by Ophelia Bell
The doctor nodded. “She’s avoided treating champions personally since Talon died. I could never get her to come out and admit it, but I believe she feared she’d meet another whose dragon spoke to her own the way Talon’s did. Champions aren’t exactly that keen on self-preservation—or settling down.”
“We want to settle down,” Dez said, a little desperately. “We want her.”
“But we refuse to mark her without her consent,” Cato said.
“Do we have a choice now?” Veryl said, staring at his friend, exasperated at Cato’s rigidity.
“That’s what you’ll have to decide,” the doctor said. “Her marks on you afford you that privilege. She has claimed you, at least. Whether you mark her and help revitalize her dragon, or have us administer the antidote when it’s ready, is up to you. But don’t take too long making the decision. I know how much Simina desired a child too, but we have to consider the alternative if she hasn’t improved by the time the antidote is ready.”
He left the room, and her three mates remained, staring silently at Simina.
“There’s no decision to make here, as far as I’m concerned,” Veryl said.
Dez moved to stand at his shoulder. “Nope. I wouldn’t call it a choice when there’s only one thing to do.”
Veryl turned to glare at Cato, who stood frozen at the foot of the bed, staring down at Simina with eyes full of fear. Veryl could sense his friend’s struggle through their link. Despite the fact that they hadn’t yet marked each other, he’d known the blue dragon long enough to know when Cato was scared, which wasn’t often.
“It isn’t the dilemma you think it is, man. I know consent is a big deal to you, but this is different. This is life and death we’re talking about.”
Cato shook his head. “There’s a chance this won’t work. They could both die if her dragon doesn’t respond to us. If she could say yes, we’d know it would work.”
“It will work,” Veryl said. “Her feelings for us were real. If they weren’t, we wouldn’t have these.” He tapped the back of his neck where Simina’s mark tingled.
“At the very least, we know her dragon wants us,” Dez added. “I say we ask her forgiveness after we’ve saved both her and our baby.” His earnestness caused Veryl to shoot him a surprised glance. Dez shrugged. “What? Whose do you think it is? I don’t care which of us is the father. As far as I’m concerned, we all had a part in getting her pregnant. We’re all going to have a part in saving our family.”
“Our family …” Cato whispered, his eyes shining as he stared down at Simina. He took a deep breath and it came out in a stuttering rush as he stepped around to the opposite side of the bed and faced them. “Let’s do this.”
Veryl’s heart soared at the determination in Cato’s eyes. They’d all shared the same desires for a long time. Now that it was finally within their grasp, there was nothing that could stop them. They just needed to make it official.
Without speaking, the three of them stretched their arms out. Veryl clasped one hand at the back of Cato’s neck, and the other at the back of Dez’s, and the others followed suit. His fingers twined with Cato’s against Dez’s neck, and Dez’s fingers sought out his at the back of Cato’s neck. Together, they leaned in over Simina’s bed, foreheads touching, and released their hold on their dragons.
Veryl inhaled sharply at the rush of energy that flooded into him as their marks sank into his skin. His neck tingled and his cock stiffened. His fingers tightened with the others, and a pair of lips grazed the side of his mouth while another brushed his cheek. The old ache of want he’d harbored for so long disappeared when he captured Dez’s lips in a slow, tender kiss, followed by Cato’s.
They were his now. Unequivocally his. And he was theirs.
After a long moment reveling in the new feeling of completeness, they pulled back. There was one piece left to add yet.
“Together,” Cato said, looking down at Simina’s unconscious form. He gently slid his hand beneath her head, cupping the back of her neck. They could have put her mark anywhere, but this made sense. Veryl and Dez slipped theirs alongside his, fingers tangling so all three had contact with the heated skin of the woman they loved.
The second their dragons melded their power into a mark at the back of her neck, Veryl was awash in pain. It was her pain, he soon realized, and Cato and Dez both let out harsh gasps that let him know they felt it too. But now that they were mated, they could work to take that pain away.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Simina’s entire body blazed with searing agony. Something was wrong, and she clawed her way back to consciousness despite the hurt because they needed her. Her mates were in danger, and she had to get to them, warn them.
“Veryl. Dez. Cato. Don’t do it. Don’t fight. I can’t lose you!”
But the darkness held her tight, and she lost her grip on that small shred of consciousness.
The pain flared again an instant later, and she cried out from it, her back arching in a spasm. Her memories clarified, the image of the huge gator claws swinging at her, the pain of the razor-sharp, poisoned tips slicing through her skin, and then the springy turf beneath her catching her fall just before she blacked out.
She’d been poisoned. Oh god, she’d failed them. Were they dead? Or just injured like her? The antidote … If they were injured, she had to get it to them.
“Antidote …” she murmured, but in the gray haze of half-drugged pain, she wasn’t sure her mouth even worked right. She couldn’t feel her dragon, and its loss sent a wave of grief through her. She had no idea how to rebuild that connection once it was lost, but knew shifters who lost their link to their animals often died soon after. Even if she got the antidote, it might be too late. For her, or for them.
No. That wasn’t true. They could survive. Bryer Vargas had survived.
But Talon had died. And the three men she’d fallen in love with after him were too much like him. She was losing Talon all over again.
“No. No, no, no,” she cried, hot tears streaming down her cheeks. Her chest heaved with sobs, sending fresh shocks of agony through her body, but she didn’t care. The worst had happened, and this was something she could never survive, even if she could reach her dragon and somehow make herself whole again.
She would never be completely whole without them.
“She’s coming around,” a familiar male voice said. Javin was there. Of course her oldest friend and mentor would be by her side. He’d always been there for her. But he would never understand. He’d never found and lost a mate, much less four.
“Simina? Are you awake, starshine?”
“Come back to us, baby. We miss you.”
“We’re yours, Simina. And you are ours. We love you.”
The three voices made her venture a peek out of heavy eyelids. Her heart raced. Could it be?
A pair of anxious violet eyes met hers and her heart lurched. In a raspy voice, she said, “Veryl … You’re all right?”
Veryl expelled a breath in a rush and gripped her hand tighter. “Yes. Thanks to you, we’re all right. You will be too.”
“The antidote … it worked.” She darted a look around to the white-clad figure who soon came into focus nearby.
Javin shook his head. “Not exactly. We didn’t give you the antidote. Looks like three very protective dragon mates were enough to bring you back to us.” He gave her a warm smile. “Simon was the recipient of the sample antidote. His system is entirely clear of poison, and his condition is improving rapidly.”
She blinked at him, then looked at the three men seated on either side of her bed—Veryl and Dez to her left, and Cato to her right. “I don’t understand. How? We were never mated.”
“I’m so sorry,” Cato said. “It was the only way.”
“And that’s not exactly true,” Dez said. “You marked us weeks ago. So technically, w
e were yours kind of from the start.”
Simina shook her head, a protest on the tip of her tongue when she remembered that soul-deep desperation she’d felt when she realized they were in danger. The air left her lungs in a rush. “Oh, wow. I did, didn’t I? I don’t even remember doing it. Just how right everything felt at the time. Until I found out …”
“We’re quitting,” Cato blurted.
“What the fuck?” Dez said, darting a shocked look at Cato.
Cato glowered at his friend. “She didn’t sign up to be involuntarily bound to three champions. It’s the last thing she wants. So, we have to quit competing.”
“Dude,” Veryl said. “Why don’t you let her decide if she’s okay with it or not? Simina, we had to mark you in order to save you. There’s no going back from that, and Cato isn’t exactly being the most eloquent right now …” He glared at the big blond champion. “But he’s been a little over-anxious about how you’ll take the news.”
Simina frowned, trying to take it all in. “You mean about you guys abandoning the thing you love most, or about marking me while I was unconscious?”
“Pretty sure you’ve surpassed the arena on our list of things we love most. Competing is in a solid third place now… actually, make that fifth place,” Dez said, grinning at the other two guys.
Veryl leaned in and pressed his lips to her cheek, then squeezed her hand again. “He’s right. After you left, we wanted to chase you down, but Gerri Wilder convinced us to give you space. We were waiting until we got you back before we went through with marking each other. The arena’s our career, Simina. It’s been a career that rewards us, and we definitely love the shit out of it, but it isn’t too late to start over. As long as we have each other … the five of us will be fine.”
“Guys, I don’t want you to quit! I never wanted that. I love the League. I love working with champions. I always imagined I’d be mated to one, until whoever it is who created that damn drug made me scared to love another champion. That’s over now. Don’t quit. And for fuck’s sake, don’t feel guilty about saving my life the way you did. I’d have done the same thing.”
She shook her head and relaxed back into the pillow, willing the three of them to settle down too, but they all just kept looking at her with eyebrows raised as though waiting for her to say something else. Then it finally hit her.
“Did you say five of us?” She cocked her head and lifted a hand to point at each of them in turn. “Because there are only three of you … You didn’t find another mate …?” She glanced at Javin, who raised his hands in the air.
“Not part of this,” Javin said, grinning from ear to ear.
Simina’s mouth dropped open and her hands flew to her belly. Tears immediately sprang to her eyes, blurring the three faces she never in her life wanted to lose sight of again. “Five. A baby. We’re having a baby.”
“Yes, starshine. We are.”
The three of them showered her with kisses until she couldn’t help but laugh. When they finally subsided, she caught the patient gaze of Javin standing near the foot of her bed. He was still smiling just as brightly, but sobered and grew serious when her eyes met his with her unspoken question.
Javin pressed his lips tight for a second and gave a curt nod. “I need a moment alone with Simina.” The gravity in his tone made her skin go cold.
“Not a fucking chance,” Cato said. “If there’s anything wrong, we need to hear it too.”
“It’s all right, Javin. Say what you need to say,” Simina said.
Javin leaned down and gripped the footboard of her bed, his brows raised with that earnest look he got when delivering a serious diagnosis. Simina braced herself for bad news, blindly grasping for hands to hold and finding three in easy reach. Fortified by the grips of her mates, she waited.
“Your mates’ dragons succeeded in pushing your immune system into gear to clear your body of the poison. Your wound wasn’t serious, so it will heal quickly. But the bigger issue is your link to your dragon. She’s still locked in defense mode, protecting the baby.”
Simina nodded and took a deep, shaky breath. She instinctively knew as much, but had just needed to hear him say it. She and her dragon had lost their link.
“Is… is it terminal? How much time do I have … Will the baby live?”
Javin’s eyebrows dipped and his jaw flexed. “Don’t give up yet, Simina. If this were any other case, I’d say the prognosis is not good. You would live long enough to deliver the baby, but not much longer without regaining that link.”
Impassioned protests sounded from her mates, but Simina squeezed their hands and kept her attention focused on Javin, drawing on her clinical detachment to hear what he had to say. “How is this different from any other case?”
“You’re the expert on a shifter’s link to his or her animal, Simina. You tell me. I’d suggest that it’s time to put your theories into action. If your research is correct, you can reawaken that link. You’ve got three very determined mates here who would do anything to help make that happen.”
Simina closed her eyes to center herself, but without that familiar link, her mind found no anchor besides the big hands gripped in hers.
Half of her research over the past year had been focused on proving that Talon could have lived if they’d been mated. She’d put just as much effort into that as in seeking an actual antidote for the poison that had killed him. Not every champion would have the luxury of a mate—in fact, most of them wouldn’t. But if they did, she wanted to be able to tell them they had a chance to heal fully. It had worked for Bryer. Could it work for her too?
She opened her eyes and looked at Javin. “Am I cleared for discharge? I would like to go home.”
He gave her a cautious nod. “Promise you’ll call if there’s any change—good or bad. You’re more than just a colleague to me, Simina.”
Tears pricked her eyes again at the gruffness that edged Javin’s voice. He was like her in many ways—a highly competent doctor who was good at compartmentalizing. But she’d seen hints of the kind of man he might be outside of work, and she liked that version of him. If she made it through this, she’d have to make an effort to find a life and friends away from the League Medical Institute, and cultivate those friendships that she’d set aside over the past year.
“I promise.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Simina once thought bringing a new lover home would feel like a betrayal of Talon’s memory, but when she walked through her door with her new mates, it simply felt like coming home. In fact, it felt more like home than it had in an entire year, which was exactly what made this homecoming so damn bittersweet.
Her open living room overlooked a vista of gold-tinged mountain ranges cast in a red glow from the pair of setting suns. One was halfway obscured by the horizon, the other still perched above the trees a little farther to the north, its light causing the purple foliage to shimmer as though drenched in Sidaii wine.
Simina took in the scenery as though seeing it for the first time in ages, even though she’d passed by this window that very morning on the way out the door, and had seen this very sunset every evening since returning from her trip.
It wouldn’t be her last sunset, but if she didn’t regain her link to her dragon, her sunsets were numbered. She wasn’t yet sure if she could hold out hope that she’d share more than a few sunsets like this with her baby, and the baby’s fathers.
A pair of warm, strong arms wrapped around her from behind and she sank back, comforted by Veryl’s familiar scent and gentle touch. Dez and Cato appeared to either side, intently focused on her. They both looked a little pale despite the light coming in through the big window, and she could sense the depth of their worry through their link.
“Tell us what to do, love,” Cato said. “How do we fix you?”
“It’s only a theory. I have a single case study to
back it up, but that in itself isn’t enough proof. The first time Bryer Vargas and his partner made love to their mate after marking her, he was completely healed. He never entirely lost his link to his dragon, though. Unlike me … his link was only weakened. I don’t know if the same will work for me.”
“Baby, we’ll make love to you until the end of time if it keeps you alive,” Dez said.
She took a long breath, meeting both dragons’ gazes and threading her fingers through Veryl’s hands where they crossed over her belly. “I love you all so much, and I am so, so sorry I ran. I was too terrified of exactly this happening to one of you. If this doesn’t work …” Her voice caught in her throat and Veryl buried his face against her neck, his breathing quickening with deep emotion. Both Cato and Dez looked stricken.
Taking another deep breath, she tried again. “If this doesn’t work, I need you to promise our baby is safe and happy. I want her to know what she meant to me—and I want her to know the father she might have had, if Talon had lived. I can’t imagine ever not loving the three of you, you know. I believe even if Talon hadn’t died … he’d have loved you too.”
A soft smile tilted Dez’s mouth. “We are so not worthy of either of you, but I’d have gladly been part of that, given the choice.”
“You’re going to live,” Cato said through gritted teeth. “This will work. Just tell us what we need to do.”
“Make love to me. All three of you … I want all of you inside me.”
Veryl gripped her shoulders and turned her to face him. She met his gaze with wide eyes. “Are you sure, starshine? That’s … a lot of dragon.” He sized her up in a quick glance and gave her a skeptical look.
“If she wants all three of us at once, then we’ll give it to her,” Cato said, his voice coming from just behind her now, so close his breath tickled the back of her neck where their fresh marks still tingled just beneath her hairline. His lips grazed the shell of her ear, sending white heat down her spine. “You didn’t get your fill of us before, did you, love? Need that sweet, sweet snatch of yours stretched so much you can imagine my dragon’s the one fucking you?”
