Man in the Middle [Wolf Creek Pack 9] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour ManLove)

by Stormy Glenn

  Maybe the two could give him a hand guide or something until he learned his mates’ gestures and body language. It would sure as hell help.

  “That’s all I wanted to hear, Justin.”

  When Taylor opened his arms and Justin pushed away to dart into them, Chase released his mate, waiting to see what Taylor would do. If Taylor upset Justin any more than he already was, he and Taylor were going to have to have a long conversation.

  Out back.

  Naked.

  And preferably soaking wet.

  “I love you, Justin,” Taylor whispered against the side of Justin’s head. “You can’t scare me like that again.”

  “I won’t,” Justin replied. “I promise. I just wanted—”

  Taylor’s lips were curled up at the corners when he lifted his head to stare down into Justin’s eyes. “I know what you wanted, love.” Chase blinked in surprise when Taylor glanced up at him. He felt kind of like an outsider with the two men. “And it worked, didn’t it?”

  Justin was grinning so huge that it seemed like his lips stretched from ear to ear as he turned and looked at Chase. “Yeah, it did. He’s ours now.”

  What in the hell did he just miss?

  Chapter 12

  “Hey, Justin, do you have a few minutes?”

  Justin turned to see Danny standing in the hallway behind him. It was weird to think that not only was he looking at a vampire, but someone who might be his brother. Still, he liked the guy. Danny and his mate had been nothing but nice to Justin since he arrived.

  “Sure, what’s up?”

  “I wondered if you would go with me to talk to my brother, Samuel.” Danny frowned for a moment, staring down at his hands. “He doesn’t see a lot of people, but I thought maybe he’d agree to talk to us. Maybe he knows a bit more about my father than I do. He used to be Father’s golden boy before Father sold him.”

  Justin had kind of forgotten that his father might be a total asshole, assuming he was actually related to Danny. He had also forgotten that if he was related to Danny, he had another brother.

  Samuel.

  Damn. He had left to get away from it all and ended up back with his lover, a wolf-shifter who had claimed him, and a family he never know about. How in the hell did that happen?

  “Yeah, I can do that. Just let me tell Taylor and Chase where I’ll be.” Justin felt his face flush a little as he kicked at the carpet with the toe of his shoe. “They kind of get upset when they don’t know where I am.”

  “Right?” Danny snickered. “If I don’t check in at least once an hour, Dominic loses his mind.”

  Justin grinned. “That’s a little weird to get used to.”

  “You have no idea.”

  “Oh, I’m getting there.” Justin smiled again and then started backing up. “I’ll be just a second.” Justin turned and started down the hallway. He was pretty sure the last place he had seen his two mates was the dining room.

  “Uh, Justin?”

  Justin paused and glanced over his shoulder. “Yeah?”

  Danny tapped his finger on the side of his head. “Why don’t you just call them?”

  “Oh, my telepathy isn’t that good, and lately it’s been a little screwed up.” Justin shrugged. “Besides, I tend to get more images than actual communication. Taylor is the real telepath in this relationship.”

  Danny stared for a moment, his mouth hanging open, and then he began laughing. “Justin, you’re mated. You have a bond between you and your mates. That means you can talk to them mentally, and it has nothing to do with your telepathy. It’s just between mates.”

  “No shit?”

  “No shit.” Danny chuckled again. “You wouldn’t believe how jealous I was before Dominic and I had our bond. Because of their close relationship and years of friendship, Dominic could talk with Sully mentally, and it used to drive me crazy.”

  Huh.

  Justin frowned as hope began to grow inside of him. “Do you really think it will work?”

  Danny shrugged. “You won’t know until you try it.”

  Justin closed his eyes and thought of his two mates. “Hey, guys?” he thought in his head.

  “Justin?” Taylor replied mentally.

  Justin’s eyes snapped open, and he stared at Danny in surprise. He started to grin. It had worked. “Hey, Danny wants to take me to talk to his brother, Samuel. I just wanted to let you know where I’ll be.”

  “How are you talking to me like this?” Taylor asked. “Your telepathy doesn’t work this well.”

  “It’s part of our bond,” Chase said, joining the conversation.

  “Hi, Chase.”

  Justin could hear the amusement in Chase’s voice when he replied. “Hi, Justin.”

  He felt giddy. He felt like jumping up and down. Taylor had always been able to contact him mentally, but Justin didn’t do so good contacting Taylor. Sometimes, he could contact others, but it was kind of hit and miss. He got impressions of images, not total conversations.

  “This is so cool,” he said out loud to Danny.

  Danny grinned. “Right?”

  Justin closed his eyes again, concentrating. “So, I just wanted to let you know where I’ll be so you don’t worry.”

  “Thank you, Justin,” Chase replied.

  “Hey, wait,” Taylor said. “I want to know more about this bond thing.”

  “Join me in the prince’s study, babe,” Chase said. “I’ll explain it to you.”

  Justin opened his eyes and bounded back on his heels. “They can hear me.”

  “See, I told you.” Danny started walking toward Justin. When he reached him, he looped his arm through Justin’s and pulled him along. “I know, with my bond with Dominic, we can even feel each other’s emotions. I know when he’s upset, sad, or happy. I even know when he’s horny.” Danny chuckled, tilting his head slightly. “And he’s always horny.”

  Justin wasn’t sure he wanted to know that much, but still…“Is this a vampire thing?”

  “That I don’t know. It might be a vampire thing, but it might also be a mate thing. Dominic says that not every vampire has the ability to speak telepathically. He’s actually never heard of another vampire being able to communicate in this manner. It seems to be something that just naturally occurs in his family line.

  “Then how does that explain me?”

  Danny shrugged. “I figured if I could do it since I’m mated to Dominic, that maybe you could, too. It was worth a shot, anyway.”

  “Huh.” Justin was actually thrilled that he could talk telepathically with his mates, but he couldn’t deny the curiosity he had to know why. “Can Devlin and Prince Zacarius speak telepathically to each other?”

  “No, I don’t believe that they can. At least, I’ve never seen them do it, and you can kind of tell, you know? There’s this look a person gets when they are talking to someone telepathically. I’ve seen Dominic and Sully get it when they are talking to each other.”

  Justin frowned, confused out of his mind. “Sully is your mate, too?”

  “What?” Danny’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “Good god, no!”

  “Then how can he talk to Dominic?”

  “Oh.” Danny chuckled. “Dominic and Sully have been best friends for centuries. They’ve developed a natural bond, but it’s not the mating bond like I have with Dominic. It’s just a very long friendship.”

  “Oh.” Justin was still confused. “So, some vampires have it and some don’t?”

  “It’s looking that way.”

  “That kind of sucks.”

  “Yep. I’m just glad I’m in the do category. I love being able to talk to Dominic through our bond.”

  Justin did, too. He had always enjoyed talking with Taylor through their bond, but knowing he could talk to Chase in the same manner made it all that much better.

  Justin stopped when Danny paused in front of a simple white door and raised his hand to knock. Before he did, he turned to look at Justin, hesitation clear in
his eyes. “What?” Justin asked.

  “Don’t mention to Samuel that you’re a vampire, okay? He’s a little sensitive.”

  “Does he know about you?”

  “No fangs, remember?”

  “Right.”

  Danny knocked on the door and then slowly opened it. He stepped inside. “Samuel, it’s me. I’ve brought a friend to talk to you.”

  “Go away!” Justin blinked in shock at the vehemence in that reply. He stood behind Danny, who was a few inches taller than him, so he couldn’t see anything. But he could hear the anger in Samuel’s voice. That was coming through loud and clear.

  “Samuel—”

  “Go away!”

  “Damn it, Samuel.” Danny pushed his hand through his hair, an obviously frustrated gesture. “You can’t continue to hide up here in your room.”

  “According to you, I can do any damn thing I want.”

  “Look, Samuel, I need your help. My friend, Justin, needs your help.”

  “Go! Away!”

  “I think Justin is our brother.”

  The silence was thick. Justin swallowed hard and peeked around Danny. A thin, pale man with light brown hair sat on a window seat, his knees pulled up this chin. As Justin watched, he slowly lowered them and turned to face both Danny and Justin.

  “I heard Mother arguing with Father about his infidelities, but I never really believed they were true.” Samuel spoke slowly, softly, almost as if it physically hurt to speak. “I thought she was just mad at Father, shouting at him, throwing accusations at him. I never knew they were true.”

  Justin stepped out from behind Danny. He wanted to say hi, but he wasn’t sure he would be welcome.

  “You don’t look like Father,” Samuel said.

  Justin shrugged. “Maybe I take after my mother.”

  “You don’t know?”

  Wow, okay. “Not exactly. I was taken from my mother by a man named the Teacher when I was a toddler. I don’t remember my parents.”

  Samuel’s long, wavy curls fluttered around his face as he cocked his head to one side. “Then what makes you think you’re related to us?”

  “Um.” Justin cast a quick look in Danny’s direction. He really wasn’t sure how to answer that. He didn’t know exactly what Samuel knew about his brother or Danny’s relationship to Prince Dominic, and he didn’t want to be the one to tell Samuel his brother was now mated to a vampire.

  “His blood was tested, Samuel,” Danny said. “He shares the same genetic markers as we do, only slightly different because he has a different mother than we do. But we share the same father.”

  Justin was impressed by the snarl that came from Samuel’s lips. It rivaled any he had seen in the vampires he had met. Maybe Samuel was more like the people he was afraid of than he knew.

  “Fucker,” Samuel growled. “I hope he burns in hell.”

  “So.” Justin bit his lip for a moment, not quite sure what to say. “I take it we’re not celebrating Father’s Day then?”

  Samuel rolled his eyes and looked away, but not before Justin saw his lips twitch as if they were threatening to split into a smile.

  “No, we are not celebrating Father’s Day,” Samuel replied. “The only celebrating I will be doing is on the day that bastard dies. I’ll dance on his grave.”

  Okay, then.

  “I was held captive for more than twenty years by the Teacher,” Justin said, trying to find some common ground with Samuel. He knew the man had been through hell. “He kept me and several of my friends for years, making us do things against our will. It was only recently that some friends of mine found out and rescued us, setting us free.”

  “What happened to the guy that took you?”

  “My mate, Taylor, killed him.”

  “Good.”

  Bloodthirsty little thing, wasn’t he?

  “I’m rather happy about it.”

  “I wish the monsters that took me were dead,” Samuel spat out. “But apparently, it’s not against their laws to buy blood slaves.”

  “Samuel, you know Dominic is working to change the laws. It just takes time.”

  “And in the meantime?” Samuel snapped as he glared at his brother. “How many people are being forced to be blood slaves to your precious vampires?”

  “Samuel.”

  “Do you know how many people I saw being used as blood slaves while I was held captive? Do you?” Samuel shouted. “They beat us, starve us, feed from us, and—” Samuel squeezed his eyes closed for a moment. There was a wealth of pain in them when he opened them again. “And if you show an ounce of weakness or compassion, they try and beat it out of you.”

  “Samuel,” Danny said, “not all vampires are like that.”

  “I don't believe you,” Sammy snarled, his eyes going icy cold. “I saw what they did to a blood slave named Jasper just because he tried to sneak me some food. He barely survived it. Hell, I don't even know if he is alive. They might have drained him dry by now. They certainly tried to before.”

  “You know Dominic searched for you the second we discovered you were missing,” Danny said. “Dominic even bought you back and saved you, giving you your freedom the second he had you here, safe and sound. Why do you keep insisting that all vampires are at fault for what happened to you?”

  “Because they are!” Samuel shouted as he jumped to his feet. His hands clenched at his sides, turning so white that Justin worried they’d stay that way. “Vampires are monsters. They take, and they keep on taking.”

  “Samuel, that’s just not true. Dominic has never been anything but kind to me. He loves me. He has done everything in his power to keep me safe, to keep you safe. He’s even working to have the laws changed so that no one has to go through what you went through. Why can’t you understand that?”

  “I understand that our father sold me to the vampires. I understand that our mother did nothing to stop it. I understand that I spent weeks being bitten over and over again, nearly drained of my blood. I understand that when they weren’t biting me, they were—” Samuel suddenly stopped speaking, his face draining of color.

  Justin was afraid he knew exactly what Samuel was going to say even though the man didn’t say it. His heart ached for what Samuel had gone through, or what he suspected Samuel had gone through. No one should suffer that sort of pain. It was no wonder he was so angry.

  He didn’t blame Samuel one bit. But the man had to start healing on the inside sooner or later, or he was going to turn into one of the monsters himself with the hatred that was eating away inside of him.

  Justin stepped forward, stopping when Samuel cringed back in fear. He drew in a deep breath and tried his best to convey his thoughts without upsetting the man any more than he had to. Samuel was in enough pain.

  “Being held captive by the Teacher was like living a nightmare, and it just never stopped. Since being free, though, I’ve met some amazing people, including your brother and his mate. They’ve shown me that life is worth living, and so is fighting to keep other people from experiencing what we went through.”

  Samuel walked over to sit on the window seat again, sitting down and turning his back to Danny and Justin. He leaned his head against the glass, pressing his hand on the window next to his head.

  “Sully comes to visit me late at night.” Samuel spoke so low that Justin almost didn’t hear him. But Danny did. He jerked, his eyes shooting to Justin for a moment, and then slowly moving back.

  “Sully comes to see you?” Danny asked. Apparently, that was news to Danny.

  “The first few times he tried to talk to me, but after a while, I think he gave up. Now he just sits on the floor by the door. He sits there for hours, sometimes even after I fall asleep.”

  “Why do you think he does that?”

  “I get scared at night. That’s when the vampires would come for me, after the sun had set. Sully sits with me so I won’t be scared.”

  “Does it help?” Justin asked, afraid to ask but wanting to know.
Maybe Sully was the solution for Samuel. Maybe the vampire could pull Samuel out of the vat of hate he was drowning in.

  Samuel shrugged. “I guess. I seem to sleep better when he’s here.”

  “Have you told him thank you?”

  Samuel’s mouth was hanging open as he spun around to stare at Justin. “He’s a vampire.”

  “And?”

  Samuel’s eyes widened. “And he’s a vampire.”

  “So? That doesn’t mean you have to be rude to him,” Justin pointed out.

  “Justin,” Danny admonished quietly. Justin just glared at him. He understood that Samuel had been through hell and back, he honestly did. But that gave him no excuse to treat people rudely who were only trying to help. The man needed to start somewhere, and a simple thank-you was a start.

  “There is no reason to be rude. From my understanding, Sully was instrumental in rescuing you, and now you’re telling us that Sully sits in your room with you every night so that you can get a good night’s sleep?” Justin rolled his eyes. “I’d think the least you could do was tell the man thank you.”

  “But he’s a vampire!” Samuel insisted vehemently.

  “So am I!”

  Okay, he wasn’t supposed to say that. But Samuel was being unreasonable.

  “Get. Out.”

  “Samuel—”

  “Get the fuck out!”

  “No!” Justin shouted back at Samuel. “You think you’re freaking out? I’ve been a vampire all of twelve hours. How do you think I feel? I hate blood. I want to pass out when I cut my damn finger!”

  Samuel cocked his head, staring at Justin as if he were the loony one.

  Justin ignored the look as he continued. “I’ve been a victim longer than you have. I could start my own damn club. But the one thing I’ve learned about being a victim is to let being a victim go.”

  “What?” Danny asked, confusion written all over his face.

  Justin sighed. He really wasn’t any good at this pep talk stuff. “Things happen. Bad things happen. Trust me, I know. But if you continue to live in the small dark room with your nightmare, you’ll never get out. They’ve won and are still winning. Don’t let them win, Samuel. Open the door to that dark room and walk out. Breathe in the fresh air and slam that damn door closed.”