Authors: Joyee Flynn
Once he was completely in dragon form,
Austin
took to the sky. He let out a roar of grief and pain as he flew. His mates had suffered again because of him. He’d promised that they’d be safe with him and looked what happened. And he knew it wasn’t like Dante had cheated on him and Garreck. It was so much worse than that. Before, Dante had been forced to service men… but this time he made the choice to do it.
Was that something his little mate could even come back from?
Austin
didn’t know but he’d do whatever he could to help him. And he needed to swallow back his jealousy at Dante’s touching another man, because that wasn’t what all of this was about. Plus, given the deep hole he was in with his mates, he had no room to bitch about anything.
It was dark by the time he landed, shifting back to human after his feet touched the ground. He stumbled back into the house, completely exhausted from not only the stress and an anger-driven, quick shift, but also from flying around for what had to be a good hour.
“Are you okay?” Garreck asked as everyone stood, eyeing him over suspiciously. It brought tears to his eyes that his little mate was concerned for him after everything
Austin
had done to them.
“Just tired,” he answered, slowly approaching his mate.
Austin
dropped to his knees in front of the gorgeous man, wrapping his arms around Garreck’s slip waist. “I didn’t cheat on you guys. Peter kissed me, and I thought he was dead. I was in shock. I swear it to you. I’d never cheat on my mates or dishonor them like that. I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I’m so fucking sorry for everything.”
“Gabriel explained who Peter was and why you’d be so disoriented by his sudden appearance,” Garreck whispered. He ran his fingers through
Austin
’s hair tentatively. “But you can’t be mad at Dante. He did what he did out of love for me and what he thought he had to do to save us.”
“I know. I’m just so upset that he did it so you guys could get away from me. I was going to tell you about Peter. I told you there were things we needed to discuss later. But I kept fucking up and bringing up new issues. I never got the chance to tell you what he did to me and why I’ve never taken a mate because I was too scared of getting hurt again.”
“Tell us now,” Dante said from the doorway, his face pinched in pain.
“You’re supposed to be resting,” Garreck exclaimed as he broke away from
Austin
and went to him. “Are you horny and loopy again? Because I’m not sure how I can deal with that right now, and you are going to end up pulling out your stitches.”
“Stitches?”
Austin
gasped, eyeing over Dante as Garreck got him over to the couch to sit down. His beautiful mate had a cast on and a shoulder sling. Where were these stitches? Gabriel filled him in on Dante’s injuries after tossing
Austin
his bag and ordering he get dressed.
“So tell us about Peter,” Dante said after
Austin
was dressed and got caught up. Garreck had gone to the kitchen to get Dante a pill and a bottle of water while
Austin
said hi to Gabriel’s mates, whom he had met once before. He stared at his own mates, sitting there snuggled together as everything about them screamed for him to stay away from them. There was no way he was getting out of the request or putting this one off.
“It was over two hundred years ago when I first met him,”
Austin
said, sitting down in one of the chairs across from them. “I was fifteen, just finished puberty, and learned how to shift. My family was well-to-do in our smaller town, and you have to remember it was a different time. I remember seeing him at the market one morning and was just stunned by his beauty. And then he actually spoke to me, and I thought it was love at first sight.”
“But it wasn’t?” Garreck asked, looking hurt at
Austin
’s words.
“No, not even close.”
Austin
chuckled, rubbing his hands over his face. “It was puppy love, my first crush. I feel much more strongly about the two of you than I ever did Peter, and we barely know each other. But Peter was the
man
in our village. Everyone wanted him. His father was the mayor, very wealthy family and all of that. If my parents had had any daughters, our families would have pushed for a marriage to make a perfect union and all of that.
“Peter started flirting with me, and I came in my pants when he touched me. I was so embarrassed, but he said it was hot and dragged me off into the woods and took my virginity. Keep in mind, being fifteen then with someone older wasn’t a big deal. At fifteen I was basically an adult.”
Austin
was swept up in the memories for a few moments before he spoke again. “I thought he’d love me forever.
“We used to meet in secret, and he make would love to me,” he said, and then laughed at his own stupidity as a youth. “It wasn’t making love. He fucked me or had me suck him off. He never kissed me, never touched me like you guys do. It was drop my pants or get on my knees while he got off, and if I did, that was okay, but he never made an effort to get me there.”
“What happened?” Garreck asked gently as he got off the couch and came over to
Austin
. He held his breath as his mate reached out and wiped wetness off of his cheek.
Austin
hadn’t even realized he’d shed any tears.
“He didn’t love me. I didn’t know it then, but he knew I was a dragon or at least that I could make him immortal. That’s what he wanted. I’d had a fight with my father over Peter and went to find him so we could talk. I wanted us to run away so we could be together,” he whispered, delving into the pain he’d tried to ignore for centuries. “We’d been seeing each other or whatever you want to call it for over a year, and I thought I was desperately in love with him.
“But I realized I just wanted the pathetic attention he gave me since it was more than my own family ever did. I found him at the pub, drunk as could be, bragging to his friends about how he was playing some queer boy who was fantastic at sucking cock to get what he wanted. I stood there and listened to him and his friends go on and on about me, because not only had Peter played me, he told them exactly who he was using. So they all knew it was me.”
“What did you do?” Garreck asked, laying his hands over
Austin
’s fists that he didn’t even realize he was clenching. He was so lost in his memories, it was almost like nobody else was there with him.
“I ran,” he answered, staring into his mate’s eyes. “I packed a few things I knew I could sell and left. I never went back. My family was cruel to others and to each other. And I knew when they caught wind of what Peter was saying, they would have shunned me anyways. So I ran before they could find out and possibly whip me before kicking me out anyways. I snuck on a ship to
America
and got the fuck out of there.”
“Where were you born?”
“
Italy
,” he answered Dante. “I come from long line of Italian dragons. And while dragons are all named for the type of dragon they are and clans, there are Lung dragons all over the world.” Then he glanced over to Gabriel while Garreck slid into his lap. “Who Peter says are building an army.”
“Okay, wait, start from Peter showing up at your door,” Gabriel said, his eyes going wide.
Austin
told them everything from the moment Peter showed up until then. While his mates looked like they were thinking of forgiving him, Gabriel had a whole other emotion on his face. Anger. “We need to contact the King about this.”
“I agree. I don’t know what my eldest brother is doing, but it can’t be good. Why have all those mates just to produce heirs? Who needs that many sons without some type of sinister goal?”
“Yeah, let me call his office now.” Gabriel nodded and left the room. His mates Neil and Ryan just sat there taking it all in.
“We’ll give you some privacy,” Neil said after a few minutes of everyone just staring at each other. “But just know this. They can stay if they want to. So don’t assume one apology will make this all better.”
“I won’t,”
Austin
answered, glad the very pregnant man cared enough about his mates to be concerned. Ryan gave him a sharp nod, and they left while
Austin
glanced at Dante while hugging Garreck. “Can you ever forgive me? I’ll do whatever it takes to make this right.”
“I understand how what I saw with Peter wasn’t what it seemed,” Dante answered after a few moments. “But can you understand why, after I woke up alone and maybe pregnant after what happened with Garreck, my instincts were to run? Can you get past what I did to get us here?”
“Yes and yes,”
Austin
whispered as he stood with Garreck and went to their mate. “Are you okay with what you did? I know it was different than when you were forced, and I’m concerned about your emotional state.”
“No, no I’m not okay with it,” Dante whimpered when he tried to pull his knees to his chest. “Can we just go home and figure it all out tomorrow? No more issues popping up, dead lovers, possible pregnancies, or running away? I just want to feel safe for once in my life, not be in charge of everything, and feel like I have a home with people who care about me.”
“I’ll call the chopper,”
Austin
said as he exchanged a look with Garreck. His littlest mate looked scared, and he had a sinking feeling Dante might have finally cracked under all the pressure. A person can only handle so much before it happens, and
Austin
was pretty sure they’d reached Dante’s limit.
“It’s okay, Dante,” Garreck whispered as he gently pulled the larger man to him. “We’ll fix everything and get you home. Kelley will baby you, I’m sure.”
Austin
called the pilot before sending a few texts to Kelley so his mates didn’t overhear. Then he went to find Gabriel while Garreck took care of Dante.
“You are not going to like what I have to say,” Gabriel said as he entered the kitchen.
“It’s okay. I deserve it.”
“No, about what the King said.” He sighed and scrubbed his hands over his face as he turned to
Austin
. “He’s sending out scouts to your family’s estate in
Italy
to find out what’s going on.”
“I figured as much,”
Austin
replied with a shrug.
“Yeah, but he wants you to detain Peter if he shows back up.”
“Fuck me sideways,” he groaned and plopped down on one of the chairs at the kitchen table. “Right, like I want him showing back up or locked in my house.”
“Dude, you
own
one of the largest bodyguard and security companies in the world.” Gabriel chuckled and slapped him on the back. “Just get a bunch of your guys who aren’t on assignment on it.”
“Well, I keep two employed just for Kelley,” he replied as he realized Gabriel was right. This wouldn’t be a big deal. His crew would be able to intercept Peter before he ever had a chance to talk to his mates. “After what she’s been through with those men kidnapping her for years and how rare human women are, she needs security wherever she goes.”
“That’s a lot of coin for a housekeeper, man,” Gabriel said with a whistle.
“She’s also my friend and needed help.”
Austin
shook his head and stood back up. Money was no object when it came to Kelley. “I’d do anything to keep her safe and make her
feel
safe. You didn’t meet her until a few years after I rescued her. It was bad in the beginning. It took months just to get her to leave her room and not hit me when I went near her. And I’d lose my mind if I ever lost her. She’s the boss of my house and my life.”
“We’re ready to go home with you, our mate,” Garreck said softly.
Austin
spun around in shock, not having realized his mates had joined them in the kitchen.
“How much did you hear?” he asked, cringing.
“Enough to know that you are a good man, and we want to try again,” Dante answered as he leaned against the door frame.
Austin
rushed over to him before Dante fell over and gently lifted the beat-up man into his arms. “If you take care of an employee like that, you’ll take good care of us and our children.”