Pursued by the Wandering Spider

This  wandering  spider  will  pursue  his  mate,
knowing  he’s  walking  into  the  very  heart  of
danger.

Boone has kept it no secret that he wants Julius for
his  own.  Hell,  he’s  pursued  the  guy  relentlessly
from the moment he saw an assassin lying in wait
to harm Julius. Now, Boone has one mission, to go
with his friend, TL, and unite the fire ants to their
cause of getting loved ones and Mission Territory
back.  However,  there’s  no  way  Boone  will  leave
his  mate,  knowing  that  even  at  the  hive,  Julius
could be taken from him. So, now, he will have no
choice but to bring the man he loves into the heart
of danger.

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Pursued by the Wandering Spider

ISBN: 978-1-4874-0038-5

Cover art by Latrisha Waters

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Chapter One

ulius woke to an all-too-familiar feeling—eyes
on him, and not just any eyes, but the creepy

fucker that continually broke into his room every
damn night.

Julius growled and rolled over, pulling the

pillow over his head. “Go away, Boone.”

A soft chuckle grated on Julius’s damn nerves.

He hated that it also caused his cock to grow thick
with desire. Julius had tried in the past to deny it
and claim it as morning wood, but it was Boone.

Shit!
It’s not that Boone wasn’t drop-dead gorgeous.

The  wandering  spider  wore  sexy,  dusty,  ripped
blue jeans and boots. The venom refused to wear a
shirt  over  that  muscular,  tanned  upper  body.
Boone even completed the look with a cowboy hat
that  showed  only  the  tips  of  shaggy  light  brown
hair.  Julius  had  fantasized  many  nights  about
Boone and that cowboy hat. Not like he could do
anything  about  it,  though,  like  take  matters  into
his  own  hand.  Boone  usually  broke  in,  leaving
Julius without a moment’s privacy.

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Bastard!
Sexually frustrated, Julius flipped over and

threw his pillow as hard as he could at the
wandering spider. Boone laughed and easily
dodged it.

“You’ve never been a morning person. That’s

okay. Whenever you get your head out of your
ass, I’ll be fucking you all night long. Then, we’ll
both sleep the day away,” Boone finished with a
cocky smile.

Julius gave him a droll stare. “We’ve been over

this. It’s never going to happen.”

“It is. You just need to give in.” Boone adjusted

his hat with a confidence that seemed to say that
was the end of the discussion. It wasn’t.

“I’m surprised you haven’t just created a web in

that damn corner.” Julius grumbled.

Boone laughed, “Wandering spiders don’t

maintain webs. We just like to wander around and
hunt our prey.” Boone waggled his brows
teasingly at him. Jackass! I’m not your prey!

“Well, you can go and just wander along

somewhere else.” Julius made a shooing motion
with his hand, making Boone crack up. Ugh.

Julius threw the covers off and stood up. It

wasn’t like he slept unclothed. Every night, he had
to  go  to  bed  with  his  clothes  on  because  of  this
psycho. “Look, I’m grateful that you saved me and
my  friends.  Hell,  I’m  glad  you  guided  us  to  the
hive.  It’s  the  first  time  I’ve  actually  been  able  to

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

sleep through the night without worrying if my
damn life was on the line. But if you think there is
something more between us, you have another
thing coming.”

Who was Julius trying to fool? Himself? Yeah,

because he understood what he was feeling, but
timing was everything.

Boone winked at him. It took everything Julius

had to keep from rolling his eyes. “You’re my
mate,” Boone stated.

“That doesn’t mean shit to me. I want a friend

before a lover, and you’re neither of those. You’re
just  some  cocky  asshole  that  doesn’t  know  what
the  hell  a  locked  door  means.”  Julius  was  not
going to be pushed over by Boone. The man might
be a foot taller than his five feet seven inches, but
Julius  had  a  spine.  Well,  he  did  when  it  came  to
Boone  anyway.  Usually,  he  was  pretty  nervous
when  it  came  to  everyone  else  and  a  complete
pushover.

Boone followed as Julius left his room to go to

the restroom. Julius knew he would have at least a
two-minute reprieve from Boone. At least the man
hadn’t ever followed him in there…yet.

Julius washed his face and stared at himself in

the  mirror.  So  much  had  changed.  His  blue  eyes
were  no  longer  sunken,  and  he  no  longer  looked
on  the  verge  of  starvation.  The  venoms  Wilder,
Cash  and  Kalder  had  saved  him  and  his  friends

Jackie Nacht

from that fate. Plus, there was Durango, Tucker
and Memphis. Those were his heroes.

Kalder, the king cobra, had been the leader of

Mission  Territory in Venom City until the people
had  turned  on  him  and  his  friends  Cash  and
Wilder.  Wilder,  the  deathstalker  scorpion,  was
mated  to  his  friend,  Leif.  And  Cash…well,  Cash
was  Cash.  As  a  blue-ringed  octopus,  he  was  the
most  mistrustful  of  the  three,  but  when  the  time
came, Cash had protected Julius with his life.

Julius would never be able to repay the six for

keeping  him  and  his  friends  safe.  And  when  all
hell  broke  loose  in  Venom  City,  they’d  fled  with
them, making  sure to protect each and every one
of them. Julius had no ties to these men, unlike his
friends  Reece  and  Leif.  They  were  mated  to
venom; he and Prescott weren’t. It would be easy
to  leave  them  behind.  They  hadn’t,  and  Julius
looked upon each of these men as his new-formed
family.

Julius finished up and walked out, face first

into a bare, muscular chest. Dear lord, did he ever
want to lick the collarbone that was right at eye
level. Clearing his throat, Julius stepped back.
“Seriously, Boone. Did you think I would get lost
or attacked?”

Julius walked around Boone, and he heard

Boone say from behind him, “Just didn’t want you
running from me. We have some things we need
to discuss.”

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

Julius held up a hand and turned. “Boone, I

need breakfast. It can wait.”

Boone began to talk, and Julius pointed at

Boone. “I mean it, Boone. I’m tired, since you
know I don’t sleep worth a damn with you
stalking me.”

Boone pointed to his bare chest, as if the man

needed to bring any more attention to that
delectable area. “I’m protecting you.”

“We’re in a damn sanctuary,” Julius argued.
“I don’t trust anyone except TL where you’re

concerned,” Boone growled.

Julius pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a

headache coming on. All his life he had scavenged
for  food,  lived  by  the  second,  not  by  the  minute,
and  feared  that  at  any  moment  it  would  be  his
last.  However,  he’d  survived  this  long  with  Leif,
Prescott  and  Reece.  Now  was  the  time  to  take  a
deep  breath.  What  Julius  didn’t  need  was  Boone
all  over  him  along  with  Boone’s  best  friend  and
spider wasp venom, TL.

Sure, TL was hilarious, and he did have this

ability  to  make  even  a  dire  situation  seem  like  a
good  time.  However,  Julius  had  friends  before
these two crashed into his life. Julius was the type
of person that needed to analyze and think things
through  before  letting  someone  in.  He  wasn’t
going to be pushed into something, even if Boone
was delusional enough to think they were mates.

Jackie Nacht

Julius didn’t feel it, so Boone needed to back off

a little and respect his wishes. “Boone, cut me
some slack this morning.”

Boone rushed to him. “Are you okay?”
Julius shook his head. “I want to go talk to my

friends this morning and see how they’re doing.
This is all a big adjustment for us. Please.” Julius
gazed up at Boone, hoping the wandering spider
backed off just this one time.

Boone stepped back. “Sure. Sure. I’ll go eat with

TL.” Boone swiftly walked ahead of him and left
Julius behind.

Fuck!
He wasn’t trying to hurt Boone. Hell, until then,

Julius  didn’t  even  think  he  was  capable  of  it.  He
just  wanted  a  couple  of  days  for  everything  to
slow down. Hell, he wanted to know why  it was
so  damn  important  to  Boone  to  watch  him  every
damn  night.  That  was  the  problem  with  the
situation.  Everything  was  moving  and  changing
around so fast, they didn’t get the opportunity to
really get to know each other.

Julius gripped his hair and pulled it as he

walked  to  the  common  area  in  the  hive  where
everyone sat down to eat. The common area was a
beautiful  mixture  of  venom  and  anti-venom  that
resided  here.  The  room  was  at  least  a  couple
stories  tall.  The  sides  were  a  variety  of  mud  and
clay, while the entire ceiling was honeycomb. The
hexagonal  shapes  were  a  work  of  art,  and  Julius

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

still couldn’t tear his  eyes away  from them every
time  he  came  in  there.  With  the  morning  sun
coming  through,  it  left  the  entire  hive  in  a  light
that didn’t even seem possible.

The tables were wooden with long benches

where everyone sat. The legs rough and bark-like
while  the  surface  was  smooth  to  the  touch.  The
place  was  crowded  with  wasp,  hornet  and  bee
venom.  There  was  a  small  section  of  anti-venom
that had been residing there long before Julius and
his  friends  came.  Someone  nudged  by  him,  and
Julius  realized  that  he  had  been  standing  at  the
threshold,  not  moving,  for  far  longer  than  he
meant to.

He made his way to the line where he picked

up a plate and put homemade biscuits and honey
on it. There was a jerky of sorts, and he picked a
couple of the chewy pieces, stuffing one in his
mouth before placing the rest on his plate.

At the end, he searched for his friends and

found  them  on  the  outskirts  at  a  table  with  their
mates  Wilder  and  Kalder.  Cash  stood  and  paced
behind  Kalder.  For  the  past  couple  days,  Kalder
had been tense, finding out his brother was alive.
While they all knew it would take time to infiltrate
back  into  Venom  City,  Kalder  was  worried  and
impatient,  with  good  reason.  Killian  had  been
captured and was now in the hands of the enemy.

The youngest, Leif, had just been recently

mated to Wilder, the scorpion. The two were

Jackie Nacht

sitting next to each other, talking with their heads
close  together.  Wilder’s  scorpion  tail  was  poised
behind  them  in  a  protective  nature,  but  that  tail
still scared the hell out of Julius and he considered
Wilder his friend. Kalder was breaking off a piece
of  bread  from  on  his  plate  and  feeding  a  small
piece to Reese. Reese was the first one to discover
this  group  of  venom when  he  actually  attempted
to steal from them. What  could have cost Reese’s
life, ended up with him finding the love of his life.

Tucker, Memphis and Durango were the only

other venom that  left Mission Territory when the
territory  turned  on  their  leader,  Kalder.  Tucker
was  a  poison  dart  frog  who  covered  his  entire
body  head  to  toe.  Julius  had  heard  that  he  had  a
tragic  past,  poisoning  his  younger  sister  with  his
touch  when  they  were  younger.  Memphis  was  a
black mamba that ran from La Jolla when he was
just a child. He was so damn shy, quiet, and kept
to  himself.  Julius  hadn’t  even  heard  the  man  say
two words. Durango was a viper, and from what
Julius  had  heard,  was  already  on  his  way  to
bedding half the hornets here.

Julius made his way over and sat next to

Prescott. Prescott’s brown hair was wet, as if he
had just gotten through bathing. He had a serious
expression on his face while the others stared at
Julius.

“What?” Julius asked, curious.

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

Reese stared at him with sad gray eyes. “You

need to be careful out there.”

Leif, his best friend, got up and came to sit next

to him, rubbing him on the back. “Boone, TL and
Cash will watch over you. You have nothing to
worry about.”

Julius was lost. “What the hell are you all

talking about?”

Kalder, the king cobra, tilted his head while

staring at him with his snake eyes. “What do you
mean? You’re leaving after breakfast.”

Getting pissed, the volume of Julius’s voice

raised. “I have no fucking clue what you are all
talking about, so someone better tell me what the
hell is going on. Am I being kicked out of here?
Did I do something wrong?”

Panic began to bubble inside him. The

insecurity and weakness that usually resided
inside of him took hold.

Prescott gripped his hand. His friend knew him

so well. They had lived in the wild for years, and
Prescott  was  the  oldest  one,  taking  care  of  them
all.  He  would  know  Julius  needed  the  strength.
The only time Julius had ever stood up and fought
was  when  it  came  to  Boone.  Why  the  wandering
spider did that to him baffled him.

“You’re going with Cash, Boone and TL to the

fire ant colony. Boone insisted. You leave after
breakfast. Boone was supposed to tell you.”
Prescott said calmly.

Jackie Nacht

Julius closed his eyes. “Why am I going?” So

that’s what Boone had to tell him this morning.

Cash growled. “Boone insisted. He said he

wouldn’t leave his mate behind. Stupid fucking
spider.”

Cash had a hate-hate relationship with anyone

that wasn’t part of his inner circle, and apparently,
Boone wasn’t one of them. Julius noticed that Cash
had been on edge since they came there, long
necking the anti-venom leader, Tristan. Julius
wasn’t a fool. Those two were mates, but he could
tell, as they were across the room from each other,
that neither one of them had acted on it.

“I don’t think Julius is ready for the hike you all

are going to take,” Reese said worriedly across the
table.

So when the hell was someone going to ask him

if he was up to it? Or if he wanted to go?

Julius stood, grabbing his untouched plate. “I’m

going to go pack.”

“But…” Prescott began.
Julius shook his head. “I know I’m only twenty,

which is damn young. However, I’ve lived a hard
life. I know I have fears and nightmares, but don’t
we all? What I’m trying to say is that I may come
off as young and weak, but I still have the right to
be asked. The decision was made for me.”

Kalder stood up. “I’ll go talk to Abby. I’ll tell

her it’s a no-go. Boone said…”

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

Julius stopped Kalder. “No, I’ll go. It’s just… if

I’m involved, I want to be asked. Not told. Boone
needs to learn that, like right now.”

Julius emptied his tray. Spotting Boone talking

with TL, Julius thought packing could wait. He
had a spider to talk to.

Jackie Nacht

Chapter Two

don’t get it. Julius should know we’re mates,
but every time I get near him, he pulls away.”

Boone stabbed at a piece of meat on his breakfast
plate.

All his life, Boone had hunted, killed, fought

and searched for others. Finally, he wanted
something for his own, and the man continually
denied him.

TL laughed. “Well, you are coming on strong.”
“Julius has no clue how close he came to being

taken away,” Boone grumbled.

Weeks ago, Boone had been on his way back to

report where Abby’s brother had been taken when
he’d stumbled upon one of the kidnappers lurking
in Mission Territory. They had taken one of their
king  cobra  leaders,  Killian,  but  there  was
something  that  was  keeping  the  bastards  lurking
around. He went to question the funnel web that
was climbing the building when he spotted Julius
in  the  window  to  the  right  of  the  spider.  All
thoughts  flew  out  the  window  as  his  protective

“I

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

instincts went into overdrive. Boone swiftly killed
the spider and spent the rest of the night watching
over Julius to make sure no other spiders came to
hurt his mate. Boone had ended up doing that for
days instead of coming back here to report.

It took a couple days of watching the guy for

the  thought  of  mate  to  kick  in,  but  boy,  when  it
did,  Boone  decided  he  was  never  going  to  leave
his  mate  to  a  chance  of  being  harmed  in  Venom
City.  He  fucking  hated  the  city.  It  was  corrupt,
evil,  and  there  was  a  constant  game  at
manipulation that affected this wrecked side of the
country. Boone had never been so happy to walk
away  from  the  hellhole  as  a  child  and  meet  up
with TL in the wild.

He had been ten at the time. Boone had

watched  as  his  parents  were  murdered  right
before his eyes. At the time, he had been living in
La  Jolla  Territory.  Veronica  was  the  leader  there
now,  but  a  waste  of  space  had  once  been  leader
there before she killed the brown recluse.

It didn’t matter; as soon as Boone lost his

parents,  he  had  enough  of  Venom  City.  TL
befriended  him  in  the  wild,  and  they  had  a
tentative  friendship  at  first  before  TL’s  parents
caught them talking one night after knowing each
other a year. TL’s mother had hugged Boone and
brought him to the hive. He swore that he would
protect each one of the people that lived there ever
since,  even  as  an  eleven  year  old.  That  was

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fourteen years ago, and he’d never thought twice
about that decision.

A whack to the back of his head, hat falling on

the table in front of him, brought him out of his
musings. “What the fuck?”

“You haven’t been paying attention to me,” TL

snarked.

“Well hell, I’m all ears.” Boone rubbed the back

of his head and picked up his cowboy hat. He put
it  back  on  his  head,  hiding  his  most  hated
mutation.  He  didn’t  mind  his  fangs  or  the  soft
hairs that grew all over that weren’t quite human.
It  was  the  two  rows  of  six  non-functioning  eyes
that  existed  in  his  hair.  Sure,  no  one  could  see
them  with  his  long  hair,  but  Boone  loathed  even
knowing they were there.

“You’re still not paying attention,” TL growled.
“What?” Boone barked out.
“That’s what in the hell I would like to know.

Where do you get off volunteering me?” Julius
said from behind Boone.

Boone inwardly cringed at the words. He was

aware he was going to pay for not talking to Julius
first,  but  he  wasn’t  going  to  leave  without  his
mate.  No  one  would  ever  be  good  enough  to
watch  out  for  Julius  except  him.  Abby’s  brother
being  taken  was  proof  that  the  hive  wasn’t
completely safe.

Whether Julius wanted to admit it or not, he

needed help in this world. Boone would never

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

view Julius as weak, not even close, but since the
toxins went airborne, the world was violent and
cruel. Julius proved he could survive, but for how
long? Boone wasn’t fucking going to take the
chance of losing him now that he found him.

Boone’s mouth quirked into a smile as he got

ready  to  go  head  to  head  with  Julius.  He  loved
battling  it  out  with  his  mate.  Julius  didn’t  even
realize how different and confident he acted with
Boone.  Boone  had  watched  Julius  for  weeks.  He
was the quiet, shy one of the group with only the
exception of when he was being around Boone.

Boone turned and gazed up at Julius. The guy

couldn’t  be  more  than  five  feet  seven  inches.  He
was still very slim, although the dangerous stages
of  starvation  were  gone.  His  tan  cheeks  were
beginning to fill out, and freckles sprinkled along
a slightly crooked nose. Maybe he somehow broke
it  while  living  in  the  wild  with  the  other  anti-
venom.  It  didn’t  detract  from  his  beauty  in  the
slightest. Julius’s dark blue eyes stared at Boone in
anger  while  a  long-fingered  hand  brushed  stray
blond locks out of his eyes. Hell, he was pissed.

“Well, I was going to tell you, but I think it was

you that told me to get the hell away  from you.”
Boone  waggled  his  brows,  taunting  Julius.  He
really wasn’t trying to be a dick, but he loved the
fire  in  those  blue  eyes.  Julius  didn’t  even  realize
how strong he was.

Jackie Nacht

“That was still after the fact,” Julius gritted out,

pointing his finger at Boone. If it would have been
anyone but his mate, that finger would be meeting
the end of his blade. “Don’t fucking talk for me.”

“I wasn’t talking for you,” Boone growled. Heat

pooled,  and  his  cock  thickened  as  the  fight
escalated.  He  wasn’t  sure  if  he  wanted  to  yell  at
Julius  or  fuck  him  on  the  table.  Unfortunately,
neither was an option.

“Then why am I going with you?” Julius leaned

down, getting in his face.

Boone grabbed Julius by the back of the head.

“Because I’m the only one that  can go, and I’m a
stubborn son of a bitch. TL needs me to cover his
back. If you don’t go, I’m staying. I’m not leaving
you  behind.  So  tell  me,  do  you  want  to  go  and
help out your friends and the hive, or do you want
to  prove  a  point  to  me  and  refuse  to  go,  risking
lives?”

Julius leaned back with a frown on his face.

“Why is it so important that I go with you? I’ll
only slow you down. That’s not helping.”

“You’re my mate.” Boone lip curled. Why

couldn’t Julius understand this? For someone so
sweet and shy, he was being damn stubborn.

“So you’ve said. I’ve seen mates, Boone. They

work together and help each other out. They don’t
just take.” Julius puffed out a breath, and his
blonde bangs flew back out of his eyes.

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

Boone stepped back and scrubbed a hand over

his face. He was fucking  this whole  thing  up. He
couldn’t  help  that  he  was  aggressive  and  pushy.
He’d already lost so much, but Julius didn’t know
that.  Julius  didn’t  know  that  if  Boone  lost  Julius,
he  would  never  recover.  He  barely  knew  Julius,
but he understood enough to know that he was in
love  with  the  man,  and  it  was  making  him  act
crazy.

Boone was aware that the rest of the cafeteria

was witnessing this. He couldn’t care less as he
pulled Julius down to sit next to him on the bench.
He was shocked the anti-venom went willingly.
He leaned forward, pulling Julius to him, forehead
to forehead.

Closing his eyes, Boone whispered, “Please

come with me on this? If for no other reason than
to help your friends and for a chance for the two
of us to get know each other.”

Boone wanted so badly to brush his lips across

Julius’s, but held back, respecting the man’s space.
Pulling back, Boone opened his eyes to the curious
gaze of Julius. The man had his head tilted as if he
was trying to figure Boone out.

“Okay,” Julius said after a moment.
“Okay?” Boone was surprised Julius just

accepted. He expected a fight.

Julius stared down at Boone’s worn jeans with a

frown on his face. Boone really wished he knew
what the man was thinking.

Jackie Nacht

Julius shrugged. “You gave good reasons for

me to go. Just talk to me next time. I’m going to go
pack a small bag for the trek. I’ll be back in fifteen
minutes.”

Julius stood and left Boone completely

confused. He watched as the tight ass walked out
of his view until he felt an elbow to his rib.

“TL.” Boone had forgotten his friend was even

there.

“That went better than expected,” TL said as

Boone picked up and drained the rest of his juice.

Boone shifted his gaze to TL. “You think he’ll

be that easy from now on?”

TL barked out a laugh that drew eyes back to

their table. “Not even fucking close. That was a
warning, my dear friend, whether you were aware
of it or not.”

Boone chuckled. “You think so?”
“Yeah, you better start talking to the man, or he

might be handing you your balls on a platter next
time you cross him.” TL snorted as he bit into a
biscuit.

Boone shook his head. “I won’t do that again. I

learned my lesson. He’s taken care of himself long
before I came along.”

TL clapped him on the back. “It’s fucking

killing you saying that. Just wait until you get all
aggressive and protective when we make our way.
You know the venom we could run into.”

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

Boone stretched his neck. He hated it, but if he

didn’t give his mate a chance to stand on his own
two feet, he was going to lose him. Boone saw it in
Julius’s eyes. “I’ll protect him against the venom,
but I’ll quit um…hovering.”

TL snorted. “Is that what you’ve been calling it?

More like stalking.”

“Pursuing,” Boone corrected.
“Huh? Try again, my friend,” TL snorted.
Boone groaned, covering his face with his

hands. “I’ll work on it.”

TL clapped him on the back. “We’ll see. Maybe

once Julius gets to know you, he might not mind it
so much that you break into his room every
night.”

“You were there when it happened. You know

why I watch him.” Boone rubbed his palms over
his eyes. Damn, he had a headache coming on.

“There is no one trying to get into his room

here. You killed the enemy and protected him. Did
you ever even tell him that happened?”

Boone shook his head.
“Why not?” TL hollered.
“It just…never came up.” Boone dropped his

hands on the table and stared at his friend. “There
hasn’t been time.”

“Make time. This is your mate, and if he was

mine, I’d let him know why I’ve been freaked
about letting him out of my sight.” TL got up from
the table and grabbed his tray.

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Boone stood and followed. “I’ll meet you

outside of the hive as soon as I’m ready. I’m going
to go pack and get Julius.”

They dropped their trays off and began walking

to the exit. “It’s two days to the fire ants, use that
time to talk with your mate.”

“What about you?” Boone shouted as TL began

walking away from him.

“I’ll talk to the octopus. He loves my ass.” TL

laughed as he turned the corner.

Boone shook his head. His friend had lost his

mind. Cash hated TL with a passion.

Boone started to walk toward his room to pack.

This was definitely going to be an interesting trip.
TL was right. He needed to talk to Julius and get
to know his mate.

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

Chapter Three

ulius blew out a hot breath and wondered why
the hell he was on this trek again. The venoms

moved  with  a  lithe  grace  while  he  huffed  and
puffed  his  way  down  a  long,  deserted  highway.
Tall  weeds  grew  from  the  cracks  in  the  asphalt,
and the sun was unmerciful. Julius had packed for
warm  days  and  cool  nights.  That  was  how
California was this time of year.

His body still wasn’t prepared for the travel,

and he wondered again, as Boone lifted his hand
to stop the four of them, why he had come along.

Julius knelt down, exhausted after walking for

most of the day. A canteen was held in front of his
face, and Julius took it gratefully. He unscrewed
the cap and drank in heavy pulls, a little trickling
out of the side of his mouth.

While Julius was a hot mess, Boone looked

positively  edible.  The  wandering  spider’s  jeans
were  tight  in  the  ass  and  loose  at  the  bottom,
covering dusty brown boots. The man still refused
to  wear  a  shirt,  but  had  a  belt  that  was  sporting

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several knives. A strap traversed his ripped chest,
which held a quiver full of arrows and a crossbow.
Julius tried to distract himself from that bead of
sweat working into the tight, tattered denim and
took another drink, nearly choking.

“Try to slow down or you’ll make yourself

sick.” Boone squatted down in front of him.

Julius took one more drink before he handed

the canteen back, completely out of breath. “I’m
slowing you down.”

“You’re pushing yourself too hard. We’re

camping for the night.” Boone rubbed Julius’
sweaty blond hair back.

Julius wished they were closer to the ocean so

he could jump in.

“I need to. You have to get to the fire ants. The

hive is counting on us,” Julius huffed out.

“The hive is safe. They won’t make a move

until we get back. So we’ll rest for the night and
get some food in all of us.”

Boone moved closer to Julius, their faces a mere

six inches apart. Tired as Julius was, his guard was
down,  and  he  took  a  moment  to  stare  at  the
beautiful,  tan  face.  Boone  had  a  day’s  growth  on
his  face,  and  the  stubble  was  coming  in  a  sandy
brown.  Boone  licked  full  lips,  and  Julius  felt  an
urge  to  lean  over  and  lick  them  for  the  venom.
Julius  lifted  his  gaze  to  stare  at  the  light  brown
eyes that were penetrating him.

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

Julius could feel it. There was something

between them. He recognized that it wouldn’t take
much for the spark to ignite and for them to come
together. Boone had saved him, but Julius didn’t
know him and he pulled back.

“What?” Boone’s brows furrowed.
“Why me?” Julius asked.
Boone bit his lower lip. “I feel it. I just know

that if we get a chance to breathe and get to know
each other, it’ll be forever.”

“We’re at war, Boone. There is no breathing

when you are constantly on the run.” Julius
sighed.

“Then we do our best. That’s why we make

each moment count.” Boone brushed a stray, wet
strand of hair out of Julius’ eye.

“I wish I had that sense like you. It’s a

bit…well, you freaked me out in the beginning…”
Julius began.

“I saw an assassin looking in your room the

night I met you. I almost lost you.” Boone picked
up a rock and threw it to the side.

“You never told me that.” Julius was shocked to

hear it. He always thought it was Boone lurking in
the shadows.

“You were so scared when you saw me, and

then, I kept seeing assassins hovering. They were
always fucking sneaking around, trying to find a
weakness. I wasn’t about to fucking lose you.”

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Boone pulled back his lips, showing an impressive
set of fangs.

Julius shivered. “We were never safe in Mission

Territory, were we?”

“No. You could be if the hive moved in and the

fire  ants  united.  Kalder  and  Abby  could  work
together to make a fortress of protection that those
assholes  would  never  penetrate.  I  hate  Venom
City, but I  understand why  Abby and Kalder are
trying to push in. The evil is spreading. If it isn’t
taken  down  soon,  no  one  will  be  safe.”  Boone
adjusted his cowboy hat.

“Is it Pacific Territory or the others?” Julius

didn’t know the inner workings of the territories.
He just knew that there were four and that his
anti-venom kind was hunted. They were either
enslaved or murdered for their precious blood.

Boone stared over Julius’s shoulder as he spoke.

“I’m from La Jolla. I know when I was young and
fled, it was corrupted. The leader killed my
parents in front of me. I think Veronica is a better
leader, but I’ve stayed away from the
manipulations of Venom City.”

He lost his parents? The pain in Boone’s eyes said

it all. He was scarred by the event, and it marked
him and shaped him. Julius couldn’t even imagine
seeing his parents die. He had been too young to
even  remember  them.  A  couple  months  ago,  he
lost  the  only  person  he  had  viewed  as  a  father
figure.  The  man  went  out  to  hunt  for  food  and

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

never

returned.

Life

was

that

quickly

extinguished.

Julius knew that Boone viewed him as his mate.

Was that why he watched him so closely? Was he
afraid that history would repeat itself? Julius still
wasn’t happy about Boone stalking him, but at
least he saw a reason behind it now.

“I’m sorry you lost your parents. I wish we

could  all  just  leave  and  never  look  back.  Find
somewhere safe.” Julius watched as Cash and TL
began making  a small camp by a  cluster of  trees.
The two were about twenty yards away, and as he
watched, their eyes veered to Boone and him from
time  to  time.  Julius  smiled;  they  were  trying  to
give them privacy, but eavesdropping at the same
time.  TL  was  the  worst  at  long  necking  the
conversation. The spider wasp was a handful.

“There may be some safe places out there in the

world,  but  there  is  a  lot  of  corruption,  too.  We
have  a  long  way  to  go  to  rebuild  this  world.  It
doesn’t happen in a day.” Boone flopped down on
his  ass  and  stretched  his  legs  out  in  the  dirt,
booted feet practically touching Julius’s hips.

“I can’t imagine the whole world is like this.”

Julius felt the boot tap his hip and smiled. The
little touches that used to drive him crazy
suddenly didn’t bother him so much.

“I’d like to think there are better places, but

where? I’ve found peace for years with the hive.
That was only disrupted when Venom City started

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getting  out  of  control.  All  those  families  in  there
and  kids,  they  couldn’t  travel  to  an  unknown
location.”  Boone  stood  and  held  out  a  hand.
“C’mon, let’s pull a pack out and get some food in
you.”

Julius reached up and grabbed Boone’s hand.

The  venom  lifted  him  up,  and  their  bodies  met.
Julius  stared  up  at  Boone  and  that  feeling
happened  again.  Julius  licked  his  lips,  wanting
something,  but  too  fucking  terrified  to  take  the
initiative.

Boone leaned down, brushing his lips against

Julius’s. The kiss was more of a whisper, then
Boone pulled back. Julius was so confused. He had
spent all this time pushing Boone away. Now, he
wanted to reach out and pull him in. Just a taste of
the man and Julius felt himself wanting more of
Boone.

Boone met him halfway, and when their lips

met,  the  kiss  caught  on  fire.  Julius  gripped  the
man’s  shoulders  with  trembling  hands  as  he
opened  his  mouth,  feeling  Boone’s  tongue  duel
with  his.  Julius  moaned  as  Boone  wrapped  his
arms around him.

What the hell was he doing? Talk about a one-

eighty. Wasn’t he mad at the man just that
morning?

Right then, Julius was a mix of emotion as he

tried to get a grasp on how he felt about the man
that was damn near consuming him with this kiss.

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

That  morning,  he  had  been  so  angry  he  would
have  laughed  at  anyone  who  said  that  he  would
be kissing Boone by dinnertime. Fucking laughed
in their face. Now, it just felt so damn right that he
couldn’t  understand  why  he  had  been  pushing
Boone  away  for  so  long.  Damn  spider  pursued
him  until  he  was  slowly  breaking  down.  Right
then, he couldn’t care less.

Julius deepened the kiss and pressed his body

against Boone’s muscular frame. The man was one
solid muscle. Julius’s cock thickened, and as much
as he wanted to take this a little further, he knew
that Cash and TL were right by them. Pulling
back, Julius panted as he stared at Boone who took
a step toward him.

“Cash and TL,” Julius panted. His body was

hot all over, and it had nothing to do with the
weather, but all to do with the wandering spider
in front of him.

Boone glanced over his shoulder at TL and

Cash. “Yeah, you’re right.”

Julius’s eyes widened as Boone adjusted an

impressive bulge behind his denim. Boone didn’t
have an ounce of modesty.

Grabbing his hand, Boone guided Julius over to

TL and Cash, who were starting a fire for the
night. Even though it was hot then, the night was
going to get cold.

Jackie Nacht

Cash pulled out a package and opened it up. A

small pile of dried meat lay inside, and Cash
began handing some out.

TL pulled out bread, and soon, the four of them

were sitting quietly while they ate the small
provisions they had for the trip.

Cash sat to Julius’s left while Boone sat to his

right. TL was sitting with his legs crisscross,
appearing younger than his years, or was he?

“How old are you, TL?” Julius asked, curious

for the first time.

The side of TL’s mouth kicked up in a smile

around his jerky. “Twenty-two. Don’t worry, I’ve
been running around these parts for years, and
Boone has a couple years on all of us.”

Wow! It surprised Julius to know that TL was

only  two  years  older  than  himself.  Then  another
thought  came  to  him.  He  had  no  knowledge  of
politics  but…  “How  come  the  hive  didn’t  send
Abby?”

TL’s brows furrowed. “She needs to protect the

hive. That’s what is most important. I’ll be talking
for the hive.”

“But you’re so young and…” Julius blurted out

then  stopped  himself.  The  truth  was  that  TL
seemed too young and not necessarily equipped to
do the job. An entire hive was counting on them.
Abby’s  and  Kalder’s  brothers  were  counting  on
him.  Julius  had  seen  that  TL  was  a  great  fighter,
but was he good at being a liaison?

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

TL barked out a laugh. “Trust me; I’m the only

one the fire ants won’t cut the balls off when we
get in range. Traveling through these parts, I made
a friend with the second in command to the queen
ant. Rio will listen because he knows if I’m coming
for help, I’m desperate.”

“How did you meet him?” Julius asked.
There was a fleeting look on TL’s face that

Julius couldn’t figure out before it disappeared.

Huh?

“About two years ago, I was searching for anti-

venom to give them sanctuary when I came upon
a nasty viper. The female had me pinned and got a
blade in my side. I thought for sure that was it,
when this fire ant came upon us and took her out.
Rio’s a bit of…a collector of those that violate his
territory and home.” TL pursed his lips as if in
thought, then shivered.

“What does Rio collect?” Cash asked quietly.

The blue-ringed octopus had been silent since they
left the hive. Julius noticed that Cash had fallen for
the anti-venom leader, Tristan, back at the hive,
but the man hadn’t come. Why?

TL rubbed his bare throat. “Fangs from

intruders. He has a nice-size necklace from all his
victims. The fire ants have a bit of a chip on their
shoulder. At the beginning, they lived in Pacific
Territory and were run out, deemed second class.”

Cash nodded. “Pacific Territory is all based on

your level of toxicity. Fire ants don’t have the

Jackie Nacht

venom to kill their victims. Sounds like something
Reef and his family would do.”

Julius asked, while reaching for Boone’s hand,

“Reef is the leader of the Pacific Territory?
Stonefish, right? He’s the one that has Abby’s
brother and Killian?”

Cash nodded. “He covets lethal beauty. He’s an

ugly son of a bitch. His face is human, but the skin
is entirely stonefish.”

Man, the more Julius learned about Reef, the

worse he became. The venom was pure evil right
down to his soul.

“How do you know that?” Boone rubbed his

jaw, gaze toward Cash. Julius wondered what
Boone’s problem was.

“Reef tried to claim me before I escaped.” Cash

stood up and walked off into the distance.

Julius stood, wanting to go after his friend, but

Boone tugged at his hand. “I want to go see if
Cash is okay.” Julius jerked his hand out of
Boone’s.

“Give Cash a minute. How come none of you

said that Cash was connected with Reef before?”
Boone said as he stared after Cash.

“Because it’s painful to him.” Julius frowned as

he heard a strange sound, a sad pathetic rattle that
was broken up. “What is that?”

TL shot to his feet and so did Boone.
“Stay close to me!” Boone ordered.

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

Julius jumped over to Boone’s side as Cash

shouted in the distance.

Boone and TL took off running, and Julius tried

to keep up.

There was a man approaching Cash, covered in

bruises and blood. He was completely naked as he
stumbled,  each  jerky  movement  making  that
strange  broken-up  rattle  sound.  The  guy  looked
up  and  finally  seemed  to  notice  that  the  four  of
them were staggered in front of him.

The man hissed, showcasing a set of wickedly

long fangs before he stumbled and fell to the
ground face first.

TL took off with a whimper as he ran up and

knelt next to the guy. “Boone! Go get some
bandages and stuff to clean his wounds.”

Julius ran up to help TL. Through all the blood,

Julius  could  make  out  beautiful,  intricate,
diamond-shaped segments made up of tiny scales
adorning  the  wounded  man’s  back.  The  entire
length of the man’s spine was lined with rattlers,
several missing or fallen off. There was even some
that  appeared  to  be  dug  out  as  Julius  stared  at
several deep cuts lining the spine.

“Do you know him?” Julius’s voice shook.
“No but…” TL’s alarmed gaze caught Julius’s

over the man. “Help,” TL choked out.

Julius got to work shedding his shirt, and Cash

ripped his off, trying to make a dirt-free patch to
roll the guy on. From the moment the guy

Jackie Nacht

approached, Julius noticed that there were several
injuries in his front, bleeding out. It looked like the
guy had been savagely whipped.

There was a noise off to the side, and Julius

looked  over  to  see  two  venom  approaching,
coming  fast  with  blades.  One  was  covered  in
scales  while  the  other  was  completely  cloaked.
Julius  jumped  when  an  arrow  struck  the  scaled
one in the left side of his chest. Boone leaped over
the three of them with a knife in his hand and took
the  cloaked  figure  down.  The  dust  kicked  up  as
the two fought, and TL jumped up to aide Boone.
Whoever  the  cloaked  man  was,  he  was  fucking
strong  to  be  holding  his  own  against  Boone  and
TL.

Boone pinned the guy and sank his fangs into

the neck of the cloak. The man immediately began
to spasm as the venom took hold. Julius watched
as Boone frowned down at the man before taking
his knife and slitting the man’s throat.

TL finished the scaled man, striking his blade

several times into the scaled chest before they
came back breathing heavily.

“Are you okay?” Boone asked him.
“Me? I was going to ask you that.” Julius’s

voice broke. Seeing Boone in danger scared the
hell out of him.

“I’m fine. I’m going to go get the pack and I’ll

be right back.” Boone took off with a speed that

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

Julius envied. The venom should be exhausted
from the fight.

Boone came back a few minutes later, dropping

to the ground with a pack, cloths and a canteen.
Boone stared down at the injured venom. “I hope
his cuts aren’t deep, because we have next to
nothing to help him except to clean the wounds.”

TL’s hand shook as he cleaned and dressed the

guy’s back, paying close attention to the spine
area. It had to be done, and Julius recognized the
pain would be great for the poor guy, but they
rolled him over. It took all three of them to get him
onto the shirts.

The man, crazed from being injured and in

severe agony, struck out and bit Julius’s hand
three quick times before pulling back and hissing
wildly.

“Were you bit?” Boone shouted as he wrestled

the guy.

“No,” Julius rasped out and hid his hand. They

had enough on their plate without losing Boone to
check Julius over. It was taking Cash, TL and
Boone just to settle the venom down.

Cash and Boone held the man while TL

murmured and stroked his hair.

Julius’s eyes widened as the snake settled and

TL got back to work. The rattler seemed to lose
consciousness while TL treated a particularly deep
gash.

Jackie Nacht

It seemed like forever before they were able to

patch up the rattler and move him back to camp. It
took TL and Boone to carry him. Julius felt sick to
his  stomach,  and  a  sweat  built  on  his  brow  just
from  the  short  walk. Glancing  down  at  his  hand,
he  saw  that  his  hand  was  severely  swollen.
Hemotoxin  venom.  The  tissue  around  the  bites
was  dying.  He  was  anti-venom  and  would
eventually heal, but he knew he was also going to
be in a world of hurt for a couple of days.

The men settled the rattler down by the fire.

Then, Boone turned and frowned at Julius.

Julius stumbled and stopped, legs no longer

cooperating. He tried to work his mouth a couple
of time, but it wouldn’t cooperate. The last thing
he saw was Boone running toward him as he fell
into darkness.

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

Chapter Four

or two days, Boone had to watch as Julius
fought the toxins running through his system.

They carried Striker, the injured snake, and Julius
to the fire ants where, luckily, TL talked with Rio
and gained entry into the colony.

Boone was constantly on his guard as he

watched the skin on Julius’s hand worsen the first
night and then miraculously begin to heal at a
speed that shocked the hell out of Boone.

Boone paced the small room that was given to

him  and  Julius.  It  shouldn’t  have,  but  it  still
surprised  Boone  to  find  out  the  ants  were  living
underground.  TL  had  been  there  before  and  had
explained their dwelling, but it was another thing
for Boone to see it.

He still didn’t know how they dealt with

earthquakes or cave-ins. They had to have trouble
with that, right? Boone felt like he was being
buried alive, and it was driving him insane.

Rio had come to see them several times,

checking on them and keeping Boone in the loop

Jackie Nacht

about the fire ants coming to help. Right now, Rio
had a good number from the colony and any help
they could get, Boone would be grateful for.

Rio had mostly been talking to TL, and Boone

was fine with that. From the beginning, he knew
TL was the one that was going to be doing most of
the talking while he was more here as a second in
command with Cash.

Cash had been quiet, lost in thought. The

octopus had done his job and continued to do it,
but it was clear to see that there was something
troubling him.

Julius moaned from the bed, and Boone hurried

over, sitting next to him.

Julius’s lashes fluttered before they opened up,

unfocused. He groaned, and Boone grabbed a hold
of his uninjured hand.

“Boone,” Julius rasped out and then closed his

eyes.

Boone’s heart sped up. Julius might not think

he  knew  it,  but  there  was  something  inside  the
anti-venom  seeking  Boone  out,  or  he  wouldn’t
have  been  calling  out  to  him  the  last  couple  of
days.

A soft knock came to the door, and TL entered.

The spider wasp looked like shit. His dark hair
was all over the place, and there were bags under
his eyes. “How’s Julius?”

Boone nodded. “He’s starting to come around.

He’s stirring. How about Striker?”

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

Pain filled the eyes usually shining with joy. TL

put his hands on his hips while staring at the
ground and answered. “Striker is…well, it’s going
to take time. He’s good with me…that’s
something…right?”

TL stared at him with desperation. His best

friend wanted him to tell him good news, but the
fact of the matter was, Striker had been tortured. It
was amazing he was even talking to TL. With
anyone else, Striker huddled in the corner and
struck out.

“Where’s Cash?” Boone leaned down and

kissed Julius’s brow. It was slightly warm, still
fighting the venom, but it was cooler than it had
been the night before.

“Cash is watching Striker and Rio. He’s been

surprisingly patient with Striker.” TL closed the
door and leaned his back against it. He looked
exhausted in Boone’s eyes.

“I’m sorry you met your mate this way.” Boone

stared at TL as the man looked up. TL’s Adam’s
apple bopped as he swallowed with difficulty.

“It’s never easy. Venom City, those fucking

assholes, what they did to him. They tried to break
him, but he’s not broken. He’s got me now, and I’ll
be there to help put him back together.” Boone
watched as a tear tracked down TL’s cheek. Never
in all his years of knowing the spider wasp had he
known his friend to cry.

Jackie Nacht

Boone stood and gathered TL up in a hug.

“Striker will heal.”

“Will he? What the fuck did they do to him,

Boone? We know diamondback rattlers. They’re
assholes and territorial. Never back down. Striker
is terrified of me coming near him. His own mate.
Terrified of Rio too,” TL choked out.

Boone held his friend as he trembled like a leaf

in his arms. He had no words of comfort. Wait,
what about Rio?

TL moved to the side, out of his arms and

rubbed his face with his palms, trying to collect
himself. “Rio needs to speak to us. He said if we’re
okay, he’ll meet with us in between us taking care
of our mates.”

“Boone,” Julius rasped out from the bed.
Boone turned and stared at Julius’s pain-filled

blue eyes. Boone grabbed a hold of the uninjured
hand. “I’m right here, Jules.”

Julius opened his mouth to talk and then closed

it. With a trembling, bandaged hand, Julius
brought his injured hand to his throat.

“You need a drink?” Boone asked, grabbing the

glass off the table by the side of the bed.

Julius nodded, and Boone brought the glass to

Julius’s lips. He didn’t take much.

Julius pulled his head back. “Where are we?”
“At the fire ant colony.” Boone stroked the

blond bangs back. He couldn’t seem to stop

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

himself from touching Julius. To see those blue
eyes staring back at him was a relief.

TL clapped Boone on the back. “We’ll talk later.

I’m going to go back to Striker.”

Boone glanced over his shoulder and nodded to

TL, before turning back to Julius. “Take care.”

The door clicked closed behind him as he

continued to stroke Julius’s hair. “Scared the hell
out of me.”

“I’ll live.” Julius moaned.
“Yeah, but it won’t be fun for the next week. I

thought  for sure I  was going to lose you.” Boone
leaned  down  and  kissed  Julius’s  cheeks  before
lying  down  next  to  him.  What  surprised  Boone
was  that  Julius  rolled  over  and  draped  half  his
body over Boone’s.

“That’s why anti-venom are taken. I should

have died. Anyone would have, except anti-
venom. As far as I know, we can fight off pretty
much anything.”

“I get why the few left are captured, but why

are there so many of you killed?” Boone
murmured against the blond hair.

“Our blood is an advantage to healing us, but

it’s also a target. Many feel that having anti-venom
around just puts a giant bulls-eye on their back
because other venom are hunting us to keep our
blood as an anti-venom in case they are bitten by
the enemy. Most won’t pay the price of keeping an

Jackie Nacht

anti-venom captive when there are other ways to
kill.” Julius yawned.

“Venoms use their venom frequently against

their enemy, though.” Boone stroked Julius’ hair.

God, Julius is awake. He is going to be okay.

“Which is why my kind is forced into hiding.”

Julius stared up at him. “We heal fast from venom,
but as you can tell, we never genetically inherited
the  strength  and  power  that  the  venom  have.
Sometimes, I wish I was venom. But then, I look at
what’s  going  on  and  realize  that  everyone  has  it
rough.  There  is  no  greener  pasture,  just  a  long
road to getting a foothold in the world.”

“I think, at times like these, what’s important is

to  find  someone  or  something  to  hold  onto  and
not  look  back.  Cherish  it,  make  each  moment
count.”  Boone  entwined  his  uninjured  hand  with
Julius’s.  Both  their  hands  were  callused  and
rough, proof that no man had it easy.

“Do you think I’ve wasted time trying to figure

things out with you?” Julius asked.

Boone chuckled. “No. We haven’t known each

other long, and I have been pursuing you a bit
crazy.”

Julius chuckled and glanced up at him. “I

wouldn’t suggest your dating methods to anyone
else. I must have lost my damn mind, because it
worked on me.”

“The mating worked on you. The toxins, for all

the death and destruction they caused, they do

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

know how to instinctually bring two people
together.” Boone stroked the tips of his fingers up
Julius’s bare arm.

“I didn’t feel it like you did. I feel something,

but I think it’s a slower burn than yours. Not sure.
I’m a little out of my element on this.” Julius
moaned as Boone reached for Julius’s exposed
shoulder and massaged it.

“We have a heightened instinct anti-venom

don’t possess. That’s the animal DNA in us that
lets us know. Remember, we have that animal
instinct, too.” Boone pushed Julius facedown and
straddled him then began massaging his back. He
was still so damn thin, and the bite hadn’t helped.
Boone tenderly massaged the tight muscles, trying
to work the kinks out that were there from being
laid up for the last couple of days.

Julius moaned underneath him, and the

vibration went through his entire body. His cock
hardened. Hell, this wasn’t the time, and he
wasn’t going to do anything about it, but his mate
was right underneath him.

Boone leaned down and tenderly kissed along

Julius’s spine. It wasn’t meant to be for anything
more than comfort. Julius had just woken up.

A knock came to the door, and Boone bared his

fangs, hating the interruption. Getting up, he
stormed over to the door, jerking it open, to see
Rio standing on the other side.

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The fire ant didn’t even ask to come in, just

waltzed past Boone and approached Julius.
Boone’s protectiveness kicked into high gear, and
he lunged, knocking the ant out of the way before
he could touch Julius.

Rio’s dark eyes stared at him fiercely. “I’m

checking on my guest. Touch me again, spider,
and you’ll be out on your ass.”

The fire ant had a serious complex. The man

was  beautiful  and  muscular,  but  was  probably
only  five  feet  ten  to  Boone’s  six  and  half  feet.
However,  he  was  the  biggest  soldier  ant  in  the
colony.  Antennae  stuck  out  from  dark  red  hair,
and even Rio’s skin was a dark reddish hue. The
man  was  breathtaking,  but  had  a  chip  on  his
shoulder the likes of which Boone had never seen.
He  was  surprised  that  Rio  allowed  them
sanctuary.

“I wanted to see how our guest was doing.” Rio

walked around Boone again and approached
Julius, who was sitting up in bed. Julius’s eyes
widened as Rio approached. Fear. There was fear
in his mate’s eyes.

“Stop, Rio. You can talk to him from there,”

Boone gritted out. His fangs exposed.

Rio glanced over at Boone. “I would never

harm him,” Rio said in offense.

“Tell that to Julius who has been hunted all his

life.” Boone’s gaze bored into the other venom.

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

Rio turned to Julius, and Boone walked over to

the other side of the bed, reaching for Julius. Julius
grabbed onto his hand, trembling. “This is Rio.
The leader of the fire ants.”

“I…I…” Julius stuttered and then cleared his

throat. “I thought a queen was their leader,” Julius
whispered.

Rio frowned. “Venom City has spread it’s

toxicity  to  here.  We  lost  her  two  weeks  ago  in  a
battle  against  the  Kraits.  They  took  her  and  her
mate.  There  are  no  other  queens  in  the  colony,
only drones and soldiers.”

Boone finally saw Rio shed the mask and reveal

his true self. This venom mourned the loss,
greatly.

“What will you do?” Julius asked, reaching out

with a bandaged hand to Rio. Is my mate actually

trying to comfort a stranger?

Rio’s eyes widened in surprise then looked at

Boone, silently asking permission. Boone nodded,
and Rio grabbed a hold of Julius’s injured hand
gently.

“I’m working with other soldiers, trying to

figure that out right now,” Rio murmured, “How
are you feeling?”

Julius stared up at Rio before he answered, “I’m

doing better. Thank you for helping us out.”

Rio nodded. “TL…is a friend of mine. His

friend isn’t fairing as well as you are. Hopefully,
he’ll come around in a couple of days when he

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figures out he’s safe. Can I get you two anything
in the meantime?”

Boone answered, “I’d be pretty grateful if you

could bring him some food and water.”

Rio smirked at him. “I’ll make sure to bring

enough for the both of you. In the meantime, get
some rest. TL and I have a little more talking to
do, but try and heal up for the trip back to the
hive.”

“You’re helping us?” Boone asked, surprised

that the fire ants would give in so quickly. They’d
never been exactly quiet about their hatred for
Venom City and their fucked-up hierarchy.

Rio walked to the door then turned eyes filled

with  sorrow  toward  them.  “I’ve  sacrificed  what
was  most  dear  to  me  to  protect  my  queen  and
failed.  Who  else  are  we  going  to  lose  before  we
take action? We’re no longer safe here, and I don’t
want  to  stand  by  quietly  while  my  family  is
silently struck down by other venom in the night.”

Rio left, closing the door behind him quietly.
Boone crawled back into bed with Julius,

holding his mate tightly. Every second counts.
Every second.

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

Chapter Five

ulius felt a lot better, but walking through the
tunnels made him completely aware that his

body wasn’t quite up to par yet. Who was he
kidding? They would be leaving soon for the hive,
and he felt that he could make it back, but it was
going to be a treacherous journey for him.

They had been there a week, and while he was

doing  pretty  well,  Striker  was  another  story.  The
rattler  was  coherent  and  aware  of  his
surroundings,  but  the  man  was  fucking  terrified.
TL was the only one that was able to be near the
venom to soothe him. Julius had no clue how they
were going to get Striker back to the hive with an
entire  army  of  ants  surrounding  him.  Striker
refused  to  leave  the  room  and  woke  the  entire
hallway  at  night  with  his  screams  from  horrific
nightmares.

Boone had his arm wrapped around Julius as

they made their way to TL and Striker. The last
week was a slow process of healing. Every step of
the way, Boone had been there. As aggressive as

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Boone seemed in the beginning, Julius found it
fascinating that the spider had an extraordinary
gift for caring. Boone had been so patient with him
while he slowly recovered; a complete opposite to
the personality that Julius had seen before.

Julius was growing to care for Boone greatly.

There was a lot more to the wandering spider, and
he wanted to discover each and every trait of the
venom.

Julius approached TL and Striker’s door. Boone

knocked on the door and waited  next to him. TL
opened  the  door  a  moment  later,  looking
completely  wrung  out.  His  dark  hair  was  in
disarray,  and  he  had  circles  under  tired  eyes.
Julius  glanced  over  TL’s  shoulder  to  see  that
Striker’s back was pressed into the corner.

Boone brought TL in for a hug. “We need to get

Striker used to a couple of us. We’ll be leaving in
the morning.”

TL nodded before opening up the door for

them  to  come  in.  Julius’s  heart  ached  as  Striker
pressed  himself  against  the  wall.  Julius  began  to
approach him, but Boone grabbed him by the arm.
“Let  me  go  first.  If  he  bites  you  again…”  Boone
grimaced.

Julius nodded, not wanting to cause another

incident. He stood next to TL as Boone
approached, but Striker hissed, not at Boone, but
at Julius as he got closer to TL.

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

Julius froze, and Boone reached his arm back,

speaking softly, “Go by the door, Jules.”

Julius trembled as he went to the door, Striker

tracking each of his steps. This snake hated him
for some odd reason.

Julius held onto the knob and watched as

Striker began to calm down.

Boone started to speak to Striker. “You know

who I am? I’m a friend of TL’s.”

Striker swallowed harshly and nodded in a

jerky movement, eyes still terrified as they stared
at Julius.

TL came over to Striker and knelt next to him.

“Why are you afraid of Julius? He would never
hurt you. He’s a friend.”

Striker shook his head. “Anti-venom,” Striker

rasped out.

Boone turned and looked at Julius, brow

furrowed in confusion. “What’s wrong with him
being anti-venom?”

Striker trembled like a leaf, the rattlers on his

spine still sounding broken and distorted. “Anti-
venom did this.” Striker rasped out.

“What?” TL asked loudly.
“I was…I was there for months. They call

themselves the pack. They cage venoms, and I was
able to escape with two others, but they didn’t
make it. They have an alliance with venom.”
Striker was losing control, fear etched on his face.

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“I won’t hurt you,” Julius whispered, but it

didn’t do any good.

Striker broke down, and TL grabbed his mate,

holding him tightly.

“I’m sorry, TL,” Julius murmured.
“It’s okay. We didn’t know. Striker will need to

know that you’re a good man, Julius. One of the
best and my best friend’s mate. You’ll be good for
him to see that not all anti-venom are fuckers like
the ones…” TL shook his head and buried his face
into Striker’s shoulder, holding him tightly.

Boone came back to Julius and held him.

“Should we go?” Julius asked.

“Give them a minute and see what TL wants.

Striker  will  need  to  get  comfortable  with  anti-
venom  if  he’s  going  back  to  the  hive.  There’s  a
large  group  of  them  living  there.”  Boone  leaned
down and kissed him on the lips. It was swift and
quick, but it still had the effect to comfort Julius.

Julius pulled back, brows furrowed. “What?”
“I didn’t mention it before, but the men we

fought  coming  here,  one  of  them,  I  thought  for
sure was anti-venom, but he was strong. Stronger
than  most  venom  I  encounter.”  Boone  pulled  at
his  lip  with  his  hand.  Julius  had  come  to  realize
Boone  did  this  when  he  was  trying  to  work
something out in his head.

TL looked at them over Striker’s shoulder.

“We’re good here. If you want to come back
later…”

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

“We’ll be here when you need us,” Boone said

as he guided Julius out the door.

“I feel horrible.” Julius rubbed his brow as he

thought of what just seeing him did to Striker.

“Don’t. We didn’t know.” Boone held Julius’s

hand as they walked back to their guest dwelling.
They passed a distressed-looking Rio along the
way, and Julius glanced over his shoulder to see
him open the door to TL and Striker’s room.

“I should have known that cloaked guy I fought

was anti-venom. That poor guy, what the fuck? I’ll
have to inform Kalder and Abby that we have
another enemy on our hands.”

“I didn’t think anti-venom were strong enough

to take out venom,” Julius murmured as they
opened up the door to their room and walked in.
He seemed so inferior to the enemy.

“I didn’t either, but we all know that this world

is constantly evolving. Maybe there’s a whole new
strain of survivors that we never knew about.”
Boone sat on the bed before flopping on his back,
covering his eyes with the back of his hands. His
cowboy hat, which Julius never saw the man
without, fell off the spider’s head.

Julius followed and fell on the bed beside

Boone.  He  was  still  tired  and  worn  out  from
recovering.  He  definitely  could  use  a  nap  right
about  then.  Moving  over,  Julius  nestled  up  to
Boone. Every second seemed precious, now more
than  ever.  Julius  didn’t  want  to  lose  Boone,  and

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the next day, they would be leaving the colony
and, once again, be out in the open, unprotected.
He now understood why Boone had Julius come,
why he watched him. There was a good chance
that at any moment they would be killed.

Sure, Julius was used to living like this, but not

when he had someone who loved him and who he
was falling for. It was different. He didn’t want to
waste tonight knowing what dangers they were
facing tomorrow.

“Boone?”
“Hmm?”
Julius rolled over on top of Boone and took the

initiative, leaning down and kissing his mate. His
mate. No more wasting time. Julius was going to
claim Boone right at this moment.

Boone’s lips froze for a moment before a deep

guttural groan rumbled in the man’s chest. Boone
returned his kiss with enthusiasm, wrapping his
arms around Julius.

Julius deepened the kiss, tongues dueling, and

Julius grazed those wicked fangs.

Boone pulled back, lips swollen. “Careful. My

venom is no fun, although it does have this one
side effect.”

“What’s that?” Julius leaned down and began

sucking and licking Boone’s neck.

“Priapism.” Boone waggled his eyebrows.
Julius chuckled. “Sounds like a good time.”

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

“Not if your erection never goes down, which

my venom is known for.” Boone laughed.

“Ouch.” Julius laughed. It seemed fun, until it

became permanent. They would have to be careful
with that.

“Not as much fun, but I think we should be

careful around my fangs.” Boone reached up and
pulled him back in for a kiss.

Julius wondered if the other anti-venom had

the same problem, like Reese with Kalder’s fangs,
or was Boone different.

That thought flew out of Julius’s head when

Boone used his other hand to grab his ass and
grind their cloth-covered erections together. Julius
huffed and thrust, his cock already leaking at the
tip. The stimulation was more than he’d ever had
with another man, and his control was
nonexistent.

Boone rolled them over, Julius under the man

for a moment before Boone stood up, putting his
hat back on. Boone was reaching for his dusty
boot when he pointed to Julius. “Strip,” Boone
ordered.

Julius moved swiftly, removing his shoes before

taking off his shirt and pants. He was out of breath
as his gaze roamed over Boone. Boone’s body was
perfection.  There  was  no  chest  hair  to  be  seen
except  for  the  tiny  sandy-colored  hairs  that
matched  Boone’s  skin  tone.  He  was  even  sexier
standing  there  completely  naked  with  that  damn

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cowboy hat on. Julius grabbed the base of his dick
to keep from coming right then and there.

Boone walked over to a shelf and grabbed a

tiny bottle.

Julius’s heart sped up, knowing what that was

going to be used for.

Boone crawled up from the end of the bed

before  lying  on  top  of  him.  Julius  moaned  at  the
sensation  of  just  how  soft  Boone’s  skin  actually
was.  The  tiny  hairs  brushed  along  his  body,
sending shivers coursing through him.

“Can’t believe this is happening,” Boone

murmured as he leaned down and kissed him.

It might have been closed mouth, but the

intensity was still there. Julius sucked on Boone’s
plump lower lip, and Boone ground his thick cock
against Julius. Julius pulled away, gasping for air.
He needed to ask, “Is it all venom with fangs that
need to be careful?”

Boone shook his head. “Some, but not all. It

depends,  I  think,  on  what  your  mutation  is  and
what  level of control you have over it. I’ve never
been  good  at  controlling  my  aggressiveness,  and
with sex, I might inadvertently hurt you. My fangs
have  been  known  to  expel  venom  without  me
trying  to  do  it.  It’s  a  risk  I’m  not  willing  to  take,
and besides—” Boone smirked, “—there are other
ways to kiss.”

Julius reached up and grabbed Boone by the

back of the neck, meeting their lips once again.

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

Boone  was  right.  Their  kiss  had  care  and  a
growing  love  between  them.  It  was  the  two  of
them  here,  and  they  could  love  one  another  in  a
way that fit their needs, and Julius needed Boone
badly.  Those  confused  emotions  that  had  been
swirling  inside  him  finally  found  what  they
wanted.  Boone  worked  his  mouth  over  Julius’s.
Julius ached as he began thrusting his hips against
Boone’s. He just needed…

Boone leaned down and began sucking and

licking a path down Julius’s neck and then his
chest. The man never used his teeth, but God, did
Boone know how to work that tongue!

Boone’s hat fell off, and before Boone could put

his hat back on, Julius combed his fingers through
the hair.

Boone froze, lips still on Julius’s abdomen as he

gazed up at him.

“What?”
“It’s just…” Boone stopped as Julius went to

comb  his  fingers  through  Boone’s  hair.  The
hairline had several dark lumps on the front,  but
Julius  could  barely  make  out  any  more  than  that
with Boone’s thick, shaggy brown hair.

“What?” Julius asked as Boone sat up, pulling

away, making a grab for his hat.

“I just don’t like to be touched there.” Boone

glanced away from him.

Jackie Nacht

“It’s okay, we all have scars.” Julius tried to

reassure Boone. Julius had several, and his body
had paid for the years of living outside the city.

Boone let out a humorless laugh. “It’s not scars.

It’s my mutation.”

Julius furrowed his brows in confusion. What

on  earth…ooh.  Julius  had  seen  from  the  fights  he
had  encountered  recently,  venomous  spider
sporting  several  eyes.  Julius  was  baffled,  though.
Boone’s could barely be seen.

“You can’t even see them.”
“But I know they’re there, and I hate it. There

are a lot of venom that despise what the toxins did
to us. I can handle the fangs, but my eyes…hell,
they even fucking creep me out.” Boone sat down
next to him.

“We all look different, Boone. Wilder has a

scorpion’s tail. Kalder’s head has a hood when he
gets in fights. I have a skinny ass.” Julius tried to
lighten the situation.

Boone chuckled. “I love your skinny ass.”
Julius swallowed. “And I love you, everything

that comes with you. I don’t mind your eyes.”

Boone glanced over at him. “You love me?”
Julius stared down at the bed and picked at a

loose string. “I do. I agree with you. I don’t want
to waste another minute. It’s important you know
that.”

Boone came closer and gently kissed him. “I

love you, too.”

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

Julius grabbed Boone by the shoulders and

pulled him on top of him. He was going to make
sure Boone never needed to worry that Julius
would be his.

“I want you,” Boone murmured into the kiss.
“Then take me,” Julius whispered back.
Boone’s nose flared, and then, Julius watched as

Boone grabbed the bottle of oil, uncorking it.
Boone leaned back on his knees, pouring a
generous amount on his callused fingers.

There was no more time for foreplay; Julius

could see that in Boone’s predatory gaze.

Julius spread his legs, giving Boone room to

work as he felt Boone circle his entrance with a
finger. Nerves crept in since this was his first time,
but he blew out a breath, trying to relax as Boone’s
finger breached him.

Julius hissed at the burn, and Boone leaned

down and began licking and sucking at his cock.
Julius shouted as Boone slowly licked a path from
base to tip.

“Hold the base,” Boone growled out.
Julius grabbed the base of his dick as Boone

continued  to  lick  it.  A  second  finger  worked  in
with the first, but Julius didn’t care at the pain it
caused.  He  was  pretty  sure  that  Boone  wouldn’t
take  his  shaft  in  his  mouth  with  his  fangs,  but
fuck,  Julius  knew  if  Boone  kept  this  up,  he  was
going to blow.

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Two fingers became three, and Julius began

talking nonsense as the intensity grew. The pain
and pleasure were mixing, and he wasn’t sure
what to do.

Boone licked him one last time and pulled back.
“Wait!” Julius shouted, on the edge.
Boone laughed as he greased up his own cock

before lining up. “Patience. You’ll be coming in no
time.”

Julius huffed as Boone began to push the head

inside,  stroking  himself.  His  cock  softened  as  the
pain  increased.  Soon,  Julius’s  hands  moved  to
death  grip  the  sheets  beside  him.  “Hang  on  a
second.”

“Take a deep breath; once I bottom out, the

pain will lessen, and I can give you time to adjust.
This is the hardest part.” Boone gritted as he sunk
another inch into Julius.

Julius didn’t think his body would take Boone’s

huge dick, but in a matter of minutes, Boone had
bottomed out and held still. Julius gasped, trying
to get used to the invasion inside him.

“Hurts,” Julius whimpered.
Boone leaned down and kissed him on the lips

softly. “It’ll get better, and if it doesn’t, we’ll stop
and try again another time.”

“I don’t want to stop. I want you.” Julius blew

out a breath, determined.

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

Boone laughed, and the vibration went all the

way to Julius’s core. Julius moaned, not hating the
feeling at all. It almost felt…pleasant.

Boone began kissing Julius’s neck while he

reached down and grabbed Julius’s shaft. It didn’t
take long with those callused fingers on him for
his cock to thicken.

Desire overtook the pain, and Julius began

rocking  his  hips,  testing  to  see  if  there  was  pain.
There was  still a little, but the pleasure. God, the
pleasure  was  intense.  Boone  leaned  back  and
slowly began pumping his cock in and out. Julius
took  over  and  stroked  his  shaft  in  time  as  the
thrusts grew.

Boone hissed, showcasing his set of wicked-

looking fangs. He was so fucking sexy that Julius
couldn’t take his eyes off him. Boone picked up
the rhythm, and soon, they were working their
way toward a powerful orgasm.

Julius could feel his stomach tighten and his

balls pull tight. He stroked his shaft a couple more
times  before  he  came  all  over  his  hand  and
stomach. Boone’s nose flared as he stared down at
the  mess  on  Julius’s  stomach.  Boone  pumped  a
couple  more  times,  erratically,  before  he  shouted
and  filled  Julius  up.  Julius  could  feel  the  copious
amounts flooding his insides.

Boone was breathing heavily as he leaned over

him, holding himself up on his knuckles with his
elbows locked straight. Boone was staring at him

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from above for a couple of seconds before leaning
down and brushing his lips across Julius’s. “I love
you.”

Julius caressed his hand along the short

whiskers on Boone’s face. “I love you, too.”

They kissed one more time before Boone

carefully pulled out and climbed out of bed. He
made his way naked toward the door, pulling
Julius with him. “Wait, we can’t go out like this.”

Boone laughed. “Sure, we can. How else are we

going to get a bath in before we leave?”

“A towel would be nice,” Julius protested as

Boone opened the door and all but shoved him out
into the empty hallway.

“Then, how would I get to look at that

delectable, skinny ass that I love so much if you
cover it up?” Boone smirked at him.

God, Julius loved this man, but he was still a

stinker. Julius squared his shoulders back and
glanced over his shoulder. “Fine, there’s towels
there, but don’t get pissed when everyone gets to
see my dick blowing in the wind.”

Boone growled, and Julius took off laughing

toward  the  bathing  chamber.  He  still  wasn’t  a
hundred  percent  but  Boone  was  playful  as  he
chased  him  slowly  down  the  hall.  Never  had  he
been so happy.

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

Chapter Six

he next morning, Boone left a sleeping Julius
while he went in search of TL and Rio. TL had

made  the  arrangements,  but  Boone  needed  to
make  sure  that  the  fire  ants  would  be  ready  to
move out that day. Plus, he needed to know how
many  were  coming.  Boone  knew  of  Rio,  but  had
yet  to  get  a  number  that  would  help  the  hive.  If
they were, indeed, leaving today, he needed to get
him and Julius ready for a two-day journey.

The usually quiet hallway was busy as bodies

passed one another, getting ready. The harsh faces
of soldier ants and drones made Boone wonder if
they were unhappy to be leaving their home or if
something had happened.

Jogging on, Boone made his way to TL’s room

and knocked. He was surprised when Rio opened
the door. Two more workers walked behind him.
“What’s going on?” Boone asked as he entered
and closed the door behind him.

Cash was there, armed and already packed,

kneeling down to help Striker pack a small pack.

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The rattler’s hands were shaking, and he blew out
an anxious breath, but he appeared far better than
he had been the day before.

Rio looked pissed. His dark face was harsh with

anger. “We lost ten men last night. Pieces of them
are all we found.”

Boone’s eyes widened as he turned to stare at

TL. TL was also packing a bag. “The territory war
has spread all the way to this area. Rio’s entire
colony is joining us, not just a small army. They’ve
sent a messenger to the four other tunnels that we
weren’t informed of.” TL glared at Rio. “We have
five hundred ants coming with us.”

Boone adjusted his cowboy hat. That was twice

as many fighters as the hive already had. He’d
never expected the number or that the threat
would already be spreading this far.

The hive!
“If they’ve made it this far, what about the

hive?” Boone needed to go wake up Julius and get
moving out, now.

“I know!” TL shouted. “We leave in ten

minutes.”

“What about Striker?” Boone didn’t think the

rattler was up to traveling.

Striker stood up and wiped his palms on a set

of worn jeans. The man wore an old T-shirt, but it
fit tight to his muscular body, “I’ll be okay. I’ve
got TL, and I’ll…stick close to Rio.”

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

Boone nodded. “I’m going to get Julius. We’ll

be back in ten.”

Boone turned to leave when Striker yelled out,

“Wait!” Boone turned and Striker licked his lips.
“Tell Julius I’m sorry.”

“He’s a good man, and he understands what

you went through,” Boone said solemnly.

Striker licked his lips again. “Okay,” he

whispered.

Boone left and ran all the way back to their

room. He opened the door to find Julius sitting up
on the side of the bed, facing away from the door.
He  was  scrubbing  a  hand  over  disheveled  blond
hair,  which  was  sticking  up  in  every  direction.  If
they  had  more  time,  Boone  would  have  taken
Julius  then  and  there,  but  the  timing  was
completely wrong.

Julius glanced over his shoulder with sleepy

eyes. “What’s up?”

“We have to get ready to leave immediately.”

Boone  walked  over  to  the  storage  cabinet  and
began  pulling  his  weapons  and  the  few  clothes
he’d  brought.  He grabbed  a  hold  of  Julius’s  pack
and tossed it on the bed.

Julius dressed and packed swiftly. “What’s

going on?”

“Fire ants were attacked again. We think if

they’ve gotten this far…” Boone strapped his
crossbow on his back.

“My family!” Julius shouted in alarm.

Jackie Nacht

“Just pack, and let’s get started. We have a long

journey, and the entire colony is coming with us.”
Boone stuffed a blade into the sheath on his belt.

“The entire colony? I didn’t know all of them

were coming.” Julius zipped his pack and stood
next to him.

“I didn’t either until ten minutes ago.” Boone

closed his bag and grabbed a hold of Julius’s hand
as he made his way out of the room. Everyone was
running toward the exit now, the tunnels
emptying out quickly. Boone followed a group of
soldiers out and up to the surface.

The sun was bright, and Boone had to cover his

eyes until they adjusted to the light. Julius curled
into him, facing his chest. “I can’t see a damn
thing,” Julius grumbled into his chest.

Boone chuckled. “Give it a minute, and we’ll be

good to go.”

Cash came running toward them. “We’re up

front. Come on, you two, we’re heading out.”

Boone guided Julius to the front of the group.

TL was there with Striker. Rio flanked Striker’s
other side as they helped the rattler walk. There
was no time for rest, and Boone prayed that Julius
would be okay at the speed they would travel.

Urgency threaded through the army. Boone had

a bad feeling. The hive was between Venom City
and this colony. If the colony had been attacked,
then the hive was in trouble. The instinct that had

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

saved Boone’s ass was telling him that trouble was
on the horizon. He just hoped his family was okay.

****

A  day  and  a  half  later,  the  army  was  bone  tired,
but  Boone  pressed  them.  Julius  had  only
complained  one  time,  although  when  they  did
have a short rest, Julius fell onto the ground next
to him, asleep in moments.

They were less than half a mile away when they

first heard the fighting. Boone turned to stare at
TL who yelled at Rio. “Watch Striker!”

TL ran, his wings buzzed and took off into the

sky, moving swiftly toward the noise.

“My family,” Julius gasped.
Rio grabbed Striker. “I need you to stick with

Julius and wait here.”

Striker shook his head. “I can fight. I used to

be…”

Rio shook his head. “Another time. Not today. I

need you and Julius to take care of each other
along with some of my soldiers.”

“Is that okay, Striker?” Julius asked as he bit his

lip.

Boone had seen how Striker reacted to Julius

yesterday, and Julius was clearly nervous of a
repeat.

“I’ll be fine,” Striker rasped as he approached

Julius.

Jackie Nacht

Julius tentatively grabbed onto Striker’s hand

and the rattler blew out a shuddering breath. It
was a step in the right direction for Striker to heal,
but the rattler had a long road ahead of him.

They grouped soldiers together, and just as

they were ready to charge, TL flew back. “Boone!
They need us!”

Boone took off, adrenaline flooding his system

as the rest of the army followed him and Rio. TL
was  far  in  front  of  them  in  the  sky,  weapons
already  drawn.  It  didn’t  take  more  than  a  couple
minutes  to  see  the  destruction  that  had  been
caused  to  the  hive.  The  swarm  was  in  the  air,
fighting  and  dive-bombing  sea  snakes  and  cone
snails.  Several  stonefish  and  cuttlefish  were
fighting against their friends.

Boone spotted Kalder in the center with Wilder,

fighting viciously as they struck their enemy
down with their tail or fangs.

Charging and loading up his cross bow, Boone

took out the first funnel web he met with an arrow
before unsheathing his knife. Two more came at
him as he ducked below a fist and struck the
funnel in the thigh. After rolling to the side, Boone
lunged and struck the other funnel with his fangs,
tearing into the fleshy thigh.

The fire ants passed him, plowing the enemy

down, vastly outnumbering the intruders. Boone
stood just in time to see Rio pull out a wicked-
looking black spiked-ball mace, smashing a spider

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

in the face. Other fire ants wielded the same type
of weapon, and holy fuck was it a blood bath.
They might not be as venomous, but they were
savage with their weapon of choice.

A coral snake slithered behind Rio, moving

quickly. He was almost there when TL dive-
bombed out of the sky, beheading the snake with
his sword. Pure rage encompassed TL’s face as he
met the snakes coming at Rio’s back.

Boone took out three more spiders before

realizing  that  he  was standing  alone  with  no  one
to  fight.  Huffing  out  a  breath,  he  stared  at  his
surroundings  to  see  that  the  hive  and  fire  ants
were all that were left standing. Some had fallen,
and  Boone  hated  to  see  one,  let  alone  several,
within the carnage of the venomous bastards.

Kalder took off at a run toward the hive.
Boone gasped as he saw the wreckage. Gaping

holes had been opened in the clay protection, and
webbing was thick along some of them. Had some
of the spiders gotten in?

Boone hurried to the structure, and soon more

followed to enter the hive.

Tristan stood at the front, covered in blood, and

the other anti-venom stood behind him. They
were out of breath and, by the black and blue
bruising, had clearly fought hard.

Kalder screamed, “Reese!”
“I’m right here.” Reese came from behind a

couple bees, hurrying toward Kalder. Reese was

Jackie Nacht

holding his side, but appeared unharmed
otherwise, and he practically jumped into Kalder’s
arm.

Wilder ran past, and Leif approached, left eye

swollen shut. Wilder softly touched the swollen
eye before wrapping his arms around Leif.

Boone rushed out, in search of Julius. Were the

others okay outside, or were there more enemies?
Panic bubbled, and Boone rushed to find out.

Rio was already running in that direction, and

TL  flew  toward  the  group  they’d  left  behind.  By
the  time  they  got  back,  ten  black  mambas
surrounded  the  small  group.  The  snakes  were
known  to  be  shy  and  only  strike  out  when
threatened,  but  they  were  also  one  of  the  most
venomous of all the snakes. The venom were some
of the few that  were covered from head to toe in
their  snakeskin,  a  group  known  to  be  loyal  to  La
Jolla Territory. Had Pacific and La Jolla united? In
the middle of it all was Julius, holding a knife with
such  inexperience  that  Boone  knew  he  didn’t
stand a chance.

Fuck!
TL dove and made contact first.
Rio swung his ball mace, crashing it into one of

the snakes.

Boone reloaded his crossbow and fired before

pulling out a small machete from his belt.

The other fire ants were fighting fiercely as

Boone took a clean slice at the first mamba,

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

removing her arm. She turned, hissing, and struck
out. Boone barely dodged out of the way in time.
He  swung  again,  and  her  head  rolled.  Boone
spared  no  time,  but  turned  and  engaged  another
mamba.  One  clean  slice  through  the  midsection
and  the  mamba  was  screaming,  falling  to  his
death.

A sickening crunch had Boone whipping his

head around to see that Rio was taking out the last
mamba.

Boone made his way to Julius, grabbing and

holding him close. “Are you hurt?” Boone asked,
completely out of breath.

“I’m fine. You got here in time.” Julius leaned

back. “Is any of this yours?” Julius was skimming
his bloodied flesh for injuries.

“No.” Boone sucked in a lungful of air.
Julius stared up at him then pulled him down

for a kiss. The kiss was strong at first, filled with
fear, but then, it softened until Julius pulled away
and rested his forehead against Boone’s, “Boone,
did my friends…” Julius swallowed.

“They’re fine. I saw them before I came to get

you.  Kalder  and  Wilder,  as  well.  Not  sure  about
Tucker, Durango and  Memphis.” Boone stared at
the  fallen  black  mambas.  Memphis  was  a  black
mamba  himself.  He  prayed  that  the  man  didn’t
know any of these men and women.

Jackie Nacht

Boone pulled back and grabbed a hold of

Julius’s hand. “We better get to the hive and find
out what’s going on.”

Rio and TL flanked Striker as they made their

way back.

Julius gasped next to Boone as the hive came

into view. The fallen were everywhere, even as the
swarm and fire ants attempted to clean up the
bodies. Hornets were outside the hive, trying to
repair what had been damaged.

Kalder and Abby stood in the front of the hive,

with Reese tucked under Kalder’s arm. Wilder,
Tucker and Memphis were close by, helping Leif
with hurt anti-venom.

Boone approached the group with Julius.
Rio stepped up next to him along with TL and

Striker.

TL gave Abby a hug.
Abby hummed. “Your timing was impeccable,

TL.”

TL smirked at Abby, “I aim to please.” TL

gestured toward Rio, “This is Rio. He is the leader
of the fire ants.”

Abby nodded, and Kalder shook Rio’s hand.

“Welcome. Thank you for the help. We were
losing the battle until your army came along.”

Rio rubbed the back of his neck, “They’ve been

surprising all of us, coming in the night. We
haven’t seen an attack of this magnitude yet.”

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

Kalder rubbed Reese’s back as he spoke, “It’s

getting worse every day. It was a dozen or so, but
this one was full scale. Not sure where they are
getting their numbers.”

Boone had a bad feeling he knew where those

numbers were coming from. More than one
territory had to be working with Pacific.

Abby glanced around. “Where’s your queen—

Sylvia, wasn’t it?”

Rio sighed. “We’ve had several attacks in the

last month. Sylvia was one of the first we lost
when she went out of the colony. Before we left
the colony to come here, we lost another ten. My
entire colony is here and willing to help.”

“I’m sorry for your loss. I know Sylvia just

wanted you all to live in peace.” Abby covered her
mouth,  clearly  upset.  “TL,  can  you  try  and  help
get  their  colony  settled?  We  may  have  to  double
up  until  we  find  more  accommodations  for
everyone.”

“I don’t think we’ll be here for much longer,”

Kalder said seriously.

Abby nodded. “I think you’re right, Kalder. We

need to figure out who our enemy is and who we
can trust, then make our move. We can’t sit here
and be a target anymore. I want us to find our
brothers.”

“I’m going to take Julius to see his friends.

We’ll help clean up after he sees them.” Boone
pulled Julius away from the leaders.

Jackie Nacht

Julius covered his mouth as he stared at the

fallen. “I can’t believe…”

“It’s just the beginning, Julius,” Boone said

gravely.

“I know.” Julius stopped and pressed his body

against Boone’s.

“Come on, we did our job bringing the fire ants

in. Let’s go see your friends, and then we’ll get to
work.” Boone put his arm around Julius. The next
couple of days were going to be long ones.

Pursued by the Wandering Spider

Epilogue

hree days later, Boone woke up completely
exhausted and with an aching hard on. It

wasn’t that Julius was sucking on his cock either.
No,  his  mate  was  preparing  to  fuck  him.  Boone
moaned  as  he  rolled  over,  getting  on  his  hands
and knees to give Julius more room to work.

Julius laughed. “You’re insatiable.”
Boone smiled with sleepy eyes, “What are you

talking about? You’ve been worse than me.”

Julius laughed as he worked three lubed fingers

into Boone’s ass. It wouldn’t take much preparing.
They had been going at it most of the night. They
were  preparing  to  leave  to  gain  back  Mission
Territory.  They  were  just  waiting  on  some  of  the
people to heal.

He and Julius hadn’t been able to keep their

hands off each other and they spent most nights
talking. Boone was in love with Julius and he
knew hard times were ahead, that this down time
was precious.

Jackie Nacht

Julius pulled his fingers out and Boone

moaned.  Movement  behind  him  and  then  Boone
felt  Julius  slowly  working  the  long,  thin  cock
inside him. “Mmmm.” Boone moaned.

“You feel so damn good Boone,” Julius groaned

as he bottomed out.

Boone gripped the sheets beneath him as Julius

began  pounding  into  him.  He  would  have  never
thought  it  looking  at  Julius,  but  Julius  was  a
vigorous lover and Boone loved every second of it.
Julius  met  him  thrust  for  thrust  as  they  climbed
together  toward  orgasm.  Julius  reached  around
and  grabbed  Boone’s  leaking  cock  and  Boone
roared  as  his  climax  ripped  through  him.  Julius
shouted behind him and Boone felt the warmth of
cum filling him up. He loved to be fucked by his
mate,  feeling  that  every  time  that  Julius  was
claiming him.

Boone dropped down on the bed and Julius fell

on his back, breathing heavily. “I might just fall
asleep on you like this,” Julius murmured then
kissed his shoulder blade.

Boone smiled against the sheets, “Go ahead. If

anyone needs us, they’ll come knock, but for right
now, all I want to do is be with you.”

Julius kissed his shoulder blade again

whispering, “Love you, Boone.”

“Love you, too, Julius,” Boone whispered back,

feeling the warmth of his mate covering him. A
few moments later, he heard Julius breathing

About the Author

Short, sexy and sweet— where a little love goes a
long way.

That’s  the  best  way  to  describe  Jackie  Nacht’s
stories.  She  was  introduced  to  M/M  Romance
through her sister, Stephani, and read it for years.
Then,  she  thought  it  was  time  to  put  her  own
stories  on  paper.  Jackie  began  writing  short  and
sweet stories that ended with a happily ever after.

Thinking back to her own book addiction,

where  there  were  many  nights  Jackie  stayed  up
way  too  late  so  she  could  read  just  one  more
chapter—  yeah,  right—  Jackie  decided  to  write
short romances for young adults as well as adults.
Hopefully, they will give high school and college
students, or working men and women something
they can read during their lunch hour, in between
classes or just when they want to briefly get away
from the daily stresses of everyday life.

You can find Jackie at:
Website:

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