One More Wish

One More Wish | Devon Rhodes

Chapter One

T WAS

the fourth day of having his bandmate, Rory, as his

pretend “boyfriend,” and Benny had to admit it was going
better than he‟d hoped.

A huge sigh came rocketing through the dark from the

bed next to him.

“What‟s wrong?” Benny asked dutifully.
“Nothing,” came the expected reply.
Well, it would have been going well if Rory hadn‟t fallen

for the leader of the group they were performing for, head
over moony heels.

Benny rolled his eyes in the dark as the residual of the

music hummed through him, making it almost impossible to
lie still. Benny‟d gotten the group an amazing gig—a chance
to  play  a  really  small  venue  and  try  out  some  of  their  new
music  in  an  intimate  setting.  Three  consecutive  shows  for
their  band,  One  Wish—and  the  one  tonight  had  been  a
cappella,  and  it  had  sounded  like  a  fucking  dream  in  the
outdoor amphitheater.

He‟d been so jazzed to have the request land in his lap

just  when  he‟d  been  wanting  to  try  out  the  ballads  taking
over  his  mind  that  Benny  had  eagerly  had  their  new
manager,  Les,  sign  the  gig.  It  was  essentially  a  private
performance  for  some  kind  of  religious  organization  or
something, and he‟d talked over, ignored, and railroaded Les
until it was a done deal. It wasn‟t until he‟d come down from

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one of his almost manic highs of excitement that he‟d
realized they‟d laid down some very bizarre ground rules.

No photography or videography. Whatever. Rory had

been pissed, but Benny was secretly relieved that his initial
foray into the slower-paced, lyric-heavy music wouldn‟t be
recorded until he knew how it would sound.

Once the band arrived at the property containing the

venue, they could not leave until after their last show. Again,
he‟d shrugged. Why would they?

And everyone involved had to be in a committed

relationship. He‟d looked that one over at a loss several times
before  hitting  on  the  idea  of  pretending  to  be  with  Rory  for
the  duration  of  their  stay.  After  all,  they  were  long-time
roommates  and  had  once  been  lovers,  so  acting  the  part
should be a snap. He knew they could pull it off… if he could
get  Rory  to  go  for  it.  He‟d  used  every  bit  of  charm  he
possessed to get his oddly distracted friend to come around.
Benny needn‟t have worried. Rory was his best friend and a
sexy  guy,  but  his  one  flaw  was  that  he  was  almost  too
agreeable, too easily led. It was why they hadn‟t made it as a
couple. Benny preferred a bit more salt or spice to sweet.

It was their fourth night at the lodge, and the a cappella

show in the amphitheater had been a rush. Rory and Benny
had  given  themselves  several  hours  to  wind  down  before
going to their shared bed, but apparently that wasn‟t enough.
Rory was tossing and turning, and Benny could tell he had
Jared  on  his  mind.  The  tension  between  his  friend  and  the
huge,  hunky  owner  of  the  lodge  was  palpable,  and  the  fact
that  Rory  couldn‟t  act  on  it,  due  to  their  deception,  was
evidently  driving  him  crazy.  Benny  tried  not  to  think  about
Jared‟s  nephew,  Curtis,  or  the  crackle  of  sexual  attraction

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that seemed to pull him to the big man‟s side whenever they
were in the same room together.

No, Curtis wasn‟t his type. Too… young, for lack of a

better  word.  Oh,  he  wasn‟t  any  younger  than  Benny
chronologically—they  were  both  in  their  mid-twenties—but
while Benny had been playing in the cynical and dog-eat-dog
music scene since he was a teenager, Curtis seemed to have
led  a  very  sheltered  life,  living  quietly  with  his  uncle  and
extended  family  up  here  in  the  back  of  beyond.  The  lodge
was so secluded, Benny would never have been able to find
his way here if his GPS had gone out.

Rory broke his mental rambling with yet another

pathetic sounding sigh, and Benny knew it was time to give
up. “That‟s your third sigh in as many minutes, love. What‟s
eating you? And don‟t say „nothing‟ again, or I might have to
smother you with my pillow.”

“Dunno. Just… antsy, I guess.”
“Oh, that‟s much better than „nothing‟.” Benny‟s voice

dripped  with  sarcasm.  Then  it  was  his  turn  to  sigh  in  the
darkness of the wee hours of the morning. “I‟m a little wired
too.  Wanna  mess  around?”  A  little  friendly  sex  might  take
both  of  their  minds  off  things.  He  ran  his  hand  with  easy
familiarity  down  Rory‟s  side.  They  had  an  extensive  history
together,  in  and  out  of  bed.  But  since  they‟d  been  at  the
lodge, despite their constant fondling in public, neither man
had pressed for more in private. They shared a bed as part of
their ruse, which wasn‟t new for them, but they hadn‟t been
inclined to do anything more than chat and sleep.

Rory only chuckled in response, and Benny‟s pride took

a light hit. Ouch. “Oh, sure, laugh at the idea of sex with me.
You‟re great for my ego.” Suddenly unable to lie there for

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another moment, Benny stood. “I‟m going for a walk. Light
bright,” he warned a millisecond before he snapped the
bedside light on.

Rory groaned and squinted against the sudden

brightness then sat up and watched as Benny picked up his
shirt and slipped it on, adding his favorite white silk scarf
around his neck. “A walk? Where? Not outside alone. It‟s
dark, and there‟s probably animals and stuff out there.”

Ha. “Oh, quit being such a drama queen. I‟m only going

out to the parking lot, and they have lights out there. I just
want some fresh air. I‟m obviously not going to sleep anytime
soon, and I‟m keeping you up. Don‟t bother,” came the
second Rory opened his mouth to protest. “You know I am.”
Benny pulled up and fastened his jeans and slid his feet into
the old battered mocs he took everywhere. “Don‟t forget, I
know you. We‟ve shared space in one form or another for a
decade, yeah? So I know when I‟m bugging you.”

He walked over and leaned down to plant a sincere kiss

on Rory‟s lips. It was moments like this he regretted that
they weren‟t compatible as partners for real. “Get some sleep,
Ree,” Benny whispered reassuringly, inches from Rory‟s
concerned face. “M‟kay?”

“M‟kay. Be safe.”
Benny gave him a wink. “Don‟t worry about me, babe.

I‟m like a cat.”

“In the nine-lives way, or the land-on-your-feet way?”
Benny chuckled, picturing himself as a feline flailing for

position  in  midair.  He  was  way  too  visual.  “I  was  thinking
more  the  prowling-tomcat  way,  but  those‟ll  work  too.  And
no”—he held up a hand—“I‟m not going out looking for some
tail.  Ha-ha.  Just  taking  a  breather.”  Rory‟s  expression

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relaxed just a bit, and Benny gave his friend one last smile
before heading to the door to their suite.

He walked out and headed for the big main staircase

down  to  the  circular  lobby  of  the  mountain  lodge.  It  was
quiet  with  no  one  in  sight.  A  brief  hit  of  disappointment
surged  before  he  ruthlessly  cut  it  off.  Just  because  Curtis
Salinas was rightly in bed rather than waiting downstairs on
the  remote  chance  Benny  might  appear….  Benny  gave
himself a mental bitch slap. How conceited could he get? Get
over yourself, Oshiro. He’s not  that into you, it’s not  the  time
or the place, and he’s not your type.

What? Liar.
Okay, tall and gorgeous with muscles on top of muscles?

Yes, physically he’s perfect, but c’mon. You’d be bored as
soon as you got off the first time. Maybe even before.

Yeah. You just keep telling yourself that.
The huge fireplace had mostly glowing coals with just an

occasional flicker of flame remaining. Four o‟clock, the
mantel clock told him. No wonder it was dead.

Benny headed out the huge front doors to the porch and

tried to adjust his eyes to the darkness as he moved through
the  parking  lot,  aiming  for  the  picnic  table  he  remembered
being  on  the  far  side.  The  longer  he  was  outside,  the  more
stars appeared, until it seemed there were millions scattered
in  an  uneven  fashion  across  the  looming  black  universe
above him.

A chill shook his frame, reminding him he hadn‟t

grabbed his coat. Even though it was summer, the nights at
this altitude could be very cold. It was more exhilarating
than uncomfortable, though, so he hopped up on the table,
thinking to lie back to watch for shooting stars.

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Instead, he saw stars of a different sort as something

impacted his upper back. Then pain exploded in his head
even before the stars disappeared.

URTIS

stepped out of the side entrance and walked along

the wraparound porch to the corner where it met the front.
Yet another night he was unable to sleep with the mating
call roiling inside him.

He‟d known as soon as he met Benny that he was his

mate.  Or,  as  his  uncle  Jared  had  explained,  could  be  his
mate. Technically, there wasn‟t one mate and one mate only
for shifters. You could meet several possible mates over the
course  of  a  lifetime.  It  was  whether  they  were  available,
suitable,  and  there  at  the  right  time  in  your  life  that
determined whether you could or should act upon your pull.

Unfortunately, Benny was none of the three. He was

seeing  Rory,  though  Curtis  was  dubious  that  they  were  as
close as they portrayed. Benny was known worldwide and a
media magnet—about the worst possible person to get close
to.  And  Curtis  was  in  his  period  of  celibacy  prior  to  the
solstice  ceremony  during  which  he  would  come  into  his
powers. But Curtis was hard-pressed to think that he‟d ever
feel this way about another person in his life, ever have the
same  overwhelming  sense  of  rightness.  The  urge  to  claim
Benny,  to  keep  him  away  from  any…  threat,  was  almost
overwhelming.

Curtis frowned. Why was he thinking threat? Just then

he noticed all the outside lights were off. Maybe the breaker?
Before he could turn to go inside, he caught a hint of
movement in the parking lot.

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He inhaled. Not one of his own. It was the all-too-

familiar mixed scent of Rory and Benny, but it was difficult
to distinguish which man it was. After he went through the
change in a week‟s time and came into his powers, he would
not only be able to tell which man it was, but would be able
to see him clear as day. Right now, though, he was
hampered by his only slightly enhanced human state.

Now movement on the porch by the front door. Even in

the poor light, he could tell this one was Rory, which meant
the man on the far side of the parking area was Benny. He
froze in place, not wanting Rory to see him and think he was
spying on Benny.

Rory walked tentatively out through the dark parking lot.

Curtis could hear his low voice. “Fuck,” he whispered. “Ben?”
he called in a slightly louder tone. “Benny?”

Suddenly the scent of blood overwhelmed Curtis.

Benny‟s blood. Rage boiled up inside him, bringing with it a
burgeoning well of power. He dropped helplessly to his knees,
instinctively scrabbling at the fastenings to his clothing as
the rapidly submerging rational human was overtaken by the
rising change. In a dim part of his mind, he knew it was too
soon, that he needed to get help. But the smell of his mate‟s
blood colored his perception red, and he lost all will to fight
what was happening within him.

Freed of his clothes, he hovered in between states for a

moment  before  his  mind  seized  on  the  image  of  a  wolf,  the
shape  his  uncle  preferred.  A  moment  later  it  was  so.  He
bounded  to  his  feet  and  took  off  running  even  as  he  heard
Rory scream. “Ben!”

Almost instantly across the darkened lot, his vision now

acute, he stopped a short distance from Rory. No Benny in

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sight.  Crouching  as  Rory  turned,  he  could  instantly  scent
the worry turn to fear when Rory saw him and froze, holding
Benny‟s  bloody  scarf  loosely  in  his  hand.  Curtis  sprang
forward,  snapping  his  jaws  around  the  fabric,  and  pulled  it
from Rory‟s fingers.

“Hey!” Rory‟s exclamation followed him into the night as

he turned all his senses toward tracking his injured mate.
Whoever had him was dragging him, according to the
evidence on the ground. A growl gathered in his throat, and
he picked up speed. He hit a gravel road and stopped as the
visual trail became more difficult to distinguish and he had
to use his senses of smell and hearing.

Wheeling to the right, he arrowed down the roadway,

then  slowed  to  a  silent  prowl  as  he  rounded  a  curve,  not
wanting to miss the trail if they suddenly went off the road.
The  trail  led  to  a  seldom-used  side  road  opening  into  a
clearing.  His  gaze  narrowed  on  a  large  vehicle  with  a
motionless  figure  lying  on  the  ground  behind  it.  Benny.  He
scanned  for  danger,  but  the  sight  of  his  mate  quickly
overcame his caution as he moved forward more quickly now.
He didn‟t see anyone inside the Hummer, but he was too low
to the ground to get a good look.

As if in response to that thought, he felt a disorienting

haze flow through him, almost as if he was on the verge of
fainting; then he realized he had the rocky ground under his
hands.

Hands.
He had regained his human form, but that probably

wasn‟t the worst thing since he would need arms to carry
Benny. Rising cautiously, he peered into the Hummer and

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didn‟t see anyone. He knew the assailant had to be around
somewhere. Where could he have gone?

Then Benny groaned from beneath him, and he dropped

to his knees next to him, heedless of the stones beneath his
knees. The smell of his own blood was suddenly in the air,
and mixed with Benny‟s, it was a heady combination.

All at once, Curtis‟s efforts at restraint, in holding

himself  back  from  Benny  this  week  to  protect  him,  didn‟t
seem  so  important  anymore.  Never  having  chanced  being
with  a  more  fragile  human,  very  conscious  of  his  physical
size coupled with his latent powers, he‟d tried his damnedest
to keep from touching his potential mate. Oh, he knew deep
down  that  no  matter  what  Benny  and  Rory  portrayed,  they
weren‟t in the intimately involved relationship they claimed.
At least not presently, though the familiarity with which they
interacted  bespoke  a  past  connection.  No—when  Benny
looked back at Curtis, it was with a mutual interest and heat
he knew was reflected in his own eyes.

An interest he couldn‟t act upon at this vulnerable

crossroads in his alpha training. By the time he had enough
control to touch Benny, the man would be long gone.

Damn it! Of all the fucking timing.
Benny‟s eyes fluttered open and slowly blinked as he

appeared to try to focus on Curtis, bringing him forcibly
back to their current predicament. “Curt?”

“Yeah, I‟ve got you.” He began to carefully slide his

hands  under  Benny‟s  shoulders  and  knees,  kicking  himself
for  his  damned  scruples.    It  was  just  wrong  that  the  first
time  he  touched  and  held  Benny  was  when  he  was  injured
and  in  danger.  Damn  his  automatic  obedience  to  his  alpha
and clan laws.

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A metallic click that could only be a safety disengaging

froze his motion.

“Stand up!” a voice ordered from a few yards away in the

depths of the tree line surrounding the clearing. Curtis
slowly raised his head and stood as ordered, his newly acute
vision finally spotting the man dressed in all black pointing a
gun directly at him. He could just make out a smallish tent
in the trees behind the man.

“Now back away from him.”
An ill-timed groan from Benny had him looking down,

and he met Benny‟s uncomprehending, drugged stare.

“Back up!”
He was helpless to stop the growl that bubbled up from

inside at the thought of moving away from his injured mate,
and he shook his head as he narrowed his gaze on the man,
mentally gauging whether he could get Benny and himself
behind cover of the Hummer before the lunatic could get a
shot off.

The man either read his mind or had the same thought,

because an instant later he heard the shot just as pain
impacted his deltoid. “Uh.” He staggered back a step, trying
not to tread on Benny, as his eyes went automatically to his
upper shoulder. Dart.

Oh fuck.
Curtis could feel himself losing his already tentative

hold on his magic, and as his head became woozy, he felt the
newly discovered and disconcerting moment before the
change came over him, way faster than earlier on the porch.
It was as if sheer muscle memory was kicking in, because he
had zero control, and it took no effort at all. When he hit the

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ground next to and partially atop Benny, he was already a
wolf.

“Holy shit….” Benny‟s voice seemed tinny and distant,

but it caught Curtis‟s attention, and with effort, he raised his
head to look at his mate, dimly satisfied to be touching him
but vaguely concerned that he was forgetting something. He
felt Benny‟s hand stroke him lightly and keened with
pleasure deep in his throat.

Then Benny was leaving, moving away. No! He reached

out and watched bemusedly as his paw changed to a hand
before his eyes.

“Leave him alone!” Benny shouted. Then another sharp

report, and he landed with a thud atop Curtis, whose arms
instinctively  went  around  Benny.  The  black-clad  stranger
came into his vision, and he tried to marshal a defense, but
the  sucking  effect  of  the  tranquilizer  held  him  immobile  as
another  dart  plunged  into  his  chest  from  a  short  distance
away and everything went black.

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Chapter Two

“

ENNY

. Benny, love, it‟s me. Rory. C‟mon. Open your eyes,

babe.”

It was Rory‟s voice floating into his darkness, but Benny

didn‟t know what to believe anymore. The touch on his face
was soothing, though when it glanced over a throbbing area,
the pain caused him to flinch away. Suddenly hands seized
and held him down by the shoulders as the litany took on
greater volume and urgency. Panicking, Benny surged
upward, trying to free himself from his captor.

“Ben! It‟s me.” Benny‟s eyelids finally obeyed the order

to open, and he saw Rory‟s worried face looming above him.
“I think he‟s been drugged.”

Thank God it was Rory. He had to warn him about their

former manager taking Curtis…. “Ree?” he croaked, barely
recognizing his own voice. “It was Richard,” he slurred,
unable to keep his eyes open.

“Shh, it‟s okay now. You‟re safe.”
Not okay. Curtis…. “No.” He forced the words through

the curtain over his mind, had to make them understand.
“Curt.” His own words followed him back into the void. “He
has Curtis.”

E AWAKENED

later to find the sun was up and Rory had

been replaced with Buzz and Pierce, who looked ridiculously

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shattered as they spoke in low tones across the room. “Hey,”
he whispered, and they immediately rushed to his side.

“Man, are you okay? What the fuck happened?” Buzz

was almost growly in his upset state, and Benny felt a smile
tease the corners of his mouth before he remembered Curtis
and sobered.

“Is Curtis back?” He sat up, and the room spun wildly.

“Is he okay?” The last cryptic thing he‟d heard from Richard
before he blacked out was something about Curtis being way
more valuable than Benny.

The memory returned of Curtis standing naked over the

top of him, protecting him, then collapsing when he was shot
and turning into a large black wolf on the way down….

“Nah, not yet. They‟re all out looking for him. Rory too. I

can‟t believe Richard did this. Yeah, he was always a dick,
but….”

Benny swung his legs over the side of the bed. His

temple throbbed, and for a moment, he thought he was going
to be sick.

“Dude, lay down before you fall down.” Pierce tried to

push him back, but Benny impatiently batted his hand away.

“Guys, you can either help me or get out of my way.” He

was glad to hear his voice sounded much steadier than he
felt. The image of Curtis and the wolf and Richard‟s words all
tumbled in his mind.

He‟d been subtly chasing Curtis since he‟d arrived. Oh,

not  enough  to  give  away  his  and  Rory‟s  game,  just  flirting
and the like. And he‟d loved  Curtis‟s fierce responses to his
interest,  until  last  night,  surprisingly,  Curtis  had  cornered
him  in  the  back  of  the  pub  and  growled  at  Benny  to  leave
him alone.

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“I have something very important to do in the coming

month, something that defines me as a… man. You don‟t
understand. I can‟t afford to be distracted by you right now,
can‟t let my guard down. Not until I learn some control….”
His eyes had dropped to Benny‟s lips, and Benny‟s heart had
almost stopped with desire.

Then he‟d abruptly shaken his head before finishing

roughly, “Just let me be. Please.” Curtis had then strode
away, leaving a normally unflappable Benny shaking with
want, hard and in lust, and thoroughly confused.

Now, with what he‟d seen, some of the clues were

coming together to form an at-first unbelievable picture. The
weird stipulations in the contract. The fact that every man
here at the lodge was built like a Mack truck. Curtis‟s
obvious desire for him, tempered by his restraint. His cryptic
warning with the odd hesitation before the word “man.”

There was something different about the lodge‟s

residents.  He  pictured  the  moment  Curtis  had  flashed  into
the wolf and landed against him. The fur had been real—his
palm prickled as though he could still feel it under his hand.
And  he‟d  seen  it  happen—there  had  been  no  mistake,  even
through  his  increasingly  hazed,  drugged  state.  The  tactile
evidence proved it was more than a visual trick.

Werewolves? Really? But what else could they be?
It was too hard to think at the moment. He reached a

hand up to the source of most of his pain and found a very
large and painful lump covered with gauze near the hairline.

“They had to stitch ya,” Buzz commiserated. “Not going

to be the prettiest one anymore, Benners.”

“That was always Rory‟s job anyway,” he answered

automatically, his thoughts still churning. Then it hit him.

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Rory. Did he know? Should Benny tell him that Jared, who
Rory had really fallen for, wasn‟t exactly… human? Oh my
God, I’d sound like the world’s biggest nut case.

But you saw it. You felt it.
Could’ve been the drugs. Or the head injury maybe.
He shook his head, negating the excuses. No, Benny

knew what he‟d seen. And even though he didn‟t have any
sort of rational explanation for it, he was humble enough to
realize there were a lot of things in the universe he didn‟t
understand. Didn‟t mean they didn‟t exist.

“C‟mon. Help me out front.” Benny gestured to his

bandmates  until  they  braced  him  on  either  side  as  they
walked  into  the  lobby,  yakking  in  stereo  right  in  his  ears
until he snapped and told them to put a lid on it. Just as he
was  about  ready  to  give  in  to  the  headache  and  abort  the
excursion,  his  eyes  caught  on  activity  around  vehicles
outside the front of the lodge.

Extricating himself from Buzz and Pierce, he walked

rapidly to the front porch and down to Rory, who was
watching Jared pull an unconscious Curtis from the truck
they‟d pulled up in. Jared carried Curtis quickly and way too
easily up the steps of the lodge. “Oh God, is he okay?”

“Hey, what‟re you doing up?” Rory latched on to Benny.

“Oh, your poor head!”

“I‟m fine.” Benny waved off the concern impatiently.

“How‟s Curtis?”

Les had joined Buzz and Pierce, who crowded around

them as Rory answered, “They think he‟ll be okay. He‟s still
knocked out with whatever Richard used on you, but he
doesn‟t look injured.”

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“What about that asshole, Richard?” Benny was furious,

shaken by sight of Curtis brought low. “I can‟t believe he did
this. I always knew he was a vile weasel, but assault and
kidnapping? What was he thinking? He‟s fucking nuts!”

Rory dropped his head, guilt plain on his face.
“Hey.” Benny‟s heart lurched, and he gentled his voice

and forced Rory to look up at him. “What‟s this?”

“It‟s my fault.”
“What?”
Rory explained that their former manager—and Rory‟s

ex-boyfriend—had  used  a  power  of  attorney  Benny  hadn‟t
known Rory had signed to clean out most of Rory‟s savings.
No  wonder  he‟d  been  so  distracted  and  worried  lately.  That
vile  asshole.  Knowing  Rory  as  well  as  he  did,  he  knew  the
betrayal of trust was eating him up inside.

“I didn‟t want to tell you guys, because I didn‟t want to

hear—”

“„I told you so‟?” Benny finished for him gruffly. “You

stupid fucker. Of course we‟d say that. But we wouldn‟t
think any less of you. Jesus, you‟re human. Everyone fucks
up sometimes, but it wasn‟t your fault. He’s the criminal.
Not you.”

“I thought I‟d shut him down when I closed the last

account. I never dreamed he‟d try using you to get to me. I
don‟t even know how he knew where we were. This was just
a private gig-slash-vacation, not on the schedule.”

Buzz cleared his throat, and they all looked at their

camera-happy drummer. “Sorry, man. I didn‟t know.”

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Rory figured it out first. “Your blog.” Buzz was always

sending snapshots to his boyfriend, Skip, who posted them
up on Facebook and Buzz‟s blog on the group‟s website.

“Yeah. He follows it, I‟m sure. We put up pics and

stories, and I kinda mentioned the name of the lodge. Hell, I
thought it was only fair, give them a bit of publicity, you
know?” Buzz added defensively.

“And with all the shots of you two making out, he saw

an opportunity to score,” Pierce guessed. “Crazy fucker. But I
don‟t get why he‟d dump Benny for Curtis. How did he know
he was connected to money?”

As soon as Rory looked hesitantly at Benny, Benny

could see that Rory knew Curtis and Jared‟s family‟s secret.
Benny frowned at him warningly.

Rory gamely winged it. “Oh, you know how he has lots

of connections and is always online. He probably recognized
him from a picture.” The three clueless members of their
group nodded, accepting that idea, and Benny relaxed as
Rory—never a good liar—sagged in relief.

Now maybe I can go see Curtis.
First, though, Benny slid an arm around his distressed

bandmate‟s shoulders, who turned to him and teased, “And
what are you doing up? I think you need a trip to the
infirmary.”

He blushed at the thought that he was so easily read.

They  walked  to  the  room  Benny  had  just  come  from  and
found  that  Curtis  had  regained  consciousness  and  was
sitting up. It took one smile from Jared to have Rory jumping
into  his  arms,  and  Benny  smiled  to  himself  as  he
approached Curtis.

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“C‟mere,” Curtis rumbled, beckoning him. Giving him a

tug, he pulled and guided Benny until he was straddling
Curtis‟s lap. “Are you okay?”

“Are you?” he returned, resting his forehead gently

against Curtis‟s and trying to ignore the arousal the position
was engendering.

“Hey, take it easy on the patient, you spaz,” Rory called

from across the room. Reminded of their presence, Benny
flipped him off over his shoulder, and Curtis flushed.

Jared settled into a chair near the bed with Rory on his

lap. “I was just telling Curtis that Richard has been arrested.
And with the evidence of theft, trespassing, kidnapping, and
assault, at the very least, we shouldn‟t be bothered by him
for some time.”

“What if he got hold of some awful people and told them

where you are?” Rory sounded frantic.

“It‟s possible, but I doubt he‟d have given away much

without being sure of his payout. It was such a spur-of-the-
moment  thing,  taking  Curtis,  that  he  would‟ve  had  to  start
from  square  one  trying  to  find  a  „buyer‟.  We  have  some
computer  techs  working  on  finding  out  exactly  what  he
managed to accomplish before we found him.”

“We‟ll be fine.” Curtis added his reassurance to his

uncle‟s, then lowered his voice for just Benny‟s ears. “I guess
we need to talk, though, huh?”

“You mean about the furry thing? Um, yeah. But it can

wait.”

The door opened, and a man Benny vaguely

remembered seeing around the lodge came inside, shaking
his head at the sight of Benny atop Curtis.

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“You. That bed.” He gestured firmly from Benny to the

other cot. “Go on, I need to look at both of you.”

The doctor took over, efficiently assessing both of his

patients before pronouncing them fit to leave the infirmary…
but only to go to their own rooms for the rest of the day.
Exhaustion was catching up to Benny at this point anyway,
and though he didn‟t want to be separated from Curtis, he
didn‟t have the energy to protest as Curtis was led away by
Jared, and Rory pulled him along to the elevator up to their
floor.

Rory fussed over him until he was tucked into their bed;

then he hovered uncertainly.

“I‟ll be okay. Go ahead. I know you want to be with

Jared. But first, um….” Benny paused, not sure how to bring
up the wolf thing. “Have you noticed anything… different
about these guys?”

His best friend looked at him warily. “Have you?” he

evaded.

Benny mentally rolled his eyes. “Yeah, it was a little

different when Curtis changed into a wolf and landed on top
of me.”

Rory‟s lips twitched, and he fought a smile. At the sign

of  his  bandmate‟s  amusement,  Benny  was  hard-pressed  to
keep  his  own  bubble  of  laughter  at  bay,  and  his  own  smile
grew  into  a  grin.  Then  suddenly  they  were  both  laughing
hysterically, Rory flopping helplessly down on the bed next to
Benny as the hilarity seized them in its grip. A part of Benny
realized  they  were  just  letting  off  steam  from  the  stressful
events of the past day. But every time he started to get hold
of  himself,  his  eyes  would  catch  Rory‟s,  and  they‟d  be  off
again.

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“Oh my God.” Rory gasped, his familiar face flushed,

head thrown back on the pillow. “He pounced on you?”

“No, more like… fell. I don‟t think he‟s really got the

hang of it yet. Well, and the tranquilizers didn‟t help.” They
chuckled together for a few more minutes before falling into
thoughtful silence.

Rory turned over toward him and absently stroked his

arm.  It  felt  nice  in  his  descent  into  sleep.  “So  Curtis  likes
being  a  wolf  too.  Like  Jared.  I  wonder  if  it‟s  a  family  thing.
I‟m  still  pulling  for  a  dragon,  but  I  think  he‟s  probably  just
kidding me.”

Frowning at the strange turn of conversation, Benny

tried to mentally sort through Rory‟s ramble but got nowhere.
“What?”

“Well, Jared explained that they‟re shape-shifters, not

werewolves.  He  just  likes  taking  that,  uh,  form  for  some
reason.”  Rory  flopped  onto  his  back,  jiggling  the  bed.  “We
didn‟t  get  into  it  too  much,  but  I  got  the  impression  they‟re
not limited to what they can shift to.”

“Not a werewolf. Huh. Well, that‟s… good? I guess?”

Benny yawned, then made a frustrated sound in his throat
as Rory rolled onto his side, jostling him once again.

“Sorry, Ben.”
“Will you stop it?” Benny sighed in resignation. “C‟mere.”

He  lifted  his  arm,  and  Rory  immediately  scooted  back  into
their  familiar  spooning  position.  He  felt  a  twinge  of  regret
that, going forward, they would each be wishing for another
strong  set  of  arms,  but  right  now,  he  was  glad  to  have  the
warmth  against  him  as  his  eyelids  grew  heavier  and  his
focus softened.

“Get some sleep, Ben.”

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“You too, love,” he mumbled. An errant thought popped

into his head, giving him a last little dose of adrenaline,
enough to check. “Jared‟s not going to freak out if you sleep
here, will he? I mean, I‟ve had enough excitement for one
day.”

“Don‟t worry. I can handle Jared. And more importantly,

he can handle himself. I‟d be more worried about Curtis if I
were you.”

Rory‟s words had seemed to come from far away, but he

made an effort at responding. “Mmm-hmm.”

“Benny?” A hand reached back and patted his hip gently.

“Sleep.” The word followed him down into the void as he
turned word to action.

One More Wish | Devon Rhodes

Chapter Three

uncle‟s arm around him was at once a help and

hindrance. Curtis was still woozy enough to realize he‟d be
using the walls for support without Jared‟s presence. At the
same time, he didn‟t want to be going in the opposite
direction of Benny, who was being pulled along back to his—
their—room by Rory.

Curtis growled low.
“How can you stand the thought of Rory still sharing a

room with Benny?”

His uncle smirked, but his gaze was sympathetic. “Lots

of control. I know I can trust him. And yes, even knowing
that, my inner self doesn‟t want him touching or being alone
with anyone else. But that‟s not realistic, so….” He shrugged
as they stopped at door to Curtis‟s suite.

Jared pulled out his passkey and swiped the door before

ushering Curtis inside. “Come on. Let‟s get you in bed before
you fall over and I have to carry you.”

“Ha,” Curtis responded automatically, his mind still on

the dark-haired singer on the opposite end of the lodge. He
wondered if Benny was in bed yet. Whether he‟d undressed….

Stop it, he told himself. He shrugged off his uncle‟s

guiding hand and strode to his bedroom with an assurance
and energy he didn‟t feel.

“I‟m glad to see you are dealing with your attraction to

Benny so well.” Jared followed Curtis inside his room

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uninvited and sat on the edge of his bed while Curtis
rummaged for his own clean clothing, dying to get out of the
random T-shirt and sweats Jared had helped him into earlier.

Curtis shot his uncle a glare, not happy with the

reference to his ill-timed crush on Benny. “Don‟t worry. I
know the timing sucks. I get it.”

Jared sobered. “Even more so now that you‟ve released

your powers too soon somehow. We‟ll have to see what this
means as far as your long-term control and ability to wield
them.”

The serious tone of voice stopped Curtis in mid-motion

of removing his shirt. “What?” He felt a wave of vertigo and
resumed undressing.

His uncle nodded to him. “Go ahead and get comfortable.

We‟ll have plenty of time to talk after you get some rest and
get the residual of the tranq out of your system.”

“No, I think we should talk now,” Curtis countered as he

finished undressing and headed to the bathroom. “Stay right
there.” He caught a glimpse of Jared‟s shocked expression in
the mirror as what he‟d just said hit him. He quickly
tempered his command with, “Please, sir?”

Crap, where had this aggressive side of him come from?

He‟d better rein it in before he challenged his alpha beyond
even his patient limits. Frustrated, he made quick work of
cleaning himself up and returned to find his uncle right
where he‟d left him, an unreadable, closed expression on his
face.

Uh-oh.
“Sorry, sir.” He bowed his head in a show of obeisance.
No response from Jared. Curtis kept his gaze on the

floor as he dressed himself, hoping he hadn‟t screwed up too

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badly. His gut roiled not only at the thought of displeasing
his uncle—like a father to him—but also at disrespecting his
alpha.

Half his mind on Benny, and exhausted from his ordeal,

he waited silently, almost overwhelmed with all the opposing
thoughts and emotions surging within him. Underlying it all
was a feeling of barely tapped power, which trying to control
felt like trying to stuff a feather pillow into a suitcase—
pushing it down in one area just made it rise elsewhere.

With his body idle and his aggression in check, his

senses had opened enough so that he heard the rumbling of
dozens of conversations happening throughout the building,
could discern hundreds of separate scents… including that
of Benny. He tried to control the upwelling of desire and
worry, ruthlessly pushing it down, telling himself Benny was
safe. Was in bed.

With Rory.
A small, involuntary sound bled from his throat, and he

swallowed against it, redoubling his efforts to concentrate on
his alpha and his alpha alone. It was almost impossible.

Jared‟s hands landed on his shoulders, and Curtis

almost sagged in relief as some of his tension instantly
dissipated at the knowledge that his uncle wasn‟t too upset
with him if he was offering his touch.

“Curtis.”
He chanced a glance up at his uncle. Pride and concern

warred in the older man‟s eyes.

“Yes, sir?”
“Let‟s sit.”

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Without hesitation, Curtis preceded his uncle to the

sitting area in the other room.

Once they settled, Jared ratcheted his stress level back

up by starting with, “You challenged me in there. That‟s
never happened before.”

Instantly hot, Curtis bit his tongue to keep from

interrupting  as  his  uncle  continued.  “It‟s  not  entirely
unexpected.  After  all,  you  are  my  heir  and  the  strongest  of
the  young  alphas.  But  this  makes  the  early  advent  of  your
powers  all  the  more  concerning.  As  does  the  proximity  of
Benny and your fixation on him.”

“But—” He cut off his protest at the look in Jared‟s eyes.
“But nothing. Hear me out.” Jared waited until Curtis

acknowledged him with a curt nod before going on.

“You have incredible potential. The way you‟ve handled

yourself is well beyond what would be expected of you at this
stage… by anyone other than me.” Jared smiled ruefully. “I‟ll
freely admit that I have higher standards than anyone,
especially where you‟re concerned.” He paused and narrowed
his gaze. “Except maybe for yourself.”

The observation hit home in a big way. Curtis knew that

most of his frustration was due to disappointment in himself
for his lack of control. He wanted to master the new abilities
coursing randomly through his mind and body… now.

Not the least of which would be control of his strength

and magic so he could lose himself in Benny without
inadvertently hurting him.

Jared smirked at him, apparently catching the direction

of his thoughts. “You‟re still a long way from being able to
take on a human partner.”

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“I know.” Curtis combed his fingers through his hair

and blew out a breath. “I just don‟t want to let him go.”

His uncle sobered. “He might not be the one, Curtis.

Remember that. And with his high profile….”

“That‟s not stopping you with Rory, is it?” he lashed out.

His alpha raised a brow but didn‟t otherwise react to his
outburst. “I can sense you‟ve accepted him, for all that there
hasn‟t been a formal announcement. And he‟s just as
publicly visible as Benny.”

“To a point,” Jared returned levelly. “Rory is much more

introverted  than  Benny.  Benny  is  a  true  media  darling  and
the frontman for the group. How are you going to feel when
he‟s  away  on  tour,  and  he‟s  linked  to  other  partners  in  the
press?  Or  photographed  with  strangers  on  his  arm?”  The
images conjured up by Jared‟s words burned like acid in his
gut. “His life is on the road, and Benny seems to relish that. I
accept  that  Rory  will  be  away  a  lot.”  A  touch  of  frustration
finally showed in his uncle‟s heretofore stoic expression. “Yes,
it‟ll  about  kill  me  to  have  him  gone.  But  I  know  he  leads  a
quiet lifestyle compared to Benny and Buzz. My hope is that
he‟ll  spend  his  future  downtime  here  at  the  lodge.  Anyway,
we‟ll work it out.” Jared shrugged. “Perhaps you two could as
well…  far  down  the  road.  But  right  now,  you  need  to  focus
on harnessing your abilities, completing your alpha training,
and preparing yourself for a future”—he stressed the word—
“mate, who may or may not be human.”

Curtis caught himself shaking his head, negating the

thought of anyone in his life but Benny. His uncle‟s knowing
and slightly pitying look was starting to grate on his last
nerve.

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“Meanwhile, I‟ll speak to Rory about keeping our nature

from Benny.” Curtis grimaced, and his uncle‟s expression
turned wary.

“It wasn‟t just Rory who saw you?” he surmised with a

sigh.

Curtis reddened as his understandable but no less

irritating  lack  of  control  over  his  burgeoning  powers  was
once  again  topic  for  discussion.  “No.  Benny  woke  up  just
before  I  was  shot  the  first  time.  I  kind  of…  shifted  midfall.
On top of him,” he added quietly.

“What form?” Now his uncle sounded curious, but there

was an amused undertone. Fucker.

“Both times it was a wolf.”
“Hmm.” Jared stared at him thoughtfully. “And you

weren‟t in control either time, right? The shift happened
unexpectedly?”

Curtis nodded to confirm, now interested to know where

his uncle was going with this.

“Each of us has a line, a base form in which we are

most comfortable. Most of the time, your other half reveals
itself during the solstice ceremony. I had thought you might
be… something different. But a wolf is a fine line for a leader.”

Curtis scrutinized his uncle. Even though he was

keeping his thoughts private, he could sense his uncle‟s
confusion and… disappointment? “But you‟re a wolf. Right?
Wouldn‟t it make sense that I‟m one too?”

Jared went still and raised a brow. “Maybe. But your

father was of the line I‟d predicted you‟d follow.” There was a
sense of evasion. Something he wasn‟t telling Curtis. He tried
to reach out and probe his uncle‟s thoughts, only to be firmly
and painfully rebuffed.

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“Instead of being rude, why don‟t you ask what you

want to know?”

Chastened and rubbing his temple, Curtis wasted no

time in raising the question he had not been able to get any
sense of. “You are or are not a wolf?”

Jared pressed his lips together as he appeared to think

for a moment and come to a difficult decision. “That is the
public face I put on for the clan as a whole. I settled on the
wolf a long time ago to protect my true line. All but a few of
us are gone or assimilated. Let‟s leave it at that. There‟s no
point in delving into it now that you‟re—”

“But what if I‟m not a wolf?” Curtis interrupted, unsure

of where his uncle had gotten the certainty of his line.

Jared frowned at the interjection, then relented to

answer, “If one of us is overly stressed or injured, our line is
the form we would revert to. In both shifts, you were a wolf.”

“Does it make any difference that I thought about being

a wolf? At least the first time.”

“What do you mean?” Jared demanded, his gaze

piercing Curtis.

Curtis tried to think back with clarity to the moment on

the  porch  when  he  had  begun  to  shift.  “I  smelled  blood—
knew it was Benny‟s. And I started to lose control. Somehow
I  realized  I  was  going  to  shift,  so  I  started  to  remove  my
clothing.  That‟s  when  I  pictured  your  wolf  in  my  head.  The
next thing I knew, I was on all fours.”

His alpha watched him closely for a moment before

carefully and neutrally venturing, “It might have made a
difference, yes.”

“Can‟t we just try it right now, see what happens? As my

alpha, you can force me into my base shape, right?”

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“No.” Jared was already shaking his head before Curtis

stopped speaking. “You need to get some sleep—clear your
head and rebuild your strength. And we absolutely cannot
attempt it while the humans are still here.”

“Why not?” Curtis persisted, wanting to get to bottom of

all the secrecy and Jared‟s reluctance to delve into specifics.

His uncle sighed. “The form is not one that‟s… easily

hidden or passed off a native animal to this area.”

“What. Is. It?” Curtis gritted out. He kept his eyes locked

on  his  uncle‟s,  not  giving  a  damn  anymore  whether  he  was
challenging  his  alpha  or  not.  His  future,  his  sense  of  self—
and,  he  instinctively  surmised,  something  that  affected  his
future with Benny—was at stake here.

With a rare flare of temper, Curtis was pushed back by

a wave of power as his uncle‟s eyes glowed with an inner
light Curtis had never before seen. Unnerved, he
nevertheless continued to silently stand his ground.

“I am something which, should you prove to be of my

line,  will  force  you  to  work  harder,  give  more,  and  be  held
accountable  to  higher  standards  than  any  other  alpha
candidate  you  know.  You  will  always  have  to  reside  away
from the population centers. And you will have to keep your
distance  from  anyone  who  can  bring  light  to  who  we  are.”
Jared  met  his  gaze,  absolutely  serious  and  still  as  he
revealed his secret self to his nephew and heir.

“I am drákōn.”

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Chapter Four

Four months later

MILING

with contentment at the sight of Curtis‟s name on

his phone, Benny made an “okay” sign with his hand to Gilly,
his  makeup  artist,  while  answering,  “Hey,  babe.  Hold  on  a
sec.”  As  soon  as  she  removed  the  cape  protecting  his  stage
outfit,  he  hopped  up  and  strode  to  the  corner  of  the  room,
trying to get away from the din around him.

“Ten minutes!” Laurel bellowed, looking up briefly from

her smartphone before whirling around and leaving the
dressing room.

All the time in the world.
“Okay, that‟s better.” Benny settled down into the corner,

his back to the wall, helping with his personal sense of feng
shui. He pulled his knees up and watched the craziness from
the safety of his hiding spot  as the various helpers finished
getting  his  three  bandmates  ready.  “Where  are  you?”  Rory
was  looking  great  as  usual,  Gilly  just  touching  him  up.
Pierce was also on the phone, probably with his wife, who‟d
just learned she was pregnant. He watched absently as Buzz
and  his  longtime  partner,  Skip,  got  into  yet  another
whispered  argument.  Skip  had  recently  lost  his  job  and
joined them on the road, and the unusual togetherness was
not working for their relationship.

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“A better question would be where are you, since you‟re

in a different city almost every night.” Benny could hear the
smile in Curtis‟s voice. “Just to clarify, I already know you‟re
in Salt Lake City, and I‟m at the lodge as always, up in my
room to be specific. And I miss you,” Curtis added, his tone
lowering.

Benny pressed his lips together and inhaled sharply

through his nose to keep from getting emotional. Not an
option with this much makeup on and no time to repair. He
stretched his legs out and crossed them at the ankles.

“I miss you too.” With an ache he‟d never thought he‟d

feel for another person. When they‟d parted this summer, the
instant connection between them had been stretched but not
broken.  Their  time  together  had  been  too  short,  and  Benny
had  always  known  there  was  something  weighing  Curtis
down, holding him back. So he‟d done his part to make their
parting  easier,  backing  off  as  requested…  and  keeping  the
shape-shifting  clan‟s  secret.  After  all,  they  were  practically
family, what with the connection between Rory and Jared.

Yeah, but you sure don’t feel brotherly toward Curtis.
It had been for the best. Benny‟s life revolved around his

band and music and had absolutely no routine or stability to
it. Meanwhile, Curtis had responsibilities that kept him with
his extended family. Responsibilities… and secrets.

Secrets that Benny was privy to, though he‟d scarcely

believed  the  evidence  he‟d  seen  with  his  own  eyes  last
summer.  And  after  that  one  sleepy,  slightly  disjointed
disclosure from Rory the day after the kidnapping, Rory had
shut  his  mouth  tightly  about  anything  to  do  with  what
Benny thought of as the shifters‟ “secret selves.”

“Five minutes!”

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“I caught you too close to showtime. Sorry,” Curtis

apologized, and the discomfort radiating through the line
was palpable. “I call you too often, I know.”

“No!” Benny lowered his voice when heads turned his

way.  “No,  you  don‟t.  I  just…  sometimes  I  just  don‟t  know
what to say. Breaking away is going to be impossible for the
next  few  weeks.”  He  paused,  having  mixed  feelings  about
voicing  his  next  thought.  “Maybe  I  could  come  for  a  visit
when the tour‟s over next month? Come there with Rory?”

Curtis sighed over the line. Just as Benny was about to

retract his offer, Curtis broke his silence. “Sorry, I was just
thinking about the timing. Can I let you know? I‟m not sure
I‟ll be… done with my training.”

“Sure, babe,” Benny answered automatically, already

knowing that Curtis would eventually find a reason to say no
to  a  visit…  yet  again.  Frustrated  with  the  whole  ridiculous
long-distance  thing  they‟d  been  somehow  nurturing  along,
he  was  seconds  from  telling  Curtis  he  just  couldn‟t  do  it
anymore.

“Two minutes, guys. Let‟s move!”
Benny took a deep breath. “I‟ve gotta go.”
“Yeah, I heard. Look, we‟ll talk soon. Okay?”
“Okay,” Benny easily agreed. Easy to go along when

there was no change from the status quo. They said goodbye,
and Benny disconnected the call, tossing his phone
carelessly on the floor just as Rory came over. He reached
down and helped Benny lever himself up from the floor.

“You okay?” Rory gave him a searching look.
Benny rolled his neck and ignored his friend‟s concern.

“Fine. Let‟s rock it.”

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RENCHED

with sweat, Benny ran offstage with a wave

when the lights went down at the end of the last set. He
headed straight to Scott and chugged the bottle of water he
handed him, then took the towel and mopped his neck and
bare chest before giving it back. Scott then handed him a
vest, which he pulled on and left unbuttoned down the front.

The crowd was still cheering and starting to

rhythmically clap in the universal request for an encore. The
four  bandmates  took  their  customary  time,  catching  their
breath  and  waiting  for  the  high  sign  from  their  stage
manager,  Gideon.  At  that  moment,  Benny  should  have  no
room for anything in his head except for the music and the
show.  But  the  uncertainty  of  his  and  Curtis‟s  quasi-
relationship was eating away at him. Was it really worth it?

“Back in two.”
Rory bumped him with his hip and shoulder. “Ready?”
“Get off me, sweaty boy.” Paradoxically he slung an arm

around Rory‟s shoulders, laughing when he pretended to
cringe away. “Might have to do me some grindage during the
encore now.”

“Mmm, bring it.”
Heart lightened a bit by the exchange, he made a snap

decision. “Hey guys—” He beckoned Buzz and Pierce in. “I
want to stay on after the encore and do „Calling You‟.”

Pierce shrugged his assent, and Rory gave him a

knowing look. “I‟ll need my acoustic setup—guitar, low mic.
A stool for you… single spot?” Before Benny could respond,
Rory turned away and jogged over to where Les and Gideon

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were  waiting.  After  some  quick  talking  and  a  bit  of  playful
begging,  Rory  sauntered  back  over  to  Benny  with  a  smug
grin  on  his  face.  “They‟ll  set  it  up  after  „Bounce‟.  Buzz  and
Pierce, you guys can just sit tight in the black until it‟s over.
Then we‟ll do the final bow and we‟re done.”

A bit disconcerted now that he was actually committed

to performing the song, Benny took a deep breath when
Gideon twirled his finger to signal it was time to retake the
stage.

They flew into “Bounce,” one of their biggest hits and a

crowd favorite. They dragged it out to about twice as long as
usual, the whole concert arena shaking with the upbeat tune.
The  cheer  from  the  ecstatic  audience  afterward  was  almost
deafening,  and  Benny  felt  his  usual  sense  of  proud
amazement  at  their  accomplishment.  The  lighting  went  to
black, and the stagehands ran out onstage, delivering a stool
to  the  center  X  mark  and  one  to  about  ten  feet  stage  right.
They  took  his  headset  and  handed  him  a  wireless  mic.  He
then  watched  as  they  took  Rory‟s  guitar  and,  after  he‟d
seated  himself  on  the  other  stool,  handed  him  his  acoustic
one,  which  he  immediately  began  to  tune  by  ear,  even
though it was probably already perfect. They set up a waist-
high mic in front of Rory and cleared the stage.

The crowd was still clapping and cheering, and Benny

settled  himself  on  the  stool  and  turned  to  Rory.  In  the
ambient  light,  he  could  see  Rory  give  him  a  thumbs-up  of
encouragement  before  signaling  to  the  stage  manager  that
they were ready.

Rory played his way through the first two eight-counts

and paused. The first single spot hit Rory just as he picked

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up again, and the upwelling of the audience surged, then
waned as everyone began to listen.

The smile on Rory‟s face while he played the intro to the

ballad  was  enough  to  settle  Benny‟s  nerves,  and  he  took  a
deep breath. When Rory paused again, the second spotlight
hit him, and he said into the mic, “This is going out to two
people  who  are  very  important  to  us”—he  watched  Rory‟s
head  snap  up  as  he  included  him  in  the  dedication—“who
couldn‟t  be  here  tonight.  It‟s  a  little  number  I  wrote  called
„Calling You‟.”

Rory led him into the song once more, and this time

when he paused, Benny began to sing.

“Once a constant presence,
Now you‟re far away.
Once I had the good life,
With you day to day.
Now the pieces that are missing don‟t seem to fall in place…
Calling you—
The light that shines, the road that winds, the evening light…
Calling you—
In every town, when I am down, and needing you…
Calling you—
There‟s nothing else that makes it right, your love is true.
My heart, my mind, my love, my soul…
I‟m calling you.”

Benny continued to pour his heart out in song, giving

voice to all of his uncertainty and longing. Rory improvised a
harmony during the last chorus, and they trailed off together
as Rory finished with a slow flourish on the guitar, the last
notes hanging in the air for a brief moment before a tidal
wave of sound broke over them.

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Startled out of the trance the song had thrown him into,

Benny kept his head bowed until the lights went off. Rory
was quickly there with an arm around his shoulder, then
Buzz and Pierce.

“Let‟s make this quick, guys. I‟m wiped.”
Rory said something low to the stagehand who had

come  to  grab  his  guitar.  He  nodded  and  ran  offstage  before
the lights came back up. The guys took their bows, and Rory
tossed  his  guitar  pick  into  the  grasping  crowd.  Then  Buzz
took  his  turn  winging  his  sticks  out  there—Benny  was
shocked no one had ever gotten hurt, that he knew of—and
they all did another few waves before heading offstage.

This time when they hit the wings, they were

immediately  led  along  corridor  after  corridor  lined  with
clapping  arena  workers  and  people  with  backstage  passes.
Benny kept a smile on his face, but his emotional state was
not the usual satisfied high he usually had post-show. Rory
seemed  to  sense  this  and  kept  close  by  before  pulling  him
into  his  dressing  room  rather  than  the  communal  staging
room  they  had  started  the  show  from.  As  soon  as  the  door
closed  behind  them,  he  pulled  Benny  into  his  arms  for  a
quick hug.

“That was amazing. And thanks for including me in the

ded.  It‟s  a  perfect  song  for  Jared  and  Curtis.”  Rory  turned
away,  his  usual  emotional  overspill  taking  effect.  “I‟m  going
to  just….”  He  gestured  with  his  cell  phone  that  someone
must  have  handed  to  him  on  the  way  back.  You  didn‟t  go
through  the  daily  grind  of  a  tour  with  a  crew  without  them
knowing every little habit, and Rory called Jared the second
he could, every time he came offstage.

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Benny gave him a go-ahead smile and stepped into the

hallway to cross the short distance to his dressing room. At
the door, he spoke briefly to Laurel, then remembered his
cell phone and detoured to the staging room. He went to the
spot where he‟d left his phone and frowned. Fuck, where was
it?

He looked around for a minute, getting increasingly

pissed at himself. It had been pretty stupid to just throw it
down instead of giving it to Scott or Laurel.

Buzz‟s partner, Skip, walked into the room. “Hey, Benny.

Great  show,  man.”  For  all  his  effusiveness,  Skip  was
probably  the  last  person  Benny  wanted  to  see.  It‟d  been  a
strain on his and Buzz‟s previously solid relationship to have
Skip along on tour now that he was unemployed. Buzz was
usually as amped up as his name, but the past couple weeks,
it looked like there was trouble in paradise—their drummer
been  chronically  and  uncharacteristically  subdued.  “So
what‟s  up?  You  don‟t  usually  poke  your  head  out  of  your
dressing room until you‟re all prettied up,” Skip observed in
a superior tone of voice.

Oh brother. “Just looking for my phone, and I‟ll get right

on that.”

“Is that it?” Skip waved toward the makeup counter,

and Benny saw with relief he was right. He quickly snagged
it. A glance at the screen showed several missed calls,
including one from Curtis. Not sure he wanted to talk just
yet, and certainly not around anyone else, Benny thought for
a moment, then turned it off. Just as he did, a chime came
from Skip‟s phone.

“Oh shit.” Skip went pale.
Benny frowned in concern. “What‟s wrong?”

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“It‟s Buzz. Oh shit.” He looked up at Benny, frantic.

“Can you come with me?”

“Sure, let me….” But Skip wasn‟t waiting, and Benny

found himself following in his wake as Skip rushed
unerringly through the busy maze of people backstage.
“Where is he?”

“By the unloading dock doors. I think he went to see

about his drum kit or something, and….” Skip trailed off but
didn‟t stop moving until they were past the crowds of people
and in some random industrial-looking area of the arena.

“I think he‟s in here.” Skip stopped before a door and

turned to Benny. “Wait here and I‟ll check.”

Thoroughly confused and getting chilly, Benny was

starting to think this was some big wild goose chase. Idly he
pulled  his  phone  from  his  pocket  and  turned  it  back  on,
thinking  to  listen  to  Curtis‟s  message  while  he  waited  for
Skip  to  return.  Then  he  saw  motion  and  stepped  closer  to
the  door  Skip  had  gone  in  to  see  him  bending  over  the
crumpled form of Buzz.

“Fuck! Buzz! Skip, is he okay?” He started to hit speed

dial for Laurel as he started forward.

“Oh, we‟ll have none of that now.” A strange voice came

from his right, and before he could protest, his phone was
snatched from his hand.

“What—” A blinding pain to his temple, the other one

this time, and Benny was thinking, Oh shit, not again, as his
knees buckled and he succumbed to the black.

One More Wish | Devon Rhodes

Chapter Five

phone call went to voice mail right away again, and

Curtis swore aloud.

What the fuck is going on?
He‟d been sitting downstairs in the lobby when his

phone rang about an hour earlier. He was surprised to see
that it was Benny, knowing he should still have been onstage.
But when he‟d answered, no one had been there.

Pocket dial, he‟d thought and put it out of his mind.
About a half hour after that, the same thing happened

again, only this time a strange man‟s voice laughed on the
other end. When he demanded to know who it was, they‟d
said, “You‟ll know soon enough,” and had hung up on him.

He‟d called back and left a voice mail for Benny to call

him. Doubt started nagging at him as his jealousy started to
prey on him. What was some random guy—and it wasn‟t one
of the band members, whose voices he knew—doing using
Benny‟s phone? Benny was almost rabid about his privacy,
so it had to be someone very close to him.

That, or maybe it had been stolen?
Neither scenario sounded very good to Curtis. The

enforced separation, the constant rebuffing of efforts to plan
a visit—especially when he desperately wanted to see Benny
again—were all starting to take a huge toll on Curtis. He was
so mentally preoccupied it drove Jared to actually walking
away from their training sessions at times, which was the

One More Wish | Devon Rhodes

last thing he needed. The sooner he had his drákōn self
under complete control, the sooner he could be with Benny.

Unable to wait until the solstice ceremony like the rest

of the young alphas, Curtis had persuaded his uncle to force
his  base  form  to  appear  the  very  day  the  members  of  One
Wish  had  left  the  lodge.  His  reasoning  was  twofold:  he
wanted to begin learning control as soon as possible, and he
needed  a  distraction  from  the  sharp  pain  of  letting  Benny
exit his life that day. And both revolved around one eventual
and ultimate goal: claiming Benny as his mate.

It was killing him to have Benny so far away, to have let

him  go  without  binding  them  together  as  Jared  had  bound
Rory.  At  least  in  their  case,  Jared  had  the  commitment  of
being  mated  to  Rory  to  get  him  through  their  time  apart.
With  Benny,  there  was  nothing  tying  them  together.  And
every day that passed, Curtis became more afraid that they
would  never  reunite.  After  all,  why  would  Benny  give  up
what  he  loved  to  stay  up  here  with  Curtis?  For  it  had  been
made  crystal  clear  that  day  in  the  meadow  near  the  lodge
that  Curtis  was  going  to  be  bound  to  an  isolated  existence
just as Jared had been.

When he‟d knelt there in the circle and Jared had

pushed  his  strong  magic  through,  over,  around  him  like  a
warm  wave,  he‟d  closed  his  eyes  and  cleared  his  mind  as
he‟d  been  instructed.  And  so  the  resulting  shift  into  a
strangely comforting form had been extremely fast and easy.
When  he‟d  opened  his  eyes,  the  sight  of  a  small-looking
human  Jared  far  below  him  had  startled  Curtis  backward.
That  was  when  he‟d  noticed  his  clawed  feet  with  golden
brown  scales  and  had  realized  the  breeze  was  from  him
flapping his wings for balance.

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“I’m a fucking dragon?” he‟d mentally sent to Jared.
“You are of my line, drákōn. My heir.” The pride and

empathy on Jared‟s face at that moment was a precursor to
months of nonstop training.

Since then he‟d worked to develop all of his abilities, not

just shifting, as well as control over his magic. One area he‟d
refused  to  practice,  however,  was  restraint  during  sex.  He
had  no  desire  to  fuck  anyone  but  Benny,  and  had  put  his
foot down when his uncle suggested it. Jared hadn‟t liked it
but  grudgingly  understood.  So  he  had  redoubled  his  efforts
to  round  Curtis‟s  control  in  other  areas  and  teach  him  the
tools  to  keep  his  power  harnessed,  submerged  when  it  was
not under his conscious rein—such as when asleep, injured,
drugged…  or  climaxing.  This  last  was  accomplished—
sometimes  successfully  but  occasionally  not—during  and
after some equally frustrating and satisfying phone calls with
Benny.

He hadn‟t slept with anyone since before Benny had

come to the lodge. And he‟d never slept with a human.

He didn‟t want anyone else. But self-pleasuring was

getting really old. He wanted the real deal. And soon.

As soon as it was safe.
Curtis tried Benny‟s number once more, and again, it

went straight to voice mail. Uneasy about the odd calls, he
decided to seek out Jared and have him call Rory.

Crossing the lodge, he rapped on his uncle‟s study door.
“Come in.”
Curtis opened the door just as Jared was obviously

saying goodbye to Rory on his phone. “Wait! Don‟t hang up,”
he hurriedly interrupted.

One More Wish | Devon Rhodes

“Hold on a sec, love,” Jared said into the receiver, then

pressed it to his shirt. “What‟s wrong, Curtis?”

Curtis suddenly felt foolish and about thirteen years old

instead of twenty-five. But his concern for Benny drove him
onward. “Can you ask Rory if Benny‟s okay?”

Jared‟s gaze narrowed thoughtfully on Curtis as he

replaced the phone to his ear.

“Rory, is Benny alright? Curtis wants to know.” A brief

pause. “I‟m not sure why.”

He listened for a while, then told Curtis, “He says the

concert went great, though Benny seemed to be missing you.
He was in Rory‟s dressing room up until about a half hour
ago when Rory called me. Have you spoken to him tonight?”

“Not since before the show.” Knowing that he‟d been fine

a half hour ago should have reassured him, but the phone
calls…. “Does he know if Benny‟s phone‟s been stolen?”

Jared pressed his lips together. “I‟m putting this on

speaker,” he announced, pressing the button and setting the
receiver down.

“What‟s wrong, Curtis? Why are you worried about

Benny?” Rory‟s concern came through loud and clear.

He explained about the two phone calls from Benny‟s

number during the time while they‟d been onstage. There
were some random noises from the other end before Rory
reported, “He‟s not in his dressing room or the staging room,
which is where his phone was. It‟s not here anymore either.
What‟s going on?”

Jared spoke, the command plain in his tone. “Rory, I

want you to get Les and the other guys and put the word out
to find Benny. Get a member of the security detail to stay

One More Wish | Devon Rhodes

within sight of you until I say otherwise. And keep your
phone on you. Call me back as soon as you know anything.”

“Jared, I….”
“Rory, love. Just do this okay? It‟ll be fine, I‟m sure. It‟s

just a precaution.”

A deep breath. “Okay. Love you.”
Jared glanced at his nephew, his expression serious.

“Love you too. Go on now.” He disconnected and immediately
dialed another number.

“Tom? Call and have the jet ready to go. File a flight

plan to Salt Lake City, departing in an hour. You‟ll be in
charge here while I‟m gone. I‟ll need two guards as well.
Thanks.”

Curtis burst out as soon as he hung up, “What about

me?  If  you  think  I‟m  staying  behind….”  His  gut  was  roiling
with turmoil and worry and anger at the whole situation. All
the  „if‟s  rolled  through  his  mind:  If  he‟d  only  mated  Benny
back  in  June….  If  he  hadn‟t  told  Benny  again  tonight  he
couldn‟t visit yet…. If Curtis had done better and been more
focused on his training….

“I don‟t,” Jared informed him. “It might be a moot point

if we get a call that he‟s fine. But I have a bad feeling, and
you do too. I‟d tell you to stay here if I thought it would have
any effect. Don‟t think I‟ll waste my breath, though.”

It wouldn‟t be worth it. They both knew he‟d be going.

More than a little relieved that Jared wasn‟t going to fight
him on it, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and stared
at it, as if that would make it ring with good news, or maybe
even Benny‟s voice, any sooner.

Instead the desk phone rang, and Jared picked it up

immediately.

One More Wish | Devon Rhodes

“Hello? Hi, love.”
His lips pressed into a line, and Curtis‟s heart sank.
“Okay, we‟re flying down. No, just stay there in the

dressing room with your security detail until we arrive. You
can send the tour buses ahead and fly to the next venue.”

Jared took a minute to reassure Rory and bid his mate

good night and goodbye. Then he raised his gaze to Curtis.

“Nobody can find him. Benny‟s gone. So are Buzz and

Skip. No one has seen any of them since right after the
show.”

A ball of black rage and fear rose from Curtis‟s chest

into his throat and lodged there. What the hell is going on?

“Let‟s go.”

At first, Benny thought he was reliving the night this

past summer when their former manager Richard had tried
to kidnap him. The pain in his head, the drugged feeling, the
bone-deep chill. The feeling that something was missing,
wrong….

“Curtis!” he called out.
He tried to open his eyes; then he realized his eyes were

open, but it was still dark. No, wait, there was a tiny little
line of light—under a door maybe? Benny rolled over but was
stopped short of getting up by a tug on his wrist. Some kind
of restraint with enough slack for him to move around but
not enough to leave whatever he was lying on.

Clarity came quickly at that point. The text about Buzz,

following Skip down to the warehouse of the arena, then a
blow to the head. He had just enough slack to lightly touch

One More Wish | Devon Rhodes

the side of his head at the point that throbbed. At least they
didn‟t break the skin this time.

A groan came from the darkness to his right, and Benny

tensed then relaxed with a little rush of relief. At least he
wasn‟t alone. “Who‟s there?”

Stillness and a pause. “Ben?”
“Buzz! Oh my God.” He tugged at his restraints. “Fuck. I

can‟t get up. Can you move, or are you tied up too?”

“What the fuck is going on?” Buzz groaned then there

was a rustling sound. “Damn it! Somebody fucking tied me
up? Where are we?”

“I don‟t know. Some room. Maybe a warehouse.” Huh.

“Maybe we‟re still in the arena?” Benny looked around, trying
to remember what the place had looked like. Fuck. After as
many venues as they‟d played, he stopped noticing details or
tuned out his surroundings other than the immediate
performance and backstage areas.

“Hey!” Buzz yelled, and the sudden sound of his trained

voice filling the small room caused Benny to fill with
adrenaline.

“Shhh!” he warned. “We don‟t know who‟s out there.”
“But what if they‟ve left? Maybe someone else will hear

us.”

They argued for a few minutes before the sound of a key

in  a  lock  shut  them  up  in  an  instant.  Benny  was  relieved
that  Buzz  had  also  fallen  silent.  It  might  work  to  their
advantage  if  their  captors  thought  they  were  still
unconscious.

“Hello gentlemen. Comfy?”
Benny almost held his breath, and neither responded.

One More Wish | Devon Rhodes

“Don‟t bother. I know you‟re awake.” Benny now

recognized the voice he‟d heard right before he‟d been
knocked out. His head spun, and he wasn‟t sure if he‟d been
drugged again or if it was just from his injury.

The backlit form crossed the room to where Benny could

now see Buzz restrained in a sitting position with his back to
a  large  piece  of  equipment.  It  soon  became  clear  from  the
loud  ripping  sound  of  Velcro  disengaging  that  Buzz  was
being released from his restraints. He surreptitiously looked
at his wrists in the improved light and saw wide leather cuffs.
Benny  tried  to  bring  his  hands  together  but  couldn‟t  reach.
Damn it.

“C‟mon. You‟ve been paid for.”
“What about Benny? I‟m not going anywhere without

him. Hey!” Buzz was yanked to his feet by the much larger
man.

“You‟re coming with me. He‟ll get his turn. Let‟s just get

this on.” The man pulled some kind of dark hood over Buzz‟s
head.

Benny‟s mind raced. Just some kind of ransom thing?

He wondered who was paying for Buzz‟s release—maybe Skip,
though  he  didn‟t  have  much  money  right  now.  He  probably
had  access  to  Buzz‟s  accounts,  though,  and  of  course  Rory
and  Pierce  would  help  him  if  needed.  He  tried  to  calm
himself  by  telling  himself  that  they  were  obviously  just
looking  for  money  and  not  out  to  harm  them…  much.  But
still, the sight of Buzz being herded out the door, protesting
loudly all the while, was hard to take.

The sound of the door closing behind them and the lock

reengaging activated his panic button. He struggled and

One More Wish | Devon Rhodes

pulled at his restraints until he‟d broken a sweat, then
finally fell back, tired and cold and shaky.

With nothing else to occupy his time, his mind went to

Curtis. Picturing the man simultaneously comforted him and
made him ache with regret.

I swear if I get out of this okay, I am not letting him put

me off, put us off, any longer. No way.

Benny let the determination he felt give him strength,

and tried to relax and prepare for whatever happened next.

One More Wish | Devon Rhodes

Chapter Six

“

HANK

God you‟re here.” Rory‟s exclamation became

muffled as he buried his face against Jared‟s chest. Jared
clasped his mate to him so tightly he finally began to squirm.

“Where were they last seen?” Curtis asked urgently. Too

many hours had passed for his comfort during the flight to
Salt Lake and drives to and from the airports. Where was
Benny last? his mind cried, but of course he was concerned
about Buzz and Skip too.

Rory knew what he meant, thankfully. “Benny left my

dressing room, I think to go to his own.”

“Take us there.”
The three of them moved quickly down a corridor, and

already Curtis could scent his mate, just a hint. No, not my
mate yet, he corrected sadly, determined to fix that at the
first possible moment.

The building was oddly busy at this time of the night,

but though workers looked at them as they passed, nobody
waylaid  them.  Finally,  they  stopped  at  a  door,  and  Curtis
had  a  very  strong  sense  of  Benny  having  been  here.  His
scent  trail  was  almost  tangible.  Probably  sweating  after  the
show.  The  fact  that  he  likely  didn‟t  shower  before  he
disappeared might make all the difference.

Rory pointed to another door. “That‟s his dressing room.

I assumed that was where he was going when I….” His face
crumpled. “When I told him to leave so I could call Jared,” he

One More Wish | Devon Rhodes

finished in an emotional whisper. Jared pulled him close and
soothed him, but Curtis didn‟t have time to reassure his
uncle‟s mate just then. He walked to the other dressing room
and opened it. No, he hadn‟t been inside. Instead he‟d gone….

“What‟s that room over there?” He pointed as he walked

to the door.

Rory visibly composed himself as he and Jared followed

Curtis,  Jared  letting  Curtis  take  the  lead  since  he  was
obviously  more  in  tune  with  Benny.  “The  staging  room.
That‟s  where  we  all  gathered  right  before  the  show,  to  do
last-minute prep and so all Laurel‟s „sheep‟ are in the same
place.”

The phone calls suddenly sprang to mind. “Is this where

he spoke to me from right before the show?” They walked
inside the empty room. Rory pointed to the back corner.

“Yes, he was sitting on the floor back there.”
Benny‟s scent was all over the room, but almost as if he

could visually see a path, Jared knew he‟d walked to that
corner and then to the mirrored counter. His gaze went to
the door.

“He left this room….” Curtis walked out into the corridor

again,  wishing  the  head  start  Benny‟d  had  didn‟t  seem  so
daunting.  He  turned  right  and  started  moving  down  the
corridors,  not  even  having  to  pause  as  he  made  turn  after
turn.

Coming around one corner, he stopped short, and Jared

and Rory almost ran into him. Skip and Buzz were
embracing on their knees on the floor before them.

“Buzz!” Rory ran toward them, helping them to their feet,

and Jared caught up to his mate with a growl as Curtis also
joined the group.

One More Wish | Devon Rhodes

“Rory! Oh my God. They still have Benny.” Buzz

sounded shaken and distraught.

“Where?” Curtis‟s heart was beating through his chest.
Buzz shook his head. “I don‟t know. Some warehouse

somewhere. I was there with him not too long ago, so it must
be pretty close. They took me out, said I‟d been paid for, and
put this hood on my head. Next thing I knew, I was thrown
in a van with Skip”—he glanced at his lover, who smiled
reassuringly at him, before finishing—“and we drove for a
few minutes until they dumped us out here. Skip got free of
his restraints first and then got me free. We were just trying
to find the way out, and that‟s when you found us.”

Curtis looked around, then took off in the direction

they‟d been headed.

“Wait!” Skip called, obviously upset by the whole ordeal.

“They said they were going to call you with a ransom demand.
Before they brought you out”—he turned from Curtis to
speak to Buzz—“they‟d said your, uh, ransom had been paid
and that they were going to call Curtis for Benny.”

Curtis rejoined the group and frowned. “How would they

even know about me? Wouldn‟t Rory or Les be the logical
ones to call?” He looked at his uncle and saw the speculation
in his eyes, felt his unease.

“I, uh….” Skip swallowed nervously. “They asked who

Benny was dating. And you guys have gotten so tight since
that time you all were at the lodge, I kind of gave them your
name.”

Fuck. He exchanged glances with his uncle, then

mentally shrugged. He‟d pay whatever he had to, to ensure
Benny‟s safe return.

One More Wish | Devon Rhodes

And after Benny was back safe… they’d be the ones

paying.

Checking his phone to make sure it was on, he quickly

directed his uncle, “Call Tom. Have any calls that come in at
the lodge for me forwarded to my cell. I‟m going after them.”
Jared nodded curtly in acknowledgement.

“Careful. Control,” he reminded his nephew with a

meaningful look.

It was Curtis‟s turn to nod, and then he took off down

the hallway.

“Hey!” Skip called once again after him, but he ignored

the human in favor of following Skip and Buzz‟s trail, which
was  paralleling  Benny‟s  scent.  He  found  himself  in  a  big
warehouse-type  room  with  a  tall  ceiling  and  multiple  vans
parked around. Suddenly it hit him. In an arena this big, the
“short  drive”  they‟d  been  on  might  not  have  even  left  the
building.  Hope  began  to  grow  even  as  he  ruthlessly  tried  to
push it down until he had something more concrete to base
his hypothesis on.

The trail diverged at the other end of the room. A van

with  a  ticking,  cooling  engine  was  obviously  the  one  Buzz
and  Skip  had  been  transported  in,  and  he  found  a  set  of
leather  cuffs  and  a  hood  nearby,  supporting  Buzz‟s
recollections.  But  more  promising  was  the  continuation  of
Benny‟s  scent  farther  beyond  this  point…  and  growing
stronger by the second.

Wary of who or what might be waiting for him, he

followed the scent until he came to a locked room. He knew
without question that Benny was inside. He checked—locked.
The only thing holding him back was wondering if it was a
setup or if someone was inside with Benny.

One More Wish | Devon Rhodes

A sound from his left had him moving against the wall.

In the near dark, he could see as if it were day, but hopefully
the  human  approaching  would  not  be  able  to  make  Curtis
out.  It  looked  like  a  maintenance  worker,  dressed  in  dark
pants,  a  blue  work  shirt  with  Roger  stitched  on  the  pocket,
and a jingling string of keys. He walked along without speed,
and  Curtis  figured  he  was  likely  not  involved—not  yet
anyway.

Curtis needed those keys.
He waited until the man was almost upon, him then

froze. Benny‟s scent was coming from this man. Rage
erupted inside Curtis, and he felt the world around him
waver.

No! Don’t shift, not here! a little part of his brain was

screaming at him. Calling upon every scrap of control he‟d
learned, he subdued his drákōn, repressing his inner self.
Something gave him away to the man almost directly in front
of him now, and his head snapped around to the side as he
froze.

Too little, too late.
Curtis seized the man and immediately put him in a

choke hold. He kept the pressure on until the man went limp,
wishing he could break his neck and be done with it—oh, it
was  so  tempting  and  would  be  so  easy,  almost  easier  than
holding  back.  Instead,  he  dragged  the  unconscious  man
back  to  near  the  van,  where  he  secured  him  to  a  security
gate  with  the  leather  cuffs,  before  taking  the  keys  and
running back to the door.

Using his senses to locate the keys most recently

handled from amongst the dozens on the ring, he got lucky
on the second try and opened the door.

One More Wish | Devon Rhodes

Benny was lying on the cement floor, shivering, arms

secured above him with similar cuffs and ankles tied
together with rope. At the sound of the door opening, his
body jerked, then remained tensed, as if faking sleep.

“Benny, it‟s me.” He rushed to his side, ripping the

Velcro cuffs open and gently sitting Benny upright before
undoing his feet. As soon as Benny was freed, Curtis pulled
him onto his lap.

“Curtis, oh my God.” Benny buried his face in Curtis‟s

neck and fiercely returned his embrace, shaking in reaction.

“Let‟s get you out of here.” He stood and easily carried

Benny out of his prison and back toward the equipment bay
where he‟d left “Roger.” Finding Benny‟s assailant still out for
the count, he set Benny on his feet and dialed Jared, who
answered on the first ring. “Curtis?”

“I‟ve got him—Benny‟s okay, and the guy responsible is

unconscious. Call the police. We‟re in some kind of motor
pool or something.”

“We‟ll be right there.” His uncle disconnected, and

Curtis turned his attention to Benny, standing in the curve
of his arm.

“Are you okay? Oh—” Curtis saw the bump on Benny‟s

temple. “That fucker hit you?” A growl rumbled up from the
depths of his chest as he envisioned using the guy‟s head for
a football.

Benny ran his hand down Curtis‟s cheek, pulling his

attention away from the man on the floor. “Don‟t. He‟s not
worth it.” He glanced down at the man and did a double take.
“Oh crap. No way.”

Curtis looked from the stirring man to Benny and back.

“What is it?”

One More Wish | Devon Rhodes

Snapping his gaze up to Curtis, he pulled Curtis farther

away and whispered urgently, “Did Richard escape from
prison? Because I swear it‟s him.”

The danger of the man who‟d discovered their clan‟s

secret  this  summer  being  out  and  free  and  coming  after
Benny  again  hit  Curtis  like  a  blow.  Pulling  Benny  along  by
the  arm,  he  placed  as  much  distance  as  he  could  between
Benny and Richard while still staying within sight of the man.

Gauging them to be at a safe distance, though prison

would have been preferable, Curtis finally answered, “I don‟t
see how that‟s possible. We would have been notified.”

“Unless it just happened. But”—Benny paused—“no, he

couldn‟t  have.  I  mean,  this  was  all  too  well  planned.  Him
having  the  uniform,  maybe  even  actually  working  here.
Knowing  what  room  he  could  use  without  discovery.  The
restraints.  Even  getting  Buzz  down  here  somehow,  then
luring Skip and me down here….” Benny trailed off, an odd
expression crossing his face.

Jared appeared with Rory and continued straight

toward them, though his gaze was on the figure on the floor.

“The police should be here any moment.”
Benny went straight to Rory. “I think it‟s Richard.”
“What?” Rory‟s shocked voice rang out. Benny gathered

him into a hug, and Curtis wasn‟t even jealous. Much.

A groan from the man on the floor punctuated Rory‟s

exclamation. He was pulling against his restraints when four
officers, an equal number of facility workers, and Skip and
Buzz arrived in the room.

Two of the officers questioned Benny and Curtis while

the other two properly cuffed Benny‟s assailant and read him

One More Wish | Devon Rhodes

his rights. EMTs arrived and began checking Benny‟s and
Buzz‟s head injuries.

It was Jared who brought up the subject they were all

wary of. “We‟re afraid that man might be the same one that
assaulted Benny and Curtis this summer, but who is
currently supposed to be imprisoned.”

After checking the ID and running a background check,

Officer MacKay returned to the group. “His last name is the
same, but it‟s Roger, not Richard.”

“He looks just like him,” Rory marveled, and Benny and

Buzz agreed. Roger was assessed by the EMTs, then taken
away by two officers.

Benny still looked thoughtful, a light frown creasing his

brow. Extraordinarily thankful to finally have the green light
to hold Benny, Curtis pulled him into a side-hug and
whispered, “What has you so puzzled?”

Benny glanced over at Buzz and Skip and led Curtis a

bit closer to Jared. “I have a feeling Roger wasn‟t working
alone.”

Jared met Curtis‟s eye over the two bandmates‟ heads.

“Do you mean Buzz and Skip?” Curtis asked Benny, who
looked stricken.

“I don‟t know,” he managed, his belief in the betrayal

showing on his face. “Skip is the one who brought me down
here, saying there was something wrong with Buzz. But why
would Buzz be down here right after a show? And why
wasn‟t Skip being held in the room with us? And Buzz was
released almost right away, just like that.”

“When we got down here, Buzz and Skip were free

together in the hallway.” Rory picked up the thread, looking
horrified.

One More Wish | Devon Rhodes

“And only one set of much lighter restraints for Buzz.

None for Skip that we could see,” Curtis looked over at the
two in question, who had stopped talking and were looking
at the huddled group curiously.

Jared took the bull by the horns, asking clearly across

the space, “Skip, why did you tell the kidnapper Curtis was
the one he should call for the ransom?” This caught Officer
MacKay‟s attention, and he walked over quietly.

His gaze flickering nervously from man to man as they

approached him and Buzz, Skip stammered, “I, he asked me
who would pay the most, come up with the most money for
Benny, and….”

“That doesn‟t make sense. Why would he ask you and

not Benny himself? And Curtis is just a twenty-five-year-old
who works at a resort, while the band members would have
access to more.”

“Curtis has money. Lots…,” Skip unthinkingly protested.
Buzz cut in, his voice so flat and unnaturally somber he

didn‟t  even  sound  like  the  same  man.  “How  would  you
know? And what you just said Roger asked is not what you
said  earlier.  Then,  you  said  Roger  wanted  to  know  who
Benny was dating.” Buzz was stiff as he stepped away from
Skip  and  faced  him  dead-on.  “You  betrayed  us  for  money?
All the years we‟ve been together, and you sold me out? Sold
my best friends out? I know you‟re not working. If you were
that hard up, why didn‟t you just ask me for—”

Skip interrupted venomously, “Because I‟m a man, not

your bitch. Okay? I don‟t want you to support me. When
Richard‟s brother said I could make some big money and all
I had to do was get Curtis here, I….” Skip trailed off as he
finally seemed to realize what he was admitting. He began to

One More Wish | Devon Rhodes

sweat and turned a deep red. Curtis could almost hear his
heart hammering in his chest. When he made a break for it,
pushing Buzz aside and bolting toward one of the exits,
Curtis snagged his arm easily and none too gently, furious at
his mate being used as bait to draw him out.

Officer MacKay took over from him and placed Skip

under arrest.

Eventually the band and their supporters were left alone

with requests to come to the station to give official
statements later that morning.

Buzz looked as if he was about to shatter into a million

pieces. Rory looked at Benny and they moved as one to take
Buzz into a three-way hug.

“I‟m so sorry.”
“It‟s not your fault, Buzz,” Benny reassured him gently.

“Come on, let‟s go back to the hotel. We have a busy day
ahead before we catch up with Pierce and the crew.”

Buzz sighed and acquiesced to being led. “At least all

three of them are behind bars now. Everyone will be safe
now that this is over.”

Curtis silently disagreed. They had work to do to find

out whether Richard and his accomplices were acting on
their own, or had involved a third party—who knew about
his clan‟s existence as well as their weaknesses. His eyes cut
to Benny and Rory.

Benny looked up at Curtis, and Curtis could read the

relief tinged with apprehension there. He didn‟t need the
mating bond to know that Benny was also wondering if it
was really over. And if they‟d ever be entirely safe.

One More Wish | Devon Rhodes

Chapter Seven

ACK

in his room, finally alone with Curtis, Benny wished

fruitlessly that the first night they would spend together—
what was left of it—could have been different.

Not having to deal with a head injury, being kidnapped,

talking with the police, watching Buzz‟s poor heart break,
and having most of the night already gone would have been a
much better start.

But they were finally behind a closed door alone—

together.

He wasn‟t going to waste the moment, flawed though it

was.

Starting with one of his strengths—performing in front

of an audience—Benny slowly parted the vest he wore before
shrugging it off his shoulders. He caught it lightly on the tips
of his fingers before tossing it aside.

Glancing up from under his lashes, he could see that he

had Curtis‟s undivided attention now.

Though—really—when didn‟t he?
Crossing to the ottoman, he perched on the edge and

unfastened the buckles running up the side of his black
knee-high boots—first one, then the other—before slipping
them off along with his socks. Left in just his leather pants,
he debated for a moment about just how much he wanted to
tease Curtis, who was staring at him with the most heated,
lustful expression he could imagine.

One More Wish | Devon Rhodes

Without removing his gaze from Curtis, he undid the top

button  then  the  next  until  his  black  jock  was  displayed.
Then  he  started  to  slide  his  pants  off.  It  took  some  major
wiggling  due  to  the  sweat  he‟d  worked  up.  Once  the  waist
was  past  his  hips,  he  turned  around  to  finish  the  process
facing  away  from  Curtis,  but  still  able  to  see  him  in  the
reflection  of  the  mirror.  Arching  a  bit,  he  bent  over  to  give
Curtis a good show as he pushed the pants to the floor, then
stepped out.

By now, Benny‟s jock was barely concealing his nearly

full erection. It was at this point that Curtis decide to return
tit for tat, only Curtis-style. He pulled his shirt over his head
and  tossed  it  aside  in  one  sweeping,  impatient  movement.
Benny‟s jaw literally dropped at the bounty before him. Deep,
muscular  chest,  broad  shoulders,  well-defined  arms  almost
the  size  of  Benny‟s  thighs,  and  an  abdomen  that  made
Benny want to do moguls.

Curtis‟s V-cut was etched hard into his lower body,

drawing  the  eye  eagerly  downward  to  where  the  man‟s  long
fingers  were  making  quick  work  of  the  fastenings  of  his
pants.  He  toed  off  his  shoes,  then  lost  pants  and  socks  in
one fell swoop.

And he had gone commando.
“Shower.” It was nothing less than a growled command,

and Benny shivered in anticipation.

“Together?” he invited and got his answer when Curtis

abruptly knelt before him and yanked his jock down, then on
the way back up caught him up over one shoulder and
hauled him into the bathroom.

Placed gently back on the floor, Benny passed the time

while Curtis adjusted the temperature and spray by running

One More Wish | Devon Rhodes

admiring  hands  over  the  twisting  and  flexing  muscles  of
Curtis‟s  smooth  back.  “Mmm.”  Benny  let  his  hands  trace
farther down over the rock-hard globes of his ass. “Wow. You
are  just  solid.”  He  poked  one  cheek  experimentally,  hard,
and barely made a dent.

Curtis‟s eyebrow rose as he glanced back over his

shoulder. Benny grinned at him, and Curtis chuckled before
ushering him into the shower.

They took their time learning each other‟s forms,

running  eager  hands  over  every  part  of  each  other‟s  wet,
soap-slick  bodies—except  for  the  part  standing  proud  and
begging  to  be  touched.  By  the  time  they  were  clean,  the
teasing  mood  had  passed  into  something  more  intense  and
needy, and finally Benny couldn‟t take anymore.

He‟d never toweled off so fast in his life, and Curtis

caught  his  urgency  and  gave  himself  a  lick  and  a  promise.
Ohh,  a  lick.  Benny  watched  greedily  as  several  rivulets  of
moisture raced down the dips of Curtis‟s abs, and he bent to
catch  the  drops  on  his  tongue,  prompting  a  groan  from
Curtis as his hand landed undemandingly on Benny‟s head.
The fingers twined into Benny‟s wet hair almost roughly, and
a tug brought his gaze up to Curtis.

“Let‟s go to bed. I want to do this right.”
Benny nodded as Curtis‟s hold loosened and turned into

a caress. “Yes. I want this. I want you. All of you. Everything
that you are.”

Curtis‟s heart soared at the words, even though he knew

Benny  didn‟t  fully  realize  what  the  scope  of  his  wish
comprised.  Deciding  to  save  the  more  detailed  explanations
for  later,  he  instead  warned,  “You  need  to  know  that  when

One More Wish | Devon Rhodes

we do this, I‟m not going to want to let you go. Ever.” His
drákōn rumbled its assent.

At that moment he knew he would never—even

accidently—hurt the human mate fate had seen fit to give to
him.  All  this  time,  Curtis  had  been  holding  himself  back
from  the  experience  of  his  first  time  with  a  comparatively
fragile human, afraid he wouldn‟t know his own strength or
would somehow lose control and hurt or frighten Benny. But
he‟d  sooner  die  than  harm  his  man.  That  firm  knowledge
coupled with Benny‟s verbal acceptance meant their mating
was happening tonight… starting now.

A slow, hot smile curved Benny‟s lips as he answered,

“That sounds about perfect. Because I‟m going to be holding
on to you for just as long.” He sobered again and dropped his
gaze. “I didn‟t think you would ever be ready for this.” He
gave a short huff of laughter. “It was enough to make a poor
guy wonder. I was starting to doubt whether you found me
sexy anymore.”

Oh hell no. He pulled Benny‟s hand to his straining

erection.  “Feel  this  and  tell  me  I  don‟t  think  you‟re  the
sexiest  man  on  the  planet.”  He  bit  his  lower  lip  and  broke
out  in  a  sweat  as  Benny  took  his  challenge  a  step  further
and  stroked  him,  applying  an  insanely  perfect  amount  of
friction.

“You may have a point.” Benny gave him a saucy wink,

sinking to his knees. “My mistake.”

Curtis threw his head back on a gasp as Benny‟s hot

mouth closed around the sensitive head of his cock, molding
his  lips  around  his  glans  and  then  sliding  down  his  shaft
before  drawing  back  up  with  a  heart-stopping  amount  of
suction.  He  set  a  rhythm  Curtis  both  praised  and  cursed.

One More Wish | Devon Rhodes

Looking down, he watched the arousing visual of those
perfect lips on his shaft as long as he could.

“My turn,” he declared. Benny pulled off with a pop and

backed toward the bed, scooting across the mattress until he
was  laid  out  wantonly,  inviting  Curtis  to  plunder  at  will,
which  he  did,  at  length.  He  learned  Benny‟s  cock  with  his
mouth  and  tongue  before  exploring  and  preparing  his
entrance to the helpless tossing and groaned encouragement
of his partner.

Curtis gazed warmly at the flushed and aroused form

before him and shook his head in wonderment. How he‟d
ended up with the mate of his dreams was beyond him. All
he knew was, he was going to make sure to repay the karma
that brought Benny to his lodge and into his life… to stay.
For as long as it took.

Forever.
He gave his erection one last stroke of lube before

reentering Benny‟s hole with his slicked fingers. “You ready,
babe? And it‟s up to you whether you want me to use a
condom. We can‟t catch or transmit anything, but if you feel
more comfortable….”

“I trust you. And I want… ungh… to do it all with you.

Including feeling you come inside me.” Benny looked
decadent as all get-out as he rode Curtis‟s fingers while he
gasped out his challenge.

In a smooth motion, he withdrew his fingers and placed

the head of his cock where he most wanted to be and, with
slow steady pressure, popped the rim just inside. “Good?”

Benny could only nod, breathing long deep breaths as

his body adjusted to Curtis. Curtis waited for the viselike
grip to loosen, signaling Benny‟s readiness for more. Then he

One More Wish | Devon Rhodes

slid slowly inside before pulling back just a bit, then
farther—rocking his way inside the heavenly grip of Benny‟s
passage until he was fully seated.

He savored the complete possession of his mate, the

sense of coming home and the feelings between them. The….

“Love,” he finished aloud. His gaze locked on to Benny‟s

dark, widening eyes. “I love you, Benny. My life. My mate.”

“Yes! Oh God, I love you too.” Benny surged upward, no

longer just meeting Curtis‟s thrusts, but demanding them. A
hand went to his own erection, lying red and seeping against
his abdomen, and Curtis batted his hand away, taking
Benny in his grip, stroking in time with the movement of his
hips.

Curtis felt the tightening around his shaft an instant

before Benny‟s neck arched impossibly and he cried out. He
slowed his motion just a bit to gently fuck Benny through his
climax  before  he  gave  in  to  the  overwhelming  pressure  and
went  over  the  edge,  spilling  into  Benny‟s  warm  depths.  He
held hard against Benny as his cock pulsed time and again,
before  collapsing  on  and  just  to  the  side  of  Benny  in  total
repletion.

“If you ever again tell me I can‟t come to you because

you‟re busy training, I‟m just going to ignore you.” Benny‟s
voice was low and satisfied and thoroughly fucked-out. It
was the most beautiful sound Curtis had ever heard.

“Ignore away. I‟ll admit it—I‟m an idiot.”
Benny smiled, his dark eyes warm with emotion and

humor. “Not an idiot. You were just trying to protect me from
the big, bad side of you. Right?”

Curtis nodded, lips twitching at his mate‟s description.

He doesn’t even know how big and bad yet.

One More Wish | Devon Rhodes

So why don’t you tell me, then?
Curtis blinked as the mating bond kicked in… with nary

a freak-out on Benny‟s part. This doesn’t bother you?

Why would it bother me? Don’t forget, my voice is

valuable. If I can talk to you in my head, just think of all the
extra rest it’ll get. Benny‟s eyes twinkled at him teasingly.

“Good point,” he rumbled out loud. Then he

remembered the song and admitted, “Speaking of which,
Buzz sent me a bootleg of you singing „Calling You‟ last night.
He shot the video from the behind you, but….”

“Oh.” Benny flushed as he looked away, then back. “I

wrote that for you. And the dedication… well, it was just all
for you. And Jared,” he added. “But from Rory, of course.”

Curtis‟s already content soul thrilled to the confirmation

of Benny‟s commitment, and his rambling was just sweet. “I
was hoping you had. Thanks for being patient with me. I
was… worried about our first time. I didn‟t want to cause
anything to happen to you.”

“You would never hurt me,” Benny declared loyally.

Then he grinned. “Unless of course I asked for just a smidge
of pain with our play.”

The sated drákōn within roared its approval of the

images that conjured, of Benny over his lap or restrained as
Curtis sensually tormented him.

I caught some of that. Mmm. Benny smiled wickedly at

Curtis before leaning over him to grab the covers and pull
them up. He turned back to Curtis with a questioning look.

So anyway, the mental conversation I get. But what’s

this about a dragon?

About the Author

EVON

HODES

started reading and writing at a young age

and  never  looked  back.  After  a  creatively  sapping  career  in
the business world, she gratefully took some time off to be at
home.  At  thirty-nine  and  holding,  Devon  finally  figured  out
the best way to channel her midlife crisis was to morph from
mild-mannered stay-at-home mom to erotic romance writer.
She lives in Oregon with her husband and two girls, who are
(mostly)  understanding  of  all  the  time  she  spends  on  her
laptop, aka the black hole.
Visit her web site at

http://www.devonrhodes.com

and her blog at

http://devonrhodes.blogspot.com/

You can contact her at

devonrhodes@hotmail.com

Paranormal Romance from

REAMSPINNER

RESS

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the
authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead,
business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Cover Art by Paul Richmond

http://www.paulrichmondstudio.com

This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is
illegal and a violation of International Copyright Law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon
conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. This eBook cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No
part of this eBook can be shared or reproduced without the express permission of the Publisher. To
request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press at: 382 NE 191st Street
#88329, Miami, FL 33179-3899, USA

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/

Released in the United States of America
September 2011

eBook Edition
eBook ISBN: 978-1-61372-111-7

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