Page 102 of When Shadows Dream: Shadow Hounds

“Don’t call me that. I can’t be yours right now. I can’t belong to anyone right now. Maybe not ever,” he snapped.

“What? Why? Because she slept with the Angel of Vengeance before we all got together? You’re joking, right?” Athon asked, incredulously.

“So what if that is the reason? Huh?” he snarked back.

“Would you expect her to abandon you when she finds out about Mara? Or anyone else we fucked in the past? And she will find out one day, we can’t hide it from her forever if we want this to work.” Athon tried to reason with him.

“It’s not just that, Ath. She’s our boss’s, our oldest friend’s, daughter, and here we are are fucking her. How fucked up is that? I can’t do that to him. You saw his face once he realized what we’d done. He was pissed, and he has every right to be. I don’t need that shit in my life. Maybe I don’t want this to work, after all. Maybe I don’t want to deal with Balthazar, or her freaky eating of souls and siphoning off of feelings, or dealing with Nithe’s protective ass, and whatever else we don’t know yet,” he paused to take a breath and brace himself as he gestured between them, “Maybe I don’t want this either, not anymore.”

Athon’s face fell briefly, before steel filled his gaze and anger tensed his muscles. “You know what? Fuck you, Azaroth. It’s more than fucking, for all of us, and you should know that. You don’t love me anymore? Prove it!” he growled, as he shoved Roth as hard as he could.

Good. His anger is what he wanted, what he needed, as he shoved him back and pressed Athon to the back of the door as he slammed his mouth to his. He wasn’t gentle, nor simply dominant, rather he was brutal, callous, and cold. His teeth bit and he felt the tinny tang of Athon’s blood on his tongue.

Anger rode him, desperation drove him, and Athon took it all. Clothing flew as they stripped each other bare and punished each other with their bodies. Darkness filled the room as someone or something hit the light switch, and Roth welcomed its reflection of their angry lust.

Somehow Athon ended up on the floor on his hands and knees, his bare ass pressed against Roth’s hard cock. Athon’s low whimper caused him to pause.

“You love me. I know you do,” Athon whispered on a breath. Desperation filled him and Roth’s anger at everything raced back as he spit on his palm, coated his cock with it, and thrust into his soon to be ex-lover’s ass, over and over again.

Athon’s grunt of pain soon turned to gasps and moans as Roth pressed one hand between his shoulders and forced his head to the carpet. His other one reached around to grasp Athon’s cock and stroke it until they both were spent.

He pulled out and felt his way to the bathroom, grabbed two towels and cleaned himself up with one, before he grabbed some clothes and got dressed quickly. As he grabbed his bags and walked past Athon, he tossed the towel at him. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness, but he couldn’t bring himself to look at him.

“See,” Athon whispered, “I knew you loved me. Stay.”

The last word hit Roth in the chest like a poisoned arrow. No matter what his heart wanted, his mouth knew what to do.

“I did. But now? There’s a realm of distance between love and lust, Leviathon. Sorry,” he uttered, and as the door slammed behind him he was on his way to inform Deus of his plans, even as his shadows screamed at him to stay.

No, not again. This can’t be happening. Jezzie’s nothing like that bitch Mara. Why would Roth do this? Sure it was a lot and finding out Luc’s her dad was huge, but Roth couldn’t do this. He can’t leave him like this, not again.

He could still feel the roughness of Roth’s hands on his skin, the nip of his teeth and the pleasant, burning ache in his used and cum-filled ass.

Roth’s barely audible apology as he’d left him laying on the floor in the dark bounced off the walls of his skull and reverberated through his entire being.

He didn’t know how long he stayed there, naked, alone, his used and sated body rapidly cooling as tears slipped from his eyes as he curled up on his side on the floor. Only when he saw light shimmer through his eyelids and felt the telltale warmth of Jezzie and Nithe’s bodies pressed against him did he drift off into a fitful slumber.

Chapter 44

Jezzie shifted restlessly in her slumber. Something niggled at her subconscious mind. The niggle became a nudge, which turned into a hammer that tore through her and wrenched her awake. Sweat coated her skin, sticking the cool sheets to her overheated body and the wet sheen of salty tears stung her cheeks.

Nithe moved beside her, as if he sensed her distress, reaching over she smoothed a hand over his creased brow until he settled and his soft snores returned.

Still, something pressed in on her mind, seeking entry. All of a sudden she remembered how she’d blocked the link to her mates. She’d needed the solitude of her own thoughts and feelings. Time to process the massive emotions of the day, she also hadn’t wanted to deal with whatever bug had crawled up Roth’s ass and turned him into Mr Mega-Prick. But the feelings barreling into her had her regretting that decision in a heartbeat. Panic, fear, hurt, shame, desperation, and pain swirled together in a tornado of despair. It knocked the wind from Jezzie’s lungs and left her wheezing as her chest constricted and torment flooded her system.

Athon! Her mind screamed out to him, the link returned nothing but a torrent of tortured whimpers.

Jezzie tried to reach Roth, but the link met a dead end. Nothing but a wall she couldn’t push through.

She slid from the bed, hastily shoving the twisted covers from her legs as she reached for her robe.

“Jezzie?” Nithe queried sleepily.

“Athon needs us. Something’s very wrong. Roth’s not responding. So much pain . . .” Her tears felt like acid burning down her cheeks.

Nithe moved into action and in what seemed like an instant he was out of bed and shoving his long legs into a pair of loose pants. Jezzie barely noticed as she raced out the door leaving Nithe to follow.

Did she know where she was going? No. Did she care? No. The link was like a ribbon she could follow, tugging her in the direction she needed to go. So Jezzie let it lead her to a large black door, she paused and gently turned the knob, took one deep breath, and then another. Until she saw her beloved laying naked and broken on the floor.

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