Chapter Nine
Theo
Sitting cross-legged on the gym mat, Theo concentrated on the three blue balls in front of him. It should be an easy enough task to complete. All he had to do was use the magic inside him to lift the balls.
He frowned as the stupid balls remained unmoving on the mat.
Hellcats! He’d done this the night before with the help of Seb. Now that he was practicing all alone for what had to be forever, Theo couldn’t even get the balls to wiggle. The air pouring out of the fans should have at least moved them by this point.
Throwing himself back against the mat, Theo covered his face with his hands and yelled.
Why was this so hard? He had unseelie blood.
Seb had told Theo that once he accepted that about himself, it would be easier to use the magic inside him.
And Theo had accepted it. Mostly. Seb had used his own magic to see that Theo’s magic had been bound when he’d been only a day old.
He had never known it was there and now he was just supposed to pull it out whenever he wanted.
Yeah, that wasn’t simple at all.
But Theo could do this. Had to do this. If Theo didn’t figure out how to protect himself and his mates, then they were sitting ducks for Branley’s next attack.
Theo wouldn’t allow his brother to take anything else from him.
Nights crying and afraid in either a group home or one of the temporary foster houses had been Bramley’s fault. Theo had been all alone because his brother had been jealous of him before Theo had ever been born.
Bramley had also stolen Theo’s magic from him.
Instead of learning when he was a child like most other magic users, Theo hadn’t even known what was locked inside him.
No, Theo had to master this. Sitting up, Theo redirected his mind. He was a Maine Coon feline shifter. That came from his mother. However, that was only half of him. He also had unseelie blood running through his veins. His father.
There had to have been something good about his father for his mother to risk everything to be with him. Those two sides came together to make up Theo.
He was shy and sometimes questioned himself but he’d made himself into the man he was today. Okay. Theo didn’t feel much like a man. That wasn’t important. Person. He’d made himself the person that he was. Someone who was worthy of four amazing mates.
His mates.
Theo wasn’t doing this just for him. Each one of them had a place in their mating and with their destiny of being the chosen. The fates had believed that Theo was the best addition with Wylder, Dario, Mitch, and Alek. He was there for a reason.
Placing his hand over his heart, Theo closed his eyes.
In his mind, he pictured the balls that were laid out in front of him.
He’d made it all on his own to university. Theo was passing all of his classes even with the addition of destiny, mates, and being summoned away from his mates. The more that the fated threw at him, the better Theo thrived.
That was right.
Theo was going to thrive. He would accept this gift of knowledge that Bramley had passed on to him. Bramley might have used the information to hurt Theo but instead Theo would turn it around and become someone that his mates could lean on when times got tough.
Theo rubbed his chest. Over that spot that had felt cracked open when he’d been facing his brother.
Instead of trying to crack himself open again, Theo called for the magic to flow from him. Encouraged the magic to come out to the tips of his fingers. His palms heated and tingles shot down his fingers.
That was right. Magic belonged to him now. Theo opened his eyes and the balls were floating in front of him.
He didn’t shout in triumph or clap. He’d made that mistake the prior night. Keeping his eyes on the balls, Theo began to move his hands. The balls followed his direction, making a circle. They rose in height and floated faster.
This was it. Just remain calm and still. Allow the magic to flow from his fingertips to the balls in front of him.
It had seemed so childish, especially when Theo couldn’t master floating balls, but now Theo could see why magic users used this technique to teach their children.
Theo wasn’t a child but he was new at magic and that was okay.
When it came to it, magic had saved him before and for that Theo was thankful.
Magic wasn’t good or bad.
Magic was just a tool.
Theo needed all the tools in his bag.
The balls danced in front of him.
In his heart, Theo knew that he was a good person. He’d never use his magic against someone who was weaker than him. Or even to hurt someone that wasn’t intent on attacking Theo or his mates first.
The magic wanted to be helpful. It was up to Theo to fan the flames of magic but also put it away when he didn’t need it.
Brownies, trolls, dryads, gargoyles, dragons, mages, demon warriors all used magic.
Aurelia’s magic was helping them make their new house a home.
Bo loved the garden in their new yard. He had even stayed behind the night before starting to build a bridge over the small water feature in the middle of the yard.
As far as Theo was concerned, Bo could have all the bridges he wanted.
Theo had no problem with a yard full of bridges.
Magic was not evil.
Theo wouldn’t let his magic be bad.
The balls floated faster, dancing and whirling in front of him.
Now Theo needed to gently, gently being the keyword, lower the balls back down.
His hands shook from him holding them up for so long.
“Hey! You did it!”
Theo jerked and yelped in surprise and the balls crashed into the mat. He sighed, looking toward the stairs.
“Oops! Sorry.” Wylder shoved his hands into the pockets of his tattered jeans.
“I had it!” Theo complained.
“I’m sorry.” Wylder crossed the room toward him. “I was just excited to see you using magic. You were so frustrated when you came to bed last night.”
He might have been a little upset. A pep talk at breakfast from Dario helped Theo get his mind right. This wasn’t something that he had to do. Theo wanted to protect his mates. Learn more about magic. Control the magic instead of letting it control him.
“I thought you were going to leave me alone,” Theo reminded him.
Wylder crouched in front of him.
The fangs marks on his neck stood out against Wylder’s tanned skin.
“It’s time to leave for Ethan’s game. You still want to go, right?”
Theo nodded. He promised Ethan. And he was looking forward to seeing his friend play hockey. Evian was even going to meet them there. They would take up a whole row of seats just themselves instead of Theo sitting all alone like last time.
“And Dario said we could get ice cream on the way to the new house after the game.” Wylder waggled his eyebrows. “We’re going to live only a couple blocks away from the ice cream parlor.”
That was cool. Theo really liked ice cream. “I want a double scoop on a waffle cone. I deserve it for practicing all morning.”
“I will totally back you up!” Wylder promised.
Theo rolled his eyes but held out his hand to Wylder to be helped up.
Wylder grabbed his wrist, pulling him up effortlessly.
Theo’s eyes went back to the mark on Wylder’s neck. Lifting his hand, Theo brushed his fingers over it.
Wylder shuddered.
Snatching his hand back, Theo winced. “Did that hurt?”
“No.” Wylder laughed as he grabbed Theo’s hand and brought it to Wylder’s crotch where his hard-on pressed against the seam on his jeans. “I keep getting hard every time my hair or something brushes it. It’s driving me crazy.”
“Woah. That’s…”
“Hot,” Wylder finished. “So what do you say, mate? Want to help a guy out?”
“Help how?” Theo asked.
“You could suck me,” Wylder requested. “It won’t take me long to come. Swear.”
Theo licked his lips. He wasn’t the best at blowjobs since he hadn’t given any until finding his mates. But he did like giving and receiving them.
“Come on, baby.” Wylder used Theo’s hand to rub at his erection again.
Lowering himself to his knees, Theo peered up at Wylder.
“You fucking rock!” Wylder hurried to open his jeans and push them past his ass.
Theo wrapped his fingers around Wylder’s shaft then brought the tip to his lips. He sucked Wylder into his mouth.
Immediately, Wylder’s scent and flavor nearly overwhelmed him. Theo’s own cock was rapidly growing hard.
Theo knew what he liked when his mates sucked on his dick, so he tried to do the same. He ran his tongue under the sensitive head of Wylder’s cock before sucking hard.
“Baby,” Wylder groaned. “So good.”
Bobbing his head, Theo alternated between teasing, sucking, and licking. Wylder tightened his fingers in Theo’s hair as he started to direct him.
It wasn’t long at all, as Wylder predicted, before Wylder was making the sounds that alerted Theo that Wylder would be coming soon. Theo gave it all until he was rewarded with Wylder’s orgasm.
He drank down his mate’s seed then Wylder was kissing him while shoving his hand in Theo’s pants.
Wylder quickly jacked Theo to completion.
“Boys! Are we going?” Dario yelled down the stairs.
“Coming!” Wylder shouted back. He winked at Theo. “Literally.”
Theo rolled his eyes. Wylder was ridiculous and Theo loved it.
* * * * *
Dario
When he’d been at university many years ago, Dario attended the hockey games with his friends because it had been fun and a way to get out of studying. Attending the games with Theo was a whole new experience.
Theo was so excited when Ethan hit the ice that he was up on his feet screaming and cheering for his friend. And every time that Ethan slammed another man into the glass. Like he’d just done, saving his team from being scored on.
Dario grinned as Theo settled back beside him.
He’d grabbed a university sweatshirt for Theo to wear during the game and even though Theo swam in it, he fit right in with the rest of the students.
It was the happiness that radiated off Theo that Dario would never forget.
That had been missing from when Dario was a student.