Free Skye’s Limits by Stephani Hecht

was nice to see Skye had made a new, somewhat stable, group of friends.
    He knew that Skye had a rough night before. Logan had brought Skye in the first thing that morning and had a talk with him. As soon as he got the whole story, Logan had called Alden and told him. To say Alden was pissed at Branson would be a vast understatement.
    While Alden knew Branson was a great guy and probably had said those things in the heat of the moment and hadn’t meant them, it still didn’t excuse him from hurting Skye the way he had. As soon as Alden had the chance, he was going to sit down with Branson and have a long conversation with the Lion shifter.
    Skye chose that moment to look up, and he and Alden locked gazes. While Alden knew he should glance away, he found himself powerless. Skye licked his lips, and damned if it didn’t turn Alden on like nothing else. He would do anything at that moment to have Skye in a room with nobody else around. The things he would love to do to Skye’s toned body.
    “I told you! They’re doing it right now,” Gage said loudly.
    Alden turned and saw Branson and Gage standing right next to him. Neither one of them looked pleased. Which was fine with Alden since he wasn’t exactly happy with them either at the moment.
    “What exactly are we doing?” Alden asked.
    “Screwing each other with your eyes,” Gage said.
    “Maybe you should be paying more attention to your own business instead of worrying about me and Skye,” Alden suggested.
    “Since Skye is family, he is my business,” Gage snapped.
    “Gage is right. Skye is our business, and we have every right to worry about him,” Branson added.
    “Last time I checked, Skye was an adult who was capable of making his own decisions,” Alden reminded them.
    “And we all know that Skye’s not known for making the best decisions in the past. So why should this be any different?” Branson challenged.
    “In case you haven’t noticed, Skye has changed. Or are you too busy judging him to notice that?” Alden asked.
    “Of course, I’ve noticed he’s changed,” Branson defended.
    “Then why did you treat him like shit last night? You really hurt him bad.” Alden knew he was being rough, but he didn’t care.
    He glanced over at Skye who was watching the exchange with wide eyes. He looked like he was getting ready to get up, but Baxley grabbed him by the hand and held him back. Smart of the Spider. Let Alden handle this, he was doing a fine job.
    “You do realize that once it gets out that you and Skye are in a relationship, it’s going to hurt your reputation?” Branson asked.
    All of the sudden Alden didn’t give a damn about his reputation. If it meant Skye was going to get the brunt in the process of protecting Alden, it wasn’t worth it.
    “Fuck you and your high morals,” Alden said.
    He then walked over to Skye and pulled him up by his shirt collar. Skye looked at him in shock. Never before had he looked so cute. His blue eyes were as wide as saucers, and his mouth was in the shape of an O , just in the perfect shape for kissing.
    “What are you doing?” Skye asked. “Everybody is going to know that we’re an item if you do this.”
    “I suddenly don’t care anymore. You’re my mate, and I want the whole world to know.”
    “I’m your what?” Skye demanded.
    “Come on, Skye, you have to admit you know it as much as I do. You feel the pull, too, try to deny it.”
    Alden held his breath while he waited to see if Skye was going to deny it. By now, the whole cafeteria had grown silent, so if Skye were to refute him it would be in front of a huge audience. Talk about a huge letdown.
    “Yes, I feel it, too,” Skye finally said. “You’re my mate. I’ve known it for a long time.”
    Alden pulled Skye in closer and gave him a hard kiss. It wasn’t a gentle one but rather one of ownership. Alden wanted everyone who was watching to know that the Lion shifter was his and nobody else better touch him.
    Skye went pliant,