The Mating Project Read online

  Dimply aware of the men's movements growing frantic, as their sweat slicked body's slid against each other, and the incredible fullness, as her ass, too, was breached Maria rode the longest orgasm of her life and screamed her completion until the world went dark.

  ****

  Silas woke up with Maria draped all over him, and he smiled and kissed her hair. Their little cat had passed out on them last night. She hadn't even stirred when they'd taken it in turns to wash her body down. Having taken a quick shower each, they had climbed into bed with her, and both men had fallen asleep instantly.

  Silas scrubbed a hand over his gritty eyes and grinned again. The sex had been beyond fantastic. Being mated together, and thus able to tap into each other's emotions had enriched the experience in ways Silas couldn’t even find words for. The two of them had achieved what they set out to do. To wipe the worry from Maria's mind and ensure she slept.

  His cock leapt into action at the thought that this was their life now, at least until the goddamn duel. Keeping Maria's mind off that would be the pleasurable side of the deal. Dealing with his emotions when they weren't doing that would be hard to take.

  Malachi's own worry wrapped itself around Silas's soul, and he carefully slid out from under Maria to go in search of him. The sun was just rising, and the Anderson's big mansion was eerily quiet. Even the servants weren't up yet. He shook his head at that thought.

  No wonder Malachi still called their girl princess. The Andersons’ wealth was hard to take in at times. It was a credit to their parents that all three of their children didn't flaunt that wealth. It hadn't made them jaded or spoiled, far from it.

  They were a close and loving family unit, and Silas's gut churned with longing. He hadn't missed the fact that Malachi hadn't bothered with condoms last night. Guess there was no point, now that they were mated, and Maria was on the pill. Something they would have to talk about. Silas wanted a chance to try for children, whilst they waited for the duel to be set up. It would take time, and in case the unthinkable happened, he wanted that for himself as well as Maria, the knowledge that Malachi at least had a chance to father a child.

  Birthrates being what they were, it might never happen, but Silas couldn't squelch that tiny seed of hope, that they, too, would buck the trend. They were true mates after all, and Silas agreed with Cole Jackson's opinion that the answer to the shifters' fertility problems lay in the ancient ways. Ways that had been left behind and forgotten along the way, ways that the bear shifter was determined to bring back. Ways that included ancient duels like the one Malachi would have to face all too soon.

  Silas pulled on his jeans, and grabbing the tube of lube off the nightstand, shoved it into his back pocket. Malachi would need distracting from those dark thoughts he sensed, and besides, it had been way too long since the two of them had a private moment together.

  Honing in on the tumultuous emotions that coursed through his lover's soul, Silas eventually tracked him down by the rose garden. Hands held in a white knuckled grip on the railings of the charming gazebo, Malachi stared at the rising sun, and Silas was shocked to see the dried tears on his rugged features.

  "How is our girl?" Malachi asked, his voice thick with emotion.

  "Fast asleep. We've worn her out, man."

  A brief smile lit up Malachi's face as he continued to stare at the horizon and the forest that edged toward the Anderson's property.

  "It seems fitting that it will all end in the one place where I first met her, don’t you think?"

  Silas didn't answer him. He couldn’t. His own emotions were too raw and too close to the surface. He loved this man with every fiber of his being, had done for a long time, even though they'd both fought their attraction to each other, even though they'd both had other partners. He'd always known that Malachi was his soulmate, and the thought of losing him hurt too much to even contemplate.

  What he felt for Malachi was different from the way he loved Maria. No less potent and real, but different, and he needed to show him that they still had that unique connection. He stepped up to his lover and wordlessly took the hands that curled around the railings and buried his face in the crook of Malachi's neck.

  A shudder went through Malachi, and he groaned and let go of the railing. He speared his hands into Silas's hair and yanked his head round for a kiss that had Silas's cock harden to the point of pain. Malachi, too, grew stiff, and they rubbed their cloth covered shafts against each other as they devoured each other's mouths in a teeth-clanging, bruising kiss of possession and need.

  Malachi slammed Silas into the wall of the gazebo and caught Silas's grunt of pain in his mouth. When he finally drew back, there were tears in Malachi's eyes, and Silas knew they mirrored his own.

  "Don't. You'll get through this. You've got to."

  Malachi rested his forehead against his, one hand still behind his head, the other grasping Silas's shoulder in a bruising grip, whilst Silas's hands roamed to Malachi's ass and yanked the man's hips closer to his.

  A grim smile played on Malachi's lips as both their cocks twitched, and they groaned in unison.

  "There is a chance that I won't. That bastard has years of experience on me, and—"

  "And justice is on your side." Silas interrupted him. "You've invoked the ancient rite, and justice will prevail. It's written thus in the old texts. You will beat him. I won't entertain any other notion, and neither will Maria. That's the only hope I can give her, and I'm not taking that away from her. You've got to beat him."

  The other man's sigh trembled through him as the wealth of sadness enveloped them both in its suffocating cloud of misery.

  "I'll certainly fucking try, Silas, but if I don't … no, let me say this." Malachi stopped Silas's protest with a kiss that made Silas desperate to be fucked by him. He needed to feel Malachi's cock in him, possessing him, branding him as his. "If I don't, then make the best life for you and our girl. Promise you will. Promise me you will not mope, but celebrate what we have and go on living for all of us."

  Malachi's voice broke on the last few words, and Silas kissed the tears off his face.

  "You don't even have to ask, man, you know that. I wouldn't dream of doing anything else. Now can you stop talking and please fuck me, before we both explode?"

  A harsh laugh tore from Malachi, and he shook his head.

  "What here, now? I'm not prepared, I…" His words trailed off, and his grin grew sinful when Silas pulled the tube of lube out of his back pocket and waved it at him.

  "I am, so if that's your only objection, man, it's a pretty lame one, because—"

  Malachi shut him up with a kiss and then spun him around and yanked his trousers to his knees. Silas's cock jumped up, and he hissed through his teeth when his lover grasped hold of his shaft and pumped him until the first drops of pre-cum appeared on his swollen tip. Malachi swiped his thumb through the sticky fluid and then shoved it into Silas's mouth.

  His mouth filled with Malachi's scent, Silas groaned and licked his essence off the digit, and Malachi's wolf growled when Silas wrapped his tongue around the man's thumb and sucked.

  He jumped when Malachi slapped his ass and then pushed him forward.

  "Hold onto that rail and don’t fucking move. I need to be in you."

  Cold liquid trickled down the cleft of Silas’s ass cheeks and then Malachi's fingers were there probing, pushing, and preparing him. When he found Silas's prostrate, Silas's hips had a mind of their own and he crunched his jaw to stop himself from crying out in bliss, as Malachi fisted his cock again, all the while keeping up the torture to his sweet spot. His balls drew tight, and his release built at the bottom of his spine as sweat broke out over his skin and dripped into his eyes with the effort not to shoot his load.

  "Fuck it, Malachi. I want you in me when I come. I want your damn cock."

  Malachi's harsh laugh in his ear almost proved his undoing, and he saw stars when the other man sank his teeth into his shoulder.

  "Fuck, fuck, I
'm going to…"

  "No, you fucking won't, not without me." Malachi grunted the words, and Silas swore again as Malachi withdrew his fingers and replaced them with his cock. There was a brief flash of pain and then nothing but ecstasy as Malachi bottomed out in Silas's ass and started to thrust. The force of their frantic coupling shook the very foundations of the wooden structure they were in. Silas shot his load in a thick jet of cum that arched through the air and hit one of the rose bushes, as Malachi shuddered and groaned his release deep inside his ass. His wolf's howl echoed through the stillness of the garden, and Silas knew he would remember this moment always.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The huge structure that had been erected at the edge of the forest gleamed in the sunlight. Typically, the worst day of her life so far and the gods had deemed it right to send beautiful sunshine. Surely it ought to be pissing it down to reflect her mood.

  The round caged in area reminded Maria of human cage fights, and her stomach churned at the thought. Only in this case no money would be exchanged, just cougar pitched against wolf in a fight to the death. The cage would only be opened when one of the opponents lay dead.

  The mere thought was enough to make her stomach churn. How she would make it through the day without being sick, she would never know.

  It just wasn't fair. She blinked back tears and tried to channel the huge store of happy memories the three of them had amassed over the last month. Maria had taken a leave of absence from work, not only to spend as much time with her men as she could, but also for her own safety. Anton cast his net of deception far and wide, and no one trusted him to keep to his side of the deal. The last thing they all needed was for the original to take pot shots at any of them.

  Cole had placed both participants in the upcoming duel under house arrest, so they had to spend the last month at Maria's parents’ place. Not that it had been a hardship at all. Carter and Jake had moved Anastasia and the triplets back into the mansion, too, and it had been fun to spend this much time with the fast growing babies. As was typical for shifter babies, they developed much faster than human babies would, and were already crawling. The girl had surprised everyone by shifting already, and had given her parents a merry chase around the premises in her panther form.

  The boys had yet to shift, but the general consensus was that they would take after their dads and be cougars. The mere fact that they shifted this early was another feather in Cole Jackson's cap. Now that his Emmi was out of immediate danger, he seemed more determined than ever to bring back the old ways. It would take money and resources to convince the steadfast originals on the council that the ways they ran the shifter community were at the heart of its problems. Silas was excited to play his part in proving the matter by scientific means. In the meantime the three of them worked on producing more anecdotal evidence.

  Maria had thrown away her birth control pills, and whilst she didn't dare hope that they had already been successful, she was late, for the first time in her life.

  However neither one of the shifters in residence seemed to have noticed any change in her, so Maria was pretty sure it was just the stress of the upcoming duel. Malachi and even Silas with his enhanced senses would have noticed first. That's the way it went, and they certainly hadn't mentioned it. Even if they were waiting for her to say something, her mother would have screamed the news from the rooftops, Maria was sure.

  She crunched her teeth together and leant back into Silas's comforting presence as he stepped up behind her and nuzzled into her neck.

  "Ready, little cat. Everyone has arrived. It's time to go."

  Only the slight tremble in his voice gave away his emotions, and Maria blinked her tears away. She would be strong for Malachi, and not show any weakness. Justice had to prevail today, it just had to.

  "Malachi?" she asked.

  "Already in place, as is Anton. The last of the officials is here, now, including Cole, so we'll have to go and join them."

  "Too late to run away then."

  Her grim attempt at humor fell flat, and Silas's hold on her grew painful.

  "Far too fucking late. At least Cole is here to open the duel. He's brought his whole security team with him. De Souza's entourage would not dare to try any sabotage. I tell you, I've never seen so many fucking bears in one place, and they're all huge. He's even dragged that polar bear from his hiding place."

  "Stephan Alexios is here? Jesus, that man hates the council almost as much as Malachi does. No one has actually seen him in years. They say he's an absolute genius."

  "He is. I've been privy to some of his research papers, when he still mingled in the human world. Such a shame he went recluse."

  Maria nodded, not trusting her voice. For the first time she could understand how the polar bear must have felt. His mate had been executed by the council, at De Souza's orders, in fact, so maybe it wasn't that surprising that he wanted to see the cougar meet his end.

  If Malachi didn't make it through this, then the thought of hiding from the world sounded mighty appealing to Maria. No, she wouldn't, couldn't think like that.

  "He'll win, won't he, Silas?" she asked.

  "He fucking has to, baby."

  ****

  The metallic smell of blood filled Maria's nostrils, and Silas grasped her hands and gently uncurled her fingers. She hadn't even realized that her claws had run out and sliced into her palms, but seeing De Souza and Malachi face each other in the cage was enough to drive her cat insane. Every instinct in her screamed at her to shift, to join Malachi in his fight, but she knew that was impossible.

  Cole Jackson himself had locked the cage when the two men entered, and he would only open it again when it was all over.

  A heavy gong sounded, signaling the start of the proceedings, and Maria jumped. Silas's hold on her fingers grew painful, and she welcomed the distraction, as every muscle in her body tensed. This was really happening. Her mother's and father's scents surrounded her as they put a hand each on her shoulder and left them there. Carter and Jake sat on her other side, and they, too, nodded at her and gave a tight smile.

  Anastasia had chosen to stay inside with the triplets, and Maria couldn't blame her. This was no place for children.

  Still, she knew her friend was with her in spirit. Even Emmi had sent a note from her hospital bed, where she was still recovering from her awful injuries. She was almost ready to be released, and that thought brought a watery smile to Maria's lips. The love of her family and friends surrounded her and gave her strength.

  Cole's deep voice rang across the assembled crowd.

  "Malachi Luca of the pack of Luca, original canis lupus, has called Anton de Souza, original puma concolor, to the ancient blood rite of the duel. As it is written, this is a fight to the death. Two men will go in, only one will leave. Let justice be done on this day."

  Cole stepped back and nodded at the men in the cage, and a hush fell over the murmuring crowd. Anton sneered at him and pulled his clothes off in preparation to shift. Malachi looked up into the stand to seek out Maria and Silas.

  I love you both. Look after each other.

  The moment, fleeting though it was, cost him dearly, because Anton shifted in a bone jarring crunch and side swiped a still human Malachi with one huge paw.

  Maria screamed in horror, and Silas jumped off his seat as blood spurted through the air, where Anton's claws had sliced through Malachi's chest. Malachi's body flew through the air and connected with the metal cage with a sickening thump. Dazed, Malachi lay on the floor, and Silas roared his outrage as Anton looked ready to pounce on him.

  "You motherfucking bastard. He's not playing by the rules, dammit."

  Maria's father pulled Silas back down again, and through the roaring in her ears as she willed Malachi to get up she heard her father speak.

  "There are no rules. Anything goes while they’re in there, son. Sit down. This is not helping."

  Blindly she grasped for Silas's hand, and he took it, as they clung onto each
other.

  Anton roared and strutted, clearly thinking he had the upper hand, as Malachi still struggled to get up. When Anton leapt Maria held her breath, and the crowd went wild as Malachi rolled at the last minute and Anton crashed into the cage.

  Maria watched in awe as Malachi sprang to his feet and shifted mid-leap. The russet colors of his wolf gleamed in the sunlight. He landed on the cougar's back throwing him sideways. With the inherent grace of his species, Anton twisted on his paws, and wolf and cougar circled each other in a terrifying display of fur and muscle and sheer animal aggression. One parried, and the other withdrew, until eventually they clashed in a flurry of teeth and claws. Blood sprayed as fur and flesh tore from bone until it was hard to tell who was who. The stone floor turned crimson, and still they fought locked in a seemingly even battle of strength.

  How long this carried on Maria would never be able to recall later, but somehow Anton got the upper hand. The crunch of bone was terrifying as Malachi's back leg snapped and his wolf yelped in agony. The useless lower half dragged on the floor, and he buckled as Anton took a swipe at his exposed belly. Again, by some sheer fluke Malachi twisted, and Anton's claws flayed open his shoulder instead. The cougar roared in victory and leapt. Malachi's pain-filled gaze connected with hers, and time stood still as everything seemed to happen in slow motion. As Anton pounced Malachi rolled on his back and half shifted. Both of his human arms shot up and punched the cougar into his soft underbelly, catapulting him back up against the cage. Malachi shifted back, rolled and leapt, and the cougar's shrill screech of agony filled the air, as Malachi's teeth sank into de Souza's exposed balls and penis and ripped the man's genitals off. He spit them out, and the bloody mess flew against the cage, spraying the ones sitting closest to that side in bits of blood and fur. Gravely wounded and howling in agony the cougar fell to the floor, and Malachi ripped out his throat with one bone-jarring crunch, before collapsing next to the lifeless cougar.