by J. Kearston
If I’m this bad, then Ares is likely only a day away from losing it. He’s more in tune with his baser half than any of us and being in the city has him jittery. Our unclaimed mate so close to the person she fears? It’s a miracle he’s still holding it together.
“You three are incorrigible,” she laughs, nipping at my ear before straightening.
I band my arm around her lower back, reminding myself that it can’t go any further unless we want to risk getting arrested for public indecency. “Can you blame us? You’re diabolically perfect.” She rolls her hips and I groan, gently biting her breast. “Behave. Or we’re going to blow this mission to hell.”
She runs her fingers through my shaggy hair and I purr, soaking up the affection after such an emotionally draining day. “Then you’re going to be really upset when you find out what Mystic’s is.”
“What is it?” Ozzy asks, stuck hiding on the floorboards despite how I know how much it grates at him.
Her eyes flash with mirth, a sultry grin sliding onto her face. “Mages love to be the center of attention, yeah? The gods’ gift to men? Well where would someone like that hang out to soak up attention?”
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a dramatic tease?” Ares asks, prompting her to spit it out.
She just grins, unoffended. “Well, now it’s going to be a surprise. I hope you’re happy.”
Fifteen
Ares
“Who the fuck actually wears this sort of thing?” I huff in annoyance, the leather pants practically painted on.
“Complain all you want, but I bet you look hot in them,” Rin calls from the other side of the wall, chuckling. “And we want to blend in.”
The walls in the bathrooms of the cheap fast food joint are thin enough that it’s easy to carry on a conversation. There were far too many security cameras in the mall for us to risk going in together, so Rin picked things out for all of us to wear tonight. Cole drew the short straw to change in the truck, though now I’m envying the hell out of him. Walking out of here in this ridiculous get up isn’t what I’d call ‘blending in’, but there aren’t any cheap motels in this area. Last thing we want is to leave a paper trail so we have at least a shot at plausible deniability when this blows up in our faces.
“Isn’t the point to strip them off? Because trust me; these aren’t going anywhere except up my ass.”
Her laughter echoes and despite how uncomfortable I am, I adore that I was able to be the cause of it. After having a small taste of her in my life, I cannot imagine going back to the way we were existing without her. Change is always hard, but for us? It was long overdue.
It’d be easier if I could communicate with her telepathically like my brothers, but I just don’t have that with her. Now that it’s clear it’s about how close she feels to them, that she’s establishing an emotional connection and that’s what triggers it? It hurts to think she doesn’t feel the same for me.
I’ve always known we’d share a mate, but I just naturally assumed it’d be relatively even, that it would be as easy of a transition as it was when the three of us came together. I never anticipated being the odd man out, but I should have. I’ve withdrawn from even the majority of shifter society, preferring to keep my head down or lose myself in nature. Is it really any wonder that she doesn’t connect to that?
She’s at home here, with these humans. Maybe not the snobs she grew up with, but the ones in this town? This is where she should have been born and could have happily lived out her life. Yet I’m trying to drag her off grid and away from all of the conveniences she’s used to because it’s what I’m more comfortable with. I can do better on some things, meet her halfway, but this?
“Nope, fuck these leg prisons.”
I strip them off and nearly fall on my ass, pulling on some black, faded jeans and a tight, matching t-shirt from my backpack instead. I’ll try for my mate, but I’m not going to kill myself trying for the rest of the humans. They’ll hate me no matter what clothes I wear anyway so I might as well be fucking comfortable in case a fight breaks out.
Stepping out of the bathroom, I lean against the opposite wall, waiting for Rin. She emerges a few minutes later and hell, I’m pretty sure my brain short circuits for a hot second. I’m not about to claim my mate in a cheap bathroom though, so I will my blood to get back to the right head and hope that I can carry on a conversation without looking like a complete idiot.
“No wonder you didn’t think it was a big deal; you’re able to move in yours.”
She raises an eyebrow in challenge. “Trying to say something here?”
I curse, running a hand through my blonde hair until it’s sticking up haphazardly. “Fuck, that’s not what I meant. I mean, we’re not about to go blending in if you show up like this.” That unamused look remains in place as I continue to dig my own grave.
“Dumbass, tell her she looks hot,” Osiris chastises in my head and I can practically hear him rolling his eyes.
“You look hot, is what I’m trying to say. Everybody’s going to be entranced by you because that dress is sexy as hell.”
She smiles. “Oh. Then hopefully that means I’ll blend in.”
I furrow my brow in confusion, but am smart enough not to open my mouth again. All the while, I internally sigh in relief.
Mates are hard, I groan and Cole laughs.
“No, you’re just overcomplicating everything. They’re amazing, while you’re just socially inept.”
I almost carry on sniping, but for starters, Cole’s piece of shit parents showing up was a blow none of us could have anticipated. If it wasn’t for Rin, I have no doubt that he would have shut down so completely that we might never have been able to pull him out of it. And secondly? He’s not wrong.
Her spaghetti strap dress is black, the only color coming from the silver zipper between her breasts down to her navel. There are two straps with small silver rings on each of her sides, form fitting to show off her slender curves. At her hips it flairs out into a short, pleated skirt above lace up, thigh high, leather boots. It leaves a stretch of bare thigh on display that makes my mouth water and I can’t imagine where we’re going that she thinks this won’t make her the center of attention.
“I really shouldn’t be surprised.” She winks before turning and her skirt flares up enough that I get a glimpse of lavender caressing her ass. “You don’t seem the type to really care about fitting in.”
Holding the door open for her as we exit the building, we head back to the truck as I carry our bags. “I really don’t. With my eye color and size? I stand out.” I shrug. “Can’t do much about it, so I’ve long since accepted it.”
Her hand finds its way into mine. “Did you even notice all of the people staring at us in there?”
Shrugging, I huff. “Of course I did. But doesn’t mean I care what they think. But I’m not about to let my guard down in a place like this.”
Her tone takes on a teasing lilt. “In a cheap burger joint?”
I don’t even hesitate. “Surrounded by people. Human, mage, it doesn’t matter. I don’t even trust the shifters out here. They wiped out the predators once, what’s to stop them from doing it again? Now add in mages trying to steal our energy? It’s just more proof that you really can’t trust anyone. So until we get back home, I need to be ready to protect us if it comes down to it. Can’t really do that if I’m not hypervigilant.”
We stop outside of the truck as she pulls her hand from mine, frowning. “So what about me? Are you waiting for me to stab you in your sleep too?”
I reel back like she struck me, blindsided by the anger in her voice. “What are you talking about? Of course not. You’re different.”
If anything, she seems to speak even more vehemently. “Because I’m your mate? Is that all I am to you? Not Rin the human, or even Corinna Harlow…just ‘my mate’?” She makes air quotes, her heart rate picking up and cheeks tinting red.
“Abort!” Cole shouts.
“W
hatever you’re about to say, don’t!” Osiris yells just as adamantly, but neither of them actually offer any help.
Licking my lips, I suck down a steadying breath to try and gather my thoughts before I manage to blow things to hell even more than I somehow already have. And for once, I slam a firm mental block between my brothers and me, because I need to be able to actually talk to my mate without someone whispering scripted words into my ear all of the time.
“What do you want from me, Rin?” I toss the bags in the bed of the truck, leaning against it. “You’re mad that I don’t like most humans? Don’t trust them?”
She takes a deep breath through her nose. “I don’t think that you’ve actually realized I’m human.” I start to protest, but she keeps going. “It’s like you’re just waiting for something magical to happen. I see the way you light up when I start adopting your habits. When I talk myself out of stressing so much, stop thinking of things from a human perspective and try to approach things like one of you would. And when I was able to hear Osiris, don’t think I missed that hopeful glint in your eye.”
I’m not sure if she’s going to yell or cry, because I’m obviously shit at reading this woman. But her eyes are glassy despite the heat in her voice. “I’m not going to shift, Ares. You’re not going to wake up one day snuggled up to some lion, or anything else. You’re treating me like some shifter that was raised by humans, but is finally home at last, and I don’t think you even realize it.”
She throws her arms out to the side. “I’m just me, and I’ve been honest about that from the beginning, that I wasn’t this amazing thing like you were convinced.”
When it’s clear that she’s done, I reach out to pull her closer, swiveling so that she’s pinned against the door. I brace one hand above my head and wait for Rin to look at me, giving her a minute to get control of her breathing.
Only when she doesn’t sound like she’s about to burst into tears do I gently tilt her chin up. There’s enough of a communication barrier between us as it is with the way I fuck up everything I try to say, that I want to make sure she can at least read the sincerity on my face if I muck this up too.
“I don’t expect you to be something you’re not, but that goes both ways here.” She blinks, but like she plowed on before I could get a word in edgewise, I place a single finger on her lips. This is hard enough to talk about, but I don’t think I could manage it if it wasn’t in one fell swoop.
“Would it make it more convenient if you were like us? Sure. That doesn’t mean I’m disappointed, and it sure as shit doesn’t mean you don’t belong with us. I never even expected to find my mate, Rin, and I’m thankful every day that you came to us. It doesn’t matter to me that you’re human. I’m not about to lie and say that my instincts screaming at just the scent of your skin doesn’t make me biased, that I look at you differently than others. But just like you were raised to look down on us and expect us to be nothing more than savage beasts until you learned differently through personal experience, I have my own hang ups.”
I take a deep breath, wanting to close my eyes and lean my forehead against hers, but I don’t. I can’t hide from the memories by shutting my eyes any more than I can try to run away from them. Gods know I’ve tried enough over the years.
“They gutted her, Rin. My mom. Not just killed; they absolutely tore her apart. And my dads couldn’t stop them any more than they could live with the grief of losing her.” I swallow, looking up at the late afternoon sky despite my claims to face it head on. Sighing, I push through and face her again because I owe her that.
“They killed themselves the day after. Dropped me off to live with Osiris’ family, hugged me goodbye, and I never saw any of them again.” Another deep breath. “I had it better than Cole; I was only a few years away from turning eighteen, so just needed to finish out high school before getting our own place. But still, it didn’t make it hurt any less that I wasn’t enough of a reason for them to stick around.”
I abso-fucking-lutely refuse to cry, gritting my teeth instead until that damning burning behind my eyes settles back down to a manageable level. “So yeah. Until you, I hadn’t met a human worth caring about, because I refused to go into the towns from that point on. I’m terrified that something like that is going to happen to one of you three, too. I expect the worse out of everyone until they prove otherwise, because not just from my experience, but the damn history books show how cruel people can be.”
She rakes her nails over my arm, sending a shiver down my spine, but I don’t do anything until I see how she is going to react. I’m apparently shit at interpreting her feelings on everything, so I’m not doing another damn thing until I have a clear picture of where we stand.
“What was that for?”
She leans forward enough to kiss my shoulder, looking contrite. “I know you like it and don’t have the first clue of what to say after that. So I was trying to make you feel better and distract you before I continued to make an ass of myself by being way off base,” she mutters.
A small smile tugs at the corner of my lips. “So maybe we agree that instead of assuming things and letting them fester until they reach explosive levels, we have a conversation first? Even if it’s uncomfortable or we feel stupid admitting where our minds have been at?”
She nods sheepishly. “You may have mentioned that before.” A genuine laugh slips out as I guide her away from the door so that I can open it, the two eavesdroppers blatantly pressed against the glass partially falling out the second I do. “You literally have super hearing,” Rin chuckles, pushing them out of the way and climbing in.
Cole scoots over and offers a hand to help her up. “Like we said, beautiful, there are bound to be a few kinks. But congratulations! We just had our first fight, so now we can schedule in some make up sex later.”
Rolling my eyes, I close her door, feeling far better than I anticipated after rehashing those old wounds. While I jump into the driver’s seat, Rin finishes buckling her seat belt, sounding more like herself now that the tension’s abated.
“You weren’t even part of it,” she disputes.
Cole gasps. “We’re all in this together. When one person is upset, it’s all of our problem. Thus, fights are family affairs. So if Ares gets make up sex, we all should too. It’s only fair, really.”
She smacks his shoulder, but laughs. “Are you just always turned on?”
I start following the directions she gave me while they continue to horse around in the back. Osiris is pawing at her skirt for attention, trying to not be constantly in her head while she adjusts, but nearly as bad as Cole. Those two are cut from the same cloth, and on Cole’s good days, he’s a playful, notorious flirt. It’s the bad days we just need to keep a close eye on, but I have a feeling they’ll be easier to manage with Rin around.
Sixteen
Rin
The music is sultry and seductive, while still maintaining a heavy bass that forces most people to lean in to hear one another. I’m sure that’s intentional; giving the illusion of privacy and offering an excuse to get closer without feeling awkward. Everything is dimly lit, and I actually feel overdressed now that I’m here.
“A sex club,” Ares blinks, looking around with intrigue.
For a brief moment, I have a stab of doubt before promptly shoving it away. It’s clear that not even Cole’s eyes linger on anyone lasciviously, simply with open fascination, and I’d be a damn hypocrite not to admit I’m staring with just as much curiosity.
“That can’t possibly be comfortable,” he states, head canted to the side as some woman contorts herself into a position that I think I’d have to dislocate a few joints to pull off.
I try not to stare, not wanting to seem rude, but it’s nearly impossible to look away. “Props to her.” I can’t really keep track of all the cocks, but she certainly sounds like she’s enjoying herself.
A main room lit by a low, purple glow has dozens of people mingling or drinking at the bar. There are leath
er chaise lounges or booths scattered throughout, turning people’s sexual exploits into living art exhibits that you need to navigate around.
There are hallways branching off of the main room, some with closed doors and others without. I crane my neck and see a flash of chains hanging from loops on the wall of an open doorway, so I’m hazarding a guess that this place is well equipped to handle any kink you come here hoping to indulge.
A waitress clad only in lacy underwear passes by us, offering free drinks and both of the guys politely take one before she moves on. I put my hands over the top of the open glasses simultaneously as they start to take a drink, stopping them.
“I forgot you aren’t girls so aren’t taught the same things,” I say quietly, knowing they’ll have no trouble hearing me. “But you never accept drinks from strangers that you haven’t watched them pour, and if you take your eyes off of it for a while, you get a new one.”
“Why?” Ares asks, but he listens and sets it back on a tray as another waitress passes by.
“This is one of those things where your paranoia is perfectly valid,” I concede, still feeling like shit for giving him a hard time about it.
Especially now, as I’m forced to replay all of the rules I was taught to lessen the chance of being victimized. What I accepted as a normal hazard of life, I’m coming to see in a new light. We just accept there are shitty people and learn to live beside them instead of striving to make a better society where things like this aren’t normal, but occasional tragedies.
“Just assume anything offered to you is riddled with drugs to make you more susceptible to doing things you wouldn’t otherwise.”
“Hold the fuck up,” Cole growls, incensed. He’s more accustomed to the fringe towns than Ares, but it sounds like he still stayed to the outlying small towns that are primarily shifter inhabited and not nearly as experienced with larger towns. “They just walk around drugging and raping people and nobody does anything? You just accept you can’t trust your drink and go get a new one without thinking this is weird?!”
