“What’s the last thing you remember?” Hensen asked, holding Gavin steady as he tried to adjust to a world slightly off-kilter.
“The hike, and then the cabin.” He remembered something about water. “Maggie insisting we rinse off in the cold stream before climbing into th—” The rest came back to him in a rush. Hensen must have sensed his distress because the arms around him pulled tighter. “Is–is Maggie okay?”
“Not quite,” Hensen said. “She wakes every few hours, but she’s mostly incoherent.”
“It didn’t work.”
“What didn’t work?” Kade asked with a worried glance at Hensen.
“My blood is the key. She needs my blood to recover.”
“Gav,” Hensen said, his voice filled with emotion. “We don’t know if that’s true or not. What we do know is that she nearly killed you.”
“Is she talking in circles? Saying the same things over and over?”
Kade seemed surprised and maybe even a little bit hopeful when he nodded his head. “But how could your blood be the key? You were human only a few days ago.”
Gavin glanced at the still non-purple hue of his skin. “I don’t think I ever was fully human.” He breathed out heavily, maybe a little freaked out himself by what he was about to say. Hell, if he was suffering PTSD and not really in the middle of nowhere with three werewolves hiding in the abandoned cabin built by bear-shifters nearly a hundred years ago, he was about to give whoever was really listening enough delusional information for them to shove him in a psychiatric ward for a good long time. “My grandpa…used to tell us stories about the forest guardians—it was their job to keep the balance.” He shook his head as his voice gave out. “Thought…just a story.”
“You think you’re one of these guardians?” Kade asked. He seemed to want to believe, but it was clear that the evidence wasn’t adding up for him. “But your scent was human.”
Gavin shrugged. “Don’t know…fits.” He gratefully sipped more water as Kade held the straw to his lips. “Worth trying.”
“Not if we lose you both,” Hensen said quietly, his fear for Gavin and Maggie very clear in his tone.
“Can’t…hear you,” Gavin said as he finally realized he no longer had a link to Hensen the way he had when he’d first become a werewolf.
“Whatever happened with Maggie severed my link with both of you.”
“Can fix…my blood.” He fought the lethargy that threatened to take this chance from him, but he struggled to get the words past his aching throat.
“We’ll try,” Hensen finally said, “but not until you’re feeling better. We don’t have the medical equipment to keep you alive if you slip into another coma.”
“Okay,” Gavin said, letting his eyes close as Kade offered him another sip of water. A part of him kept pointing out that his grandfather’s story was probably just a story, but the similarities between the story and Maggie’s condition were too many to ignore.
For the next several hours he let his mates fuss over him as he slowly recovered from three days without food or water. Thankfully, his new werewolf side made it much faster than what would likely have happened when he was human.
He wasn’t even certain he could help Maggie—he was going on stories his grandfather had told him as a child for heaven’s sake—but he had to try. He could sense Kade’s and Hensen’s concern for them both, but thankfully they didn’t try to stop him when he finally lay down on the pallet-type bed that she slept on.
“Okay, sugar,” he said lifting her into a sitting position so that he could hold her close and still press his forearm against her lips.
Kade looked horrified. “Her teeth,” he said worriedly. “They’re not…normal.”
“It’s okay,” Gavin said, giving his lover a reassuring look. “I remember. They’re part of her mutation. My blood will fix that.” Again he really had no idea if what he said was true, but it seemed important to trust what he’d learned from his grandfather. “Come on, Maggie. It’s time for you to feel better.”
Sleepily Maggie caressed his forearm with her tongue. It was a rather sensual and intimate moment, and for a brief second Gavin’s confidence faltered. But when she bit down and he felt her teeth puncture his skin, he suddenly knew this was exactly what he needed to do. He caressed her hair as she swallowed his blood, this time less frantically. After a little while she went back to licking his skin and he smiled when he realized she was using her werewolf skills to heal his wounds. He was fairly certain he didn’t need her help, but it was exactly the type of thing that Maggie would do.
She’d proven over and over that she would care for and protect her mates as fiercely as they would protect and care for her. Hensen and Kade both smiled with relief as Maggie curled into Gavin’s embrace and fell asleep once more.
Chapter Eleven
Hensen held Maggie close as she slept peacefully. She wasn’t tossing and turning or mumbling incoherently the way she had for the past three days and nights. For the past few hours she’d seemed just to be sleeping. It was a tremendous relief to feel like things were getting better.
Having two of his mates unconscious from unknown causes had left him floundering. He was used to protecting the people around him, but he’d never before needed to fight something he couldn’t see. Despite his size and strength he’d felt helpless. It wasn’t a feeling he liked.
“You weren’t helpless,” Kade said telepathically, apparently worried enough about his state of mind to still monitor him when he and Gavin were getting reacquainted. “You kept them both alive, and you helped me through it, too.”
Hensen desperately missed his link to Gavin and Maggie, but in some ways he was glad that they couldn‘t hear his thoughts right now. Self-doubt wasn’t something he was used to dealing with.
“Thanks, baby,” Hensen said telepathically to Kade. “I don’t know how I would’ve gotten through it without you.”
“See, we support each other. That’s what a relationship is all about.” He must have overheard a few thoughts that flitted through Hensen’s brain in reaction to that because Kade growled telepathically and added, “Don’t for one moment think that you’re alone in this. We all have doubts about ourselves from time to time.” He laughed softly. “Most of us long before we get to your age.”
He felt pleasure swell through his mate as Gavin slid down his body and took his hard cock in his mouth. “Thanks, baby,” Hensen said. “Make love to Gavin for me.”
“With pleasure,” Kade whispered on a groan.
Hensen pulled Maggie closer and then rolled them both over so that he could watch their mates together. It wasn’t the frantic, enthusiastic fucking they’d indulged in back at Kade’s home. This time they made love to each other slowly, savoring every soft touch, every sweet moan, every loving sensation. Hensen felt his love for both of them grow in his heart, his need for the two men making his cock rock hard.
The beautiful woman in his arms wriggled back against him, the soft globes of her ass caressing him intimately. He tried to move away, not wanting her to wake and think he was groping her in her sleep, but she followed him, sighing as the changed angle brought his cock closer to her pussy lips.
She moaned as she rubbed against him, but suddenly stopped and rolled over to look directly into his eyes. “I can’t hear you,” she said worriedly.
“It’s okay,” Hensen said, caressing her face with his fingertips. “Gavin says it’s only temporary. We’ll share it again once we claim each other.”
She glanced over to where Gavin was easing his hard cock deep into Kade’s ass, and then turned her attention back to him. “I guess that means I didn’t hurt him.”
“No, baby girl. You’re both going to be fine.”
“Good. Make love to me, please.”
Hensen laughed softly, his cock aching, but his need to protect her overriding all else.
“You’ve been asleep for three days. You need to recover first.”
“No,” she s
aid rolling into his arms and kissing his chest. “I need my mate to claim me.”
“But—”
She shook her head as she placed her hand over his lips. “I’m fine. I feel better than I have since the wolf attacked. Even before the thing with Gavin it was kind of like I had the flu—I felt all heavy and aching—but now even that’s gone. I’m not sure how it all worked, but I truly feel better than I have since becoming a werewolf.”
“Stop being so noble and claim the woman already.”
Hensen smiled at Kade’s bossy words, only then realizing that Kade intended to claim Gavin right then if the man agreed. He felt the rush of excitement run through both of them when Gavin nodded and offered his throat to Kade.
Hell, Hensen almost came himself as he felt Gavin pump his seed into Kade’s ass.
Unable to control his need for Maggie one more moment he rolled onto his back and dragged her over him. She giggled and then squirmed into a comfortable position, her legs open, her pussy nudging his cock, her warm, slippery fluids coating him as she rubbed up and down his length.
“Finally,” she said with a grin as he lifted up to take her mouth. He thrust his tongue inside, exploring every inch of her warm cavern as his hands roamed her body, learning her shape, loving her curves. He held her hips in place, refusing to let her take control as he slowly lifted his cock into her pussy. He moaned at the delicious feeling of finally being inside his mate.
She broke their kiss, gasping for air as she stared into his eyes. Carefully he released his grip on her, letting her move so that they made love to each other. When she tilted her head to the side, offering her throat, he couldn’t control his need to take charge once more. He rolled them over, thrusting into her more forcefully, pinning her to the makeshift mattress as he started to plow into her pussy hard and fast. He opened his teeth over her throat, her warm skin filling his mouth as he carefully bit into her soft flesh. She moaned, shaking in orgasm, her emotions and thoughts washing over him as he claimed her, their link settling into place once more.
He stilled for a moment as he carefully extracted his teeth and then he started fucking her hard and fast again, his need to fill this woman with his seed now a wild, out of control compulsion.
Maggie opened her mouth over his throat, licking over the flesh but not biting into him.
“Baby girl?” he asked through their newly repaired link.
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Hey,” he said out loud, stopping all movement to stare into her eyes. “It’s over. Gavin’s blood repaired the damage. You won’t hurt me by claiming me.”
She seemed doubtful for a moment but then she smiled. Her teeth had lengthened, just as they did for any werewolf. There was no sign of the strange, pointed, shark-like teeth she’d used to bite Gavin. Hensen placed a hand behind her head and lifted her to his throat. This time she didn’t hesitate. This time she sank her teeth straight into his throat. This time she claimed him the way he’d just claimed her.
The orgasm that shot through him damn near curled his toes, but it was the loving way that she soothed him with her gentle touches that filled his heart with joy.
Kade had been right. He wasn’t alone in his self-doubts. They all had them, but it was how they coped that made the difference.
He held Maggie close, unwilling to pull out of her body just yet. He smiled as he sensed the mating link between Gavin and Kade also settle into place. They were finally starting their lives together as a true werewolf family, and in that brief moment anything seemed possible.
Sadly, he knew life was never that simple.
* * * *
Gavin hurried to wash up in the cold water of the creek as he felt Kade claim Maggie, his intense orgasm making Gavin groan with renewed arousal. Hell, he planned to claim their woman as soon as she got some rest, but it was Hensen who plagued his thoughts.
Waking earlier with Hensen’s arms wrapped around him had been both a little strange and amazingly comforting. In that moment he’d felt loved in a way that he’d never expected to feel. Thanks to his access to Kade’s memories, he had a very clear understanding of how both Kade and Hensen had felt while he and Maggie had been unconscious.
As a man used to being in charge of any situation, Gavin could certainly share the fears Hensen had felt, but all that did was bring him full circle. He’d accepted his connection to Kade easily because the type of relationship they were building was very similar to what he’d envisioned when he’d realized his bisexuality.
But Hensen still challenged everything he’d thought he knew about himself. The discovery of skills he hadn’t expected had only muddied his thinking even more.
Perhaps sharing Maggie and Kade should be the only connection between him and Hensen.
“You okay?” Hensen asked as he stepped onto the edge of the stream. “Kade was worried.”
They both smirked at that. Kade had a link to both of them now so he knew exactly where Gavin was and what he was thinking.
“Just lost in thought,” he said, giving Hensen a sad smile.
Hensen nodded. “I’ve been doing that a lot, too, lately. I know you asked me to give you time, but the past few days have been…difficult. I’m no longer sure…” His words trailed away as Gavin stepped out of the stream and reached for his towel. Hensen dropped his head forward, apparently refusing the chance to look at Gavin’s body, and instead rubbed his eyes tiredly. “I think I need time as well.”
Gavin could feel Kade’s concern, perhaps even sense the words that he was sharing with Hensen, but in the end this was about Gavin and Hensen’s relationship. It affected only the two of them. He felt Kade back off as those thoughts filtered directly into his mate’s head.
Hensen smiled sadly again, apparently understanding what Gavin had said to Kade even if they didn’t share an actual link.
“It’s okay,” Gavin said, placing his hand on Hensen’s shoulder in a show of camaraderie. “We don’t need to rush into anything.” Hensen nodded as they both turned toward the cabin and headed back to their mates. “We should probably consider heading home, though. If somebody is deliberately mutating werewolf genetics, we need to fix the mess they’re creating.”
“I’d suggest that it’s too dangerous for Maggie and Kade to come back with us, but I’m pretty sure they’d skin us alive if we tried to leave them here.”
“Of course we wouldn’t skin you,” Kade said in a falsely sweet telepathic voice to them both. “I’m certain Maggie and I could come up with far more pleasurable ways to torture you for trying to leave us behind.” Hensen quirked an eyebrow at the sugar-coated threat but smiled nonetheless. “Now get your asses back in here so that Maggie can claim Gavin.”
“Yes, sir,” Gavin sent with a soft laugh.
Chapter Twelve
The hike back to civilization—well, the werewolf version of civilization—seemed far easier. Maggie wasn’t certain if that was because they were essentially going downhill or if it had something to do with the malaise that had affected her before Gavin’s cure. Thanks to their link she now had detailed memories of the stories Gavin’s grandfather had told him and his brothers when they’d been youngsters.
It was understandable that they’d considered them only stories. Not only were they kind of fantastical for humans with no knowledge of the paranormal world, but Gavin’s mother’s unwavering insistence that her father was a kook had been a strong influence. Maggie had been glad to realize that even though they’d relegated the man’s stories to fictional tales, Gavin and his brothers had adored their grandpa.
“Do you think your brothers will come home also?” she asked out loud as the four of them walked a fairly easy trail.
“I’m not sure,” Gavin said with a slight shrug. “I’d wondered why I was so quick to give up a career I loved. I probably had a few more years in me as a SEAL, and I’d always intended to move into training and other related areas when my days as a SEAL were over. It was a big shock to everyone
when I accepted the medical discharge without a fight.” He shook his head and laughed softly. “I thought I was coming back to find my sister, not act as a guardian like in my grandpa’s stories.”
“So they didn’t force you out of the Navy?”
“No,” he said, shaking his head as he remembered some of the good times. She’d tried not to pry into his mind, very aware that they all had to keep some thoughts just for themselves, but when the memory of his final mission popped into her head, she couldn’t ignore it.
“A few broken bones in a training mission? Why did you lie?” She shook her head. “Scratch that question. I know why you lied. Navy stuff. I get it, but hell, I can’t imagine things going much worse.”
“It was a risk we took as Navy SEALs,” Gavin said, no longer trying to hide the details of that particular mission from her. “Roo and Worms knew it was a possibility. We all did.” He reached for Maggie and pulled her into his embrace for a moment before continuing to walk, this time with his arm over her shoulders. “But they died doing what they knew was right. A lot of innocent people are alive because my teammates did the job they were trained for. We weren’t even there for that reason, but they identified and stopped a suicide bomber before he could get into a position to take many innocent lives. It wasn’t an ideal outcome, but it was far better than the alternative. Roo and Worms knew that and I know they wouldn’t change what happened that day if it meant losing innocent lives.”
“You could have died, too,” she said even though Gavin was trying to gloss over his part in everything. As the first bomber exploded, Gavin had identified another. With the chaos around them he’d been unable to ensure a single deadly headshot—the most effective way to take out a suicide bomber before they had a chance to detonate their explosives—so he’d literally leapt off the roof of a two story building, landing on the man and knocking him unconscious. That’s how Gavin had broken the bones in his feet. Not during some random training exercise.
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