by Maggie Walsh
“But just because Lexi made a new friend and that friendship grew into a best friend doesn’t mean he can’t still be your friend, or your best friend. Look at Micah. He has Raith and Dante. Dante has Micah and Vik. Vik has Dante and Raith, Raith has Micah, Vik, and Jesse. And you get the point. Lexi is still your friend. He’s just been hurt by you a lot lately because of things you have said about us mates, to us mates, and to his mate. If you haven’t noticed, Lexi is super protective of all of us mates. And we are all very grateful to have him.
“I know we…I…can get a bit over the top sometimes”―Crew gave him a you think look―”but I honestly never meant to hurt your feelings. Lexi has told me so many great, funny stories about the shit you and he pulled and all the teasing you did and I figured that meant you had the same stupid sense of humor that we have. I only ever meant to tease. Well, that’s not entirely true. When Jesse came to me upset over what he overheard you, Xander, and Xavier saying, I got pissed and hurt. So I did dig at you a few times to hurt you. But I do like you, Crew. And I don’t think you’re stupid or not as good as the others. I know that most of the time what comes out of your mouth is because you don’t have a filter. Neither do I most of the time. You think things, but then realize that you actually said them out loud, and then want a hole to come and swallow you up.”
Crew nodded and dropped his head, looking down at his lap.
“I know the feeling. I’ve been there many times. But since Jesse and I got away from New York and then Georgia, I decided I didn’t want to live like that anymore. I say what I say and I make no apologies about the crazy shit that flies out of my mouth. I like being who I am. I like being loud and proud and over the top. I like being flashy and flamboyant. With Gabriel’s love, I have finally accepted who I am, and I like who I am. I hope that you can find a way to get there, too. Because believe it or not, you are a pretty amazing person.”
Crew shot him a look of shock and confusion.
“Oh don’t give me that look. So what if sometimes what you think you are thinking comes out of your mouth instead, and people look at you like what the fuck? I bet you everyone has similar questions flying around in their heads. They just don’t want to voice those questions for fear of looking like a dork or not smart. Look at those great suggestions you gave the council. Now they are building on those ideas and using them. That’s great, Crew. You showed everyone that you’re more than a pretty face.”
“A stupid moron who’s useless is more like it. Ouch! What the fuck, Taylor?” Crew yelled out and rubbed his arm where Taylor had pinched him.
“I want so bad to go find your family and beat every one of them into the floor for making you think those horrible things about yourself. You are not stupid, Crew. If anything, it’s the total opposite. I think you’re pretty damn smart. You don’t say a lot and I believe that’s in fear of looking stupid. But, by not saying a lot, you observe a lot. You absorb all that knowledge and keep it inside you. You learn and grow, and then those good ideas form and come out sometimes. Let them out more, Crew. Show everyone that just because you’re the youngest and smallest doesn’t mean you’re not as smart as they are. Look at Aaron. He’s not that big, but he’s a fucking genius.
“And you’re a good enforcer, Crew. You’re very brave. I would say you’re probably the bravest out of all of them.” Crew gave him another puzzled look. “You heard me. Most of these guys are alpha types. They get scared and nervous, too, sometimes, but they know they are big and fierce. You’re not exactly an alpha. You get scared and nervous about going into these battles, but you still go. You push it aside and go into the danger. That’s pretty brave, Crew. And when you do go to battle, you fight with everything you have. Sounds like someone who’s not useless to me.
“And as for your mate, he will want you. How could he not? You’re fucking gorgeous, and I am shocked that you don’t know it. That sexy, long light-brown hair and those pretty green eyes with the long lashes surrounding them. Those high cheekbones and pouty lips. Mmm. Your face is so beautiful you could be a supermodel. I know everyone teases Christian that he could have been a supermodel, but you would definitely give him a run for his money.”
Crew blushed and looked back down at his lap.
“And not for nothing, but when you smile or blush, it just makes you even hotter. You’re fucking adorable, Crew. And I don’t think your mate should have any problem with who you have spent your time with and what you were doing with that time before you met him. Have you seen him? He’s fucking sex on a stick. I doubt he’s still a virgin. So if he does give you any shit about that, tell him to go fuck himself then. And if that doesn’t shake up his dick enough, send him my way and I will teach him the errors of his ways. No one, and I mean no one, messes with my family.
“And as far as your desires are concerned”―Crew’s eyes snapped to his in horror―”you like what you like and it’s nobody else’s business. There is absolutely nothing wrong with what you like and what you want. We all have our own special kinks. What we do with our mates, or with our lovers, is our own business. And if anyone gives you shit about it, it’s because of their own insecurities and hang-ups. Be who you are, Crew. Embrace the amazing person you are.” Taylor nudged his shoulder and smiled.
“Thanks, Taylor. And thanks for not telling my secrets.”
“They are just that, Crew. Your secrets. May I make a suggestion though?” Taylor asked and waited for Crew to nod. “Be who you are with your mates. If you are, then you will all find a compromise that you all can live with. And you will have two mates, you lucky fuck. Haven is a mountain lion.”
Crew gave Taylor the biggest shy smile and blushed. “Why are you being so nice to me?” Crew asked shyly.
“Whether you believe it or not, Crew, you are my family, and I love you. And I believe everyone should be able to be their authentic self without having to worry about ridicule or hate. As long as you’re not hurting anyone then no one else should have a say about who you are.” Taylor smiled at him, then stood up, and headed for the door.
“Hey, Taylor,” Crew called out. Taylor stopped and looked back at him with a questioning look. “I was jealous of you and Lexi. I’m sorry if I ever caused you pain with my petty bullshit. And I do like you. I just never know how to be around you,” Crew confessed.
Taylor gave him a big smile. “No apology necessary, but accepted anyway. I hope you can accept my apology for hurting you. And just be exactly who you are. Always be you, Crew. Because I think that guy is pretty great and incredibly special.” Taylor winked at him, then turned, opened the door, and walked out.
Chapter 3
“What the fuck is that crazy bastard doing now?” Phenex asked angrily as he and Nuriel walked toward the Phlegethon River, looking on toward the gates of Gehenna.
“He appears to be riding that hellhound, sir,” Nuriel said with amusement in his voice and tried to cover his smile.
“No shit. I can see that, Nuriel. Does he have some kind of death wish or something? I swear that man is trying to either kill himself or me.”
“I think he’s just gone eccentric in his old age,” Nuriel snickered.
“He’s younger than you and I don’t see you riding around on the back of a hellhound.”
“Not that you’ve ever seen anyway,” Nuriel mumbled. Phenex stopped and looked at his second. “What? Joke. Ha ha. I was kidding.”
“Yeah, and I bet you have a bridge to sell me, too,” Phenex huffed.
They got to the edge of the river and Phenex crossed his arms over his massive chest. “Laylen! What in Lord Lucifer’s hell do you think you’re doing? Get the fuck off that beast before he mauls you,” Phen yelled at his warrior.
“Ah, Commander, he would never do that. He’s a pussy cat. Look at those loving eyes,” Laylen said happily as he held on tight to the hounds neck as it twisted and turned, trying to buck him off.
“Loving eyes, huh? That’s not loving eyes, you twisted bastard. That’s hunger. Hun
ger for your hide. Now get off that beast.”
“All joking aside, Commander. This one is the crazy beast that started this shit. He started fighting with one of the other beasts and ended up pushing the unlucky bastard into the Phlegethon. Then he did it again with another four. The others saw what he was doing and an all-out hellhound battle began. They started snapping and biting each other and another six went into the river. As they were being distracted with their battle, Xenthra tried to escape right out the fucking front door. Ryx and I arrived to see the hounds battling it out and watched as Xenthra ran off out the gates. So we high tailed it over here and I jumped on this one’s back to stop the others, and Ryx grabbed Xenthra. Once I got this puppy under control, the rest settled down. But now there are only six hounds left to guard the gates. So I have been riding around on this fucker while keeping watch, so no one else tries to make a run for it,” Laylen explained as he tried to keep his balance on the massive beast’s back. The hellhound kept bucking, trying to throw the warrior off his back.
“So how do you suppose to get off him and away safely?” Phen asked in amusement.
“I have no fucking clue. I figured one of you would come by eventually.” Laylen laughed and gave them a big smile.
“I honestly think he has snapped,” Phenex whispered to Nuriel.
“I think he just needs to get laid,” Nuriel snickered.
“Like he doesn’t already get enough of that?” Phenex looked at Nuriel with a raised brow.
“Okay, you’re right, maybe he does get a little too much of that, but how can he not? Look at the man. He’s hot as hell,” Nuriel said and then began to laugh. “Get it? Hot as hell? And he’s right outside one of hell’s gates.” He continued to laugh.
“Oh Lord, please spare me from fools, adventure seekers, and idiots who think they are indestructible,” Phenex said to the heavens.
He focused his attention on Laylen and the beast. Phenex rubbed his hands together vigorously, then brought them up over his head and clapped his hands together as hard as he could. A pulse of energy was forced out through the air and slammed into Laylen and the beast.
The beast wobbled and then went down, while at the same time, Laylen flew from the beast’s back and slammed into the gate of Gehenna. The beast was down on the ground unconscious, and Laylen shook his head as he tried to stand.
“You okay, Laylen?” Phenex called to him.
“Next time give a guy a warning, would ya?” Laylen said through gritted teeth.
“What’s wrong?” Nuriel called out.
“Nothing that can’t be fixed with some rest, a whiskey, and a tight ass,” he called back. “Damn that hurts.”
“What hurts?” Phenex asked.
“My back. I think I hit that gate a little too hard.”
“Do you think you can get back on this side with the boat, by yourself?”
“No problem,” he hissed, clenching his jaw as he fought to stand. Laylen slowly got to his feet and painfully made his way over to the boat resting on the shore. He climbed in and grabbed the pole. After finding a balance in the center of the boat, he thrust the pole down into the fiery river and pushed. “Shit!” he yelled out and grabbed his back with one hand. His effort only moved the boat slightly.
“Hold on, Lay,” Nuriel called to him. He turned and ran in the other direction. He ran about half a mile, and then turned back.
“What are you going to do?” Phenex asked.
“I got this, Commander,” Nuriel answered and started to run as fast as he could.
“No! You stupid shit!” Phenex yelled at him.
Nuriel ran straight for the river and just when he was approaching the river’s edge, he leapt into the air. He shot out over the fiery river, flailing his arms and legs as if he were trying to swim through the air.
“Shit, he’s not gonna make it,” Phenex said to himself as he kept his eyes on Nuriel.
Nuriel landed with a crash into the boat. Laylen sat down quickly and held onto the side, trying not to go overboard. Nuriel twisted and got to his feet. He grabbed the pole from Laylen’s hand and drove it into the river to catch on the bottom. Once he felt that the pole had made contact with the bottom, he pushed and the boat moved toward the other shore, where Phen was waiting.
The boat bumped the shore and Phen grabbed it, pulling it up. Nuriel put the pole down and wrapped an arm around Laylen, helping him to his feet and off the boat. Phenex grabbed his muscled arm and helped, too. “You good?”
“Yeah. I just wish I never jumped on that fucker, but what a ride.” He snickered.
“Sorry about the energy blast.”
“It’s all good,” he said with a clenched jaw as Phenex and Nuriel helped him walk. Phenex reached over Laylen’s shoulders and smacked Nuriel in the head.
“Hey, what was that for?”
“For doing something so stupid. You could have landed in the river and been burned to death,” Phenex admonished.
“Yeah, I could have, but I didn’t,” Nuriel said with a big grin.
“Don’t do that again, asshole,” Phenex ordered. Nuriel just laughed.
“So who’s gonna watch the gates?” Laylen asked.
“Don’t worry about that. The gods have already sent a new guard. They were just waiting for your stupid ass to get clear,” Phenex answered and the three looked back to the entrance of Gehenna. There stood a new nine-headed hellhound, who stood almost fifteen feet tall from paw to head. He looked even bigger than the last one that had been there. The creature snapped and snarled at the gates. Phenex guessed it was announcing its presence to the residents of Gehenna. He smiled and turned back, helping his warrior to their compound so he could heal.
* * * *
“So what do you suggest I do?” Haven asked Micah as they sat at the bar in the game room.
“Give him a little time to get used to the idea that he found one of his mates. Shit, give him a little time to get used to the fact that he has two mates.” Micah snickered.
“Why did he just shut down like that? Does he not want me?” Haven asked in defeat.
“I don’t think that’s it, Haven. I think it has more to do with his private life and that overlapping with his meeting you,” Micah explained.
“His private life? What do you mean? Like him smelling like sex? Or the fact that he smells like sex with humans, as in more than one?”
“All of the above. Do you have a problem with that?”
“Hell yes, I have a problem with that! My cat is clawing at me to mark him so that everyone will know who he belongs to. And I’m not particularly happy that my mate smells of sex with other men. But seeing as we only just met, and whatever he did and whoever he did it with was before we met, then I can’t very well be mad at him about it. I’m no virgin. But it better be something that doesn’t happen again from now on.”
“I have known Crew for over two hundred years and I can tell you this, he would never cheat on you.”
“No, I wouldn’t.” Crew’s voice came from the doorway.
Haven and Micah looked in his direction. Crew was standing in the doorway. His hair was wet from just taking a shower. His hands were shoved in his front pockets, head hanging down, and eyes looking at the floor.
“I’ll leave you two alone,” Micah said and stood. He walked across the room and stopped in front of Crew and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Everything will be okay, Crew.”
“Thanks, Micah,” Crew said as he looked up at his alpha and gave him a nervous smile.
“You know where I am if you need me.” Micah squeezed his shoulder and left.
Crew sighed heavily and slowly walked across the room. He sat on one of the barstools, leaving an empty one between them. Haven stared at the gorgeous man as he sat. Damn, how did I get this lucky? Look at him. He’s sexy as sin. Haven’s gaze roamed over Crew’s body, taking in all his muscles.
“Hi. Crew, right?”
“Yeah. I’m Crew Angel, and you’re Haven, right?” Cre
w whispered shyly.
“Yeah, sorry”―Haven held out his hand―”I’m Haven Brooks.” Crew looked at the outstretched hand for a moment and then slowly reached out and grasped it with his.
“Hi,” Crew mumbled.
“Can I ask you something?” Haven asked.
“Sure.”
“Are you normally this shy, or is it just me?”
“I’m not shy. I just…” Crew trailed off, and took a deep breath.
“What?”
“I just feel really nervous right now,” Crew admitted.
“Is it because we just met, or is it because you’re afraid of my reaction to the way you smelled before you took your shower?” Crew cringed and closed his eyes as his head dropped. “I admit I wasn’t thrilled to meet my mate smelling of sex with other men, but I can’t be angry with you about it. I’m two hundred and fifty years old, Crew. I’m hardly a virgin.” There was no disgust or judgement in Haven’s voice. This made Crew relax a little. He lifted his head slightly and gave Haven a shy look as he laughed softly. Haven shifted and slid over to the stool next to Crew. He reached out a hand, placing his fingers under Crew’s chin, and lifted his face until their eyes met. They stared at each other for a moment before Haven spoke, “You have the most stunningly beautiful emerald eyes that I have ever seen.” Crew blushed and looked away. “You don’t know how to take a compliment, do you?”
“I haven’t gotten that many in my life, so…” Crew cut himself off and shrugged his shoulders.
“That’s a damn shame. I’ll have to make up for all the asshole’s who hurt you then.” The heat in Haven’s voice made Crew’s eyes snap back to him. “Hasn’t anyone ever told you how absolutely stunning you are?”
“A few,” Crew answered shyly as he blushed again.
“And you don’t believe them, do you?” It wasn’t an accusation, just a simple question. Crew just shrugged his shoulders and looked away again. “Well then my first job as your mate is to buy you a damn mirror so that you can see how beautiful you are,” Haven said with a smile.
