Hunter's Moon (17 page)

Kris let out an exasperated sigh. “Jesus, you’re worse than Rafe. He hates ties too. Maybe they think they’re being collared or something. You know, like dogs. Ridiculous.”

“Remind me again why I’m doing this?” Tugging at his neckline as if he was an inch away from choking, Kieran felt too uncomfortable. His hands were cold, he was so nervous, and he shook them repeatedly to loosen the tension and return the circulation.

Cupping Kieran’s cheek, Kris smiled up at him encouragingly. “You’ve spent a month learning about the lycan way of life, you’ve steered clear of Gabe, and now it’s time to get it on and consummate your relationship.”

Growling, Kieran shook his head. “He’s just going to bite me, right? He’s not going to try and change me or… fuck me against my will?”

“Oh my God, you’re insane,” Kris huffed, once more shoving aside Kieran’s hands as they lifted almost involuntarily to loosen the necktie he was wearing. “Do you really think he’s that kind of a person? So amoral and aggressive that he’d hurt you? Gabe’s a kitten, and you know that.”

Yes, Kieran did know that. Never had he had cause to suspect Gabriel was the kind of man who hid his true proclivities behind a veneer of falsehoods. He might have had a wolf inside, but he was kind and considerate, without a violent bone in his body. They had not been alone in all this time, even though Gabriel had given Kieran much of his introduction into the wolf way of life. But always there had been someone there to keep them at a distance. Kieran felt a tingling electric fire burning beneath his skin at the promise of soon being close enough to Gabriel to touch him.

Shaking his head, he admitted without reluctance, “Yeah, I know. Gabe’s great.”

Kris stood before him and peered up into his gray-blue eyes, dead serious. “Kieran, you must remember that when the bond is sealed, when Gabe has bitten you and you two are finally mated, you will want him. The need for him is already there, because whether you acknowledge it or not, you
are
his mate. But when he bites you, it’ll be a hundred times stronger.” Hesitating, Kris smiled tentatively. “At that point what you do is your call, but it will be momentous.”

Frowning, Kieran dipped his chin to stare at the floor—and right through it at nothing. “Is he… Gabe… is he all right…? We haven’t really talked, and I….”

“He knows you’re here on the ranch,” Kris comforted him. “Your mere presence has a calming effect on him. I know you are worried about him, but he’s a big boy, and he can take care of himself.” Tightening Kieran’s tie yet again, Kris seemed pensive. “Have you come to a decision about what you want to do now? I mean in terms of a job and… stuff.”

Vague and allusive were both approaches Kris had mastered into a casual art form of communication, and Kieran smiled. In the past month they had become good friends, even though they came from completely different backgrounds.

“I have an idea, yeah.” An offer had been made to him, and this opportunity that had presented itself Kieran did not want to turn down because it brought him that much closer to his goal, which was to forge a balance between him and Gabriel. Kieran was uncertain about a great many things, but he did want to remain with Gabriel, regardless of the actual nature of the relationship.

“Have you told Gabe?”

“No. I wanted to wait and see how tonight goes first.” His fingers were still so cold they were practically numb, and he kept shaking them to regain some sensation. He felt like a big jumble of nerves, and tiny tremors wracked his body. “It’ll be all right, won’t it?”

Kris chuckled to alleviate the tension in the room. “Totally. So would you stop being so rattled already? Jeez.”

A knock came from the door just before Rafe cracked it open a bit and peeked in. “Y’all ready, or what? It’s show time.”

Nodding like a jack-in-the-box, Kieran kept reminding himself that hyperventilation was not an option anymore.

W
IND
rustled in the tall deciduous trees surrounding the forest clearing. Pine tree resin and fresh earth dominated the place with their natural fragrances, and the midnight’s full moon cast a silvery light over the sacred site. Night birds were chirping in the branches, and cicadas tuned their own concert. The grass on the meadow felt wet and cold against Kieran’s bare feet, but he braved on toward the center of the circle with stones and lit candles placed to mark the perimeter. At the heart of the circle was a small bonfire, giving off waves of heat and light, sweet, smoky scents of burning wood, and what smelled like herbs or plants. The hairs on the back of Kieran’s neck stood up as he sensed the shadowy figures of the pack members standing outside the circle, waiting, watching. He couldn’t tell how many there were, but from the feel of it, several dozen at least.

Only one person stood at the heart of the circle, and Kieran locked his gaze on Gabriel, ignoring everything else. Kris had told him many times that the mating ritual changed according to the people involved. Rafe and Kris had been able to perform the mating during sex because that way the intimate act accompanied the spiritual bonding, requiring less formality. Without the sexual component, however, a more defined ritual was required.

Gabriel was bare-chested and barefoot, wearing only low-hanging jeans that bulged at his crotch in a way that made Kieran’s heart beat faster. The look on Gabriel’s face was at once reassuring and hungry, and Kieran couldn’t tell which excited him more. It still made little sense to him why he had to wear a formal suit when Gabriel was all but naked.

Stopping before the big cowboy werewolf, Kieran peered steadily into brown eyes bursting with flames. For so long, his body had cried out, craving to be touched again. Too long, he knew, as he fought for control of his body’s reactions. Then Gabriel’s nostrils flared, his pupils dilated with lust, and fangs peeked just beyond his parted lips. Kieran wondered why he didn’t feel like running but instead felt like throwing himself at Gabriel and climbing up the man’s body like a crushing vine around a tree trunk.

“Kieran.” Gabriel’s voice was low, husky, and filled with promises Kieran wanted the guy to deliver on.

“Gabe.” His own voice cracked and he trembled all over, but he didn’t care. This was where he longed to be. This was what he had spent a month planning and getting ready for. It was too late to chicken out now. Not that he wanted to, either, as he had everything invested in this, from his dreams of the future to his body yearning to be claimed.

“Are you all right?” Gabriel’s tone held such sincere concern it melted away the last shreds of doubt within Kieran’s heart. Whether they ever had sex or not, this was the man he could trust with anything and spend the rest of his life with.

Accomplishing a faint smile, he said, “Yeah. You?”

Gabriel grinned and his tone was downright mischievous. “Perfect now.”

Without realizing it, Kieran was leaning toward Gabriel in the hopes of a kiss when a new voice startled him and caused him to rear back. “Are we ready?”

Daniel King was Gabriel’s father, tall and lean, his brown hair graced with a few strands of gray, and his voice one of authority that could just as easily soothe a wild beast as scare the pants off the bravest man. In fact, he had this feature in common with his son, which didn’t surprise Kieran. Dressed in simple jeans, plaid shirt, and brown felt cowboy hat, he was the epitome of an aging cowboy, still holding on to every shred of his masculine prowess. No wonder he was the Alpha, Kieran thought, because he radiated power. As the lights of the bonfire flickered behind him, Daniel came off as almost nothing more than a black silhouette against the brightness of the flames.

Still, Gabriel was the one dominating Kieran’s mind at the moment. “Yeah, good to go.” Of all the things he had learned about lycans, this momentous occasion was the most significant because he understood its fundamental purpose—the unification of two into one. He hadn’t always felt so receptive to new things, especially one that could lead to him becoming the partner of a man for life. But Gabriel had a way of disarming all his fears and doubts.

“As am I, father,” Gabriel noted.

“Very well then,” Daniel called out, speaking to all participants in and out of the ritual circle. “Would you stand here before me, please.” Gabriel and Kieran stepped closer to Daniel and faced each other, and Daniel completed the triangle, standing before them both, addressing all those present. “Honored pack members, we are gathered here tonight on this sacred land to join these two men—Gabriel King, my son, and Kieran Knight, my soon-to-be-son—in the holy bond of mating.”

Daniel turned his gaze from the pack members around the circle to Gabriel and Kieran, who felt like his stomach had been invaded by a swarm of butterflies, fluttering about frantically.

“Gabriel and Kieran have chosen to unite their lives in this affectionate mating, a bond of kindred spirits, a balmy benediction to kindle their flames into a bonfire of love.” At this point Daniel gave them both a stern, but compassionate, look. “What is mating? Since time immemorial our kind, the lycan breed, have been privileged to be bestowed with the foreknowledge of our soul mate. It is a blessing to find the one who is meant for us when the chances of finding that special someone are few and far between. We, the pack, are fortunate to be a part of this rare opportunity to share this precious and loving moment with Gabriel and Kieran.”

Daniel spoke to everyone, and yet Kieran felt like the man was speaking to him alone. “Please, enter this circle of love.” From the shadows of the night, under the dusky sky riddled with stars, pack members—young and old, men and women—stepped over the line of candles and stones marking the circle. “Like lycans, a mating circle is perfect and infinite, magical and wondrous, with no beginning and no ending. And like the circle, love is perfect and infinite, magical and wondrous. For true love is at the heart of mating, a gift of bonding granted to us by the gods, the spirits, nature, and the fates. Tonight we celebrate the loving bond between Gabriel and Kieran, two halves of one whole, two souls entwined as a single being, two hearts beating as one.”

Smiling encouragingly at Kieran and Gabriel, Daniel spoke to them directly. “Please, face each other and take each other’s hands as a symbol of the promise of unity and the journey you are about to embark on together.” Kieran lifted his hands to take hold of Gabriel’s hands extended in front of him. He knew he was shaking and his skin was vibrating and sweating, but Gabriel’s hands were strong, firm, and they held his so protectively that the gentle grip became the embodiment of their relationship. Kieran smiled tentatively, and Gabriel grinned back reassuringly. “Love changes with the passage of time, as the tides ebb and flow. Though it is our way to seek permanency and stability, the flow of love is by nature the pattern of life itself, and the rewards unfathomable. In this circle that which is unseen will be visible.”

Raising his hands at his sides, as if to envelope everyone within the circumference of his arms, Daniel continued, “On this moonlit night, we of the pack humbly ask the divine and the sacred to bless this union and shine upon it with the light of creation.” All the pack members around them picked up a candle from the edge of the circle, or lit one already in their hands, and lifted them higher until there was an elevated ring of fires burning around the three men in the center as Daniel went on. “Let these two mates be embraced by the lights of unity and mating. The shine of the heart, the heat of passion, the warmth of commitment, the glow of the home, and the radiance of family.”

At that Daniel looked pointedly at Gabriel and Kieran, both in turn. Kieran shivered at the piercing quality of the gaze. “As is the custom of our kin, the mating will be a bond of flesh and blood, of the heart and of the soul.” Daniel focused solely on Kieran who swallowed nervously but held steady. “Kieran, I ask you now before these witnesses, do you wish to enter this mating with an open heart and willing body, of your own free will, casting aside your fears and doubts?”

Exhaling a deep breath, Kieran managed a curt, quivering nod. “I do, yes.” He looked into Gabriel’s brown eyes, lit within with flames of passion, and his insides illuminated with a burn he felt compelled to associate with… love.

Daniel turned to face his son. “Gabriel, I ask you now before these witnesses, do you wish to enter this mating with an open heart and willing body, of your own free will, casting aside your fears and doubts?”

Gabriel bowed his head slightly. “I do, wholeheartedly.” His voice was calmer and far steadier than Kieran’s, and Kieran felt a flash of envy. But when he felt the trembling of Gabriel’s hands in his, he realized the man was not as composed as he appeared, not by a long shot.

“Gabriel and Kieran, by nature you two are born mates. Now, by ceremony and custom, your bond shall be solidified for all time and for all the pack to witness.” Daniel stepped back as his gaze remained fixed intently on his son. “Gabriel, you may bite your mate and thus confirm your mating bond.”

Kieran’s heart was pounding so hard and fast in his chest he feared it might burst out any minute. Quaking in his boots—if he had had any, that is—Kieran felt dizzy as Gabriel closed the short distance between them until their chests brushed against each other. Slowly, Gabriel inched his hands up Kieran’s arms. When he reached his neck, Kieran tilted his head instinctively. But Gabriel merely smiled a little and began to remove his tie.

“Are you all right, Kieran?” Gabriel’s voice was soft and concerned.

Suspiciously, Kieran shot the man a fierce look. “Why? Don’t I look it?”

“You’re pale and you look like you’re about to pass out at any moment.”

That made Kieran chuckle a little, shakily. “I’m okay. Jesus, I’ve been to war zones and battled monsters of all kinds. I can handle this.”

“Interesting comparisons,” Gabriel noted, grinning, and Kieran knew the man was making light of the situation by teasing him.

“Fuck you.” It wasn’t until the words left his lips that Kieran realized that no matter how quietly he whispered, these were lycans around them, and they could undoubtedly hear every utterance, curse or not. He blushed. “Fuck.”