Maverick Danker

Beyond the Marius Brothers 5

Maverick Danker Maverick Danker’s been on the job for too long. Now that he has just celebrated his two thousandth birthday, he worries he may never find the mates he deserves after having spent his whole life serving others. Tyler Gilroy, a werewolf who’s been beaten, tortured, and used, has long since given up hope of finding a mate. He’s sickened with himself for being willing to accept any sort of affection to feel wanted, but the alternative is too bleak to contemplate. Asterio has never left the fae plane before. When he enters Earth, he must learn a new way of living, adjust to having two mates, and face his insecurities after a few hundred years’ dry spell. Will Mav, Tyler, and Asterio fight to overcome the obstacles on their road to love? Or will they each choose the path of least resistance—and ultimately end up alone? Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Paranormal, Vampires/Werewolves Length: 35,355 words

MAVERICK DANKER Beyond the Marius Brothers 5

Joyee Flynn

MENAGE AMOUR MANLOVE

Siren Publishing, Inc. www.SirenPublishing.com

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK IMPRINT: Ménage Amour ManLove

MAVERICK DANKER Copyright © 2012 by Joyee Flynn E-book ISBN: 978-1-61926-829-6 First E-book Publication: June 2012 Cover design by Jinger Heaston All cover art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission. All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

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MAVERICK DANKER Beyond the Marius Brothers 5 JOYEE FLYNN Copyright © 2012

Chapter 1 Maverick I was depressed… Plain and simple. I was two thousand years old and I was still alone, always alone. I’m always the man behind the position, keeping them safe and putting my life on the line to protect them. Don’t get me wrong, Caleb Kyros was a great guy, and I was proud to be his head of security. It’s just that I’d spent so long ensuring everyone else’s happiness and way of life I couldn’t help but wonder when I got my own. When I turned two thousand a few weeks ago, everything in my life seemed to change focus. It’s not like I got lax in my work. I just got fed up with it all and most of the people around me. Everyone always came to me with any problem, personal or professional, and looked to me to magically solve it. But who did I have to go to? No one. There was no one I could open up with and be myself. There was no one to love me. And it sucked huge monkey balls. It was always Mav, what do we do? Or Mav, I need this fixed. And Mav, I need your help. Constantly. All day, every day, and I was just tired. It wasn’t like I didn’t like helping or being in charge. It was just

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I was tired of it. Caleb threw me a huge birthday bash, his mates’ brothers even flying in. I had gotten so excited, already having decided in my mind that after having met one set of twins that weren’t my mates, the last single ones would be. Nope. Not my mates. It didn’t seem like I deserved mates and wouldn’t ever find any. But why? Why didn’t I? I’d spent my whole life in the service of others for the greater good. Why couldn’t I be happy, too? Part of me just wanted to resign. Most warriors didn’t retire until after they were mated or took teaching jobs to train the next generation of warriors. But after one thousand nine hundred and eighty-four years of service, I thought I’d given enough. I think Caleb realized I was close to quitting so that’s why he sent me on this trip—for a change of scenery and to clear my head. I know I’d become a bear with everyone. People who would always ask my advice or help were now giving me a wide berth at the palace. Which actually made me fall into this depression. If I had any real friends, wouldn’t they be making sure I was okay and trying to help me for once? I guess I didn’t have any friends. Yeah, that helped my midlife crisis. Or late-life crisis? What was it called when you could live forever? Fine, my life crisis. So now I was on a borrowed Boeing 787 Dreamliner to pick up a few hundred displaced fae. It was an eleven-hour flight, but I didn’t mind. I was alone with no one to pester me or give me funny looks or ask me for anything. And the plane was luxurious even though it was huge. We’d moved things around because while we had a lot of passengers coming, extra room was needed for all their belongings. I just hoped we could fit it all. A lot of people equaled a lot of stuff. Either way I was being sent to be Caleb’s ambassador and get everything handled so the fae could make the transition into our world as easily as possible. I’d do him proud and welcome them. But when I got home, I was pretty sure I was going to talk to him and then our

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Council about stepping down. It was time to live my own life… Even if it was alone. **** Tyler I was a freak. There was no way around it. I was completely, totally, and utterly a freak. I’d been tortured by my Alpha, beaten several times within an inch of my life, and used for years as a blood whore. But I didn’t hate all that happened to me. That’s why I never let Ayden, our Kappa and trauma healer, help me. I didn’t want him to see what was going on in my head. Granted, I didn’t like the beatings or being tortured. But I did love being used and treated like a slut when those demons were all hopped up on my blood. To a vampire or demon, shifter blood was like Viagra, speed, and an injection of testosterone. Once they had it in their system, they had wanted me so badly that it just flipped my switch. Okay, I hated the way they would hit me or bite me savagely to where it hurt and left me bruised. But I missed all those men wanting me so badly, pounding into me until I passed out from the pleasure. Hell, they used to drink from some of the other shifters they held captive and then come to find me because I wanted to be their slut. Yeah, I was a freak and totally fucked in the head. Even when I was back with my old Alpha after I’d been rescued, I was his slut. He’d fuck me over and over again and so would the other enforcers. I was a joke to them. I knew that, but the only reason they didn’t screw with me is because I’m built and very strong. Even more so than regular werewolves. I could kick any of their asses besides the Alpha. The sick part? I hated the man. He was pure evil and the way he ran the pack made me sick.

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But when he found me at night, it was like none of that mattered because someone wanted me. I’d long since given up any hope of being loved for who I was and was willing to take any scraps of affection just so I felt, even for a moment, I was special to someone. Part of me wanted to walk into the warrior compound, bare my neck to them so they’d get all hopped up on my blood, and then offer my ass like the slut I was. I missed having men line up and fight because they wanted me right then. How sick was that? And it left me a shadow of a man, riddled with shame and guilt. But I couldn’t help what I wanted and what my fantasies were when I was alone at night. “Hey, Tyler,” Ferris said with a smile, interrupting me with my thoughts. “You packing up?” “Yeah, I start working on the head of the East Coast Council’s house today,” I answered, giving him a hesitant smile. No matter what my sick mind wanted, vampires still scared me. Not because of the sex I’d had while captive, oh no, that part I loved. It was the way they used to beat me and try to rip out my throat at times. But those weren’t vampires, I reminded myself. Those were demons, and the vampires I was around now were good guys. “Cool. Now that you guys are done here I can finally move in and start my protection detail.” I could tell Ferris was excited about it especially since he’d been asking almost every day how much longer until his room was ready. “Darcy said I was getting a room twice the size of the one I had at the warrior compound. I’m totally stoked.” “Well, you have fun with that.” I chuckled as I picked up my toolbox, belt, and bag of extras. I gave him a quick wave and headed out to my truck. I was glad to have it back. When the vampires had come in to rescue Ayden’s younger brothers and anyone else who wanted sanctuary, we’d had to leave everything behind. But then our Elders got involved and my old Alpha was out of business. Our stuff had finally been delivered a few days ago, and I was glad to have it. Having my own belongings made the shock of moving

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and being surrounded by another species, one I didn’t have the best history with, bearable. Now I was going to start work on Barnabas Leopold’s house and help update it as some of the fae that were crossing over onto our plane settled in there. I was glad the wolves weren’t the only species who were coming to live among the vamps anymore. I thought the fact that the vamps welcomed the fae, along with some of my pack, was a hopeful sign that these were the good guys. That was my current idea at least. Now if I could just stop the fucked-up desires in my head, I could move on from the past and have a better life here. Right, like I thought they would just disappear anytime soon. But a man could hope. **** Asterio I was scared. Gods, I was scared out of my ever-loving mind. Sure, I was over three millennia old and one of the best warriors the fae had, but I’d never left our plane before and been to Earth. I was ready to shit purple kittens I was so frightened. Everyone was talking about the move, and I’d been working tirelessly to get everyone packed up and ready to go. The whole community was a mixture of excitement, fear, and hope. It was an odd combo, but we needed to leave this plane though most didn’t want to. Here we were safe. Here we knew what to expect from day to day. Here was our home… But now that was all gone. The rational part of me realized it was logical to be afraid given what we were facing. The male part of me scoffed at that, saying warriors weren’t ever afraid. Riiiight. “It will be fine, Asterio,” Queen Magdalena whispered as I stood there, staring at the portal. I looked over to her, loving her like my

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own mother. She’d taken me in when my parents had died tragically when I was just a boy. I would do anything for that woman and not just because she was my Queen and I swore an oath to protect her. No, I would do it out of love. “I share your concerns, son, but this is our best option as a people if we are to survive.” “I know and I would follow you anywhere, your highness,” I said, trying to ignore my quivering voice. “It’s nice on Earth, right? I mean, we’re a people of the land. I’ve heard about their huge buildings and cities where you can’t see the sky.” “There are places like that, but it’s not where we’re going. It’s rural and has lots of land. These are good people who are welcoming us in our time of need.” She gave me a comforting nod and gestured toward the portal. I took a deep breath and stepped through. I gasped as power radiated all around me and suddenly I was standing on firm ground outside a large house. I moved out of the way for the next person and dropped to my knees. It was like someone had punched me so hard that the wind was knocked out of me and then dropped me off a cliff. I just couldn’t seem to breathe. “What you’re feeling is normal, Asterio,” my friend Makari said gently as he knelt down next to me. “You’ve never crossed over before. Their air is just as breathable to us as at home, but it’s thinner so it will take you some getting used to. After a week or two adjusting, you won’t even notice it. And then I’ll show you all the fun to be had in this world.” I gave him a weak smile. I really was trying. It’s just I’d heard a human adage once about how you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. And while that was talking about animals, I was over three millennia old. Change didn’t come easily to me, and this was one huge ass change. Now the big question was whether I could adapt or I’d lose my mind. I seriously voted for the first.

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Chapter 2 Maverick “Thank you for coming,” Barnabas Leopold, head of the East Coast Council, said brightly as I entered his home. I was a little jetlagged and trying to adjust to the seven-hour time difference. Back in Greece I would be getting ready for bed soon, but here it was still the afternoon. “It was my pleasure, your honor. Lord Caleb sends his regards and looks forward to meeting you soon. He apologizes for not coming himself, but with the birth of his first child happening any day he could not in good conscience leave his surrogate,” I explained, giving Barnabas a respectful bow. “Oh! I didn’t know that’s why he stayed in Greece.” Barnabas gave me a bright smile and shook my hand. “He was very cryptic on the phone about why he couldn’t come.” “Phone lines can be tapped and we’re keeping the fact that he will have an heir soon quiet. As the last of your line, I hope you understand the dangers his child might face.” “Of course,” he said with a grimace. “It was just a few weeks ago we were attacked by demons trying to take me out.” He shook his head as if to let go of the morose thoughts. “But on to better topics. I’d like you to meet my mates and security, Miles Juniper and Digger Slane.” “A pleasure.” We all greeted each other, and I was about to say more when the most heavenly scent hit my nose. I glanced around the foyer and landed on a man who was staring at me, shaking as if he’d

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seen a ghost. My fangs immediately dropped as I ignored everyone else and took a step toward him. “Don’t,” he whispered and held up his hands. I froze, seeing his distress was very real. “Do you know who I am?” I asked quietly, not wanting to spook him anymore. “Yes, but vampires scare me.” I didn’t get a chance to reply before he shifted into a wolf, tearing his clothes. Wow! He was beautiful. My mate had to be at about six one, built but still lean, with ear-length auburn hair and bright blue eyes. He was just as stunning as a wolf, glossy auburn coat and still having those blue eyes. “I would never hurt you, cub.” I got down low and then onto my knees and scooted a little at a time to him. He gave me a warning growl with no real malice behind it. “You’re his mate, aren’t you?” Barnabas asked with a sigh. “This is bad.” “Why?” I snapped but then cleared my throat and tried to calm down. “I’m not a bad person. I would never hurt my mate.” “Tyler was taken by demons and used as a blood whore for years. He has some serious issues with anyone with fangs.” “Yet he lives among vampires?” I shot back, not understanding any of this. “It’s complicated,” Digger said carefully. “It’s for him to explain.” “If he would shift back he could,” I grumbled. I eyed over my mate carefully for any signs of aggression, but there weren’t any so I took a chance. “As your mate I command you to shift back and talk to me, or I will walk out that door and leave. I am not a threat to you, and it hurts me that this is how you’re treating me on our first meeting.” I heard a gasp of shock behind me but I ignored it. Tyler whimpered before rolling over to expose his belly to me. I didn’t know much about shifters, but I knew that was a sign of

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submission for a wolf. “Please don’t make me. You won’t want me when you know how fucked in the head I am. Just leave me be.” “I can’t do that, cub,” I whispered, a little shell-shocked I could hear him in my head. “If you want, I can see it all without you having to explain it to me.” I rubbed his stomach as he eyed me warily. “I’ll be gentle, I swear it to you. If I drink from you, then I can see your memories.” He started to shake again. “Or I could use my other gift and make you orgasm right here in the middle of the foyer with witnesses and embarrass you for being a bad mate.” The air around him vibrated and suddenly I was rubbing Tyler the man. “That’s not much of a threat.” “I know it’s not,” I replied cheekily. “But it still worked.” He nodded and bared his neck to me. I moved over him, not giving two shits where we were or who was watching. “Wait, shifter blood affects vamps—” one of the men behind me started to warn. I rolled my eyes, letting my mate see me, which got a smile from him. “I’m two thousand years old. I know what shifter blood does to us. I just met my mate so it sounds like fun to me.” I eyed over my mate with a lecherous look. “Oh yeah, good times will be had by all.” I didn’t wait another moment, sinking my fangs into his neck as gently as I could. “Oh god, that feels good,” Tyler cried out and wrapped his legs around me, humping my larger form. He wasn’t small, but since I was six seven, almost everyone was smaller than me. “This wasn’t what I felt when they bit me before.” I grunted that I understood him as I drank his blood down. He was like drinking liquid lava, so it was hard to focus, but I pushed that aside and concentrated on the memories I was getting from him. After a few minutes, I knew why my mate thought he was such a freak. I pulled my fangs out of him and licked the bite closed before giving him an evil look.

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“I know what you need, cub,” I growled as I reached down and fondled his hole. “And I will give it to you as soon as you pledge yourself to me and accept our mating.” “Yes,” he whispered in awe as if he’d just met Santa Claus. “We need someplace private,” I said to Barnabas, not even taking my eyes off my mate. “Okay then,” he drawled. “Up the stairs, to your right, third door on your left.” “Thank you, your honor.” I stood, my mate still wrapped around me. I gave them a quick nod, smiling as I saw their matching looks of shock. Then I raced up the stairs and found the room he had offered. “I can’t believe you still want me after what you saw,” Tyler whispered into my neck. I kicked the door closed and rubbed my hands over his back. “You think you’re sick because you liked parts of being captive, Tyler. It wasn’t the captivity or the abuse you liked. You just needed to find the right person who understands your desires.” “And you’re that man?” “Oh yeah,” I moaned as I pulled him off of me. He looked at me funny, but I was too busy taking in my fill of my mate. “Stand very still as I check out what belongs to me.” He shivered and nodded. Always a good sign. “Do you really want to be my slut?” “Yes,” he whimpered. “Good. Then bend over and show me what is mine. I want to see the tight hole I’m going to fuck all night.” I knew I was going to because I was feeling the effects of his blood, and I was so damn horny already that I would hump the wall if it gave me relief. He did as I wanted, and I thought it was time to reward him. I focused on Tyler and let my gift flow. He cried out as he came and would have fallen over if I hadn’t grabbed him around the waist. “Oh, cub, you are perfect.”

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“I’m not a cub anymore,” he gasped, shaking from the force of his orgasm. “You are to me. You’re thirty-two, and I just turned two thousand. That makes you a cub and I find that hot.” “Then I’m your cub,” he groaned. I fondled his sac before throwing him onto the bed. I got undressed as quickly as possible as he stared at me. “You’re really hot.” “The feeling is mutual,” I purred. “I saw in your mind that I don’t need to stretch you or find slick to fuck you because I’m your mate, right?” “Yes, that’s true.” He nodded as his cock leaked at the idea. Good, because it turned me on, too. “Spread your legs wide and act like a proper slut, begging for my attention,” I ordered with a feral grin. “Please fuck me hard and fast,” he pleaded, giving me the show of a lifetime as he practically did the splits with his legs in the air. Nice to know he was that flexible as well. “Pound your huge meat into me until I pass out. Use me as you see fit.” “Good cub,” I praised as I crawled into bed with him and moved my body over him. I placed my cock at his hole and pushed in just a bit, allowing his body to adjust. I’d seen in his mind that wolves produced a natural wetness when coupling with their mates, and his body would stretch itself out to prepare for me. “Hands over your head.” “Are you going to pin me down and fuck me?” The lust shining in his beautiful bright blue eyes let me know just how much he liked it. “Yes, until we get some restraints and chains, that will have to do.” I didn’t wait for an answer, shoving my cock into him fully. God, he felt like heaven! “Oh cub, I’m going to fuck you so good. My horny, slutty cub is perfect.” “Thank you,” he whispered, the emotions he was struggling with coming to the surface.

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“My pleasure.” I covered his wrists with one hand, holding him down as I moved one of his legs around my waist. I started a punishing pace, loving the little wolf howls he made as I fucked him exactly how he wanted. “Are you going to be my personal slut, Tyler? Will you cater to my every desire and give yourself to me always?” “Yes, yes I’m yours, sir!” I hated that sir shit. “Maverick,” I grunted, wanting to smack myself in the head when I realized I’d not even told him my name. “My name is Maverick, but everyone calls me Mav.” “I like it.” He leaned up and licked my neck. “Can I claim you, Mav?” “You better,” I snarled. I felt his teeth sink into my flesh and our bond snap into place. “You’re mine now, Tyler, and I will take care of you from now on, cub.” “Will you love me, too, one day?” I could hear the fear in his voice and feel his emotions. Tyler knew he was a good slut and wild in bed but didn’t think anyone could love him because of it. “Yes, cub. I will love my mate as much as his body,” I pledged. “Now come for me.” He pulled his teeth out of my neck and screamed out my name. I felt his body clamp down on me as he filled the space between us with his seed. I followed him right over, filling him up as I kept thrusting into him. Once didn’t seem to be enough. “How do you want it next?” I asked, the last of my cum not even having left my body yet. “You want me to pound into this sweet ass from behind as I pin you down to the bed?” “Yes please,” he begged. I pulled out of him and flipped him over. Then I shoved my still-hard cock right back into his willing hole. I pushed his shoulders down to the bed, keeping my hand there so he stayed still as I moved the other one to his hip. I fucked him hard and fast again, talking dirty to him the whole time until he came so hard he looked ready for a nap. I demanded my

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slut give me more and he did. After the fourth time, he finally passed out. I was still hard and wanting, but we’d taken the edge off so I could deal. I moved him to the side of the bed we didn’t get dirty and went to the adjoining bathroom for a cloth. I wet it with warm water and then went back to my mate, cleaning him up. When I was done, I crawled into bed next to him and pulled him into my arms. Tyler seemed to know, even in his sleep, it was where he belonged because he snuggled up against me. I was tired, but not. I mean, my body was but my mind was racing. Would I be staying in America now? Should I bring Tyler back with me? Being mated to a warrior was always dangerous, but given my position as head of security to Caleb, Tyler could be in even more danger. I had a capable team. Any one of them could step up into my roll. Maybe it was time to let them and live a life with my mate. “If you’re thinking that hard and not worn out, then I didn’t do my job right,” Tyler mumbled. I smiled, already loving his playful and adventurous side. “Maybe you should use that smart mouth of yours and blow your mate so I can get some rest.” “Will you spank your slutty cub if I don’t?” “I’ll spank you if you do because we both know you want it. I’ll even smack your sac as I saw in your head that you like.” “I do like that,” he groaned as he turned over and moved down my body. My obedient mate swallowed me right down, enthusiastically sucking on me as if I was his new favorite toy. Yeah, I could get used to this treatment from someone who wanted to love me. I think I needed him as much as he needed me. Both of us were tired of being alone. And given what he needed sexually was exactly what I wanted to give him… We were the perfect fit.

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Chapter 3 Tyler My mate was a god among men with his slightly wavy jet-black hair and smoky gray eyes. And then there was his body with all its glorious, bulging muscles. He was strong enough to hold me in wild positions, fuck me against the wall as he held my weight, and toss me onto the bed like I weighed nothing. I wasn’t heavy, but at six one and one seventy, I still found that impressive. Mav was an animal in bed, and I didn’t think it was just because he had my blood in him. He fucked me against the wall, then against my door with my chest against it, three times in the shower, once on the bathroom floor, several times in the bed, and pretty much all around the room until I lost count. And it wasn’t just about the sex. No way. He was kinky and commanding during the action, but when we were done, he was so tender with me. My mate would clean me up, make sure my ass was okay and he didn’t get too rough with me, and then he’d pull me into his arms. I felt wanted and precious to him. He asked me all kinds of questions about myself even though I knew he’d seen my memories. When I asked him why he was doing that, he simply told me that he saw my memories as I had but that didn’t mean he knew how I felt about things. He wanted to know my desires and how to make me happy. If we hadn’t already been lying down, I might have fallen over in shock. Since when did anyone care what I wanted? But I asked him about his life, too. Mav admitted to me that he’d become depressed recently and started to wonder if there was ever

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going to be more to his life than helping others all the time. I thought my mate had long since paid his dues being a warrior and deserved some happiness of his own… And I was determined to give it to him no matter what I had to do. We talked sometimes in our mental bond. It made me feel so close with him, and I could tell Mav liked it, too. He said it made him feel like we were members of a secret cool-kids club that only we knew the handshake to. If he’d put it like that to make it me laugh, it worked. A day and a half later we finally emerged from our room. Someone had been sending us up trays of food, but we decided to get back to the real world. We were walking into the massive dining room when I smelled something funny. “I think we need to talk about something,” I whispered to Mav, trying to hold back a growl of desire. “And what would that be, cub?” He raised my hands to his lips and smiled at me. “We need to feed you before you tell me how you want the next round of sex.” “No, this is serious.” I saw his smile fall into a frown. “You know fae get two mates, right?” “I’d heard that.” It was a split second before he realized what I was getting at and started sniffing the air. “There are too many people in the room and all I keep smelling is my scent on you.” “Well, good thing wolves have a better sense of smell,” I replied with a snicker. “I can tell our mate is in here, but I won’t be able to single them out without shifting.” He was right that there were too many people in the room. There had to be almost a hundred. Mav had told me until everyone came and brought some of the fae to the designated locations, like he was to Greece, that they were double and triple bunking in rooms at various estates in their coven. “Go find our mate before we lose him then,” Mav said nervously. Yeah, I wasn’t prepared for this development either. I give him a scorching kiss and quickly shucked my clothes before shifting. I gave

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an excited yip as he picked up my clothes. He shook his head and followed me as I moved through the crowd, sniffing out our mate. My wolf whimpered when I found him. Holy shit, was he a big boy. He had to be well over seven feet tall with short blond hair and light brown eyes. He was stunning. He must have heard me because his head snapped from his plate to me. Then his eyes went big. “Why is there a wolf in the dining room?” he asked hesitantly as he set his food down. He flinched when I leapt at him, shifting in midair. Part of me wanted to laugh when he grunted but then caught me. “Because I’m also a man and you’re my mate,” I growled, burying my nose in his neck to get a better smell of him. Yep, he was our mate. “And your other one is here, too.” “My gods, you’re naked,” he whispered as his hands landed on my ass. “Wait, my mate?” “Can’t you smell me?” I asked but then I vaguely remembered Barnabas saying something that fae couldn’t smell their mates. Maybe? Shit, I hadn’t been paying attention. “We don’t do things like that,” he answered as he carried me to a side door that led to a private living room. No one was there and I was glad we could have this conversation in private. “We figure out who our mate is during sex when the bond snaps into place.” “Then let’s have sex.” He stared at me with wide eyes as if I’d suggested something crazy. “What?” “Give me a minute here to catch up,” he mumbled. “I’m Asterio. I’m a fae warrior who crossed over to this world for the first time yesterday. I’m already spinning here, okay?” “Well, now you have two mates that can help you learn to adjust to this world,” Mav said gently. I glanced over my shoulder and smiled at him. “Tyler and I met the day before yesterday and we’re still trying to catch up as well. I’m Maverick Danker but everyone calls me Mav. And you’re holding Tyler Gilroy.”

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“I found you both at one time?” Asterio whispered as he sat down. His grip on me tightened, his hands moving to my back. I realized he wasn’t being sexual. It was more like I was his security blanket and he was freaking out. I held him as well, making wolf happy noises that were as close to purring as we could do. “And you’ve already mated?” “Yes. Tyler smelled you when we came back up for air after a day and a half of our coupling. I’m the liaison who is taking some of the fae to Greece, so there is much I need to attend to before I resign.” “You’re quitting?” I asked, turning in Asterio’s arms so I could see him. He’d talked about it but the fact he’d made a decision was news. “Yes, cub. I’ve lived a long time and I’ve learned what is most important in the life we are given,” he answered with a smile as he moved forward. I rubbed my cheek into the hand he held out. “I might help out here or take a teaching role so new warriors can learn from my experience, but it’s time to live my life.” He gave me a wink and a hot smirk. “Besides, I have an insatiable mate. I’d never be able to handle my job and take care of your needs.” “He’s that horny?” Asterio blurted out, looking between us as if watching a tennis match. “I like sex, too. It’s just been a few centuries since I’ve had any.” “How old are you? Am I mated to two old fogies?” I asked in a teasing tone. “Over three millennia.” He scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion. “I don’t understand this word fogey.” “Right, you’ve never been here before. Do fae ever get old looking and wrinkly?” He shook his head and then I was at a loss as to how to explain it. “It’s a human thing. You’ll catch on after watching some TV.” “Why don’t you two get acquainted while I handle a few things,” Mav said gently, realizing, as I did, that our mate was feeling

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overwhelmed. “Asterio, I trust you will watch and protect our mate in my absence?” “Yes, of course,” he answered. “I’m not a child, guys.” I snickered, rolling my eyes. “I’m actually faster than vampires and hell, I shift into a strong ass wolf.” Mav gave me a look that clearly said no shit. Oh, right, he was trying to make sure Asterio didn’t run away or freak out if he was worried about protecting me. Damn, my man was smart! “Here are your clothes.” He chuckled when I’m sure understanding lit up my face. “Get dressed and bring up a tray of food to our room with our mate. I’ll join you shortly.” “If I obey, do I get a spanking?” I whimpered, already horny again. Wow, someone must have slipped some Viagra in the water supply the way I was acting. He leaned over and nipped my neck with his fangs but not enough to draw blood. “I will spank my slut and then fuck him until he passes out again. Asterio can help. I think it will take both of us. But you have to be a good slut and show us how flexible you are.” “Deal,” I moaned, wiggling on Asterio’s lap. “That’s how you talk to your mate?” Asterio asked with a disapproving tone. “He likes dirty talk and when I take charge—” Mav started to defend but I cut him off, turning around to face Asterio. “Can I be your slut, too?” I decided to show him what Mav was saying another way. “You can fuck me any way you want as long as it’s hard and fast and you master my body while pinning me down.” His eyes went wide but I saw the lust in them. “It really will take two of us to keep you satisfied and in line, won’t it?” “Yes please.” I humped his stomach and the next thing I knew he was kissing me. “I’ll leave you guys to it.” Mav chuckled. I gave him a wave and heard the door close behind him. I was a little busy to say good-bye. Damn, could Asterio kiss! I let him take

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charge as my hips moved as if they had a mind of their own. When we both needed air, we pulled apart gasping. “Food. Room,” I demanded. “You can feed me sustenance and cock at the same time.” “Gods, the mouth on you.” We stood up and I quickly dressed. By the time we got back to the dining room, breakfast had pretty much wound down so the place wasn’t so crowded. “Find your second mate?” Barnabas asked with a raised eyebrow as he glanced at my hand that was holding Asterio’s. “Um, yeah,” I answered nervously, clearing my throat to buy myself some time to think about what to say. “I’ll get started on the improvements tomorrow, I swear. I wasn’t really planning—” “It’s fine, Tyler.” Miles chuckled, shaking his head. “It’s not like the estate is falling down. We just want to start making some cosmetic improvements and make the house our own. Nothing that can’t wait given you found your mates.” “Okay, good.” I sighed with relief. I was a hard worker and not one to shuck my responsibilities. I actually wasn’t acting like myself… Well, in the eyes of others. I was holding Asterio’s hand, showing affection, and had let Mav order me around. I had been an enforcer in my pack, but not because I had wanted to be. Hell, I might have been on the bigger side for a wolf though, in my heart, I was still a submissive. Not the full Dom/Sub relationship, but I liked being told what to do and feeling as if I was being taken care of. I just had never had the chance to explore that nor had anyone who would take care of me. “I thought you were going to help acclimate me to this world, cub?” Asterio asked, his really, really deep voice sending shivers down my spine. “And with the news Mav told us, I would think he will need your assistance. Then there is finding somewhere for us to make a home as mates, do you not think?” “Yes, of course.” I nodded and gave him a look that I hoped clearly said, so tell me what to do then.

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“I think it best that Tyler commit to discussing the project and maybe starting back up next week, your honor.” “I agree. Also because we started the project idea before knowing how many fae we would have residing here, even temporarily.” Barnabas sighed and leaned against Miles. “I think it would just add to the major confusion around here if we started tearing up rooms. Let’s talk next week, and by then I should know who’s staying for at least the time being.” “Thanks.” I smiled as my mate took the tray of breakfast food, including coffee. He motioned with his elbow for me to lead the way. Oh, right, he didn’t know which room. Damn, I’d gotten lost in thought as to how hot he was again. I wonder what he looked like naked? “Where are you?” he asked with a raised brow. “Picturing you naked,” I admitted, my cheeks heating up. He laughed as I finally walked from the dining room and toward our room. Asterio was right about one thing. We needed to figure out a place to live because I wanted to be relaxed with my mates. Not always having to worry about who would be around or being on my best behavior because we were company. But then I had an idea. I, in my normal dumbass way, just blurted out a question. “Do fae have money?” And people wondered why I didn’t speak much? I knew most thought I was the strong, silent type. The reality of it was I just didn’t have a filter between my brain and mouth. “We have gold, which I’m told is a form of payment here. Why, do you need something?” He looked worried, and that was the last thing I wanted. “No, no, nothing like that.” I chuckled as we headed up the stairs. “It’s just you got me thinking about where we’re going to live. One of the founding families here owns an abandoned estate and was talking to me about how they’d go about splitting the land up. I guess the idea is to break the few hundred acres up so someone could buy one or two

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acres and build a house of their own. Since we’re in a rural area, there are no housing developments around or apartments. But I want a place of our own, too.” “I don’t know what a housing development, apartment, or an estate is.” He looked annoyed but with himself. “Okay, tell me how you lived on your plane? Did you guys all live in one big house like this?” “No, the Queen had her palace and as one of her warriors I had a room there.” “So the palace was bigger than this?” “Yes,” he answered, his eyebrows drawn together. We’d reached our borrowed room and I opened the door. “This is an estate. It’s a huge mansion surrounded by lots of land.” He nodded as he walked past me and set down the tray as I closed the door behind us. “I understand.” “Where did everyone else live?” “In the village surrounding the palace.” “That’s a housing development basically. It’s plotted out so everyone knows where their land is to take care of and has a house on it. An apartment is one building full of rooms but almost like their own living space like some of the suites in this estate.” “You’re very good at explaining things,” he said proudly after a moment. “So this founding family person wants to turn one large estate into pieces that everyone can have as their own home and land?” “Exactly. Since I built most of the homes for my old pack, he was talking to me about how he’d go about breaking the land up and getting contractors to build solid, but simpler, houses.” “And you want to know about my gold so we might buy one of these pieces of land?” “Yeah, I guess I didn’t really get that far in the thought process,” I answered, my cheeks heating up. “I realized I agreed with you about

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wanting a place of our own. I remembered what Desmond had said to me and then realized I didn’t have enough money to buy land. Then I just blurted out the question to you.” “Blurt away,” he replied reassuringly with a smile. “I appreciate honesty from my mate. We should feel comfortable enough with each other where we don’t have to worry about what we’re asking. It’s not easy for me to admit that I’m lost on your plane, but if I can’t ask my mate for help, then who would I trust more?” “That’s a good point.” I hadn’t thought about it like that but it made sense. I should always be able to be myself around my mates. Granted we’d just met so there would be some adapting and getting comfortable with each other. But I always thought that’s why fate had come up with the idea of mates. There were just some people, not even specifically mates, that melded. I instantly felt I could relax around Mav and now Asterio. We ate in a comfortable silence, snagging pieces of fruit and pastries off the tray. It was as if we’d done this every morning for years, and I felt tension I didn’t even realize I still had after the loving Mav gave me leave my muscles. Maybe some of the questions Asterio had raised had been at the back of my mind? Good thing he was able to voice them, huh?

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Chapter 4 Asterio “I think we should buy a double-size piece of land since you’re a wolf,” I said after several moments of quiet. “You need space to run, and I would feel uncomfortable if you had to go somewhere else to do it.” “I’m not against the idea, but I don’t have any money really,” my mate nervously hedged. “I could design and build the house with help, but living in a pack, we kind of pooled our resources and didn’t really have our own money.” “How do I know if I have enough gold to buy this land?” Maybe what was a lot to the fae was nothing to the people of this plane. “Well, I think you should bring your stuff here and share our room for now and you could show me if you want.” Tyler shrugged in that cute way he had that made me feel that if I didn’t have what we needed, we’d just figure something else out. It was nice. “I accept your invitation.” I stood, taking his smaller hand in mine, and we left the room. It took me a moment to remember where my room was from there since I’d always just mapped it from the stairs. A few minutes later we were in the room I was sharing with a few other warriors. We had taken up positions around the room the Queen was staying in. We didn’t think that anyone in Barnabas’s household would want to do her harm, but paranoia on our part kept her safe. “My gold is in here,” I said, pulling out a large chest that had been brought over from home. I took the key out of my pocket and opened

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the chest nervously before standing back for my mate to see. “Is this enough?” Tyler’s eyes went so wide I thought they might pop out of his skull. “Um, yeah, that’s enough to buy several estates, Asterio. We can buy as many plots of land as we want and build one hell of a house and still have enough of that gold left for the rest of our lives. Can I ask where you got all this from?” “Warriors get paid for our services, but my parents were killed in an accident when I was young and Queen Magdalena took me in. After her daughter crossed over here to find her mates and was lost to the Queen, I think she worried I might leave her, too, one day. She started spoiling me every chance she got, and when you meet her, you’ll understand she’s not a woman you give a present back to. Most of these gold bricks I got for my birthdays, and as long as I’ve lived, that’s a lot of gold.” “Damn, you could buy your own island with this, Asterio.” I sighed heavily, starting to get frustrated, but not with my mate. “I don’t know what an island is, Tyler.” I wasn’t stupid and I was well read… But I read fae authors we had in our village. I read our history, about our magic, about our plane, and sometimes about other paranormals, which is how I understood the needs of my werewolf. I just didn’t know much about Earth, or how humans acted, or their language sometimes, too. “Hey, don’t stress,” Tyler said gently as he turned to me and hugged me. “You’ll get caught up. We’ll watch some Discovery Channel, which is a favorite of mine, and you’ll see you know more than you think.” “It’s really hard, and while I’m grateful I found my mates right away and that you’re willing to guide me, I worry about my people who are alone here. I know some of them have crossed over here for visits to see your world, but for the majority, this is their first trip, too.”

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“Then I have an idea,” he said with a smile. “Lock up the gold and tell me which bags to grab.” I did as he asked, curious as to what was going on in that pretty head of his. He wouldn’t tell me as we went back to his room, or I guess, our room. Then we went in search of Barnabas and were told he was in his study. Tyler knocked and someone called for us to come in. “Your highness,” I said when I saw the Queen there and bowed. “I apologize for interrupting your meeting with your grandson.” “Not at all, Asterio,” she replied with a smile. “I was told you had found your mates and was going to look for you soon, too. Is this one of them?” “Yes, your highness,” Tyler said nervously, doing what I did and glancing at me for guidance. I gave him a smile and a nod, glad when he visibly relaxed. “I’m Tyler Gilroy.” “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Tyler.” Queen Magdalena moved gracefully across the room and gave him a hug. “You take care of my boy. Asterio is very special and deserves all the love you can give him.” “I’ll do my best.” Tyler’s face turned bright red and I was sure his mind went to the carnal activities we had talked about earlier… As my mind had. “Did you need something, Tyler?” Barnabas asked as if trying to soothe my mate’s nerves about being around royalty. I liked the little half fae even more because of it. “Um, yeah, I was wondering if you had a media room or someplace big enough where we could fit all the fae staying here and a big-screen TV?” “Yes, but why?” The head of the East Coast Council raised an eyebrow at my mate. “Well, um, see,” Tyler stuttered, glancing at me, and it took me a moment to realize why he was nervous.

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“You may tell your friend about our earlier conversation. I have a feeling you have a wonderful idea to help us all.” “Maybe.” He shrugged and looked back to Barnabas. “Asterio and I were talking about where we should live now that we’re mated, and I realized that some of the fae don’t know much about our world.” “Something we were discussing as well,” Barnabas replied with a tired sigh. “I’m just not sure how to bridge the gap so they don’t feel like such outsiders.” “Well, I’m not sure about bridging the gap, but I had an idea on how to maybe have some fun and give the fae an intro to our world.” Barnabas and the Queen exchanged a look before they both nodded for him to continue. “I’m assuming the fae are also used to different foods?” “That’s true.” The Queen looked as interested as I know felt. “Do you have popcorn?” He smiled and Barnabas burst out laughing. I wasn’t sure why the strange food made the man laugh but it intrigued me even more. The Queen looked at her grandson as if he’d lost his mind. “Not that I ever heard of.” “I think we should find that Discovery Channel’s Planet Earth series, make a bunch of movie munchies, and just let the fae relax. I mean, they’d get an intro without being thrown into the deep end like if we just showed them current movies, and they could sample some of the fun stuff we have to offer here.” “Smart and beautiful,” Mav said from one of the couches to our right. I hadn’t even seen him there. I’d been so focused on the Queen and Tyler’s idea that I missed our mate being in the room. “Glad you think so, mate.” Tyler was still bright red, but he blew Mav a kiss. “Maverick is your other mate?” the Queen asked, glancing between us. I nodded and she smiled. “Then you have been blessed with two wonderful mates, my boy. I like him very much. He’s smart, confident, and when he was talking to us about stepping down in his

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role to live a life with his new mates, I found myself respecting him even more for having his priorities in line. I bless your mating a thousand times and praise the gods that you have found them.” “Thank you,” I whispered, my heart soaring at her words. It was a formal statement a parent gave their child when they found their mates and approved. Having lost my parents, I never thought I’d have someone say the words to me. I went over to her, pulled her into my arms, and twirled her in the air. “Thank you, Magdalena. I think they are wonderful, too.” “You deserve to be happy, Asterio. I will be staying here with Barnabas, but I give you leave from being one of my personal guards so that you can focus on your mates.” “Thank you, but if you ever travel past the safety of their community, I must insist I be on your protection detail,” I replied firmly. I didn’t just keep her safe because she was my Queen. She was my family, too. I glanced at Mav and then Tyler. “Can I say that now that I’m mated? You have to understand, the Queen is the only mother I’ve ever known.” “Talk with us next time before you make the decision that could affect us all,” Mav said hesitantly, but with a soft smile so I took that as a good sign. “But we understand given the circumstances.” “I agree. Protect your mom, Queen, but if you get hurt doing it, we’re going to kick your ass.” Tyler slid his hand in mine as I let the Queen go. “We understand duty, Asterio. Mav is head of security for one of his own royals, and I was protector of my pack.” “Why are you not now?” I asked with a raised brow. He hadn’t quit since we met, and I wanted to know more about my mate. “Um, that’s more a, um, private conversation,” Tyler mumbled. I wasn’t sure what to say then but it seemed Mav knew. “I’m sure someone around here has that series Tyler suggested,” our mate said smoothly, giving me a nod that he understood. Then he mouthed I’ll explain later and I relaxed. I understood Tyler not

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wanting to talk about certain things in front of everyone, but I couldn’t help but worry something was wrong. “Actually, I own it,” Barnabas announced. “I was laughing at the popcorn idea because Tyler’s absolutely right. We need to start small and the rest they will pick up. We’ve been stressing about the gap between our worlds like they have to learn it all this minute. There’s no need for that. Let’s have some fun. I say we call some of the wolves and warriors as well, and that way we’ll have people here to help explain things if questions arise.” “Or just give everyone an adjustment buddy,” Tyler suggested. “Like we did in the pack with pups who were just going through puberty. One of the older members took them under their wing, taught them how to control their shift, how to hunt, and how to handle being in wolf form. It always worked better when the person wasn’t immediately related to them because then the pup could feel better about being open with their concerns.” “I think we found our adjustment coordinator,” the Queen said with a smile. “Your huh?” Tyler’s face paled instantly, his smile gone. “No, please don’t make me in charge of getting the fae adjusted to our world. I’m not the right person for that. All I’ve seen outside of the pack and in it is pain until I moved here. I’m not of sound mind enough to tell anyone about how things should be. It was just an idea for some—” “Cub, stop,” Mav said sternly as he rushed to Tyler’s side. “The Queen was merely making a suggestion and paying you a compliment. No one said you had to do it, okay? You never have to be in charge again. Why don’t you go talk with Barnabas about getting the media room set up and find that series you were talking about? Maybe go see the cook and think of some fun food. I bet the fae would like cupcakes, too. I know I do.” “I’m sorry,” Tyler whispered, breaking my heart.

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“Nothing to be sorry for,” I said quickly and joined in their hug. “Those cupcakes and that popcorn sound great. Will you save me some?” He nodded but gave Tyler a knowing look. “You’re going to tell Asterio what you saw in my memories, aren’t you?” “I think he needs to know, and it would be too hard for you do be the one to do it, don’t you?” Mav was being so gentle with our obviously fragile mate. It made my heart cry out for whatever Tyler had been through. “Promise you won’t leave me when you hear how bad my past was?” Tyler looked on the verge of tears and scared out of his mind. “Never, cub. We all have things in our past that have hurt. I’d never abandon my mate because of his.” “I hope you say that after Mav tells you everything.” He pulled away then and practically ran for the door. Barnabas gave us a nod as he chased after Tyler, letting us know our mate was in good hands. Once they were gone, the Queen turned to us, looking stricken. “I apologize profusely. I did not mean to bring up bad memories. I think your mate is smart and talented, and with the ideas he presented, I only meant he was wise and could help the fae acclimate.” “I know, your highness,” Mav said with a sad smile. “Tyler’s had a rough past that you couldn’t have known about.” He gestured for everyone to sit, Miles and Digger leaning against the desk as the Queen and I sat on the couch. Mav started pacing in front of us. That made me nervous. “Tyler is a physically strong wolf, but he grew up alone with parents who didn’t seem to want the child they had. Then when he was barely an adult, he was kidnapped by demons and used as their blood whore for years.” Mav shot me a look that said there was clearly more to the story than what everyone needed to hear. I nodded my understanding. “When some warriors freed him, he went back to his pack and the asshole Alpha didn’t want to take him back.”

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“My gods, why? I would think any leader would be thrilled that one of their own was safe.” I shared the Queen’s sentiments. “He wasn’t a good leader but a power-hungry jerk who looked down on Tyler for ever having been taken.” Mav sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “The Alpha said Tyler could stay if he could fight his way up the pack to the role of enforcer and protector, proving he was strong enough not to let what happened to him ever happen again.” That was some sick and twisted logic in my book. “He did, but he never wanted to be an enforcer. “He hated the Alpha but was between a rock and a hard place. Shifters that get thrown out of their pack can’t join another pack. They’re like outcasts to the community and no one can even speak to them without having the same fate. But he did the best he could because he’s strong, but after the life he’s lived, he’s fragile, too, in some ways.” “Understandably so,” I mumbled as the Queen took my hand. I gave it a light squeeze so she understood I appreciated her support. “I heard Ayden say that Tyler saved him,” Miles hedged, glancing at Mav. “He did by offering himself in Ayden’s place to the Alpha and anyone who wanted Ayden. I saw it all in his head. That pack treated him worse than the demons ever did, using his body in any way they saw fit. Our mate has suffered trauma after trauma in the name of trying to protect his own. After what he endured, I understand why he doesn’t want a leadership role ever again.” “Thank you for explaining this to us,” the Queen said sympathetically. “I try to stay out of people’s minds unless it’s needed, but I appreciate your trust and I will keep Tyler’s confidence and make sure none of my people pressure him for help.” “Oh, he likes to help. He’s great at building and has already refurbished one house in this coven and will do so for Barnabas as well. He can even direct people on what to do like a foreman.” I wasn’t sure what that last word was either, but I got the general idea.

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“It was just that when you talked about him being in charge of how the fae acclimate here, he worried that their happiness might hinge on his actions, and he can’t handle that.” “Then we need to make his idea a success so he knows that he can always come to us with what he’s thinking.” I met Mav’s gaze and knew my mate agreed. Good. We were on the same page and would give Tyler what he needed. Love and a sense that he was worth it.

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Chapter 5 Maverick “Hey, cub,” I said as Asterio and I found Tyler in the kitchen with Barnabas, planning some munchies for the show. He turned and looked at us nervously until I held my arms out for him. Tyler sighed and walked right into them. “Did you tell him everything?” “No, not the part that you think you should be so embarrassed about since we were in mixed company. I think that’s for you to tell him and I wouldn’t worry about it. There’s nothing wrong with what you like in bed, Tyler,” I whispered in his ear so quietly no one else could hear us. “You gave Asterio an idea earlier of what you like and he didn’t run, right?” “Good point. But no matter what, you won’t ever leave me, yeah?” “Not going anywhere, cub,” I said gently, understanding his insecurities after all he’d been through. He nodded against my chest as I looked over to Barnabas. “Lord Caleb texted me that he has time now to speak with me. By any chance, do you have a video conferencing device I can use? I think this discussion should be faceto-face even if we’re far away.” “I understand. Caleb seems like a good guy, Mav. He’ll support your decision.” Barnabas gave me a soft smile and led the way. I was surprised when we ended up in a media room instead of back in his study. He must have understood because he gave me a wink as he pulled out a remote keyboard and started typing. “Why use a laptop when most TVs are Wi-Fi nowadays? Besides, I like cool toys.”

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“Yes you do.” Miles chuckled, shaking his head. “Letting him on Amazon or Staples is just dangerous. We’ve blocked Best Buy from his computer.” “Toys are cool.” Barnabas gave his mate a mock pout as he handed me the keyboard. “Just type in Caleb’s log-in to connect to him.” He sauntered over to his mate. “I’ve got time for a bit and some new toys I’ve not showed you.” “Have a good call,” Miles growled as he swooped up his mate into his arms and raced from the room. “Now I’m horny.” Tyler snickered. “I want to play with toys.” “After I talk with Caleb.” I rolled my eyes, loving his antics but knowing full well he was doing it because he understood I was freaking out about resigning. I typed in what was needed, along with my password for my log-in. The screen blinked, indicating that it was waiting for the other user to answer. “It’s going to be okay, Mav,” Asterio said gently as he rubbed my back with his left hand, standing at my side. “We’ll figure this all out.” While it was nice to have the we when I was worried, I knew they needed me. Tyler was traumatized and had never dealt with it. Asterio lived on another plane his whole life and didn’t have a clue on how to live life here. In other words, they needed me more than Caleb did. “My Lord Caleb,” I said with a bow as his image appeared on the large screen, my mates following suit. “Damn, Mav, how many times do I have to tell you just to call me Ca—ah. We’re not alone.” Caleb’s smile fell with understanding and then came right back, but I could tell it was fake. I understood, I did. He wanted to be happy for me, but with a baby on the way he was worried about his own. “You’ve met your mates.” “I have. I know you sent me on this trip to help clear my head because you knew I haven’t been happy.” “Wow, and here I thought I was being stealthy.” He chuckled. “Guess not.”

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“I know you, Caleb,” I said, showing my fondness in my voice. “And I thank you for sending me because it led me to what I needed most—my mates.” “And now you want to resign.” “What?” someone bellowed in the background before Liam came on screen. They might be identical twins, but I’d long since learned to tell them apart. One way being that Liam could sometimes be a diva whereas Lorcan was quick to anger even though he hid it well. “You can’t quit. I forbid it. We’re about to have a baby. Our head of security—” “My mate can do anything he damn well pleases,” Tyler growled, and his teeth elongated at the potential threat he saw. “He’s spent almost two millennia protecting others and doing his duty. That’s longer than most. It’s time for him to do what he wants and be happy.” “He knows that, cub,” I said gently as I pulled him to stand in front of me and wrapped my arms around him. Tyler calmed down and made contented noises at my touch. “They’re about to have a baby. They’re worried.” I focused on Liam then. “Do you really think that I’d ever leave you in any danger? I know the men I work with, Lord Liam. Any number of them are more than capable to take my place.” “Yeah, um, sorry,” Liam mumbled. “It’s just our surrogate went into false labor last night and we’re all over the place. The idea of our security changing and someone else in charge is scary.” “I understand, but on the other side of the coin, someone new might see things I wouldn’t after doing things the way I did for so long. New blood in charge can be a good thing. Like when Caleb took over.” I’d thought of that argument last night. I was pretty sure it was a damn good one. “You have someone in mind?” Caleb asked as he pulled his mate down to his lap.

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“I have two in mind, actually,” I answered hesitantly, not sure how this next part would go over. “My job is too big for one person, Caleb.” “Why didn’t you ever tell me that, Mav?” “Because I could handle it,” I sighed. “I’ve been doing this for a long, long time, and you needed the help when you started from someone you trusted. But it left me with no life, and I think I just got burnt out. I was either going to resign when I got home or tell you that two people should be doing my job. Finding my mates made the decision for me.” “So one head of security and one head of the warriors,” Caleb mumbled as he wrote down notes. “I wondered why you did both since we had a coordinator at the warrior compound.” “That’s what I used to do until we found out that you were alive. Then protecting you was the most important thing and I was the oldest and most qualified. So I became the head of your security, but they never filled my position and you were trying to do it when you started. Then you added it to my job—” “He gets it,” Tyler said gently, cutting me off. He rubbed his hands down my thighs and hips, reminding me that I was here with my mates now and happy. “Two people for your job.” “Yeah, I do and I’m sorry that I never realized that it should have been two people, Mav.” I could see that Caleb was upset and that was the last thing I wanted. “Hey, I would have spoken up if I couldn’t handle it,” I replied with a smile. “I was going to when things calmed down and you got better acclimated. But it was just kind of one thing after another and I never got around to it.” “Well, thanks for making sure I knew that you should have two replacements. Are you still going to be able to help get the fae coming to Greece organized and on the plane, or should I send someone else?”

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“No, I’ll handle it,” I answered with a chuckle. “They’re going to be delayed a day or two because my mate had an idea on how to give them an intro to our world.” “Really?” Caleb raised an eyebrow and sat back in his chair. “Do tell.” So I did. Tyler jumped in and helped with the theory behind the idea. Then Asterio added his two cents on how he was looking forward to it because, never having been on our world, it was intimidating. We talked to Caleb and Liam a little more before wrapping up. I gave him my suggestions on who to promote and went over the details about how far the fae had gotten with loading up the plane with their belongings. It was a lot of stuff after all. They wished me the best and made me promise to keep in touch. Of course I would. I cared about their family. When it was done, I flopped down on one of the couches, totally in shock. “I just quit.” “Yes you did,” Tyler said gently and then raised my arms. I wasn’t really paying attention, but did as he wanted. “It’s what you want, right?” “Yeah, but it was harder than I thought it would be. I feel like I let them all down.” “You didn’t, Mav,” Asterio whispered against my cheek and gave me a kiss. He was undoing my belt and then suddenly I was naked. Um, how did I miss that one? “Let us take care of you.” “I’m okay.” I wasn’t, but they needed me and now wasn’t the time to have a meltdown. “No you’re not,” Tyler whispered softly as he took my face in his hands. He was naked now, too. Wow, I’d really been more shocked than I thought if I’d missed my mate undressing. “Asterio, can you put him in me? I’m trying to make sure he stays focused.”

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“Sure,” he agreed and then I felt his large hands on my cock. He pushed it against Tyler’s hole and my mate slid down, taking me inside of him. “Get naked because you’re going to fuck me next while I’m still on top of Mav,” Tyler said with a growl. “I’m feeling very slutty.” “You are so damn hot,” I whispered as I buried my face in his neck and moved my hands to his ass. Maybe they were right and I wasn’t fine. I did need this. I felt reassured, and it wasn’t the sex, though that’s always a plus. It was their need for me and mine for them. I was reminded that the whole reason I’d resigned was that I needed to put them first just as they were doing for me right then. I didn’t fail Caleb. I freed myself so I could love my mates like they deserved. “You’re not talking dirty to me or taking charge,” Tyler chastised quietly when I got lost in my own thoughts. “Am I pushing you when you’re not ready yet?” “No,” I snarled, lifting my head so fast that he leaned back and almost fell off my lap. I held him tightly and started helping him move. “I will always need you, cub. This is perfect, and it warms my heart that you knew I needed to feel our connection even when I didn’t.” “Okay, good,” he moaned as he rode me. “Yeah, cub, be a good slut and fuck yourself on my cock,” I taunted, his eyes going wide. I knew what he wanted the moment he tilted his neck. “Just a sip or we won’t get anything else done today.” “I just want you to desperately need me,” he mumbled, trying to pull my face back to his neck to drink. “I don’t need your blood for that.” In a flash I rolled us so he was under me on the couch. I pinned his arms over his head and thrust into him savagely. “Don’t you ever think that’s the only reason I take you with such passion. Your blood can keep me going all day and night, Tyler. But that’s never the reason I want you as badly as I do.”

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“I’m sorry, don’t be mad,” he whispered with a worried expression on his face. “Not mad,” I grunted, pounding into him hard enough that the couch creaked. “Just wanted to clarify. I want you, Tyler. Not just your body, not just the hot sex, and not just your blood. I want all of you. Your heart, your emotions, your love, cub. I’m demanding like that.” “Okay.” He smiled at me and then pursed his lips for a kiss. I leaned over and ravaged his willing mouth like I was his body. We both peaked together, and I filled Tyler up with my seed, marking him as mine. When we were done, I let him go but pulled him back up so he was on my lap, lying against my chest. “I love being your slut.” “Me, too.” I chuckled as I caught Asterio’s gaze. Oh yeah, our mate wanted some lovin’, too. If the lust in his eyes was anything to go by, he wanted it for a week straight. “I think you should be Asterio’s slut while I play with him.” He nodded, palming his huge cock. I’d seen Caleb’s foot-long meat but at seven and a half feet, Asterio was even bigger. I was glad Tyler’s body automatically adjusted to the size of his mates because that cock would hurt otherwise. I wasn’t small, wider than any dick I’d ever seen before, but our mate was wide and very long. “We don’t have any slick since Tyler loves to be taken and his body naturally prepares himself for sex with mates,” I explained as Asterio stared at where we were still joined. “So I was thinking I might drink from you and play a bit if that’s okay. Until we get some lube later?” “I would be honored to provide my mate with the sustenance he needs,” he answered with a nod. I didn’t mean it to be a formal affair, but I took it as the way fae did things and let it go. “Can I suck you off while he fucks me?” Tyler asked, his cheeks turning bright red as he moved off my lap.

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“Hey, there’s no shame in what we share together, cub. Never be embarrassed to ask for what you want.” “But Asterio needs to know.” Tyler’s face was filled with such shame that it broke my heart. “Learning each other’s kinks is half the fun, Tyler,” Asterio said playfully as he lifted Tyler up as if he weighed nothing and threw him over his shoulder. “I know you like kinky and to play the slut. That’s enough for now. I’ve always wanted someone I could be wild with in bed. I hate to admit it, but for my age, I’m not very experienced and have only had white sex.” “Wait, huh?” I asked, drawing my eyebrows in confusion. “You’ve only had sex with white guys?” “No, we have darker-skinned fae as well,” he answered, but then realized the problem. “I heard one of the vampires speaking about how he was thinking of breaking up with his girlfriend because she was only into white ice cream sex and he needed more.” “Vanilla,” Tyler exclaimed, biting his lip to keep from laughing. “Vanilla sex, not white sex, big guy. Vanilla is white ice cream but the phrase is vanilla sex.” “Oh, okay, so I’ve only had vanilla,” Asterio mumbled. “I’m not sure what sex has to do with ice cream, but I do like ice cream.” “There’s all sorts of ice cream, like types of sex,” Tyler explained patiently with a smile as Asterio set him on his feet. “Vanilla is considered plain ice cream, no extra stuff added. So when people talk about plain sex, missionary style, very calm and reserved, they just say it’s vanilla.” “But you were just in that position with Mav and it wasn’t very reserved.” “No, not all missionary is vanilla,” Tyler purred, leaning forward to lick Asterio’s nipple. “We threw on some hot fudge, whip cream, and lots of cherries and nuts.” “I like nuts,” Asterio whispered in a breathy tone. “You want me to take charge of our coupling, yes?”

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“Uh-huh.” Tyler looked a little like his brain had left the building at the question. But then again, his cock was so hard and leaking I didn’t think there was much blood left for the rest of his body. “Good,” our massive warrior growled. He spun Tyler around and pushed him over the side of the couch, spreading his legs wide. I watched as he pushed his massive cock into Tyler slowly. “You will suck Mav off, take him all the way in your hot little mouth. When you are close to coming, I want to hear you scream your pleasure as he comes all over your face.” “Yes,” Tyler whimpered. I quickly grabbed my undershirt and dipped it in the glass of water I had brought in with me before cleaning myself up. By the time I was done, Asterio was fully inside of Tyler, who seemed to be loving it. “Oh god, Mav has such a fat cock that stretches me perfectly. But I’ve never taken anyone so long before. Fuck! You use my hole so good. Slap me!” “What?” Asterio gasped, pulling back out of him immediately. “I will not hit my mate!” “No, his ass,” I said gently, when Tyler buried his head in the cushions in shame. “Not beat him. Spank his firm ass.” Asterio gave me a worried look but nodded. He did as I said, Tyler moaning and squirming. “You wanted to try new things and not have vanilla sex. This is what our mate likes.” “I find I do, too,” he whispered in awe, staring at the handprint he’d left. “Promise to tell me if I hurt you, cub.” “I will,” Tyler mumbled as he lifted his head and looked at me. He mouthed thank you and I smiled. I moved to kneel on the couch, my dick level with his face, and he got the idea. Tyler took me into his mouth as Asterio spanked him and thrust back in. “You feel wonderful, my mate.” Tyler moaned, his eyes almost rolling back in his head as he sucked me off. With all this stimulation, I wasn’t going to last long. I ran my fingers through his hair, grabbing a handful as I started

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thrusting into his mouth. Tyler went wild, trying to push back to take more of Asterio’s dick as he swallowed mine. “Be still,” Asterio commanded as he slapped Tyler’s ass hard. Our mate nodded as we gave him what he wanted… What we wanted. A few minutes later, Tyler whimpered and I let his head go, pulling out of his mouth. He gave me a nod and screamed. “I’m coming. Oh fuck, I’m coming. Am I a good slut, Asterio? Will I get more of your cock?” “Oh yes,” he grunted as I stroked myself fast. I liked the idea of blowing my load all over Tyler’s face and was glad Asterio had thought of it. I’d never done that before, but the idea was hot. “You please me very much, my hot slut. You will make a wonderful mate.” “Yes, I’ll be a good mate,” Tyler agreed immediately. “Do you pledge yourself to us and only us forever?” I asked, cupping his cheek with my free hand. “Yes, always.” Asterio gave me a look of understanding and added a question of his own. “Will you always come to us for your needs and ask for what you want, trusting us to give it to you as mates should?” “Yes,” Tyler whimpered, “I will never look to any other. I will be faithful and love you both.” “Good, cub,” I praised as Asterio leaned closer to me and tilted his neck. I took the offering, sinking my fangs into his neck. As I drank him down, I felt weird. His blood wasn’t like Tyler’s or any other I’d ever had before. I felt almost bespelled. That was odd. But I pushed the thought aside as I came, spraying cum all over Tyler’s face and roaring out my release. Well, I’d had my first ménage. It was better than I’d ever have imagined, and I looked forward to many, many more.

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Chapter 6 Tyler When we were done, all lying over each other in a heap, trying to calm down, I started laughing. Oh god, could my mates give me everything I’d ever wanted and more. They didn’t just master my body and help me with my insecurities… They cared about me. I never thought it possible. “Can I get you anything, Asterio?” Mav asked our mate as he pushed me off of them and dumped me on the floor. What the fuck? “No, I’m good,” he answered, glancing between us. His guess was as good as mine. “Let me lick you clean and then I’ll get you something to drink. You must be parched,” Mav rambled and buried his face in Asterio’s groin. “Mav, it’s fine,” he moaned but didn’t push him away. I lay there on the floor, watching them like an idiot. Um, hi? I was there, too. Hell, I had Mav’s cum all over my face and he was jumping to clean up Asterio? What the fuck? I rolled to my feet and picked up my discarded shirt, using it like a rag and cleaning myself up. I felt like maybe I was being a diva but I had both their cum on me, and I felt like I was being tossed aside. Well, pushed aside to be more accurate. “Where are you going?” Asterio asked as I yanked on my shoes now that I had my jeans on. “Surprised you noticed,” I grumbled. “Wait, Tyler, hang on,” he called out just as I got to the door.

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“Do you want him to stay? I can make him stay, Asterio.” Mav’s eyes were darting between him and me when I looked over my shoulder. “I can give him orgasms. Would that make you happy? Then he’d stay.” “Well, yes, I want him to stay,” Asterio said slowly, staring at Mav as if he’d grown a second head. My sentiments exactly. “Are you on crack?” I asked Mav instead. “No.” He stared intently at me and instantly I fell to my knees, his gift forcing my orgasm out of nowhere. By the time I was done riding it out, Mav was back to sucking on Asterio and I was forgotten. Great, they hurt my feelings and now I’d creamed in my pants. Just fucking great. I slipped out of the room and headed to the back of the house. I ignored everyone, needing to let my wolf out and run. The moment I was on the back terrace, I stripped, not paying attention to the gasps and people around. I shifted and my wolf let out a howl of pain. Then I took off running full speed so I could sort things out. I just didn’t understand. Mav had been so patient with me and gentle after we had sex before today. Granted, I didn’t always need that. Sometimes a quickie was just a quickie. But dumping me on the floor and worrying about Asterio? What was up with that? He was acting like some OCD manic person! What had changed since earlier when he cared about my feelings? And I knew it threw Asterio for a loop as well, but he hadn’t fought real hard to stop his blow job and figure it out. The change had to be something with Asterio. Did Mav respect him more and like him better because he wasn’t damaged like I was? Was Mav going to love his mate that wasn’t screwed up and I was just going to be their toy now? Then one of my racing thoughts stood out among the rest. The change had to be something with Asterio. But what? I replayed what happened and stumbled in my running when it hit me. Mav had had

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his blood. Mine made him horny, a little frantic, and all growly. What if fae blood affected vampires in a different way? I righted myself and took off back toward the house. The moment I got there I shifted and walked into the kitchen. I headed to Barnabas’s office, hoping to find the Queen there. I knocked and entered when I was told to come in. I glanced around the room frantically until I found her. “Does fae blood whack vampires out?” I had to know and she was the woman after all, the woman in charge. “My dear, you’re naked,” she said uncomfortably as she looked anywhere but at me. “Yeah, doesn’t bother shifters to walk around naked. I’ll put on clothes later. Please answer me. Mav’s acting all weird and he dumped me off the couch after sex and he was almost manically trying to do whatever made Asterio—” “Tyler, take a breath,” Barnabas said gently. I nodded and realized I’d been rubbing my chest. It ached so bad. I knew it was bad to hope that fae blood fucked with vampires, but the alternative was too much to think about. If it wasn’t the blood, then my mate just didn’t care. And I needed him to care. Just then the door flew open and Asterio came racing in dragging Mav behind him. “I think our blood screws with vampires.” “I came to ask the same question,” I sighed, taking in that they’d finished their fun and were both now dressed. “You’re naked,” Asterio growled. “Why?” “Do you not want him naked, Asterio?” Mav asked as he hopped from one foot to the other. It was weird thing to see a man so big practically bounce around. “I’ll go get his clothes if it makes you happy.” “Oh, this is odd,” the Queen whispered, taking it all in. “Maverick, I want you to let go of Asterio’s hand.”

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“No, I don’t want to,” Mav said with a pout, moving closer to Asterio. “I need to make him happy. I want to be at his side. I can make him happy.” “See? He’s like some manic crackhead!” I shouted, throwing my hands up in the air. “What is going on?” “Barnabas, I saw your fathers like this once,” Miles said quietly as he moved closer to Mav, studying him carefully. “I was their guard, so it wasn’t like they told me everything. But come to think of it, they did drink from bags of blood and humans before there were blood banks. Normally that’s not acceptable in a mating.” “Yes, your fathers said something once about your mother already running the relationship, they didn’t need her blood, too,” Zachariah, Barnabas’s advisor, agreed. “I never thought about it as more than a joke. But it sounds like fae blood makes a vampire subservient.” “Mav, let go of my hand,” Asterio said gently. “No!” Mav wailed, clutching onto Asterio. “Why would you want to cast me away? I can change. Just tell me what I need to do to make you happy!” The Queen had moved closer while all this was going on. She touched Mav’s head. “Sleep.” Instantly Mav went limp and Asterio caught him in time. “I don’t understand this,” I whispered, plopping on the sofa. “He shoved me off the couch like I meant nothing to him. Even if Asterio’s blood affected him funny, shouldn’t he still care about me? He could worry about me and still make Asterio happy.” “Cub, he seemed almost manic and obsessive about it,” he said gently as he laid Mav on the other couch. “You said your blood affects him in a horny way. My blood seems to affect him in a different way. He didn’t seem to be able to control it.” He reached over to touch me and I pulled away. “Cub?” “You didn’t stop him either,” I whispered as I stood and moved away from him. “You just stared at me funny when he dumped me on the floor. Oh sure, you tried to get me not to leave, but it wasn’t a

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very valiant effort. Getting head from manic Mav was more important than how I was feeling, right?” “Tyler, that’s not true.” He hung his head in shame. Maybe it wasn’t, but he sure as hell hadn’t put up much of a fight. “I was shocked by it all. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t realize something was wrong with him right away. It was our first time together. I didn’t want to upset either of you.” “And yet you did.” I shook my head and moved toward the door. “I’ll see you guys around.” “Tyler, wait—” “No,” I growled as I yanked the door open. “Go get another blow job from Mav so you can forget I was ever here.” Yeah, I was being an ass. But we didn’t know for sure it was his blood that wigged out Mav. And Asterio hadn’t handled it very well. I’m sorry I was being a brat, but was it so wrong that I wanted them to make me a priority? Especially over a blow job? “Let me get this straight,” Queen Magdalena yelled before I even stepped out into the hallway. The door shut behind me, but I could still hear her loud and clear. “One mate pushes the other off the couch after you were intimate, distracts you with oral sex, and you just forget about the other one on the floor?” “Yes, but I didn’t know what to do when Mav moved and Tyler fell to the floor. I don’t think he pushed him, more like he moved and Tyler rolled off. Or maybe he did. I don’t know. I just sat there wondering what the hell was going on. And then Mav was on me and Tyler was leaving and—fine, I suck,” Asterio ended, probably realizing there just was no good way to defend himself. I kept walking. I went back and found my clothes, pulling them on with jerky, angry motions. Suddenly there was someone behind me, grabbing my hips. “Don’t get dressed on our account, you sexy wolf,” he purred in my ear. “Want to play?”

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“Yes, but I’m mated to idiots and I guess they’re done playing with me,” I answered, intentionally missing that he was offering to play with me. The moment I said I was mated, he let me go and stepped away. I turned around and gasped. There were three huge fae warriors staring at me with such lust I couldn’t help but shiver. I was mated, not dead. “They didn’t hurt you, did they, little one?” he asked gently as he reached out and cupped my cheek. “No, not physically. I think your blood turns vamps into morons and the other just needs to pull his head out of his ass.” “How could they not worship such a bounty as you? If I was your mate, I would cherish you always. You look like you’re made for pleasure, little wolf.” “He is, but he’s not yours, Lavache,” Asterio growled, his very deep voice going even lower. Dangerous almost. “The wolf stated he was mated,” the guy snapped. “His feelings were hurt and I saw no harm in telling him that it couldn’t be because of anything he did.” “Fine, but take your hand off my mate.” Asterio stormed over to us and pulled me away from the guy. I shoved him and stepped away from them both. “I’m sorry, cub.” “Whatever, it’s cool. Want to have sex again?” I couldn’t force them to make me a priority and I was stuck with Asterio and Mav. So fine. We could be mates. I was just done with letting them in. “Yes. No, wait, what? You’re mad at me but yet you want sex?” The confused look on his face was almost funny. “I can’t change the way you feel but we both love fucking. So fuck me. Take me right here in front of everyone and show them who you belong to.” “I will not treat my mate like a common whore.” He leaned in and whispered in my ear so only I could hear. “Playing slut when we’re alone is one thing, Tyler, but I won’t have a slut for a mate.”

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“Fuck you.” Tears burned in my eyes as I shoved him with all my strength so he stumbled back a few feet. “That wasn’t me being a slut. That was me being a wolf. We don’t have hang-ups about having sex in front of others. These men want me but I’m yours. I was telling you it’s okay to show them exactly who I belong to. I was submitting to my mate, allowing him to prove his dominance over me.” “Oh.” He paled and took a step toward me. I shook my head and stepped away. “Strike two, Asterio. You get to three and I’m going back to live with Darcy and Ayden. Even if I was the biggest slut in the world and liked public sex just because I’m an exhibitionist, there’s nothing wrong with that. I’d only be a slut with my mates, and I thought you agreed we could be ourselves with each other. What happened to that?” “Tyler, I’m sorry.” Yeah, he looked it, like someone had run over his puppy and told him he was cut off from sex forever. Great. He was sorry. He still hurt me though. I eyed him over as a tear leaked out of my eye. “Yeah, me, too. Thanks for giving me a glimpse of what happiness could be like before you ripped it away.” I headed into the house, ignoring that he yelled after me. I went back to talking with the cook and the temporary staff Barnabas had hired to accommodate all the fae staying at the estate. We planned out food and fun for movie night and their introduction to the planet. Originally I’d done it to help my mate feel that he wasn’t a fish out of water. Now I didn’t care if he took a long walk off a short pier. When I was done, I decided to head home anyways. Mav was out and we didn’t know what was going on with him. Maybe I deserved what I was getting because I didn’t want to sit there and hold his hand. But then again, could anyone be strong enough to do that when their mate was manic about their other mate and not them? I didn’t know, and I was having trouble caring. I was tired, needing a shower and a change of clothes. I’d been wearing the same

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clothes for days. Okay, I hadn’t been wearing them much, but the point was still the same. I grabbed my stuff from the room I’d been using with Mav and headed to my truck. I walked right by the Queen and Barnabas when they tried to stop me, shaking my head that I couldn’t deal right then. As I pulled out of the estate, I realized who I had ignored. Shit. Could I get in trouble for that? I mean, the head of the East Coast Council and the Queen of the fae asked to speak with me and I walked away from them. Was that a death offense? I mean, if I’d done that to my Alpha, he’d have kicked my ass. Big-time. But again, it was a fleeting thought because I was having trouble giving two shits. I was lost in my own screwed-up head, most likely overreacting to what was going on. It’s just they really hurt me, whether it was on purpose or not. All my life people didn’t care about me. I was an afterthought, someone people used to get what they wanted. For a whole two days that wasn’t the case, and now I felt like someone yanked the rug out from underneath me. I pulled up and parked by the garage at home. I turned off the truck and stared at the house that wasn’t mine. But it felt like the closest thing I’d ever had to a real home. Even the house I had on pack lands never felt like home because I wasn’t safe there. In this house I felt safe, but now it was missing a part of me in the form of my mates. And I didn’t want to be there either. I didn’t know where I wanted to be. I got out of my truck and went inside, sighing when I saw Ayden waiting for me. “Please don’t. I can’t handle any more shit.” “I just got a text from Barnabas that you ran from your mates,” he growled, stepping in front of me when I tried to move around him. “Why would you run, Tyler? Barnabas said the one is freaking out and the other is passed out. What the hell happened that you ran?” “You don’t know anything, okay?” I shouted, not caring when we started to draw a crowd. “They hurt me, Ayden. But your lack of

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confidence is heartwarming. After everything, you think I would do something to them and just leave? What the hell, man? Haven’t I always had your back? Haven’t I thrown myself time and time again in the way of the Alpha to save you? Now suddenly you assume I did something wrong when there’s trouble. I came back for some clean clothes and to get a little space. I think I’m allowed that!” “Tyler, I didn’t mean it like that,” he said gently. “Yeah right. I saw the judgment in your eyes. You’re growling at me when I walk in like it’s all my fault. Whatever. Why would anyone care what I’m feeling? Everyone just uses me for what they want, but I’m the one everyone blames. The Alpha blamed me for you leaving, Asterio blames me for the way I am, you blame me because they screwed up. Well, fuck all of you!” I turned and stormed up the stairs. Fuck it. I was so out of here! I was taking a shower and a nap and then packing my shit and hitting the road. “I didn’t mean it was his fault,” Ayden said from downstairs just as I got to my room. I assumed he was talking to Darcy. Yeah, he had a mate that would be there for him and comfort him even when he stuck his foot in his mouth. Me? Oh no. Mine shoved me off the couch and the other one demanded that I change who I am. Great. Just fucking great. I yanked off my clothes once I was in my room and jumped in the shower. I scrubbed my skin so hard that I was surprised I wasn’t covered in cuts and bleeding. It was like I thought if I washed them off me I wouldn’t break down crying. It worked until after I finished and dried off. The instant I crawled into my cold bed alone, I felt their loss and all the pain from my life seemed to drown me. Tears burned in my eyes as my despair seemed to build. I just wanted some sleep, not that I cared if I ever woke up again. After all, what did I have to look forward to?

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Chapter 7 Asterio I was sitting at the back of what I heard someone call the media room and mini theater. I didn’t know what media even was or a theater? We had a theater back home for plays, but it was outside with a stage. So all around, everything in the world confused me. I just wanted my mates’ calming presence. I didn’t want to know more about this world and explore it without them. After Tyler had left, no one would let me go after him. It’s not like I could just walk around until I found him. And I didn’t know how to drive one of those metal machines. They wouldn’t let me call him on the phone, which was an ingenious invention, and said to leave him to cool off. I respected my Queen but right then I was pissed at her. I didn’t think she had any right to get involved in my mating. I mean, what if all Tyler wanted was for me to come after him and make things better? What if giving him space just put more space between us that I couldn’t fix later? And what the hell was I going to do about Mav? The Queen said she put him to sleep until my blood worked itself out of his system and he returned back to normal. How long would that take? And how did I ever explain that I upset Tyler so badly that he left? The show started and I felt overwhelming sadness. Tyler came up with this idea to help me and my people. Now he wasn’t even here to see if it helped because I drove him away. I was a horrible mate. I had no excuse, but I did have a few reasons that I handled things poorly. I

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really prayed to the gods that if I just got a chance to explain to Tyler that he’d understand. As lost in my own thoughts as I was, I couldn’t take my eyes off the show. They had the coolest inventions in this world. These TVs that showed pictures were fantastic. I felt like I was standing right there at the places it showed. It moved to show the whole Earth and I heard gasps around the room. That’s where we were? That huge planet? Then it changed views to show how the sun moved around, but that wasn’t what the woman was saying. She said the Earth and other planets moved around the sun and that was just one solar system. I’d have to look up what that was later, but it sounded big. I liked her voice. It was soothing. I heard one of my friends ask who she was. “That’s Sigourney Weaver. She’s an actress who plays characters in movies,” a vampire warrior, Ferris, explained. That had a bunch of people asking more questions. “Okay, maybe we need to get some notebooks in here so you guys can just start writing questions down and we can address them after the show so you don’t miss it.” I thought that was a great idea since I already had a dozen questions on my mind. He made the show stop, saying that he was pausing it. Wow! They could pause shows? How could he have the power to do that with that thing in his hand? Of course, someone then asked about that and he explained that the show was recorded and could be watched at any time. The thing in his hand was a remote and controlled the machine that played the recorded show. In other words, I was learning a lot in the span of a few minutes and not all of it made sense. Several others came back with pads of paper, which they called notebooks. It made sense, they were books for notes. We just called them writing pads, but it was basically the same thing. They also handed out writing instruments they called pens. We had pencils in our world, but I found these pens fun.

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I was delighted when I went to write down my first question and saw mine wrote in purple. If I could just get a grasp on this world and everything worked out with my mates, I thought I could be happy here. Their world was magical in its own way. I mean, here I sat, waiting for Ferris to unpause the show on the TV with my notebook and purple pen. If that wasn’t magic, I didn’t know what was. He started it again and I was fascinated even more than earlier. There was so much land in the world. We watched these adorable animals called penguins fight a snowstorm. Oh, how I would love to see snow someday. It sounded wonderful. I wasn’t sure I wanted snow like they had in this place called the Arctic, but one of the warriors explained that it didn’t snow like that everywhere. Everyone gasped when the scene changed and a large animal called a polar bear was struggling to get out of the snow. It was truly beautiful. It rolled down a hill of snow, and the soft-voiced woman said it was cleaning its fur. I didn’t think I ever wanted to bathe in snow, but animals were very adaptable like that. Her cubs popped their heads out of the hole in the snow and another larger wave of sadness hit me. I missed my cub. Granted, it might be a strange nickname to give to our mate, but it worked for us. Tyler wasn’t a child by any means of the word, though he was really young to us. But then again, we were really, really old. He’d been through a lot from what I already knew. Just in the grand scheme of things he was young. He was our cub, just not in the sense of a child. “Hey,” Mav said quietly as he sat down next to me. “Are you okay?” I asked, worried about his state of mind. “I am now, but I owe you and Tyler a huge ass apology. I don’t know what happened.” He looked distraught and I knew he needed me. I waved Ferris over and he leaned in. “Can I leave to tend to my mate and watch this show later? You said it was recorded and could be played anytime, right?”

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“Yeah, Mav can cue it up for you later. Go be with your mate,” the warrior said gently, his eyes understanding. I thanked him and took Mav’s hand as we quietly left the room so as not to disturb the others. When we got to the foyer, he asked the question I was dreading most to answer. “Where’s Tyler?” “Tyler left,” I whispered, shaking my head in grief. “He drove his machine off the estate and I didn’t have any way to follow him.” “Is–is he,” Mav stuttered and then swallowed loudly. “Is he coming back?” “I don’t know. He was upset about both of our reactions after we had sex with him. You for pushing him off the couch and not caring and me for putting a blow job in front of his feelings. Then I tried to make up for it while you were out. I found him on the terrace, naked, talking with one of the warriors and I freaked out. He was distant and upset but said I could fuck him in front of everyone.” I started to get choked up. “You didn’t realize that was a wolf thing, did you?” I could tell Mav wasn’t judging me, simply worried that I added to the problem. I nodded. “I said I wouldn’t treat him like a whore and that being our slut in private was one thing but I wouldn’t have some slut for a mate. I have no excuse. I was upset about what was going on with you, I’m adapting to this world, and I seem to always be one step behind on everything. I didn’t know and I didn’t like seeing someone else touching him. I regret how I handled it more than you can ever know, but he was gone before I could tell him that.” “Then you tell him that when we find him,” Mav said gently as he stood on his toes and kissed me. “We both screwed up but we didn’t mean to. He’s emotionally fragile after the shit life he’s had. We’ll fix this.”

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“I’m so sorry.” I hugged him to me, a moment away from bursting into tears. I never wanted to hurt my mates. I wanted to love them, but I screwed it all up. “Hey, you guys okay?” Ferris asked as he stepped into the foyer. “I heard Tyler’s gone, and I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help.” “Yes, actually,” Mav answered as we broke apart. “You’re staying at Darcy Burke’s house on assignment, right?” “Yeah. You want a ride there?” “Yes please.” “Okay, let me tell the others that I’ll be back.” Ferris jogged off as Mav slid his hand in mine. “Can you tell me what happened after you drank my blood?” I was curious to know how he felt about the whole incident. “It’s hard to explain. It tasted weird, almost as if it was laced with some chemical. Then the next thing I knew I felt frantic, this need clawing at me to please you. It was like there was nothing else I could focus on and nothing else mattered. It was so strange, but I couldn’t stop it.” “The Queen is looking into how it happened. We have no knowledge of our blood affecting vampires that way.” “I’m glad someone’s all over it because the vampires need to be warned, and I’d like to be able to feed from my mate when I need blood.” He smiled at me as Ferris came back and led us out to his driving machine. I stared at it apprehensively then glanced over to Mav. He smiled reassuringly when he saw the look on my face. “They’re safe, I promise. It will be scary for the first few minutes, but I promise it’s fun.” “You guys don’t have cars where you’re from?” Ferris asked, his eyes wide. “God, the culture shock you all must be going through. No wonder Tyler thought it best to start you out slow. I can’t even imagine the roller-coaster ride you’re on.”

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“What’s a roller coaster?” I got into the car as Ferris called it and Mav showed me how to put on the seat belt. I gave a very loud squeak as it moved, swallowing back my nerves. They explained to me what a roller coaster was and about a place called an amusement park that housed them. I had a feeling I would like an exciting place like that. Mav was right. After a few minutes, I found myself rolling down the window and leaning my head out so the wind blew through my hair. It was very invigorating. I was so impressed that the people of this world had invented such a thing. Then they told me how this vehicle, or SUV, worked. Mav explained how there were also cars, trucks, and Hummers as well. He told me he had a sports car back in Greece that he’d have to get Caleb to send over. But when he taught me how to drive, he said maybe I should start in Tyler’s truck. I wasn’t sure why he thought that, but I would do as he wanted. Mav knew best when it came to matters in his world. “Shit, we’ve got problems,” Ferris growled as he pointed down the road. I saw dozens of people running toward us from several miles away. “Where are they heading?” “Who are they?” I asked, unsure why he was so upset “Demons,” Mav answered and pulled out his phone. “Barnabas, lock the house down. We’ve got demons closing in.” “Tell them they’re about ten miles away from Darcy’s house but we don’t know where they’re heading,” Ferris barked out before making a sharp turn into a driveway. Now I understood the purpose of the seat belts. “I’ll contact Darcy to let him know and send help,” Barnabas said on the phone, and I was amazed I could hear him as if he was right there. “You won’t make it in time,” Mav replied as the SUV skidded to a halt. He quickly got me out of my seat belt and then we were out of the vehicle and racing to the house.

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“Oh, yes we will,” Barnabas growled and then there was a beep. Mav slipped the phone back into his pocket as we jumped up onto the front porch. Ferris opened the door and we went inside before he closed it and locked it. “We’ve got demons a few miles away,” he shouted loud enough that it hurt my ears. “Get the wolves down to the basement!” “Tell me,” a vampire demanded as he came barreling down the stairs with a very small man, Tyler following after them. “We saw at least three dozen about ten miles out on the main road,” Ferris said as he opened a door to a hidden room under the stairs. I saw various weapons and grabbed a large broadsword. “There could be more, but we don’t know what their target is.” “These are the beings that you are at war with that the Queen told us about?” I asked, the pieces falling into place. “Yes,” Ferris answered, not even glancing at me as he handed out metal weapons. Those the Queen had showed us, and she had explained how guns worked to the warriors. “Fire kills them, right?” Mav nodded, and I turned and raced back to the front door. “Asterio, wait! There are too many,” Tyler shouted. “Trust me now, my mate,” I said gently as I unlocked the door and threw it open. He nodded and ran after me. I chanted a protection spell as I ran a perimeter around the house as quickly as possible. When I got back to the front, I saw the enemy approaching fast as Ferris, Mav, Tyler, and the man I assumed to be Darcy were standing on the porch. “No one must cross that line. It will disintegrate anything that touches it,” I said quietly as I joined them. I didn’t know how well the enemy could hear. “Well, that’s a nifty fucking trick.” The man chuckled as he held out his hand. “Darcy Burke and you saw my mate Ayden when you got here.” “Pleasure,” I said, shaking his hand.

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“Everyone is downstairs,” Ayden informed us as he stepped out onto the porch. “You’re not,” Darcy growled. “Get to safety.” “Kiss my ass.” He snickered, checking his gun. “You taught me how to shoot just in case something like this happened. I can move faster than you guys and I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Warrior or not, I will not leave my mate to defend our home alone.” “You have a warrior’s heart,” I said approvingly, earning me a nasty glance from Darcy. “No one has to die here today,” one of the demons snarled as they slowed down. “We just want the Kappa wolves.” His evil red eyes were full of hatred as his gaze darted to each of us before resting on me again. “Come and get them,” I taunted as I raised my sword. “It will be you that dies here tonight.” “What is he?” a demon whispered to their leader. “So they know about the wolves and Kappas but not that the fae are here,” Mav mumbled so only we could hear. “Interesting. I would love to find out how they know anything.” I nodded my agreement. We needed to take at least one of them prisoner for interrogation. There was a flash of light behind us and I turned just in time to see the Queen step out through a portal. “Your highness,” I growled as I stepped toward her. “We warn you of danger and you come here? I laid down a protection barrier. Get to safety.” “And miss the first battle I’ve been around in a millennium?” she asked, almost giddy with excitement. “You must be crazy, Asterio. Besides, you know my power is great.” “Yes, but you are too important to let into battle.” “Nonsense,” she said with a dismissive wave and headed onto the porch. Well, at least I saw a few dozen fae warriors had come with her through the portal. We took up positions around the porch, mine next to the Queen when I saw Mav was standing in front of Tyler.

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“You are, as they say here, outgunned, demons. Surrender now and I will make sure your deaths are painless. Fight us and you will suffer.” “Oh, we’re just the first wave,” the demon sneered. “Give us the Kappas and we will leave.” “Why do you want them? Tell me that and maybe we can make a deal,” she countered. Darcy growled, but I knew full well that she would never hand anyone over. “We were told to get the wolves who were helping the vampires,” one called out. “You idiot! She’s lying,” the leader snarled as he punched the other demon. “Give us the Kappas or you all die!” “Come and get them,” she replied with a smirk. “I said that before you got here.” I chuckled, shaking my head. Good to know that the woman who’d been like a mother to me had influenced me. “We want one for questioning. Mav says they shouldn’t have the information they do.” “I’ll see to it.” She gave me a wink and waved her hands. Suddenly the leader was up in the air in some type of protective bubble. “Attack!” The guy screamed in a panicked voice. The demons charged. This was going to be good. “Can we shoot through your protection thing?” Mav leaned in and asked. “Um, no. I hadn’t thought of that,” I admitted with a shrug. “The bullets would disintegrate.” “Hey, I’ll take a protection shield over being able to shoot any day. You’re very impressive, my mate.” He gave me a wink and I felt like I was the best warrior in the land. I liked that my mate could make me feel that way. Now if I could only fix what I broke with my other mate. “Yeah, give him another blow job,” Tyler muttered angrily. Yeah, I had a lot of making up to do.

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Chapter 8 Maverick I shielded my eyes in reflex as the first demon hit Asterio’s barrier and screamed before turning to ash. Oh, that was cool. I was so on board with having the fae around. Not that I hadn’t been before, but I was a little cranky about the way Asterio’s blood had affected me. And I’d heard Tyler’s snarky comment. We just had bigger fish to fry right then. I could deal with fixing what I’d broken between us later. It took a dozen more turning into dust before they realized there was some line there they couldn’t cross. Wow, I wondered if when they decided to give up their souls, they gave up their brains, too? “Still think you can beat us?” Asterio asked with a smirk, leaning against his sword in a relaxed position like it was a cane. “We’ll be back,” one of the demons snarled. “Lift the shield,” Queen Magdalena whispered. Asterio nodded and undid his protection barrier with another chant. She walked down a few of the steps and let out a loud whistle. “We evened the playing field. Come and get us.” “No!” The demon leader shouted as the rest turned back toward us. I watched in awe as the Queen lifted her hands and power flowed from her fingertips. She lit up every demon on the lawn besides the leader that she still held captive. “I just got hard and I’m not even into women,” Ayden said in awe. Darcy cuffed him playfully upside the head as the Queen burst out laughing.

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“I take it that’s your way of giving me a compliment?” “Yes, your highness. Sorry, sometimes my mouth moves before my brain catches up.” “My dear, it happens to all of us.” She turned to me and raised a brow. “What would you like me to do with the leader?” “I’ll leave Darcy to answer that. I have no idea on the protocol for the local warriors. I’m assuming they have some sort of jail that can house demons for questioning.” “We do,” he said with an evil smile. “Can you knock him out for a couple of hours? We can get him transported then.” “We should make sure the demons didn’t try to attack anywhere else first,” Ayden suggested. Everyone was a flurry of movements then, some pulling out their cell phones to call and check in. “Well, that was anticlimactic,” one of the fae warriors grumbled. “I thought we were going to get to fight.” “You’ll get your chance.” I chuckled, shaking my head. “The demons are organized now and attacking as opposed to their usual ways of hiding and trying to not draw attention.” “How many are there?” Queen Magdalena asked. “We just don’t know. There’s no official registry of all vampires, though the covens keep track of their own. But until recently, half our race didn’t live within covens.” I sighed, knowing full well it was a question that plagued every warrior. Just how large were our enemies’ numbers? “We have no clue, but right now we need to know who’s leaking information to them. My understanding is this isn’t the first time they’ve been privy to the inner workings around here.” “No, it’s not,” Darcy growled, shaking his head. “They attacked Riley at the warrior compound not too long ago and bragged about how they kidnapped one of the cooks and tortured them until they talked. But that was before the wolves even got here so they have to have some new source of information.”

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The purple-eyed beauty rubbed his hands up and down Darcy’s chest. “We’ll figure it out, big guy. For now, we’re safe, they’re dead, and no one even got hurt on our side.” “You’re right. You’re always so smart, babe,” Darcy cooed, hugging his smaller mate. It made me think of my own wolf mate now that the dust had settled. I turned around and realized Tyler was gone. I grabbed Asterio’s arm to get his attention. “Tyler?” “I don’t see him,” he answered, panic in his tone. “Tyler!” We raced inside, calling out his name as the wolves came up from the basement. One of them pointed out which room was his and we raced toward it, knocking frantically on the door. “Oh, for god sakes, go away,” he bellowed. Like any good mate, I didn’t listen, instead breaking the lock on the knob and entering. Yeah, add it to my list of crimes. I almost dropped to my knees in sorrow when I saw he was packing. Asterio made a distressed sound, verbalizing how I was feeling. “So, you’re packing to come stay at Barnabas’s house, right?” I asked, my voice cracking slightly. “No,” he whispered, shaking his head, still not turning to face us. “I’m leaving to go start over someplace where people don’t know me and maybe try living among humans. I could get a construction job building houses, have a peaceful life, and never hurt again.” “Then we’ll come with you,” Asterio offered. “Right, because you guys aren’t the main reason I’m leaving anyways.” “But we’re not the only reason.” And just like that, the lightbulb went off over my head. “We won’t ever let the demons take you again, cub.” His shoulders went stiff and I saw him flinch. “I decided to leave when I got back and Ayden pissed me off. Obviously even the people I thought were my friends think the worst of me as well. I’m tired of my past and being a wolf clouding everyone’s judgment of me.”

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“I didn’t understand, Tyler. I’m so sorry,” Asterio pleaded as he stepped forward and took the clothes Tyler was folding out of his hands. “Please just hear us out. If you still want to leave after that, then we won’t stop you.” “You going to stop me now?” He growled, his teeth becoming exceedingly long as he shook. Was he going to shift? “Um, well, no?” Asterio stuttered. Yeah, I didn’t have an answer for that either. “Maybe? Not forcibly or anything but yeah, I’m going to do everything including lying down in front of your truck to keep you from leaving me.” Tyler’s face almost instantly went from an expression of anger to pain. “Why do you care? You have Mav.” “Cub, don’t do that,” I said gently as I reached out and cupped his cheek. “We fucked up and hurt you. We know that and we’re here to apologize for that and make things right. But don’t act as if we’ve never showed we care. We had days together, Tyler. Please don’t forget them and let a mistake wipe away that memory.” “I’m not really that upset with you if fae blood fucks with you,” he admitted as he stared at the ground. “I can’t necessarily relate, but the fear is overwhelming me.” “What fear?” “Are you fucking shitting me?” He laughed darkly as he pulled away. “Fear that you’ll get tired of your screwed-up cub and push me off the couch again. Fear Asterio won’t ever see me as anything but a common whore and slut. Fear you’ll love each other and only put up with me because we’re mates. “Fear that I’m so fucking depraved and wanting anyone to show me the slightest affection I won’t be faithful when you screw up. I’m scared the demons will come or my Alpha will find me. I’m scared that I just can’t function around people anymore, and being on my own might be the only way to keep me sane!” “Let us help you,” I said gently as I tried to hug him.

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“Right? So you can pull the happiness rug out from me again? No thank you. I’m not a horse who follows the carrot to walk into shit over and over again.” “Interesting analogy but not quite the same thing here,” I replied with a growl and tossed him onto the bed. He snarled at me as I followed him down, pinning his arms over his head. “Now let’s address your comments one by one, shall we?” “Get off me!” “No.” I kissed him quickly, pulling back when his teeth got scary again. “I’m sorry I was a douche. I can’t even describe to you how bad I feel about it and the panicky manic-ness I felt when I had his blood.” “Are you okay? It didn’t hurt you or leave any lasting effects, right?” He looked so worried that I think he finally felt something else strong enough to break through the fear. There was my mate! “I’m okay now.” I gave him a soft smile and another kiss now that his teeth went back to normal. “I woke with one hell of a hangover from whatever the Queen dosed me with. I mean, yeah, I wanted to toss what little food I didn’t have in my stomach, but I’m good now.” “I felt guilty for not staying with you, but I wasn’t strong enough, Mav. I thought if you woke up all worried about Asterio again I’d break mentally.” “I know, cub. I wasn’t upset in the least, okay? This wasn’t your fault and it hurt you, and for that I’m sorry.” He nodded and I gave him another kiss, this time with tongue. “Now, about Asterio accepting my blow job instead of paying attention to you.” Tyler’s eyes flared with anger. “Now, just hear me out.” “Fine.” “He met both of us today and he probably knew you better, right?” I waited until he nodded. “So he didn’t know how I normally was with you after sex. For all he knew I could have been fucking around or being a jerk or who knows. But I did have my fangs by his dick. Would you have risked pissing me off right then?”

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“No, I didn’t think about it like that,” he mumbled. “I’m just saying he’s been through a lot, too, so maybe cut him a little slack on that. I’m sure he’s more than willing to make up for his blunder as I am.” “I could have forgiven that, but he thinks I’m a whore. He wants to change my wolf tendencies.” “No I don’t,” Asterio said firmly as he pushed me off Tyler. “See, now I pushed him to get to you, so there.” I couldn’t help but smile at that one. “I’ve been in your world less than thirty-six hours, Tyler. Hell, I did throw up after crossing over and felt like ass all day yesterday. I’m scrambling to learn all I can then I meet you and wow, did that send my mind reeling. “And you’re gorgeous and I’m huge and so I kept thinking, would I hurt him? Would I be enough? Does he wish I was a wolf or a vampire like Mav? Then I just start to get past that and then I learn what you’re into sexually, which is hot by the way. And then my brain won’t stop running. What if I can’t satisfy you? Will my lack of experience show? Then Mav starts acting strange and I just had no idea how to handle that. “So I handled it poorly. I was scared. What if the effects were permanent? Would you hate me for changing him? Did you blame me? And then the Queen, who’s like my mother, is yelling at me and you’re leaving. So I race after you and I see another warrior touching you and all my earlier worries came to the front of my mind. Maybe you didn’t want me anymore and I handled that even worse. Then you wanted to have sex. “I was already spinning and then all the blood in my body went to my dick. So none was left in my brain by the way. And you wanted it in front of my friends. I didn’t understand the submission thing. I saw it as me using you and thought you wanted me to use you like a toy. I’m sorry I didn’t know enough about wolf culture that I insulted you and I suck. I admit that. But please, cub. Just take one minute and see all this from my perspective!

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“I can’t ever seem to get my feet under me. Hell, the only time I’ve felt solid and not like I’m spinning out of control is when the demons showed up. I knew I could protect us all. I knew it. I won’t ever let them take you or hurt my mates. Even if I have to put a protective barrier around our house every night to keep you safe, I will. Please, Tyler.” Wow, that was an impressive ramble! Asterio seemed almost hysterical by the end of it. And now that I had a moment to see things from his perspective, I didn’t blame him. I could see Tyler felt the same. “Next time if you’re not okay with having sex in front of your friends, you lean over and nip my neck,” Tyler whispered hesitantly. “It shows me and any wolves around that you understand I was submitting to you and accept me. It wasn’t just what you said, Asterio. You basically denied me as your mate in front of them. I get that you didn’t understand that, but it still hurt.” “Cub, I’ll fuck you all night long in front of the Queen if it will make you happy.” “Um, you said she’s like your mom, so no thanks.” Tyler chuckled. “I don’t care. I’ll deal with my discomfort if it’s what you need. I’m so sorry.” “So did we deal with all your worries?” I asked gently, hoping my mate felt better. Because damn, I needed him. I needed them both.

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Chapter 9 Tyler “You both could kick my old Alpha’s ass with one hand tied behind your back, so I’m not scared of that anymore,” I admitted, finally relaxing a bit. Seeing that I wasn’t the only one that had fears about our mating helped penetrate the haze of freaking out I’d been hiding in. “But as for the rest, I guess time will only tell.” “So you’re not leaving?” Asterio asked with so much hope I’d have to be evil to have denied him. “No I’m—” I didn’t get to finish because he mashed his mouth down to mine in a kiss that was filled with so much passion my toes curled. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he said in between peppering my face with kisses as I gasped for air. How could he talk after a kiss like that? I assumed that he just had bigger lungs, otherwise I might take offense. I held his face still and stared into his eyes, searching them for one answer. “You really do care if I left or not, don’t you?” “Yes!” he exclaimed with wide eyes. I took a risk and trusted my mates were telling me the truth. I’d never had people in my life who would do that. But who better to take a chance on? “Then I’m going to grab a bag for a few days’ worth of clothes while we discuss where we want to live, and let’s go see if there’s any food left from the party. I haven’t seen Planet Earth in years. I really liked it and want to see it again.”

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“Sounds like one of the best ideas all day,” Mav agreed with a smile. I raised an eyebrow at him. One of them? He shrugged and gave me a wink. “You did come up with the idea to have sex a few times today. Can’t rule that out.” I think he realized his mistake the moment it was past his lips. “Cub, I’m sorry.” “No, it’s okay.” I gave him the best grin I could muster. “I need to get past it. I know it wasn’t really you. Let’s just go relax and answer any questions our mate has about our world while we watch TV and have some snacks.” “Thank you, cub.” Mav leaned over and brushed my lips with his as Asterio still had me pinned down. Now my mind was just in the gutter. While I always pushed for sex, sex I could do, I didn’t want to be that person with my mates. I wanted them to see there was more to me, even if I didn’t have a clue what was there. Asterio let me up, and I closed up one of the bags with a few days of clothes and some of my toys. I really hadn’t planned it that way. But who the hell was I to mess with a fortunate turn of events? Well, fortunate if they wanted to play with the toys… On me. On the way out, Ayden stopped me and apologized. I not only forgave him but said I was sorry as well. I jumped down his throat earlier instead of hearing him out. He gave me a hug and said if I needed to talk about anything, he’d be there for me. “Let me get a few things settled and then maybe soon I’ll come to you for help.” I took a deep breath and met my mates’ confused faces. “I’ll explain on the drive back.” “They want you to be happy, Tyler. I can hear it in their heads as if they were screaming it to me,” Ayden whispered so no one else could hear. “These are good men. Trust them.” “I’m trying.” “That’s all any of us can do.” I hugged him again and we left. I was proud of how Asterio hopped right into the truck with no issues. But then I realized he rode in a vehicle to get to Darcy and

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Ayden’s house after all. I guess he liked it. It made me smile. I wanted him to like our world. I wanted him to be happy. “So, there are different types of fae, like warriors and ones with extra magic, right?” I asked, noticing when Asterio nodded. “Ayden’s like that but for wolves. He’s got powers that are rare. He told me that supposedly he’s descended from the god of love or something, but I don’t know about that. All I do know is they help people. He can work with mates on communication or hidden desires. But he can also guide people through past traumas.” “Make you relive them or just see them like I can when I drink blood and focus my gift?” Mav asked quietly. “I don’t know. One of the vamps was talking about how his trauma was when he was a child and Ayden helped him go through it as an adult. I’m not sure how that will help me, but I know he can work with the brain to dull down the fear and accept what happened.” “Why have you not asked him for his help before?” Asterio sounded so confused that I shot Mav a look. “I explained certain parts of what I saw when I drank your blood, but we were in mixed company.” “Yeah, right, I knew that,” I mumbled, focused on the road. I felt like and ostrich sticking my head in the sand. Maybe if I didn’t look at them and kept my eyes on the drive, they wouldn’t look at me. Riiight. Asterio seconded my thought process. “It might be easier to tell me now when we’re not facing each other rather than later.” “I didn’t hate everything I went through,” I blurted out, wanting to bang my head on the steering wheel. “I mean, I wasn’t a fan of the demons using me as a chew toy, but when my blood hit them, god, I loved that. They’d use me so good and treat me like such a slut. I was chained with my hands over my head most of the time and they’d just line up to take me. They knew I liked it and part of me was glad for that.”

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“Why?” Asterio whispered, and now I really couldn’t look at him. I didn’t want to see the disgust on his face. “Because they might have drank from the other captives there, but they didn’t force themselves on the other shifters when the demons had a willing hole. But I loved it. They’d fuck me until I passed out and then I’d wake up overflowing with cum and bathed in it practically. I heal faster than vamps do so they could do it to me all the time and never really hurt me.” “And your Alpha? Did you enjoy his attentions?” He phrased his question very carefully so I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. “I hated the guy, but I was so starved for any attention that I took his shit. All the enforcers would use me and I know they thought I was a joke but they never said anything. They knew I could kick their asses just not my old Alpha’s.” “So if I told you to pull the truck over so we could push you against the truck and fuck you until we were sated, what would you do?” “I’d pull over and beg to be your slut,” I answered quietly. “Then I think you should, cub.” Asterio couldn’t have shocked me any more than if he’d announced he was really a woman. I looked at him in shock and the truck swerved. I quickly focused and pulled over, throwing it in park. “You’re not disgusted?” “Why would I be?” he asked with a raised brow. “You have a high sex drive and like to be taken by multiple men. You have two mates. You didn’t say you wanted to be beaten or something untoward, Tyler. You like to be a slut with your partners and give yourself freely. I see nothing wrong with that as long as you will be faithful to us.” I looked away from him then, my shame filling me. “Cub, were you unfaithful?” Mav asked, pain in his voice. “What? No!” I exclaimed as I stared at him with wide eyes. “It’s just when I thought you guys were done with me and those warriors

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looked at me with such lust, part of me wanted what they were offering. I want to be wanted, and you didn’t want me because of Asterio’s blood or whatever, and he ignored me. I told them right away I was mated, but yeah, in the back of my mind I thought about it.” “But you didn’t act on it, Tyler,” Asterio said gently as he cupped my cheek. “We’re mated, not dead inside. We can appreciate an attractive man or fantasize at times. You just can’t ever betray us.” “Even if you guys both told me to take a hike and you never wanted me again, I don’t think I could let anyone else touch me,” I admitted. My cheeks heated up. It sounded so lovesick and dorky, but it was the way I felt. “Good answer,” Asterio growled as he reached past me and opened my door. Then he practically shoved me out of it. I heard Mav’s door open and close as our fae mate dragged me over to him. “Grab onto the side of the truck.” “Okay.” I did as he asked, shivering at his deep, commanding voice. He quickly undid my jeans and pulled them down to my thighs. Then I heard his pants unzip right before I felt his big cock pushing against my ass. “Bend over more. I don’t want you to spread your legs though. I want you as tight as possible.” I nodded as my body opened up for him, my hole secreting wetness for my mate. It took only a moment, and as soon as I was ready, Asterio thrust hard. I screamed out in pleasure. He didn’t even give me a second to get used to the invasion before pounding into me over and over again, much harder than he had earlier in the day. “Who do you belong to, cub?” Mav asked as he stepped up to the side of me. “You. You and Asterio,” I grunted, impressed at how good he felt inside of me and the force he was fucking me with. “I’m your mate, your slut.”

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“Good.” He ran his fangs over my neck, and I tilted it to give him room. He bit me and I screamed again as I came. He only took a little bit just so I felt the bliss from his bite. Seconds later Asterio roared out his release, pumping seed deep inside of me. “I need to build up my stamina,” he mumbled as he pulled out of me. Mav immediately took his place and thrust into me. “Don’t feel bad. I can’t last long with Tyler either,” Mav said with a snicker. “He feels too good to hold back and try to draw it out.” “I do?” I looked over my shoulder and saw them both nodding. Wow, if that wasn’t an ego boost! “Show me.” “Are you getting pushy with me, my hot slut?” “No, never,” I moaned as he fucked me in the ass so fast he was almost a blur. It was so good I held on to the truck so tightly that I heard the metal groan. Whoops. Didn’t want to hurt my wheels! I eased up right as Mav finished, taking me with him. They each fucked me once more until I couldn’t hold myself up. Then we got back into the truck, Mav behind on the wheel as I sat on Asterio’s lap, leaning against him like a wet noodle. I could feel my mate’s excitement as we drove. He practically vibrated as we pulled into the driveway of the estate. “I take it you liked what you saw of the show?” I teased as we got out of the truck once Mav parked. “It was amazing, Tyler. Everyone gasped and I don’t think any of us really understood that there are other planets out there. Even the warriors I know who’ve been here before. Makari was sitting by me and I know he’s crossed over several times, but he was watching with such awe. Your plan was amazing, my love.” “Your what?” I froze as we got to the porch, staring at him as if he’d grown a second head. “Is it not acceptable to call loved ones by that term here?” Asterio glanced at Mav for confirmation. “People here do,” Mav hedged, eyeing me over. “I think you just threw Tyler for a loop.”

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“You can’t love me already,” I blurted out. Really? Sometimes I wished I had an off switch for my mouth. “Of course I can.” Asterio smiled at me as he reached out and cupped my cheek. “It will take more time together for me to fall in love with you. But I love you already. There’s a difference, but it’s still love. I love when you smile. I love how your mind works, especially when it’s sexual. You have such a big heart that I love as well. I love the person you are, and I’m honored to be your mate.” “Wow,” I whispered. Now I couldn’t get my mouth to work. Great. I was seriously special and not in the best way. “Do you not feel strongly for me?” He studied me as if curious as to what I was going to say. There was no disapproval or judgment. “No one’s ever loved me, and I’m not sure I know how to love.” I was going to really sew my lips closed soon. “My parents didn’t care about me. I was just in the way, an accident they didn’t want. And then, well, no one ever loved me.” “Everyone knows how to love,” Mav said gently as he hugged me from behind. “You just might not know that you know how to. It will come.” “I know you guys make me feel safe and wanted. I’m happier when you’re with me and sad when you’re not. You both make me think about the future, and I’ve never really done that before. I know I want to be a better man, a good mate, for you.” “That’s love, cub,” Asterio whispered against my lips. “It will grow with time.” “Okay, cool.” I kissed him gently before turning in Mav’s arms and giving him the same. “Really cool.” “Succinctly put.” He chuckled, shaking his head. I rolled my eyes as I ran up the stairs, letting them give chase. I stopped when we got to the media room and wanted to laugh when I saw a bunch of warriors in the front row of chairs in front of the big screen. “Asterio, you have to see this!” one of them called out. “Barnabas wanted to watch some new play he got in the mail so we joined him.

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It’s not real like the other show. It’s a story. But it’s a new one so we’re in the loop.” I bit my lip when I realized what play it was and glanced at Barnabas. “You didn’t tell them it’s not a remake?” “I’m still trying to explain the difference between a movie and play,” he answered with a smirk. We moved to join them, sitting in the row behind so I could sit with my mates. “I didn’t take you for someone who would be a Footloose fan,” I teased. “Right, because a young Kevin Bacon dancing isn’t every gay man’s wet dream,” he drawled. “This new guy’s good, too.” Asterio quickly introduced us to his friends and a guy named Baylor filled him in on what we’d missed. “So the boy’s mother died? That’s so horrible!” Asterio looked broken up. “I hate that humans are so fragile and they have to suffer such tragedies.” “You know about tragedy, too, brother,” Makari said gently. “Your parents were a great loss to our people.” “Thank you, but I barely remember them,” Asterio mumbled. “How did they die?” Mav asked and I was glad he did. We needed to know, but it was never an easy topic to broach. I just wasn’t sure the time to open old wounds was when we were having fun. I trusted Mav though. He was much better at this stuff than I was.

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Chapter 10 Asterio Makari paused the movie as I took a deep breath. I bit my lip and glanced between my two mates, trying to figure out where to start. I wasn’t sure I knew how to explain what had happened. “It was my fault,” Queen Magdalena said quietly as she walked into the large room. “No it wasn’t,” I gasped, not knowing she felt that way. “It was an accident.” “I should have known the plane was growing smaller.” She shook her head as tears trailed down her cheeks. “You have to think of our world as a box made up of our magic. It’s a replica of one of your Caribbean islands that our ancestors re-formed on another plane. But it was every fae’s magic that kept the walls of our plane stable. When more and more fae were crossing over to your world, there was less magic to hold it together. “Asterio was a baby at the time. His mother was my trusted advisor and friend. His parents wanted to spend a day together, and I offered to watch him. It was the first time since he’d been born that they’d left him with anyone and I was honored that they trusted me. They ended up spending the day at the beach. We’ve always marked off the edge of our plane and no one goes near it. It’s a mirage that makes it seem as if there’s no wall stopping our world, but there is one. “They went swimming and the walls had moved in since there was less magic to make up our plane. They swam into the wall, and

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when their bodies hit that large of an amount of magic, it took their lives.” Her voice was filled with pain and despair. “It was an accident, Magdalena,” I said gently as I stood and went to her. “You couldn’t have known.” “I should have known!” she argued as tears flowed freely now, leaving glistening trails down her beautiful face. She stepped back so I couldn’t comfort her. “They were my friends and my people. It’s my job to keep them safe and I didn’t. I curse myself daily for what happened. What a waste! They were both such good people.” “Had the walls ever moved in before?” Barnabas asked his grandmother. “No, but they have since. Before we crossed over here some of the people in the village had to move closer to the palace. We’ve not even been able to swim or be on the beach in centuries.” “Did your parents ever warn you that the plane could shrink?” I didn’t think this was her fault or anyone’s fault really. It was a tragic accident, but I didn’t see there needing to be any blame. “No, my parents crossed over after they felt I was ready to rule because they never found their other mate. I’ve not heard from them since then. It used to be the rule of the fae that if you left you were never welcomed back. I had that rule abolished but even my own daughter didn’t—” “Hey, none of that,” Barnabas said gently as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a hug. “When was the last time you slept, Grandma?” “I can’t. My people are unsettled and worried about this new world. Because I failed them they’ve had to leave their home. Some don’t want to move to Greece now because they’re afraid the people there won’t be as nice as here. They don’t know the language, and I’ve tried to explain that one of our gifts is that we can speak any dialect but they are still worried.” “I can help with that,” Mav said with a smile. “I speak fluently. In the morning I’ll have a meeting with all the fae who were going to

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move there and answer any questions they have. We’ll figure this out, but if you’ll forgive my bluntness, your highness, you need to get some sleep. You look like crap and you’re exhausted.” “I do not look like feces,” she gasped, her eyes going wide. “It’s a colloquial phrase meaning you don’t look your best,” Barnabas explained quickly. “You need to sleep. You can’t fix all the problems tonight and we will all help tomorrow. Please? For me?” “Yes, alright, that would probably be best,” she agreed with a sigh before glancing at me. “We should have had this discussion years ago. I just couldn’t. You have always been like a son to me, and I feared you’d hate me when you learned it was my fault.” “You stubborn, stubborn woman.” I snickered, shaking my head as I pulled her from Barnabas’s arms and into mine. “It wasn’t your fault. I never have and never will blame you. You raised me as your own without a second thought and I love you as my mother. I wish I could have known them, but I grew up a well-loved boy, and I always knew how you felt about me.” “Thank you, son.” She kissed my cheek and turned to leave. Queen Magdalena gave my mates each a wave and left, closing the door behind her. “She might want to see Ayden as well,” I heard Tyler whisper to Mav. “That woman carries the weight of the world on her shoulders and guilt that isn’t hers.” “I agree,” I sighed as I sat back down. “I never knew she felt it was her fault.” “Hey, we’ll deal with it tomorrow.” Mav smiled and took his hand. “For tonight, we’re relaxing.” “Right, yeah, okay.” I nodded and Makari started the movie again. “Oh, I don’t want to ride in those motorized vehicles anymore,” Teagani whispered to Makari when the play, or movie, as Tyler corrected me, showed a race scene that went badly. “They’re not all like that,” I assured him. “I very much liked riding in Tyler’s truck. It’s very exhilarating. They don’t drive like

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that on the roads. I think this movie is showing the dangers of driving poorly.” “Yeah, this totally isn’t normal driving.” Tyler chuckled. “It’s not even normal racing. I’ve never seen a bus racing before. I promise you guys will be okay.” My friends all nodded and we went back to watching. Then I had another question. “The show we were watching earlier was real, right? I mean it was nonfiction but this is fiction. How do we tell the difference?” Mav, Tyler, Barnabas, Miles, and Digger all exchanged a look before bursting out laughing. I started to get angry. I didn’t think it was a stupid question. Both shows looked just as real to me. How did I know what was fake or a story? “We’re not laughing,” Tyler gasped as he grabbed my arm when I went to stand. “We’re not laughing at you, Asterio. I swear we’re not.” “Well, I’m not laughing so you’re not laughing with me,” I said coldly. “We laughed because none of us have a clue how to answer you,” Mav replied with a wink. “It’s a good question, but none of us will be able to explain it to you better than you’ll learn how to tell the difference. Which is a crappy answer really. You’ll learn that there are shows that are documentaries, like what you were watching earlier. Then there’s the news, which is people reporting on what’s going on in the world. There’s also movies like this that are fiction and shows that run weekly that are the same.” “But then there’s this thing called Reality TV,” Tyler added. “And it’s both and neither. There’s just no good answer. I’m not sure anyone ever explained the difference to us. It’s just something you pick up as you get older. But that answer would just frustrate me, so yeah, we started laughing.”

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“So you’re saying you laughed because the answer is very complicated to explain something so simple, like walking?” Baylor asked. I thought about that and agreed with his analogy. “Exactly,” Tyler said, shooting him a grateful smile. “It’s just something you guys will pick up, like a baby does walking. But if I tried to explain it, I just wouldn’t know how.” “Okay, then I’m not mad.” We went back to the movie. I leaned in and put my arm around Tyler’s shoulder as Mav took his hand. Mav and I exchanged a look over his head. We were both attracted to each other, and I knew I loved him, too, but Tyler needed affection and helping him was the priority. I gave Mav a wink to let him know I was thinking of him, too, rubbing my hand on his shoulder. “Are all humans like this?” Makari asked as he gestured to the screen. “This boy is so passionate about dancing. I mean, I can’t believe they had a law against it, but the way he fights against it is captivating.” “Some are,” Mav answered. “Most are raised to fight for what they believe in just like we are. Humans really aren’t all that different from us.” “That’s cool. I want a human friend.” Baylor smiled and watched the screen intently. “I think the idea of a dance is cool. I’ve never been to one or a dance club.” “Could we have one?” I asked, liking the idea as well. “We could meet all the wolves and vampires that way. I could get a cool suit like he has. I like the red.” “We could do that,” Barnabas answered with a sly grin. “I never got to go to prom, and now I’d have two stud dates. You both would look so good in a tux.” “Anything for you, baby.” Digger chuckled. “I think it would be fun. Our warriors have been so stressed and busy that they haven’t had any free time. And it would help the vampires who are still scared of the fae warriors.” He winced and turned to my friends and I. “You guys are huge after all, and when you talk, it’s like you have your

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own level of baritone. Some of the new vamps who have been moved here are already skittish.” “We have a plan then.” Barnabas rubbed his hands together in glee. “I’m so calling Rory to help plan it.” Everyone excitedly came up with ideas while we finished the movie. But once it was over, it was like we’d all had some internal switch flipped and were exhausted. It had been a long, trying day, and I realized I wanted nothing more than to go to bed. I fell asleep that night with Tyler sprawled on top of me and Mav snuggled up against my side. It had been centuries since I’d had a man in bed with me overnight. And I knew I drifted off with a big smile on my face. **** “I’m going to get fat if you guys keep feeding me like this,” I groaned the next morning. I ate about three plates of what they called pancakes. My gods, were they good! “Then we need to work out,” Tyler said brightly. I raised an eyebrow at him and he laughed. “Not that kind of workout. My wolf could use a run.” “That’s a wonderful idea,” Mav replied with an approving nod. “How far is the warrior compound from here?” “Twenty miles give or take.” I never clocked it, but it was about fifteen minutes down the road, so I thought that was accurate. “Listen up,” Mav said as he stood, his voice carrying over the massive dining room. “For those of you interested, warriors or just those who would like to check out the warrior compound, we’re meeting out front in a half an hour. We’re going to run the twenty miles there and back, but I’m sure we can find people to drive if that’s not within everyone’s normal workout. “It’s time you saw where you’ll be training, warriors, and meet some of your fellow brothers. The quicker you all get up to speed, the

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better protected this community will be. There’s already been one attack since you’ve been here. Let’s be prepared for the next one.” “In other words,” Queen Magdalena said with a smile. “All the warriors are required to be outside in thirty minutes. I will be there as well.” “I’ll gladly drive you,” Digger offered. I chuckled as many of my friends did and the Queen smirked. “Child, I could run three times that daily and barely break a sweat,” she countered with a raised eyebrow. “I bet I can do it in better time than anyone here can. Not all of us are the best at fighting like our warriors are, but we train our people early on that when you can’t fight, you run.” “Oh geeze, you’re going to make me start working out, aren’t you?” Barnabas playfully whined. “You swim and are getting back into a routine,” she answered with a smile. “Not everyone is built to run and you can teleport. So no, as long as you can flee to safety if the time comes, being a runner is not necessary. You’ve had a lot dumped on you at a young age, so you handle things as you see fit.” She gave him a nod of approval. “I’ll call and have some warriors drive over so that everyone is protected while most of you are gone,” Miles added as he pulled out his phone. “Thank you, Miles. I never have to worry about my grandson’s safety with you and Digger around.” I smiled. I knew what the Queen was doing. She was showing everyone there that she had complete faith in the people of this house. That was why she was in charge. She knew how to handle every situation. “Ask if there are any issues with me being in wolf form,” Tyler whispered under his breath. I nodded and stood. “My mate will be joining us in his shifted form. Since there are wolves in the community we’ve joined, it’s best you get used to seeing them now.”

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“But they know who we are, right? They won’t bite us?” one fae asked hesitantly. “I’m completely sentient when I shift. Unless anyone threatens my mates, I won’t bite.” Tyler joked. I shook my head at his antics, loving his playful side. “But don’t be surprised if I circle around you guys a few times. I have yet to see any being faster than shifters, and I’m stronger than most wolves.” “Alright, we’ll see those who are going outside in thirty minutes,” Mav said quickly when a few fae warriors looked as if they were going to challenge what Tyler had stated. “Are you really that fast?” I asked as we started cleaning up breakfast. We knew that Barnabas had hired extra staff, but it was the way of the fae that everyone pitched in, no matter their rank or status. “You’ll just have to wait and see, my mate,” Tyler answered with a wink. He sauntered off, putting a little extra sway in his hips that had me biting back a groan. I swear my mates were going to turn me into a sex machine if they weren’t careful. My lack of experience and centuries of not having sex had caught up to me. Now it was all I could think about sometimes. It didn’t hurt that they were both gorgeous and into hot sex, suggesting it often since we’d met. I glanced at the Queen as I trailed after my mate, returning the bright smile she gave me. “Happy looks good on you, Asterio,” she said quietly as I walked by her. “It looks very good on you.” It made me realize that I wanted it to look good on her, too. I wanted the woman who was our leader and who I thought of as a mother to be happy. Maybe she could find her other mate here? Or if nothing else, I liked Tyler’s idea that she go see Ayden. Now if I could just get her to agree to it? Yeah, that would be easy.

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Chapter 11 Maverick I smiled as I heard the excited talk through the group and felt it in the air. This was one of my better ideas lately. Everyone lined up as Tyler hid behind Asterio and pulled off his shorts before shifting. He was fine with nudity, but we’d talked to him about curbing it until people got to know the wolves better. He understood and didn’t make issue of it. He just asked that we remind him because it wasn’t something he ever really thought about. I wanted to laugh at how Asterio was carrying a little bag for Tyler as we started out. But our mate would need clothes and shoes on the other end, so it made sense. We started out at a light jog for paranormals, probably at the speed of ten miles per hour. Tyler, on the other hand, let his wolf run full out for a while. His tongue was hanging out when he circled back to the front of the group where I was. “You needed this, didn’t you, cub?” He nodded his head and bumped into my thigh. I got it. Time to pick up the pace. Asterio was at my side and he started laughing. “Impatient much?” “I think our mate just always does everything all the way. I can’t see Tyler half-assing anything.” “A good quality to have,” Asterio said fondly and glanced at me. “One you have as well, my mate.” “Is it bad that I want to race your mate and see who is truly faster?” the Queen said as she fell in step with us. “He is a beautiful

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wolf. I always thought it would be amazing to have another form like that.” “He has an unfair advantage though,” Baylor complained. “He’s running on four legs when we’re on two.” Tyler had done another circle around us at that point and I knew he’d heard what the fae had said when our mate growled. “Tyler!” I exclaimed when our mate shifted back to his human form, naked for all to see. “Oh, just give me my clothes. I’m so putting this guy in his place,” Tyler grumbled. Asterio handed over his bag as everyone slowed down to give him a moment. “Call someone at the warrior compound to wait at the front door and call the race.” I rolled my eyes but did as he asked. I knew Zane’s number, of course, since he was mated to Caleb’s brothers, and he laughed at my request. He said he’d be waiting and would call back with the winner. “Okay, who’s up for a race?” Tyler taunted when he was dressed and in his running shoes. “I’m in.” Asterio chuckled. The Queen, Baylor, myself, and a few other warriors agreed as well. “I’ve seen the show.” Digger snickered. “I’ll lead the rest of the group.” “I haven’t,” Miles replied with a smile. “I’m in.” “Ready, set, go!” Tyler shouted and we took off. Holy shit, was he fast! I was running at full speed and he easily pulled ahead. “Seeing is believing,” Miles panted as he kept up with me. The Queen, on the other hand, was already out in front of us. Her warriors were trying their best to keep up with her, but she was giving them a run for their money. A few minutes later my phone beeped. “Seriously?” I grumbled as I checked it. It was Zane letting me know Tyler was at the warrior compound already. “He ran over fifteen miles in a few minutes? How is that possible?”

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“Damn, that’s impressive.” Miles shook his head and we gave each other a nod. We picked up the pace, pushing harder than I ever had in training. We refused to be the last ones. But we still were. In our defense, the fae warriors had much longer legs than we did. But the Queen? Yeah, she was short so it really killed our logic. “You guys are finally here,” Tyler drawled as he leaned against the doorframe, Zane standing next to him, laughing his head off. “I thought we were going to have to send out a search party.” “Bite. Me,” I gasped as I finally slowed down. “No, it’s you who likes to bite me, my mate,” he purred. “Weights next?” “You can lift as much as we can?” Miles asked, eyeing over my nicely toned, but not bulky mate. “How?” “We’re not being full of ourselves when we say we’re faster and stronger than vamps. And I was a warrior, too, Miles. That’s what a pack enforcer is. Well, in a normal pack. Our job is to protect our people just as it is yours. But even the smallest wolf, like Ayden, can outrun you guys any day.” “I believe it,” Queen Magdalena panted with a smile. “Very impressive, Tyler. I like your confidence. It does not cross into arrogance or ego. You simply know your limits and what you are capable of.” “Thanks. And I heard you say I was a pretty wolf, too. So thanks for that as well,” Tyler replied with a slight blush. “I think you’re pretty, too, your highness, and I’m not even into women.” “Well, good to know my looks can turn a gay man’s head.” She chuckled as we went inside. The more time I spent with her, the more I liked her. She really was very easy to be around and spend time with, like Caleb. Just because they were royalty didn’t mean they had to be pompous. They were people, too.

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We all congregated in the weight room, Zane introducing us to the warriors that were there. Tyler sauntered over to the bench press area and lay down. “Cub, that’s a thousand pounds on there,” Asterio warned. “I know. I’m going light since I’ve not worked with weights in over a year,” he replied. Okay then! Wow! That was impressive for a seasoned warrior. “I’ve seen Ayden hold up the side of a truck while Brian changed a tire.” Zane chuckled, shaking his head. “Sure, he was tired and sore afterwards, but he could do it.” I watched in awe, my mouth hanging open the whole time, as Tyler did twenty reps without even breaking a sweat. “Cub, that was hot.” “Glad you think so,” he purred. “Your turn.” I nodded and lay down once he moved off the bench. I was able to do it, but with the workload Caleb had given me, I hadn’t been training like I should have. Asterio went next and then all of his friends. They all had no problem. And round and round they went, all except the Queen and Miles. In the end, Tyler won, being the only person able to do two thousand pounds at ten reps. By then the rest of the group had caught up to us and we had quite a crowd in the weight room. When it was clear that Tyler was the champ, he stood on the bench and let out a triumphant howl. “What’s my prize?” he asked with a bright smile. “We’ll figure something out,” I answered, shooting Asterio a look. I’d actually been planning something for Tyler already and had asked Barnabas to help me. It just wasn’t ready yet. “Okay, then tour the place, hold the meeting for those going to Greece, and then some more Planet Earth?” Wow, was my mate wound up after a workout! “Sounds good, cub.” Asterio chuckled. Zane actually gave us the tour, showing us the other training rooms and some of the new

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warriors. He showed the Queen and some of the fae warriors the schedule and introduced them to Isaac Dragos, who did the scheduling. “The weight rooms and a few of the sparring gyms are always open on a first-come first-serve basis,” Isaac explained as he took over this part of the tour. We have other rooms that can be held for training, so once you guys get organized, just let me know what you’ll need when and we’ll get it set up. I know Stefan Marius has been asked to start teaching shooting glasses since he’s our resident firearms expert.” “I don’t understand why we need that?” Baylor asked, glancing at the Queen, who nodded for him to go ahead. “Most of us can shoot fire or put up protective barriers.” “I’ve been told that, and while that’s impressive, I would think it’s draining,” Isaac answered. The fae warriors mostly nodded. “All it takes is pulling the trigger to kill a demon with a gun. If you’re injured or too drained to use your gifts, it could save your lives.” “That makes sense,” Baylor agreed. “I hope you understand that I wasn’t questioning your methods. I just didn’t understand.” “We’re all about training here and working as a team,” Isaac replied. “Ask away. I think there will be lots the fae can teach us, and hopefully we can do the same for you.” “A commendable way to look at the situation,” the Queen said approvingly. We finished the tour and headed back outside… And into the wolves. Literally. There were six angry wolves snarling in the drive. “We didn’t know what to do,” one of the warriors, Clove I think was his name, said nervously. “We’ve tried catching them but they’re too fast. We’re at a standoff.” “Fuck this shit,” Tyler snarled and sprinted past the warriors to face the wolves. “Shift back, you chicken shit.” The men did, all looking at Tyler with hate. “You’re the chicken shit! You hide our people among the vampires. We were coming for

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Ayden but then I smelled your scent here and decided to settle the score with you first.” “Fuck you, Paul. You won’t find him. His mate took him back to his family’s home until you were caught.” Tyler sneered at the man before glancing at the others. “Did he tell you that our Elders put an arrest or kill order on him? Why are you following him?” “Don’t listen to his lies,” Paul shot back. Oh, I was so going to spank our mate later. All the shit I’d seen in his head and he’d told me, I didn’t know his old Alpha was rogue. “You are the one who’s lying,” Queen Magdalena yelled as she stepped forward. “Nurse, this doesn’t concern you,” Tyler said over his shoulder, shooting Asterio a look that said it all. He was in fear of her safety. Our mate understood, and the fae warriors surrounded the Queen. “I can protect myself,” she quibbled. Wow, she was stubborn. I liked that about her. She was definitely not some timid royal. “How do we know you’re telling the truth, Tyler? You ran,” one wolf said, his anger slipping away. “I came back to the pack, half of us were missing, and Paul told us you’d gone rogue and taken them.” “And you believed him, Fletcher? Does that sound like something I’d do? Ayden’s mate came to help his brothers with full knowledge of our Elders. They gave those of us who wanted it sanctuary while the Elders investigated Paul. He’s not even Alpha anymore.” Tyler stood his ground, and I thought he was getting somewhere until Paul shifted. “No!” I shouted as I raced forward. “Get Paul while I’m distracted,” Tyler said in my head. I’d almost forgotten we could speak that way since he hadn’t been using it. “I can’t beat him.” Asterio gasped and I knew he’d heard it, too. Paul bit Tyler hard on the shoulder, narrowly missing his neck. He threw his old Alpha off of him and Paul landed hard. The one Tyler had called Fletcher

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shifted and joined in the fight. Then the rest followed suit, some helping Tyler, some Paul. “Enough of this,” the Queen shouted and pushed past her warriors. “Tyler is one of us now, and I will not stand here while he gets hurt.” She threw her arms in the air and suddenly all the wolves were frozen except my mate. He moved away from the others, limping badly and then flopping down onto the ground right in front of her. The air shimmered around him as he shifted back. “Thank you. I didn’t want you to get hurt.” “Young man, I am almost impossible to kill,” she replied gently. “I do not want you hurt either. Think what that would do to Asterio.” “Sorry,” he whispered. I dove to his side, pushing his hair out of his face. “I’ll heal in a bit. He just bit me a few times.” “Um, what would you like me to do with these wolves?” Queen Magdalena asked. “Paul and Ben are wanted by our Elders,” Tyler answered tiredly as I pulled off my shirt and wrapped it around his waist. “I don’t know about the rest. You’d have to ask Elena Marius or Darcy. They’re the ones that have been in touch with our Elders.” “If you could hold them, we can knock them out and get them in lockup,” Clove suggested. “Oh, I can make them unconscious quite easily.” She snickered and did so. Then she released them from whatever hold she’d had on them. After that it was a flurry of movement that I didn’t pay any attention to until Asterio knelt down on the other side of Tyler. “While I appreciate your warning about protecting the Queen, I would have preferred you not throw yourself into the mix like that,” he chastised gently. “I’m sorry I called you a nurse,” Tyler mumbled to the Queen, his eyes still closed. “I didn’t want them to know who you were because Paul would have taken you for ransom for Ayden or some shit.”

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“He might have been able to catch me, but he would not have been able to keep me for long.” She gave Tyler a wink as he opened his eyes. “If you will permit me, I can speed along the process.” “Sure.” Then Tyler gasped as the Queen did something to heal him, the bite marks closing right up. The moment he stopped bleeding, I could feel my heart beating again. God, I couldn’t ever lose him.

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Chapter 12 Tyler “You don’t have to keep carrying me, I’m fine.” I chuckled, rolling my eyes. Mav gave me a dirty look and lifted me out of the SUV he borrowed from one of the warriors. “The Queen healed me, big guy. I’m just hungry and would love a bottle of water.” “I’ll get you what you need,” he said gruffly. “Are you pissed at me?” I whispered against his neck as he carried me into Barnabas’s house. “No,” Mav growled. Yeah, that totally sounded like he wasn’t. Silly me. He laid me on one of the couches in the front room off the foyer before closing the door as he left. Okay, I’d just sit here until he came back, I guess. About five minutes later I thought I was going to lose my mind. I mean, there were only so many times I could twiddle my thumbs and count my toes before I got bored. Plus, I felt like a kid who was sent to a time-out, except my mate was doing it and well, I wasn’t a child. “I got you clothes, too,” Mav announced as he came back into the room with a tray of food, a few bottles of water, and a set of clothes over his arm. “Thanks, this is great,” I said quietly. He set it all down and studied me closely. “Why are you quiet? Are you tired? Do you still hurt?” “Because you say you’re not mad but you’re really not happy,” I answered with a shrug before taking a bite of the sandwich. “Because I feel like you’re grounding me to my room, and I don’t like feeling

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like I’m in trouble. I don’t understand what’s upsetting you or why you’re not telling me. But fine, don’t tell me what’s on your mind. Why would I want an honest answer to my question?” I had just enough time to set the sandwich back down before he was on me, pinning me against the couch. He flung away his shirt that I had been wearing as a skirt to keep covered and undid his jeans. I gasped as he spread my legs wide, pushing one over the back of the couch, and thrusting the head of his cock into my hole. I stared at him in shock as his gray eyes filled with tears. When my body was ready for him, my hole nice and wet for him, he pushed the rest of the way into me. I closed my eyes and moaned at the pleasure. “Look at me!” he ordered, grabbing my hair roughly. I did as he wanted. Mav leaned in so his forehead touched against mine. He started slow, long, deep thrusts as his eyes never left mine. “Mav, I don’t understand,” I whispered. I wasn’t against having sex. Hell, I loved being with my mates. But there was a desperation to my mate and what we were doing that I needed to understand. “I could have lost you,” he choked out. Mav buried his face in my neck and wrapped his body around me as he started thrusting faster. “Twice in as many days I’ve almost lost you, and this time if I did, I wouldn’t have been able to win you back. Don’t you get it, Tyler? I wouldn’t survive losing you. All my years on this earth and I’ve finally found what makes me whole. You’ve been in my life not even a week, and I would crumble if you weren’t here.” I rubbed his back gently, kissing his neck as he took me. “Hey, I’m not going anywhere, my mate.” “You don’t know that!” He growled as he pushed up on his arms. Now he was fucking me with all he had, and I had to grab onto the arm of the couch so I didn’t get thrown off. “That asshole could have torn out your throat if you hadn’t turned in time. He could have killed you before any of us could have even gotten to you. You jumped right in there without any backup or other wolves on your side.”

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“Mav, you guys were my backup.” I used our mental link because I knew how much he treasured it and because he was pounding into me so hard I couldn’t get enough air in my lungs to talk. “I knew I wasn’t going in alone.” “Are you fucking kidding me?” he shouted. Now he was slamming into me hard enough to move the sofa across the floor. “We failed you. You spent most of today showing us you were faster and stronger, Tyler. The wolves are and we couldn’t have helped. Hell, the fight was like a flash of fur, and the next thing I know, you’re hurt, the others are shifting, and I was useless. You could have died and I was powerless to stop it.” “No you weren’t,” I snarled in his head as I grabbed his hair and pulled him down to my face. “I was coming to hide behind your big ass when the Queen stepped in. You would have protected me or figured out how to get around that they’re faster. You’re smarter, Mav. You were afraid, I get that, I was, too. But you would never let that fear stand in the way of protecting me.” “I didn’t know what to do,” he whispered, a tear dripping onto my cheek. “I’ve never felt so powerless.” “You’re not. You have the power now, and I need to feel it. Make your cub come.” I clamped my muscles on his cock and Mav bit me. He didn’t take any blood, but I knew he needed to feel attached to me in every way possible. Plus, the bite marks would remind everyone who I belonged to. I was good with that. I came so hard I saw lights flashing. My mate roared out his release and filled me. When we were spent, he collapsed onto me, smashing me into the couch. It was perfect. “Now that you’ve calmed a bit, think about what happened,” I said gently as I ran my fingers through the soft black strands of his hair. “If I’d come darting behind you to hide, what would you have done? How would you have handled that they’re faster?”

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He thought about that a moment before he had an answer. “I would have used my gift. Can’t fight or run if you’re having an orgasm. Then I would have knocked them out and locked them up.” “Yes, you would have.” I kissed his temple and held him tightly. “You knew that’s what I would have done?” “Yeah, Mav.” I chuckled. “I know you. You’re smart and would figure out an advantage over someone faster or stronger. It’s how you’ve managed to stay alive this long with constant threats around you.” “You’re not just a pretty face, are you?” “Nope,” I groaned as he pulled out of me and helped me sit up. “I’ve got a pretty ass, too.” We were laughing when Asterio came barging into the room, his eyes darting around until he found me. “How are you? Are you okay? Do you need anything? I had to—” “I could use my mate,” I purred as I lay right back down and spread my legs. Asterio whimpered as he watched Mav’s cum run out of my ass. “Come feel me, Asterio. I’m here, I’m fine, and I’m not going anywhere.” “Good,” he growled before pouncing. Then he pounded me into the couch… Twice without even stopping for a break. Holy shit, were my men studs! When we were done, he carried me to our room for a shower while Mav kept trying to feed me. Yes, while I was in the shower. Then they made sure I hydrated and checked me for bruises and oh my god they were insane. But I drank up the attention and preened under their gazes. Someone cared. They cared enough to worry. It made me feel something I’d only felt a few times in my life. Hope. “Okay, so you’ve got to talk to the peeps going to Greece and then we’re doing the next episode of Planet Earth?” I asked when I realized they were going to fuss over me all day instead of getting anything else done. “But you were hurt, cub,” Mav said hesitantly, biting his lip.

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“Mav, I would have healed already even if the Queen hadn’t helped. But she did and I feel great. Maybe another sandwich or one of those leftover cupcakes and I’ll be golden.” They exchanged a look and I understood. “Besides, I’d like to hear all about Greece, too. I mean, we’ll go there to visit one day, right?” “Yes, you’ll love it,” Mav said with a sigh of relief. Yeah, I’d gotten it right. They didn’t want to leave me alone, but they also didn’t want to order me to come with them. Score one for me! “Then let’s go sell some fae on the idea of moving to Greece!” I practically raced out of the room. Otherwise they would have stood there all day fussing over me. Even though I agreed to come with them to the meeting, Asterio still looked hesitant about my leaving the room. Five minutes later we were in the ballroom as some of the fae let everyone know about Mav speaking. Ten minutes later, my mate was talking to a full room. I felt really bad for him. Everyone seemed to want Mav to promise that they were going to be happy in Greece. How could he do that and not lie? He didn’t know them or how they would like the culture. He could only give them the facts. But then it was also questions about this world versus their plane. Well, since Mav had never been to their plane, again, they were barking up the wrong tree. And some started to get upset when he kept answering, I don’t know. I understood they were scared, and they had questions, but they just weren’t the ones Mav could answer. I wasn’t sure anyone could since the Queen hadn’t spent much time here either. It was really taking a toll on Mav and then I started to get pissed. I stood up, put my fingers in my mouth, and gave an ear-piercing whistle. Even Mav froze and turned to look at me with shock written all over his face. “Look, guys, I get that you have questions but some can’t be answered. Mostly because you’re asking my mate to answer things based on your opinions and experiences,” I said loudly, making sure

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my voice carried. “He can’t answer how you’re going to like Greece when that would be your opinion and he doesn’t know you. Ask him facts or ask someone else and stop getting annoyed that he doesn’t have the answer. He’s not a genie!” A few people calmed down then and stopped letting the mob mentality fear turn them into idiots. Mav answered questions for about fifteen more minutes and then it was over. When we were alone, I waited for my mate’s wrath for stepping in. Instead, I got something else. “I love you,” Mav growled as he pulled me into his arms. I let out a surprised yelp because that was the last reaction I’d been ready for. “You are so smart, and sexy, and sweet, and I’ve never had someone jump in and defend me like that before. You totally brought the group back to reality all to protect me.” “I didn’t like the way some of them were talking to you. It was either smack them verbally or my wolf was going to start biting people in the ass.” Mav’s smile fell. “You heard what I said, right? That first part.” “Yeah,” I whispered, staring at his nose instead of his eyes. I couldn’t deal with what I might see there. “Saying thank you sounds lame, but I’m not sure what else to say. Can I ask that you give me a minute to process that? I’ve never had anyone say they loved me before, and I honestly don’t know how I feel about it.” “Do you know how you feel about me?” “Yes,” I answered instantly, taking the chance and meeting his gaze. “You’re my everything. You and Asterio are the two most important people in the world to me and my heart is yours.” “Then I can give you all the time you need,” he said in a husky voice. I knew what that meant and my hole quivered in anticipation. Next thing I knew, I was plastered between the two of them naked as they took turns fucking me. It was fantastic.

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They cleaned me up as I practically purred in Asterio’s arms and then they re-dressed me. He carried me as if I was the most precious thing in the world to the media room. “Hey, cat,” I said brightly when I saw Rory was here. “Hey, dog,” he shot back and stuck out his tongue. We’d been teasing each other like this since we’d met, and I really liked the little guy. “You smell like sex.” “Shame for you that you don’t.” I stretched as I waggled my eyebrows at him. “I just shower after my fun.” Rory giggled. “My mate takes good care of me especially during the full moon.” “Oh god, the full moon,” I gasped as Asterio lowered me to my feet. “Ah, I kinda forgot to tell you guys something about how the full moon affects shifters.” “You get hornier than normal?” Mav asked in a teasing voice. Wow, he didn’t know how right he was. “You know how you get on my blood?” I waited until he nodded. “That’s how I’ll be for three days.” “Awesome!” Asterio exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air. “When is the full moon?” “In a few days.” I laughed, glad they were taking the news so easily. “Which is why when Barnabas told me you guys wanted to do a dance, I thought I should come right over and start the planning before I was too distracted.” Rory batted his eyelashes as if he was the most innocent person in the world. Yeah, right. “Let’s start with the music. I think Barnabas has an iDock somewhere and we can play with ideas,” I suggested. Mav, Rory, and I told Asterio we’d be right back and went to go get our stuff and some planning tools. He nodded and said he was going to play with the TV a bit and learn how to use it. I smiled and gave him a kiss before we left. Barnabas ended up joining us along with the Queen, getting a portable iDock and his

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mates’ iPods for songs as well. It took us less than ten minutes until we were back at the media room… And walked in on Asterio dancing. Oh, it wasn’t just dancing though. He was moving his hips to the M&M’s commercial that had LMFAO’s “Sexy and I Know It” in the background. My seven-and-a-half-foot-tall mate was taking dance lessons from a cartoon candy. “I don’t know whether to laugh or start groping him,” Mav said as we walked into the media room. “I like this song,” Asterio announced with a smile. “But I don’t understand how you guys know which candy to eat?” “What do you mean?” I asked, not catching on even remotely as to what he was talking about. “Well, if some of the M&M’s dance. How do you know which ones to eat so you don’t get a live one?” “We never explained cartoons to him, did we?” Mav was biting his lip so hard to keep in his laughter that I was surprised his lip wasn’t bleeding. “No, maybe now would be a good time before he starts trying to set free all the chocolate in the house,” I joked. Asterio looked at us like we were nuts, and the next thing I knew, we were all laughing so hard I swear I thought I might pee my pants. When we calmed down, Rory was actually the one who explained about animated drawings that could be seen on the TV and given voices. And like some of the movies he would see were just makebelieve. Asterio nodded along, listening intently until Rory was done. “Okay, good. Because I liked that chocolate Tyler gave me, and I would have felt bad if I’d eaten someone in the process of enjoying it.” I gave Asterio a hot kiss in response. My mate was sweeter than any chocolate and had a heart of gold. I was a lucky wolf because I actually had two of them.

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Chapter 13 Asterio I loved how my mates were so patient explaining everything to me. Sure, they laughed sometimes, but now I understood that it wasn’t at me, or that they thought I was stupid. It was more the amusement at how I saw the world. If nothing else, I knew that would keep our relationship interesting. “I found the answer,” Queen Magdalena said with a smile as we all sat down. “The answer to…?” I asked, trailing off as I eyed her over. She sure looked like the cat that ate the canary. “To why your blood affected Mav the way it did.” I watched as she brought out a very old, very large book that I vaguely remember having been in her library back on our plane. “I remembered something about vampires in the writings about why our plane was created originally. It seems in ancient times, all paranormal creatures used to persecute the fae for having strong magic. “The vampires in particular used to think they could absorb our power if they drank our blood. They were wrong, but it seemed, according to the writings of our ancestors, that being wrong didn’t stop them from trying. So, while our ancestors figured out a way to build our plane from our magic, they cast two spells to protect us from the vampires. “One was the creation of our warriors. They blessed all the pregnant fae to have babies that would grow to almost twice the normal size of a fae. They were to be stronger, faster, and able to

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protect their race. The second was to bespell our blood so if a vampire drank it they would not only no longer wish to hurt us but become overwhelmed with the desire to please us to the point of insanity.” “That seems like an accurate description of how you were acting,” Tyler drawled as he shot Mav a smirk. “Is there a way to reverse it?” I asked nervously, afraid of the answer. “I need to be able to provide what my mate needs.” “Hey, none of that,” Mav said gently as he took my hand and raised it to his lips. “You and Tyler give me everything I need.” “Tyler enjoys it so much when you bite him and I know you like doing it that I feel like something is missing between us since you can’t bite me.” It was hard to admit, but he had to know the truth. “Fear not,” the Queen sang. “Our ancestors foresaw that the fae might have vampire mates and put a reversal spell in here. Mav needs to bite you, but not drink until I say the incantation, and then your blood will no longer affect him that way.” “Okay, let’s do this,” I said excitedly, yanking my mate onto my lap. Mav laughed and gave me a quick kiss. “Thank you for wanting to try this,” he whispered in my ear. “I’d love to bite you.” I shivered at his tone as I felt his fangs against my neck. The Queen gave the signal and he sank them in my flesh. Then she muttered something under her breath and I felt power surround us. “You may drink. It’s done,” she informed us. I moaned as Mav drank from me, enjoying it just as much as I did the first time. Hell, I was fighting the need to blow in my pants. He must have understood my predicament because he only took a little. Then he licked the bite closed and lifted his head. “You taste like a normal human now,” he said with a smile. “Sweeter, but not like anything else is in your blood.” “Oh thank the gods,” I whispered in relief. “So you don’t feel the need to shove me off the couch if I touch Asterio?” Tyler joked, giving our mate a wink. “No, but I might spank you,” Mav growled playfully.

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“Promises, promises.” Tyler laughed, shaking his head. “Seems we got here for the interesting part,” a woman drawled from the doorway. Rory instantly was on his feet, racing to her. She laughed as he hugged her. “It’s nice to see you, too, Rory.” “How have you been, Elena? I haven’t seen you in forever,” Rory asked with a bright smile. Oh, so this must be Elena Marius and her mate Desmond, who I saw standing behind her. “Forever as in a few days ago.” She giggled. Introductions were made and then they sat down and joined us. “Congratulations on your mating. Desmond and I were thrilled to hear of it.” “Thank you.” Mav gave an appreciative nod. I knew he’d met Desmond before, but I was pretty sure this was the first time he met Elena so I didn’t feel like I was odd man out. Well, more than usual since I’d come over to this world. “Tyler, I know we’ve been discussing that property and working on plans to turn it into a small community of homes,” Desmond said with a sly grin. “But it was planned as a future project. Well, Elena and I just came from the county office and officially had the land broken down and rezoned.” He handed an envelope to our mate. “This is for you and your mates as a mating gift.” “You didn’t have to do that,” Tyler whispered as he opened it up. His eyes went wide as he read the paper. “You gave us five of the acres? This is too much.” “Nonsense,” Elena said firmly. “A wolf needs land of his own to run when he needs to, and our developer should have the best plot of land of the group. You’ve been teaching the other wolves how to work construction, so we’ve set aside two acres for each of your team as their payment. The rest we’ve split up into fifty-six plots of two acres as well. If people want to build two houses on each or whatever, they can.” “This is amazing. Thank you.” Tyler looked close to tears. Mav moved to the seat next to me and we pulled our mate onto our laps, hugging him tightly. “We have a home. We have the land and I can

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build us a home.” I felt him shake as the news finally pushed our mate over the edge of the emotional roller coaster he’d been on today. Elena glanced at Mav, her eyes full of concern. “I thought this would make you happy, Tyler.” “It does,” he sniffled as he nuzzled my neck, rubbing his scent on me. When he didn’t elaborate, I did. “It’s been a crazy few days, and Tyler’s old Alpha came after him today.” I tried to think of a way to explain everything to people I didn’t know and came up short, so I went with simple. “There’s just been more going on than we’ve been able to process yet. I think your generosity has been part of the roller coaster, but one of the turns.” I looked at Mav for confirmation I was getting that right. “Close enough,” he said with a wink. “Why don’t you stay and help Rory plan the dance with Barnabas and her highness. We’re going to give Tyler some room to breathe for a bit and be back.” “I’m fine, really,” Tyler said, his voice cracking slightly. “I’m just—” “We know, cub,” Mav whispered as I stood and lifted our mate into my arms. “Everyone needs a time-out to let stuff settle for a bit. I could use one, too.” “Yeah?” Tyler looked at Mav as if he wasn’t buying, but I agreed actually. “Yeah, we got our time-out earlier while you were taking care of us,” I explained gently as we left the other. I followed Mav, having a clue what he was plotting. “We were scared after you got hurt and you comforted us. But I think you were so busy helping us, you didn’t have time to deal with everything.” “Maybe,” he sighed, snuggling in my arms. “So what do I do? Just take a nap?” “No, we’ve got another way to let go in mind,” Mav said cryptically, and I knew for sure where we were going. Tyler didn’t say anything as we went downstairs to the lower level of the estate.

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He just looked around curiously until Mav led us to a room with shackles hanging from the ceiling. Then he shivered. “You don’t have to do this,” Tyler whispered as I set him on his feet. “I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to just because you saw it in my head.” “Undress, cub,” Mav said firmly as he eyed our mate over. “You’re going to let go as we fulfill your fantasy. You’re not forcing us to do anything. We want to do this.” “Oh yeah,” I moaned as Tyler got undressed. “We’re going to take good care of you so you are not to worry about us or anything else. All you’re going to do is let go and enjoy.” “Yes, Asterio.” He stood before us naked, shivering with desire. That was better than earlier when he was shaking from the overwhelming emotions he’d been dealing with today. “Do you have a safe word, slut?” Mav asked as he grabbed Tyler’s wrists and dragged him over to the chains. “No, you won’t hurt me or do anything bad,” Tyler answered immediately. “You love me.” “We both do,” I agreed as Mav locked him up in the cuffs. “I love you, too, Tyler. We’re going to show you how loved you are and then when we’re done, we’re going to plan a room like this in our house so we can always give you what you need.” “Really?” The lust in his eyes was astounding as he smiled at me. “I promise to be a good slut.” “Yes, you will be,” Mav growled, grabbing Tyler’s cock and stroking it. “And good sluts get fucked hard and fast. Is that what you want, cub?” “Please,” Tyler whimpered. “I want you both so bad.” He wrapped his hands around the chains and spread his legs wider. “I want you both in every way forever. I love you. I love you both.” “Good,” I whispered in his ear as I moved behind him. I let him feel my erection rubbing against him through my pants before undoing them. “Moan like our little slut.”

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He did and I gave Mav a wink over Tyler’s shoulder. He shocked me by mouthing I love you, too. I smiled and did the same. Now we were perfect. My heart soared before focusing back on Tyler. I pushed the head of my cock into his willing body, waiting for him to get wet and adjust to me. I grabbed his hips when he tried to take more of me into him. “Behave or we won’t fuck you and just leave you tied up,” I threatened, knowing there was no way we’d go through with it. “Please fuck me. Shove that huge cock in me,” Tyler chanted over and over again. “Help me let go.” I did as he wanted, taking him hard and fast as the chains rattled. He groaned as I took him, but I wanted more. “Scream your pleasure, slut. I want the whole house to know how good I feel inside of you.” “Yes!” He wailed, letting go of any restraint. Tyler was so sexy and the scene so erotic that it didn’t take me long to orgasm. I filled his ass up before pulling out and moving out of the way for Mav. “We’re going to play with each other tonight, but he needed this first,” Mav whispered in my ear so only I could hear. I gave him a passionate kiss, accepting his offer. Then I groped Tyler relentlessly as Mav pounded into his hole. The dirtier we talked to him, the louder Tyler became in his pleasure. “Squeeze the base of his cock.” “Are we not letting him come yet?” I asked as I did what Mav wanted. “Not just yet. I want him wanting us so badly that he begs and understands who he belongs to. No one else will ever please him but us.” “No, no one ever,” Tyler screamed. “Please let me come!” Instead, Mav roared out Tyler’s name and came. I waited until he was done and let go of Tyler’s cock. I understood when Mav knelt in front of Tyler, leaving room for me, and started licking his dick. I joined right in until our mate came on our faces. We licked his seed off each other as Tyler stayed hard the whole time, begging for more.

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“Tell me how you feel, Tyler,” I ordered a few minutes later as I entered him again. “Tell me how what we’re doing makes you feel.” “Loved!” he cried out as I thrust into him again. “Wanted, accepted, happy.” “Good,” I moaned as I buried his face in my neck. “Do you feel like you belong with us?” “Yes, only you and Mav can make me feel this way,” he panted. “I can let go with you and not have to always fight or be in charge. I can just be me.” I shared a look with Mav and knew that was exactly what we’d been going for. We wanted Tyler to understand that with us he could be himself and we’d love him for who he was. And in the end, isn’t that all anyone wanted? To be accepted as they were and find someone to love them because of it. We all felt that way about each other, and I’d never been happier that I’d listened to my Queen and crossed through the portal. And into the world where I would find everything I’d ever been looking for in the two men I would share the rest of my life with.

THE END WWW.JOYEEFLYNN.COM

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Joyee dreams of one day living on enough land to have a few horses, and find a couple of cowboys or pool boys of her own. A lover of men, Joyee is all about them in any form in her books; vampire, werewolf, shape-shifter, military . . . It’s all good! She loves to get lost in fantasy that only books can bring. Her wide interest in reading is reflected in her writings, whether short stories, romance, or mystical. Currently Joyee lives with her dog, Marius, named after a vampire from Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire series.

Also by Joyee Flynn Siren Classic ManLove: Beyond the Marius Brothers 1: Isaac Dragos Siren Classic ManLove: Beyond the Marius Brothers 2: Darcy Burke Ménage Amour ManLove: Beyond the Marius Brothers 3: Barnabas Leopold Siren Classic ManLove: Beyond the Marius Brothers 4: Travis Rhodes

For all other titles, please visit www.bookstrand.com/joyee-flynn

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