The Altered (18 page)

“You need to
stop.” He groaned as Jordan pushed into him one more time and then
took a big step backwards, putting some much needed space between
them. “Jordan,” Daniel hissed, hastily stepping forward again and
kissing him as a young couple walked by. As soon as they’d passed,
he pulled back enough to see the thoroughly confused look on
Jordan’s face. “Your teeth,” Daniel whispered, then licked at his
own canines to press his point.

Jordan’s eyes
went wide, and he made a soft noise of understanding. He looked
down at the ground, shaking his head a little as though to clear
it. When he raised his head and showed Daniel his teeth, they were
back to normal.

“Much
better.”

“God,” Jordan
rubbed at his mouth, his fingers catching on his bottom lip, and
Daniel found it difficult to look away. “I never even noticed.”

He still
appeared wrecked—hair sticking up all over the place and lips red
and puffy. Daniel had never wanted anyone as much as he did Jordan
at that moment.

Jordan
breathed in deep, and a soft groan escaped him as he exhaled. When
he spoke, his voice had a gravelly edge to it. “You smell so good,
I can’t hold it in. I want to….” He snapped his mouth shut and
grabbed Daniel’s hand.

Jordan shoved
the other one in his jacket pocket, and Daniel said nothing about
the five claw tips pricking into his skin, he just held on tight
and grasped Jordan’s hand close to his thigh, out of sight.

They didn’t
speak on the journey to Jordan’s house. Jordan kept his mouth
firmly closed the whole time, and Daniel did his best to try and
not smell as though he was desperate for sex. Which was sort of
impossible with Jordan standing next to him looking wild and
incredibly hot.

It was the
longest Tube ride of Daniel’s life.

Well, it felt
like it, anyway, and by the time they got to Jordan’s stop, Daniel
was ready to run the rest of the way—anything to get them there
quicker.

He yelped in
surprise as Jordan marched out of the train doors as soon as they
opened, dragging Daniel with him.

“Sorry,”
Jordan muttered when Daniel almost tripped getting off. He didn’t
slow his pace or let go of Daniel’s hand, and Daniel stumbled a
little trying to keep up.

“God, slow
down, or I’m going to break something.” Daniel yanked hard on
Jordan’s arm, forcing him to stop, and Jordan turned back, crowding
Daniel up against the wall of the Tube station. They garnered some
strange looks, but thankfully it was still the tail end of rush
hour, and people were more concerned with getting home after a day
at work. Even so, Daniel would have preferred to be doing this in
the privacy of Jordan’s house.

Jordan had his
head tucked in the crook of Daniel’s neck, breathing in and out in
a steady rhythm, his chest expanding against Daniel on each
inhale.

“Jordan?”

“Just give me
a minute” came the muffled reply, and
oh shit
, that meant
Jordan’s fangs were fully out. No way would he be able to hide
them.

Daniel’s
stomach dropped. “What’s wrong? Are we in danger?” He fumbled to
get his phone out to call the others, but Jordan shook his
head.

“No, sorry,
it’s nothing like that. It’s just….” Jordan’s teeth brushed against
the side of Daniel’s neck, sending a shiver down his spine. “Fuck,
your smell… I need to….” He paused to tuck his hands around
Daniel’s back. Daniel felt the prod of claws through his jacket.
“There’s other altereds in the station. Full shifters.”

“Where?”
Daniel straightened as best he could with Jordan draped over him,
and he darted looks around the station to see if he could spot
them. “I haven’t seen any.”

“You won’t.”
Jordan shook his head a little. “I can smell them, but they won’t
come near me while I’m—”

He mumbled
something into Daniel’s neck, too quiet for Daniel to catch. Daniel
nudged him with his shoulder. “While you’re what?”

“Nothing.”

“No, come on.
Tell me. While you’re…?”

Jordan let out
a resigned sigh and turned his head slightly, presumably so Daniel
could hear him better. “Full shifters emit a scent when
they—
ugh
this is embarrassing, can we just not?”

Daniel
grinned, certain Jordan could feel him doing it. “No way, I
definitely want to know now.”

“I hate you so
much.”

Daniel laughed
softly and prodded Jordan in the ribs. “Spill.”

“Fine. When we
have strong feelings about someone and want to fuck them, we emit
this scent that tells other altereds in the area to back the fuck
off. But it can trigger the change too.”

Okay
,
Daniel didn’t know which part of that sentence to address
first.

The last part
was clearly a problem because they didn’t need Jordan shifting in
the middle of the station. But Jordan having strong feelings for
him? And wanting to fuck him? That sounded a lot like a—

“Daniel?”

“Is this a
claiming thing? Because I thought that was just another load of
bollocks, like the mates thing.”

Jordan
groaned, and Daniel cursed under his breath.

“I don’t
know,” Jordan answered, sounding far less slurred than he had
before.

His fangs must
have retracted. Daniel wasn’t surprised—the turn in conversation
had definitely taken care of his hard-on.

The thought of
being “claimed” by Jordan—while objectively hot in a caveman sort
of way—rang alarm bells in Daniel’s head. His whole body tensed,
and the way Jordan surrounded him suddenly seemed oppressive.
Daniel had to fight back the urge to push him off and get some
space. But that would have put them both in danger if Jordan’s
claws were still out.

Jordan seemed
to notice the change in Daniel’s mood. He kept his hands behind
Daniel’s back but moved away a little, giving him as much space as
possible.

Whatever
Daniel felt must have been clear to see, because when Jordan lifted
his head to look at him, his whole face fell.

“Don’t do
that,” Jordan pleaded. “I know what you’re thinking, and you’re
wrong.”

“Am I?”

“Yes. I want
to fuck you, and I can’t hide the fact that I have feelings for
you, but you knew that, anyway.” He bit his lip “After the pathogen
changed me, I can’t… I can’t help the way my body reacts sometimes,
and you should know that better than anyone.”

Daniel felt a
sharp stab of guilt, because Jordan was right. He did know what it
was like to have no control over his body. He’d eventually learned
how over the years, but it hadn’t been easy. Fuck, he knew he had a
major chip on his shoulder, but he needed to stop taking it out on
Jordan if they were ever going to get anywhere.

“I don’t want
to claim you like you’re some trophy, something to own,” Jordan
whispered. “But I do want you to be mine.
Please
, Daniel,
come home with me, so I can show you.”

It was the
please
that did it. The tension in Daniel melted away, and
he cupped Jordan’s face in both hands. “Yeah, okay.”

Jordan closed
his eyes, and his breath left him in a big rush as though he’d been
holding it in, waiting on Daniel’s answer. Daniel pulled him into a
quick kiss, swallowing his noise of surprise and lingering just
enough for Jordan to feel they were okay again—or would be as soon
as they left the station for somewhere more private.

“Are you good
to go?” Daniel asked. Jordan nodded, pulling his hands from behind
Daniel’s back and flexing his fingers. “Then lead the way.”

Jordan smiled
softly and took Daniel’s hand in his. This time they walked side by
side—all the excitement and desire still bubbling under the
surface, but the desperate urgency now gone from Jordan’s body.

Daniel wanted
him more than ever.

Jordan managed
to keep it together until they reached his house and he could get
them both inside. He was annoyed with himself and more than a
little embarrassed about what had happened at the station. One
second he’d been fine, but then the doors had opened, and the smell
of other shifters nearby had hit him.

It had never
been quite that bad before—the need to protect what was his and
warn any prospective challengers away. Instinct kicked in way too
fast, and Jordan was blindsided by the force of it. All he could
manage was to push Daniel up against the wall and hide his teeth
and his hands.

He’d nearly
fucked things up, and the fact that Daniel was still with
him—looking on curiously as Jordan leaned against the door—was
nothing short of amazing.

“You okay?”
Daniel asked, stepping closer. He’d taken off his gloves, coat and
shoes already while Jordan had been
having his moment
, and
the dark blue shirt he wore fitted him far too snugly for Jordan’s
peace of mind. The thought of anyone else seeing him like that had
Jordan’s hackles rising, but he had enough sense not to say any of
that out loud. Instead, he licked his lips and smiled. “That colour
looks good on you. It matches your eyes.”

Daniel
blushed. “Thanks.”

It did,
though. Jordan wasn’t lying. He reached up and ran his hand through
Daniel’s hair, and the silvery-blond strands felt soft against his
fingers. “I love this too.” Jordan noticed his blush got
deeper.

“An
aftereffect of the pathogen—it used to be brown.”

“Really?”
Jordan twisted it between his fingers, trying to picture Daniel
with darker hair, but finding it difficult. He knew being
susceptible to the pathogen sometimes meant physical appearances
changed too, but such a drastic one must have been hard to
hide.

Daniel,
apparently sensing where Jordan’s mind had gone, sighed and tugged
his hair free of Jordan’s grasp. “Yep. Not something you can
explain away easily. That’s why we… we had to leave quickly.”

Jordan had an
overwhelming feeling of sadness wash over him, and when he met
Daniel’s gaze, Daniel’s expression was one of heartache and loss.
“What happened?”

Daniel rubbed
at his eyes. “Can we not do this now?” He gestured down where there
was still a sizeable bulge in his trousers. “By some miracle I’m
still hard—well, mostly—and if we start talking about this, that’s
gonna change, and there’ll be no getting it back.” He rolled his
shoulders and took a deep breath. “We can ask each other anything
later. God knows I’ve got a long list for you, but right now—” He
placed his hand on Jordan’s cheek and stroked his thumb across his
bottom lip. Jordan nipped at it, his teeth too sharp to be human.
“—I need you to do what you promised.”

Jordan
swallowed, the words he’d said earlier coming back to him with a
jolt. He kicked his shoes off, let his jacket slip off his arms
onto the floor in the hallway, and backed Daniel up against the
wall. “I can do that,” he whispered, dipping his head to run his
nose along the column of Daniel’s throat. “Hmm… so good.” Daniel’s
scent mixed with a strong hint of arousal was enough to drive
Jordan crazy on its own, but now that Daniel was in his home, he
smelled of that too, and Jordan had to stop himself from stripping
Daniel naked right there in the hallway.

Not only would
Keira kill him, but the hall wasn’t exactly the most comfortable of
places. Jordan wanted to take his time. He thought about getting
Daniel in his bed, under his sheets, and growled softly. “I can
make you smell even better.”

Jordan walked
over to the bottom of the stairs and held out his hand. “Come on.
Let me show you.”

He led Daniel
up the stairs, hand clasped tightly in his, neither of them
speaking until they reached the door to Jordan’s bedroom, one floor
above the other two. “After you,” he said, holding the door open
and ushering Daniel in.

Daniel stopped
just inside the doorway. “Wow.” He looked around the large space,
taking it all in. Any other day Jordan would have been happy to
give him a tour of the house and explain about how his bedroom used
to be two rooms until he took out the dividing wall. But Daniel was
in his home, his room, and the only thing Jordan could focus on was
his huge bed over by the far wall and how best to get Daniel into
it.

Daniel walked
a little farther inside, and Jordan followed to stand behind him,
hooking his chin on Daniel’s shoulder and wrapping his arms around
his waist.

“That’s a big
bed.” Daniel tilted his head to the side when Jordan started
kissing his neck.

“I need a lot
of room.” Jordan let his fangs slide all the way out, sighing
happily at the feeling of letting go. He scraped his teeth lightly
over Daniel’s skin, loving the way it sent a shiver through
Daniel’s body.

He didn’t
press down hard, not daring to leave a mark on Daniel’s pale skin
after the way he’d reacted before at his own house. No matter how
appealing it was.

“Mmm….”

Daniel pushed
his arse back, rubbing it into Jordan’s erection, and Jordan nearly
bit down, anyway. He pulled back before his fangs broke the skin,
but Daniel still flinched.

“Ow.”

“Sorry.” His
words were slightly slurred, and Daniel immediately turned in his
arms.

Daniel raised
an eyebrow. “Did you just bite me?”

“Are you
surprised?” Jordan wiggled his hips, brushing up against Daniel’s
cock and making him gasp. “See, that’s what happens when you rub on
someone’s dick.” He retracted his teeth enough to close his mouth.
“I’ll be more careful next time.”

Daniel
immediately shook his head. “No.”

“No?”

Jordan glanced
down as Daniel took one of Jordan’s hands and traced over the ends
of his fingers.

“You don’t
have to hold back with me.” Daniel licked his lips then lifted
Jordan’s hand toward his mouth. “I know what you are.”

He drew
Jordan’s thumb slowly in, and Jordan shuddered. Daniel’s mouth was
hot and wet. He sucked on Jordan’s thumb, stroking the pad with his
tongue, before pulling off with a loud pop.