Opposites Attract Ch. 02

"Finally," the word creaked ominously from Lel's parched, dust-covered lips.

Daniel let himself go limp, allowing his body to be dragged closer to the hyena. His head swung loosely, as if he was about to faint. Then using everything his father and Misha had taught him, he head-butted the hyena and stamped on his foot. He was released with a shriek of pain and anger, his adversary dropping to his knees, head cradled in his hands. Not wasting a single second, Daniel ran for his life.

He could see the house shimmering like a mirage ahead, but Daniel knew he was tiring fast. He was dimly aware that a cool breeze was fanning his hair, but the concept was almost too complicated for his exhausted mind. Then it seemed as though he was truly seeing a fantasy, but it had him keep going just as he thought he would collapse.

"Misha, Misha, Misha," Daniel knew he had to be chanting the name in his mind as his mouth was far too dry for speech. With the last of his strength he fell into the strong arms of his beloved mate as they dropped to their knees.

As frantic kisses, accompanied by puppy-like whimpers, peppered across his heated face, Daniel was peripherally aware of several dark forms and one flash of gold passing him and his beloved Misha. He heard a roar that shook the air followed by a scream and buried his face deeper into his husband's shoulder. He nuzzled closely, drinking in the reassuring scent of his mate that represented home and safety. He was eased gently to his feet to be hugged tightly by his father and then Sezje before huddling close in Misha's embrace, the other two men flanking them closely, protectively.

"It's all over, precious fawn," Misha husked as tears fell down his cheeks. "I have you, you're safe. Love you, Daniel, love you so much." He eased the dust-smeared, tear-tracked face from his shoulder and pressed his lips carefully to the dry ones of his lover. Ignoring the sour taste of fear that remained, Misha sought the sweeter taste of his mate. The tight, coiled coldness that had lodged in the pit of his stomach from the moment Daniel had been reported as missing finally began to dissipate. It would take time, but he knew they heal together, strengthened by the love of their family.

"Love you, Misha. Always believed you would come for me," Daniel rasped.

"Always," Misha vowed.

****

Monique looked up at the procession slowly approaching the house. She could not help but smile over at Tony and Lauren at the sight of Misha almost wrapped around a dirty, slender, dishevelled brunette.

"He's safe," she whispered, breaking into a wide smile.

"Looking at the ones behind, the hyena'll need a body bag," Tony observed dryly, his sensitive nose twitching at a coppery scent.

"We are Chimera," Monique replied with an elegant motion of her shoulder. "No one will condemn a pack of wolves, and a lion, attacking a hyena to defend a family member. Any word on Merric's condition?"

"Not yet," Tony replied shaking his head. "Paramedics said they thought he had a fractured skull. No telling how bad."

"If he does recover physically, he's still not going to be the same man."

Monique and Tony turned at the sound of the third voice. The man's face was set like flint as he looked towards the family group now close to the house.

"Every account I can find of his will be locked down. All his property will be secured and searched. I already have enough evidence to put him away for the next ten years, without taking into account what he did to Daniel."

"You're very thorough, Pete," Monique observed.

For Monique to find that Misha was a part-time Government Agent had come as a shock to say the least. She had been stunned as Misha had immediately called in his colleague to use their computer knowledge to find Daniel whilst Sezje had used older, more traditional methods of calling in family favours. The speed in which they had moved had astounded her; the family unity had left her envious. Everyone was supportive in whatever way they were able. Even Tony and she had found themselves included as part of the close-knit family. It had been warming even despite the underlying concern for Daniel's wellbeing. She would be sorry to move on.

"It's the least I could do for Misha," Pete said.

"Wouldn't mind some computer lessons...if you're willing," Tony murmured to the other canine as he lounged against the doorframe.

"Could be arranged," Pete murmured back, his nostrils quivering in the same way as the other male. His grin matched the policeman's and then their attention moved to the group entering the house.

"Daniel's safe," Misha said, not relinquishing his grip of his mate. He could feel Daniel's utter exhaustion and feared if his loosened his grip, his lover would collapse.

"We're all very glad to see you, Daniel," Monique smiled reassuringly. "There will be no need for questions now. Do you need medical care?" she asked as tactfully as possible.

"No," Daniel replied truthfully. The bruises and scrapes were nothing. All he wanted, all he needed was to be wrapped in Misha's arms. "I just want to go home. Thank you, Lauren," he added, giving a wan smile to the older woman.

"You said he would come," Lauren replied, returning the smile and seeing the depth of love in Misha's eyes.

"I'm so glad you're safe, Daniel," Ilya whispered as he hugged the brunette.

"I'm fine," Daniel assured. "I just want to leave here."

"Let Misha help clean you, Daniel and your father and I will find you something to drink. Then we will leave this place."

"'K, Pop," Daniel nodded. He was dehydrated and knew his father-in-law was right. He needed the water. He whispered the directions to the bathroom he had used. He let Misha wipe away the surface dirt and dust, anything more could wait. He heard the feral growl as his lover discovered the tiger's bite to his shoulder.

"I should kill him," Misha snarled.

"I won't take the chance of losing you," Daniel said firmly. "This is as hurt as I got at his hands. Don't let it come between us."

"It won't, my precious fawn," Misha vowed. "Nothing will ever come between us."

****

Using the last of his rapidly fraying patience, Misha waited as Daniel was greeted by his mother, Ben, his brother's wives and children, aunts, cousins and Chris' two life-mates. He knew it was only fair and right. So many had come to help and support and were overjoyed to have his fawn safe that Misha could wait just a little while longer.

Part of him wished he had been with his uncles, older brothers and Chris to have taken care of the hyena, but part was equally glad he did not have any blood on his hands. He knew how sensitive Daniel was. He was also glad that Ilya had remained with a couple of cousins and Monique at Merric's house. His baby brother was too young in his eyes to have been involved with Lel's retribution.

"Thank you all so very much for taking care of Misha and my family, but I really need some rest. I'll see you all later. Misha?"

With a badly hidden sigh of relief, Misha escorted Daniel away from the crowd and to the sanctuary of their bedroom. As soon as the door was locked behind them, the bigger male's nostrils flared. He could scent the aberrant and unwanted odours of both tiger and hyena on his beloved mate, his mate. He pushed Daniel against the wall and pressed his body close, trying to replace the others' scent with his own. His hands were busy removing their clothes as his body rubbed and his tongue began to work its way across Daniel's face. Not ceasing in his licking, Misha guided them to the bed, crouching over the lithe, nude form as Daniel moaned his encouragements in soft tones.

He laved the precious body with long, wet sweeps with his tongue. Having already left his scent on Daniel's face, he began his descent. Throat and armpits followed quickly, his mate moving instinctively to allow him the access he needed. He paused at the shoulders growling savagely at the still-healing bite that Merric had left on the beautiful skin. He left hismark next to it, coating the offending mark with his saliva. His ministrations slowed as he traversed the chest. There were bruises and abrasions from the fight with Lel. He tenderly kissed each one. He licked and sucked pebbled areolae and the espresso nubs that hardened as if reaching towards him.

Misha's own breathing had become almost as ragged as Daniel's as he reached his mate's groin. With an effort of will he ignored the hard column of rosy-hued flesh to travel down each leg instead. He rumbled his approval as Daniel rolled at his urging so that he could lick from the soles of the younger man's feet to the nape of his neck. He wanted his scent to be dominant on his lover so that others would recognise that this was his mate and claimed. He flipped Daniel's body with ease, his eyes devouring the erection that dripped with desire. Before he tasted that banquet, he mouthed his lover's sac, relishing the impassioned cries and the wanton spread of caramel limbs as his mate tried to incite Misha into taking him.

"Soon, precious fawn, soon," he rasped.

He was captivated by the addictive taste of Daniel's pre-come as he lapped up the glistening drops from his mate's toned belly. He placed a hand on a slender hip and engulfed the rigid rod to the root, inhaling musk and swallowing repeatedly. His mate bucked fervently, groaning Misha's name, as the bigger man devoted himself to the dripping shaft. He probed the slit with his tongue, nibbled carefully around the slick, swollen head and slid his tongue up and down the smooth length before sucking with single-minded intent. The taste of pre-come was heady and intoxicating. He kept up his amatory siege until he was rewarded with pulse after pulse of Daniel's delectable crème.

Daniel watched through hooded eyes as Misha hurried to the bathroom. He returned with a small bottle of massage oil and Daniel shivered in delicious anticipation.

Misha eased his satiated mate onto his stomach and knelt astride slim hips.

"Let me care for you, my love," he whispered.

Daniel felt as if he was melting into the bed as the oil, warmed in Misha's capable hands, was drizzled between his shoulder blades. Then a soothing kneading down his spine by those same hands had Daniel almost purring

"Good Misha, so good," he whispered drowsily.

Misha kept up the firm pressure as he moved slowly down Daniel's bruised back. He let his lips follow his hands' path down as he soothed each discoloration with a soft kiss and lick. He felt his own erection weeping its tears of want and desire as he kneaded at the firm flesh of his lover's nether cheeks. He allowed his thumbs to trace a path between them and brush lightly over the tightly furled flesh.

"Mine," Misha growled. There was still one other place for him to leave his scent. He began to lick down the soft-skinned back. He reached the perfect mounds and began to lave at the downy declivity. He heard Daniel's soft gasp as he licked gently at the depleted sac and back to the small rosebud. His tongue delved deep again and again, leaving his scent in Daniel's secret entrance. The soft moans and enticing writhing were inexorably fuelling the bigger male's need to mate.

Daniel mewled softly when he felt Misha's lips against his ear.

"I'm just beginning, my precious fawn," Misha husked. He turned Daniel to see the beloved face and caressed the smooth planes of Daniel's chest, whilst nibbling on the enticing ear. When his wandering fingers encountered a nipple he pinched it slightly, massaging the little nub lovingly, and then they darted to give the other bud similar attention.

"Want you so much," Daniel moaned. "Want you in me." He wriggled to roll back onto his stomach and rose gracefully onto all-fours, glancing sultrily at his mate. "Please, Misha." Daniel was shivering slightly with anticipation as he could feel Misha's erection twitch and pulse against his offered cheeks.

With a groan of want, Misha rolled his hips and ground against the firm buttocks of his fawn as he held him tightly to his body. His hand moved lower to fondle Daniel and begin the process of re-arousing his lover. Misha murmured wordlessly as he sucked on a sensitive earlobe. Running his thumb over the tip of Daniel's manhood Misha thrust forward once more, pushing his own erection between two firm, smooth cheeks. He pulled the head of his erection away to insert an oil-drenched finger into Daniel, pressing it deeply and rotating it slowly.

His fawn cried out softly as he felt Misha's digit entering him. The bigger man felt him slowly push back against the desired intruder, impaling it deeper, rocking slowly as Misha petted and stroked his lover's flanks. As much as he wanted to be pounding deep within his husband, the older man intended everything to be a pleasure for his mate. His finger coated the blood-hot walls, stretching and relaxing before he inserted a second into Daniel's tight heat. He watched them stroking in and out of his lover. The sight was always incredibly erotic and Misha felt himself harden achingly.

"I love you," Daniel moaned before gasping and shaking as two fingers became three and Misha hit the spot buried in the depths of his body that made him see stars. "Inside me, now," Daniel rasped in between ragged breaths.

With a wordless growl Misha began to push inside the narrow strait he had so carefully prepared. He impaled his hardness deep, beginning a slow, sensual side in and out. Groaning, he gripped Daniel's hips harder, holding him steady as he withdrew to plunge back into his lover's heated passage. All too soon, Misha was pounding into his lover's slender body, burying himself inside his beloved mate with every thrust. Daniel undulated against him and Misha reached around to take his fawn's weeping shaft in his fist. He matched his strong strokes with his thrusts and felt the groan that began deep in the younger man's throat

Daniel moaned constantly as the long shaft stroked him inside. Misha never had to search out his pleasure spot, finding it unerringly with every thrust, every long slide in and out. Daniel panted as he felt the familiar heat begin to consume him. Pleasure built on pleasure as he felt his husband's body moving within him and the hand that stroked him to perfection. It was sublime and Daniel gave in to it with heart and soul.

Misha was aware of nothing except the precious life he held in his arms, he could feel and see only Daniel. His lips found his lover's and the kiss was perfection, a meeting and melding of tongues that imitated their bodies. Their skin seemed more alive at each point where they touched, combusting, setting sensual fire to already sensitive nerves. He was aware of his mate's increasing heartbeat, hear his gasping breaths. His pleasure, his delight, his life was Daniel's. He had felt such an all-consuming sensation of loss when the younger man vanished that he needed an all-consuming union with his precious fawn to rebalance him. He knew Daniel felt the same. They were two-as-one and, at that moment, it seemed they shared one soul.

He pressed himself flush against the smooth back and dropped a shower of kisses on Daniel's shoulders, his hips pumping with a faltering rhythm as he neared completion. Then he was coming, filling his lover with his seed, claiming this beautiful, precious man as his own. The melding of their bodies and minds effectively creating new life in a moment that stretched into eternity. His orgasm reached its crescendo and then began its slow spiral down.

As he felt Misha's essence filling him, Daniel could not hold back any longer. With a deep shudder and a moan of his mate's name, he let himself be carried away by the waves of rapture as he spilt over Misha's hand. Unable to support their combined weight in the aftermath of his cataclysmic release, Daniel collapsed onto the bed. He murmured his approval as Misha remained buried deep within him, his lover's hips still grinding in slow, desultory movements.

"I love you," Misha whispered into a small ear. "I love you so much, my precious fawn." As he felt his flesh finally slip from paradise, he rolled their bodies to manoeuvre Daniel to lie between his thighs, head against Misha's shoulder. Daniel' eyes looked into his with the deepest love, and he knew that they had triumphed over their ordeal. "I would never have rested until I had found you," he whispered. "I knew in my heart and soul you were out there somewhere."

"I love you, Misha. Only you. I would never have given up trying to get away and I knew you would look for me." Daniel wrapped his arms around his mate as he was enveloped by Misha's and sighed contentedly. They had begun their healing with their love and they would look to the future not the past. They each belonged to the other and nothing and no one would ever change that.

****

Monique lifted an elegant, crystal champagne flute in response to Sezje's gesture and the glasses chinked delicately, testimony to their craftsmanship. She sipped, relishing the sensation of the bubbles. The rest of the bottle was in a crystal ice bucket.

"Part of my mother's collection," Sezje explained as he saw the appreciative look. "Some pieces, which I do not use, were her mother's and are too fragile and precious. Soon these pieces will go to Misha. He and Daniel love his grandmother's crystal."

"How are they?" Monique asked, taking another sip.

"Very well," Sezje nodded. "We are fortunate Daniel was not hurt too badly. Merric?" he queried.

"I have the feeling there is nothing I can tell you about him you don't already know," Monique said, giving the older wolf a smile. "But since you asked so nicely, there is extensive brain damage. Part of the skull was crushed badly. It's unlikely he will recover and more than possible he won't survive."

"He thought all he needed was money," Sezje said shaking his head sadly. "That it could buy him anything he wanted. However, I still feel he got off lightly given what he did to my son's mate."

"We'll never know if the body in the car was someone he had murdered. The Coroner he bought will get a heavy jail sentence. All of Merric's wealth is being tracked down by Pete. Tony still works with him. He is also good with computers. I have the feeling I won't have my sergeant for much longer." She gave a laugh. "I don't think I've ever seen him so happy. Pete is good for him."

"And you?" Sezje asked. "Who is good for you?"

Monique stared into the glittering eyes of the older man.

"I...I don't have anyone," she replied, the predatory look almost taking her breath away.

"Then perhaps you might consider spending the weekend with me?" Sezje purred. He leant forward to capture one of Monique's hands and brought it to his lips. "Someone so exquisite deserves to be cared for and cherished. You did say you were free. We can take a trip into town for any necessities you would need." He held her hand as he smiled.

Monique looked deeply into Sezje's orbs. It had been longer than she cared to remember since she had seen such desire. Keeping hold of Sezje's hand, she rose to her feet and took a step into the wolf's personal space.

"I doubt I would need much," she said, the huskiness of her voice making her blink and Sezje's smile become feral.

She did not resist as she was pulled against a hard chest. A soft moan escaped her as a strong hand cupped the back of her neck and her head was tilted. Then hot, hungry lips were on hers and a groan allowed a conquering tongue to plunder her mouth. As the kiss finally broke, she stood panting softly. One of Sezje's hands was around her waist, the other had miraculously found its way past her jacket, past her blouse and into her bra. A knowing thumb brushed her nipple and she arched into the intimate caress.

"I suggest we take this indoors," Sezje husked against Monique's throat, nipping delicately at the fragile flesh. "I am not the exhibitionist I used to be and would prefer to be the only one who sees you naked." He pinched the nipple he had teased into hardness and felt his shaft throb as Monique melted further into his seduction.