Trio of Mates
Chapter 14

Devin:

“Why do you look so surprised?” Xander says, confusion etched on his face. “Don’t you feel the mate bond?”

“Mate bond?” I say, pushing him away, creating space between the two of us. “Of course, I don’t feel the mate bond! I’m not 21 yet!”

“WHAT?” Xander yells. “What do you mean you’re not 21?”

I run my hands through my hair, pacing back and forth. “My birthday is in two days. I’ll be 21 then.”

“No wonder my wolf was holding me back from marking you,” Xander says. He rubs his face with both hands and finally turns to shut the water off. The sudden silence in the room is only broken by my w*et foot falls as I continue to pace.

“This can’t be happening,” I say to myself.

“Buckle up, bud. It’s happening,” Xander says.

“I’m a Gamma. I have to be mated to a woman. I have to have an heir,” I say before turning back to Xander. “I can’t have a male mate.”

“Wait a second. Aren’t you gay?” Xander asks.

I slam my fist into the shower wall so hard that the tiles crack. “Of course I’m gay! That’s besides the point!” I yell in frustration. I turn towards the low wall and set my elbows on top of it. I place my face in my hands and massage my temples. “The elders won’t let me have a male mate. They’ll strip me of my title if I accept you.”

Xander’s gasp is loud in the still air. I turn to look at him and his face is stricken. Grief beyond anything I’ve ever seen paints itself across his face. “You’d reject me?” His voice is small and scared. The pain in his eyes and voice is more than I can take.

I rush to him and pull him into my arms. “No,” I choke out, my voice clogged with emotion. “No,” I say, my voice stronger the second time. “I just…I just don’t know how this is going to work.”

Xander shakes in my embrace, but he wraps his arms around me. He buries his head in the crook of my neck and breathes in my scent. It seems to help him calm and I feel his body relax. I’ve never felt this good in another person’s arms. I’m so at peace, so happy.

I rest my head on his shoulder. “Do you feel the sparks?” I ask him after a few moments.

“Everywhere,” he sighs out.

“I can’t wait to feel them,” I say. “I can’t wait to touch you and know that you were made for me.”

He leans back and I look into his eyes. Tears that I didn’t know he was crying stain his cheeks and I wipe them away with my thumb. “Do you mean that?” he asks, his voice quiet and unsure. “You won’t reject me?”

I pull him into a tender k!ss. “No, I won’t reject you. I want you,” I say when we pull away.

Tears still stand in his eyes, but he breaks out into a wide grin. He laughs, as if he is embarrassed. He moves to turn his head away, but my hand turns his face back to me. I trace his jaw with my finger, watching as it makes a path in the water droplets on his face. I look up at him. How can I already feel this attached to someone who I didn’t even know existed an hour ago? If the mate bond feels anywhere close to this, I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to let Xander out of my sight.

Looking into his eyes, I say, “I will never leave you.”

The tears in his eyes fall. Xander k!sses me passionately and I feel us both begin to harden. His tongue explores my mouth while his hands roam my body. It’s as if he’s attempting to memorize every part of me.

When we break apart, we are both breathing heavily. I look into the chocolate-colored eyes that I am already beginning to fall in love with. “Stay with me tonight,” I say, simply.

“You wouldn’t be able to keep me away,” he says, smiling.

We quickly towel off and get dressed. While Xander goes to his bunk to get his stuff, I mindlink Brandon. “Hey, Brandon.”

“Dev?” His response is short and gruff. I can tell that he is in wolf form. Probably out for a run. Though our wolves are extensions of us, they are more primal. They have no need for verbal language like we do as humans. Because of that, communication in wolf form is more telegraphic. We understand everything that is said to us, but our animalistic side doesn’t feel the need for the niceties of language. We just say enough to get the point across.

“Something came up. I’ve got to stay at the barracks tonight. I won’t be able to meet you.”

“Fine. I can’t anyway.” Again, his response is short. Why is he in wolf form anyway? He has been granted leave from patrol rounds for the next two months, just like me. If we replace our mates, which I have, we’ll be no good for at least that long because of the mating urge.

“Is everything ok?” I ask him.

“Yeah. Talk later.”

I guess he’s ok. And, honestly? I have enough to think about right now. Like my mate who is knocking at the door to my room. “Ok, man. See you tomorrow.”

Brandon doesn’t reply, just shuts the link down.

I go to the door, a smile lighting up my face when I see Xander. “Hey, se*xy,” I say.

He growls and pushes the door closed behind him, locking it in the process. He grabs my head and pulls me in for a mind-blowing k!ss. “How about we put that mouth to good use?” he says, a devilish grin crossing his mouth.

Brandon:

Once I left Charlie and Zak, I immediately ran behind the packhouse and shifted. I have been running for three hours and replace myself at the waterfall we stayed at the night before Zak’s birthday.

I lay beside the pond and listen to the soothing sound of the waterfall. I came here to think, but my mind is blank. I can’t think of anything. If I was one of those yoga types, I would say that I was meditating. But really, I’m somewhere between sleep and wakefulness.

Suddenly, I get a mindlink from Devin. “Hey, Brandon.”

“Dev?” I respond.

“Something came up. I’ve got to stay at the barracks tonight. I won’t be able to meet you.” Well, that kind of helps me out. I won’t have to explain to him why I won’t be able to meet him tonight, or even go to the dining hall.

“Fine. I can’t anyway.”

“Is everything ok?” This is why Devin has always been such a good friend. He can read between the lines and know when something is going on.

“Yeah. Talk later.”

He waits a beat, then responds. “Ok, man. See you tomorrow.”

I don’t respond, just shut down the link. I get up and start heading back to the packhouse. I don’t even know why I asked if I could have time to think about this. I knew what I was going to do the second I walked into that bathroom. It doesn’t matter how much this is going to hurt me in the long run. The two people that I have been in love with for years want me. Of course I’m going to go to them.

After shifting back, I go to my room to shower and change. Twenty minutes later, I’m knocking on Charlie and Zak’s door. I feel awkward. For some reason, I decided to dress up, wearing black dress pants and a deep purple button-down shirt. While I wait for them to open the door, I unbutton the top two buttons of my shirt to seem less formal.

Zak opens the door and I see that I’m not the only one that decided to dress up. He is wearing a pair of gray dress pants and a dark yellow polo. The color of his shirt highlights his tan and warms his coppery-colored eyes. A hesitant smile crosses his face. “Hey, Brandon. Come on in,” he says.

I feel awkward when I pass him. I want to touch him, k!ss him, or pull him into a hug.

“What?” Zak says, apprehension coloring his eyes.

“I don’t know, man,” I say, rubbing the back of my neck. “I just have an overwhelming desire to touch you.”

Zak smiles and steps towards me. “You can do whatever you want, Brandon. I’ve already made my intentions towards you clear.” He runs his hand down the side of my cheek.

I lean into his touch and close my eyes. I step into Zak’s body. I wrap my arms around his waist, running my fingers up and down his spine. I smile at him. “Whatever I want?” I ask, leaning in to nibble his ear.

“Yes,” Zak lets out on a sigh. His arms wrap around my neck. “Whatever you want to do.”

I lean in to k!ss him. Just before our lips meet, I say, “Good.” I close the distance between us. The k!ss is slow, but full of passion. Zak’s hands move through my hair, along my jaw, and down my back. Mine pull his body even closer to me. My hands play along his a*ss, squeezing it. I m**n into Zak’s mouth and his chest rumbles. Our tongues wrestle each other for dominance and the k!ss becomes more urgent. Pulling back slightly, I bite Zak’s bottom l*p, then svck it into my mouth.

Zak’s m**n is loud. He springs into action, pushing me against the closed door. His knee wedges my legs apart and he rubs his leg into my crotch. His hands are everywhere: my hair, my a*ss, and over my shirt to play along my abs. It’s my turn to m**n loudly into Zak’s mouth.

“Goddess, I want you so badly,” Zak says against my mouth.

“So, are we going to skip dinner and go straight to dessert?” Charlie says from behind Zak.

Zak pulls back and looks into my eyes. “I think that is an excellent idea.”

I smile at him and then turn my face to Charlie. “Lead the way.”