by Jools Louise
Shoving a second finger inside his mate’s hole, Mason knew it wasn’t enough. With a growl, he lurched up, moving into position behind Jay, pushing down on the man’s broad shoulders slightly. Pausing, Jay tensed as Mason prepared him, stretching him with two fingers, then three, after finding the tube of lube Jay had helpfully provided lying on the quilt.
Draping himself over Jay’s sweat-slicked back, Mason guided his dick into position and then slid home in one smooth thrust. Jay roared out his approval, jerking a little and sinking deep inside Alfie, who arched his back, welcoming the movement.
“Do you have any clue how sexy you both are?” Mason asked in a hoarse whisper. “I’ve been alone for so long. Watching everyone else around me mated and in love.” He heard them both whimper, heard their murmurs of pleasure, and began to thrust inside his mate, knowing he was essentially fucking both of them, since each stroke of his dick inside Jay drove Jay deep into Alfie. “I can’t believe the spirits gifted me with two gorgeous beauties,” he continued.
“Believe it,” Jay growled, panting as he thrust back and forth, impaling Alfie and himself in equal measure, and then leaned forward to capture Alfie’s lips with his, kissing his mate hard. Whimpering, Alfie writhed beneath him, grinding up with each downstroke, gripping Jay’s ass tightly, his claws extending and digging into Jay’s muscular cheeks.
“Fuuuck!” Jay yelled, coming hard as he felt the sting and then the lash of hot cum as Alfie came for a second time, his back arching, his entire body convulsing in pleasure. Alfie’s fangs bit into his shoulder, and he struck back, claiming his lover as he spurted over and over inside Alfie’s sexy ass. Mason roared out, fucking hard and fast, and then he came as well, hot spunk filling Jay’s ass, His sharp fangs sank deep into Jay’s neck, binding them through passion and mutual pleasure, binding their souls forever.
Chapter Two:
Siblings
Jay entered his brother’s café early the next morning, feeling wicked and looking for mischief. He was at a loose end, since his mates were busy with breakfasts, their inn full again with twenty guests in total. A family of caracals had come after finding their two relatives had been recovered a few weeks ago from a secret tunnel beneath Sage.
The two survivors, Max and Harley, had finally awoken from their coma, able to let their family know they were safe. Their two sisters, a mother and auntie, and the two brothers had traveled all the way from Georgia and arrived late the previous night, taking up the three vacant rooms. They had been too tired to eat out, and Mason and Alfie had provided them with a delicious meal of a simple beef stew, vegetables, and mashed potatoes, with a dessert concoction called Eton Mess, containing meringue, raspberries, and lashings of fresh whipped cream. Jay had two helpings of each, earning him a hard fuck later from both his mates, since it had been his creation. They’d thought they were punishing him for his self-congratulation—all evening. He smirked. As if being fucked by two sexy men was any kind of punishment.
“Hey, Jay,” John greeted, grinning knowingly. “How’s things?” Even at this hour, just after seven thirty, the café was pretty full, mostly construction crews and a few people from the ranch. He blinked as he spied his sister Jane sitting at a table with Cassidy, a formidable cougar shifter of the female variety. Jay’s nephew and niece, twins, were eating bowls of oatmeal with bananas sliced on top. Their two adult companions were looking at each other with love, sharing little touches and intimate smiles. Cassidy looked as content as Jay had ever seen her.
“What’s up, stud?” Jay asked, then nodded at where their sister sat, making goo-goo eyes at Cassidy.
“They’re in lurve,” John drawled, grinning as he plated up two croissants and a sticky cinnamon bun and handed them to his brother.
“So are you, dipstick,” Cassidy called, her excellent hearing kicking in. She sent the brothers a warning look, which had both men looking remarkably unrepentant. The twins giggled and slurped at their glasses of fresh milk that sat beside their bowls of oatmeal. “You’d better not start with me, boys, or you’ll be feeling the wrong side of my temper.”
John rolled his eyes and then leaned in as the entire café erupted into laugher at Cassidy’s sassy advice. “She hasn’t mellowed much with age,” he said in a stage whisper.
Jay grinned at his brother, accepting the plate of pastries, then moved along to get a coffee. Kevin and Kieran were manning the till and coffee machine and sent him a teasing look. “So, is our Alfie doing okay?” Kevin asked with a wicked gleam in his eye. “I saw him at the grocery store the other day, fighting over the golden delicious with someone who looked a lot like you—and our good friend Mason.”
“Yes, he seemed to be a little flustered, all hot and bothered.” Kieran joined in, waggling his eyebrows at Jay, who sent them a wry look.
“I think I’d be hot and bothered if I had two big, sexy men nibbling on my extremities,” Kevin continued, laughing when Jay lunged and tried to grab him, darting away just in time.
“I wasn’t nibbling on his neck,” Jay replied with dignity, ignoring the laughter as he grabbed his coffee and headed for a spare table. “It was his earlobe, if you must know.” He grinned at the ensuing laughter from the three idiots behind the counter and sat down, feeling smug. They could laugh all they wanted, he had two sexy mates and was fairly ecstatic about the fact he’d been claimed by both of them, over and over again.
Jane smiled over at him then got up to join him. “You look happy,” she said, her green-blue eyes, the same shade as his, smiling into Jay’s.
“I am,” he answered, biting into a croissant, enjoying the buttery, flaky pastry melting on his tongue. He met her smile with his own, glancing at where Cassidy sat with the little ones. The love on her face as she wiped sticky lips and fingers with a damp cloth told him everything. He’d seen the same look when Cassidy gazed at his sister. “I’d say you found yours, too.”
She blushed, staring at Cassidy as though there was no one else in the café. “She’s everything,” she admitted and gave him a slightly embarrassed look. “I didn’t even consider I could fall in love with another woman, but Cassidy snuck into my heart and took up residence.”
“And she’s not going anywhere, either,” Cassidy added, leaving her table to come and sit with them, the kids spotting Blue and Honey, who had just come into the café with Murphy and his tribe, Cameron not far behind. The little ones squealed in delight and babbled at one another excitedly. Cassidy sent Murphy a hopeful look, which he returned with a droll one of his own, sat all the kids on the one table, and then gestured to the twins at the counter, who began to organize extra food for the newcomers.
“He’s so well trained, now,” John called out, grinning at his buddy. Murphy curled his lip but refrained from doing anything more, in deference to the kids. “You should see if he will go fetch, sit, and do tricks, too.” John pushed just a little more, obviously hoping for a reaction.
“The only person my husband will be doing tricks for is me, Johnny boy,” Murphy’s partner, Aiden, said with a smirk as he entered the café, hearing the jibe and flipping the Brit off, his back to the room as he strode up to the counter. “And the only thing he sits on is—” He broke off when he caught John’s huge grin, and Cassidy gave an impressively fierce growl. He grinned right back, only avoiding finishing his sentence because of the kids. Murphy blushed bright red and then busied himself with the little ones, aiming a look at his husband and friend that promised retribution.
“So immature.” Jay laughed, unable to keep his grin off his face, even though Cassidy glared at him.
Jay loved the banter between his brother and just about everyone he came into contact with. The guy was the biggest wind-up merchant. John had been through hell, having been introduced to heavy narcotics as a youngster, getting off the stuff and then joining an elite part of the British military, the SBS. He’d avoided relationships, avoided commitment, for a long time, yet he was the most loyal and most trustworthy person Jay kne
w. Despite the teasing, if anyone attacked any person he considered family, John would rip that person apart. Jay saw the adoration in John’s face when he saw his husband, Cameron. He had felt that when he saw his mates for the first time and recognized them as such. He’d had one taste of that doubly delicious cherry and was now addicted for life.
“Did you get a chance to see Michael’s parents?” Jay asked Murphy, who sipped at his coffee with a look of pure bliss on his face. The big tiger shifter nodded and then took another sip before answering.
“He and Xander want to stay at the ranch for a while,” he said, sighing a little heavily. “His parents have a journey ahead of them. He and Xander haven’t come to terms with everything yet. Over and over, their parents’ ignorance was used as a weapon by their captors, and some of it stuck. They still believe that their parents were responsible for their kidnapping by Leonard. Despite their relief at being found, they still have some issues to resolve.” Murphy looked a little weary.
“I spoke to them yesterday,” Jay said, remembering their regret and very real sorrow at having reacted as they had to their son’s admission that he was gay. “They said they were thinking of opening a toy store here and having Michael and Xander run it, if that’s what they both want, and visiting often. Or move here themselves and run the store while the two find something else to make their own.”
“Yeah, I think they like the idea of the toy store, something that reminds Michael of his childhood,” Murphy said, smiling a little. “I’m confident they’ll be okay. I don’t think having the wolverines staying at the ranch has helped too much. Those little…twits, have a nasty habit of snapping at people when they should just shut the…heck up.” He modified his language, which had Jay biting back a grin. He saw John smirk as well, but for once the man kept his silence.
Jay had met the wolverines, four former cult guards who had virtually no social skills and the ability to irritate the most easygoing of people within seconds. The guards had been at the Idaho facility with all those inmates held in the bunker before the larger group was separated. The wolverines had ended up in a deep tunnel beneath Sage with nine captives, and then were sealed in with them and left to die. Jay felt sorry for the wolverines, knowing they’d been victims just as much as everyone else. But their prickly attitudes put off people trying to get close. Jay imagined that they reminded everyone of being incarcerated, of the cult—not a great thing when people were recovering mentally from their trauma. Most of those from the hidden bunkers, both under Sage and Idaho, lived in town. One group of nine, including the construction foreman’s son Ethan, lived with Cody and his partner Thomas. Others had decided to share a house with Zack and the sheriff, Pace Achak, who had recently purchased a big house on the outskirts of town, where it was quiet and away from the bustle of the work going on.
“Has anyone found the wolverines’ family?” he asked, thinking about the young men, who didn’t appear to be too bad, just a little clueless. They didn’t seem to know any better.
Murphy looked at him for a startled instant, his amber gaze widening. “Er, no, I don’t think so,” he said, looking sheepish. “We’ve been so focused on protecting their charges, I don’t think anybody’s thought to find them.”
Jay let loose a low growl, frowning. “When were you planning on doing something?” he asked. “You don’t seem to have the same animosity toward Sky and his brothers, and didn’t they do the same thing? Weren’t they working as guards for the cult, too, guarding Jace? Now they’re happily mated. But even before that, it didn’t seem to bother you when they came calling, sniffing around Jace like he was a piece of prime beef.” He snarled, angry that the wolverines were being treated unfairly. “Do you know anything about wolverine family dynamics? Those guys have to fight each other, their own brothers and sisters, just to survive childhood. They’re pretty much abandoned by their parents at an early age and forced to fend for themselves. All they know is fighting and aggression. The only way they know how to communicate is by being belligerent and antagonistic.”
He knew they’d been forced to do what they did. He also knew they’d probably had a very different upbringing than all the people here. Not one of these people had bothered to look beyond the surface. He had. He’d seen through the facade to the scared, lonely men beneath. He’d seen their love for each other, had seen their gentle touches, the way they protected each other. They hadn’t welcomed his attempts at friendship, but he understood. They’d been alone for a long time—it was all they knew, and they trusted no one. It made him angry that even Murphy hadn’t bothered to get to know them.
“I agree,” a soft voice said, trembling slightly, and he turned his head sharply to see Ethan and his younger brother Douglas standing just behind him. He got to his feet, seeing Cody, a big jaguar shifter and construction foreman, standing behind his sons, looking like he wanted to punch someone—the look aimed directly at Jay.
“What do you agree with?” Jay asked gently, not wanting a fight, but not backing down from his point of view. The cult had flourished through encouraging hatred and distrust of others. They’d been skillful at finding weakness and exploiting that, turning shifter against shifter.
“The wolverines haven’t found their families yet. They have brothers and sisters. I remembered how often they spoke of them, in the last tunnel, before I stopped listening,” Ethan said. “Maybe they would feel happier if they knew their loved ones were safe.”
“I can help look for them,” Jay offered, shooting a wary look at Cody. “I’ve spoken to them a few times, maybe they’ll remember something that will help if I talk to them again.”
Aiden came over, placing a gentle hand on Ethan’s shoulder. “Those boys were treated like pieces of garbage by their own parents, from a very young age,” he said to Ethan. “I remember when they were at the trophy ranch, they were as scared as you all were, but a lot better at putting a brave face on things.” He squeezed gently, his big hand looking huge on Ethan’s thin shoulder. “Doctor Pearson brought one of the siblings in once, a young kid of about fifteen. He said he was doing an experiment to see how much tolerance for pain wolverines had. He tortured the pup for two weeks, peeling off pieces of skin from the boy’s rib cage, using a Taser to his genitals, a blowtorch to the soles of his feet.” Aiden leaned down until his eyes were level with Ethan’s. “The boy’s name was Lash.” Everyone gasped in shock. “He survived the torture, never uttered a word, never screamed once. Later, with his brothers, he cried and cried, but never made a sound when he was being tortured. They wanted me to kill him and his brethren. I agreed, and took them out into the woods, a long way from the facility. I let them go, didn’t kill them, but told the doctor that I had.” He stopped speaking, as though his thoughts were far away.
“What happened?” Cody asked gruffly. Aiden blinked at him, as though surprised to see him there.
“They came back. I saw them again in Idaho. They’d been recaptured, deliberately put themselves into the cult’s hands I think now.” He looked at Ethan again. “They came back for you,” he said. “You were at the trophy ranch when you were about ten or so, weren’t you?” Ethan nodded, his eyes sparkling with tears. “They’ve known you were mates for a long time, Ethan. They had to act a certain way, to fool their captors, but also because they’ve never been shown any other way. They don’t know how to act around you, don’t know how to woo you. They’ve never known anything but people being mean to them, so they think that’s how they should act toward everyone else.” Aiden shook his head sadly. “They always thought they would escape, but the cult was craftier. The wolverines kept everyone else away from you. You may not like their methods, but without them, you would have died a long time ago.”
Ethan turned his face into his father’s chest, crying quietly as the grim story ended. The entire café was silent, and Jay saw tears on other faces, this time for the wolverines.
“I’ll help you look for their families,” Jay repeated. “Is there a chance
they weren’t actually captured at all, but the cult made them think they had them? They liked leverage. Who’s to say if they didn’t have any, that they wouldn’t invent something?”
“Why don’t we go ask them together?” Jane asked quietly, smiling proudly at her brother. “Get them to tell us where they might hide if someone was after them? Perhaps, if they’re good at fending for themselves, there’s a special place, somewhere only they know about.”
Jay nodded, sat back down again, and finished his breakfast quickly, suddenly eager to help the four young wolverines find their family. He’d found his family and couldn’t be happier. He wanted those boys to heal, too.
“I’ll go with you,” Ethan said tremulously. Jay shot him a startled look, glancing at Cody, who sighed heavily, then nodded.
“If they step out of line, I’ll remind them where they are,” Cassidy told Cody, smiling gently at Ethan. “I think it’s time we offered the same forgiveness to them as we did to Sky and his brothers.” She looked at Jay, nodding in approval. “You’re right, Jay, we’ve been unkind to them, not understanding their ways, not trying to understand what makes them the way they are. They’re defensive to those who are unkind, yet they have never treated these youngsters with anything other than gentleness.”
Jay kept his gaze on Ethan, then nodded. The man needed to heal mentally as well as physically. Being afraid of the wolverines, who Jay and everyone else knew were Ethan’s mates, was something he needed to deal with. All had been affected by what the cult had done—now it was time to mend the broken strands, weave the bonds of all shifter kind stronger than ever.
