Ramiro’s head snapped up. “Excuse me?”
“I know
LaMont
made you have sex with me after he turned you. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologise. I don’t dwell on my early days in
LaMont’s
dungeon.”
“You should, you know?”
“Why, so I can become even
more bitter
about what he did? Believe me, it doesn’t help.”
Audric
remembered the companion who was captured at the same time as Ramiro.
Claudio.
The two men were obviously in love, but it was a time in history when men couldn’t openly show their feelings for each other.
LaMont
had been thrilled to play games with the two lovers. For days after Ramiro’s change,
LaMont
slowly stripped the skin from Claudio. Battling the blood frenzy that always occurred, Ramiro fought the urge to consume the blood of his lover. It had taken over a weak for Claudio’s strong body to finally bleed to death, but
LaMont
made sure Ramiro drank every drop. Because he wasn’t allowed to bite Claudio, Ramiro’s feeding resulted in nothing but the death of the man he so obviously loved.
Audric
continued to study Ramiro closely. No, the man had never dealt with what he’d done. “It wasn’t your fault that Claudio died.” He knew he was taking a big chance by bringing it up, but what other way could he hope to make amends for the things he’d been forced to do.
Instead of answering, Ramiro just disappeared.
Audric
threw off the covers and tried to stand on wobbly legs. How long had it been since he’d fed? He hadn’t even had the nasty bottled blood for a few days, he realised. Holding onto the furniture, he made his way to the en suite bathroom.
“
Audric
?” Haig called.
“I’m in here. I’ll be out in a second.” He closed his eyes and willed for a nice stream to release. When nothing happened, he realised he was becoming dehydrated. Not good when your body was unable to produce its own fluid.
He finally gave up when he heard Kern’s low voice mumble something to Haig.
Kern.
Audric
took a deep breath. His role in Ramiro’s past wasn’t the only thing he needed to atone for. He made his way out of the bathroom and leaned against the doorframe.
Haig was across the room in a heartbeat, lifting
Audric
off his feet. “You should’ve waited until I got back.”
Audric
rolled his eyes. “Turns out it was only wishful thinking anyway. I’m afraid I’m in dire need of blood.”
Kern suddenly sprang into action. He turned to leave the room. “I’ll get it.”
“No!”
Audric
shouted to stop him. He looked at Haig. “Would you do it for me? I need to speak to Kern alone for a minute.”
Haig looked uneasy about leaving the two of them alone but eventually nodded and laid him on the bed. He bent to give
Audric
a brief kiss. “I’ll be right back.”
As soon as Haig left the room,
Audric
patted the bed beside him. “Will you come here, or are you mad at me?”
Kern looked hurt. “I’m not mad at you. How can you ask me that?” He sat on the edge of the mattress and tucked one leg under himself, turning to face
Audric
. “You look a little better than you did the last time I saw you.” Kern brushed the wayward curls out of
Audric’s
face. “How’re you doing?”
“Not good,”
Audric
admitted. “I need to tell you something, but I’m afraid I’ll lose you if I do.”
“I already know the Gods destined you to be mated to Haig.”
Audric
shook his head. “That’s not what I’m talking about.” He took another deep breath and released it slowly, trying to work up his courage. “When Richard took control of your mind, he didn’t have control of mine.”
“What’re you saying?” Kern asked.
“That I didn’t fight Richard when he ordered you to mate with me.”
“Why?”
Audric
lifted his hand to his mouth and began pulling at the skin surrounding his thumbnail. “Because I wanted to know what it felt to belong, to truly belong to
someone.
I knew what mating did to
weres
, and although I doubted we’d make it out alive, I hoped your mate would find you, find us. I knew you’d be tied to me, and I prayed you’d eventually learn to love me.”
“And I did.” Kern covered
Audric’s
hand where it rested on his stomach. “I think I began to fall the first time I caught you sleeping in the closet. All I wanted was to comfort you and drive away the pain I saw in your eyes.”
“You did.”
Audric
knew they were getting off track. “Anyway, I need to apologise for my part in the mating.”
Audric
pushed his head back further into the pillow and bared his neck.
Kern gasped. “Why did you just do that?”
Audric
straightened and stared up at Kern. “Do what?”
“Submit in the ways of a wolf. I thought your wolf died when you were turned?”
Finally, someone’s fucking listening to me.
“Shut up,”
Audric
told the voice.
Kern reared back. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up a bad memory.”
It took
Audric
a moment to work out the reason for Kern’s apology.
“Oh, no, not you.
There’s been this annoying voice in my head for like a month and it’s driving me crazy.”
The biggest smile
Audric
had ever witnessed spread across Kern’s face. “That’s not an annoying voice, babe, it’s your wolf.”
Audric
shook his head. “That’s not possible. I remember the day my wolf finally stopped talking to me. It was the day I knew I could never go back to my life before
LaMont
turned me.”
Kern bounced the bed slightly in his apparent excitement. “Don’t you see? My bite must’ve woken him up, or whatever.” Kern covered
Audric’s
chest. “He’s still in there. He’s still part of you.”
If
Audric
had had more fluid in his body he knew he’d be in tears at the thought he hadn’t lost that part of himself after all. It was still doubtful his wolf would ever be strong enough to allow him to shift, but knowing he was there warmed
Audric
more than he thought possible.
Audric
and Kern both had goofy grins on their faces when Haig came into the room carrying a tray of bottled blood. “Did I miss something?”
Kern quickly filled Haig in while
Audric
gulped down the first of three bottles.
Haig started removing his clothes and gestured for Kern to do the same. “Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s welcome
Audric’s
wolf back properly.”
Kern stood and took a step back.
Haig was having none of it. “Sit down,” he ordered. “You two have had your little private talk, now it’s my turn.”
Although
Audric
knew Haig was an Alpha wolf, he’d never seen his fated mate so commanding before. His cock responded immediately, trying to poke up beyond the edge of the sheet that rested in his lap.
“I’ve done some thinking, and I have an idea,” Haig began.
Kern resumed his place next to
Audric
. He glanced at
Audric
and his eyes went wide at the glistening cockhead visible above the sheet.
“Pay attention!” Haig commanded. “Now, we all know what will happen if I bite
Audric
hard enough to mate with him, but who the hell says I have to? The three of us love each other. Shouldn’t that be enough to please the Gods? I don’t need to officially mate with
Audric
to consider him part of my family. I’d give my life for either of you. Isn’t that what a mate does?”
Kern nodded. “I just never even considered you’d give up the chance to feel what being a fated mate was like.”
“I’m not giving up anything.” Haig crawled across the bed towards Kern. “And as I see it, I’m getting two mates instead of just the one the Gods promised.”
Epilogue
Haig reached down to put his hand on
Audric’s
well-used ass, only to find Kern’s already there. He looked over the top of
Audric’s
head and grinned at Kern. “
You trying
to stake your claim before we get to the bar?”
Kern let out a grunt. “I can’t believe we’re actually going to let our mate dine on a stupid
fae
.”
Haig shrugged. Other than human,
fae
blood was the only substitute that would keep
Audric
fed and strong. Since war preparations had begun, Neo had reluctantly agreed to relocate operations to The Realm, the one place
Morwyn
couldn’t invade. It had left the threesome with little choice but to seek out the
fae
.
“Horny little bastards,” Kern grumbled.
Haig caught
Audric’s
grin. Although Haig doubted
Audric
would ever admit it,
Audric
seemed to prefer the
fae
blood to human. It was well known the
fae’s
sex drive was twice that of mortal men. No doubt their blood was pure honey by the time
Audric
got them all worked up. Haig had even gone as far as to ask Ramiro to explain the feeding process to Kern, and why
Audric
did what he did to excite his donors, but Kern still seemed reluctant to witness it.
Audric
leant his head on Kern’s shoulder as they walked towards the bar. “Will it help if I tell you how horny it makes me to feed?”
“No,” Kern answered. “Not when you’ve got a damn
fae
in your arms.”
Audric
chuckled. “The moment I seal their wound, I forget them and go looking for one of my mates. Isn’t that right, Haig?”
Haig adjusted his hardening cock.
“Oh, yeah.”
He smiled at Kern again. “And he doesn’t usually care where he is when it happens.”
“No wonder you always insist on taking him.” Kern chuckled. “I thought you went to protect him, but you’re going just to reap the rewards.”
“You got that right.” He stopped and opened the door. Although the palace was otherworldly and sat on a plain above everything else, the rest of The Realm resembled a normal city.
When they walked into the bar, the noise hit Haig first, just like it always did. Getting used to so many Blessed Creatures in one location hadn’t been easy, but it was becoming easier. Between the addition of
Neo’s
people and those loyal to Ian Kildare, The Realm had become quite crowded, but it was the only way the Gods could think to keep them safe. Neo, Ramiro and Gunnar had been working with some of the more powerful Gods and demigods to come up with a plan to destroy
Morwyn
once and for all.
At first Haig hadn’t understood why the Gods didn’t just zap them or whatever it was Gods did, but Neo had explained the need to preserve Earth and its inhabitants while also ridding them of
Morwyn
and his army of mutants.
The first thing he noticed after scanning the huge room was Ramiro in his customary place at the table in the corner. Haig wasn’t sure what was going on with Ramiro, but he’d changed in the last three weeks. Gone was the vampire who fed then kicked back to watch the crowd. The new Ramiro couldn’t seem to get enough blood. On a normal night, Haig would watch as Ramiro fed five or six times with different men, many of whom he openly fucked afterwards.
During one of their frequent talks in the last three weeks,
Audric
had told him about Ramiro’s first partner, Claudio. Haig assumed Ramiro’s change in feeding habits had something to do with being reminded of what he’d done to Claudio.
If only Gunnar would pull his head out of his ass. Haig gave his Alpha credit though. At least Gunnar had begun to ease his way into the life of a vampire. He’d even seen him at the bar once. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. In all actuality, Gunnar had nearly run Haig over trying to get out of the bar, but at least he’d been inside.
“Bar or table?”
Audric
asked.
“Table,” Haig answered. “I’m not sure if Kern’s ready for the bar yet.”
Haig led the way to a table only about three away from Ramiro’s.
Audric’s
hands were already starting to roam over Haig’s body. He took a seat and pulled the little vamp down into his lap. “Getting in the mood, are you?”
Audric
grinned and leaned in to whisper in Haig’s ear. “I’m feeling especially hungry tonight. Don’t let me freak Kern out.”
Haig turned his head enough to capture
Audric’s
mouth. He swept his tongue in deep while he massaged
Audric’s
jean-clad ass with his hands.
“Is this what the two of you do when you leave every night?” Kern asked
,
his arms crossed in front of his chest.
Although he loved the feel of
Audric’s
erection pressing against him, he nudged his mate off his lap. “Someone’s pouting.”
Audric
made a sexy show of straddling Kern’s lap. “I think you’ll find out the payoff in the end is worth me teasing some
fae
into giving up his blood.”
Audric
licked the scar running down the side of Kern’s face as he ground his hard cock against him. “Feel that?”
Kern groaned and tried to stick his hand down the back of
Audric’s
jeans. “How could I not?”
“Well, this is for you and Haig. I need you to remember that when you see it later.”
“Will I?” Kern asked. He gave up trying to insinuate his hand under
Audric’s
waistband and settled for scraping the denim seam riding between
Audric’s
ass cheeks with his fingernails.
Audric’s
back bowed when Kern pressed against the plug he’d stuck up
Audric’s
ass before they left their room. “Again,”
Audric
begged.