The Snowcrow Agenda

The night air was silent and cold, even in the shadows of a dark alley where a man took his last breath. Rafayel felt the corners of his lips turn up as he dragged the blade across the throat of a man without a second thought, gloved hand covering his victim’s mouth to keep him from screaming. The only sound around was the heavy plop on the ground and faint snap of blood splatter against the concrete when Rafayel flicked his blade clean. He stood over his work, and indulged himself in a cold smile. Good. Another name off the list. 

Rafayel adjusted his hood over his head and crouched down to fish through the dead man’s pockets. He ignored the wallet in his jacket pocket, and drew out a key card that granted access to an office building and a ring of keys. Just as he twirled the metal around his finger with pride, he froze. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end and a prickle of awareness raced across his shoulders and down his arms. 

He was being watched.

Rafayel stood, grip tightening on the hilt of his dagger. His sunset eyes flicked to the end of the alley to a layer of security provided by one of the streetlights bathing the sidewalk in an orange-hued light. Act natural. he told himself, slipping into the calm nonchalance and confidence as he strode forward. He was no prey.

The feeling of pins and needles on his skin remained with every step he took. All he had to do was get out to the sidewalk, and then it was just a matter of losing whoever was watching him. If the watcher in the dark was stupid enough to confront him, Rafayel was more than happy to rob them of the element of surprise. Leaving someone else bleeding out in his wake was annoying but manageable.

Rafayel was almost to the end of the alley when he heard the movement from the rooftop above him. He did not flinch, he did not hesitate. As soon as the solid body of a man landed on the ground in front of him, Rafayel aimed for the torso and drove his blade with a grunt of calculated strength. For all his readiness, Rafayel’s eyes widened in surprise now as his blade hit not soft flesh and blood but…metal?

The tip of Rafayel’s dagger broke and he dropped it in shock. He yelped as he was shoved back by a strong hand, but he caught his balance and came face to face with a man who offered him an infuriatingly smug grin. 

He was dressed simply; a sleeveless compression shirt that clung to every muscle of his broad chest and a pair of black canvas pants and tactical boots. He didn’t even bother to cover his face. He had a cleanly cut crop of russet hair, captured by a light breeze and left his handsome features untouched. Rafayel swore that there was a dull glow emanating from a pair of mocking golden eyes, and his face pulled into a frown as he saw a ripple of dark metal fade away on his abs where Rafayel had been focused on burying his blade. Some sort of Evol. 

“Is that how you say ‘hello’ where you’re from?” the stranger taunted him. There was a playfulness buried within the warmth of his deep voice, a certain casual lilt to his tone that only pissed Rafayel off.

“You shouldn’t ambush strangers in the dark if you don’t want a fight.” Rafayel scoffed. The stranger chuckled and raised an eyebrow to gesture with a nod of his head at the darkness behind Rafayel. 

“Is that what happened to him?” he asked sarcastically. 

“I don’t know what you mean.” Rafayel said innocently, stepping to the side to walk past the tall stranger. Predictably, the man moved to black his exit with his body, eyes narrowing with a warning. 

“Dumping a body in my territory…looks like a threat if you ask me.” said the man with an edge in his tone. Rafayel kept his magnetizing gaze as he slowly reached for a sheathe strapped to his hip.

“Your territory?” Rafayel sneered. “I don’t see your name on it.”

“I don’t think you know my name, otherwise you wouldn’t be here in the first place.” said the stranger, taking a step forward to crowd Rafayel’s space. “It’s Valko.”

“Didn’t ask.” Rafayel quipped, and drew his second blade. With an artful thrust he aimed for Valko’s throat, hoping to force him to move out of his way on instinct. Valko leapt back but darted to move in front of Rafayel again to keep him from escaping. A new glimmer of dark metal coalesced on Valko’s arm, crafting a long and lethal blade on the back of his forearm and hand. 

Another clang of metal on metal rang out in the alleyway as Valko parried Rafayel’s blade once more, and the two were stuck in a deadlock. Rafayel’s expression was fierce and angry, while Valko’s remained smug and playful. 

“That’s not very nice.” he said sweetly. 

“What about me makes you think that I’m nice?” Rafayel hissed, pushing back with all of his strength to throw Valko off balance. Valko’s golden eyes narrowed, surprised that Rafayel’s compact frame had the strength to move him, but he adapted and flashed Rafayel a wicked grin that showed off pointed sets of eyeteeth and canines. 

There was something wild about Valko, he was smooth and playful but unpredictable and dangerous. He was undeniably gorgeous with a strong nose and chiseled jaw, and Rafayel found it such a waste that this wolf of man had found himself on the receiving end of a knife instead of a paintbrush. He would have enjoyed mixing the perfect honey-gold to capture his striking eyes or the perfect pink for his lips…Oh well. he thought with a huff as he parried another heavy strike. 

“Kitty’s got claws, huh? Scary.” Valko teased him as their blades clashed again. Another scoff from Rafayel.

“And a dog always barks.” Rafayel bit back. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”

This time it was Valko to lash out, and Rafayel effortlessly avoided his blade, darting away from strike after strike with his eyes on Valko’s body to look for an opening to make him pay for running his mouth. Valko picked up on his plan, and even though Rafayel was nimble and precise, Valko’s heavy bladed arm was the perfect shield against his sharp stabs and slashes. Rafayel huffed. He was going to have to get more creative. 

“Havin’ fun yet?” Valko winked, clearly having the time of his life. 

Rafayel grit his teeth, expression enraged as he lashed out again and again to no avail. The worst part was that, yes, in spite of his irritation Rafayel was having fun. This opponent was interesting, and his Evol was new to Rafayel in a way that made him want to observe. He seemed to command attention and humor, but the beast of a fighter underneath those playful words was scratching an itch in him that he couldn’t deny. His heart raced with adrenaline and an excitement he hadn’t felt in a fight for some time.

At first the goal had been to escape and evade, but now this was a matter of principle. Valko was playing with him, and that was an offense that would not stand. With one final attempt at sliding his knife into the ample muscle of Valko’s thigh, Valko blocked him and flicked the large blade on his forearm in just the right measure to send the dagger flying into the alleyway and well out of Rafayel’s reach.

“Have you had enough?” Valko asked him with an oppressive authority, his chest falling and rising from exertion and sweat darkening the lines between his pecs and the ripple of his abs. Rafayel forced himself not to look too closely. “Just tell me what you’re doing here, I could smell you from a mile away. You’re far from home.”

“I’ll say when it’s enough.” Rafayel snarled, and activated his own Evol. 

From Rafayel’s palm, fire sparked and ignited. A bright stream of red-yellow flames sparked a surprised breath from Valko who shielded himself under his metal blade and fed his Evol into it to make it grow larger, wider. Rafayel smirked, and he intensified the heat of his flame. Valko attempted to take a step forward, but Rafayel did not let up. He extended his other hand, pouring in another streak of flame aimed directly at the center of the metal shield. He smirked. 

It didn’t take long for the metal to heat up and Rafayel smiled at the sound of a pained cry from his adversary. Evol or not, red hot metal was painful to the touch. Rafayel watched his opponent take a knee, trying to dissipate the pain in his forearm but unable to let the metal construct go for fear of being burned alive. Rafayel liked that he had to choose between pains and his grin turned cold. Serves you right. he thought, ego flourishing on the act. He was so swept up in the feeling of besting his enemy that he did not hear the metal construct grow over the flames. 

The cries of pain died down, a metal clang sounded, and Rafayel looked up just in time to see a man leaping over his wall of flame with an agility he should not have possessed. Those pointed teeth were bared at him now, and the flowing tail of a wolf swept behind him along with two furry ears that matched the dusty brick red of his hair had appeared at the crown of his head. Rafayel was the one taken aback at the sight now before he was pounced on and cratered to the ground under pure muscle and focus.

Rafayel felt the breath kick from his lungs and his vision danced. The weight on his chest dissipated and allowed him to cough as his stomach rolled and his mind scrambled to take weight of this situation. His next blow was instinctual, a blast of fire in his attacker’s face. Valko rolled off of Rafayel’s body to avoid it, and it gave Rafayel the chance he needed to scramble to his feet only to find that the path out of the alley was blocked by a cold metal blockade, born of the weapon and shield Valko had summoned around him in the fire fight. 

Fingers closed around Rafayel’s throat and yet again breath was robbed from his lungs as he was shoved into one of the cold walls of the alley. His hands had no chance to respond, as Valko’s Evol pinned them in sturdy restraints of metal in a “V” shape that kept him from casting his fire with any sort of aim or pulling a weapon. His legs were drawn up to his toes and setting his feet flush to the ground put strain on his wrists, which forced Rafayel to focus on more than one thing and weakened his unnaturally fast adaptation to battle.

Rafayel raged against his restraints with an indignant shout, the mask of calm and confidence fully dropped now. Valko smirked at the sight, eyes fully alert and seeming to revel in the back and forth between them.

“You’re fast. That was a workout.” Valko said with that arrogant sideways grin. Rafayel set his jaw. This was not what he had intended to be doing tonight. “So let’s talk. Who are you, and what did that poor bastard do to get iced off the street like that?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Rafayel’s tone was acid behind his teeth. “I don’t trade information with wolf men who try to gut me in a back alley. What’s that about? Was I right that you're just a barking dog?”

Valko smoothed his tongue against his teeth and kept his lips tight to hold back a laugh at how humorously wrong his prey was. It wouldn’t do him any favors. He looked Rafeyal over, forcing himself not to dwell too long on a face so startlingly beautiful before he turned away to get back to his point. He approached Rafayel’s angered form pinned against the wall and used his Evol to form two more bolts of metal bracers to secure his ankles and keep Rafayel from kicking him. He briefly considered one more for his arrogant mouth.

“Hey, you were the one who swung first.” Valko shrugged. The tail he now sported behind him flicked back and worth with interest and Rafayel felt long fingers digging into his pockets. “I think I deserve to ask a few questions after all that. Walking around smelling like you do, someone was bound to find you. Just be glad it was me.”

Rafayel swallowed. He hadn’t wanted to pull out every weapon he had in the arsenal, but Valko was a breath away from disrupting a plan he’d already cycled into motion. When he blinked up again to meet Valko’s golden gaze, his eyes were glowing with a cerulean hue. When he spoke, the vocal chords that had killed so many before spoke his intention with absolute command. The voice of a siren. Valko’s eyes went wide and his lips parted at the spectacle. His top ears pinned back in surprise, and his tail was raised, fur completely bristled in alarm. 

“Let. Me. Go.” Rafayel commanded him. 

Valko acted at once, as though he were a puppet on a string, Rafayel’s arms and ankles were released and the shield of metal blocking the alley dissolved at a grip of Valko’s fist. The air between them was different. Valko’s eyes were glazed over and his chest rose and fell with heavy, thick breaths. His wolf ears were forward and at attention now, trained on Rafayel as though waiting for another command. His tail swayed back and forth, relaxing into a needy pattern. Valko’s entire body felt tensed, primed to do what he was told. His mind felt blank and cloudy, pleasantly warm and receptive to Rafayel’s every word.

But something darker lingered in his chest. It felt like claws scraping against his reason. Despite the cold night, Valko felt heated. A storm brewed in his veins as his mind slipped into the trap of being completely and suddenly enamored with the man in front of him. He was lost in the unnatural blue glow of Rafayel’s eyes, and powerless against his beauty. He wanted to do anything he was told. He wanted to be praised by him. He wanted to give Rafayel the world for a shred of his attention. He wanted to feel what Rafayel’s slender wrists felt like when he pinned them down. He was hungry. And he wanted to consume.

Rafayel smiled with a hint of malice at how quickly Valko’s mind had taken to his voice. He looked as though he was offering so little resistance to his charm. He could do anything he wanted with him now. He could have a new follower. He could leave him bleeding for the crows to find. As far as Rafayel could tell, Valko was completely at his mercy.

“Not so tough now, are you?” He sneered. “This is just too easy. That’s what happens when you–!”

Rafayel’s sentence was cut off mid-insult with the feeling of intense heat and the powerful muscles of his enemy shoving him into the wall. Something had snapped in Valko’s calm from a moment before, as if the door to a cage had been flung open. Rafayel’s eyes went wide, and he struggled to speak, unable to form words as Valko crashed their lips together with brutal force. 

Rafayel’s first instinct was to shove, to push back against the sudden advance, but the scent of Valko was thinning his resolve. He smelled of the forest, of cedar and pine on warm earth. A deep dizzying edge of musk and metal tickled his senses, and the soft sweetness of cocoa teased him. It woke something in him. Something primal and inhuman stirred. Valko’s long fingers brushed his sides and a hand stroked at his abs before sweeping over his lower belly towards the ache that throbbed to life between his legs. The hands raised to push Valko away found themselves twining in his short hair to pull him closer. 

Valko groaned into Rafayel’s lips, exhilarated when Rafayel kissed him back and gave a sharp nip to his lip to demand more. He was no stranger to inner wildness and the power of his instincts, but Rafayel was something different. Something much older and rare, but every bit as dangerous. He was an ambush predator that waited in the depths. He was a poisonous thorn hidden by the petals of a flower. What tangled in Valko’s senses along with this mysterious power of voice and command was the incredible smell of him that had made Valko investigate in the first place. He smelled like the spray of the ocean under a summer sun. A curl of iris in the spring. The smell of the crisp wind over the cliffs at high tide in a sleepy autumn. A flash of searing fire and spiced pink pepper that ripped through cold in a desolate winter. Refined and built to entice and delight until you drowned with a smile on your face.

Valko’s hand stayed firm over the softness of Rafayel’s lower abdomen, and his fingers itched to rip at the material covering it. The place where life began. He could feel the hunger deep within Rafayel’s body that echoed his own. He wanted to rip him apart, to bend him over and sink so deep within him that the beasts inside of them would both howl for mercy. Rafayel’s lips fell open, inviting Valko to take more, to follow his newfound obsession blindly simply to find out where it would lead him. Valko obliged, his tail making frantic, energetic swipes through the air. 

Greed made Rafayel feral. He wanted more. He wanted to be touched, kissed, fucked with the intensity Valko had used to fight him and more. He barely noticed a speckle of blue scales emerging on his cheeks and along his neck, over the overwhelming sensation of their tongues sliding together. Valko moved the hand on Rafayel’s torso to grab at his ass and rut into him, and Rafayel gasped at the feeling of Valko’s cock within his tightening pants. 

Valko finched when his tongue brushed against the edge of something sharp, and it briefly startled him out of the spell Rafayel had put him under. He pulled away at the taste of copper in his mouth and his glassy eyes widened and focused when he realized the source. Rafayel panted in front of him, plush lips open to reveal a set of small pointed fangs. His scales dotted his flushed skin like stars in the sky, and a smear of blood lined the corner of his mouth. Idly, Rafayel licked it away, eyes focusing on Valko’s stunned face before he realized what he was staring at.

Rafayel stiffened, and he clapped a hand over his neck as if it would help anything. His mind scrambled for explanation: his Ebb day was over a month away, how was this possible? He shoved aside his confusion and his eyes flicked to the end of the alley. He had to get away. He’d been caught at the scene of a murder and now his own body was betraying him. Before Valko could speak up, Rafayel’s eyes flashed again.

“Sit.” Rafayel ordered him coldly with the voice of a siren. 

Valko seemed to fight the hypnotic pull this time and his muscles twitched, but he succumbed to the order. Slowly he lowered himself to the ground, kneeling in front of Rafayel as he was told. Rafayel’s eyes darted around in panic, and he turned to leave, but paused when he felt strong fingers circling his wrist. Valko’s gaze was pleading, begging him not to go, asking wordlessly for answers. Rafayel’s face hardened. 

“Stay.” he commanded, ripping his hand away and running for the street, throwing his hood back over his head as he went. 

He sprinted down the street to where his car was parked a few blocks over. His chest hammered with a caustic blend of confusion, panic, and spiked irritation. What were you thinking!? He screamed at himself internally. His fingers shook as he fished his car key from his pocket and he hauled himself into the driver’s seat. A lingering tang of copper tingled on his tongue and his fangs weighed in his mouth. He cringed to see that his fingernails had lengthened and sharpened into claws, and the insatiable throb between his legs wouldn’t go away. What had that mutt done to him!?

Rafayel drove home as fast as he could. His siren’s hold on Valko would dissipate and when it did, Rafayel would be far away.

___

Valko wasn’t sure how long it took before he was able to leave from his place on the ground, but as he was finally able to break through the haziness in his mind he could see the sky beginning to brighten.The pretty face of the killer he’d faced off with the night before hadn’t left his mind. He was sweating, and face was flushed. All night he’d sat outside, and it wasn’t the cold that had been torture, it had been the ache of his hardened cock and the blistering heat under his skin. The physical burns had faded within the first hour, a reminder of their tussle and the beginning of this madness.

His muscles and joints screamed in protest as he lifted himself off of the ground and he reached to balance himself on the wall for support. He could smell the stench of death from the other side of the alley were the killer’s victim still rested, discarded like trash.

He jaw clenched and his tired eyes narrowed. Who was that man? Why had he been able to order him around like a leashed dog the way he had? A better question was what was that man? His eyes had been striking, but his features had gone sharp and uncanny. Fangs, scales, claws…he was something completely different. But the question that had burned the brightest in Valko’s addled, spellbound mind was simply: Why had he smelled so delicious?

The night before had started out normal enough. Valko liked to patrol his territory, he did his best to protect his turf from both enemies and outsiders so when the scent of blood appeared in the air nearby he’d gone to investigate. The closer he’d gotten the more the sticky metallic rot-scent of blood and death had dissipated to make room for the mouthwatering smell that clung to a beautiful man that tried to filet him on sight. His ears twitched and his tail whipped, remembering the scuffle. His cock ached. 

Valko pressed a hand into his forehead with a groan. This flushing, this intensity, the way his senses felt like a live wire, the persistent ache between his legs and wolf features that wouldn’t go away. He knew what this was, though he was sick to admit it: whatever that man had done to him had triggered a rut. 

He was in the beginning stages now, but soon he’d be overwhelmed with the smell of anything too strong. He’d be lost to the fog of desire, emotions would clog his reason, and he’d need a few days to fully recover from the tidal wave of hormones that steered him by the cock and pheromones plainly palpable to anyone that got too close. The physical sensations were already setting in, and he bit back the urge to scratch at his skin which suddenly felt too tight to contain him.

His logical mind told him to go home, knot into his hand and go to bed, but the animal side argued back.

Hunt him down.

Catch him.

Make him yours. 

Come on, you smelled it on him. Do it. He wants you to.

PUT A KNOT IN HIM. 

Valko snarled and snapped his jaws at no one and nothing. He shook his head, trying to dislodge the thoughts of a predator. His mouth watered as he thought of the stranger again; how pretty that violet hair would make him moan if he pulled it, how good he’d look pressed into the floor, writhing under his cock...This wasn’t like him. He was a man of principle. A man of science. He always looked before he leapt, always thought of the consequences first. He didn’t even know that stranger’s name. What if he hurt him?

Valko rolled his eyes at the thought. From what I can tell, every word’s a safe word for that guy. The thought, remembering how quickly the intruder had called him to heel. He tried to think clearly, and his animal side took a more cunning approach. He lied to himself:

I just wanna talk. 

I deserve answers, I need to know what he did to me.

He’s dangerous. If he comes back he’ll put others at risk. I should find him first.

Just talking. He foolishly promised himself. That’s all. Just a friendly chat.

Dawn split across the sky, and Valko’s golden eyes caught the sun before they narrowed with his choice. He turned to the smell of rot in the alley. He knew what his prey smelled like, but he’d need more clues if he was going to find him. He quieted the rational parts of his mind that begged him to go home and rest. He’d need to be quick; was running out of both time and logic.

__

The day was drawing nearly to a close, and Rafayel was still completely miserable. His skin felt like it was on fire. His senses were on overdrive. Scales patterned his body like mosaic that exposed every filthy, horrid carnal desire he had. And the ache…god the ache between his legs was insatiable. He’d lost count of the orgasms he’d had thus far today. It just wasn’t enough. And it’s all the fault of that damned mutt. He thought angrily. 

He closed his eyes, hissing through his fangs wantonly as his clawed fingers pumped his vibrator as deep as it could possibly go into his pussy. The silicone attachment in the shape of bunny ears fluttered at his clit, and Rafayel cupped one of his pecs, tugging a nipple between the pads of his fingers with a whine. He was almost there…so close now. Maybe this time it would be enough to stave off the heat…

The vibrator went dead, out of charge. Rafayel hissed through his fangs, nose ridged and angry. He tried the buttons, but only tiny pulses of a battery worn out answered him. He smoothly pulled the bulbous vibrator out of his desperate cunt as gently as he could muster with this mood and hurled it across the room with an irate cry. The silicone toy bounced off of the wall and a framed picture hanging up tumbled down with it to join the graveyard of dead vibrators on the floor. Rafayel flopped over, hunched against a pillow and not caring about the mess. It didn’t matter. 

He’d carried himself through the ebb every single year by himself. Why was this different, and why was it happening now? Again the thoughts of the stranger from last night flooded his brain. “Valko.” There was something powerfully attractive about him, and Rafayel flicked his tongue to the corner of his mouth as if he could still taste the tang of his blood. He shook his head, hair curling across his forehead from the sweat of his heat. Stop. He chided himself. We hate him, remember?

His pussy did not agree, and fluttered at the intrusive memory of Valko’s hardon sliding across his pussy, obstructed by the obstacle of fabric between them. He shivered. As ridiculous as their encounter had been, Rafayel wondered how far it would have gone if Valko hadn’t cut his tongue last night. He supposed he’d never know. All that mattered now was getting through this impromptu ebb that Rafayel chose to blame exclusively on the dog he’d abandoned in the alley.

The hammer of a bold knock sounded at the door. The glowing halo of fins on Rafyel’s ears angled up towards the sound but his head was too heavy to lift. Whatever. A package perhaps. He ignored the noise, pressing his head into a pillow with a loud groan. Leave me alone!

But the knocking did not stop. Loud pounding at his door ignited sparks behind his eyes with pangs of a headache and Rafayel used pure irritation to prop himself up in bed. It sounded like someone was using the side of their fist to urgently pommel at the door. The thundering would not stop. Rafayel gave another shout from his chest. And rolled out of bed, carried on spite alone to answer the door. 

Whatever unfortunate delivery person was on the other end was going to receive the brunt of his indignation. His rational mind was eclipsed by his need for either someone to save him from this sweltering agony or the fright of their life. He crossed the studio, the back doors opened to allow a breeze in and Rafayel exhaled at the soft feeling of the air on his scales. Maybe he could calm down and tell the person on the other side he was busy through the door. He wasn’t a monster. 

Rafayel took a deep breath in, expecting to smell the simple breeze off of the ocean and the soothing sounds of the waves crashing over the rocks and smoothing up the sand on his private beach outside. The musk of wood; cedar, walnut filled his nose. The leather and rowling of metal with a hint of cocoa. This time without the dinge of concrete or the wave of blood in the air. It was much more clear in this setting, but agonizingly stronger in a way that sent a flutter to his pussy.

Rafayel threw the door open in front of him, fully prepared for the mountain of a man he’d faced in the alley the night before. But no one was there. Rafayel’s eyes were dilated to the point of looking dark and alien in nature, but he swept his glance around anyway, nose tipped up to breathe in the fragrance. He’d certainly been here, but was nowhere in sight now. With a slight pang of disappointment in his chest, Rafayel closed the door but remained plagued by the scent that surrounded him like a blanket. 

He took a shaky breath. The amber glow of the sunset poured in through the open back door, bathing the room with a coziness that looked far too calming to be a match for Rafayel’s desperate body and his paranoid mind. He was panting, his pussy was throbbing. He closed his eyes and groaned, pressing his forehead into the back of the door in an attempt to steady himself. He sighed, and decided to get to the ocean. The cold temperature would be soothing to his scales, even if it wouldn’t give him what he really wanted. If nothing else it would help him escape this scent that Rafayel was half convinced he was imagining.

Suddenly, the scent got stronger in the air. Rafayel stiffened when he heard heavy footsteps behind him, but his sluggish mind took too long to will his body to move. He turned around only to be shoved harshly into the door, and a hand clamped over his mouth to keep him from speaking. Rafayel’s bleary eyes made contact with those golden eyes he couldn’t stop thinking about. 

The sunset at Valko’s back outlined his form like a halo, making his hair and the fur of his ears seem to glow heavenly. But the look on his face was wild and out of sorts. Sweat beaded his brow and his cheeks were red. His lips were parted and his chest heaved with heavy breaths. Rafayel could smell arousal and flicked his eyes to the hardon straining against his zipper and he couldn’t tell if Valko’s heavy panting was from exertion or from being brutally turned on. 

“Rafayel, is it?” Valko said darkly, holding up an envelope he’d scavenged from Rafayel’s mailbox that had his name and address neatly typed. His lip curled as he waved it in front of Rafayel’s face and tossed it aside to flutter to the floor. 

Rafayel brought a shaking hand to Valko’s wrist in an attempt to move his hand, but Valko stayed firm, unwilling to give him the power to spell him again. Valko tilted his head as he sniffed the air and then used his grip to pull Rafayel’s head to the side, exposing the delicate skin of his neck, speckled in shimmering scales. Valko exhaled another shaky breath and dove in, nosing along the column of his throat and breathed deeply with a soft moan.

“I was gonna ask what you did to me…” Valko panted, and licked a long, thick stripe up Rafayel’s neck. Rafayel whimpered behind the hand clamped over his mouth, and his eyes rolled back at the heat of Valko’s mouth that ended with hot breaths in his ear and a gruff voice that lowered to a whisper. “...but maybe I should be askin’ what I did to you instead. I can smell you dripping.”

That voice went right to Rafayel’s pussy and he stifled a moan. He thought of a thousand uses for Valko’s tongue, and not one of them included talking. Again he tried to wrench Valko’s hand off of his mouth but Valko growled, a sound that rumbled out from deep in his chest and vibrated across the skin of Rafayel’s throat. Rafayel made a strangled, frustrated noise and raked his sharp claws down Valko’s arm hard enough to slice the skin. 

Valko swore with surprise and it gave Rafayel the opening he needed to shove Valko off of him. Rafayel hissed through his fangs like a serpent, a warning. The cuts on the back of Valko’s forearm were shallow, but bled enough to get his point across. Valko cradled his bleeding arm and glared at Rafayel like a wolf staring down a rabbit, but Rafayel only glared back, taking a gasp of air with his own labored breaths. 

“The siren call should have worn off by now, I didn’t do anything to you.” Rafayel seethed. Irritation and arousal twisted together in a confusing battle in his mind, and he tried not to preen when he saw Valko’s eyes rake over his naked body with barely contained hunger. “And it’s illegal to go through someone’s mail.”

“Then call the police.” Valko said darkly, taking a step forward to crowd Rafayel’s space. His gaze lingered on Rafayel’s dark eyes and exposed fangs. He shivered. So beautiful and yet so dangerous. He liked it. “I’ll be glad to let them know what you were up to last night.”

“Try it. They wouldn’t get here fast enough to save you.” Rafayel bit back. Valko was under the impression that he wasn't kidding at all. Rafayel stared at him defiantly, and his hand darted out to grab Valko around the throat. Valko grunted with the flash of movement, but it didn’t hurt. Another warning. Another attempt at dominance. If he hadn’t been so turned on, he would have been amused. “I take it that this is your first time meeting a Lemurian.”

“And you’ve never tangled with a wolf.” Valko crooned. He smirked between heavy breaths. “First time for everything.”

Rafayel set his jaw, and Valko watched carefully as he seemed to make a decision. Rafayel pulled him forward, forcing Valko to bend down slightly so Rafayel could kiss him violently. Instantly Valko fell in line, leaning into the tangle of lips and tongues and teeth. One of them was bleeding again, but neither of them stopped to figure out who. Neither were satisfied. This was merely the tip of the shattering iceberg and the death of self control.

“I don’t know how you found me.” Rafayel gasped, shoving Valko away by the throat. “But if you’re gonna stay, make yourself useful.”

Rafayel used his grip on Valko’s neck to pull him down and Valko complied, kneeling to the ground. His ears twitched when he came face to face with Rafayel’s perfect pussy and the heady scent of arousal made his mouth water. His expression was ravenous, and his tail beat against the ground in anticipation.

“That an invitation?” Valko asked, eyebrow quirking up. His words were lighthearted, playful even but his tone was almost pleading, begging for the go ahead. Rafayel smirked. Valko was all but drooling for him, and it only added to the ache between his legs. Both of them knew that this was the last chance to back down, because once they started neither knew when it would stop.

“That’s an order.” Rafayel replied, tangling his fingers in Valko’s hair between the ears of a wolf to force him forward. 

Valko’s eyes slid closed, and he pinned Rafayel’s hips back flush to the door to keep him from moving. His mouth opened, and he lost himself in the act of taking long, liberal licks to Rafayel’s fold’s, exploring by taste and the touch of his tongue to find his clit. He reveled in the scent kept close to him with a neatly trimmed patch of pubic hair that tickled his nose when he scooted closer. 

Rafayel covered his mouth to stifle a moan, but it was no use, the musical desperate noises spilled between his fingers, and Valko’s tail wagged back and forth at the indirect praise. Strong hands came to his pale thighs, and fingers gripped at skin and scales to urge them open. Rafayal indulged him, widening his stance to give Valko more room. He gasped sharply when Valko wound a hand around his knee and hiked it up to throw over his shoulder so he could properly sink his tongue into Rafayel’s needy cunt. 

Rafayel tried to stifle the build up to an orgasm; Valko’s mouth felt like heaven and he didn’t want it to end, but he couldn’t bring himself to let go of his hair. He rolled his hips and Valko moaned into the action. His cock twitched as Rafayel continued to fuck himself on his tongue, and he snarled with greed that matched the intensity of the night before. 

Rafayel felt the grip on his other knee and wobbled, nearly falling over when Valko lifted his leg off the ground to secure over his shoulder. His hands lifted Rafayel by the thighs to keep him stable, and Rafayel was suspended, only supported by the closed door at his back and Valko’s hands below. There was nowhere to run; he was trapped deliciously in this very spot and completely at the mercy of long licks of Valko’s tongue and his nose teasing at his clit.

Rafayel felt it building, a fresh gush of slick greeting Valko’s mouth, and his thighs squeezed both sides of his head. Valko’s biceps flexed and his neck bobbed him back and forth in search of every last drop of Rafayel’s pleasure. The front room of Rafayel’s house had become a den of sin under the symphony of slick, wet noises and moans. 

Valko could have stayed between Rafayel’s legs forever, trapped between the plush of his thighs and drowning in his scent. His lungs burned, but he couldn’t bring himself to come up for air. His muscles twitched from keeping position for so long with his shoulders, arms and knees, but the wild animal within urged him on. More. Make him scream for what’s to come.

Rafayel’s thighs started to shake and the tension in his core grew and grew. His grip on Valko’s hair only tightened as his moans tore out of him like sobs. He could feel Valko’s mouth curl up in that antagonistic smile, and it was his undoing. 

Rafayel came with a loud cry, body twitching and tingling all over. He saw stars, and again felt that his balance was in jeopardy, but Valko kept him steady and safe as he licked him with dedicated attention through every last spark of his orgasm. Only when Rafayel had stopped twitching did Valko lean his head back to take deep gasps of air and slowly let Rafayel’s feet back down to the ground, where he swayed in his afterglow. He licked his lips and the corners of his mouth indulgently, and when he looked back to Rafayel’s face he felt a chill run through him. 

Rafayel looked like a shark waiting for a moment to ambush. This orgasm hadn’t tired him out, it had only made him hungrier. His eyes were dark, and his fangs glinted in the light of a dying sunset behind his reddened bitten lips. Valko grinned at him wickedly and moved to speak, but Rafayel wasn’t interested in his little quips. 

He stepped forward and summoned a loud whine from Valko’s chest by pressing the ball of his foot firmly into his aching cock. Valko’s tail bristled and his top ears flew back. The look he gave to Rafayel was absolutely pathetic. Rafayel gave a cruel smile, pausing for just a moment to memorize it.

“More.” Rafayel said, his voice dark and gravelly. He leaned over, putting more pressure into Valko’s cock and hissed directly into one of Valko’s top ears. “Now.”

Valko choked back another moan, and his tail thumped behind him. Rafayel lifted his foot off of Valko’s cock and turned towards the bedroom. Valko was on his feet in an instant, kicking off his boots and pulling his shirt over his head with urgency. 

“Are you always this bossy?” Valko asked, following behind him. If he’d meant to rile Rafayel up even more, he’d done his job. Rafayel whipped back around with a snarl and hooked a hand into Valko’s belt, using it to haul him across the room hips-first and causing him to trip onto the couch with a surprised grunt and a wince from the awkward way he’d fallen on his own tail. 

Rafayel loomed over him and grabbed him at the crotch firmly. Valko felt his cock twitch, and rolled his hips up at the pressure. He needed to knot, and he needed it now. Rafayel leaned in until their lips nearly touched. 

“Only when I want something.” he said, capturing his lips again for another searing kiss. Rafayel licked into his mouth, and flicked open Valko’s belt with deft fingers before nearly tearing open his zipper to grip him through his briefs. As hot as it was, Valko’s ego flared. He smirked, and gently pulled away from the kiss.

“Me too.” he said with an edge, and before Rafayel could question him Valko hooked an arm around Rafayel’s waist and hauled him over his shoulder. Rafayel yelped when Valko stood up, easily carrying him towards the open door of the bedroom while Rafayel squirmed in his arms. 

“You’ve lost your mind, I am a god!” he shouted petulantly, beating a fist on Valko’s back as they crossed the threshold. Valko scoffed. 

“Sure. God of prissy brats maybe.” he said with a roll of his eyes. He paused, glancing down at the ground where seven dildos were haplessly discarded on the ground. Rafayel’s cheeks burned and Valko held in a mocking laugh. “Busy day?”

“I could kill you with my voice.” Rafayel snapped, delivering another blow to Valko’s back. “And all of that is your fault. Take some responsibility.”

Valko approached the bed and threw Rafayel on top of it. He was capable of being gentle and soft, but Rafayel had shown him that despite his delicate beauty, he was clearly not in need of being treated like glass. Valko had hit his last nerve and if he didn’t cum soon he was going to lose it. Tasting Rafayel up close had been a balm for some of the animal madness in him, but it wouldn’t last long. Not when he could envision what sounds Rafayel would make spasming around a knot.

Rafayel scrambled to sit up on the bed and face Valko, who was finally ridding himself of his pants. Whatever cutting remark he’d had ready to go dissolved from his tongue the moment he took in Valko’s cock. It was long, proportional to Valko’s tall, muscular stature with a deep angry red around the head. It was a cock one might need to apologize for in advance, but to Rafayel, it was exactly what he was looking for. He felt his mouth fall open and his eyes were mesmerized, picturing the way it would feel in his mouth and throat, his pussy fluttered at the idea of being impossibly full of it.

Valko saw him staring and gave him another infuriating lopsided grin as he stroked himself. He walked forward, the pump in the muscles of his thighs, chest and arms brought a glimmer to his skin. He was built like a gladiator; carved, well-used muscle with a thick torso and hands strong enough to both catch and keep whatever he desired. Rafayel wanted to be covered in him, to sink into the solid muscle while Valko sank into him. If Rafayel’s voice could produce a siren song, Valko’s body might as well have been able to do the same. 

Valko wet his lips. Clearly the pheremones to attract a partner during a rut cycle were at play, and Rafayel was getting more worked up by the second. In contrast Valko took full view of Rafayel, the poisonous flower with a god complex. Excitement brewed in him as he approached. 

“You like being told how pretty you are, don’t you?” Valko said gruffly, crawling onto the bed with his tail swinging wildly behind him. 

Rafayel was, for once, lost for words. His cheeks felt hot. His mouth watered. His hands rose up to frame Valko’s face in claw-tipped fingers. Through the haze of incredible sexual instinct, there was something nice about being seen for who and what he was. Valko’s wolfish features only encouraged him. He didn't feel like a monster here. Both of them were odd and out of the norm. In the presence of one another there was nothing to be afraid of, nothing they had to explain while their logic escaped them in the throes of heat and rut. They were different and yet so similar. Valko rubbed firm hands down Rafayel’s sides to bring him back to his words. 

“Do you think I’m pretty?” Rafayel slurred, fishing for praise as Valko cupped his ass to tilt his hips up. 

“I think you’re lethal.” Valko said, his own words beginning to tumble together. The head of his cock brushed against the entrance to Rafayel’s pussy and they were both breathless in the moment. “I think you’re powerful.”

As Valko said it, he gently nudged inside of Rafayel, who arched his back at the intrusion. He was wet at the praise. Somehow being told about the nature he kept under wraps every day with a sweet smile and eccentric reputation felt validating to him. He felt those gold eyes rake over him again, and the praise went to his head. He scooted up on the mattress and relaxed his abdomen, greedily taking as much of Valko’s cock as he could at a time. He threw his arms around those broad carved shoulders and tried to pull him forward. 

Valko went slow even though Rafayel didn’t seem to need it. The red haze of a true rut was seeping into his skull and urging him to fuck, to take, to breed. Rafayel made no attempt to slow him down. Valko leaned in to lick at one of Rafayel’s nipples, still puffy from a full day of trying to stimulate them, trying to bring him to an edge that satisfied him. Valko sank his teeth into his soft skin, fangs piercing flesh just a little, and sucked as he lathed his tongue on top of it. He was almost to the hilt now, and his instincts were screaming again when he felt Lemurian claws scrape at his upper back with needle-like intensity.

“You’re strong. That fight was pretty intense.” Valko praised Rafayel, who sucked in a breath at the satisfying stretch of his pussy. “I can see why you talk a big game.”

Rafayel was beyond words to respond, only concerned with the deep-seated pleasure-cusping pain between his legs. His claws carved more cuts into Valko’s back and he moaned as Valko brushed a sensitive part inside of him that had him drooling from the corner of his mouth. He could hear Valko’s tail wagging wildly behind him, sweeping over the sheets excitedly.

“Wow, this is what it took to keep you quiet?” Valko said snidely, giving a cheeky smirk that Rafayel could not process with his eyes closed. “Shoulda tried this in the alley. Pressed up against the wall like that, you were good enough to eat.”

Valko rolled his hips in a slow, controlled measure even when Rafayel squeezed around him with a breathy moan. Rafayel’s hips rode up to meet him, spine curling to bring Valko and his wild scent closer to him. The pace wasn’t enough, the teasing was too much. With an exhale that betrayed his pleasure, his urgency won out and he raised a heavy hand to yank at Valko’s hair behind his top ear in a prompt. 

“Faster.” Rafayel said drunkenly, using his hold to drag their lips together again. Between obscene noises from their kiss he spoke another command. “Harder.”

They swallowed eerie grunt, every moan from each other with their fangs clicking together. Valko did as he was told, and picked up the pace. His hips pounded into Rafayel and his lips broke their kiss and focused on his neck instead, marking him with harsh hickeys that would leave him red for days before soothing them with his tongue to capture the scent of him. Furious rhythm was established, and Rafayel’s hand climbed over his back; cutting with claws, cupping the hard muscle of his ass, pulling him as close as he could without melting into his skin. 

Valko felt on the cusp of nirvana. Rafayel was velvet-smooth and so warm to the touch. His pussy was needy and his appetite was ferocious. He could handle the intensity, and even better, he welcomed it, craved it. Rafayel felt a deep itch being soothed inside of him and sighed at the feeling. More. He needed more.

“I’m not human…”Rafayel moaned. Valko’s ears twitched and he raised an eyebrow, confused. Rafayel’s eyes opened to reveal the cerulean blue glow once again. It spoke of power, but his face was desperate. “...so take off the gloves. I can take it. You don’t have to hold yourself back with me.”

Valko’s wolf ears twitched again, this time in excitement. A smile spread itself across his face. The instincts begging for a chance to call the shots were magnified. He’d already gone harder than we would with a human, but Rafayel wanted it all. This really was a heat responding to the perilous hunger of a rut. Valko snapped his hips with extraordinary force and Rafayel cried out at the sudden pressure and force, carving more cat-like scratches in his back. 

“Yeah, like that…Don’t stop!” Rafayel shouted, his voice punctuated by deep, intense thrusts. His legs wrapped around Valko’s torso and Valko moved a hand to cup his ass in a way that could’ve bruised his fingerprints into the rosy skin there. Valko was off the leash of his own self control. Rafayel wanted it? He’d surely get it. 

The room and house filled to the brim with moans, grunts, swearing as they attacked each other like animals. Valko licked across Rafayel’s cheek before claiming his lips in a filthy kiss. A tightness was beginning to form at the base of his cock that made him groan into Rafayel’s mouth. His eyes were glowing, his blood boiled, his hands gripped tighter. Valko tried to calm his mind, tried to find reason. He was going to cum, and along with it would come a knot. 

“I need to pull out.” he said thickly, fighting himself. “I don’t wanna hurt you and I don’t know what’ll happen.”

“Don’t you dare.” Rafayel hissed, nipping at his earlobe with a fang to slice it in a warning. The tang of his blood spurred him on. “Give me everything.”

“You don’t know what you’re asking for.” Valko argued between heavy breaths with a pleading voice as the knot began to form inside of Rafayel. Rafayel felt his toes curl at the feeling of being so perfectly full, just like he wanted. He locked his ankles around Valko’s torso in protest.

“Stop talking.” Rafayel growled, yanking Valko’s lips back into his.

Before Valko could protest, his knot swelled, and suddenly he was cumming. His vision spotted white, and the feeling of warmth was earth shattering. The desertion of discomfort was its own euphoria, and for an insane moment he felt as though releasing in Rafayel was what he was born to do. Valko pulled back from the kiss and arched his back like a wolf howling at the moon to shout with the pleasure of it all.

Rafayel’s entire body was eclipsed in an incredible rapture. He felt his limbs twitch and then his pussy as he came violently with the foreign weight of Valko’s knot. He spasmed, his voice was almost gone but he screamed anyway. He felt fluid, malleable, and warm. It was the hardest orgasm of his life and he crashed down to earth in the arms of a wolf. 

Clearly tired himself, Valko still made the effort to assure that he was alright. Rafayel felt rough fingers stroking his face, and realized that he’d passed out. His head tingled with the aftershocks of his climax and Valko still hadn’t pulled out. Rafayel’s hips moved back but Valko’s moved with him. Rafayel’s eyes widened in alarm. 

“What did you do now?” He said with sleep still on the horizon. Valko’s tail jittered nervously behind him, and his ears pinned back with a slight irritation. 

“I tried to tell you, but you didn’t listen.” he said with an annoyed tone and heavy eyelids. “It’s a knot. It’s gonna last for a while. I can’t pull out like this, so get comfortable.”

Rafayel’s typical protocol was to lash out, to respond to confusion and panic with orders or defensiveness, but now? He just felt calm. The itch of the ebb was less severe. His body had simmered from his frenzy and the weight of a cock and knot in his pussy felt satisfying. Valko’s ears twitched in concern and his tail swept against the bed. 

“Are you okay? How do you feel?” he asked, golden eyes still bright but now examining him for signs of pain or discomfort. Rafayel only looked at him with sleepy, almost fond eyes. 

“It feels…good.” he admitted. Once understanding took hold, he felt safe, as if he could fall asleep with someone standing watch. 

“Just rest. It’ll let up soon.” Valko promised. Rafayel’s lips curled up into a smile and he raised his head to kiss Valko softly. 

“I hope not too soon.” he slurred, leaning back into the temptation of rest. Valko’s tail bristled and his ears gave a light twitch. What?

Valko was able to position their bodies both to sleep on their sides, and Rafayel had been malleable like clay, clearly content with their encounter. Valko cast another worried look to Rafayel’s face, but only saw peaceful sleep. He raised a hand to brush his violet bangs away from his eyes. Rafayel wrinkled his nose at the touch and Valko was astounded when he scooted even closer to wrap his arms around him for comfort, breathing in his scent. 

Less than twenty-hour hours ago he had fought this man with death on the line in a dingy alley and now he was wrapped around his knot? 

Valko heard a soft sigh of breath from Rafayel right next to his ear and he looked like an angel while he slept. His claws were starting to withdraw, his scales to disappear beneath his skin. Valko almost felt bad for that. Rafayel seemed more satisfied in that form. He enjoyed seeing someone else in their base instincts. It made him feel seen, less alone. While he’d flung insults at Valko, he wasn’t scared or disgusted by him. His tail wagged involuntarily behind him. Valko felt a pang of embarrassment, but the more prominent pull was sleep. He’d been awake for far too long. Rafayel was asleep, and he took that as permission. Without realizing it, he wrapped his strong arms around Rafayel, and kept him close. To protect him even though he did not need it. To reassure him in case he wanted it. Sleep found them both with peaceful dreams.

__

When Valko woke, it was right before sunrise, and Rafayel was not beside him. Valko panicked for a moment, but tried to keep his wits. He didn’t feel the twitch of sensitive ears on his head or the weight of his tail behind him. Had his rut calmed for now? A small streak of confusion hit him; why was he so concerned? This house wasn't his and neither was Rafayel.

Still, after the events of the night before, Valko felt remiss just leaving out the back like he’d prowled in. He moved his body off of the mattress and several still-healing cuts lingered on his back. He thought of last night, and shivered. It had been mindblowing. He’d shared rut with heat before, but this was unparalleled. Rafayel was not a wolf, but their foreign ferocities caught up to each other. They rhymed even if they weren’t the same. Curious.

Valko got out of the bed, trying not to spy the stains they’d left on the sheets. He checked the bathroom. He checked the kitchen. He checked the living room bordering the studio. His nose picked up a scent in the studio, the earthy smell of mixed pigment with a natural oil for medium. It had been one of the ways Valko found him. Rafayel’s heavenly seabreeze smell was utterly enchanting but the smell of hand-mixed paint had brought him closer and closer until his craven instincts found their target. In a twist of irony, Valko looked down at the palette of recently mixed paint and a small smile creeped along his lips. 

In the pan with a painter’s knife still angled beside it was a smear of gold. Pale, more citrine than amber. The perfect yellow. The exact color of Valko’s eyes. A swell of pride graced his chest and from the corner of his eye he glanced out the glass sliding back door, left open, and saw a spark of purple on the private beach caught directly in the surf of the incoming tide. 

Valko briefly wondered if he should cover himself, but was entranced by the reflected hue enough to slowly step outside. His feet padded over the sturdy dark wood of a back deck and then sank into the soft sand of the beach. Brilliant hues of purple, red and orange blistered the horizon, but Valko’s eyes only cared about the figure on the shore. He walked forward and realized that the glimmer of lavender was from a tail of iridescent scales rising and falling indulgently in the waves on the beach. 

As if sensing his approach the figure twisted, and turned itself over to raise up on humanoid arms and arch his back as he smirked with a humor to his face unmatched. Rafayel. Valko’s breath caught in his lungs as he got closer. He already knew Rafayel to be strikingly beautiful, but his face marked with cultural patterns under his eyes and across his cheeks, and how relaxed he looked in this form was earth shattering. 

Valko’s lips were parted and though Rafayel had not said a word, he was hypnotized again. Dead set on exploring this fascinating and alluring creature. In a tease, Rafayel brought his hips up, showcasing an abdomen that tapered further down to his narrow tail, covered in scales and thriving in the waves. 

A new spray of water and foam from the surf lapped against his back, and Valko watched with an astounded grin as a slit formed where his pussy would normally be on a human body. Together, a set of appendages emerged from the slit, narrowed at the top, but perfectly in tandem. Alive, blushed with arousal. Valko’s parted lips shifted to his jaw dropping and his eyes widening. He has two cocks. He realized with interest. He felt his own cock begin to stir.

Rafayel’s plush smile deepened at Valko’s stunned expression. With a scaled, clawed hand, he reached towards the shore, and beckoned with his fingers.