by Jools Louise
Everyone laughed, knowing the teenager in question balked at the idea of fending for himself. He had been a resident at the Idaho facility and spent far too long being told what to do, with no license to think for himself. He was scared to do anything for fear of being punished, so Murphy had volunteered to take him in, since his adopted son Freddy had been at the same place, and the boys got on well. Freddy was confident enough for both of them and would hopefully teach Kristoff to be less fearful of making mistakes.
With all the activity in town, it was left to Aiden, Murphy’s husband, to corral the mini troops, assisting Cassidy and the other teens in helping out there. There were fifty toddlers and fifty infants living there, and all needed care. Gradually, the little ones were being adopted into loving families, but it was a slow process to socialize them and make sure the right people were hooked up with the right children.
“I went to see the people who came from that bunker in Idaho yesterday,” Douglas said, looking sad. “I’m just sorry we can’t give them a nice home like this one, but there’s too many of them.”
Cody ruffled his hair, pinching a cookie before the kid demolished them all. “They’re in the right place for now. They’ll need counselling and a bit of time to adjust to the outside world.” He kissed Douglas’s head. “You have a big heart, son, but you can’t fix everything. We’ll have them in a better place soon.”
“I know,” the youngster said, turning and hugging his dad, then walking to the stairs. “It doesn’t stop me worrying, though.” Then he trotted up the stairs and out of sight. “G’night everyone,” he called behind him.
“Maybe he has the right idea,” Zack said thoughtfully. “Pace and I have been looking for a place like this, on the outskirts of town. There’s a five or six-bedroom property near here, a block over. It was owned by someone who died in the explosion, whose family don’t want to come here to live and are wanting to sell. Pace and I could maybe take a few of those from the Idaho bunker in, give them a home, like you’re doing for the ones from here.” He and his husband exchanged a look, with Pace nodding, smiling tenderly at his lover, displaying his love for the cougar shifter for all to see.
John whispered to Cameron, who nodded a couple of times.
“We might be able to help,” John said. “There are rooms above the bakery, the ones we’ve been using, for someone. Cameron and I are going to stay at the ranch with the kids and only use it temporarily. The little ones prefer it there, so I was planning to give Douglas some extra responsibility. He’ll be able to close up for me in a little while and with Scotty agreeing to work there, he wouldn’t be alone. Which means me and Cameron won’t need the space since we’ll drive home each night. Perhaps someone would like the bedrooms up there.”
“How many are there?” Cody asked.
“There are three bedrooms, so we could fit six people if they don’t mind sharing a room. There’s a separate staircase and a lift that goes from the bakery level to the top. The basement is only accessible from the bakery level, via some steps, not connected to the upstairs at all, in case they were worried. They may not want to live there, though. But it’s an option.” John shrugged, as though it was no big deal, but Cody knew differently. His friend had a big heart.
“Some of the girls are thinking they’d like to live at the ranch,” Lex said. “Once we get them stabilized, I’ll see about transferring them there. There were seven girls who came from the bunker, two are Lomax and Luther’s sisters who may take you up on your offer, John. They’d be close to Douglas, who they trust, and they know you and Thomas now. The other five girls want to go to the ranch, and four of the boys, Jeremy and Kai, Xander, and Michael. That leaves nine of the guys in town without homes for now.”
“We’d take them,” Zack said, snuggling into Pace’s side and kissing him gently. “With five bedrooms, there’ll be plenty of room. We’ll take a look at the place tomorrow, see about making an offer. If they don’t want to go there, Pace and I will still buy it. We want a good-size home after living in that apartment for so long.”
Cody remembered the couple had lost everything when the town was destroyed, since they had lived there. Luckily they had not been hurt, had been at the ranch, but nothing they owned survived the blast. They’d been sharing a trailer in town and hunting for a new home for a while.
Cody looked at his friends, his family, and felt happy he had them. They had always been there for him, for each other. They’d all suffered losses, had been hurt by war and the battle with the Will and the Word. They could have just shrugged and left the cleanup to someone else, but like him, that solution didn’t sit well. They all felt responsible in some way for ensuring the legacy of the cult was eradicated, that their evil was countered by acts of kindness and love. The Will and the Word had stood for everything that was wrong in the world, bigotry, hatred, greed, and ignorance. Their hypocrisy and lack of any compassion or goodness had left lasting scars, evidence in the shadows that haunted the survivors of their terrible rein of fear.
“I got some beers in. How about a nightcap before bed?” Cody asked, seeing hands shoot up.
Getting up, he rescued the case from the fridge and handed them out, hearing the lift’s motors running. Then a moment later Thomas stepped out. Cody sent his lover a heated look, watching the big man walk easily on his prosthetic leg, hardly limping at all now.
When Thomas settled himself beside Cody, they all brought him up to date on the evening’s conversation, laughing with each other over beers, chips, and then coffee.
Cody kissed his lover after they all left later, heading up to their big comfy bed, thinking he felt whole for the first time in living memory. All the business with Marissa, of finding his sons, of nearly losing Ethan, and now having a house full of his family and survivors. The cult could not destroy this town, it had failed. There may still be others out there, that needed saving, but they were winning. The Will and the Word were dust. He sent a silent thank-you to the spirit world for their part, convinced they had been helping, somehow.
* * * *
“We did good, didn’t we?” Cody asked Thomas later that night, snuggled with the love of his life in their big, comfy bed. He inhaled his lover’s familiar scent and purred, nuzzling into Thomas’s neck, kissing him tenderly, feeling the hum of pleasure in reply.
Thomas turned his head, his lips finding Cody languidly, their bodies completely sated with love and the remnants of hours of lovemaking. Cody lay in his favorite position, sprawled atop Thomas’s big body, his ass plugged with his lover’s thick cock, pumping it in and out lazily, in no hurry to fuck, but loving the feel of his sexy mate deep inside him. Cody lifted up slightly, angling his lips against Thomas’s mouth, sighing into the kiss. He felt the cock inside him thicken even more, smiling wickedly. Thomas was ready for the next round.
“You have the biggest heart,” Thomas said, stroking his big hands along the length of Cody’s back, his touch sure and strong and so loving Cody nearly cried, his heart clenching even more at his love for this man. “After all the heartache, all the pain, you came back stronger than ever, opening up your heart and home to people you barely know. If you had any clue how much I fucking love you, Cody…” He moved restlessly beneath Cody, his mouth exquisitely tender, sipping at Cody’s mouth as though tasting fine champagne. “I’ve met people who can’t stand to be nice to their own children, yet you’ve done something for these young men, who were discarded by their families like unwanted toys. You make me so fucking proud of you, beautiful man.”
Rolling Cody beneath him, he made love to his jaguar shifter, his cock sliding sensuously inside his mate’s beautiful body, loving him without words, wanting to show this man that he’d loved since he was ten years old just what he meant.
Thomas felt tears prickle his eyes, felt the slow roll of them trickle down his cheeks as his mate responded with an eagerness, a hunger that blew Thomas away. His lover had more courage than any other man he’d ever met…and he loved every
bit of him more than anyone.
“Baby, I love you, too,” Cody whispered, and Thomas felt tears on his lover’s cheeks, too. “So fucking much, I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you.” His fingers stroked along Thomas’s sleek flanks, caressing the pliant mounds of his lover’s butt, fondled the heavy globes of Thomas’s balls dangling between their restless bodies.
“Love me,” Thomas cried brokenly. “That’s all you have to do, baby. Just love me.”
And Cody did.
Epilogue
Ethan lay awake in bed that night, his brother across the room. His thoughts returned again and again to the events of the past few months. He felt at peace at last, not fearing the future, and able to process what had happened before he and his friends had been rescued.
He still woke, thinking he was down in that tomb, but those times lessened. His sight was slowly returning, and he could now distinguish light from dark and vague shapes. His friends had been the same, their shifter sides enabling them to heal faster once they got the right care and nutrition.
His mind kept going back to four men who had been so mean to him when he had first met them. He remembered how they looked and had seen them exchange furtive kisses when they thought nobody was looking. He’d thought them sexy, but over time, he’d just felt belittled and sad and extremely depressed by their treatment of him. They didn’t have to be mean all the time, and by the time they started to treat him and his eight friends with some respect, he was too heartsick to care. He thought of Lash’s voice, the sorrow and regret when he’d laid into the man over the phone. He’d actually felt the man’s distress when Ethan had screamed at the clinic, soon after they’d been rescued.
He felt a stirring inside of him, as he listened to the screech of an owl outside his window, the crickets singing in the long grass. It felt like something that had been hiding for a long time was coming out, gauging how safe it was before deciding to stay or not. He whispered silently to it, knowing it was his jaguar, knowing he needed to be patient.
He thought of Lash again, and Slug, Charm, and Rage, their names making him smile. He remembered in the early days teasing them about their names, but then they ended up in that last tunnel, and all teasing stopped. His brain shut down, afraid to contemplate that he was buried alive, afraid to think that there was no food, little water and no way out.
He felt his cat yowl plaintively and wondered about the last time he had heard it. Then he held his breath. His jaguar had gone crazy for the four wolverines, purring and preening when Ethan had mocked and taunted them. Almost as though it liked them. As though his jaguar knew something Ethan didn’t. He frowned. He didn’t want to forgive them, didn’t want to feel anything but contempt and hatred. He was so confused.
“Are you okay?” Douglas asked softly, breaking into Ethan’s thoughts.
“Yes,” he replied in a whisper. “I’m okay, just thinking, that’s all.”
“Can I help?” his brother asked, and he smiled in the darkness, loving that he had a brother. He’d never known about Douglas. His mother had never told him.
“I was just thinking how lucky we are,” he answered. “Our dads are the best, we have a lovely home, and you have a job. I’ll start looking soon enough, I’d like to do something. I love the fact that we have our friends here, that our dads wanted to help them, too.”
“That’s not what you were thinking,” Douglas said, and Ethan shot him a startled look in the dark.
“It’s not?” Ethan asked, surprised.
“No. When someone mentions the wolverines, you get this look on your face, sort of sad and sort of dreamy at the same time.” Douglas paused before continuing. “I hate what they did to you, that they were mean to you, but I’ve spoken to them since I started at the bakery, while you were at the clinic.”
Ethan’s eyebrows rose into his hairline. “You spoke to them? Recently? What did they say?” he asked rapidly.
Douglas laughed softly, and Ethan felt a flush on his cheeks. “Brother, you are just a little smitten.” His voice grew serious again. “Lash came into the bakery with his friends. They made a special visit to apologize to me, for hurting you and being so unkind to you. They wanted me to stop being mad at them. They said they were sorry and explained a few things to me.” He paused for a moment. “They seem like nice guys, caught up in all the shit the cult was doing, like Sky and his brothers, unable to fight back or their loved ones would get hurt.”
“What else did they say?” Ethan asked, feeling his jaguar yowl, feeling it get stronger and more confident.
“They want you to meet them, in a public place so you don’t feel threatened. They want to say how sorry they are to you directly,” Douglas replied. “John wasn’t happy they were there, but he respected their words, and their attempt to make amends. He said it would be your decision entirely, and if you got upset or didn’t want to meet them, he’d kick their asses into touch for you—his words, not mine.” Douglas giggled softly at that and Ethan smiled at John’s unwavering loyalty.
“I’d like to have a go at working,” Ethan said. “Do you think John would let me try working at the bakery? I could wash dishes if there’s nothing else available, just so I feel useful at something. I’ve never worked in my life, but I really want to.”
Douglas slid out of bed and came over to Ethan’s side, his arms going around his brother and hugging him tightly, then kissing his cheek.
“Why don’t you wait a few more days, get your strength up, then I’ll take you there myself. I start really early, but if you’re keen, we’ll go together, see what’s what.” He sounded excited and more mature than Ethan right then.
“I love you, brother,” Ethan said, smiling.
Douglas giggled, then kissed him again. “I love you, too, big brother.” He swatted Ethan’s arm gently. “Now get to sleep. We need to make plans tomorrow.”
Ethan smiled again and closed his eyes, falling asleep at last.
* * * *
Cody slid silently out of bed, padding downstairs in his bare feet, his sharp ears picking up a sound outside. A sound that shouldn’t be there. He stepped outside onto the porch and stared at the young wolverine shifter who stood on the path. Lash.
“I wasn’t going to hurt anyone,” the man said quickly, preempting Cody.
“I know,” Cody said, sitting on the top step of the porch, clad only in pajama bottoms.
Lash looked confused.
“I just heard my son tell my other son that you wanted a meeting with him and your boys at the bakery.” Cody stated matter-of-factly. “You seem awfully keen to make amends, considering your job as his guard is over and done and you could leave this town and go your own way now.”
Lash took a hesitant step forward, and Cody saw his three brethren emerge from behind the hedge that surrounded the front garden. “We’re his mates,” the man said, his amber eyes earnest. “We’ve known from the first time we met him, but could do nothing about it, or we would all have been killed. Ethan and the others were to be killed at the trophy ranch, but then you and your crew got too close and we ended up in that pit instead. We tried to talk to Ethan, to explain, but he had gone somewhere in his head and didn’t hear us.”
“We love him,” Rage continued, hands clasped loosely in front of him. “He was so fierce and strong, sassy, and sexy as hell. He was too young at first. Now he’s of age, but too weak and scared of us now.”
Cody eyed them all intently and then got to his feet.
“You’re right about a couple of things. He is too weak and scared to even think about you four idiots right now. He needs to heal and get his strength back. He needs to feel safe and secure and not remember what was done to him…by you four.” He gave a low growl, warning them not to push their luck. “You’re also right that he’s strong and fierce and getting his sass back. If you’re really his mates, his jaguar will recognize you, and we’ll see what happens from there. For right now, you need to back the fuck off. He screamed
his head off when he heard you the last time. He was terrified, thinking he was back in that hellhole.” He stalked forward, facing off against all four. “Quit pushing, quit thinking about what you want, and try to consider what he needs. At the moment, he certainly does not need you idiots trying to get into his pants, harassing him every fucking second and keeping his mind where it doesn’t need to be. Now leave him alone or I’ll make sure you leave town for good. I’ll ask him what he wants to do, when I feel he’s ready, and when he’s decided, he’ll call you.” He turned and went back to the front door, locking it behind him.
Fucking morons, he thought, listening as they all left. He had the feeling they wouldn’t be going too far. Wolverines were known for their tenacity.
He got back into bed, snuggling up against the large bed warmer otherwise known as Thomas.
“Did you kick their asses?” Thomas asked, laughing softly.
“I told them to fuck off and I’d consider talking to Ethan. Apparently they’re his mates.”
Thomas’s arms came around him, his lips making slow progress across Cody’s jaw to his lips. “Baby, this is what being a father feels like,” he whispered. “Now forget about those idiots, and fuck me into the mattress.”
Cody moaned against Tommy’s succulent mouth, sinking into the kiss, his cock thickening in an instant and sliding into his lover’s loosened hole, making love to his man with everything he had.
He would have a chat with Ethan…but probably not for a while. Let those little shits suffer a while longer.
He forgot about everything else as he sank into his mate, his lover, and his best friend, loving the man with all his heart. Then he fucked him into the mattress, just for good measure.
THE END
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