Ebb & Flow 3
by
A year ago, Quinn Boucher was in his third year of university. He had plans. A life. And then in one night, it was all ripped away by violent werewolves who changed Quinn and held him captive for a month. Now, a year later, Quinn is healing. He has safety in the Massachusetts home of the U.S. Anax, ruler of all werewolves in the country. And he has the love and support of the older man fate brought into his life, his mate Malachi. But as the anniversary of his change passes, Quinn has no respite from his memories. If only Malachi wasn't so far away.
At 130 years old, Malachi Powers never wanted a mate. Never wanted to command another. And then destiny gave him Quinn. Now, after six months, he can no longer imagine his life without the young man who obeys his word. When the U.S. Anax requests that Malachi come to spend Christmas with Quinn, Malachi accepts the offer. And when the Anax offers to allow Quinn to travel back to Nova Scotia to spend time with Malachi, both are thrilled.
Staying at Malachi's winterized island cottage, Quinn and Malachi feel out how it will be when they are finally able to fully combine their lives. But the isolation, Quinn's memories and concerns about the Anax, and the impending full moon take their toll on both men. When Quinn's trauma gets the best of him and he runs, Malachi questions whether he can truly be the partner his young mate needs. Perhaps they would be better off living apart.
This book includes a large age gap between main characters (over 100 years; werewolves live a long time); mention of and flashbacks to sexual trauma in a main character's past; depictions of PTSD; one main character consensually commanding the other; and mention of the off-page self-unaliving of a minor character. The book is set in the Real Werewolves Don't Eat Meat universe but is not a direct part of that series.
Cover Artists:
Genres:
Pairings: M-M
Heat Level: 5
Romantic Content: 3
Ending: Click here to reveal
Character Identities: Gay
Protagonist 1 Age: 66+
Protagonist 2 Age: 18-25
Tropes: Age Difference, Fated Mates / Soul Mates
Word Count: 95800
Setting: Nova Scotia, Canada
Languages Available: English
Series Type: Continuous / Same Characters
“I can stay here tonight,” Quinn said hesitantly. “I mean, I don’t want anyone to go to any trouble. But Malachi didn’t tell you the other reason for going to his cottage. It’s me. I’m struggling. Frigging—sorry. Memories.”
I gave his hand a light squeeze, and he appeared to relax.
Silas looked sympathetic. “Of course. Quinn, all of us are affected by being here, but you’ve been right in the thick of everything that’s happened during your visits. I fully understand. Getting the two of you to Malachi’s wouldn’t be any trouble.”
“It’s a hassle getting the cottage ready, though, right?” Quinn turned to me. “Starting the fire, getting the place warmed up. Figuring out where I’ll sleep. You weren’t expecting to have me stay with you.”
“I wasn’t expecting you to be here at all,” I reminded him. “Having you stay with me is no hassle for me. If you recall, it was my suggestion.”
READ MORE“I know, but…” He bit his lip. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t argue. It’s just a lot. Everything’s a lot right now.”
“After that drive, I’m not surprised,” Silas said.
“Yeah.” Chin lowered, Quinn took a deep breath. “I don’t know if I can stay here. I can try for tonight, but I completely lost it upstairs, Silas. All the stuff that happened. Andy.” His voice choked. “Killing him. I had to, I know that, but…”
“Killing isn’t easy.” With a grave expression, Silas folded his hands again. “Quinn, you still talk to Marie Tanner, don’t you?”
“Yeah, and I’ve talked to her about that and about killing Belot.” He clasped his hands behind his head. “It was different with Belot. Piotr—the Prairie Pack Alpha—sentenced Belot to death and chose me to carry out the sentence because of what Belot had done to me. I didn’t only kill him for me, though. I killed him for K—Kinney and the others.” His voice broke. “I killed him because he took everything away from me.”
Helpless to know what to say to soothe him, I settled for, “That’s a valid reason.”
“That isn’t why I killed Andy, though.” He bowed his head further, muffling his voice. But hearing him was still all too easy. “He had control of all of you. I don’t know what he was going to do, but he had control of Silas, and that meant he could have taken control of the whole country. And Aubrey and Marie and Elaine were here, so they were in danger. But that isn’t the only reason I killed him. I killed him because of what he did to me. Because he was one of the ones who raped me, and he was proud of it, and I couldn’t let him do it again. He said he would do it again.”
He let out a low wail, and I immediately knelt in front of him as I had upstairs. But he looked directly at me, and his eyes were clear. As was his voice. “Malachi, I’m not having a flashback, but this is hard.”
“I know, boy.” I rested my hands on his arms. “You did what you had to do. You know this. But I understand why you feel guilty.”
“It’s good that you feel guilty,” Silas said. “I would worry if you didn’t. But Malachi’s right. You did what you had to do. Is that why you don’t want to stay here?”
Quinn nodded. “I need to be somewhere else. Where I didn’t kill or almost die.”
COLLAPSE
