Chapter Nine
Caleb woke in a cloud of comfort. He was warm, like laying on a picnic blanket in the sun on a carefree day sort of warm. He snuggled back against the source of the heat and found solid muscle. He thought about that for a moment, how strange it was to be so utterly surrounded by strength.
His inner wolf didn't mind. In fact, his wolf had never been happier. That was odd. What would make his wolf so happy?
Caleb didn't want to think about that. He wanted to nestle back and enjoy how great this all felt. He was naked and his breath was even. His face relaxed into an easy smile. His arms were crossed in front of his body, clutching the source of warmth and there was a delicious burning low in his belly, a yearning that he had only ever felt glimpses of before now. Nothing in his past could be compared to how he felt now.
He pushed back again and this time he became aware of a hard object sliding between his cheeks. It was warm as well and encased in softness, but the firmness and girth could not be mistaken. Caleb moaned the moment he fully realized what it was, and the hard member slid further, lodging against his back entrance.
Caleb let one of his hands loose and stroked his own hard cock. It felt like an iron pipe between his legs. Harder and more sensitive than it had ever been. His own hand sliding down his length felt amazing. He could not help the lusty moan that escaped his lips. There was a growl from behind him and the wall of muscle at his back began thrusting slowly.
Caleb bit his lip. The pleasure haze he'd woken up in began to dissipate. As amazing as this all felt, he didn't think his first time should be while he was half asleep, covered in cuts with a person he barely knew. Even if it was just a dream. He tried to turn over but his broken leg made it difficult. So did the arms--circled around him lovingly before-- around his chest. Caleb bucked, trying to break free, but that only pushed Asher's erection closer to his hole. Caleb could feel the intruder, nudging into him, trying to spread him open for the first time.
"Stop," Caleb whispered but Asher let out a feral growl and moved quickly, rolling Caleb over so that he was on his stomach. He pinned him down, a strong arm clung around Caleb's chest, keeping him close and captured. Asher's cock tried to gain entry again and this time, there was nothing Caleb could do about it. "Please, stop," Caleb whimpered.
"What the fuck?" Asher sounded tired, confused and groggy. He immediately moved away from Caleb's body, throwing a blanket over him before scrambling to the other side of the room.
When Caleb was sure he wasn't going to cry, he lifted his face from the straw and found the other man in the cabin. Asher stood a few feet away. His eyes were tired and out of focus. His hands clenched repeatedly into fists like he was trying to stop himself from moving forward and finishing what he started. "I thought I was dreaming," he said guiltily. "I am so sorry, Caleb."
Caleb was horrified when the first sob broke out of his body. So much for being sure. Asher jerked forward like he wanted to comfort him but then stopped at the last moment. "Please, I would never...I swear. You are my mate, not my slave. You are mine to adore, Caleb. I would never push myself on you."
Caleb tried to swallow his cries. He felt stupid and figured most of the reason why he was crying could be blamed on nerves, stress and chemicals. "I-I-I know," he said through the sobs. "I thought it was a dream at first too."
Even now, his body ached for the other man's touch. He remembered the night before, though he would swear at gunpoint that he didn't. His entire body had been engulfed in flames and pain and he'd instinctively known that Asher's touch would extinguish the hurt. He'd begged for the other man to touch him and he had, which was probably how they'd wound up sleeping naked together.
He took several more calming breaths and was pleased to notice his sobs were waning to the point where he could breathe normally. Wiping his face dry, he pulled back and took stock of his body.
As far as his injuries were concerned, he felt great. The deep cut high up his thigh panged every time he stretched a certain way, but other than that, he felt amazing. His leg would hurt if he put weight on it, but even that hurt less than the day before.
He could probably make his way back down the mountain in another day or so with the help of a crutch. That was, if the great beast of a man allowed him.
"I really need to get word to my pack that I am alive. The kids are probably so scared and everyone is probably freaking out."
Asher's face set into a scowl that was quickly becoming familiar to Caleb. "It's too dangerous," he said and then got up. Grabbing a pair of pants, he slid them on.
"It isn't. Not with you there."
"I am not leaving this mountain."
"Why? What happened to you?" Caleb could think of around a thousand reasons why he would want to pack up and leave civilization for a while, but he couldn't think of anything bad enough that would make him stay isolated for so long.
"I'm not going to talk about it," Asher said with a finality that made Caleb clench his teeth.
"And your word is law," he replied sarcastically. "You don't want to talk about it, so we won't. You don't want me to go down the mountain, so I won't? Is that the way it is going to be Asher?"
Asher stared back at him, shirtless, his arms folded over his chest. His black eyes narrowed at him.
"Why don't we just call me what I am then? A prisoner!" He tried to stomp away in a huff but could only manage a clunky limp. He hobbled out of the cabin with the help of a stick, nearly stepping on one of the wolves that was laying down in the doorway. The wolf picked up her gray head and growled at him.
"Good morning to you too," Caleb replied. Now that he was outside, he didn't know what to do. It wasn't like he was going to try to hike down the mountain now, one fall and any of his wounds could get worse. His leg would prevent him from going for long.
He walked over to the workshop area and looked around. There was a tarp pulled tight over part of the worktable and bench. Underneath the bench was a small collection of tools in a bucket.
He knew when Asher had come out to join him because his body could feel the other shifter's presence. That alone annoyed him. It was as if the same systems in his body that allowed him to sense changes in temperature or wind, also felt Asher move. So much so that when he was beside him, Caleb didn't bother looking. He could feel the man's heat and really, all the way out here, who else would it be?
"When did you make all this?" he asked with begrudging respect.
Caleb felt Asher's shrug. "I don't know. Here and there. I've had a lot of time up here to build and I get interested in different things at different times. Sometimes I spend a lot of time in the garden, working on irrigation or enriching the soil. Other times, I make things. I've had a lot of time to practice. The last few years, I've worked with it all less and less, doing just enough to maintain. I spend a lot of time in my wolf form now."
Caleb picked up a handsaw, the teeth gleamed back at him. "Where do you get your tools?" Some of the items looked homemade, like the hammer, but there was no way he made that saw from things he found in the forest.
"I brought some things up with me when I left. Other things I have found while exploring the forest. To the east, there used to be a big lumber area back in the day and I have found tools and saw blades left lodged into trees."
He stopped talking so suddenly, Caleb knew he was hiding something. "And the rest?" he prompted.
"I used to go down to a small town on the north side of the forest. I bartered with my furs or whatever else I had for supplies I couldn't make. Haven't done that in a few years either."
"So, you can leave this mountain," Caleb said. "You just don't want to."
Asher let out a low growl. "Careful, boy."
Caleb should have told him to stop calling him that, but in the short amount of time that he had been, Caleb had grown to like it too much.
"They'll be worried." He hated the whiny tone to his words.
Asher's scowl cleared, he reached his callused palm up and brushed it against Caleb's cheek. He didn't let his hand linger, if he had, Caleb wouldn't have been able to keep from leaning into the touch. "It isn't for no reason. As much as you want to insist I am keeping you as a prisoner. When I found you facing off against those coyotes, I was in a rage. They were hurting you. Hurting my boy. They were going to kill you."
He didn't need to finish, Caleb knew what he was trying to say. He wondered why he hadn't thought about that until now. "Do you think their pack members will come up here?"
"I don't think they will be able to. We are well hidden. But you wouldn't be if you went down the mountain now. The trails are probably swarming with coyotes searching for clues. If they came across a wolf shifter, even if they couldn't smell their pack mates on you, they would suspect it. I will not risk it. I will not risk your safety just so your pack can sleep soundly at night."
When he put it that way, it made sense. Caleb huffed and tried to turn away. Asher caught his arm.
"Are you going to avoid looking at me all day, boy? I said I am sorry. I would never knowingly hurt you."
"I'm not avoiding looking at you," Caleb said, but now that he thought about it, maybe he was, unconsciously.
"Look at me then."
Caleb thought about refusing out of spite and felt a thrill about what the result of such an act of disobedience would be. He brought his eyes up slowly, drawing his gaze up Asher's body before finding his black eyes. "There, happy?" He meant to sound bratty but it ended up too throaty and breathy.
"Not yet," Asher murmured, settling a hand on the back of Caleb's neck.