I'm baaaaaaaaack and I'm so sooooooooooo sorry for my long ass hiatus. Lots of love to those readers that emailed and stuck with me. Its summer now and I will be updating like crazy (I hope). Just had a really busy year but I won't go into that.
As for story updates, these are eth stories that will be continued.
Gilded in Gold, The Dark in Your Blue Eyes, Stone Cold Steele, and a few new stories (I know I know you're going to say dammit, finish your old stories lol but you know how fickle I am). But on a happier note, I will be finishing Gilded in Gold this summer, or my editor AdriannaBelen has permission to slap me silly. It is not a light threat.
Anyhow, just wanted to put this out as I work on the finishing touches on Gilded in Gold, this will have three mare installments of similar length so I hope you enjoy.
Unbeta'd so all errors are my own.
Also, anyone want to edit my mm stories since AdrianaBelen mostly does Gilded in Gold. If you want to please email me, thank you.
(p.s. sex tags apply to later installments so don't feel duped if you came here for that and got no smut in this chapter)
*****
Percy Windham was unceremoniously shoved into the dark and dank cell, the guards laughing as he tripped and fell on his hands and knees. The finality of the cell's bars locking in place made the last of Percy's stoic faΓ§ade crumble. Percy quickly blinked back the tears but couldn't help his low whimper as he slowly got back on his feet, his hands and knees smarting. Sniffling, he went over to the small sink above a toilet and flipped on the faucet. The ice cold water hit his scraped and bleeding palms like a thousand needles, making him gasp. Quickly, he brought his wet palms up to his lips and licked at his wounds. As a wolf shifter, his body rapidly healed wounds and his saliva helped to quicken that process. The pain quickly abated and the skin regenerated until they were like new. His knees took a bit longer, but after a few minutes of moving his legs up and down had them healed.
He jumped when he heard a rustling of clothes. A large shadow at the corner of his cell began moving towards him. Percy backed away until his back was pressing up against the silver bars. He hissed and jerked forward as the metal made contact with his skin, lightly burning his exposed skin.
"What the hell are you doing here?" the menacing shadow spit at him.
The man stepped out from the shadows and the dim prison lights illuminated his face. He had silted green eyes, sharp cheek bones, and thin pale lips. Percy could cut himself on those cheek bones. Wrapping his arms around himself, Percy shivered under the man's gaze. Peering up from under his lashes, Percy saw a large, tall man. He was even bigger than the guards. He smelled like some kind of reptile shifter.
"I-I killed a man," Percy whispered. The man snorted in derision.
"A little squirt like you? You're still wet behind the ears, pup."
Percy quickly glanced up at man, wondering what the other man was in here for. His tongue darted out in a quick swipe to his lips.
"Did you kill a man, too?"
"No." Percy let out a relieved breath. The man couldn't be so bad then. Before the guards had thrown him in here, they'd been laughing about putting him in here with the "Killer". They had probably just been trying to make him scared.
"I killed a bunch of men."
All of Percy's relief instantly flew out the window, or rather the cell bars at the man's confession. Gulping down a big wad of spit, Percy almost swallowed his tongue.
"Did they deserve it?" Although he'd never condone murder, there were times when it was just inevitable with certain bad men.
"The man you killed, did he deserve it?" the man asked, cocking his head to the side in curiosity. Percy looked up in surprise. This man was the first to ask him that question. When his Alpha had found Percy next to the bleeding body of the pack's beta, he'd been instantly condemned. They hadn't asked about the vicious bruises on Percy's own body, or the bleeding from the many bite marks on his body. The council had quickly decided his fate and before he could say anything in protest, he'd been driven here to the paranormal correctional facility.
"I thought so at the time," Percy mumbled as he maneuvered around big man so that his back was against the cement wall instead of the bars. If the guy planned to attack him, he preferred that his skin wouldn't also be burned. He was already in enough pain for ten people and he didn't need to compound on it.
The man followed him step for step. "And you don't think so now?"
Percy just shrugged, looking at the various stains on the floor. "I got exiled form my pack, my parents won't talk to me, and I'm stuck in here with you for foreseeable future."
"If I was a little more sensitive, I'd think you didn't like me," the man teased with a small smile. Percy glanced up to catch a fleeting sight of the smile and he answered in return.
"My name is Percy," he offered in a soft voice. He reached a tentative hand out to the man, wondering if he would take it. The big man stepped forward until Percy had to arch his neck up at an uncomfortable angle to look up the man. His large, calloused palm griped Percy's and he gasped as a sudden tingle went up from his fingers to spread throughout his body. He jerked up to meet the man's curious amber eyes and bit his lips to suppress yelling out that this man was his mate.