Senri hated leaving his redhead alone even for a second, but the situation demanded that he would give his brother – his Clan's leader – a proper report. Throughout the day, carefully observing his intended mate, it was clear to him that Raha carried the Allagan blood. As the hours passed, the subtle changes in his scent and physiology suggested that the lore about them was quite correct, if the speed of it was a tad baffling. By the time he regretfully left his cute kitten in front of his nest while they kissed, Senri was about to go feral when he tasted his redhead's inviting purrs.

Raha was turning – and far faster than he could have anticipated, even as enamored as he always was with the stories about Allagan Clan – and only that made him need to notify his brother about the development. His theory more than confirmed, Senri very much intended to ask Ares for permission to bring his intended mate – and his twin, obviously – into the safety of their lair, as their status demanded. Being the last known Allag made Raha and Damon far, far too precious to be allowed anything less.

And – thankfully – his eldest brother more than agreed with that.

Leaving baffled – and quite literally seething at not being informed about it beforehand – Hades to handle spreading the news, Ares joined him on the way back to the human lair, intent on not only helping him explain the situation properly to the twins but also take a gander on Damon's favor, obviously.

Getting back to his mate's nest couldn't get more than an hour at most… but was apparently enough for their fucking uncle to show up out of nowhere and swipe his redhead from under his nose! And he wouldn't even know it was the fucker if not for the fact that as soon as they entered the path leading from the forest to his kitten's nest, Ares started to growl before darting ahead without the need to point out the direction.

By another hour, the humans were baffled – and more than a tad apprehensive – to find their lair crawling with the pissed-off shapeshifters, intently attempting to sniff out the culprit – and murder him on sight. But most of all: determined to find the last of their goddess's favored children and their seeming shot at redemption in Her eyes.

By dusk, the whole town was in an uproar, with the humans no less determined to find the missing teens – and as grateful as Senri was for that… with the passing time, he was growing increasingly aggressive and desperate to find his soulmate… and to be frank: scared.

Hepaistos already robbed him of knowing his parents, and now the fucker dared to put his dirty paws on his mate… and it was all Senri's fault, too.

It was the human 'sheriff' who first thought to address the obvious: the strangers in their small community if, by the time of that, he could only find the pair of nearly identical white-haired teenagers at the inn. They surprisingly easily spilled that yes, their 'patron' seemed to disappear on them alongside some younger members of their group if they both insisted that he – the man – was human… or so he looked like, at least.

Senri wasn't present for that, only heard the short version from his brother before heading back to where the scent of his mate cut off at the edge of the forest. He didn't need the explanation to know that magic was involved – as how his redhead's spicy scent simply disappeared at the tree line was more than enough of a clue! And he didn't care for any of the 'how,' utterly focused on finding his mate… somehow.

That's how his brother found him at midnight: intently sniffing at the moss deep in the forest in his true form, desperate to find even the faintest clue where their uncle took his redhead… and failing at that miserably. And considering that he famously had the sharpest sense of smell out of their Clan…

"Anything?" Ares asked suspiciously calmly as he carefully stepped into his space, also in his true, ink-black shape.

"No!" he snapped toward him without raising his head and moving away to sniff at another part of the path.

His eldest brother stayed silent for a long moment, and he ignored how he could feel his sky-blue gaze focused on him, not even trying to hide his mounting aggression sparked from fear… and guilt. It was pointless as his brothers could always nearly read his mind – or to be more precise: his scent. He never bothered to learn how to mask its nuances whenever it was afflicted by his emotions – like his brothers did, considering their functions in their Clan – and now he regretted that dearly, cringing internally when his brother sighed after a while of watching him.

"Sen… it's not your fault, baby brother," he said, but Senri didn't even look toward him, more than certain of the opposite as he closed his eyes and buried his nose in the thick, moist moss at the base of one of the trees. "You couldn't know…"

"I led him to them," he hissed barely over a breath, laying his ears flat against his head in distress. "I put the enormous target on him, Ares… Huge fucking 'come and get me' for anyone who would know what the color of his eyes marked. Not even that… You said yourself that those humans said that he only got interested in my kitten after hearing about me… senselessly courting him instead of having enough of a reason to grab him and…."

"…and scare him off?" his brother suggested, then he felt him move next to him, offering his heat in comfort as he rested his head over Senri's neck, purring in soothing notes. "None blames you for getting excited, Sen. If anything… if you wouldn't, we wouldn't even know about them in the first place. We'll find them, brother… and Hepaistos, this time, will pay with his head for this, I promise you that."

"I don't care," he whined softly, helplessly leaning into his side. "I want him back so badly, Ares… but even more, I want him to be safe. You didn't see it… He's turning so fast… What if…?"

"I believe you, Sen. Hades thinks it's because you're a hybrid, and that makes your… pheromones affect him that much harder than anyone's else would," Ares said, carefully nudging him sideways and then growling softly when he tried to resist. "That's why we came up with an idea, baby brother. You're going to go to sleep and wait for him, hm? Find out where he took them. Any little bit that could help find them… but most of all, you will claim him, okay? If the stories are true… if he already shifted enough for it to work outside of your shared dreamscape, Hades thinks it would be enough to let him Shift, Sen. And if he does… he can protect himself until we'll find him or perhaps more than that. Allag had their magic, powerful and dangerous. So we'll get you back to the lair, and I'll put you to sleep, Sen… and we'll pray to Bast for it to work, okay?"

Having no better idea of how to get his redhead back, he complied without a word, letting his eldest brother lead him.


Grinding his teeth furiously, Raha was more pissed off than scared as he glared daggers at the ceiling of his… cell? Cave? He had no idea, but he was so pissed it was hard to think! It felt like hours from when that asshole shoved him – still with that bag over his head – into the small and cramped cave-looking space and, without a word, slammed the door close. He stood there, immobile – for a good while before he slowly regained control of his body, and after downright tearing the material off his head, he saw that he was alone and in a tiny room with nothing else than a pile of hay and a bucket. The walls of it were nearly unnaturally smooth, and there weren't any windows, and the door themselves looked like they were made of steel, with only a small opening at the bottom. He saw enough movies to imagine that it served to push a plate under it if now it also looked closed and, after a swift check, wasn't likely to budge.

He paced the small 'room' for a while, looking for any way to convince himself he wasn't as fucking stuck as it seemed and wondering if Damon was in a similar place… and hoping he was okay.

Raha had no clue what it was all about – not really – if his penance for adventure books, movies, and games gave him some ideas. So far, he knew you normally don't kidnap people for no reason. Considering their parents weren't rich or famous – he swiftly decided that whatever this fucker's reason, it had to do with Senri… or shapeshifters in general. That the asshole mentioned 'Ares' – he remembered was the name of his boyfriend's brother – made it even more obvious, but also suggested that their kidnapper knew the man. If not for that, he would guess that the asshat hoped to use them to blackmail the shapeshifters into giving him immortality – as most of the crazies coming into their town believed they could. Like this… it looked more like something to do as some kind of… punishment? Revenge?

He didn't know, but as time went by… he was growing increasingly angry. So fucking… itchy that it was driving him insane, too!

He finally settled down on the pile of hay – because what else was there to do? – and proceed to seethe while glaring at the ceiling and scratching all over as that full-body itch seemed to get only more intense as time went by. And it didn't take him very long to realize that it was getting worse whenever he thought about Senri… and he couldn't stop thinking about him, either!

His thoughts swirled between worrying for his brother and yearning for his shapeshifter… and he was sick enough times in his life to soon recognize the hazy feeling of fever as it settled over his senses… if the way his skin felt far too hot and tight wasn't enough of a clue already! He was sweating and, at the same time, shivering involuntarily, and despite how fucked up it was in those stupid circumstances… he was so painfully aroused it just couldn't be normal or natural.

It felt like his whole goddamn being downright begged for Senri… when he should be thinking about how to get out of this messed up situation. And that was only making him angrier!

His head was such a mess that he didn't realize he fell asleep until his eyes snapped open. His gaze was met with the painfully familiar sight of the jewel-encrusted walls… right before he was quite literally and unceremoniously pinned down into the soft material under his back by a much bigger, scalding heat of another body that emitted the almost too-sweet scent of apple that made his mouth instantly fill with saliva. He didn't really have time to fully process or gather his bearings before a big hand snuck under his head, fisted in his hair, and tilted his head to the side… for a set of sharp, fanged teeth to sink in the junction of his neck and shoulder, forcing him to arch his back with a deafening moan as the mind-numbing mix of pain and relief thrummed through his body. His hands crawled around his shapeshifter's chest, and shaky fingers hooked around his shoulder blades as he fought uselessly to catch his breath, involuntarily whimpering with bliss as Senri's jaw tightened and his skin vibrated with his aggressive growl.

It didn't feel in any way as weird as it should when prompted with a meaningful pull on his head, Raha, without conscious thought, reflected his bite, almost too painfully relieved when the taste of copper filled his mouth. One swallow was enough to soothe that infernal itch, and he was too caught up in savoring the flavor to mind when Senri shifted over him and, without breaking his bite, made himself comfortable between his legs, purring insistently into his skin as pulled his left thigh high against his side. Taking a clue – mostly on instinct – he wrapped around him tight like a vice, barely half-conscious of the way he was purring as his lover growled aggressively and snuck his hand around his hip, unceremoniously pushing his distinctively oiled-feeling finger inside him and impatiently pumping it in and out as he finally lifted his head with a gasp just enough to whisper against his ear.

"S-sorry, kitten," he rasped breathlessly, rolling on top of him in a small but insistent rhythm matching how his digits impatiently worked his body into submission. "Later… better… but c-can't…" he choked on a surprised groan when the redhead hissed with outrage, and his hand moved to fist in his ink-black hair, pulling his head back toward his shoulder. Whatever he wanted to say, Raha couldn't care about at the moment, as soon as he raised his head, the itch was back tenfold, and relented only after his boyfriend obediently bit him again. Moaning with relief around his bite, he tightened his thighs into a vice around Senri's sides, digging his heels around the base of his tail as he rocked under him, helplessly relieved at the hot friction on his painfully aroused flesh. Gasping desperately when another finger pushed up into him insistently, he almost involuntarily matched its rhythm, utterly lost in the overload of sensations and drunk on the intoxicating mix of them.

When Senri shifted in his tight embrace, bracing his elbows around him, he nearly meowed, feeling his dick push into him, slow at first. The sensation alone was sooo maddeningly hot, he was quite sure that he was going to combust…

Then his whole fucking world just imploded when his lover growled a tad helplessly and nearly folded him in half with the power behind his thrust as he took him. Raha lost control of his body, less than half-conscious of how his head pushed back into the material of the nest as his senses expanded and his scream rang around them.

It felt like… dying, he thought hazily, and his thought process – bare minimum as it already was – ran to as stop when Senri lifted his head and took his mouth, filling them and his ears with the mix of apologetic whines and helpless groans while he rutted into him slowly, as if he just couldn't stop himself. And that was almost as hot and heady as the pressure of the scalding heat pushing his insides almost too full. Nearly as mind-shattering as the sparks of lightning that sizzled his nerve endings with every tiniest movement of flesh inside him.

But even all of that dimmed compared to the utterly baffling sense of… unity that made him mewl incoherently under his lover's devouring lips, numb with the pleasure of his lover's affection and all-consuming lust pouring over his senses like a flood. He could only hazily think that he needed… more, tightening his grip around him securely and rolling with his increasingly aggressive movement. Eating up Senri's growls and gasps, he relished in the sensation of the deep friction inside him as his kiss grew nearly biting and brutal. So hungry for more of his shapeshifter's pleasure – and his own – he fisted his hands in his black hair, pulling him deeper into the blaze of their kiss as Senri rutted into him much, much harder, filling their connected mouth with the redhead's mewls and moans.

The pressure mounted almost too quickly but caught in the mind-numbing heat of their bodies rolling against each other, Raha didn't even think to resist, only finally breaking their kiss as he came with downright blinding intensity, whimpering Senri's name breathlessly like a chorus of the favorite song. Burying his nose against Raha's throat, his shapeshifter groaned weakly, then pushed into him harder twice, and… something weird happened. Raha, already deep in the bliss of release, could only gasp with surprise when suddenly it felt like his lover's cock swelled impossibly, pushing his insides far, far too full… and then whimper as the pressure of that shoved his body into another scorching heat of an orgasm. And another, as the sensation didn't relent, and with every shaky breath and slightest movement, Senri's soothing purrs and gasped moans sounded far away while he pumped his cum into him while making him feel utterly overstimulated.

It seemed to last forever, and by the end, he could only gasp shallow breaths, completely numb with pleasure as his whole body sagged bonelessly under Senri's weight. Blinking lazily at the shimmers of the jewels above his lover's shoulder, he tried to focus enough to think… made harder by the way Senri was nuzzling against his throat with nearly deafening purrs, with small nips on his skin, sending pleasant shivers along his nerves.

"Do you know where you are, my kitten? Outside?" his shapeshifter cooed sweetly into his ear and Raha licked his dry lips, trying to make sense of the question. His brain felt like it fought to stay in the blissed-out haze of the afterglow, and his whole body seemed ready to melt… shivering involuntarily with Senri's every breath. He felt warm in the surrounding him radiating heat of his lover's skin and every breath numbed his brain further with the nearly shockingly delicious scent. And he knew that it wasn't possible… but he could swear that he felt Senri inside him…

Inside his head, that is… because there was no doubt in the way his lover's cock still filled him nearly to the brim, only growing increasingly hard an wanting as his body still shook around it and spasmed uncontrollably every few seconds. Senri's scent also grew thicker, his nips increasingly aggressive as they neared the edge of his jaw… before he growled something he couldn't understand under his breath and pulled back, making Raha hiss with indignation at the loss of the heat… before he was roughly rolled over to his stomach and his shapeshifter groaned loudly as he took him again. He didn't fair much better, whimpering breathlessly at how impossibly deeper that felt as he fisted his hands in the blankets.

"Where are you, kitten?" his lover grunted out against his neck, pulling his hips up and down slowly with a tight grip on Raha's hip as he rutted into him in a matching rhythm.

"I… don't k-know…" he trailed off to an embarrassingly loud mewling as with a mere few strokes like that, his oversensitive body took it for enough to tumble over the edge and start climbing another instantly. It shouldn't be possible… but while Senri pressed into his back tightly, covering him completely with his insane heat and sweet scent while fucking him with noticeably mounting aggression, this time as his senses swam, he felt the way his throat and mouth vibrated with purrs, and couldn't blame that sensation on his lover's kiss. "…huh…?" He instantly almost lost track of this when his lover's hand moved off his hip to wrap around his cock, tearing a breathless whine from his throat.

"You are… special, Raha," Senri breathed against his neck, and he barely heard it over how his heartbeat thrummed between his ears. "Not… all human."

"Y-yeah, sure…" he gasped, panting raggedly into the blanket as his body edged into another peak far too quickly. Right now, it was easy to believe that – as it hardly seemed normal. "Not all human… full fucking nympho, though…"

"…? Not that, kitten," his lover whispered, and he had to be wrong about that… because with the next roll of his hips, Raha came with a downright deafening moan, and yet… and soon as the haze cleared and his body registered the way his lover still rutted into him, nuzzling against his neck insistently as he fought to catch his breath… He almost sent him a deadpan stare over his shoulder when his arousal started to build up once more, almost instantly, provoked by that deliciously hot and deep friction inside him. By the heat of the skin rubbing against his whole back and the sound of their flesh pressing together. "You are part Miqo'te, Raha… Very, very special… That's why… he took you. And Damon. That's why… dreams and your eyes, kitten. That's why… you are my mate," Senri chuckled a tad wetly and nipped at his neck. "That's why… I am sorry, Raha. My fault. Should protect you better. But it's okay… I'll find you, kitten. Very, very soon… I feel you now. I'll find you and…" he trailed off into a heated litany in that musical language, perhaps unconsciously, as he rolled against his back harder, soon fucking him almost brutally with such a fierce tenderness… if he wasn't distracted by the way his body tumbled down into a fucking round of the multitude of orgasms, maybe he could care more about the explanation. But like this, he was far too overwhelmed to do more than fight to catch another breath, losing what was left of his mind in the fever of endless string of pleasure.


After a quick call to one of his old associates, Hepaistos scowled as he headed down the long corridor to check on his prize.

When he was banished from the Clan, he took along a few of the secrets that none other – much less those infernal hybrids – were aware of, including the location of this long-abandoned lair. And though he prepared it some while expecting a different type of prey to fall in his hands… This development seemed much more fortunate than his earlier plans.

For decades he meticulously prepared for this play, gathering his 'resources' with the sole idea of using them to lure his naturally territorial nephew into a trap. Carefully masking their scents since arrival in the town that used to be a tiny village when he left, he intended to have his charges stalk the forest, spreading their scent and have them make it lead back to this lair, sure that Ares was bound to investigate the unnatural occurrence of three different Others suddenly appearing in the boundaries of his lair – and now Hepaistos could be only glad that he waited with the execution of that plan.

Leaving the annoying Levellieur twins behind was a given, considering that with his new plan, he hardly had any use for them. If anything, they could be only a liability, as Alisaie's contempt was quite obvious even, despite the compulsion. She was strong-willed and temperamental, making her far too exhausting to keep around for a long term. Her twin was a tad easier to manipulate – unless she was about to spark the resistance even in the normally meek Alphinaud.

The three Others he managed to secure for his use were easier to control, especially after making them forget where they came from. After snatching them out of their kind's nests young, it was ridiculously easy to make them submit while keeping them hidden from prying eyes. With mostly humanoid forms, a Pyre, AuRa, and a Medusa seemed perfect for what he initially intended and now could serve as the help with his guests until Hepaistos was ready to proceed with the new plan.

When Alisaie returned with the brief report of their investigation into the teen that apparently earned himself Senri's interest, connecting it to the unaware girl's remark of the boy's unusual eye color was easy enough. The stories about the Allag were integral to his kind's history, yes, but the greatest giveaway was that whelp's open interest in the kid. Then witnessing how he acted with him in front of that house when he went to investigate the red-eyed boy was the best confirmation of his suspicions. And what gave him the idea for a better plan to use the apparently part-Allagan twins to get what he wanted the most: a way back into his Clan and Ares's head. After making the fucker free him from the compulsion that kept him locked into their flawed, humanoid form.

Finding a way to hide among humans after his banishment was easy enough after he found a witch willing to sell her services for a right price. Even if the bitch didn't dare to give him a glamour that would cover the scar Ares left on his face – the mark of his banishment – it still proved useful, hiding his telltale cat-like features. With that in hand, he set to plan how to force the whelp to remove the compulsion – knowing that considering that Ares was a hybrid, none else could break it. More so, even, as each of them, while growing, showed marks of subtle differences in their aptitudes, of the strength of Ares's gift when he reached maturity still surprised him… enough that he ended up in this sorry state.

But – hopefully – not for much longer after that call.

Now he had a very specific plan for each twin, intending to use them to their full extent. After his old 'friend' arrives to confirm his story, he would use the red-eyed Raha to serve as the proof. Considering that when his eyes were in the light their pupils slanted into vertical slits was a dead giveaway of his inheritance – despite his otherwise human features. With their obvious similarity, it would serve to sell his cyan-eyed brother for his associate to risk his head by serving as a proxy between him and Ares – offering the return of his brother's mate for breaking the compulsion.

Not that he planned to return him, either way, considering that he could find far better uses for an Allagan. But he needed Ares's compulsion broken, and knowing his weakness for his youngest brother, he knew that the hybrid would cave. That done and able to Shift once more, he planned to pressure the leaders of the Clans into giving him Ares's head – as the real price for the red-eyed twin. Their kind tended to stupidly revere the hybrids but faced with the idea of an Allag… Well, he could easily imagine more than a few eager to get rid of him and his youngest brother to claim Bastet's favored child. Even if he appeared half-bonded – by his scent if nothing else – unclaimed Raha was still a prize to get him all he wanted by his existence's mere promise. His twin was a bigger risk – as lacking that telltale eye color suggested a weaker link to his ancestors.

Mulling over that, he neared the door of his 'guest's' designed cell and was distracted enough not to give it much thought as he unlocked and pushed them open. Considering the red-eyed boy should be still stuck in his compulsion – what he now planned to address, giving him enough of a leeway to eat and such – he was completely unprepared for the sight that met his gaze… or even less for the downright staggering breath of the intensely spice-like scent that filled the small room.

Completely dumbstruck, he could only gawk in astonishment when a far-too-familiar shape of a cat-like beast, covered with crimson-red fur, shifted into a pounce with a snarl, folding a glorious pair of red wings and baring at him familiar sets of fangs. He acted on pure instinct, backing away and slamming the door close – just in time for the beast to hit them. Hurriedly locking – and creating more locks as he went – the door, he looked at them with astonishment when he finally felt safe enough to move away from them.

Nearly pressing his back against the opposite wall, he ran his hand over his face, groaning as he remembered that the Allagans were impervious to a compulsion… and could half-Bond through their 'dream-invading' magic, too… And he apparently ended up with a very pissed off Allag – and became the 'obstacle' between him and his intended mate in the real world.

Which – according to the stories – never boded well for the said obstacle… especially in his circumstances. His charge's half-Bonded pick – in this case, Senri, he could bet – will be drawn toward him as soon as he's awake – which could be already the case – so staying here wasn't an option. They – because he had no doubt that the whelp would bring on his head his hybrid brothers – could be already on their way…

Hepaistos swore, then started to run – intent to put as much space between them and himself as possible. After all, he could come up with another scheme – as long as he was alive to do so… which was extremely unlikely if they find him here.