberius Portrey. Fred smiled to
himself. He was probably one of only a handful of creatures that knew
the man’s correct name. He’d gone by Roman Cencer for so long
now. But Fred had known him for centuries, and his opinion had only
gone down. He’d definitely ended up with the superior brother.

Cedric was in Hades and Fred hoped and prayed his familiar was

careful on his return, but he doubted it. Roman had had more than
enough time to cast the wards to hold Cedric, especially if he just
materialised into his front room. Fred had sent warnings, but until
Cedric left Hades, he couldn’t reach him.

“For fuck’s sake, you silly fool, answer me. There’s trouble.

Roman’s home,” Fred sent out again.

“What are you going on about?” Cedric answered as he

materialised in the middle of his front room.

“Oh fuck!” Cedric cried.
“Oh fuck!” Fred proclaimed in perfect synchronicity. Now they

were screwed.

“Good evening, my dear Cedric. It’s been such a long time since

our paths have crossed,” Roman said, sarcasm dripping from his
voice.

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51

 

“Let me out of this, Roman,” Cedric replied. “I have nothing that

you need.” Fred watched as Cedric struggled with the wards invisible
to the human eye but clear as day to him. The chains were thick and
undoubtedly heavy.

“Oh, my dear boy, you have something I greatly want, and it’s

easily given. So to save you from a lot of anguish and considerable
pain, I would strongly suggest you give it to me.” The sneer on
Roman’s face as he spoke made Fred’s blood boil. The man was a
fiend and didn’t deserve the kind of power he contained. And that was
another thing that was confusing him. With his power Roman should
be able to access anything he needed or wanted for that matter.

“I’m not giving you anything,” Cedric spat.
“That’s my boy, you tell him,” Fred pushed into Cedric’s mind. It

made Cedric jump, but Roman luckily didn’t notice as he lifted
himself out of Cedric’s armchair and walked across the room.

“Access is all I need, access into Kashmerle castle. Once you’ve

given me that we’re done,” Roman finished and turned back to face
Cedric. Fred couldn’t see his face anymore, but he could still hear the
insincerity in his voice.

“I can’t give you that. The magic around that castle is so old, the

Fates probably created it,” Cedric replied. If Greek tortoises could
raise an eyebrow Fred knew he’d be doing that now. Was Cedric
trying to call the Fates up? They wouldn’t come, not unless Roman
believed himself better than them. If that were the case then they
could get a tad miffed and do untold damage. Roman wasn’t that
stupid.

“The Fates didn’t create that magic. They created the ones who

wove it. It’s old and fermented, and easily dismantled with the correct
magic,” Roman continued, sounding like a corrupt politician.

“Don’t let him convince you that he can destroy the magic at

Kashmerle. That is way beyond any of us. If he tries it will be the end
of him,” Fred said with vitriol.

“And me,” Cedric murmured in response.

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Ellen Quinn

 

Fred felt his heart grow cold. That stupid curse. In a twisted way,

he could see why their father had placed it on his sons. It was a death
wish to keep them both alive. If one died the other one would also
pass away. Simple but bloody inconvenient.

“No one is strong enough to go against that magic. The last thing

time has done is make it weak,” Cedric argued, though he obviously
realised it was a waste of his breath. Roman had always been superior
and arrogant, but it looked like he’d now ventured into the realm of
insanity.

“Oh shut up, boy. I don’t actually need you to speak. Your magic

essence is enough to get me into Kashmerle. It’s not about breaking
through the magic, it’s about deceiving it. If I absorb enough of your
essence—let’s say nearly all of it—those silly wards will believe I’m
you and let me walk right in.” Roman laughed. “So simple, perfect,
and it took my genius to work it out.”

Fred felt sick. The man really was insane and Fred believed he’d

do it.

“You take my essence and you’ll kill me. And then where will

you be? Drinking cheap vodka with me in Hades?” Cedric pointed
out. Fred didn’t think it would do any good. The man was well
beyond reason.

“Ah, but, Cedric my dear, that’s where my plan is so perfect. I

will leave you a little of your inner magic, your essence. Not enough
to survive but enough to give me time to enter Kashmerle and gain
access to those vast vaulted caverns that lay underneath. Yes, brother
dear, I’ve known what’s under that castle for centuries, though it’s
only recently I’ve worked out that that is where Morgana’s Fire is
held.”

Roman paused. Fred didn’t know if it was for effect or if the

lunatic was actually thinking, if that were possible these days.

After a moment, Cedric turned and glared at his brother, his voice

menacing when he finally spoke. “It won’t work. You will still die
like the curse says.”

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53

 

Roman’s laughter rang though the house, hollow and strained.

Fred was beginning to lose the plot in what were they talking about.

“Morgana’s Fire grants eternal life, which means once I’ve

collected it, your death will not affect me in the least and I will have
gained both your power and good ole Morgana’s as well. There will
not be a sorcerer out there that will be able to compete with my
strength.” Roman turned and Fred got a good look at his face. His
eyes were black. It was eerie in a very cold, sinister way.

Fred shivered, grateful no one would notice as he was inside his

shell. At least he and Cedric knew what the lunatic was after. The
problem now was, how the hell would they stop him?

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Ellen Quinn

 

Chapter Eight

Saul followed Knox and his walker from his rooms. He walked

downstairs, along opulent corridors, and past numerous ornately
carved doors.

Knox ran his hand over one of the doors. “I wish I could have

claimed these were my work,” he said before they turned and entered
a spacious landing.

“The doors were commissioned by Matt, the Duke of Kashmerle,

when he was alive the first time,” Knox’s spirit walker said, smiling
up at Knox. “But Knox’s work is just as good if not better.”

Saul smiled as he heard the pride in the man’s voice. T’narr, that

was his name he remembered now. The jealousy he had felt when he
had first met them was all but gone. Now all that remained was the
love for an old dear friend and the need to find and claim his own
spirit walker as completely.

Two sets of stairs led off the landing. They gently curved into

what presumably was a massive ballroom, except it was set up to play
ballgames. The balls were pretty messed up, though, for playing any
kind of game. Knox looked at him and grinned.

“Games tend to get a little heated and we end up having wolves

playing tigers with a bear refereeing,” Knox explained.

“Well that explains the state of the balls,” Saul answered,

imagining the mayhem that could be caused.

“Now you’re here we have five bears. We will make an awesome

team,” Knox said with a wicked grin.

“Five bears?” Saul asked, looking at Knox in surprise.

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55

 

“Yes, there’s us Kodiaks, the Kranski twins are brown bears, and

Doc Banner is a black bear,” Knox explained. Saul knew his eyes
must be wide not so much for all the bears but for the fact they were
almost all gay.

“Is the doctor—” Saul paused. He shouldn’t ask, now he was just

being rude.

“Gay,” Knox finished for him. “We think so, though he hasn’t

formally joined the pack.”

“So is everybody here gay?” Saul asked, amazed that what he’d

heard about the place was true.

“Not everyone,” T’narr answered. “There are those that are

straight and bisexual. Plus Helen, the barmaid at the Slug and Lettuce,
is transgender.”

Saul knew his eyes were popping out of his head, by now they

must be. “And she doesn’t mind you saying that about him, er her—
shit—”

“Nah, Helen’s great, but it’s like everyone around here, we don’t

judge. You are who you are and will be accepted as that. Bigotry is
just not tolerated in any form here,” T’narr finished, taking hold of
Knox’s hand and smiling at Knox with such love in his eyes Saul had
to look away.

He wanted that look from Cedric, and for that he needed to find

the man.

“Come on, let’s go down and get some supper,” Knox said.
Saul entered a huge dining room off to the left of the ballroom.

The castle was vast and he felt it would take forever to work out
where he was in relation to everything else in this place.

Along the inside wall of the room was a long cabinet. Its doors

were being opened and it seemed to contain the dining room’s
tableware. People were rushing around pulling out plates and
gathering cutlery from the drawers. This was then being placed on a
table at the far end. On top of the large cabinet was the largest carvery
Saul had ever seen. Meats were laid out, then potatoes of every style,

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Ellen Quinn

 

followed by vegetables, though these were not as abundant in
quantity, but they still had a wide variety.

Knox leaned over and quietly said in his ear, “Meat eaters.” The

man grinned as he headed toward the plates, motioning Saul to follow
him.

Once Saul had loaded his plate he felt a little guilty, but he was so

hungry he didn’t care. They sat at a table large enough to hold twenty
or more and which was occupied by an assortment of men and boys.
When he saw the other men’s plates his guilt rescinded as they were
all eating like it was their last meal.

“Nice to finally meet you, Saul,” one of the men said. “These are

my spirit walkers, Jonah and Gregor, I’m Darian, and those three over
there are Alden, Joe, and Liam with their lads Finn and Paddy.”

“’Ello, mister. We saw yous before,” one of the boys said. “Yee

’ave more clothes on now like, but a still recognise ya.”

“Finn, be polite,” Alden said, though Saul could still see a hint of

a smile cross his face.

“Ah, come on, Alden. With the full moon this place is crawling

with naked men,” Paddy said and Saul couldn’t help it, he laughed.

Saul realised he set them all off when Darian and his walkers

joined in along with Knox and T’narr.

“You lot are no help,” Alden said, just before Joe and Liam burst

out laughing. The man shook his head and obviously gave up as he
smiled.

“I dunna know what’s s’funny. It’s true,” Finn said, backing up

his brother. This only helped to fuel the laughter.

“Oooh, what’s going on here,” Percy said as he joined them at the

table.

“Nice to see you up and about, Saul,” William added as he sat

alongside Percy.

“It’s good to finally get here,” Saul answered.
“And we’re discussing the abundance of men without clothes

around the full moon,” Darian added with a smirk.

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57

 

“Ooh, I know,” said Percy with an almost evil grin. “Ouch! What

was that for?” Percy scowled at William.

“Oh nothing, dearest,” William replied.
Saul smiled. He loved the camaraderie he felt here and the fact

that he was not alone and didn’t need to keep his true nature hidden.
His boys—hell, they were men now—would do well here. Taking this
into consideration, he knew he had to ask Luka and Joel about Cedric.
He needed to find his walker and make things right.

“William,” Saul said, only sounding slightly hesitant.
“Yes, sweetheart.”
“I need to find Cedric—” Saul got no further with his question.
Percy burst out, “Oh, my dear boy, he lives in a little cottage

down the lane that runs along by the river. If you go out the castle,
down the road, turn right at the bottom, and walk to the edge of town.
His is the first cottage on your left.” Saul had never seen a man look
so happy in a smug sort of way. “Eat up, darling. You must go and
see him.”

“I’m not c–certain of my welcome,” Saul stammered.
“Oh, darling, Cedric can be a little odd and eccentric at times. But

he’s a man and you are definitely not something he is going to be able
to resist.” Percy giggled, which looked surprisingly good on him.

“Aye, sweetheart, you need to go and calm the man down and

make him realise that the Fates do know what they are doing. Hell, I
wish they’d done that with me,” William said.

“So do I, poppet, so do I,” Percy said, leaning over and kissing his

William on the cheek.

Everyone on the table nodded toward Saul in encouragement,

smiling as they did so.

“Does everyone here know Cedric?” Saul asked.
“Some of us have known him a while now,” Gregor said, his

voice deep yet warm. “Others have known him centuries and he can
be a bit of a live wire.”

Alden nodded. “Don’t get us wrong. He is a good man, but he’s—”

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“An outrageous flirt!” Percy finished for him.
“And his reputation is far worse than the reality,” William

explained.

“Reputation?” Saul muttered.
“Oh, yes. I’m afraid he’s built his rep up over a number of

centuries,” Gregor said with a smile. “But I think William is right. It’s
more Cedric telling stories to keep himself safe than actual fact.”

Saul wondered why Cedric felt the need to keep himself safe. He

needed to let Cedric know that he was there for him and would never
let him come to or cause him any harm.

“I know he’s not a shifter, so is he a magic user of some type?”

Saul asked. He realised it was a kind of silly question, as his nephew
was a wizard—or was he a sorcerer? Whichever, he didn’t really care.
But that fact alone was enough to know Cedric had to be something
similar.

“Yes, Saul, he is, but I think Cedric would be better explaining his

status rather than us. It’s a sensitive subject for him,” William
answered quietly with a sad smile. What was it about this complex
man that had people being jovial and laughing one minute then quiet
and subdued the next?

“I need to go and find him,” Saul said abruptly. He jumped

quickly, making some of the men at the table jump, and he grabbed
his empty plate.

“Over there, sweetheart,” Percy announced, pointing to a clearing

table by some swinging doors which must have led to a kitchen. “If
you go through those doors there”—Percy pointed again—“that takes
you back to the main entrance hall and the front door. Follow my
directions, sweetie, and you’ll find your Cedric.”

Saul smiled. “Thank you,” he said, seeing a lot of smiles directed

toward him. These guys were something else.

Saul left the castle not bothering with a coat or jacket. He had a T-

shirt and plaid shirt with his jeans and boots, which seemed to be
standard dress here. He had never headed into the village when he

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first arrived, and he discovered it was a lot farther away than he’d
thought and a lot bigger than his idea of a village would be.

Saul turned right at the end of the road and knew he was going in

the right direction when he passed the Slug and Lettuce. Music was
blaring out, but he didn’t stop. That exploration would be completed
at another time and hopefully with a special companion. The road did
exactly as Percy had said and followed the river downstream. His bear
inside rumbled at the thought of a little fishing, causing Saul to smile.
Soon, we will fish very soon.

It took another ten minutes to finally reach what he assumed was

the end of the village. It was getting dark now and trying to see, if not
for his shifter vision, would have been difficult.

Saul spotted what looked to be a rooftop. It took him a moment to

recognise it as it was thatched and not tiled. As he approached he saw
lights flash in the window. Saul had no idea what was happening, but
his gut told him this was not good. He started to run forward, hoping
he was not too late to help his walker.

Just as Saul got to the stained green door, there was a massive

explosion. The door was wrenched from its hinges and the force flung
both him and the door across the yard. This was followed closely by
what looked to be a rather tatty ornamental tortoise which bounced off
the door and landed just past his head.

“Move yer bloody arse, you idiot. Cedric needs ya.” Saul turned

to look at the tatty tortoise. “Aye, that was me, now get up and get in
there before Cedric’s twerp of a brother really does some damage.”
Saul was so shocked to be listening to a tortoise for a moment he
didn’t move. It was only when the actual animal blinked and seemed
to snarl at him that he shoved the door off him and headed into the
house where the light was still flashing.

As Saul entered he heard the tortoise again. “Not bad for a shifter,

just a shame they’re not right bright.” Saul heard no more as the
whole house exploded all around him.

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Chapter Nine

Saul did not know how long he lay under the rubble on the

ground. Whether it was moments or minutes, he had no idea. He came
to listening to what he could only describe as a cold voice. There
seemed to be absolutely no emotion in it at all.

“You poor, stupid fool, always so helpful and prissy. You’re an

embarrassment to sorcerers and men.” Saul couldn’t see who it was,
but it was definitely not his spirit walker. He tried to move but was
stopped by the voice from the tortoise.

“Don’t move! He’s not seen or sensed you. If he does he’ll just

kill you.”

Comforting words, Saul thought, but he did as the tortoise asked.

Seconds later a man with black eyes walked out what had once been
the front bay window.

“And now for Morgana’s Fire to make this permanent.” The cold

voice spoke. The man’s voice suited his eyes. Saul couldn’t help the
shiver that ran through his body. Luckily he remained undetected.

Saul listened as the boots drifted away before they suddenly

disappeared. He had no idea what Morgana’s Fire was, but he was
damn sure that man should not get a hold of it. He lay there for a
moment more, doing an inventory of his body and where the pain was
concentrated. It took only a moment for him to realise there was just
too much pain to isolate any of it and attempted to move. The pain
screamed in his mind, but he pushed past it. He was a shifter for
fuck’s sake. Move past it. He shoved the rubble off his chest and
carefully stood. There was a shard of wood that had lodged itself in
his waist just above his belt and he pulled this free, releasing more

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pain, but he ignored it. The bleeding would stop pretty quickly and
there was a man in there that needed him, whether Cedric wanted it or
not.

* * * *

Cedric could feel the tears running down his face. He had lost

nearly all of his sorcerer’s essence. Roman had done exactly as he
said he would and drained his magic. Without it he would die. Yet
strangely he knew that wasn’t the reason for his tears. His tears were
for another man, tall with strong, broad shoulders and hair the colour
of golden fields of wheat. He remembered feeling that naked body of
well-defined muscles pressed against his, the heat radiating through
him knowing this spirit was bonding with him. Their bonding that
was not complete, but would still mean the end of Saul’s life when his
own gave out.

“No!” Cedric cried. Saul didn’t deserve this, didn’t deserve him or

the way he had treated the gorgeous man.

Cedric was still trapped inside the wards Roman had set up, so his

body was crumpled on the floor, squashed within the salt pentagram.
To be released, he was going to have to wait for someone who had
noticed the explosion. He was too afraid to try and link with William,
Percy, or that young telepath, Liam, in case the ability he’d come into
as a pubescent boy was gone.

“Cedric,” someone called, though he did not know who. At least

someone had seen the explosion and responded. Cedric just hoped
they were from his world and not a human, though they were few and
far between in Kashmerle.

“Cedric, you idiot, where the hell are you? You’re not still stuck

in the pentagram are you? Trust you to be the only man unable to
move in an explosion.” Fred did not sound like a happy tortoise. Then
again, when had Fred ever sounded like a happy tortoise?

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“I couldn’t escape the wards, Fred, especially without—” Cedric

paused, and he couldn’t help the sob that escaped him. “Saul, I’ve
killed Saul.”

“Not yet you haven’t. He’s on his way in. Listen,” Fred answered

with very little sympathy.

“Cedric, where are you? Fuck, you have to be alive,” Saul yelled.

And Cedric heard the desperation in his voice.

“Saul,” he tried to call out, but his throat felt like sandpaper.

Cedric gritted his teeth and tried through his mind.

“Saul, I’m in the main room, break the salt pentagram please,”

Cedric called out.

“Shit, yes, the bond. I’m sorry, I should have used that before. I’m

coming through the bay window,” Saul answered and Cedric heard
the crunch of boots. Suddenly dust was flying and bits of lath and
plaster were being pulled off his body. Two huge boots were placed
near his side as they scraped the salt away, destroying the holding
wards. Cedric let his body slump to the floor, easing his limbs from
their cramped position. No sooner had he done that than more plaster
fell from the ceiling.

“Saul, the ceiling’s going to cave in,” Cedric cried through their

bond.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got you,” Saul replied as he swept Cedric up

into his arms and headed out through what had once been his bay
window.

“Fred, I need to find Fred,” Cedric pleaded with Saul.
“The tatty pushy tortoise?” Saul said straight to Cedric.
“Aye, that would be him,” Cedric answered but then wished he

hadn’t, as pain tore through his throat. Cedric watched Saul scan the
area. They had to find Fred. That was the only magic he had left now.
Trust his brother to totally ignore what he would term inferior magic,
yet collected over centuries and used correctly it could prove very
powerful.

“And don’t I bloody know it,” Fred huffed in his gravelly voice.

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Saul was still looking for the errant tortoise when Cedric heard

cars approaching, lots of cars by the sound of it. Saul stopped looking
at the ground and peered up the road that led back to the town.

“For heaven’s sake, fart, man,” Cedric almost yelled at Fred.
“What?” Saul asked as he looked down at Cedric.
“Sorry.” He’d forgotten Saul could hear being His walker meant

that he would also hear, Fred poor man. “If he farts it sparkles,”
Cedric explained, somewhat shame-faced.

“Okay…” Saul said. Though Cedric could tell by the hesitant

sound in his voice that he thought Cedric had lost his marbles.

“Look down, you daft buggers, I’m here.” Fred did not sound

happy. “Before I get bloody squashed!”

Saul must have seen and heard the tortoise, as he stepped forward

and bent down.

“Aaah,” Cedric moaned, gripping on to Saul as he was swung

around.

“I’ll never drop you,” Saul said with such calm certainty Cedric

was almost embarrassed by his reaction.

“What the hell happened?” William shouted as he jumped from

the nearest vehicle.

Cedric swallowed hard even though it hurt and then quietly

croaked, “I decided to do some redecorating.”

* * * *

Saul looked down at his spirit walker. Cedric seemed to be

hanging on to consciousness by the skin of his teeth. And still he
made a joke. Saul had no idea what had happened in the poor man’s
home, but he was not letting him from his side again, ever.

“Cedric, please be sensible. This is no time for flippancy.” Percy

pouted as he joined his partner.

“I don’t think he’s all there,” Saul answered the men, as Cedric’s

eyes were becoming more glazed.

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“Oh, darling, our Great Uncle Cedric may seem like that, but he’s

sharper than a shark’s tooth,” William answered with a kind smile.

“No, you don’t understand, he was in some kind of salt pentagram

on the floor which seemed to contain him. It wasn’t until I broke the
pattern that he could lie down. He was completely sealed in it,
somehow, and he looked drained.” Saul knew the term was a little
strange, but it was the best way to describe him. Some colour had
returned to his walker’s cheeks whilst he’d been in his arms but not
much.

“Oh, crap,” William said. “Enda, don’t enter the house, I need to

check it’s magically safe before we do anything.”

Enda walked toward them from one of the other cars. “Can I see

Cedric? Is he all right?” he asked.

“Physically he seems fine, but magically I’m not so sure,”

William answered, concern written all over his face. Saul clutched his
walker a little tighter. He was going to be okay. He had only just
found him. He couldn’t lose him now. William must have seen his
reaction, as he placed a hand on Saul’s arm. “We’ll make sure he is
fine, Saul. You don’t need to worry.”

Saul wished he felt relieved, but he didn’t. “Look, can I get him

back to the castle and somewhere warm please?” he asked, hoping he
didn’t sound too needy but willing to do whatever he needed to get
the man in his arms to safety.

“I am sorry, Saul,” Enda answered. “We’ll get you two back to the

castle. The rest of the lads can sort out the mess here. Was there
anyone else here or still in the cottage?”

“No one is inside as far as I know, but one man was here. He left

right after the explosion.”

“Do you have any idea who that was?” Enda questioned.
“Roman bloody Cencer,” Fred’s voice grumbled in Saul’s head.
“Roman, his name was Roman Cencer,” Saul answered.
“Oh crap,” William murmured.

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* * * *

Cedric knew he was awake but didn’t want to open his eyes. He

was lying down in a bed and he wasn’t alone. A warm, solid body
seemed to be wrapped around him, a warm, solid, naked body, who
was not upset to be beside him if the long, hard ridge that was nestled
in the crease of his own very naked ass was anything to go by. Cedric
inhaled and the rich, very masculine aroma of a man he knew only as
Saul Douben assailed him. This was the man he’d been trying to
break a sacred bond with, whom he’d refused to accept, as he thought
he was just some random spirit Morta had picked for him to deny him
his free choice. But lying in his arms, being held like he was
something precious, was all that Cedric had ever wanted.

Cedric sighed. That was a dream that was never going to happen.

Saul may be wrapped around him now, but for how long before he
wanted more than just his warmth? He was going to be sorely
disappointed when he found out he was no longer a sorcerer if he
lasted any length of time.

Shit, Roman!
Cedric opened his eyes and tried to move, wriggling to get free of

Saul’s hold.

“Whoa, my little man,” Saul’s sleep-filled voice mumbled behind

him. “What’s the hurry?”

“Hurry, my darling boy. My stupid demented brother is probably

running round this place causing untold damage in his quest for my
death and eternal life, and you want me to take my time?” Cedric
protested somewhat frantically, as the big man was not in any hurry to
let him go. “Oh, and I’m not a little man, Saul Douben.”

“Cedric, if your life is in danger then I am keeping you beside me

until this threat has been dealt with, and I mean dealt with in a
permanent kind of way,” Saul said, his voice deep and dangerous.
Cedric turned to look at him and found himself lost in the most

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beautiful hazel eyes that reminded him of the colours of autumn, his
favourite season.

“You have amazing eyes,” he blurted out, unable to stop his

thoughts from being spoken. Saul’s slow smile tugged at his heart,
making him breathless at what this man could do to him if he let his
feelings free. Cedric shook his head. That was not going to happen
ever.

“Yeah and I’m turning into a blond,” Saul muttered, smiling at the

gorgeous man in his arms.

“I don’t understand.” Cedric looked confused.
“Sorry, my hair was bleached when I was travelling. I’m just

being silly.” Saul smiled appreciatively.

“I like it,” Cedric responded, running his fingers through the soft

strands.

“Getting back to the important issue,” Saul said, drawing the topic

of conversation back around. “William explained that your brother
wasn’t a pleasant fella and that you didn’t get on very well.”

“Not get on, that is the understatement of the last four and a half

centuries,” Cedric interrupted, heat rising through his body.

“Yes, okay, maybe he put it a little stronger than that, but what I

also wanted to say was all the pack and coven have been informed
and they are on the lookout for him and last I heard William and
Percy are performing all sorts of hocus-pocus around the castle to
warn everyone if the man arrives.” Saul finished and smiled down at
Cedric, his calm demeanour rubbing off on Cedric better than any
amount of explanations might.

“Yes, but he may disguise himself as me, Saul, and no one will

think twice and they’ll let him through.” Cedric knew he had to get
the man to understand the depths that Roman would go to enter the
castle.

“Everyone knows you’re with me. Apparently these are now our

apartment rooms within the castle. With your agreement I am going to
join the pack and make this my home.” Saul smiled again and Cedric

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knew he was on a sticky wicket. The man was so centred and self-
assured, practically the opposite of Cedric, who was flighty and so
completely off the wall he never knew where he was half the time and
didn’t really care as long as he was well dressed.

Cedric’s heartbeat started to increase as he thought about his state

of not being dressed at that very moment. It grew even faster as he
remembered Saul was in the same state of undress. Taking a deep
breath, he decided William and Percy had probably got everything
under control. If they knew he was here in his and Saul’s rooms, then
any other men who seemed to be Cedric hopefully would be stopped.
He shivered at the thought, which only led to Saul pulling him closer.

Cedric twisted his body to face Saul. He needed to get this man…
“Oh my,” Cedric moaned as he found his semi-hard dick rubbed

up against Saul’s fully erect shaft.

“Oh my indeed, my love,” Saul replied as he rubbed their bodies

together.

“No—I—” Cedric looked up into those autumn eyes and every

thought flew from his head.

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Chapter Ten

Saul looked down at his little magic man, taking in the pale skin

and grass-green eyes. There was something so whimsical about him
that was just adorable. His black silky hair was all dishevelled and
Saul had a feeling that didn’t happen often with this man. He’d
brought him back to their rooms. Apparently William and Percy had
somehow magically transferred Cedric’s belongings into these rooms,
including that tatty tortoise. And Saul could not be happier. He may
have some persuading to do with his little magic man, but his cottage
was unfit for habitation at the moment, which meant he would have to
stay here. He looked down at Cedric’s slightly indignant face, which
was becoming less so with every gentle rub of Saul’s hard body
against his.

Saul had always thought his walker would be another large shifter

like himself and for that reason had always fantasied about such men,
but in seeing Cedric, all his protective instincts had come out with a
huge dose of lust. Cedric was exactly what he wanted and needed in
his life, a bright spark of colour he could love, and his need to protect
would be fulfilled if the man got into as much trouble as his friends
said.

Cedric’s eyes were a beautiful contrast to his dark hair and pale

skin and at this moment were filled with a hunger that Saul
understood completely. Cedric seemed to be rendered speechless and
Saul had no problem with that, but he needed reassurance that Cedric
was happy to complete the final bond. His body certainly responded
to that effect, but Saul would not take his spirit walker until he was
ready. Time wasn’t infinite, but the full moon was days away and

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they still had till the end of the next cycle before things became
dangerous.

“Cedric, I need to know you are ready and willing to take the final

step,” Saul said, hoping Cedric could recognise the sincerity in his
voice. Cedric blinked but didn’t respond.

“We can wait a little if you’re not ready.” Saul hoped like hell he

was not going to have to pull back as pearls of pre-cum dripped from
his engorged cock and spread across his walker’s hip.

“Yes,” Cedric moaned as Saul felt the heat of Cedric’s cock

against his own. “I’m ready.”

“Oh fuck,” Saul said, trembling as he crushed his lips against his

lover’s. Cedric gasped and Saul quickly took advantage of the smaller
man’s open mouth. His sweet taste burst on his taste buds, tangy and
fresh. His swept the inside of Cedric’s mouth, searching out his
tongue. The taste of the man was sublime.

Saul slipped his hand down the smooth curve of Cedric’s back.

His skin was hot yet smooth to the touch. When he had gotten his
walker back to the castle he had removed the man’s torn, dusty
clothing and immersed him gently in a warm bath. He’d washed all
his skin with the utmost care but no lust. Saul had been totally
focused on Cedric’s well-being and after denying his needs for over a
century he could look upon Cedric and tend to the beautiful man
without taking advantage. Now, though, was a completely different
matter. Cedric was awake, alive, and willing. His skin touched the
length of Saul’s rampant body and after decades of denial Saul knew
his control was going to snap. His experience may have been limited
having only been with one man before, but he remembered every
moment of that day and in his heart and mind he knew exactly what
he wanted to do.

Saul felt Cedric’s hands roam up his biceps, caressing his muscles

as they toured his body. He slipped them over Saul’s shoulders and
down his broad chest. Saul could not stem the groan that rose from his
throat as Cedric’s slender fingers circled both his nipples. The mocha

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nubs pebbled beneath Cedric’s touch. Just as he thought he was able
to contain his swirling emotions, Cedric leaned in and nipped the
sensitive peak with his teeth before soothing the pain with his tongue.
Rational thought flew out of Saul’s mind with Cedric’s cautious
onslaught.

“You like that, my big, beautiful teddy bear?” Cedric asked, his

warm breath caressing Saul’s skin, making the hair on his chest tickle.
At that precise moment Cedric could call him anything he damn well
wanted as long as his hands kept roaming over his body.

“I love the fine hair that covers your chest. It feels like silk,”

Cedric said as he raked his hands through the short hair. Saul had
really not consciously thought about it. He’d been bare until he turned
thirty and even then he’d never developed the sort of fur that most
bear shifters had. His father said he showed he was weak, ineffectual,
and impotent, though at least his three sons had disproved that final
one. Cedric’s words erased his father’s harsh opinion, leaving Saul
feeling more like his own man than anyone else had ever done before.
He laughed.

“What?” Cedric asked as he went down on Saul’s second nipple.
“Ooooh, ah, Christ, that’s good,” Saul groaned out.
Cedric laughed but looked at him, obviously waiting for an

answer.

“You’ve just called me a teddy bear and referred to my chest hair

as silk and have made me feel more like an alpha male than anything
else has in the last one hundred and fifty years,” Saul answered,
surprising himself with his own honestly.

“Oh, my darling, your masculinity is the last thing in question

with this gorgeous, virile body I’m going to learn inside and out. And
you were born to be my alpha male.” A strange look crossed Cedric’s
eyes but was gone before Saul was certain he’d seen it and the smile
that graced Cedric’s face afterward was enough to make any man
forget his name, never mind uncertain looks he wasn’t sure he’d seen.

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Saul pulled the man close and kissed him, putting his heart and

soul into the kiss. This was his spirit walker, the man destined for him
by the Fates, and he was never going to let him go.

* * * *

Cedric looked into his soon-to-be lover’s eyes as he descended to

his lips. He closed his eyes, unable to take the intensity. Why had he
said Saul was born to be his alpha male? This was some random mess
Morta had cooked up to tie him down. Unfortunately he had been tied
down, but not by Morta. His brother had left him with next to no
essence and this beautiful man, who felt divine, was the only thing
keeping him alive. A spirit bond was unbreakable, supposedly, and he
was now grateful for it. But for once the tables had been turned.
Instead of men using him for his magic and power, he was now using
Saul.

But was he?
Cedric may have closed his eyes in the kiss, but the intensity was

still there. Saul was everything he wanted in a soul mate. His only
pout was he hadn’t chosen him, which was fast becoming a very
overrated option. Saul’s hand slid down his back and gently rubbed
down over the top of his crease. He gasped as it went toward his
waiting hole and Saul dived in to plunder his mouth. Oh fuck, this
was so good.

Cedric pushed his ass back, encouraging Saul to take his fingers

further. Cedric paused as he felt Saul’s hand tremble. He was nervous,
almost shy, and a part of the wall Cedric had constructed around his
heart crumbled. He knew he was in serious danger of losing his heart
altogether. The man was a delicious mixture of strength, tenderness,
confidence, and uncertainty. Cedric wanted more. He was no longer
an all-powerful sorcerer. He was just Cedric. Would this gorgeous
hunk of a man still want him when he found out what little he had

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left? Then Saul’s trembling finger penetrated Cedric’s ass. And all his
insecurities fled his mind.

“Yes,” Cedric hissed, the burn tingling round his hole. He wanted

more, much more. “Lube, bedside drawer.”

“Oh yes, crap. I’m sorry,” Saul mumbled as he rolled his body

over Cedric’s to reach for the drawer. Cedric groaned and began
laving the dip between Saul’s impressive pecs. The salty skin sent
sparks of need through Cedric’s body. He wanted to taste every inch
of this shy, gorgeous man.

“There. I’ve got it. Did you put this here? I know I didn’t,” Saul

said as he popped the lid on the new tube he’d found.

“Oh, my dear Saul, this is a castle full of gay men. I don’t think

there’s a bedroom in the place that doesn’t have a tube of lubricant in
its bedside drawers,” Cedric answered, beaming up at his spirit
walker. Christ, he had a spirit walker. Why the hell deny it? Morta
had done her worst and it was the hottest man he’d had in his bed for,
for well, ever.

“Come on, teddy bear, I want to feel that hot, hard cock inside

me.” Cedric moaned as he ran his hand up Saul’s engorged length.
Hell, the man was big. Oh yes, please!

* * * *

Saul gasped. Cedric’s fingers were going to tip him over the edge

and he hadn’t got anywhere near him. The man gently stroked his
heated flesh and he felt the blood rush from his body to his dick.
Please let me last.

Saul covered his fingers in the slippery substance and turned back

to his walker. Cedric was small, but his body was well toned and quite
muscular. At first he’d been worried he’d break the man, but as time
went on Saul had begun to realise his Cedric was made of stronger
stuff. Still, Saul was a large shifter and he had to make sure the man
was ready to take him, as he had no intention of causing him any pain.

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“Turn over, my love.” The endearment slipped easily from Saul’s

lips.

Cedric smiled, wicked flashes of light dancing in his eyes. “Only

if you kiss me first,” he whispered, stretching up for the connection.

“Oh hell, Cedric, you’re going to be the death of me,” Saul

answered, sinking into the man’s lips and hoping he’d come back
with his sanity. Hating himself, he managed to keep the kiss brief then
gritted his teeth as Cedric slid beneath him, driving Saul wild as he
made sure as much of his body touched Saul’s as possible.

Saul reared back and delved into the man’s crease with his

fingers. His control was shot. He may not have much experience, but
his body knew what it wanted and his instincts were now taking over.
Quickly he pushed in two of his large digits, his penis throbbing as he
heard Cedric’s impassioned groan. He knew all about a man’s sweet
spot, having fingered himself many times alone. He found the bunch
of nerves and gently rubbed his fingers against them.

“Agh!” Cedric groaned, so Saul did it again, getting the same

response. He chuckled.

“If you could stop laughing and fuck me I might let you live to

your next birthday,” Cedric said. The strain could be heard clearly
through his words.

“Sorry,” Saul murmured, though not feeling in the least bit

repentant for what he’d just done. He started kissing up Cedric’s back
as he slipped a third finger inside him and scissored them to stretch
his sweet ass. When he reached his neck, he licked the crease between
his collarbone and his neck. Cedric shivered beneath him. Saul pulled
his fingers free, hearing Cedric’s groan as he did so. He lined up his
cock, and with fear coursing through him, he pushed.

“Ahh, Christ!” Saul muttered as the hot, tight heat of Cedric’s ass

enveloped him. He paused to gain a little control and save Cedric
from any pain. But his walker was having none of that. Cedric lifted
his ass just slightly and pushed back, impaling Saul to the hilt. Saul
could feel his balls pressed up against Cedric’s perfect tight entrance.

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“Move,” Cedric demanded, and who was Saul to say no to such an

adorable man? He pulled back slightly before he snapped his hips and
pumped back into Cedric, he daren’t pull out any further, as he was
afraid he’d piston the man across the bed.

“Don’t hold back, lover, I’m far stronger than I look.” Cedric

looked over his shoulder, his eyes blazing with passion and Saul’s
control crumbled into dust.

Saul snapped his hips, hammering into his walker, making Cedric

moan with every thrust. Sweat dripped from his forehead and ran
down the side of his face. Cedric, too, glistened with perspiration,
making his glorious body shimmer. As he looked at Cedric, Saul’s
body tightened and he knew he was close. He lifted his head back and
roared as his teeth descended. Cedric tilted his head to the side and
Saul struck, sinking his teeth into Cedric’s tender skin. As soon as
Cedric’s blood passed his lips, his body rocked and he thrust deep
within his walker, releasing his seed deep within. He felt Cedric
constrict around him as he shuddered through his own release. Then
Saul felt it—their final bonding, their bodies drawing each other
together for all time.

Gasping for breath, Saul sealed the bite with his tongue before he

rolled them onto their sides, encasing Cedric within his arms. Neither
man had the energy to speak. But something was strange. Saul didn’t
want to say something was wrong, but he thought there would be
more. He felt bonded, but it was as though there was something they
had forgotten. He licked along his bite mark again and Cedric
shivered. He shook himself and told himself he was being silly.

“Sleep, teddy bear. I’ll love you,” Cedric murmured, which

confused Saul even more.

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Chapter Eleven

Devon stood in the corner of the dark panelled room. The man in

the casket was motionless and pale and to any human would also
appear dead. But dead he was not. With his very much heightened
vampire senses Devon could feel the dormant life inside the man. It
wasn’t a pleasant feeling. This man was inherently evil and he made
Devon’s skin crawl.

The door clicked open and his Uncle Oswald walked in with his

sour face and acerbic attitude.

“Boy, you will hold yourself in a far more demeaning pose. You

are here to do a job, not whisper and mutter in front of the corpse,”
Uncle Oswald said, still managing to stare down his nose at Devon
even though Devon was almost a foot taller.

“Yes, Uncle,” Devon responded, wishing he had the backbone to

stand up to this man.

“Humm, his other son and his partner are coming this afternoon. I

want you in place and respectful. They may be those gay types, but
we are professionals and will just keep to ourselves and leave them to
their mourning,” his uncle finished and laughed down at the supposed
corpse. Not what you’d call respectful, Devon thought, but he was so
far down the chain of command in his family his input into the family
business was almost moot.

Devon’s uncle left the room without further comment, much to

Devon’s relief. Unfortunately, that left him with his thoughts and the
creepy non-corpse in the box. Devon shivered.

There weren’t even any windows he could look out of to give him

a lift. It may seem strange that he was a vampire who loved the light.

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It may sting his eyes a little, but a good pair of UV sunglasses helped
that. And the skin-drying thing was solved with just a case of good
moisturiser, simple. Why his uncle insisted on the covered windows
and artificial light was beyond him. The vampire sunlight myth was
just that—a bloody myth. If his uncle knew of his paintings and the
fact he’d sold quite a number with the prospect of a gallery showing
in the autumn, the man would probably have an aneurism, especially
as a lot of his paintings were daylight landscapes. Devon chuckled to
himself. If only they knew.

Just as Devon was losing himself in another of his daydreams, the

door was ushered open and his uncle, wearing a deep scowl, escorted
two very handsome gentlemen inside. One was tall with broad
shoulders and the darkest brown hair. It was not black, as there was
warmth to the colour that Devon liked. The other man was smaller
with a slender build similar to his own, but his hair was almost white
blond, stylishly spiked to surround an almost beautiful face. Devon
knew exactly who they were, especially as the man in the box was
supposedly the estranged father of the striking blond man. He also
knew why his uncle scowled. To say the man was homophobic was
putting it mildly, and Devon had been informed from an early age that
he would be having a vampire bride whether he wanted one or not.
And Devon most definitely did not. Women scared the living
daylights out of him and to say he was supposed to be attracted to
them was ludicrous.

Devon dipped his head, showing respect as his uncle escorted

them to the deceased. He continued scowling at Devon before he
quietly shut the door, leaving them alone with Devon.

Devon’s hands began to tremble with nerves, so he clasped them

securely behind his back. He had to find the courage to speak to these
men, as they may provide a chance for a man like him. Devon prayed
he could be accepted into a world like Kashmerle. He knew they had
a variety of shifters according to the talk as well as sorcerers and

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wizards. Maybe they would be willing to accept a gay vampire as
well?

“Excuse me,” Devon murmured, feeling the trembling expand

throughout his body. The blond looked across and Devon could see
the immediate concern in his eyes. He must look a sight, quaking in
his boots.

“Ah, you okay?” the blond asked.
“Oh, yes. Well actually, no,” Devon stumbled over his own

words. This was ridiculous. It was only a simple question or two.

“DoyouhavegayvampiresatKashmerle?” The words were said so

quickly they ran into one another. And he was physically shaking
right now. The bigger man, Enda McCaffry, Devon presumed, walked
toward him and guided him toward the seats at the side of the room.

“Hey, son, it’s okay. You needn’t be so anxious. Kashmerle

welcomes all men of that persuasion,” Enda said, his deep voice
running over Devon like a cooling balm.

Devon looked at the two men. Did he dare believe his ears?

“Wow, even vampires?”

“I’m Daniel, and yes, even vampires,” Daniel said with such a

warm smile Devon felt like he’d finally found somewhere he may
actually fit in.

“I’m Enda McCaffry and I’m the alpha at Kashmerle. What’s your

name? And I’ll make sure you can enter through the wall’s gates,”
Enda said with a quiet reassurance.

“I’m Devon Lumina Strigol, but I’m hoping to be just Devon

Lumina,” Devon answered quietly.

“You want to lose your ruling coven’s name?” Enda asked. Devon

was surprised there was no censure in his retort, as to renounce his
coven’s name would mean there would be no going back for him. His
coven and many others would just register him deceased.

“Yes,” Devon answered resolutely. “I do.”

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“Welcome to Kashmerle,” Daniel said with a smile. Devon

suddenly came back to his senses, realising these poor folk had come
to see their dead relative.

“Oh gosh, I’m so sorry,” Devon said, jumping back to his feet.

“You are here to mourn and I’m plaguing you with my issues. My
sincere apologies.”

“Urm, mourn is probably not really the correct term,” Daniel said

somewhat sheepishly. “My father and I didn’t see eye to eye and have
been out of contact with each other for quite some time.”

“Actually you may be able to help us,” Enda said really quietly,

“as we’ve had a really strange and disturbing report about the
deceased.” The emphasis Enda put on the word deceased clued Devon
in straightaway.

“Oh, you mean the fact he’s not dead,” he blurted out. “Oh, I’m

not supposed to say that.”

“It’s all right, lad, we won’t tell,” Enda said with a smile, walking

toward the open casket.

“If my father is not dead then what is he? That chest doesn’t look

to be rising,” Daniel said as he looked down into the cold, hard, and
very pale face of his father.

Devon followed them, deciding in that moment that this was his

chance to leave and if they would take him and his few belongings he
was going with them. Thankfully his paints and paintings were all in a
storage unit, which he could claim later. None of his precious uncles
knew about it, as he only went during the day, so no one had followed
him.

“I’ll willingly explain, though I only found out myself a couple of

days ago, when I overheard Uncle Oswald talking to the gentleman’s
next of kin,” Devon explained. “But may I ask a favour?”

Daniel’s eyes rose at his statement, but Devon was too keyed up

to think about it. “Sure, go on, Devon,” Enda encouraged.

“Can I come with you now? I have no transport. As such, I usually

have to borrow a hearse to go somewhere, and if I want to get away it

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will be easier with outsiders present,” Devon took a deep breath and
looked up. His shaking had started again.

“As I said before,” Daniel began, “welcome to Kashmerle.”

* * * *

Roman sat in Lawrence Kingdom’s study and smiled as he lifted

the crystal glass to his lips and felt the burn as the expensive malt ran
down his throat. Things were finally going to plan. He now had power
of attorney over Kingdom’s estate, giving him access to his millions.
As long as he kept Cynthia sweet, which basically took pocket money
for the vain cow. Life was looking up.

But even better, he now had Cedric’s essence, which would gain

him access to that damn castle. He wasn’t going to do anything
straightaway as he knew his now nearly dead brother would spill the
beans and have them running round the castle like idiots. He
chuckled. He was going to have so much fun, and just think of the
magic he could syphon from that place whilst he was acquiring a
certain gem.

Morgana’s Fire was in that castle and he knew there were tunnels

underground. He remembered the cove being hollowed out by that
quiet little duke and his friends when they rebuilt the castle centuries
ago. He remembered the caves. Hell, it was his stupid apprentice
who’d helped with the construction. At the time he’d thought it was a
stupid waste of magic, but it had proved to be a good move on that
little duke’s part. Now there was a man he’d like to ‘get to grips’
with. Roman chuckled as he took another sip of his fine malt. It was
his now. Kingdom had been successfully dealt with, in a fetching
lead-lined coffin the Strigoi vampires had made for him. No magic
would get in and no one could get out. Roman looked at the ornate
crystal jar on the end of the desk and burst out laughing,

“Oh, my dear Mr. Kingdom, fancy you being buried alive with

your conscious mind in a jar beside you. How delightful.” Roman

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raised his glass, thinking he was actually getting drunk. “To me and
all the idiots who fell before me.”

* * * *

Cedric opened his eyes. He felt…wonderful. But why was this a

surprise? He was in a large, soft bed with a hard, warm naked body
beside him. No that is definitely not a problem. Then he sniffed and
that scent hit him again—ripe autumn fruit and honey. Cedric sighed.
Unfortunately this was closely followed by his memories, which he
didn’t really want to face just yet.

He should be dying, if his brother’s plan had worked.
“Aye, it might have if you hadn’t bonded with your spirit walker,”

a voice Cedric clearly recognised echoed in the room.

“Ssh, Morta, you’ll wake him,” Cedric groused.
“He’s not going to wake up any time soon,” Morta answered with

the assurance of a Scottish weatherman saying it was going to rain
tomorrow.

“Great,” Cedric grumbled as he reluctantly wriggled out of his

lover’s embrace. He watched Saul moan softly as he pulled a pillow
into his arms. Cedric was almost embarrassed at how much he envied
that pillow.

“So what the hell are you playing at, my Rainbow Bitch?” Cedric

ridiculed.

“Oh, I do like that, sunshine.” Morta chuckled. “But I’m not up to

anything. The Fates have decided and life continues.”

“That’s what I mean, you…you woman,” Cedric spluttered. Morta

started laughing, so much so she doubled and almost fell off the end
of the bed where she had been perched.

“Well, Cedder’s my dear, you’ve been given the man of your

dreams. I don’t know what your problem is. And I might add you
needed him, as without him you would be damn near comatose by
now.” Morta’s hysteria had somehow suddenly vanished and she was

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now the serious, hard-edged Fate of Death, which was who she was.
“You need him and he needs you, Cedric Ulysses Portrey. Without
him your essence would have fled and you’d be my permanent
houseguest. And without you, Saul has no anchor to give his life
purpose and meaning. Fate brought you together for a reason and the
reason is now.” Morta disappeared before her last word had faded
away and Cedric was left alone at the end of his bed.

“Crap,” he snapped to no one in particular. He needed clothes and

to find that unobservant, academic great-nephew of his.

Cedric leaned over the sleeping man in their bed and kissed his

cheek. Without even realising it this quiet giant of a man was
becoming essential to Cedric’s happiness and contentment. He was
becoming necessary to Cedric in a way no one else ever had. And
Cedric had no idea how it had happened. One minute he’d been
footloose and fancy free, and now there was someone in his life that
was more important than his own essence, which he had apparently
lost.

“Crap,” Cedric said again as he turned to leave the room, still only

half-dressed and carrying the rest of his clothes with him.

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Chapter Twelve

Knock, knock, knock.
“Wake up!”
“What, why? You’re comfortable.”
“I don’t want to be comfortable, William, and anyway there is

someone at the door.”

“Tell them to go away. I’m cuddling my lover.”
“Ooh, you sweet talker, you.”
Knock, knock, knock.
“See, I told you, Willy dear, there is someone at the door.”
“Don’t call me Willy. I don’t like it,” William said with a huff.
Knock, knock, knock.
“All right keep your hair on,” William grumbled. “And if I’m

getting up so are you, sweet pea. So come on, move that sexy tush.”

Percy sighed. He knew he would have to get up, and he was going

to, but he could hardly get up when he had a William sprawled all
over him, pinning him to the bed. Mind, it was fabulous. Percy
giggled as he swung himself out of bed. Now where did he drop his
robe?

William led Cedric into their living quarters as Percy was

wrapping his robe around him. It was exactly where William had
removed it the evening before. The man was so untidy.

“Ah, Cedric my dear, what brings you round at five thirty in the

morning?” Percy asked with a grin. No wonder William had been
grumpy. The man didn’t do mornings at the best of times and after
their evening of fun, he couldn’t be cross with him. Oh, who was he

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kidding. All he had to do was look at his soul keeper and he was a pile
of willing flesh on his knees.

“My brother,” Cedric answered.
“We guessed it was him, though you hinted it last night when we

found you,” William surmised.

“Can you remember exactly what happened?” Percy asked. Any

extra information they could get at the moment would help. The man
was diabolical and had put his William through hell when he had been
his apprentice. Even though William still maintained the stuff he
learnt about black magic and it had been invaluable.

“Roman was waiting for me at home. Fred tried to warm me, but I

didn’t stop to think about what he was saying. My brother had set
wards all around the front room and I passed right into the middle of
them,” Cedric said as he sat down on one of the soft, pale blue sofas
Percy had placed in the room. He suddenly realised William was only
in a pair of boxers and even though he was Cedric’s great-nephew
Percy picked up William’s robe and rushed to cover him before
practically sitting on top of him on the opposite sofa. Yes, he was
possessive. He had the best man of anyone in this place and he didn’t
share.

William smiled at him indulgently and Percy preened under the

look. With his William beside him, sorting Roman was going to be a
piece of cake. Okay, a horrible, hard, nasty piece of cake but cake
nonetheless.

Percy realised he had missed William’s last question, lost in his

own contemplation.

“Humm?” Percy mumbled, somewhat ashamed he’d lost the train

of the conversation.

“I was just telling Cedric one of the things he needs to do is

change his predictability. If I wanted to catch him I would set wards
in his front room, but I would also make sure it was the room Fred
was in as that is always where Cedric goes,” William explained.

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“You have a valid point. I invariably come back to the room with

Fred in it and if I can’t locate him I always start in the main room and
go from there,” Cedric continued.

“And your brother knows you,” William said, shaking his head.

“So what’s he after this time?”

“Well, he’s already drained me of the majority of my magical

essence,” Cedric said.

“Then why are you still up and walking?” Percy interrupted. “I

thought he had just taken a small amount.”

“No, he wants me dead. That is a given, but he knows of our

father’s spell, curse, whatever you call it,” Cedric said, a resigned
grimace on his face.

“The one your father placed on you when he knew you were a

sorcerer like Roman?” William asked.

“Yes, that one. My father was smarter than I ever realised. I think

he knew when I came along that Roman preferred the darker side of
magic. And placing the curse on us would protect me from him. And
up until now it has.” Cedric sighed.

“Why now?” William asked, confusion obvious in his eyes.
“Considering you’re supposed to be the bright one, you can be

incredibly dim at times, love,” Percy responded. “What’s contained in
the castle that will mean Roman can kill whoever he wishes and come
out of it totally unscathed?”

“Oh,” William said.
“See what I mean, Cedric? If he didn’t have me to point him in the

right direction he’d be useless.” Percy grinned. He needed to be
needed and loved the fact that William needed him most of all.
William huffed and drew Percy’s head round. Percy went quite
willingly as he melted over his lover in a sweet, sensual kiss.

Percy heard Cedric chuckle and moved slowly away from

William’s soft lips. “Whoops, sorry,” he said as he turned back to
Cedric knowing there wasn’t an ounce of sincerity in that comment.

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“Don’t worry. I’m used to you two and your distractions,” Cedric

replied with a smile. “Roman wants power. It is as simple as that. He
steals magic from where he can obtain it, though he believes witches’
magic isn’t worth the effort. That is the only reason he has never gone
after Fred.”

“That tortoise of yours is so chock full of magic I’m amazed he

doesn’t explode from it,” William added, still smiling indulgently.

Cedric laughed. “Yes, that is very true, though Fred has a different

way of expressing it.”

“I just bet he does!” Percy exclaimed. He had had more than one

or two run-ins with Cedric’s familiar. It was the single reason why he
did not have one himself or let William have one. Irritating animal.

Sighing and wanting to get back to William and some pudding,

Percy decided to sum the whole thing up. He had pieced the jigsaw
together, and although William was considered the academic,
sometimes fitting the puzzle together was beyond him.

“So Roman Tiberius Portrey is back. He’s taken nearly all of

Cedric sorcerers’ essence, though you’re looking remarkably well for
that thanks to Saul no doubt. And now your beloved master, William,
wants into Kashmerle to absorb its ancient magic and swipe
Morgana’s Fire so he can finally bump Cedric off and then rule the
world.”

Percy was quite pleased with his summing up, though how the

hell they were going to thwart his plans was just a little beyond him at
the moment.

“He’s not after much then,” William said with a despondent smile.
“Although I wish I could disagree with Percy, apart from a few

details I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what he’s up to. At first I thought
he was just about money, but that was a naïve view. Roman wants
power. Money gives him that in the human world and magic
accomplishes it within ours,” Cedric explained. Percy felt for the man
who looked emotionally devastated with the fact he had
underestimated his brother. But he wasn’t the only one. Roman had

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been quiet for over a century and they had all got complacent. He was
not the sort of man they could ever dismiss and then forget.

“Hey, Cedric, you’re not the only one who’s underestimated the

man’s deviousness. William and I have pushed him to the back of our
minds ever since he was removed as a master sorcerer in the
nineteenth century.” Percy looked at his lover, who was nodding at
his statement.

“Percy’s right. Roman’s never been the sort of man who would

take a reprimand lying down. Even from his father,” William added.
Percy shuddered. Hell, he had forgotten that Cedric’s father sat on the
High Council of Wizards, Witches, and Sorcerers.

“They are no longer active, I thought,” Cedric said, frowning at

the pair of them. “Most of the magic users prefer to stay completely
under the radar and following the human laws to a greater or lesser
extent, so they were not required.”

“That’s what we were all led to believe, but I’m fairly certain they

just did the same and went undercover, making us believe they were
no longer present,” William said, looking at Percy for a response.
Percy thought hard. What on earth is he referring to?

“The letter!” Percy blurted out as soon as his mind picked up on

William’s thoughts. William nodded.

“What letter are you going on about?” Cedric asked, a frown

creasing up his brow making him look years older. Percy decided not
to mention that as he explained about their letter.

“So you got sent a letter of congratulations on becoming sorcerers

with a certificate recognising your given names,” Cedric said
incredulously.

“Yes,” William confirmed. “I’m William the unobservant

academic and Percy here is the ever colourful.”

Cedric smiled. “Yes, they got that right.”
“Which means I think they are very much still in existence but

keep out of the limelight,” William said.

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“Well, let’s hope they will be there when we need them,” Cedric

said and Percy didn’t miss the fact he said “when” and not “if.”

“So what are we to do?” Percy asked although it was not a

question he wanted them to ask of him.

“Get ready,” was William’s simple answer before he added,

looking straight at Cedric, “and thank Saul for saving your life.”

* * * *

Cedric swallowed as he heard William’s words. He did indeed

have to thank Saul for his life. With combining their spirits, their
minds, and bodies, he was now basically running on Saul’s life
essence. It wouldn’t affect his lover and spirit walker. It would just
expand Saul’s life essence to include both of them, a fact that he was
pretty sure his brother did not know about. Cedric had never really
looked closely at the dynamics between spirit walkers as he never
believed he would have or be one. But he now had a far greater
understanding of why all shifters considered the bond sacred.

Saul, his random spirit walker. He really needed to sort that out,

but with his brother on the loose it was just going to have to wait.
Cedric felt a twinge of guilt at his blatant disregard for Saul’s feelings
and for his own burgeoning affection for the man. He knew he could
not deny his desire. One look at Saul’s incredible body and Cedric
was Saul’s to use and abuse however he wished. He also knew that
Saul would never do that, but how for heaven’s sake? He hardly knew
the man.

“Do you have a plan of action for this, Cedric?” William asked,

and drew Cedric back to the problem they were discussing. Shit, do I?

“I don’t think he will be round straightaway,” Cedric said,

thinking about his brother’s devious mind.

“Really?” Percy sounded genuinely surprised.
“Yes,” Cedric answered more forcefully as he considered how his

brother may proceed. “He has his way into the castle now, or so he

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thinks. This takes away his need for any speed, plus he will expect us
to up security because of what I have told you.”

“Yes, that’s as may be, but isn’t he thinking you’re on a limited

time scale here?” William countered rather astutely.

“I don’t actually know,” Cedric said honestly. “I’ve not read about

any cases where a sorcerer has lost all but a shred of essence and
survived. So how much time Roman was planning on he has had to
have gauged himself.”

“The man is clever,” William said with obvious reluctance. “He

will have calculated it accurately.” Cedric knew immediately what
William was thinking about.

“No!” Percy yelled, catching up on their thoughts. “He couldn’t

have.”

“My brother is ruthless in his pursuit of power, Percy. I would not

be surprised if he’s drained numerous sorcerers to gauge how long he
believes I have left.” Cedric knew there was a tremor in his voice as
he spoke those words. His brother had to be stopped and if the only
way was death then maybe that was a choice he had to take. He didn’t
want to die and now if he did there was Saul. “Shit!”

“What?”
“The easiest way to stop him would be for me to die.”
“No!” came the joint reply, for which Cedric was eternally

grateful.

“No, you are right. I couldn’t do that to Saul.” Cedric’s voice

tapered off as he realised his feelings for the large bear were growing.

“I wouldn’t bother fighting it,” Percy said quietly. “Once you

know—and you do—there will never be anyone else.”

“What? We are talking about my brother,” Cedric spluttered,

embarrassed by Percy’s perception.

“Your brother just needs stopping and containing. Your spirit

walker needs to keep your soul.” Percy had an incredible way of
putting very complicated problems into what seemed to be really
solvable sentences.

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“But I didn’t get to choose,” Cedric said, trying to keep the whine

out of his voice.

Percy quietly replied, “Do you think we did?”

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Chapter Thirteen

Saul didn’t open his eyes. He did not want to face the reality that

his spirit walker had run out on him again. There was no warm body
beside him and the pillow he was holding certainly didn’t hug him
back. He tightened his grip on the pillow. What was wrong? Why
didn’t he feel fully connected to his walker? Cedric should be here
with him, basking in the warmth he thought the bond should have
given them. But Cedric had walked away even after he said he was
ready and Cedric had been so responsive in his arms. Their bond was
not a mistake. Admittedly, Cedric was not what Saul was expecting
for his spirit walker, but no shifter ever knew what the Fates would
decide, and after the little time he had spent with the man he knew
Cedric was perfect. The laughter and joy that he had so desperately
wanted in his life could be found in Cedric’s arms. They seemed so
different, but the Fates understood their creations’ needs and he had to
be what Cedric needed. The Fates did not get it wrong. Did they?

* * * *

Cedric felt guilty. William and Percy had come down to the

dining hall with him to have a quiet talk with Enda only to have damn
near the entire pack and coven turn up. The threat that his brother
posed was something that should not have fallen upon these men.
Firstly in the fact that they had been left with the highly dangerous job
of being custodians of Morgana’s Fire and secondly for the fact he’d
led his brother here and enabled him access to the castle in which the
monstrosity was held.

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Cedric felt a little sick when he heard the goings-on with Daniel’s

father. There was no love lost between any of the men here and
Lawrence Kingdom, but the devil one knew would always be easier to
deal with than the devil one didn’t and Roman was a devil they had
no concept of. Well, apart from poor William and his soul keeper.
And Cedric knew that story had yet to be told.

“So,” Enda said, looking around the pack and grabbing Cedric’s

attention back to the problem. “We have Cedric’s brother out for
Morgana’s Fire just so he can kill his brother?”

It was obvious to Cedric Enda did not understand the power in the

stone. But he was unsure if the man would ever fully comprehend the
significance of how strong the magic had become. It was like magic
fermented as it grew older, gaining in strength.

“Not just that, Enda. The stone is very powerful and contains dark

magic, not black magic,” William explained.

Shit! Cedric had forgotten that hidden titbit of information.
“What’s the difference?” Enda asked, obviously making the

assumption they were one and the same.

“To put it simply,” William began, causing Cedric to smile. When

had his dear nephew put anything simply? He heard a snort come
from Percy and knew the man was thinking the same thing. “Dark
magic is innocent black magic, magic that has the potential to be evil
but has yet to be fully corrupted. Morgana never used the magic in the
stone, hence its uncorrupted state, but because it was created by a
black witch the magic is dark. With the untouched state of the stone, it
makes the magic easily absorbed, making whoever does touch it
incredibly powerful, and with Roman being a black-magic wielder he
could turn the power very black indeed.” That wasn’t bad for
William, and Cedric was impressed he hadn’t completely devastated
them all with the knowledge of its potential power. But then William
continued. “The ancient magic contained within the castle’s walls
doesn’t actually contain the power or reduce it. It only disguises it to
others and hinders or denies access.”

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“Bloody hell, it’s like Lord of the fucking Rings,” Gregor

grumbled loudly enough for them all to hear.

“Can we destroy it?” Darian asked.
“You could possibly destroy the stone, Darian, but the magic

would still be there, only it would no longer be contained within a
vessel and I do not have the knowledge to ascertain what would
happen to it.”

Cedric listened to the men arguing over what to do about the stone

and it came to him. The stone had power, but it could only be detected
by supernatural beings, and then only if they were looking for it. So
hide the stone in plain sight.

“Who do you have in Kenya at the moment, Kash?” Cedric asked

the beta.

“Pardon?” Kash asked, his eyes widened in response to Cedric’s

seemingly unrelated question.

“Who do we have covering our operations in Kenya at the

moment?” Cedric repeated. The rest of the room had stopped their
discussion and was now listening in to what he and Kash were saying.

“Angus is in Kenya, Conrad’s covering our depot in Tanzania,

and Orin is on his way out there. Angus and Cunred have been
chasing the missing stones from our last venture in India and fielding
Jonah’s new histories to return to us for production or shipment,”
Kash said somewhat tentatively, his eyes sharp and keenly focused on
Cedric.

“When are they getting the next shipment of stones, Jonah?”

Cedric asked, directing his questions to the specific men he knew
would have the answers.

“We’ve been and are on lockdown,” Jonah answered. “None of

the collection has been touched since the police were brought in with
the death of the Marquis of Ayling and the theft of Morgana’s Fire”

“What about newly mined stones? Red, newly mined stones?”

Cedric pushed, still fixated on his idea of hiding in plain sight.

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“Er, no, not at present, but I can always process some,” Jonah

replied.

“What are you considering, Cedric?” Enda asked and Cedric knew

he would have to come clean.

“Morgana’s Fire is basically a pendant with a brownish-red

diamond in it. The pendant just holds the gem, as the power is in the
diamond. If we remove the diamond and replace it with another
valuable red stone like a red beryl, the pendant would keep its value
and still be very highly sought after within the human world.” Cedric
was on a roll now. This might just work.

“But what about Morgana’s stone?” Percy asked, his face so

serious, Cedric had to look twice.

“We hide it in plain sight, placing it in a bag of mixed red

gemstones of varying values and type and ship it out to the boys in
Africa. They can hold it between the three depots until it can be
returned.” Cedric knew he had a smile on his face. Roman would not
be able to kill him without the power of the stone. Plus it would also
give them more time to find a way to halt Roman’s progress and
hopefully right some of the wrongs he was in the process of doing.

“But Roman is bound to sense it is missing,” William stated

putting a dent in Cedric’s scheme.

“How long has the stone been in the vaults?” Cedric asked

looking at Kash once again.

“I’m not sure of the date but it’s been with us over thirty years,”

Kash replied.

“Then hopefully there will be enough of its essence in the damn

rock and gems around it to fool Roman, maybe not for long but long
enough that this will still draw him away from the gem.”

Cedric’s smile faded a little as he realised how selfish his idea

sounded. He was making sure his life was saved before even looking
at the other issues. And he knew why. There was a man in his life
now and one that seemed well worth getting to know.

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* * * *

Saul leant against the wall just outside the open doorway that led

to the dining room. He’d listened to most of the discussion and could
barely contain himself. Why was he being excluded? He could
understand the pack to a certain extent, as he was not a member as
yet. Still his sons were and if they were in danger he wanted to know
so he could help and protect them. And then there was Cedric. Did the
man not know he was no longer a solo entity? He did not have to
stand there going up against his brother alone. Saul snorted. He
wasn’t alone though, was he? Cedric had the pack and the coven,
which also happened to be a group of extremely handsome gay men.
He was an inexperienced shifter from the backwoods of Alaska. Saul
knew who he’d want behind him if trouble struck.

* * * *

“If we hide the stone like this, how will it deter Roman from his

breaking and entering and what of his illegal endeavours in
Kingdom’s company and with the Lawrence himself?” Jez asked.
Cedric didn’t know Enda’s best friend very well. He was a man that
kept himself to himself. Jez very much worked the business end of the
company that was Kashmerle, dealing with their customers and
clients. So often he disappeared quietly on business trips, very much a
man in the background and very hard to get to know.

“Do we really want Kingdom back?” Mac mumbled. Mace

MacGillvery been rescued from a cage in one of Kingdom’s secret
locations and Cedric could well understand his reticence in having the
man brought back from the supposed dead. Cedric wasn’t sure how
that would work in human terms either.

“I know I call that man father,” Daniel began. “But that is only out

of habit. Personally I think the world, especially for shifters, would be
a lot safer place if he stayed indisposed.” Cedric had to smile. Daniel

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was such a gentle man it seemed a little unreal for him to suggest such
a thing.

“Either way, with Kingdom we know what we’re dealing with.

Roman, on the other hand, is an entirely different kettle of fish. And I
hate to say this, but apart from wanting Cedric dead and ripping off
Kingdom, what has he actually done that has everyone so terrified?”
Jez had a point. Roman was very much an undercover manipulator.

“My brother has always been the man behind the scene, using

people to front his schemes so if and when they exploded none of the
shit falls on him,” Cedric explained, knowing he was going to have to
admit to some of the atrocities his brother had been behind. “He has
been quiet for nearly a century, but I now think he’s just been
gathering resources to embark on his scheme for Kashmerle. I
wouldn’t be surprised if his plan was to take over the castle
completely.” Cedric watched the shock cross the faces of his friends.

“Yes, but what is he capable of, Cedric?” Jez asked him directly.
“Who do you think organised the vultures and funded their attack

on the birds of prey?” The shifter world had long suspected a magic
user of aiding and abetting the vultures, but there was no residing
proof. The room fell quiet as eyes focused on the birds of prey shifters
there.

“Fuck!” Kash yelled before Matt launched himself into his lover’s

arms.

“I’m here, my love, you’re not alone, never alone,” Matthew

whispered gently in his ear.

“That man needs to die.” Kash growled, holding tight to Matt,

who was now sat in his lap.

A chorus of deep, angry yeses came from the collected group of

men.

“There’s just one problem with that though, boys,” Percy said to

the aggravated group. “You kill Roman then Cedric dies, too.” The
silence that followed that statement Cedric found gratifying in a
strange sort of sense.

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“No!” Saul roared from the entrance to the dining room so loud it

had everyone jumping.

Cedric’s heart nearly stopped he had never seen such rage it was

practically oozing from Saul’s pores.

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Chapter Fourteen

Cedric was rooted to the spot. He had never seen rage like it. Saul

was barely holding on to his human shape. Cedric felt his cock stir.
This was for him, not for his magic or any prestige. Just simply for
him. Cedric felt the material in his dress pants become awfully
restrictive and knew it would be obvious to anyone looking how
turned-on he was. For all their efforts, no one had decided on a plan
of action with his brother. He just wanted the lot of them to disappear
so he could get up close and personal with the giant of a man
defending him at the door.

All the men were looking at his walker and suddenly Cedric had

the insane urge to shout “mine” loud and clear, but before he had a
chance to open his lips, Saul roared, shifted, and raced from the
entranceway.

“Fuck no!” Cedric yelled as his feet finally decided to move

beneath him and he sprinted from the dining room. They could work
out the logistics without him. He had a spirit walker to find.

* * * *

Saul’s heart felt like it was being torn apart. He could not lose his

spirit walker and their chance at…what? He didn’t even know. Cedric
was such an independent figure. He hated his doubts, but the man
kept running away. They weren’t facing these things together. Was
that why the bond didn’t feel right or even real?

Saul looked about him. Where the hell was he? This castle had

more corridors and rooms than Doctor Who’s TARDIS. He knew he

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was one level up from the dining room. Or was he two? He was lost
and had no idea how to find his rooms. His and Cedric’s rooms, but
again he didn’t feel like they were a pair in this bonding. It was more
like two individuals randomly thrown together.

“Saul.” Cedric’s voice echoed down the long corridor.
Saul did not want to talk to the man while he was this wound up.

He needed to calm down. He approached the nearest door when he
realised he was still in his bear form. Forcing in a deep breath, he
concentrated until his anger had receded and he felt his human side
reemerge.

“Saul, please, where are you?” Cedric cried again.
Saul tried the door in front of him. It clicked open and he let

himself inside. The room was dark and seemingly full of shadows. He
waited until he heard soft footsteps race past the door. Guilt overtook
him. Why the hell was he hiding from his spirit walker when he kept
telling himself he wanted to be a part of a bonded pair, a couple?

As his eyes got accustomed to the dim light he looked to be in

some sort of gaming room. There were two large, covered snooker
tables to one side and a bar that ran across the back wall. The centre
part of the room was filled with huge sofas and armchairs, which were
covered in white dust sheets. There were no windows, so Saul
assumed the room was in the centre of the castle and didn’t touch an
outer wall.

He sat down on one of the large sofas. He really needed to find his

way back and replace his now-missing clothes. But he just needed
some time to sort his feelings and work out a way to bind himself and
his spirit walker together.

Saul’s eyes popped open as he heard the door click. Looking

round, he saw a slender figure walk into the room. He must have
fallen asleep but didn’t think he’d been out for very long.

“Saul, I know you’re in here.” Cedric’s voice sounded husky and

filled with what seemed like fear.

“Here,” he answered gruffly, not meaning to sound quite so harsh.

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“Saul, please, I need to talk to you,” Cedric begged as he walked

toward Saul’s voice. Saul grabbed the sheet and covered his
nakedness. He did not want to feel vulnerable with this man.

“I brought you some clothes,” Cedric said as he walked toward

him holding what looked to be a pair of sweats and a T-shirt. Saul
grabbed them and stood up. He may not want to be vulnerable, but if
Cedric wanted him covered he was going to see what he was missing.

Cedric gasped and Saul hid his smile as he pulled the T-shirt over

his head. It was snug, but that was all to the good. Once he had his
clothes on he sat back down, leaving Cedric still standing by the sofa.

“So talk,” Saul said, wincing inside as he saw Cedric’s shoulders

slump.

“I can’t help the fact that Roman is my brother and an evil

bastard,” Cedric began.

Saul laughed. His walker had no idea what was causing Saul’s

heart to break and the rift that was between them to widen.

“I don’t give a fuck about your brother,” Saul said, shaking his

head. “No, I do, but only insofar as I will not let him get anywhere
near you.” Cedric sighed and his body shuddered at Saul’s response.

“I don’t understand, Saul. What is the problem?” Cedric pleaded.
“That is the problem, Cedric. You don’t know because you never

hang around long enough to find out.” Saul stood up and towered over
Cedric as he said the words. He was impressed Cedric didn’t back
away.

“We’ve only known each other mere days, Saul. I’ve been around

you the whole time,” Cedric argued.

“No, you haven’t. Each time we have been together you have

either run off or I’ve woken up alone. That was not how I expected to
wake up after completing the bonding to my spirit walker.” Saul
almost yelled, just managing to keep a lid on his anger and hurt.
Cedric looked shocked.

“No, no, I’m sure…” Cedric’s voice trailed off as he turned his

face to the side.

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“You may not want a spirit walker or a lifelong companion who’d

love you no matter what, but you are damn well going to know what
you are throwing away.” Saul finished and grabbed Cedric, crushing
his mouth down against the smaller man’s. Even with all the
uncertainties about their bond, when Cedric was in his arms
everything felt right.

* * * *

Cedric melted into Saul as the kiss took his breath away. His arms

stretched up and bound themselves around Saul’s broad shoulders. He
had lifted Cedric completely off the ground and it was automatic to
just wrap his legs around the man’s waist. Cedric tried to hold on to
what Saul had been saying, but as the kiss became less aggressive and
far more sensual, suddenly hanging on to his thoughts seemed highly
overrated. He felt Saul’s grip tighten on his ass as he was pushed up
against Saul’s erection. The hot steel rod burned alongside his groin,
causing his own engorged cock to leak profuse amounts of pre-cum
on his skin.

“Skin,” Cedric cried. Why the hell had he brought his lover

clothes? He wanted to feel that warm golden skin pressed upon his
own naked flesh. He’d no more said the word than he felt Saul’s
strong hands rip the shirt from his back. Cedric was so aroused he
nearly came from that one simple act. His body was suddenly flung
down on the soft sofa as Saul gripped the waistband of his pants.
Cedric watched as Saul pulled the two sides of the garment and they
split right down the centre. He was then manhandled as Saul gripped
both sides of the shredded pants and his cotton boxers and dragged
them down his body. Cedric had never been so turned-on in his entire
long life. What had started off in anger had quickly turned to full-on
passion and Cedric did not want the feeling to end. He lay on the sofa
in the darkened room, naked and open for Saul to see. Shifters’ eyes
worked well in the dark and he knew Saul was taking in every inch of

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his small, slender body. Physically they seemed total opposites, yet
Cedric knew they fit together perfectly.

As Saul was looking down at him he grabbed the hem of the T-

shirt and slowly drew it over his head. Cedric knew this was part of
his ploy—to show him what he was supposedly walking away from.
Cedric hadn’t the voice to tell him if Saul was walking away he’d be
right there with him, just like that donkey in those silly ogre movies.
Now real ogres were something you didn’t ever want to meet.

Saul let the T-shirt fall to the floor and Cedric decided to do some

teasing of his own as he slid his hands down from Saul’s neck across
his hairless chest. He tweaked his nipples on the way down, moaning
as the slight twinge of pain sent blood rushing to his cock. Saul leered
at him as Cedric’s hands travelled south. Drops of pre-cum pearled at
the head of his erect cock and Cedric swiped a finger into the clear
liquid before sucking the digit into his mouth. Saul stood up straighter
and hooked his fingers into the waistband of his pants then slowly
pulled them down. Saul’s cock was hard and slapped his abs as he
released it from the confines if the fabric.

“Oh God,” Cedric moaned, gripping his cock tight as he stemmed

his body’s need for release. He had to taste Saul. He could see the
bead of pre-cum developing in the slit and he licked his lips in
anticipation. He moved to sit up against the back of the sofa and
begged silently that Saul would let him taste.

Saul’s eyes gleamed. “Oh, sunshine, you are going to taste me,”

Saul’s mind spoke to him.

“Shit, you heard me.” Cedric moaned back and Saul’s chest

shook as he laughed. Cedric’s cheeks flamed, but his embarrassment
was soon forgotten as Saul straddled his legs. He kneeled on the sofa,
placing one hand on the back to steady his immense size, and used the
other to pull his cock toward Cedric’s mouth. Cedric groaned and
licked his lips again. He moved forward and let his tongue glaze over
Saul’s deep red head as he tasted his lover’s pre-cum. The salty tang
burst on his taste buds. Cedric smiled to himself. He usually wasn’t

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fond of the taste of cum. A gay man who disliked the taste of cum,
now there was a joke. But Saul’s was okay. It had a citrusy tang that
took away the heavy taste of salt that he didn’t like. Trust the man to
be perfect. Saul edged closer and rubbed the head of his cock along
Cedric’s lips, leaving a smear of cum for him to taste. Cedric groaned.
He couldn’t resist and opened his mouth to swallow the glistening
head.

“Yes,” hissed Saul as Cedric circled the head with his tongue. The

sleek, smooth texture caused shards of pleasure to rocket through his
body. He didn’t think eternity would be long enough to get him over
the taste and texture of his man. His man, Saul, was his and his alone.
He was absolutely certain and he had no idea why. But it was true.

Cedric sucked in his cheeks, drawing Saul’s cock deeper into his

throat. His lips were stretched wide to take the man’s girth. He knew
he wouldn’t be able to take the whole length—eight inches was just
too much for him—but he’d get as close as he could. He slipped his
left hand around the base of Saul’s cock and built up a slow, steady
rhythm with his hand and mouth. He spread his legs wide, making
sure Saul had an unobstructed view of his cock, and began stroking
himself to the rhythm he was sucking Saul. The heat building up in
his body was intense and he could feel Saul’s cock thickening even
more in his mouth.

“Oh fuck, I’m coming,” Saul shouted and Cedric swallowed as

much as he could, placing a tight seal around Saul’s cock. Soon he
was feeling the hot jets of cum hitting the back of his throat. The scent
of Saul’s sex finally pushed him over and he cried out, letting Saul’s
cock fall from his mouth as he came in a shuddering climax, his seed
coating his hand and thighs.

Saul gazed down at Cedric and Cedric knew his life was about to

change…again.

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Chapter Fifteen

Cedric snuggled down into the warm body next to him. He had

been alone so long. Even when he’d taken lovers before he’d kept
himself apart. He was not sure he knew how to share his life with
another. Cedric had always relied on himself and made his own
decisions. To now have to start considering someone else was going
to be hard if not damn near impossible. He’d have to change
everything about himself. He had a pretty good idea how Saul would
take to his outrageous flirting, his fun-loving ways. Saul was such a
serious, solid, down-to-earth sort of man, the strong, silent type.
Cedric smiled. That was actually one of the features of Saul’s
character that Cedric loved. He just wasn’t certain how it would
combine with him.

Suddenly the door banged open and Saul quickly pulled the dust

sheet over their naked bodies. Saul growled as the person came fully
into the room.

“Oh shit, sorry,” Mac said, his face going red with

embarrassment. Cedric smiled. He had to admit it was fairly obvious
they were both naked, as the clothes were scattered on the floor and
the dust sheet was only covering their lower halves.

Mac fidgeted and it was plain the poor young man didn’t know

where to look.

“It’s okay, Mac. What’s the problem?” Cedric asked, hopefully

smiling in a friendly way.

He said at breakneck speed, “All hell’s broken loose again.

There’s a vampire here and there was a warrant for his arrest as the
funeral home said he stole a body and brought it here.”

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“Whoa, whoa, darling, calm down,” Cedric said, still smiling until

he saw the murderous look in Saul’s eyes.

“What?” Cedric asked, looking at Saul, confused at the man’s

reaction.

“Darling, he’s your darling?” He growled.
“Oh no, no it’s not l–like that,” Mac stammered. “All three of the

old wizards d–do it.”

“Do what?” Saul asked, glaring at Mac whom Cedric thought was

being ridiculously brave.

“They call us names like ‘poppet’ and ‘sweet pea’ and ‘darling.’”

Mac’s face was a picture as he spoke and Cedric couldn’t help but
laugh. He was glad Percy hadn’t heard them being referred to as old.
The man would have a fit. “It doesn’t mean any–anything.”

“Don’t worry, Mac, Saul’s just a little possessive,” Cedric

soothed. He wanted to go to the young man, but Saul’s arms were
locked rigidly around Cedric and he was unable to move.

“Now run it by me again just a little slower this time,” Cedric

requested reassuringly, giving Saul a dig in the ribs with his elbow.

“Agh,” Saul grunted and slid up the sofa, the dust sheet falling

even lower and revealing the hard outline of his hips and the start of a
trail of hair leading where Mac was definitely not going. Cedric
shivered and the smile returned to Saul’s face.

“Gabe and Ezee have turned up with a warrant to search for the

body of Lawrence Kingdom and to arrest a Devon Lumina Strigol for
stealing it and they were told he was here. He’s a vampire, a vampire
and he’s here.” Mac finished somewhat breathlessly. Cedric
suppressed a smile. The excitement and also fear that vampires
elicited was in the majority of cases very unjust. They weren’t the
jolliest of souls, but they weren’t the monsters some supernatural
species made them out to be.

“Okay, sweet—er, Mac, I’ll come see if I can help,” Cedric said

and made a move to reach for his boxers, as that was all of his that
was wearable.

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“No,” Saul said abruptly, making Mac jump and Cedric pause.
“I need to go and help,” Cedric explained.
Saul ignored him and turned to Mac. “We’ll be down in a few

minutes if you let us get dressed.” He wasn’t really rude, but it was
clear to Cedric that Saul wanted the man to leave them alone. Luckily
Mac had cottoned on as well and backed away quickly before
bumping into the door.

“I’ll see you down in the dining hall,” he cried and then he was

gone.

“What is up with you?” Cedric asked, his hackles rising at Saul’s

obstinate attitude.

“You really don’t see it, do you?” Saul said with real anger in his

voice. “You were going to just get up and go off to save the world and
leave me here to keep the sofa warm.”

Cedric looked up into Saul’s eyes and he could plainly see the

hurt there. “Shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t think.”

“Yes, you did think, Cedric. Just not about me,” Saul replied,

sounding resigned. “I never demanded I be put first in your life,
though that was a dream I held for my spirit walker. But, Cedric, you
don’t put me in your life at all.”

Saul turned and picked up his pants. He then handed over the T-

shirt to Cedric. “Here, put this on please. I know we are not really a
couple, but I’d rather not have a lot of handsome men staring at you. I
don’t think I’d be able to stop my bear from trying to rip their throats
out.”

They both stood up and dressed quietly. Cedric didn’t know what

to say. Having protected his heart for so long, he now seemed bound
and determined to tear this man’s apart.

* * * *

Chaos reigned when they arrived in the dining hall. Cedric had not

said a word to Saul since they’d put their clothes on. He had been

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grateful when Cedric had led them back via their rooms so they could
at least look respectable and not like they’d just had sex in a billiard
room. He hoped it was because he’d asked Cedric to be slightly more
discreet for him, but he wasn’t going to ask.

“Holy crap,” Cedric muttered. “I thought it was bad when I was in

here earlier, but this is nuts.”

Saul had to agree. There were groups of men arguing all over the

room. The word vampire was predominant in practically every
conversation as well as the word Kingdom.

“Come on,” Cedric said, grasping Saul’s hand. “Let’s go and see

if we can get any sense out of William.” He tried to move away but
Saul held him back.

“What?” Cedric asked, his eyes rising to look into Saul’s.
“Thank you,” Saul said simply. Cedric still looked a little

confused. “For making us a ‘we’ and not a ‘you.’” He watched the
understanding creep over Cedric’s face and a smile bloom on his very
kissable lips. Lips he decided he could not and would not resist.

Saul leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on Cedric’s lips before

pulling back and pointing in the direction of Percy on the far side of
the room. “That’s Percy, so I’m betting William won’t be very far
away.”

“Humm,” Cedric said a little distractedly and followed as Saul

pulled his walker toward the wizard.

“Cedric, have you heard?” Percy called out as they approached the

colourful man. How he could make so many colours work together
was beyond Saul, but he did.

“Yes, I have, Percy, so why all the fuss?” Cedric asked, looking

around the hall. His hand remained firmly in Saul’s, which surprised
him in the best possible way.

“You’d think after the prejudices all of these men have had to deal

with over the years, they could give up their own against one poor gay
vampire,” Percy said indignantly.

“A gay vampire?” Cedric said incredulously.

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“Not you as well,” huffed Percy. “There is gay everything else, so

why not a gay vampire?”

“True, true, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like it sounded. It’s just in

all my years I have never heard of a single gay vampire,” Cedric
corrected quickly. Saul squeezed his hand. He knew Cedric had not
meant to have a go at the vampire for his orientation.

“I don’t think vampires have a closet. I think they have a strong

room buried underground,” Percy muttered angrily. “And looking at
the state of this room I can understand why.”

“So what is going on?” Saul asked, his curiosity getting the better

of him. Well, he was a bear.

“It’s not the fact he’s gay that’s causing the problem, darlings,”

William said as he walked up beside them, giving Percy a gentle
squeeze as he did. “It’s the fact that he’s a vampire, a Strigol vampire
no less, and that he is accused of stealing a body from his last place of
work, the Stiggol Funeral Services.”

Saul could hear how they had adapted the name, to disguise it

from humans, but still didn’t feel particularly threatened by it all.
“So?”

“The Strigol are one of the more violent and sadistic covens. They

have been known to kill off their food, which has been held in
contempt by many covens for years,” William went on.

Saul shuddered. “Nice bunch of vampires then,” he said, trying to

lighten the depression that was settling in the room. “Still, how much
harm can one vampire do?”

“That is what everyone is arguing about,” Percy answered. “I’ve

never seen Maggie so riled up. She is threatening to remove her
grandchildren from the castle until she has proof that the man can be
contained. Hamish, Sunan, and Duncan are backing her up and she
sent Ambrose home saying there was no way she was letting a human
anywhere near the bloodsucker. Her words not mine.”

“Aye, and poor Liam has not let go of his boys since he found out.

Alden and Joe are having a hell of a time trying to calm Liam down

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and get the boys to settle, as they are really excited, which is not
helping matters,” William added on.

“Has anyone seen the man yet?” Saul questioned. “Shouldn’t he

be allowed to stand up for himself?”

“Apparently Enda said the man is so terrified of being decapitated,

they can’t get him out of his room,” William answered, clearly
knowing the only way to successfully end a vampire’s existence.
There were other ways, but they had to be under the right conditions.

“And what about the body?” Cedric chipped in, his hand still

firmly in Saul’s grasp.

“Well, if it is actually a body. There is now speculation that

Lawrence Kingdom is not dead, just possessed, possibly by your
brother, who seems to want to do away with him without doing him
in,” William explained.

“Oh, it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy,” Percy cut in sarcastically.

Saul didn’t really know this Lawrence guy, but he was not on any
popularity list in this place.

“Tempers were high before Gabe and Ezee came in with the

paperwork for this guy, though it wasn’t really related,” William said.

“No, Wills, leave it,” Percy said, getting very agitated by what

William was saying.

“I think I know what he’s getting at, Percy,” Cedric answered

quietly. Saul was lost. He had no idea where the conversation was
heading, but it obviously upset his walker, so therefore it upset him.

“What is the problem that raised everyone’s temper?” Saul asked,

directing his question directly to Cedric.

“Enough!” A loud cry bellowed out from the head of the main

table. Saul could feel the alpha power that ran within the command. It
was impressive, as he wanted to obey it and he had not been inducted
into the pack yet.

“You are my spirit walker and I am part of the Kashmerle coven,

which automatically places you into the pack and coven as they work

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as one,” Cedric explained through their mind link so as not to
interrupt the alpha.

“In all my years as alpha of this pack I have never seen any of you

judge someone unfairly until today. You have taken it upon
yourselves to decide this man’s fate without even meeting him or
understanding his nature.

“Kashmerle has always been a haven for men of our orientation

and as yet has never turned any man away. I will not allow it to
happen today.” The force in Enda’s voice was crushing and Saul
could feel the weight as though it was set upon his shoulders.

“Now, Devon has asked for sanctuary and I am prepared to offer

that as we have done to every last one of you. Dr. Banner is supplying
us with blood and Devon has not threatened a soul since he has been
here, nor will he. So if you cannot accept a gay vampire within our
pack and coven then I will not hold you to your oath and you may
leave.” Enda gazed out over the crowd of men and woman as Saul
heard the gasps of shock they emitted. Saul also noted no one moved
to leave. Victory for Enda and the vamp.

“Now the second issue,” Enda began. “Daniel and I firmly believe

that Lawrence Kingdom is not in fact dead. He seems to be in some
sort of stasis, possibly like possession, which makes people think he is
dead. His body was warm, though, and did not feel as though the life
had left him. I believe this has everything to do with the man who
called himself the necromancer and nothing to do with Devon.

“Gabe, Ezee, you are perfectly entitled to search the castle, but

William and Percy have said nothing has been brought in without our
knowledge. Devon arrived with Daniel and myself with nothing but
the clothes on his back. I can verify he didn’t bring it with him.”

Saul assumed Ezee and Gabe were the two uniformed officers

standing near Enda. They were looking perplexed and Saul couldn’t
blame them. He’d only been here little over a week and more had
happened in his life in that time than for the last hundred years.

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Enda was looking round. He seemed to be making sure everything

he’d said was being accepted. “Good, now for the sake of his own
safety Devon is going to stay in the apartment adjacent to ours. He is
not on house arrest or being kept against his will. But until you all
settle down it will be safest for him. This is not a long-term plan, but
we need to locate Lawrence’s body, be it dead or alive, and clear up
this mess. You may go.” When Enda finished people quietly began to
filter out of the dining room, though Saul could see Cedric was still
curious as to what the man was going to do next.

Enda and his walker had intercepted the officers and their

conversation was clearly being carried on for the pack to hear. “Gabe,
Ezee, when Daniel and I left the funeral parlour Lawrence’s body was
still there. Both myself and Daniel will give you written statements
verifying this and assurances that Devon has not left Kashmerle or the
castle since. That will clear him of the body-snatching charge while
we try and find the damn thing.”

“Bloody hell, there’s a first for Kashmerle,” Percy said, hugging

his lover to him.

“How the hell does life keep getting more and more

complicated?” William asked no one in particular.

“I have no bloody idea,” Saul said, and he knew it was the truth.

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Chapter Sixteen

It had been ten days since Enda’s big speech and Cedric was

getting nervous. No body had been found in the castle and Devon was
off the hook as chief suspect. The funeral home had declared the body
missing after Devon had left, and as he hadn’t left his room yet,
according to human law he was in the clear. The vampires could
hardly tell the police he had dematerialised and swiped the body that
way, and from hearing Daniel’s description of the frightened vampire,
body snatching did not fit his profile.

That left Roman.
Cedric knew the pack didn’t realise the necromancer and Roman

Cencer were actually his brother. Only Roman could use an anagram
to form both his names. Mind, it would have been interesting to see
what he would have come up with if he’d started with Roman
Tiberius Portrey.

Cedric snorted and Saul pulled him tighter into his embrace but

didn’t seem to wake. Now here things were definitely improving.
He’d had a few mishaps when he’d started off on this couple thing
only to be slapped back into place by William and Percy. He had been
relieved of his job at their outfitters and was currently the odd job boy
in getting the new veterinary surgery up and ready. If he did well he
was going to be allowed to take up the post of receptionist and
veterinary nurse. Heaven help their clients and their poor owners.
Saul really was making sure he never let him out of his sight, and
although he would not admit it, Cedric loved it.

Saul’s morning glory was currently being gently pushed into his

crease. It felt divine. Saul may have been inexperienced, but he was

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one hell of a fast learner. Either that or he’d watched a bucket load of
gay porn. Cedric wasn’t complaining. He’d never had it so good.

“How’s my little magic man this morning?” Saul murmured,

rubbing his naked erection further into Cedric’s crease. Inside their
rooms clothes had become optional to the point of unnecessary, and
folk had soon learned to knock rather than walk right in. All apart
from Percy, who never seemed to care what state they were in.

“Seeing as it’s afternoon, darling, I have no idea.” That answer

got Cedric a slap on the bottom, which he relished and pushed back
harder onto Saul’s very ready and willing penis. He was still well
stretched from their earlier exploits and with a little direction from
Saul he felt the man’s thick shaft enter him.

Saul gripped his hips and rolled himself over Cedric, still keeping

them intimately joined. Saul pulled back and Cedric pushed his ass up
to gain a better angle. Holding him in place, Saul nailed his prostrate
with every gentle glide and Cedric felt the sweat form on his lip and
body.

“You have the most amazing body,” Saul said through laboured

breaths as his thrusts became stronger and he plundered Cedric’s hole.
Cedric was beyond answering as sparks of electricity sped through his
body with every jolt. Saul had no idea how amazing his own body
was and Cedric was going to make absolutely sure the man did before
he was done. Not that he would ever be done. The thought hit him
like a battering ram and plunged him off the edge without him even
having to touch his sensitive cock. He felt his ass clench with his
shuddering climax, tipping his lover over with him. The aftershocks
seemed to go on forever, but Saul held him tight and Cedric finally let
his feelings go.

“I love you,” he whispered, almost afraid of Saul’s reaction.
“Oh thank god, baby. I love you so much.” Saul’s arms, which

were already like a vise, seemed to get tighter and Cedric felt a
dampness spread on his shoulder,

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“Saul, darling Saul, let me see you,” Cedric cried. Saul loosened

his hold, slipping from him in the process. Cedric was sure it was
done with some reluctance, as Saul’s gentle moan caressed his ear.

When Cedric looked at Saul, his tears were slowly running down

his cheeks. He cursed his past that had caused him to guard his heart
so closely. Saul had never been after anything other than what he had
just given Cedric—love and affection.

“Oh my love, my dear strong, beautiful love. I’m yours. I love

you. I’m so sorry it’s taken me so long to find the courage to say it.”
Tears were forming in his own eyes and Cedric didn’t give a damn, he
let them spill over.

“You’ve said it and you mean it. I hoped you would when you

were ready.” Saul kissed the tears on Cedric’s cheeks making Cedric
giggle. “What so funny, baby?” Saul asked with a smile covering all
of his face.

“Look at the pair of us, we’re a mess.” Cedric sniffed as he looked

up at his lover once again.

“We would benefit from a shower,” Saul said, all serious again.
“Oh and I know just how to clean you,” Cedric replied,

completely straight-faced.

Saul groaned and Cedric was pulled from the bed and carried to

the shower. This was his favourite way to start a morning in the
afternoon.

* * * *

The castle had opened like a swing door at a saloon. He hadn’t

even needed to use his little diversion to draw the fools away from
him. Now all he needed was one of those idiots to guide him through
to their vaults. That was not essential, as he could feel the power
within the walls and was absorbing it as quickly as his body could
take it. He could just let it pull him in the right direction until he
obtained what he was looking for.

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“Come on, you decrepit piece of shit. Try and keep up. Christ, I

hate the undead,” he muttered as he walked ahead of the body that
staggered alongside him.

* * * *

Cedric sighed and slowly crawled out from under his spirit

walker. They’d not eaten since breakfast and his stomach was
thinking that his throat had been cut.

“Hey, my love, I’m going to head down to the kitchen and see if I

can restock our larder,” Cedric said to his dozing lover.

“Do we have a larder?”
“Yes, Saul, this place even comes with a kitchen so we can eat up

here if we want to.”

Saul grunted.
Cedric groaned. “Talking to you, my love, is like conversing with

your bear in the middle of his winter hibernation.” Boy, could the
man sleep.

“I could shift and you can deal with the bear directly if you like?”

Saul responded.

“Heavens no, you’ll shed fur in the bed.”
Cedric shivered. He’d have to vacuum the sheets before he

washed them, not something he was prepared to do. Saul grunted
again and a grin spread slowly across his face as his body began to
shimmer.

“No you don’t, you bad bear,” Cedric screamed as he flew at Saul

to stop him from shifting.

Saul chuckled. “Shedding fur in the bed?” he said as though it was

a question, trying very hard not to laugh.

“Humm, look I’m going to head down and see what I can find,”

Cedric stated as he finished putting his clothes back on.

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“Do you need my help, or are you going to use Fred and do that

zappy thing?” Saul asked with little enthusiasm for the chore though
his face was still alight with humour.

“Oh joy,” Fred mumbled, obviously hearing Saul’s question.
“I’ll take Fred. He’s dying to come out and play,” Cedric said

sarcastically.

“Bugger off,” was the succinct reply.
Both Saul and Cedric laughed at the tortoise’s eloquent diction as

Cedric grabbed his familiar and headed out of the door.

* * * *

William jumped up from his seat, a feeling of ice-cold evil

running through his body. He hadn’t felt like this in over a century.
His skin felt tight and clammy. He did not want to remember this
feeling.

“William, what’s wrong? You look deathly,” Percy said. Although

his lover was standing just beside him, having come in from the main
room into their compact library where he’d been working, his voice
sounded miles away.

“My master’s here.” He looked at Percy, his own body visibly

shaking. “He’s trying to summon me.”

“Roman’s in the castle? But how? We strengthened all the wards,”

Percy said, a deep frown marring his face.

“The magic is being fooled, because of Cedric’s essence and a

myriad of others’. The wards don’t recognise the threat.” William
gave himself a violent shake. “You’re not getting me, you bastard.
Never again will I be coerced into doing your bidding.”

Percy gasped. “No!” he cried, seizing William in a viselike grip.
“It’s okay, my love. He may still have more power, but I am no

longer the weak apprentice he had at his beck and call,” William
reassured his soul keeper and his heart. Percy could look delicate and
fragile, but it hid a mind of steel with a body that went perfectly with

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it. William knew if he was threatened in any way he had a knight in
shining armour that could take anybody on and obliterate them. God,
he loved his man so much.

“We knew he was going to be coming, my lovely. It was just a

case of us waiting for when he arrived,” William stated, knowing
Percy knew all this, and when it sank in hopefully his lover would
remain calm and they could get the whole mess cleared up.

Percy sighed. “I know. I just didn’t want to face it so soon.” Percy

paused, looking at William with trepidation in his eyes. “Do you
know where he is?”

William closed his eyes and let his mind expand through the

corridors of the castle. “He’s heading down to the lower ground floor.
He was on the ballroom balcony when I first felt him. I think he was
trying to acquire a guide.”

“Will he know Morgana’s Fire is no longer here? Enda said he

shipped it out nearly a week ago,” Percy said, rubbing his hands
together nervously.

“I have no idea. Can you tell it’s gone?”
“Yes and no,” was Percy’s straightforward reply. William raised

an eyebrow in question. “Well, I knew it was here and searched out its
magic and when it left I felt there was something missing. But if I
hadn’t known I’m not sure I would have recognised its absence.”

“Well, let’s hope we can use that to our advantage,” William

stated. “Let’s go find Cedric and sort out his bloody brother.”

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Chapter Seventeen

“Oh for fuck’s sake, can’t he just bugger off and leave us alone?”

Fred was not impressed.

“You can feel him, too,” Cedric said as he closed the door to his

and Saul’s rooms. He knew immediately Saul would throw a fit if he
didn’t go back and get him, but he had to finish this and he had to do
it alone.

“You can’t kill the bastard, so what the hell is left?” Fred asked,

his tone more resigned now than pissed.

“I’m going to try and drain his essence, collect mine back, and

take his also,” Cedric said as he cautiously walked down the stairs
away from the kitchen. “He doesn’t use natural magic, so if I leave
him just a thread like he left me, he will be useless and it will take
him centuries to gather any semblance of power back.” Cedric felt
quite proud of himself, as up until that moment he’d had no idea how
he was going to stop his brother.

“Good luck with that,” Fred mumbled.
“We’ll need it,” Cedric put in, waiting for the tortoise’s reaction.
“Oh, for the love of all things shiny and expensive, just tell me

when I have to fart.” Fred moaned and pulled himself completely
inside his shell.

Why did I pick the grumpiest huffiest tortoise in the whole of

Greece? Cedric asked himself, which was followed with a puff of
what looked like stardust out of Fred’s backend.

“You really do fart magic.”
Cedric headed down to the lower ground floor. He rarely ventured

down here as this was the business end of Kashmerle and he’d refused

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to do anything that may get his hands dirty. How that was going to
work in a veterinary surgery he had no idea. Small, smelly rodents
were not really his thing. He had nothing against them, he just had no
particular fondness for them.

“You’re rambling, you idiot. Don’t you think it would be a bloody

good idea if you concentrated?” Fred grumbled into his mind.

“I’m nervous and when I’m nervous I–I do other things,” Cedric

defended.

“Yeah, you ramble.”
“Cedric, is that you?” William’s voice echoed out from the

foundry room.

“Aagghh!” Cedric screamed, losing any chance he had of getting

in a surprise attack.

“I think that’s him, love. He always was a little squeamish.”

Percy’s voice answered his lover’s question.

Two heads appeared around the door looking inquisitively at him.

They smiled and Cedric nearly screamed again for an entirely
different reason.

“What are you two doing down here?” Cedric demanded.
“Just out for a little evening wander,” Percy answered innocently.

The knowing look in his eye told Cedric far more than any words
could.

“When?” Cedric asked, trying to keep the question obscure in case

someone was near.

“Not quite an hour ago.” William smiled.
“Oh, same here,” Cedric replied. The men must have felt his

brother’s presence the same time he had.

“Seen anything interesting?” Percy asked.
“No, quiet as the grave down here.” With Cedric’s answer

William looked up and down the corridor before he hauled Cedric
into the foundry room. Percy closed the door and they both hustled
him over to the central pillar.

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Cedric looked at the mangled door on the side of the pillar. The

pillar was covered in a heavy-duty metal, making it look like a
protective shield against the stone. What it actually did was hide a
long shaft that contained a lift that went down from the main castle
rooms into the vaults. The doors were not average lift doors that open
at the press of a button, and when the castle had been searched before,
not one of the officers with all their fancy devices had found any of
the three shafts that ran down there.

“I guess we can safely assume he’s already in the vaults,” Cedric

said with a wry smile.

“I wouldn’t smile if I were you. It would have taken a phenomenal

amount of power to break that seal even with your essence, Cedric,”
Percy said.

“The only thing I think will work is if I drain him as he did me.

Leaving enough to keep him alive but weak. It doesn’t rid us of him,
but it would take him centuries to gain that amount of magic back.”
Cedric explained his idea, though his confidence in it was waning.

“The idea seems good, but how many magic users is he going to

kill to obtain the power back?” William asked with that calm resolve
that had gotten them out of many tricky situations.

“Shit,” Cedric spat out.
“Yes, that pretty much covers it,” Percy responded.
There was suddenly a violent shudder through the whole castle.
“Are we prone to earthquakes in this region?” William speculated,

knowing full well they weren’t.

“I think I’d better get down there,” Cedric said, taking a deep

breath and going toward the opened shaft.

“Not on your own you’re not.” A deep, angry voice echoed across

the room.

“Now you’re in trouble.”

* * * *

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Saul stared across at his spirit walker. Rage poured through his

veins. Cedric had done it again and this time he had lied about it.

“So this is the larder, is it?” he asked. He had a hundred questions

he’d rather ask, but he was too angry to express them.

“Larder, no, Saul, this is the foundry room,” Percy answered

calmly.

“I think he was being sarcastic, love,” William murmured to his

lover as Saul began to walk toward them.

“Saul, it’s not what you think. I will explain but—” Cedric didn’t

get to finish his sentence as another massive shudder racked through
the ancient building.

“We need to stop him, I don’t know what he’s doing, but I’d like

to keep Matt’s castle in one piece. He can be a real diva when he’s
rebuilding,” William said with some urgency in his voice.

Saul had realised there was something going on when he’d felt the

first shudder. He’d been following his lover’s scent, which had gone
nowhere near the kitchen. Now he was thinking maybe there was a
very legitimate reason his walker was here, though it still didn’t
absolve the man, as he had gone off without him.

“Is that Roman?” Saul asked as a slightly weaker tremor hit the

building.

“We think so,” Percy answered.
“I think we can say quite confidently that is my brother,” Cedric

said.

“Your brother!” Enda roared as he entered the foundry room with

the twins and Jez close behind.

“We need to get down there, Cedric, before this turns into a

bloody party,” William muttered.

“I heard that,” Enda replied. His face was stern and Saul was

pretty sure the man hadn’t relaxed or smiled since his big speech in
the dining hall. “How the hell did he get in?”

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Cedric stood up straighter and Saul watched his resolve bank up.

“He has my magic, Enda. The castle thinks he’s me,” Cedric finished,
taking a deep breath and waiting for what would come next.

“Shit!” Enda growled.
“Let’s go, Cedders,” Saul said, deciding it would be better to sort

this idiot out rather than swearing over what had already happened.
He approached the shaft, eyes trained on Cedric. His lover nodded
and he pulled the lever that seemed to get the ancient contraption
moving. William cottoned on to their intention and went over to the
men to explain what they thought was happening.

“Ooooh, Cedders, that is so sweet,” Percy gushed.
Saul smiled. The man was amazing. All hell seemed to be

breaking loose and here he was just being Percy.

“It’s here,” Cedric said as he opened the cage so they could climb

in.

“I’ll wait for William, honey, and I think you can expect the rest

of the boys to enter through the main caverns. Keep yourselves
hidden and please, please keep yourselves safe,” Percy said as he
carefully closed the damaged cage door. Cedric nodded but didn’t say
a word. Saul grasped his hand and pulled him into a tight embrace.

“I may be mad, Cedric, but you are still my walker and I love you

more than life itself,” Saul murmured into Cedric’s soft, silky hair as
they slowly descended to the vaults.

* * * *

Roman was furious. Where the hell was the damn stone? He had

no idea the vaults were so vast and so full, but Morgana’s Fire should
be screaming at him now. With the amount of magic he was
absorbing from the castle itself he did not need the stupid stone, but to
kill his perfect prissy brother he needed the damn thing to keep him
alive.

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“Keep looking, you idiot,” he shouted at the newborn ghoul he’d

brought with him. They were great for manipulating, especially
initially, before they went through their transmutation and became full
ghouls. Then they were a bloody nightmare and not worth the space
they took up.

“No,” the ghoul said calmly.
Fuck! He’d only turned the man two weeks ago. He was expecting

more time with his little pet than that. He turned and looked at what
once had been Lawrence Kingdom. Hell, he’d have made one hell of
a ghoul. He was evil enough as a human without the turning.

“Guess it’s time to die, old boy,” Roman said before he let loose

his magic to obliterate him.

As his magic escaped its confines there was an almighty crack and

the whole vault shuddered. Lawrence’s body sailed through the air
and crashed near the entrance stone that Roman believed opened to
the outside world and where he fully intended to escape from.

“Now,” he muttered to himself. “Where is that bloody gem?” He

moved back into the middle vault, which housed the convenient lift
that had got him down here. He’d called it the middle vault because
there were two on either side, but he had his suspicions that there
were more. The only place that was remotely like this were the huge
caverns under the Rock of Gibraltar, vast spaces that, unless you
knew they were there, you’d completely ignore.

Roman sighed. He wished he’d known the size of this place

before he came down. He’d have counted in more time.

“Ahh,” Roman yelled as another earth-shaking shudder wracked

through the place. It was so violent it threw him to the ground. He
waited until the tremor had passed and went to push up from the floor.
He froze. His hands were glowing and they seemed to be translucent.
He stood up and his whole body seemed to be giving off a faded blue
light. The vault had been dark at first, as it was only illuminated with
magic light spheres that were really just a witch’s party trick. Still, he
thought it would be enough and hadn’t bothered to light the vaults

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further. Now the cavern looked like it was floodlit and it was getting
brighter. Roman grinned. The ancient magic. That had to be the
reason for his sudden illuminated status. Why else would he glow?
More tremors hit and Roman wondered what was going on. The first
tremor, he supposed, had come from his magic with the blow that had
done away with Lawrence, but where were the rest now coming
from?

The lift started moving behind him and he turned. His brother was

coming. Maybe he would be able to kill him after all, as with this
shimmering cast from the ancient magic he was most definitely
heading toward immortality. It had to be the ancient magic. Who
needed Morgana’s stupid gem when he could absorb magic that was
as old as the damn Fates themselves?

Roman started laughing. “I’m invincible.”

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Chapter Eighteen

Cedric stepped out of the lift and into the most brightly lit room

he’d ever seen. It was full of chests and crates of gems. He’d had no
idea that the vaults were so vast and so full it would make Aladdin’s
cave look like pocket money. The collection sent shards of colour
through the strange blue light, posting rainbows around the room.

“Can you see him?” Saul asked as he came out behind him.

“Wow!”

“Wow exactly,” Cedric said. “When Kash refers to the collection I

always imagine a few chest and crates. I think I underestimated just a
little.”

“I had no idea,” Saul said, standing up straight and taking in their

surroundings.

A sudden flash of blue light ripped across the room and struck

Saul high on the chest. His whole body vibrated with blue light before
crumpling to the ground.

“No!” Cedric screamed, turning to crouch down beside his walker.

“Saul, Saul, please say something, anything, please.”

Cedric heard a maniacal laugh behind him. Roman. He ignored

the sound and kept talking to Saul hoping for any sort of response.
Eventually he heard a soft moan and thanked the Fates for keeping
Saul with him. Another shudder rocketed through the walls followed
closely by what seemed like another. Two huge stones were slowly
lowering themselves to the ground in the side vault. As this was
happening, the centre stone was rising, and a faint hint of evening
light could be seen in the gap that was slowly opening.

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“The cavalry are here, Saul. Please you’ve got to hang in there. I

will get you help,” Cedric pleaded.

William and Percy were the first two to enter. Cedric yelled as

soon as he saw them.

“Where’s Roman?” William called as more of the pack followed

behind. Cedric was shocked to see a number of giant wolves, three
huge bears, and a variety of very large cats.

“He’s in the next chamber, but be careful,” Another shudder went

through the chamber, though it was less violent than the previous
ones.

“The tremors are becoming more centred,” Percy shouted.
“It’s the ancient magic, it doesn’t like being disturbed,” William

explained.

“Roman will have tried to absorb it,” Cedric called out, knowing

his brother’s insane love of power.

“You can’t absorb that, Cedric. It will kill you. It was never meant

to be contained,” William replied, his eyes wide with shock.

“Well, that explains the shudders. Guess the old magic is making

its presence known,” Percy said, his calm demeanour surprising to
Cedric, as it felt as though the whole castle was ready to come down
around their ears.

The laugh rang out again. Cedric turned swiftly to see his brother

appear at the entrance to the third chamber. His gasp wasn’t the only
one as the pack also looked at the sight he saw. Roman was literally
alight with magic, and sparks were randomly coming off him and
shattering around the room. What were even more eerie were his eyes.
In a face that was bright with blue light, two black pits stared out from
the sockets where his eyeballs should have been. The shudders were
coming more and more frequently now but with less and less force,
and they were now centred on his brother.

“He’s gone completely insane,” Cedric called out to the rest of the

men. They’d all stopped and were staring at the glowing figure that
had once been his brother.

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Roman raised his hands in the air as if to send a rain of magic

down on Cedric when he’d called out to the men.

“No, Roman,” William yelled, holding his hands up in a strange

form of surrender. “The magic is too powerful. If you try and use it, it
will only destroy you.”

Cedric could tell William spoke the truth, but knew it was

unlikely Roman would heed his words. He was proven correct and in
the next moment a shaft of magic was hurled in his direction. He only
had enough time to throw himself over Saul’s prone body before the
shaft hit. White blinding light exploded around him and the last thing
he heard before slipping away was his brother’s hysterical laughter
and Saul’s weak voice calling his name.

* * * *

The bright light pierced his eyes and he groaned, what the hell had

his master done now, the bastard. His body had been through some
sort of transition and it had fucking hurt. And now he was being
blinded by some god-awful light. But for all of that he felt completely
rejuvenated and strong. He hadn’t felt like this in years. He looked
around him. At least he now knew where they kept their stock, and
hell it was vast. What he also spotted was an opening that, although
dark, had a slight breeze passing through which would mean it led
outside. He could hear voices coming from inside the vaults, so he
crawled carefully toward the entrance. Before he made it to the
opening he grabbed a handful of gems out of an open chest along the
wall. He slipped them into his pocket and quietly made his escape.

* * * *

Percy slowly went through an inventory of his body parts. Toes,

yes, they can move. Fingers, yes, they’re functional. Knees, elbows,

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hips, neck. Things were looking good. He even reckoned Williams’s
favourite parts were also intact.

“William!” he cried out with his mind. Where was his William?
“Sweetheart, I’m here. I’m not sure where here is, but that’s

where you’ll find me,” William replied. Percy breathed a sigh of
relief. His lover was fine, just lost, and as Percy had lost him
countless times over the centuries and always managed to find him
again, William being lost was not a problem.

“Maybe if you opened your eyes, sunbeam,” Percy advised.
“Have you?” William replied promptly, sounding a little put-out.
“Er, no actually,” Percy admitted. “I’m not too sure I want to

see.”

“I think it’s safe to say the old magic has finished complaining

and settled back into the rocks and stone,” William said with more
assurance than Percy had.

“Are you sure about that?”
“No.”
“William, Percy, is everything okay over there?” Enda’s voice

carried across the cavern.

“I thought he was right beside us?” Percy questioned.
“He was, but I don’t think any of us ended up where we started,”

William replied.

“William, Percy!”
“We’re okay, Enda,” Percy called out to reassure their alpha.
“Where are you guys?”
“I haven’t opened my eyes, so I’ve no idea,” Percy admitted. So

he was part coward. So what.

“We’re by the lift shaft, Enda, Saul’s here, too, though he’s

unconscious,” William explained.

“Oh,” said Percy, and he slowly opened his eyes to the normally

dimly lit vault.

“Hello, my lover,” William said, and Percy’s gorgeous soul

keeper leaned over and gave him a kiss.

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“I love you,” Percy whispered.
“I know,” William whispered back. Percy giggled, so glad some

things never changed.

“Is Saul okay, William?” Enda asked.
“To be honest I’m not sure. We need to get him upstairs and get

Doc Banner to take a look at him.”

Percy looked across at where Enda’s voice had come from and got

an eye full of tall, muscular, naked men. Ah, didn’t he just love
shifters.

“Omph, what did you do that for?” Percy complained to William,

who’d just thumped him in the arm.

“Stop admiring the view,” William said coldly.
“Why? You are,” Percy shot back, as William was also looking at

the naked shifters gathering toward them.

“Oh dear,” Daniel said as he entered their chamber carrying a

large cardboard box. “I guess I now know why you needed these.” He
dropped the box on the floor and then started throwing jogging pants
to the wonderfully naked men.

Percy smiled when both he and William sighed. They were

completely monogamous, but hell, they were gay men and they hurt
no one by looking. William chuckled beside him.

“You caught that thought then,” Percy murmured.
“Oh yes, and I do so agree,” William replied before he leaned in

to share another kiss.

Reluctantly Percy pulled back. “Cedric would love this,” he said

with a smile.

“Where is Cedric?” William asked, looking around him. Both of

them stood and tried to see if they could find him.

“Have any of you lot seen Cedric?” Percy asked the shifters.
The only replies he received were a resolute no. Percy looked at

William, desperate for a calm explanation. William looked straight
back, and he knew that the composed reply he was hoping for was not
coming.

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“What about Roman?” Percy asked, praying for a response he

could deal with, which was ludicrous as no answer would really help
them locate Cedric.

“None of us have seen them, and not to worry you further but we

can’t trace any of their scent,” Enda stated, confirming what Percy
already suspected. The curse had come true.

“I’m going to take Saul upstairs and get him settled and call the

doctor,” William told the men.

“I’ll come with you, love. Then we’ll see if we can locate your

great uncle,” Percy said, though there was little hope in his voice.

“I’d rather you didn’t use magic,” Enda cut in. “We don’t know

what’s happened to Roman and Cedric. I will not lose any more
men.” Percy could understand the aggression in Enda’s voice. The
whole of the pack and coven were still reeling from the loss of Assyn.
To lose another would be devastating. Cedric had to be alive.

“Enda, the reason for the shudders was directly related to the

ancient magic. As long as the magic is left untouched all will be well.
I think that’s the reason it protects the castle so well. People always
try to use it or absorb it when approaching the castle with dubious
intentions and the magic lashed out,” William explained. Percy loved
his soul keeper’s intelligence. It was just so sexy.

“We’ll use our own magic to transport him,” Percy added, trying

to be helpful. “We won’t meddle with the ancient stuff at all.”

Enda didn’t look very reassured at all, but Percy felt William’s

magic pulling Saul’s body toward the castle and his rooms, so Percy
just added his own and felt them dissipate from the vaults.

* * * *

Fred was not impressed. Being abandoned in a vault full of gems

was not a dream he’d ever had. He’d rather be left in a market garden
full of salad or in a reptile park full of female Greek tortoises.

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Fred knew he had to get out, but he hated using the magic within

him. It was bad enough farting bloody fairy dust, never mind using it
to move. He sighed. Unfortunately he had no idea where a park of
female Greek tortoises could be found, which left only one other
option. Fred concentrated and felt the magic break him down,
transporting him to the salad rack in the castle kitchen’s vast pantry.
He burrowed down and settled in. It may have been his second
choice, but the rocket was lovely.

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Chapter Nineteen

Morta waited patiently. She wasn’t a naturally patient being, but

when one had been around as long as she had she had developed a
way of coping. At the moment she was teaching herself how to knit.
She wasn’t doing very well. But the Seeing Eye was playing out
events in the gem vaults at Kashmerle and it was better than the latest
rerun of Bond movies.

“What on earth is going on in here?” Decima asked as she strode

in with all the authority of a sergeant major. Morta ignored her.

“Oooh, what’s whizzing and banging in here?” Nona asked in her

own far more playful fashion. Morta ignored that as well for the
simple reason she found it irritating.

“Morta’s watching her boys again,” Decima answered

disdainfully.

“Bugger off,” Morta finally said. Her shears warmed up in her

pocket and she quickly pulled them out and snipped the three threads
from a group of incompetent bank robbers who’d just blown
themselves up. “Idiots.”

“They shouldn’t be messing with Kashmerle’s ancient magic,

Morta. That’s where you dump any excess that’s left from the magic
users you cut,” Nona said as though this was a new fact for them to
take in.

“Humm, I told you to spread it round, but would you listen?”

Decima said.

“Pious cow,” Morta mumbled.

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“He’s going to implode with all that archaic magic,” Nona put in,

stating the bleeding obvious. Morta continued to ignore them.
Hopefully they’d get bored and disappear.

Decima and Nona sat down on the sofa at right angles to her chair.

Morta groaned, dumped her knitting down, and propped her feet on
the ancient chest.

It looked like this was going to be a family evening. Bugger.
“He’s about to go,” Nona said excitedly as Roman Tiberius

Portrey maxed out on what his feeble body could contain. Morta
slowly withdrew a set on entwined threads from the folds of her gown
and smiled.

A streak of lightning cracked through the Fates’ living room and

not one of them even blinked. Morta turned to look at the expanse of
space between the back of the sofa and a large table they kept by the
rear bookshelves that served as a desk for them all.

A mangled body hit the ground at what could have been terminal

velocity. Morta wasn’t actually sure, as she tended to look at terminal
velocity on a case-to-case basis.

“Good evening, Roman,” Morta said with as much venom in her

voice as she could muster, which was a lot. The man on the floor
staggered to his feet, but one leg was viciously twisted along with the
arm on the same side. He lurched and grabbed hold of the table with
his good arm and screamed loudly.

“Oh dear, I think he’s in pain,” Nona said. Morta was going to get

really pissed off really quickly if the woman kept stating the bleeding
obvious.

“My heart bleeds for him,” Morta muttered with about as much

sympathy as the Daleks had for Doctor Who.

A second bolt of lightning cracked and Cedric appeared. His body

was intact and he was just laid down gently on a chaise longue on the
side wall. Cedric didn’t scream.

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“So what are we going to do about this?” Decima asked, looking

squarely at Morta and the entwined threads which she still held in her
hands.

“Nothing,” Morta said amidst Roman’s wails.
“Oh shut up,” Decima yelled at Roman, who promptly became

silent as good ole Decima seemed to have removed his voice box.
Morta chuckled and Decima raised an eyebrow at her.

“Oh get over yourself,” Morta grumbled as she got up and went

over to check on Cedric. She placed her hand carefully over his heart
and felt the strong beat. Turning to Roman, who was still silently
screaming, she reached out with unseen fingers and touched his mind.

“It’s a mess in there, dear. Are you sure you want to wade through

that?” Decima asked, a look of disgust on her face.

“No choice. I have to pull Cedric’s essence back,” Morta said, still

looking for the essence that was his.

“He can’t leave Hades unless someone comes for him. You know

the rule,” Decima said quietly, reminding Morta of her own stupid
rule.

“I know. If you choose to enter you can leave, but if you arrive

through force or needs, here you must remain to pay for your deeds.
That still doesn’t mean someone can’t pick him up. Plus Saul is due to
live a very long life, so sunshine here has to go back,” Morta said,
angry at herself for her own stupid constraint. It was how she kept the
devils in the underworld for Christ’s sake. And every rule should have
an exception.

“Got it!” she cried as she pulled Cedric’s essence from the

stained, evil mess that was his brother. At the same time she put ankle
braces on Roman. These would weigh him down and stop him from
escaping, though he would have struggled with a mangled body. Still,
she’d learned from her mistake when bloody Helga had done a
runner, and that was not going to happen again.

Both Decima and Nona looked at Roman then Morta. They both

wore identical frowns.

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“Why are we keeping this shackled idiot, sister dear?” Decima

asked with some confusion.

“Well, we do need a new cleaner.”

* * * *

William knew Cedric was gone. He was not here. But it was not a

new feeling. The only other times he felt Cedric’s absence like this
were when he went off to Hades for tea and a gossip with Morta. Did
that mean his great uncle was there now, only not out of choice?

Roman was definitely deceased—he hoped. He’d been surprised

his old master had tried to use and absorb the magic within the castle.
Magic that old had its own strength and ability, almost as if it had a
mind of its own. Time seemed to ferment it until it was so tangible
one could almost touch it.

William sighed. If Roman was gone Cedric was gone, which

would mean Saul would not survive either.

“He may come back, love. We know he’s not in this realm, but we

don’t know if he’s actually dead.” Percy spoke quietly and William
wondered if he believed his own words. He hoped so, as it was
helping him. They were sitting outside Saul’s bedroom. Dr. Banner
had been in every day since the incident to check on the unconscious
shifter. Saul hadn’t moved, and as far as the doctor could ascertain, he
was in a magically induced coma. Everyone was pulling together and
fighting to keep spirits up, but the longer time went on the more
despondent they were becoming. Even the full moon hadn’t roused
the pack. The whole place was depressed.

“Shit, piss, bugger, and asshole!” William yelled out.
“Well that was lovely, dear. Do you feel better now?” Percy asked

pleasantly.

“I’m an idiot!”
“At this precise moment I can agree with that statement, my love,”

Percy answered in the same tone.

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“We’re sorcerers,” William spat out.
“Correct, and?” Percy was now looking confused.
“What can sorcerers do?” William asked.
“Do you think you could be a little more specific, love? Otherwise

we’re going to be here quite a while,” Percy answered, crossing his
arms and legs and looking at William like he’d completely lost his
marbles.

“Sorcerers can call upon the Fates,” he blurted out, looking at

Percy and waiting to see the comprehension dawn on his face. It
didn’t happen.

“And?” Percy asked, still looking at William liked he’d

completely lost the plot.

“We can call on the Fates and they may be able to tell us what has

happened or is happening with Cedric and Roman.” William held his
breath. Percy still didn’t look convinced.

“Morta, darling, we need a quick word,” Percy called out, and

William could tell he wasn’t expecting anything to happen.

“Well, it’s about bloody time you two idiots called me,” Morta

griped as she appeared sprawled on the sofa in front of them.

William turned to say “I told you so” to Percy, but the man had

fainted.

* * * *

Percy decided Hades was not going to be one of his holiday

destinations. It was a gloomy place, and he preferred cheerful. He had
to admit it was lovely and warm, but if one lived in the gatehouse of
hell that was hardly surprising.

“He’s through here. I’ve been teaching him how to knit,” Morta

said conversationally, which just seemed really strange to Percy as
he’d always pictured her as the grumpy one of the three. Nona always
seemed much more fun. Morta caught his attention and slowly raised
an eyebrow at him.

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“It’s nice and cosy down here,” he said, feeling his face heat up

with embarrassment.

“Humm,” was the only reply.
“William, Percy, thank God!” Cedric shouted as the wizards

entered a large living room. Sofas and chairs circled a huge globe-like
object and a large fireplace. The furniture seemed very haphazard and
Cedric was sitting at a large table at the back of the room with balls of
wool surrounding him and what looked like a massive knot in his
hands.

Cedric jumped up and ran straight toward them. “Saul, how’s

Saul? Is he alive? Did my brother’s magic hurt him? Was he hurt in
the implosion? Oh God, he has to be okay.” Cedric raced through the
questions without giving either William or Percy a chance to answer.

“He’s still alive,” Percy said hesitantly, still getting over the shock

that Cedric was alive and well and as manic as he’d ever been.

“He hasn’t woken up since the incident with Roman. Dr. Banner

says he’s in some sort of induced coma,” William explained. Percy
was grateful to his love for removing that burden from him.

“You have got to get me out of here. I need to be with him, help

him,” Cedric said, pleading with his eyes and wringing his hands
anxiously. The poor man looked physically fine, but there were bags
under his eyes large enough to hold provisions for a year and his
whole body seemed to tremble with nervous energy.

“You might as well go. It’s going to take me eons to unknot your

bloody knitting,” Morta grumbled, sitting down at the table and
picking up Cedric’s creative knot.

“Please, come on, let’s go,” Cedric said, grabbing both Percy’s

and William’s hands and heading back to the entrance light. Hades
didn’t so much have a door. More a gap. Light was on one side and
darkness on the other. Percy turned just before they headed into the
light to see Morta grinning at them and the wool slowly unravelling
itself. Percy shuddered and pushed both men out very quickly. That

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woman was so scary, he was certain she was the reason men were
gay.

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Chapter Twenty

Cedric was beside himself. Much as he loved Morta she had been

an absolute bitch whilst he’d been down there holidaying in Hades.
He’d even started calling the woman rainbow bitch again.
Unfortunately she loved it, so that hadn’t helped either.

All Cedric had wanted was news on his spirit walker and all

Morta, the old cow, had done was gone on and on about how Cedric
had wanted the spirit bond broken so he could be free and now he
was. Although he had been stuck in Hades for the foreseeable future
until his friends came down to pick him up. Irritating woman. She
may be the Fate of Death, but that was no reason to be so annoying all
the damn time.

William and Percy walked him back into the castle and he was so

grateful he didn’t even bother to berate them for taking ten bloody
days to come and fetch him.

“Thank you, boys, but I have to go to Saul,” he said as he started

running down the long corridors to head to his and Saul’s rooms. He
burst through the doors to be met by Jez, Matt, and Daniel sitting in
the main room playing Monopoly. Matt looked to be winning hands-
down.

“Cedders!” Daniel and Matt screamed and ran straight into him,

crushing him in hugs and kisses. He was just relieved Kash and Enda
weren’t there or there would have been hell to pay. Kash was not the
sharing type and Matt was most definitely his.

“How are you?” Jez asked over the excited squeals of the two

men.

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“I’m fine. I just had to wait for Percy and William to come and

fetch me. The dimwits took ten days to get round to it,” Cedric
moaned.

“We didn’t know you had to be brought back,” Matt said.

“Though I never walked out myself when I was down there.”

“No, you can only walk out if you walk in,” Cedric briefly

explained, not really interested in the conversation. “Saul?”

“He’s in the bedroom. Dr. Banner says his condition hasn’t

changed since he was brought here from the vaults.” Jez spoke quietly
with a look of sadness and possibly pity in his eyes. Cedric was here
now and he was going to get his man back from whatever force had
put him in this stasis, so there would be no need for sadness and
definitely no pity.

“Thank you,” he said to the men. “You can go now. I can take it

from here,” Cedric informed them. They looked at one another
obviously unsure if they should go, but Cedric wanted to be alone
with his walker and an audience was not required.

“Okay, Cedric. We’ll leave you in peace, but please don’t hesitate

to call us if there’s anything you need,” Matt said, giving Cedric
another hug before he headed for the door. Daniel also gave him a
hug and a shy smile before following with Jez close behind.

Cedric sighed when the door clicked shut and, using his newly

reinstated essence, locked it. Cedric turned and walked toward their
bedroom, his hand trembling as he opened the door. The deep greens
and creams he’d used to decorate the room made it feel tranquil and
calm, which was how Saul looked lying down in their bed with the
green comforter covering him.

Cedric climbed up onto the bed and rested his back against the

cushioned backboard of the four poster. Saul didn’t move, so Cedric
edged nearer and gently rolled his lover’s head into his lap. He ran his
fingers through the straw-coloured strands that were so soft to the
touch.

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“Oh, Saul, I’ve been such a fool.” He sighed. “I’ve kept you out

when I should have let you in.” Saul still didn’t move, but Cedric
could feel the beat of his heart, which he would take as a good sign.

“All my life the men I have known—and there haven’t been that

many—wanted me for what I could give or do for them. They never
just wanted me. It’s left me somewhat jaded and very careful of my
heart. I didn’t share the spirit bond with you fully. I kept part of my
mind closed off and my soul intact and didn’t share those scared parts
that make the bond so much more than a joining of two people. I
know I don’t deserve you, but I find I cannot live without my big,
beautiful bear beside me. I need your love and strength to keep me
anchored in this world and I need to love you to keep me sane.”
Cedric chuckled. Saul’s quiet demeanour was in such contrast to his
own frenetic pace, and saying the man kept him sane was not an
understatement.

“I know you can hear me, for the bond, although not fully

embraced by me, was very real, and we are connected for as long as
we both have, which for my part I hope to be a very long time. But I
have to ask you to do something for me. I swore I would never ask
this, never trust another to hold it safe within their essence, cherishing
the gift I could give them. I was wrong. There is a man I can trust and
love, to cherish the gift I now find I need to bestow. Saul, I love you.
Will you please be the keeper of my soul?” Cedric closed his eyes,
catching the tears that had formed in his lashes.

“Please hear me, Saul. I need you, I love you, miss you so—”
“Yes,”
Cedric wasn’t sure he heard the word, as it was such a faint

whisper, but the euphoria washing through his body could not be
denied. Cedric could feel their souls intermingling. He slowly lifted
up his head to stare down into those beautiful hazel eyes that
reminded him of autumn. He lost himself in the fiery depths.

“Saul,” he whispered, placing a trembling hand to his cheek.

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“Yes,” Saul said again. “Yes, yes, forever yes.” Cedric giggled at

his gorgeous soul keeper’s acceptance even after all he’d put the man
through.

“Oh God, I love you,” Cedric said before he squealed as Saul

stretched out to grab him around the waist and pull him down on top
of Saul’s huge hard body. “Oh yes, please.”

Saul smiled and roughly pulled Cedric’s shirt from his back.

“Someone is far too overdressed.”

Cedric did not want to wait and scrambled off Saul to rid himself

of his pants and shoes. He didn’t even care where his clothes landed
and as soon as he was naked, Saul pulled the sheet back to let him
climb inside.

“Those off now,” Cedric demanded as he saw the sexy black

boxers Saul still had on. The smile Saul gave him as he slowly slipped
the cotton fabric down his legs sent chills down Cedric’s spine and
blood to his cock. Saul’s penis was already proud and leaking, jutting
out from a nest of light brown curls. Cedric crawled up from the
bottom of the bed between Saul’s long spread legs, the golden skin
dusted with pale brown hair tantalising him on his journey. He kissed
the inside of Saul’s thigh, running his tongue up to the man’s joint,
inhaling the fresh linen scent and male musk that was all Saul.

Cedric curled his tongue round Saul’s furred, sac drawing his ball

into his mouth. Saul’s groan echoed round the room and the blood
rushed to an almost painful point in Cedric’s cock. Cedric moved to
the other ball and ran his hands up Saul’s legs, grazing his neat,
manicured nails along Saul’s sensitive skin. He pulled away from
Saul’s tightening sac, smiling when he heard Saul’s frantic whimper.

“I’ve got you, darling,” Cedric murmured as he dragged his

tongue up the length of Saul’s thick, throbbing cock.

“Agh, yes,” Saul hissed as Cedric opened his mouth and took as

much of Saul’s long, thick length down his throat, closing his mouth
around it and massaging the heavy vein that pulsed along the side.
Saul bucked his hips and Cedric caught them in his hands, pushing his

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weight down to keep the man immobile. Cedric set an even rhythm,
feeling Saul swell even more in his mouth. Releasing one hand, he
gripped the tight sac at the base and rolled it slowly through his
fingers.

“Cedric!” Saul bellowed just before hot shots of cum hit the back

of his throat. Cedric swallowed quickly, for once not gagging on the
salty taste. He grinned at the thought that crossed his mind as it
always did at this time. Cedric licked the still-hard cock clean before
sliding off the shaft with a pop.

Saul groaned and looked down at Cedric, who knew he had a silly

grin on his face. Those hazel eyes lightened and Saul’s eyebrows rose
in question.

“Sorry.” Cedric giggled. “This is going to sound really bad.”
Saul frowned and pulled Cedric up alongside him. Cedric moaned

at the heat he felt as his painfully aroused cock rubbed against Saul’s
sweat-covered body. He couldn’t believe his lover was still hard, but
he’d be damned if he was going to complain.

“So what has my spirit walker found that is so funny, may I ask?”

Saul murmured in his ear before tracing its outline with his tongue.

“C–cum,” Cedric stuttered, his body shivering in response to the

gentle touch.

“Huh?” Saul asked pulling back and looking directly into Cedric’s

eyes. “Cum?”

“I don’t like the taste of cum.” Cedric giggled again, but stopped

immediately at the look of horror on Saul’s face. “Oh no, it’s not that
bad. Saul, you tasted fine. I even liked it, which is very unusual for
me.” Saul still didn’t look convinced and Cedric’s heart sank. “Really.
I know a gay man that doesn’t like the taste of cum is–is—”

“Bloody funny,” Saul answered. “But next time you don’t

swallow I come all over you or inside you.” Saul finished the sentence
on a growl and flipped Cedric over so he was pinned beneath him.

“Oh hell yeah.” Cedric moaned as Saul thrust his erection up

against his groin. Cedric stuck out his hand and reached over to the

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bedside table, knocking things everywhere till he gripped the small
tube of lube he knew was there. He handed it over to Saul, pushing
the man back from where he was sucking a beautiful bruise on the
base of his neck.

“Claim me,” Cedric cried breathlessly, turning over and thrusting

his ass toward Saul.

“God, that’s beautiful,” Saul murmured as he dove in and licked

over Cedric’s sensitive hole. Cedric gasped as sensations sparked
through his skin. If Saul kept this up he was going to blow and his
cock would have never been touched.

Cedric couldn’t help the moan that was wrenched from his lips as

Saul worked his magic on his most intimate of places. Cedric felt his
muscles relax and Saul’s tongue penetrate the ring of muscle. Cedric
slumped to the bed, unable to support his upper body on his trembling
arms.

“Please, Saul,” Cedric begged. “I need you in me. I want to feel

you fill me so I’m just a part of you.”

Saul groaned and Cedric felt a slicked finger enter where his

tongue had just been. Saul’s hands were jerky, but Cedric just didn’t
care. Soon two fingers found their way inside him and brushed across
his prostate. Saul was driving him insane, and after three fingers had
penetrated him Cedric knew he had to have him.

“Now, Saul, please. I need you now. I want to be a part of you.”

Cedric almost sobbed and it appeared Saul felt the same way, too.
Saul’s fingers were ruthlessly pulled out and the smooth head of
Saul’s cock took their place.

“This may hurt. Please tell me—” Saul finished on a cry as Cedric

thrust back, impaling himself on Saul’s cock.

“Agh!” Cedric cried as the fullness burned inside him, but what a

glorious burn. Saul gripped his hips in his large palms that really told
Cedric he was being held, and he withdrew his cock till just his head
remained. With just a twitch of his hands on Cedric’s skin, Saul

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slammed his hips back into him, turning the burn into pleasure as it
grazed across his prostate.

Saul set a punishing rhythm that launched Cedric’s senses into

orbit with the pleasure that coursed through him. He was so close he
knew it wouldn’t take long before Saul drove him over the edge.

“Cedric, I’m close.” Saul gasped as he leaned over, taking

Cedric’s throbbing cock in a tight fist. One pull was all it took and
Cedric was sailing over the peak into a feeling of utter bliss.

“Mine!” Saul roared behind him as he sank his extended canines

into Cedric’s collarbone.

“Oh fuck,” Cedric swore as a second orgasm pulsed through him,

sending him into dizzying heights of pure pleasure. “Oh fuck yeah,”
Cedric said again as he slipped blissfully home in the arms of his soul
keeper.

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Epilogue

Saul could barely keep the smile off his face as young Mark

bounced out of the surgery with his fully recovered Bernie, the rat.
Cedric, on the other hand, looked green. This was more the reason for
Saul’s laughter and high spirits. They’d had to keep the rat at the
surgery while it recovered from a minor operation to have half his tail
removed. Cedric had refused to go near it unless he had huge surgical
gloves and a face mask on.

“Thank God it’s gone.” Cedric shivered as he escaped the clinic

into their cottage that was attached at the back.

Saul was glad they’d decided to move back to Cedric’s cottage.

With the front blown out they’d remodelled to add a whole clinic to
the side of the building. It was amazing what a person could do with a
few ideas, a simple sketch, and three wizards. One minute it was on
paper, the next it was built. There was a new section of stone missing
from around the cove, but how they did it was something he would
never understand. The pack had rallied round to supply the place with
equipment, and Dr. Banner was finally moving his surgery just down
the road, as he was keen to do more research on shifter species and
had called on Saul to help. Even Fred seemed content, though it had
taken them an age to find the grumpy tortoise and then persuade the
reptile to leave the salad basket. He now had his own house with
access to the garden or the pantry, and although his sunny disposition
had yet to improve, he no longer sat on the chest in their bedroom and
watched.

Saul’s smile grew even bigger as he thought about what went on

in that bedroom. Well, there and anywhere else in the house they

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happened to meet up and the mood took them. Now he was the keeper
of Cedric’s soul. The last missing piece had fallen into place and Saul
knew he had finally found what he had been waiting for all those
years. His walker was flighty and flirty, never stayed still for very
long, and filled his life with so much laughter it was obscene. He may
be over four hundred and fifty years old, but if trouble erupted he
invariable found Cedric at the centre. Still, at least it meant life was
never dull.

Knock, knock.
Saul looked up and headed for the waiting room. He had no more

appointments for today and was surprised to hear someone.
Emergencies usually tended to ring.

“Who was that, love?” Cedric asked as he came up behind him.

“Oh dear.”

Saul locked the outside door as he watch Cedric cautiously

approach a large cardboard box that had been laid on their counter.

“If it’s small and wriggly it’s out of here,” Cedric said adamantly.
“What do you mean?” Saul asked as he approached the box to see

what it may be.

Cedric held up a card that had been stuck to the top.
“Free to a good home.”
Saul looked at Cedric and sighed. “Cedders, love, this can happen

a lot. People tend to leave unwanted pets at the vets in the hope we’ll
find it a good home.”

“Oh my God, I’m going to be living in a zoo,” Cedric cried, and

the stricken look on his face was comical. “Oh heavens, I’ll need
more cleaning products. They’re not bringing their fur and fluff and
bugs and mites and, and—Oh no, not into my home”

“It will be fine. Let’s see what’s in here, shall we, before we go

into a cleaning frenzy,” Saul said patiently.

“I think it’s dead, as the box hasn’t even moved,” Cedric said with

what could only be described as hope in his eyes.

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Saul lifted the lid and gradually removed the hay. And then he

beamed. “Oh, somebody’s going to be very happy,” he said, turning
to Cedric.

“I don’t think so. I’m not really a pet man. What on earth is it?”

Cedric asked, shaking his head as Saul lifted the animal out of the
box.

“It’s a”—Saul paused just to make sure he had the right sex—“It’s

a female Greek tortoise.”

THE END

WWW.ELLENQUINN.CO.UK

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ellen Quinn loves writing when her family has finally all gone to

sleep. In the early hours she will be found creating stories about
amazing heroes and charming rogues.

For all titles by Ellen Quinn, please visit

www.bookstrand.com/ellen-quinn

 

 

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com