Ben, page 17
Epilogue
Duron
Duron sat on the couch and stared at Ajani like he’d lost his mind. “Let’s just recap! You want me and Wyatt to go to Paraguay on some fucking wild goose chase for a shadow that people are too terrified to even mention the dude’s name and so call him the Devil?”
Wyatt, who was standing with his back to Duron, looking out the open window, didn’t exhibit any of what he thought about the situation. They’d arrived back from a trip an hour ago from what was supposed to be a simple job: get in, do the kill, get out. Only it wasn’t.
The council, though they weren’t pulling their strings like they had previously, was still meager with details of the jobs they gave them. This time those lack of details had nearly cost Wyatt an eye and Duron continued to feel the ache where the vampire had chewed on his leg, desperate to feed after his owner thought starving him would make him more compliant.
The target, the owner of an enormous mansion, had several pets, as he referred to them. He’d chemically chained them and abused them repeatedly. Wyatt and he agreed it was only right to let those who’d suffered kill the fucker. Slowly. So they’d had to wait for days for the drugs to wear off and then feed them to get back their strength.
Duron didn’t want to think too hard about the bloodbath that ensued after the guys’ captives had given him a taste of what he’d done to them. In Duron’s mind, it was nothing less than he deserved, irrespective of how much it twisted his guts into painful knots. He preferred to make the kill as clean as possible.
Marvin came into the room… blooming.
Duron blinked, then rubbed his tired eyes. His heart throbbed in his chest, and he had to look away from what his heart yearned for. It wasn’t for him. Marvin was Ajani’s. Fate had decided, and there was nothing Duron could do about that.
“Duron, are you okay?” Marvin came to him and sat next to him, rubbing a gentle hand up over his arm much like he’d done all the years he visited him when no one was looking.
“I’m fine,” he replied gruffly, creeping his arm away from Marvin’s touch as not to upset him.
Marvin’s head quirked to the side. “You don’t look it.”
Ajani came closer, and Duron couldn’t take it and rose to give himself some distance between the pair who loved each other. It shone from them when they looked at each other as they were now.
Paraguay right now looks like a good option. His bear was smitten with Marvin, though his bear had always told him Marvin wasn’t meant for them. Duron hadn’t listened.
“What do you think?” Duron asked Wyatt, going to him, and looking at his expression to see what his thoughts were. They hadn’t had any downtime in two weeks, and Wyatt had to be as tired as Duron.
“I’ve never been to Paraguay.” Wyatt gave him a slap on the shoulder, his eyes showing sympathy. “I’ll come with you to sort the Devil out. I’m sure we’ll be getting the VIP treatment of the Thalassa private jet.”
Ajani ignored Wyatt. “Are you sure you want to go, Duron? I could ask Conrad or Ekon?”
One look at the couple on the couch, and the answer was easy. “Yeah, I’ll go. I was planning a holiday. Paraguay might be a good place to get lost in for a little while after the job is done.”
Wyatt squeezed his shoulder and walked to Ajani. “Who will be our contact in Paraguay? Ben?”
“Ben’s leaving the council. He stepped down and bought an island near the Thalassa one. Isn’t that cool? They’ll be our neighbors, with me being their family, and you all being my family.” Marvin grinned happily as he stroked his round belly.
“Beaumont is now in charge. He’s back in Paraguay, he wants to deal with the situation himself. He’s staying with Ben’s family, who have been seeking the Devil for some time without success and know the most about him.”
What Ajani said didn’t bode well, although Duron kept his thoughts to himself. A trip to the other side of the world was a good thing. It was.
“When can the plane be arranged for?” Wyatt asked before Duron could.
“As soon as you want to leave,” Alexi said, as he came into the room with Marin chattering nonsense in his arms. Duron had spent some time with all the children. He had a thing for children’s laughter. It was the brightest sound and could lift the spirit like nothing else. “I’ve had the plane on standby waiting for your return after the numerous calls from Beaumont wanting to know when you guys were coming.” Alexi chuckled. “The alligator doesn’t appear to have any patience, which is odd with how they like to do their killing.”
Duron gave a noncommittal nod and took the baby from Alexi when Marin held out his arms, grinning at him, revealing his new teeth. The baby was fond of rubbing at Duron’s cheek, one which Duron could turn into fur with one thought. His bear was the most dominant of the animals who shared his large body. What they’d done to him meant he could randomly shift any part of his body at will. And as Marin’s father, Danik, was a bear, he suspected it was why the baby was drawn to him and liked to rub his furry cheek.
“I think my son prefers you.”
Alexi didn’t sound annoyed, so Duron grinned at the baby. “He knows a soft touch when he sees one.”
Wyatt coughed as if he was choking and muttered, “He’s not seen you in action, there’s nothing soft about that.”
“Leave him be,” Marvin said crossly at Wyatt.
Duron handed back the baby reluctantly. “I think it’s time we got going.”
After a round of goodbyes and a trip to collect a fresh bag of clothing, they headed to the plane in a borrowed SUV. Duron looked around the big vehicle as Wyatt drove. “Why do you think we’ve bought nothing fancy with the money we make?”
Wyatt glanced sideways briefly. “That’s too deep a question when I’m bone fucking tired.” He frowned at the windscreen. “If I was to come up with an immediate answer, I’d say because of how we earned it. Blood money…”
Duron didn’t like the answer, although he suspected Wyatt was right.
He remained quiet for the rest of the trip and through the first flight. After the pit stop and an enormous meal, he swapped with Wyatt and took the bed to catch up on some decent sleep. Feeling rested and a little more like himself, Duron took his seat across from Wyatt as the plane prepared to land.
As the wheels touched the runway, Duron got a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach, and his bear lumbered from sleep and paced in his mind. What’s wrong?
The lack of answer set his nerves on edge in a way he’d not experienced since a child when they’d started the first experiments and cut him off from his bear briefly. I know you can hear me, god damnit, answer me!
The plane taxied to a stop, and the steward went to open the plane door. Wyatt was up and stretching before the steward had the door fully open, letting in the warm, muggy air.
Duron’s bear quivered with excitement, and he scrambled to open the seatbelt and keep control of his animal as parts of his body grew fur.
Wyatt’s eyes widened. “What’s with you going all furry?”
Duron sniffed the air and barged past an alarmed looking Wyatt when he growled, “Mate,” charging off the plane.
There were four men standing on the tarmac next to a shabby-looking vehicle. Three were tall, dark, with similar features to Ben. They could only be Ben’s brothers. It left the fourth man, which was the one that got his bear in a tizzy when Duron inhaled deeply, separating the scents.
His bear was giddy, and Duron was more a spectator when his bear was like this and charged at the group. It didn’t happen often, but when his bear wanted to be in charge, whether in bear form or not, Duron couldn’t get him to behave. His teeth dropped, his eyes flicking between all the different animals inside him, unable to settle with the scent of marsh grass enticing him.
“Whoa there,” one man stepped forward, holding up his hands.
Duron gauged he was the older of the three men by the way he held himself. Only his bear wasn’t for stopping. Duron snarled, the urgent need pouring from his bear to get to his mate driving all sense from his head.
“Duron, get a fucking grip, you’re spooking the natives,” Wyatt called from behind him.
“Mate,” he growled once more, not getting why no one understood what was going on. His gaze landed on the man who’d yet to say a word or come closer. Was he scared of him? Duron didn’t like the thought, not one bit, and neither did his bear.
Only Duron couldn’t figure it out, not with how his skin felt too tight for his bones and his brain was fogged with thoughts of… sex.
He shuddered to a halt, mere inches from his mate and blushed at what the others must be smelling. He’d been attracted to Marvin’s generous heart, but not once had his cock reacted like this…
He dropped his gaze, embarrassed by his own reaction. With a herculean effort and, much to his bear’s disgust, Duron stepped back.
To Be Continued…
Other Books By Lisa/Lee Oliver
Please note, I have now marked the books that contain mpreg and MMM for those of you who don’t like to read those type of stories. Hope that helps ☺
Cloverleah Pack
Book 1 – The Reluctant Wolf – Kane and Shawn
Book 2 – The Runaway Cat – Griff and Diablo
Book 3 – When No Doesn’t Cut It – Damien and Scott
Book 3.5 – Never Go Back – Scott and Damien’s Trip and a free story about Malacai and Elijah
Book 4 – Calming the Enforcer – Troy and Anton
Book 5 – Getting Close to the Omega – Dean and Matthew
Book 6 – Fae for All – Jax, Aelfric and Fafnir (M/M/M)
Book 7 – Watching Out for Fangs –Josh and Vadim
Book 8 – Tangling with Bears – Tobias, Luke and Kurt (M/M/M)
Book 9 – Angel in Black Leather – Adair and Vassago
Book 9.5 – Scenes from Cloverleah – four short stories featuring the men we’ve come to love
Book 10 – On the Brink – Teilo, Raff and Nereus (M/M/M)
Book 11 – Don’t Tempt Fate – Marius and Cathair
Book 12 – My Treasure to Keep – Thomas and Ivan
Book 13 – Home is Where the Heart is – Wesley and Castor
The Gods Made Me Do It (Cloverleah spin off series)
Book One - Get Over It – Madison and Sebastian’s story
Book Two - You’ve Got to be Kidding – Poseidon and Claude (mpreg)
Book Three – Don’t Fight It – Lasse and Jason
Book Four – Riding the Storm – Thor and Orin (mpreg elements [Jason from previous book gives birth in this one])
Book Five – I Can See You – Artemas and Silvanus (mpreg elements – Thor gives birth in this one)
Book Six – Someone to Hold Me – Hades and Ali (mpreg elements but no birth)
Book Seven – You’ll Know in Your Heart – Baby and Owen (mpreg)
Book Eight – Worth It – Zeus and Paulie (mpreg)
Book Nine – When Three Points Collide – Ra, Kirill and Arvyn (M/M/M) (mpreg elements, no birth)
Book Ten – Special Enough – Odin and Evan
Book Eleven – Reconciliation: Seth’s Story – Seth and Luka (mpreg is a small part of this story)
Book Twelve – Being Loki - Loki and Anubis
Book Thirteen – Give Me A Reason – Helios and Bruno
The Necromancer’s Smile (This is a trilogy series under the name The Necromancer’s Smile where the main couple, Dakar and Sy are the focus of all three books – these cannot be read as standalone).
Book One – Dakar and Sy – The Meeting
Book Two – Dakar and Sy – Family affairs
Book Three – Dakar and Sy – Taking Care of Business
Bound and Bonded Series
Book One – Don’t Touch – Levi and Steel
Book Two – Topping the Dom – Pearson and Dante
Book Three – Total Submission – Kyle and Teric
Book Four – Fighting Fangs – Ace and Devin
Book Five – No Mate of Mine – Roger and Cam
Book Six – Undesirable Mate – Phillip and Kellen
Stockton Wolves Series
Book One – Get off My Case – Shane and Dimitri
Book Two – Copping a Lot of Sin – Ben, Sin and Gabriel (M/M/M)
Book Three – Mace’s Awakening – Mace and Roan
Book Four – Don’t Bite – Trent and Alexi
Book Five – Tell Me the Truth – Captain Reynolds and Nico (mpreg)
Alpha and Omega Series
Book One – The Biker’s Omega – Marly and Trent
Book Two – Dance Around the Cop – Zander and Terry
Book Three – Change of Plans - Q and Sully
Book Four – The Artist and His Alpha – Caden and Sean
Book Five – Harder in Heels – Ronan and Asaph
Book Six – A Touch of Spring – Bronson and Harley
Book Seven – If You Can’t Stand the Heat – Wyatt and Stone (Previously published in an anthology)
Book Eight – Fagin’s Folly – Fagin and Cooper
Book Nine – The Cub and His Alphas – Daniel, Zeke and Ty (MMM)
Book Ten – The One Thing Money Can’t Buy – Cari and Quaid
Book Eleven – Precious Perfection – Devyn and Rex
Book Twelve – More Than a Handful - Karl and Tanner
Spin off from The Biker’s Omega – BBQ, Bikes, and Bears – Clive and Roy
Balance – Angels and Demons
The Viper’s Heart – Raziel and Botis
Passion Punched King – Anael and Zagan
Soul Deep – Uriel and Haures
Found – Raphael and Seir
Demon Masks and Angel Wings – Michael and Orobas
Love Before Time – Lucifer and Gabriel
Arrowtown
A Tiger’s Tale – Ra and Seth (mpreg)
Snake Snack – Simon and Darwin (mpreg)
Liam’s Lament – Liam Beau and Trent (MMM) (Mpreg)
Doc’s Deputy – Deputy Joe and Doc (Mpreg)
Cam’s Chance – Cam and Fergus (Mpreg)
Stone Cold Obsidian – Dian and Kee (Mpreg)
Brutus’s Surprise – Brutus and Heath
City Dragons
Dragon’s Heat – Dirk and Jon
Dragon’s Fire – Samuel and Raoul
Dragon’s Tears – Byron and Ivak
The Magic Users of Greenford – a new trilogy.
Book One - Illuminate
Book Two – Eradicate
Book Three – Validate (coming early 2023)
My Arranged Marriage Fantasy Romance Books (not Fated Mates)
The Infidelity Clause – Nikolas and Caspian
Don’t Judge A Prince by his Undergarments – Mintyn and Syrius
Article of Lies – (Coming April 2023)
Quirk of Fate
Summons – Edward and Mammon
Reggie’s Reasons – Reggie and Dirkin
The Mating of Blind Billy Hipp – Billy and Dathan
Quirk of Fates Shorts
Saving Moses – Tucker and Moses
Hellhound Collar Series
Collar and Scruff (Prequel) – Raoul and Jason (Now on Amazon)
Better Than Sweets (Book 1) – Java and Cyril
Precious Blue (Book 2) – Beau and Blue (mpreg elements in last chapter.)
Tangled Tentacles – in Collaboration with JP Sayle
Book one – Alexi – Alexi and Danik
Book 2 – Victor – Azim and Victor (mpreg)
Book 3 – Todd – (MMM, mpreg) Todd, Lucas, and Ki)
Book 4 – Markov – Markov and Cassius
Book 5 – Kelvin – Kelvin and Magnus (mpreg - Markov)
Assassins To Order With JP Sayle
Marvin – Marvin and Ajani (February 2023)
Ben – Ben and others –(due out April 2023)
Standalone:
I Should’ve Stayed Home: Irwin’s Story – Part of the Nocturne Bay collab series – Irwin and Kolton
The Fall of the Fairy Tale Prince – Charlie and Lex (A spin off from Dancing Around the Cop and Change of Plans in the A&O series)
Stay True to Me – Con and Ven
Rowan and the Wolf – Rowan and Shadow
Bound by Blood – Max and Lyle – (a spin off from Cloverleah Pack #7)
The Power of the Bite – Dax and Zane
One Wrong Step – Robert and Syron
Uncaged – Carlin and Lucas (Shifter’s Uprising in conjunction with Thomas Oliver)
Also under the penname Lee Oliver/Lisa Oliver
Northern States Pack Series
Book One – Ranger’s End Game – Ranger and Aiden
Book Two – Cam’s Promise – Cam and Levi
Book Three – Under Sean’s Protection – Sean and Kyle
Book Four – Newton’s Law – Newton and Tron
About the Author Lisa Oliver
Lisa Oliver lives in the wilds of New Zealand, although her beautiful dogs Hades and Zeus are now living somewhere else far more remote than she is. Reports indicate they truly enjoy chasing possums although they still can’t catch them. In the meantime, Lisa is living a lot closer to all her adult kids and grandchildren which means she gets a lot more visitors. However, it doesn’t look like she’s ever going to stop writing - with over eighty paranormal MM (and MMM) titles to her name so far, she shows no signs of slowing down.
When Lisa is not writing, she is usually reading with a cup of tea always at hand. Her grown children and grandchildren sometimes try and pry her away from the computer and have found that the best way to do it is to promise her chocolate. Lisa will do anything for chocolate… and occasionally cheezals. She has also started working out, because of the chocolate and the cheezals.
Lisa loves to hear from her readers and other writers (I really do, lol). You can catch up with her on any of the social media links below.
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/lisaoliverauthor
Official Author page – https://www.facebook.com/LisaOliverManloveAuthor/
My new private teaser group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/540361549650663/
My MeWe Group - http://mewe.com/join/lisa_olivers_paranormal_pack
