“By then, I knew about Jaryn. He was just a young boy then and couldn’t leave his parents.” Brom shrugged. “So, I made the decision to let Daniel go and stay with Jaryn until he was old enough for us all to be together. By the time Jaryn turned eighteen, my wife was pregnant with our second child, and I couldn’t leave.”
“So, what changed?” Jake asked.
“You know what changed,” Brom replied. “You were there.”
“Okay, so you claimed Daniel.” Jake smirked. “So what?”
“Now that I’ve claimed Daniel, I certainly won’t be giving him up. Considering how my pack thinks, I won’t be staying with them, either. And that means Jaryn, my cubs, and I leave to be with Daniel. My father can’t allow that. He’d rather see us all dead.”
“You, me, and Jaryn, anyway,” Daniel added. “You know he’d keep the cubs.”
“And you and Jaryn and the cubs ended up here how?” Jake asked.
“Jaryn found out my father knows about Daniel. He was already looking for me. We took the cubs out of the hotel and came here.” Brom reached back and laid his hand over Daniel’s. “This is where Daniel was. It was all we could think to do.”
“And that’s why you asked for sanctuary?” Jake asked.
Brom nodded.
“Then why not ask Vadim for sanctuary? This is his island. Why ask me?”
“I don’t know.” Brom chuckled, looking as confused as everyone else in the room. “I thought we were going to ask Alpha Miroslav for sanctuary until I heard Jaryn ask you. Jaryn sort of has premonitions. I’ve spent enough time with him to know to go with them. If he thinks you’re a better choice, well…”
“Fair enough,” Jake said. “Do you think your father is still after you?”
“Oh, yeah. Until he either sees our dead bodies hanging from a spit or has the cubs back in his custody, he’s going to come after us. He still might come after us even if he gets the cubs back. He has my wife on his side.”
“Your wife?”
Brom nodded. “Marla and my father have been sleeping together for the last four months. I’ve known about it from almost the very beginning. To tell you the truth, I’m surprised it didn’t happen earlier. My father can have the bitch for all I care.”
“That’s a little cold, isn’t it?” Jake asked.
“Have you met my wife?”
“No, I haven’t had the pleasure.”
“Lucky you.” Daniel felt Brom’s shoulders lift under his hands as the man took a deep breath. “You need to understand, my wife and I were never in love. Hell, we can barely stand to be in the same room together. The only thing she wants from me is my position as the alpha’s son. If she can get that from my father, I’m useless to her.”
“You are the father of her cubs.”
“And if something were to happen to me, my father would be all too happy to raise my cubs as his own, brainwashing them to be little monsters just like him. Of course, if my wife came along with the package, even better for him.”
Jake smirked. “The alpha of the pack taking care of the grieving widow and her cubs? Yeah, that’s sure to win him some brownie points with the pack, being the good alpha and father and all.”
“Exactly,” Brom agreed.
“Boy, you sure know how to get yourself into a mess, don’t you,” Jake said. It was more of a comment than a question.
Daniel felt Brom nod as he watched Jake walk to the liquor cabinet and pour himself a drink. Jake glanced over his shoulder, the decanter in his hand. “Would you like a drink, Brom? Daniel?”
Brom shook his head. “No, I need to keep a clear head. I still don’t know where my father is or when he’ll show up here because believe me, he will show up here. He knows Daniel is the first person I would go to, and I’m sure he’s already figured out where Daniel is staying.”
Daniel tightened his hands on Brom’s shoulder to let the man know he heard the words and the underlying implication of them. If they had been alone in the room, Daniel would have been all over Brom. As it was, he could barely keep himself from kissing the man.
Basically, Brom was telling them all that Daniel was the first person he thought of to go to when in trouble. It was a good feeling, one that Daniel hadn’t felt in a long time. Not in maybe five years.
“How do you feel about all of this, Daniel?”
Daniel lifted his head from where he stared down at the top of Brom’s head to see Leyland staring across the room at him. He could see that Leyland was in full mother hen mode, something that often happened when one of their pack members was involved.
“Why don’t you come over here and tell me?” Daniel countered as he held out his hand to the man. He could feel Brom’s confusion through their mate bond. Boy, was he in for a surprise, Daniel thought, chuckling softly to himself.
Leyland crossed the room to Daniel and took his hand. He stared at Daniel for several moments before nodding and dropping it. Leyland surprised Daniel when he held out his hand to Brom.
“Brom?” Leyland asked. “Would you mind?”
Brom looked totally bewildered. He cast a quick glance at Jake and Lucas but seeing no threat from them, held out his hand to Leyland. Daniel rolled his eyes. The unease and confusion rolling off of Brom could have knocked over a two-story building.
“Do you love Daniel?”
“Of course I do!” Brom snapped and then immediately flushed.
Leyland watched Brom for another moment then smiled. He dropped his hand and walked across the room to sit down in Lucas’s lap like everything was right in the world. “Okay, I’m satisfied.”
Daniel smiled down at Brom when the man glanced over his shoulder at him. He knew Brom was totally confused by Leyland’s behavior. Daniel had lived in the same house as Leyland for ages now. He’d grown used to it.
“Guess that means you’re in, babe.” Daniel chuckled.
“What just happened here?” Brom asked, glancing over his shoulder to Daniel.
“Leyland can read emotions,” Jake said, a slight smirk on his face as he reached down and ruffled Leyland’s light brown hair. “He can also tell if someone is lying or not.”
“Leyland has a few other gifts, but we’ll talk about them later,” Lucas added.
“Every tri-omega has a gift of some sort. It’s what makes them so unique and sought after,” Jake explained. “Leyland can read emotions and tell if someone is lying. Ryland has the ability to heal someone. Micah can shift into the biggest damn two-footed werewolf you’ve ever seen, and Cary has premonitions like your Jaryn does.”
“I always knew Jaryn was special, but I had no idea it was because he was a tri-omega.”
“You didn’t know he was a tri-omega?” Jake asked.
“No, I knew that,” Brom replied. “It was kind of obvious what with both me and Daniel being mated to him. I just didn’t know that it meant his ability to know things was due to being a tri-omega. I just always kind of figured it was him.”
“Do you think your father knows?” Daniel asked. The mere asking of the question sent a chill down Daniel’s spine. Jaryn could be in even more danger than they thought.
“Maybe, but I don’t think so,” Brom said. “He’s never given Jaryn any more attention than he has anyone else in our pack. You’d think if he knew Jaryn was a tri-omega, he’d want to keep him under wraps or something.”
“Does he know that Jaryn is your mate?” Jake asked.
Brom shrugged. “Again, I don’t think so. Jaryn and I have worked very hard not to seem like we’re mates. After what happened with Daniel, I knew it was just too dangerous. We tried to never be together or anything. I tried not to show him any special attention.” Brom rubbed the heels of his hands over his eyes. “Fuck, the last few years have been a nightmare.”
“I don’t think that the last few years have been any easier on Daniel,” Jake said. “You know he thought you didn’t want him?”
Brom looked up. Even from where he stood, Daniel could see the s
adness and guilt in Brom’s features. It showed even more in the slight slump of his shoulders.
“I know,” Brom said quietly. “It was the only way I could get him to leave, and if he stayed, my father would have killed him.”
“But you were mates,” Leyland insisted. “That’s a sacred bond that supersedes even an alpha.”
Brom snorted. “Not in my father’s world, it doesn’t. You marry who he wants, or he orders a hunt.”
“Sounds like Alpha Valeriya,” Vadim said.
“Alpha Valeriya?”
“Alpha Valeriya was the alpha here on Vourdala Island before me. He ruled the place like it was his own little fiefdom. He isolated the pack from the rest of the world, and if you didn’t do what he wanted, he killed you.” Vadim snuggled the man in his arms a little closer, a loving look in his eyes as he glanced down at him. “Sasha was his omega, and things were pretty bad for him before I killed the alpha in a challenge and took over.”
“Is Sasha a tri-omega?” Brom asked.
“No,” Vadim replied, a wide, possessive grin on his face. “Sasha is all mines.”
Jake chuckled. “I’m telling you, Vadim, you don’t know what you’re missing.”
“I’ll chance it, thank you,” Vadim replied. “I don’t share.”
As Daniel watched Jake look tenderly down at Lucas and Leyland, he realized that he could have what they had with Brom and Jaryn, assuming that Jaryn survived. It suddenly became imperative to him that the little man’s injuries be healed. He wanted to explore the mating bond the three of them could have.
“What are we going to do about Jaryn?” he asked. “Ryland couldn’t heal all of his injuries, and he doesn’t look like he’s going to be able to heal on his own.”
Brom sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping even more.
“It’ll be okay, baby,” Daniel said through their mating link, using it for the first time since they had claimed each other. He felt Brom jerk in surprise as the man gazed up at him.
“Forgot about that part, didn’t you?” Daniel chuckled. Brom, his mouth hanging open in shock, nodded his head. “Just think of what it will be like when we claim Jaryn?” Daniel sent to the man, laughing when Brom’s face flushed.
“I don’t rightly know why Jaryn isn’t healing,” Leyland said. “I don’t think that’s normal. I mean, I know a shifter can be killed from severe injuries but that’s like, losing their head or something, isn’t it?”
“Would your mother know, Leyland?” Jake asked.
Daniel felt like hitting himself in the head. He should have thought of calling Leyland’s mother. Lilla Summers seemed to be the premier authority on tri-omegas. Daniel began to think that a book on the Proper Care and Treatment of a Tri-Omega wouldn’t be a bad thing.
“Maybe,” Leyland said as he climbed off Lucas’s lap and headed for the phone. “I’ll give her a call.”
Daniel mentally crossed his fingers. He turned his hand over and gripped Brom’s hand as Leyland picked up the phone and dialed his mother. The waiting was nearly unimaginable. If Lilla didn’t have answers, Daniel didn’t know what they would do.
“Hey, Mom, it’s me,” Leyland said. “We need some tri-omega help.”
Daniel watched him nod several times. He felt like he stood on pins and needles as he waited.
“Okay, look, I’m going to put you on speaker phone, so you can talk with Brom and Daniel. They know more about what’s going on than I do.”
Leyland grabbed the phone and set it down on the coffee table between everyone, hitting the speak phone function. A quiet, warm voice came over the line.
“Hello?”
“Mrs. Summers,” Daniel began, “it’s Daniel James. I’m in the same pack as Leyland.”
“Yes, of course. I remember you, Daniel,” Lilla replied. “Please, call me Lilla. Mrs. Summers is my mother-in-law, and I am much younger than that.”
Daniel chuckled. “Yes, I remember.”
He glanced up when Viktor and Gregory walked back into the room without Ryland. He raised an eyebrow, concerned about the young man. Gregory placed his hands beside his face as if asleep. Daniel nodded.
“Thank you,” he mouthed. Gregory nodded back and went to sit down next to Viktor.
“What seems to be your problem, young man?” Lilla asked.
“Jaryn is our mate, mine and Brom’s. He was attacked earlier tonight and severely injured both on his abdomen and his throat. Ryland was able to heal the wounds on his abdomen, but the ones on his neck won’t heal, and he’s not healing on his own.”
“You say Ryland wasn’t able to heal him?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Well, that’s very strange,” Lilla replied. “As long as they’re claimed on a regular basis, a tri-omega is pretty much invulnerable. They can be injured, sure, but they can’t die unless their head is severed completely.”
Daniel’s heart thundered. “We haven’t claimed Jaryn yet.”
“Well, why in the hell not?” Lilla exclaimed. “If you don’t claim him, he’s going to die.”
“Wait a minute,” Daniel said. “Are you saying that as long as we both claim Jaryn on a regular basis, he can’t die?”
“Not unless he loses his head,” Lilla replied. “Well, he’ll grow old just like any other shifter and eventually die that way, but other than that, he should be able to heal from any injury given enough time. Tri-omegas and their mates create a triad that has to be unbroken in order for it to work.”
Daniel glanced around the room and saw every shifter in the room staring at the phone in shock. He’d bet a lot of money that all of the tri-omega triads in the room hadn’t known that little tidbit of information.
“You sure you don’t want to write a how-to book, Lilla?” Daniel chuckled.
“I’ve been giving it some thought,” Lilla replied dryly. “Usually, only one tri-omega is born every generation. Now we have several all at the same time. I’m not sure whether to be excited about that or concerned. It’s never happened before in recorded history, at least, not that I know of.”
“I can ask my grandfather, Stefan Dumitra,” Sasha put in. “He’s a scholar like my father was. He might know.”
“Could you, Sasha dear?” Lilla asked. “I’d be very interested in knowing what he finds out. Why don’t you have him give me a call, and we can discuss it. This is all very unusual.”
“In the meantime, do you think you could start writing some of this stuff down?” Daniel asked. “I think it would help a lot for us to know everything when dealing with tri-omegas, so we don’t make any more mistakes.”
“I would be happy to.” Lilla laughed. “You just go claim that young man of yours before he gets any sicker than he already is. Once you claim him, he should start to get better right away. And remember that you need to claim him every few days to keep him in the best of health.”
Jake burst out laughing. “And it’s best done while being intimate. The genetic additive you pass on to your tri-omega is strongest during sex.”
“And don’t forget that while your bond with your tri-omega will be stronger,” Viktor added looking over at Daniel, “you will also have a bond with Brom. You’re his mate as much as you’re Jaryn’s.”
“Hear that, baby?” Daniel silently asked Brom.
“I already knew that,” Brom replied through their link. “I’ve always known we were mates.”
Chapter 9
Brom closed the bedroom door behind everyone and leaned back again it, heaving a sigh of relief. He found everyone’s advice invaluable and was grateful for each hint, but he was glad that they were all finally gone.
As much as he wanted to know everything there was about taking care of Jaryn, he really needed for him and Daniel to just claim Jaryn so he’d get better. Brom was brimming with impatience to see Jaryn open his eyes. He could feel it in the adrenaline racing through his body and making his fingers tingle.
“How are you holding up, babe?”
Brom
chuckled and looked over at Daniel. The man stood next to the side of the bed, slowly unbuttoning his shirt. Brom felt his cock harden in his pants, instantly interested in the man’s actions.
“I think I’m about to be much better.”
Brom pushed himself away from the door and walked over to Daniel’s side of the bed. He gestured down to Daniel’s shirt. “Need some help with that?”
“Maybe.”
Brom grabbed for Daniel’s shirt. He looked down at the nice white cotton shirt and the small, round wooden buttons. “How much did this shirt cost you?”
Daniel glanced down at it. “I don’t know. About forty dollars, I think.” He looked up at Brom, confusion written all over his face. “Why?”
Brom grinned and yanked, the shirt tearing apart in his hands, buttons flying everywhere. Daniel looked shocked.
“Hey!”
“I’ll buy you a new shirt,” Brom said as he leaned in to lick at the mating mark on Daniel’s neck. “I’ll buy you a hundred new shirts, I promise.”
Daniel laughed, tilting his head back to bare his neck to Brom. His hands clenched in Brom’s shirt. “You just want to rip them off me.”
Brom lifted his head to look into Daniel’s eyes. “True.”
Daniel’s green eyes twinkled. “Anything else you want to rip off of me?”
Brom could think of one or two items, pretty much everything that hid Daniel’s sexy, naked body from his view. “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.”
“Deal.” Daniel stepped back, his hands going to the buttons of his pants. Brom froze, unable to move and tear his eyes away from the skin Daniel exposed one inch at a time. Daniel was seduction personified. He had Brom’s full attention.
Daniel kicked his shoes off and pushed his pants down his legs, kicking them away before standing in front of Brom in all his glory. Brom drew in a ragged breath. Daniel just seemed to get sexier every time he looked at the man.
“I showed you mine, Brom,” Daniel hinted. “Aren’t you going to show me yours?”
Brom flushed, having been caught red-handed staring at Daniel. That drool wasn’t falling down his face surprised him. Brom quickly pulled his clothes and shoes off, kicking them aside before standing before Daniel just as naked.
Unspoken Desires Page 9
