Feral (The Wrong Alpha 2)

“I’m not afraid of you,” he repeated, laying a hand on Devlin’s stubbled cheek.

Devlin went rigid, his pheromones spiking. “You should go. Now. I’m on the verge of transforming.”

“I know what I’m doing,” Jules said, unbuttoning Devlin’s shirt with unsteady fingers. He wasn’t nervous. Just impatient, excited, and very turned on. “I hated that you spent your last rut alone, locked up like an animal—”

“During the full moon, I am an animal,” Devlin bit out. “You have no idea what you’re suggesting. I’ll look disgusting. Monstrous.”

“I don’t love you for your looks,” Jules said softly, looking at his handsome face. He loved that face, but it wasn’t what made him fall in love with Devlin. It was Devlin’s caring. Attention. Protectiveness. His heart. Devlin made him feel safe and cherished. The full moon wasn’t going to change that. “I can do it. I want to do it.”

Devlin shot him a frustrated look. “It’s not just the physical appearance. I’ll act like an animal. I don’t want you to see me like that. If you stay with me, I might hurt you. I’ll want to fuck you and knot you—whether you want it or not. The instinct to breed will overpower everything. I’ll be too rough.”

Jules wet his lips, his cock aching, his slick dribbling down his leg.

“I know perfectly well what I’m talking about,” he said. “I was mated to a Xeus before.”

Devlin’s nostrils flared, his jaw tightening. “I don’t want to hear it,” he said tersely, still gripping the desk behind him hard. “I don’t care about your first mate.”

Smiling, Jules kissed him on the cheek and breathed in his scent. Gods, he missed him. “Liar,” he said fondly. But he did appreciate that his lack of innocence didn’t put Devlin off completely: most alphas were too territorial to bear not being their omega’s first alpha. “Look, I know it bothers you, so I wouldn’t be talking about this if it weren’t important. I’ve had sex with my first mate while—”

Devlin shoved his face into Jules’s neck and sucked hard on his scent gland, teeth almost sinking into the flesh. Jules’s surprised yelp turned into a moan, pleasure coursing through his body.

“Mine,” Devlin snarled, pushing Jules against the desk and shoving a hip between his legs.

“Fuck,” Jules gasped out, his thighs falling open. “Wait, stop—this is important.”

Devlin pulled away from his throat, his eyes glowing an unnatural green, his claws already out.

Jules stared at him in fascination.

“I had sex with a Xeus alpha while he was in his shifted form,” Jules said.

“Are you crazy? Do you know how dangerous—”

“I didn’t exactly have a choice—”

“He forced you?” Devlin gritted out.

“No. I meant that I’ve never really talked to him when he was in his right mind.”

Devlin’s brows furrowed. “What?”

Jules hesitated, but then he figured future mates shouldn’t keep secrets from each other. “He was already transformed when I met him.” He made a face. “And by ‘met him’ I mean that he was locked up in our dungeon in a feral state while my uncle did evil experiments on him.”

Devlin went very still, his face going blank. “What,” he said tonelessly.

Jules sighed. “I know how it sounds—it sounds unbelievable, I know—but it’s true. My uncle was experimenting on him, because—look, it’s not important now. My point is, I’ve been with a shifted Xeus before, and it wasn’t traumatizing or anything. I’m sure it’ll be even better with you, because I trust you and love you.” He blushed, still feeling a little self-conscious about his feelings. He felt even more self-conscious when Devlin just continued looking at him strangely. “I mean, I did like him—we were compatible—but it wasn’t more than chemistry and pheromones. Maybe it could have become more if we actually had an opportunity for that, but it ended as quickly as it started. He was—he was killed shortly after I helped him escape.”

“He was killed?” Devlin said in an odd tone of voice.

“Yes—I mean, our mating bond broke, so he must have been killed…” Jules swallowed, feeling a pang of pain. Although his mating mark had completely faded by now and the bond didn’t hurt anymore, it still hurt thinking about it. “I had Eric send a message to Prince Haydn. I hoped Haydn would find the Xeus before anyone could hurt him, but it seems the prince was too late— Why are you looking at me that way?” Jules frowned, completely confused by Devlin’s weird reaction. “Why are you smiling?”

“No reason,” Devlin said, with the same strange little smile. He cradled Jules’s face, eyeing him intently. “So you were attracted to him. Even though he was in a shifted state.”

Flushing, Jules scowled. “You can judge me all you want, but omegas have a sex drive, too, and we can’t help what turns us on.”

Devlin’s lips curled. “I’m not judging. I’m curious. Was his cock bigger than mine?”