Wounded

by Maggie Walsh

  Maddy peeled the blankets back slowly until Josh’s bare chest appeared. Milo grunted next to him as the blankets were moved from his shoulders, too. Maddy smiled at the grunt. He lowered his head and licked Josh’s nipple. Josh didn’t move, but his nipple peaked as if looking for more attention. Maddy licked the hard nub again, then blew softly across it. Josh’s skin prickled up and a small moan escaped his lips. Maddy wrapped his lips around the peak and began to suck lightly as he reached a hand out and slowly slid it over Milo’s beautiful olive skin.

  His hand moved down further under the blanket until it met with Milo’s half-hard cock. Maddy gently wrapped his hand around the shaft and began a light stroke. Josh moaned again and pushed his chest up toward Maddy’s mouth. He took the nipple between his teeth and gave it a little tug. “I really need to get that one pierced, too,” Josh’s sleepy voice came from above him. Maddy looked up without releasing the nipple and met Josh’s sleep-heavy eyes. Damn, he is adorable when he first wakes up, Maddy thought.

  “So are you, baby,” Milo said with a moan. Maddy felt the cock in his hand immediately harden and Milo’s hips press the shaft further into his hand.

  “I think Josh is right. I think he should get this one pierced, too, but maybe have matching rings with our names on them,” Maddy said and went back to giving both his mates’ bodies attention. He heard dual moans as he doubled his efforts. Maddy lowered his other hand down Josh’s side, then wrapped his fingers around Josh’s swollen cock. He sat up on his knees and watched his mates squirm and writhe against the bed. Gods, they were beautiful.

  The blankets slid down from both of them, completely exposing what Maddy was doing to them. He could tell that Josh was ready to blow as the golden honey from his tip began to leak heavily. Again, Maddy doubled his efforts and began to stroke them both vigorously. Milo’s eyes clamped shut tight as his back arched off the bed. Josh whimpered and tightened his hold on the sheets below him. Then Maddy felt Milo’s cock pulse and thicken beneath his hand moments before his orgasm hit and he shot his load all over his stomach, chest, and Maddy’s hand. A second later, Josh screamed out and came, his seed landing on his stomach.

  Maddy continued to gently stroke them both through their orgasms as he watched their beautiful faces contort in ecstasy and then soften into fulfilled peace. Once Milo and Josh both caught their breaths, they looked up at him in unison. Maddy lifted his hand with Milo’s seed and licked it off as his mates watched. Then he reached out and ran a finger through Josh’s release, taking a good amount of his cum. Maddy lifted the finger to his mouth and sucked the honey off.

  “Damn, baby. That is one of the sexiest things I have ever seen.” Milo panted. Josh nodded his agreement.

  Maddy gave them a smirk and released his finger with a pop. “Come on, you two. We need to get going.”

  “But what about you, sweets?” Josh asked.

  “I’m good. I can wait until we get home tonight.” Maddy winked at Josh and climbed from the bed. He walked over to the dresser and pulled out a pair of briefs and black cargo pants.

  “Says the man with the huge wet spot in the front of his uniform,” Milo snickered.

  Maddy turned back to his mates and shrugged as he lowered his soiled pants down his hips. “What can I say? I have the two hottest mates in the world and watching them come is orgasmic. Now, get up, we’re gonna be late.”

  “It’s five in the morning, Maddy. The sun hasn’t even gotten up yet,” Josh complained, but slid his legs over the side of the bed and sat up.

  “Technically, the sun never comes up. There is no sunrise or sunset. The sun never moves. The earth does. So we should call it ‘earth turn’ or something like that,” Maddy informed them as he strolled into the en suite bathroom with only a black T-shirt and socks on.

  “You’ve been talking to your step-dad Aaron again, haven’t you?” Milo said with a snicker as he stood from the bed.

  Maddy walked out of the bathroom rubbing his groin and legs with a towel. “Yeah. Aaron came by the training center yesterday to do physicals to a few new guys. We had lunch together.” Maddy grabbed the clean clothes he had laid out and started to dress.

  Josh walked over to the bathroom and stopped to give his mate a smile. “I’m happy that you’re getting to know your dad and his mates, babe.” Josh leaned closer to Maddy and kissed his cheek.

  Milo approached and kissed Maddy, too, as he wrapped his arms around Josh’s waist. “Me too, baby. Do we have time to shower before you drag us out of here?”

  Maddy huffed and rolled his eyes in feigned annoyance. “Fine. If you must.” Then he gave them a smile.

  “We’ll be right down. Get me some coffee to go, would ya?” Josh asked and disappeared into the bathroom with Milo.

  Maddy laughed at his mates and shook his head. Milo hated waking up before ten and Josh couldn’t function without his morning coffee. The things you learn about people when you mate them, Maddy thought as he sat and put his combat boots on. A soft moan came from the open bathroom door.

  “Hey, you two. We have no time for you to be playing in there. If you get your asses downstairs in ten minutes, we’ll have just enough time to stop by Bailey’s café and get some breakfast to go. I think he’s making those chocolate muffins today.”

  “We’ll be down in eight,” Josh called out. Maddy laughed and stood up, leaving his mates to get ready.

  * * * *

  Josh ducked as he entered the door of the plane. Milo and Maddy were right behind him. They turned into the cabin and spotted Micah, Jesse, Rory, and Raith already there. Maddy’s eyebrows rose in surprise at seeing his dad and other step-dad. “Hey, Dad, Rory. I didn’t know you were coming along this time,” Maddy said as he and his mates walked closer.

  “We haven’t heard anything from Minos and his minions in months, and I’m tired of being a prisoner in my own home,” Raith answered.

  “We brought coffee, but we didn’t know you would be here. There’s enough muffins to go around,” Milo offered as he placed the tray on the table between Micah, Jesse, Raith, and Rory.

  “Only if Josh didn’t eat them all in the car ride over,” Maddy teased. Josh elbowed him in the ribs, causing Maddy to laugh. Milo turned to them, smiling, and took his seat with his mates.

  “Thanks, guys,” Jesse said and pulled a chocolate muffin from the white paper bag. He handed it over to Micah, then dug another out.

  Micah bit into the delicious treat and moaned his appreciation. “Bailey’s, right?” he mumbled around the mouthful.

  “Yeah. Josh is addicted to them,” Milo answered, laughing. Josh nudged him with his elbow and pouted as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Awe, don’t pout, baby. Just remember how lucky you are to be the best friend of the man who makes those heavenly cakes.”

  “I’m totally addicted to them, too, Josh,” Rory said, then took a bite from his.

  “Rory begs Bailey to bring some home every day, but if Bailey did that, I’m afraid my baby boy would gain a hundred pounds in a week,” Raith said and kissed his temple.

  “You would still love me even if I was the size of a house. Right?” Rory asked that last part hesitantly.

  “I will love you no matter what you look like, baby boy. You are my heart and soul, and could never be unattractive to me or Aaron,” Raith answered tenderly and kissed Rory softly. Rory blushed and gave Raith a shy smile, then cuddled up against his side and took another bite of his muffin.

  “So what’s the game plan this time, Uncle Micah?” Maddy asked.

  “Lillian is back in her home, so we just go up to the door and try to talk to her.”

  “I hate that it has taken so long to find her. Who knows what my brother is going through out there in the world?”

  “I know, son. I feel the same way, but there was nothing we could do about a tornado hitting that town on the same day you all went out there to talk to her the first time,” Raith said.

  “I know. It’s just frustrating. We were so
close and then had to wait months before we could come back.”

  “And we’re sure she’s there, Alpha?” Josh asked.

  “Yes. Dean, the alpha I appointed to the local pack there has been keeping tabs on the area and reporting back to me. The neighborhood has been rebuilt and he watched Lillian move back in two days ago. She was staying with a sibling in Idaho while her house was being rebuilt.”

  “Hopefully she can help us find Anthony,” Maddy added. Everyone nodded their agreeance.

  The flight attendant closed the door and locked it, then turned to address them. “Good morning, gentlemen, Alpha. We’ll be taking off in a few minutes, so if you would please fasten your seatbelts for takeoff.”

  * * * *

  “Wake up, Vasily.” Shelby heard his father’s voice from far off, as if it were coming from a tunnel. He tried to open his eyes but his eyelids felt heavy. “Come now, my son. It’s time to do your duty to this family.”

  Shelby groaned as he opened his lids slightly and a bright light hit him. He blinked a few times until his vision cleared and he found his father sitting next to him on the edge of the bed. Shelby was surprised to see the man this close to him. Usually, he either stayed in the other room and watched what was going on through the monitors, or he stood across the room as far from Shelby as he could be.

  Movement by his arm caught his attention and he shifted his gaze to look. His father was holding his bound arm in one hand and a syringe in the other hand, the needle pressed against his skin. “What is that? What are you doing?” His voice came out slow and sounded slurred.

  “Giving you something to lower your inhibitions. Make you more agreeable to what I want,” Vladimir explained and pushed the needle under his skin. Shelby flinched from the small prick and his father pressed the plunger, releasing the contents into his veins. Vladimir slid the needle from his arm and met Shelby’s gaze.

  He felt his arm tingle and his head grow fuzzy. He felt light, like he was floating. His body relaxed against the mattress below him. “So, Vasily, how do you feel?”

  “Like I’m floating on a cloud,” he said happily.

  “Good. Very good. Tell me, Vasily, do you see my life string?” Vladimir asked.

  Shelby laughed. “Your life string? It’s called your fate line.”

  “Okay. My fate line. Do you see it?” Vladimir asked in annoyance.

  Shelby turned his head again and stared at his father. The man was the epitome of a rich Russian man. He stood at six foot three and weighed about two hundred and fifty pounds of rock-hard muscle. Shaved head, strong, angled jaw, and stone-cold eyes. He held himself straight and stoic, as if all were beneath him, but it was his aura that Shelby was focusing on.

  His father’s aura had always been on the dark side. Dark red, brown, and blue, with a hint of black swirling throughout. Now the man’s aura was almost purely black, almost as dark as midnight. It swirled around his body angrily and made Shelby afraid, but he wouldn’t show his father his fear. The man would use it against him. Even in his drugged state, his mind was telling him to be on guard and to not reveal too much.

  “Do you see it, Vasily?” Vladimir asked again, his voice getting angrier.

  Shelby stared at the man’s aura and saw the line of fate, but it wasn’t long as it usually should be. Most people’s fate lines were the same color as their aura and danced out from their bodies, twisting and twirling vibrantly, flowing from them, reaching out far into the world, but his father’s fate line was pitch black, rigid, and only flowed out a few feet from the man’s body, and the end was frayed like it had been chopped off.

  Normal fate lines just slowly lightened in color until they vanished into thin air. Unless Shelby followed the line, of course. When he followed someone’s fate line it stayed visible and vibrant until it reached the other end. Mostly to that person’s mate.

  Looking at his father’s fate line scared him. It was rare that he saw a fate line that looked as if it had been chopped off. Shelby knew exactly what it meant when he saw it. He didn’t want to tell the evil man sitting next to him that his mate was dead. Not only was his mate dead, but had been for a very long time. Both of them.

  “Yes, I see it,” he answered and swallowed nervously.

  “Good. Then you can follow it and bring me to my mate.”

  “No, Vladimir. I will never help you or your evil seed find their mates. I have told you this before,” Shelby said in a sing-song voice. Whatever drug his father had shot into him wasn’t making him spill the information they were after, but it did make him feel giddy.

  A hard slap to his face made the giddiness leave him and was replaced by a terrible pain in his jaw. He knew his father had broken it. Even though his vampire and shape-shifter genes would heal him quickly and the pain would fade, it still pissed him off that his own father would hit him so hard as to break his jaw.

  He turned his angry gaze back onto his father, then spat the blood that had formed in his mouth from the blow. It splattered across the man’s face and crisp white shirt. “Fuck you. Kill me if you must. Torture me, break me, but I will never find your mate for you. Or theirs.” Shelby motioned with his chin toward the door.

  * * * *

  “Lillian Meyers?” Micah asked when the old woman opened the door.

  “Yes.”

  “My name is Micah Angel and these are my brothers and nephews. I was wondering if you had a few minutes to talk to us.”

  “About what?”

  “Anthony,” Micah said simply and watched Ms. Meyers eyes go wide.

  “Anthony? What about him? Is he okay?” she asked in a panic.

  “We don’t know, ma'am. We were hoping you could tell us.”

  “I don’t understand. How do you know my grandson?”

  “If we may come in for a few minutes, we’ll explain it to you,” Jesse said in a friendly voice, giving the old woman a soft smile.

  “Yes, please come in,” she offered and moved aside to allow them entry. Lillian led them to a small living room and motioned for them all to sit, then offered them something to drink as they did.

  “Oh, no thank you, Ms. Meyers.”

  Lillian sat down on the chair across from the couch. “So what is all of this about my Anthony?”

  “Anthony was adopted by your daughter and her husband, correct?” Raith asked.

  She looked to him and answered, “Yes, that’s right.”

  “Ma’am, I’m not sure how to say this, so I’ll just say it. I am Anthony’s biological father and this is his brother, Maddy. His twin brother,” Raith explained and motioned to Matthew.

  Ms. Meyers’s eye went wide in surprise as she looked between the two of them. “Are you sure you have the right boy?”

  “Yes, ma’am. We have been looking for Anthony for some time and all the information we were able to gather led us to you. You see, ma’am, I didn’t know that I had two sons out there until a little less than a year ago. I was able to find Matthew. When we located his birth certificate, that was when we found out he had a twin.”

  “Yes, Anthony is a twin. That sorry excuse he had for a mother just left him there,” she said in disgust.

  “We know. We were able to get the hospital records that showed Alison didn’t believe she had twins and that she left Anthony behind. He was taken to social services and then adopted by your daughter and her husband.”

  “If you really are his father, and everything you’re telling me is true, then tell me this. What did social services name him before my daughter adopted the boy?”

  “Angel,” Raith answered with a smile. “Which is kind of ironic considering my last name is Angel.”

  “Yes. They called him Angel. He was such a good baby. Hardly ever cried or complained. He was such a joy to my daughter before she was taken by that horrible disease, but then that butthead she married insisted they had to move to Tampa for his job and I didn’t get to see Anthony. My Debbie used to bring Anthony to see me once a month until she got too s
ick to travel. I wasn’t able to visit her when she was sick, but I did make it to her funeral. Anthony clung to me like a lifeline, but that son-in-law of mine kept telling Anthony to man up. I wanted to punch him right in his face. I told Dick that if Anthony was too much for him to care for alone now that Debbie was gone, I would take him in with me until Dick was more stable and able to handle it, but all he did was get insulted and cut me off. I never heard from Dick or Anthony again until social services called me and told me about Dick’s accident.”

  “Then Anthony came here to live with you, right?” Jesse asked.

  “Yes,” she answered with a smile. “He was such a good boy. So sweet and beautiful. Almost feminine in his looks. He was so smart and he was happy to be here. He was a great joy in my life.”

  “Then what happened, Lilian? Why is he not still here? We found no information with your local schools or social services of him ever being here,” Micah asked.

  “Anthony was twelve years old when he came to live with me. He had just lived three of the most horrible years of his life. He watched his mother slowly die from a disease that ate her body away until there was nothing left of her. Then his father moved him away from the only home he ever knew. His school, his friends, and me. I don’t know what he went through while he lived with Dick in Tampa, but then he lost his father, too, and was again moved to another state. I was so happy to have him here and he was happy to be here. He used to tell me that he would wish every night after his mom died that he could have come to live with me right off. Whenever I asked him about his life in Florida, he would just shut down and close himself off. I should have pushed or maybe taken him to talk to someone, but I just got him back and wanted him to be happy.

  “After he was with me for a month, I told him that it was time to think about school. He begged me not to send him to a public school. He said that kids were always cruel and whenever he had to see any of his school mates with their mothers, it made him really sad. I asked him to show me what he knew. He showed me how smart he was. So I agreed not to send him to school, but we needed to sign him up for cyber school. It was the law that he needed to attend and I didn’t want anything being able to take him away from me again. So that’s what we did.