Chapter 16 #2
Typically, wolf shifters only have a knot during the full moon, when our hormones are raging and our beasts are more in control.
But it’s different when you have a mate.
Their pheromones call our wolves closer to the surface and knots don’t have to wait for a moon cycle anymore.
I can’t wait to give it to him. I can’t wait to mark him, to sink my teeth into whatever pristine patch of flesh he prefers and leave a scar there that will tell everyone we belong to each other.
I can see why Jareth thought this might be enough to chase him from our minds.
It’s electrifying, it’s dizzying, it’s fucking mind-blowing.
Maybe if my connection to Jare were less strong, the feeling of Loch in my arms would chase him from my thoughts, but as it is, I’m still tuned in to the sound of his breathing, to his scent filling the room, to the feeling of his eyes on us as we ravish each other’s mouths.
Loch breaks the kiss. He doesn’t need to breathe, but he’s panting anyway.
His lips are damp, with a smear of my blood darkening them, his fangs are long and his eyes are wide and feral.
He unwraps his legs from around my waist and gracefully transitions back to standing, both of us turning our attention to Jareth again at the same time.
I don’t have to hear Loch’s voice in my head to know what he’s thinking. I can feel it. His desire and love for Jareth pulse through our bond, meeting the same feelings that have lived inside me for decades and weaving together into something even stronger.
“See?” Jareth chokes.
I can smell arousal and despair wafting from him, see his cock stiff between his legs and his eyes glistening with unshed tears.
“I do see,” Loch purrs, slinking over to Jareth.
My cock throbs and a needy sound tightens in my throat at the sight of the two of them together, Loch leaning over Jareth on the chair, gently running his fingertips over our breathtaking mage’s face.
My wolf pants eagerly, not distressed at all to see our mate drawing his lips closer to someone else’s.
Because Jareth isn’t just “someone else,” he’s ours.
“Now I need you to see,” Loch whispers before pressing their lips together and sliding his fingers between Jare’s. They both let out a soft sound, so quiet that even with my shifter hearing I almost miss it. It’s a sound full of relief and longing that makes me ache for both of them.
Without breaking the slow, lingering kiss, Loch pulls Jareth to his feet.
“Come on, puppy, help me show him how good the three of us can be together.” I hear Loch’s voice loud and clear inside my head, the same as if he’d spoken out loud.
“Puppy?” I think back at him, not sure if it even works in that direction.
Surprisingly, he chuckles against Jare’s lips and answers. “I can keep working on a pet name for you. But get the hell over here.”
If he insists…
JARETH
It’s so hard not to let myself get lost in the kiss.
I thought it would feel different now that Loch is a vampire.
I thought some primal part of my brain would be disgusted to have him touch me like this, or at least terrified.
But it’s still Loch kissing me like he loves me, like he needs me, like he never wants to let me go.
I can’t catch my breath or get my thoughts in order long enough to figure out why he’s kissing me at all. After seeing him and Roman together, there’s no denying their chemistry. I thought they were about to tear each other’s clothes off and seal their mate bond right in front of me.
My cock throbs eagerly at the thought of watching Roman pin Loch down and knot him.
I whimper around his tongue and my hips jerk unintentionally, grinding my hard length against his through our clothes.
Roman presses his warm, solid body up against mine from behind, his thick, stiff arousal nestling into the crease of my ass, and his satisfied growl vibrating against my back.
Loch breaks the kiss and Roman cups my jaw with his large hand, gently turning my head. He nuzzles the back of my neck, then kisses his way up to my jaw, and then across towards my mouth, stopping just shy of my lips.
“Loch is right; this can work. My wolf is happy, and that’s all I need to know.”
“This is crazy,” I groan, even though my heart flutters with a dangerous amount of hope.
“So, we’ll be crazy. Who gives a fuck? If we’re going to live forever, shouldn’t we be happy?”
Except I won’t live forever. Sure, I’ve heard mages can live longer than average humans thanks to the magic in our veins, but nothing like the lifespan of a shifter, and definitely not forever. Once they’re mated, Roman will share Loch’s eternal life, but I won’t.
Strangely, it’s that realization that demolishes the last of my resistance. Even if I spend the rest of my life with them, it will only be temporary as far as they’re concerned. They’ll still have forever together as fated mates, and whatever we share now can just be memories.
“Okay,” I breathe against Roman’s lips, letting myself sink into the feeling of the two of them caging me in, holding me up, surrounding me.
“Okay?” Roman murmurs.
“Yeah, let’s try this batshit insane idea where you two are fated mates and I’m the mage neither of you can let go.”
“Yessssss,” Loch hisses, planting kisses up and down the column of my throat, careful to keep his sharp teeth away from my skin.
It’s crazy. I don’t see how any of this can work, I don’t even know when I decided to forgive Loch for his decision to become a vampire, or if I even have, but I can’t imagine saying no to either of them. I don’t think I’m physically capable of it, even if I wanted to.