Chapter 19
Zev wasn’t sure how long he sat on his bed and stared in shock at the sleeping form of his best friend. Jonah was a shifter.
It was completely unexpected, but Zev had seen it with his own eyes. They’d been making love, moving together, completely in sync, when something in Jonah had called to Zev’s wolf. He didn’t recognize it for what it was at the time; his brain wasn’t leading the charge in that lust-filled moment. Operating on pure instinct, wanting to give Jonah what he needed, Zev’s human body morphed into his wolf form and Jonah’s followed suit.
They were tied together then, Zev’s cock long and thick, the mating knot at the end keeping him connected with a white wolf. Zev bit past the fur into the part of Jonah’s body where his neck met his shoulder, letting his sharp canines puncture the skin, completing the mating ritual. When he heard his mate howl, Zev’s wolf joined the song, and they found their pleasure together.
And then, as Jonah’s exhausted body softened beneath him, the muscles relaxed, Zev followed his sleeping mate downward until they were resting on the mattress, their bodies still connected. As the haze of lust and desire dissipated, Zev realized that the body in his bed was not one he’d previously seen. It was Jonah, there was no doubt about that, but instead of golden skin, there was white fur covering the sinewy frame of the most beautiful wolf Zev had ever encountered.
As the realization made its way into Zev’s conscious mind, his body shifted back to human, hoping that the more logical of his two forms could make sense of the situation. But the shift in Zev’s body seemed to trigger the same reaction in his mate, so he found himself lying with a very human Jonah and almost wondering whether he’d imagined the whole thing.
When the mating knot released Zev’s connection to the beloved man beside him, Zev kissed the scar he’d left on that perfect skin with the mating bite. He’d had an entire speech planned for Jonah; he’d planned to tell the other man that he was a shifter, explain what that meant. But seeing Jonah shift with him, hearing that Jonah’s mother passed away as a result of a wolf attack, well, the speech Zev had practiced just wouldn’t do.
Jonah’s analytical mind would expect an explanation, and that was something Zev couldn’t deliver. People didn’t just turn into shifters later in life. His kind was a different species from the humans. Shifters were born with both a wolf and a human sharing one body, inheriting that characteristic from their parents. But Zev had spent enough time with Jonah’s father to know that the man was human. He knew Kevin Marvel’s scent and there was nothing about it that was anything other than a human male.
Now Jonah’s mother…well, Zev didn’t know anything about her. He didn’t even know her last name. He thought Jonah might have mentioned it at some point, but Zev must not have considered it important at the time, because he was drawing a complete blank. Zev tried to think of everything he knew about Jonah’s mother. He remembered the description of the night terrors that had been haunting his mate—Jonah’s mother lying dead and bloody—and Jonah had said that in those dreams, the woman was sometimes a wolf. Could Jonah’s mother have been a shifter?
Zev couldn’t decide whether that explanation cleared everything up or just confused things further. On the one hand, having a shifter for a true mate was certainly more comprehensible than sharing a mating bond with a human. On the other hand, if Jonah’s mother had been a shifter, that would have to mean that she’d had sex with a human, gotten pregnant, and that the baby had somehow survived.
Interspecies breeding was a feat that Zev had thought to be physiologically impossible. Such a baby was classified as incompatible with life because the wolf within the fetus wouldn’t inherit genes from both parents and would therefore cease developing and cause an end to the pregnancy. There were urban legends of a few such creatures surviving in utero, but they’d never been able to actually live long enough to take a breath outside of the safety of their mothers’ wombs.
But Jonah was very much alive. He was a living, breathing conundrum, and Zev needed to unravel the mystery. He needed to find answers to give Jonah. As the Etzgadol pack Alpha, Zev held all the books containing their pack’s history, the information about other packs, the stories handed down from the elders. But the library was fairly thin because his kind carried on oral traditions of storytelling, rather than documenting information. And shifters were notoriously bad genealogists, so Zev would be hard-pressed to find much historical information about other packs in his books.
Still, Zev had to try. He owed it to his mate. So he slid out of bed and walked over to his home office, hoping to find a sliver of a clue that could explain the heritage of the man who was finally sharing his bed.
The first thing Jonah noticed as consciousness seeped into his mind was Zev’s scent radiating from the pillow. He didn’t feel the heat of his partner’s body pressed against his own, so he blindly reached out his hand and grunted when he encountered nothing but empty sheets. He buried his face in the pillow and inhaled, letting the scent take him back to the previous night.
It had been so good. Shockingly good. Better than he’d ever imagined. And, damn, had he done a lot of imagining. Jonah groaned and tucked his hand under his body to adjust his growing erection. The feel of his fingers on the sensitive skin elicited another groan, and he took a few short strokes before deciding to go find his wayward partner and do things the right way. He slipped out of the bed, then turned around and fumbled in the sheets until he found the bottle of lube.
After stopping in the bathroom to splash some water on his face and clean up a bit, Jonah stepped into the hallway. He opened his mouth to call for Zev when he sensed his friend’s presence in the room at the end of the hall. The feeling was at once strange and familiar. Like his body implicitly accepted the ability to home in on Zev’s location even while his scientifically trained mind questioned how such a thing could be possible. Before he had time to think on it any further, Jonah was turning the door handle and walking into the dimly lit room.
Zev sat at a desk with a single table lamp illuminating a mess of papers laid out before him. He looked over his shoulder and smiled, causing Jonah’s heart to thud heavily against his chest.
“Hey,” Jonah whispered. “The sun’s not even up. How long have you been awake?”
Zev shrugged. “Haven’t gone to sleep yet.”
Jonah walked over to Zev and straddled the nude specimen of perfect masculinity. He dipped his head and kissed Zev chastely. The skin-on-skin contact mixed with the taste of his man inspired a fog of lust to overtake Jonah’s mind, leaving him dazed and aroused.
“You work too hard, Pup.”
Zev’s entire body went rigid.
“We need to talk, Jonah.”
“Shhh.” Jonah trembled. “We can talk later. Right now I want you.” He pressed his feet flat on the floor and raised his body until the head of Zev’s cock prodded his cleft. After a few grinding moves against Zev’s erection, Jonah felt the other man relax.
“Mmm. We went at it pretty hard last night, Blondie. I know you must be sore,” Zev mumbled into Jonah’s chest, peppering it with kisses.
“Well, you know what they say helps with sore muscles?” Jonah said hoarsely as he flipped the lid on the lube and coated his fingers, then reached behind himself to rub it against his opening.
“What’s that?” Zev asked breathlessly.
“Lots and lots of stretching,” Jonah replied while coating Zev’s hard erection with the slick liquid.
He then moved the glorious cock to his pucker and pushed down against the thick head, whimpering slightly when he felt it breach his still-sensitive body.
“You sure?” Zev gasped, his hands clinging to Jonah’s hips, holding his mate in place.
“Trust me. I’m a doctor.” Jonah chuckled as he pressed himself down the hard column, reveling in the sensation of his man filling his body once again.
He closed his eyes as he lowered himself, allowing his focus to narrow on the wonderful feelings in his body. Maybe it was because he was finally back home with Zev for good. Maybe it was because he’d had a long and sound sleep. Maybe it was because he was finally getting laid. Whatever the reason, Jonah’s brain was clear and his body felt light and strong. He was no longer weary, anxious, and, if he were being truly honest with himself, petrified about the unknown ailment plaguing his body and mind.
When Jonah was settled completely against Zev’s groin, he opened his eyes and fell into an amber gaze full of love and devotion. Zev’s hands remained on his hips, but they were no longer holding him in place. Instead, the incredible strength in those muscular arms was helping Jonah’s ascent and descent along the hot cock inside his body.
Jonah dropped his forehead onto Zev’s as he clung to those broad shoulders, and he cried out in pleasure at their joining. The sound of his voice seemed to trigger something in Zev. The man growled and cupped Jonah’s ass, holding their groins close together; then he rose to his feet and laid Jonah down on top of the desk.
Zev caressed Jonah’s thighs and then held onto the area behind his knees and pushed Jonah’s legs up until they were braced on Zev’s arms. Then he pulled out and pushed back into Jonah’s willing body with a grunt.
Jonah lay on his back, knees bent and spread. Zev nestled between his legs, cradled Jonah’s neck in a strong grip, and leaned above him, gazing into his eyes as he pumped in and out of his channel. Jonah’s mouth dropped open and he stared up at the handsome man.
“’S good.”
“Yeah, it is,” Zev replied.
Zev gently rubbed his thumbs along Jonah’s temples. The previous night had been a blur of passion and pounding bodies. This joining was different. Zev trickled soft kisses on Jonah’s lips, caressed Jonah’s face along his hairline with strong hands, and rolled his hips slowly, allowing Jonah to feel the hardness inside him without putting undue stress on his opening. He was infinitely tender, and Jonah fell even deeper under his spell.
“You ready to let go, Blondie?”
“Of you? Never.”
Zev grinned. “Now, you know I’d never ask you to do that. No matter how cheesy you are.”
Zev cupped his jaw, pressed those full lips firmly against Jonah’s, then pushed his tongue into Jonah’s mouth. Both men moaned at the added sensation. It was all Jonah needed to find his pleasure. He clung to Zev’s broad torso and panted into Zev’s hot mouth as liquid heat shot out of his dick and spread between them.
He was still trembling from his release when Zev called out his name, thrust, and then stilled deep inside his body, joining him in bliss.
Neither man moved for a couple of minutes. They just held each other, breathed together, and enjoyed their closeness. Eventually, Zev slipped out of Jonah’s body, and they both chuckled at the strange sensation.
“C’mere,” Zev said as he sat back in his chair and took Jonah with him, settling the man across his legs.
“I’m not exactly lap-size, Hassick. Even if you are as big as a mountain.”
“You’re exactly the right size for me, Blondie.” Zev landed a soft kiss on Jonah’s temple. “We need to talk.”
Zev sounded serious and almost sad or worried. It made Jonah nervous, and he squirmed against the muscular body holding him.
“What do we need to talk about?”
Zev took a deep breath and looked straight into Jonah’s eyes.
“About me. About you. About your mom.”
Trying to lighten the mood, Jonah grinned and pinched Zev’s nipple.
“That’s a lot of stuff.”
Zev shook his head without cracking a smile.
“It’s just one thing, actually. A big thing, yeah, but…one thing.”
His friend was clearly anxious and jokes weren’t going to help, so Jonah braced himself and took a breath.
“’Kay. Lay it on me.”
There was only a short pause before Zev spoke.
“I’m not exactly human,” Zev said. Though his voice was low, his tone was steady and sure. Jonah didn’t know how to respond. Hell, he didn’t even know what that meant. Zev kept talking. “What I mean is, I’m not only human. I’m a man. And I’m a wolf.”
“A wolf?”
Zev nodded, his eyes never leaving Jonah’s.
“You’re a wolf?”
Another nod.
“What does that mean?”
“It means that sometimes my body looks like this. But other times I change into a wolf.”
“Are…are you telling me you’re like a werewolf or something? When the moon is full you get all hairy with fangs and uncontrollable violence?” Jonah tried not to sound like he was making fun of Zev because, really, even though it should have been a joke, he knew Zev was dead serious.
“No.” Zev shook his head. “I’m a man and I’m a wolf. I’m not some monster creature. Just a man and a wolf.”
Jonah knew his jaw was hanging open, but he couldn’t help himself. When had Zev lost his mind? Or was this all a fabrication of Jonah’s brain? He’d been on edge for so long, and then last night, when he was finally with Zev, it all seemed better. All the pain and discomfort had magically disappeared. What if none of it was real? What if Jonah was hallucinating?
“Jonah.” Zev squeezed his shoulders tight, the feeling comforting him with the knowledge that this was real, that he wasn’t trapped in his own head. He focused on Zev’s face. “Just…just don’t shut yourself off from me, Blondie. Stop thinking for a minute and feel. There’s a part of you that already knows this.”
Zev was his closest confidant. His best friend. His lover. Everything in Jonah’s body told him to trust this man, to believe in him. Even if everything his brain had learned through years of scientific training insisted the things he was hearing couldn’t be true.
More than twenty years. That was how long Jonah had known Zev. Other than his father, Jonah had never connected with anyone on a soul-deep level like he did with Zev. Well, not anyone except… Jonah’s heart slammed against his chest with the realization.
“Pup?” Jonah croaked.