by Shea Balik
Arjun tried to hold back the anguish he felt in that moment. He needed to get away and he feared if he gave into his emotions he’d end up begging Baz to hold him again. Only with Tevin had he ever felt as complete. No. Not even then if he were completely honest. It wasn’t until Baz held him and Tevin that Arjun felt whole.
But despite the mating pull between them, Arjun wasn’t ready to face the reality of Tevin with another. Not when he’d made it clear too many times that Arjun had never been enough for him.
“Be happy,” he told them. “But leave me alone.” He scrambled up to his feet and leapt over the railing, where he knew it was safe to land.
“Arjun.” The anguish in Tevin’s voice hurt Arjun more than he would have imagined at this point. “Please don’t leave us. It was never that you weren’t enough.”
Arjun whirled around, the anger pouring off him at hearing those words. “It was always about that,” he yelled. “No matter what I did, you kept me at arm’s length as if just waiting for the day when someone better would come along.”
His heart shattered at the way his mates were holding each other as if they were everything to each other. Pointing at Baz, Arjun let out a harsh laugh. “There he is. Goodbye.”
CHAPTER 8
Baz was torn between going after Arjun and comforting Tevin, who nearly collapsed to the ground. Devastated himself to watch one mate leave, Baz swung Tevin up into his arms, sat on the rocking chair, and cried with his mate.
It wasn’t until that moment that Baz realized how utterly naïve he’d been about having two mates. No mating was perfect. Even his parents, who had been mated for nearly two hundred years, argued. Hell, sometimes their fights were so damn vicious the entire pride went into hiding until it was over.
They never truly hurt each other, but there were times Baz feared for their safety. His father was by far stronger, but his mother was as cunning as a person could be. Neither gave an inch when they thought they were in the right.
But they loved each just as fiercely as they fought. Baz’s heart lightened a bit at the thought of his parents. He would miss them, but they had taught him, no matter the differences, a mate was everything. That it was okay to have differences, so long as in the end they found a way to get past them.
Three in a mating would be even more challenging, especially when they were already at a disadvantage with what happened between Arjun and Tevin. But that didn’t mean they got to walk away. Maybe temporarily, but Baz would be damned if he’d let Arjun leave them forever.
First, he needed to take care of the mate in his arms, who was sobbing uncontrollably. “I don’t deserve another mate,” Tevin got out between the tears, his breath catching on each word as if he had to force them out. “Go after him. You two should be together. I’ll be alone.”
It amazed Baz that either of his mates thought they had a choice in the matter. Arjun might try to deny it, but he’d clearly been heartbroken and barely surviving. Based on the way his clothes hung on him, Baz would guess his already thin mate had lost at least twenty pounds since walking away from Tevin.
As for Tevin, according to the others, he hadn’t gotten out of bed in more than a week. Baz had heard the stories of mates not surviving without the other. Based on his own mates, he would have to agree with that theory, for they were obviously struggling.
Tilting Tevin’s head so he was looking into Baz’s eyes and could see he meant every damn word he was about to say, Baz placed a brief kiss to those lush lips. “There is no way I’m giving up either of my mates, is that clear?” he growled out the last part to ensure Tevin knew how serious he was. “You are both my heart and I won’t let you or Arjun walk away without a fight.”
There was a glimmer of hope in those brown eyes of his and Baz was going to do everything within his power to fan that flame. “Arjun is hurting and he lashed out, which is understandable. But that doesn’t mean we just give up.”
If there was one thing his parents had always taught him, a mate was precious and even if it meant walking through the fires of hell, he was to fight for his mate. That didn’t make it any less true because Baz had two mates. It was clear to him, if anything, he’d have to fight twice as hard to make their mating work.
“But Arjun is never going to forgive me. I shouldn’t have kept talking about something missing from our mating. I knew it was hurting him, but I wouldn’t let it go.” Tevin pushed up off of Baz’s lap and started to pace on what was left of a disintegrating porch.
He ached for Tevin. The guilt he carried was so strong, Baz could feel it coming off him in waves. He let his mate pace, figuring it might help him to work off some of the anger he had toward himself. But that didn’t mean he was going to just let Tevin spiral downward either.
“But there was something missing.” He wasn’t sure if it was the words or the conviction with which he said them, but Tevin paused for a brief moment as if considering what Baz said before resuming his pacing. “Could you have handled it better? I couldn’t answer that, but it also doesn’t matter. What’s done is done. You can’t go back and change anything.”
Tevin scowled, clearly not liking what Baz had to say. “Which is why Arjun will never forgive me. Even if I was right about our mating, my throwing it in Arjun’s face only reinforced his beliefs that he wasn’t enough. Not just for me, but anyone.”
Baz frowned. “What does that mean?”
Tevin whirled around to face Baz, finally stopping his frantic pacing. “His parents kicked him out when he was just a kid because he wasn’t what they expected of a child. He’s always been brilliant.”
Waving a hand to the clearing, Tevin said, “I don’t know how you so easily made it to this cabin, but I promise you, there are at least a dozen booby traps that aren’t necessarily meant to kill, but will stop someone in their tracks. His parents didn’t know how to deal with someone that smart, especially since he was just a child. So they tossed him out and washed their hands of him.”
“Ouch,” Baz mumbled, wishing like hell Arjun were there for him to hold. Arjun needed someone in his corner and Baz was determined to prove he would be that person. With any luck, Arjun and Tevin would make up and Tevin would also be in Arjun’s corner.
“Come on, sweet baby.” Baz got up from the rocking chair and swung Tevin up into his arms. Then he leapt over the railing exactly where Arjun had and followed their mate’s trail.
“What are you doing?” Tevin asked, his hands looping around Baz’s neck as he settled closer to his chest.
“I’m going to find our mate.” Arjun may think he was smarter than the rest of the world. But Baz wasn’t worried, for his mate hadn’t counted on Baz, who would never give up. Nor would anything, including booby traps, keep him from his mate.
***
For two days Baz watched Arjun as he secured the new crumbling shack he’d taken over. It was fifty miles from the last one and Baz had to give his mate credit, he’d made it a challenge for Baz to follow him. Especially when he must have shifted into his fox and jumped into the bed of truck for ten of those miles.
But as good as Arjun had been at disappearing from the world, Baz was better at tracking. He’d grown up training with the best. Admittedly, the fact that Arjun was his mate made it easier, for it only took the smallest scent for his lion to follow.
“I don’t get it,” Tevin asked when Baz got back from checking on Arjun’s progress. “Why aren’t we just going to him? Why let him block us from him?”
Baz leaned down and kissed those lush lips that he’d become addicted to. “Because, sweet baby, he needs to understand that nothing, not even his booby traps are going to keep us from him.”
Tevin’s brows came together in confusion, creating a crease between his eyes that Baz found utterly adorable. “But how are we supposed to get to him with his damn traps in the way?”
Kissing Tevin on the forehead, Baz pulled his worried mate into his arms. He prayed, soon, Arjun would let him hold him, too. “Trust me,
” he said.
Tevin relaxed against him, affirming that he did, even if he wasn’t quite sure of Baz’s plan. That meant more to him than he would have ever imagined. They had grown closer over the past couple of days. This had helped Baz to understand both of his mates since Tevin tended to mostly talk about his time with Arjun.
If only Arjun could hear Tevin, it might help. “Do you think he’ll ever forgive me?” Tevin whispered. The fear in that voice was heartbreaking.
After everything Tevin had told him, Baz couldn’t blame Arjun for feeling rejected. But no matter what, they were still mates and he’d be damned if he was going to let them stay apart. “After all you’ve told me about our mate, I know he will.”
It was time to prove that. He’d considered waiting another day, but there wasn’t any reason to drag this out. Arjun had enough of the grounds safeguarded against intruders for Baz to make his point. “Come on. It’s time to go get our mate.”
Tevin pulled back with a watery smile. “Are you sure this is going to work?”
Baz wasn’t about to lie to one of his mates. “No. But if he runs again, we’ll follow. Sooner or later, Arjun will realize we’re not giving up.”
They had been staying only a few miles away in a motel so it hadn’t taken them long to get to their mate. Baz had made sure this time when they approached they were upwind, giving Arjun time to realize they were coming.
When they stepped into the tiny clearing after avoiding all Arjun’s traps, their mate stared at them in shock and, if Baz wasn’t wrong, which he wasn’t, there was a healthy dose of desire mixed in. Arjun wasn’t as unaffected by his mates as he tried to pretend.
“How did you get past my booby traps?” Arjun demanded.
It hadn’t been easy. At the last cabin, Arjun had been there for a couple of weeks which allowed for his scent to be more ingrained into the path he used to come and go. This time, it had only been a couple of days, when he’d spent most of the time setting up his devices.
“I told you, nothing will ever keep me from getting to you, mate.” Baz, with Tevin holding onto the back of his shirt and following his footsteps exactly, strode right through the minefield to the porch, that had no railing any longer, where Arjun stood.
He placed a finger under Arjun’s dropped chin and closed his mouth, which had Baz grinning at him. “You seem surprised, precious.”
“I…” Arjun’s gaze went from Baz, to Tevin who was still behind Baz, yet peering around him to see their mate.
Knowing there was no booby trap next to him, Baz took hold of Tevin’s arm and led him to stand by his side. That caused Arjun to scowl and turn from them.
Baz let out a growl of frustration as he leapt up to the porch and pushed his way in front of Arjun. “It’s time to accept we’re mates, precious. To find a way to forgive Tevin, because I don’t plan to live my life without either one of you. If that means I have to keep chasing you, I will, but sooner or later you’re going to have to deal with both of us.”
Tears shimmered in his pretty copper eyes. “I don’t think I could handle having my heart broken again,” he whispered, the sound so light, even with his shifter hearing, Baz had to strain to hear him.
Putting his arms around his mate, Baz held him tight. Then Tevin came up and put his arms around Arjun from behind. “I’m so sorry, Arjun. Please find a way to forgive me, because I can’t live without you.”
Baz nearly shouted with joy when he felt Arjun lean against him. He prayed that meant his mate was unable to deny the mate pull any longer.
“You have Baz now.” Arjun’s voice wobbled as if he were scared to say the words. Or, more likely, afraid of what Tevin would say in return. “You don’t need me.”
Tevin straightened but only to spin Arjun around and pull him in for a deep, searing kiss that had Baz’s cock hardening in less than a second. Tevin’s hands came up and cupped their mate’s face. They were nearly the same size, which allowed their bodies to line up perfectly.
Baz couldn’t help but notice the way Arjun couldn’t stop his hips from rutting against Tevin’s for a moment. But once he realized what he was doing, Arjun pulled away. But he only made it a step before his back hit Baz’s chest. He wasn’t about to let Arjun run this time. It was time to talk this out.
“I know I broke your heart, and I’ll never be able to make that up to you, but you ripped my heart from my chest when you left me,” Tevin told him fiercely. “I can’t live without you, my love. I don’t even want to try.”
Arjun stood there for several long minutes as if unsure whether or not to believe Tevin. Baz was sure he was going to run again, when he suddenly flung himself into Tevin’s arms.
Blowing out a steadying breath, Baz wrapped his arms around both his mates as they cried. He wasn’t sure this would mend all the hurts, but it was a start.
CHAPTER 9
The moment Arjun flew into his arms, Tevin took his first real breath since he’d realized his mate had left him. Not even finding Baz had been enough to relieve the ache of losing his mate to his own stupidity.
He held on tight, refusing to allow the possibility that Arjun might change his mind. When he felt strong arms encircle them both, a sob broke free from deep within his body. It had come from a place in his gut that had somehow always known there was meant to be three of them.
“Did you feel that, too?” Arjun asked after he too had let out a wail that was a mix of relief and happiness.
“I did,” Baz’s deep voice rumbled out. “Our souls are rejoicing that we finally are together.”
Tevin could only nod and hold his mates tighter, for the ability to speak was lost as too many strong emotions raced through him. Breathing in the scent of his mates helped him deal with what he was feeling, but it also had his body reacting in other ways that he wasn’t about to encourage while they stood on the porch of a tiny hut that didn’t seem stable enough to hold their weight.
No. Tevin wanted them home, in their bed. Although, truth be told, the bed part was optional. Finding the will to speak, he asked, “Can we please go home? I need both of my mates to claim me properly and I refuse to do that here.”
When Arjun stiffened in his arms, Tevin pulled back just enough to look into those pretty copper eyes of his. “What is it, my love?”
When Arjun looked down and refused to meet Tevin’s eyes, he realized how selfish he was still being. It wasn’t fair to assume Arjun was ready for the three of them to be together, especially when Tevin had been such an idiot all these years.
Thank God for Baz. He placed a finger under Arjun’s chin and forced him to look up and to the side until he was staring at Baz. “We’ll go as fast or slow as you need, precious. We’ll understand if you need more time.”
There was anguish in those copper eyes as Arjun said, “What if I can’t do this? I mean, my fox is screaming in my head not to say this, but what if I can’t handle seeing you two together? It was hard always thinking that Tevin would one day leave me.”
Baz leaned in and sipped at Arjun’s lips, which had Tevin’s cock twitching at the sight. He would never forgive himself if he’d damaged Arjun’s ability to enjoy their mating like Tevin was at that moment.
“Then we’ll figure out a way to make it work for all of us,” Tevin said. “But I would never want to miss out on the chance of watching the two of you together like this.”
Arjun frowned and looked over at him. “Really? But when Baz is kissing me, no one is kissing you.”
Tevin took Arjun’s hand in his and placed it at along Tevin’s hard on. “I’m definitely enjoying every single moment of you two together.”
Those copper eyes widened as Arjun cupped his bulging groin. “Seeing us kiss made you hard?” The wonder in Arjun’s voice might have made Tevin chuckle if it wasn’t for the fact that the feel of his mate’s hand on him had Tevin aching for so much more.
“Yes,” he barely managed to get out around a groan of pleasure so intense, Tevin feared he was going t
o come in his pants. Lust took over as Tevin hooked a hand around the back of Arjun’s neck and pulled him in for a heated kiss.
The moan from Baz let them both know how much their new mate was enjoying the show as Tevin thrust his tongue into Arjun’s mouth. His mate’s sweet flavor flooded his taste buds. God he missed this. Just kissing Arjun was an experience all on its own.
Arjun had a way of sinking into the moment. His whole attention was on Tevin as their tongues glided together in a sensuous dance. Dick throbbing, Tevin forced himself to hold onto his barely leashed excitement of having his mate back in his arms where he belonged.
Need pulsed through him with each moment. His mate knew all his hot spots and Arjun was making sure to use all that he could reach. The added arousal of knowing Baz was not only watching them, but was turned on by it if the growls and moans he was making were any indication. Tevin feared he’d never make it to the hotel room he and Baz had rented, much less all the way home.
“Please, don’t make me come here,” he begged as Arjun nipped Tevin’s bottom lip. “I want us in our home, where we belong.”
The moment Arjun nodded, Baz grabbed each of their hands and tugged them to follow him away from the small rundown hut.
“How are you able to do that?” Arjun grumbled. “I have booby traps all over this place. There should be no way you could weave through them all without setting at least one of them off.”
Baz chuckled as he continued to pull them both along with him, making sure none of them got too close to one of Arjun’s devices. “Oh, my mate, you really don’t get it, do you?”
Baz couldn’t see the scowl on Arjun’s face as he was slightly in front of them, but it was so damn cute, Tevin was tempted to stop and kiss that adorable mouth. It had taken going through this mine field before Tevin had understood how Baz so easily traversed it. Why Tevin had never been able to do the same before, he wasn’t sure, but now, he would have little trouble.