Upside Down (COMPLETE) Inside Out, Book 2 [BoyxBoy]

Colby

Colby West got it all figured out in the last minute.

Going back-and-forth from the SWAT headquarters to La Cove hadn't been easy. He also didn't expect to be working on a case to capture Vutoir's clan in the residence—well, this place had been nothing but his summer vacation spot.

Running background checks on Keith was also another thing he never thought would be complicated, especially after realizing about his dead father who'd also been in Vutoir's hunt list. And he was quite lucky, too. One glance at Keith's old phone wallpaper had brought him to the big surprise.

Everything might be a game of coincidence, but he figured it was also the Divination's strategic ways of solving things. Not that Colby was religious or devoted to it, but looking at the ones who found mating bond this summer, or sensed a Pairing, everything shaped into what seemed like a tactical plan. From Claire with Anthony, and to their sons getting hooked up on each other, it all led to this place, where all the bad guys ended up in.

But the Changed one still threw him off, to be honest.

Colby couldn't really blame him, though. He saw him grow up hating it so much, full of disgust, always on a brink of ending himself at the thought of being a cursed werewolf. Yes, it was some kind of a curse, because you weren't born with it—instead, the venom of another lycanthrope transformed you out of your will. And the scar remained only to connect you to your biter ... not everyone could simply live with that forever.

But he had something in mind.

Maybe it was the Holy Destiny's plan that formed his plan, having all those feelings in the past, and for it to lead to this situation ...

It was going to be a sacrifice, though. And Colby was terrified of it.

He entered the house, already seeing Ivan clawing onto Keith in the hallway of the house. Everyone else was unconscious there. Colby considered his wand, but realized that it would be easier to take Ivan down if he got caught off guard.

"I can't wait to get rid of you ..." was what Ivan said when Colby landed his knee on his back hard.

Ivan rolled to the ground at first, separated by his wand. That meant he was less powerful. Colby seized this chance by going at him, landing on top of his torso, throwing his fist across Ivan's jaw.

"You fucking bitch," Ivan growled. "Stay out of my business—"

"Not when you can't keep your hands off my friends, pal." Colby breathed in, pulled his head back, and slammed it onto Ivan's. It sent him spinning, but he knew how to recollect his composure. That wasn't the case for Ivan.

He staggered and hesitated, trying to find his wand. Colby kept going at him, throwing kicks and punches, mostly because he didn't know how to initiate what he had planned.

Ivan slid down and shoved Colby to fall to the floor.

He knew Ivan was already reaching for the wand next. But Colby acted fast—he pulled out his own, and muttered out a spell, "Invalia!"

Ivan's movement was caught in slow-motion, and Colby came to dive right again at him, sending Ivan pinned to the floor, their bodies on top of each other. Colby felt the heat rising in his face, but he resisted it. Not the best moment to be shy now ...

"Get—of—me!" Ivan said. "West—get the fuck out!"

"I can't," Colby said, pressing further. "I've warned you, Fickler."

"I just need his heart!" Ivan said. "I'm fucking tired."

"I know," Colby said. "It doesn't have to be this way."

"There's no other fucking way!" Ivan said. "You'll never understand!"

Unless there was another way.

Colby kept on pressing Ivan in place, and he focused on the scar. It was two diminutive circles right near his collarbone—it'd be pink in normal days, but would redden under the full moon, forcing the cursed wolf to transform unwillingly. Under the moonlight was when their senses would be maximized, allowing them to track their biter with no limits of distance. This was supposed to allow them to undo the curse, only by swallowing pieces of their beating heart.

But Keith was a good friend of his, so the other way had to be the way.

Colby felt a jerk from Ivan who stayed beneath him, when he dived and locked their lips together.

This was a gamble, because he wasn't sure if the bond was there. Wizards and magicians had it a little different than the werewolves; they called it the Pairing Effect. The catch was mating bonds would bloom with strong, sincere feelings that had been continuously developing over time.

All those years of training, Colby adored Fickler. It broke his heart when they parted ways. It hurt when Fickler chose the other path, forcing both of them to be on opposite ends.

The spark came, but a little slow. Colby felt Ivan resisting, but he kept on pushing harder, pressing his lips around in different motions, taking turns to go both hard and gentle.

He knew the bond was there when Ivan pushed back.

It was undeniably there, so much that Ivan had all the energy enough to rise smoothly, now in a sitting position to lock Colby's face in place. He buried his face deeper in Colby, and now there was tongue. Colby shut his eyes and felt tears falling out of his eyes, his heart racing so fast, not in any way he ever felt having to kiss so many boys before.

He pushed into Ivan's lips more.

That's when Ivan shoved him so hard that Colby fell out of his grip, breaking his now-mate free.

Ivan charged at Colby, pushing him down. He threw his fist across Colby's face; despite its clumsiness, the punch hurt like a bitch.

"Fuck you!" Ivan wailed. "Fuck ... you ..."

Colby wasn't done yet. He had one thing left to finish.

"Ivan ... please ..." Colby said as he struggled being restrained on the floor. "I'm here for you."

"SHUT UP, YOU FAG!" Ivan screamed. "I do not ever want to be mated to a stray dog like you!"

That was the limit; Colby didn't want to hear anything further.

He shut his eyes and sent out a spell that sent Ivan flying all across the room. Then Colby took charge straight into who was supposed to be his soul mate, pushed him to a wall, and dived right into his neck.

"NO!" Ivan wailed.

The mate bond was clearly present the moment Ivan weakened in Colby's embrace when his lips teased the scar of the bite from years ago. Ivan was already falling into submission, ready to give in.

"I—I—please ..." Ivan begged.

"You want it, don't you?" Colby growled in his ear.

"Please," Ivan said. "I—"

"I'll erase all the traces of your biter," Colby said, "and replace it with mine."

Colby breathed in and placed his canine teeth right into Ivan's old scar. He poked it until a tiny dribble of blood poured out, and in that moment, Ivan became a marked mate to the semi-lycanthrope wizard.