by Maia Dylan
“I just loved being with you, as your friend. Even though I had fallen hard for you both, and knew my heart was going to break when you finally found your mate, I treasured every damn day we spent together.”
“We did, too, Faith! Goddamn it.” Trent was suddenly on his feet, his brother a second behind him. “Every single moment we had you with us was absolute pleasure!”
“And absolute torture at the same time.” Ty spoke quietly behind him. Faith’s heart stuttered at the vulnerability in his eyes, his face completely open to her to read for the very first time. She could see the longing and the pain, so strong and so poignant in his handsome face, Faith suddenly felt her anger start to leech away.
“How the hell am I supposed to take that statement, Ty?” Faith’s voice was tight. “If it was and probably still is such torture, then why in the hell am I even here?”
“Because you’re ours!” Ty roared. “It was torture knowing that you were ours and we had to wait. Faith, I have no fucking patience, but we knew we had to give you time, time to do what you needed to do before we claimed you as our own. Because, sweet girl, make no fucking mistake about it, once that happens, we will consume you. You will belong to us. You will be ours to cherish, ours to love, and damn well ours to protect forever!”
“You were only nineteen, baby!” Trent ran frustrated hands through his hair. “You had to finish your degree. We had to give you time. If we had done what our instincts and hearts wanted to do at that very moment, we would have claimed you right then and there.”
“Then and there, Trent? I don’t think so,” Faith scoffed. “I had heard that the Quickening was so strong it couldn’t be staved off. That as soon as the three were together that instinct took over. But it mustn’t have been that way for you! Nothing you said or did that day told me I was your mate!”
In a single leap, Ty was suddenly in front of her, moving so swiftly he was a blur. He stood before her the epitome of a frustrated wolf, eyes blazing and flashing blue. “What you heard was absolutely true. It was so fucking hard, Faith. So hard not to give in to our instincts, drag you up from that booth, shred your clothes from your body, and claim you on the goddamn table in front of all your friends and God himself! We would have pounded our cocks into you, together at the same damn time, declaring to the world that you were ours. We would have fucked you so hard you would have known from the inside out that you belonged to us, and then we would have claimed you.”
“But you weren’t ready, Faith. You would have given up your studies and your dreams to be with us, and Ty and I wanted you to have those before you came fully into our world.” Trent had moved closer while Ty had been talking, and now the two brothers stood close to each side of her, the three of them forming a triangle with their bodies. It would have been a poignant symbol of that moment had they not been radiating tension.
Faith’s gaze flew between the brothers. She understood what they were saying but was so damn angry that they had taken that choice from her. “You made that decision without thinking about what that would do to me. I don’t know if you realize that the female member of a fated mating like ours, she feels something, too, at that first moment of meeting. She feels an intense longing and desire to belong to two men that she has never even met! It is scary and so strong that you start to believe in things like love at first sight, soul mates, and that maybe, just maybe, she was worthy of something good and beautiful and true.”
“Sweets—”
“No, Ty! Let me finish. If we are to ever have a chance at getting past this, then you need to let me finish.” Faith paused and waited. After a few moments, the two brothers both nodded, in unison once more. “But when I realized that I was alone in those feelings, I knew that I was destined to be a friend to two men that I knew I would come to love. And that I would have to be strong enough to do that knowing that your true fated mate would come for you one day. Can you understand what I am telling you? Can you see it from my point of view?”
Faith stepped back slightly, giving them all a little space, and waited, waited to see if they could see what she was trying to tell them. If they could, then tonight could be a beginning for them. A new beginning with no secrets, no barriers, and no boundaries. Just the three of them.
But if they couldn’t see it, if they were so strong in their belief of how they saw her back then, and that she remained the same today, three years on and after a multitude of shitty things happening in her life in between, then she truly didn’t see how it was going to work between them.
Chapter 9
Ty listened to his mate with all the intensity of an alpha, knowing that what happened in the next few minutes would dictate the path their futures would take. He knew that he would never allow Faith to leave them. He and Trent would pursue her relentlessly until she was theirs. But she wouldn’t be complete. They wouldn’t be complete. There were two things she had said that kept repeating over and over in his head.
And I would have to be strong enough…Can you understand what I am telling you…And I would have to be strong enough…Can you understand what I am telling you…
Suddenly, as if a light bulb was suddenly switched on, he got it. He had an epiphany, an experience of sudden and striking realization, and what he realized was that he and his brother were dumbasses. Great, big, hairy dumbasses.
Faith was strong, had always been strong. She was the fated mate of two alpha wolf shifters, for fuck’s sake! Because of them, she had suffered, suffered through thinking that she wasn’t worthy of them, wasn’t fated to be theirs, feelings of longing that she had had to battle with when she was around them. Then the suffering she had to endure at the hands of that psychotic prick Parks…fuck!
Even that could have been avoided if they had embraced their instincts and claimed their mate as they should have done. But it hadn’t been Faith that lacked the strength. It had been him and Trent. He cut a glance to Trent to see if he had come to the same conclusion, and judging by the guilt, pain, and despair he saw on his face that would no doubt be mirrored in his own, he definitely had.
“Faith.” Ty’s voice trembled under the onslaught of the feelings crushing him inside. “We understand what you are saying. You have always had the strength to handle us and anything else that came your way. We failed you on so many different levels. We lost faith.” Ty barked a short, humorless laugh. “In more ways than one. In our ignorance we thought we were doing what was best for you. I can see now that all we did was cause you pain and suffering, and we will never be able to make that up to you.”
Faith dropped her gaze from them, and Ty’s wolf whimpered. He and Trent stepped into her at the same time, and Ty lifted her gaze up with a finger beneath her chin.
“Faith, it is us who is not worthy of you,” Ty whispered and watched as her eyes widened in shock. When she would have spoken, Ty shook his head, and he was more than a little surprised when she listened and held her tongue.
“But with the best intentions can come the biggest mistakes,” Trent spoke softly beside him, his heart in his words. “We let what we thought was best for you keep us from claiming you the way we should have. We definitely should have told you that you were our mate, and we could have discussed what we were going to do as the team the Fates have destined us to be. Ty’s right. We are not worthy of you, but you will never find two men or shifters who adore you as much as we do.”
“Sweet girl, if you can forgive us, we will work every day to prove to you that we can become worthy of you. If you can’t forgive us, then we will understand.” Ty suddenly felt his wolf leap forward as he sensed that perhaps Faith would take that to mean they would step aside and let her leave. Hell. No. “But again, sweet girl, let me be very clear.”
Faith’s body shivered as Ty dropped his tone and his alpha essence slipped loose a little.
“If you need to leave us and our home, then so be it. But get very used to seeing us every single day because we will hound you until you forgive us and give us
the opportunity to win you back. There is no future for us without you. We need to love you, care for you, protect you, and we sure as hell need to make love to you, and we cannot wait to see you glowing and growing with our pup. So, the ball is in your court, sweet, sweet Faith.” Ty smiled and leaned forward to grab her hand. He brought it to his lips and smiled when he saw his brother mirror the same move.
Ty felt as if time had slowed right down, almost to a stop, as he watched their mate, waiting for her to either make then the happiest shifters in the world or cut them off at the knees, which he knew she had every right to do. He watched as her eyes darted between him and his brother, he saw her lips trembling and could hear her heart rate speed up. Just when he was about to drop to his knees and beg, she smiled gently and stepped in to press between his brother and him—exactly where she was supposed to be, destined to be since that moment they walked into Molly’s three long years ago.
“I forgive you. Just don’t ever shut me out, OK?” Faith lifted her hands still clasped in his and Trent’s and laid each one against her chest. Ty could feel her heart pounding heavily.
A joy the likes of which he had never known burst through his chest, then slammed into him down the bond to his brother. He met Trent’s gaze above their mate’s head, and they shared a relieved look. Faith was going to be theirs…finally!
“Baby, we promise to never lose faith again.” Trent, ever the comedian, lightened the mood. God, he really was the other side of the coin for him. That was why they would make such great partners.
“And to ensure that we don’t, Brother, it is time to finally claim our mate.” Ty growled as he suddenly swept Faith up and into his arms. Faith squealed, then gripped his shoulders with a huge smile on her beautiful face. She looked so stunning he came to a sudden stop. Trent walked straight into the back of him with an oomph!
“What the fuck, Ty? Have you forgotten where to go?” Trent grumbled.
“Nah, just marveling at our mate’s beauty.” Ty continued striding down the hallway. “Go lock the door, and tell the security detail the watch is theirs.”
They crossed the threshold into the room that would be theirs from this day forward. Ty heard his brother’s heavy footsteps running through the house and out the back door. For a man who was light on his paws as a wolf, he sure was heavy-footed in human form.
“Fuck you, Ty. I’m in a hurry and going for speed, and I sure as hell ain’t going for style!” Trent’s amused reply came down their link, and Faith froze in his arms.
“I could hear Trent talking,” she said in awe. “I couldn’t quite make out what he was saying, but I could hear his voice.”
“I know, sweets. Once we complete the mating between us, you will be able to hear us in your mind as clear as day. We will always know what you are feeling and what you are thinking.” Ty watched as Faith’s brow creased and a look of trepidation fell into place.
“But what if I don’t want you to know?”
Ty grinned. “Faith, you are already a bloody strong psychic. When we met, the bond snapped into place between the three of us. You have a barrier between us at the moment that you will be able to put up or down depending on what you want. I, for one, am looking forward to you bringing that barrier down so I’ll be able to tell you like what I am doing to your body.”
Ty chuckled at the blush that rose up Faith’s cheeks. He inhaled and caught her arousal, which sent his spiking further out of control. Trent came running into the room at that moment, almost careening into the two of them in his hurry to get there.
“What? Why is she not naked?” Trent looked at him and then darted to Faith. “Baby, why are you not naked? This will be so much better if you’re naked!”
Faith put a hand out and pressed it to Trent’s cheek, bringing a pleasurable grumble from his brother.
“I’ll get right on that for you, Trent,” Faith laughed. “But you guys need to tell me how this whole mating thing needs to work.”
Ty reached forward and began to undo the buttons of the shirt she was wearing. “Trent and I will take you together, Trent in your pussy, and me? Well, how many times have I told you that your ass was mine? I think it’s time I laid my claim to it.” Ty growled the last part. Faith’s eyes widened at that, and he watched as her eyes began to sparkle. Just at the thought of them together? Damn.
Slipping the shirt from her shoulders, he brought her to stand before him and palmed her right breast. When she moaned, the air filled with the scent of her arousal. Oh fuck yeah, she was creaming at the thought of the three of them together. Trent moved in to stand behind her and slipped her panties from her, the last barrier between them and heaven.
“When we finally drive into you and allow you to come, when we are pounding into you, hanging on to our own orgasms with our teeth, knowing that the end is near but not wanting that single fucking perfect moment to end, we will bite you.”
At Ty’s words, Trent leaned forward and pressed his teeth lightly to the fleshy area between her neck and shoulder that would soon bear their mating bites. Faith shouted at that, her head falling back onto Trent’s shoulder and pushing her breasts out into his hands. He tugged and tweaked her nipples, driving her higher.
“And then, sweet girl, you will be ours. Married to us in our way, for all time.”
Faith was breathing heavy, and the look in her eyes made his dick harden to almost painful. “Take me then. Make me yours.”
The words had only just left her mouth when the slim thread Ty had on his control snapped, and he charged forward, his mouth claiming hers, eyes blazing arctic blue, both man and wolf eager to claim their mate.
* * * *
Faith gave herself over to Ty’s masterful kiss. Up until now she had thought to try to memorize every single moment, analyze every single feeling during these moments for fear that this might be the last time and she would never have the opportunity to be with them again. That their true mate, their fated one would come for them and she would be alone again. Living a half life. But now? Now she wallowed in the feeling of being consumed, possessed by the men that held her heart, knowing that she would have this again and that she was a part of something true.
She belonged to these beautiful men, and by God, they belonged to her, too. A sudden thought had her pulling away from Ty, ignoring his disgruntled growl.
“Don’t you growl at me, Ty Jamieson! I want to ask you a question, and that is difficult to do with your tongue down my throat!” Faith rolled her eyes at Ty’s very male, very smug grin.
“Can’t blame him, baby. That’s exactly where a certain needy part of my anatomy wants to be.” Trent loomed forward as if to take Ty’s place, but Faith held him off. She had a question, damn it, and it was an important one. The brothers stopped and waited.
“Your mating bites will tell others that I belong to someone else, right?” Faith queried and watched as Trent suddenly wore the same smug grin as his brother.
“Hell yeah, baby.” Trent’s throaty rasp caused her pussy to leak again. Good Lord, these two turned her on. “Not to mention that you smell like us. Our scent is all over you. No shifter will come near you without knowing who you belong to.”
“Well, okay, but how will people know that you both belong to me?” Faith was surprised at the fact she could growl, too. “Do I get to bite you as well? How do I stake my claim? I want every hussy in this valley to know that you are mine and I protect what’s mine!” She shivered as both Ty and Trent’s eyes blazed blue. Apparently her possessive streak turned them on.
“Sweet girl, once we bite you, you will get some seriously cool side benefits to being mated to a wolf.”
“Like what?”
“Well, your life span will be linked to ours. We live longer than humans, heal faster, are stronger and faster, too,” Trent spoke as he trailed the backs of his fingers down the valley between her breasts, his eyes following the trail. “To complete our mating, your canine teeth will extend, and you will be able to mark us as we wi
ll you. If you want to, that is?”
Faith heard the vulnerability in his tone.
“Sweet girl, if you would want to mark us and claim us as yours, I will bear my throat to you,” Ty whispered, his tone just as urgent as Trent’s.
Faith realized that this would be a show of submission from her wolves. Something that alphas would not take lightly. The fact that they both would do this for her made her want to howl in pleasure—pun intended.
Grinning up at her mates, she sighed, “Hmmm, well, I think if I am going to bite you both, ’cause I definitely want everyone to know that you are taken, I am gonna bite you real hard so it’s very clear!”
Ty and Trent grinned back, and then their gazes became very focused.
Ty moved down her body, drawing her thighs wide apart to make room for his shoulders. Then he buried his nose between the swollen lips of her pussy. Faith gasped as pleasure shot through her.
“Fuck, Faith, you smell so goddamn delicious I could spend hours just drinking this cream, not spilling a single”—his tongue swirled through her folds—“fucking”—another swift swipe—“drop!” Another swipe that ended with a short flick right over her clit. Faith screamed and arched into it.
“Ty, oh my God, that feels amazing!” Faith looked down and stared into his flashing eyes as he watched her, hungry for the reactions, learning just what drove her to the edge. Faith started to roll her hips forward as Ty plunged his tongue deep into her pussy, triggering her body to release yet another rush of cream to coat his tongue. Growling, he was true to his word and didn’t spill a drop. Trent suddenly dropped his own mouth to her left breast, his fingers reaching out to tweak her other one. The pleasure was almost too much to bear.
“God, Faith, you look so beautiful like this,” Trent whispered against the soft skin of her breast before he suddenly knelt up to look over her. “I’m desperate for you, baby. Put your mouth on me. I gotta feel that mouth on my dick.”