Chapter Three
Finn
“Ow!” I said, as Mason felt my nose to see if it was broken.
“Stop being such a baby.” He leaned back and glared at me. “I think it’s okay. You need to keep the ice pack on it though. If you’d been paying any attention to what I told you, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“You told me not to fight, but what was I supposed to do? Stand there and let that damn big alpha beat the shit out of you?”
“I was working it out.”
“Not fast enough.”
The beautiful blond came in and handed Mason some antiseptic lotion, then stood there looking disapprovingly at me. So this was Mason’s brother Jax. They looked so much alike it was easy to see they were related.
Jax ignored me and addressed Mason. “Put some of this on his scrapes, if you like. Or he can shift and heal. Just make him go outside first.”
“I’m fine,” I said, pushing Mason’s hand away as he tried to dab some of the lotion on me.
“Suit yourself,” Mason said, folding his arms over his chest and glaring at me.
Jax was still standing next to him with the same expression on his face, and I was struck again at how much they resembled each other. Jax was supposed to be older, but he didn’t look it, really. They could almost be twins. The other wolves who’d “greeted” us when we arrived were all in the next room. I could sense the waves of disapproval coming off them from a room away. They still wanted to fight and were mad because Jax and Mason broke it up. Jax’s alpha was pissed off too, and he was standing in the doorway, watching his mate and as vigilant as a hawk with a baby chicken.
When I first meet people, I use a scale of one to ten to evaluate how fuckable they are. It’s purely academic, of course, for my own amusement. I don’t fuck anybody these days except for Valerian and Mason—when Mason finally gets around to forgiving me for… Well, I’m really not sure for what, but I know he thinks I was an asshole, and he’s probably right. I’m not known for being overly sensitive.
As for my fuckability scale, ten means I’d fuck them into the mattress for days and one means I wouldn’t even fuck them with somebody else’s dick. Jax was a definite ten, and Cade might have been, but I subtracted points for how big an asshole he was. He was down to about a four by now and heading south.
“Somebody needs to start talking and tell me why I found my brother’s blood drenching the grass on the trail to our house that night,” Jax said, looking right at me. “Did you attack him, wolf?” He asked me, then turned to look at Valerian, who was leaning against the wall beside me. “Or was that you, vampire?”
Mason left his side to come over and perch between us on the arm of my chair and hold up his hands. “Whoa. Just calm down, okay? I promise I’ll tell you everything, but first I think it would be good if everybody just chilled a little.”
“Chilled?” Jax frowned and Cade snarled, still looking at me. “My little brother is missing for months, then shows back up out of nowhere looking like-like…”
“Yeah?” Mason said softly. “Like what?”
“Not like yourself,” Jax said, pressing his lips into a thin line. “You’re much bigger and more muscular. And your eyes…”
I had kinda noticed his eyes myself. In the last week or so, they had begun to look a little like Valerian’s, with the red around the eyeball. Only where Valerian’s were dark brown, almost black, Mason’s were still the same incredible blue. It looked like pictures I’d seen of the ocean at sunset, when the blue water is stained a little red at the horizon. It was hard to explain. Beautiful, though, like every other thing about him.
Jax came over and took Mason by the shoulders to peer into his face. “You’d tell me if you weren’t happy, wouldn’t you? No, don’t look at them. Tell me—are you being abused? Or-or compelled? You don’t have to be scared of anything.” He turned to glare at me and Valerian again in turn. “I won’t let them hurt you.” Cade straightened up and took a step toward me. I winked and smiled at him, just to piss him off.
Mason pulled away. “I’m not scared of my mates, Jax. I love them, just like you love Cade, and neither of them would ever hurt me.”
Jax didn’t look convinced. He wasn’t exactly a werewolf—and there was something about him that wasn’t human anymore either. I was pretty sure of that. It must have had to do with the bloodlust thing. I’d heard of it, but I had no idea how it worked. He had alpha blood in him for sure, though, and he had the alpha attitude down pat. Or maybe that arrogance was a trait that ran in the family. Mason had it in spades.
Mason had told me Jax could actually shift too—again because of the bloodlust thing he had with his mate. The bloodlust was rare, but powerful, and this guy sure wasn’t intimidated by either me or Valerian. He focused his attention back on me again.
“Is that true, alpha?” he asked, looking first at me. “Do you love my little brother?”
“I’d give up my life for him.”
He stared at me for a long time before he nodded and shifted his gaze to Valerian. “And you, Blood Sucker. Are you even capable of love?”
Mason and I both growled a little at that. Valerian could take care of himself, but I wasn’t going to stand by and let somebody run him down, even if it was Mason’s kin. Before I could say anything, Valerian smiled. “You and Mason are very much alike. Yes, I am capable, as you say. And how I feel about him is none of your business.”
“Oh, is that right?” he asked in a belligerent tone and his eyes flashed.
“That’s right; it isn’t,” Mason said, standing up to put an arm around Jax’s shoulder and walk him over to the sofa so they could both sit down. Jax’s mate was still watching every move we made. It was obvious he didn’t completely trust Mason either. He came a little farther into the room and kept on eye-fucking me, but not in a good way.
“Okay,” Jax said. “I’m sitting. So tell me everything.”
Mason laughed nervously. “Everything is a lot to tell at one time. I’ll give you the quickest version I can. Valerian and Finn used to be enemies—you know, werewolves vs. vampires, and all that. Anyway, Valerian and his men chased some members of Finn’s pack down this way from Virginia, where they all live, and Finn got separated from them. I was on my way home that night when Finn mistook me for a nightstalker. I startled him and well, he bit me.”
“Bit you? He couldn’t tell you were human?” Cade roared and inched forward a little. He lifted his upper lip on one side to display his fangs. I was half out of my seat when Valerian pulled me back down and shook his head.
“It was an accident,” Mason continued. “He never meant to hurt me, but the vampires were closing in on him so he had to take off.”
“He just left you there to bleed to death?” Jax’s voice raised an octave or two and he stared over at me incredulously. If looks could kill…
I stirred uncomfortably. I had beaten myself up about biting Mason for months. The truth was I had been alone and was feeling cornered when Mason showed up, running toward me on the trail. I was startled and just reacted without thinking. I fucked up, plain and simple. I knew the moment I touched him what I’d done and I’d been horrified. I still felt that way. Valerian put a hand on my arm.
“Finn wouldn’t have been able to do much to save Mason with half an entire coven of vampires right behind him, literally snapping at his heels,” Valerian said. “He was fortunate to save himself and he wouldn’t have if I hadn’t found Mason and stopped to help him. I found Mason almost immediately after Finn bit him and saw what kind of state he was in.”
“What—dying? And you finished him off?” Jax said, his tone icy.
“Jax,” Mason said, laying his hand on his leg and shaking his head.
“No, Mason, somebody has to say it. He’s a monster and he drained you of blood when you were lying there hurt and defenseless.”
“He didn’t—you’re wrong,” Mason insisted. “He bit me, yes, to heal my wound. He saved me. He gave me his blood—like Cade does for you, Jax.”
Jax looked startled and then angry. “It’s not the same thing at all.”
“Isn’t it? He gave me what I needed to survive. Actually, he had to do it to save my life. When Cade found you, you were perfectly healthy.”
Cade looked at Mason with surprise and Jax drew in a sharp breath. He shook his head. “No, it wasn’t like that. And this blood sucker is a monster.”
Valerian spoke up softly. “There are those who might say you and your wolf are too.”
“Shut the fuck up, Blood Sucker,” Cade growled menacingly, and that got me out of my chair again.
“Stop calling him that, you mutt.”
“Okay!” Mason yelled. “Enough with the name-calling. Finn, you settle down. As for you, Cade, I love you like a brother, too, but you’re pissing me off. These two are my mates. And I’m in love with them. Jax, we’ll tell you what happened, but without all these little outbursts and nasty comments. Agreed?”
Jax’s face got red, but he nodded, and Cade just glared at Mason for a few seconds before giving him a sullen shrug.
“Okay,” Mason said. “Now, Valerian, respond to Jax, please.”
Valerian raised one eyebrow. “Respond to what, darling? I am a blood sucker.” He smiled. “So are you. Your brother too, as you said. He knows that.”
He was right about that. Vampires weren’t the only ones who sucked blood. If a werewolf took a human for his mate, that human had to feed from his blood every once in a while, just to avoid going feral. Going feral happened when humans were bitten by a werewolf and then they changed into a monster at the full moon. A half man, half wolf creature. Sort of like the old legends and movies about the Wolfman. It was painful and dangerous for them, but his wolf mate could prevent that from happening to the human by giving him his own blood to drink every couple of weeks. That’s why we called these humans our “blood-mates”.
“Valerian…” Mason said, a clear warning in his tone.
“Very well. After I…saved Mason, I took him to my former home in Virginia until he recovered. He didn’t have any memory of that night. Or of who he was, at first.”
“And you sure didn’t tell him,” Jax said.
“No. I thought it might traumatize him too much.” A snort from Jax, which Valerian ignored. He turned back to Mason. “Is that enough?” Mason gave him a look and Valerian sighed. “And yes, we exchanged bodily fluids frequently.
Jax looked outraged, but before he could say anything else, Mason took up the story. “Yes, we did. I thought then—and I still think—he’s the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen, and I wanted him. I was never forced, though I admit I was misled about who I really was. It was shortly after that when I participated in a hunt for wolves and I was captured by them. A lot of stuff happened, but all you need to know is that Finn and I became mates. I fell in love with Finn too, and I stayed with him after he told me what had happened to me on the trail that night. I still loved Valerian, though I fought it. Eventually, we met again and talked and the three of us decided we wanted to be together.”
“Just like that? Why do I feel like you’ve left out a huge part of the story?”
Mason actually got pink, but he shrugged and dropped his gaze. “It’s basically what happened. I’m not going into detail about my love life with you, if that’s what you mean.”
Jax and Cade looked at each other. Cade came closer to Mason, and I saw him sniff the air. “What exactly are you now, Mason? Are you—are you some kind of vampire?” He flushed and glanced at Jax. “I’m sorry, babe. I need to know. He’s still your brother, whatever he is, and we’ll stand by him, but we have to know so we can at least deal with it.”
I stood up again. This damn wolf and I were going to tangle again in another minute or two. “That’s enough. You don’t have to deal with him or anything else for that matter, damn it. Mason only came to tell you he’s still alive and well. He doesn’t have to tell you another fucking thing.”
I’d have thought things were about as ugly as they could get, but I was dead wrong. The door suddenly swung open and banged back against the wall as three big guys and a human came crowding in, loaded for bear. This was what I hated about communal living. People just walked into your fucking house whenever they fucking felt like it. Fuck that. This was a beautiful lodge, but I wanted no part of a big place like this. I liked my little cabin at home just fine and it was looking better and better to me all the time after being here. I kept my pack living near me, and if I wanted to see them I called for them. In between those times, they kept their asses at home. Simple—and I didn’t have unwanted visitors in my face all damn day long.
The first one through the door was a huge alpha—as big as me and almost as good looking. A solid ten on my scale. Arrogance just oozed off him—I liked that about him, actually. Behind him was another alpha—how many fucking alphas did this pack have anyway? And behind that one was a gamma. I had caught their scent before on the trail, but Mason had said they were just running the perimeter. He’d called them Casey and Connor. The other wolves who had met us outside crowded in behind them. I was still sizing them all up when I took a good look at the human.
He was a little beauty, and off the charts hot. Inquisitive little thing, too, with big blue eyes looking everywhere. Not that he was all that little, except in comparison to the wolves. A mate, of course—I figured he was probably the human mate of the big ass alpha. Mason had mentioned them to me—this had to be Marco and Nicky. Nicky stayed close behind Marco and peered around his shoulder at us. He wasn’t afraid though. He would have come right over to us, if Marco hadn’t been blocking his way.
These wolves must have had a thing for blonds, which I could totally get behind, because I had a similar thing myself. Nicky’s hair was streaked with platinum highlights that looked natural and his handsome face lit up with a big smile when he saw Mason. He tried to go to him right away but the big alpha yanked him back. “No. Stay back,” he said.
Like Mason, Nicky didn’t like being told no much, and I doubt he heard it all that often. His pretty lips turned down, and he narrowed his eyes at his wolf. I knew that look all too well. Marco took a step toward me and Valerian, and before I could stop him, Mason stepped over in front of us, which neither of us liked at all. I growled at him, but he ignored me.
“Marco, I’m gonna need you to calm down,” Mason said, pushing at my chest to get me to shut up. “These are my mates, Finn and Valerian. We’re not here for trouble.”
I had a feeling we were about to get some anyway. Marco glared around at all of us, including Mason, and then he took another aggressive step forward and peered closely at Mason.
“What are you?”
I tried to push Mason aside so I could meet his challenge myself, but he threw off my hand. “I don’t need your help!” He snapped and turned back toward the alpha. “I’m still me, Marco. And if you have a problem with either one of my mates, then you’ll have to come through me to get to them.” He was facing Marco defiantly and Marco growled with menace. He didn’t shift all the way to his wolf, but he was definitely bulking up, splitting the seams of his shirt. His face looked fierce and his incisors scraped his bottom lip. His voice when he spoke again came out bestial and gruff.
“I can handle that.”
Before either Valerian or I could react, Mason did a little turn of his head and did a partial shift himself, right in front of us. And not into his wolf either, God help us. The thing he turned into was something out of a nightmare.
“Diable,” The Frenchy one that Mason called Rayce whispered hoarsely and crossed himself.
Though still roughly human shaped, the thing Mason transformed into had hooves instead of feet and it towered over all us. It lifted its shaggy head, opened its mouth and showed us its sharp teeth in a grimace of rage. It roared so loud I had to cover my ears, and all of us fell back away from it, but that wasn’t the worst part. Worst of all were the two curved horns coming out of its forehead.
His face was frightening, yet fiercely beautiful in a terrifying way. His gaze, as he looked around the circle of wolves surrounding him, showed no sign of humanity. This was a violent predator, in the shape of a demon, and for a few seconds, I don’t believe he knew exactly who any of us were.
****
Mason
It was funny, but I hadn’t really planned what I was going to shift into. I’d only done it a few times before. But these were mostly alphas in this room. These guys operated from a place of violence and strength and that’s what they understood the best. I remember thinking that I doubted if they’d be the least bit afraid of my wolf, and I think in the back of my mind I was thinking that if I let them know I could transform into something truly frightening, they might finally grant me a little respect and stop thinking of me as someone who used to be Jax’s little brother. At least enough to allow me to choose my own damn mates without their “help”. But the thing I turned into wasn’t any kind of wolf or even the tiger. To tell the truth, I didn’t know for a moment what my subconscious had chosen, but from the looks on the faces of everyone in the room, it must have been an effective choice. Rayce’s horrified, whispered word, “Diable,” and a glance down at myself told me I’d unconsciously chosen the form of the scariest thing I could ever imagine—a demon.
I had always known I could take any form I wanted to, from the very beginning, but wolves were special to me so I had chosen that form first and almost instinctively. Later, when I’d been trying to impress Finn, I’d chosen a tiger. All those had been conscious choices. Now it seemed my subconscious had taken over and had chosen for me.
My body rippled with the changes and I welcomed the feeling of power that always accompanied a shift. For a long second or two, I felt disoriented and unsure of what was happening. I remember glaring around at all of them until I came back to myself in a rush. Just for good measure, I scowled at Marco, putting everything I had into it and saw him fall back a few steps. I was giving him a tiny taste of what I was capable of. Then I dropped a roar which I hope spoke volumes about the irritation I currently felt toward my old pack. A few little wisps of smoke came out too, which I thought was a nice touch.
To his credit, Marco didn’t show any more outward signs of fear or intimidation, but he raised one eyebrow as he regrouped and came face to face with me in my shifted form. Then he narrowed his eyes and his growls turned ferocious. Nicky looked fascinated as his perfectly shaped mouth formed an excited little o. I think he even gave a little bounce. Marco tried to step closer to me, but Nicky yanked him back. I noticed Cade was quick to position himself between me and Jax too. Jax, peering over Cade’s shoulder, was in complete shock.
“Mason? My God, what’s happening to you?”
I hadn’t meant to transform without warning Jax first. I had planned on breaking the news to him a little more gently. I glanced over at him and tried to look apologetic. Apparently, that didn’t work, because he blanched at my regard and backed up fast.
Casey growled at me and took an aggressive step forward, ready to attack, but Marco held up a hand to stop him. “No. It’s still Mason…I think.” He glared over at Finn and Valerian and snarled. “What the fuck have you done to him?”
Fuck that shit. I was done, and my patience had hit the wall. I was tired of everyone’s attitudes toward my mates. I loved Marco. Hell, I cared for all these guys, and they were pretty much the only family I’ve ever known. But Valerian and Finn were mine. They belonged to my heart and what the heart wanted, it looked like I was going to protect. Without putting much thought into the impact or fallout of my actions, I just reacted to Marco’s aggression—and I guess my psyche took over and decided to get the job done.
With my fangs on display, I backed up slowly to stand between Valerian and Finn, hunching over and ready to launch an attack if I needed to. The wolves responded predictably to my aggression and were ready to shift into their wolves when Valerian suddenly moved right in front of me. He took my face in his hands to peer into my eyes.
“Mason,” he said, in a voice that was warm and intimate. “Look at me—you don’t want to do this. Stop it now. Come back to us.”
I was starting to get a strong throbbing behind my left eye. I’d known this first meeting would be uncomfortable, but I hadn’t realized just how bad it would get and my little shifting trick had backfired on me. For some reason, in my mind I’d pictured my family accepting me and my mates regardless of the differences in my body and the fact that Valerian was a vampire and Finn was another type of alpha wolf. Shows how stupid I can be sometimes. But I knew Valerian was right. This could only end very badly for all involved and that wasn’t what I wanted at all.
I put a hand to my head and felt my body changing again. When I was aware of my surroundings, I was on my hands and knees in front of Valerian, who was already taking off his shirt and wrapping it around me. My clothes hadn’t exactly survived that last little display of power.
“Cover yourself, mon coeur,” he said, his voice dangerously low as he glared around at the people in the room, who, all except for Jax, of course, were stealing glances at my naked body as I knelt there on the floor. The majority of them, who had known me as a child, after all, and seemed embarrassed more than anything else, quickly shifted their attention to Valerian’s lean muscular frame, currently shirtless. It was pale and hard and perfect, like one of those marble statues you’d see in a museum. Sexy as fuck and well worth a look.
“Mason,” Jax said, his face creased with worry as he tried to come to me, but was prevented from it by Cade. “My God, what’s happened to you? What-what are you?”
I shook my head helplessly, still unable to speak with a mouthful of teeth and Valerian spoke for me.
“We don’t know exactly. The best we can figure is that because he was bitten and injected with venom from both of us at almost the same time, and because he…ingested our bodily fluids in other ways too, he’s become some kind of hybrid. It’s an evolving situation, it seems, because this…” he gestured down at me. “This is new.”
“But that doesn’t make sense. I imagine that by now all of you have been bitten and…” Jax waved his hand, “whatever else. But he changed into...into a demon. Do either of you do that?”
After a moment, Valerian shook his head, looking worried.
“What do you think it is?” Jax turned to Cade, his face creased with worry. “Do you know?”
He shook his head. “No, but then I’ve not had a lot of experience with bloodsuc—with vampires—and I don’t know much about them. I do know I’d feel better if you came away from both of them.”
Jax gave him an outraged glare. “This is my brother, so get over it. He would never hurt me.”
“That thing he turned into was not your brother. I don’t think he even knew you or any of us for a few seconds there.” Marco said grimly. “We don’t know enough about this. Until we learn more, I want this-this freak show out of my territory.”
Freak show? Those words shouldn’t have hurt the way they did. I hissed in a sharp breath and felt Valerian’s arm go around my waist. Beside me, Finn stiffened and he sent Marco a look full of pure hostility. At the sound I made, Marco glanced at me and he sighed.
“Mason can stay and we’ll separate him from the rest of the pack and do what we can for him, but not these so-called mates of his. He has no business running around with this bloodsucker, in particular.”
“Watch it, mongrel,” Finn growled. “You don’t get a say in what Mason does or doesn’t do.”
“And he has no business running around with you either, you…you…cocksucker,” Marco finished triumphantly.
I was so not in the mood for this shit. I stumbled to my feet, holding on to Valerian. “No,” I said loudly, shaking my head, and glad I could finally form words again. “I’m not staying here, because I go where my mates go. And by the way, you have it wrong. I suck Finn’s cock,” I replied tartly. “And his,” I added as I nodded in Valerian’s direction. “And I think it’s safe to say you’ve probably sucked a few yourself, so just drop the bullshit and smartass comments, okay? I’m beginning to get a headache from all the fucking testosterone building up in this room. And for the record, I never had any interest in rejoining this pack. I only came back to let you all know what happened to me. My mistake, I guess.”
Before Marco could open his mouth, Jax piped up. “No, it wasn’t a mistake, Mason. I’m sorry.” He turned to glance around the circle of wolves. “If they have to go, I’ll go with them. I know this is your land, Marco, so I’ll just leave with them if I need to.”
“The hell you will,” Cade said.
He turned to Cade, “Then you better talk to him, Cade, because I mean it.”
When Cade just glowered at him, Jax continued. “That’s my little brother.” His eyes shot around the room at all of them and he added, “He was my family first and he’ll always be my family. Mason has come home and he’s brought his…mates with him. I thought Mason was lost to me forever, and I won’t lose him again. So focus on what’s important here instead of trying to determine who’s got the biggest dick in the room.”
Finn smiled arrogantly. “I’ll take the mystery out of that one for everybody. It’s me.” Valerian rolled his eyes and punched him in the arm, but a smile was playing around his lips.
As for me, I appreciated my brother’s support, but I no longer needed him to fight my battles for me. In my humble opinion, I was at least as alpha as any of these others in the room…and I’d just proven it. The fact I chose to bend over for Finn and Valerian had nothing to do with that, cause again, that shit was my choice, and to be honest, my pleasure. I was no different in that regard than Jax and Nicky, who were two really strong men. I knew they were almost certainly bottoms too. Yet all three of us had been through some tough times—times that would have broken a lot of people—and we had come out on the other side. The things I liked in bed were intensely personal and didn’t have a damn thing to do with how much of a man I was. I had nothing to prove in that area.
“I appreciate the support, Jax, but seriously, we didn’t come to join your pack. Finn has his own land in Virginia—we just came to let you know I was still alive. If Marco and Cade and the rest of the pack can’t accept my mates, then I’m sorry, but I don’t even want to be here anymore.” Turning to Finn and Valerian, I said, “Let’s go. I’m sorry I brought both of you into this.” I looked around the room. “I expected…better.”
Connor stepped past Casey and came closer to us. “Wait a minute, Mason’s right. Family and our mates, especially our mates, are the most important thing. I…I wish I still had my mate to protect.” He held out his hand to Finn and said, “I obviously can’t speak for the alphas, but I welcome you. I love Mason like a little brother too.” Finn looked surprised, but he gave Connor’s hand a tentative shake. Connor then offered the same welcome to Valerian…although at bit more hesitantly. Funny I had never heard the pack mention vampires before I met one on a dark trail one night. Apparently, it was a subject they didn’t talk about much. Especially in front of impressionable kids.
Nicky stepped around Marco, threw off his hand when he grabbed at him and hugged me. “I’ve been wanting to do that since we first came in.” Nicky held me at arm’s length and smiled. “I can’t believe how much you’ve changed in just a few months. You look so much like your brother now. Are you happy, Mason?”
I nodded and he smiled. “Then that’s what really matters.” He turned toward Marco, cocking an eyebrow at him. I would have laughed at Marco’s predicament if I hadn’t been afraid it would set back any progress we’d just made. Instead of chuckling, I gnawed the inside of my lip and waited for the battle of wills going on in front of me to finish up.
“What?” Marco asked.
“I’m just standing here, waiting for you to do the right thing,” Nicky said. He turned back to me. “He always does, eventually, but it’s a process.”
I glanced over my shoulder at Finn, whose eyes hadn’t left Nicky for long since he first came in the door. Finn’s gaze was glued to Nicky’s ass at the moment and I just knew he had to be envisioning Nicky naked. He was incorrigible. I shook my head and turned back to Marco. Several uncomfortable seconds passed before Nicky said, “Still waiting.”
“For fuck’s sake, Nicky,” Marco growled and then turned his attention to me. “Mason, you’re welcome here. I don’t know what’s happened to you but I’d like to get our doctor to look at you, if that’s okay. I never saw anything like what you just transformed into, and I’d like to know what that was. In the meantime, we’ve all missed you. You’ll always be a part of the pack.” He took a deep breath. “If these men are really your mates, then…” He huffed out a long sigh. “…it’s okay for them to be here too.”
No mention of welcome for my mates, but I decided to let it go for the moment. Pick your battles, I reminded myself. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jax nudge Cade in the side with his elbow.
Cade stepped forward. “You’re welcome to stay with us as long as you like, Mason,” he acknowledged with a pained expression. I was about to make a smartass remark when I caught the pleading look Jax was sending me. Maybe this was the best Cade could offer me at the moment. Finn received a lukewarm handshake and Valerian got a chin nod. Yeah, improvements were going to be necessary, but it seemed like they were trying.
Nicky smiled at Valerian curiously and made a move to walk toward him, but Marco yanked him backward against his chest, a vicious snarl curling his lip. “You can welcome those two just fine from right here,” he insisted.
Nicky answered with a roll of his eyes. “Fine,” he muttered irritably. “Welcome to the pack, Finn, and you too, Valerian. Can I just say you’re both gorgeous?” Marco made a sound of outrage and Nicky sighed. “Apparently not.” He turned his attention back to me, his sapphire eyes twinkling with laughter. “Two, Mason? Leave it to Jax’s baby brother to find himself two mates. That sounds…ambitious. You’ll have to tell me all about it sometime.”
Another growl from Marco. “No. No, he won’t need to tell you about it.”
Finn snorted. He was still preening a little over Nicky’s “gorgeous” remark.
“Why not? Jealous?”
“Jealous? Because it takes two of you to do a job I can do all by myself?” Marco mocked. “No, I don’t think so.”
Clearly, it was one step forward…two steps back.