
The O'Hagen Way 3
A Zane Po' Boy
In a world where humans and paranormals coexist in secret and where soulless demons roam, numerous vampires dream to be united with their mates.
Brian and Banning O'Hagan are twins from Ireland who have been waiting for their mate the longest out of all their brothers. When they finally meet Zane, they learn that if they want their mate to love and accept them, then they must first forgive each other.
Zane is a warrior in the United States who deeply desires to be with his mates but is plagued by horrible memories from his past---memories that make it hard for him to show the love he feels for the two men.
Will Brian, Banning, and Zane be able to resolve their separate issues, open their hearts to one another, and become true mates, or will they all be destined to a life of loneliness and pain?
Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Vampires/WerewolvesLength: 35,864 words
A ZANE PO' BOY
The O'Hagan Way 3
Joyee Flynn
MENAGE AMOUR
MANLOVE
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Amour ManLove
A ZANE PO' BOY
Copyright © 2012 by Joyee Flynn
E-book ISBN: 1-61926-532-X
First E-book Publication: February 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.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
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DEDICATION
To all of us who have learned the hard way to let go of the mistakes of the past...Life is just too short.
\*On a side note, when I wrote the first Marius Brothers, I had no clue how big the world would get. Then I had so much fun with the world, that I thought, why not Irish twins? So the O'Hagans were born. Now there are other minor characters who need their stories told...And that's how one world ended up with three different series. To keep everything straight, I've added a few pages to my site, including a brief background on the world so it's not repeated in every book, the chronological order of the books, character charts, and a list of who's who. I hope this helps make sense of the madness that is my brain. www.joyeeflynn.com/themariusworld.htm
A ZANE PO' BOY
The O'Hagan Way 3
JOYEE FLYNN
Copyright © 2012
Zane
"Holy shit," I gasped as twin blurs raced toward me. They knocked me back onto the couch and started rubbing themselves against me while doing naughty things with their tongues while we were in public.
"We found our mate, Brian," one of them said. Okay, Isaac had asked about a Brian and Banning. I guessed this was them and I was meeting them up close and very personal. Yeah, since the other was now groping me. Very, very personal. Brian stopped long enough to gaze at me with this funny look I couldn't place. "Ya be wanting us, me mate?"
"Oh, yeah," I moaned as they did their best to drive me wild. They were hot and twins. Who wouldn't want them? I mean, they were twins. Twins good. Especially when they were about five ten with bright red hair that was cut short but not too short where I couldn't tell that their hair would curl if they grew it out. They had silver eyes that were almost iridescent and were getting darker. Trippy.
I heard people talking around us, not really paying attention when hands moved under my shirt. Then I froze. Did Brian say mate? I breathed in deeply and took in their scents. Shit. Yes, they were my mates. They smelled like fresh oranges and strawberries, a heavenly scent in my book. I'd never smelled anyone better. That had to make them my mates, right?
I started to pull away, but Banning tightened his grip on my shirt. "Ya be having a room in this house?" Banning asked me as they pulled me to my feet, those strange, gorgeous eyes pulling me in. Damn, that accent made me weak in the knees. "Because if not, I think we be biting ya with everyone here."
"I--I'm in one of the guest rooms," I stuttered, glancing at Isaac. He smiled widely at me and gestured for us to leave. Great, he wasn't going to be any help.
"Go, go claim your mates and be happy." He chuckled. I knew that laugh and sighed. It wasn't the mean you're so screwed laugh that comes when a friend is knee-deep in crap and it's just too funny not to laugh at. It was the I'm so happy you're happy kinda laugh. Except I wasn't happy. I was about to shit a brick and run.
"Lead the way, me mate," Brian purred and rubbed himself suggestively against me. Then they took off toward the main hallway by the front entrance, and it was move with them or simply be dragged along by them.
Talk about coming on strong! Yeah, that wasn't adding to the amount of freaking out I was doing inside. But we needed to be alone to talk anyways. I wouldn't have this discussion around my best friend and the twins' brothers.
I was trying to figure out how to explain that this was happening too fast when we got to my room. And of course they started taking off their clothes, unbuttoning their collared shirts, and beginning to pull off their jeans.
"Stop, just stop!" I shouted as I covered my eyes. "There's no way I can think if you're both naked." They were identical twins of gorgeousness, and just from the pale flesh exposed when they took off their shirts, I was rock hard.
"Why do ya need to think?" one asked in that sexy brogue. "Ya not want us?"
"I want you so much, but I don't think in the way you mean," I admitted, feeling like a Grade A douche bag. I couldn't just hop right into mating, no matter how hot they were. I needed to think.
"Brian, he means he not planning to keep us, just have some fun with us," Banning said quietly. "That all your mates worth for to ya? A little fun, some slap and tickle, and send us on our way?"
"That's not what I said!" I snapped, removing my hands from my eyes because I felt silly standing there like that. "You're going too fast. I can't think. I didn't even get your names before you threw yourselves at me. I heard Isaac say them and---"
"Threw ourselves at ya!" Brian growled as he yanked on his shirt and buttoned it back up. "Ya be our mate. We didn't know we had certain rules to follow or games to play. Ya want us to court ya like some bonny lass before talking about a dowry?"
"That's not what I meant---" I started to argue. I wasn't implying they were sluts, but they did, literally, launch themselves at me. And since I'm not used to men jumping me, yeah, it was a shock.
"We wait six hundred and forty-three years to find our mate and this be what we get?" Banning shouted, throwing his hands up in the air in exasperation. "A mate who doesn't want to mate and just wants to roll around in the hay!"
"Would you just listen to me?" I begged, feeling as if the floor that was already unstable was falling out from below me.
"We heard enough," Brian sneered as he stormed to the door. "Have a nice life."
"No," I whispered as a pit formed in my stomach. I watched as my mates left without another word. What the fuck just happened? I just wanted to talk. Was that so wrong?
Now
Brian
"There's a car coming," me twin grumbled as we loaded up the wool onto the truck. We'd spent the past week shearing all the sheep Dillon had bought in the spring to diversify our farms. It was a dirty, crappy job that I was glad we didn't have to do too often. But it put us in a foul mood, not that our normal mood had been great recently.
"Doesn't look familiar," I replied with a grunt. "Maybe Dillon bought Shane and Sean a new car? That man does dote on them."
I heard Banning mumble under his breath. I wasn't sure, but it sounded like, "Must be nice to have a mate like that." Yeah, I couldn't agree more. Me heart hurt when I thought of our mate. Mostly because of longing.
"Oh fuck, it be Isaac and his cat mate," Banning groaned. Our gazes met, and we realized the only reason they'd be showing up here. Zane. We dropped what we were doing and raced to the car.
"He be hurt?" I asked immediately as we got to them.
"Depends on your idea of hurt," Rory scoffed as he stepped out of the car and looked us over with contempt. His bright blue eyes were flashing with anger.
"You fix my friend!" Isaac shouted as he slammed the car door. I flinched at the sound. "I can't fucking keep quiet anymore. He's going to end up getting himself killed, and then I'm going to kill you both, in-laws or not."
"What be the meaning of all of this?" our ma hollered as she came out on the front porch. Her hands were on her hips, her hair and long dress blowing lightly in the breeze as she regarded us with one of her fiercer expressions. "Don't ya go threatening me sons, lad. Ya won't like the outcome."
"I'm sorry, Brighid, I truly am," Isaac replied in a calmer tone, still focused on us. "But they've destroyed my best friend, someone who's like a brother to me. If I have to take on the whole O'Hagan clan to get him back and have your sons pull their heads out of their asses to do it, then so be it."
"We talking about Zane?" she asked in a cold tone. "The bastard who wanted to use them for sex?"
"What?" Rory and Isaac gasped. It was Rory who continued. "Where did you get a crazy idea like that?"
"From us," I growled. "He wanted to romp and not keep us."
"Yeah, he told us that's what you thought," Rory sneered. "But that's not what he meant, and he certainly never said he wanted to use you just for sex. He asked you to slow down and talk. You freaked out on him and left. You never even gave him a chance to explain. Hester said you left before the Mariuses did and that meant you were with Zane a whole ten minutes maybe."
"He didn't want us as mates," Banning said, not sounding so sure this time. I wanted to smack him. I knew we handled this wrong. I'd begged Banning to go back to America and give it another go at talking with Zane. He was too hurt from the rejection to even consider it.
"He wanted a minute to fucking think!" Isaac shouted, rubbing his hands over his face and growling in agitation. "Did he ever say the words I don't want you as mates?"
I exchanged a look with me twin before we both shook our heads.
"Did he ever say that he only wanted you for sex? Or did he just say that yes, he wanted you and found you both attractive?" Rory asked, his hands fisted on his hips, looking just as pissed.
"The latter," I admitted sheepishly.
"Oh, lads, I think ya fucked up good," our ma whispered softly. "Ya flew off the handle again, didn't ya?"
"He said he didn't want us in the way we meant," Banning said stubbornly, shaking his head as he ran his fingers through his hair. "We wanted to mate and claim him. What else could he have meant? He wanted our bodies."
"Of course he did, but just because he didn't want more than that right that second when you just fucking met, didn't mean he wanted you only for sex!" Rory rambled, rolling his eyes.
"Wait, huh?" I asked. The shifter lost me on that one.
"You're both hot," he answered in a huff. Isaac growled and Rory shook his head and turned slightly so he could talk to his mate. "They are. Stuff it. You can get jealous I appreciated other men later."
"I love you, baby." Isaac chuckled.
"Me, too." Rory gave his mate a wink before turning back to us. "Yes, he didn't deny that he wanted you. He knew you wanted to mate, and he said he didn't mean it in that way."
"See, that's---" I started to argue.
"For once, let someone finish their thought," Rory growled. I shut me trap before ma did. "He meant he didn't want to mate right that second. He's got issues, just as you clearly do. And when you jumped him---"
"He said that, too!" Banning exclaimed. "He said we threw ourselves at him."
"You did," Isaac growled. "Literally. You freaked him out, shocked him, and he needed a minute to catch up. But you couldn't give that to him, could you?"
"He---I---we," Banning stuttered, looking to me for help. I didn't have any to give. They were right.
"We flew off the handle," I whispered, months of longing swarming me. It was so strong and full of regret it almost brought me to me knees. "We screwed up."
"You think?" Isaac sneered, shaking his head before turning back to Rory. "This was a mistake. They don't deserve Zane."
"What's the other option, Isaac?" Rory asked gently as he moved to his mate. "We've tried everything else. If Zane keeps going the way he is, he'll be dead in a few months. We both know he doesn't take any precautions on missions. He almost died this last one and he's wasting away to nothing."
"What do ya mean?" I was scared to know the answer, but part of me had to.
"He used to be more built than I am," Isaac answered, his eyes showing a deep sadness. "We're both six six, but he used to have at least a good twenty pounds of muscle more than me. He used to be two hundred and seventy-five pounds. The clinic weighed him when he got back and was injured. He's one hundred and eighty pounds. In eight months he's lost almost a hundred pounds of muscle. He won't work out, he barely eats, and I doubt he has been drinking enough blood to sustain himself."
"Zane's been volunteering for the most dangerous missions since you both left," Rory explained, getting choked up. "He always comes back hurt. The moment he's healed enough that they'll send him back out, he goes. One of these times he won't come back. Gabriel was out with him on this last mission and said Zane didn't even fight back when the demons attacked him, like he was trying to die."
"It was either come talk to you or tell the Council that he has to take a leave. And he won't ever forgive me if I do that to him," Isaac said sadly. Rory went and hugged him, and Isaac buried his face in his mate's hair. "I can't lose my best friend. Zane's always been there for me. He's a good man. He'd never just have used his mates for sex. You misunderstood him and bailed before he could explain."
It only took me a split second to make me decision. "Give me five minutes to shower and pack."
"You fix this because if he dies because of you I'll file a formal grievance and kill you myself," Isaac said evenly, his eyes flaring with hate.
"I can only promise to try." That was the best I had. I turned and ran toward the house, not even waiting to find out what Banning was willing to do. I ran past me ma and into the house, me frantic footsteps echoing through the house. Banning caught up with me at our room.
"Are ya even going to ask me what I think?" I could feel his anger as strongly as me own.
"We fucked up, twin," I answered, shaking me head as I peeled off me dirty clothes. "We fucked up big-time. I be asking ya for months if we could go back and try again, but ya said no. I'm done letting ya decide for both of us. Our mate needs us, and if ya can't swallow ya pride and go to him, then that's ya decision. Mine is to go."
"Ya would pick him over me?" he whispered, and I could hear the pain in his tone.
"Why does it have to be one or the other? I'm not picking him over ya! I'm going to help our mate. Ya should be, too." I left him standing there and took the quickest shower ever. Hell, I didn't even wait for the water to warm up. I grabbed a towel and started drying off on the way back to our room, not caring if anyone saw me naked. Time was of the essence, and I wasn't going to waste any more of it.
"Ya are right and I'm sorry," Banning said softly, grabbing me arm as I walked past him. "Don't leave without me."
"Never, me twin," I whispered as I pulled him into me arms. "We can fix this. We'll get our mate. But we need to work as a team, okay? No more of this him versus ya shit. It be the three of us against the world."
"I'll try." That was the best I was going to get from him, and I would take it.
"Hurry up now. I'll pack for both of us."
"Right." He jogged off toward the bathroom, and I quickly threw on some clothes. I just grabbed the first thing I saw, which ended up being an old blue T-shirt and some faded jeans. Banning just walked back into the bedroom, freshly showered, as I finished packing a couple of bags with the basics. I'm sure in me confused daze of worry and apprehension I forgot half of what we'd need. But it wasn't like we couldn't buy basics in America if we needed them.
Five minutes later we were both ready and running back out to the car. Our das were in Greece helping Caleb and our brothers out. So I couldn't help but feel bad bailing on our ma when she needed us on the farm. But it was like she guessed what I might say.
"Go to ya mate. I've been running a farm long before ya both came into the world. Dillon and your brothers will come help, too," she said firmly, giving us both a kiss and a hug. "Ya only get one mate, lads. Don't fuck up this time and make this right."
"Aye, we'll fix what we broke," Banning replied sheepishly. "Ya know we didn't mean to though, right?"
"It be hard when dealing with matters of the heart. But ya both be men and dense, so I'm sure none of ya did the right thing and were too stubborn to go to the other one. None of that should ever matter. Ya mate need ya both and ya go. He be family and nothing would ever make ya walk away from any of us no matter what we said. Ya remember that and ya both be fine."
"Love ya, ma," I said, swallowing back the lump that had formed in me throat. She was right. We walked away too easily no matter what we thought Zane had said. I just hoped he would forgive us. I wouldn't blame him if he didn't, but I really prayed he was a better man than we had been. Otherwise, we were screwed.
We finished our good-byes and hopped in their rental car. The air was thick with tension as we drove to the airport.
"Umm, I just realized something. Don't we need to be booking flights?" me twin asked after several miles. "Did ya think we would agree so fast and you have seats on a flight soon? Or do we have to change your tickets, too?"
Rory turned around and gave us a wink. "Isaac has his own jet. We took it here. I can't say I don't want to spend more time in Ireland. It's a beautiful country. But we need to get home to Zane. We hoped you'd be coming with, but if you wouldn't, we still have to get back to him. I don't like leaving him alone."
"He's not alone," Isaac replied, slipping his hand into his mate's. "Besides, it's not like we can watch him at the warrior compound anyways. When I was there the other day, all he did was grunt at me."
"He no longer be living with ya both?" I asked, me eyes going wide.
"No, he moved out a few months after you both left," Rory answered with a weary sigh. "He said he was tired of us hovering and pushing him. We were trying to get him to go to Ireland or at least take better care of himself. It backfired and now he avoids us. The only time we get to see him is when he's injured and lying in the clinic."
I felt me eyes burn at the pain our mate must have suffered. Isaac was right. We didn't deserve Zane. Why had we ever left?
"Don't worry, we can fix this," Banning said as he took me hand.
"I hope so," Isaac mumbled from the front seat. "Zane's had a hard enough life. He deserves to be happy, and after what he did for me, god knows I would do anything for him."
"What did he do for ya?" I asked, wanting to learn as much about our mate as I could.
"He saved my life. I did a lot of bad shit in the name of trying to keep my family together, but it all ended up backfiring on me. I broke when I had to kill my father and was trying to let myself die from an injury I got in the fight. He saved me and made me see there was life beyond an old promise I made." He glanced at Rory before focusing back on the road. "I owe him everything. He put me on the path to finding the love of my life."
"He sounds like a good man," Banning said quietly.
"He is. I hope that part of him hasn't completely died after what you did. If you can't bring him back, I'm scared he'll be lost forever. And the person he is now isn't good."
"We can fix this," I whispered, more trying to give myself a pep talk than believing it. I wasn't sure we could. But I knew we had to try. What other choice did we have? He was our mate, and we wouldn't be walking away from him again.
"Hey, buddy. We brought you something," Isaac said hesitantly as he showed up in the doorway of my room. I watched for a moment as his eyes darted around my room, taking in the piles of dirty clothes and uneaten food that surrounded my bed and dresser. Normally I kept my room immaculate, but I saw no point in keeping it clean now.
I know Isaac was probably thinking about how this room was very different from the one I had been using at his house. It was small and cramped since it was pretty much just a single's dorm room. The furniture was old and worn, having been used by who knows how many people before. Yeah, there was no denying it was pitiful in comparison to the huge, lavish suite I had been staying in at Isaac's.
"You might as well return them and see if you can get your money back," I grumbled. I didn't even bother glancing at him, Rory, or my mates, my eyes never leaving the stupid Xbox game I was playing.
"Zane, just hear them out. Please?" Isaac begged.
"Nope."
He sighed, and I heard him step into the room. "At least you're out of the clinic. You look good."
I stared at him as if he'd grown a second head and then let out a bark of laughter. "I look like shit and we all know it. Thanks for the lie though."
"You look good compared to the state you were in when you got back from your mission," he growled. I winced. Yeah, that was true enough. Since I had practically been on death's door, anything would be better than that.
"The demon said I was cute, so I figured I'd let him play." I shrugged nonchalantly as if I didn't care. "It wasn't my fault his idea of foreplay involved my guts on the outside of my body."
Isaac growled and Rory let out a soft gasp at my offhanded comment. Good, be shocked. Just leave me the fuck alone.
"Can we talk to ya, Zane?" one of the twins asked me.
"No," I replied in a deadpan tone even as I felt anger stirring inside of me. Looking at the twins, I noticed they were even more beautiful than I remembered. Although they didn't seem to have put much thought into what they were wearing, since their clothing looked all wrinkled. And I did notice that they both had dark circles under their eyes. "I tried to talk to you, but you didn't want to hear a goddamn word I had to say. That was eight months ago. All I have to say now is go fuck yourselves."
"Hey, is Zane in?" I heard Darcy ask from the hallway.
"Yeah, come on in. I didn't invite these people over," I called out, wanting my guests to take the hint and leave.
"Excuse me," Darcy purred as he slid past everyone. He moved closer, stopping when he was in front of me, blocking the TV. "Heard you got hurt. What's up with that?"
"Nothing doing. I'm on the mend," I answered with a wink. Yeah, I was a being a douche, but my mates deserved it.
"Fair enough. I'm being sent out in a few hours and I wanted to see if you felt up to playing until then." His brown eyes twinkled with mischief and lust.
"Yeah, I'm in." I shut off the TV and tossed my controller on the bed. Darcy grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the door. I made sure to look at Brian and Banning as we walked by. "Hours of hot sex is just what I need right now. You always know how to satisfy me, Darcy."
I felt like a royal ass when I saw tears fill up their eyes, looking as if I'd just kicked them in the nuts. I shouldn't have cared after the way they treated me, but I did.
"Don't do this, Zane," Isaac begged, glancing at my mates. "There are some things you can't undo no matter how sorry you are later."
"I have no reason to be sorry later," I growled, my hackles going up at the accusation. "They rejected me, remember? They left without letting me get two sentences in. As far as I'm concerned, I have no mates. And thanks for being on my side, my friend."
Isaac stared at me with that soul-searching look that had had my knees melting once upon a time. "Where has my best friend gone? I want Zane back."
"I am Zane. The new and improved, fuck-everyone Zane."
Darcy glanced at me with a funny look, and I nodded for him to go. We left everyone in my room, not bothering to lock it up. I didn't care. I didn't have anything worth taking anyways. It was just stuff.
We didn't say a word on the walk to his room. It wasn't far, just down the hallway. The moment we were alone in his room, I went and collapsed on the bed.
"Want to tell me what that was all about?" Darcy asked gently as he sat down next to me and pulled my upper body onto his lap.
"Nothing, let's just have sex," I answered but didn't even move.
"Yeah, I can so tell we're going to get it on." He snickered. "You might have fooled them that you were going to get laid, but I know you better than that, Zane. The only reason I went in there was because I was walking by and heard how upset your tone was. We've not fucked around since Isaac met his mate. I thought it was because you still had feelings for him and were mourning his mating, but now that I see the two hot redheads staring at you like you are a god, I know there's more to the story."
"Those are my mates. They rejected me and left. I've not seen them in eight months. End of the short story," I whispered.
"Oh, buddy," Darcy whispered as he lay back on the bed, pulling me up onto his chest and holding me tightly. "Is that why you've been treating yourself this way? Zane, love, you deserve so much better than this. Why didn't you let me help you?"
"Darcy, all we ever did was drink too much sometimes and fuck. If I showed up here, sobbing my mates didn't want me, you would have held me as I cried?" The implied yeah, right in my tone couldn't have been missed.
"I'm doing it now, aren't I?" he replied gently as he ran his fingers through my hair. "We were friends long before we ever had sex, Zane. I'd be here for you just as you would for me."
"I'm sorry I didn't believe that." And I was because I should have. Darcy was a great guy, always understanding, and the one person most warriors could go talk to. He never judged or talked shit behind anyone's back. He was easy to be around, a great listener, and truly a nice person.
Why couldn't fate have given me him as a mate? Things would have been so much simpler then.
"They didn't want me," I whispered, my body starting to shake with silent sobs.
"They're here now though. Maybe they realized they missed the opportunity of a lifetime," he said gently. I shook my head, not willing to jump back in the snake pit and see if they bit me again. I just couldn't handle that. I knew I wouldn't survive it.
Banning
"Fuck this," I growled after a few minutes of us all standing in shock and stormed after me mate. "There's no way I be standing by while he fucks another man." I was tired and irritated. We had been traveling for a long time and now we were in this huge warrior compound that was totally foreign to me.
When we had driven up to it, both Brian and I had been amazed by the enormity of the building. It was made entirely out of stone, and as soon as we had entered, we were faced with a labyrinth of hallways and doors to choose from. I was glad Isaac was with us. Otherwise it was a sure thing we would have gotten lost.
"You lost the right to get upset about it when you left," Rory pointed out. He was right, and that just made me want to throttle him even more.
"Banning, ya going to make it worse," Brian pleaded as he ran after me. I shook my head, not thinking there was any way to make this worse. He grabbed me hand seconds before I could knock on the door where our mate's scent ended. "Listen."
"They didn't want me," Zane said so quietly that even with our advanced hearing we could barely hear him through the door.
"They not be having sex," I whispered, feeling even more like an ass that we were all listening on what was obviously a private moment.
"Oh thank god," Isaac sighed as he wiped his hands over his face in relief. "Then some part of Zane is still in there. He might have lashed out and wanted to make you hurt as much as he was hurting. But he couldn't be that big of an asshole and actually go through with it."
"What do we do now?" Brian asked, his eyes so full of sadness that I pulled me twin into a hug.
"I don't know," I answered honestly. We'd decided to come so quickly that it wasn't like we had time to formulate a plan or anything.
"I think we're going to have to go to the desperate-measures plan, Isaac," Rory said with an exhausted sigh. "I can't think of any other way to get through to him. Can you?"
"No, but he may never forgive me." Rory rubbed his hands over Isaac's chest in a comforting gesture. "But I'd rather him hate me and live a real life than be the shell of a man he's been."
"I know, my love. Once he sees reason, he won't stay mad at you."
"What ya both be talking about?" I asked, all for some type of plan.
"Let's get out of here before we get busted. We've got a lot to do if we're going to make this work." Isaac glanced around, and sure enough, there were several warriors in the halls casting glances our way.
None of us said a word as we headed to the front hall where we'd come in. Isaac stopped by an office and left a letter on a desk. Now me curiosity was eating me alive. We rushed out to his car, all climbing in quickly.
"We built a cell in the basement," Isaac said once we were driving again. "Zane could get out of a normal room simply by breaking down the door or punching through the drywall. But I had a solid steel room built that he can't get out of, especially in his weakened state."
"Ya want to kidnap our mate and lock him up?" Brian asked, his eyes going wide with shock.
"I'm up for other suggestions," Isaac growled. "He's slowly dying, and after this last mission, now people know something's up and he will become even more reckless. If we can't get through to him in his grief and anger, then I'm going to lock his ass up and force him to eat and get the blood he needs until he sees reason. I'm not going to chain him to the wall or anything. We would even give him a bathroom."
"That's not a bad idea," I agreed, given how badly our mate looked. Gone was the blond Adonis I remembered. Zane looked like a human cancer patient that was riddled with the disease. His skin had almost sickly gray tones and was practically hanging off his bones. His shiny hair was dull, his dark green eyes sunken in his head, having also lost their sparkle and vitality. He did look like he was knocking at death's door, begging to be let inside.
It scared me enough to agree to any crazy plan that had half a chance of working.
"He might hate us, too," Brian replied, nibbling on his lower lip.
"Aye, but he'll be alive. Even if he never forgives us, I can't live with the idea we destroyed him," I whispered, me eyes burning in grief. "I'd rather set him right and send him on his way to that Darcy man just so he leads a happy life. If he can't forgive us, then we have to let him go, but we can't just leave him be as he is."
"I told you anyone related to Shane and Sean had to have good hearts," Rory said with a smile as he turned to look back at us from the front seat. "You're still assholes for walking away like that and not coming right back. We shouldn't have had to come to you out of desperation eight months later."
"Aye, ya be right, cat," Brian agreed with a nod, shooting me a nasty glance.
"Don't ya dare be blaming me. I didn't tie ya down in Ireland. Ya wanted us to go, and I said no, I wasn't going. Ya still could have come on ya own." I was tired of taking the blame for that one.
"Aye, ya right," he sighed as he rubbed his hand over the back of his neck in agitation. Then he glanced back at Rory. "In our defense, we thought he not want us. If we had even the slightest idea that Zane be suffering, we would have dropped everything and come back."
"Which is the only reason I let you on my plane," Isaac said, glancing at us in the rearview mirror. "If you had been dicks in Ireland, we would have told you where to shove it. But it only took us two minutes to get you to come with us. All's not forgiven, but that said something for your character."
"Fair enough," Brian replied as he glanced out the window. "So where we be going? We need help kidnapping Zane, right? And what was that letter?"
"We're going to the Marius compound to get a few of those knockout darts Riley has," Isaac explained as we sped along. I had a feeling he was breaking every American law on how fast the cars could go. "The letter is from Desmond. I begged him to write orders that Zane was going to Greece to help Caleb with something. Hopefully that way no one will know he's missing and his standing as a warrior won't ever be questioned."
"Why would that be a concern?" Brian asked, shooting me a confused look.
"You've seen him, Brian," Isaac answered gently. "He's not fit to go out on missions, but we're so short on warriors nowadays that they can't be too picky. But the other warriors have started refusing to go out on missions with him, stating that he's a wild card and takes dangerous risks. Much more of that and they would have benched him, maybe permanently."
"Being a warrior means that much to him?" I didn't think any job was that important, but Isaac was making it seem as if Zane would die inside if he got fired.
"First thing you have to know about being mated to a warrior is that it's not just a job, but who they are. It's a calling," Rory explained.
"But Dillon gave it up so easily?" Brian was as confused as I was. I didn't get it either.
"Mostly because he was worried that our father would kill your brothers if he came back. He didn't fully give it up, but their safety was more important to him." That part we knew, but Dillon never made it seem like a big deal. Maybe it was different for everyone? "Plus, Dillon had put in his time. He spent centuries being a warrior. Zane is still pretty young. He's not even a hundred. So he still has, or had, I guess, that drive to save the world."
"Okay, we can handle him being a warrior if he's not reckless," I said quickly. At this point, we didn't have a leg to stand on to demand anything. "So part of this plan consists of saving his ass with the warriors as well."
"Exactly," Isaac replied as he pulled up to huge iron gates. He pushed a button on the call box and identified himself and who he had in the car. There was a beeping noise and the gates started to part. We drove up to the main house, parking in front before climbing out and heading to the main doors.
"I'm surprised the Mariuses were on board with this plan," I said quietly. "It seems that it would go against their morals."
"Please, they're even more nuts than any of us most times," Rory replied with a snicker.
We were let inside and shown to what the butler called the sitting room. I would never get used to these huge mansions. This one room was bigger than several of our bedrooms back home combined.
The walls were painted a deep red that went well with the leather chairs and couch. There was also a huge fireplace in front of the seating area. Logs were crackling pleasantly in the fireplace that was surrounded by a mantel made from some type of dark wood. Possibly cherry. Above this impressive mantel I noticed several massive paintings of mountain scenery.
They must have each been about four feet tall. I found myself getting lost in the intricacy of the detail of the water, the sky, the trees. Eventually I turned me head and saw a bar on the other side of the room. The same cherrywood had been used, and the top was comprised of this beautiful black stone, which I assumed was granite. Several partially empty bottles and four crystal glasses decorated a corner of the bar's surface.
A drink definitely sounded good right about now.
"So we're putting the last-resort plan into effect?" Desmond Marius asked as he walked into the room with his wife, Elena, his son, Micah, and Micah's mate, Dr. Riley. All of their faces wore expressions of concern.
"I can't think of any other way to save him," Isaac answered with apparent weariness.
"We can't either, Isaac. You're doing all you can to help Zane. Don't beat yourself up," Elena said gently, giving Isaac a hug. "Good to see you, too, Rory." Then she turned to us. "And I had a long talk with your mother. She was very clear that if you screwed up in any way or moved a toe out of line, I was to tan your hides and send you right home for her to beat."
"Aye, that sounds like our ma," I admitted, wincing. Upon Desmond's insistence, we all moved to take our various seats on the couch and chairs. Once we were settled, Elena spoke again.
"You both look very different," she gasped, eyeing us over intently with her kelly-green eyes. "I remember you being much smaller." She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and adjusted the folds of her silver dress a bit before resting her hands in her lap and returning her gaze back to us.
"Everyone handles grief and rejection differently," Brian mumbled with a shrug. "Zane might have stopped eating and drinking blood, losing all that weight. We went the other way, working out like crazy to try and distract us from the pain."
It was true. We both put on at least thirty pounds of muscle. We were about five ten and had gone from slim one seventy to more meaty and toned two hundred pounds.
"You really never got what he was trying to say," she said in a softer, more understanding tone.
"We thought he just wanted us for sex and we not be good enough to keep," I whispered, rubbing me eyes roughly when they started to burn. I would not break down right now when me mate was suffering. "We might have flown off the handle, but not all this can be deemed as our fault."
"No, you're right," she sighed. "Zane could have run after you and made you listen to what he was trying to say. I've learned a lot about him these past few months, and I understand why he didn't, but I just want to throttle you all. This could all have been so much easier."
"Ya understand what about him?" Brian asked, and I was curious, too.
"It's not my story to tell." She gave us an apologetic look filled with sadness. "But your mate has had a hard life full of rejection. That's all I can say without betraying his confidence."
"That's fair. Thank ya for being there for our mate when we not be," I said quietly.
"It's not been easy," Desmond admitted, shaking his head. "We threw a party a few months after you left, to celebrate Elena winning the Council seat. Zane got drunker than I've ever seen anyone be while still being able to stand. He didn't behave very well."
"More specifically, he asked if I would be okay if one of our remaining single sons took him as a sex slave." Elena winced when we gasped. "He said his mates didn't want him, but my son's mates seemed so happy that maybe one of the other single three could just keep him until they found their mate."
"Oh dear lord," I groaned. The situation was even worse than I thought. It never crossed me mind that our mate might need to mend fences with other people than Isaac and Rory for the way he'd been treating them. Zane didn't have an easy road ahead of him. But we'd be there every step of the way...if he'd let us. And that was a really big if.
Brian
The whole situation was out of control, and I doubted Zane would ever forgive us. From everything we'd heard about him, Zane was a good man. For him to go so off the farm and act like we saw at the warrior compound, and now what Elena told us. Well, me heart just hurt.
"So what be the plan?" I asked quietly, hoping I was man enough to hold it together long enough to help Zane.
"I'm going to go in and check on him as the warrior doctor and inject him with a sedative," Riley explained as he held up a wicked-looking gun with a needle on the end. "Micah's going to help Isaac get Zane out of the compound and to the Dragos estate while he's unconscious."
Desmond nodded and then took over the plan. "The letter I wrote told the warrior coordinator who handles assignments that Isaac would be in Greece for six weeks working on a security check. That's all the time I could get you without raising too many questions."
"So we basically have six weeks to get through to him and get him back on the path to mending and being his old self. Best-case scenario, forgiving you guys as well and realizing he has something to live for. Hell, live happily ever after, too." Isaac hugged Rory, not sounding as if he had much faith in that outcome. I didn't blame him.
"You need to keep your tempers in check and be willing to make sacrifices for this to work. You can't just demand he come back to Ireland and do what you want. That will never help." Rory gave us a sharp look that didn't brook any argument.
"We already resigned ourselves to the fact that if he forgives us we'll be staying here permanently," I agreed quickly. "We be fine with that as long as he wants us here. If he doesn't, we understand we'll have to let him go. We just want him happy."
"Okay, let's do this," Micah said with a firm nod. "I want to be back before our daughter wakes up from her nap."
"There were a lot of people around when we were there," I replied, me eyes going wide. "We'll get caught."
"We were there during the lunch break of training. Everyone will be back to their tasks and the living quarters should be quiet and deserted." Isaac checked his watch just to be sure. "If we wait until the night, everyone will be back in their bunks. One slight sound and we could have a lot of people showing up. We need to move now."
I glanced at me twin, both of us nodding in agreement. "Okay, we're in. Let's move."
We said our good-byes to Desmond and Elena, who wished us luck. Then we hopped back in Isaac's car, Micah and Riley taking their own so we didn't have to drop them off after kidnapping our mate.
In a million years I never thought I'd be saying that. But then again, I never thought meeting our mate would go like this either.
Less than an hour later, we were back at the warrior compound. We followed Riley, waiting in the hall, hiding while he knocked on Zane's door.
"Fuck off! I've had my fill of visitors today," our mate shouted, breaking me heart with the pain I heard in his voice.
"It's Riley, Zane," he said gently as he opened the door. "I know you hate me showing up, but I have to fulfill my duties as doctor."
"Fine, can we just get this over?"
"I'll be quick, I promise." Riley walked in, leaving the door open so we could get in there quickly when we needed to. "Shirt off."
"Yeah, I know the drill," Zane grunted. There was a few moments' pause before our mate yelled, "What the fuck, Riley?"
That was our cue. We raced in the room, Isaac leading the way. Sadness was written all over our mate's face as he realized we set him up.
"Why?" he gasped as he swayed while sitting on the bed.
"Because I won't let you die any more than you would let me," Isaac said gently as he knelt in down in between Zane's legs, cupping his face. "Please, buddy? I need you to fight. Things aren't ever as bad as they seem."
"I trusted you," Zane slurred. "I thought you loved me and were my brother."
"I am," he whispered before planting a kiss right on his mouth. He kept his lips there until Zane passed out. I glanced at Rory who had the same expression I was sure Banning and me had. Mouths hanging open with shock. Isaac laid Zane back on the bed, turning to us with wide, tear-filled eyes. "I didn't cheat."
"Did you use tongue?" Rory asked with a calmness I wasn't feeling. Glancing over at Banning, I saw he wasn't either.
"No, I swear, my love. It was like that kiss Elena gave me after she won the Council seat," Isaac sputtered.
"Kisses aren't always sexual, Isaac," Riley said gently. "They're just a sign of love and a kiss can come in various forms."
"Our daughter kisses us on the lips all the time." Micah chuckled, nodding in agreement.
"I just didn't want him to be scared," Isaac whispered as he hung his head, tears still running down his cheeks. "I know he felt betrayed, and I needed him to know we were doing this for the right reasons because we love him."
"I know, my love," Rory said gently as he wrapped his arms around his mate. "I'm not mad. Just don't get in the habit of kissing everyone often."
"Deal." Isaac chuckled, snuggling up against his mate. He shot us a look as if trying to gauge if we were about to rip his balls off.
"Aye, ya love our mate, but ya not be in love with him. No, we not be mad. I'm glad ya thought to comfort him and he'd let you near him. He would have freaked if we tried." Banning sighed, and I knew it to be true.
"Let's get him out of here before anyone notices," Micah said quickly. We nodded and got to it. Banning, Riley, Rory, and I quickly packed some essentials for our mate while Micah and Isaac lifted him up.
"Fuck, I can get him by myself," Isaac whispered as he moved Zane over his shoulder. "He's deadweight, but there's not enough meat on his bones where it's hard to carry him."
"We'll fix that," Banning said with more conviction than I felt. "If we have to tie him down and promise hourly blow jobs to get him to eat and drink the blood he needs, we will."
"To be a fly on that wall when you promise him that." Riley snickered. Yeah, I felt along the same lines. But then again, looking over me sickly mate, I'd offer up me nuts if that's what it took to get him better.
I groaned as I woke, bright lights blinding me, and suddenly I was feeling like I had one hell of a major fucking hangover. I grabbed my head, wondering what the license plate was on the car that hit me. Then, suddenly, I remembered what happened and growled. I sat up in bed, wishing I hadn't moved so fast as dizziness swarmed me.
"You kissed me after Riley shot me," I snarled. I could scent Isaac in the room from the moment I woke up. "Care to fucking explain that one?"
"I didn't want you to be scared," he answered quietly. I blinked several times, trying to dispel the effects of whatever drug I was given. "You looked so hurt and betrayed. I was trying to let you know I wasn't betraying you, but I couldn't think of any other way to save you. And I refuse to let you die."
"I'm not dying," I grumbled as I glanced around the room. The walls seemed to be made of steel and the furnishings were sparse with only the bed I was lying on, a nightstand, the metal chair Isaac was using, and a table in one of the corners. It was depressing and prisonlike to say the least even if there was an Xbox and a TV with a stand against the wall. "Where the fuck are we?"
Isaac stared at me for a moment as he thought about his reply, his light brown eyes conveying the pain he felt when he looked at me and at what I had become.
"I had this built in the basement so you couldn't escape it. Desmond bought you six weeks with the Council. You stop this self-destructive path and start taking care of yourself and I'll let you out. But I will not stand by and watch you kill yourself or try to get killed on missions!" His hands were now balled into fists and his jaw clenched.
"Is that what you think I've been doing?" I asked, the anger dissipating from me for the first time in months. "You think I've been trying to kill myself?"
"Zane, you've lost over a hundred pounds. You don't eat, you don't drink blood, you take huge risks on missions, you always come back injured. You almost died this last one." I could see the grief and misery on him as much as I could almost feel it coming off of him in waves. "I love you, man. Don't leave me. You wouldn't give up on me, and I'll be damned if I let you."
I thought about it a few minutes. While he wasn't correct that I was trying to kill myself, he was right that my way of dealing with the grief wasn't working. I eyed Isaac over. He was my best friend, one of my only friends really, and the only family I had.
"Are you going to make me spend time with my mates?" I asked hesitantly. I was willing to give his way a try, like an intervention, or six-week sabbatical, but I had conditions.
"I think you should, Zane," he answered slowly, as if choosing his words carefully. "They're sorry. You could have run after them just as much as they should have given you a chance to explain. They thought you didn't want them. You thought they didn't care enough to give you time to think. In the end, does it really matter how it went down when both parties are hurting and want to be with the other?"
I shrugged. What he was saying made sense, but the pain I felt wasn't really listening to reason. "Can you just give me a bit to wrap my mind around seeing them again first? I need to think about what I want. I never got the chance last time."
"That's fair. I can do that." There was a pause before he spoke, eyeing me over suspiciously. "Why are you being so accepting of this? I thought you'd throw a fit and hand me my ass for doing this."
"Because you're right," I whispered, my eyes burning as I hung my head in shame. "My way hasn't been working, and I kinda hate who I've become. I'm not trying to kill myself, but I'm so fucking depressed that the idea of food, blood, or doing anything makes me just want to go back to sleep. And taking risks on missions? I just jump right in because I'm afraid I'll get another dizzy spell or pass out in the middle of something."
"You've been passing out?" He sounded horrified that I was in worse shape than he had guessed.
"Yeah, not eating will do that." I snickered, wiping my eyes. "It's just when I finally can make myself eat, the shit they serve at the warrior compound makes my stomach churn. And I don't want the blood because it reminds me that I can't drink from my mates."
"I know, Zane. We're going to go slow and get you healthy. Maybe they can just come in and play a game with you." He gestured to the TV and Xbox. "And I'll have the cook make whatever you want, but you have to start eating again. You'll feel better if you have some strength."
"Steak?" I asked with a smile. If I was being kidnapped, I should at least get some good stuff.
"You can have surf and turf for every fucking meal if you want. I just want you to eat something."
"Okay, bring it on." I chuckled. Maybe forced captivity wouldn't be so bad.
"There are pills that Riley wants you to take," he said quietly, probably thinking he was pushing his luck. "They're low-dose antidepressants that he said he altered to work with our system."
"You want me to be one of those doped-out Prozac humans?" I asked, my eyes going wide with shock. Fuck no!
"No, nothing like that. He said they're gentle and you won't even really notice a difference. They will help take an edge off the depression and get more happy hormones firing in your brain or something. I didn't really understand what he was saying." His eyebrows were wrinkled in confusion, and knowing Riley, he'd rattled off a bunch of medical lingo that would make anyone's head spin.
I thought about that for a minute. "You really went to a lot of trouble to plan all of this out, didn't you?"
"You're worth the effort to me," he answered quietly. "Please just let me help you."
"Okay, I'll give you two weeks without putting up a fight on one condition," I conceded, feeling bad my best friend was so upset.
"Anything," he agreed immediately with a happy nod.
"I want time outside, too. You know I'd go insane if I was trapped in here all the time."
"Deal. Now get some rest while I get your food. Let me know when you're ready to see your mates. They're chomping at the bit to talk to you."
I sighed, realizing it might just be easier to get it over with than delay the inevitable. "Just send in one as long as they promise not to jump me or try and bite me."
"No, they're too upset to be horny," he said sadly. I watched with curiosity as he placed his thumb on a sensor by the door.
"You really went all out on this plan to keep me in here."
"Yup. And don't think you can bypass the system. If you even try to remove the cover without my prints first, the door will go on lockdown. And it rotates which print of mine is needed, so don't try to lift my print or something."
"I said I'd behave as long as this works. But if they come running in here demanding shit of me, then I'll fight you to get out," I said firmly. I wasn't going to be trapped and force-fed by the men who abandoned me or some shit.
"No, you'll see that they're very sorry and willing to do whatever it takes to make you better." Isaac paused as if debating something before he spoke again. "They want to help and said they'd let you go if you wouldn't forgive them. They said it would kill something inside of them, but if you wanted to go back to Darcy that they'd let you go."
"Oh, they sound kinda nice," I admitted with a shrug. They were here to help and didn't really expect me to just forgive and forget. It gave me hope.
"They are good guys or we wouldn't have brought them back with us."
"I so want to hear how this all went down later, but right now I just need to take a little of this information at a time," I said wearily. But when I saw the frown on my friend's face, I tried to crack a joke. "It's my first time being kidnapped and all."
"Well, technically I'd say it was kidnapping when we got our tattoos." He snickered, giving me a wink.
"Oh god," I groaned. "How am I going to explain that one to them?"
"I will if you want, but don't get upset. Rory loves mine. He thinks it's his own personal invitation to my ass."
"TMI, dude. TMI." I shook my head as he laughed, leaving through the door. It closed with a thud and a loud click, signaling that I was locked in. I almost started to panic at being held in the room. It took me a few deep breaths and remembering that it was my best friend doing it, not some crazed killer, to calm down.
I decided to check out my new home. I opened the closets, shocked to find my clothes there. And then I went into the attached bathroom. Again the walls were steel, but the shower and bathtub were actually really big. The bathroom in general was sizeable to where the sink, toilet, and shower were not all cramped together.
White tiles comprised the wall of the bathing area and the bathroom's floor. This seemed odd with the steel walls, but whatever. I moved to the sink, which stood by itself against the wall. It had a cabinet built beneath it that I imagined that towels were being stored in. There was a mirror above it that I looked into briefly but turned sharply away from when I saw my reflection---so different now from what it had been.
At least it wasn't just a barred cell where everyone could watch me do my business when I needed to. It wasn't jail. It was like forced rehab, though I wasn't addicted to anything. I decided to call it my sabbatical and leave it at that.
I smiled when I saw that Isaac had gotten me a new Kindle Fire. It was on the nightstand by the bed. I lay down and grabbed it, wanting to see what he'd put on it. I scrolled through for two minutes, my mouth hanging open. He had all my favorite authors on here and a bunch of gay erotic romance I was very excited to read. It wasn't normally my thing, but I had a feeling I'd be doing a lot of reading I never got to when working so much.
I glanced up when the door opened, trying to keep calm when one of my mates stepped inside, letting the door close. I couldn't help but notice how perfect he looked as he stood there shyly, his toned muscles visible beneath the thin fabric of his shirt. I sat up, not willing to be on my back during our first interaction in months. There was an awkward couple of minutes when we just stared at each other, not sure what to say.
"You look bigger than I remember," I finally said, wanting to roll my eyes at how lame it sounded.
"Aye." He chuckled, shaking his head as he moved to sit on the end of the bed, not coming too close to me. "We keep getting that. Ya stopped eating and Banning and I went the other way. With the improvements Dillon's been making to both farms, there's been more than enough work to keep us somewhat distracted.
"Not really, but the only way we seem to be able to sleep is if we work ourselves to exhaustion. So yeah, the side effect be we added thirty pounds of muscle. Didn't make us any taller unfortunately or anything. I'd like a few more inches---" He paused, his eyes darting to his hands instead of looking at the wall. "Sorry, I ramble when I'm nervous."
It made me feel that letting one of them in here was the right move if he cared enough to be nervous. "I didn't sleep with Darcy," I blurted out. God, I sucked at this. "I haven't slept with anyone since we met."
"Then why did ya say that ya were going to?" he asked hesitantly, glancing over to me.
"I don't know." I shrugged because I didn't really have a good answer. "I was angry. I wasn't ready for you guys to show up and bring my feelings and the rejection to the surface again. I wanted to hurt you the way you hurt me."
Brian nodded a few times, taking it in. "I understand that. We deserved it, but ya need to know we were suffering, too. We thought---"
"I know what you thought," I growled as I got up off the bed and started to pace. "But that's not what I said. You two were too busy talking all over me and---this isn't going work. I need to get out of here."
"Wait, please don't," he said so quietly I barely heard him. I turned to face him and suddenly he was there, hugging me. I wanted to push him away. My head was screaming for me to do just that, but my heart...my heart wanted to hold my mate until all the pain went away. "I'll leave, okay? Ya need to get better. I didn't mean to make things worse for ya."
"Okay," I whispered, taking a moment to rub my face against his soft red hair.
"Okay, ya want me to leave?" He sounded confused and a bit hurt.
"No, okay, I'll try and let go of what happened." He shivered in my arms, letting out a happy sigh.
"We be willing to do whatever it takes. Just tell us what you need, me mate."
"I don't know what I need," I admitted. I felt like a lost kid or right after I went through my transition---no. I wasn't going to think about that right now either. That wouldn't help me snap out of my funk.
"Want to shoot zombies?" he asked as he tilted his head to look up at me. It was such a random topic change I found myself just staring at him as if saying huh? "There be a game Banning and I like. Zombie Apocalypse on the Xbox. Isaac said you like to play, and that's the only one I know."
"Okay, let's kill some zombies." I chuckled, hugging him back slightly. He smiled up at me, and I felt some of the ice that had built around my heart melt. A little, just a little bit, but it was a start.
We sat down, pulling two of the chairs from the table, and played for about half an hour before Isaac brought us some food. I had to admit, I was having fun. For the first time in a long time, I actually laughed some.
"Ugh, my stomach is not liking this idea," I groaned as I eyed over the best-looking steak ever. But just because it looked good didn't mean my stomach wanted me to eat it.
"Riley ran over some other pills when I called and told him why you weren't eating. He said they would help with the nausea and calm your stomach," Isaac said gently, glancing between us. "You okay? I don't want to push you---"
"Yeah, we were having fun," I replied quickly, interrupting him so he didn't have to finish that thought. "I'm willing to try and start over, I guess." I hadn't said that much to Brian, but as we hung out, I realized it was what I wanted.
"Really?" Brian gasped, his eyes wide with hope. I nodded and instantly had my arms filled with my mate. "Thank ya, thank ya, thank ya." He pulled me down and peppered my face with kisses. One landed on my mouth, and we both froze for a split second. Then I growled and attacked his lips. He gasped and opened up for me, and all the months of need and longing swarmed me, almost enough to bring me to my knees.
"No," I whimpered as I ripped my mouth off his and pulled away. "I--I--I can't th--that yet." Was that even a complete thought or making any sense?
"Aye," Brian said gently as he moved to sit in one of the chairs by the small table. "I didn't mean to do that either. I won't deny it felt good, but ya be right that we not jump into anything."
I sighed in relief. They really were trying to do things differently this time. I was afraid he'd jump all over me for denying him or leading him on. Isaac let out the breath he'd been holding as well.
"Well, if you'll excuse me. I am going to do activities like that with my mate," he said with a wink. "I'll see you tomorrow morning before breakfast. We'll take a walk around the property and ramp up our workouts from there. It will help you feel better and clear your mind."
I nodded and blurted out what I'd been thinking of saying. "I'm not sure if I should kick your ass or thank you for this, but it means the world to me that you cared enough to pull a stunt like this."
"Try the thank-you. If you kick my ass, you'll have to deal with Rory, and it's getting close to the full moon. You don't want to tangle with my cat." He threw back his head and laughed before walking out the door.
Yeah, he was right. Rory was wicked fast and scary protective of my friend. I was in no condition to take on a shifter.
"This be nice," Brian said as he took the lids off the plates on the tray.
"Yeah, our first date is in my cell," I grumbled as I sat down. I winced. "Sorry. Seems I'm not as okay with all of this as I thought."
"That be understandable." He gave me a smile and a nod, letting me know his feelings weren't hurt. "It not be me first choice either, but it's better than no choice and still being separated."
"Good point," I conceded and reached for one of the pops. I read the instructions Riley wrote out with the bottle of pills. Shaking one out, I swallowed it with some liquid and set them aside.
"Mint tea always helps with an upset tummy as well. Ma always gives it to us anytime we are sick. I'll see if Isaac has some later or make sure he gets some." I watched Brian with an open mouth as he cut into his steak and took a bite. "What?"
"Nothing," I mumbled, snapping out of my shock. He was still staring at me, and I realized I wasn't going to get out of it quite that easily. "I'm just not used to someone caring enough to worry for me."
"Isaac does." He swallowed loudly and glanced at his food. "That Darcy character seemed to care a great deal for you."
"Isaac's like a brother," I said slowly, trying to pick the right words so I didn't stick my foot in my mouth. I cut up my meat, taking a bite before deciding how to phrase what I wanted to say. "You have nine brothers, right? Is there one of the bunch that's easiest to talk to? Someone who never judges, always listens, and lets it be all about you sometimes?"
"Aye, that be Fergus." His eyes went wide and he cursed under his breath. "I'm not talking bad against Banning. He be me twin, but when you share emotions and feel what the other one is, it's hard just to talk sometimes."
"That makes sense. I didn't take it as you slighting your twin. It's just there's something in certain people that makes them so easy to talk to, to be around."
"I agree. Fergus is almost like talking to a father. Ya know it won't go anywhere, and he just lets ya get it off your chest without trying to be involved or suggesting how ya should handle things."
"Yeah, that's Darcy. I'm not the only one who talks to him, and being a warrior, it's hard to talk to anyone. Plus, we have somewhat similar backgrounds, so we were kinda friendly and drinking buddies. But then when Isaac was going through all kinds of shit with his family, he shut me out. For so long we'd been best friends and then suddenly it was like I didn't matter anymore. Darcy and I became closer and we started sleeping together.
"But that's all it was. Just sex. We both knew it and there's no hard feelings or wanting more from each other. We were friends who scratched each other's itch sometimes or when we needed to not feel so alone." It was the best explanation I had, and I was trying to make Brian realize that if things were going to work out between us, my heart didn't belong to another.
"I'm glad ya had someone to turn to when ya needed them."
We ate in comfortable silence for a while. I'd read the instructions for the other pills, and they were to be taken after meals, three times a day. I got about halfway through my steak and baby potatoes before I was full. I went over to the nightstand and popped one of those, the bed calling to me.
"Wait, before ya go to bed ya have to have some blood," Brian said gently. He stood and went to a small fridge next to the TV stand that I hadn't even noticed was there. It was about three feet tall and stainless steel, making it blend into the surroundings. I watched him pull out a bag of blood with apprehension. "Banning and I said we'd offer to give ya a blow job each time ya drank blood if that's what it would take to get you to do it. It seems funny to suggest now. But I am willing to do anything to get ya better."
I just about swallowed my tongue. What sane man passed up that offer? Oh right, me. "Thanks, but I couldn't use you like that. And it would kind of go against the whole taking this slow policy."
"Aye, that be true," he agreed and handed it to me. I sat down and let my fangs come out before sinking them into the bag. I drank it down, doing my best to ignore my rolling stomach. It would probably get worse before it got better, but I had to start putting what I needed into my body. I tossed it in the trash when I was done, groaning as I suddenly felt dizzy. "Do I need to get the doc?"
"No, but I'd like it if you lie with me for a while. No funny stuff. I just think it would be nice if we just lay here and got used to each other." It sounded stupid and sappy. I waited for him to laugh at me.
Instead I got a bright smile. "I'd like that." He toed off his shoes as I did the same and crawled into bed with me. We didn't spoon, but Brian did lie on his side next to me, our bodies not quite touching. I took his hand and intertwined our fingers, laying them over my chest. He sighed contently and I closed my eyes. It felt right, and I drifted right off to sleep.
I heard a growl and started to wake up. Then I gasped in pain. I shot out of bed, crying out and stumbling to the ground. Me body felt as if millions of bugs were crawling under me skin. I tried to scratch, but me hands and arms weren't cooperating with me.
"Help," I cried out, writhing on the floor in pain.
"Oh fuck," Zane shouted and picked up the phone next to the bed. "Help us. I used my gift on Brian." His voice sounded panicked.
I wasn't sure who he was talking to, and I didn't really care, though I would ask what me mate's gift was later. All I cared about was if they could make it stop.
"Just breathe, baby," Zane cooed. Suddenly I was in his lap, his hands rubbing all over me body. Wherever he touched, instantly the pain stopped there. I took a few deep breaths, me heart slowing down. The door burst open and I smelled Isaac, Rory, and me twin, hearing their frantic footsteps as they all ran to help me.
"What did you do?" Banning growled as he knelt in front of us, pulling me out of Zane's lap.
"No," I whimpered, trying to fight him. "His touch helps." Me twin instantly let me go but still looked pissed enough to chew nails.
"It was an accident," Zane whispered, his tone pleading that we understand. I saw him glance at Isaac. "I woke up with someone draped over me and smelled my mate. I got scared and lashed out before I even realized it. I'd forgotten that they'd come here or where I was. I thought I was having a nightmare and wanted to wake up."
"It's okay, I know you'd never hurt them on purpose," Isaac said gently as he knelt next to us. I wasn't in pain any longer and started to sit up before collapsing right back in his lap. "Rory, get Brian some blood."
"On it," Rory said, his eyes as big as saucers, looking completely confused and shocked. Yeah, I felt the same way.
"What does him being scared have to do with Brian being in pain?" Banning barked out, his gaze darting between Isaac and Zane. Our mate nodded, swallowing loudly.
"Zane's gift is the ability to screw with people's nerves. You know that little creepy chick in Twilight?" Isaac asked. I thought it was a weird thing to bring up, but I figured Isaac had a point so I nodded. "Well, she's got nothing on Zane. She says pain and people grab their heads. Zane can control all the nerves in someone's body and fry them out."
"Holy fuck," Banning gasped, his eyes going wide with fear. "Why in god's name would someone be given that gift? Gifts are supposed to be good and, well, gifts."
"But he's a warrior," Isaac explained, shaking his head. Rory came over and handed me a bag of blood. "We're given gifts that are useful in battle. It's extremely valuable when engaged in a life-or-death situation or fight."
"It hasn't been working," he admitted with a wince. "I've been too weak and drained to use it."
"I wondered how the demons got the drop on you on that last mission." Isaac looked pained at the idea, and Banning and I exchanged a confused look.
Rory must have seen it because he explained. "Zane was practically torn to shreds from the demons' claws. Isaac said he normally scrambles their nerves when in a fight and they can't function well."
"Aye, I can attest to that. Me body wasn't listening to me," I agreed and stuck me fangs in the bag. I felt much better the more I drank, the sickish feeling leaving me.
"I'm so sorry, baby," Zane whispered as he hugged me closer to him. Feeling me mate's arms around me was very comforting.
"Demon claws also have a poison on them that acts like acid so any cuts by them are incredibly painful." Isaac finished off Rory's explanation.
"And yet ya kept going out into the fight knowing ya not be fit?" Banning asked, his eyes narrowing in accusation at our mate. "No wonder Isaac be thinking ya were trying to kill yaself."
"It wasn't like that," Zane sighed, shaking his head. "I couldn't have being a warrior taken away from me, too. It was all that I had to hold on to. I wasn't trying to kill myself, but I wasn't willing to give it up even if it killed me."
I pulled me fangs out of the bag, having drunk it all, and tossed it in the trash. "That all be in the past now." I gave Banning a look that clearly said back off. This was upsetting our mate, and the whole point was to help him, not bring up painful memories.
"Yeah, but I'm glad we cleared the air on that though," Zane said as he stood with me in his arms. "It was bugging me that everyone thought I was suicidal and I couldn't figure out how to put what I was feeling into words." He laid me on the bed and bit his lip. "I understand if you don't want to stay the rest of the night with me."
I knew this was an important moment. If I admitted Zane's gift scared me or denied him now, he could crawl right behind that wall he'd built that we were trying to tear down. I couldn't let that happen.
"Accidents happen," I said, giving him a smile. "I not be going anywhere tonight as long as ya want me here."
He gave a relieved sigh and nodded. I gasped as I felt the despair coming off me twin.
"Okay, well, have a good night," Banning mumbled as he headed to the door, his head hanging slightly.
"Wait," Zane whispered, swallowing loudly. "I'm not picking one over the other or saying I only want Brian. It's just both of you together scare me. I feel like I'm getting ganged up on."
"That be the last thing we want," Banning replied, giving him a sad smile. "It be okay, me mate."
"Could just you and I have breakfast tomorrow after I work out with Isaac? Maybe play the zombie game and just hang out?" Zane was trying, god love him, he was. It warmed me heart. I felt Banning's excitement at the idea.
"I'd like that a lot," me twin answered, his whole face lighting up. Everyone cleared back out, saying their good-nights before Zane climbed into bed with me.
"I really am sorry," he whispered as he pulled me back against his chest, spooning me from behind. I tried to hide me shock. This was a lot more intimate than before, and given the way his hard-on was rubbing me ass, I knew he felt it, too.
"Ya didn't do it on purpose and helped me when I needed it. Nothing to forgive," I said gently, rubbing me hands over the arm wrapped around me.
"Are you afraid of me now? Because Banning looked at me as if I was a monster." Zane sounded so sad and lost I did the only thing I could think of...I lied me ass off.
"It's a shock and not a gift I've ever heard of before so yes, the gift is scary. But ya? No, ya not be scaring either one of us. If Banning had been feeling fear, I would have known it. I only felt his shock and confusion." I wanted to sing liar, liar, pants on fire in me head for that one. Banning had been ready to shit a brick.
"Okay, good," he sighed in relief. "I'd never use it on you guys intentionally. Hell, I hate using it on the demons most times. It seems so cruel, even if they are the bad guys."
Right then, I knew what I'd said wasn't a lie. I wasn't afraid of him. Anyone who cared about not torturing evil demons wasn't someone I should fear. And as soon as I told this to Banning, he'd agree.
"Ya be a good man, me mate." And I meant it. A few moments later, I heard Zane's breathing even out, signaling he'd fallen asleep. Good, we both needed it.
Zane
"You guys okay after last night?" Isaac asked as we walked around the Dragos grounds. The grass was green and lush and the trees were thick with leaves. Which was really strange since it was December. How they hell was the grass green in Virginia in December? And I didn't remember it being like that around the warrior compound. Maybe those happy pills were making me a little loopy, too.
Weird.
The fresh air felt good as I breathed it in. Isaac kept slowing me down, but I felt better than I had in months and wanted to really stretch my legs.
"Yeah, Brian said they weren't scared of me and knew it was an accident," I answered, relieved that we'd overcome that hurdle, and I didn't just mean that I'd accidently hurt him. My gift tended to freak a lot of people out. "I'm still really nervous around them though."
"How so?"
"It's like after all these months of having a part of me hate them for walking away and another part wish they'd come back, my insides don't know what to do with them being here. Hell, I keep thinking I'm going to blink and realize it was just a dream."
"I think that's normal given what you've all been through," Isaac said after a minute of thought. "I'm thrilled how much better your coloring is today. And I don't want to sound like an ass, but I'm proud of you that you're giving them another chance."
"You are?" I was worried he thought I was letting them back in too easily.
"Yeah, Zane, I am. They screwed up but they didn't mean to hurt you. They were acting rashly on their own emotions, but they hopped on a plane the second they knew you weren't doing well. That speaks a lot to their character." He went on to tell me exactly everything that happened in Ireland and how my mates ended up back here.
"It felt really good to hold Brian," I admitted sheepishly, my face heating up with embarrassment. "I felt complete in a way and sad in others."
"Because Banning wasn't there?" he asked gently with no judgment at all.
"I think so," I whispered, feeling like a pussy.
"You need to tell them about your past, Zane. I know you don't want to, and I will if you can't, but I think it should come from you. It will help."
"How will them knowing I had a fucked-up family and life before becoming a warrior help?" I growled, hating my past.
"Because they'll understand why they need to ease you into both of them being around you at the same time. Plus, it's not something you should hide from your mates. No matter how hard it was, I never regretted telling Rory everything. Fate wouldn't have given both of them to you if they couldn't handle it."
"What if they get too freaked out and run again?" I asked, voicing my biggest fear.
"Dude, not to rub in what happened last night, but you almost fried your mate's nerves and he climbed back into bed with you. They're not going anywhere." He seemed so sure about it that I was willing to trust his instincts.
"Okay, I'll talk to them. I'm just not sure I can tell them both at once."
"Then tell just one of them and let them tell the other. They can feel each other's emotions, so I doubt anything will be lost in translation," Isaac suggested, but I shook my head.
"No, I need to tell them together. They're going to start thinking I only want one of them if I keep dividing my time between them."
"Just go slow. You're doing better already, and I don't want you to crawl back in your hole."
I was glad when we walked back up to the house, ready to be done with this discussion. It was as if I'd fried my own nerves with everything that had happened. I could only deal with issues a little at a time. Too much and I felt like I was going to overload and burst.
"This feels kinda silly." I chuckled as Isaac escorted me back to my cell/room thing.
"Just humor me until I know you won't snap again," he said gently. I winced but nodded. That was fair. "I'm not bringing it up to be a shit, but I wanted you to understand why. The road to getting better isn't straight and narrow. Hell, mine had all types of twists and loop-de-loops to where, if I didn't have someone watching me, I would have jumped right off the path."
"But at some point in time you're going to have to have to trust I can do this," I replied with a nod, not fighting, as we walked back into my room. "Letting you go to the airport to run away was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I was so scared you wouldn't come back or would off yourself. But I trusted you to tell me the truth."
"Right, but you had a few days of keeping me in the hospital before we got to that point. So I at least get a few days of you here," he countered. I shrugged and pulled off my sweatshirt. "I'll see you after work."
"Okay. Can you send both my mates in with breakfast? If proving to you I can handle things gets me out of here and back into my normal life, then I will."
"Why are you so against this all of a sudden? I thought you were going to take this time as a sabbatical." He seemed confused and hurt. That wasn't what I wanted.
"Because it's a cage, Isaac. It's a nicely dressed-up, fully equipped cage, but it's still a cage. You had to know how hard that would be for me, and everyone just keeps looking at me with pity." His face paled so fast that I realized he didn't ever realize it.
"I'm so fucking sorry," he whispered. "I wasn't thinking. I just wanted to help you."
"I know, and I'm not mad, but it's still hard."
"How about we amend the rules," he said quickly when I turned toward the bathroom. "If you promise not to fight your mates and stay with both of them, you can leave the room anytime you like. Deal?"
"Yeah, that's cool," I sighed with relief. Suddenly I didn't feel so trapped. "I can handle that."
"Okay, good. Good. I didn't think about when---"
"It's okay. Go get your ass to work." I chuckled, not wanting to delve into the past when I was going to real soon when I talked to my mates. When I saw Isaac still looked upset, I decided to try and throw him a bone. "How about you and I just have dinner tonight? Get Hadley to make lasagna and we'll just hang out if Rory's okay with it."
"Yeah, he goes into heat tomorrow so he'll be cool with it." My friend's face looked equal parts relieved and happy at the idea. He gave me a wave and headed out. I walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. It amazed me how sweaty and tired I was after simply walking. But then again, after months and months of not taking care of myself, sometimes just getting out of bed was exhausting.
I just finished showering, reaching for a towel to dry off, while still lost in my thoughts. I wrapped it around my hips, grabbing another one for my hair, thinking I needed a haircut as I stepped out into the room. Brian gasped and almost dropped the tray of food he was holding. He put it down on the table and raced over to me.
"Dear god," he whispered as he traced the jagged marks on my chest with his fingers. I realized what had him so freaked. I glanced down and winced at all the claw marks still marring my body. "Why haven't they healed?"
"Injuries from demons normally take longer to heal, but since my body wasn't at full health, it's taking longer." I shrugged, not really trying to make a big deal about it. I shivered when both his hands started tracing the marks.
"Can't the doc heal ya?" Banning asked from across the room, concern in his tone.
"Riley's got enough people who need to use his gift. Plus, he's got a baby and other responsibilities," I answered as I moved away from Brian. "They'll heal in time. They're not life threatening or anything. They're just ugly."
"Nothing on ya be ugly," Brian whispered as he stepped closer again. I started to get nervous until I realized Banning was still in the same spot. He was watching me intently with those gorgeous silver eyes, but his body was still, indicating he had no intention of moving.
"What are you doing?" I asked in a higher pitch than my normal tone.
"I just wanted a good-morning kiss," Brian admitted shyly, blushing a pretty color that turned me on. "I thought it would be okay after last night. I apologize---"
I didn't even let him finish that sentence. I leaned over and brushed my lips over his. He moaned and leaned against me. "I'm not good at this stuff," I said in a husky voice I barely recognized. "Always assume I don't understand and not that I'm trying to rebuff you." I glanced up at Banning. "Okay?"
"Aye, I understand. Do I get a morning kiss as well?" I saw his eyes flare with lust, and I started moving toward him, drawn like a moth to a flame. Suddenly I was across the room with my hand wrapped behind his head, pulling him up to my mouth. I kept it simple, especially since I was in a towel and Banning could feel exactly how much I liked the kiss.
"Wait," I whimpered as I felt Brian at my back. "I can't be surrounded like that." I quickly darted out from in between them, feeling like a complete pussy. "I'm sorry."
"Ya want to tell us why ya react like that?" Brian asked gently, worry and slight confusion playing across his features.
"That's why I asked if both of you could come down with breakfast," I said quickly.
And then I needed something to do with my hands. I moved over to the closet with my clothes and grabbed some sweats and a shirt. I ducked into the bathroom and quickly yanked them on. When I came back out, both my mates were sitting at the table, having already uncovered breakfast, and were looking uncomfortable.
I walked over and grabbed one of the plates of eggs and bacon, moving to sit down on the edge of the bed. "This is going to be hard for me, I've only ever told Isaac and the warrior coordinator when I finally found my way to the compound. So if you guys could just bear with me and stay over there."
"We can do that," Brian said slowly. We all took a few bites of breakfast.
"My parents weren't good people," I sighed, shaking my head. "They had children so they could have workers in their sweatshops. They kept us locked up in the back room of their small factory when we weren't working. My first memories are of working at a sewing machine making designer suits."
"How old were you?" Banning asked, his face paling.
"Probably five or six," I answered with a shrug. "It's hard to tell. We didn't celebrate birthdays or keep track of how old we were. It's not like we were loved or taken care of. Hell, I grew up sickly and underfed, wearing scraps of cloths." I paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. "I couldn't have been more than eight when my gift appeared. We were beaten sometimes if we weren't behaving according to my sick and twisted parents.
"And I'm guessing my age. Hell, I still do. But my dad came at me to hit me for screwing something up and I screamed. He fell to the ground, writhing around in pain, and I realized I was controlling it. I was so scared I remember peeing myself and crying for forgiveness. He got up after the pain passed and laughed. I mean it was a psycho, scary laugh. I thought he might kill me.
"But he was excited. I could hurt people without leaving bruises. The next time one of my siblings got out of line, he threatened to shoot my baby sister if I didn't use my gift on them. I was somewhere in the middle of all the kids and the older ones had become just as abusive after the years of beatings. So it was either hurt someone who had been mean to me or watch my father kill my little sister."
"Ya had no choice," Banning said gently. "Ya were put in an impossible situation, Zane."
"I know, but I didn't know how to control my gift and ended up accidently killing my older brother. My parents freaked out and beat the shit out of me," I whispered, my eyes starting to burn.
"Which is why two of us surrounding ya freaks ya out," Brian said, nodding his head in understanding.
"No." I laughed bitterly. "That was nothing compared to what my older siblings did. They ganged up on me every night when we were locked back up in the rooms. I barely survived my childhood and tried my best never to be backed into a corner."
"Can I ask how ya can be a warrior and go into battle when they might surround ya?" Banning gave me a curious glance. It wasn't filled with contempt or condemnation, just wonder.
"Because then the goal is to kill," I answered, hanging my head in shame before stuffing my mouth full of more food and chewing furiously. It was a stupid stall tactic, but I needed just a few moments before continuing. "I never fought back against my family. I couldn't. Yeah, they were horrid, but they were still my family. It's not the same with demons, but it would be with you both. I don't care if you were trying to kill me, I know I could never retaliate or risk hurting you."
"So it's frightening to have people you care about surround ya or gang up on ya," Brian surmised with an understanding nod. "And fear not be logical so ya not knowing we would never harm ya either."
"I guess." I shrugged again. What else could I say to try and defend my fucked-up mind? "It's not like I think you will hurt me or anything. But when I feel surrounded or ganged up on, I wig out. When I'm fighting demons, I have weapons and I'll use them. With you guys, it's more an instinct to run. That's why I wouldn't let you claim me when we met."
"Ya thought we would hurt ya?" Banning asked, his eyes wide with shock.
"No, but there was two against my one, and I freaked. I needed a moment to think and you misinterpreted what I was trying to say. I just meant I couldn't jump right into mating. I needed time to process that I had two mates. And I felt you needed to know the truth about my past before claiming me as well."
"We're so sorry," Brian whispered, his eyes overflowing with tears. Eventually one spilled over and slid down his cheek. "We totally flew off the handle and jumped to conclusions. We should have been better mates and listened to you."
"We all made mistakes on this one. I just needed you to understand when you blew up why I couldn't go after you then. I thought---"
"Ya might be walking right into the same situation like ya past with the way we acted." Banning looked as if he'd been kicked in the nuts he was in so much pain, but I wasn't going to lie. I nodded, glancing back down at my plate.
"I couldn't make my feet move. I couldn't go after you. I was so scared," I whispered, feeling as if someone should take away my badass warrior card. "And you both got so mad. Two of you to my one and I froze."
"We understand. We knew we misunderstood ya and walked away. Once Isaac told us we didn't hear ya right, we were never mad ya didn't come after us." Brian shook his head in frustration. "Hell, I wouldn't have come after us either."
"I just needed you to know why I didn't run after you. I thought it was important you understand." It seemed they already did even without my additional explanation. I started to feel foolish, like the guy who shares too much when not asked or appropriate. And I didn't know what to do.
"I be glad ya told us," Brian said with a smile. "It's important that we know about each other so we don't inadvertently hurt each other again."
"I feel stupid telling you now. You weren't mad at me anyways," I mumbled, stuffing the rest of my food in my mouth so I was occupied.
"No, we needed to know this, Zane," Banning replied firmly. "And I want to ask how ya ended up at the warrior compound. Ya made it sound like there was more to the story."
"Yeah, there is." I glanced up at them and sighed in defeat. Both their faces were serious, as if letting me know there was no way I was getting out of this one. "I transitioned. How old I was, I don't know. Maybe fifteen or sixteen, the doctors guessed."
"What age do ya say ya are?" Brian asked gently.
"Isaac deemed me to be sixteen when we met so he could teach me how to drive. He was the first friend I made when I came to the compound. So that makes me ninety-nine. I'll be one hundred on New Year's."
"That be ya birthday?" Brian was trying so hard, but it was a sensitive topic.
"I don't know. Isaac gave me that one because he said it was the time for new beginnings and was trying to make me leave my past behind me."
"He be a good, smart friend." Banning gave me a warm smile, and suddenly I didn't feel so stupid. "So, ya were saying about ya transition." He was trying not to be intrusive, which I appreciated, but he was still curious.
"Most warriors are born of warrior family, like the Mariuses. I was an anomaly. It was a rough transition, mostly because of the living conditions my parents kept us in. But when I was done, I look a lot like I do now, too tall for the weight on me, not filled out yet. My parents were pissed. They beat me badly and kicked me out, screaming that I was nothing but a shameful bastard."
Brian gasped, his hand fluttering to his mouth. Banning was the one to speak.
"It be an honor for a warrior to be born in a family."
"Not to my fucked-up family." I chuckled bitterly. "I wandered around New York City, where I was from, until I smelled other vampires. I followed the scent and they called the East Coast Council. They sent someone for me, and I was taken back to the warrior compound. After they helped me, giving me the blood and food I needed, I started training."
"How long after your transition did you finally get blood?" Brian asked quietly. I knew why he did. We needed it immediately after, our bodies hurting and craving it.
"A week." Both my mates winced, understanding the immense pain it had caused me. "And the rest is history, so to speak." I glanced down at my empty plate, unable to watch as their expressions turned to pity...like everyone's did when they heard my story.
Our mate was in such pain that I didn't even realize what I was going to do until I was already doing it. I stood and closed the space between us, taking his plate and setting it back on the table. Then I moved back to the bed. It wasn't as soft as I would have liked, but the comforter and the pillows were soft and inviting, a pretty shade of green, too. I pushed Zane to lie down on one side of it before crawling on the other side.
"We stay on this side, no surrounding ya," I said gently when he gazed up at me with questioning eyes. "No biting or claiming. We're just gonna ease ya into getting comfortable with both of us near ya."
"I don't know how," he whispered, his face filling with fear.
"Just like ya did earlier," Brian replied as he joined me on the bed. "We make ya feel uncomfortable in any way and ya tell us. We won't judge ya or get mad, me mate."
"Okay." Zane nodded and took a shaky breath, letting it out slowly as he relaxed back against the pillows on the bed. I was lying horizontally across the top of the bed as Brian sat toward the bottom, rubbing his hand up Zane's leg in comfort. I moved me hands up his chest, scooting a little closer.
"We'd never hurt ya," I said quietly as I lowered me face down to his. He nodded before tilting his head ever so slightly so his lips met mine. Just as it was earlier, the kiss was explosive for one so calm. I wanted to take everything so much further and fuck our mate into the mattress, but he needed gentle and slow. Neither were me strong points, but I was willing to try for him.
I moved me hands to the bottom of his shirt, giving him ample time to stop me. When he didn't I slowly tucked me fingers beneath the cotton fabric and peeled it off of him, breaking the kiss for a second so I could get it over his head. Then I whipped off me own shirt and moved for more contact with him. Zane growled and deepened the kiss. I let him take control, knowing he needed it more than anything right then.
When his hips lifted, I glanced down and saw Brian had lost his shirt as well and was removing our mate's pants. I felt a thrill of relief run through me. This could work. Our mate wouldn't shut us out always as long as we were patient with him.
"Can I rim ya, me mate?" Brian asked in between kisses along Zane's now-naked thighs.
"Yes please," he groaned, his whole body giving a shudder, anticipating the pleasure.
"And I will blow ya," I purred as I started licking me way along his collarbone.
"Okay," our mate almost squeaked. I smiled to myself. That was a high pitch for such a big man, and we were the cause of it. That was a total ego boost. And I also realized if he'd had problems with too many people around him at once, then he'd never had two men please him at once. I liked that we were giving our mate something he'd never had before.
I really fucking liked it.
Brian moved between Zane's legs, pushing them back and to the side so he could get at our mate's hole. That was a sight I wanted to see very badly, but it would have to wait. Our mate needed slow and a little tenderness.
I kissed me way down his chest, stopping to play with his nipples a bit. I admired how they had become perky pink discs in his aroused state. Then I kept moving down, licking along every muscle and healing wound I saw. Zane was panting and moaning, his dark green eyes echoing the lust in mine and his head thrashing from side to side. His blond hair was damp, and I noticed some beads of sweat dripping down his temple. I knew he was getting close. Time to stop teasing him or I'd miss the whole show.
Moving his left leg back toward Brian and over me twin's shoulder, I swallowed down Zane's cock. He cried out and came up off the bed. If that didn't make a man feel like a god, I didn't know what did. I applied gentle pressure on his swollen, throbbing flesh. I wanted to do a cartwheel and the jig at the same time. I was finally getting to be intimate with our mate!
It didn't take long for Zane to come. He tugged on me hair, which was also slick with sweat from me exertions, giving me the warning. I shook me head and sucked on him harder. He screamed our names and shot down me throat. I swallowed every drop, moaning in pleasure. I couldn't even imagine how great his blood would taste if I enjoyed his cum this much.
When he was cleaned up, I pulled back off of him, his softening cock leaving me mouth with a loud pop. Brian was smiling at a job well done as he sat up, three of his fingers still inside of Zane. It seemed he ate our mate's ass while fingering it as well. No wonder Zane was so quick on the draw.
Glancing up at him, I saw Zane's eyes were wide, glazed over as he gasped for air. "Brian, fuck me," Zane panted as he took me head and pulled me toward him. "I want to suck you off, too."
"Won't that be too much? Both of us at once already?" Brian asked hesitantly. I shot him a glance. Why did he have to always be so damn understanding? I cared for Zane, too. It wasn't me fault I didn't always know the right thing to say. I would have taken Zane at his word and trusted that he knew what he was ready for.
"You're both on the same side of me," Zane answered with a smile. His breathing had returned to normal. "I can handle that, and I want to please my mates as they did me."
"Oh thank fuck," Brian groaned, pulling his fingers out of Zane's ass and using the extra slick on his cock. I must have missed where he'd gotten lube from, but it didn't matter when I realized Zane was trying to bring me closer to his mouth as his big hand pressed on the small of me back. I was about to get me own fun.
Though, if I was willing to be petty and admit it...it bugged me that Brian was getting to have sex with Zane first. And then suddenly I didn't care. Zane wrapped his lips around me cock and I couldn't have cared if the room was burning down around us.
I braced me hands against the wall when he slid one of me legs over his chest to straddle him. Me hips and body were screaming to thrust. It took every ounce of control not to. I couldn't risk hurting me mate, most importantly. Secondly, if he felt that I was pushing him too hard, he might wig out and that would undo everything we'd been trying to do.
It was also incredibly difficult because Brian was pounding into his ass at such a fast pace I had trouble keeping me balance. It wasn't like I was straddling a little guy. Oh no, me mate had a broad, sexy chest. I did the best I could while enjoying me blow job, deciding holding back was well worth the pleasure I was getting.
And it was a lot of pleasure. Zane knew what he was doing. It made me wonder how many men he'd been with. Pushing aside the disturbing thought, I tried to focus on me mate, taking in all of the perfect features that made up his face and the sweat glistening in his hair. It got easier the closer to climaxing I got.
"Fuck! Ya mouth be heaven," I groaned, me sac drawing up against me body. I heard Brian cry out behind me and smelled our mate's release. That was all it took to throw me into me orgasm. "Zane!"
I came down his throat, moaning as he kept sucking as each wave hit me. I didn't realize how tightly wound I was until I finally felt sated, relaxed. When I was spent, I quickly fell to the side of him, careful not to fall on his face or hurt him.
"I came again," Zane gasped in shock and from exertion. I glanced up at him, laughing at how Brian had collapsed on our mate's stomach. He looked as happy and sated as I felt.
"Ya gave two orgasms and got two," Brian mumbled as Zane wrapped his arms around me twin. "That be how we roll."
"Good to know." Zane chuckled, kissing the top of Brian's head. It was incredibly intimate and tender. And I lay on the other side of the bed...alone. Me heart sank as again I felt as if I was the outsider or third wheel on their mating. Zane liked Brian better already. That was apparent. Just as everyone always did.
The fun was ruined for me, and I just wanted to go back to the room Isaac gave me and take a nap. Maybe after bawling me eyes out. But I had to be strong for me mate. Stay and give him what he needed, no matter the cost to me.
I had to prove I was just as good of a mate as Brian. Nothing was ever easy. And didn't that just suck?
Zane
A few days later I was walking the grounds with my mates. I finally felt like myself and knew soon I would be upgrading from walks into real workouts. Already I'd put some weight back on and my stomach no longer rebelled at the idea of food or blood.
I was also out of my cage, staying in a room across the hall from my mates' rooms. We hadn't worked up to all sleeping together yet or claiming each other, but I was happy and hopeful with the progress. Yeah, not everything was perfect, but we were working on it.
That was the important part. We all cared enough to try. I glanced over at Brian, who was walking to my left. He smiled at me impishly.
"Maybe we should take a shower when we get back and ya can fuck me into the wall," Brian purred playfully. I was just going to readily agree to it, excited for fun especially since we'd not had sex since the first time a few days ago.
"Ya got to fuck him first and now he's gonna fuck ya first, too?" Banning snapped, his eyes narrowed in anger. Where the fuck had that come from?
"I'm sorry, Banning," Brian said, immediately backing away from me. "I not be meaning it like that."
"Ya never do," he grumbled and went to storm away. I grabbed his arm before he could, furious when I saw the destroyed look on Brian's face.
"What the fuck is your problem?" I growled, giving him a little shake. "This isn't a competition, Banning. Why are you jumping all over Brian?"
"It's not?" he asked, turning his anger on me. "It feels that way to me. Ya both are falling in love, and I'm just the third wheel being dragged behind as an afterthought." His voice had changed from angry to sad.
"That's not true," I gasped, releasing him as if he'd burned me. "How could you think that? I care about you both equally."
"No, ya don't," Banning whispered, backing away slowly.
"Don't run from this, Banning," Brian pleaded. "Zane not be Cesar. None of this be his fault. It's mine."
"What are you talking about?" Something major was going on, and I couldn't afford to be as lost as I felt.
"Nothing. Brian needs to shut his trap." From his clenched jaws and narrowed eyes, Banning looked as if he was going to beat the shit out of his twin. Yeah, that was so not happening while I was around.
"Look!" I shouted, stepping in between them, making Banning focus on me. "I know something's up between you two, so you might as well spit it out. I saw how close Shane and Sean were. You don't treat Brian like he's your twin. Hell, you barely act like you're brothers. What is wrong with you?"
"Aye, it be me fault like always," Banning replied quietly, nodding his head. "Brian be the good twin who everyone loves, and I'm just the other one."
"It's me fault," Brian whispered with such pain I turned to look at him. He glanced up at me with tears in his eyes. "When I was young, I made a huge mistake that Banning never be able to forgive me for."
"This is not about Cesar!" Banning shouted. His voice sounded strangled as he said the words. Not only had his voice changed, but his entire face had transformed from the calm man I was familiar with to someone wild and unhinged. It seemed almost as if my mate was on the verge of being torn apart from the pain he was feeling.
"Both of you sit down," I said firmly but as kindly as I could while I pointed to one of the gray stone benches by the terrace decorated with various carefully placed potted plants and rocks. A bronze statue of a woman stood at the terrace's center, the serene expression permanently carved on her face contrasting sharply with our distress. They both nodded and moved over there. I rolled my eyes when Brian sat on the one I'd pointed to and Banning took another one a few feet away. "Now who's Cesar?"
"No one," Banning said quickly. Riiiight. I turned to Brian, who bore an expression of deep despair on his face. His silver eyes, which were normally sparkling with happiness, had become almost dull. He took a shaky breath before opening his mouth to speak.
"When I was a lad, I met a man in town, a vampire named Cesar. I felt a pull to him, he smelled amazing, and I thought he be our mate. I brought Banning out to meet him, and Banning said I was mistaken, that he felt no draw to the man. I was crushed and felt stupid that I'd made a mistake. Banning left, disappointed as I was. But I stayed to have dinner with Cesar because I thought he was nice."
"I take it he wasn't?" I had a sinking suspicion this was going to go badly.
"No, no he wasn't," Brian whispered as he shook his head sadly, his eyes full of shame. "Cesar told me that not all twins shared a mate and that was just a myth. There are so few families with twins, and we didn't know any, so I didn't know what to believe. Me das had both had me ma as a mate, but that was all I knew. Cesar said he knew other twins and they didn't share mates and I didn't think he had any reason to lie. We went to bed and I was hooked. Probably because he be taking me virginity---"
I couldn't help the growl that passed my lips. Okay, I hadn't claimed them yet, but I didn't like hearing about them being with other men. They were mine!
The side of Brian's lips curved up in a smirk as he continued. "I didn't tell Banning I was still seeing Cesar." I glanced over at Banning, whose lips were drawn in to a thin line. He wasn't looking at Brian, instead focusing on something in the distance, but I knew he was listening. I turned my attention back to Brian.
"After a month of being with him, he talked me into mating. I brought him home to meet our parents and they freaked out. They knew the truth, but I was too young and stupid to listen. I thought I was in love, and why would they want to take that from me? Cesar asked me to leave me family. Banning begged me not to do it, but I packed a bag and walked out the door."
"Oh," I whispered, glancing at Banning. Things were starting to make a lot more sense at why Banning was so closed off and a little snippy at times.
"Aye, oh." Brian chuckled bitterly as he looked away from me and picked at a small hole in his jeans. "I was waiting for Cesar to pack outside of his home. His neighbor and lover came over. I saw them embrace through the window and start kissing. Then the man asked if Cesar had been able to pull it off and get me to give up me family. It seems he'd had a thing for Banning, but since they weren't mates, Banning wouldn't hear of dating someone.
"I guess they were both really into twins and figured if they both got one of us, they'd eventually get us both to play with. I fell for it. Banning didn't."
"What did you do?" I asked gently, squatting down in front of him, so I could meet his gaze.
"I went home." He shrugged as he made efforts to look anywhere but at Banning or me. "I didn't talk to anyone for a while, worked the farm, and eventually apologized for not listening to me family like I should have. But by then, the damage be done. Banning never forgave me."
"That's not true," Banning said firmly, finally turning his head to look at his brother, his tone filled with annoyance. "I forgave ya the moment ya came home. Ya couldn't have known Cesar was playing you. I didn't even remember the guy who wanted me. They were nuts, Brian. It not be ya fault."
"I know ya say that, but ya never were the same with me. I've been trying for over six hundred years to make it up to you---"
"I never asked ya to!" Banning shouted, jumping to his feet. "I never asked ya to act like the martyr, always doing whatever I want to try and make up for Cesar."
"Bullshit," Brian growled as he shot to his feet as well, knocking me back on my ass onto the hard stone. "Ya never looked at me the same after that. Ya have to let it go, Banning. I've more than paid me dues for me crimes! I was eighteen. I was young and stupid. I'm sorry I hurt ya, okay? I'm so fucking sorry. I would do anything to undo what I did, but I can't. Ya have to forgive me!"
"Ya want to know why things were never the same?" Banning shouted as he shoved Brian hard in the chest. "Because of ya! Ya stopped talking to me like we used to. Ya were poor little Brian, who got hurt by the big bad world. Poor, sweet Brian got misled. Everyone was so worried about how it affected ya that I was just an afterthought. When I be the one ya walked away from!
"Ya the sweet one, the one everyone loves. Hell, even when people call us, ya be first. Brian and Banning. Brian and Banning. Aye, Brian, and okay, guess we'll have to take Banning. Ya left me and yet I wasn't the good one everyone loved. Ya didn't trust me! And ya never acted like ya did after when I was right! Ya need advice or to talk, ya go to Fergus. Ya spent six hundred years acting like the wounded party when ya the one who caused it!
"Ya the one who never acted like things were before. Ya acted like I be the mean, older, demanding brother, and ya poor baby Brian." He glanced over at me. "And now we meet our mate and ya still be the favorite." His eyes filled up with tears, immediately overflowing. He wiped them away angrily with his balled-up fists. "I still just be an afterthought. Ya gonna leave me all over again. I'm that easy to be tossed aside."
"Banning, that's not true," I whispered as I stood and pulled him in my arms, ignoring his struggles. "I can't speak for Brian or how he feels, which you should know since you share the bond, but I can't lose you. You both mean the exact same to me. It's just been harder to fall for you because you've been behind this wall. I didn't know if it was me or why you had such a hard shell. It makes sense now."
"It does?" Banning asked, his eyes revealing the hope my words brought him. Suddenly he stilled his movements and tilted his head so he could see me better. I nodded, giving him a quick kiss, and ran my fingers through his hair. "What now?"
"You have to let go what happened." The hope in Banning's eyes disappeared and they filled with such rage I was surprised he didn't combust.
"Of course ya being on his side," he snarled and shoved me hard enough to move me away. Damn, my little mates were strong. He got about three feet away before I dove and knocked him to the ground.
"I'm not taking sides," I said as I straddled him and pinned his arms down. He might be strong, but I was a well-trained warrior and was bigger. He wouldn't get away from me if I didn't want him to. Banning had caught me off guard before. I wouldn't make that same mistake. "You both need to work on this. But you haven't let it go. I can see why Brian doesn't go to talk to you when he needs it. I have trouble talking with you because of this wall, this shell."
I turned to glance at Brian, still pinning Banning down. "And you need to stop walking on eggshells around him. You fucked up. It was six hundred years ago. Move the fuck on. He's your twin and you guys both act more like strangers. Stop apologizing or feeling bad for what you did and learn who your twin is as a man now. Neither of you are snot-nosed teenagers anymore. You're adults who are twins and love each other. Act like it."
"Ya not be on his side," Banning whispered in awe.
"No, I'm Switzerland here," I said gently, looking back down at him. "Well, not really because obviously I'm getting involved and have an opinion. And I have a stake in the outcome. But I think you're both equally at fault."
"No one's ever said that," he cried softly. "It always be Banning fix this, or don't be so hard on him, Banning. I'm so tired of everything being me fault, me responsibility, me wrong."
"It's made you jaded and a little bitter," I replied, finally getting it. He nodded, tears still running out of his eyes. "Time to let it go. I'm just getting to know you both, and I see this as equally each of your faults." I slowly got off of him, standing and helping him to his feet. "But you guys need to fix this before we go any further."
"What?" they both gasped, their eyes going wide with shock.
"Ya be punishing us?" Brian asked in sadness.
"No, far from it," I answered, shaking my head. "I'm going to give you some time to yourselves to work this out. I can't keep being in the middle of your issues. I won't spend my life worrying that one of you thinks I care more for the other or having to take sides. I don't care if you two fight it out, scream it out, or just sit down and talk. But it has to be hashed out before you consider bringing me into the mix. I won't be the Band-Aid to try and fix a huge gash. It won't work and will destroy us all."
They both still looked shocked, but it was a different kind as if they heard me and understood what I was saying.
"What now then?" Banning asked, glancing between me and his twin.
"I'm going to get back into working out and training at the warrior compound," I answered. I hadn't realized I'd made that decision until now, but it was the right one. It was what I needed to do. "I need to wrap my head around a lot of things as well, decide what I want for the future, and get back on track for my job."
They both looked scared, as if I would take off. I stepped closer to both of them, running my hands down each of their cheeks. They both leaned into my touch.
"I'm not running, I'm not leaving. We're just taking a quick time-out while you guys work this out and I process what's happened. You know where to find me when you're ready, okay? This isn't the end. It's the best way to get past this small speed bump."
They nodded, and I leaned down to give Banning a passionate kiss. Then I did the same for Brian. Before they could say anything, I turned and walked away, praying I knew what the fuck I was doing. This would either work or blow up in my face.
After the shitty childhood and crap in my life, I thought fate owed me one and should have it be the first option. But that was just me.
I stood there with me mouth hanging open in astonishment, watching our mate walk away. I mean, he just walked away and left us like naughty children who needed to clean up their own mess. Glancing over at Banning, I winced, realizing that the analogy really wasn't all that far off.
Zane was right. I understood the situation a whole lot better now and wasn't surprised to realize I was wrong in that Banning still wanted me to keep begging for forgiveness. So it was good we got that settled. But then came the main issue, the one I couldn't get over. Zane leaving us to figure out ourselves.
How did you bring up the elephant in the room without starting a major fight? Especially when that elephant was over six hundred years old and seemed to include more than just the two of us? Damn elephant.
I really just wanted to shoot the fucking thing.
"How---" I started to ask and grunted when I took a punch to the face. I felt a sharp pain that started somewhere on me left cheekbone and radiated out to the rest of me face. I gasped and took a few steps back. I leaned forward for a moment, me hands on me knees, feeling a constant pounding in me head.
Eventually it subsided slightly, and I looked up at me brother. He was standing, unmoving, his head tilted slightly to the side and his arms crossed over his chest. When he saw that I was watching him, he opened his mouth to speak.
"That be for not believing in me or trusting me over someone ya just met," Banning growled, his fangs out.
"So we be fighting this out then?" I snorted, spitting out the blood that was in me mouth now. I wiped me mouth with the back of me hand, and then shook out me head to clear it.
"Sounds like a start to me," Banning said with an evil smile. "Maybe I wouldn't have had to spend the last six hundred years toeing around ya if we'd just done this in the beginning."
"Fair enough," I growled, letting me fangs come out as well. He wasn't the only one with anger that had built up. I jabbed left and he ducked right, so I used me right foot to kick out, hitting him in the ribs. I heard his sharp intake of breath as he stumbled away from me. "Ya think this has been fun for me either? I couldn't get ya to talk to me about it and it just festered. And the arrival of more brothers in the family, all close and inseparable, made it worse. Ya think they love me better? No, they pitied me because, no matter what I did, I couldn't get us back to where we were."
"See, that's part of the problem," he yelled, giving me a one-two combo that I could only duck the first of. The cut in me mouth had just healed and now I was bleeding again, lip split right back open. Fucker. "Ya kept trying to force everything. Ya came back, still didn't talk to me, making me think ya blamed me when it not be me fault. Then all of a sudden ya are sorry and want me forgiveness and have everything go back to normal. Well, forgive the fuck out of me for not being able to switch gears that easily! Then I be the bad guy."
"I never blamed ya for not switching gears," I screamed, throwing me hands in the air. "I didn't know how to help ya switch them. I tried, Banning. By god, I tried."
"No, ya pestered me," he said, lunging for me again. And that comment pissed me off. I spun past him and jabbed hard in his side as I went by. "Banning, I be sorry. Banning, can't ya forgive me yet? Banning, I was wrong."
"What should I have said? That's what people say when they apologize!" I tackled him to the ground, but he was just as strong and flipped us over. The side of me head cracked painfully against the ground, and I felt blood dripping down. We rolled for several feet before he stopped and went limp.
"That ya believed in me," he whispered, his eyes getting watery. "That ya loved me and wouldn't leave me again." I froze with me fist in the air, suddenly not wanting to hurt him any more than he obviously was. "Ya never say ya love me. Cesar screwed ya over, ya were hurt. I would have comforted ya in a second, pushing what I felt aside. But ya didn't come to me. Ya went to ma so ya still didn't want me."
"Oh, Banning," I gasped, never having in a million years thought he felt that way. I let me arm fall to me side. "That not be true. I just didn't want to rub salt in the wound I caused by crying to ya that me heart be broken. That wasn't ya burden to carry. It was mine."
"Of course it was mine!" he snapped and shoved me off of him. Banning jumped to his feet, pissed off again. "Ya be me twin. I felt ya pain, ya idiot! And yet, I couldn't help ya because ya wouldn't let me. Ya still didn't want me."
"Ya want to know what I went crying to ma about?" I asked, trying to keep calm because one of us had to obviously. I didn't wait for him to answer. "That I broke us and didn't know if I could fix it. Fuck Cesar! I hated the bastard, but I loved ya. I didn't know how to make it better."
"Ya were?" His eyes were wide in shock. "Ya weren't crying over the love you lost?"
"A few times, sure. But after a few months, it wasn't about that," I answered gently. I brushed me hand over the side of me head that had hit the ground, feeling the blood that had dried there. The cut had healed already though. "It wasn't real love, Banning. It was a cruel joke and it hurt, but nothing compared to losing ya."
"Ya didn't lose me! Ya just never came back to me."
"I tried, dammit. Ya shut me out." We were starting to talk in circles. We needed ma here to kick both of our arses.
"Because ya always wanted me to forgive ya. I did. I forgave ya the moment ya asked and probably before. But then ya turned to ma always, and I still felt as if ya didn't want me around." He slumped down to his knees, looking so forlorn and lost. I couldn't help what I did next. Maybe he'd slug me again, but I had to take the risk.
"We be idiots," I whispered as I wrapped me arms around him. "I never meant it to be this way or hurt ya. I thought ya didn't want me anymore either after I broke us."
"All I wanted was me twin," he mumbled as he hugged me back. "I just wanted ya to love me and have faith in me again, need me."
"I'll always need ya, Banning. And I do love ya. Ya be me twin. Zane might be our mate, but ya come first to me. And I do trust ya and have faith in ya. Why do ya think I did everything you did or wanted ever since?"
"To try and get me to forgive ya," he grumbled, starting to pull away from me embrace.
"No," I said firmly, shaking him. "Because I trusted ya judgment. If I had listened to you before, none of this would have happened, ya idiot!"
"Oh."
"Aye, oh." I snickered. God, were we both stupid. All these years of issues and hard feelings, and really, we created them by ignoring that damn elephant instead of talking and beating the bastard together.
He slumped against me, probably feeling as exhausted as I did from finally getting this all out in the open. "Should we go get our mate then?"
"No, give him some time. He needs to think about all of this, too, and honestly, I'd like a few days just to hang out now that we've beaten the elephant."
"What elephant?" he asked as he sat back on his feet, eyebrows drawn together in confusion.
"This elephant that's always been in the room." I chuckled as I gestured between us. It took him a second before I saw realization dawn on his face and he smiled. Yeah, we'd be okay now. I knew it.
"Zombies?" Banning shrugged, and I wanted to laugh. When in doubt, shoot shit on the Xbox.
"Zombies sound great, me twin." I smiled at him and stood, holding out me hand to help him to his feet. He mirrored me grin and let me. Then slung an arm over me shoulder, and that's how we walked back to the house...together.
Banning and I spent the week catching up. It sounded odd since we had lived together for centuries...Hell, we shared a room. But it was something we needed and we were closer than ever now.
We also talked about plans for the future. We liked America, and while we would miss home, we both agreed that we needed to stay here to make Zane happy. But where did that leave us?
We bounced around some ideas that we would need to discuss with our mate. That was the only stress we felt. Zane. We missed him something fierce, and it was a constant struggle between rushing off and dragging him back to Isaac's house and giving him the space he asked for.
After a week, we went for a compromise. Visiting him at the warrior compound for lunch. At least that way we could talk face-to-face with him. We'd been texting, but it wasn't the same. It was time to show our mate that things were going to be okay and pray he'd sorted out what was in his head.
Rory gave us a ride, neither of us being legally allowed to drive in this country. He was going to drop in on Isaac as well, so it worked out for all of us. Our new friend, who we liked a lot, had called his mate, and Isaac said Zane would be training in the weight room.
We followed Rory's directions after we got there, and I for one was in for the shock of me life. I stood there, struck stupid as I'm sure Banning was.
Water, water everywhere, but now we were mated! There were dozens of hot, shirtless, sweaty warriors, or warriors-to-be, still in training, all over the place. I mean, me god, it was just a sea of yummy muscled flesh.
"Fuck me," I gasped quietly, drinking it all in. I might have found me mate, but I wasn't dead. I could appreciate the view.
"I'd love to, baby," a man purred as he moved up to me side. I stepped back in surprise. He was tall and tan and I could see sweat dripping off his bulging muscles. He was hot...so hot, and he was saying something else now. I shook me head and tried to focus. "But I have a feeling you're here to see someone already."
"Zane, we need Zane," Banning whimpered. Good to know he was just as affected by this as I was. Fuck, I was instantly horny.
The guy glanced around and pointed to a one of the large weight machines in the center of the gym. There were a bunch of huge, bulky contraptions and weights distributed throughout the space along with a few gray mats strewn here and there. It looked like the machines were organized based on what they exercised.
Our mate appeared to be in the area focused on getting an upper-body workout. The man who had come over to talk to us was nothing compared to Zane, who looked absolutely mouthwatering as he sat there shirtless, his muscles working.
We nodded our thanks and practically ran to our mate, skidding to a halt when we saw he was focused on what he was doing. Lifting tons of weight was not the time to distract him.
"Holy hell! He be lifting over six hundred pounds," Banning groaned. I felt like Rory in heat. Zane was pulling down a bar attached to dozens of black weights. He'd pull it down behind his head until it was level with his shoulders and then extend his arms again.
The result? Every firm, sweaty muscle in his chest, arms, sides, and stomach was on display, showing how well worked they were.
"He's put back on weight," I said happily. It looked like a good twenty pounds of pure muscle. Damn, he looked hot! I didn't realize warriors could bulk up that quickly, but I planned on launching me own investigation. Starting with licking every inch of his body.
Zane released the bar, his chest heaving with exertion. He still didn't even see us as we launched ourselves at him, each straddling one of his thighs.
"Whoa, you need to cut that out." He chuckled, catching us before we all fell off the bench. "I have two hot, jealous mates at home, and they won't take kindly to men attacking me."
"Fuck them," I purred as I licked a bead of sweat off his collarbone. "We be here now, and now we're horny. Fuck me, Zane."
"Me, too," Banning whimpered again, mirroring me movements. "We need ya cock, our big, strong, sweaty, hot man." Our knees kept bumping, and I realized it was because both of us were grinding our cocks into Zane's thighs. Yeah, we were like a couple of cats in heat or something.
"Aye, throw us to the floor and have ya way with us," I begged shamelessly.
"You want me to fuck you in front of a room full of half-naked men?" I didn't know if he sounded pissed or just surprised. I was too overcome with lust to focus on the minor details of his tone.
"Aye!" we said together. Banning grabbed Zane's face and shut him up with a deep, passionate kiss as I groped our mate between the legs. We were lost in the moment, all of us forgetting there were others around.
"Zane, are you sharing?" someone called out, breaking through our fog. "Can I get them next?"
"Fuck off, Travis!" Zane snarled, ripping his mouth away from Banning. "These are my mates."
"Oh, sorry man, I was just playing," Travis said. I saw him back away slowly from the corner of me eye. "I didn't mean any disrespect." He, Travis, apparently, was a big guy. He looked like he was possibly a little taller than Zane and his shoulders were slightly broader. Certainly he was attractive with his amber eyes and light brown hair, but I wasn't attracted to him.
The only person I wanted was me mate.
"He's going all caveman on us," Banning purred, moving his hips faster. "Fuck, I'm gonna come."
"Not in front of everyone, you're not," Zane snapped and stood. He threw one of us over each shoulder and took off. I felt Banning's lust shoot through the roof as did me own. We were each two hundred pounds, and he was lifting us like a ten-pound sack of potatoes. Holy fuck, that be hot!
When he stopped moving and lowered us down, we slithered down his body. I glanced around, realizing he'd brought us into the locker room. Oh sweet ma of mercy, this was getting better and better. I heard Banning groan and nodded me agreement. Zane laughed as he shook his head at our antics, pushing us back into an empty shower stall.
"Let us show ya that we think ya be a god of a man," I begged, finding me tongue again.
"And for interrupting ya workout when we just meant to say hi and see if ya be wanting lunch with us," Banning added, not looking the least bit remorseful.
"And how would you show me that?" Zane asked, his voice getting deep with lust. I would say it was husky even.
We didn't need more of an invitation than that. I yanked down the front of his gym shorts and dropped to me knees, Banning following suit. I took the right side, he took the left, and we licked our mate's cock like it was the best treat in the world. Then I sucked him down me throat as Banning did the same with his sac.
It was one of the most erotic but yet dirtiest moments of me life. We were hiding in the shower stall blowing our mate. Hell, I could hear people in the locker room. I glanced up at Zane, making sure he was enjoying it.
Oh, was he ever. He had his fist practically in his mouth to keep himself quiet. His head was tilted back, leaning against the tiles of the shower wall, his eyes wide from the pleasure we were giving him. Nice.
I quickly got me own jeans unzipped and started jacking off before I blew a gasket with need. Zane came first, shooting down me throat. It sent me right over the edge as well. I heard Banning grunt and knew I wasn't the only one who couldn't hold out.
When we were all spent, Zane leaned against the wall as I sat back on me feet, Banning mirroring me action. We all glanced from one to the other, big smiles breaking out on our faces.
"Sooo, will you have this reaction anytime I work out in front of you?" Zane asked with a wicked twinkle in his eyes.
"Aye, probably," I admitted with a shrug. "Ya look great, me mate. Ya put on more weight."
"Warriors can bulk up faster than humans on steroids." He chuckled, shaking his head. "Remind me wherever we live that we need to get a home gym."
"Or we could visit the one here after hours," Banning purred, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively as we got to our feet.
"There is always that, too," Zane agreed with a wink. "Now you said something about lunch? I can't today. I have a meeting with the coordinator."
"Oh? That doesn't sound good," I said, fear racing through me body.
"Well, there were a few issues about me not really being in Greece when I waltzed back in. Desmond told everyone that he delayed the trip when I went to talk to him about the problems I'm having. The coordinator gave me a week to get my shit together and get back on the right path or he's going to bench me." He opened the curtain, and we stepped out into the locker room. "I'm not worried. I'm not the first warrior to get burnt and need some time." His expression was calm and he didn't seem nervous, so that eased some of me worries.
"Okay, well, good luck with the meeting," Banning said, standing on his toes to give Zane a soft kiss. "We just wanted to see ya and tell ya we miss ya."
"Yeah, we really do," I admitted quietly, giving Zane a small smile, kissing him next. "We worked our shit out. Will ya be coming home soon? We have a lot to talk about."
"I agree," he replied, looking a little tired but happily sated. "This meeting will decide a lot, but I'll be over for dinner tonight. Isaac wants to talk to me, and I plan on staying the night and hanging out with you guys. I just need to get some of my ducks in a row and we can go from there."
It sounded a little ominous, but I figured he didn't have time to explain it all right then. We said our good-byes, after giving him a few more good-luck kisses, and headed home. I knew I'd be a nervous wreck while he was in the meeting despite Zane's chilled-out demeanor.
He'd been a good warrior according to Isaac, never had any problems or started issues. The Mariuses were on his side along with Isaac. The coordinator, or whoever, had to take that into account. Right?
Fuck. When all else failed and me nerves be shot...it was time to kill zombies.
A promotion. That was the only thought that ran through my head the entire way home. I got a promotion. Wow, I so hadn't seen that one coming. And I had a feeling it had something to do with Isaac. Probably Desmond and Elena as well. But why? Why me?
It wasn't until I pulled into the Dragos estate that another thought hit me. Fuck, my mates. What was I going to tell them? We hadn't discussed anything yet. Would they be willing to stay here? What about Ireland?
I knew the European Council had asked Dillon to start up a small, very small, training facility and outpost for some warriors in Ireland. But I really didn't think I could work day in and day out with him. Isaac was able to forgive him, but Dillon wasn't my family, so I wasn't so nice about the whole thing.
Yeah, mating got him to pull his head out of his ass, and he seemed truly sorry for being blind all those years. But that didn't mean we were ever going to be bestest friends, holds hands while we skipped, and braid each other's hair at night. It just meant I could be civil when we saw each other.
God, could I leave Isaac? He was really the only family I had. But then Brian and Banning would have to leave Ireland...And why the hell did the trees on the Dragos estate have leaves on them when it was snowing? I swear either those drugs didn't like me or something was going on.
Silly thought? Yes, but much easier to focus on instead of everything else swirling in my head. That was one small question instead of the huge ones I had on my mind as well. I glanced at the dashboard and realized I really couldn't stall anymore. It was quarter after six, and I guessed they'd be holding dinner for me.
With a resigned sigh that the discussions I needed to have tonight wouldn't be easy, I got out of the car. I glanced at the grounds. Everything was green that was poking out under the snow. None of my other colors were screwed up. Something else had to be going on besides the happy pills Riley gave me screwing with me.
I jogged into the house, took off my jacket, hung it in the coat closet by the front door, and headed to the dining room. Sure enough, my mates were waiting for me, sitting together on one side of the long, wooden table that was covered with a dark green tablecloth. They were looking so nervous that tension crackled in the air.
"Did ya get fired?" Banning blurted out, his eyes wide. As if realizing how blunt he had been, Banning's hand flew to his mouth. He started to apologize, but I shook my head to let him know that it wasn't a big deal.
"No." I chuckled, realizing they were nervous for me. I walked over and gave each of them a kiss before sitting down. Rory and Isaac were glancing at each other like the cats that ate the canary. "You knew."
"Yeah, I found out yesterday. Since we'd be working together, I got the heads-up. It's been fucking hard to keep it a secret," Isaac said with a big smile.
"Wait, before we get into what happened, I have one question. Why is everything green in December on your estate? I'm not the only one seeing it, right?" Now it was more just my curiosity bugging me. Isaac gave me a wink and pointed to my mates.
"I asked them last week already."
"It be our gift," Brian said as one of the staff served us our garden salads. I poured some Italian dressing on mine before picking up my fork and taking a bite. I chewed my food for a few moments before speaking again.
"You can make leaves green in winter?" I asked, not sure I'd ever heard of that gift.
"No." Banning chuckled, shaking his head as he dug into his food. "Plant life responds to us. It's not like most gifts where ya have to focus to use it. It's just something in us. Anywhere we are, the plant life around us responds and grows like crazy."
"Then you can't leave Ireland," I whispered, my heart sinking at the realization. "Your family needs you for their farm, don't they?"
"Aye, but we would only need to visit a few times a year for a week or so," Brian said slowly, eyeing me over. "We already decided to stay in America if that's what ya want." He shifted his gaze back to his salad as if nervous about what I might say.
"Really?" I was shocked they would make such a big sacrifice for me.
"Aye, me mate," Banning answered with a smile.
"Tell them," Rory said excitedly, seeming to almost be bouncing up and down in his seat. "They're going to be thrilled." I had to smile at his enthusiasm.
"About?" Brian raised an eyebrow as he glanced between us.
"I got a promotion. I'm not in trouble at all. It seems the Council thought my coming forward and admitting what was going on with me, putting my safety and others' before everything else, was admirable. There was an opening on the teaching staff, and I was asked to fill it."
"Ya not be in danger anymore?" Banning looked like he was going to bust open with joy.
"Sometimes," I hedged, trying to figure out how to get this all out. "When warriors go through training, there are many levels."
"I handle more the tactical and fighting training," Isaac explained, helping me out. "Sparring and getting the newly transitioned warriors into the way we do things."
"Makes sense. What would they have ya do?" Brian asked. I appreciated their interest, caring about something so important to me.
"When they reach a certain level, someone needs to teach them how to go out in the field---"
"No!" Banning shouted, slamming his hands down on the table as he stood. All of our plates and silverware rattled from the force of his contact. I was shocked at the coldness in his tone. "Ya not be the guinea pig sent out with pup warriors to see if they can hack it. Ya get killed if someone ill trained had ya back."
"No, baby, not like that," I said gently with a smile, understanding now why he blew up and interrupted me.
"Oh. Okay, sorry then." He cleared his throat as his face flushed with embarrassment and sat back down, grabbing his napkin off the table and busying himself by adjusting it on his lap. "I just saw ya life flash before me eyes because someone didn't know what they were doing and got ya hurt."
"Nothing like that, I swear," I replied quickly. "My job would be to help them blend in with humans when they need to. Sometimes demons don't stay on the outskirts of society and we can't just go charging in and drawing attention to ourselves."
"What Zane means is he'd take a few pup warriors, as you called them, into the city on something like a field trip. Show them how to rent a car, or deal with the airport just like humans would. Which hotels to use to blend in. How to interact and learn to navigate the metropolitan areas, so when they do start going out on missions, they don't have to try and figure that all out and fight demons."
I wanted to kiss Isaac for putting it that way. I hadn't been doing such a good job of explaining it. But that wasn't all of it.
"How to transport weapons to other covens," I said cautiously. "I would be taking them out on real missions but not going after demons. Maybe a few scouting jobs and how to run a convoy. The main goal would be to teach them how not to be seen by blending in with the real world."
"And if there's ever an attack close to home or all hands on deck, instructors or not, they will be called in," Rory said sympathetically. He should know. He had to go through all of this several months ago. "They might mostly train, but they are warriors, so you need to deal with the danger."
"We can handle that," Brian replied, placing his hand on Banning's arm as if to say I got this one. "We knew that when we came back. We can't handle recklessness or him being surrounded by others' imprudence that could get him killed. We spent time with Stefan when he visited. We know the risks, but we also know how well trained ya are and the improvements being made in weapons. We can handle ya being a warrior."
"And we be ready to move here if that be what ya want, Zane," Banning added hesitantly, not meeting anyone's gaze. "But we have questions. Like where would we live? What are we to do now if we can't farm? Can we visit and help our family with the crops given our gifts?"
"I can answer those," Isaac said with a wide smile.
"What did you do?" I groaned, wanting to bang my head on the table.
"We got you a promotion and mating gift." Rory giggled, giving my mates a wink. I shook my head as the main course was served, salmon on a bed of rice, and the salad plates were taken away. I was grateful that they brought a pitcher of blood as well. I'd been going through it like water, trying to get better and bulk back up. I poured some for Isaac, then myself, drinking it right down and refilling.
I waved Isaac on now that I had a little more fuel in my system. "Okay, hit me. What did you get us?" Wow. I swooned a bit when the blood hit me. What was in that stuff?
Isaac was grinning from ear to ear as he began to explain. "You know that vineyard that abuts the warrior compound?" he asked, and I had a sinking suspicion I knew what he got us.
"Yeah, the one that has all the greenhouses and went out of business," I replied, shooting a look at my mates.
"Well, it went out of business because the old human couple died about a decade ago and had no heirs. And a few people tried to buy it and keep going with it, but I guess all the people who used to buy the wine did it because the couple was so good at it. They didn't after it was sold."
"Ya bought us a vineyard?" Brian gasped, filling in the pieces. Yeah, that's what I'd guessed, too.
"Yup!" Rory exclaimed, giddy as all get-out. "You'll be like twenty minutes away from us. The compound is right there. The Mariuses are less than an hour away. You'll be surrounded by people who care about you!" His blue eyes were shining with delight as he beamed at the three of us.
"Did ya say greenhouses?" Banning's eyes were wide with joy.
"Yes, and I talked to the compound kitchens and---"
"Wait," I said quietly, shaking my head. "That place is huge. How are the two of them going to be able to handle that much land and not collapse after twenty-hour days?" Both my mates' faces fell. "I'm sorry. I have to know that doing this won't end up being too much of a strain on you both."
Suddenly I felt very hot...and very hard. What the hell? Produce didn't normally turn me on.
"Aye, that's fair since we were worried about ya new job, too," Banning conceded with a nod. Wow, things really had gotten better between them and with them now that they had let the past go. I was worried he'd jump all over me. I had another glass of blood, feeling worse instead of better. By the third one, I felt like clawing off my skin. I used by napkin to dab the sweat that I could feel forming on my forehead.
"I handled that, too." Isaac chuckled. "You know how bad the food has gotten at the compound. I found out why. We used to get all our produce from a human organic farmer, but I guess he started asking lots of questions, curious where all the food was going, and we stopped using him. I got the coordinator to agree that each warrior give one morning or afternoon a week to help Brian and Banning and they won't have to buy meal cards anymore. It's win-win."
"You've just thought of everything." I snickered, shaking my head.
"You're my family," he said quietly, glancing at my mates. "I'm sorry if this is stepping in on you guys' business, but for a long, long time Zane was all I had. I couldn't lose him."
Brian and Banning exchanged a glance, smiling before focusing back on Isaac. "Ya did it for the right reason and we appreciate the help. It not be like ya kidnapped us here or something. Ya giving us other options and not forcing our hand."
"Thanks for understanding," Isaac replied with a smile. He drank his blood, his eyes going wide as he set down his glass. "Zane, are you okay?"
"No, not really," I admitted, uncrossing and re-crossing my legs. "I feel like I'm going to jump out of my skin and hump the table." I was trying to hide my discomfort, but now that he brought it up, desire swarmed me.
"Rory," Isaac groaned and gestured to his glass. "How are we drinking your blood?"
"Oh shit," Rory gasped, his eyes going even wider than his mate's had.
I was only half paying attention, focused on how gorgeous my mates were. Brian swallowed some of his food, and I was practically panting with lust just watching his throat muscles working. It didn't hurt that I remembered how his mouth was doing other things to me earlier that day.
"Zane? Ya be okay?" Banning asked, reaching over to touch my hand. In a flash I was up out of my chair, grabbing him from his, and pushing plates away as I threw him on the table.
"Shit," Rory moaned. "It's starting."
"What? What's starting?" I asked in almost a panic, my hands stopping their frantic movements to undo the button on Banning's pants. Banning looked just as worried at my sudden actions. "Why can't I think about anything but fucking my mates?"
"Welcome to drinking shifter blood," Isaac purred as he pulled Rory into his lap. "It's like liquid speed and Viagra all in one."
"Rory's blood was in one of the bags?" I asked, focused on them until I heard Banning whimper. I glanced down at him and realized I'd shredded his clothes. He was now lying naked on the table for all to see. I knew I should be jealous anyone else was seeing him, but all I could think of was his glorious pale flesh. I leaned over and licked one of his nipples, which hardened when my tongue made contact.
"I had Riley take some," Rory moaned. I looked over and saw he was yanking off his clothes. "I figured it was a last resort if we couldn't get you guys to make up. I put it at the back of the fridge, I swear I did. I wasn't going to use it until I talked to Isaac. How did we go through so much blood already?"
"Lube," I growled as I used one hand to undo my jeans and the other to spread Banning's legs wide.
"Ya gonna fuck me right here?" he asked, panting with desire as his eyes glazed over.
"You wanted me to fuck you both in the gym earlier. You're just getting other witnesses instead." My fangs came out I was so turned on, and Banning simply nodded his head, looking as if he was too overcome with lust to speak. "It's going to be down and dirty, baby." He nodded again and something hit me in the chest.
"I keep lube with me always. Isaac's a horndog." Rory giggled. Sure enough, there was a small tube of slick on the table where it landed after bouncing off of me. I gave Banning a feral smile as I picked it up. "Besides, I already have a plug in."
"Not for long," Isaac growled, and I heard the pop of the toy being pulled out. "Ride me, baby."
I glanced over at Brian after getting my fingers lubed up. "Get yourself ready because you're next."
"Aye," Brian whispered as he took the lube from me, desire in his eyes before turning to Rory. "How did they get your blood?"
"More vampires here drinking," Isaac grunted, fucking his mate. I was barely listening, already having one finger inside of Banning.
"I like the burn," he whispered gently. I smiled at him and pushed in a second one. Good, because the way I was feeling I didn't think I could go slow. This was not how I had envisioned taking them for the first time, but in a way this was better. No time to get nervous, and it's not like any of us were virgins either.
"And Zane's been drinking a lot more than most, getting his strength back," Isaac added to his explanation.
"Less talky, more fucky your mate," Rory begged with a whimper. I saw him bouncing around out of the corner of my eye, and normally it might have been interesting to watch. But I only wanted to focus on Banning right then.
I pushed in a third finger as I tortured his nipples with my mouth. He cried out and spread his legs wider, placing his feet on the edge of the table.
"Fuck me. I'm ready. Take ya mate," he moaned, his head thrashing on the table.
"Thank you, baby," I whispered as I pulled my fingers out of him. He was being so understanding and giving me what I needed that I fell the rest of the way in love with him. Granted, I knew I was in love with both of them, even before they agreed to stay in America, but my brain had just caught up with my heart.
I yanked his hips to the end of the table as I slammed my cock inside of him. Banning screamed, his back arching off the table.
"Turn me around," Rory whimpered, "I want to watch them, too."
"Kinky kitty," Isaac purred. I'm assuming he did it, but my eyes never left Banning. I knew what I wanted. I just didn't know how to ask for it. I decided just to go with what I was feeling.
"Still want to bite me?" I didn't wait for his answer, fucking him hard and fast so he couldn't form the words. Talk about chickening out. I wanted to mate them, but I was scared that they weren't ready.
But he found a way to tell me his answer without words. Banning pulled on my arms, bringing me on top of him, and tilted his neck, pushing my head there. I'd take that as a yes.
"Harder, fuck me harder as ya bite me," he said in between gasps for air.
"I love you," I whispered in his ear as I increased my thrusts until it was a punishing pace. If the noises he was making were any indication of his enjoyment, I'd guess my mate liked it a little rough sometimes.
"Aye, I know," he said before shouting my name to the heavens. I bit into him as he was climaxing, moaning at the sweet taste of his blood. He came again, more hot seed filling the space between us.
I humped him like a man possessed, shoving my cock into his tight hole over and over again. When I'd drunk enough to properly claim him, I lifted my head and roared out my release. My heart soared. He was mine. Banning was mine forever now.
"I love ya, too," he whispered as I licked the bite closed, having already collapsed on top of him when I was spent. But my dick was still hard as nails.
"I know." I chuckled as I pulled out of him. "And I'll be back for more." I tenderly brushed a damp lock of his red hair back from his forehead.
"Mmm, sounds like fun," he purred. Rory yelled Isaac's name, and I guessed they were done, too. But I wasn't. I gave Banning a quick kiss and covered him with part of the tablecloth so he wasn't just lying there naked and debauched. Then I turned to Brian.
"Ready?" I growled as I moved toward him. He nodded his head and pulled his fingers out of his ass. While Banning ended up completely naked, Brian just pulled down his pants down a bit and bent over the part of the table that I had folded the tablecloth away from. Hell, his cock was hidden under the table. Fine by me. I just wanted him. I didn't care how he wanted to do it, whatever was easier on him.
Fuck, this blood was amazing. I could totally see myself fucking my mates all night and never tiring. I knew Isaac said Rory's blood was like liquid fire, but I thought he was exaggerating because Rory was his mate or something. But shifter blood really was something on a level of its own.
"I want it harder this time," Rory demanded. Holy shit! Was this normally how their sex life was? I was almost jealous. Almost.
"Are you going to let me bite you, too?" I asked seductively as I molded my body against Brian's back.
"Aye," he moaned, pushing his firm ass against my cock. "I be yours, me mate."
"Right answer." I leaned up only enough to tear off my shirt before gripping his and ripping it off his body with one swift tug.
"Oh god," he whimpered, squirming under me. "Shove that big cock in me arse!"
Like I was going to say no? Yeah right! I wrapped one arm around him, protecting him from the wood of the tabletop, lined up my dick, and slammed home into his willing body. Brian cried out, and I moved my other arm under him as well before going all caveman on him.
"Mine," I snarled, raking my fangs over his neck. "You're all mine!" I felt him shiver with pleasure beneath me.
"Aye! Aye, I am," he screamed. I liked his screams. Fuck, I loved his screams of bliss and wanted more. My hips moved of their own accord, taking him faster and harder than I thought possible.
"Ya gonna break the table." Banning giggled as he got off of it. I caught sight of his naked ass, and it just spurred me on more.
"Don't go anywhere," I growled before focusing back on Brian. "Like my cock, baby?"
"Oh god, aye. Talk dirty to me," he begged. Nice! I had kinky mates.
"Such a tight ass." I licked along his neck, a thrill going through me as he trembled. "And that blow job today was out of this world. You can visit me at work anytime."
"Ya gonna fuck me in front of all of your friends?" he asked quietly.
"Is my baby an exhibitionist?" I purred, slamming into him even harder.
"Aye!" he screamed, coming all over my hand. I didn't hold back any longer, sinking my fangs into his neck. Brian went wild, shouting loud enough to rattle the windows as he climaxed again. I grunted around his flesh, filling his ass with my seed. It was done. Both of them were mine.
I heard a loud crack and had just enough time to lift Brian up before the corner of the table we'd been on broke. I was gasping for air, still having aftershocks from my orgasm. It was then I realized that I'd been taking him so hard we pushed the table about ten feet across the room.
Whoops!
"You broke my table," Isaac growled as he moved Rory against the wall and kept pounding into his mate.
"Blame Rory," Brian mumbled. I licked the bite closed, loving the taste of him. He tasted almost like Banning but with just a hint of tartness.
"I love you," I whispered in his ear as I knelt down on the hardwood floor and laid him down.
"Aye. I love ya, too, mate," he said with a happy sigh, reaching up to stroke my cheek. "Now go attack Banning again. I know ya still be hard."
"Thank you for being so understanding," I replied, kissing his shoulder as I pulled out of him.
"Yeah, it was a real burden for me." He giggled, his silver eyes shining with joy as he lay there like a limp noodle. He didn't even bother pulling back up his pants. "I'll suffer like that again anytime."
"Good to know." I snickered. I glanced over to Banning as I stalked him like a predator on my hands and knees. His gaze was thick with lust as he shivered. I gave him an evil smile. "Run."
He nodded and jumped to his feet, his pale, naked ass streaking across the dining room. The chase was on, but I knew we'd both enjoy it when I caught him.
Zane caught up with me at the top of the stairs and tackled me to the ground. Fuck, he was fast! And quiet. I hadn't even heard him behind me until it was too late.
"Love you," he whispered before pinning me on the floor on me stomach and slamming that huge pole of a cock into me. I shouted his name, hoping I could talk Rory into sharing his blood with our mate again. Just maybe when we planned it.
Zane fucked me within an inch of me life, carefully covering me privates so I didn't get rug burn on them. When it was time, he bit me again and I came all over his hand. I felt his release pumping into me ass, feeling thoroughly fucked.
When it was over, he lifted me up, never pulling out of me body, and carried me to his room. I was too wiped to ask what was going on, but I hoped maybe the days of separate rooms were gone.
"I'll be back. I have to make sure Brian's okay," he said tenderly as he laid me down on the bed gently, pulling out of me.
"Aye, let me know when ya be ready for more." I chuckled, pursing me lips for a kiss.
"Always, you sexy, sexy man," he growled before kissing me. Then he was gone. I wiggled around, adjusting myself so I was in a comfortable position.
I must have dozed off because I woke to what I thought was an earthquake. Then I realized Brian was screaming his head off. Nope, wasn't an earthquake, just our mate fucking him.
Then it was me turn again. Zane took me against the wall, having said he was going to clean me up.
We obviously didn't make it.
I slept for a while, I thought, before I was woken up for more sex. Part of me wanted to ask how his pecker hadn't fallen off yet. Can a man, even a vampire warrior, go ten times in a night? Oh, me arse was gonna be raw tomorrow.
I would love every minute of it.
The next morning I woke up first. I noticed we hadn't even made it under the covers. We had all just collapsed on the bed in utter exhaustion. I opened me eyes to see that Zane had passed out face-first on the bed, an arm over each of us. I gasped in surprise. He was in the middle of us. Would he freak out when he woke up?
I wasn't sure, but I wasn't taking any chances. I slowly moved out from under his arm, careful not to wake him, and hopped in the shower. Once I was done, I quickly raced across the hall to me room in me towel and got dressed.
Since they were both asleep, I decided to bring up some food and blood. All of us would need to replenish our systems. Just not with shifter blood.
I padded down the stairs, barely aware of where I was going in me exhaustion. I found me way back to the dining room, laughing when I saw the broken table. Everything else had been cleaned up of course. Must be nice to have servants.
"How was last night?" Rory asked in a teasing tone from across the room. I glanced up and saw him fixing a tray of food, blood, and coffee. He was wearing a red robe, and his hair was sticking up at an odd angle on one side. If I wasn't already taken, I'd have told him how cute he looked.
"Me arse smarts, but I won't be complaining anytime soon," I answered honestly. "Ya think ya can donate blood again sometime? Just maybe not as much for me mate next time."
He gave me a funny look as I approached him. "You don't want to try it?"
"I didn't think about it." I shrugged. What was the big deal? "I just like how Zane went all caveman and fucked us into the floor, and bed, and wall, and---"
"I get it." He giggled, shaking his head. "Just be careful. My pack warned me never to let a vampire drink from me because we can be addictive."
"Oh." Yeah, I wasn't ready for that one. "Isaac be okay?"
"Yes, thank you," Rory answered, a friendly smile tugging on his lips. "I don't think it works with mates, but I just wanted to warn you."
"I wouldn't want him having it a lot." I snickered, rubbing me already-healing but still-sore, rug-burned forearms. "But once in a while to spice things up."
"I think there's no worries on that. Riley tested my blood and said there's nothing addictive about it, but I thought it was fair to share the warnings." He leaned in and lowered his voice, taking a moment to glance from side to side to check that no one else was coming into the room. "Between you and me, Riley says if it wasn't for the horny side effects, he'd want to get shifter blood into the warriors' diets. We are actually faster than vampires."
"Really?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, not sure if I was buying that. I'd seen Rory move and he wasn't all that fast but---"Holy shit!" Rory was on the other side of the room in a blink of an eye. Yeah, that was fast.
"I wasn't trying to be a jerk, but I can see why you wouldn't believe it if you haven't grown up around shifters," he said modestly as he walked back over toward me. "I wanted to ask you something on the side. Well, you or Brian."
"It be amazing to me that ya never get us wrong." I chuckled, shaking me head. Most had to look at the birthmark only I had to tell us apart.
"You guys smell differently to me."
"So ya sense of smell is better, too." I snickered.
"I'm part cat," he replied, rolling his eyes.
"Fair enough. What ya want to be asking me?" I thanked him when he brought out another tray from the sideboard cabinet and helped me set it up for me twin and mate.
"Well, about the vineyard, there's a bunkhouse on the edge of the property that needs some work done," Rory explained, twisting his hands as if needing to burn off some nervous energy. "I still have some ties to the shifter community, and they know of a few people who've been exiled like I was. And I'd ask Isaac but he's important---" His eyes went wide, his face reddened, and he sputtered helplessly as he tried to fix that one. I gave him a smirk.
"Ya mean he be one of the founding families in the area and under everyone's watchful eye," I said, deciding to help him out.
"Yes, thank you," he sighed, his face still bright red. "You know I'm not an elitist or anything. Hell, I'm a poor orphan." Rory gestured around the grand-looking dining room. "I mated into all of this. So I don't want you to---"
"Rory, I get it." I chuckled as I held up a hand to cut him off. "The O'Hagans be a founding family in Ireland, too. It comes with a certain level of scrutiny like being in the government or something." I glanced around at all the fancy decorations. The ornate, gold chandelier glittering down at us from the ceiling was beautiful, and there was an intricate tapestry depicting some scene with a tree, a man, and a horse. "Though not all of us get the perks of being filthy rich."
"Yeah, I'm still adjusting to it," Rory said with a sigh, running his hands through his disheveled white hair. Then he flinched as if realizing something. "If you're part of a founding family, then you'd be under the same scrutiny. Damn, this won't work then."
"What won't work?" I asked in frustration, ready to throttle the cat. "Spit out the problem and I'll try to help find a solution!"
"Okay, fair enough," he replied with a nod.
We ended up sitting by the table and grabbing a cup of coffee. The food would keep a little while longer. I had a feeling whatever was going on with Rory had been bothering him for a while and he needed to get it off his chest before he blew.
"When a shifter is exiled, either for being gay or whatever other crime he committed in the eyes of the pack, they're left with nothing. I barely had five minutes to stuff what I could into my backpack before they literally tossed me out of the house where I was staying."
"That's horrible," I whispered. Maybe me newfound intrigue in shifters wasn't so interesting if this was how they treated their kin.
"And it doesn't always take much to get thrown out. I was gay," he fumed, shaking his head. "I knew someone who got tossed because he was getting too big and the Alpha basically realized the guy might challenge him one day. So he was exiled." Rory looked at me with pleading, tear-filled eyes. "It wasn't so bad for me because my parents were dead, but when a shifter is exiled, that's it. There's no going back, no talking to your family unless they want the same fate, and no hope."
"Ya want to help in some way?" I surmised, not against the idea but not sure what to do either. "How?"
"You're going to be growing a huge vineyard, and just from what I've seen you guys can do on the estate, you're going to need all the help you can get. I can contract some help to fix the bunkhouse and---"
"No, I get the logistics of how we can help them once they're here," I said quickly, stopping him again. "How do we get them here? We can't just put out an ad in the paper. And how do we know the ones who were exiled for bullshit reasons versus ones who aren't good people? I won't bring risks or harm to me family by trying to help shifters." Me words came out in a firm tone.
"No, no, I get that. That's totally fair," Rory rambled, nodding in agreement like an obedient puppy. Or cat, I guess. "I'm not saying we open a halfway house or make it public knowledge. The shifter community is like high school, all gossip. When one of us gets exiled, it's huge news we all talk about. And we all know why. The pack is told the reasons."
"Okay, but ya were exiled, right?" I asked, pinching the bridge of me nose. Something was missing in this picture. Rory gave a quick nod, looking like even talking about it still felt like a kick in the nuts. "Then how do ya know about any exiled shifter? Shouldn't they all not be talking to ya?"
"Oh yeah. They're totally not supposed to, but rules are made to be broken," he answered with a giggle. "My pack wouldn't want to since that's where I was exiled from. But I know people from different packs or species of shifter, and it's hard to keep track sometimes of who's been exiled or not. I get e-mails from the few friends I had, but it's not like I can just walk onto pack land and say hi."
There we go, I sighed mentally, finally understanding. "Okay, how many are you talking about rescuing to start with?"
"I know two who have nowhere to go and are living on the streets. Granted, they might not be in that area long, but I was just told about them. Oh, and I found a wolf a few months ago."
"Come again?" I asked, me eyes going wide in response to his nonchalant statement.
"I found a wolf when I had to go into the city to meet with an art dealer to look at some painting for the house and others we wanted to sell off. He's a wolf shifter. I think he's stuck and can't change back to human form."
"That can happen?" Okay, at this point, I felt like me eyes were going to bug out of me head.
Rory nodded sadly, looking so forlorn. "In cases of extreme trauma. He's tame. He knows what's what, so he's not feral like he lost a mate or anything. I think someone's hurt him bad."
"Will he ever shift back?" This was fascinating and creepy to me. Being stuck in an animal form for the rest of me life sounded like hell.
"No one can tell. I'd take him to see Riley, but I don't think he knows enough about shifters to help. And Riley's important, being the Council's appointed doctor for the warriors. He'd have to report the wolf. What if the guy was abused and got away only so we would hand him right back?"
"Aye, that would be bad," I agreed, rubbing the back of me neck as the gravity of the situation sank in. "Okay, let's go check out the vineyard while Isaac and Zane be at work. We'll look everything over, start making lists of what needs to be done, hopefully start getting the greenhouse together." I paused, realizing something. "Did ya say you already bought it or were going to buy it for us if we wanted it?"
"Oh, no, we bought it and put it in your names last week." Rory chuckled, his light mood returning.
"How did ya know we'd---" I started to ask, but then realized I didn't want to know. There's no way they really could have known for sure, and Rory might take the next hour explaining his lucky guess to me. "Ya both took a big chance that we'd stay."
"We know, but it was worth it. Besides, the Council wanted one of the vampire families to buy it since it abuts the warrior compound. Isaac saw it as win-win." He paused, hope filling his face. "And if we can get more shifters here, maybe Riley can test their blood, too, and it can help the warriors. Help keep our mates safe and strong."
"Good deal." I chuckled. It was hard to keep up with Rory and how vampires did things around here. But we would. "So we figure out what needs to be done and I'll talk to me mates. Also, if ya hear of any shifters overseas that be needing help, me ma would welcome them with open arms, and the farm can always use more help."
"I don't know of any, but I'll keep my ears open." His smile was so bright it made me glad I was giving our new friend hope. We both stood and grabbed our loaded trays. "And I'll fess up to Isaac what's going on. I don't want to have Zane keeping secrets from his best friend. Hell, it's been killing me to hide the wolf. I just didn't want to get him tangled up in anything because I wanted to help."
"Good luck with that." I laughed, not envying him. But then again, I wouldn't have kept something like hiding a wolf shifter from me mate for months.
"Yeah, maybe I should give him a blow job first and relax him some," Rory muttered as he walked away with his tray. That was one idea. I threw back me head and laughed as I followed him out of the dining room. We parted ways at the top of the stairs and agreed to meet by his SUV after the warriors went to work.
When I got to Zane's room, I had a little trouble opening the door, but then suddenly it was yanked open.
"I woke to a missing mate," Zane grumbled, narrowing his eyes at me. I raised an eyebrow and lifted the tray a little higher as if to show him what I had been doing. "Oh."
"Did ya think I changed me mind and ran away?" I teased, walking into the room and setting the tray down. When I turned around, I saw Zane looking at his feet. Oh fuck! "No, Zane."
"Okay." He shrugged and adjusted the towel wrapped around his hips as he sat down on the bed. I could still tell he was worried, so without another thought in me head besides making him feel better, I moved to him and plopped onto his lap. "It's just you were gone a long time for only grabbing breakfast."
"Oh, Zane," I sighed, pulling his head down for a kiss. Mmm, minty fresh! "Rory had something he needed to talk to me about."
"Why did you leave our bed without waking me?" he asked hesitantly, seeming lost as he absentmindedly rubbed me back.
"Honestly? Because I woke up and you were in the middle of us and I was worried ya would freak out. Also, because ya needed as much sleep as you could get after last night. I went to get food and started talking to Rory. That's all, Zane. We not be going anywhere without ya ever again."
"Really?" His eyes lit up with hope.
"Aye, really." I chuckled. "Ya claimed us, boy-o. Ya be stuck with us now."
"Good." Zane gave me another kiss as Brian walked out of the bathroom, freshly showered. "And I knew I was in the middle of you." He shrugged, acting like it was no big deal when I knew it was. "It just felt right. I'm not saying I'm cured and being surrounded won't still freak me out sometimes, but last night, it was all I wanted. I wanted to be sandwiched in between my mates."
"A Zane sandwich," I purred, wiggling me eyebrows at him.
"No." Brian burst out laughing. "Shane and Sean told me they called sandwich already with Dillon. We not be allowed to take it. Liam and Lorcan make Caleb footlongs. I think we be running out of innuendos."
"A Zane Po' Boy," our mate whispered so quietly that I barely heard him when I was sitting right on his lap.
"That not be nice," I chastised gently.
"But I was a poor boy," he replied with a soft smile. "And while I'm not that boy anymore, it's who I was. Money doesn't matter or my shitty childhood as long as I have you both. I can be in an Irish Po' Boy sandwich."
I wasn't sure I understood that, but it seemed important to Zane in some attempt to overcome his past. I glanced at Brian, who I could feel wasn't comfortable with it either. We both nodded and turned back to Zane.
"Whatever ya want, me love," I said with a smile. "We'll make our first Zane Po' Boy tonight."
"I'd like that." His eyes flared with lust for a moment and then he frowned. "Are you guys okay after last night? I wasn't exactly gentle."
"Don't ya dare apologize for that," Brian growled as he sat down on the bed as well. "We loved every minute of it. I can't wait to do it again in our own house." He smiled at Zane wickedly.
"Agreed," I said firmly. Zane smiled and nodded, not asking anything else about it. Good. We had other things to deal with instead of guilt that shouldn't be felt. "Speaking of our own house, I need to talk to ya both about a few things."
They both looked at me apprehensively but nodded. We ate, and I explained everything Rory had told me. I couldn't hold in me laugh when Zane's jaw fell open and he dropped his fork after I told him about the wolf.
"I'm not against helping," Zane said when I was done. "And I like the idea of you guys having extra help when I might be taking short trips a lot. But we need to swear that we won't ever keep things from each other like Rory did. I'm not judging him, I understand why he did it, but I won't have secrets in our mating."
"Right answer," I purred, giving him a heated kiss.
"Aye, we be agreed in that." Brian chuckled. And for the first time since we'd met our mate, I didn't doubt that things would work out anymore. We were so on the same page, as mates should be.
"He was trying to protect you, Isaac," I said again with a sigh. I was sitting in Isaac's office in a chair across from the desk where Isaac was, waiting to hear from my mates that they liked the vineyard before officially agreeing to my promotion.
"I know," he replied in a distant monotone. Part of me just wished he'd start bawling and get it all out. This slow, eating-away-at-him distress was way worse than just crying. The theory that men, warriors especially, didn't cry be damned. A heartbreak was a heartbreak whether you had a pussy or a dick. "My head understands it."
"Buddy, I hate to say you're overreacting," I said gently, raising a hand to hold him off when he snarled and his eyes flashed with anger. "I'm not saying you are. I've not been mated to someone for almost a year, so I can't know what you're going through. But Rory loves you. He didn't keep the wolf from you because he was boinking it on the side. He made a judgment call, thinking it was the best thing for you. He was wrong, but he didn't have any ill intent."
"But he lied to me. I can't help but wonder what else he's been lying about." His voice was still that awful monotone.
"Enough," I growled, not willing to listen to my best friend question the loyalty of his mate and my new friend. "Rory's not a cheat. He's completely loyal to you. I've never seen someone so in love with their mate, almost to the point of it being sickening."
"I know, I do, but that fucking voice is in the back of my head." He sighed, looking like a lost puppy.
"Well, if that wasn't an invitation to beat you upside the head, I don't know what is," I replied with a chuckle, trying desperately to lighten the mood. I saw his lips twitch, and knew I was finally getting somewhere after an hour of comforting him. "Rory is new to our world. Shifters don't have warriors and founding families or the same rules as we do. He did the best he could in a tough situation, trying to protect his mate."
"True," he hedged before groaning again and letting his forehead drop to the desk. "He's going to kill me for the way I blew up and accused him of cheating."
"With who?" My eyes went wide, not thinking Isaac had said the evil thoughts aloud to his mate.
"The wolf."
I just gaped at him for a few moments. "Isaac, the wolf is stuck in animal form." Ewww.
"I know that, but I said if he'd been keeping the wolf from me, how did I know the wolf really can't turn into a man and they were having an affair?"
"You. Idiot," I gasped as I burst out laughing.
"Shut up," he growled as he lifted his head, but I couldn't stop. It took me a few minutes to calm back down.
"Did you smell a random man on your mate?" I asked, deciding to deal with this logically.
"No."
"Did Rory seem less interested in sex or not as affectionate?"
"No." He winced, realizing where I was going with my line of questioning.
"He ever slip out when it was an odd time or you ever realize you didn't know where he was?"
"No! Okay? I suck. My mate is great and always lets me know where he is, what's going on, and never treats me like anything other than the best thing that's ever happened to him." He was breathing heavily after his outburst.
"Want me to look up the number for a local florist?" I asked with a smirk. Might be good information to have myself since I had two mates.
"No, I have them on speed dial," he mumbled as he pulled out his cell phone. I threw back my head and roared with laughter. At least I wasn't worried about Isaac and Rory anymore. They were going to be just fine...as soon as Isaac was done groveling.
Brian
"Rory, honey, ya have to calm down," I whispered as our friend started hyperventilating again. He'd long since cried out every tear in his body, probably dehydrating himself in the process.
"Isaac's going to leave me," he whimpered, pulling his knees tighter to his chest. "He's going to throw me out and tell me to hit the road. He already thinks I was cheating on him. I just lied about finding a wolf. Well, technically I didn't lie. He never asked me if I had found a wolf lately."
"Lying by omission still be lying," Banning said gently. I wanted to smack him. We all knew that. Why rub it in?
Rory's facial expression didn't change. He still had that look of complete loss and sadness. "I know, but I was trying to protect him." I think he would have said more, but Hester, one of the house staff, came into the study with a smile on her face.
"You need to come see this, Rory." She gave him a wink and left the room.
"I don't wanna," Rory whined. Banning rolled his eyes as we dragged him off the couch and out of the room. When we got to the main entrance, our friend bitching the entire way, I gasped. "I didn't order flowers."
"They're for you." Hester chuckled and handed him a card. "Isaac mess up again?"
"I did, but I guess he thinks he overreacted," he said, finally smiling. We glanced over the dozens and dozens of white roses in vases littering the foyer. "I love him so much."
"Then call him." Banning snickered, bumping his shoulder into Rory's.
"Right!" His eyes were as wide as his smile as he stared at his haul. He pulled out his cell and pushed a few buttons.
"I'm so sorry, baby. I love you. Will you forgive me?" Isaac rambled the moment he picked up the line. We could all hear the conversation given our enhanced vampire hearing.
"Of course I forgive you," Rory blubbered. "You have every right to be angry with me. Just promise you won't leave me or divorce me!"
"Never, Rory. You're my other half, the reason I get up in the morning. Nothing's more important than you, baby."
"Me, too," he whispered, wiping his eyes and smiling slightly. "Fight over?"
"Yes, but you have to promise not to ever keep anything from me again. I don't care if you think you're protecting me, okay?"
"I swear. I'll tell you everything. Even when I jack off when I'm going into heat because I'm horny and you're at work."
"That sounds promising," Isaac purred seductively. Then he cleared his throat, probably remembering he was at work. "Did you guys go see the vineyard?"
"No, the twins were comforting me while I sobbed and freaked out," Rory admitted with a chuckle. "We can go now. I know Zane's waiting to accept his promotion until they say they like it."
"We'll like it. Tell the damn man to accept the job already," Banning grumbled. I agreed, but Zane wouldn't hear of it. He didn't want us agreeing to more than we could handle and wanted us to check it out first. It wasn't hard to understand why we'd fallen so hard and so fast for the man.
"Okay, we're going now. I love you," Rory said before hanging up. I realized I'd missed part of the call while I was lost in me musings. That was okay, I felt a little intrusive as it was. "He forgives me." Rory's smile was jubilant.
"Aye, we got that when we saw the flowers." I snickered. Banning had already grabbed our jackets and Rory's car keys. We teased Rory relentlessly as we headed out, wondering if Isaac cleaned out all the florists in just Virginia or the whole East Coast.
Half an hour later, we were pulling off the main road onto a dirt drive. I glanced around, noticing there were posts for a sign, letting people know what the name of the vineyard was, but it was gone. It seemed so sad to me. The couple that died had probably put their hearts and souls into this place and wouldn't be happy to know this was how it ended up.
We would fix that, I realized with a smile. We would make this place great again.
Banning hopped out to open the gate and the damn thing practically broke off in his hands. I pulled out me notebook, ready to start making lists. That would be first on the needs fixing now list. As if agreeing with me, Banning ripped the thing off the hinges with one good tug and tossed it to the side of the drive.
"Interesting approach." I snickered when he got back into the SUV.
"What?" He shrugged at me as Rory pulled forward. "There be no point in having a broken gate. We're gonna need to replace it anyways."
"We haven't accepted the gift yet," I sighed, rolling me eyes. "Until we do, this not be our place."
Now it was me twin's turn to roll his eyes. He gestured out the window. "Right, like we be saying no to this." I followed his hand, getting me first good look at the place as Rory steered toward the main house.
It was breathtaking. Mostly because I knew it was ours without a doubt. Because the vineyard itself would need a ton of work. It was overgrown, dying, warped, run-down, and in desperate need of some tender care. But it had history, character, and we would just be fixing things instead of having to start completely from scratch.
I surveyed the vineyard, taking in the beautiful fields with their delicate fencing. The fields seemed to roll out before me, a thin layer of snow covering them as well as the big barn and numerous greenhouses, which were charming even in their dilapidated state. "Me answer be yes already," I said quietly, swallowing around the lump in me throat. "But there's no way we have enough in our savings to fix all of this, Banning."
"Aye," he whispered sadly. "Unless we started out small and just kept improving as we go."
I nodded, not thinking that would work. We climbed out when Rory pulled up in front of the main house. Now I just wanted to cry. It was an enormous ranch-style house. Although it only had two stories, the house stretched across a large portion of the property. As we got closer, I noticed the light brown paint was chipping off the siding and a number of the rails were missing in the wraparound porch.
Many of the shutters on the windows were also in need of repair as they hung precariously from their location, the breeze blowing them gently back and forth.
"We're farmers, not carpenters," I said more to myself than everyone else, me heart filling with despair. "We can't fix this."
"Aye," Banning agreed, looking as if someone just ran over his puppy. We both turned to head back to the SUV, totally heartbroken, when Rory cleared his throat. We turned to face him and I had no idea how to thank him for a generous gift we couldn't accept.
"You didn't think we were going to give it to you in this condition, did you?" he asked with a raised brow.
"Ya bought us the land. That be the most generous mating gift ever," I answered, not sure what he was getting at. There was no way Zane would let Isaac pay to fix this place up.
"But we're not the only ones giving you presents." He giggled, handing us a few cards. Banning glanced at me as I reached for them. I opened the first one and gasped, quickly handing it to me twin.
"Dillon, Shane, and Sean contracted a crew to fix the house and update it as we want!" Banning exclaimed, reading what I just had.
"Holy fuck me," I yelled as I read the next one. I passed it along as well. "The Marius family be replacing the glass and broken items in the greenhouses!"
"We can't accept all this, ma would kill us," Banning whined but still took the third card. He broke out laughing as he read it, handing it back to me.
Lads,
Ya be gracious and accept the gifts given to ya by people who be loving ya both and ya mate. Make them proud as ya have always made me and ya das. We love ya more than we can ever put into words and will miss ya dearly. So ya better all plan on visiting a lot, or we'll be coming there to kick ya arses for neglecting ya family.
Love always and with all me heart,
Ma
"I fucking love that woman!" I whooped with joy. If the house and greenhouses were fixed, that was a huge start, and the rest we could do as we went along. We would have warriors to help, and with the deal Isaac got us, we would still be making money by handling all their produce.
"So I take it the answer is yes?" Rory asked, his eyes twinkling with laughter.
"Aye!" we both shouted as we attacked him, hugging him with everything we had. "Thank ya, Rory."
"I'll be honest because I like you both now, but don't think I did this all for you," he said gently as we let him go.
"Aye, we know," I said with a smile. "Ya done it for Isaac so Zane wouldn't go, but ya also did it for Zane to keep us happy and wanting to stay. So, we'd still be thanking ya."
"But ya don't hate us anymore for hurting Zane, right?" Banning asked hesitantly, and I knew it was hard for him to talk about this kind of stuff. It was a new leaf me twin was turning over, going back to the loving brother I remembered before too much shit went down in our lives.
"Aye, I be liking ya lots," Rory said in his best imitation brogue.
"Bratty kitty," Banning grumbled and hugged him again. "Now what?"
"Now we call our mate and tell him to take the damn job," I answered, doing a quick jig. "Then we call ma before Dillon, Shane, and Sean. Then we get to work and start our lives here with our mate."
"And I'm going to call the Mariuses and the contractors everyone hired." Rory chuckled.
For the next ten minutes, all the three of us did was talk on our phones. We paced around, carrying out our own conversations, excited, flustered, and a little scared.
Then, as if like magic, all three of us hung up our phones at the same time. We were done. It was done. This was our new home.
"Let's start the lists," Rory said with a wide grin, rubbing his hands together in glee.
We each ended up grabbing a notebook and pen, figuring with all of us taking notes there were less things that would be missed. Rory told us, as we moved into the house and started looking around, how he felt bad because the contractor and crew had been waiting. He didn't know that everyone had been on hold during his meltdown.
We swore we'd never tell a soul what had happened and told him to blame us and that he didn't want to give away the surprise and raise suspicions by rushing us. I think Rory liked us even better after that. We understood. Not everyone needed to know about every fight between mates. Hell, everyone knew about our issues when we met. It didn't make it any easier when people stuck their noses in whether they had the right intentions or not.
People started showing up at the house. First it was Elena Marius, with Damian, Gabriel, Stefan, and Patrick. They were all ready to work and help out in any way they could. Then a few trucks showed up and dropped off Dumpsters for us to toss what we couldn't salvage.
More warriors showed up with Desmond, who also brought lunch. I kept glancing over at Banning, wondering if he was as shocked as I was. This was better than the barn-raising scene in that old Harrison Ford movie!
A little while later, the contractor showed up with his crew. They started helping with the demolitions while we walked the house and talked to him about what needed to be done first. Elena helped us with that part, and I wanted to kiss her.
"I raised seven sons and have handled countless renovations of rooms and the house over the centuries," she said with a smirk, waving off our thanks. "Besides, I promised your ma I'd help you get settled since she's far away. Your family was there for Caleb when he needed you most and that makes us all family in our eyes."
"Aye, ya be a great second ma." I chuckled, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.
By the time the workers and help were ready to call it quits for the day, we had a good chunk of the demolitions and removal out of the way. Elena guided us over to one of the greenhouses where she showed us that they'd already ordered windows last week and Remus was installing them with Stefan's help.
"I heard you guys have a green thumb," Stefan teased. "Just remember I'm partial to fresh tomatoes."
I glanced over at Banning and smiled. We raced off to find a few pots of soil and whatever seeds we could find leftover in the greenhouse. Sure enough, there was a cabinet full of seeds left behind. We grabbed what we could and went back to everyone, getting curious glances from all of them.
"Normally plant life responds to us being around and flourishes," I explained as we planted some seeds in the pots we found.
"But we can channel it and make it work faster, but it's tiring like when any of ya use ya gifts," Banning finished for me. When we were done, we both focused on the seeds we'd just planted. A few seconds later a tiny sprout appeared in each pot. They kept growing until they started budding. Minutes later, we had full plants with fresh tomatoes, fully grown and ready to eat.
"I knew my mates were amazing," Zane said from behind us. I gasped and threw myself into his arms, Banning joining me.
"Love ya, me mate," I whispered as I nuzzled his neck.
"Me, too," Banning added.
"I love you both so much," he said tenderly. "Are you happy? Is this what you really want?"
"Aye. We want ya and nothing else matters, but this vineyard be the icing on the cake," Banning answered. I couldn't have agreed more. "Ya did promise us a Zane Po' Boy as well though."
"That I did," he purred. "Let's go christen our new house." He threw one of us over each shoulder, both of us laughing like loons. I couldn't think of a better idea right then.
THE END
WWW.JOYEEFLYNN.COM
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Joyee Flynn grew up in Chicago, living in the same house all her life until she left for college. Though she has a great life, she loves to get lost in fantasy that only books could bring. Her wide interest in reading was reflected in her writings. Currently Joyee lives with her dog, Marius, named after a vampire from Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire series. She dreams of one day living out in Montana, enough land to have a few horses, and find a couple of cowboys of her own.
A lover of men, Joyee's all about them in any form in her books. Vampire, werewolf, military, doesn't matter at all as long as they are hot, hard, and sex fiends!
Also by Joyee Flynn
Siren Classic ManLove: Marius Brothers 1: Micah
Siren Classic ManLove: Marius Brothers 2: Remus
Siren Classic ManLove: Marius Brothers 3: Stefan
Siren Classic ManLove: Marius Brothers 4: Victor
Siren Classic ManLove: Beyond the Marius Brothers 1: Isaac Dragos
Ménage Amour ManLove: The O'Hagan Way 1: A Dillon Sandwich
Ménage Amour ManLove: The O'Hagan Way 2: A Caleb Footlong
For all other titles, please visit
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Table of Contents

