Chapter 18: Shifting (18+)

Before he knew it, his hips were moving again inside. He lifted his face, his eyes glowing in a dangerous light. But when he looked at that sleeping face, he paused. For just a moment, before he started moving again.

A warm energy was flowing inside his veins that he couldn’t decipher, but he knew his body was growing increasingly heavy as his bones cracked. He couldn’t stop it and, even more so, could not stop his greed for devouring the man.

So he just did not stop. He sucked the neck and bit until he felt like his very essence was engraved inside. And mated as if his life depended on it.

As he thrust, red fiery fur burst out from his back, and a red and black streaked tail swiftly wrapped around Moon’s body before cradling him.

Leo’s face twitched. Threatening to shift when he felt his dick was getting even bigger.

A sharp, bone-cracking pain engulfed him, but it also brought him back to his senses about what he was doing.

Before he could do even more inhuman things, he forced his swelling erection to shrink down and crawled backward. In a second, he bolted out of the room while pulling his pants up in a hurried tug.

Outside, the day was getting late, and the sun was only starting to set.

Nobody was lingering in the Last Hole.

So when he bolted out, only Vadira could see a red flash, but it was too blurry to make out. He hurriedly climbed up the stairs to check on Moon, but an extreme, dominant Ashen Oud scent forced his steps to a halt.

It was a dangerous scent, mingling in the air, threatening to burn him if he went any nearer to Moon.

He could not put his finger on what it was truly like.

He stood there frozen for a moment but didn’t send any notice to the council or the administration hall.

--

Leo’s pace was fast.

So fast that even the sentinel on guard did not notice he had passed by.

His red fur was bristling. He tried hard to get back to normal but could not.

When he entered their shared den in the omega quarter, he was already shivering from pain. None of his previous dangerous acts or punishments could describe what he was feeling right now.

His insides felt like burning. He called Ugo loud enough to send a vibration on the fence as he dropped on the cold floor.

Nox came out from the side room with a spatula at hand. He was cooking for their dinner.

As he approached the room, his nose stung from a concentrated, sweet, Crispy Frost & Ashen Oud smell.

He heard Leo’s ragged breath and quickened his pace, "What the...."

A curse stuck on his throat seeing Leo curling up on the floor.

He hurriedly crouched down. "What happened..."

"Shut up and send Ugo to the Last Hole. Hurry," Leo said urgently. "Damn it, I left him all naked. Hurry up."

Nox’s eyes almost rolled out.

He was worried sick here when all this guy did was some nasty stuff. But no matter what he thought, he ran to the door.

Leo shouted from the room as he saw the darting figure, "Don’t you try to go there! Send Ugo," he warned.

Nox’s pace halted. He indeed intended to go by himself, but he was kind of afraid of Leo. So he hurried to call Ugo.

Leo scratched his nails on the stone floor, leaving a red trail of blood.

"URGGGG!"

He growled and rolled... as time passed, his tail and ears gradually shrank inside. He sat in the dark, drenched and utterly wasted.

As the night fell and people came back from work, Rio and Axe also came back and went to check on Leo. They heard from Nox that Leo had skipped his work. He will probably get a penalty tomorrow to double work.

Axe’s whistle came before he even entered Leo’s room.

"Yo, brother, you have got some nerve to skip Danche’s order." He skidded his machete in the air before catching it.

But watching Leo not respond well, he became serious. "What’s the matter? How did you suddenly shift? Weren’t we good before?"

Rio sat on the stool. As usual, cold and detached. He only uttered two words, "He mated."

"Fuck! So will we become defective again if we go to fuck that witch?"

Leo kept silent. In the dark, they couldn’t see him properly, so Axe lit a candle.

The candle flickered for a moment before its soft, warm light spread on the floor, illuminating Leo’s disheveled profile. He had turned back to normal. But...

Axe hiccupped hard, "Leo, even if you are in a heat, you shouldn’t keep your pants open and show us those ugly things."

Leo lifted his eyes like a dead man. "It hurts."

"What?" Axe choked on his breath.

"I said it’s fucking hurting like hell; I zipped it up in a hurry."

"Pffft!"

The sound came out before he could stop. Axe pressed his hand on his mouth hard to stop laughing.

"Don’t joke around. It’s serious," Rio said coldly.

"Yeah, it’s quite serious since he is keeping it out in the open," Axe nodded, still snickering though.

"No. I meant the matter of shifting."

Axe sat straight. Looking at Leo with great attention.

"I don’t know, I just went to... just went to check on him. And lost control." Leo slowly zipped his pants up while wincing.

"We know that," Rio said.

"I felt like my mark was working on him. I can feel it. I sensed it, and then I started to transform."

"Half transform?"

Leo became silent again. After thinking for a while, he said slowly...

"I felt like... if I didn’t forcefully suppress it, I might have a chance to transform."

"Fuck!" Axe sprinted up. "Why the hell did you suppress it? Leo, you could have become a wolf. How could you do something this foolish?" He paced back and forth.

Rio was still sitting calmly, rubbing his chin with one hand.

"You were knotted?"

Leo’s face heated up. "Yes, shit, that’s why I had to suppress, it would be a disaster if..."

Axe stopped pacing, and another bout of laughter threatened to break out of him.

"Genius!"

Rio knocked on the table beside him.

The night was deep, and the air was still. All the men should be gathering in the Last Hole now to get a shred of hope, only to be sunk deeper into the abyss.

The humid air of Mount Mraor blew past the myrtle tree.

It brought a copper and coal scent as it passed by. Rio’s brows knitted together. "Maestra."

Axe shifted to the door. "Why is she going to the Hole again?"