Maverick Danker [Beyond the Marius Brothers 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour ManLove) (13 page)

“Don’t listen to his lies,” Paul shot back. Oh, I was so going to spank our mate later. All the shit I’d seen in his head and he’d told me, I didn’t know his old Alpha was rogue.

“You are the one who’s lying,” Queen Magdalena yelled as she stepped forward.

“Nurse, this doesn’t concern you,” Tyler said over his shoulder, shooting Asterio a look that said it all. He was in fear of her safety. Our mate understood, and the fae warriors surrounded the Queen.

“I can protect myself,” she quibbled. Wow, she was stubborn. I liked that about her. She was definitely not some timid royal.

“How do we know you’re telling the truth, Tyler? You ran,” one wolf said, his anger slipping away. “I came back to the pack, half of us were missing, and Paul told us you’d gone rogue and taken them.”

“And you believed him, Fletcher? Does that sound like something I’d do? Ayden’s mate came to help his brothers with full knowledge of our Elders. They gave those of us who wanted it sanctuary while the Elders investigated Paul. He’s not even Alpha anymore.” Tyler stood his ground, and I thought he was getting somewhere until Paul shifted.

“No!” I shouted as I raced forward.

“Get Paul while I’m distracted,”
Tyler said in my head. I’d almost forgotten we could speak that way since he hadn’t been using it.
“I can’t beat him.”

Asterio gasped and I knew he’d heard it, too. Paul bit Tyler hard on the shoulder, narrowly missing his neck. He threw his old Alpha off of him and Paul landed hard. The one Tyler had called Fletcher shifted and joined in the fight. Then the rest followed suit, some helping Tyler, some Paul.

“Enough of this,” the Queen shouted and pushed past her warriors. “Tyler is one of us now, and I will
not
stand here while he gets hurt.” She threw her arms in the air and suddenly all the wolves were frozen except my mate. He moved away from the others, limping badly and then flopping down onto the ground right in front of her.

The air shimmered around him as he shifted back. “Thank you. I didn’t want you to get hurt.”

“Young man, I am almost impossible to kill,” she replied gently. “I do not want you hurt either. Think what that would do to Asterio.”

“Sorry,” he whispered. I dove to his side, pushing his hair out of his face. “I’ll heal in a bit. He just bit me a few times.”

“Um, what would you like me to do with these wolves?” Queen Magdalena asked.

“Paul and Ben are wanted by our Elders,” Tyler answered tiredly as I pulled off my shirt and wrapped it around his waist. “I don’t know about the rest. You’d have to ask Elena Marius or Darcy. They’re the ones that have been in touch with our Elders.”

“If you could hold them, we can knock them out and get them in lockup,” Clove suggested.

“Oh, I can make them unconscious quite easily.” She snickered and did so. Then she released them from whatever hold she’d had on them. After that it was a flurry of movement that I didn’t pay any attention to until Asterio knelt down on the other side of Tyler.

“While I appreciate your warning about protecting the Queen, I would have preferred you not throw yourself into the mix like that,” he chastised gently.

“I’m sorry I called you a nurse,” Tyler mumbled to the Queen, his eyes still closed. “I didn’t want them to know who you were because Paul would have taken you for ransom for Ayden or some shit.”

“He might have been able to catch me, but he would not have been able to keep me for long.” She gave Tyler a wink as he opened his eyes. “If you will permit me, I can speed along the process.”

“Sure.” Then Tyler gasped as the Queen did something to heal him, the bite marks closing right up. The moment he stopped bleeding, I could feel my heart beating again. God, I couldn’t ever lose him.

Tyler

“You don’t have to keep carrying me, I’m fine.” I chuckled, rolling my eyes. Mav gave me a dirty look and lifted me out of the SUV he borrowed from one of the warriors. “The Queen healed me, big guy. I’m just hungry and would love a bottle of water.”

“I’ll get you what you need,” he said gruffly.

“Are you pissed at me?” I whispered against his neck as he carried me into Barnabas’s house.

“No,” Mav growled. Yeah, that totally sounded like he wasn’t. Silly me. He laid me on one of the couches in the front room off the foyer before closing the door as he left. Okay, I’d just sit here until he came back, I guess.

About five minutes later I thought I was going to lose my mind. I mean, there were only so many times I could twiddle my thumbs and count my toes before I got bored. Plus, I felt like a kid who was sent to a time-out, except my mate was doing it and well, I wasn’t a child.

“I got you clothes, too,” Mav announced as he came back into the room with a tray of food, a few bottles of water, and a set of clothes over his arm.

“Thanks, this is great,” I said quietly. He set it all down and studied me closely.

“Why are you quiet? Are you tired? Do you still hurt?”

“Because you say you’re not mad but you’re
really
not happy,” I answered with a shrug before taking a bite of the sandwich. “Because I feel like you’re grounding me to my room, and I don’t like feeling like I’m in trouble. I don’t understand what’s upsetting you or why you’re not telling me. But fine, don’t tell me what’s on your mind. Why would I want an honest answer to my question?”

I had just enough time to set the sandwich back down before he was on me, pinning me against the couch. He flung away his shirt that I had been wearing as a skirt to keep covered and undid his jeans. I gasped as he spread my legs wide, pushing one over the back of the couch, and thrusting the head of his cock into my hole.

I stared at him in shock as his gray eyes filled with tears. When my body was ready for him, my hole nice and wet for him, he pushed the rest of the way into me. I closed my eyes and moaned at the pleasure.

“Look at me!” he ordered, grabbing my hair roughly. I did as he wanted. Mav leaned in so his forehead touched against mine. He started slow, long, deep thrusts as his eyes never left mine.

“Mav, I don’t understand,” I whispered. I wasn’t against having sex. Hell, I loved being with my mates. But there was a desperation to my mate and what we were doing that I needed to understand.

“I could have lost you,” he choked out. Mav buried his face in my neck and wrapped his body around me as he started thrusting faster. “Twice in as many days I’ve almost lost you, and this time if I did, I wouldn’t have been able to win you back. Don’t you get it, Tyler? I wouldn’t survive losing you. All my years on this earth and I’ve finally found what makes me whole. You’ve been in my life not even a week, and I would crumble if you weren’t here.”

I rubbed his back gently, kissing his neck as he took me. “Hey, I’m not going anywhere, my mate.”

“You don’t
know
that!” He growled as he pushed up on his arms. Now he was fucking me with all he had, and I had to grab onto the arm of the couch so I didn’t get thrown off. “That asshole could have torn out your throat if you hadn’t turned in time. He could have killed you before any of us could have even gotten to you. You jumped right in there without any backup or other wolves on your side.”

“Mav, you guys were my backup.”
I used our mental link because I knew how much he treasured it and because he was pounding into me so hard I couldn’t get enough air in my lungs to talk.
“I knew I wasn’t going in alone.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” he shouted. Now he was slamming into me hard enough to move the sofa across the floor.
“We failed you. You spent most of today showing us you were faster and stronger, Tyler. The wolves are and we couldn’t have helped. Hell, the fight was like a flash of fur, and the next thing I know, you’re hurt, the others are shifting, and I was useless. You could have died and I was powerless to stop it.”

“No you weren’t,”
I snarled in his head as I grabbed his hair and pulled him down to my face.
“I was coming to hide behind your big ass when the Queen stepped in. You would have protected me or figured out how to get around that they’re faster. You’re smarter, Mav. You were afraid, I get that, I was, too. But you would never let that fear stand in the way of protecting me.”

“I didn’t know what to do,” he whispered, a tear dripping onto my cheek. “I’ve never felt so powerless.”

“You’re not. You have the power now, and I need to feel it. Make your cub come.” I clamped my muscles on his cock and Mav bit me. He didn’t take any blood, but I knew he needed to feel attached to me in every way possible. Plus, the bite marks would remind everyone who I belonged to. I was good with that.

I came so hard I saw lights flashing. My mate roared out his release and filled me. When we were spent, he collapsed onto me, smashing me into the couch. It was perfect.

“Now that you’ve calmed a bit, think about what happened,” I said gently as I ran my fingers through the soft black strands of his hair. “If I’d come darting behind you to hide, what would you have done? How would you have handled that they’re faster?”

He thought about that a moment before he had an answer. “I would have used my gift. Can’t fight or run if you’re having an orgasm. Then I would have knocked them out and locked them up.”

“Yes, you would have.” I kissed his temple and held him tightly.

“You knew that’s what I would have done?”

“Yeah, Mav.” I chuckled. “I know you. You’re smart and would figure out an advantage over someone faster or stronger. It’s how you’ve managed to stay alive this long with constant threats around you.”

“You’re not just a pretty face, are you?”

“Nope,” I groaned as he pulled out of me and helped me sit up. “I’ve got a pretty ass, too.”

We were laughing when Asterio came barging into the room, his eyes darting around until he found me. “How are you? Are you okay? Do you need anything? I had to—”

“I could use my mate,” I purred as I lay right back down and spread my legs. Asterio whimpered as he watched Mav’s cum run out of my ass. “Come feel me, Asterio. I’m here, I’m fine, and I’m not going anywhere.”

“Good,” he growled before pouncing. Then he pounded me into the couch… Twice without even stopping for a break. Holy shit, were my men studs!

When we were done, he carried me to our room for a shower while Mav kept trying to feed me. Yes,
while
I was in the shower. Then they made sure I hydrated and checked me for bruises and oh my god they were insane. But I drank up the attention and preened under their gazes. Someone cared. They cared enough to worry. It made me feel something I’d only felt a few times in my life. Hope.

“Okay, so you’ve got to talk to the peeps going to Greece and then we’re doing the next episode of
Planet Earth
?” I asked when I realized they were going to fuss over me all day instead of getting anything else done.

“But you were hurt, cub,” Mav said hesitantly, biting his lip.

“Mav, I would have healed already even if the Queen hadn’t helped. But she did and I feel great. Maybe another sandwich or one of those leftover cupcakes and I’ll be golden.” They exchanged a look and I understood. “Besides, I’d like to hear all about Greece, too. I mean, we’ll go there to visit one day, right?”

“Yes, you’ll love it,” Mav said with a sigh of relief. Yeah, I’d gotten it right. They didn’t want to leave me alone, but they also didn’t want to order me to come with them. Score one for me!

“Then let’s go sell some fae on the idea of moving to Greece!” I practically raced out of the room. Otherwise they would have stood there all day fussing over me. Even though I agreed to come with them to the meeting, Asterio still looked hesitant about my leaving the room.

Five minutes later we were in the ballroom as some of the fae let everyone know about Mav speaking. Ten minutes later, my mate was talking to a full room. I felt really bad for him. Everyone seemed to want Mav to promise that they were going to be happy in Greece. How could he do that and not lie? He didn’t know them or how they would like the culture. He could only give them the facts.

But then it was also questions about this world versus their plane. Well, since Mav had never
been
to their plane, again, they were barking up the wrong tree. And some started to get upset when he kept answering,
I don’t know.
I understood they were scared, and they had questions, but they just weren’t the ones Mav could answer. I wasn’t sure anyone could since the Queen hadn’t spent much time here either.

It was really taking a toll on Mav and then I started to get pissed. I stood up, put my fingers in my mouth, and gave an ear-piercing whistle. Even Mav froze and turned to look at me with shock written all over his face.

“Look, guys, I get that you have questions but some can’t be answered. Mostly because you’re asking my mate to answer things based on your opinions and experiences,” I said loudly, making sure my voice carried. “He can’t answer how
you’re
going to like Greece when that would be your opinion and he doesn’t know you. Ask him facts or ask someone else and stop getting annoyed that he doesn’t have the answer. He’s not a genie!”