Trowa tried to watch Duo’s unconscious form dispassionately as he listened to the others talk. The young man’s shoulder and neck were heavily bandaged. He’d lost a lot of blood. The sheets were clean, though, and all signs of last night were gone. Except for the cuts, bruises, and Duo’s throat. To make matters worse, Duo was sleeping on his stomach with his hands firmly tied behind his back.
No one knew what the pilot would do when he regained consciousness. Heero had really screwed up last night. That’s was all the discussion was about in the other room.
It wasn’t Heero’s fault really. They had visited a zoo yesterday. Just a day of fun for five guys who desperately needed it.
Unfortunately, a female panther at the zoo had been in heat. Her scent drove Heero into full mating mode. Everyone but poor Duo had recognized what was going on. They should’ve known better than to let Heero do this on his own. The man was past the regular age for finding a life-mate. The Perfect Soldier simply hadn’t been able to control his animal side once it gained freedom. Trowa absently wondered if Treize would survive Wufei’s claiming him.
Trowa knew from experience that the pairing could be very painful. Quatre had claimed him little over a year ago. The memory still sent shivers down his spine. Whether they were of fear or desire, Trowa still didn’t know.
Quatre had come to him on the night of a full moon. His eyes glowed with an inner fire that actually had frightened Trowa. Before the pilot of Heavyarms knew what was happening, he’d found himself face down on Quatre’s bed. The gentle blond’s hands roamed over his body.
Quatre asked Trowa to stay with him forever. Trowa agreed and then it got weird. With strength beyond his slim form, Quatre pushed Trowa’s face into a pillow. Claws had lightly roamed over his chest, scratching and playing with his nipples until Trowa had been moaning and trying desperately to get free. The combination of pain and pleasure, not to mention being restrained, proved to be too much for him to take.
Low growls filled the air and Trowa’s clothes had been torn away. Something that felt like fur tickled the tall pilot’s back. A husky scent reached his noise and Trowa recognized it as that of a lion. But what would a lion be doing in his room? Knowing something was wrong, Trowa tried to lever himself off the pillow. Quatre’s response was to grab both his arms in one hand and pin them to Trowa’s
back.
Starting to really worry, Trowa increased his struggles and voiced his protests to the pillow. If Quatre heard him, the blond made no sign. Instead of freeing Trowa, the Arabian pushed a finger inside him. The finger was too large to be little Quatre’s and it felt like...Trowa really began to struggle. All the things he was feeling, hearing, and smelling could only mean one thing, but it had to be impossible.
"Damn, it, Trowa. You’re forcing me to go faster than I wanted," a rough voice growled behind him. "You agreed. You said yes." The last part held a kind of desperation. As if the speaker was trying to convince himself more than remind the pinned man what he had said.
Trowa used all his considerable strength, but couldn’t get free. When the fingers left him, fear replaced Trowa’s blood. He knew what came next. With a muffled yell the tall pilot began to fight like his life depended on it. None of it mattered. Quatre’s strength seemed supernatural, and looking back on it, Trowa knew it was.
Quatre entered him slowly; probably trying not to hurt his partner. The normally stoic pilot screamed into the pillow as wave after wave of pain washed over him. Any further struggling would make things worse, so Trowa forced himself to relax. It wasn’t easy; he knew what was behind him.
After an eternity of pain had passed, Quatre found a rhythm and pleasure gradually replaced agony. A furry, clawed had brought Trowa erect and the two men came at the same time.
"I’m sorry I hurt you, beloved. It’s just that I need you so badly." Soft, wet fur caressed Trowa’s back near his neck. Sharp fangs sank into the juncture of Trowa’s neck and shoulder. Something like electricity coursed through him and then he lost consciousness.
A soft moan from the bound figure on the bed brought Trowa back to the present. Heero should be here to explain things to Duo the way Quatre had to him. However, with what happened last night, it would be awhile before Duo would allow Heero near him again. The pilot of Shinigami would take Heero back. The pairing had been successful; they’d all felt the magic. Duo no longer had a choice in the matter.
Quatre had told him the whole story. Wufei, Heero, and Quatre’s doctors wanted to combine their pilots with certain animal qualities; unfortunately, all the other human experiments didn’t survive the experience. Not wanting to risk the pilots, the doctors had found another way. Magic.
The three boys had been drugged and tied inside separate pentagrams. Using shamanistic magic, the men summoned three separate animal spirits. The doctors then gave the animal spirits a choice: possess the boys or die. The fools never did realize what they’d done. While the boys got extra speed, strength, and several other gifts, they came at a price.
The boys grew up and discovered that they became their animal spirits when they had sex. In addition, the animal spirits mated for life.
Worse yet, the longer the pilots waited to find a lifemate, the more feral they would become during the pairing and the more they would be driven to find a mate. Surprisingly, they had found their mates without too much trouble.
Quatre found Trowa; Heero found Duo, and poor Wufei found Treize. It must have been quite a shock for the proud pilot to find his lifemate was also his enemy. Quatre and Trowa had it easiest. Turned out that Trowa had an animal spirit naturally and it was the lion.
A great match for Quatre’s lion. Things were more complicated for the others. Heero was a panther and Duo...well Duo a miracle unto himself.
After many attempts to determine what Duo had, a psychic had given the four men the shock of their lives by telling them that Duo Maxwell was exactly what he claimed. Sort of. Duo held the power of death inside and was in some way related to death. Most likely a grandson. Now that the pairing was complete, they had to worry about how that power would manifest.
Wufei didn’t know what Treize was, but he knew time was running out. The longer he waited the worse it would be for both men.
There was no way he would allow what happened to Heero to become his fate. A second moan signaled Duo’s return to consciousness.
Trowa watched the young pilot try to move his arms, find them bound, and then settle down to search his memory, all without opening his eyes. Several seconds later, Duo’s violet eyes flew open, panic filling them. Eventually, after searching the room, they settled on Trowa and Duo relaxed a little. Trowa surmised it was because Heero wasn’t there.
"It’s going to be alright, Duo. I promise."
With a sigh, Duo closed his eyes. "You too, huh?"
"Quatre," Trowa confirmed. For several minutes, the longhaired man was silent. Unease filled Trowa. Duo should be doing something. Yelling, screaming, pleading, something. This had to work out somehow. Without Duo, Heero would waste away and die.
Duo opened his eyes finally and faced Trowa. He seemed very calm. "Trowa," he began, "please kill me."
Shit.