Jack didn't see Tiberius for the following two days. Isaac and Mira had been shocked to hear that he had spoken to Violet, and more than once, too, since they hadn't known about Jack stumbling into her when William had been chasing after him. Isaac had insisted on telling Tiberius right then, but Mira, to everyone's surprise, had argued against it.
"I actually think it's a good idea to keep this hidden for now," she murmured. "Tiberius was already ready to tear the castle apart when a random witch threatened Jack. Now Violet Hailwind herself talked to him. He won't hear anything else."
And though Jack didn't want to agree, he did. He hadn't wanted to keep anymore secrets from Tiberius, but if he wasn't going to listen, then there was no choice. Besides, it wasn't like Tiberius seemed eager to talk to him anyway. The last Jack had seen of him, he'd looked really angry with him, breathing shallowly and avoiding even looking at him. Jack had tried touching his shoulder only for Tiberius to flinch away from him and snap at him to stay away.
"Don't come near me again," he'd growled, his voice rough and each of his muscles clenched as he kept his back to Jack before storming away.
Maybe Jack didn't feel too bad about hiding things from Tiberius, after all. Maybe he was more hurt than he was willing to admit. Nonetheless, he did what he always did when he was feeling a rush of emotions that he had no clue what to do with; he buried himself in his work. So he and the others spent the next two days scouring the library for any information they could find on the Werewolf Stone, but like the Moonstone Beacon, there was nothing about it in any of the books.
The most Jack could find was a four-line stanza that read as follows;
The boy with moonstones in his hair
Did find the soul he sought,
As the wolf with moonlight's brightest fur
Led him to moonlight's brightest spot.
He jotted it down in his notepad, but since he couldn't understand it and Isaac shrugged it off as an obscure children's song, it was just another dead end.
Jack started to worry that Tiberius would somehow sense he was hiding something from him and search him out, but to his dismay, Tiberius had all but vanished.
He wasn't at meals the next two mornings, he wasn't in the library or the gardens, and when Jack had given in and asked a servant, the stammering boy told him he'd been locked down in his room.
"You mean locked up?"
"No," the servant had squeaked, and run off.
Mira, who had clung to his arm, hummed. "It is that time again."
"Blasted, is it?" Everett said. "With everything that's been going on, I've lost track of time."
"Time for what?" Jack asked, looking between them.
"Don't you worry about that!" Everett snapped very suddenly. "You just stay away from Tiberius's room, understand? What's going on does not concern you!"
Jack stared. Then smiled. "Okay." And without another word, he ran in the direction of Tiberius's room.
"Jack, no!" Everett caught his sleeve almost at once. Damn elves.
"Why can't I go see Tiberius?"
"Because . . . because he's angry with you, remember? He doesn't want to see you."
Jack tensed. He knew Everett hadn't meant that to hurt as much as it did, but . . . it did. In fact, it wasn't until that very moment that Jack knew, in those rare moments of sharp clarity, exactly why.
He pulled his sleeve out of Everett's grip and said, "Well, I want to see him."
Everett didn't try to stop him this time, and Jack made it all the way to Tiberius's room doors before he paused. He gripped the door handle, his knuckles white. He imagined Tiberius in there with a glass of whiskey, his head ducked, realizing that not only his sanity had fallen apart since Jack's arrival, but his friendship with Graham as well.
Jack didn't care. He hadn't seen Tiberius in days, and even though they were close enough that Jack's chest didn't hurt, he still felt that distance between them, and he hated it.
He pushed open the door and peeked his head in. "Tiberius?" He heard the chains before he saw them, followed by Tiberius's groans.
"Get out," he said in a choked voice.
Jack's eyes widened. The curtains were drawn, the room shrouded in shadow, but there he was; Tiberius, his wrists and ankles chained to his bedposts. Completely naked, his body damp, his chest heaving.
"Tiberius," Jack breathed, rushing to his side. "Who did this to—"
"GET OUT!" Tiberius screamed, eyes shut tight as he turned his face away. His breaths were shallow, and Jack had the feeling Tiberius had smelled him before he'd come in. "I DON'T WANT YOU IN HERE, GET OUT!"
Jack stumbled back at the desperate panic in his voice, and he shook his head. "I—what're you . . ."
But then Jack saw it. Tiberius's cock was rock hard and sticking up against his stomach.
"Whoa," he said before he could help it.
"Jack," Tiberius heaved, his golden eyes glowing, his voice a growl. "Get. Out." His eyes fell down the length of Jack's body, down to his cock, and he shut them tight again, hanging his head back and breathing through gritted teeth. "I don't know how much longer I can control myself. You have to leave!"
"What's happening to you?" Jack demanded. He hesitated, then reached for Tiberius's cock. "If I can help—"
"DON'T!" he growled. "Just touching me won't be enough, not when I'm like this. I—I can't control myself, Jack. I want to fuck you so bad I can taste it, and I'm—I'm barely holding back." He shook the chains keeping him down and let out a frustrated scream. "I can't take it, your scent . . . your scent is killing me. If I touch you now, I'll hurt you. You have to run, go! Hide yourself in your room or anywhere else! Stay far away from me! GO!"
But Jack didn't. He only stared at Tiberius, his helplessness, his pain, his lust. Then he looked back down at Tiberius's cock, leaking precum, and bit his lower lip. Despite Tiberius's commands that Jack run away from him, Jack instead took off his satchel. Then he pulled off his jacket and let it fall to the ground.
Tiberius's eyes fell to it. "What're you—what're you doing?"
Instead of responding, Jack sat on the edge of the bed and lightly brushed Tiberius's jaw with the tips of his fingers. "Do you want to fuck me, Tiberius?" He leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to the shell of Tiberius's ear before he whispered, "You want me to ride your cock . . . until I'm screaming your name?"
Tiberius growled, rattling his chains, his muscles bulging as he fought against him. "More than anything," he breathed, reaching up to catch Jack's lips in his own before he caught himself. "But no, no! I won't let you do this to yourself just because of guilt."
Jack hummed, reaching his hand down Tiberius's sweaty collarbone, his damp chest, his thumb pressing lightly into Tiberius's nipple, making him writhe.
"Is that what you think this is? Guilt?"
"I forgive you, okay?" Tiberius pleaded. "I forgive you, so please go! Run, Jack! I don't know how much longer I can fight this."
Jack reached down to the hem of his shirt, and pulled it up over his head. Tiberius's mouth hung open, but Jack was already reaching for the waistband of both his jeans and underwear, and pushing them both down. He moved to straddle Tiberius's hips.
"Stop fighting it," he told him.
He leaned down, pressing another soft kiss to Tiberius's cheek, his hands exploring Tiberius's damp, hairy chest, feeling them rise and fall rapidly beneath his fingers. He ran his hands down the length of Tiberius's body, and Tiberius arched into his touch, making a guttural sound that fueled the fire in Jack's gut. He didn't think of immortality this time. He didn't care. He couldn't imagine being away from Tiberius for another second of his life. He refused to.
Against Tiberius's mouth, Jack whispered, "I love you." Tiberius stilled beneath him, but now that Jack opened the gates, the words poured out. "I love you so much it hurts. So fuck me, touch me, make me scream. Do whatever you want, just keep me close, Tiberius."
"Jack," he breathed, fists clenching and pulling on the chains to touch Jack, his gaze filled with intense hope and fear. "Are you . . . are you sure?"
"That I want you forever?" Jack chuckled helplessly. "I've never been more sure of anything in my life."
Tiberius clenched his jaw, fighting to sit up and kiss Jack, but the chains yanked him back. Jack shook his head in a silent reassurance, took Tiberius's face in his hands, and crashed their mouths together. He turned his head to slot their mouths together and deepen the kiss, his tongue sliding Tiberius's. Tiberius moaned against his lips and begged, "More, more!"
So Jack bit his lower lip and reached behind him with one hand, touching the tip of Tiberius's cock and making him groan. He rubbed the beads of cum between his fingers before straightening slightly and sliding one into his hole. It really had been too long since he'd touched himself like this, and with Tiberius's hungry eyes on him, his mouth hanging open like he hoped to swallow every one of Jack's moans or replace Jack's fingers stretching him out with his own tongue, Jack thought he could cum like this alone.
But Tiberius needed him, and he needed Tiberius.
Reaching behind him, and only letting himself feel for once in his life, he lowered himself onto the head of Tiberius's dick, his jaw hanging open. He tried to stay quiet, but Tiberius hung his head back and screamed.
"Jack! Fuck, you feel . . . so fucking . . ."
Jack couldn't speak, couldn't moan. He pushed himself down, down, down until he had Tiberius in all the way to the hilt. He should've probably been worried about what this could mean and what would happen to him now, but all he could think was, Tiberius Tiberius Tiberius.
It took a period of adjustment, but once the pain turned to something more like pleasure, Jack risked moving slightly. Now he moaned, unable to help but make the sound, and it must've broke something in Tiberius because right then, his muscles clenched and the chains holding him broke apart. Without a second's pause, Tiberius grabbed Jack by the hips and turned them over, pushing his legs wider apart and watching in awe as his cock slid in and out of Jack's hole.
"Fuck, you're gorgeous," he growled, and leaned down, placing an elbow by Jack's head to hover over him as he thrusted his hips more and more roughly, the weight turning from overwhelming to unbearably, unfathomably good so quickly that Jack was reaching down, clutching Tiberius's ass cheeks and pulling him in deeper and deeper.
"Harder," he pleaded, eyes fluttering to the feel of Tiberius's cock brushing his prostate, making him shudder. "Fuck me harder."
"Baby," Tiberius groaned, and thrusted more wildly, their hips slapping together so that the only sounds in the room were their naked thighs coming together, their grunts and groans and moans and pleading.
As Jack felt his balls tighten, he could only think that he didn't want it to end. But then he was coming with a scream, and Tiberius was biting into his shoulder as he came inside him. They lay there for a moment, and Jack could feel Tiberius's damp chest touch his own with every pant. Then Tiberius was sliding out. Jack didn't want to move, moaning instead at the feel of Tiberius's cum leaking out of his hole. He wanted to taste it. He wanted more.
"Fuck, that sound you make," Tiberius said breathlessly, stroking himself. He was already half-hard again. Had he just been suffering for days without Jack knowing? Tiberius reached up and touched his clean thumb to Jack's lips. "I want to fuck your face, feel that sound on my dick."
Jack's mouth fell open in response, his cheeks flushed, the tips of his hair damp. Tiberius moaned, leaning down to press a kiss to Jack's thigh. "But first, I want to fuck your hole until you're filled with my cum." He chuckled in that deep, gravely voice that did things to Jack's body. "I've wanted to fuck you for weeks, baby . . . I have a lot of time to make up for."
Tiberius was starved for him. Through the rest of the day and night, he fucked Jack with him on his stomach, on his back, his side. He fucked his face and sucked him off hungrily. He fucked him against the wall, in the bath, on the bathroom floor, and on every chair in the room.
Jack's legs ached, but he eagerly rode Tiberius's cock as many times as Tiberius wanted him to, eagerly sucked Tiberius off when the oversensitivity got to be too much for him, and screamed with every bruise Tiberius bit into his body. Tiberius never got tired, fucking Jack slowly when all he could do was lie there and take it, which he loved doing.
They ended up in front of the fireplace, the sky outside still pitch-black, with Jack resting back against Tiberius's chest, Tiberius running his hands up and down Jack's arms, his nose against Jack's bare shoulder.
"You smell so good," he groaned.
"I smell like sweat and cum," Jack murmured, tilting his head to kiss the corner of Tiberius's lips, only for Tiberius to grab his face and kiss him thoroughly.
"I know," he grinned savagely and Jack bit his lip to keep from smiling himself. So instead he turned away, pinching the bridge of his nose and trying to get ahold of himself. Tiberius hugged his shoulders from behind, his forearm pressed against Jack's lips. "Jack . . . do you know what happened when we—"
"Yeah, I do," Jack said quickly, his voice strained to his own ears. Immortal. He finally gave himself half a second to consider the word, what he now was, and found it impossible to process. He didn't feel any different, but was he supposed to? He was sure it would eventually hit him, and it would hurt like a bitch when it did. "Erm . . . I'm probably going to cry about it later," he confessed, and Tiberius's hold on him tightened. "For now, just . . . just hold me, okay? I just need you close."
Tiberius hugged him painfully tight now, lips pressed against the shell of his ear. "Forever," he promised. "I'm yours forever, Jack. I love you."
Jack swallowed thickly and nodded, knowing that for now, that was all he needed. "I love you, too."