Chapter 23
Emery
Wherever I went over the next few days, heaven followed. Every step had an extra bounce. Every breath felt lighter. My time in the shop flew by in a blur of autopilot fueled by steamy memories of my two men, sweating and writhing for me.
Fucking Ty while shifted was a dream I never knew I harbored. Something about it made me feel whole in ways I hadn’t imagined, and Hudson was next.
Accepted—completely—by the guys I loved.
Yeah… I loved Tyler-fucking-Hargraves. The jackass who broke my first love’s heart. The jockblock from hell who made me hate my very existence in high school.
All those cringes he made when I’d call him whatever atrocious pet name I could come up with on the spot.
The way his nose crinkled but he couldn’t hide the grin on his lips despite his disgust. His fucking gorgeous body and the manner he carried himself, so strong and somehow soft at the same time.
His smell gave my body the same reaction Hudson’s always had.
His smile made my heart happy, and when he had told us his fear that he didn’t fit in with us, I hurt for him.
And then there was the way he really, truly adored Hudson with every fiber of his being.
How could I not love someone who loved the man I loved so deeply?
I had to tell him—but I needed to say those words to Hudson first.
My witch knew, of course. He’d always known, even if he acted oblivious to spare us the awkwardness of it all. Which made me wonder why he was holding out now.
He had to know that I needed to hear it from him first, didn’t he? Yeah, I’d kind of assumed a pseudo alpha role in our relationship, but that was mostly during sex. Hudson was the one pulling all the strings, holding all the cards.
I don’t think he realized that, though. I don’t think he could really process much beyond his need for us, what with the weight on his shoulders.
With his ancestors still banished by his accidental blood spell, he had been able to dive deep into researching the names they’d kept from us.
As we suspected, Lenore and Theodore—even the others they’d mentioned, Sarah and Alexander—were nowhere to be found in the Garland kept records.
A little bit of digging online confirmed that the siblings had indeed existed and carried the family name, but the details of their lives had been lost to time.
Just like everything else we’d learned, the pieces lined up with the holes left behind.
Slapping my hands on my already dirty as fuck jeans, I rolled out from under the sedan I’d been tuning up for old Missus Hastings down the road.
I snatched up my phone from the top of the toolbox against the back wall, smiling when I saw a handful of messages in the group chat between Hudson, Tyler, and I labeled Naughty Boys.
The Witch
Em, Tyler’s hogging the computer.
The Jock
I’m not hogging it, it’s my laptop, and I’m working! Don’t be tattling on me to him!
The Witch
You put in your notice. Tell them to fuck off and help me unravel scandalous family secrets while I sit in your lap.
The Jock
We both know if you sit in my lap, neither of us is getting shit done.
The Witch
And?
Smiling like an idiot, I noticed the time stamps indicated they’d sent the messages nearly twenty minutes ago. I quickly tapped out a response.
Well, don’t leave me hanging. What are my boys working on?
Still grinning, I dropped to the balls of my feet to grab a water out of the minifridge when two more messages came through. One text, and a picture that made me choke on my drink.
Hudson was on his knees beneath the desk in the parlor, tucked between Tyler’s legs. Ty’s fly was open and his cock was out, rock hard on Hudson’s tongue, my witch’s eyes staring right into the camera.
The Jock
Still on a call.
“Fuck…” I rasped, palming my own dick through my jeans. I paced over to shut the garage door, then dropped into a battered lawn chair beside the minifridge, unzipping my pants one-handed as I replied.
Make him moan while he’s on his call and I’ll eat you out till you’re raw when I get home, Hud.
I fullscreened the image they’d sent, spat into my palm and pumped my cock, imagining the sounds they were making together.
A second picture came through, Ty buried down Hudson’s throat with his middle finger in the shot.
The Jock
I’m muted, and he’s too busy to check the chat, puppy dog.
Laughing, I leaned back in the chair, snapping a pic of my cock in my hand and sending it instantly.
Working my dick with purpose, I swiped between the images they’d sent.
Knowing I wouldn’t last long, I let go of myself long enough to unbutton my flannel, giving myself a place to nut without making a mess.
Another picture and message came through together, and I was instantly glad I’d thought to clear the landing zone.
Hudson was grinning up at the camera, mouth open wide, his tongue covered in Ty’s load.
The Jock
Your pic drove me home.
“Fuck, yes…” I came all over my stomach, coating my skin and the hair that ran up my abs. Panting, I reversed the camera, sending them the view.
Ditto.
I ran my hand over my stomach, scooping up my mess and licking my hand clean. Chuckling at Hudson’s response, I zipped up my pants, then set the phone down to button my shirt.
The Witch
Damn, I missed my chance. He fuckin’ screamed too, it was so hot.
I’ll be home in an hour. Throw that steak and ale pie I grabbed from the butcher’s in the oven for dinner, Hud. I’ll have that sweet little ass of yours for dessert.
The Witch
Deal.
Running my fingers through the scruff on my chin, I set my phone back down on the toolbox. The doorbell to the front office jingled, and I checked myself in the mirror, making sure I hadn’t missed anything as I washed my hands in the grimy industrial sink.
Then I growled in my throat, catching Malik’s scent. He’d be able to smell what I’d just done. Probably already could.
I grabbed some body spray, dousing myself before stepping out into the office. Malik leaned against the front counter, cocking a brow. “Nice try.”
With a quiet snicker, I stepped behind the counter, pulling out the paperwork for Missus Hasting’s car to jot down some notes. “What’s up, Mal?”
“Oh, you know,” he droned, fiddling with a pen on the countertop. “Just checking in. Nothing really interesting to report since we got here. Figured there’d be at least a few wolves skulking around, but neither Gage nor I have caught anyone’s scent unless we head to the west side of town.”
“The west side?” I raised a brow, tossing the paperwork back in its folder. “Where, exactly?”
“What, you want, like, GPS coordinates?” He let out a snort, pushing off the counter to pace the front lobby. “Neither of us know any of the wolves here but you, so it’s not like we can pick out a trail with all those different scents.”
My gut twisted uneasily. “Wait a sec, how many wolves are we talking, here? As far as I know, no one has a physical residence in town other than me.”
“I dunno.” Whirling back to me, he shrugged, then placed both of his hands on the counter, leaning toward me. “At least a pack’s worth, Em. Not a lot of human activity over there, though.”
“Nah, there wouldn’t be.” I was rubbing my beard raw, staring aimlessly at the counter in thought. “Only people who go over there are dumb high school kids who get dared to check out the old asylum.”
“That huge ass building on the edge of town?” Malik gave a dramatic shudder. “I got spooked just looking at the place from the woods. You know it’s legit haunted, right?”
“Oh, we know.” I chuckled, folding my arms over my chest as I met his eyes. “Hud made us go once back in my junior year. Wanted to practice his divination.”
“You actually went in that place?” Mal stared at me in disbelief.
“I was a lovesick idiot afraid of letting him go alone, and I wasn’t about to let Ty show me up.” I shot him a grin. “Course I went. Thank god Grams got wind of Hudson’s plan and hauled our asses out of there before things got too weird.”
Malik rolled his eyes, returning my smile. He opened his mouth, then closed it, chewing his lip for a moment.
“What?” I grunted. “I’ll dig into what’s going on over that way, don’t worry about it.”
“No, it’s…” Closing his eyes, he shook his head with a heavy sigh. “It’s not that, Em. It’s Gage… he… he’s thinking about heading home. He’s kind of being a dick right now.”
“What?” I breathed, leaning closer over the counter. “Why?”
“Well…” He pursed his lips to the side. “We know what happened after Hudson ran off the other day.”
My stomach plummeted into my ass. My skin broke out in a cold sweat. If they knew about Hudson’s blood magic, I was surprised they hadn’t taken off immediately. I slammed my eyes shut with a heavy sigh. “Mal, you don’t under—”
“You shifted in the middle of the day, dude,” he interrupted, giving me a hit of relief. “We heard the howl, and we could smell the three of you before you even made it home. Tell me you didn’t fuck Hudson while shifted.”
“I didn’t,” I said, cocking my head and glaring.
“Oh… goo—”
“I fucked Tyler.”
Malik jerked back, blinking away his disbelief. “Em, that’s not better!”
“It’s none of your business, Mal,” I growled, turning away from him. I rifled through the papers in the filing cabinet, absentmindedly skimming the jobs I had lined up to let him know I was done with the conversation.
“It is if we’re here looking out for you guys,” he shot back, slanting closer.
“Does Gage have a stick up his ass about it, or do you?” I snapped, slamming the filing cabinet closed. “What I do with my mates—”
“Mates? Plural? Really, Em?”
“Yes!” I roared, circling the counter to get right in his face. “I love them both, Malik. They’re mine. I don’t care if that’s weird to either of you. I’m not part of your pack. They’re my pack. If that’s a problem—”
“It’s not, Emery!” Malik backed up, tilting his head to expose his neck. Werewolf submission. “I just… Tyler made you miserable for so long. You’re my friend. I don’t want you getting hurt, alright?”
I blew out a breath, curling and uncurling my fists as I glowered at the cheap linoleum flooring beneath my feet.
Finally, I lifted my head to meet his eyes.
“It felt right, Mal. Letting them have that part of me. Experiencing that side of me. Tyler volunteered to try first so that Hudson could keep me in check with magic. It was the safest way we could’ve done things. ”
After an awkward moment of silence, Mal muttered, “Okay.”
“And I do love him… Tyler, I mean.” Something about saying it out loud, even if it was just to Malik, felt like a weight off my chest. “I love Hudson Garland… and I love Tyler Hargraves.”
Mal nodded, his eyes softening. Something deep and appreciative dwelled in his stare. I could smell a hurt coming off him as he processed my words, his body practically radiating with whatever he was dealing with. My nose twitched at this shifting scent. Malik rolled his eyes. “Don’t do that.”
“Not doing anything.” Turning away from him, I grabbed a thick red binder from on top of the shelves behind the counter to get my accounting done for the day and finish up.
“It just… must be nice,” Mal said with a grin, wandering slowly toward the door. “Having not one, but two guys waiting for you at home.”
I managed a smile and a nod as he opened the front door with a jingle. “Yeah. It really is.”