Bitten by the Bond, page 1
Table of Contents
A NineStar Press Publication
Bitten by the Bond
Author’s Note
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Connect with NineStar Press
A NineStar Press Publication
www.ninestarpress.com
Bitten by the Bond
ISBN: 978-1-64890-708-1
© 2023 by Elaine White
Cover Art © 2023 Jaycee DeLorenzo
Published in November, 2023 by NineStar Press, New Mexico, USA.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact NineStar Press at Contact@ninestarpress.com.
CONTENT WARNING:
This book contains sexually explicit content, which may only be suitable for mature readers. Depictions of discrimination and on-page violence, and references to past abuse of a child.
Bitten by the Bond
Surviving Vihaan, Book 2.5
Elaine White
Author’s Note
The Surviving Vihaan series must be read in order. The events that take place throughout each novel culminate in an overarching plot that ties each book together. If you miss one book, you will miss important information that resolves the overall plot.
Chapter One
mid-October
“What fucked up weather is this?” Gale frowned, extending a hand past the shelter of the front door. The raindrops hit like tiny ice needles.
Drew handed him an umbrella. “Rain.”
It didn’t look like any rain Gale had ever experienced. This was his first trip to Dnara and he didn’t like what he’d seen so far or how it made him feel.
Rolling his eyes, Drew opened the umbrella and walked out in a three-layered top, tight jeans, and ankle boots to stand under the contraption.
Gale adjusted the weird coat that crinkled with every movement. “I’ll wear the damned coat but I’m not using an umbrella.” He stepped outside to the side of the front door onto the path extending in a slope on the left.
Jude didn’t look any happier as he emerged in his jacket and pulled up the hood. Behind, Isaac hugged his stomach and slipped under Drew’s umbrella.
Janet walked out in little more than a tank top and tight jeans. “This isn’t rain,” she complained with a sniff. “It’s a good piss.”
Jude snorted, following Drew along the path from the fraternity house, wide enough for two to walk side by side, the surrounding ground a mushy swamp where the grass gave way to mud.
Gale hated the poor way Dnarans cared for the earth, the weather, and the multitude of devices they couldn’t live without, like the mobile gadgets that controlled every detail of their lives. Give him an armchair by the fire, a warm bed and solitude during the rain seasons, freedom to walk outside on the first day of sunlight to a refreshed land, and good company over a home-brewed beer.
When Keon had asked for volunteers to travel to Dnara and recover those Vihaans exiled from their packs, Gale thought it would be easy. He didn’t expect it to take weeks.
Eliseo had done his best to prepare them, letting the fraternity brothers handle the electronic tasks, leaving them to do the leg work. But Gale missed home, the simplicity and ease of the pack, of knowing every member, their history, and their story, as well as he knew his own. Here, everyone was a stranger. The fraternity brothers acted, behaved, and functioned as a pack, but they weren’t m’weko.
They weren’t home.
Gale nudged Jude and raised an eyebrow at his new roommate. “You got a smoke?”
Patting the jacket pockets, Jude pulled out a packet and handed over two long rolls of Vihaan fottai, a special herbal mixture.
“Fuck!” Gale grabbed him by the neck to kiss his temple. “You’re my new favourite person.”
Jude shook his head in exasperation and tucked the packet into his jacket, making sure to zip the pocket. Extracting a lighter from his jeans, he lit Gale’s smoke then took the other and inhaled deeply.
He closed his eyes at the mix of herbs, the sense of home. The smell was unequivocally Vihaan. The pine of the trees from E’Boolou’s largest forest, the shaved wood of working with timber, the juniper of his favourite beer, a salty aroma from cooked rosson over a spit. Home.
He sighed in approval. “I owe you.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” Jude cautioned, eyes glazed with the same reminiscence.
Gale didn’t argue. For this, no price was too high. There was nothing like having a piece of home when he was far from it. He’d take what he could get in case he was unlucky enough not to make it back. At least he still had Jude, his roommate, the guy he’d spent countless missions with. The man he’d spent weeks alone with, in a tiny boundary hut, taking their turn to protect the pack borders. The kinship and family bond bred by serving together, in isolation, didn’t compare to what he felt now.
There was nothing brotherly about what shot through his head every time he felt Jude’s eyes on him. Gale had never known a connection like this.
Janet and Marlan were home too but in a different way. A way that didn’t leave his nerves buzzing and heart thumping.
Whatever Dnara had done started something he had no idea how to finish.
“Here we are,” Drew called, distracting his attention from the fottai between his lips.
“What is this?” Janet asked, disgust dripping from every word.
Their guide frowned at the window that showcased a mass of humans standing at various counters. “A bar,” Drew replied in confusion. “You know, a place to drink? With friends.” He glanced between them for a sign of recognition.
Eyeing the building, Gale took another puff. “Why do you need a building to meet friends for a drink?” He didn’t understand Dnara. The rules, the insistence of creating special events or places or inventions when nature already provided what they needed. If they didn’t want to get wet, they should stay out of the rain. If they wanted to meet for a beer, what was wrong with their homes or the forest?
Laughing, Drew opened the door and stood within its shelter to lower the umbrella. “I’ll explain later. The guy is, according to his Facebook page, a bartender. He lives in the city, so this is the best time and place to find him,” he reasoned though half those words didn’t make sense to Gale.
He’d learned what those white signs with red lines meant though. It’s place on the bar door made Gale plant his feet. “No.” He smiled when Drew frowned and took another drag. “I’m not stomping out a fottai because there’s a sign on a fucking door. You can’t get fottai outside of Vihaan.” He held out the smoke for Drew to see.
Drew spoke under his breath. “God help me.” When he looked Gale in the eye, he nodded. “Fine. You stay with Jude to enjoy your smoke. Janet and Isaac will come with me to help this non-Vihaan recognise a native Vihaan.” He held the door open for the others. “I wish I could say I had a better way to spend my time, but this is for Keon,” he mumbled as he stepped inside.
Gale unzipped his jacket and glared at the canopy keeping them dry.
“Interesting,” Jude remarked after the door shut. Gale leaned against the brick of the building, and Jude joined him, their shoulders touching. “I know everything works differently here―” He took a drag as he stretched his feet and crossed his ankles. “―but do you think Drew and Keon had a relationship?”
“Nah. I have a feeling they play on the same side of the table.”
“What?” The spark of his smoke lit Jude’s amused hazel eyes.
“Isn’t that how it works with two guys?” he asked though he wasn’t sure. He hadn’t given it much thought until Jude’s gaze lingered when he was fresh out of the shower or getting changed. “One gives and the other takes? All indications are Keon and Drew are firmly on the ‘take-it’ table.” He couldn’t help wondering what side Jude played for.
He was like Rylee: big, masculine, a typical kalou warrior. Jude had never been careless enough to give away his preference in Vihaan, but Gale understood how he might be more comfortable with the gay men of this world. They weren’t the stereotypical figures that Vihaan culture portrayed them as.
Gale knew the truth of gay men was more complicated than Vihaan liked to acknowledge, because his brother had been gay his whole life. Yosi was far from frail or delicate, and he wasn’t one of those flashy boys from another fraternity that Jude had shown an interest in.
Was that what Jude liked?
“How would you know?” Jude laughed, gazing at the constant activity of the street, despite the late hour and bad weather.
“I’m a certified giver.” Gale winked, making it clear. He may not know what was happening with Jude, but he knew his strengths and limits.
“Sure you are, stud.” Light, smoky laughter filled the space between them as Jude leaned mo
The longer they stood smoking and leaning, the more the hand drifted. Gale acted like he didn’t notice, but it was impossible not to: the graze of a finger against his clothed thigh, deliberate and cautious. When Gale didn’t react, the lone finger shifted and caught his hand, a feather-light touch across his knuckles.
Gale was tempted to push Jude, to discover how far he’d go. He took a drag and bit his thumbnail, tilting his head to catch Jude’s gaze, dark-pepper hair slipping across his eyes. Those hazel eyes dilated with lust, zeroing in when Gale darted his tongue to lick the bow of his top lip. He craned his head back against the building, exposing his throat in a clear m’weko challenge. Instead of ‘fight me’, this was a blatant ‘fuck me’. Once he’d taken another drag, he dug fingers deep into his pocket, tugging his jeans low enough to reveal a hint of hair, advertising the lack of underwear. The message couldn’t have been clearer: I’m horny; come get me.
In the chaos of Dnara, Jude swallowed, Adam’s apple bobbing as the world whittled to the two. Gale canted his hips and casually brushed his free hand across his stomach. Jude took a drag and gave his cock a sharp tug, adjusting it inside his jeans. Adjusting, sure. Gale could see Jude was a grower, pushing against the denim. He upped the ante, trailing a hand inside his open jacket, under his T-shirt and over bare skin. The way Jude stared with intensity left no doubt he was interested but how interested? Gale pushed his hand under the tee, the fabric sliding over his forearm, exposing everything, then idly squeezed his pec and rubbed a thumb over the nipple.
“Fuck, I’m hungry,” he complained, canting his hips a second time.
Jude caught his eye, lips parting with the onset of words.
The door burst open and Jude flinched, pushing from the wall. His posture screamed guilt and shame as he tossed his cigarette to the ground and stomped it out. When Drew emerged, Jude feigned a smile. “Any luck?”
“He’s the wrong guy.” Drew didn’t blink when Janet stormed off, apparently at the end of her rope with this mission. He opened his umbrella and smiled when Isaac nudged under its cover. “You two okay?”
Gale dropped his hand and took another drag. “Sure.” He glanced at Jude, who avoided eye contact. “How many with the same name?” How long would this fruitless search continue? They’d found most of the names on their list, bar eight who had names too common to single out from the herd.
“Twenty-five.” Drew glanced at the rain and stepped out under the cover of his umbrella. “We’ll consider this one of the few who’ll need to come to us. Onto the next!”
His feigned enthusiasm was cute, except Gale was bored and horny.
He cast a glance at Jude and took a deep drag, already plotting his next move.
Chapter Two
Gale had never been into men. He’d never looked at a man the way Jude looked at him. But the incessant heat of that gaze was too much to bear in silence. Some truths a man didn’t bother denying.
He may not be into men, but Gale wasn’t a coward and didn’t hide from the obvious. He never hid from a fight, never let others pay for his mistakes, would never let anyone hurt his family, and he didn’t run from what scared him.
Gale Toreto didn’t tolerate fear. The moment it sparked, he grabbed the skinny shit by the throat and throttled it. Fear had no place in his life, not even when it came to Jude.
When the team returned to the fraternity, Gale made it known he would eat in his room when he was hungry. Since everyone knew he wasn’t comfortable in Dnara, no one pushed.
He had two choices: beat off in the shower or have fun and get answers.
He knew what he preferred.
First on the agenda, Gale had a shower and grabbed a towel from the heated rail to throw over his shoulder. He paused at the mirror above the sink and took in his reflection.
His hair was short, dark, and messy. Like the expensive styles on TV, where the longer hair at the forehead was gelled, his sat naturally. He could use a shave, stubble on his cheeks and jaw, but hadn’t brought his shaving knife and wouldn’t rely on electric gadgets. Besides, it looked good. Drew called it rugged. Gale called it natural.
His eyes were coffee dark and bright with amusement. His scent swirled with a blend of his natural essence—the scent any potential mate would recognise—cinnamon, fresh apple, and hints of arousal.
If Jude didn’t know what he had planned the minute he stepped into the bedroom, he didn’t deserve his attention.
Gale ruffled his hair, checked his teeth, and left the bathroom in naked glory to find Jude where he expected: lazing on his single bed, legs sprawled, with Drew’s spare laptop on his lap and headphones on.
He must have put those headphones on thinking Gale couldn’t hear the echo of moaning across the room. But over the last few nights, female cries echoed as Jude jacked off under the duvet. Gale had a feeling it was the guy who was making her moan that Jude was paying attention to, or else he was in serious denial.
Time to find out.
As he crossed to Jude, hazel eyes glanced in his direction, then darkened with lust when they found Gale naked. Jude couldn’t hide his obvious desire, the way his eyes raked every inch of bare skin, no matter how hard he tried.
Gale detoured to his own bed, an unmistakable glimmer of disappointment flickering in Jude’s eyes. He sat and used the towel to scrub his hair. “There’s one benefit to this fucked up place,” he said, watching Jude’s eyes dart to his, always paying attention, always focused, no matter what distractions there were. “Our water can’t get that hot.”
Jude pressed a button and removed the headphones. “True.” He leaned against the headboard, gazing out the window by his bed. “But it’s crowded. I feel like I can’t breathe.”
Strange. He’d thought Jude would feel freer in Dnara, as he’d certainly been eyeing a lot of men. What Gale did know was that Jude was learning what he liked. If he returned to Vihaan and picked a twink, no one would say anything. They’d secretly snigger and turn up their noses, shunning his chosen mate, but they wouldn’t show outward hatred.
No, the problem was most men in Vihaan didn’t fit the stereotype. He knew a total of five gay men from their pack: Keon, Eliseo, Jude, Yosi, and Callum.
Eliseo was mated. Simeon had been a prick and died, but it didn’t matter. He was classed as ‘safe’ because no one denied Simeon what he wanted. The same was true for Keon. Their true mates had been bastards who happily and indiscriminately fucked anything that moved.
Jude was the odd one out. While Eliseo and Keon stood halfway—young, buff, and not overtly muscled—Jude was big. Broad shoulders, tall and imposing, he had thighs to break a man’s neck and was known as the best fighter in the pack.
If he took a man as his mate and that man wasn’t younger or weaker, it would cause a riot. If Gale accepted Jude, full-scale war could erupt. He was every inch Jude’s equal in physique and personality, working the border hut and missions regularly, considered the strongest of the pack.
The situation would need to be handled in one of two ways: delicately or with a war cry.
Gale grabbed a packet of human cigarettes from the bedside table and lit one to take a deep drag. He stood and crossed the room, tapping Jude’s shoulder to encourage him to shuffle over and make room.
As he sat beside Jude, belatedly realising the bed was quite a few inches wider than his own, he offered his smoke and grabbed the laptop. It sat open on a news article about an upcoming storm, no doubt a safe site left open to disguise the porn.
He had a basic understanding of how to use the laptop from Drew showing them. Calling on the memory, Gale opened a new tab on the browser and typed in ‘bisexual porn’.
Jude choked and returned the cigarette. “What are you doing?” He waved a hand through the smoke he’d coughed out.
Gale clicked Video, and a list of porn videos appeared. “I seem thick, but I’m not,” he warned, using the right-click option to open the video in a new tab. He clicked to fill the screen, found the Sound button, and leaned back.
When Jude didn’t move, Gale tugged at his joggers. “Come on, get these off. I’m horny and I’m not waiting,” he argued, letting his eyes roam.
