by J. L. Madore
“Understood.”
When the video call drops, Calli hops up and jogs into the bathroom. “Give me ten.”
Hawk gets up from the desk and I toss his slacks from where they drape over the dresser. “I’ve been thinking a lot about why the universe put us together and the past couple of weeks. We’ve been getting hit on all sides and reacting, but I feel like we’re missing something important.”
“Like what?”
“Like that we’re sheep being herded toward the slaughter. Someone’s pulling our strings and we’re too distracted by the bombs going off around us to see through the smoke.”
“Okay, what do we need to do to become proactive?”
“I think divide and conquer is unavoidable.”
“I don’t want to divide,” Calli says from the bathroom as the shower comes on. “I hate divide.”
“No more than the rest of us, kitten.”
Hawk pulls his pants on commando and frowns. “Trust me, Spitfire, I’d rather hunker down in here for the next year and live off champagne and orgasms, but with the world in the state it is, we need to get control of the clusterfuck that is our life. Divide and conquer is unavoidable.”
“Do you think that’s why the Fae Council has been pushing for us to drop off the map and align the quint? Are they trying to keep us from noticing what’s happening?”
Hawk frowns. “It would serve their purpose if we did.”
Another knock brings Kotah into the mix. “I’ve got us packed up, the groceries bagged, and our linens stripped. I’d like to do Margo and Ben the courtesy of leaving the place in the same condition as we found it. Can I get your sheets to start the laundry?”
“That’s thoughtful, sweet prince,” Calli says, hustling out with a towel wrapped under her arms. “Tell Brant I’d like to ride up to the main house with him to drop off the supplies and thank his family for their hospitality. Just give me a second to throw on some clothes.”
The three of us get distracted watching Calli whip off her towel and bend for her discarded clothes. Our sexy phoenix doesn’t seem to realize the X-rated show she’s flashing us, so no one lets on. I meet Hawk’s smile and try to focus. “Kotah, we have some bad news, buddy.”
Hawk nods. “I just got a call, Wolf. Keyla’s speaking with your mother. We don’t have any specifics, but we’re told that your father has taken a turn and you two need to get back to the palace.”
He stiffens and the smile drains from his face.
“I’m sorry, sugar,” Calli says, coming in for a hug. “No matter what the man may or may not mean to you, him doing poorly hurts you and your plans. Just know that we’re all here for you and you won’t face any of it solo.”
“What she said.” I squeeze his arm and offer him a smile. “You’re ours and we’re a package deal. We got you.”
Hawk nods. “Calli and Jaxx will return to the palace with you. There, with Doc and Keyla’s help, you five will tend to your Prime duties and start digging into the Fae Council and what we’re missing. Brant and I will go with Lukas to wherever Hannah and team two were working to track down the next cell of gifted kids.”
Kotah casts me a pinched look and I couldn’t agree more. “You and Brant? Is that the best pairing if we want to get things done quickly?”
Hawk shrugs. “Why not? We’ve been working fairly well together recently. Am I missing something?”
“Nothing to write home about,” Brant says, joining the crowd. “We’re all mates, right? All for one and one for all.”
The look he gives me is a solid reassurance that my message from earlier hit home. “We are.”
He nods. “And for sure, Hawk and I can spend a few days together without killing one another. Who knows, he might even start appreciating my charm and want to ravish me like he did you, Jaxx.”
I bark a laugh. “In your dreams, Bear.”
“Not bloody likely,” Hawk says, but there’s no heat in his comment. “I’ve got my hands full for now.”
The look he throws me is a hot invitation for another go with me. “Sharpie me in on your dance card, avian. At your earliest convenience, we’re on.”
He waggles his brow and offers one of the first, genuine smiles I’ve seen outside the bedroom.
“That’s so hot,” Calli says.
“Back to the planning,” Brant says. “I’m not keen on Calli being at the palace when we know there are council spies and sympathizers afoot.”
“You mean my parents,” Kotah says. “No need to sugarcoat it, Bear. My parents stand in direct opposition to us opening the gate. Well, the good news is my father might be dead by the time we get there. Problem solved.”
Calli hugs him again. “No one wants that, Wolf. Life is complicated, sure, but parents are a tricky subject. None of us wants him dead.”
“True story,” I say, tugging on his braid. “None of us wants you thrown into whatever chaos is in store for you either. It’s not like that.”
Hawk shifts next to Kotah and bends to look directly into his eyes. “The truth is we don’t know how deep their opposition goes. Maybe they aren’t part of the larger plot to keep Calli from opening the portal gate and just wanted to control you enough to keep things status quo.”
Kotah sighs. “Yeah, maybe they’re only worried about our standing and staying in power regardless of what’s best for the two realms of the fae. That’s much better.”
Hawk puts an arm around Kotah and hugs him to his side. When he kisses the side of his head, a schoolboy flicker of excitement bursts with hope in my chest.
Go, Hawk!
You’ve got this, my man.
“You can’t pick your parents, Wolf,” he says. “Look at my sitch. Sabastian Barron Whitehouse the fourth—a.k.a. Daddy Dearest—is one of the most power-hungry consumers of light and goodness you’ve ever had the pleasure of not knowing. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s one of the alumni board of Darkside and plotting to kill us all right now.”
“Nice,” Brant says. “Maybe it’s not so bad to grow up not knowing your parents.”
Calli shrugs. “I’m sure they can’t all be nightmares. Mine were great while I had them, and look at the Stantons. Jaxx’s mom and dad are awesomesauce.”
Yes, they are. I never realized how blessed Laney and I were until looking at my life through the eyes of my mates. “Then it’s settled. No matter what happens, you guys can adopt my parents as your own. They’ll be over the moon and you’ll never need anyone else.”
Calli frowns at Brant and points at his face. “Your lip is bleeding… and are you getting a shiner?”
He pats his lip and nods. “Yeah. And one hell of a goose egg on the back of my head. Fuck you very much, Jaxx.”
“Hey, don’t talk the talk and you won’t walk the walk.”
Calli frowns at me. “You punched him in the face?”
“No,” Kotah says, grinning. “That was me. Jaxx knocked him on the floor and choked him with a pool cue.”
Calli looks from Brant to me to Kotah and then back to Brant. “What the hell happened?”
I shrug. “Just ironing out a few mating wrinkles. Nothing to be concerned about.”
Except Calli looks very concerned.
Brant puts up his hands in surrender. “I was an asshole and my mates helped me see the error of my ways.”
“You’re welcome,” Kotah says.
Hawk arches a brow. “By Jaxx's comment about us working together, I assume I was the point of contention.”
“Bear, seriously?” Calli says, looking crushed. “I thought we were past that. It hurts all of us when you talk shit about Hawk.”
Brant smiles and points to his split lip. “That was explained to me quite succinctly. And hey, with a thick skull like mine, sometimes you gotta pound it in there. Message received. S’all good.”
“Are you sure?”
He flashes us a saucy smile and steps up to Hawk. The look of trepidation on the avian’s face is mirrored around the room. Brant
meets him chest to chest and slaps his back. “This is me apologizing for all the shit. You rubbed me the wrong way from the get-go and I decided right then who you were. That was shitty and unfair.”
Hawk’s lips narrow and I’m not sure what he’s thinking. “Luckily, stupidity isn’t a crime, so you’re free to make amends. Apology accepted. I’m certainly not one to judge talking shit and upsetting people. I do, however, sincerely hope you’ll stop painting me as the root of all evil.”
Brant eases back a little and waggles his brow. “How about a kiss to seal the deal.”
Hawk shoves him away. “In your dreams.”
“Too soon?”
Calli shakes her head. “So, they punch you and choke you and that makes you want to kiss him? Does that make any sense to anyone?”
The four of us all shrug and nod.
“Men.”
I laugh. “Go, team.”
Brant
I pack my duffle and track Kotah’s scent down the tunnel. Below the hatch, I find him leaning against the wall beside the ladder. His arms are crossed, and his head is down. I don’t have to possess the empathic sensitivity of an Omega to know he’s upset and hurting.
“Wolf? You okay? Anything I can do?”
He doesn’t bother to look at me. “No. It takes a lot out of me to know I have to go back there. I despise the palace. My father thought sending me away was punishment for me not conforming to his mold, but the joke was on him. When I was at university, I could breathe for the first time in my life.”
“I don’t blame you for not wanting to go back. I wish I could be there to help you through—” The mixture of emotion in his eyes guts me. “What?”
“I’m sorry too. I blindsided you. It felt good at the time, but I don’t want my fists to be our parting interaction.”
I drop my duffle at my feet and face him straight on. “We’re fine. I deserved it. In fact, I think I should apologize a bit more.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I want to.” I step in tight and claim his lips. Kotah’s mouth is always so soft, his kiss so gentle. Connecting with him sears my soul… Every. Damn. Time.
With our kiss in play, I run a hand down the front of his pants and find the latch of his fly. I pop the button and open things up, easing back from his mouth. “It occurs to me that though you made it clear you’re willing, I haven’t taken the opportunity to let you know how special you are to me. That’s bad form. I’m sorry.”
“Do we have time?”
“We make time.” I drop both hands to work his pants and boxers down his thighs. “I don’t want you sad about punching me to be our last encounter either. Consider this my attempt to take some of the edges off returning to the palace.”
“What about you?”
He reaches for the tab of my jeans, and I grab his wrists and drop to one knee. “No, Wolf. This is about you this time. All you.”
The smile that earns me lights up my insides. It also makes me realize how little the kid takes for himself. He’s the giver of the quint. He deserves to have moments of us being devoted to him to fill his Omega wellsprings.
The skin of the wolf’s navel is hot silk under my lips. I pay homage to the area while stoking up his anticipation. It’s not just him, I’m winding up. Everything about this has my mighty pulse pumping against the fly of my jeans. My body is jonesing for what Kotah offered, despite my hesitation.
But no, this is for him.
I lick my lips, part my mouth, and sink over the weeping crown of his cock. I hiss as the richness of his essence floods my mouth. Why the hell didn’t I know what he tastes like? The times we’ve been together things have been wildly out of control and with others involved.
This time is different.
This time, I’m not here to get my rocks off. This is about new beginnings and enjoying every sensual nuance. I file every groan, every brush of the wolf’s fingers through my hair, every ounce of lust and devotion in the air into my memory.
Later, when we’re lonely and far apart, I’ll pull them out and warm myself. Maybe he will too.
In our few encounters, we’ve never paired off. It’s always been a frenzy of friction between us, Jaxx, and Calli. Too much hunger to register where hands were or who rubbed what or to take it all in.
This is something else. This is more.
I growl as his hips rock and he fucks my mouth. He’s come so far in his confidence. It’s been an honor to witness him blossom. I let my bear prowl forward and as much as I wanted this to be a simple gift of affection, my yearning to mount him and mate him is about biological need.
“Fuck, I want you, Wolf,” I gasp, sucking off his engorged crown. “I want you to be mine. All mine.”
His eyes roll back in his head and his legs shudder in my grip. “I want that… so much.”
On a hard yank, I undo the front of my jeans and set my cock free. Pushing him back against the wall, I grind our bellies so our hard cocks rub together between us.
We both curse, in the best possible way.
Despite my spouting off about Jaxx and Hawk, nothing about two of us could ever be wrong. Not the skin-on-skin, the friction of our erections rubbing, or the frenzy of the wet heat of our mouths consuming one another.
Dizzy from the blood pounding through my body, I am truly a happy man. Pleasure rushes at me from every angle.
With a quick shift, I break away and bend to unzip my duffle. I grab the bottle of lube I picked up after our first play session and stop to stare at our wolf.
“Fuck, you’re perfect.”
Kotah’s brow comes down hard, but there’s no changing it. He’s a beautifully made male, fit and graceful, with the royal choker of his standing banding his throat and the most gorgeous mane of chestnut hair. “What’s wrong?” Kotah asks. “Did you change your mind about mating me?”
“Yes and no,” I say, offering him the bottle. “Will you do the honors?”
He accepts the bottle and his head cants to the side. “You want me to lube you up?”
I shake my head. “I want you to claim me. The way I figure it, Hawk is alpha and will top you during your claiming as Jaxx did. Do you want to take instead of being taken?”
The grin that breaks across his face says I finally got something right today. “You don’t mind?”
“You fucking me to complete our bonding? Hells no, I’m looking forward to it. I wish we were somewhere nicer for you, though. This tunnel isn’t that—”
The world tilts as I get spun and throw my palms against the wall to keep my face from getting mashed into the concrete. No, the world is fine. Kotah’s just accepting my invitation… quite earnestly, I might add.
I get with the program fast and push my jeans down further and widen my stance. The sound of lube squeezing free from the bottle precedes Kotah putting that moisture to good use, and a moment later, he’s pressed up behind me. . .
“You’re sure I take the honors?”
“Please,” I gasp, desperation in my voice.
It strikes me that this is maybe the most vulnerable I’ve ever been with another man—maybe another person.
Raw and honest.
Kotah reaches around my hip and grips my cock as he lines up. He doesn’t waste time with a preamble. He eases past the resistance and then thrusts inside with a lightning-fast strike. I nearly come right then. Planting my palms wider, I brace myself for what is coming.
The throaty growl of my bear echoes off the hard surfaces and I’m sure is heard throughout the bunker. If the others didn’t sense our fucking around from the mating bond, they know about it now.
I don’t care.
This is Kotah’s moment as much as it is mine and I want him to claim every bit of power he needs to move forward in the days to come. His hips thrust and retreat and every grunt and groan gets me hotter.
He lets go of my cock and then one hand on my hip and the other in my hair. My breath escapes as my head snaps back, and my wolf uses his new
found leverage to keep pumping, pumping, pumping . . .
My skull tingles from his fierce grip and I adjust my feet. I widen my stance so he can get inside me as hard and as deep as possible. The sensation has me gasping for breath, panting for more, my balls burning with the need to explode.
“You’re mine, Bear,” he growls, behind me. “I’m laying my claim. Now and forever.”
He punctuates his point by reaching around my hips and reclaiming my cock. The connection is too much, too hot. I let off a shout, and Kotah comes right along with me. We orgasm together, our throaty grunts all-male ecstasy.
Kotah rides out his tremors and collapses against my back. When he catches his breath, he laughs. “Yeah, maybe this would’ve been easier in one of the bedrooms.”
I shrug. “I think we did fine.” I pull a dirty shirt out of my bag and do the honors of cleaning both of us off. When our clothes are back in place and things are properly put away, I pull him against my chest for a kiss. “Thanks. That’ll be my go-to memory when I’m gone.”
“Thank you,” he says, his teeth worrying my bottom lip. “I want you to know… when I touch you with my gift, I see beyond your quips and your deflections. I love the man who’s still finding himself in here.” He presses his hand to my heart and smiles up at me, his gaze content. “I love you, Bear.”
I wrap my arms tighter around him. Tipping my head, I press my cheek against the top of his head and breathe in his earthy scent. “I love you too, Wolf. Soul deep.”
Calli
The three of us hang back from the tunnel and give Kotah and Brant their moment. My talk with Margo may have given me new insight into Brant’s motivations, but in the end, the thing he needs most is to learn to trust the four of us for the long-term. That won’t happen overnight and that’s okay.
He’s worth the wait.
By the time the lust vibrating along the mating bond strengthens and then falls quiet, Hawk is catching up on FCO admin stuff on his laptop, and Jaxx and I are folding the freshly cleaned linens. “See, we can be good houseguests.”
Jaxx chuckles. “Although it’s far less entertaining than you throwing fireballs at Hawk and his ex and almost burning down the Fae Palace. I hope they didn’t paint over the burn marks.”