The Gathering Tales by Ellis Leigh

Author:Ellis Leigh [Leigh, Ellis]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-9862371-9-5
Publisher: Ellis Leigh

Chapter Two

“You seem tense.”

Blaze kept his eyes on the crowd below as he sighed. “I’m more tired than tense.”

I ran my hand across his hip and leaned into his shoulder. “Too bad. Tense I can help with. Tired isn’t exactly in my wheelhouse.”

He smiled, turning just enough to meet my gaze. “You’re much better at making me tired than keeping me from being tired.”

“Are you complaining?”

“Not for a second.” He leaned forward, pressing his lips to mine in a soft kiss before returning to stare out over the crowd of shifters. It was the last night of the Gathering, and the final party below was in full swing. “Whatever happened to this being an elegant affair?”

“Our nature happened. Wolves like sex, so the evening became about finding it.” I watched as men and women flirted, kissed, and even tried to be subtle as they moved from public displays of affection to public indecency right there in the ballroom. Not that anyone would be complaining. Most of the people with their pants unzipped and their dresses hiked up probably enjoyed all the eyes on them.

The final party was always like this—one big celebration of our animal instincts but in our human forms. Lust and alcohol, sexy dresses and horny men led to what was considered by many to be the highlight of the Gathering every year. Blaze and I used to partake, oftentimes bringing a willing wolf, male or female, into our bed for the night. Unfortunately, as time went on and he climbed the ranks of the NALB leadership, Blaze had become more and more withdrawn at the event. More stressed. Less present. So instead of dancing and talking with our fellow shifters, we stood on a balcony overlooking the festivities. Hiding behind the lights.

I knew he was frustrated. We’d been mated for five centuries, but we’d never been a complete set. From the moment we met, we knew we were missing our third mate. It was a feeling of incompleteness, of loneliness that no amount of time together could negate.

For the past seventy-eight years, we’d hosted the Gathering as a way for fated mates to meet. And every year, the fates dashed our hopes as couples found one another but left us without. The emptiness between us had grown, the feelings of not being enough weighing us down, especially since Blaze had taken on the role of president of the National Association of the Lycan Brotherhood. A job that took him away from me more often than I cared for.

“You’ve given up hope,” I said, not looking at him.

He sighed. “I’ve stopped searching.”

“But she’s out there somewhere.”

“Yes, as we’ve said for centuries. She’s out there; we just have to find her. Well, I’m tired of looking and being disappointed.”

“What if she’s looking for us?”

He spun, his body looming over mine as he advanced on me. “How much more visible can I be, Dante? I’ve plotted, fought, and clawed my way to the very top, to the most powerful seat in the shifter community.

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