Sometimes your past has a way of catching up
with you, even if you don’t know what said past
may be.

When Gene was freed from prison, he was more
than happy to join Austin’s Owl Parliament. After
all, Gene’s childhood family had exiled him and
turned their backs, leaving Gene nowhere to go.
He was a nobody. A floater. Just a whisper in the
wind.

Ever since Gene joined the Parliament, Leon

finds he is drawn to the newcomer. But there are
just a few problems, as Gene is smart-mouthed,
snarky, cocky, never listens to orders, and has
more attitude than a four-year-old who has been
denied his candy.

Then an unexpected threat comes from Gene’s

past and threatens his life. Will Leon be able to
save him? If so, will he be able to overcome all his
fears in order to claim Gene as his?

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fine of $250,000.

Please purchase only authorized electronic editions,
and do not participate in or encourage the electronic
piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the
author’s rights is appreciated.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters,
places, and incidents either are products of the
author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any
resemblance to actual events or locales or persons,
living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Taming an Owl

ISBN: 978-1-77111-923-8

Cover art by Martine Jardin

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reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or
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Taming an Owl

Flushing Owl Series Book Two

Stephani Hecht

Chapter One

lick! Click! Clack! Clackity! Hiss!
That was the only sound that reverberated

through the abandoned home. A lone figure
walked through it, rubbing its stick-like fingers
together. Its red, overly large, oval eyes darted
from one side to the other as it took in everything,
looking for anything that would give him a clue as
to where the Owl was.

Click! Click! Clack! Clackity! Hiss!
While the creature could talk in regular human

tones if it chose to, that would require it to shift,
and it would rather stay in its Praying Mantis
form. It was unusual for shifters to prefer to be in
their animal form. The Mantis stood at six feet tall
and wore several layers of tattered green and
brown cloaks, leaving its bald head bare. Well, it
wasn’t exactly bald, as there was a smattering of
long, thick, coarse strands which stood up here
and there.

Click! Click! Clack! Clackity! Hiss!
The Mantis walked into one of the bedrooms,

and that was when it caught the scent.

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Ahhhhhhhhh. It was him—the Owl. The one they
had been seeking for all these years. The Mantis
took in a deep breath. This time the scent was
strong. They weren’t that far behind him.

Soon. Yes, soon they would have him. Then the

last of the Lychman Royal family would be dead,
and the Mantises would finally have their
revenge.

Click! Click! Clack! Clackity! Hiss!
The Mantis bent over and smelled a pillow. A

shiver of excitement went through its thin,
willowy frame. It could almost scent the Owl’s
freshly spilled blood now—taste it. It would be
better than the finest wine ever created.

Then just as suddenly, a vile rage filled the

Mantis. Throwing its head back, it let out a
screeching noise so loud that it shook the
windows of the home. The Mantis grabbed the
pillow with its clawed fingers and began to rip it
apart.

When the Mantis finished with the pillow, it

didn’t stop. It continued with the rest of the
bedroom, ripping everything within arm’s reach.
Bedding, metal frames, mirrors, dressers, all
became victims to the Mantis’ rage. Once it was
finished with that room, it continued on to the rest
of the home, venting his frustration and hate.

After the Mantis was done, it rubbed his

pinchers together as it looked at the damage it had
caused. If it could have, it would have smiled. The

Taming an Owl

destruction it had just committed would be
nothing compared to what it would do to the Owl
once it caught up with him. The Owl who went by
the name of Gene.

Click! Click! Clack! Clackity! Hiss!

* * * *

Leon thundered through the small home where
they were temporarily staying as he looked for
Gene. Leon swore that this time he was going to
kill the Long-Eared Owl, no mattered who tried to
interfere and stop him. Seriously, there was only
so much Leon could take, and Gene had just taken
a swan dive over that line. Hell, the kid had
probably smiled and done jazz hands while he
was doing it. Gene and self-control had never
exactly been best friends. Shit, Leon doubted the
two had ever even been introduced to one
another.

Leon found Gene in their shared bedroom. Not

that there was anything intimate about that, since
it also housed another Owl. It wasn’t exactly like
they were flush with money. They had to take
what they could get, which meant small houses
with crappy furnishing in bad neighborhoods. But
since Leon had grown up in a lot worse, he was
the last one to complain. Strangely, he’d never
heard Gene utter a word of complaint, either.
Maybe it was because Leon and his Parliament

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had rescued Gene from a prison after a five-year
stint. Or it could be because his former Parliament
had turned their backs on Gene, and Gene knew
he had nowhere else to go. Whatever the reason,
for all his smartass remarks, not one had ever been
directed at the Parliament’s poor conditions. In
fact, Gene seemed proud to be part of their group.

Leon found Gene lying down on a mattress

that’d been thrown on the ground. As usual, when
his mouth wasn’t open and yapping away, he had
his nose buried in a book. Gene loved horror
novels and would read and re-read the same five
ones he had. Leon knew Gene wished he could
have more, but since they were always on the
move and could only carry so much, Gene was
stuck with that number. On numerous occasions,
Leon had suggested that Gene just trade out the
older five books for new ones. Gene had refused,
saying that he couldn’t give up his favorites.

“You and I need to talk,” Leon said.
Gene glanced up from his novel. As usual, he

was the epitome of sexuality. From his dark hair
and eyes that were outlined with kohl…even if it
had just ended there, it would have been enough
for Leon, but it wasn’t. Gene’s highly arched
cheekbones, pert nose, and full bottom lip called
to Leon.

Hell! The unconventional way Gene dressed

turned Leon on when it shouldn’t have. Gene
always wore punk clothing, a style that went

Taming an Owl

against every bit of Leon’s Navy SEAL training.
Today, Gene had on a pair of jeans with so many
holes that it was a wonder all his indecent parts
were covered. He also wore a t-shirt that had a
sloth pole-dancing on it. The fabric clung to his
skinny frame like a second skin, leaving nothing to
the imagination.

Leon quickly looked away before he did

something stupid like yell at Gene to put on
something more proper—or worse, grew a boner
in front of the other Owl. That would come off
splendidly. Leon just knew Gene wouldn’t let that
one go by uncommented on. The smartass would
have to point it out.

Gene let out a sigh. “What did I do this time?”
“It’s about your new job.”
“What about it? I’m contributing to the

Parliament, just like every Owl here should be.”

Leon gripped the edge of the doorjamb and

very slowly counted to ten…and then to
twenty…and then to thirty. “That doesn’t include
any of us having to work as a go-go boy at the
local gay clubs.”

Gene tilted his head to the side, which made

him look all the more adorable. Leon could feel
some of his anger leaking away, and he got lost in
those sweet, brown eyes. Damn it! Leon wanted to
stay enraged, so he didn’t want to be taken in by
one coy look from Gene.

“I don’t know about that,” Gene said. “The gay

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club sure hired me quickly enough. In fact, they
insisted I start tonight.”

“I’ll bet they did.”
Gene picked up a bright green sparkly thong

and held it up. “They even gave me my uniform.”

Just the thought of any other man seeing Gene

dressed in that scrap of nothingness made Leon
want to kill somebody. Which was ridiculous.
He’d already resigned himself to the fact that he
and Gene weren’t meant to be. Leon liked his guys
to be submissive, to follow his lead at all times, to
not ask questions. He certainly didn’t want them
to be smartassed, snarky, little brats. Yet Leon
couldn’t help it. The rage was still there, and it
wasn’t going away soon.

“The boss thinks that I’ll make a ton of money

in tips. He says I have the body that the older guys
just drool over,” Gene said, as he sat the thong
down.

“You call shaking your ass for a group of horny

men a way to make money?” Leon bit out.

Gene shrugged. “Sure, why not? Somebody has

to do it, and since I fit the mold, it may as well be
me. This Parliament has done so much for me, it’s
time that I pay it back.”

“There are other jobs you can take.”
Gene gave him a narrow-eyed stare. “Why do

you care what I do? You barely talk to me. Hell,
you never even look my way, and now you have
this sudden interest in my career choice.”

Taming an Owl

Shit! Leon realized that he might have revealed

too much with his jealous hissy fit. He scrambled
to come up with a plausible excuse. “Because if
you put yourself out in the public like that,
somebody may recognize you.”

Gene made a raspberry noise. “I seriously

doubt that Stern and his cronies take time out to
hang at the local gay clubs. They would be more
likely to burn them down. Stern isn’t particularly
keen on Owls who are gay, in case you’ve
forgotten.”

Leon hated to admit it, but Gene did have a

point there. Stern put the phobe in homophobe.
The Owl leader was known to publically execute
other Owls just for that. He was the reason why so
many Owls were now in hiding and running from
Stern’s soldiers—their own Parliament being an
entire group of them.

Gene looked at his watch, then jumped off the

mattress. “Damn! I better get going. I don’t want
to be late on my first day. That wouldn’t make a
good impression.”

“I don’t think you’re there for your good work

ethics,” Leon drawled.

Gene stopped and gave him a dirty look. “Hey,

at least it’s a job. In fact, it’s the first one I’ve ever
had. So you could at least show me a little respect
here. At least I’m trying.”

Leon wanted to understand. Oh, how badly he

did, but then the image of Gene gyrating in front

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of all those human men flashed in front of his eyes
and Leon could only feel the sharp stab of
jealousy. That meant there was only one thing
Leon could do.

“Yeah, well, I’m going with you tonight,” he

said.

Gene came to a dead stop and stared at Leon as

if he had grown a new beak. “What?”

“If you think for one moment that I’m letting

you go there all alone to let a bunch of men grope
you, you’re out of your mind.”

“Since when have you given a damn what I do

or don’t do?”

Leon pinched the bridge of his nose. Why

couldn’t he be attracted to another man? But
noooooo….he had to fall for the high maintenance
one. Then again, that was the story of Leon’s life.
He never picked the easiest route. Instead, he was
always going for the more rigorous and
challenging path. It was the reason he’d become a
SEAL, and it was the reason he was head of
security for the Parliament. For him, easy had
always equaled boring.

Gene went into the bathroom, then came out a

few moments later. While he appeared to be
wearing the same clothing, Gene knew that damn
green thong was on underneath it all. It both
turned Leon on and angered him at the same time.
For some reason, he felt that he should be the only
one to see Gene’s body, not a bunch of nameless,

Taming an Owl

horny men who were waving dollar bills around.

Gene grabbed his backpack and stuffed his

book in it. “That should about do it. They said I
get a free lunch and that they’ll grease me up once
I’m there.”

Leon balled his hands into tight fists. He.

Would. Not. Kill. He’d promised Austin that he’d
keep hold of his temper after the last incident,
when some jerk frat boy had dared to mouth off to
Leon. Leon still didn’t know what the big deal
was. All he’d done was taken out his knife and
slash all the guy’s tires. The asshole hadn’t even
gotten out of his car, so there wasn’t any real
confrontation. So, in Leon’s opinion, the whole
thing had been way overblown.

Besides, he reminded himself once again, it

wasn’t as if Gene was his. That meant that Leon
didn’t own him or anything. So Gene could run
naked through the streets and Leon would have
no say in it.

“Okay then. Let’s go,” Leon said.
Gene gaped at him. “You were actually serious

when you said you were going to come and watch
over me?”

“You bet.”
“Why? I’m going to be in the cage the entire

time. How much safer can I be?”

“You still have to walk to and from there. I’m

pretty sure this bar isn’t in the best of
neighborhoods.”

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Gene crossed his arms over his chest. “I can

take care of myself.”

“Sure, that’s why you were captured and kept

in a cell for five years.”

That comment got Leon a dirty look.
“Low blow,” Gene snapped. “Besides, when

they caught me, I was way outnumbered. There
was no way I could have fought them all off. Not
even you would have been capable, and you fight
like a fricking superhero.”

Leon couldn’t help but smile at the comment.

“You think that much about my fighting skills?”

Gene let out a huff. “Come on. Like you don’t

know you fight better than Arnold, Seagal, and
Van Damme combined. You just want to hear me
say it, so I can inflate that already mega ego of
yours.”

Now it was Leon’s turn to gape. “I don’t have

an ego.”

“Please, your ego is so huge I’m surprised

there’s room for the rest of us in the house.”

And that was the crux of Leon’s problem. He

didn’t know whether to strangle Gene or kiss him.
He did know one thing, he’d better figure it out
fast, or he was going to go crazy. This little
menace was beginning to occupy all of Leon’s
thoughts. Since Leon was the head of the
Parliament’s security, that was not a good thing. If
Leon had one little slip up, it could affect the
whole group.

Taming an Owl

Letting out a small growl, Leon said, “Let’s just

get going.”

Stephani Hecht

Chapter Two

kay, it was official. Gene hated being a go-go
boy. Not only was the oil they slathered on

him sticky and funny smelling, but the thong was
damn itchy. To make matters worse…and yes,
things could get worse…it was as if a sea of hands
and fingers were reaching out and groping at him.
While some had money in them, just as many
were empty and were trying to cop a free feel.

Gene wanted nothing more than to open the

cage door and run as fast as he could back to the
dressing room. But Leon was sitting there with a
great big I-told-you-so look. There was no way in
hell that Gene was going to give Leon the
satisfaction of seeing him turn tail and run away
like some scared school girl.

So as hard as it was, Gene stayed in that damn

cage, kept a smile on his face, and kept on shaking
his moneymaker. At least he was making a lot in
tips. He had a lot of bills stuffed in his tight
sparkly green undies. It was just too bad that he
had to be felt up each time somebody put some

Taming an Owl

money in there.

As the time went on, it got worse. Despite the

state law against using cigarettes inside a public
building, the air was soon thick with smoke. The
smell mixed in with the scent of unwashed bodies,
stale beer, and greasy food. Gene felt nauseous,
but he continued on.

Then one guy reached into the cage and

grabbed him by the ass, holding his butt cheek
and squeezing it so hard there were sure to be
bruises the next day. Gene let out a yelp of
surprise.

“Hey! Hands off the goods!”
“Oh, come on. You know you like it, you little

whore,” the man said as he gave Gene’s ass
another squeeze.

A loud growl filled the room, then Leon came

over and grabbed the man by the front of his shirt.
“I would suggest that you keep your hands off
him, or I’ll tear them off and shove them down
your throat.”

The man, who at first had looked like an

intimidating biker guy to Gene, now appeared to
be a scared child. He put his hands up and said, “I
don’t want any trouble here. I didn’t know you
were his pimp. How much do you want for a
couple of minutes of his time?”

Gene sucked in a breath as outrage filled him.

Did that asshole really think that he was some rent
boy or something? How dare he? Just because

Stephani Hecht

Gene was trying to make a damn living didn’t
give that asshole any right to judge him.

“Fuck off,” Gene said. “Nobody owns me, and I

don’t take money to do any sexual favors. So if
you want to get off, you’re going to have to go to
the bathroom and jerk yourself, ‘cause I ain’t
doing it for you.”

The door to the cage swung open, and before

Gene could say WTF, Leon pulled him out. He
carefully lowered Gene to the floor, and he then
turned on the biker who’d been feeling Gene up.

“If I were you, I’d disappear as fast as

possible,” Leon warned.

The biker gave a slight nod, his face so full of

terror that it looked as if he was two seconds from
pissing himself. He then spun on his heel and ran
into the crowd. Gene let out a groan.

“You know, he’s probably going to complain to

management. I’m going to lose my job on my first
day, and it’ll be all your fault,” Gene griped.

Leon narrowed his eyes. They were so full of

anger that Gene actually took a few steps away,
until he realized that Leon was still holding one of
his wrists and he wouldn’t be going very far.

“It doesn’t matter because you’re not working

here anymore. Go to the locker room and get your
clothes, put them back on, then come back out
here to me, so we can leave this place and never
come back,” Leon said in that calm voice of his
that meant he really wasn’t calm at all, but ready

Taming an Owl

to blow a gasket.

“This is the only job I could get. If I’m going to

live with the Parliament, it’s only right that I
contribute somehow. What else am I going to do?”
Gene asked.

Actually, a part of him was secretly glad Leon

had told him he was quitting. While Gene
respected and gave props to all the other go-go
boys there, the job just wasn’t meant for him. Not
that he was the shy type or anything. He just
wasn’t up to being touched all the time by strange
men.

“We’ll find you something to do. Now go and

do what I told you,” Leon ordered.

Gene didn’t need to be told a third time. He

turned around and scampered to the locker room.
When he arrived there, he was dismayed to find
that his boss, Veno, was already waiting for him.

The strange thing was that Veno looked just

like…well, a Veno. His thinning brown hair was
almost non-existent on the top of his head, but he
tried to hide the fact by combing it over. The end
result was a greasy-looking mess. His boss also
wore a polyester suit that was brown and about
three decades out of date. Even his loafers needed
to retire. If Gene had just bumped into Veno on
the street, he would have pegged him as either a
porn producer or a sleazy used car salesman.

“I just had a customer complain that you were

rude to him,” Veno said in a high-pitched nasally

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voice. “Now, I know that can’t be true.”

“He grabbed my ass twice and asked me how

much it would cost for a few minutes of my
private time,” Gene defended himself.

“Too bad. That comes with the business. Now

get your little butt out there and get back to work.
I’m not paying you to stand around and pout
because your wee little feelings were hurt.”

“I quit. There is no way in hell that I am ever

going to go back into that cage.”

Not only because Gene’s pride depended upon

it, but also because he’d already spent enough
time in a cage when he’d been held prisoner of
Stern, one of the biggest rulers of the Owl shifter
community.

“You can’t quit on me, you little piece of shit,”

Veno snarled.

“I think he just did,” Leon said.
Shocked, since Gene had never heard the other

Owl enter the room, he spun around and saw
Leon looking as scary as ever. He had his arms
crossed over his massive chest, his biceps nearly
ripping through the sleeves of his black T-shirt.
His legs were planted shoulder-width apart, the
muscles in them tense as if he were ready to
spring into action at any second. While Leon never
wore skinny jeans, the black ones he had on now
were like a second pair of skin on him, because he
was all pumped. His dark eyes were glistening
with anger, and his black buzz-cut did nothing to

Taming an Owl

hamper his bad-ass attitude.

Gene knew he should be intimidated. More so,

he should be terrified, even though the anger
wasn’t directed his way. Leon was downright
terrifying to see at that moment. So why was it
that Gene had never been so turned on in his
entire life? In fact, he was so jacked up that if Veno
hadn’t been there, Gene would have probably
made a fool out of himself and tried to climb Leon
or something.

Gene watched as Veno looked Leon up and

down. When Veno went pale and the smell of fear
filled the room, it was all Gene could do not to
smile. Veno was good and scared of Leon, and
now the tables had turned a bit. For once, Gene
didn’t mind Leon butting into his life.

Veno began to tremble. He held up his hands in

a placating manner. “Fine. If the job didn’t work
out for Gene, then he’s free to go. I’m sorry for any
misunderstanding.”

The club owner then turned heel and ran away

as fast as he could. Gene was surprised the guy
didn’t leave a vapor trail or tread marks behind
him. As soon as Veno was gone, Gene let out a
sigh. Now it was time to face Leon and have to
listen to a bunch of I told you sos. God, Gene hated
that Leon was always right. He would love it if
just once the Barn Owl was wrong. Gene would
love nothing more than to rub Leon’s face in it.

Gene looked at Leon. “Go ahead and just get it

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out now.”

Leon gave him a confused look. “Get what

out?”

“How I should have listened to you and never

taken this job in the first place. How I’m too
impulsive and I could have really been hurt. That I
was lucky to have you there to protect me. That
I’m always driving you crazy, and one day you’re
just going to throttle me yourself to get it over
with,” Gene ticked off.

“It would seem to me that you have the lecture

pretty much memorized. You just choose to ignore
it.”

Gene sucked in a breath. “Yeah, I’ve never been

that good at following rules.”

“Which probably got you thrown out of your

childhood Parliament.”

“Actually, that wasn’t the first Parliament that I

was tossed out of,” Gene admitted.

“Come again?”
“I kind of bounced around from Parliament to

Parliament until I was eventually captured and
tossed into Stern’s prison. That’s where I met you
guys, and the rest is history.” Gene gave a shrug.

“Why did the other Parliaments throw you

out?”

There were so many reasons Gene could stand

there all day and list them. He wasn’t exactly the
best-behaved Owl out there. In fact, he’d been
called a brat, shithead, asshole, and even worse

Taming an Owl

names on more than one occasion, which kind of
hurt. Gene was just trying to make people lighten
up a bit. Why did everybody always have to take
things so seriously?

“Some kicked me out when they found out I

was gay. Others just got sick of my mouth. In fact,
I’m waiting for you guys to throw me to the curb
any minute. This is the longest I’ve managed to
last at a Parliament,” Gene admitted.

“You’re not going anywhere soon, so don’t

worry about that. You’ve kind of grown on us, like
a fungus that won’t go away.”

Gene wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or

not, but since it meant that he was still welcome at
the Parliament, he decided to keep his trap shut
for once in his life. Instead, he began to pull the
wads of money out of his uniform so he could get
dressed. Gene was beginning to feel a bit
awkward talking to Leon while he was half-
dressed.

“Why did your childhood Parliament throw

you out?” Leon asked.

Gene paused as he worked that one over in his

mind. “You know what? I don’t remember
anything of my life before I was fifteen. Is that
weird?”

“Everything about you is weird. Now get

dressed. If we hurry, we can still make it back in
time for dinner.”

Since food was something Gene never took for

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granted, not after the five years of going hungry as
a prisoner, that made him move faster. He took off
the green briefs and tossed them to the side. Those
would stay at the club. If Gene never saw them
again, it would be too soon.

Not even aware of his nakedness, since he was

a shifter, Gene grabbed his clothes, then pulled
them on. Once he had his shoes on, he glanced up
at Leon. Gene was perplexed when he noted that
Leon was giving him the strangest of looks. Had it
been on any other man, Gene would have said it
was lust, but Gene knew there was a snowball’s
chance in hell of that being true. Gene knew the
only emotion he ever drew from Leon was
annoyance.

After he’d gathered up his stuff, Gene said,

“I’m ready. Let’s get the hell out of here.”

Gene’s only saving grace was that it was a short

walk back to their house. Neither one of them
exchanged a word the entire way. As they entered
the back entrance, they found their leader, Austin,
sitting at the kitchen table. His mate, Kayden, was
also there. They looked so lovey dovey it made
Gene jealous and want to puke at the same time.

Instead, Gene slammed down the money he’d

made that night on the table. Austin gave the bills
a look of shock, while Kayden just let out a sigh.

“What did you do this time, Gene?”
Gene opened his mouth in outrage. “Why does

everybody always have to think that I’m doing

Taming an Owl

something wrong?”

“He was working as a go-go boy at the club

down the street,” Leon informed.

“Tattletale,” Gene accused.
Austin pinched the bridge of his nose. “What if

one of our enemies had spotted you working
there?”

“Then they’d have a lot of explaining to do as to

why they are in a gay club,” Gene shot back.

Ha! Let Austin chew on that one for a while. If

anyone was going to turn Gene in, they’d have to
admit that they were at the club, too. That was
something no sane Owl would do, because they’d
find themselves kicked out of their Parliament
faster than somebody could say look at the gay Owl.

“They could have just said they saw you

walking in or out of the club,” Austin said. “That
would have been enough.”

Damn! Why hadn’t Gene thought of that? There

he went fucking things up again. It never seemed
to end. Not matter how hard he tried to do right, it
ended up turning on him. When was he ever
going to get some damn common sense?

“I’m sorry,” Gene said. “I was just trying to

earn my keep here and make some money for our
Parliament. I know how low on funds we are right
now. I thought I was doing the right thing.”

“We know you were,” Kayden said with a

small smile. “You just need to learn how to lay
low when you’re on the run like we are.”

Stephani Hecht

“At least I made a couple of hundred of bucks

for us,” Gene offered, hoping that would make
things a little better.

“Yeah, let’s just hope that no one saw you,”

Austin said.

Gene hung his head. He should have known

better. Once a loser, always a loser.

Taming an Owl

Chapter Three

eon rubbed his hand over his head as he
watched Gene give a nod, then run off to the

bedroom. He couldn’t help but feel for the Owl.
While he might not have been smart about it, he
had the best intentions at heart.

“I hope I wasn’t too hard on him,” Leon said.
“Why? Did you yell at him a bunch and tell him

how stupid his idea was?” Kayden asked.

Leon paused a moment. When Kayden put it

that way, it did kind of make Leon sound like one
great big jerk. He realized there were at least a
million different ways he could have handled the
situation, each of them a lot better than what he’d
done. Leon let his shoulders slump. Why was it he
couldn’t do things right whenever Gene was
involved?

“Yeah, I did,” Leon admitted in a defeated

voice.

“Oh, Leon,” Kayden sighed. “Why are you

always so rough on him?”

“I’m not any harder on him than anybody else.

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I’m the head of security, and it’s my job to make
sure that the Parliament is protected at all times.
What Gene was doing was putting us at risk, and I
had to put a stop to it,” Leon defended.

Kayden tilted his head to the side. “Are you

sure that’s the only reason?”

“It’s not your place to get involved, mate,”

Austin said as he sent Kayden a warning look.

“Well, if I don’t say anything to him, then who

will? If Leon keeps picking on poor Gene, then
Gene might leave us. We don’t want that, do we?
He’s part of our Parliament and a good friend of
mine. I would be very unhappy without him
here,” Kayden argued.

Now Leon knew he was in it for it. An unhappy

Kayden made for an angry Austin, and an angry
Austin was never a good thing. While Leon didn’t
fear very many Owls, Austin was one of them.
He’d seen Austin in battle, and that guy could
pluck out another Owl’s eye in mid-flight, without
missing a beat. In short, Austin was an Owl that
one wanted as an ally, not an enemy.

Sure enough, Austin turned to Leon. The leader

didn’t look one bit happy, either. His eyes were
stormy with anger, and his jaw was clenched. “Go
to Gene and make things better. I want this
rectified before dinner, and that will be ready in
one half of an hour. Do you hear me?”

Leon bowed his head. “Yes, sir.”
He then turned around and left the kitchen. He

Taming an Owl

went to the bedroom, since that was the last place
he’d seen Gene heading. Leon would make sure
that Gene forgave him, even if he had to pick the
brat up and shake him until he agreed.

Leon walked in the room and found Gene

sitting on the edge of the mattress. The Owl had
his head down and was looking at the tattered,
green carpeting. His bangs hid the rest of his face
from view, but there was still a sadness and
hopelessness that seemed to pour off of Gene. It
was so strong that it hit Leon like a punch to the
gut, and a wave of guilt washed over him because
he knew he’d played a big part in putting Gene in
this state.

“Gene,” Leon called.
Gene jumped so high that Leon wanted to kick

himself. He’d forgotten that Gene was easily
startled because of all he had gone through at the
prison. While Gene was closemouthed about it,
from what little that Leon heard, it wasn’t pretty.

“Sorry,” Leon said. “I just wanted to talk to you

for a minute.”

“Is this where you’re going to tell me that you

told me so? Because if it is, I already got the
picture. You, Austin and Kayden made it crystal
clear that I was an idiot tonight.” Gene sighed.

“No, that’s not why I’m here.”
Leon walked across the room, which was too

small to fit the three mattresses that they’d
crammed in there, so he could sit next to Gene.

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Once he was settled, Leon tried hard not to inhale
too deeply so he wouldn’t catch Gene’s scent.
Whenever Leon got the sweet, outdoorsy smell of
Gene in his nose, it never failed—Leon got as hard
as a rock. It was definitely not the time or place for
that.

“Then why did you walk across our great big

mansion to come and see me then?” Gene asked.

Leon had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep

from laughing. Gene was always great with both
sarcasm and one-liners, all despite the fact that
they had gotten him in trouble on more than one
occasion.

“Don’t worry, I drove the golf cart here,” Leon

shot back.

Gene let out a small chuckle. “I can’t believe

that you of all people just told a joke.”

“I have my moments. You’d be surprised.”
Gene looked up from under his bangs, and

damn if he’d ever looked sexier. “Maybe I should
hang out with you more often. You may have all
kinds of surprises hidden under that tough-guy
exterior or yours.”

Actually, as annoying as Gene might be, Leon

couldn’t think of a better situation. He’d wanted to
have some alone time with the Owl, but it was so
hard with their whole Parliament being crammed
into one home. If he took Gene on some of his
security details, then maybe Leon would get a
chance to know the real Gene, not the one who

Taming an Owl

was hidden under layers of snarkiness and
mystery.

“Actually, that sounds like a great idea to me,”

Leon said.

Gene pulled back and gave Leon the are-you-

out-of-your-frigging-gourd look. “You can’t be
serious. You can’t even stand me for five minutes,
let alone spend the day working with me.”

“It seems the only way I can keep you out of

trouble is if I keep my eye on you 24/7. The best
way to do that is to make you my personal
assistant.”

“But I don’t know the first thing about

security,” Gene argued. “Seriously, an army of
enemy Owls could come marching through our
yard, and I wouldn’t know what in the hell to do.”

“First of all, they’d be flying. Secondly, I would

train you on how to handle those situations.”

Leon hoped Gene would agree to this and that

he wouldn’t have to be dragged out onto the
jobsite. While Leon knew he could do it, he just
didn’t feel like listening to all of Gene’s bitching
and complaints all the way there. It did get kind of
tiresome after a while.

“Fine, I’ll do it,” Gene finally agreed, a huge

frown on his face. “But you’re going to regret it.”

“Why? Are you going to purposely do a bad

job?”

If that were the case, then Leon would make

sure to make things ten times harder on Gene.

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While he might be attracted to the menace, that
didn’t mean that Leon was going to treat him any
different than any of the other members of the
Parliament.

Gene shook his head. “No, I would never do a

bad job on purpose. Mostly, because I’ve seen you
pissed off, and I don’t want to be on your bad
side. The reason I said that is because I have the
tendency to fuck up anything I touch. I have been
that way all my life.”

Leon narrowed his eyes. “I thought you said

that you can’t remember your childhood. So how
can you be certain that it’s always been that way?”

“I don’t know. I just have a feeling, that’s all.

Otherwise, why would I have been cast out?”

“What makes you think you were cast out?”
“How else would I have ended up alone with

no family or friends? I always figured that it was
because I acted too gay or did something so bad
that they never wanted to see me again. Yet, I had
to have come from somewhere. I didn’t just
magically pop into this world,” Gene said.

“Did you ever stop to consider that maybe your

childhood Parliament was attacked and you
somehow survived? That maybe the whole
incident was so traumatic that you blocked it
out?” Leon asked.

Gene let out a bitter laugh. “Yeah, I used to.

That was until the three other Parliaments tossed
me out. I’m just an unwanted loser. The longest

Taming an Owl

I’ve ever stayed in one place was when I was in
that damn prison, and they had even set an
execution date for me because they were sick of
my ass. How sad does that make me?”

“You’re just unique, and I feel sorry for all the

other Owls who didn’t take the time to realize
that.”

Gene gave Leon a jaded look. “You’re just

saying that because you’re about to work my ass
off.”

“Did anybody ever tell you that you have the

lowest self-esteem of any Owl in history?” Leon
asked.

It was true, too. While Gene might be a

smartass, he also had that vibe of a puppy who’d
been kicked a few times too many and was
cowering in the corner. Only with Gene, his corner
was his shield of cockiness and a fake I-don’t-care-
what-you-think attitude.

“I don’t have low self-esteem. I just tell it like it

is,” Gene countered.

“You’ve been doing really well with us.

Everybody here likes you, and you’re fitting right
in.”

Leon was scrambling, and he knew it. He just

wanted to find a way to make Gene feel better
about himself. For some crazy reason, Leon didn’t
like to see Gene unhappy. In fact, Leon would do
just about anything to make the Long-Eared Owl
happy at that moment. He’d even be willing to try

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to pull off a cartwheel if he knew that was what it
took. However, it would be as hard as hell with all
the mattresses that were crammed in there. Plus,
Leon hadn’t attempted to do a cartwheel since he
was ten, but hey, how hard could it be? In the end,
Leon decided he’d go with the easier route and try
to reason with Gene. It would be a lot safer for
both of them.

“Gene, when are you going to get it that you’ve

finally found your permanent home? Even if you
do fuck up, Austin isn’t going to banish you. All of
us in the Parliament have messed up at one time
or another, but he has never sent us away, and
you want to know why?”

“Yes,” Gene said in a small voice.
“It’s because he was banished himself, so he

knows what it feels like to be out there alone in the
world. He would never do that to another Owl.
Sure, he may get mad at us and yell or tell us to
get the hell out of the room, but he’ll never turn
his back on us.”

“How can you be so sure that there won’t be a

first time when it comes to me?” Gene asked.

Leon gazed at Gene, and his eyes were filled

with such fear, pain, and bleakness that Leon
knew he would do anything to make it all go
away, even if it meant that he had to give up
everything he had in life.

“That’s never going to happen, but if for some

crazy reason it ever does, I’ll go with you,” Leon

Taming an Owl

vowed.

Gene blinked a few times. “Why would you do

that? I thought you hated me.”

“I don’t hate you. Far from it. In fact, I was

about to tear apart those men who were touching
you tonight.”

“Why? It was just part of my job. I went in there

fully expecting it.”

Leon let out a growl. “Because they were

touching something that belongs to me.”

There was a long awkward pause after Leon’s

announcement. Leon silently cursed himself for
letting that little nugget slip out. Gene, for his part,
suddenly became interested in playing with a tear
in his tennis shoe.

“I’d go with you, too,” Gene finally said.
“What?” Leon asked.
He was confused. This conversation had taken

so many curves and U-turns he didn’t know
where they were at the moment. Having a
conversation with Gene was almost like having a
talk with a Jenga tower. Just when one thought it
was going one way, it turned and went in a whole
different direction.

“If you were ever kicked out of the Parliament,

I would leave with you,” Gene stated calmly.

“Now, why would you go and do something as

stupid as that?”

Gene finally looked up from his shoe, his gaze

more intense and serious than Leon had ever seen

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it. “Because I wouldn’t want you to be alone,
either. I like you, and that would make me sad.”

Leon felt as if he had been hit with a ton of

bricks. Nobody had ever shown such a caring
gesture toward him. Sure, his fellow Parliament
members worried about his well-being and
watched his back in battles, but they had never
stated that they’d be willing to give up everything
in order to be with him. It was both humbling and
a bit touching, and damn if Leon knew how to
handle either emotion. He just wasn’t used to
feeling them.

“Well, that’s never going to happen, because

neither one of us is going anywhere,” Leon said,
his voice a bit gruff.

Damn Gene and damn him for making Leon’s

emotions well up. That was something Leon
thought he’d shut off years ago. Yet Gene was
somehow managing to find cracks in Leon’s
armor, and the Owl was working them open.
Nobody, not even Austin, had been able to do that
before.

“Even so, it makes me feel better if we have a

backup plan,” Gene said.

Leon was still waiting for Gene to comment on

the you’re mine comment, but so far, the Owl had
acted as if he’d never heard it, which left Leon
feeling all the more confused and concerned. What
if Gene didn’t like him in that way? Leon had
thought Gene was sending out all the right

Taming an Owl

signals, but perhaps Leon had misread them.
Fuck! How he wished he had a rewind button so
he could take that comment back.

“Did you mean it?” Gene asked.
“Did I mean what?”
“That I belong to you.”
Oh, how Leon wanted to lie and say that it was

a slip of the tongue. That what he’d meant was
that Gene belonged to the Parliament and he’d just
worded it wrong. But in the end, Leon realized
that Gene deserved the truth. After all he’d been
through, it was the least that Leon could do for
Gene.

“Yeah, I meant it,” Leon admitted.
“Good, because that means that you belong to

me, too.”

Stephani Hecht

Chapter Four

he rest of the day consisted of Gene following
Leon around the small yard of their house.

While they might not spend much money on their
living quarters, they did spend a pretty penny on
their security systems. Leon was checking to make
sure the sensors buried under the ground of their
property line were working. He also looked over
the motion detectors that were pointed at the sky.
They were set to go off if anything flew over them.
While they had a lot of false alarms, thanks to
normal birds setting them off, the price was worth
it. Leon told Gene that those sensors had saved the
Parliament more than once when they were
attacked by Stern’s Owls.

The only bad thing was, whenever their

Parliament was found and they had to run for
their lives to the next safe house, that meant they
had to leave all the security equipment behind,
which meant that the Parliament took a huge hit in
the budget. It made Gene wish that he’d been able
to find a better job, one he’d been able to keep so

Taming an Owl

he could contribute to the Parliament’s finances.

They were still adjusting the motion detectors

and it was getting dark outside when Gene asked,
“How is it that the Parliament is able to survive at
all? First, we have to pay rent on this place, and
the next safe house we’re going to. We need to
feed and clothe all of us, plus we have to pay for
all our computers, security, and other equipment.”

“When Austin’s father exiled him, he paid him

a ton of money to never show his face again.
Personally, I think it was because the asshole was
afraid Austin was going to challenge him for
leadership. From what I heard, there was no doubt
Austin would have won. Austin has been using
the money to make things stretch as far as
possible. In between, we try to get jobs to add to
the cookie jar. Although, we do try to stick to jobs
that let us keep our clothes on.”

“Hey, it’s the only skill I have. So I figured why

not use it?” Gene said. “It’s not like I can walk into
a bank and get a teller position or something.”

“That’s okay. You don’t have to worry about it

anymore. You’re my assistant now, remember?”

Yeah, right. Gene would believe that one when

pigs started to fly and Stern lost ten or twenty
pounds. He wasn’t a fool. He knew Leon had
given him this gig just so he could keep Gene out
of trouble. It was nothing more than glorified
babysitting, with Gene as the baby. All that was
missing was the diaper and pacifier.

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“Yeah, how could I forget that,” Gene replied

with a heavy dose of sarcasm.

“Be good, or I’ll stake you down and make you

one of the motion detectors.”

“What would I do if I saw something coming?”
“Do what you do best. Start talking. You could

yell for help.”

Okay, that one stung a bit. Gene could be quiet.

For example, he never said a peep when he slept.
He’d asked around, and nobody yet had told him
that he talked in his sleep. So that was one third of
his life where he was quiet. Leon could suck it on
that one.

“Okay, we’re finished here. Let’s go inside with

the others,” Leon said.

That should have sounded fine to Gene. In fact,

he should have been exhilarated. Yet for some
oddball reason, Gene didn’t want to give up his
alone time with Leon, which showed that Gene
must have been dropped on his head one too
many times as a baby. There was no sane reason
that Gene would want to spend more time with
somebody who always grumbled at him and
never had a funny word to say. Gene must have
turned into a masochist or something. Next thing
he knew, he’d be asking for a flogging or two. Yet,
he had meant it earlier when he’d said that if Leon
left the Parliament that he’d leave, too, because
Gene just couldn’t see a life without Leon in it.

They quietly made their way back to the house.

Taming an Owl

While it was getting darker outside, Gene could
still see perfectly, thanks to his enhanced Owl
vision. That still didn’t stop him from stumbling a
time or two on the uneven ground. They didn’t
exactly have a lush, pristine lawn. Leon on the
other hand, didn’t break stride once. He was too
perfect to do that.

When they walked inside, they kicked off their

shoes and brushed the dirt off their bodies.
Everybody was already watching TV for the night.
Gene’s usual spot on the couch was left open. He
slid into it so he was sitting next to Kayden’s
brother, Kyle.

“How was your first day on the job?” Kyle

asked.

Gene looked over at the Elf Owl. “It went about

as expected. Leon didn’t talk to me except to bark
orders. It was hot and sticky out there, and I had
no clue what I was doing.”

Kyle gave a slow nod. “Sounds like a normal

first day on any job.”

“I wouldn’t know, since my only other job was

as a go-go dancer, and I got dragged out of there
by Leon.”

“If you never worked before, then how did you

survive before you met us?” Kyle asked.

“I mostly stole stuff and pawned it off.”
When Kyle’s mouth parted in shock, Gene

rolled his eyes and added, “I was on the run. It
wasn’t exactly like I could stay in one place for

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long.”

“What were you running from?”
Gene drew his brows together as he scratched

his head. “You know, I’m not for certain what it is.
I just know that there is something out there that
wants a piece of my ass. I thought it was Stern, but
since I’ve escaped him, the feeling still hasn’t gone
away.”

“You’re not thinking of taking off on us, are

you?” Kyle asked.

In truth, Gene had thought about leaving the

Parliament, just for their safety. The last thing he
wanted was for them to get hurt. But every time
he’d almost worked up the nerve to do so, he’d
taken one look at Leon and changed his mind,
which made Gene feel guilty as hell, since that
meant he was putting the others in danger because
of his own personal feelings. Worse, it made him
feel like a coward for taking refuge in a Parliament
without telling them about the danger, but how
could Gene tell them what the danger was when
he himself didn’t even know what it was? He
knew that everybody already thought he was a bit
titched, but after that, they would for sure think he
was coo-coo for Cocoa Puffs.

“No, I’m not about to go anywhere. I’ve

decided that I find you guys tolerable enough to
put up with,” Gene drawled.

“I’m glad we could accommodate you,” Kyle

returned.

Taming an Owl

“You should be. It’s not easy to please me.”
“I’ll bet the whole homeless with nowhere else to

turn had a play in it, too,” Kyle pointed out.

“There is that. Oh, and the fact that you rescued

me, and I knew that Stern’s goon squad would
soon be after me. I thought I may as well tag along
and run with you.”

“That must have been very convenient for

you.”

Gene nodded. “It was. I didn’t know the area at

all. If I had gone it alone, I would have been lost
before I knew it. Then who knows what could
have happened.”

“Just admit it. You love it here and you know

it,” Kyle said.

Darting a quick glance over at Leon, Gene

admitted, “Okay, I’ll fess up. This place has some
really big perks to it. Plus, you’re the first
Parliament that hasn’t shown me the door within
the first week of me being there.”

“Of course we wouldn’t. You’re one of us,”

Kyle told him.

“What? Gay?”
“That, but mostly it’s because you’re an outcast,

just like every one of us which makes you fit in
perfectly, whether you want to admit it or not.”

Gene thought about it for a few moments.

Would he want to be normal and fit in the mold
that the world wanted him to? It didn’t take Gene
long to come up with the answer—no. He liked

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being unique and himself, and he wouldn’t
change that for the world. He felt comfortable in
the skin that he was in, and for the first time in his
life, he realized that was okay.

“Thank you,” he said to Kyle.
Kyle smiled. “Trust me, there is nobody who

knows how it feels to be different more than an Elf
Owl.”

“I guess you have a point there,” Gene laughed.
Peter, who had been sitting on the floor, turned

around and glared at Gene. “Besides, if you had
been annoying us, I would have killed you in your
sleep a long time ago.”

A shiver went through Gene. Peter was a North

Hawk Owl, and damned dangerous when he
wanted to be. While Gene knew Peter would
never harm him, since they were in the same
Parliament, just the thought of being on the wrong
side of the guy was terrifying.

The funny part was, Peter didn’t even look

dangerous. Some would even go so far as to say
that he looked like a nerd. He had a mop of black
hair that he never could seem to control no matter
how hard he tried. He was tall and lanky, without
an ounce of muscle to him. He usually wore all
black from his nails to every piece of clothing that
went on his body. Peter looked like he should be
reading morose books and complaining about
how bad society was instead of hunting down
enemy Owls and offing them. Now if they could

Taming an Owl

only get him past all the security and guards that
Stern had in place so he could off that leader,
they’d be all set.

Rory came out with some of his special

popcorn. Gene perked right up. He didn’t know
what salt and spices that Barred Owl added to the
snack, but whatever it was made it taste superb.
Gene loved it, and it was one of his many favorite
foods that the Owl made.

“Thanks, Rory. This is fantastic,” Gene said.
“You’re only saying that because it wasn’t like

the bread we had in prison,” Kayden teased.

“That is true.”
Soon, they had eaten all the snacks, and Gene

grew tired. Gene stood up and stretched. “I don’t
know about you guys, but I’m going to bed. I
don’t know if any of you have heard, but my boss
is a real slave-driver.”

There were some good-natured chuckles before

Gene took off for the bedroom. He was so tired
that he just stripped down to his underwear. He
was about to climb into bed when he noticed that
Leon was standing in the doorway, and he had the
strangest look on his face.

Worried that he’d made Leon angry, Gene said,

“I was just kidding about the slave-driver thing. It
wasn’t too bad working with you today. There
were times when I actually had fun.”

Leon continued with the silent act, and Gene

was beginning to worry he’d really pissed off the

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other Owl. Then Leon crossed the room, grabbed
Gene by the waist and pulled him in close so their
bodies were flush together. Before Gene could
even ask what was going on, Leon brought their
lips together into a bruising, hot kiss.

Gene didn’t even try to fight it. Not when he’d

wanted it for so long himself. Instead, he put his
hands on Leon’s shoulders and kissed him back.
Leon slipped his tongue into Gene’s mouth and
began to stroke and taste.

Gene told himself that this had to be a dream. It

couldn’t be real. There was no way that somebody
like Leon could possibly want him. Yet here they
were kissing. No, not just kissing, but making out.

It was so intense that Gene was hardly aware

Leon had reached down and put his hand inside
of Gene’s underwear. It wasn’t until he felt Leon’s
strong fingers around his cock that Gene knew
things were about to get really good.

Gene let out a gasp that was swallowed by

Leon’s mouth as Leon began to move his hand up
and down. Damn, did that feel good. Not only
because it had been so long since Gene had been
with somebody, but that somebody was Leon, the
one Owl who had managed to grab Gene’s
attention like no other. The one Gene knew he
would never forget, no matter how long he lived.
The one that Gene would give up everything for.

The kissing became more frantic as Leon began

to move his hand faster and faster. Oh damn it all,

Taming an Owl

Gene wished this could go on all night, but he
knew they had to rush things. Peter, their
roommate, could come walking in at any moment,
and there would be no explaining away the
current position Gene and Leon were in.

Gene’s orgasm came as a surprise. It hit him

hard and fast. Leon barely had time to muffle
Gene’s screams of pleasure as Gene’s cock let out
stream after stream of hot cum, all of it covering
Leon’s hand.

Once Gene had recovered his breath, Leon

brought his hand up. The cum was still lingering
on it. Leon took a lick of it, and after a moment of
hesitation, so did Gene. They were just finishing
cleaning up the mess when Peter walked in the
room.

Gene and Leon froze where they were. There

was no way they could deny or hide what they’d
been doing. Leon still had one arm wrapped
around Gene’s waist, for crap’s sake.

Peter’s eyes grew a bit wide, but then he gave a

shrug. “I wish I could say that I didn’t see this one
coming, but I knew it was going to happen pretty
much from day one.”

“You did? How?” Gene asked.
“It’s my job to observe things, and I’m damn

good at it.” Peter then crawled into bed, clothes
and all. He even left his boots on.

Gene felt a warm heat come over his face. Leon

gave him another tender kiss. “Don’t be ashamed

Stephani Hecht

of what we did. There was nothing wrong with it.
I’m going to wash up.”

Gene crawled into bed and listened as Leon

moved around in the bathroom. When Leon came
out, he didn’t go to his own mattress. Instead, he
climbed into Gene’s. Gene smiled as Leon
spooned him. No words were exchanged as they
got themselves situated. Wow, Gene could really
get used to this if he wasn’t careful.

Taming an Owl

Chapter Five

ive weeks later, Leon was walking around the
perimeter of the yard, checking to see if

anything was out of place. He’d already sent Gene
off to some nonsense task, because Leon really
needed some alone time.

He wasn’t mad at Gene or anything. It was just

that Leon was frustrated. He was frustrated
because they hadn’t seen any action in a long time,
and also from lack of sex. The first, Leon knew he
should be happy about. Each time they were
attacked, there was a higher chance that one of
them could be captured, or worse, killed. The
second was by far the worst. After that first night
when Leon had slept in bed with Gene, it had
become a nightly habit.

Leon would have to lie there with Gene’s pert

ass pressed against Leon’s hard cock for the entire
night, and there was nothing they could do about
it. Not only did they have Peter in the room, but
right across the hall were Rory, Kyle, and Carter.
The doors were paper thin. So there was no way

Stephani Hecht

they wouldn’t know what Leon and Gene were up
to if they decided to get down and dirty.

Leon let out a sigh. He was pretty certain Gene

was his mate, but he wouldn’t know for sure until
they had sex and they both felt the bond take
place. However, they needed privacy for that, and
it didn’t look like it would be coming any time
soon.

Ah, what Leon would give to be able to run off

to the local hotel, but that was out of the question.
If the Parliament was attacked while they were
away, Austin would need every Owl he had to
fight. There was no time for sex vacations in their
life.

Something odd caught Leon’s attention and

snapped him out of his lustful thoughts. It was a
piece of worn green fabric that was clinging to a
nearby tree branch. Normally, Leon would have
just assumed that the wind had blown it there, but
the weather had been calm for the past few days.

Perplexed, Leon walked over and grabbed it.

He brought it up and sniffed it, instantly
recognizing the scent. Now, why in the hell would
Praying Mantises be hanging around their digs?
Usually, those freaky-deaky shifters stuck to
themselves and stayed well-hidden. The only time
they ever came out was when they were hunting
down somebody.

Leon balled his free hand into a fist. If they

were on the hunt, then it had to be somebody in

Taming an Owl

the Parliament. The scent on the fabric was fresh
and strong, so it had been left recently. The only
question was, who could it be?

Gene! Only he could be the one. Leon had never

seen any Mantis activity before, and Gene claimed
to have no memory of his childhood. Could it be
that his family Parliament was wiped out by
Mantises, and that it was so horrifying that Gene
had blocked it all out?

Click! Click! Clack! Clackity! Hiss!
Leon jerked his head up. What in the hell was

that? During his life as a shifter and during his
stint as a Navy SEAL, he’d heard all kinds of crazy
things. None of them compared to that sound. It
sounded like a rattle snake mixed in with tree
branches hitting the window during a wind storm.

Click! Click! Clack! Clackity! Hiss!
Okay, now Leon was starting to get really

pissed. Somebody or something was fucking with
him, and that didn’t fly with him. The last shifter
who’d tried that had walked away with two black
eyes and a bloody nose. The only one who got
away with playing tricks on him was Gene, and
that was only because Leon was head over heels
for the punk.

Leon pulled his gun out and pointed it in no

particular area, since the sound seemed to be
coming from all sides of him. Usually, in
situations like this, he got an adrenaline rush.
Right then, all he felt was bone-chilling fear. It

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wasn’t for himself, though. It was for Gene. Leon
had sent him to check the motion detectors, and he
was out there alone and helpless. If one of those
things tried to get ahold of Gene, the Owl didn’t
stand a chance of fighting back. It was no big
secret that Mantises were vicious. That was why
they were so feared in the shifter community.

Leon desperately wanted to call out to Gene to

warn him of the threat or to tell him to get his ass
inside. In the end, Leon kept his mouth shut. He
knew that yelling out Gene’s name could very
well be signing his death warrant. Leon even
considered shifting so he could fly above the yard
and find Gene that way. Something told him that
if he were to do that, he would be attacked on the
spot.

There was more than one Mantis close. Leon’s

survival skills told him he was surrounded, and
the odds were at least twenty-to-one but not in his
favor. A cold sweat broke out over his body as he
thought of how he was going to get out of this
situation without getting killed.

Finally, one of the Mantises showed itself. Leon

couldn’t tell if it was male or female. It wore long,
tattered robes that looked like they belonged more
on a homeless person than on the horrifying
creature. It was in its bug form, its long pinchers
bent at the elbow, but still lethal looking.

“Just give him to us, and we’ll go away,” the

creature said in a garbled voice that was nearly

Taming an Owl

indecipherable.

“Give you who?” Leon asked as he pointed his

gun directly at the leader’s chest.

“Gene.”
“What do you want with him? Has he done

anything to insult your kind?”

“Him? Not personally, it’s more what his

family did to us.”

“Gene doesn’t even remember his birth family,

so why don’t you just go away and forget all
about him. Maybe then, I’ll let you live,” Leon
warned.

Three Owls swooped down from the air and

landed next to him. Leon was somewhat reassured
when he saw that they were Carter, Rory, and
Peter. Carter and Rory had expressions of disgust
on their faces, while Peter just gave the Mantis a
once-over.

“Damn, you look like you’ve been beaten with

the ugly stick not once, but twice, Peter said.
“Seriously, dude, haven’t you ever heard of
showering, the Gap, or The Hair Club for Men?
Trust me, all three would do wonders for you.”

The Mantis let out that Click! Click! Clack!

Clackity! Hiss! noise again. It didn’t appear to
affect Peter in any way. He just stared at the
Mantis.

“Are you done yet? Because, quite frankly,

you’re really beginning to bore me. When I get
bored, bad things start to happen, because I have

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to find things to occupy myself. That usually
involves

playing

with

sharp

things

and…surprise…I don’t faint at the sight of blood.”

There was a scream off in the distance. Leon

would have recognized it anywhere. It was Gene,
and he was in trouble. Leon wanted nothing more
than to run to him, but he was involved in his
standoff.

“Go to him. We’ll take care of this pack of

ugliness for you,” Carter said.

Leon didn’t need to be told twice. He turned

and ran in the direction of Gene’s cries. Some of
the Mantises were standing in his way, but
somehow Leon found the strength to push them
aside and break through.

Even though their yard was the size of a

postage stamp, it seemed to take forever for Leon
to get there. In the meantime, he continued to hear
Gene screaming. If there was only some way that
he could reach out to his Owl, to tell Gene that he
was on his way and there was still hope. But that
wasn’t possible.

Leon wanted to knee himself in his own balls

for sending Gene away. If he hadn’t, they would
have been together when the Mantises arrived.
Now they were separated, and who knew what
was happening to Gene.

Finally, Leon crested a small hill and got a

visual on Gene. He was on his back, a Mantis
pinning him down. While Gene was doing his best

Taming an Owl

to fight back, he still had numerous cuts and
scratches on his arms, face, and hands.

Leon let out a roar. Charging forward, he

tackled the Mantis. They rolled off Gene, and soon
Leon was in one of the biggest fights of his life.
While the Mantis didn’t have much of a reach, its
pinchers were razor sharp and hurt like hell every
time they made contact.

Out of the corner of his eye, Leon could see that

Austin was engaged in his own battle with a
Mantis. Leon wondered just how many fuckers
there were. They seemed to be popping up
everywhere. The worst part was that they were
there for Gene, and Leon had no frigging clue
why.

Leon finally had enough of playing with the

Mantis on top of him. He whipped out his gun,
pressed it against the side of the fugly thing’s head
and fired. It wasn’t the nicest way to kill
something—okay, it was gross as hell—but it got
the job done.

The Mantis fell to the ground. Most of the

creature’s head was gone, and sad to say, that was
actually an improvement on its looks. Although,
with all the mess the fuckers were leaving behind,
there was no way that they would be getting their
deposit back on this rental.

Leon sprang to his feet and ran to Gene.

Touching Gene all over, looking for even more
injuries, Leon asked, “Are you okay?”

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“I’m fine. How are you?”
There was a loud pop as Austin finished off his

own Mantis. Going by the cursing noise coming
from the leader, the outcome of his death blow
had been just as messy as Leon’s.

“I just have a few scratches and bumps like you.

They told us that they are here for you. Do you
have any idea why?”

A look of shock passed over Gene’s face. “I

don’t know. I’ve never seen a Mantis before, let
alone done something to piss them off. So I have
no clue why they would be after me, of all people.
I’m just some scrub Owl.”

Leon was becoming more convinced that this

had something to do with Gene’s childhood. But
to know for sure, they would have to catch one of
the Mantises alive and ask him. If the bastard
didn’t want to answer, well, they’d just have to
convince him to be a little more cooperative. Leon
would do just about anything as far as Gene’s
safety went.

Luckily, as always, Peter was one step ahead of

Leon. The group came over to them. Like Leon
and Gene, they were covered with scratches, but
otherwise looked okay. The good thing was that
Peter was dragging a survivor behind him. He had
the Mantis so tightly tied up that not even an
Elephant shifter could have broken free.

Peter tossed the Mantis at Leon’s feet. “I

thought that you would want to question him and

Taming an Owl

ask why he decided to attack us. Since you’re the
head of security and all.”

“It goes way further than that. He’s already told

me that he’s here for Gene,” Leon said.

Peter let out a low whistle. “Looks like Mr.

Ugly has a death wish. I wouldn’t want to be in
his shoes. That’s for sure. Just remember, a little
torture goes a long way. If you need my help, I’ll
gladly give it.”

“Thanks, that may be an offer I take you up

on,” Leon said. “But we’ll leave the questioning to
Austin, since he’s our leader.”

Now that the battle was over, Leon had a cooler

head and realized that per Parliament hierarchy,
Austin should talk to all prisoners—even if Leon
wanted to pick the Mantis up and slam him
against the wall until he started to spill.

They dragged the prisoner into the house and

down into the basement, where they secured him
into a chair. The entire time, it kept making that
Click! Click! Clack! Clackity! Hiss! sound. Damn, if
Leon never heard that noise again, it would be too
soon. Especially since every time the creature let it
loose, Gene would go all pale and start to shiver.

There was no doubt in Leon’s mind that the

Mantis shifters played a huge part in Gene’s past.
They just had to figure out what it was. That way
Leon would know how to protect his mate and
make sure the bastards never got their filthy
hands on him.

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Austin walked in and motioned to Peter.

“Come down with me. I have a feeling I’m going
to need your help with this one.”

“What are you going to do?” Kayden asked in a

slightly high-pitched voice.

Austin gave his mate a determined look.

“Whatever it takes to make that thing tell us why
it was here. I know it may not be pretty, but the
safety of the Parliament depends on it.”

Kayden brought his hand to his mouth, but he

nodded. A heavy silence fell over the group as
Peter and Austin went down the stairs. Leon
wrapped his arms around Gene and held him.
Gene was trembling, so Leon ran his hand up and
down Gene’s back to comfort him, but it didn’t do
any good.

The time seemed to drag by. The silence was

punctuated by an occasional scream from the
prisoner. Every time, Gene would flinch, but
nobody said anything about it. It was part of the
war, and they knew it. It was just the filthy,
disgusting part that nobody liked to talk about.

After what seemed like hours, Peter and Austin

came up the stairs. Peter had droplets of blood on
him, showing just how far they’d had to go to get
the Mantis to be cooperative with them. Austin
appeared stoic, but Leon wasn’t fooled a minute.
He knew that whatever the two had just done
bothered the hell out of him.

“Did you get any answers?” Leon asked.

Taming an Owl

Austin gave a tired looking nod. “We got

plenty. Does the name Lychman mean anything to
you, Gene?”

Gene shook his head. “I’ve never heard of it in

my life.”

“Well, apparently they were some royal Owl

family that pissed off the Praying Mantis shifter
community. How, I don’t know. But the Mantises
eradicated the whole family, or so they thought.
Later on, they found that there was one survivor, a
fifteen-year old boy named Gene. They’ve been
hunting him down ever since.”

“You can’t be trying to tell me that I’m part of

some royal family. Do I look like a fucking prince
to you?” Gene sputtered.

“No, but you are,” Peter said. “And there are

more of them coming. They aren’t going to stop
until you’re dead.”

Leon took in a deep breath. Oh, hell no. There

was no way they were going to get their hands on
Gene. They would have to get through him first,
and that wasn’t about to happen. Those fuckers
might as well call off their mission right now.
There was no way they would ever succeed.

Gene looked down at the ground for several

minutes before he lifted his head. “I’ll just have to
leave you guys. There’s no other choice. You’re
already on the run from Stern’s men. You don’t
need this added worry.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Peter snarled.

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“Yeah, you’re not going anywhere,” Kayden

added.

“They’re both right. You’re part of this

Parliament, and we take care of each other,”
Austin added. “If you think we’re going to let a
few bugs scare us, then you’re sadly mistaken. We
stick together and watch each other’s back, no
matter what.”

“But I don’t want to make things harder on

you.” Gene argued.

“You’re staying, and that’s final. In fact,

consider it an order from your leader,” Austin said
in a stern voice.

“I don’t understand why you would do this for

me,” Gene said.

“Because you’re one of us, and we don’t turn

away one of our own,” Leon said as he gave Gene
a hug.

Never before had Leon been prouder of his

Parliament.

Taming an Owl

Chapter Six

or the first time in his life, Gene was at a loss
for words. To be fair to him, he’d just had a

lot thrown at him. It wasn’t every day that
somebody found out that he came from a royal
family…which was all dead… that he was a prince
being hunted by some frigging ugly monsters, yet
his Parliament was still determined to keep him.
To say that it was a head spinner would be an
understatement.

“We need to leave for the next safe house. This

one has been compromised,” Austin said.
“Everybody start packing up.”

“I’m sorry, guys,” Gene said in a dull voice.
Carter patted him on the cheek. “Don’t worry

about it. This is old hat for us. It’s no big deal.”

Leon let go of Gene and then grabbed his hand.

“Come on, babe. We need to pack up.”

Since it had become a normal thing for Gene,

too, in the brief time that he’d come to live with
the Parliament, he quickly packed up his things.
Once they were all finished, they met up in the

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kitchen. Gene reached out and grabbed Kayden’s
bag. Since he was an Elf Owl, there was no way he
could carry his own pack once shifted. Plus, since
he and his brother flew so slowly, they were
carried by other Owls.

“What about the Mantis that is still in the

basement?” Gene asked.

Peter gave him a feral smile. “Don’t worry

about it. There aren’t enough pieces of it left to
salvage.”

Gene let out a small shiver. Peter was one crazy

Owl. Gene was willing to bet Peter had enjoyed
every moment of the interrogation.

They all stripped down and stuffed their

clothes into their bags. Gene made a point not to
look at Leon. The last thing he needed was to
spring an erection in front of the rest of the guys.
Though he was pretty sure they were already
aware that he and Leon were a couple, that didn’t
mean Gene had to announce it with a boner.

Since it was dark outside, and they lived in a

particularly secluded area, it was easy for them to
slip out of the house and shift into their Owl form.
They flew through most of the night. It was tiring,
especially since Gene was carrying two packs, but
Leon was at his side, and that gave him the
strength to go on.

Just as the sun was beginning to rise, Austin

swooped down toward their new home. It didn’t
look much different than any of their others had. It

Taming an Owl

was a single-story ranch with an old roof that
should have been repaired years ago, a tired-
looking fence surrounded the yard, and siding so
faded it was hard to tell what the original color
had been. But Gene had never been so happy to
see a house in his life. To him, it was home, and
that was all that mattered.

They all landed by the back door and quickly

got dressed. Even though they looked worn out,
Gene knew none of them would be getting any
bed rest until they had the house secure and set
up. After all, in their lives, safety came first.

“I’ll start breakfast for everybody,” Rory said.
“Kyle and I will get the computers up and

running,” Kayden said.

“Gene and I will start on security,” Leon said.
Leon picked up a big box that had already been

set in the corner of the garage with the new
security equipment in it. Gene let out a sigh. It
looked like a lot of work, but he knew it had to be
done. So he dutifully followed Leon out to the
yard.

They worked in relative silence for several

hours. Gene knew what needed to be done, so he
didn’t need Leon’s guidance. Gene’s back was
aching, and the scratches on his arms were
stinging from his sweat dripping over them. It was
nearly excruciating, but he carried on, determined
to do a good job for the Parliament. After all they
had done for him, it was the least he could do for

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them.

Finally, the work was done. Gene stood up,

working out a kink in his back as he surveyed the
work. He couldn’t see anything that Leon could
complain about. Even so, he still tensed up with
anticipation when Leon came up behind him.

“How does it look?” Gene asked.
“Perfect,” Leon replied before he began to rain

kisses down the side of Gene’s neck.

“You probably don’t want to do that. I’ve been

working all day, and I’m pretty stinky.” Oh, but it
felt so good. Gene tilted his head to the side and
let out a soft moan. God, if they didn’t find some
privacy so they could fuck soon, Gene was going
to bust. He wanted Leon so bad.

“Look behind you,” Leon suggested.
Gene did and saw a small creek just a few yards

behind the fence. It looked so cool and inviting
that the water was practically begged them to
jump in.

“Do you want to go for a swim?” Leon

suggested.

Gene was already taking off his top. They both

ran to the fence and hopped over it before they
finished stripping. Only this time, Gene let himself
take in his fill of Leon. Damn, but Gene had to be
the luckiest Owl in the world. Leon was all
muscles, ridges and dips, and all of it was there for
Gene’s enjoyment. Gene licked his lips in
anticipation.

Taming an Owl

“Please, tell me we’re going to fuck,” Gene said.
“Sure, but not in the water. We’ll end up

drowning each other. But the grass here looks nice
and soft, and nobody from the house will be able
to see us.”

Gene was so happy to hear that he almost

jumped up and down in excitement. Instead, he
turned and ran into the water. It was cold as hell,
but it felt good to get the grime off his body. He
even dove under the water, not caring that it
would destroy the careful way he usually styled
his hair. After all, Leon had already seen him with
bed-head plenty of times.

As Gene surfaced, Leon wrapped his arms

around him and they started to kiss. Gene
wrapped his legs around Leon’s waist so their
cocks were pressed together. Although it was a bit
harder to create friction in the water, Gene did his
damnedest.

Leon suddenly pulled Gene back by the hair of

his head. “Oh, no. You don’t get to get off until
I’m inside you. This is just to clean up a bit, that’s
all.”

They made out a few more minutes, until Gene

couldn’t take it anymore. He had waited as long as
he could. He wanted Leon, and he wanted him
now.

“I think I’m clean now,” Gene proclaimed.
“Oh, really? Well, then we’ll just have to get out

and figure a way to get warm now, won’t we?”

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Gene nodded, and Leon grabbed him by the

hand and practically dragged him out of the
water. Once they reached the grass, Leon laid
Gene down on his back and began to kiss him
again.

Just when Gene was about to say he’d had it

with the kissing stuff, Leon sat up and grabbed his
jeans, then pulled out a small packet of lube. Gene
couldn’t help but smile. Leave it to Leon to be
prepared.

Leon ripped open the pack and squirted out the

lube on his fingers. Leon then took one of Gene’s
legs and hooked it over his shoulder. It left Gene
out there and exposed, but Gene didn’t feel a
moment’s shame. He was with Leon, and that was
all that mattered.

Gene let out a slight gasp when he felt a cold,

slicked finger thrust into his hole. It was
welcomed, though. Finally, he was getting what
he wanted for so long—Leon. The moment was
here. It wasn’t one of the many dreams Gene had.
It was real—Leon really wanted him.

Leon worked the finger in and out for several

moments before he added a second one. Gene
groaned, loving the feeling of being filled a bit
more. It still wasn’t enough for him. Nothing
would be good enough until he had Leon’s cock.

When Leon added a third finger, Gene felt a

thrill of excitement. That could only mean one
thing—soon they would be fucking. Then Leon

Taming an Owl

twisted his wrist and touched Gene’s sweet spot,
and he forgot about everything else.

“Oh, sweet Margret, that fucking feels good,”

Gene yelled.

“Do you want me to do it again?” Leon asked

with a wicked smile.

“If you don’t, I’ll kill you in your sleep.”
So Leon did it again…and again…and again.

He did it so many times that Gene was a mess and
fighting as hard as he could not to come. Yet he
didn’t once ask Leon to stop. He would have been
a fool to.

Leon pulled out his fingers, leaving Gene

feeling empty and wanting. That was, until he felt
the blunt tip of Leon’s cock pushing at his ass.
Leon only hesitated a moment before he thrust
inside.

Gene cried out. It was everything he wanted

and then some. Leon’s dick felt so good inside
him. He gazed up at Leon and lavished in the pure
bliss on his lover’s face. Gene couldn’t help but
feel a heady thrill in knowing that he was the one
who had put it on there.

Then Leon began to move. It was a steady

rhythm, both fast and hard yet not punishing.
Gene reveled in each motion, touch and sensation.
It was everything he’d hoped it would be and so
much more. It was as if he was finding a piece of
himself that had been missing all his life, and he
was now complete.

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Gene could feel his orgasm coming. He fisted

his hands into the grass, dirt getting embedded
into his nails. He lasted exactly two more thrusts
before he cried out and shot off, covering both his
and Leon’s stomachs with cum.

A few pumps later, Leon came, too. Gene could

feel the hot wash of semen filling his ass. At the
same time, it felt as if he were splintering into a
million pieces and his soul, his mind, his body
were melding with Leon’s. That they were
becoming bonded in a way that could never be
broken.

Mate!
There could be no other way to explain it. Gene

had never felt this way when he’d been with
somebody before. Leon was his mate. While Gene
had strongly suspected as much, now he had the
proof, and there was no going back. He and Leon
were forever going to be a pair.

“I knew it,” Leon whispered in Gene’s ear. Leon

pulled out, let Gene’s leg slide down, then rolled
to the side.

Gene rolled over to his side so he could look at

Leon. “You thought that we might be mates, yet
you still made love to me knowing that you’d be
stuck with me for the rest of your life?”

“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I love you,” Leon said.
Gene gasped as a lump grew in his throat. As

Taming an Owl

far as he could remember, nobody had ever said
that to him before. All they had done was curse
him out, shout words of hate and kick him
around. Never before had Gene ever dreamed that
somebody would actually care about him.

“I love you, too,” Gene said.
“Well, that’s a good thing, because we’re stuck

together for life,” Leon said.

Gene smiled. He couldn’t think of a better

thing. Even though they had Stern and now a
bunch of Mantises tracking them down, Gene
didn’t give a damn. Because none of it mattered,
so long as he had Leon by his side.

About the Author

Stephani Hecht is a happily married mother of
two. Born and raised in Michigan, she loves all
things about the state, from the frigid winters to
the Detroit Red Wings hockey team. Go Wings!
You can usually find her snuggled up to her
laptop, creating her next book.

Contact her at:

Email Address: stephani@stephanihecht.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/StephaniHecht
FaceBook: www.facebook.com/stephani.hecht

Document Outline

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
About the Author

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