He never comes.

  Twenty-three

  Thorne

  I sit in the living room of the main house, Castor by my side. The rest of the family is upstairs, all of them sleeping, I assume.

  “I don’t know what to do anymore,” I admit.

  Castor shakes his head, looking up at the TV. It’s been on for quite some time but neither of us are paying attention to it.

  “If you can’t help her, I’m not sure anyone can. That’s your thing.”

  “I feel so helpless. I just want her to understand.”

  “I know, brother. She will. We just have to give her more time.” He looks over at me. “I know this is harder on you. You feel it more than I do. At least she has the partial bond with you, it makes me feel better knowing she’s attached to one of us in case anything were to happen.”

  We sit there for a while, both deep in thought.

  Hunter left a while ago. He really did go back home. What he’s going to do, I have no idea. Christmas vacation starts tomorrow and I doubt he’ll be in school today. None of us planned on going in, since it’s Leona’s birthday. It’s the only reason Castor and I are sitting up, talking like this at three in the morning. Normally, we all like to get our sleep.

  “What are we going to do about Hunt?” I ask.

  “I don’t think there is much we can do at this point. I’ve never seen him this bad before. I hate to say it, but we—”

  “Don’t,” I interrupt. “Don’t say it. I don’t want to think about that right now.”

  “We just need to be prepared in case it gets to that point.”

  “What are we supposed to tell our families? How is his family going to handle that? His father? Fuck. If his father finds out about that mark, he’ll kill him. We can’t let him do this, Cas. We just can’t.”

  “When did you start caring about Hunter?”

  I roll my eyes. “You know I care about him, just not by choice. It’s the bond. As a person? I can’t stand the fucker. But as my mate? Of course, I love him. I don’t want him dead, I want him with us, where he belongs.”

  “Me too, brother. Me too.”

  Hunter

  I called an Uber to pick me up because I didn’t want to deal with either one of those assholes for even a minute longer. I was on my way out the door when Maddox stopped me and offered to drive me. If he were anyone else, I’d have told him to go fuck himself. But Maddox is the only person here that seems to get me. So I agreed but only if we’d leave right then and there because I didn’t want to hang around for another second.

  I cancel the Uber ride and still get charged half of the price. Assholes. He wasn’t even on his way yet.

  We’ve been driving for about ten minutes already and Maddox hasn’t said a word. I’m thankful because I was worried that he’d try talking to me about this shit and it’s not what I want to do.

  “You remind me of me when I was your age.”

  Fuck. And here we go.

  I roll my eyes and look out the window.

  “If you looked anything like me, I’d swear we were related,” he continues. I don’t respond.

  “I wasted a lot of—”

  “Look, I know what you’re doing and I don’t want to hear it.” I turn my head towards him. “I have a father of my own, I don’t need you acting like one. Okay?” A smirk slides across his lips. “What the fuck is so funny?” I ask, annoyed as all hell because this situation is not something to laugh about.

  “Friday had a rejection mark.” My eyes widen at that. Not because he knows about mine, but because I can’t imagine any of them having such bad issues that they’d get the mark. “We had a lot of problems when we first found one another. A lot of this reminds me of that, actually. I think that’s what scares me the most about all of this.” He pauses for a long moment and as much as I don’t want to hear what he has to say, I listen anyway. “I love Leona like my own daughter. I don’t want to think about her going through any of the shit that we went through. It wasn’t easy. There were a lot of stupid decisions made, a lot of them on me. People like us, it’s hard to show how we feel about someone and because of that, it makes it hard to love us in return. But let me tell you something. Once I got past that shit, once I let it all go because I knew my life would be over if I didn’t, because losing Friday and the guys would have destroyed me—I didn’t regret it for a second. As much as you hate the thought of being vulnerable, of putting your feelings out there, you’re going to destroy yourself if you don’t. The universe doesn’t fuck around kid, it wants what it wants. And what it’s telling you is that you have three mates that need you as much as you need them. Don’t let your bullshit get in the way of that.”

  I listen to every word that he says. I hear them in my head over and over again well after he’s done speaking.

  Neither one of us says a word until he’s pulling up in front of my house.

  “It’s not too late to go back. I’m heading that way anyway.”

  I shake my head. “I need to do this for a bit.”

  “All right.” He nods his head. “Call me if you change your mind. As of right now, you’re still welcome in my house.”

  I close the door and walk inside, already knowing I’m going to get some kind of bullshit before I open the door.

  Dad’s car is here and that’s always a problem.

  I walk in and close the door behind me. My house is laid out similarly to Thorne’s only it’s cold as fuck. Not cold temperature wise, but in feeling. This house is full of hatred and lifeless bullshit. Spotless furniture fills up 90% of the house since it’s never used. Dad is always working and mom spends her days in her room, locked away and tucked under the blankets. Even Jillian is barely here anymore, spending most of her time at Dominic’s house. There has to be something about bears loving their kids or something because his parents remind me a lot of Thorne’s and the only thing they have in common is that they’re all bears.

  Lucky me. Having been born an owl in a family of big cats. I came into this world a fuck up and I’m sure I’ll leave it just the same. So as my father shouts my name, calling me into his home office, I let out a quick breath and say my prayers.

  Twenty-four

  Leona

  I’m woken up by someone slipping into bed with me. I can tell it’s late, or maybe too early, like the sun may come up soon. I know it’s Thorne who climbs into bed with me by scent alone.

  I promised myself that I would stop with these fits. I don’t know where they’re coming from but they need to stop. I don’t feel like myself lately and I don’t know how to handle this, but I know that what I’ve been doing is not the right thing.

  I’m thankful my family is staying out of it, for the most part. It makes everything just a little easier.

  Thorne slides in behind me, the warmth of his skin presses up against mine. His shirt is off and he’s in nothing but his briefs. The tank top and shorts I have on doesn’t cover much of my body and the feeling of his against mine gives me goosebumps.

  His hand slides over the curve of my waist, down my belly, and then under me, pulling me closer to him. I wiggle my butt, pressing into him knowing that I need to apologize in some way and it seems that the only way I can communicate with him is when sex is involved. Probably not the healthiest thing to be doing, but I don’t care about that right now. I’m rewarded for my teasing with his cock pulsing against my ass. I keep rubbing against him, feeling him harden behind me. He groans softly in my ear. My hand finds his and I interlock our fingers, hoping that he understands how I’m feeling. Confused. Tired. Angry. Needy. How he would know all of that just by holding my hand I won’t ever know, but something tells me he gets it. He always understands.

  His lips find my shoulder, trailing kisses all the way to my neck. “Happy birthday, baby.” He whispers in my ear and I shiver. He lets go of my hand and slides it under the waistband of my shorts, pushing two fingers between my legs and finding my clit instantly. A soft moan leaves my lips and my eyes fall shut. I allow myself to enjoy the pleasure he gives me for a few moments before I decide that I need more. I reach behind me, grasping his hard length in my hand and stroking him through the soft material of his briefs. Each pulse of his cock in my hand brings me closer to an orgasm. He presses his fingers inside of me with ease, pumping them in and out slowly, allowing me to feel every inch of them. It feels amazing but I need more.

  “I want to feel you inside of me,” I whisper.

  He wiggles his fingers. “I am inside of you, baby.” He hits just the right spot at that moment, causing a whimper to escape my lips. “Do you need more than this?” His thumb finds my clit, circling it as his fingers continue to move in and out.

  “I want this”—I squeeze his cock—“inside of me.”

  Thorne removes his hand, a short time of him wiggling around behind me and he’s freed himself. He slides my shorts down and pushes inside of me, pausing to allow me to adjust to him in this position. He begins to move, thrusting his hips slowly then reaching over to grab my hip. Thorne pushes and pulls me to go along with his own movements, his fingers digging into my skin. He brings his hand up and grabs my chin, turning my head and finding my lips with his. His groans grow louder, causing warm tingles to shoot through my lower belly. “Leona,” he whispers into my lips. Pulling back he rests his forehead against my cheek. “Baby, I love you. I need you to know that.” His words are soft, his thrusts slow and deep. Waves of emotions roll over me. Thorne loves me.

  He begins to pick up speed, the sounds of skin on skin echoing throughout the otherwise quiet room. I shift myself, turning more on my side, allowing him to push inside of me deeper. And when I do, I’m met with a dark stare from the bed not too far from the one I’m in.

  Castor is lying in his bed, on his side, mirroring my own position. I can just about make out his eyes through the dark, but I can’t miss the way his fingers are gripping his sheets.

  Has he been there the whole time? He must have been. My eyes lock onto his. His tongue slides along his bottom lip, his eyes full of heat. I can tell that he likes what he sees. Why else would he be watching?

  Thorne’s warm lips trail over my shoulders again, biting and nibbling as he goes. “Tell him to come over here,” he whispers.

  His words cause me to freeze, my eyes never leaving Castor’s. I nod my head once, just barely, but Castor catches it because he’s throwing the blanket off of him and getting to his feet. He stands up, wearing a white T-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts that don’t do a damn thing to hide the hard-on that he has. He walks towards Thorne and I, stopping at the end of the bed. Castor’s eyes stare into mine as Thorne thrusts into me. “Use your mouth,” Thorne says exactly what I was thinking. “Go ahead.” He pushes inside of me and doesn’t pull out, grinding his hips against mine, seated as deeply as he can. I reach my hand out and pull Castor closer, tugging his shorts down. He pulls his shirt off and drops it to the ground.

  He takes a step closer, resting his knee on the bed and bringing his cock closer to my mouth. I move forward, wrapping my lips around the plump tip. Castor’s head falls back with a groan. My eyes fall shut as I take him in as deeply as I can.

  “Fuck,” he growls. Someone’s fingers find my clit but I’m too caught up to pay attention to who it is. Castor leans forward, his hand pressing into the pillow beside my head, thrusting into my mouth, no longer allowing me to take control. I lay back and allow both of them to do what they want to me. To do whatever they need to do to make themselves feel good. The thought of that sends me over the edge, and out of nowhere I’m clenching around Thorne and moaning my release. His fingers dig deeper into my skin, his breathing grows heavy from behind me.

  “I’m coming,” he says. A few more thrusts and he stills, filling me up. Castor continues using my mouth for his own pleasure but when Thorne pulls out and falls to his back, Castor removes his cock from my mouth and rolls me onto my stomach and crawls behind me. He straddles my legs, both of his on the outside of mine. He leans forward, pressing his cock to my entrance and sliding right in. It’s so wet and messy that he has no issue.

  Castor’s hands slide down my back and over my ass, squeezing both cheeks as he pounds into me. The sounds that come out of him sound both angry and satisfied. He fucks me hard and quick. My face is buried into the bed, my hands gripping the mattress. Before I know it he’s telling me that he’s going to come and he releases inside of me, just as Thorne did.

  “Was that my birthday present?” I ask in a sleepy voice. The sun is coming up. I have Thorne on one side and Castor on the other. Yet something is still missing. Someone is still missing.

  They both chuckle but it’s Castor that answers.

  “Not even close.” His arm is wrapped around me, my head resting in the crook of his shoulder while my legs are tangled with Thorne who is rubbing my back gently.

  Why does this feel so right?

  Lying in bed with two guys. Freshly fucked by two guys.

  Why is this okay?

  I don’t worry myself with it. I can’t. We’re never going to get anywhere with me acting like that. And besides, it’s my birthday.

  Two down and one to go, with only three months left.

  Twenty-five

  Hunter

  I walk into the office, which is in the same space as the study at Thorne’s place. All of the houses in this area are built the same with only minor differences. There was no way I’d get into this house and walk past him without him knowing. Besides, I haven’t been home in weeks, he’d probably smelled me when I pulled up.

  “Sit down,” he says in that all too familiar passive aggressive tone.

  I do as he says, not wanting to make anything worse for myself.

  I’m a good ten feet away and I can still smell the stench of alcohol on his breath. The only thing that tells me is he hasn’t been home from the bar for long, and his dick was somewhere it doesn’t belong.

  I blame the majority of my trust issues on this man right in front of me. The one that looks nothing fucking like me yet played half the part of making me.

  His eyes are bloodshot and tired. He is handsome, like that of a secret devil. The man looks like perfection on the outside but houses too many demons to tame.

  “What’s this I hear about you causing trouble at the Chase’s house?”

  Fuck off.

  “I didn’t.”

  “What was that?”

  “Sir. I did not cause trouble at the Chase’s house, sir.”

  He lifts his chin up, keeping his eyes on me. Those shit brown eyes like windows into his soulless body. It’s disturbing.

  He gets up slowly, moving towards the door and shutting it.

  The jingling of his belt buckle tells me I made the wrong decision.

  I should have fucking stayed at Leona’s.

  The door to my room is closed when I get to it. I open it, half expecting it to be locked or empty, but see that everything is exactly how I left it. Thanks to mom. She’s the only one that takes care of this house. I did not want to leave her here alone with that fucking animal, but I knew that I needed to go with the guys. If she found out that I put my mate in danger, she’d never forgive me. And if there is anyone in this world that I care about, it’s her.

  I close the door behind me, limping over to my bed. I drop down, face first onto the soft mattress. I would love nothing more than a shower right now but I can barely stand. I’m in so much pain.

  As a shifter, I heal faster than humans. But that’s why dear ole daddy has to go so hard. Has to make it worth it since the pain won’t last more than an hour or two.

  Fucking piece of shit.

  My phone begins to buzz and I wouldn’t have bothered looking at it if it weren’t in my back pocket and hurting the open wounds that are now there.

  I look at the caller ID and swear under my breath.

  I answer the phone with a muffled hello because my face is half pressed into the mattress.

  “I see you’re home and alone. Does that mean you’ve made your decision then?”

  I take a deep breath and close my eyes.

  “You said I had more time.”

  “Oh, you do. I just thought that since you left the girl sooner than expected, it was because you made up your mind.”

  “I haven’t,” I state firmly.

  “Well, time’s a tickin’. Don’t take too long, or you know what will happen.”

  The line goes dead and I pull the phone from my ear and drop it to the floor.

  Fuck this bullshit.

  Fuck my father.

  Fuck Thorne and Castor.

  Fuck this sad excuse of a life.

  But most of all, fuck Julian.

  Twenty-six

  Leona

  After falling back to sleep for a little while, I finally wake up with a plan to get ready for the day. Castor is sitting beside me with his back against the headboard, playing on his phone.

  “Morning, beautiful,” he looks at me, smiling. I smile back and cuddle closer to his side.

  “Morning,” I mumble. I lift my head, looking behind me. I turn back to Cas and before I can ask, he answers.

  “He’s at the main house, helping to prepare.” I roll my eyes. Birthdays are always a huge thing around here, especially mine and the kids.

  “Do I have time to shower?” I ask, knowing there must be a mountain of things planned for the day. That’s usually how it goes. I’m suddenly struck with a heavy weight in my chest, as realization settles over me. This year is so different than every other year. It won’t be anything like it has been. There is no Lina this time. We’re all stressed. I’ve been in a foul mood. I can’t imagine the day being as good.

  “Did you hear me?” Castor’s voice pulls me from my thoughts.