Captive Soul

by April Kelley

  Hacen licked at the wound on Thomas’ shoulder and hummed. The hand around Thomas' cock stilled when he grew too sensitive. He reached up and wrapped an arm around Hacen's neck, leaning into the kiss placed on his cheek.

  "Come to the bathroom with me, and I'll clean you up." Hacen's breath fanned against his ear.

  "What about Jules?" Even as Thomas asked the question, his gaze never left Jules. "Do you need a cloth?"

  Jules' blush deepened, and he nodded even as he averted his gaze. Thomas heard a sniffle right before a tear dripped down the left side of Jules’ face.

  Thomas pulled out of Hacen's arms, tucking his softening cock back in his underwear as he moved across the room. As soon as he sat down on the bed, Jules' whole body stiffened. When Thomas tried to touch his hand, Jules pulled it away.

  Thomas put both his hands up, surrendering to the message Jules was sending.

  "Talk to me, baby. Please."

  Jules' gaze snapped to him, and even through the tears, the glare came through loud and clear. "Why? You both got what you wanted. Just leave me alone."

  Okay, that answer completely confused him. "Just what do you think we wanted?"

  "I don't know. Maybe to make me feel humiliated. And to want you even more."

  Hacen growled. "Bullshit, Jules. The only thing we wanted was to give you pleasure, and we did. What's so fucking wrong with that?"

  Jules scooted down the bed, grunting when the pain of moving became too much to stay silent. Jules had his back to Thomas, and the blankets pulled down, uncovering him with his movements. When Thomas reached for them, Jules jerked, and his body stiffened again.

  "I'm only pulling the blankets up around you." Thomas finished what he started and then reached out a hand, hesitating before touching Jules' shoulder.

  Again Jules jerked. "Please. I can't. If you touch me, then I’ll give in, and if I do that then I’m giving up my family."

  Hacen cursed under his breath and left the room, going to the bathroom. He left the door open so Thomas could hear the water's gentle trickle as it hit the porcelain basin of the sink.

  Hacen came back with a washcloth and handed it to Jules. "Clean yourself up."

  Hacen could have sounded a little less gruff and demanding in Thomas' opinion, but he didn't comment because Jules did as Hacen directed for once. He rolled onto his back and took the cloth. He closed his eyes as his hand disappeared under the covers. He winced once. Thomas wasn't sure if Jules made that face because the water on the cloth was chilled or if he had a problem touching himself even though the act was simple and necessary.

  When Jules finished, he handed the washcloth to Thomas. He stood and went into the bathroom. He left the door open as he threw the cloth in the hamper and washed himself up.

  "Are you going to freak out if I lay down beside you?" Hacen asked. Thomas looked at himself in the mirror and rolled his eyes at his reflection. Hacen was about as gentle as an out of control steamroller.

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea. It’ll just make me want to bond.”

  “And is that such a bad thing?”

  Thomas barely heard Jules whisper, “yes.” Jules sniffled.

  “Come on. Let me hold you. I promise not to do anything else.”

  Thomas smiled at his reflection and then poked his head out to watch them.

  They were so awkward together it would be funny if it wasn't so cute.

  Hacen lay down on the opposite side of the bed, scooting closer to Jules an inch at a time. Jules went to him willingly, nearly laying on top of Hacen by the time he stopped wiggling around.

  Hacen looked over at Thomas and met his gaze. He gave Thomas a slight smile. "Sorry I pushed. Maybe we should have discussed it before, but I didn’t plan it. I needed blood, but the sex part just happened."

  Jules rolled his eyes. “It’s not like I didn’t like it. Don’t make it sound weird.”

  “Oh, I made it weird. Right.”

  “Shut up.” Jules yawned as he nodded. He ran his hand down Hacen's chest as if he intended to soothe him.

  Thomas smiled and finished doing what he needed to in the bathroom. When he finally made his way to the bed, Jules was already half asleep. Thomas stretched out beside them, kissing Hacen on the lips before settling.

  Thomas hadn't napped since he was a child, but he was willing to practice the art if it meant he could wake up with both his mates. He pressed his cheek against Hacen's chest and wiggled closer, trying to fall under again.

  Hacen's arm slid down Thomas' back to his ass and rested there. Thomas smiled at the gesture because it was at odds with his gruffness.

  He was just as scared and unsure of himself as Jules. He just hid it better.

  A finger ran down his forehead, bringing Thomas out of his musings. He opened his eyes to see Jules watching him. Their faces were inches from each other, and they both lay on Hacen as if he were part of the bed.

  "What are you thinking about?" Jules whispered to him.

  "You and Hacen."

  Jules smiled. "The scowl on your face makes sense then."

  Thomas grinned. "You must be feeling better."

  "My leg still hurts a lot."

  "I can get you some pain medication. But I was talking about your mental breakdown."

  Jules rolled his eyes. "I didn't have a breakdown. Way to dramatize it, Tommy. Jeez."

  Thomas raised his eyebrows. "I'm not the dramatic one in this relationship, baby. That's you."

  "I disagree. I think it's Hacen."

  Thomas snorted out a laugh. "Probably."

  Beneath them, Hacen's breathing remained steady and his body unmoving.

  Thomas cupped Jules’ cheek. "I'm glad you’re here with us. I know you don't want to be, but I’m still glad you are."

  Jules sighed and closed his eyes. "It's not that I don't want to be with you guys. It's that I didn't have a choice in it, for one. And also, Hacen is making me choose between him and my family. And I’m still trying to forgive you."

  "I didn't mean to bring it up and get you all upset again. You're wanted, baby. So very much. I just need you to know that."

  Jules opened his eyes again and seemed to study Thomas' face. Thomas wasn't sure what he wanted to find. Sincerity, perhaps. Whatever it was, he must have found it. "Come here."

  When Thomas moved across Hacen's broad chest, Jules’ lips touched his. He didn't deepen the kiss, which was a good thing because Thomas seriously needed to brush his teeth. Jules laced the kiss with enough pent-up passion that Thomas wanted nothing more than to crawl across Hacen and lay over Jules.

  When his cock grew hard, he pulled back, not wanting to send Jules into a freak out again. Jules chased after him with his lips pursed and his eyes closed. He looked so sweet that Thomas gave in, kissing him quickly before ending it.

  "Let me brush my teeth, baby. And we'll continue." Thomas sat up and moved off the bed, trying not to jostle Hacen's sleeping form and wake him.

  Jules blinked up at him. There was a guardedness in his eyes that hadn't been there a second ago. He opened his mouth to ask Jules what was wrong but swallowed the words instead, unwilling to start an argument, which seemed to happen more than not.

  Thomas turned without a word and went into the bathroom.

  “No, it’s okay. I don’t want to continue.” Jules’ voice barely carried into the bathroom.

  Thomas tried to swallow down his disappointment and didn’t quite succeed.

  Chapter Ten

  Jules held his breath as he moved off the bed. His leg ached with every little scoot across. Mother Estelle's pain medication worked well but only for a few hours. The pain leaked back into his body by slow degrees and stabbed at him. He still wouldn't stop, not when Tommy's keys were within sight.

  When he sat up, he had to fight back the urge to cry out. His head swam, and his heart rocketed in his ears. His gaze was on the table and the keys, which lay right on top, but his vision darkened around the edges until it seemed as if h
e were looking through a tunnel. He put his head between his legs and waited for it to pass.

  When it finally did, he stood, wobbling on his feet as he padded barefoot to the table. Before he reached for the keys, he turned to Hacen to make sure he was still asleep.

  He looked younger with his face relaxed. The scowl he seemed to carry around like luggage wasn't wrinkling his skin. Peace didn't come to Hacen easily, if at all, but in sleep, he seemed to find it.

  Jules hesitated, his hand hovering over them for long seconds he didn't have if he wanted to get out of the cabin before Tommy finished in the bathroom.

  If he stayed, he'd be accepting Tommy and Hacen as his mates, and he wasn't ready for that. Jules needed every single one of the Somersets, and he'd be giving up a relationship with them. Hacen might say he'd let Jules visit, but that meant Jules would always go alone or maybe just with Tommy. Hacen would always leave himself out, and that would eventually put a strain on their relationship, which wasn't fair, but fairness wasn't exactly Hacen's end goal.

  And as much as Tommy tried to make it seem as if he put himself in between Jules and Hacen, Tommy didn't care about fairness either. He just wanted them to be together, and Jules doubted he cared how that happened.

  Even with all the negativity floating around them, Jules couldn't forget the way Hacen held him when he needed it most and the gentle smile that always seemed to enter his eyes right before it graced his lips.

  They seemed like little things, but they were big in Jules' world. They didn't outweigh the way Tommy and Hacen basically kidnapped him from a battlefield without any thought that Jules might worry about his clan members and his family.

  Jules took the keys off the table and hobbled out the door.

  The second the dizzy spell hit a wave of regret also nearly knocked him on his ass. He could admit he probably needed Hacen and Tommy. At least until he felt better.

  The one bright spot to the whole stupid stunt was the glint of red metal through the trees and brush. He sighed in relief and hobbled along the path. The sun sat low in the sky, the rays bouncing off the shiny paint on the car.

  Just a few yards to go and he'd be able to get home, to the people who loved him without conditions.

  That's if he could drive himself. He hoped the dizziness would fade once he sat down.

  Jules used his good hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead. He should be shivering from the cold, but each step felt as if he ran a marathon.

  Jules moved to a tree just off the main path and slid down, leaning against it. The back of his head rested against the bark. The jagged edges bit into his scalp, uncaring about the pain radiating throughout the rest of his body. The dampness of the earth beneath him seeped into his sweatpants. He noticed it but didn't have the energy to care.

  He tried to take in deep, even breaths but couldn't manage it with any real measure of success, so he shut his eyes to calm his wild heartbeat.

  He wasn't sure how long he sat there. It could have been seconds or several minutes, but it was long enough to lose the lead he had on Hacen and Tommy. He heard them stomping through the brush as if they were hunters in pursuit of a prized deer long before he saw them.

  When they did finally make an appearance, they plowed right on past him. He must have been off the path enough and downwind, so neither of them saw him sitting there.

  He held his breath and watched them.

  "You're sure you put the car keys on the table and that he took them?" Hacen looked pissed, but he always looked like that. It was the underlying worry in his eyes that made Jules wince.

  Tommy looked worse. The tension practically radiated off him like visible waves, and he walked with a single-minded purpose for the car. "I'm positive. He took the damn keys, Hacen. There's no way he can drive in his condition, especially not with the pain meds he's on. It's like driving drunk."

  "Well, he didn't make it to the car yet." Hacen gestured to the red spots visible through the trees.

  "Or he's passed out on the damn road." Tommy never stopped moving.

  "Do you have the phone on you?" Hacen asked even as he stopped walking. He turned in a circle slowly, looking around. Jules held his breath again, his body tensing as Hacen's gaze came around and passed right over him.

  Jules sighed in relief. How the hell did Hacen miss him?

  The bushes and brush that lay just on the edge of the path must shield him just enough that even Hacen's vampire vision couldn't see him. Hacen must be able to smell him though. Jules would bet money that was why he stopped.

  "Yes. I grabbed it on the way out."

  "Call the Somersets. Ask his mother and the Alpha to come see him."

  Tommy stopped in his tracks and turned. His eyes were wide, and his mouth hung open. Jules completely understood exactly how he felt.

  Hacen pointed to Tommy's pocket, waving his hand around. "Do it now, Tommy. Jules needs them. He’s gonna hurt himself otherwise."

  "And the Alpha coming along?"

  "Neither Ramsey or Ladon will come between mates. It's time we prove that to Jules, so he'll stop running."

  "How do you know they won't?" Tommy dug around in his pocket and pulled out a cellphone. Jules hadn’t seen it in the cabin. If he had, he would have called his house and had someone pick him up.

  "If they were going to, they would have by now." Hacen's eyes turned red which made the scowl scary. Was Hacen even aware how menacing he looked?

  "Good point." Tommy pressed some buttons on his phone with his thumb and then held it up to his ear. He turned again, heading to the car. As Tommy walked, he began to talk on the phone.

  Jules strained to hear the one-sided conversation, but Tommy was far enough away at that point that Jules only heard the undertones of his voice.

  "Come out, honey."

  No way. Hacen looked like he would turn Jules over his knee. As much fun as that sounded, his pain level was already at an all-time high.

  Hacen turned around in a complete circle until he had his back to Jules.

  As much as Jules wanted to go home to see his family, Hacen and Tommy's presence calmed him in ways he hadn't expected.

  Jules tried to get the knee of his good leg under him, but he couldn't figure out how without causing himself even more pain. He braced himself on the ground. The dead, brown leaves were wet and slimy underneath him. Black mud clung as he got his leg to work. He used the tree to steady himself as he stood slowly.

  Hacen must have heard him rustling about because he spun around so quickly Jules was sure that's what caused the dizziness to return. His vision blurred, so he leaned against the tree. "Hacen."

  He thought for sure he'd hit the ground when he passed out, and he was probably only out a few seconds, but when he woke up, Hacen carried him in his arms.

  "Tommy! I got him." Hacen never said a word to Jules or even looked at him as he walked along the trail back to the cabin.

  By the time Tommy caught up with them, he didn't have his phone in his hand anymore. Tommy ran his hand through Jules' hair as they walked. "Do you see why we wanted you to stay in bed? You need to give yourself time to heal. But you're making it worse by running."

  "Stop yelling at him, Tommy. It's not the time." Hacen still wouldn't look at Jules. Would Hacen be the one yelling when he deemed it the time to start because he much preferred that to the disappointment lacing Tommy’s every word?

  “I’m worried. You scared me, Jules. What if we hadn’t found you and you froze to death? Or worse, bleed to death. You need to stop.”

  "Don’t pretend you care. Right now, you're the warden, and Hacen's the prison guard." He couldn't keep from wincing when Hacen moved a certain way and sent shock waves of pain through his leg.

  "You're not a damn prisoner, so stop it."

  "If you don't like the truth then take me home." Jules couldn't keep the huskiness from his voice. He knew it made him sound weak and it was the last thing he wanted. He couldn't help it, though.

  Tommy opened
the door for them when they finally made it to the cabin. Hacen had to turn sideways to get in, but once he did, he went to a plush chair instead of the bed.

  As Hacen sat, Jules could tell he was mindful of the wound because he took his time and turned in such a way that wouldn't brush Jules’ leg against the arm of the chair. Once Hacen sat, he arranged Jules so he was reclining more against Hacen's chest than the chair. "Would you grab that blanket for him, Tommy?"

  Tommy took a blanket off the foot of the bed with such force the other covers underneath came part way off as well. When he walked across the room, his eyes blazed with anger. His lips set in a firm, straight line.

  Well, now he knew what Tommy looked like when he was angry. It was hot and he probably would have made a joke about Tommy being a sexy ginger if he didn't feel like crap.

  Despite Tommy's mood, he tucked the blanket around Jules gently.

  His gaze met Jules, and when he spoke, his tone was as hard as nails. "Get this through your head. You’re ours. Ours. You’ll regret it if you leave.”

  Jules swallowed the lump that formed in his throat and moved into Hacen. Never in his life would he think Tommy would be the one that made him feel as if he were talking to Mr. Evil himself, but there he was, right back in the past all over again.

  Jules wanted to reply with some brilliant comeback, but he couldn't get words to form. Fear glued his tongue to the roof of his mouth.

  "Go cool off, Tommy. Now. Before you say something else you'll regret." The last thing Jules expected was Hacen coming to his rescue.

  He couldn't have been more grateful when Tommy turned and headed for the door. The second it clicked shut behind him, Jules let out the breath he wasn't aware he held. Trying to hold the tears back was like trying to hold back a broken dam.

  Hacen let him cry, and for the first time since meeting him, Jules felt completely comfortable. He wasn't even sure why. They'd argue again, probably soon. But there was a difference between Hacen's overbearing, controlling attitude and what Tommy displayed. He could deal with the former because, in the end, he knew Hacen would eventually give in, at least to the point that they could make a compromise. Hacen hadn't ever come at him from a place of anger, only frustration.