by Jo Penn
“I could…” Constantin waved a hand about, looking a little lost. “Help.”
“Sure you could, but I’ve got this.”
After his mate left the study with one last longing look at his new computer, which Tyler couldn’t help chuckling over, he ambled into the kitchen and grinned at a few of his friends there.
“Guess we can’t just walk into your suite anymore.” Shelby smiled. “Congrats, man, you’re a lucky son of a Queen.”
“Yeah, luckiest, and nope, I plan to use every surface of this suite to pleasure my gorgeous mate, so knocking would be best.” Tyler flashed his fangs. “I’m feeling really possessive of my mate. I don’t want to have to poke your eyes out.”
Cary laughed. “Fair enough. We’ll leave you to get to know your mate. Tomorrow we’ll bombard you both. And we need to start organizing the Christmas decorations or the oldie vamps are going to make the place into something resembling a mix of middle ages and Martha Stewart on anti-happy pills.”
They all shuddered.
Archie gave Tyler a hug. “I’m at the Sanchez Compound today and tonight but I’ll be back tomorrow and help in the bombarding.”
“’Kay. Say hi to Ace, Marco and Linc for me.”
“Hmm, Linc.” Archie hummed happily. “And Ryder.”
“See, I don’t get that.” Amit shook his head. “Marco’s one smoking creature, for a shifter. Why aren’t you lusting after him?”
“Well, I would, but he doesn’t get all embarrassed and cute.” Cary flushed. “He just treats us like fun little creatures that need coddling and protecting.”
“In other words, he thinks they’re cute but isn’t interested,” Amit clarified. “Anyway, have fun, Ty.”
Oh, Tyler intended to, and maybe he could tempt his mate enough to claim him. With a big grin, Tyler got busy.
Chapter Six
Once his friends had left the kitchen and Tyler made sure the suite door was closed, he texted Misha, Ryson, and Xavier to let them know he was spending the day right here with his mate. Then he got down to the business of setting up breakfast and wondering if his mate would let Tyler claim him today. It’d help with their bonding, Constantin would feel more of a connection to Tyler and aid in removing any protests and lingering objections.
Arranging the table, he made coffee for himself and realized he had no idea what Constantin drank. Whenever spotting his mate in the university cafeteria, Constantin only ever had water, but surely the man had coffee, right?
Constantin arrived just as Tyler finished setting everything up. The mate quirked a brow, soft pink lips twitching.
“This looks good, thanks.”
“I never said I’d cook breakfast, just get everything ready.” Tyler smiled and pulled out a chair for his mate. “Sit, eat.” Once Constantin did, he pointed at the cup and glass on the table. “I have juice, all natural, or would you like coffee?”
“Ah, yeah, juice would be good. I don’t really drink coffee unless it doesn’t have chemicals and preservatives.”
“I think I saw some weird looking package of coffee beans in the pantry. We’ll investigate that later. What else do you drink then?” Pouring juice, he handed it to his mate then sat opposite at the small kitchen table.
Tyler was good at setting things up, such as breakfast that he didn’t have to cook. Tyler was a miserable cook, as in, he was miserable when he had to cook because it took so long and wasn’t a very social task. Xavier was a fantastic cook but he liked to do that solo, which just lent credence to Tyler’s opinion on cooking and it being anti-social.
Today he put out bowls of all-natural, organic yogurt, fruit he’d chopped up, condiments, and breakfast biscuits, the type Constantin could eat and Tyler was dubious of, on the table. It reminded him of breakfast on the continent. A Continental breakfast. He would have put out some meats, but he wasn’t sure how Constantin would feel about them near his food.
“Water. Juice. Milk. Tea. Wine.”
“Wine? Oh, right, ’course. I’ll order some for us. We can go to the shops tomorrow if you like. I found one of those all-natural, vegan healthy eating supermarkets in the city.”
“Sure. This is good, thanks.” Constantin buttered up one of the dubious looking biscuits and proceeded to smother it in raspberry jam.
Tyler watched, interested. “You like sweet things?”
“Yeah. Love scones with jam, croissants, chocolate, anything sweet.”
“Cool.” He made himself a dubious biscuit and topped it with blackberry jam. He might need to secretly grab a breakfast burrito after this. He bit in and grimaced. Constantin smirked.
“You can eat what you like, you know? I won’t freak out and demand it stay a foot from my food.”
“Oh, thank the blood god!” Tyler jumped up and quickly placed a breakfast burrito from the fridge into the oven.
“Blood God? Is there a blood god?”
“Huh? Oh, no.” Tyler laughed. “I just like blood, of course, I’m a vampire, so figure there must be a god of blood.”
Constantin went a little dazed. “Oh…right. So, what happens now?”
Sitting back down, Tyler picked at some fruit and drank his coffee. “Now we get to know each other. We can watch movies—not another foreign film, though. Not unless it’s drenched in inappropriate, unnecessary nudity.”
Constantin laughed. It was the most beautiful thing Tyler had ever heard and seeing his mate relaxing, actually laughing, filled him with a happy, warm glow. His mate was here, with him. Tyler was so happy. He’d be even happier if he could get his mate naked and claim the human.
Breakfast was fun. There was no pressure, they joked around and Constantin even shared some of his university stories and about his housemates. Tyler assured his mate that Hadley was fine and out at the Sanchez Compound. The creature was a shifter and had a few illegal acts on his record.
Misha joined them as Tyler and Constantin were loading the dishwasher, Tyler making sure to constantly brush against his mate, touch lightly and cop a feel every chance he got. At first, Constantin tensed a bit but that soon passed and now the man just gave Tyler a look and removed his hand. So Tyler just put his hand back on his mate’s body, in a different place.
Misha came bearing gifts of documents. Yeah, some might not get excited over that, but Tyler did, even though he knew he’d have to wrestle his mate to get Constantin’s signature on the shitload of paper. Still, worth it. There were bank details—Misha, or probably one of his assistants, had set up accounts for Constantin—. Change of name form, mateship documents, which was a new thing apparently and only used if there were a problem, registering the mateship forms, university fees paid for form and a few others.
Taking the time to explain this all to Constantin, who had gone from relaxed to cautious and surly in half a second, Misha managed to convey the importance and that this was normal for paranormals, even for humans when they married. There were joint bank accounts, insurance, mortgage documents and many other things. Misha made everything reasonable and understandable, he was extremely good at that. Constantin relaxed and nodded, ruffling that beautiful hair that had Tyler jumping up from the kitchen table where he sat beside his mate and sinking his fingers into Constantin’s dark hair.
Still, Constantin frowned over the documents and said he wasn’t changing his name, he wasn’t going to accept a bank account and that he had his own money and property. Tyler got in on the discussion and reminded his mate that as paranormals, they willingly shared with their mate because unlike human marriages, mateship was forever. It was a one in a million shot that a creature would willingly leave their mate.
“Well, if that’s the way it is, then you can have half my house and bank account.”
“Done.” Tyler grinned at his mate’s stunned expression and took the documents Misha held out. “We’ll both sign these.”
He wasn’t exactly backing his mate into a corner, but Constantin’s panicked expression told its own story. Tyler huffed a
sigh as he tossed the documents onto the table and went to pour himself and Misha a coffee. It may take longer than twelve hours, unfortunately, for his mate to realize they were meant to be together and none of this material shit mattered.
“I feel it would be a good idea to engage a lawyer for you, Constantin,” Misha mused. “And it would be beneficial for you to speak with Lord Sebastian Sanchez.”
Placing a coffee in front of Misha and retaking his seat, Tyler watched his brother open his tablet and begin tapping away. A moment later he turned the tablet around and slid it across the table to Constantin.
“This website contains all the mateship rules. Sebastian Sanchez coordinates the laws and deals with any disputes. Are you disputing my brother’s claim on you, Constantin?”
Constantin shook his head, dislodging a few curls so they fell away from his forehead. He met Misha’s eyes first, then Tyler’s.
“No. I know Tyler’s my mate.”
“You do?” Tyler exclaimed, coffee spilling down the side of his cup as he thrust it onto the table. Misha was quick to move documents out of the way before they were drenched in the brew. “But djinn don’t have a mate reaction.”
“No, and I only have a little djinn biology. I did some research after talking to that wolf shifter friend of yours who asked you out.” Constantin frowned over that a moment then waved it aside. “And I spoke to Hadley about the mate pull. I may not have had an instant mate reaction but what I am feeling is the knowing of my mate, a djinn thing.”
Tyler was excited. “Really? You feel me as mate? How long have you felt this?”
“Guess since I accepted you were my mate. You were right the day you said I may have wanted to push you away but couldn’t seem to do it. I was experiencing the mate pull. Once I realized that, or really, acknowledged it, then I accepted we are mates and…feel you as mate.”
“And what does that feel like, Constantin?” Misha asked quietly, holding a hand up to Tyler to tell him to be quiet.
At first, Tyler didn’t think Constantin would answer. The human looked away, worried his bottom lip, played with his glass of water and sighed a few times. Finally, he looked at Tyler.
“It hurts to think we’re not together. It hurts to be apart for long, and when I know I hurt your feelings it feels like someone is tearing out my heart with those freaky deadly talons you vampires have.” Tapping the glass, he shrugged. “I trust you, which is weird, and you make me want to laugh a lot and tell you off for that prank you pulled on your friend Amit this morning over the phone.”
Tyler grinned. “Bastard deserved it. He won’t be putting spyware on anyone’s phone again now that I YouTubed him in the shower.”
“Yeah, I’m not sure that was legal.” Constantin smiled a little. “Funny, though.”
Taking his mate’s hand, Tyler raised it and kissed each finger. “So does this mean I can claim you now?”
Smiling and rolling his eyes, the mate shook his head. “Stop being so impatient. When the time’s right, we’ll know.”
“Well, I think the time’s right anytime,” Tyler grumbled good naturedly. “Sooo, sweets, do you love me yet?”
Misha chuckled as Constantin flushed brightly. “I will leave you two to enjoy your day. Take Constantin through the mateship website, Tyler, and be your persistent self.” Misha stood and stepped around the table. He touched Constantin’s shoulder and smiled. “I feel the coven’s happiness has increased with your presence, little brother.”
It touched Tyler that Misha was being so good to his mate, and he was even more touched that Constantin gave Tyler’s big brother a genuine smile and thanked him. He’d just known there was so much more to his mate than that of a standoffish, irritated human.
As soon as Misha left, Tyler grabbed his mate. Pulling Constantin out of the kitchen, he led the gorgeous man into the living room and put on music, loud and started dancing. It took a bit of rubbing and teasing but finally Constantin let Tyler slow dance with him and showed he had some moves of his own! Apparently, his step-mother hadn’t liked having children underfoot, so she made sure they were enrolled in a lot of outer school activities. Constantin had done just about every dancing style, archery, and hockey.
They were definitely going clubbing once he’d claimed his mate and bonded.
The day was fun. Tyler showed Constantin through the mateship website, arguing over a few definitions. They played video games, made out and had visits from Tyler’s family. After another round of video games, Tyler pulled his mate onto the sofa, Constantin’s head on Tyler’s lap.
“Tell me something about your life…about your family.” Tyler threaded his long slender fingers through Constantin’s soft curls.
It was hard for Constantin. He could sense the apprehension, the anxiety that flowed from his mate. Tyler wasn’t sure if the man would talk to him and that hurt. He couldn’t help his feelings and wanting his mate to talk to him about everything, to tell his deepest desires, his dreams and all that had hurt him. To trust Tyler with everything Constantin was and needed. They were mates, it was natural for Tyler to want all that and like Archie had teased, Tyler was learning patience.
“He’s not a physically big man, my father,” Constantin said matter-of-factly, chocolate eyes fixed on a picture that hung on the opposite wall. It was of Tyler and his friends hanging together. “Build wise, I mean. He’s probably my height but he enjoys whiskey and food so…” Constantin used his hands to show a big stomach, really big. “But that’s the last five years, before that he had a bit of a gut but was still fairly active. He’s a real bastard.” Those beautiful chocolate eyes met Tyler’s. “A workaholic. That’s fine but he can’t handle emotions. If one of us, his children that is, or his wife, didn’t jump to attention immediately, he had a meltdown. Throw things, hit, scream at us we’re useless, fucking idiots, stupid and can’t do anything. Of course, then he’d be fine a moment later and order us around again, expect silence when he wanted, expect us to smile and have perfect manners though he swore, drank and never listened to anyone.” Constantin shrugged and looked back at the picture. “He’s an arrogant son of a bitch.”
“Yeah. Though the term ‘bitch’ is often used affectionately among the wolves,” Tyler teased, caressing his mate’s hair, aching for the child his mate had been growing up with someone so volatile. “That would have been hard, never knowing when he was going to explode.”
“Oh, I always knew he was ready to explode. The bastard did it every single day. I would end up hiding in my room, shaking, hoping he didn’t notice me, thinking I should get out, get away, stand up to him.”
Tyler calmed himself by keeping his focus and hands on his mate. Inside he wanted to find Ronaldo Hutton, Constantin’s father, and use his mind gift to give Ronaldo the experience of twenty odd years of emotional and mental abuse. Then he wanted to gut the man. Yeah, even a young, cheerful vamp like Tyler could get nasty and when it came to his family, friends and coven members, Tyler would fight to the death for them. And inflict as much pain to the enemy as possible along the way.
He could only imagine how horrifying it must have been, traumatizing to grow up with someone who was so abusive and cruel. No wonder Constantin was so cynical, distrustful and kept a barrier around himself, not letting many close to him.
“I’m—”
“He would tell me I was a cry-baby. That I was a dumbass. He would get out his leather belt and tell me to take off my pants and underwear and bend over the side of the bed. He’d belt me until I was bruised and had blood welts. As I got older I wouldn’t cry and beg him to stop anymore, I wouldn’t give him that pleasure. And one of the last times I refused to take off my underwear. He was shocked.” Constantin crossed his arms loosely over his chest. Uncomfortable, embarrassed. “I stood up for myself and though my voice cracked and I was scared, I refused. He was shocked, his whole face just sort of slack. Then he was angry before he covered it up and tried for understanding and nodded, waving at the bed. He hit me
with that belt even more than he usually did, but he was cautious of me after that, much more watchful, much more nasty with his words, putting me down and laughing to cover it up, like it’s a joke. Slapped me across the head and blamed me.”
Tyler was going to neatly slice Ronaldo’s nuts off and feed them to the man, then remove his intestines and use them to choke the prick. Constantin had been brutalized his entire life until he got away from the abusive creep. Tyler was so damn impressed Constantin got away that he stood up for himself and walked out. The money Ronaldo gave Constantin probably was to keep some type of control over his son. Yeah, that wouldn’t work, Constantin wasn’t going to be controlled.
“Sweets.” Tyler waited until Constantin was looking at him. “Sorry doesn’t help, but I am sorry that happened. So I’ll just tell the truth. You’re amazing. You moved past that, are strong and resilient—”
“I have issues.”
“Yeah, but you’ve moved forward and hells, why wouldn’t you have issues? Sweets, I look at you and don’t see emotional baggage and scars. I see a fucking hot man who takes the world on with a middle finger.” Tyler grinned at Constantin’s chuckle. He brushed curls back from the face he wanted to see every day and night, a beautiful face, yes, gorgeous in fact, but more importantly the face of the man he loved and who had so much goodness inside him. “And even though you’ll deny it, you’ve got a good heart. I know you help your roommates and the homeless in your area out with food and money.”
“Could have been me, you know? I could have failed and ended up on the streets. Sometimes I don’t believe anyone helps, Tyler. As a child I showed all the signs of being an abuse victim, and I tried to hide it of course, pretend it never happened, that it wasn’t going on and we were a normal family. We weren’t, of course. The screaming…” Constantin glazed a little. “Hitting, just would hit us, punch us or slap us here or there, yell. We were only good to him when he wanted something, and he loved to control. But, it worries me that no one helps.”
