Chapter Ten #2
“Are you sure?” Atlas slid in a second finger to join the first. “You know how much I love taking care of you.”
Bel huffed. It seemed like all Atlas did was take care of him. Of his needs. He turned and Atlas’s fingers disappeared from his hole. He hated the feeling of loss, but Bel was going to go at least four hours without Atlas’s cock. He could do it.
“Hey!” Atlas cupped his face. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Bel replied quickly. His thoughts were running on the silly side.
“Mate,” Atlas said sternly.
Bel sighed. “I don’t want you to get tired of me. Of how much I need—”
His words were silenced by Atlas’s mouth.
Atlas kissed Bel deeply until Bel was leaning into his mate. When they drew apart, Atlas smiled. “I love how much you want me. Need me. I love you, Bel.”
Bel sucked in a sharp breath. That was the first time that Atlas had said those words to him.
“I love everything about you, my mate,” Atlas said more firmly.
“I love you too,” he confessed.
“That’s right,” Atlas told him. “So if we want each other all the time, that’s our business.”
Relief filled him. He wrapped his arms around Atlas and hugged him.
Atlas hugged him back, making soothing sounds.
“I’m hungry,” Bel rumbled.
“Let’s get out of the shower and get some food. Then we must get some paperwork done,” Atlas told him.
There was a whine in the back of his throat. He didn’t want to do paperwork. All Bel wanted to do was spend time with his mate.
“Come on, big guy.” Atlas patted his arm. “How about eggs and bacon? Damn! I could kill off half a pack of bacon right now.”
Suddenly bile rose up. Bel shoved himself away from his mate and out of the shower to kneel in front of the toilet.
“Bel!” Atlas cried.
He was too busy throwing up his guts to reassure his mate. Just when Bel thought that he had gotten everything out of his system, he threw up again and again.
“Mate.” A towel was placed over his shoulders as Atlas crouched beside him. “What’s going on?”
Bel tried to shake his head but that just made him dizzy, so he stopped.
“You’re scaring me, Bel,” Atlas said.
“Sorry,” Bel panted out. “I…don’t know. Sick.”
“Sick? Sick! I didn’t know that demons could even get sick!” Atlas shrieked.
They couldn’t. At least Bel had never heard of a demon getting sick. Not ever.
“I’m calling Luci!” Atlas announced and rose.
“No!” Bel shouted. “It’s fine. I’m okay.”
“Are you sure?” Atlas went back to rubbing his back.
Bel swallowed and winced. Gross. At least a quick thought with magic had his mouth refreshed. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He was still dripping wet too. Another thought had him dried and dressed.
“Really?” Atlas snorted. “If you’re sick, sweatpants would have been much more comfortable than suit pants and a button-down shirt.”
Bel looked down at himself. He hadn’t even thought of more casual attire.
“It’s fine. Let’s get you up,” Atlas told him.
Bel hated how much he needed to lean on his little mate as Atlas helped him to his feet.
“How about breakfast in bed?” Atlas asked.
Now that he was standing, Bel did an inventory on how he felt. The nausea was gone and he was starving once again. He did a quick magical change of clothes, taking his mate’s suggestion and changing into a pair of sweatpants. “I thought you said we had paperwork to do.”
“We’ll see how you feel after breakfast. Maybe some toast and oatmeal,” Atlas suggested.
All Bel heard was after breakfast. He would see if he could change that to after breakfast and another roll in bed.
* * * * *
Atlas
He sighed as Bel snuck out of bed. Again.
For the last three days, Bel had been getting up before him to sneak into the bathroom to throw up. His mate was trying to hide it from him but Atlas knew when Bel wasn’t in the big bed with him. Nothing felt right when Bel was gone.
Atlas sat up and threw his legs over the mattress. Enough was enough.
Stomping into the bathroom, Atlas threw the door open, letting it bang against the wall.
Kneeling in front of the toilet, Bel jumped.
“I’m fine,” Bel told him, turning his head for a moment then going back to vomit again.
Atlas winced. This couldn’t continue. And he wasn’t going to let Bel dismiss his concern again. He crossed the room just as Bel flushed the toilet.
“Better?” Atlas demanded.
“Fine.” Bel’s hands shook as he tried to push off the floor.
Atlas hooked an arm under Bel’s, helping his demon prince up. “You are not fine. Everything is not fine. And if you say the word fine one more time, I will throttle you!”
“You just said it three times,” Bel said with a grin. “And what does throttle mean? Do you do it with your dick?”
It was hard not to grin. No! Atlas was not going to let his mate be cute and distract him. “Stop it.”
Bel sighed. “Atlas—”
“Something is wrong and we both know it. You can’t keep ignoring the issue and thinking it will go away.”
“I don’t know what is wrong with me,” Bel admitted. Atlas helped him to the mattress and Bel sat down.
Atlas crouched in front of him, placing his palms on Bel’s knees. “Talk to me.”
Bel shuddered. “I’m scared.”
Digging his fingers into his mate’s knees, Atlas nodded. “Me too.”
“Sorry,” Bel spoke softly. “I don’t want you to worry. You’ve already been through so much.”
“No, we’re in this together,” Atlas told him. “And everything is…” He laughed, almost saying fine.
“Not fine,” Bel said.
“Not fine,” Atlas agreed. “What can I do?”
“Will you just hold me?” Bel asked softly. “I’d love to ride you, but I’m tired.”
“Of course you are.” Atlas rose. He urged Bel to lie back on the mattress before slotting himself beside him.
Bel’s big arm came around him as Atlas rested his head on Bel’s chest.
“I love you, Bel,” Atlas told him. “We’ll figure this out. If I’ve learned anything in the few weeks that I’ve been here, it’s that our group of friends can do anything.”
“They can,” Bel said.
“We have the literal king of hell, powerful demons, a mage…friends made up of the most powerful of paranormals.”
“Thanks, mate,” Bel replied as his eyes closed.
Atlas rubbed Bel’s chest above his heart until the demon’s breathing evened out.
He didn’t care what it took. Atlas would not lose his mate. It wouldn’t be fair. Bel had to be okay. Had to be. Atlas closed his own eyes as he listened to his mate’s strong heartbeat. Bel was going to be fine. Atlas would make damn sure of it.
* * * * *
Bel
Huddled miserably in his office chair, Bel tried to ignore his churning gut.
He knew that Atlas was really worried and truthfully so was Bel.
Demons didn’t get sick. There was no explanation that Bel could find why he was unable to keep his food down.
For over nearly a week, Bel threw up anything he ate.
Mating didn’t make demons sick. It made them stronger.
Atlas walked into the room with Lucifer at his heels.
Bel frowned. Atlas had said he was going to make Bel some tea that Atlas’s grandmother insisted cured everything.
Bel had told his mate that he could just magic it up but Atlas had wanted to do it by hand.
Apparently, Atlas had done more than just make him tea.
Although he was carrying a mug in his hand.
“Atlas,” Bel growled out.
“Don’t you growl at me!” Atlas said, placing the mug in front of Bel before kissing his cheek. “We agreed to figure out what’s wrong with you.”
Bel waved at the open laptop in front of him. “I was!”
“And did you find anything?” Atlas asked knowingly.
“My friend.” Lucifer hovered behind Atlas. “Why would you not contact me right away?”
“I…” Bel slumped back in his chair. Thankful when Atlas threw an arm over his shoulder, comforting him. With Bel sitting and Atlas standing beside him, it was one of the few times that their size difference didn’t come into play. “Sorry, my king.”
Lucifer snorted. “Don’t try to distract me.”
Bel smirked. Luci hated being called that.
“Now tell me what’s going on. Atlas said you’ve been throwing up for over a week now.”
“I…yeah. Every morning, I empty my stomach into the toilet.” It was annoying and exhausting.
Atlas moved to his other side as Lucifer came closer.
“You are pale, my friend,” Luci said. He placed his hand on Bel’s forehead. “But I wouldn’t say you are any hotter than normal.”
Bel was a demon. He always ran hot.
Lucifer moved his hands to cup Bel’s face. He closed his eyes.
This wasn’t the first time that Bel had felt Lucifer’s magic connect with his. Their magic entwined and rubbed together.
Slowly, Lucifer began to smile.
“That’s good, right?” Atlas questioned. “He’s smiling.”
Bel grasped Atlas’s hand and squeezed. He hoped so. What if he was terminal with some weird disease that killed his kind?
Lucifer released his face before opening his eyes.
Bel was shocked to see tears gather as he looked up at his oldest friend. Was it bad then? He’d promised his mate that Atlas would be immortal. To Bel’s knowledge, a demon couldn’t be killed. No matter what.
“Congratulations, my friends. I am so honored to share this moment with you,” Luci said softly.
“Congratulations?” Atlas asked. “Is this a mating thing then?”
Luci nodded. “You could say that.” He grasped their hands, Bel’s in his left and Atlas’s in his right. “You are going to be parents. Bel is expecting.”
Bel blinked. Then blinked again. Surely, he hadn’t heard that right.
“Expecting what? Another mate? I don’t want another mate,” Atlas said. “I mean that’s cool that you have two mates. And I’ve never seen three people that were so perfect together but—”
“Not a mate,” Luci said with a chuckle. “A child.”
“A what now!” Atlas shouted.
Bel shook his head. “That’s impossible.”
“I assure you it’s not. You are pregnant, my friend. With a serious case of morning sickness,” Luci told him.
“But it’s not just in the morning!” Atlas exclaimed. “Sometimes it’s in the afternoon or late at night.”
Luci shook his head. “Morning sickness is a bit of a misnomer.”