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Warriors of the Light 11

Damon’s Determined Wolf

Fear is a constant in Toby Watkins life and leaving the safety of
the warrior’s compound holds no appeal for him. Evil lurks at

every corner and Toby’s proven right once again that he’s not safe
anywhere.

When Damon Thorn left Toby seven years ago it was with the best

intentions. He needed to fix himself before he could be a worthy
mate to Toby but his plan backfires. He never took in account his

need to be with his mate and now after searching for the past six
years he finds Toby but it’s at the worst possible time in his mate’s

life.

With the Warriors of the Dark searching for him, Toby has no

option but to trust Damon because the alternative means living a
life held as a prisoner by the very men who tried to destroy him
seven years ago. It’s time to risk it all or stand to face an eternity

alone in the darkness.

Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Contemporary, Paranormal,
Shape-shifter, Vampires/Werewolves
Length: 39,546 words

DAMON'S DETERMINED WOLF

Warriors of the Light 11

AJ Jarrett

EVERLASTING CLASSIC

MANLOVE

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Everlasting Classic ManLove

DAMON'S DETERMINED WOLF
Copyright © 2014 by AJ Jarrett
E-book ISBN: 978-1-63258-716-9

First E-book Publication: December 2014

Cover design by Harris Channing
All art and logo copyright © 2014 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without
express written permission.

All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance
to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com

Letter to Readers

Dear Readers,

If you have purchased this copy of Damon's Determined Wolf by AJ
Jarrett from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you.
Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

Regarding E-book Piracy

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This is AJ Jarrett’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect AJ
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DAMON'S DETERMINED

WOLF

Warriors of the Light 11

AJ JARRETT

Prologue

“You don’t have to sit in here with me if you don’t want to.”
Toby glanced up at the man sitting next to him. Damon. Rust-

colored dry blood streaked his pale, thin face. The skin on his head
had started to grow back from where he’d been scalped by his
deranged mother. Little tuffs of blond hair were popping up in
random areas along his scalp, making him look not as scary as he had.

“But I do, I think.” Toby pulled his legs up to his chest and

hugged his arms around them. “You shouldn’t have to be alone,
Damon.”

Damon quickly looked away from him and stared down at his

hands. “After what I’ve done, being alone is what I deserve.”

Toby could feel his heart lurch in his chest. What happened to

Damon and what he’d been forced to do wasn’t his fault. His mother
Clara was a witch. A witch who’d discovered by drinking shifter
blood she could take on that shifter’s abilities, but it was only short
lived. It required her to kill more and more shifters to gain that power.

Clara had been doing that until another witch foretold that Garrett,

who at the time was the alpha of the Carrington pack, would be the

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one to destroy her. In an effort to save herself, she put in motion a
plan to not only kill Garrett but his mate Lachlan.

In an attempt to save Garrett and Lachlan, Damon had disobeyed

his mother and was tortured for his efforts, but it wasn’t all in vain.
Garrett and Lachlan were alive because of the information Damon
had told them.

“It’s not your fault, Damon.” Toby reached out with a shaking

hand and twined his fingers with Damon’s. Damon looked over at
him but Toby kept his eyes down on their clasped hands. “You were
only doing what you had to do to survive. No one can blame you for
that.” Toby shrugged. “She was your mother and part of you wanted
to please her. That’s only natural.”

As fucked up as it might be, Toby understood it. Everybody

wanted to have the love and approval of their parents and it was no
different for Damon. The only difference was that Clara, being a dark
warrior, didn’t have the capacity to give or show love. Nothing
Damon ever done would garner his mother’s affection.

“It’s still not an excuse,” Damon whispered.
Toby jerked when Damon rubbed the pad of his thumb over his

knuckles. It had been a year since his attack, but the memories still
haunted him as if it only happened yesterday. Being beaten and raped
was something Toby wouldn’t wish on his worst enemy, but for some
reason just being close to Damon dulled that pain. He wasn’t scared
of Damon, if anything he felt safe with the man near him.

“Not saying that it is, but the fact that you feel bad about the

things you’ve done says a lot, Damon.” Toby let his words sink in.
“You didn’t have to seek out Lachlan and tell him what you knew but
you did. Not a lot of people would have done that. Say what you will,
but in my book that makes you a good person.”

“Really?” Damon turned to look at him. His lips trembled and his

eyes filled with tears.

“Yes, really.” For the first time in the past year Toby saw

someone more hurt and damaged then himself and he wanted to take

Damon's Determined Wolf

away all of Damon’s pain. Toby leaned forward to rest his forehead
against Damon’s. “I wouldn’t want to be near you if I thought you
were evil.”

“You like being close to me?” Damon blinked open his eyes to

look into Toby’s. “You’re not scared of me?”

“No,” Toby said slowly as his eyes roamed over Damon’s face.

Up this close, he could see a light splatter of freckles over his nose
and the way his eyes had chips of gold in the rich green depths. So
much innocence was within this man that Toby couldn’t help himself.
He bent forward until his lips brushed over Damon’s.

Soft and dry flesh caressed his and Toby sighed in relief. Nothing

had ever felt so right and good before. Kissing Damon was heaven.

Before the kiss could go any deeper, Damon pulled back,

breathing heavily. “You should go.”

Toby blinked his eyes and shook his head, trying to come back to

himself. That one small kiss shook his world. “You’re right.” He
stood up from the couch but stopped to look back down at Damon.
“Good night, Damon. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Night, Toby.” Damon gave him a tight-lipped smile and swiped a

hand under his eyes.

Toby walked out of the room, not realizing that would be the last

time he’d see his mate.

AJ Jarrett

Chapter One

7 Years Later

“It’s going to get better, ya know.”
Toby looked up from the book he was reading to see Colby

staring at him. Colby was a tall lanky boy with bright blue eyes,
floppy blond hair that hung down into his eyes, and his golden sun-
kissed skin made the young man look like an angel, but Toby knew
better than that.

Colby was the son of Ben and Miles. An anomaly in that he was

born from two men. Having a magical fairy as a friend made things
like a man caring and giving birth to a child normal in their world.
But it also made things different for said child. Technically Colby was
only six years old, but looked like a twelve-year-old going on thirteen,
or at least that’s what Sayer’s mate Shane said. Him being a nurse and
all, who was Toby to disagree with him? All Toby knew was that
Colby sure as hell acted like a teenager. He got a bit more annoying
every day, so yeah, definitely a teenager.

“What are you talking about?” Toby sat his book down and turned

to focus on the teenage boy.

Colby had turned back toward the large TV hanging on the wall.

He was playing some game on the Xbox, lots of blood and guts and
shooting. “Huh?” Colby cursed under his breath as his character on
the screen died.

“You said it’s going to get better.” Toby took a deep breath.

Colby had a habit of spurting out random shit at times that no one
ever really understood. “What’s going to get better?”

Damon's Determined Wolf

“Oh yeah, right.” Colby flopped back against the couch and tossed

his controller to the side. “It’s like this.” Colby rubbed a hand over his
eyes and Toby just stared at the boy. “Things were bad and will get
worse before they getter better. You just have to roll with the
punches.” Colby looked a bit confused but shrugged. “Sometimes
things in life happen to make us stronger and we have to learn from
them. It will all work out in the end.”

Toby narrowed his eyes at Colby. Colby had a dazed look in his

eyes as if he were somewhere else seeing something that only he
could see. This was something that happened at random times with
Colby. No one understood what it meant or why he did it, not even
Colby.

“Colby, what is that supposed to mean?” The hair on the back of

Toby’s neck stood up. Colby said things were bad but would only get
worse before they got better. What the fuck was that supposed to
mean?

“What does what mean?” Colby shook his head and picked back

up his controller and started playing his game again.

“You cryptic little shit.” Toby grabbed one of the pillows from the

couch and chucked it at Colby, hitting him in the face. “You’re like a
bad fortune teller.”

“Hey!” Colby shouted as he threw the pillow back at Toby.
“What’s going on in here?” Miles asked as he walked into the

living room. He looked from his son, then to Toby.

“Your kid is doing that weird advice-giving crap again.” Toby

stood up. “It’s weird, Miles, and a little creepy.”

Miles’s brow furrowed as he looked at his son. “What did he

say?”

“That things were bad but will only get worse before they get

better.” Toby flung his hands in the air. “Like I said, weird.”

“Colby, sweetie, what did you mean by that?” Miles sat down by

his son.

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“I don’t know.” Colby shrugged, then let out a loud woot at

something he had done on his game. “To be honest, I don’t even
remember saying it. It was one of those random weird seizure things
you and dad say I have.”

Miles’s face seemed to be pinched in concern and Toby didn’t

want the man to stress on it. Half the shit that came out of Colby’s
mouth amounted to nothing. Once he said a darkness was coming and
had the whole house freaking out. And all that happened was the
power had gone out. Nothing major ever came of Colby’s little tidbits.

“Relax, Miles. I’m sure it was nothing.”
“Yeah, sure.” Miles forced a smile, then stood up to leave the

room. He stooped down to kiss Colby on the head, then headed back
toward the kitchen.

Toby jumped in front of Colby, blocking his view from the TV. “I

see you losing this game in your near future,” Toby said in a low
voice as he danced around in front of Colby.

“You dork!” Colby leaned to the side to look around Toby.
Toby ruffled a hand through Colby’s silky blond hair, then left the

room. He took the stairs up to his bedroom. He opened the door,
tossed his book on his dresser, and then dove for his bed. Exhaustion
caused his eyes to droop and his body to ache.

He’d gotten up early that morning to train with the other warriors.

He’d been doing this for the past seven years. His brother Aaron
wanted Toby to become a warrior like him, but Toby wasn’t so sure
he wanted to. He agreed he needed to know how to protect himself
but he wasn’t one to go seeking out danger. It just wasn’t who Toby
was.

Maybe at one point in his life he’d thought about becoming a

warrior but after his attack, everything changed. All his hopes and
dreams seemed like a lifetime ago. Everything he thought he wanted
changed in a blink of an eye.

Damon's Determined Wolf

Toby clenched his eyes tight, trying his best to forget the

memories of that night but they always seemed to find a way to get to
him.

He’d only been seventeen when he met Lucian, a known dark

warrior who was capable of very bad things. At the time Toby didn’t
know any of that and Lucian had told him his name was Luke. Toby
had no idea the man he’d grown attracted to was a monster, but he
found out soon enough.

It happened over seven years ago, but Toby could still feel the fear

and pain caused by that night. Luke had lied to him, tricked him into
meeting him in the woods, alone in the dark, and Toby went. He
could only blame it on being young and dumb, but he learned his
lesson the hard way.

“Stop it,” Toby mumbled, begging his brain to not go there, to not

wander back to that time. The memories of fighting Lucian and his
men only to be overpowered and held down while Lucian had his way
with him. It was dirty and disgusting and just thinking about it made
Toby want to throw up.

You’re mine.
A shiver ran over Toby’s back at the words that were whispered

into his ear that night. Not by Lucian, but by another. Toby didn’t
want to give too much thought to that. It was a part of that awful night
he chose not to tell his brother about. Some things were better left
unsaid.

“Yo, Toby!” The sound of Aaron’s voice followed by the door

opening made Toby smile. “Whatcha doing, little brother?”

“Well I was going to take a nap but you ruined that for me,” Toby

teased. “What are you up to?”

“Nothing much.” Aaron walked over to the large windows on the

side of Toby’s room that faced the rose fields. “Have I ever told you
that you have the best view in the house?” Aaron asked as Toby came
to stand beside him.

AJ Jarrett

“A time or two, yes.” Toby stared out onto the flowers. The wind

blew, making the yellow roses look like a wave rippling across the
ocean.

“What it must be like to grow wild and free without a care in the

world,” Aaron mused as he stared out into the distance.

It was a pretty sight to be seen. Toby had spent many hours just

staring out the window at the gorgeous sight.

“But if a drought season hit, you’d be fucked.” Aaron chuckled

and nudged Toby in the shoulder. Toby rolled his eyes at his brother’s
true yet harsh statement. “You feeling okay? You’ve got dark circles
under your eyes.”

“Yeah, because getting up at six in the morning will do that to a

person.” Toby nudged Aaron in the ribs with his elbow.

“Hey, it’s for your own good. Training has made you stronger.

Look at yourself. You’re not that scrawny little crab ass you used to
be.” Aaron chuckled. “And hopefully it’s given you some of your
confidence back.”

Toby nodded his head. He hated how Aaron blamed himself for

what happened to him. It wasn’t a matter of confidence. It was a
matter of plain old fear. It consumed Toby more than he liked to
admit.

“Not a day goes by that I wished I’d been able to stop what

happened to you,” Aaron said softly. “I blame myself.”

“Stop it, Aaron.” Toby grumbled. “I was a stupid teenager and

thought I knew it all.” He turned to his brother. “Nothing you could
have said or done would have stopped me. No one is to blame for that
night but me. I should have known better.”

“You were seventeen, Toby. We all make mistakes when we’re

young. As your big brother I should have been paying closer attention
to you and what you were up to.”

“And maybe I should have listened to you better.” Toby gave his

brother a small smile. “It sounds like we both have a lot of regrets.”

Damon's Determined Wolf

“We do, but that’s why I’m hard on you now with your training. I

want you to be prepared if anything were to happen.” Aaron put his
arm around Toby’s shoulders. Toby didn’t flinch. There had been a
time that no one could touch him, but he was getting better. “There
might come a day that I might not be around, so I need to know you
can take care of yourself, little brother.”

“Fuck, Aaron, don’t say shit like that.” Toby tried to pull away

from his brother. He didn’t like when Aaron talked about the
possibility of something happening to him. Aaron was a warrior and
deep down Toby knew it was a possibility, but it was one of those
things he chose not to think about.

“Toby, listen to me.” Aaron lightly grabbed Toby’s chin to turn

him to face him. “I’m not planning on going anywhere, but if
something happens to me just know that I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Toby’s eyes started to water. His parents were

dead and Aaron was all he had left.

And Damon.
Toby sucked in a deep breath as his subconscious chose that

moment to remind him of his mate. The same mate that abandoned
him seven years ago. Toby refused to spare one second on that man.

“So me, Garrett, and Lachlan went into town this morning and

saw a flyer for a fair going on tonight.” Aaron grinned as he bumped
shoulders with Toby. “We got the okay from Ben to take you and
Colby out tonight. What do you say, little brother? Want to break free
from the compound for a few hours?”

Since moving to Texas, Toby hadn’t left the safe confines of the

compound. Fear kept him from leaving the house and the protection
spell that kept the house hidden from other people and most of all
dark warriors. His heart started to race at the mere thought of leaving
the place he considered safe.

“Toby, man, relax.” Aaron hugged him close. “I’ll be there to

protect you.” He kissed the side of Toby’s head. “But you need to get

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out more. Staying in all the time has turned you into an agoraphobic
and that’s not good.”

“I’m not an agoraphobic. I go outside all the time.” He pointed out

the window.

“Yeah, going into the backyard does not count. So what do you

say? Come out with us tonight it’ll be fun. You can eat all the junk
food you want, play some games, and ride some rides. Come, on man,
when was the last time you had some fun?”

“Ben’s okay with this?” Toby tried to change the subject.
“Yes, he is. It’s been quiet for a while now. No attacks from dark

warriors have been reported in the area. We’ve got the all clear to take
the two youngest in the house out for some fun. You in?”

Aaron had a hopeful expression on his face and there was no way

Toby could say no. “Okay, I’ll come.”

“Sweet!” Aaron hugged him again then headed for the door.

“We’re going to go after dinner.”

“I’ll be ready.” Toby watched as Aaron left his room.
Once Aaron was gone, Toby lay down on his bed and curled his

knees up to his chest. He might be able to lie to his brother but he
couldn’t lie to himself. He was nervous about tonight. He was also
surprised that Ben had agreed to it.

Ben, the leader of the Warriors of the Light, had been working

hard to rebuild the council of paranormal beings but it was a slow
going process. Mainly because paranormals were scared. After the
destruction of council headquarters and the disappearance of Ben’s
father, other paranormals chose to stay in hiding.

The warrior’s compound had become the makeshift headquarters.

Other paranormals and members of the council would come here to
speak to Ben. Most were eager to meet Abel, a witch, but also the son
of Asher Guillory. The paranormal community had the belief that
Asher was the one behind the war between good and evil but from
what Abel and Abel’s mate Elias had to say, that wasn’t true and
slowly other paranormals were coming around. Asher never got his

Damon's Determined Wolf

day in court so to speak, so the chance to clear his name never arose.
But all that changed when Abel told Ben his father was on a mission
to find Benedict.

Toby didn’t know Benedict or Asher but from what he’d

overheard from the others it was like a Shakespearean love story. Two
men who had fallen in love only to be torn apart by their families and
how they’d spent centuries apart because of it. When Toby thought
about it it made him really sad. A part of him often wondered if this
was his and Damon’s fate.

Not wanting to think anymore, Toby closed his eyes and fell

asleep. Dreams of Damon’s smiling face danced behind his eyelids.

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Chapter Two

“Dad, you promised!”
“Something’s come up, son. I have to stay.”
Toby stood leaning against the wall as he listened to Ben and

Colby argue. Apparently Ben was expecting an important call from an
informant who might have a lead on Asher. Toby didn’t think much
of the leads and spottings that Ben had received over the years. If
Benedict or Asher were going to be found they would have been by
now. Ben and Abel kept holding out hope that their fathers were still
alive, but Toby just wasn’t so sure.

“Something always comes up.” The sound of a hand hitting the

wall caused Toby to jump. “Do you get it? I’m sick of being stuck in
this house. It’s like I’m a prisoner.”

“It’s for your own protection, Colby.” Ben’s voice started to rise.
“I can take care of myself!” Colby spat back.
“Sweetie, calm down.” Miles’s calm and gentle voice sounded

from the other room. “You have to understand something. You mean
the world to us, and if anything were to happen to you we couldn’t
bear it.” Toby heard the shuffling of feet across the carpet. “You are
the most precious thing to us please try to understand.”

“Just because dad can’t go, why can’t you?” Colby asked.
“Well—”
“No! That’s out of the question,” Ben shouted.
“Hey little brother, what’s going on?” Aaron came to stand next to

Toby. He pointed to the room across the hall that had the arguing
family in it. “Oh, I guess Ben can’t go, huh?”

“Nope and Colby is more than a little pissed.”

Damon's Determined Wolf

“Hey, guys.” Garrett smiled as he came to stand before them,

Lachlan at his side holding Garrett’s hand. “Ready to go?” He looked
around, then back to Toby and Aaron. “Where’s Colby, Ben, and
Miles?” Toby pointed to the room as the voices started to rise again.
“Shit,” Garrett mumbled. “I’ll be right back.”

“Neither of you are going and that’s final,” Ben snapped.
“Ben, man, calm down.” Garrett sounded as if he were trying to

calm down a six-hundred-pound bear.

“So do you think they’ll let him go?” Aaron asked.
“I’m not sure.” Toby, like his brother, listened in on the

conversation in the next room.

Ben shouted a little bit and made the claim that everyone was

against him but finally agreed to let Miles and Colby go, only on the
condition that Lachlan and Garrett acted as bodyguards for his mate
and son.

Colby was grinning from ear to ear as he walked out of the room.

Miles gave Ben a hug and kiss and followed his son toward the
garage.

Toby pushed away from the wall and went to follow the others.
“Toby.” Ben’s loud and intimidating voice pulled him up short.
“Yes?” Toby turned around to face Ben.
“Please stay close to your brother and be careful. Oh, and have

some fun.” Ben did his best to smile.

“Thanks.” Toby nodded his head then turned to head out the back

door.

“Finally breaking free.” Colby let out a heavy exhale and leaned

back in his seat. He turned his head to grin at Toby. “Aren’t you
excited?”

“Yep. Practically peeing my pants.” Toby buckled his seat belt.
He sat in the third row of the Tahoe next to Colby. Garret was

driving, Lachlan in the passenger seat, and Miles and Aaron in the
second row chatting away. Everyone seemed to be acting like this was

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just any other regular night. Toby didn’t understand it. Was he the
only one afraid that they might be attacked?

“Dude, you need to relax more.” Colby blew out a breath, sending

his wispy golden hair out of his eyes.

Toby glared over at Colby but quickly gentled his features. Colby

was young and had been fortunate enough to never have had to deal
with what Toby had to. Bad things happening were only things Colby
had overheard but never witnessed for himself, and Toby prayed that
the young man never had to go through what he had. Colby’s eyes
still shined with hope and light. It gave Toby hope for himself.

“Hey, Dad, while we’re out we should go see a movie. Like on the

big screen.” Colby leaned forward, grabbing at the back of his father’s
seat.

“Son, your father would kill us.” Miles tilted his head back to look

at his son. “I’ll talk to him about getting out more.”

“Yeah, I know.” Colby whined. “I’m perfectly safe with you, Dad.

Why can’t you and I go out on our own?”

“Because he worries and it makes him feel good to protect us.”

Miles reached back to pat Colby on the knee. “It’ll get better, sweets,
just be patient.”

“I know, Dad.” Colby smiled at his dad.
The drive into town was about thirty minutes long with not much

to look at. Night had settled and street lights lit up the darkness. As
they neared town more cars passed by them and a long trail of
taillights led the way to the fair grounds.

Toby’s pulse started to rise and a bead of sweat trickled down the

side of his face. Large crowds made him nervous. The car stopped
and everyone piled out. Toby sat staring out the window at the bright
lights flashing and people laughing and having fun.

“Toby, you all right?” Colby rested a hand on his knee and gave

him a little shake.

“Yeah.” Toby shook his head and plastered a smile on his face.

“Let’s go have some fun.”

Damon's Determined Wolf

Colby chuckled. “You sound so convincing.”
“Just get out of the car, you little shit.” Toby swatted Colby on the

butt as he squeezed past him.

Toby stayed close to Aaron and Lachlan, more like smashed

between them. Aaron gave him a funny look at one point but didn’t
say anything. Miles, Colby, and Garrett walked ahead of them. Colby
pointed out the stuff he wanted to do and the rest of them just
followed along. Toby smiled as he watched the excitement on Colby’s
face. Oh, to be so young and carefree again.

“Here, Toby.” Aaron nudged him in the arm. “Let’s play this

game.”

Toby walked over to a game that had a gun and a row of cows

moving along the top. The sign said they had to shoot at least five to
win a prize. He stood next to Aaron and raised up the toy rifle and
took aim. He only shot down two of the cows while Aaron hit all ten
shots. The man handed over a large stuffed panda bear to Aaron and
Toby started to laugh. He hadn’t laughed like that in years and it felt
good.

“What the hell am I going to do with this thing?” Aaron eyed the

big stuffed animal.

“Give it to Colby.”
“Good idea.” Aaron grinned and held on to the big bear by the ear

as he tossed it over his shoulder.

They played a few more games and stopped to have corn dogs and

cotton candy. Once Colby had personally tasted all the food offered at
the fair, they headed toward the rides. The line was long for an
octopus-type spinning ride, but Miles and Colby were both excited to
get on it.

“Are you sure it’s safe?” Lachlan whispered to Garrett.
Toby giggled to himself as he watched the duo debate the

construction of the spinning ride. He leaned against the railing,
watching as the people exited the ride. The smiles on their faces made
him smile in return.

AJ Jarrett

As if out of nowhere, a cold chill ran down Toby’s back and he

stood up straight. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he
could feel the wolf inside him whimper in fear. Toby slowly turned to
look over his shoulder. Men, women, and children laughed and talked
as they moved around him, but no one stood out as odd or threatening.

“You ready?” Aaron nudged his shoulder then gestured to the

entrance of the ride.

“Sure.” He gave a tight-lipped smile and climbed into the seat.

Aaron sat next to him. One of the workers locked the safety bar into
place then stood back as the ride started to spin.

Air whizzed over his face and his hair flopped wildly in the wind

crashing against his forehead. Aaron laughed next to him and he
could hear Colby shouting out his enjoyment from a few cars away.
But Toby couldn’t focus on any of that. Goose bumps covered the
skin on his arms and he couldn’t shake the feeling he was being
watched.

The ride slowed down and they were let off. Toby was ready to go

home. They’d only been there for a little over two hours and he didn’t
want to cut Colby’s fun short, so he kept his mouth shut and followed
along with the crowd.

“Please, Dad, one more ride,” Colby pleaded with Miles.
“Son, it’s almost midnight and the place is shutting down for the

night,” Miles explained as they made their way toward the parking
lot.

The crowd had thinned out and the lights from the fairgrounds had

started to shut off. The walk to the SUV took a few minutes. They had
to park way in the back in a dimly lit field when they arrived. Cars
eased out of their spots and headed toward the main road.

“Did you have fun?” Aaron asked Toby.
“Yeah, it was a good time.” Toby smiled up at his brother. The

only downer of the whole night was the weird feeling he’d had that he
was being watched. It never went away, but for all Toby knew it was
just his own mind playing tricks on him.

Damon's Determined Wolf

“Good.” Aaron wrapped an arm over Toby’s shoulders. “You

deserve it.”

Toby wrapped his arm around Aaron’s waist and leaned in to his

side.

“Stop.” Garrett held up a hand and they all stopped. “Do you

smell that?” Garrett sniffed the air, Lachlan and Aaron did the same.

“Colby, stay behind me.” Miles yanked his son behind him and

kept one arm around his back, keeping him close.

“It smells sweet like blood,” Colby whispered.
“Give the boy a prize.” A tall man with wavy black hair and eyes

black as coal stepped out from behind their car.

Toby sucked in a breath. He clenched his eyes shut, then opened

them again. It couldn’t be. How did he find him?

You’re mine, Toby. I’ll never let you go. The words the man had

whispered in his ear as he took him from behind that awful night
seven years ago echoed in his head.

Toby stepped closer to Aaron, his hands shaking as he watched

the man stare right at him. God he hoped the man didn’t say anything.
It was bad enough everyone knew he’d been raped by Lucian. He
didn’t need them all to know he’d been passed around to this guy.

“Get out of our way.” A low rumbly growl seeped past Garrett’s

lips. He and Lachlan had moved to surround Miles and Colby.

“Don’t make demands to me, warrior.” The man raised a finger at

them and made a clucking sound with his tongue. “I don’t want to
have to kill you all, but I will if I need to.” The man titled his head to
the side, staring over Miles’s shoulder at Colby. “Maybe not all of
you.” The man turned his gaze from Colby to pierce Toby with his
black eyes. “Toby, my dear, it’s been ages since I’ve seen you last.”

Toby dropped his head to bury into his brothers back. God, please

shut up! Tears filled Toby’s eyes and he could feel his brother’s
muscles go stiff at the mention of Toby’s name.

“Who are you and what do you want?” Aaron demanded.

AJ Jarrett

“My name is Porter and I’m a warrior of the dark, but I’m not here

on their behalf.” He chuckled. “This is more of a personal expedition
for me.” Porter stalked closer toward Aaron and Toby.

“What do you mean?” Aaron took a slow step back and Toby

followed his lead.

“I’ve been looking for someone for seven years but you pesky

warriors had ways to hide him from me until now.” Porter snapped his
fingers and out of nowhere dark warriors surrounded them. “Give him
to me or this will get messy.” Porter cut a glance toward Colby. “Your
time is coming, boy, but just not tonight.” He sneered.

“Who are you after?” Lachlan asked.
“Please, let this all be a nightmare. Please god, say it’s not real,”

Toby mumbled to himself, afraid to move or to breathe. He balled up
his fist in the back of Aaron’s shirt, sobbing into the soft material.

“Toby, why don’t you come over here?” Porter snapped his

fingers. “You wouldn’t want anyone to get hurt, now would you?”

Toby froze, unable to move a muscle, even to blink. It was as if

time stood still.

“Hey, what’s going on over here?” a loud booming voice shouted.
Toby looked over in time to see one of the carnival workers

stomping toward them. Then in a move so fast the poor human never
saw it coming, one of the dark warriors attacked, sinking his teeth into
the man’s neck and sucking the life out of him.

As if a flip had been switched, everyone started moving at once.

Aaron shoved Toby toward the ground and lunged at one of the dark
warriors. His brother had gone into a partial shift, his eyes glowing,
and his teeth lengthened to deadly points. Aaron swiped out with his
claws, tearing through the dark warrior’s chest.

Toby watched as Miles backed his son up against their car and

started fighting off another dark warrior. Garrett and Lachlan stood at
his sides, fending off the other men. The sounds of heavy breathing
and growls filled the night air and Toby feared more humans would
come to investigate and lose their lives for their own curiosity.

Damon's Determined Wolf

The prickles of eyes on Toby had him turning to look over his

shoulder. Porter had moved behind him and was slowly stalking
closer to him.

“You know, Toby, at first I thought this feeling I had inside for

you would go away, but it only grew stronger over the years.” Porter
sniffed the air and his eyes fell shut, a grin curling his upper lip.
“Your fear is like a drug I can’t get enough of.” Porter opened his
eyes, the black onyx holding Toby prisoner. “I want to hear you
scream for me again.”

“No,” Toby whimpered. He climbed to his feet and took off back

toward the fairgrounds as fast as his two legs would carry him. The
lights had gone dim and he didn’t see any people. He hid behind the
Farris wheel and hugged his knees to his chest.

“You can hide all you want but I can hear the pitter patter of your

heart beat.” Porter chuckled. “It makes my body tingle with the
possibilities.”

Oh god. Toby gulped down the bile that rose in his throat. He had

to stay calm. He had to fight if he wanted to get out of this mess but
he couldn’t do it. It was as if his body had locked up and he couldn’t
move a single muscle.

“Toby,” Porter sang out the word. “Come out come out wherever

you are.”

Toby knew if he didn’t move now Porter would get him. Would

take him back and do all the things he promised to do seven years
ago. Being a monster’s sex slave held no appeal for Toby.

The sound of grass crunching under foot jolted Toby to his feet.

He took off back toward where the others were. More dark warriors
surrounded his friends and even more bodies lay on the ground.
Aaron and Lachlan fought back to back while Miles tore one
warrior’s head off, then another.

A large black panther leapt toward Colby. Toby could see and

smell the young boy’s fear and shouted out a warning, doing his best
to get to him in time. Just then Garrett sprang into action and barreled

AJ Jarrett

into the beast’s side. Garrett sunk his long canines into the panther’s
throat and wrenched his mouth away cruelly. Blood ran like a river to
wet the dirt ground. Garrett jumped to his feet and snagged Colby by
the arm and kept him close while the others fought.

Toby came to a stop and took a deep breath. He looked behind

him but didn’t see Porter anymore. A number of dark warriors lay on
the ground dead. Toby hoped that Porter had taken off and ran away
in fear.

“Come now.” A hard steel grip on his bicep had Toby crying out

in fear and pain. Porter reappeared as if out of thin air. “Time to go.”

Anger grew in Toby’s gut. For so many years he’d lived in fear.

This had to stop. He’d been trained to take care of himself. He wasn’t
sure he could win in a fight against Porter, but he’d rather die than be
this bastard’s prisoner.

Toby jerked his arm back and swung around with his right arm,

punching Porter in his sharp chin. Porter stumbled a step back, putting
a hand to his chin. He moved his jaw around, popping it back into
place.

“You’re going to pay for that.” Porter took a step toward him but

was knocked down by Aaron.

“Stay away from my brother!” Aaron started landing one punch

after another into Porter’s face. Blood splattered all over the ground
and the sound of bones breaking filled the air.

Toby scooted back on his butt, trying to get away from the

mayhem. All the blood and dead bodies was making his stomach
groan in agony.

“Toby.” Aaron stood up and walked toward him. “It’s okay.”
For one brief moment Toby believed him, but then his mouth fell

open as he saw Porter rise to his feet. Toby pointed behind Aaron to
warn him.

“H…he…he’s behind you.” A cold chill came over Toby’s entire

body as he watched in horror.

Damon's Determined Wolf

Aaron didn’t have time to react and just as he turned to face Porter

the man had punched a fist right through Aaron’s back. Toby choked
on a scream as he looked down to see Porter’s bloodied fist sticking
out of Aaron’s chest with his heart lying in his hand

“Aaron!” Toby cried out.
Aaron collapsed and Toby dug his nails into the ground, trying to

crawl toward him, but someone held him back. Strong arms wound
around his chest, holding him tight. The scene before Toby’s eyes
went hazy and he felt like he was falling. In the time it took him to
blink his eyes, Toby realized he was gone.

Toby sucked in a deep breath as he came back to solid ground. He

sobbed uncontrollably as his mind couldn’t shake the image of his
brother lying dead on the ground, staring lifelessly up at the dark
night.

“He’s dead,” Toby cried. “Oh my god he’s dead. Aaron!” Toby

screamed at the top of his lungs.

“I know,” the man behind him whispered next to his ear. Strong

hands rubbed up and down his arms, and the warmth coming off the
man’s chest calmed Toby just a little.

Toby grabbed at the man’s hands and pulled them tighter around

his chest. He buried his nose in the man’s sleeve and cried. The man’s
dark and spicy scent soothed him even further. It was like he knew
this man. Toby lifted his head and turned to look over his shoulder.

“It can’t be.” He gasped. So many emotions were running through

Toby’s mind, pain, fear, sadness, and anger. After all these years he’d
come back, just not soon enough. “Damon,” Toby whispered as his
mind went blank and he let himself fall into the darkness pulling at
him.

AJ Jarrett

Chapter Three

Damon didn’t know what to do. He lifted Toby up into his arms

and carried him into his cabin and laid him on the bed.

He knew his timing wasn’t the best, but the moment his necklace

started to glow he was able to hone in on Toby’s location. He hadn’t
expected to find his mate and his mate’s friends in a battle for their
lives but he had. And he’d arrived in time to witness Toby’s brother
Aaron being murdered.

Poor Aaron didn’t have time to react or even realize what was

happening. The death was delivered quickly and Damon hoped that
the man didn’t feel any pain. Even now Damon could see the blank
stare in Aaron’s lifeless blue eyes as he crumpled to the ground and
the man responsible smiling, taking great pleasure from what he’d
done.

Damon recognized the man with the cold black eyes, Porter Salva.

Not only a feared Warrior of the Dark, but also Lucian Salva’s
younger brother. Damon had only met him a few times but he’d never
liked Porter. He was cruel and had no issues with killing everyone in
a room, including children if it served his purpose.

Soft whimpers coming from the back of the house had Damon

walking softly toward his bedroom to check on Toby. His mate lay
curled into a ball, sleeping. Damon stepped up close to the bed and
pulled the thick comforter up and over Toby’s body.

Seven years.
That’s how long it’d been since he’d seen Toby last. It felt like a

lifetime ago. At the time Damon thought he was doing the right thing,

Damon's Determined Wolf

leaving like he had, but now as he looked down at his mate he wasn’t
so sure.

Damon ran his fingers through Toby’s short brown hair. A jolt of

electricity shot up his arm, causing his fingertips to tingle. His body
seemed to come alive from the simple touch. Taking a deep breath,
Damon stepped away from the bed and out of the room. He shut the
door quietly behind him and moved to sit down on the couch. Damon
ran a hand through his short blond hair and down his face.

When he left southern Missouri seven years ago, he wasn’t really

sure where he was going, he just knew he had to get away. He needed
time to figure out who he was and what he was going to do with his
life. If he’d stayed he’d have been no good to Toby. Toby was still
underage and dealing with his own issues, so Damon thought it best to
give his young mate some space. At the time it seemed like the most
unselfish thing in the world but he wondered over the years if Toby
would feel the same way.

Damon wandered around the world, never staying in one place for

too long. Before Damon had left Branson behind him he’d returned to
his mother’s little house she kept a hundred miles away from where
the Carrington pack resided. He found the safe she’d hidden in the
floorboards under her bed and took out the money inside and found
account numbers for other banking accounts in her name. Damon
transferred all the money she’d accumulated over the years to his own
personal account then set off on his own journey.

For the first time in his life he learned what it was like to be free.

His mother kept him locked away from the rest of the world doing her
best to make him like her, but it didn’t work. No matter how mean
and cruel she was, she couldn’t break him. Damon knew what his
mother was, and he had no aspirations to become evil like her. Damon
just wanted to live a life away from so much hate and death.

In the midst of all his travels, Damon found a place he wanted to

call home, Great Falls, Montana. For Damon this town was so fresh
and clean and bright. It seemed like the right place for a fresh start.

AJ Jarrett

He found some property just outside of town and had a cabin built.
For the first time in his life Damon felt like he was at home, but
something was missing.

It had been a little over a year at this point that he’d last seen

Toby. Like himself, he wondered if Toby had changed much and if he
had overcome the demons plaguing his young life.

When Damon left he promised himself not to use his powers. He

wanted to live as a normal human man, but his curiosity over Toby
got the better of him and one night he allowed his body to fade into
the wind until he reached Carrington pack lands. It had been right
around twilight when he arrived and he sat out in the woods watching,
hoping to catch a glimpse of his mate, but he never did.

Late into the night a woman came out. She had a gentle smile on

her face and introduced herself as Grace, the alpha’s mate.

“He said you might show up.” She held out her hand. “Damon,

right?”

Damon nodded his head and she proceeded to tell him Garrett

became a Warrior of the Light like his mate Lachlan. She also said
that Toby along with his brother went with Garrett and Lachlan as
well.

“Are they at the compound?” Damon had asked. He had never

been to the compound the warriors called home, but he knew where it
was located.

“No.” Grace shook her head and sadness came over her face.

“They’re gone. The compound came under attack, so they left.” She
exhaled and looked up at the night sky. “It’s been about nine months
now that they’ve been gone.” Grace looked back at Damon. “We’re
not sure where they went.”

Damon thanked the woman and left. From that moment on his life

changed. He’d willingly left Toby to give his mate the time to heal
and to grow up, but he never imagined that he’d lose the ability to
contact his mate.

Damon's Determined Wolf

For months he scoured the world searching for his Toby, but came

up empty-handed every time. It went against everything inside of him,
but Damon turned to his witching roots. He didn’t want to have to use
magic to find his mate, but he would if it were to help him. Damon
wasn’t a being of evil, so he took solace in knowing he wasn’t hurting
anyone to use his magic, but he wanted to live a life without it. But
his need to find Toby trumped any and all other hopes and wants.

While searching for Toby, Damon met a witch in Brazil. He

claimed he could help Damon. With no other option, Damon
accepted. The elder witch, Lucca, with Damon’s help, conjured up a
locator spell, but it didn’t work. Lucca said something must be
shielding Toby and that’s why he couldn’t find him.

After seeing the tears staining Damon’s cheeks, Lucca said there

was one other thing he could do. He pulled out a necklace with a
shiny black onyx stone in the center. Lucca said a few words and the
necklace started to glow. He handed it over to Damon and said
whenever Toby was free of the protection spell the necklace would
light up and Damon would be able to find him. Damon thanked the
man and promised to help Lucca in return if the man ever needed it.

For the past five years he’d worn that necklace and not once did it

ever twitch even a dim light until tonight. The necklace glowed a
brilliant blue like a strobe light in rapid secession, as if it were a heart
beating out of control.

Damon found Toby all right, but it had to be at one of the most

terrible moments of his mate’s life.

Damon arrived during the fight. He saw Miles and Lachlan

fighting off three rabid vamps and Garrett protecting a young child.
Bodies littered the ground and Damon was shocked to see they hadn’t
garnered more attention from the human world, but it was dark and
the battle seemed to be out in the middle of a darkened field. Damon
did notice a few dead human bodies near the carnival and around the
warriors. They must have been just another causality of this bitter war
against good and evil.

AJ Jarrett

No one even noticed him as he blinked into the mayhem. His

magic allowed him to fade in and out of sight and travel from one
location to the next. It was easy for him to sneak up behind Toby and
once he saw what was about to happen to Aaron he started to fade out
to save Toby’s brother, but he wasn’t fast enough.

The sight of Aaron’s bloodied, still-beating heart in Porter’s palm

made bile rise in the back of his throat. Damon would never get used
to the cruelty dark warriors possessed. The lack of emotion they
emitted was beyond anything Damon would ever be able to
understand.

“Aaron,” Toby cried out from the bedroom, and Damon ran to

him.

Toby lay thrashing around on the bed, calling out for his brother.

Damon sat on the edge of the mattress close to his mate, combing his
fingers through Toby’s hair. Sweat dotted Toby’s brow and the
wrinkles pinching his face seemed to ease once Damon sat close to
him. Toby didn’t wake up, just snuggled in closer to Damon’s side
and balled his hands into tight fists in Damon’s shirt and drifted back
off.

Damon kicked his legs up on the bed and wrapped one arm

around Toby’s shoulders and the other around his waist and held him
close. If him being near his mate helped take away the nightmares of
reliving his brother’s death, Damon was more than willing to do just
that.

As he gazed down at Toby he couldn’t help but see the changes in

his mate. Toby went from looking like a scrawny teenager to a grown
man. His body filled out with hard muscles and his soft, rounded face
thinned out into a chiseled masterpiece. Toby truly was the most
handsomest man Damon had ever seen.

Just being near Toby and feeling his warmth pressed against his

side caused his body to come alive with desire. In all his ninety-seven
years he had never known the loving touch of another person. Being
controlled by his mother left little time to meet people, and after her

Damon's Determined Wolf

death was when he met Toby, his mate. Damon had never been
unfaithful to Toby. The man was his entire world, the reason he left to
become a better man. A man Toby could be proud of.

Toby shifted and rolled over. Damon slumped further down in the

bed and spooned him from behind. He prayed when Toby opened his
big blue eyes that he’d be able to forgive Damon for leaving like he
had.

Before long Damon felt his eyelids getting heavy, and soon he fell

asleep to the soft little sounds Toby made as he slept.

AJ Jarrett

Chapter Four

I need to run faster, Toby thought to himself as he stumbled over

his feet.

Toby glanced behind him but saw nothing but darkness. Shouting

in the distance led him back toward the others. The stench of blood
hung thick in the air and the sight of dead bodies littered the ground,
some dark warriors and some human.

A hard grip on his arm spun him around and Toby was so afraid

he couldn’t open his mouth. He punched Porter’s regal-looking face
and tried to get away. Before he knew what was happening, Aaron
came to his aide, trying to help him. Toby felt like such a coward as
he sat shaking on the ground watching his brother fight his battle for
him.

Toby watched as Aaron stood up and ran toward him.
No, Aaron, stop! Turn around. His shouts echoed inside his head.

It took everything inside Toby to say a single word.

“Aaron, behind you!” Toby shouted but it was too late. A look of

shock came over Aaron’s face, then nothing. He crashed down to his
knees then slumped over onto the hard ground. “No,” Toby screamed.
He crawled forward, trying to reach Aaron, then his world faded to
black.

“Aaron!” Toby came to from a deep sleep. He sat up and looked

around him. He was in a room with wooden walls and at his right a
set of windows that looked out onto a grassy area lit up by the bright
sun.

Toby shifted on the bed to let his legs hang over the side. The

floor was a dark, shiny wood. He took one more look around and he

Damon's Determined Wolf

noticed the entire place had a rustic feel to it. Everything was a dark
wood, smooth to the touch. The blinds on the windows were also a
dark wood shade. Toby stood up and looked down at the bed. It was a
king-size bed with soft flannel sheets, hunter green and navy blue,
with a navy blue comforter to match. The room was spotless and very
neat.

“Where am I?” Toby slowly walked toward the door. He turned

the handle and stepped out into a short hallway.

The sound of movement in the kitchen hit his ears not long after a

spicy, rich sent fluttered under his nose. There was something
intoxicating about that smell. It pulled at Toby’s body and soul and he
followed it into the kitchen.

Standing with his back to him was a large man. He stood a good

few inches taller than Toby and was wider. Toby had grown strong
over the past few years, working out and lifting weights had helped
his body fill out, but the guy in front of him looked thick like a
wrestler, maybe even a football player. He had large arms and they
connected to sturdy shoulders. The bulging muscles tapered down his
back to a trimmed waist and tree trunk legs. The natural light coming
in from the windows reflected off the man’s short white-blond hair,
causing it to glow like a halo around his head. Something about this
man seemed familiar but Toby didn’t know what it was. Granted, he’d
only seem this guy from behind, but he didn’t look at all like someone
Toby knew.

The man slowly turned around. Toby’s eyes went wide and he had

to bite down on his tongue to keep from shouting. For the past seven
years, Toby had bottled up all his anger and hurt toward this man.
Damon had abandoned him and he comes back now? At the worst
time in Toby’s life. With Aaron de…

Toby took a deep breath. He wasn’t going to finish that thought.

No, right now he was going to focus all his pissed-off rage on the one
person who deserved it.

AJ Jarrett

“Did you sleep okay?” Damon asked as he leaned against the

counter. “I didn’t want to wake you.”

“Is that all you have to say to me?” Toby asked through clenched

teeth. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he knew he was
going to blow. His teeth started to lengthen and his claws poked out
the tips of his fingers. “Seven year and that’s it?” Spittle flew from his
teeth as he spoke. His words were damn near garbled from the
fullness in his mouth.

Even in his angered state he couldn’t help but notice how much

Damon had changed. Gone was the scared, frail little witch. Damon
now stood a powerful-looking man, but his eyes were the same. The
bright green that captured Toby’s attention all those years ago. The
liquid green swirled like whirlpools threatening to drag him under, but
not this time.

“Toby, why don’t you have a seat?” Damon motioned to a chair

sitting under the table. “A lot has happened and we should probably
talk.”

“Talk?” Toby narrowed his eyes at Damon. “After all this time

you think I want to hear anything you have to say? You left me.”
Toby lifted his right hand and made a sweeping motion with his hand.
“No, I take that back. You abandoned me seven years ago. For all I
care you can go fuck yourself.” Deep down Toby knew he didn’t
mean a single word of what he said, but he was mad and hurt and
focusing all his rage on Damon was a hell of a lot better than thinking
about Aaron.

“Toby, please.” Damon pleaded and took a step closer to him. “I

know you’re upset about Aar—”

“Don’t you say his name.” Toby’s hands balled into fist.
“I’m sorry about your loss.” Damon reached out toward Toby but

at the last second let his hands fall to his sides. “Aaron was a good
man.”

“I said not to say his name!” Toby shouted then lunged forward.

Damon's Determined Wolf

He tackled Damon to the floor and raised his fist and landed his

first punch. “You left me.” Another hit slammed into Damon’s strong
chin. “All you left was a note. A fucking note!”

Damon caught Toby’s fist, wrapping his large hand around

Toby’s smaller one. Damon bucked his hips, sending Toby falling to
the side, then rolled on top of him. Toby fought and yanked at his
arms and kicked his legs out. He’d never been so angry in his life.
Damon was his mate, the one person who was always supposed to be
there for him and take care of him. But all that failed in comparison to
what he lost last night.

Big fat tears pooled in his eyes only to drip down his face and

splatter against the hard floor. He gasped for breath as his body began
to shake. All the fight left him and Toby sobbed. Every memory of his
brother seemed to flash through his mind. It was a slide show that
ended way too soon.

“It’s okay, my little wolf.” Damon moved off of Toby and sat

with his back against the kitchen cabinet and pulled Toby into his lap.

Toby buried his face into Damon’s neck and cried. His arms

wound around Damon’s waist and he held on tight, afraid if he let go
Damon would be gone again. If he lost Damon then he would truly be
alone in the world.

“I can’t believe he’s gone,” Toby cried into Damon’s neck. He

couldn’t get the image of Aaron’s dead body out of his mind. He
needed to replace that with something good, something that would
help take away the pain.

Toby sat up and looked into Damon’s strong handsome face. So

different yet still the same. With trembling hands, Toby raised them to
rest on Damon’s lightly tanned cheeks and leaned forward, brushing
his lips against Damon’s. The soft, firm tissue yielded under his lips
and Toby let out a small whimper. He hesitantly flicked out his
tongue to taste his mate’s lips. Sweet and cool like peppermint.
Damon opened a little and allowed Toby to ease his tongue into his
mouth. Toby was anxious and nervous. Slowly he pulled away.

AJ Jarrett

“Sorry, I should have asked for your permission.” Toby felt silly

for acting the way he had. One minute he was angry and the next he
was bashful. So much was going on in his head it felt like it would
explode.

“No it’s all right.” Damon lifted his hand and brushed his

knuckles down Toby’s cheek. “But you’ve been through a lot in the
past twenty-four hours. I don’t want you to do anything you’d regret.”

“I’d never regret sharing my first kiss with you no matter what

fucked-up circumstances brought you back to me.” Toby’s cheeks
flushed with heat. It was weird being twenty-four years old and
having never been kissed, let alone had sex before.

“Me either.” Damon smiled up at him. “It was perfect. Better than

I’d ever dreamed about.”

Toby wasn’t expecting to hear that. Damon was older than him by

at least seventy years. He always just assumed his mate had had other
lovers.

Heat built between them and Toby’s body shook with need. So

many things had gone wrong in his young life. He needed something
good to help him not give up. He needed Damon in the worst way.

Toby dipped his head and captured Damon’s lips again. Pushing

all the bad memories aside, he gave himself over to the kiss. His
hands ran down Damon’s shoulders to his chest and he brushed his
fingertips over the hard nipples poking against the soft material of
Damon’s shirt.

“Toby, wait.” Damon sucked in a deep breath and grabbed at

Toby’s hands. “You’re dealing with a lot right now. We shouldn’t be
doing this.” Damon’s green eyes swirled and turned like waves
crashing to shore. Crimson panted his cheeks and his lips had a glossy
sheen to them.

“This is the perfect time to be doing this.” Toby rested his

forehead against Damon’s. “I need to forget, if even for five fucking
minutes, Damon.” He opened his eyes to stare into his mate’s. “Can
you help me with that? Please, Damon,” he begged.

Damon's Determined Wolf

Damon nodded his head and used the hold he had on Toby’s

hands to yank him back against his chest. They kissed gently at first,
experimenting with each other. Soon Damon lost his balance and he
fell to the side, taking Toby with him. As they kissed they both let
their hands roam over the other’s body.

Damon was all hard muscle under Toby’s fingertips. Toby tugged

at Damon’s shirt and pushed his hands underneath to feel his bare
skin. He ran his hands up the smooth planes of muscle and traced the
dips and valleys of his abdomen. Damon did the same to him.

When Damon scraped his fingernail over Toby’s nipple he

moaned, and his hands instantly went for the hardness pressed into his
thigh. Toby’s own cock screamed for release and once he pulled
Damon free of his jeans he went to work on his own zipper. Damon
helped tug their pants down their thighs and soon their bare cocks
brushed against one another, the touch so intense it sent shock waves
over his sweat-covered body.

“I dreamt about his for so many years,” Damon said against

Toby’s lips. “I’ve always wanted you.”

Toby’s heart soared at Damon’s words. It was good to know his

mate did long for him. He was sure Damon had his reasons for
leaving and he had every intention of finding out why as soon as they
were done.

“I’ve never stopped wanting you.” Toby rolled on top of Damon

and ground his hips into his mate’s. “Thoughts of you are what kept
me going.” He spoke the truth. After his attack and feeling all alone, it
was seeing Damon broken and bleeding on Garrett’s couch that
yanked him out of his depression. Bad things happened all the time,
but it was getting past those things that made a person stronger, and
seeing Damon made Toby want to be strong and a whole person for
his mate.

With their shirts pulled up their chests and their jeans around their

knees, they held on to one another as their slick cocks glided together.
Soon a throbbing need in Toby’s balls had them drawing up close to

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his body and the sharp intakes of breath let him know that Damon was
close.

As the first shot of cum erupted from his cock, Toby let out a loud

howl, then sunk his teeth into Damon’s shoulder. Damon cried out
and flipped Toby over, his teeth still embedded into his sweet flesh.
Toby growled around the bite when he felt Damon clamp his jaws
into his neck, right under his pulse point. He could feel his mate’s
cum explode between their smashed bodies and as they came they
took each other’s blood into their system.

Once Toby’s heart started to slow, he released his hold on

Damon’s shoulder and soon Damon followed suit. They lay on the
hard kitchen floor, breathing in each other’s scent. And no matter how
perfect this was it soon was overshadowed by his brother’s death.

“I miss him so much.” Toby closed his eyes and tightened his grip

on Damon’s waist. Life wasn’t fair. It gave a person good memories
only to be followed by bad. How would he ever recover from this?

Damon's Determined Wolf

Chapter Five

Damon held Toby close, rocking him from side to side. He didn’t

know what to say. Toby and Aaron had been so close. Damon had
never experienced that type of relationship before. But he needed to
be there for his mate. This was what he wanted, to have Toby in his
life. All the good and bad, he’d take it just to keep Toby.

“Toby.” Damon gently stroked his fingers through Toby’s damp

hair. “I can’t lie and say it’s going to be okay or that I know what
you’re going through, because I don’t.” He leaned down and kissed
the top of Toby’s head. “Just know that I’m here for you and I
promise I’ll never leave you again, my little wolf.”

Toby nodded his head but didn’t look up to meet Damon’s steady

gaze. He understood this was a tough time for his mate and he wasn’t
going to push Toby. He needed his time to grieve.

“Do you think he felt any pain?” Toby’s voice sounded strained

when he spoke.

How should he answer that? Damon didn’t know for sure but he

hoped Aaron hadn’t.

“It happened so fast, Toby. If he felt anything it was very little,”

Damon answered as honestly as he could. The look of nothingness in
Aaron’s eyes as Porter’s fist came through his chest led Damon to
believe it was as if the lights had just been shut off and Aaron didn’t
know what was happening or felt any pain.

“Oh god! Why?” Toby’s tears soaked through Damon’s shirt and

his fist clutched at the material.

“Little wolf, there is no answer to give for the whys of it. If I

could change places with Aaron so you could have your brother back,

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I’d do it in a heartbeat.” And he would. He’d do whatever it took to
put a smile back on Toby’s face even if it meant losing his own life.

“You would?” Toby pulled back enough to look into Damon’s

eyes. Toby’s eyes were red and swollen and it broke Damon’s heart.

“I’d do anything for you, Toby.” Damon rubbed his thumb under

Toby’s eye to wipe away the tears. “I love you, Toby.”

Another swell of tears fell from Toby’s eyes and he nodded his

head. Damon didn’t expect to hear Toby say those words back to him.
It would take some time for Toby to trust him enough and to know
that Damon would never abandon him again.

“Here, let’s get up off this floor.” Damon stood up and held his

hand out to help Toby up. “Do you want anything to eat?” Toby
shook his head, his shoulders slumping as he pulled up his pants. “Do
you want to lie down for a little longer?”

“Please,” Toby whispered.
Damon took Toby’s hand and led him back to his bedroom. He

pulled back the comforter and motioned for Toby to climb under the
covers. Toby pulled off his jeans and tossed his shirt to the floor, then
got in bed. His back faced Damon and he so desperately wanted to
crawl in behind Toby to hold him while he rested.

“Aren’t you going to lie down with me?” Toby asked, looking

over his shoulder.

A small smile graced Damon’s lips and he stripped down to his

boxers then climbed in behind his mate. He wound his arm around
Toby’s waist and pulled him close. Damon wasn’t all that tired, but if
this was what his mate needed he’d gladly give it to him.

* * * *

Smooth, warm fingertips trailing over his chest woke Damon up.

He opened his eyes and glanced over to the clock. It was just past two
in the afternoon. The firm, warm body next to him shifted and
snuggled closer. Damon looked over to see Toby had his head resting

Damon's Determined Wolf

on his shoulder. The bright rays of sunlight shined through the
window, causing the browns of Toby’s hair to glow with warmth.

Damon lifted his head to place a soft kiss on Toby’s head,

breathing in his heady, clean scent. He couldn’t believe he’d willingly
walked away from his mate seven years ago. Having Toby in his arms
and feeling his body next to his, Damon knew he would never be able
to walk away again. His world seemed at peace just having Toby
lying next to him.

“Are you feeling a little better?” Damon asked.
“I guess.” Toby shrugged still running his fingers up and down

Damon’s chest. “I don’t know. I’m not sure I’ll ever get over losing
Aaron, watching the way he died.”

“You’ll never forget but hopefully in time the pain will lessen.”

Damon tightened his arm. “No one should ever witness something
like that.”

“No, they shouldn’t.”
“Do you want to talk about it? What happened with Aaron?”
“Not right now. It’s still too fresh.” The silenced stretched out

between them and Damon was just about to say something when
Toby spoke again. “Where did you go?” Toby’s voice was barely
above a whisper but Damon heard him. “Seven years is a long time to
just disappear on someone.” Toby propped up on his elbow and stared
into Damon’s eyes. “Didn’t you miss me?”

“Every day.” Damon placed his palm to Toby’s cheek. “Leaving

you behind was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but I had to. You
were still underage and going through a rough time of your own. You
didn’t need me hanging around making it worse.” Damon blew out a
heavy sigh. “I needed to get my head on straight before I could have
been a good mate to you. I guess you could say I needed time to heal
and I knew I couldn’t do that if I was with you. I wanted to become a
mate you could be proud of.”

“Damon.” Toby shook his head, a sad smile on his lips. “I was

and am proud of you. I get that you were doing what you thought was

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best but it broke my heart.” Toby’s voice hitched. “I hated knowing
you were all alone.” The upper left side of Toby’s lip twitched. “You
were alone, right?” His eyebrow quirked up.

“Of course.” Damon laughed and pushed Toby in the shoulder to

roll him to his back, and Damon hovered over him. “I’ve never been
attracted to anyone until I met you and that didn’t change with the
time apart.” The smile fell from Damon’s face and he got serious.
“When I left you that day I had no destination planned out. All I knew
was I needed to get stronger and learn to depend on myself without
using magic.”

“Magic?” Toby raised his hand to entwine his fingers with

Damon’s. “What is your power, by the way? Lachlan said you can
partially shift into a wolf and teleport yourself.”

“Yeah. My shifting ability is only because my mother was using

dark magic and drinking shifter blood when she was pregnant with
me.” Damon shrugged. “So yeah, I’m a freak.”

“Don’t say that.” Toby slapped him lightly on the shoulder.
“My witch power is teleportation. I like to call it fading because

that’s what it feels like. I think of a place and the world becomes
fuzzy and the next thing I know I’m where I wanted to be.”

“Sounds like a convenient power to have.”
“Sure, but using too much magic can make you dependent on it

and I never want to be a slave to my powers. I saw what it did to my
mother and I don’t want to end up like her.” Damon wasn’t sure even
now if he ever loved his mother, but he’d like to think there had been
a time when she was good, but he doubted it.

“So you didn’t use your powers to travel the world?”
“No, I had money and I used it to buy my food and plane tickets. I

just wandered around like a normal human. I went over to Europe
then came back to the States to finish out my soul searching, if you
will.” Damon grinned. “I ended up here in Montana. The lakes, the
fresh air, all the trees. It’s beautiful. I had this cabin built, and once I

Damon's Determined Wolf

was settled that’s when I started looking for you, and let me just say it
wasn’t easy.”

Toby squinted his eyes as he looked at Damon, and then they went

wide in realization. “Oh my god! The spell Klaus casted. It kept our
compound and everyone in it hidden.”

“Now that explains a lot.” Damon leaned down and kissed the tip

of Toby’s nose. He would never tire of kissing his mate. “Klaus is a
powerful witch, no wonder I couldn’t find you.”

“How long?”
“How long what?” Damon asked.
“How long were you looking for me?” Toby sucked in his bottom

lip and nibbled at the plump flesh.

“Six years,” Damon said flatly. He was bitter about leaving and

even more so that he couldn’t find Toby when he came back. It was
his fault but damn it still pissed him off. If only he could go back and
change things, he would. He would still have left but he would have
taken Toby with him.

Toby sat up and leaned against the headboard, staring off into

space. He looked dazed. “Six years.” Tears pooled in his blue eyes.
“All that time I was sitting around hating you and you were looking
for me.” Once again the dam on Toby’s tears broke free and they fell
down his cheeks. The skin had grown red and raw, chapped from the
salty liquid.

“Hey now, come on, my little wolf.” Damon brushed his lips over

Toby’s. “Let’s not dwell on the past and just be happy we’ve found
each other now.”

“You’re right.” Toby sniffled. He glanced up through his thick

wet lashes. “How did you find me?”

“With this?” Damon pulled at the chain around his neck. The

stone shone a bright blue that matched his mate’s eyes. “When I
couldn’t find you, I sought out help from a witch in a small town in
Brazil. He said once you were free from whatever was keeping you
hidden from me, this would light up and then I could teleport to you.”

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Toby reached out and traced the stone with his fingertip. “And it
worked, just not soon enough.”

“You can’t blame yourself for that.” Toby sat up. “Nothing could

have stopped Porter from finding me.”

“How do you know Porter?” The hairs on Damon’s arms rose up.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Toby made to get up off the bed

but Damon grabbed his wrist.

“Toby,” he said in warning. Porter was a powerful dark warrior

and nothing good came from anyone knowing who he was. “Tell me.”

“He raped me and now he thinks I’m his.” Toby wrenched his arm

free from Damon’s grip.

And the blows just kept coming. Damon didn’t know how to

respond to what Toby just told him. His poor mate.

Damon's Determined Wolf

Chapter Six

“Don’t look at me like that.” Toby moved his legs to hang over

the edge of the bed and rested his elbows on his knees, fisting his
hands in his hair.

“When did he do this?” Damon’s voice sounded garbled and

thick.

Toby didn’t want to talk about the attack least of all to his mate.

The things they did to him. “How do you know who Porter is?” Toby
asked, trying to change the subject.

“He’s Lucian’s younger brother, now stop avoiding my question.”

Damon grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him to face him.
“Tell me.”

Toby tried to shrug off Damon’s large hands, but it was pointless.

He still wasn’t used to this new Damon. Gone was the long, stringy
blond hair and thin, frail frame. This Damon was confident and strong
and Toby didn’t want to fight him. He’d been holding on to this secret
for far too long.

“That night I was attacked, it wasn’t just Lucian who raped me.”

Toby looked down at his hands, fidgeting with his fingers. “Lucian
was first then he passed me to Porter.” He clenched his eyes tight but
no matter what he could still see Porter’s face from that night seven
years ago. The smile on his evil face, the sound of his voice as he
whispered in Toby’s ears that he now belonged to him.

“Why did you keep this to yourself?” Damon asked.
“It was bad enough my brother found me like that. I didn’t want to

have to tell him it had been two guys, not just one, and that they took
turns on me. I was ashamed, Damon.” Toby’s face heated up and he

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scratched at the back of his neck. “I just wanted to put all that behind
me and forget.”

“Shit, Toby.” Damon moved to sit behind him and wrapped his

arms around him. “Thank you for telling me, but that is really
something you shouldn’t have kept to yourself. You were just a kid
when that happened. They overpowered you and abused you. There’s
nothing for you to feel ashamed about.” Damon kissed his cheek.

“I try telling myself that all the time but it’s hard. I can still see

the twisted pleasure on their faces as they did those things to me.”
Toby still had nightmares of that night. He would never understand
how someone could do that to another person.

“I wish I could take those memories from you. Hell, I wish I could

have prevented that night from even happening.” Damon’s thick arms
squeezed around him. “Do you think Porter thinks you’re his mate?”

Toby had wondered the same thing over the years and he didn’t

know. It was possible for a paranormal being to have two mates. It
was rare but it could happen but Toby didn’t think that was the case
with Porter. He got the impression that Porter just liked inflicting pain
and dominating others and Toby had been the perfect victim and he
still was.

“No. I think he just wants me because I got away.”
“Well you don’t have to worry about that anymore. I promise I

won’t let him get to you.” Damon grabbed Toby gently by the chin
and turned his head to the side. “You’re my mate and I’ll protect you
until the last breath I take.” Damon closed the gap and kissed him.

“I’m all for you protecting me, but let’s keep the dying part out of

it,” Toby teased. He rested his forehead to Damon’s.

“Okay.” Damon nuzzled his nose into Toby’s neck. “You should

probably call Ben and the others to let them know where you are,”
Damon said.

“Not yet.” Toby knew it was the responsible thing to do but if he

did that they would want to talk about Aaron and he just couldn’t deal

Damon's Determined Wolf

with that right now. “Can we just spend a little time together first
before I have to go back to my real life?”

“Sure, but make no mistakes, I’m a part of your life now. I not

letting you go again.”

“I’m okay with that.” Toby placed his hand on the back of

Damon’s neck and pulled him down for a slow, heated kiss. Their
tongues slid alongside one another, sweet moist heat engulfing Toby,
and he could feel his body reacting. His cock grew hard and he
wanted Damon to claim him, to make right the wrong he committed
by leaving him seven years ago. They were meant to be together, not
apart. “Make love to me,” Toby whispered against Damon’s lips.

“There’s nothing more that I’d like to do, but I want to do this

right.” Damon climbed off the bed. His boxers tented at the front. The
large bulge was undeniable. Damon’s shaft was long and thick and
Toby’s body tingled at the memory of having it rub against his own
needy cock. “Let me take you out to dinner first.”

“Like a date?” Toby’s brow furrowed, caught off guard by the

request. It sounded so normal, and that was something he needed
more of in his life.

“Yeah, a date.” Damon knelt down in front of him. “So what do

you say? Will you let me take you out to dinner?”

“Yeah, I’d like that a lot.” A smile split Toby’s face. The prospect

of going on his first date with his mate sounded perfect. Toby glanced
down at his body then toward the floor. The only clothes he had were
the ones he’d been wearing the day before, the day he watched his
brother die. He quickly looked away, unable to block that memory
from his mind.

“What’s wrong?” Damon rubbed his hand over Toby’s knee.
“I don’t have anything to wear.”
Damon cut a glance over to Toby’s discarded clothes and his

mouth formed an O shape as it dawned on him. “You can borrow
something of mine.”

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Toby nodded and stood up. They took turns in the shower, then

got dressed. Damon’s clothes were too long in the legs and a little
baggy and his shirts were big as well. But they felt great. The material
smelt like Damon, fresh and clean. It made Toby feel as if he were
wrapped in his mate’s arms.

Damon drove into town. He lived on the outskirts of Great Falls.

Toby had never been to Montana, so he looked out the window
eagerly at the wide open spaces. He could see why Damon liked it so
much here. The bright blue sky with the wispy clouds and green as far
as the eye could see. The place had a comforting feel to it, like a
dream. A place one would feel safe.

As they neared the town the two-way highway expanded and

more cars passed them by. Buildings started taking up root where
once wide open spaces lay. It was like any other town but seeing it
with Damon made it more special.

“What are you hungry for?” Damon asked as he drove down the

semi-busy street.

“How about pizza?” Toby suggested.
“Pizza?” Damon chuckled. “We are going on our first official date

and you want pizza? Nothing fancy or more romantic?”

“Nah. You’ve already got me, so there is no reason to try to

impress me with an expensive dinner.”

“Pizza it is then.” Damon drove for another ten minutes then

pulled into a parking lot and parked his truck.

The strong scent of garlic and onion filled the air as Damon

opened the door for him. Toby’s stomach growled as he walked
inside. The place was large and had sports memorabilia hanging all
over the walls. It was just before six in the evening and people had
already started to pack in the open booths. A hostess led them to a
table near the back and handed them a menu. When the waitress came
back they ordered a couple of cokes and a pizza with the works.

“This is nice,” Toby said as he lifted the straw to his mouth and

took a sip of his soda. “And normal.”

Damon's Determined Wolf

“Yeah, it is.” Damon brushed his shoe against the outside of

Toby’s. “So Toby, do you mind if I ask, where have you guys been
for the past six years?”

Toby set his glass down and clasped his hands together in front of

him. “San Antonio. Astrid had inherited a house there. We came
under attack while in Missouri and since Miles was pregnant with
Colby, Ben decided to move us. We’ve been in Texas this whole
time.”

“Okay, hold up.” Damon held a hand in the air, a look of

confusion on his handsome face. Toby grinned. He knew what was
coming. “Miles was pregnant?”

“Yeah, pretty shocking, right?” Toby explained how Astrid, being

a fairy, was able to grant the wish for Ben and Miles to have a child
and that’s all it took. He also told him how fast Colby was growing
up. He wasn’t like an ordinary human child.

The waiter brought their pizza to the table and they ate as Toby

told Damon more about what had been going on at the compound.
Damon found it interesting when Toby mentioned the prophecy.

“So that boy Garrett was protecting was Colby?” Damon asked.
“Yes. Garrett always has a watchful eye on that kid. He’s

technically only six but looks like a twelve year old and acts like one,
too. Pain in the ass.” Toby smiled. “Me and Colby were always
bickering about shit.” He shook his head. “Aaron said we fought like
brothers.” The smile fell from his face at the mention of his brother’s
name.

“It’ll get easier.” Damon took his hand. “Talking about him and

remembering the good times will help.”

“I hope.” Toby forced a small smile and pulled his hand away to

pick up his cup.

“So where is this magically cloaked house? If magic is keeping it

hidden, how can you find it?” Damon picked up another slice of pizza
and took a bite.

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“By what street it’s on.” Toby chuckled at Damon’s wide opened

eyes.

“That’s it?”
“The spell only affects people who’ve never seen the house

before. I live there so it’s not hidden from me, but let’s say a person is
coming to visit they are told what streets to take to reach the house.
To them they just see a wide open field. Once one of the warriors go
out and meet with them the house will become visible to them. So if
you ever need to find the compound just remember Gilham Road. Go
all the way down until you reach the rose fields and you’ll see it.”

“I guess that’s good information to have.”
“You never know when it might come in handy.” Toby picked up

his abandoned slice of pizza. “Not that I didn’t find you attractive
before,” Toby said around a mouthful of pizza. “But what happened
to you?” His eyes glazed over as he took in the strong features of
Damon’s face and his wide shoulders. If it wasn’t for his green eyes
Toby might not have recognized him.

“Thanks, I think.” Damon chuckled. He wiped his hands off on a

napkin and sat back in his chair. “I really didn’t do anything special. I
just started eating more and working out when I had the opportunity.
It helped knowing I was no longer under my mother’s control.”

“Well whatever it was, it worked. You look really good.”
“So do you, my little wolf.” Damon winked at him, then motioned

down to his plate. “You finished?” Toby nodded his head, his mouth
suddenly dry from Damon’s compliment. Damon paid the check and
they walked out of the pizza shop and toward his truck. “You want to
go to a movie or something?”

Toby slipped his hand into Damon’s once safely inside his truck.

“No.” He shook his head. “I’d really like to just go back to your place
if that’s all right with you?”

“Sure.” Toby saw the way Damon’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and

down when he spoke. He put the truck into drive and they headed
back toward his cabin in the woods.

Damon's Determined Wolf

With everything going on in his life right at the moment, good and

bad, all he could think about was claiming his mate. Just being around
Damon helped ease the pain filling his heart and he’d do whatever he
could to tie this man to him forever. Damon was his chance at
happiness and just being around the man had his heart rate picking up
and his dick twitching in his jeans.

Aaron had always told him to take every opportunity to be happy

and Toby was going to take his brother’s advice.

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Chapter Seven

To say he was nervous was an understatement. Damon had never

had sex, let alone instigated it. He wasn’t sure what his part in the act
would be. Sure, he was the bigger of the two, but that didn’t mean
anything.

Once they arrived back at his cabin, Toby held his hand as they

walked toward the front door. Stars shined down from overhead, not a
cloud in the sky. A light warm breeze drifted over his heated skin and
his cock started to fill in his pants. Toby’s scent filled his senses,
soap, sweat, and pizza sauce.

A part of Damon wanted this really bad. He’d waited a long time

to have sex but he wasn’t sure this was the right time to do it. Toby
had just lost his brother and he didn’t want to feel like he was taking
advantage of the situation. He loved Toby and would never hurt him,
but his mate was hurting even if Toby didn’t want to admit it.

Toby led the way back to the bedroom, not bothering to turn on

the light. Toby stopped at the edge of the bed and stared up at him.
The sight of his mate took Damon’s breath away, it always had.

The last time he’d seen Toby, he was a scrawny teenage boy. His

hair had been longer then, and his body thin. Now his mate was a
man. Strong sturdy frame, short spiky hair combed to the side, and
razor-sharp features. No softness to his strong jaw line. His mate had
grown up in the seven years since he’d last seen him and Damon
wasn’t sure how much longer he could fight his attraction toward
Toby.

“Stop thinking so hard,” Toby teased with a grin on his face.
“I’m trying but it’s hard.” Damon rested his hands on Toby’s hips.

Damon's Determined Wolf

“Well isn’t that kind of the idea?” Toby took a step closer until

they touched from chest to thigh.

“Funny.” Damon rolled his eyes but smiled down at his mate. “I

just don’t want you to be doing this to numb the pain you’re feeling. I
don’t want this to be one more thing to upset you.”

“Damon, look at me.” Toby grabbed his chin and forced him to

meet his steely blue gaze. “I’m not going to lie, I’m a mess right now.
If I wasn’t here with you I’d probably be laying curled into a ball
crying my eyes out, wishing I was dead, too.” Damon moved his arms
around Toby’s waist and rested his forehead against Toby’s. “When
I’m with you I have the hope that things will get better. You’re like a
salve dulling the ache in my soul. I’ll get through losing my brother,
but only if you’re by my side every step of the way.”

“You know I will be.” Damon bent his knees to allow him to be

the same height as his mate. “I love you, Toby.”

“I love you, too,” Toby whispered against his neck, his arms like

steel bands on Damon’s body.

Damon’s heart soared at Toby’s admission. He’d already said it

once to Toby, but to hear those words flow over his perfect lips sent a
wave of happiness directly to his heart.

Without another word, Damon pressed his lips, hard, against

Toby’s. He had no clue what he was doing but his body seemed to
have an idea. He walked Toby backward until his legs hit the mattress
and he fell to the bed. Damon moved to cover him with his heavier
body. Toby’s hands scratched and pulled at his shirt.

“Too many clothes.” Damon let out a nervous chuckle as he sat up

and took off his shirt.

Toby leaned up and did the same and Damon’s eyes settled on his

smooth, muscled chest. His mate was perfect from head to toe and he
planned to worship that body every chance he got. Damon moved
between Toby’s spread thighs and reached out one finger to run down
Toby’s chest, thrilling at the sight of his body jerking from his touch.

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His finger came to a stop at the waist of Toby’s borrowed jeans.
Damon tugged at the denim, looking up at Toby.

“Please,” Toby moaned as he fell back against the bed, his hips

bucking upward.

Damon with trembling fingers unfastened Toby’s pants and pulled

down the zipper. Toby’s cock lay hard and long against his stomach, a
bead of pleasure sitting at the tip. Damon gulped down the spit
pooling in his mouth, his own body sizzling with the need to come
from just looking at his mate. Damon stepped off the bed and pulled
off Toby’s jeans and let them fall to the floor. Toby ran a hand down
his stomach and stroked his hard cock slowly.

“I want to see you.” Toby let go of his bright red shaft and sat up.

He quickly snapped the button on Damon’s jeans and peeled them
down his legs, underwear and all. Damon hissed out a breath as his
cock sprang free nearly smacking Toby in the face. He was so turned
on he thought he’d come from just having Toby so close to his cock.
“God, you’re so hot.” Toby ran his cool, smooth fingers up and down
Damon’s length.

Damon eyes clenched tight and he started to sweat. He looked

down to see Toby staring up at him with such hunger in his eyes
Damon lost it.

He shoved Toby’s hand away from his cock and put his hands on

his mate’s shoulders and pushed him back and fell on top of him.
Toby groaned as Damon ground his hips into his, seeking some relief.
Damon took Toby’s lips in a hard kiss, nipping and biting the swollen
tissue. He tore his mouth from Toby’s and moved down his neck. He
sucked up bruises as he went, marking what was now his.

Toby groaned and twisted on the bed, his legs spreading further

apart as if his body was telling Damon what he needed. Damon
shifted lower, stopping to pay special attention to the lightly tanned
nipples on Toby’s chest, the skin moist with sweat and the little peaks
standing tall and proud, begging for Damon’s tongue. He sucked in

Damon's Determined Wolf

deep, swirling his tongue around the hardness then shifted to do the
same to the other.

“Damon,” Toby whimpered. His hands gripping tightly at the

short blond hairs on Damon’s head. A slight pressure to the top had
Damon moving lower.

Damon tongued a wet trail down the center of Toby’s cut abs and

dipped inside to tickle his belly button. The wet fat head of Toby’s
cock bumped the underside of his chin and Damon moved off the bed,
grabbing Toby by his knees and pulling him to the edge. Damon
grabbed the hard weeping cock in his hand and ran his gaze up Toby’s
body until he met his mate’s eyes. Toby’s chest rose and fell with
each deep breath he took.

Leaning forward, Damon stuck his tongue out and his eyes closed

at the sweet tangy flavor of his mate’s pre-cum. He kissed the tip then
stuck his tongue out to swirl around the mushroom-shaped head. Toby
jerked and flopped back on the bed, groaning. Damon moved lower
and sucked along the veiny shaft until his chin nudged against Toby’s
smooth balls. He kept jacking Toby’s cock but moved lower to suck
on one ball then the other. The sack drew up tight and Toby cried out.
Damon gripped the pulsing shaft hard in his hand and sucked greedily
at Toby’s balls.

“Damon, so close.” Toby’s body tensed.
Spit dribbled from his mouth to run down Toby’s crack. Damon

followed the river of wetness until he felt the ripple opening of his
mate’s hole. He circled the small opening then moved his mouth
down to lick at the little treasure.

“Oh god yes!” Toby raised his legs up to rest his feet on the edge

of the bed, opening himself up even more for Damon.

Damon lapped at Toby’s hole a few more times, then raised a

finger to run up and down the length of his crack, coming to stop at
the opening. Damon slowly pushed it into Toby’s hole. He met
resistance and Toby moaned as the finger slowly sunk deep into his
ass. Damon watched in amazement as his finger slowly disappeared

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into Toby’s tight heat. He began to move the finger in and out and
couldn’t believe how silky smooth Toby’s inner walls were. Damon
soon added another finger, scissoring them in and out. When he
inserted the third finger, curling them upward, Toby shouted and the
cock in Damon’s’ hand erupted in hot strings of cum, splashing onto
Toby’s chest.

“Oh god, Damon!” Toby’s whole body convulsed as he

succumbed to his orgasm.

Damon kept massaging the firm nub deep inside Toby and Toby

cried out again. He milked Toby’s cock and watched in wonder as his
mate went crazy from the pleasure he’d just given him. His own cock
twitched, eager to come but Damon sat still doing all he could to
prolong Toby’s enjoyment.

When Toby’s body stopped twitching, Damon pulled his finger

free and moved to lie beside his mate. Toby’s body was slick with
sweat, and his hair was damp. He had a lazy smile on his face.

“I love you,” Damon said as he placed his palm on Toby’s heated

cheek.

“I love you, too,” Toby said in a husky whisper, then pulled

Damon on top of him. He wrapped his legs around Damon’s hips.

Damon’s hard shaft rubbed up against Toby’s crack, smearing his

pre-cum all over his fluttering hole. He so badly wanted to bury his
entire length to the hilt, but he couldn’t do that. The last thing he
wanted to do was cause Toby any pain. They were both new at this
whole sex thing. It was best to go slow.

“God, I want you inside of me,” Toby said between kisses. “Do

you have any lube or lotion?” Toby pushed at Damon’s shoulders so
they could look at one another.

“Yeah, in the bathroom.” Damon gasped for breath as he stared

into his mate’s bright blue eyes.

“Why don’t you go and get it?” Toby smiled up at him. “I want to

feel you inside me.” Toby reached between their bodies and pumped
Damon’s cock in a gentle stroke. “I want you to claim me.”

Damon's Determined Wolf

The smoldering look in Toby’s glowing eyes sent Damon jumping

off the bed and rushing to the bathroom. He grabbed the bottle of lube
he kept in there for when he was lonely and had to take matters into
his own hands. He popped the cap and poured his palm full of the
clean liquid. Damon rubbed the slickness over his heated length as he
walked back into the room. Toby lay with his knees up, stroking his
once-again-hard cock.

“Come here.” Toby curled the finger of his other hand, beckoning

Damon closer.

Damon went to his knees between Toby’s legs. He inserted two

fingers, spreading the lube into Toby’s tight tunnel. His fingers
brushed over the swollen nub inside Toby and his mate arched his
back.

“Please, Damon, put it in me.” Toby gasped. “I’m not sure how

much longer I can last.”

Damon scooted forward. He braced one hand next to Toby’s head

and used his other hand to guide his hard, thick cock toward Toby’s
opening. The fat head brushed against it then slowly Damon applied
some pressure. Toby whimpered as Damon watched his cock slowly
sink into Toby’s body. This was nothing like what it felt like having
his fingers inside his mate. This was a million times better. Damon
moved in then pulled out slowly, working his length into Toby.

Finally, after what felt like forever, Damon had all eight inches

seated deep inside Toby. Sweat dripped from his forehead and his
body ached from the need to pound into his mate’s ass. He wanted to
claim Toby, filling him with his boiling seed.

“I’m not sure how much longer I can go slow.” Damon spoke the

words, wanting to warn his mate he was at his breaking point. He
needed release.

“Then don’t.” Toby tightened his legs, sending his heals into

Damon’s ass cheeks, forcing him forward.

They both groaned at the pressure and Toby started to rock his

hips. Damon took a deep breath, then wrapped his arms under Toby’s

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back, using his shoulders as an anchor. He pulled his hips back then
thrust back in.

“Fuck!” Toby cried out, and his hot, tight walls squeezed

Damon’s sensitized shaft.

“Do you want me to stop?” Damon asked, holding his body still.
“Never.” Toby looked deep into Damon’s eyes then pulled him in

for a kiss. Toby’s tongue fucked Damon’s mouth like his cock did to
Toby’s willing body.

Damon pulled out and thrust forward harder and faster with each

stroke. Nothing had ever felt so right in his life. He’d never tire of
making love to his mate, claiming what rightfully belonged to him.

“I’m close,” Damon grumbled against Toby’s shoulder as he

fucked his hole. His balls drew up tight and he was close to blowing
his load.

“Stop!” Toby shouted and Damon stopped.
“Are you okay? Did I hurt you?” Damon started to pull away.
“No.” Toby locked his legs, keeping Damon from pulling out.

“We need to complete the blood sex magic ritual.” Toby grinned up at
him. “Not that I have a problem with doing this again, but I want us to
complete the ritual now. I want to know we belong to one another
from here on out.” Toby ran his fingers along Damon’s jaw. “We’ve
waited so long for this moment. I don’t want to wait a second more.”

“Me either,” Damon whispered into the quiet room. He sat back

on his heels and slowly pulled out of Toby’s body. Damon stared
down at Toby he allowed his teeth to lengthen. When he raised his
wrist to his mouth Toby yanked at his arm.

“Let me bite you and you can bite me.” Toby smiled as he sat up.
With Toby being a full wolf shifter, his teeth grew longer and

sharper than Damon’s. He watch in fascination as Toby’s teeth
gleamed a brilliant white in the dark room. Toby licked along
Damon’s wrist then bit down. Damon’s back arched and he groaned
as he felt the blood drip from his arm into his mate’s mouth. The
action was so erotic it had Damon ready to blow.

Damon's Determined Wolf

Toby pulled off his arm, licking around the wound. He raised his

wrist to Damon’s mouth and smiled. The temptation too strong to
deny, Damon sunk his teeth in the warm flesh and guzzled the blood
in his mouth. Toby tasted sweet everywhere.

“Keep that up and I’m going to come,” Toby teased as he pulled

his wrist away from Damon. He raised his arm up and motioned for
Damon to do the same, and pressed their bloodied wrist together.
“We’ll be connected in all ways before the night is over.”

“I wouldn’t want it any other way.” Damon used the finger of his

left hand to swipe at the blood on Toby’s wrist, then his own. He
brought it down and wiped it over his leaking cock head.

Toby lay back down and Damon moved to hover over him. He

held Toby’s stare as he entered him again. Toby reached out for him
and dug his sharpened nails in his back. A pressure so tight wound
deep in Damon’s balls, quickly spinning out of control. He rammed
his cock in and out of Toby. They both grunted and their sweat-
slickened bodies molded together as they slid against each other.

The hot pulse of release pounded at the tip of Damon’s cock and

knew he wouldn’t last much longer. He reached between their slick
bodies and grabbed Toby’s hard shaft and jerked him off to his fast,
pumping hips.

One, two, three pumps later and Toby exploded. Cum burst from

his cock to paint over their chest. The tight squeeze and pull of
Toby’s convulsing channel sent Damon over the edge. His cum shot
from his slit to fill Toby full of his essence. The hot cream swirled
around his invading cock as he continued to pump into his mate.

“Mine, forever.” Damon slumped into Toby’s side, pulling him

close to his chest.

“Yours.” Toby’s arms gripped him tight and they lay tangled

together until they fell asleep.

AJ Jarrett

Chapter Eight

Toby smiled over at Damon as he pushed the grocery cart down

the aisle. They’d finally ventured out of the cabin long enough to
stock up on food.

It had been two days since they completed their bonding and Toby

had been walking on air. That first morning he woke up with Damon
wrapped around his body and a hard cock poking him in the back. He
had slowly rolled over and woke Damon with a kiss that quickly
turned urgent, leading to them making love once again.

Toby grabbed some cereal off the shelf and tossed it in the cart.

He then followed Damon over to the next aisle.

There had been a time when Toby had thought he’d never want

another living soul to touch him, but that was until he met Damon.
The moment he saw the scarred and battered witch he knew his
forever lied in his hands. It might have taken them seven years to get
to where they are now but Toby couldn’t dwell on all the missed time
they should have been spending together. He could and would only
focus on the here and now.

He smiled at an older lady that passed him. Toby found himself

smiling at everyone, even saying hello to a few people. This was
totally unlike him. He had kept to himself, guarded for so long, afraid
someone else would try and hurt him. Aaron would be so proud of
him for putting himself out there. Stepping out of his bubble and
reentering the world of the living.

Aaron.
It was getting easier day by day to think of his brother and he’d

even lay in bed the other night talking about him with Damon. Damon

Damon's Determined Wolf

laughed at the funny stories Toby had told and he said he’d wish he’d
gotten to know Aaron better. Toby thought the same thing. Aaron
would really have liked him. They had Toby in common but also the
need to make sure that Toby was happy and safe.

Toby still hadn’t checked in with the warriors, afraid they’d want

him to come home. He knew he was making them worry needlessly
but Toby just wasn’t ready to deal with all that yet. He wasn’t sure he
could ever look in Lachlan’s eyes again. Lachlan and Aaron had been
best friends since they were little boys and now he was gone. Toby
would be forever the constant reminder that his friend was no longer
living.

“Babe, you want to grill chicken or steak tonight?” Damon’s deep

voice pulled him from his thoughts.

“Uh, how about steak?” Toby sidled up next to Damon and

nudged him with his elbow.

“How come I’m not surprised?” Damon leaned close to whisper in

his ear. “All you wolves are the same. Red meat fanatics.”

“That’s stereotyping.” Toby shoved Damon in the shoulder. As

Damon laughed and turned back to the cart, Toby stepped up close
and said, “There is another kind of meat I like more than steak.”

“For the love of God!” Damon groaned and pushed the cart

forward. “Can you not do that while we are in public?”

“What can I say?” Toby reached down and grabbed Damon’s ass

cheek. “I love having you in my mouth and my ass.”

“I think I’ve created a monster.” Damon walked a little faster

down the aisle.

“I’m only a monster for you.” Toby caught up to his mate and

wrapped an arm over his shoulders.

They finished their shopping and headed back to Damon’s cabin.

The sun had started to set and pretty shades of reds and oranges
painted the horizon. Toby had his window down and breathed in the
fresh air. The scents of summer filled his nose. Blooming flowers and
fresh-cut grass. A part of Toby felt guilty for being so happy. Here he

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was enjoying his life while his brother was dead and would never get
the opportunity to find his mate or to even fall in love. It was things
like that that sucked the wind from Toby’s sails.

“Toby, you all right?” Damon asked once they were parked in

front of the house.

“Do you think it’s wrong for me to be so happy?” he asked as he

turned to face his mate.

“Toby.” Damon reached across the center console and wrapped

his warm fingers around the back of Toby’s neck. “No its not. I think
your brother wanted this for you. From what little I saw of him he
loved you and wanted nothing more than for you to be happy. I’m
sure he’s looking down from heaven and relived that his little brother
is smiling again.”

Damon always seemed to know the right thing to say. “Thanks. I

needed to hear that.”

“It’s the truth.” He leaned over and gave Toby a quick peck on the

lips, then hopped out of the truck. “Come on, little wolf. Help me with
the groceries.”

Toby rolled his eyes and as he got out of the truck. Damon really

liked calling him that and at first it annoyed him because who in their
right mind wanted to be called little? Hell compared to Damon’s size
now everyone was little.

They carried all the bags into the house and Toby started putting

things away while Damon got out what they needed to make dinner.

Damon got the grill going and put the potatoes and corn on the

cob on the burners first. He had the steaks sitting on a plate ready to
go on next.

“Where did you learn to cook?” Toby asked as he walked up

behind Damon and wrapped his arms around his waist.

“It’s one of the many things I picked up over the past few years.”

Damon leaned into Toby’s chest. “Plus I watch a lot of shows on the
Food Network.”

Damon's Determined Wolf

“Then I should probably write the TV station a thank you card

because you’re a wonderful cook.” Toby kissed Damon on the cheek.

Toby pulled out a chair from the table and sat down. He looked

out over Damon’s property. In the distance he heard a wolf howl and
Toby howled back in greeting. Damon chuckled as he put the steaks
on and Toby howled once again.

“Are you saying hello?” Damon asked. He leaned against the

railing surrounding the porch.

“Maybe.” Toby took a drink of the iced tea he’d poured for

himself. “It sounds like a gray wolf and I not sure I speak that too
well,” he teased.

“Do you want to shift and go for a run?” Damon looked out in the

direction of the howling. “I don’t mind.”

“Nah, I’m good.” Toby’s wolf wanted to shift and run free but he

also wanted to stay close to their mate. The wolf howled again and
Toby smiled. “Do you wish you could shift fully?” he asked Damon.

“I’ve never really thought about it before.” Damon’s lips pursed in

thought. “Maybe now I wish I could. That way I’d be able to run with
you.” Damon pulled the food off the grill and on to their plates.

Toby went back inside to get steak knives and to refill their

drinks.

“Does it bother you that you’re like this?” This had been a subject

that fascinated Toby. Damon was a full witch but because his mother
drank a regular diet of shifter blood when pregnant with Damon, he
now possessed the ability, well partially.

“Do you mean am I pissed off because my selfish excuse of a

mother tainted my blood so that I will always be considered a freak?”
Damon shook his head. “Not any more. I use to be. Other witches
were cruel when I was little. It was something I couldn’t control. If I
got upset about something I’d shift and my shift isn’t anything like
yours. My eyes start to glow and a snout grows from my face and the
fur is patchy on my body. I look like a wolf with a bad case of the
mange.” Damon chuckled.

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“Ah come on, babe, it can’t be that bad.” Toby had seen Damon’s

teeth lengthen, not as long as his own, but they weren’t bad.

Damon put his fork down and took a deep breath. His eyes fell

shut and his face started to contort. Damon’s nails grew out to short,
sharp points and his mouth extended into that of a wolf’s snout with a
mouthful of teeth. Some sharp like a wolf’s and some human in form.
Damon’s blond fur stuck out in random tuffs along his cheek bones
and neck. To Toby it looked like he was caught in between his
shifting from human to wolf. It wasn’t bad by any means. Toby
thought he was still the sexiest man he’d ever met.

Toby got up from his chair and walked around the table and kneelt

in front of his mate. “I think you look as handsome as ever.” Toby
moved in close and kissed Damon on the side of his muzzle.

The air around Damon’s body grew hazy then he was in his

regular human form. He reached out and grabbed the front of Toby’s
shirt and pulled him forward until he was straddling Damon’s lap.
Damon forced his tongue into Toby’s mouth and kissed the breath
from his lungs. Toby relaxed into Damon’s strong hold and let his
mate take what he needed. Toby meant what he said. Damon, no
matter what form he was in, was the hottest thing on two legs Toby
had ever seen and ever would see.

“I love you, little wolf.” Damon’s hot breath fanned over his face,

making the hair on Toby’s body stand up.

“I love you too, my werewitch.”
“Werewitch?” Damon sat back, his brows furrowed.
“Yeah, werewolf combined with a witch. So you’re my

werewitch.”

“That has to be the most ridiculous nickname I’ve ever heard.”

Damon laughed. “But I love it.” Damon placed his hands on either
side of Toby’s face and brought him in close for another kiss. “I love
everything about you.”

Damon's Determined Wolf

“That’s good to know.” Toby’s eyes fell shut and he started to

rock his hard as steel cock into Damon’s. Damon hissed in a breath
and his hands fell to grab at Toby’s ass. “I want you.”

“I want you, too.” Damon stood up, holding Toby in his arms, and

headed for the back door.

“No.” Toby leaned back to look into Damon’s eyes. “Let’s make

love under the stars.”

A sweet smile curved Damon’s lips and he nodded his head. Toby

dropped his legs and took off running. He jumped off the deck and
ran for the trees. Damon cursed under his breath but Toby soon heard
his heavy footfalls as he gave chase. Toby had only made it the
middle of the finely trimmed back lawn before Damon tackled him.
They rolled in the grass until Toby landed on top and he pinned
Damon’s arms up by his head.

“I’ve got you.” Toby smiled evilly down at his mate.
“Yes you have.” Damon lifted his hips, pressing his thick bulge

into Toby’s ass, causing Toby’s eyes to cross. “Now what are you
going to do with me?”

Toby’s hands tightened around Damon’s wrist and he sucked in

deep lungfuls of breath. All the nerve endings in his ass were on fire.
He wanted to feel Damon deep inside him until he came shouting his
name.

With quick hands Toby unfastened Damon’s pants and pulled his

shorts down his legs. Damon had a lazy smile on his face and stared
up at Toby, never once moving his hands. He was letting Toby run the
show and what a show it was going to be. Toby hopped up and pulled
his shorts off. He moved to straddle Damon’s face and lowered
himself until his ass was over Damon’s mouth.

Without being prompted, Damon started to lick at his hungry hole,

getting him nice and wet. Toby leaned forward and wrapped his
fingers around Damon’s length and pumped his fist. Pre-cum seeped
out the slit at the tip and Toby ran his palm over the clear juices.
Shifting to get at a better angle, Toby took Damon’s cock into his

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mouth. He tongued the opening, trying to suck more of Damon’s
flavor from his body. Damon's deep groan sent vibrations from
Toby’s twitching opening clear up to his head. Toby bobbed his head
up and down, eagerly needing more of Damon any way he could have
him.

Unable to wait any longer, Toby crawled off of Damon. He

hovered over his mate with a knee on either side of Damon’s hips.
Damon’s pupils were dark and glowed a bright green around the
edges. Toby grabbed ahold of Damon’s cock and held it upward as he
lowered himself down. The entry stung a bit but Toby didn’t stop
until he was sitting skin to skin on Damon’s thighs.

“Holy hell you’re tight,” Damon gritted out.
“And you’re big.” Toby’s head fell back on his shoulders as his

body adjusted to the intrusion.

After a few seconds Toby began to move his hips in a circular

motion, and then he started to lift up and down. Between Damon’s
spit and his oozing juices, it didn't take long before Toby’s tight
tunnel grew slick. Toby leaned back just a bit and angled Damon’s
blunt cock head at his prostate.

“Oh, yeah, right there.” Toby pinched and rolled his nipples

between his fingertips as Damon gripped his hips to help him move
up and down.

Damon lifted his ass up off the ground to pound his full length

into Toby on his down stroke. Toby cried out and they repeated the
motion over and over again.

A light breeze blew over their sweat-slick skin and Toby

shuddered. His balls filled with cum and he could feel the electric
shocks of his orgasm sparking to life. Toby lowered his hand to grab
his cock. He bounced around on Damon’s dick in a frantic haze. He
needed to come.

“Damon, Damon, Damon,” Toby chanted as his release ripped

through his body. His head fell back on his shoulders and he howled
up at the night sky. As his cock twitched in rhythm to his heart

Damon's Determined Wolf

beating, he felt Damon succumb to his own desires. Damon’s hot cum
filled up his body, and Toby smiled at the wetness dripping from his
stretched hole.

Toby’s body came to a stop and he rested his hands on Damon’s

chest. “That was amazing,” he said as he gasped for breath. “I’ll never
tire of making love to you.”

“Me either.” Damon reached up for him and pulled him down to

kiss his lips. “It only gets better every time.”

“It does, my werewitch.” Toby smiled against Damon’s lips.
“Oh, come on!” Damon groaned. “I think you need to find another

nick name for me.”

“Nah.” Toby shook his head. “Werewitch is so perfect.”
Damon started to tickle Toby’s sides and he laughed and fell

forward. They rolled around on the ground laughing and tickling one
another until the sound of another deeper-set laughter caught their
attention. Damon rolled off of him and they pulled their shorts back
up.

“What was that?” Toby asked as he sniffed the air. Just then a

gush of wind blew in their direction and Toby’s blood ran cold. “It
can’t be him.” He grabbed for Damon’s hand. “How did he find us?”

Porter stepped out from the shadow of the trees clapping his

hands. “I must say that was amazing to watch.”

Toby’s body went limp at the sight of the man who helped steal

his childhood from him. Dark hair and even darker eyes stared down
at him. Porter had taken so much from him, and even now he still
took. A dark warrior with only one goal in mind, to ruin Toby’s life.

“Shit.” Toby’s hands started to shake. He hated how scared he

was. When he looked at Porter he not only saw the face of the man
who had raped him but the man who had killed his brother. Suddenly
all that fear turned to rage. If Porter wanted him he was going to have
to fight him, because Toby refused to get taken easily. He had too
much to fight for to let this man destroy any more of his life.

AJ Jarrett

Chapter Nine

The moment had been perfect. Him and Toby under the stars

making love. Damon couldn’t have asked for a more perfect night,
and then Porter showed up and ruined everything. How the man found
them he hadn’t a clue.

“That was quite the show.” Porter stepped closer and Damon

shoved Toby behind him.

“What do you want, Porter?” Damon tightened his grip on Toby

as his mate tried to move to stand beside him.

“Oh, Damon, is that really any way to talk to me?” Porter asked

with a pout clinging to his thin lips. “Your mother wouldn’t have
approved.”

“Well she’s dead, and I could care less about what she would

want.” Porter and his mother had a thing for a few years. Another
reason Damon resented the man. His mother might have been a
terrible person but she was all he had and she’d leave him for months
at a time to be with this monster.

“Oh look at you. You’re all grown up. No longer that scared little

boy looking to gain his mother’s approval.” Porter made a tsking
sound with his tongue. “Never understood why you bothered. That
bitch was never pleased with anything anyone had ever done for her.”

“Why are you here?” Damon asked again. Since the death of his

mother he hadn’t seen any of her old friends and they had no reason
to look for him, but here Porter was. But he knew why Porter had
come and it had nothing to do with him.

“I think you know why I’m here.” Porter shoved his hands into his

pockets. “Or has our sweet Toby not told you?” Porter arched a brow.

Damon's Determined Wolf

“He knows.” Toby broke free of Damon’s hold and moved to

stand beside him. “I told him everything. I told him all the terrible
things you did to me.” Damon glanced down at his mate and saw his
canines had lengthened and were poking at his lower lip. “But none of
that compares to the fact that you killed my brother.”

Before Damon could even react, Toby leapt forward and took

Porter to the ground. Damon lunged forward but two dark warriors
jumped from the shadows. One punched him in the face. Not
expecting the blow, Damon went to the ground and the other was on
top of him pounding hard fists into his stomach. Damon used his
power to fade out from under the vampire and came to his feet. He
popped up behind the other dark warrior, who had partially shifted
into a wolf. Damon grabbed him by the head and twisted, breaking
the shifters neck. He fell in a heap to the ground.

The other dark warrior pounced on him and delivered a hard blow

to his head. Damon’s vision became blurry and he couldn’t get his
power to work. He could hear Toby shouting behind him. Damon
looked up at the man sitting on his chest, murder in his eyes, and
Damon tried again to fade but he couldn’t.

“Stop! Please don’t,” Toby’s screamed. “He’s my mate. If you kill

him you might as well kill me too.”

“Well this changes things. Arnold get off of him.” Damon could

hear them talking but his eyelids were too heavy and he couldn’t keep
them open. Arnold climbed off of him but kept a heavy-booted foot
on his chest. “Here’s the deal, Toby, my sweet. If you come with me,
I’ll leave Damon here unharmed. Because trust me when I say there
are worst things than dying that I could do to him.”

“Tob…Toby, no,” Damon stuttered out. It was hard to breathe

with the man standing on his chest. The pressure on his chest grew
and he couldn’t get air into his lungs.

“I’ll go, just stop!”
“Wise choice. Now come on, Toby. Let’s go.”

AJ Jarrett

“I’m sorry, Damon.” He could hear Toby sob. “I love you.” His

whispered words were the last thing he heard. The man with the boot
on his chest slammed it down into his head, plunging Damon into
darkness.

* * * *

This was all his fault. If he hadn’t rushed at Porter so eager to

fight, he might still be with his mate. But his emotions got the better
of him and Porter like that night so many years ago got the upper
hand and Toby lay there trapped, watching his mate get beaten and
nearly killed.

“Please forgive me for this, but can’t have you trying to escape,”

Porter said just before something hard connected with the back of
Toby’s head.

Toby’s eyes slowly fluttered opened and darkness surrounded

him. He had no idea how much time had passed. He raised a hand to
the back of his aching head and hissed. Toby took a deep breath and
pushed up on the bed he was laying on and scooted to rest his back
against the headboard. It took a moment for Toby’s eyes to adjust to
the utter darkness. The sting in his head wasn’t helping matters.

“There’s a light to your right,” a low voice said from the other

side of the room.

Toby quickly reached for the light switch. His hand bumped into a

lamp and he twisted the little knob flooding the room in golden light.
It stung Toby’s eyes and he glanced around for the owner of the
voice.

“Relax there, wolf.”
Sitting in a chair across from the large bed he lay on was a man.

He had a pair of sunglasses on shielding his eyes from Toby’s view.
He didn’t look much bigger than himself. He had blond hair that
reminded him of Damon’s. The cut was even similar, short around the

Damon's Determined Wolf

sides and back and a little length on the top. His skin was a shade of
peaches and cream that made him look extremely young.

“Who are you?” Toby asked as he narrowed his eyes at the man.

This had to be one of Porter’s men and he wasn’t about to trust him.

“Julian.” The man sat up in the chair and leaned forward resting

his elbows on his knees. “Look, I’m not going hurt you.”

“Yeah right.” Toby kept a steady eye on Julian. He didn’t want to

be caught off guard. “You’re a dark warrior so there’s no way in hell
I’m going to trust anything that comes out of your mouth.” Toby
balled up his fist. The urge to fight gripped at his nerves and he could
feel his wolf rising to the surface.

“I don’t care if you believe me or not but I’m not like the rest.”

Julian stood up and walked closer to the bed. Something about the
man seemed a little familiar. He looked a lot like Damon but that had
to be because of the blond hair and lightly tanned skin. “I’ve been
asked to watch over you until he comes back.”

“Porter’s not here?” Toby slowly looked around the room, taking

notice of the windows and how far the door was from his reach.

“I wouldn’t bother trying to escape.” Julian crossed his arms over

his narrow chest. “I might not hurt you but no telling what the others
might do to you.” Julian raised a hand to rub under his sunglasses but
did not take them off. “Look, man, just sit tight okay. No need for you
to get busted up for trying to get away because he’ll find you and
when he does he’ll make you suffer. He’s got guards posted at every
entrance and exit to this house and there’s men stationed outside your
door and by the stairs. Trust me, you wouldn’t get far.”

“Why are you telling me all this?” Toby didn’t trust this guy. He

could just be telling him this stuff to scare him.

“Because you look like a nice guy, and I don’t want to see you get

killed, okay?” Julian turned around and headed for the door. “Are you
hungry?” Before Toby could answer his stomach growled. “I’ll take
that as a yes. Be back in a few.”

AJ Jarrett

Toby watched as the man stepped out of his room, shutting the

door firmly behind him. Julian’s behavior seemed uncharacteristic of
a dark warrior but Toby couldn’t afford to trust him. Dark warriors
didn’t do nice things for other people. It had to be a trick.

But it didn’t matter. Toby got up off the bed and walked over to

the windows. He shoved aside the thick black drapes to see bars
blocking any escape. A sturdy steal that didn’t even shimmy when
Toby grabbed at it, trying to wrench them open. Beyond the metal
bars was a large back yard. In the distance he could see lights from
the city but the question was, what city was he in? Toby had no clue
where the fuck he was.

“I have to try and get away,” Toby whispered to himself. Damon

needed him and he needed his mate. Toby glanced behind him. He
couldn’t get out the windows so it meant walking out the bedroom
door.

Toby walked over and tried the knob, locked. He paced back and

forth, not sure what to do. He heard the sound of footsteps nearing his
room, so Toby moved to the right side of the door and waited for it to
open. It was Julian and he was carrying a tray of food. Toby waited
until he was fully inside then raised his fist to punch him in the back
of the head.

Julian dunked out of range and in an elegant grace set the tray on

the floor then spun around and grabbed Toby, one hand on his throat,
the other around his wrist. The pressure wasn’t hard but it made Toby
feel trapped. Julian pushed him up against the door and Toby used his
weight to push back. Julian lost his balance and Toby landed a punch
right to his upper left cheek. He fell to his knees and Toby pounced.
They rolled on the floor, Toby punching and biting at Julian’s arms.

Toby’s skin began to tingle and his shift overcame him. His

clothes ripped to shreds and his bones broke and popped out of joint
until he was in wolf form. He snarled at Julian then leapt through the
air, barreling right into his chest. The sunglasses on Julian’s young
handsome face fell to the floor and Toby growled at the black eyes

Damon's Determined Wolf

that stared back at him. Julian kicked out his legs and sent Toby
tumbling to the ground a good ten feet away. Toby slid into the wall.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Julian shouted. He quickly

picked up his sunglasses and put them back on his face. “I said I
wasn’t going to hurt you.” Toby growled and Julian tossed his hands
up in the air. “I don’t speak wolf, dude. Can’t have a productive
conversation with you in that form. Sorry.” Julian swatted his hands
down the front of him, knocking off the dust from the floor off his
black suit.

Slowly Toby let his human self come forward and the wolf

receded back. Toby sat naked on the floor, looking up at Julian as he
fixed his clothes. This man was unlike any other dark warrior he’d
ever met. The ones he’d been unfortunate enough to meet didn’t say
much and usually were attacking him. Julian never once raised a hand
to hit him back, just deflected Toby’s attacks.

“Why didn’t you hit me?” It seemed the only thing Toby could

think to say. Julian didn’t act like a dark warrior but the proof was in
his shiny onyx eyes. Only those who’ve given into their dark nature
had eyes that black.

“Because I don’t want to.” Julian stood up and took off his jacket

and walked over to Toby. He handed Toby the coat to cover himself
with and sat down next to him, slouching against the wall.

“You don’t want to?” Toby clutched the soft material close to his

groin, covering his nakedness from Julian. “I thought that’s what all
dark warriors lived for. To hurt others.”

“Yeah, well you don’t know me, Toby.” Julian let his head tilt

back on his shoulders to rest against the wall. He turned to look at
Toby. “Let’s just say I’ve done some bad things in the past and have
earned these black eyes the rest of the world sees, but I’m not evil on
the inside.”

“What do you mean?” Toby had never really had an enlightened

conversation with a dark warrior before but he found himself
warming up to Julian, wanting to know his story.

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“It’s a long story I don’t feel like rehashing. Just know I’m not out

to hurt you and if I could I’d help you get out of here, but I can’t. I
know Porter has done some awful shit in his life and probably even
more so to you. I don’t know for sure. I try to stay out of my father’s
business.”

“Father?” Toby’s mouth went dry and he couldn’t swallow. The

more Julian talked the more shocked Toby became.

“Yes. He’s my father and that’s the cross I have to bear.” Julian

let out a deep breath, his face pinched in annoyance. “Toby, I have no
reason to hurt you nor do I want anything from you. But I have to do
what my father says. I wish it was different but—” Julian balled up
his fist and punched himself in the thigh. “Fuck! I hate this.”

Toby edged a way from Julian, unsure if the dark warrior had

mood swings and would lash out at him.

“Ever since I was a kid my father’s been able to manipulate me

and he’s still doing it. Ninety-five years later. I’m still his puppet.”
Julian seemed to be talking more to himself than to Toby.

“What does he have on you, Julian? Why do you stay?”
“Because of my nephew.” Julian’s lips pursed tightly together. “If

I’m not here to watch out for him, the poor kid doesn’t stand a chance
against our fathers. Lucian will destroy that boy’s humanity and I
couldn’t live with myself if that happened.”

A cold chill ran down Toby’s spine at the mention of Lucian’s

name. He wasn’t aware the man had any children but it wasn’t too
surprising. It was only a few days ago did he discover Porter and
Lucian were brothers. Toby didn’t know much about the men who
had brought him so much pain.

“That’s very self-sacrificing of you to do.” Toby crossed his legs

and turned to face Julian. “Why don’t you just take your nephew with
you and run?” It seemed like the most logical thing to do. Julian
looked like a capable kind of guy.

“Because Hale doesn’t know what’s going on. He actually

believes his father loves him and I don’t have the heart to break his. I

Damon's Determined Wolf

know what it’s like to be let down. Porter wasn’t the ideal father but
he took care of me and at the time, being a little kid, I thought it was
out of love, but it wasn’t. He was grooming me to be just like him.”
Julian barked out a bitter laugh. “Let’s just say I’m a major
disappointment.”

The more Julian talked, the more it reminded him of Damon. Both

men destined for evil but their hearts were too big to be destroyed by
such things.

“I won’t lie.” Julian started to speak again. “It’s a struggle every

day not to give into the evil that surrounds me but I just can’t. I’m not
the person everyone thinks I am.”

Toby may be a fool but he was starting to believe Julian. The man

really had nothing to gain by tricking him and he didn’t even seem
really interested in getting anything from him. Maybe Julian could
become an ally. Maybe Julian could be Toby’s savior in this house of
darkness.

AJ Jarrett

Chapter Ten

Julian left Toby’s room and promised to come back with some

clothes for him. Toby grabbed the tray of food and moved to the bed.
It was no use starving himself. He needed to keep his strength up just
in case the opportunity arose for him to escape.

After he finished eating he stepped into the bathroom and found a

towel to wrap around his waist. He felt too exposed roaming around
naked. It had been a little over an hour and Julian still hadn’t come
back. Not that he missed him or anything, but he was at the present
the only friend Toby had in this house.

Toby was staring out the window when the bedroom door creaked

opened.

“Thank god you’re back. I was starting to get a little chilly.” Toby

turned around and he had to force himself to swallow around the lump
in his throat. Porter stood in front of him. The tall, dark, and
mysterious man had an evil smile on his face. The way his eyes
racked over Toby’s body made him feel like a piece of meat. He hated
it and more than anything he wanted to rip out Porter’s eyes.

“It’s good to know you’re missing me.” Porter reached out a hand

and Toby flinched against the window but couldn’t escape the cool
smooth fingers running down his cheek.

“Hardly.” Toby found his courage and knocked Porter’s hand

from his face.

“Doesn’t matter.” Porter stepped up close until his chest pressed

into Toby’s. “Soon you’ll come to crave my touch.”

“I wouldn’t get my hopes up.” Toby tried to keep his voice from

shaking as he spoke.

Damon's Determined Wolf

“Doesn’t matter.” Porter shrugged. “I can find ways to make you

want me.”

“Damon will look for me.” Toby remembered the necklace

Damon wore. “My mate will find me.”

“I’m sure he’ll try but I highly doubt any magic he possesses can

break a cloaking spell.” Toby’s eyes went wide at that. “That’s right,
my dear Toby. Your mate could spend the rest of his life looking for
you. How unfortunate for him.”

“You’re a monster.” Toby’s eyes welled with tears but he held

them in. He didn’t need to show Porter any more weakness.

“Maybe so but I’m also the monster who is now your master.”

Porter’s hands shot out fast, his fingers gripping tightly into Toby’s
hair.

“Why me?” Toby tried to pull away but the sting in his scalp held

him in place.

“I like to have unwilling playthings.” Porter dipped his head to

whisper in Toby’s ear. “It turns me on.”

Toby’s eyes clenched tight and the tears he’d been holding back

escaped. The sound of a phone ringing had Porter cursing and letting
go of Toby. Toby slumped against the window, trying to catch his
breath. This couldn’t be his life now. If Porter’s cloaking spell was
anything like the Warriors of the Light used he was totally fucked.
They’d never find him.

“No brother, this is not a convenient time for me but this is

important. I’ll meet you out front.” Porter disconnected the call and
turned back to Toby. “Something’s come up that requires my
attention. I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone but when I get back we’ll
make up for lost times, my dear sweet Toby.” Porter gripped Toby by
the jaw and came in close and pressed his lips hard to his own. Toby
clamped down tight, not allowing him entrance. Porter gave up and
took a step back and headed for the door. “Soon, Toby. You’ll be
mine. You will come to love being my slave, or not. It really doesn’t
matter to me.”

AJ Jarrett

Toby watched Porter leave the room and he fell to the floor in a fit

of tears. He felt like a child with as much as he cried but he didn’t
know what else to do. It all seemed so hopeless.

A few hours later Julian knocked at his door then came inside.

Toby was relieved that it was only him. He had changed his clothes
too. Now he had on a pair of black jeans with a long-sleeve gray shirt.
He looked more casual now. The only odd thing about Julian was the
fact he still had his black sunglasses on.

“I hope sweats are okay with you.” Julian tossed a white T-shirt

and a pair of dark gray sweat pants on to the bed.

“They’ll work.” Toby pulled the soft material up his legs then sat

back down. “Anything’s better than sitting around naked.”

“True.” Julian walked over and picked up the empty tray of food

and set it outside the bedroom door. “I would have been here sooner
but Porter required my time.”

“That’s okay.” Toby hugged his arms over his chest. “He came by

to see me to.” He could feel Julian’s eyes on him and he tilted his
head to face him. “Sorry, I know he’s your dad and all but—” Toby
shook his head. The future Porter had in store for him was something
Toby wouldn’t wish on his worst enemy.

“Toby.” Julian pulled the chair under the desk on the far side of

the room closer to the bed. “Can I ask what he did to you?”

“He and Lucian raped me. I was seventeen at the time.” Toby

rubbed a hand over his eyes. “But the worst thing he’s done to me is
kill my brother.” Tears burned at the back of his eyes. “Right in front
of my eyes. He ripped his heart out.”

“Toby, man.” Julian shook his head. “Saying sorry sounds so

careless. I know my father’s a monster and over the years I’ve gotten
use to what he’s capable of. I’ve grown numb to his cruelty and
maybe that makes me a little bit of a monster, too. But please know I
am sorry for his actions. No one should ever witness a loved one
being murdered.”

Damon's Determined Wolf

“Thank you, Julian.” Toby sat up. “At least you’re not like him.”

Toby wanted to play to Julian’s sensitive side. Maybe if he gained
Julian’s sympathy he could convince Julian to help him escape.
“Where is Porter going? Do you know?” he asked, but didn’t really
think he’d get an honest answer.

“My father and uncle got a lead on a vampire they’ve been

searching for. They think they might have found him.” Julian
chuckled. “You know every time they go away I always pray this is
the time that they won’t come back. That the Warriors of the Light
have finally caught them and killed them. I keep waiting for the
misery to end.”

“You could always escape with me,” Toby suggested. He pulled

his knees up onto the bed and hugged them close to his chest. “The
warriors are always willing to help those in need.”

“I don’t think they’d be so eager to help me.” Julian flipped up his

sunglasses to rest on the top of his head. The pools of empty black
stared back at Toby. No matter how nice Julian had been to him, they
still frightened Toby. “Look how you react. You’re as white as a
ghost.” Julian put his glasses back into place.

“You have to understand every person I’ve seen with eyes like

that has hurt me. I’m not use to someone being good with those eyes.”
Toby didn’t know if he’d ever get use to Julian’s eyes. “Were you
born with them that way?”

“No.” Julian moved to tap his fingers on the edge of his chair.

“My eyes use to be a deep green before…” Julian’s voice hitched.
“Before they turned.”

Toby could almost imagine what the green would look like and

even more so with green eyes Julian would look even more like
Damon. “Can I ask how they came to be this way?” Toby didn’t want
to overstep his boundaries with Julian.

“The woman I believed to be my mother was murdered by

vampire hunters, burned alive. She and my father had gone off on a
trip and she never came back. He said he tried to save her but he

AJ Jarrett

barely got away himself.” Julian rubbed his hands together and stared
at the ground. “I was I think fourteen at the time. My father took me
and my uncle back to get revenge and when I saw the men I lost it. I
killed all six of them myself. I showed not even one ounce of mercy
as a ripped out their throats. It was like I lost my mind. All I kept
seeing was my mother’s smiling face. It was like I blacked out or
something.”

“That’s awful.”
“No, what’s awful was to find out that the woman killed wasn’t

even my mother and that the men I slaughtered had nothing to do with
her death. My father lied to me.”

Toby wasn’t all that surprised. But he had to guess a young Julian

had no reason not to trust and believe in his father. The next words
out of Julian’s mouth though did surprise him.

“When we came back from that trip I met my real mother.” Julian

chucked and shook his head. “A witch, a bat-shit crazy witch named
Clara. She, my father, and my uncle all patted each other on the back
at the sight of my blackened eyes and how fierce of a fighter I was.”

Toby’s head jerked up at the mention of that name. Clara was

Damon’s mother. The witch responsible for nearly killing Garrett and
Lachlan and wreaking havoc within the Carrington wolf pack. If what
Julian said were true than that meant…

“They were so proud of me but I hated myself for what I’d done

and hated them for lying to me and killing the woman I called
mother.” Julian continued to talk, oblivious to Toby’s shocked facial
expression. “All too soon their joy turned to anger. Right around my
twentieth birthday they discovered they were wrong about me. I did a
bad thing but unlike them I felt guilt for my actions. I wasn’t a
mindless killing machine like they’d hoped I’d be. Clara was furious.
She screamed at my father and uncle about it being another failed
attempt and left. I never saw her again.”

“Oh my god.” Toby stood up and began to pace the floor. So

many thoughts were running rapid in his tired mind, the most crucial

Damon's Determined Wolf

one was that Damon and Julian were brothers. Toby had to wonder if
Porter was Damon’s father, too.

“Toby, you okay?” Julian asked.
Toby waved a hand at him to silence him. He needed to think.

Clara was Damon and Julian’s mother. She was a witch who had
given birth to two sons, both of which weren’t pure beings of evil.
Sure Julian had black eyes like a dark warrior but he was a person
with a soul. The darkness might have taken control of him for the
briefest of moments back when he was just a teenager, but he didn’t
allow himself to be controlled by that evil the same as Damon.

Damon’s mother drank shifter blood and was an evil witch but

Damon turned out okay. He was a witch that had some characteristics
of a wolf shifter but his heart was good. Born out of darkness, these
brothers managed to rise above it.

Toby remembered hearing the warriors at the compound discuss

the cross breeding of species and how it wasn’t supposed to happen. It
was something Mother Nature wouldn’t allow. But witches had found
ways around it. But the price of creating a being as such had its draw
backs.

Toby only knew of few paranormals born from two different

species. There was Astrid, who was part witch part fairy. Astrid,
being born from a fairy, only had goodness in his heart. He couldn’t
cast spells or anything like that. His power was in granting wishes.
Then there was Abel whose mother was a witch and his father a
vampire. Abel presented as a witch but his powers were weak. It took
him becoming mated for his powers to grow stronger.

He had to wonder if in having children with men not of her

species, if Damon and Julian’s faulty wiring was they had no evil in
them whatsoever. They might have been born into darkness but their
souls were pure.

“Toby, you’re making me dizzy with all this pacing about.” Julian

stood up. “What’s got you so worked up?”

Damon's Determined Wolf

Chapter Eleven

Damon woke up in his back yard. His head ached and the bitter

taste of copper filled his mouth. He opened his eyes only to be
blinded by the bright sun shining down on him. As he tried to get up
he became dizzy and fell back on his ass.

“Shit,” Damon grumbled. He took a deep breath and pieced

together the events of the previous night.

Images of Porter and his lackeys attacking him and Toby and then

of Toby being taken away from him.

No!
Damon shot to his feet and ran for the house. In his bedroom he

pulled out the side drawer from his nightstand, the contents spilling to
the clatter onto the ground.

“Where is it?” Damon looked desperately for the necklace that

helped him locate Toby before. He’d taken if off for the first time in
six years after he had Toby safely in his arms. Damon finally found it
lying slightly under the bed. He snatched it up and stared down at it,
pleading for it to work. “Come on damn you, work!” Damon clenched
his fist around the cold black stone but nothing happened. He threw it
across the room and slumped against his bed and began to sob.

Toby was gone and Damon had no one to blame but himself. He’d

allowed himself to get distracted and that was all Porter needed.

“What am I going to do?” Damon shouted in the quiet room, his

voice echoing off the four wooden walls.

Damon’s powers as a witch weren’t as strong as others. He could

transport himself to anyplace he wanted to but that was it. His sole
power was to move through time. But his powers weren’t strong

AJ Jarrett

enough to break through spells. And if he had to guess Porter had
shielded Toby the moment he captured him, making it impossible for
Damon to find him. He needed help.

“Lachlan!” Damon jumped to his feet and ran to his closet to grab

some clothes.

Lachlan had become his friend when he told the warrior of his

mother’s plan to kill him and his mate Garrett. If he could find
Lachlan he knew the man would help him. Not only was he Damon’s
friend, but Lachlan and Toby’s brother Aaron had been best friends.
Surely Lachlan would do anything he could to find Toby.

Once Damon was dressed he walked over to pick up the necklace

where it lay on the floor and slipped it over his neck. It might come in
handy.

Damon closed his eyes and allowed himself to fade. Toby had told

him the house was shielded from people who had never been there
before so that would include Damon. The only thing he had to go on
was a street name and a field of roses.

The first thing Damon noticed when he opened his eyes was the

brightness and the heat. Damon looked up to see a weathered-looking
street sign that said Gilham Road. Toward his right in the distance he
saw a field of bright yellow roses growing as if wild, filling up the
space. Damon didn’t know what to do, so he started to walk up and
down the quiet road. No cars passed by. It was as if this little piece of
land was deserted.

Damon didn’t know how many hours had passed before he heard

someone call out his name.

“Damon!” He turned around to see Lachlan walking toward him.

The man’s blond hair blew in the breeze and his eyes were red and
swollen as if he’d been crying. “Is that you?”

“Lachlan.” Damon rushed toward Lachlan’s open arms. The

strong grip and warmth of Lachlan’s body broke Damon’s will. He
began to cry. “He’s gone. Porter took him.”

Damon's Determined Wolf

“It’s, okay. We’ll get him back.” Lachlan rubbed strong hands up

and down his back. “Here, let’s go inside.”

Damon allowed Lachlan to lead him toward a large sprawling

mansion he hadn’t noticed before. Being with Lachlan must have
made the spell break for Damon to see it. Garrett stood at the open
doorway and held it open for them.

“Long time no see, Damon.” Garrett pulled him into a hug then

slowly eased back to look him in the face. “Look a lot different from
the last time we saw you.”

“Yeah, seven years can change a person.” Damon did his best to

smile but it came out more as a grimace. Tears filled his eyes again
and Garrett pulled him into his chest.

“Calm down. We’ll get this all figured out.”
Lachlan and Garrett led him further into the house and Damon

kept his head down. Shame filled his gut at not being able to protect
his mate and needing to seek out help. Suddenly he felt so alone in the
world.

Lachlan stopped at a door and knocked. Someone on the other

side hollered for them to come inside and Lachlan pushed open the
door.

Damon looked up to see Ben, Klaus, and Quinn sitting around a

large round table. Maps were laid out and they each had a phone to
their ear. All three men had bags under their eyes and looked to be
exhausted. Damon knew how they felt.

“Damon.” Ben ended his call and stood up. He held his hand out

for him to shake.

“Ben.”
Ben’s grip on Damon’s hand tightened and he pulled him in for a

hug. The strong warrior patted him on the back. It eased Damon’s
nerves to be accepted by these men.

“Dad.” Ben and Damon turned at the sound of a young voice.

Damon recognized the boy from the night he rescued Toby from the
fair grounds. “He’s the one who took Toby.” The boy glared at him.

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“Colby, son, this is Damon.” Ben moved to stand beside his son.

“He’s an old friend.”

Colby’s eyes didn’t soften. He didn’t look as if he trusted Damon

and he couldn’t blame him. The boy saw him snatch Toby away, not
knowing why he did it.

“Colby, this is Toby’s mate.” Garrett knelt in front of Colby.

“He’d never hurt Toby.” Garrett turned to look up at him. “Would
you, Damon?”

“No.” He shook his head and his eyes began to burn. He’d never

intentionally hurt his mate but he did let Toby down.

“Then where is he?” Colby asked.
All eyes in the room turned to look at him and Damon felt like his

chest was caving in. No matter how bad he felt he had to tell them
everything. These men might be his only hope in finding his mate.

“Porter took him,” he said flatly. “He attacked us and took Toby

from me.” Damon swiped a hand under his eye, wiping away a stray
tear. He needed to be strong now. “That’s why I came here. I need
your help.”

Lachlan put his arm over Damon’s shoulders and squeezed him

close to his side. Quinn pulled out a chair and Damon took a seat. Ben
had him recount what happened from the beginning and Damon told
him everything.

He told him how he’d been living without using magic, then how

he went back to the Carrington pack lands once the pain got to be too
much living without Toby only to find out they were all gone with no
way to find any of them. Damon explained about the necklace he
wore and how it helped him find Toby the night Porter attacked the
men at the county fair. He then gave a PG version of what happened
the night Porter showed up and swept away with Toby like a thief in
the night.

“Why didn’t he call to tell us he was all right?” Lachlan asked. He

looked like he’d aged twenty years in the past week. Wrinkles
surrounded his eyes and mouth and his eyes were red.

Damon's Determined Wolf

“I tried to get him to but he wasn’t ready to talk about Aaron.”

Damon let out a heavy exhale. “He wasn’t ready to deal with that just
yet and I didn’t force him. I should have. Maybe if I had we wouldn’t
be in this mess now.”

“You don’t know that, Damon,” Ben said. He ran a hand through

his hair and shook his head. “Can you tell me why Porter would want
Toby?”

Damon scanned all the faces in the room. They all had a look of

question in their eyes. They didn’t know. Damon didn’t want to
betray Toby’s trust by telling his secrets but really, what option did he
have? Damon glanced over at Colby, the boy sat with his knees curled
under him on the couch against the wall.

“Son, why don’t you give us a minute here?” Ben said to his son.
“I don’t want to leave.” The boy sat up on the couch. “Toby is my

friend and I want to help find him.”

“Son, I understand that but there are some things you shouldn’t

know about. Things that Toby wouldn’t want you to know about.”
Ben walked over to his son and reached for his hand. “Please, Colby.
We all want to bring Toby back home.”

The boy seemed to be gearing up for another argument but closed

his mouth tight and stood up. Colby gave a nod of his head then
walked out of the room. Once he was gone, Damon told them all the
one thing Toby never wanted anyone else to know.

“That night that Lucian raped Toby?” Ben nodded his head. “He

wasn't the only one. Porter was there and he and Lucian took turns on
him.” Damon heard Lachlan gasp next to him but Damon didn’t turn
to look at him. “Toby said that Porter wanted to keep him and from
what Porter said the other night he’d been looking for Toby as well.”

“Is it possible that Toby is like Miles and has two mates?” Garrett

asked.

Ben’s mate Miles had been given two mates, one good and one

evil. Like anything else, sometimes Mother Nature makes a mistake.

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It all worked out for Miles and Ben in the end but the road to
happiness for that pair was paved with death and heartache.

“I don’t think Porter is a possible mate for Toby.” Damon tapped

his fingers on the desk top. “I believe he just wants to have Toby
because it’s all a game to him. He needs someone to torture and he
takes pleasure from doing that to Toby.” Damon could feel his temper
rising. To know this man took enjoyment from causing his mate pain
made Damon want to kill him, slowly.

“So that necklace isn’t giving you any clues as to where he might

be?” Quinn asked. The man had sat quietly until now.

“No.” Damon pulled at the necklace to stare down at it. “For six

years it didn’t do anything until Toby stepped out of this house and
away from the spell you have surrounding it. I have to assume Porter
was smart enough to do the same thing for wherever he has Toby.”

“Fuck!” Lachlan banged his fist on the table then clenched his

fingers in his hair. “How are we going to find him? I’ve lost Aaron
and I’m not losing his little brother too.”

“And we won’t.” Ben leaned forward to rest a hand on Damon’s

shoulder. “It won’t be easy but we’ll find a way.”

Damon hated to feel hopeless about the situation but he couldn’t

help it. If Porter didn’t want them to find Toby then they wouldn’t.

Ben picked up his phone and started to make a call. Lachlan

nudged him in the shoulder and Damon followed him out of the room.

“You’ll be staying here with us from now on, Damon,” Lachlan

said, giving no room for discussion, and Damon didn’t mind. He’d
been alone for so long he was ready to let people into his life.

“Thank you, Lachlan.”
Lachlan took him up a set of stairs then turned left and led him to

a closed door. He stopped and turned to look at Damon.

“While the two of you were together, did you complete the mating

ritual?” Lachlan asked.

Damon’s cheeks flushed talking about something so private.

“Yes,” he whispered softly.

Damon's Determined Wolf

“Then I think it’s okay that you stay in Toby’s room.” Lachlan

opened the door and waved for him to step inside.

Damon’s eyes grew misty as he took in Toby’s room. The walls

were painted a dark blue and the furniture was all a dark wood. A
book shelf had been built into the wall opposite the bed and row after
row of books lined the shelves. A collection of bobble heads sat on a
shelf above Toby’s desk. The room looked so normal. Nothing in here
gave away that the owner was missing.

Sitting on Toby’s nightstand was a picture. It was of him and

Aaron. Damon walked over and picked up the frame, staring down at
the smiling faces of the two brothers.

“Did you bury Aaron?” Damon asked.
“No, we had him cremated. It was what Aaron wanted.” Lachlan

sat down beside him on the bed. “Look, Damon, I don’t want to lie or
give you false hope but finding Toby won’t be easy.” Lachlan’s head
fell between his shoulders his chin resting on his chest. “But we won’t
give up. With everything going on, he’s our top priority.”

“Thank you.” Damon hugged the picture to his chest.
Lachlan stood up and left him alone in Toby’s room. Damon lay

down on his side and turned his face into the fluffy pillow. He could
smell the clean sweet scent of his mate and tears sprang to his eyes.

“I’ll find you, Toby. If it’s the last thing I do, I’ll bring you back

home.”

AJ Jarrett

Chapter Twelve

“You’re lying.” Julian hopped up off the bed and began to pace

the room.

Toby could understand this reaction. He did just tell Julian that he

had a brother he never knew about and further proved what a lying
bastard his father truly was.

“I have no reason to lie, Julian. I had the displeasure of meeting

your mother. I saw what she did to Damon. He was her son. I wish it
wasn’t true but it is.” Toby wanted to comfort Julian but wasn’t sure it
would be welcomed. “Damon’s a good man. I think you’d like him.
You guys look an awful lot alike. And you both have good hearts.”

“Fuck!” Julian wrenched his sunglasses off his face and rubbed at

his eyes. He turned to look at Toby. Toby found himself not so
freaked out by the inky pools of black that Julian had for eyes. “Is my
father his too? How far does this lie go?”

“I don’t know about that.” Toby got up to move closer to Julian.

“Damon was only ever told his father left because he was a freak of
nature. Clara had been drinking shifter blood while pregnant with
Damon, causing him to be able to partially shift into a wolf.”

“Is he a vampire?” Julian asked.
“No, he took after Clara. He’s a witch. For all we know his father

is a witch to but it’s hard to tell.” And it really was. Clara hadn’t been
the most trustworthy person and Toby couldn’t imagine her telling her
son the truth.

Toby found it frustrating to discover one piece of this fucked up

puzzle only to have two more pieces form. There was no answer to all
this craziness.

Damon's Determined Wolf

“But if she was a witch, how am I a vampire?” Julian crossed his

arms over his chest. It was hard to tell what he was thinking since his
eyes gave off no emotion.

“Maybe because your father is.” Toby shrugged his shoulders. “I

have to assume like any family some kids take after their mother and
some after their father.”

“But what does it mean for me?” Julian waved a hand in front of

him. “What does being born of two different species mean for any of
us?”

“Cross breeding isn’t allowed in the paranormal world but dark

warriors have found a way around it. According to my friends in
doing so it makes that offspring a little different. Maybe in your and
Damon’s case it is that you both have control over your souls. You’re
not evil even though you were born from it.” Toby felt exhausted.
Trying to figure all this out made his brain hurt. He sat back down on
his bed, crossing his legs underneath him.

Julian’s shoulders slumped and he walked over to Toby’s bed.

“Mind if I sit down?” Toby shook his head and Julian crawled up the
bed to sit with his back against the headboard. “I’d like to say I’m
surprised but I’m really not. My father has lied to me my whole life,
so what makes this any different?” Julian put his sunglasses back on.
“So what’s he like, my brother?”

A smile curled Toby’s upper lip. “He’s the best person you will

ever meet.” All the love he felt for Damon filled up his heart to the
point of bursting. “He’s kind and caring and is always trying to do the
right thing even when it only hurts himself. He’s a good man you
would be proud to have as a brother.”

“Do you love him?” Julian asked.
“With all my heart.” Toby’s eyes started to water. “I probably

should have told you this already, but Damon’s my mate. So I guess
you and I are kind of like family.”

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“Really? Mates?” Julian smiled. “Not only do I find out I have a

brother I never knew about but I have a brother in law to boot.” Julian
nudged him in the shoulder. “I think Damon’s a lucky guy.”

“No, I’m the lucky one.” Toby rested his back against the

headboard next to Julian. “You look a lot like him, ya know.” Julian’s
forehead furrowed at that. “No, really you do. The same blond hair,
even the same way you style it. The color of your skin. You share the
same straight nose and strong jaw line. I’d bet if your eyes weren’t
like they are you’d even have the same shade of green as Damon’s.”
Julian flinched at that and Toby surprised himself by reaching out and
pulling off Julian’s sunglasses. “But these aren’t that bad either.”

“Yeah, right.” Julian chuckled and rolled his eyes upward.

“People see this.” He pointed to his eyes. “And they automatically
assume I’m evil.”

“True, but you’re not. I was afraid of you at first but look at us

now.” Toby held his arms up. “We’re practically best friends.”

“Best friends?” Julian quirked an eyebrow. “You are a funny guy,

Toby.”

They both started to laugh and didn’t hear the door open.
“Uncle Julian.” A young boy stood facing them.
“Hale, what are you doing up?” Julian climbed off the bed and

walked over to the boy.

Hale stared over his uncle’s shoulder at him and Toby smiled.

Hale was just a boy, an innocent. He had black hair like Lucian and
his eyes were a dark navy blue. His skin was pale and his face looked
delicate, still stuck in his youth. Toby knew this child would grow up
and be a handsome man just like his father. Toby just prayed Hale
was nothing like the man.

“I couldn’t sleep so I came looking for you.” Hale pointed over

toward Toby. “Who’s that?”

“That is…”
Toby could see Julian struggling for what to tell the boy. He might

not agree with keeping Hale in the dark about who his father truly was

Damon's Determined Wolf

but he also understood it. Hale was just a child who didn’t need to
know how evil the world truly was just yet.

“I’m Toby. Julian’s friend.” Toby got off the bed and came to

stand in front of Julian and Hale. “Nice to meet you.” He held out his
hand for the boy to shake and Toby was surprised when Hale took his
hand.

“Nice to meet you.”
Julian stood up and glanced at Toby and Toby just shrugged his

shoulders.

“So Hale, how old are you?” Toby asked.
“I’m thirteen.” Hale smiled, seeming so proud of that.
Julian smiled in return. It made him think of Colby. Then a jolt of

sadness hit him. Will I ever see Colby again?

“That’s an exciting age.” Toby quickly recovered. “I remember

thinking bed times sucked.”

“They do.” Hale nodded his head. “My dad could care less what

time I go to bed, but not Uncle Julian.” Hale rolled his eyes. “He said
kids need their rest.”

“And they do.” Julian took Hale by the shoulders and led him out

the door. “So let’s get you back to your room.”

“You’re so bossy.” Hale leaned back into the door. “Night, Toby.”
“Night, Hale.” Toby raised his hand and waved.
“I’m going to hang out with him for a while,” Julian said before

Toby could shut the door. “I’ll come by in the morning.”

Toby nodded his head as the door was pulled shut. He heard the

lock click into place and let out an annoyed breath. It didn’t matter
that he was becoming friends with Julian. Toby was still a prisoner in
this house.

Toby shut off the light and walked over to his bed. He pulled back

the blankets and climbed inside. The bright moon shined in through
the open drapes surrounding the window. Toby so desperately wanted
to break the glass and run away but the metal bars made that
impossible. He was stuck. Tears filled his eyes. All he wanted was to

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be in Damon’s arms, just one more time to tell him how much he
loved him. Was that really too much to ask for?

* * * *

The hairs on the back of Toby’s neck stood up, letting him know

he wasn’t alone. He could feel someone staring at him. He slowly
rolled over, preparing to sprint from the bed.

“Hey, Toby.” Hale’s voice broke through the cloud of worry

winding Toby’s nerves. “Do you want to come down and have
breakfast with me?”

Toby opened his eyes to see Hale standing beside his bed staring

down at him, his blue eyes hopeful. Toby couldn’t refuse, plus he was
dying to know just exactly where he was at.

“Sure.” Toby got up and used the restroom then followed Toby

out of the room and down the stairs. Large muscular men stood by the
stairs and glared at Toby as he passed by. Hale said hello to all the
dark warriors, seeming to be unfazed by them.

Toby took in his surroundings. The house, well, looked like any

ordinary house. The walls were painted a light beige, and dark
hardwood floors ran the length of the house in every direction. A few
area rugs lay perfectly positioned on the floor, soft under Toby’s feet.
There was art work hanging from the walls, they gave Toby the chills.
A lot of black and reds, not inviting in the least. Toby followed after
Hale as he rounded the corner into the kitchen. Julian stood at the
stove making eggs, bacon popping on the burner next to him.

“Morning,” Toby said as he moved to stand next to Julian. “Need

any help?”

“No, I’m good.” Julian grinned at him. “I might be a vampire but I

do like to eat human food as well.”

“Only because I still like human food.” Hale jumped up on the

counter top next to the stove. “If I wasn’t around, Uncle Julian would
be on a blood-only diet. Wouldn’t you?”

Damon's Determined Wolf

Toby cocked an eyebrow at Julian.
“Okay, maybe so, but I’m not complaining because really, who

doesn’t like bacon?” Julian swatted Hale with his spatula and the boy
giggled.

“Dad keeps saying he will be glad when I grow out of this phase,

but dude! I love to eat.” Hale picked up a piece of bacon from the
plate it sat on.

“Hale, what are you?” Toby asked. Julian never told him what

type of paranormal the young boy was. He hoped he wasn’t
overstepping by asking.

“Vampire, like my dad.” The boy’s young face lit up at the

mention of his father. Apparently Hale admired and looked up to
Lucian. Toby felt sorry for the boy.

“Hale, go wash your hands, okay?” Julian waited until Hale was

out of ear shot before turning back to Toby. “See why I can’t just run
off with him? He’d never believe me. He thinks his father hung the
moon.” Julian wiped his hands on the dish towel. “I don’t have the
heart to tell him the truth. He’s too young to have his life ruined.”

“Are you really doing him any favors by keeping the truth from

him?” Toby asked. He understood what Julian was saying but Hale
not knowing the truth made him susceptible to Lucian and Porter’s
evil ways. “Think about it, Julian. They could do to him what they did
to you. Lie to him, which could lead to him killing someone and
losing his soul.”

“I know.” Julian leaned against the counter. “But where will we

go that they couldn’t find him, and what will keep Hale from running
away from me? I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to
him.”

“The Warriors of the Light’s compound is protected by magic. We

could go there, Julian,” Toby pleaded, not just for himself but for all
of them. “This place isn’t safe for Hale and you know it.”

Julian looked at him but didn’t say anything.
“Is it ready?” Hale called out. “I’m starving.”

AJ Jarrett

Toby smiled over at Hale and picked up the bowl of eggs Julian

had cooked and carried them to the table. They sat and ate like any
normal people would do. After breakfast Julian made Hale help do the
dishes. Hale grumbled the whole time about the injustice of making
him clean.

“Can we go outside?” Hale asked. “I want to go swimming.”
“Sure.” Julian dried off the last plate and put it away.
“Can Toby come, too?” Hale asked.
“I don’t see why not.” Julian shrugged. “Here, come with me,

Toby. I’ll let you borrow one of my swimsuits.”

“Awesome.” Hale ran out of the kitchen shouting over his

shoulder, “I’ll see you guys outside.”

“You trust me to go outside with you?” Toby’s mind filled with

ideas on escaping.

“I do because even if you tried you wouldn’t be able to get away.

Dark warriors are positioned all over the property. You wouldn’t get
far.” Julian started to walk away. “Another reason why I’m stuck
here,” Julian whispered.

Toby changed into the borrowed swimsuit and followed Julian

back down the stairs and out to the large patio. The sun shined
brightly above them and the pool’s blue waters glinted in the light.
Green grass as far as the eye could see. Toby couldn’t shake the
beauty of this place or how normal it all seemed.

“Uncle Julian, Toby, watch this.” Hale took off at a run, faster

than any human child could do and bounced off the diving board to do
a triple flip in the air to land beautifully in the water.

“Show off,” Julian teased.
“That was amazing.” Toby walked over to the water’s edge. He

yelped when a small hand grabbed his ankle and pulled him into the
pool. He came up sputtering water everywhere. “You little shit.” Toby
splashed water at Hale.

“Yeah, he’s quite the prankster.” Julian dived into the water.

Damon's Determined Wolf

They swam in the pool for about an hour before Hale floated over

to where Toby lounged in a raft.

“Hey, Toby, what are you?” Hale asked.
Toby glanced over at Julian. He lay on a raft at the other end of

the pool. Julian gave a nod of his head.

“I’m a wolf shifter.”
“So you can like turn into a wolf?” Toby nodded and Hale’s eyes

went wide. “That is so cool. I’ve never seen one of you before.” Hale
sucked in his lower lip and looked up at Toby. “Can you show me?”

“Uh…” Toby didn’t know if that was allowed. He didn’t want to

make things worse for himself by getting to chummy with Lucian’s
son.

“Toby, you don’t have to.” Julian flipped off his raft and swam

over to them.

“Is it okay if I do?” he asked, glancing over at Hale.
“Sure, why not?” Julian got out of the pool followed by Hale.
“Okay.” Toby climbed out of the water and moved to stand in the

grass. He took off his shorts. Hale made disgusted sounds behind him,
obviously not used to nudity like shifters were.

Toby took in a deep breath and allowed his body to morph. Fur

prickled up along his skin and his bones popped out of joint and
reformed into those of a wolf. His snout grew long and his razor-sharp
teeth descended from his gums. In a matter of seconds his
transformation was complete.

“Holy shit!” Hale gasped.
“Language.” Julian swatted Hale on the back of the head.
Toby let out a soft bark and walked over to Hale. He moved

slowly as to not frighten the kid. When he reached Hale he sat down
right in front of him and put a paw on his knee and barked.

“This has to be the coolest thing I’ve ever seen!” Hale hesitantly

reached out to pet the top of Toby’s head. “Can you understand me?”
Hale leaned down to meet Toby’s eyes and Toby nodded his head.
“This is so amazing.”

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“Toby,” Julian called out to him, a wicked smile on his face. He

bounced a tennis ball on the ground then held it up. “Do you want to
play catch?”

Toby growled low in his throat and charged at Julian. He could

hear Hale laughing behind him and he spun around and chased the kid
out in to the yard. They did this for a while until Toby grew too tired
and shifted back to his human form. In the midst of all this he found
himself having a good time with Julian and Hale. For some odd
reason he felt safe when he was with Julian. It had to be because he
and Damon were brothers. But he was still a prisoner and he couldn’t
get too comfortable. There was no telling when Porter would be back,
and Toby had to be ready.

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101

Chapter Thirteen

A week had passed since Toby arrived at Porter’s house and the

man hadn’t been back since that first night. Toby asked Julian about it
and all he’d say was that Lucian and Porter were searching for
someone.

Toby spent his days with Hale and Julian. He worked more and

more on Julian, trying to convince him to help him escape. More than
ever now did Toby want to get away, but he didn’t want to go alone.
He wanted Julian and Hale to come with him. There was no way he
could leave either one of them behind.

Late on a Thursday night they all lounged on the big L-shaped

leather couch in the family room watching a movie on the big-screen
TV. Hale had chosen a Transformers movie. The loud surround sound
blocked out any and all sounds that they might have heard so they
were all taken by surprise when Lucian walked into the room, flipping
on the light.

“What’s going on in here?” Lucian’s black eyes narrowed first at

Julian then on Toby.

“Uncle Lucian.” Julian sat up and hit the pause button on the

remote.

“Dad!” Hale hopped off the couch and ran over to hug his father.
Toby watched as Lucian recoiled a bit from the touch but soon a

smile came over his lips and he rubbed a hand over the boy’s hair.
“It’s after midnight, why are you still up?” Lucian looked over at
Julian when he asked.

“Movie night.” Hale pointed over to the TV. “Toby helped me

talk Uncle Julian into letting me stay up.”

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“Did he know?” Lucian sneered at Toby. The man’s eyes roaming

openly over him. “Well it’s time for bed, son.” Hale started to whine.
“I’ll be up in a few minutes to say goodnight, now go.”

Once Hale had left the room, Lucian turned to them. “So, Julian,

when did we start letting captives roam around the house so freely?”

“Hale saw him and I couldn’t very well tell him he was a prisoner

or how it was that you and my father knew him.” Julian’s voice shook
a little when he spoke.

“Take him to his room and then come back down to my office.

We need to have a talk.” Lucian left the room and Julian jumped to
his feet.

“Let’s go.” Julian placed a hand on Toby’s back and ushered him

up the stairs and to his room. “Porter’s laid claim to you so Lucian
shouldn’t bother you.”

Over the last few days Toby had gotten good at reading Julian’s

black eyes. He was nervous but why?

“Julian, what’s going on?”
Julian just shook his head and shut the door behind him. Toby

reached for the knob and twisted it but it was locked. He had a bad
feeling about Lucian being here.

Not knowing what else to do, Toby went about getting ready for

bed. He used the toilet then brushed his teeth, then got into bed.

As he lay there in the darkness he started to drift off when he

heard voices shouting at one another. He couldn’t make out what
exactly they were saying but he could tell it wasn’t a happy
conversation.

The sound of his bedroom door opening made Toby jump in his

bed.

“Toby, are you awake?” Hale asked as he neared the bed.
“Yeah, buddy.” Toby sat up. “Why are you out of bed?”
“Uncle Julian and my dad are arguing. I went down stairs to see

what was wrong.” Hale’s voice cracked and Toby pulled the boy into

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103

his arms. “He’s beating Uncle Julian. H-h-he’s bleeding and he
wasn’t moving, Toby.” Hale started to cry hysterically.

Toby rocked Hale back and forth, trying to calm the boy down.

He didn’t know what to say. Hale didn’t know the kind of monster his
father was and Toby didn’t know if Hale would believe him if he told
him.

“Julian’s a fighter, Hale. He’ll be okay.” Toby could feel his own

eyes fill with tears. He hoped he was right.

“Can I sleep in here tonight?” Hale asked.
“You bet.” Toby pulled back the blankets and helped Hale under

the covers. Hale curled in close to him and cried himself to sleep.

A part of Toby hated what Hale had witnessed but the boy needed

to know the truth. He needed to understand what kind of monster his
father truly was.

* * * *

Toby woke the next morning to the feeling of being stared at. He

opened his eyes to see Julian sitting in the chair by his bed. Toby
figured the man must have healed already because there wasn’t a
single mark on his face.

“Hey,” Toby said as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Hale

shifted and rolled over. Toby tucked the blankets around his thin
shoulders.

“He saw it,” was all Julian said.
“I know.” Toby kicked his legs over the edge of the bed. “He was

pretty freaked out about it. He thought you were dead.”

Julian nodded his head. He had his sunglasses back in place but

Toby saw the small streak of a tear trace down his cheek before Julian
could wipe it away.

“Do you really think the Warriors of the Light will help him?

Keep Hale safe?” Julian asked.

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“Of course they would.” Toby leaned closer to Julian. “Are you

saying what I think you are?” Hope sprung to life inside his chest.

“I need to get Hale out of here.” Julian took off his glasses and

rubbed at his eyes. “Lucian accused me of trying to steal you from my
father and then said I was turning Hale soft.”

“Is that why he beat you?”
“No.” Julian let out a harsh chuckle, void of any humor. “We

fought because he said he was going to do to Hale what my father did
to me.”

Toby’s eyes went wide and he looked over at the boy asleep in his

bed. “You can’t let that happen, Julian.”

“I know, that’s why I’m planning for you guys to escape. If you

can reach the warriors compound you both will be safe.”

“Wait a minute.” Toby held up a hand. “What about you? Aren’t

you coming with us?”

“Toby, this is going to get ugly. If I survive this I’ll come looking

for you two but…” Julian’s voice trailed off.

“You think they’re going to kill you,” Toby said what Julian

couldn’t.

“Yeah, I do, but I’m okay with that. If it gets Hale out of here and

away from them then I’ll do whatever it takes.”

“Julian.” Toby shook his head.
“Toby, you know this is the way it has to be. It’ll take everything I

have to fight off the dark warriors surrounding the property.” Toby
opened his mouth but Julian cut him off. “Don’t even offer to help.
You’ll end up getting yourself killed, then where will Hale be?”

“But what about Damon?” Toby wanted to remind Julian of the

brother he never met. There had to be another way out of all this.

“Tell him I wish I had the chance to meet him and tell him I

wasn’t like them, like our mother or my father,” Julian said softly.

Toby’s hands started to shake. This couldn’t be it. He’d gotten

close to Julian and couldn’t stand by and watch him die. Hale needed
him just as much as Damon did.

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His mind raced with a plan that didn’t involve Julian dying. The

necklace! Toby couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of this before.

“Julian, how far does the cloaking spell cover?”
“About five miles around the house. Why?” Julian arched a brow

at him.

“Damon has this necklace that helped him find me when Porter

attacked a few weeks ago. He can use it to find me.” Toby started to
like this plan more and more. “If we can get out from the cover of this
spell he’ll be able to find us.”

“Toby, you said that the warrior’s compound was in Texas and

Damon was living in Montana. We’re in Georgia. It’s not like they’re
down the street and can reach us in the matter of minutes.”

“I didn’t tell you, did I?” Toby smiled. “Damon’s power is to

teleport. If we get to where he can sense me then he’ll be able to save
us all.”

“Toby, I don’t know.” Julian started to shake his head.
“It’s worth a shot, isn’t it?” Toby nudged his chin over at Hale.

“Isn’t he worth the chance?”

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Chapter Fourteen

Julian and Toby sat at the desk in his room and whispered in soft

tones so to not wake Hale. Julian said they needed to wait until
Lucian left which would be soon. Apparently Lucian and Porter had a
lead on Asher and according to them Benedict was with Asher. True
or not, Toby didn’t know, but he had to get that information to Ben
and Abel. Their fathers were alive but for how long was anybody’s
guess.

Once Hale woke up Julian escorted him out of the room. Toby

showered and changed, doing his best to keep himself busy. His body
hummed with nervous energy. This was it! He was going to get out of
this mess before he had to endure any time alone with Porter.

Toby walked out of the bathroom and he stumbled to a stop. His

blood ran cold as he saw Lucian staring out his bedroom windows.

“Excellent view, is it not?” Lucian glanced over his shoulder at

Toby.

“Wh…What are you do…doing in here?” Toby stuttered. He

balled his hands into fist to keep from shaking. Lucian and Porter
looked so much alike and had the same evil desires.

“Well this is my house so I’m free to go anywhere I please.”

Lucian turned to face him head on and took a step closer to him. “Do
I make you nervous, Toby?”

“No,” Toby whispered as he took a step back.
“Liar.” Lucian hissed and grinned at him. “I love the smell of your

fear. Oh so sweet.” Lucian closed his eyes as he sniffed the air.
“That’s why my brother and I wanted to keep you.” He reached out

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and cupped his hand on Toby’s face. “So young and fresh and your
screams of agony were like music to our ears.”

“You’re a monster.” Toby shoved at Lucian’s chest, his anger

growing.

“I might be but I’m the monster of your dreams and that’s all that

matters.” Lucian let his hand fall to his side.

“No, you’re a monster to everyone who’s had the displeasure to

ever meet you.” Toby let out a hysterical laugh. “Not only do you take
advantage of young boys but you lie to your own family. The secrets
that you keep.” It was on the edge of his tongue to tell Lucian he’d
told Julian the truth about Damon and him being brothers but he bit
that back. He didn’t need Lucian being suspicious of him.

Lucian stared his blackened eyes into Toby’s. The smile on his

face flattened into a straight line. “You’re a smart one, aren’t you?
The secrets that I keep?” Lucian leaned in close to whisper into
Toby’s ear. “You have no idea.”

“I have plenty.” Toby’s chest rose in fell so fast he thought he

might hyperventilate. “You don’t think I see the similarities in Damon
and Julian? It would only take Julian one glance at him to know they
were related. Is Porter Damon’s father, too?”

“Oh you silly boy.” Lucian’s head fell back as he laughed as if

what Toby just said was the funniest thing in the world. “You think
you have it all figured out.” Lucian bracketed his arms on either side
of Toby’s head on the wall. “Well, let me fill you in on something.”
Lucian leaned closer, his lips tickling as they grazed over his flesh to
reach his ear. “I’m Damon’s father.”

Toby gasped for air. The room suddenly felt too small as if

someone were sucking all the air out of it. He couldn’t open his
mouth to utter a single word.

“How do you feel about that mate of yours now? Every time you

think of him you’ll see my face, not his.” Lucian pushed away from
the wall and Toby slid down to land on his ass. “Don’t get too
comfortable, Toby.” Lucian chuckled. “My brother and I have big

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plans for you. I just hope your little shifter body can withstand the
torture we plan to inflict.” Lucian turned around as he reached the
door. “See you soon.”

The door shut behind Lucian with the familiar click of the lock

slipping into place. Now alone, the tears began to fall. He didn’t want
to think about Lucian being Damon’s father. The two men were
nothing alike. Out of all the things that Lucian had done to him, he
felt more sadness that Lucian was Damon’s father. Of all these years
of not knowing Damon would soon find out the man who had ruined a
great deal of Toby’s life was in fact his father. And his uncle was
Porter, another plague on Toby’s existence.

“Please god, say our plan works.” Toby sobbed into his hands. He

felt all alone and lost. If Julian’s plan failed Toby prayed that death
found him soon because he couldn’t stand to be Lucian and Porter’s
play thing.

A few hours had passed and a dark warrior brought him in some

food and set it on the table. Toby didn’t see Julian or Hale at all, and
he was starting to get worried. As night fell in the sky Toby paced
back and forth in his room.

“Come on, Julian.” Toby wringed his hands together. “Don’t let

me down.”

His room grew dark but Toby didn’t bother turning on a light.

Every so often he glanced out his window, staring up at the stars.

The sound of footsteps outside his room followed by something

heavy hitting the floor made Toby jump. He skated around the edge of
the room and headed toward the door. He grabbed the lamp off his
desk and held it above his head. As the door slowly opened, Toby
brought his arms downward. The person stepped back out the open
door way then reached in to grab Toby’s wrist.

“Shit, Toby,” Julian whispered. “We are on the same side, man.”
“Julian!” Toby lunged forward and hugged the man tight in his

arms. “Where have you been?”

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“My uncle.” That’s all he had to say on the matter and Toby

understood. “He left to go meet with someone. I’m not sure how long
he’ll be gone but we need to move now.” Julian grabbed Toby’s hand
and pulled him out of the room.

Toby stepped over the two warriors that had been guarding his

door and he ran to keep up with Julian. He stopped at a door clear
down the opposite hallway and knocked on it and the door slowly
opened.

“Julian? Toby?” Hale looked from one to the other. “Why are you

guys up?” His young face lit up. “You want to go for a nighttime
swim” His eyes shined with so much hope Toby almost felt bad for
disappointing him.

“Not tonight, bud.” Julian stepped into his room and opened a

drawer and pulled out a sweatshirt. “Here, put this on.”

“Okay.” Hale pulled it over his head. “Are we going somewhere?”

His smile grew. “Is my dad coming with us?”

Julian looked to Toby and Toby looked down at Hale. The boy

was so full of life and even after what he witnessed the previous night
he still loved his father. Poor kid.

“Hale, buddy.” Toby put his arm around Hale’s shoulders. “I have

some friends I want you and Julian to meet.” Hale gave him a
skeptical look, his forehead furrowed. “They’re really nice and they
would just love meeting you and your uncle. There’s even a boy your
own age there. I think you two will get along great. What do you say?
You want to come along?” Toby wanted it to seem like he was giving
Hale a choice.

“But dad said I’m not allowed to leave the house.” He looked over

at Julian. “Is it all right, Uncle Julian?”

“More than all right.” Julian ruffled his hand through Hale’s short

black hair. “He suggested it so let’s go.”

The three of them made it down the staircase without meeting

another warrior. Julian ushered them back toward the rear of the
house to a back door that led to the yard. Toby sniffed the air and

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scented a few shifters moving along the border of the property. He
tapped Julian on the shoulder and he nodded his head. He smelt them
too. Julian held up a finger and stopped them as they reached the
trees. Toby held onto Hale’s hand as Julian went off to distract the
warriors keeping watch.

“Why are we going this way?” Hale asked. “Wouldn’t it be easier

to just take one of the cars?”

Every little sound made Toby jumpy and his nerves were

cracking. He wasn’t very good at lying but he was trying to do his
best.

“We thought we’d make this more of an adventure.” He forced a

smile he hoped Hale couldn’t see was fake. “You never get out so we
wanted to make this fun for you.”

Hale’s face scrunched up in thought then he smiled from ear to

ear. “Awesome.”

Just then Julian walked back over. His hair was disheveled and a

steak of blood ran across his cheek. Toby tapped a finger to his own
cheek to indicate to Julian and Julian quickly wiped it away.

“Let’s go.” Julian grabbed Hale’s hand and they hurried out into

the darkness.

They’d been walking for a little over an hour when something

occurred to Toby. He glanced over his shoulder but nothing was there.
This almost seemed too easy. Too perfect of an escape. They hadn’t
ran into any more dark warriors and his ears didn’t pick up on a single
sound that wasn’t the wind blowing or animals scurrying around in
the distance.

“Just a little further.” Julian looked back to Toby and he saw the

lines creasing around his forehead. Toby could tell he was worried
too.

Julian raised a hand in the air and they all stopped moving. Toby

looked around him and something felt off. Darkness surrounded them
and the air didn’t seem to be moving. It was as if they were in a
bubble.

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“Uncle Julian. Toby.” Hale’s hand tightened on Toby’s. “Can you

feel that?”

The sharp sound of laughter followed by clapping rang out

through the night. Julian took a step back and Toby moved in closer,
shielding Hale.

“I knew you were up to something, you ungrateful little shit,”

Lucian snapped. “Did you really think you could outsmart me?”

“Oh brother, come now.” Toby’s head jerked to the side at the

sound of Porter’s voice. “My son is always trying to prove that he is
good. Does this really shock you?”

Lucian and Porter continued to talk to each other like they weren’t

even there. Julian grabbed Toby by the elbow and began walking
backward, Hale trapped between them.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Porter shouted.
They stopped walking and out in front of them, piercing through

the darkness, were six pairs of glowing eyes. They had mindless dark
warriors in front of them and Porter and Lucian behind them. Toby
wasn’t liking their odds, but they’d come too far to give up now.

“We’re taking Hale some place safe.” Toby spoke before he

realized he’d even opened his mouth.

“Safe?” Lucian laughed and looked at his brother. “Do you hear

that, Porter? Your son and soon-to-be lover are trying to abduct my
son. Has the world gone mad?” Lucian chuckled.

“Well brother, we knew nothing great would ever come from

Julian, so are you really surprised?”

“No, not really.” Lucian shook his head. “Another failed

attempted at greatness.”

“Yes, like Damon.” Porter said. He then brought up a hand to tap

a finger to his chin. “I’m starting to think it was the bitch Clara who
was the problem.”

“What are you two talking about?” Julian urged them back

another step. Toby had to assume they were close to the boundary
where the spell wouldn’t affect them any longer.

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“Well she birthed both you and Damon, Lucian being Damon’s

father and me being yours.” Porter clicked his tongue. “Two babies
with so much potential but it all fell flat, now didn’t it?”

“Lucian’s Damon’s father?” Julian asked Toby.
“Yes. He told me earlier today.”
“I have a brother?” Hale’s voice sounded so small and everyone

else around them stopped talking.

“Hale, come here.” Lucian stepped forward and held out his hand.
“No, Hale. Stay put.” Julian stepped in front of his nephew and

Toby wrapped his arms around Hale’s shoulders, holding him close.
“I’m getting him out of here. I won’t let you ruin him like you tried to
do to me.”

“Oh my dear nephew.” Lucian rolled his eyes. “Where exactly do

you plan on taking my son?”

“Some place safe.” Julian moved a hand behind him pushing Toby

backward.

“Let me guess.” Porter moved to stand by his brother. “Toby here

has convinced you that the Warriors of the Light will help you.” He
let his head fall back as he laughed. “You stupid boy!” he spat. “The
moment they see your eyes you’re a dead man.”

“That’s the chance I’ll have to take to get Hale out of here.” Julian

straightened his shoulders and stood tall.

“Dad?” Hale’s fingers dug into Toby’s.
“Let go of my son.” Lucian took a step closer.
“No.” Toby shook his head and took a step back.
“You stupid wolf. You thought what we did to you before was

bad. It’ll be nothing compared to what we do next.” Lucian lunged
forward and Julian stepped in his path and kicked him in the stomach.

In the matter of seconds all hell broke lose. Porter ran toward

Toby and he turned, pushing Hale to the ground, and shifted. His
bones popped and his skin stretched causing pain to ripple throughout
his body. Once he was in full wolf form he shook his head then
growled at Porter as the man approached. Before he could reach him,

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Julian grabbed Porter by the shoulders and flung him back. His body
went sailing through the air like a bullet from a gun.

The dark warriors moved in closer and one reached for Hale but

Toby pounced, ripping the man’s arm off. Hale whimpered as he
skidded back, trying to get away from the mayhem.

Toby shifted back to human form just as another dark warrior

grabbed him by the hair and sunk his teeth into his neck. Toby
extended his claws and reached behind him and rolled the man
forward until he lay on his back. Toby reached out as fast as lightning
and tore out the man’s throat. Blood sprayed like a geyser and
splattered Toby in the warm, copper-scented blood.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Hale being yanked to his feet

and Toby ran. He punched the shifter who had a hold of Hale and he
fell to the ground.

“Toby.” Hale’s voice was soft and tears streaked down his cheeks.
“It’s okay, I promise. I’d never hurt you.” Toby held out his hand.

“Please come with me.”

It felt like forever that Hale stared down at his hand. The young

boy glanced over at the fighting in the distance then back to Toby.
Ever so slowly he reached out his hand and took ahold of his and
Toby smiled. The sound of grass crunching under foot had him
looking up in time to see Porter barreling toward them. Toby pulled
Hale to his chest then turned to run straight ahead. He tripped and
rolled to the ground, never letting go of Hale. He crawled backward
as Porter approached.

“You stupid boy.” Porter’s face was bloodied and his eyes black

pools of hate. “Do you really think you can escape me?”

Hale sobbed into his chest and Toby’s hands tightened on him. It

wasn’t just him who needed to be saved.

God please grant me a miracle.
“Toby!” The sound of Damon’s voice from behind him had Toby

flinching back. He turned to see he hadn’t come alone. Damon,

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Quinn, Klaus, Garrett, and Lachlan stood behind him. All wearing
masks of rage on their faces.

Damon glanced from Toby’s naked body covered in blood and the

crying boy in his arms and he looked up at Porter. “You’re a dead
man!” Damon said as he rushed at Porter.

Toby started to cry tears of relief. They were going to get out of

this alive, or so he hoped.

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Chapter Fifteen

It had been two very long weeks that dragged by as if time had

given up moving forward. Damon and Lachlan had barely slept any.
They stayed awake searching for any leads they could find on Toby.

Using his power allowed him and Lachlan to travel from one city

to the next in the matter of seconds. It came in handy but all their
leads led to nowhere. They hadn’t found one single clue as to where
Toby might be. It all started to seem so hopeless.

“You really need to stop pouting.” Damon looked up from the

couch he lay on to see Colby standing in the doorway.

Over the past few days he started seeing more and more of the

kid. When Damon first arrived it was apparent Colby blamed him for
Toby’s disappearance but slowly the kid started to warm up to him,
talking to him. Well, more like talking at him, saying weird shit like
this.

“I’m not pouting.” Damon sat up. “I’m stressed out and concerned

about my mate.”

“I am, too.” Colby plopped down on the couch beside him. “He’s

my friend you know. Aaron always said Toby and I fought like
brothers.” Colby chuckled and Damon watched as his eyes grew
misty. “But I really do love him.”

“He loves you, too.” He nudged Colby in the arm. He didn’t like

to see Colby upset.

“But I’m not his real brother.” Colby wiped at his eyes. “Aaron’s

dead and now Toby’s gone. It’s not fair.”

“It’s not.” Damon wrapped his arm around Colby’s neck and

pulled him into a hug. The young man wound his arms around

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Damon's waist and held on tight. “And listen to me. Just because you
aren’t Toby’s real brother doesn’t mean he doesn’t see you as such.
With Aaron gone you’re all he has. So you need to be that annoying
little pest he’s used to. Okay?”

Colby laughed. “He said I was an annoying little pest?”
“Nah, I’m just assuming since you annoy the crap out of me,”

Damon teased. He lifted his other hand to rub his knuckles on the top
of Colby’s head.

Colby stopped laughing and sat up and Damon let go of him.

Colby’s blue eyes had a far off look in them and his face had turned
an ashy gray.

“Colby, are you all right?” Damon reached out and gently touched

Colby’s forearm.

“It’s going to be okay. Bad news will come with the good but it

won’t change anything,” Colby said in a whispered tone.

Damon leaned forward to look into Colby’s face. The kid was

starting to freak him out. What the hell did that mean? Bad news will
come with the good?

“What are you two up to?” Lachlan came into the room, seeming

to break the spell Colby was under.

“Oh, hey, Lachlan.” Colby smiled up at the man.
“Hey, squirt.” Lachlan ran his hand over Colby’s blond floppy

hair.

“Colby, what did you mean by what you said?” Damon couldn’t

just dismiss Colby’s statement.

“What did I say?” Colby picked up the game controller from the

coffee table and started playing a game on the Xbox. “Did I space out
again?” Colby let out a deep exhale. “I do that sometimes.” He turned
to face Damon. “Sorry about that.” His eyes narrowed and he pointed
a finger at Damon’s chest. “Your thing is glowing.”

He looked away from Colby and down at his chest. The necklace

lay under his dark gray T-shirt but the fabric was indeed lighting up
from his stone. “Oh my god!” He jumped to his feet and pulled the

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necklace out from under his shirt. “I found him.” Just as Damon was
going to let himself fade out, Lachlan grabbed his hand.

“Damon, wait!” Lachlan’s grip on his wrist was hard. “You can’t

go alone. Let’s grab the others.” Lachlan started to drag him down the
hallway.

“Can I come, too?” Colby asked as he followed them.
Damon pulled away from Lachlan to kneel in front of Colby. “Not

this time, kiddo.” He rested one of his big hands on Colby’s thin
shoulders.

Colby’s face pinched in angry but then quickly relaxed back into

place. “Okay, just bring him back, okay?”

“Okay.” Damon nodded then stood up, bending to place a kiss on

the top of Colby’s head. “Let’s go.”

Lachlan opened a door to one of the offices off the kitchen. Klaus,

Quinn, and Garrett sat around a table staring down at a map of the
entire world, using pins to mark certain locations.

“I found him.” Damon held up his necklace for the rest to see. The

stone glowed a royal blue and felt warm to the touch.

“Holy shit!” Garrett stood up so fast his chair fell behind him.
“We need to notify Ben.” Klaus headed for the door but Lachlan

put out a hand to stop him.

“There’s no time.” Lachlan grabbed onto Damon’s bicep. “We

need to move now. No telling how much longer Damon will be able
to locate Toby.”

“He’s right.” Quinn got out of his chair and put his strong hand on

Damon’s left shoulder. “Besides.” He shrugged. “I’m in the mood to
kill something.”

Garrett stood up and came to stand behind Damon, grabbing his

right shoulder.

“Please, Klaus,” Damon pleaded. “I need to go now. I’ll go by

myself if I need to. This might be my only chance to find Toby.”

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“Fuck that.” Klaus stepped forward and placed his hand on

Damon’s chest. “We’re a team. We go together. But I swear if anyone
of you assholes gets yourselves killed I will personally kick your ass.”

“If we’re already dead doesn’t that defeat the purpose?” Quinn

asked, cocking an eyebrow at him.

“Asshole,” Klaus grumbled under his breath.
Damon closed his eyes and concentrated on Toby. The air around

them shimmered and Damon felt the familiar feeling of free falling.
He felt the other men’s hands tighten on him and Damon smiled.
Traveling through spice like this could be a bit of a head rush.

Suddenly Damon felt solid ground under his feet and he opened

his eyes. He glanced down to see his mate, covered in blood, and
clutching a child to his chest. Damon looked up to see Porter coming
at them and his rage sparked to life.

Damon and the other’s sprang into action. A few dark warriors lay

dead on the ground but more had come out of the shadows. They
seemed to fade in and out as if shielded by a spell. Garrett ran forward
and bounced off an invisible wall.

“Magic.” Klaus helped him up then pushed him back as a dark

warrior leapt from behind the shield. “It won’t let us in,” Klaus
shouted as he fought the man in front of him. “Scoot back, make them
come toward us.”

Damon had just reached Porter when the man sunk back behind

the shield. Damon banged his hand on the invisible wall and cursed at
it.

“Damon.”
He turned around and ran back toward his mate. “Toby, oh my

god, Toby.” He hugged him close, practically crushing the kid
between.

“Cant breath,” the young boy said, and Damon leaned back.
“Sorry, Hale.” Toby gave the boy a watery smile. “This is Damon,

my mate.”

“Damon.” Hale looked up at him. “You’re my brother.”

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Damon’s eyes went wide at that but before he could say anything,

large hands threw him aside and he landed ten feet away. His head hit
hard on the ground and made his vision blurry for a few seconds.

“I should have killed you when I had the chance.” Porter reached

for him again but Damon was ready for him.

Damon brought his leg up and kicked Porter right in the balls and

the man crumbled to his knees. He quickly got up and lifted his knee
right in Porter’s nose. The sound of bone crunching pierced the night
and blood gushed from Porter’s face.

“You’re going to pay for that.” Porter leapt into the air and swiped

a hand across Damon’s face, slicing open the skin on his cheek.

His skin burned and warm blood ran down his cheek but Damon

ignored the pain. He had to kill Porter or they’d never be free of the
man.

“No, you’re going to pay for what you’ve done.” Damon ducked

down, dodging Porter’s fist.

“So moral you are.” Porter chuckled as he stumbled back from

one of Damon’s blows. “If only your views were for evil. You would
have made your father so proud.”

“Shut up, Porter.” Damon landed a high spinning kick to Porter’s

throat. “No one knows who my father is so I highly doubt you do
either.”

“Oh but I do.” Porter lashed out his clawed fingers, racking them

down Damon’s’ chest. “My brother had been so proud the day you
were born. And look how you turned out.” Porter spit blood on the
ground. “Born out of darkness only to fight alongside the light.
Lucian should have killed you in your sleep.”

Damon’s heart pounded in his chest and he thought he was going

to be sick. Lucian, his father? It couldn’t be. Why would Clara keep
something like that from him?

“Look at you.” Porter laughed. “How will your friends feel about

you once they know who you come from? Your mother was an evil
bitch who killed indiscriminately and your father is one of the most

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hated dark warriors alive. You might as well kill yourself because no
one will ever love you.”

The little boy he’d once been started to cry. For so many years he

knew what it was to feel unloved and not wanted, but that was then
and this is now. His mate and his new friends wouldn’t turn their
backs on him. He was one of them, a Warrior of the Light.

“You’re wrong,” Damon said in a low and menacing voice. He

watched as Porter’s eyes went wide as Damon pulled his arm back
and rammed it forward, punching Porter in the face with so much
force the side of his head caved in. Porter’s body slumped to the
ground.

“Damon, help me!”
At the sound of Toby’s shrill cry he turn around and ran toward

his mate. Toby had his arms wrapped around Hale’s waist and they
were being drug forward toward the invisible shield. Damon looked
down to see a hand wrapped around the boy’s foot, pulling him. Hale
cried out and clutched at Toby’s arms, nails out, digging holes into
Toby’s flesh.

“Toby, don’t let go,” Hale cried as he got pulled back further.
Damon wrapped his long arms around Toby and Hale and hauled

backward. He shouted for one of the others to help but they were
fighting off other dark warriors. The boy’s legs were now behind the
wall and there was nothing Damon could do but hold on.

“Damon, don’t let go.” Toby grunted as he gripped Hale harder.
Damon dug his heels into the ground and used his strength to pull

back. They gained a few inches but Hale cried out in pain. Damon
was afraid that the boy’s leg would be ripped from his body.

“Father, no!”
Damon had been so distracted that didn’t hear Porter slinking

toward him. His face had started to fill back in but mangled bones
stuck out through the skin. Porter’s left eye hung out from the socket.
Just as Porter got within reach, another man came crashing down

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behind Porter, his fist striking right at his neck. Porter’s eyes went
wide then his head fell to the ground and rolled away from its body.

“Hale, no!” Toby screamed and Damon turned around in time to

watch the boy get sucked into the shield. Toby pulled away from
Damon but the wall wouldn’t allow him to pass through it. “No.”
Toby banged his hands on the wall. “Julian, why won’t it let us in?”

Julian? Damon glanced at the man who now sat beside his mate,

pulling him away from the wall.

“It’s the spell, Toby. It won’t allow us back inside.” Julian

pounded his hand on the wall so hard blood spurted from his hand.
“Hale! God damn it!” The man started to cry. “I’ll find you. I swear it.
I’ll find you, Hale.”

Damon watched as Toby pulled the man in for a hug and that’s

when he saw it. The sunglasses he was wearing fell to the ground and
pools of inky blackness filled his eyes. Damon reached for the man
but Toby put himself in front of him.

“Damon, no.” Toby held his hands up. “He’s your brother.”

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Chapter Sixteen

Toby’s mind was a mess. They made it so far only to be stopped

by Lucian and Porter, but then with luck his mate and friends had
found them, just not in time. Toby tried his hardest but it wasn’t good
enough. He watched as Hale was pulled through the barrier and out of
his arms. It was like losing Aaron all over again.

“Brother?” Damon looked from him to Julian.
“Yes.” Toby crawled toward his mate. “I know this is a little hard

to believe and I know his eyes are probably freaking you out.” He
glanced up to see Quinn, Klaus, Garrett, and Lachlan hovering over
them, their eyes starring daggers at poor Julian. “Freaking all of you
out, but I swear on my life he’s not evil.”

“If that’s true, why are his eyes black?” Quinn asked.
Toby turned around to face Julian. The man had his face in his

hands and was crying uncontrollably. “If he was evil would he really
be crying like that? Would he even be able to care enough to shed a
single tear?” He stared hard at his friends. “Listen, we’ll explain
everything but let’s get out of here first, okay?”

“Fine.” Damon helped Toby to his feet and his mate reached

down for Julian’s hand. Damon looked, really looked at Julian. Sure
they looked alike but that didn’t mean anything. And it sure didn’t
mean he trusted the man either.

“No, Toby, I should stay.” Julian pulled his hand out of his grip.

“I might be able to find a way around the barrier.”

“You can try but it won’t work.” Klaus stepped forward and

rapped his knuckles on the invisible shield. “This is some strong

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magic. If by some chance you did get through it they’d be gone or
he’d have killed the child.”

“He wouldn’t kill him.” Julian wiped the tears from his eyes.

“Hale is Lucian’s son.”

“And this story just keeps getting crazier and crazier.” Lachlan

pulled Toby in for a hug. “It’s good to see you.”

“You, too.” Toby buried his face into Lachlan’s chest and he

could feel the burn of tears threatening to break free.

“Let’s get home,” Quinn ordered. “We can get this all sorted out

later.”

Toby held his hand out to Julian. Julian glanced back at the wall

then took Toby’s hand. Toby wrapped his other arm around Damon’s
waist and tucked himself close. In the blink of an eye they were back
at the warrior’s compound. The soft carpet under his feet and the cool
air from the air conditioning system was a like a welcome home hug.
“Where the hell have you been?” Ben shouted as he rushed toward
them. When he saw Toby he pulled him into a crushing hug. “Toby,
thank god, you’re back. We’ve all been so worried.”

“I’ve missed you all too.” Toby gave Ben one more squeeze then

stepped back under Damon’s strong arm. He never wanted to be apart
from his mate ever again.

“Who’s this?” Ben asked as he pointed to Julian.
Toby looked up at Damon and kissed him on the lips then moved

to stand by a lost-looking Julian.

“This is Julian. It’s a long story but the main thing is this. Yes, he

has black eyes like the dark warriors, but he’s not like them. His
father was Porter and his mother Clara.” Toby looked over at Damon
when he said that. “He’s your half-brother.”

“Yeah, I’d say this is going to be a very long story.” Ben waved

for them to follow him to his office.

Toby sat Julian down on the couch and he sat next to him. Damon

took up the spot on the other side of Toby while the others either
stood or sat in the empty chairs in front of Ben’s desk.

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Toby took a deep breath and started from the beginning or at least

he assumed was the beginning. He told them of Clara being both
Damon and Julian’s mother. Lucian fathered Damon while Porter
fathered Julian. They all had the hopes of creating stronger dark
warriors, but with all the cross breeding of species it didn’t work. It
caused both Damon and Julian to be anything but evil.

When asked about his eyes, that was when Julian seemed to snap

out of his stupor to speak.

“I was tricked into killing innocent humans by my father and

uncle. For the first fourteen years of my life I believed my mother was
someone else. When they told me she’d been murdered I craved
revenge.” Julian ran a hand down his face. “I believed them and now
I’m stuck with these haunting eyes.”

“This is fascinating information.” Klaus leaned forward in his

chair and stared at Julian. “He gave into the darkness but he didn’t
lose his soul. I’ve never heard of anything like this happening before.”
Klaus looked over at Ben.

“If you’re not evil, why did you stay with Porter and Lucian?”

Ben asked.

“Because of Hale.” Julian’s eyes filled with tears. “I couldn’t

leave him alone with them.”

“That’s the boy?” Damon asked. “He said he was my brother. Is

that true?”

“Yes it is.” Toby took Damon’s hand into his. “Lucian told me

that he fathered you but when you didn’t show any signs of being evil
he didn’t want anything to do with you so he tried again with Hale.”

“Do you think the child is evil or has the potential to become

evil?” Ben asked.

“I don’t know.” Julian shook his head. “When I was there I was

able to protect him from them but now…”

“It’s okay, Julian.” Toby took Julian’s hand in his free one. “We

won’t give up searching for him.”

“Can I talk to Julian alone, please?” Damon looked to Ben.

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“Of course.” He cleared his throat then stood up. “Let’s give them

some space, shall we.”

“Do you want me to stay?” Toby asked and Damon shook his

head no. “Okay. I’m here if you need me.” He leaned forward and
brushed his lips over Damon’s but as he slipped away Damon pulled
him back in. Damon’s lips crushed against his and Toby felt all the
emotions Damon was feeling in that one kiss. They were like his own,
fear, joy, and hunger.

“Here, take this.” Lachlan handed Toby his shirt once they stood

out in the hallway.

Toby looked down at himself and realized he was still naked.

“Thanks, Lachlan.” He pulled it over his head and called out to Ben.

“Yes, Toby.”
“Lucian said something to me. I’m not sure if it’s true but I

wanted to let you know.” Ben quirked an eyebrow at him. “He said
that he and Porter were following a lead on Asher. He also said that
Benedict was with Asher.”

A smile small spread across Ben’s face and ne nodded his head. “I

hope he was telling the truth. My old man deserves to be happy.”
With that Ben turned around and walked away but not before Toby
saw the sheen of tears in his eyes.

“Hey, Toby, I know you just got back and all but do you, you

know, want to talk about Aaron?” Lachlan asked as they walked
toward the staircase.

He did more than anything, but he wasn’t ready. The pain was still

too fresh to relive at the moment. Aaron was gone and nothing would
ever change that. His chest tightened and he shook his head no. “Not
now but soon, okay, Lachlan?”

“Okay.” Lachlan patted him on the back then headed off in the

other direction.

Toby took the stairs slowly up to his room. With all the adrenaline

fading out of his body he felt wrecked, physically and emotionally. So
much had happened in the past two weeks, some good, some not so

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good. Toby just wanted to crawl into bed with Damon and stay there
for like a year.

“Toby, you’re back.” Colby shouted as he ran toward him. Toby

opened his arms in time to catch Colby. “I thought I’d never see you
again.”

“Yeah, you're not that lucky you little shit.” Toby rubbed his nose

into Colby’s hair, smelling the fruity scent of his shampoo. Man, how
he missed the kid. Colby was like a little brother to him and with
Aaron gone Toby planned on clinging to Colby for dear life.

“Don’t worry, you’ll see him again,” Colby whispered. Toby

leaned back to look into Colby’s dazed eyes. “And so will I.”

“Colby?” Toby hated when Colby had these little episodes. They

freaked him out mainly because no one ever knew what they meant.
Did Colby mean Hale or was he referring to Damon?

“Want to watch a movie with me later? Like old times?” Colby

asked after a few brief seconds.

“I was only gone for a couple of weeks. You make it sound like

it’s been years.”

“To me it has.” Colby hugged him again.
“Me, too.” Toby made a promise to watch a movie with him the

next day. It was getting late and Toby was exhausted.

Toby made it to his room and headed straight for the shower. He

turned the nozzle to hot and waited while it warmed up. Once under
the spray the weight of everything seemed to hit him. Toby slid down
the tiled wall and began to cry.

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Chapter Seventeen

Damon stared at the man sitting across from him. He noticed that

Julian wouldn’t look him directly in the eye and he couldn’t say that
he blamed him. Black eyes like that were nothing to be proud of.

“So brothers, huh?” Damon clapped his hands together.
“Yep.” Julian nodded his head.
“How old are you?”
“Ninety-five.” Toby looked over at him quickly. “And you?”
“Ninety-seven.” At least that’s why Damon never remembered his

mother being pregnant with Julian. He was too young to have
memories of that. “Do you know who Hale’s mother is?”

“No.” Julian shook his head. “Lucian just showed up with him

thirteen years ago.” A small smile curved Julian’s upper lip. “He was
the one bright spot in my dark existence.”

“You love him?”
“Yes, very much so.” Julian swiped at a stray tear leaking from

his dark eye.

Damon moved closer and rested his palm on Julian’s back. He felt

the need to comfort this man. “We’ll find him. One way or another,
we’ll get him back.” And Damon meant every word. “What’s he
like?”

“He’s a sweet and caring boy.” Julian chuckled. “He’s very

hyperactive and loves to eat. He’s always wanting me to make him
these big meals. Being a vampire doesn’t affect his appetite for
human food at all.”

“He’s a vampire?”

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“Yes, like me.” Julian turned to him. “Toby said you’re a witch

like our mother.”

“Yes.” He sat closer to Julian now and really looked at him. It was

almost like looking into a mirror. “I can’t believe they kept us apart.”

“They were heartless bastards who only cared about themselves.

At least now with them both dead they have no power over us.”

“True, but I really wish I could bring them back to life to kill them

all over again.” Damon moved his arm to wrap around Julian’s
shoulders. “I always thought I was alone in the world. No family or
friends. Then I met Toby and the other warriors and they filled that
void for me. And now in less than an hour I find out I have two
brothers I never knew about. Even after all the shit I’ve been through
in my life I finally feel like something good has come my way. Now
we just need to find Hale and our family will be complete.”

Julian’s black eyes looked into his and his chin started to tremble.

“Just like that? You are willing to accept all this?” Julian asked.

“Yes, just like that.” Damon pulled him into a hug. It took a

moment but Julian finally wound his arms around his back. Tears
filled Damon’s eyes. This was what having family was about. He
started to laugh as he leaned back from Julian. “How weird is our
family tree going to look. We’re brothers but also cousins.”

Julian started to laugh and time seemed to stand still. Damon

didn’t know how long he stayed in that room with Julian. They talked
about their childhoods, their likes and dislikes, and a bond started to
form between them. One that could never be broken.

* * * *

After getting Julian settled into a room he made his way back to

his and Toby’s. He found his mate sound asleep in bed. Damon took a
quick shower then climbed in naked and spooned against his back.
Smooth soft skin warmed his own.

“You’re here,” Toby mumbled as he rolled over to face Damon.

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“Sorry, babe. I lost track of time.” He pushed Toby’s hair off his

forehead and kissed him. “I think it’s going to be nice having a
brother.”

“Good, I knew you two would hit it off.”
Toby snuggled closer and his hand slowly made circles on

Damon’s chest. Damon gasped as Toby’s slender fingers drifted even
lower. Damon’s cock started to fill and any thoughts of Julian or
anything else slowly faded from his mind. All he could think about
was Toby.

“What are you doing?” Damon asked. His hips bucked up off the

bed as Toby’s fingers gripped his thick base.

“What do you think I’m doing?” Toby giggled into Damon’s

collar bone and stroked on his hard cock.

“Fuck, I missed you.” Damon rolled over on top of Toby and took

his lips in a passionate kiss.

Their tongues fought for dominance over the kiss. Damon roamed

his hands up and down Toby’s muscled chest then lower to stroke his
hard length. He lined up their leaking cocks and pumped his fist.
Toby cried out and lifted his hips to grind into Damon’s.

“Make love to me, Damon,” Toby said in a hoarse whisper. “I

need to fill you inside me.”

Damon sat back on his heels and reached toward the nightstand.

He grabbed the lube and poured a generous amount on his palm and
used it to grease up his cock. Damon took his hand off his sensitized
shaft and rubbed the excess slick onto Toby’s crack.

“Don't.” Toby pushed his hand away just as Damon was going to

finger his hole. “Just put your thick cock inside me. I want to feel it
burn.”

“Are you sure?” The cum in Damon’s balls started to boil.
“Completely.” Toby lifted up his legs to wrap around Damon’s

waist and pulled him closer.

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Damon guided his dick to Toby’s little pink opening. He swiped

the weeping blunt head over his hole, then pressed forward. He was
so wound up he didn’t know how long he’d last.

Toby whimpered as Damon breached his opening. Damon pushed

forward, groaning as the tight silky walls of Toby’s ass hugged him
just right. They were custom fit for one another.

When Damon had finally sunk his entire shaft deep in Toby’s ass,

he held still. His orgasm sat right at the surface and he wanted this to
last. He took deep breaths and sweat ran down his back to puddle at
the crack of his own ass.

“God, you feel so good.” Damon grunted as Toby jerked his hips

upwards. “I could come right now.”

“Don’t hold back on my account, love.” Toby slipped a hand

between them and started to pump his own cock. “I’m on the verge
myself.”

With that Damon pulled out then plunged right back in. Toby

cried out and his head fell back on the pillows, leaving his neck
exposed. Damon bent down and sucked along his skin as his dick
ravaged his slick channel.

“Damon, oh god, Damon!” Toby moaned just as hot wet

stickiness splashed onto his chest.

The sight and scent of Toby’s release made Damon come in a

flurry of flashing colors behind his clenched eyelids. His body tensed
as he empty his balls deep in Toby’s ass.

Damon fell forward in a sweaty mess to lay on top of Toby.
“I love you so much, Damon. Don’t you ever leave me again.”

Toby kissed Damon on the shoulder.

“Not going to happen.” Damon sat up and brushed his lips over

Toby’s. “And you have to promise to never get kidnapped again
because that damn near killed me.”

“What?” Toby jerked back and Damon couldn’t help the laughter

that bubbled up from his throat. “You jerk.”

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Toby started to tickle Damon and they wrestled around on the bed

for a few minutes until they both were too exhausted to move. Damon
pulled Toby close and his mate rested his head on Damon’s chest.
This was true love and Damon would spend the rest of his life
thankful for it.

* * * *

The sun was out and a light breeze blew across the rose field,

sending a flowery scent into the air. Toby reached out and touched
one of the yellow roses and smiled. It was pretty here and there really
was no better place to spread Aaron’s ashes.

The morning after Toby had returned Lachlan finally sat him

down to let him know they had cremated Aaron’s body and it was up
to Toby to spread his ashes. Toby knew he couldn’t run from this but
he wanted to. Spreading Aaron’s ashes would mean his brother was
really gone, but was he really? Lachlan told him that Aaron would
never be far from his heart. Death didn’t erase the memories of the
love he felt for his brother.

“Aaron always liked coming out here.” Toby looked up at his

mate then to the others. “He said to be able to grow wild and free was
the way to live.” He chuckled. “So it’s only fitting I send him out this
way. I love you, Aaron, and I know you will always be watching over
me. You may be gone but never forgotten, brother.”

Toby held up the urn and tipped it over, letting the gray ashes drift

into the breeze. A strong wind picked up and carried the ashes out
over the entire field. He glanced over his shoulder to see Astrid
smiling. No doubt the fairy had a hand in that.

Toby lifted his right hand and brought his fingers to his lips and

kissed them, then waved toward the field. After a few more minutes
they all headed back to the compound. There was much to be done
and they all played a part in making this world a better place.

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Damon grabbed Toby’s hand and raised it to kiss his knuckles.

Beside him walked Julian and Toby was happy for his mate. He might
have lost his brother but Damon had gained two and together they’d
find Hale.

“You know how much I love you, right?” Damon asked.
“Of course I do.” He leaned into Damon’s side. “And you know I

love you more than anything. I guess we’re perfect for each other.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”
Toby had gone through hell to get here now. He suffered more

than one person should but it made him who he was and that was a
fighter. And he’d fight alongside the Warriors of the Light to help
those in need because that’s who he was, that’s who his brother was
and he didn’t think there was a better set of footsteps to follow in then
Aaron’s.

THE END

WWW.AJJARRETT29.BLOGSPOT.COM

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

AJ Jarrett currently lives in the Midwest with her husband and

four children. A lover of M/M romances, she has started writing her
own stories for others to enjoy. She loves her characters to be
antagonistic toward one another but ultimately find their happy ever
after. She believes love can be found in the craziest of places, and a
little humor along the way never hurt. To her, there’s nothing sexier
than two men finding their soul mate in each other and falling in love.
When she isn’t chasing around her kids, she can be found sitting on
the couch with her trusted laptop, giving life to the voices in her head.

For all titles by AJ Jarrett, please visit