Chapter 8Outside in the fields, guarded by the swaying pines of the leopards lands, Brandon was getting the work out of his lifetime.The cart that Ezekiel had agreed to haul out to Erin and Drin’s home in lue of the upcoming Clan Celebration was indeed large....and as Ezekiel had guessed it was “as heavy as a horse”. Brandon and Ezekiel both stood shoulder to shoulder, pulling on the long wooden handle, and marching the cart forward beneath the pine trees.Ezekiel and Brandon traveled along a well-trodden path of firm earth. Brandon had been informed by Ezekiel earlier that morning that paths such at the one that they traveled crisscrossed all of the Leopards lands and that many of them had appeared over time as traffic from different areas created divots in the earth. Rainfall and wind had seemed to do the rest.Halfway to Erin’s home Ezekiel stopped and handed him a chilled water canteen.Brandon was damp, his shirt felt glued to him, so with a few deft flicks of his fingers he un
Chapter 9Chapter 9And suddenly Erin was standing there. Standing in a long bright orange sundress, that was split along he calf’s and sporting golden lace up saddles she looked just as lovely and Amazonian as Brandon remembered seeing her nearly a week before. “Ezekiel! Brandon!” She called as she left her front door open behind her and quickly walked down the steps of her front porch.“Erin...slow down!” Ezekiel intoned from the cart, as the young Leopardess nearly stumbled down the steps, her long legs moving far too fast as she rushed up to them. She wasn’t showing, so unless Brandon had been told he wouldn’t have been able to guess that the bubbly girl skipping towards him was quickly on her way to motherhood.Her hazel eyes were glowing with a slight ember light and a large smile was plastered across her face which showed off the small fangs that were growing. Her excitement was instantly infections as she nearly danced to a stop in Brandon’s wake and waved. A frilly, bubbly en
Chapter 10After that Ezekiel and Brandon delved into a silent rhythm.The soft sun beat down on them and the grass, warming it, so that every blade that brushed against Brandon’s ankles felt like the warm brush of a breath. And Brandon found the work and view to be a calming affair all around.Even Ezekiels company calmed him. His presence perhaps calmed Brandon most of all. Mostly because Brandon found that he craved proximity to the Guardian that went beyond his own understanding.Even though Ezekiel held himself in a brooding silence as they worked.But this was understandable considering the fact that the two of them had only just gotten over a large...and mostly unresolved argument, minutes before arriving at Erin’s cabin.And for the most part, rather then continue to fight, Brandon allowed him to stew....especially seeing as Brandon had done everything in his power to aggravate and upset the guardian in the first place. So for a long moment they sat in shallow companionship, a
Chapter 11Somehow feeling like the lamb to the slaughter as Ezekiel playful offer tried to take root Brandon shook his head. “No. Not on your life.”“No? Why not?” Ezekiels tone took on a slightly goading overture. “You can’t be afraid to spar with me are you? You seem to know how to handle yourself in a fight.....”Something about the way that he said this sounded like a clear challenge. And damn him....but Brando had never been able to turn away from a challenge. “I do know how to handle myself!” He replied sharply.Knowing that he had won part of the battle Ezekiel smiled, like a Cheshire cat. “Well then...” HE intoned putting out his hands to his sides, palms up. “Spar with me...”“Are you serious? You really want to do this?” Brandon sighed.“Well were out here for the rest of the afternoon.” Ezekiel said back dropping his hands and motioning to the sun that wasn’t even halfway past the wide clear sky. “And it will be a good way to pass the time...”“And I guess that’s important
Chapter 12The beast was thrice his size, with creamy yellow fur dusted with black splotches, triangular ears, tufted with soft white, long silvery whiskers trembled against his skin, while ferocious fangs gleamed, and dark blue eyes glared at him. Brandon stared in shock into the beasts gaze, until a tongue was suddenly lapping across the tip of his nose and a long soft snarl filled the air.“WHOA! “With a shout of surprise Brandon shoved and kicked out ward, while scrambling backwards and he was moving in such a panic that he soon slammed back into a pine tree.His first thought was to get up onto his feet, but he was frozen in mid scramble as a vicious rumble vibrated on the air. Slowly, afraid to look at the beast, Brandon glanced up and was horrified to be staring into the angry, tail lashing, snarling, three hundred pound face of a Leopard, with eyes that glowed a supernatural tint of blue.The moment Brandon looked at the Leopard head on, it got riled up. It snarled and roared
Chapter 13“The leopard made YOU Shift?” Brandon asked him, glancing down at Ezekiel’s hands. Somehow he strangled the growing need to reach out and un-ball the hard fist that Ezekiel had formed. The same need that had urged him to reach out and pet a giant snarling Leopard, instead of run.But a moment later Ezekiel had dropped the fist with a curse. “Damnit!” Ezekiel growled in sudden and visceral agitation. He reached out, possibly intending to touch Brandon’s cheek, but at the last moment a look of guilt flickered across his face and he pulled back. “Did he hurt you...?” Ezekiel asked him softly, looking Brandon over for injuries as he spoke. “Our strength....our anger....I can’t control them when I’m Shifted.”Hoping to sooth Ezekiel’s obvious anxiety Brandon shrugged both of his shoulders and shook his head. “No I’m fine.” He reported, then feeling a small smile growing on his face he said. “When he first appeared he did sort of swipe and snap at me. But then he just sat on top
Chapter 14After arriving back at the Mansion Brandon and Ezekiel silently agreed on heading up to the second floor. The sun was setting. Night crept up over the home and in the silence their beds called to them.The smell of burning candles and soft pine danced all along the halls as Ezekiel and Brandon stepped off of the top of the staircases and Ezekiel walked beside Brandon to his room.The moment Brandon saw the door to his room, he mumbled a quick good night to Ezekiel and tried to disappear, but his name on Ezekiel’s lips held him in the hall, before he could manage to even turn the door knob.“Brandon? Wait...please.” Ezekiel called as they started to part ways. The call was a question and a demand all rolled up into one.All throughout the hike back to the Mansion it had seemed he wanted to say something, but until now the words had remained unspoken....and because Brandon partially feared what he would say....he had allowed Ezekiel to remain in silence.Brandon sensed someth
Chapter 15That night, after a slow afternoon of quiet patrolling alone, Ezekiel retired to his room.Snarling and hissing he prowled in the confines of his room, eventually forced to admit to himself that he was in fact avoiding dinner, his family....and the one man that was making him feel just a little bit insane. Not to mention tense, and pent up, and on edge.Ezekiel didn’t want to be around his family feeling the way he felt. He didn’t want to be around Lander thinking what he was thinking. He didn’t want to be near Brandon with the heat of his body only a few hours forgotten.So, not bothering to remove his clothing and feeling bone tired, Ezekiel crawled into his sheets, punched a few pillows into shape beneath him....and promptly collapsed in exhaustion.IT was sometime later before he began to stir. He moaned, tossed in his sheets and bit his lip in his sleep.In his mind he felt the electricity running down his spine, gathering in his gut, tightening his balls, emanating fr
*First off thank all of you so much for your time and support and your reads! Please tell me any thoughts you have so far about Brandon and Ezekiel. I would love to hear from you guys. Now lets end this!* Chapter 48 Ezekiel turned around from the wall that he had nearly walked into and began to walk in the opposite direction. He soon came to the other wall in his room and turning he began the whole thing all over again. Pacing. It was a nervous anxious device that people used to elevate the pressure of insecurities. Pacing is something Ezekiel had never done before. To wake up in the early hours of the morning and pace the ground in worry? It was so against his nature to worry. It was also against the nature of a Guardian, a nature that his father had trained into him from the moment he was old enough to hold a blade. To protect his Clan and those that he cared for. His father had always taught him to be composed and filled with surety, but still he found himself bothered endlessly
Chapter 47Brandon sat on the bed, and quietly downed an entire bottle of water. He’d been vomiting on and off for hours now. Weakness, nausea, they always came running up right after a huge loss occurred inside of him. It was inevitable that after each outpour of his strange power, he fell severely ill, it was like an emptiness inside of him grew where the power once resided for a short time.Most of the time he prayed for separation from his power. He spent every minute of every day hoping it would leave him in peace....but the sickness that followed was not a pleasant alternative.Unfortunately coupled with the unbelievable hunger, and pain inside of him there was a mountain of things weighting on Brandon’s mind to keep him from wallowing in sorrow.The escape...was a miserable failure that sat like a guilty blot across every one of Brandon’s interaction with Ezekiels family.....even though none of the Guardians treated him unkindly seeing as his actions had almost gotten their sib
Chapter 46With his cat eyes unsure and speckled with the stirrings of unconsciousness, Ezekiel suddenly reached forward. His hand closed around Brandon’s wrist and lifted it to his lips as he opened his mouth.His canines slowly elongated and Brandon strangled his immediate reaction which was to pull his arm back from the intimidating sight and instead he pressed his arm against the pointed teeth, using the points to help the blood flow out of the cuts he had made with Ezekiel’s claw.A few fat rapid drops fell into Ezekiel’s mouth after that, seeming to get his attention.A growl of pure need.....and satisfaction wound its way up and out of Ezekiel. The sound was like a caress, igniting and stroking Brandon’s own pleasure and confusing him as well.Whoa, I feel like I can’t breathe.Brandon thought to himself, realizing that he was in fact holding his breath in anticipation. His whole being was zeroed in on the feeling of Ezekiel’s breath on his skin, his hot palms grasping him, and
Chapter 45The venom was impossible to stop. There was no cure. There was no stopping the victims from dying.Brandon had already tried to save a life and had instead aided in taking it....There was nothing he could do......The moment Brandon looked at the wound in Ezekiel’s stomach he knew all of this to be the truth, but he refused to accept it.“No....They can’t have you too!” Brandon whispered into his hands.He wouldn’t allow this to happen!Without thinking about what he was doing Brandon tore the gloves off of his hands, dropped down in the sand and grass and shoved his hands against Ezekiel’s chest.Both he and the Shifter were soaking wet from their dip in the lake so Brandon was forced more than once to reach up and dash water from his eyes that was dripping lazily from the strands of his bangs.Then with all of the will power in his body Brandon tried to make the Flame do as he commanded. He tried his hardest to make it heal. He let it out of his soul. Bliss kissed his eve
Chapter 44With little to no problem Brandon managed to keep up with the grueling pace that Ezekiel instantly set.Panting Brandon risked a look back and with a grim breath he reported. “They are following us. Both of them are following us....We're weaponless....and running nowhere.”Ezekiel glanced back getting a quick glimpse of two Ghouls loping after them at break neck speed. One of the Ghouls, the largest, nearly seven feet tall, had skin the color of dead leaves, and heavy thick claws and fangs that were so over developed that some talons curled and some of the fangs shot strait up through its own snout.The second Ghoul was smaller at only about six feet and had flesh the color of cardboard. It also now had a giant knife handle sticking out of its brain that was leaking a furious fountain of blood down its face and jowls to mix into the black goo that dripped thickly from its jowls.Ezekiel glanced away from the disturbing sight, glanced at Brandon and shook his head. “Were not
Chapter 43OK....so far so good....” Brandon thought to himself as he gazed out over the expansive area and the mountains sitting like black and gray sentinels miles out in the dimming sunlight.After a week of planning Brandon had come to the easy conclusion that the norther part of the Leopards Lands would be the best place to attempt his escape from. The entirety of the north was vastly wild brush, tall grasses, bodies of water and thick pine tree canopy’s.Brandon had picked the best time to make his escape. The mid-day. Knowing after weeks in the mansion that none of Ezekiel’s family members were at home during the midday and were instead off in the villages healing the sick, or doing farmers work.“Brandon stop!”Brandon jumped and quicker than anyone would have believed possible, he had dropped his pact to the forest floor and pulled a long, slim kitchen blade out of the belt at his waist.He had stolen the simple blade form the kitchen. “Ezekiel? No please dont do this now!” h
Chapter 42The mortal was as crafty and stubborn as Ezekiel gave him credit for....maybe even more so.After the attack on the Clan Celebration and their falling out Brandon refused to budge. And Ezekiel refused to continue to pretend like he didn’t have suspicions.So he had no choice but to pull back and give Brandon the space that he acted desperate to have.Ezekiel didn’t chase after answers he was dying to have. He didn’t question and dig....and he physically had to stop himself from trying to touch the man all the time.And the fact that Ezekiel could barely stop himself for reaching for the mortal at any given hour....or when they accidentally connected gazes.....should have frightened him....but all it did was make Ezekiel more frustrated with their current standoff. Why did Brandon insist on turning from not only Ezekiels company....but the mutual attraction they felt was confounding.And the dreams!There were no words to explain the confusion the sensual, hot dreams he suff
Chapter 41Brandon felt a momentary hesitation of guilt settling over him as he found himself standing outside of Ezekiels bedroom door. It had been five hours since the attack on the village.Brandon had no idea what was going on outside, or what Ezekiel and the rest of the Guardians had had to suffer in the last few hours, but he knew that Ezekiel would not only be exhausted...but also not in the mood to talk.Which was perfect.Brandon knocked on the door and in moments it was opened to reveal the mostly unclothed body of a god.Ezekiel was all defined muscle and flawless skin, long arms and thick legs, none of which was easily hidden by the short pair of blue boxers that the Shifter answered in. Brandon was practically powerless to stop his eyes from dancing down between the Guardians pecks, past his lickable ribs and belly, to settle for a moment on the small dusting of slightly golden hair just below his navel that summoned a little ridiculous curl of heat in Brandons thoughts a
“Another LOCK DOWN!!!” Brandon screamed minutes after running into his room and slamming the door shut between him and Ezekiel’s sharp gaze.He didn’t care if he was heard. He screamed because he couldn’t bring himself to break down and cry again like he had shamefully just did in Ezekiel’s embrace.“This can’t be fucking happening to me....NOT now!”Brandon walked across the room and slammed his fist into the lamp. The heavy glass toppled swiftly in wake of his frustration and shattered, splaying shards all across the wooden floor. And Brandon didn’t stop there. He kicked the mattress, forcing the heavy wooden frame to shift half a foot, then he swiped his arm across the top of the drawer knocking every item atop it to the floor including the pack he had received from Glen and a decorated box of mahogany and lace that held smooth stones and beadsMORE GHOULS HAVE APPEARED! PEOPLE HAVE DIED. AND TO TOP IT OFF THE FUCKING LOCK DOWN HAS BEEN REINSTATED!! IT’S ALL JUST MORE WASTED TIME!