Glenn, Stormy and Flynn, Joyee - Blood Lust [Delta Wolf 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour ManLove) (4 page)

“I’m not a total invalid.”

“No, of course not,” he replied, smiling down at Christian. “Maybe I just like the excuse to hold you in my arms.”

“You make it hard for me to pout.” Christian giggled.

Constantine
walked to their room. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure Owen was still following them. Sure enough, he was just getting out of his car, but he didn’t look happy about being there.

“That’s the idea, Christian,”
Constantine
answered while sliding the key card into the door and pushed the handle. He kicked the door open wider with his foot, and he carried Christian into the room. After setting him down on the bed,
Constantine
then ran to open the door for Owen. “Thanks for following us.”

“It’s fine,” Owen grumbled, walking past
Constantine
. “So what do you want?”

“Owen, please,” Christian said, causing both men to turn and look at him. “I don’t know what happened, but I need your help. If what Constantine and John say is true, then my old pack is sending people to kill me. I don’t want to die.”

“That’s not going to happen, Christian,”
Constantine
said, shaking his head before walking over to sit down next to Christian. He wrapped his arms around the little man. He didn’t want to make Owen feel uncomfortable, but Christian needed comforting. “Look, Owen, I was an ass the other day. My mother was acting like a total bitch to you, and I did nothing to stop it. I’m sorry.”

“Oh great, that’s what you’re sorry for,” Owen replied, turning away from him.

He was probably trying to hide the tears in his eyes again, but
Constantine
had seen them.

“Just forget it,
Constantine
. You have your mate.”

“I’m a Delta. I actually get two mates,”
Constantine
said. “I still think you’re our mate, Owen. And that’s not what I was apologizing for. I’m sorry for being an ass. I have no excuse for that. I only remember parts of what happened.”

“What parts?” Owen murmured, turning back to face him.

There were tears running down his face just as
Constantine
suspected.

“What do you remember?”

“I remember you.”
Constantine
said as he stood and walked toward Owen. “I remember your face, especially your eyes. I remember you being my angel and offering me your blood to save my life. I remember it being the sweetest thing I’ve ever tasted and having the most explosive orgasm of my life with you.”

“Do you really remember that?” Owen asked, his eyes shining with what
Constantine
could only figure was hope. “Please don’t lie to me.”

“I would never lie to you, Owen.”
Constantine
pulled Owen into his arms. “That is everything I truly remember. And while my mother may be adamant that I’m straight, I’m not. I wanted you as much then as I do right now. Please give me another chance. I promise not to screw everything up this time.”

“You hurt me, Constantine,” Owen replied, pushing him away. “I know you needed the blood, and I’m glad it saved you. But I also gave you my virginity, and you didn’t even care how badly you hurt me.”

“No, I did care.”
Constantine
rubbed his hand over the top of his head. “I do care. I swear. I just…god, you were a fucking virgin, and I don’t even remember it.”

Constantine
reached out for Owen, his hands falling limply to his sides when Owen stepped back from him. “Please, Owen, you have to understand. I was hurt, injured. I was out of my mind with bloodlust. I didn’t know what I was doing. I swear I never would have hurt you if I was in my right mind.”

Feeling defeated when Owen continued to just stare at him,
Constantine
sat on the end of the bed and dropped his head into his hands. This whole fucking mess was his fault.

“
Constantine
, explain to Owen about what being a mate means,” Christian said. “He doesn’t understand.”

Constantine
lifted his head and rubbed his hands over his face before looking up at Owen. “Okay, you know that I’m a werewolf, right?”

Owen nodded.

“Werewolves mate for life when we find our mate, or mates, in my case.”

“What do you mean by mate exactly?” Owen asked. “I’ve heard the term several times now.”

“Our mates are chosen for us by fate, Owen,” Christian said. “The perfect partner for us, our other half, so to speak.”

Constantine
nodded. “When we find our mates, it’s wonderful, a time of great celebration. We’re no longer alone. There’s someone with us to share the good and the bad, to give us comfort, and to let us give comfort to. It’s…it’s…”

“It’s like being whole for the first time in our lives,” Christian added.

Constantine
chuckled. “Yeah, it’s like being whole for the very first time.”
Constantine
could feel the ache in his chest growing as he looked at Owen’s closed expression. He had no idea if he was getting through to the man or not. He had been so positive that Owen was his mate but…

“One of the ways that we are able to tell our mates is our ability to hear them, speak to them, in our heads.”
Constantine
clenched his hands at his sides. “I thought you were…”
Constantine
swallowed past the lump forming in his throat. “I thought you were my mate but…”

“I can hear you.”

Owen whispered the words so quietly that
Constantine
almost missed them. He reached a hand out toward Owen. “Yo
–
you can hear me?”
Constantine
’s heart thudded, then sped up when he realized what Owen was saying to him. If Owen could hear him, then why had the man never answered?
Constantine
had pleaded, begged for a response.

Any bit of hope
Constantine
harbored in his heart that he would have a happy-ever-after ending with his mates dwindled. He realized Owen had heard him and refused to answer. That pretty much said it all for him. Owen didn’t want him.

Fate had fucked him over once again.

Constantine
clenched his fists again and dug his fingernails into the palms of his hand to keep himself from revealing how much pain Owen’s rejection brought him. He stood slowly to his feet and nodded to Owen.

“I understand, and I will respect your wishes,” he said, surprised at how even he sounded when he felt like he was dying inside. He glanced over at Christian and then quickly away when he saw the anguished look on the man’s face.

Constantine
needed some air. He needed time to think, time to assimilate the fact that his mate didn’t want him.
Constantine
walked to the door and opened it. He paused, turning his head slightly. He didn’t want Owen or Christian to see the tears gathering in the corners of his eyes.

“I’m going to go scout around, make sure we’re safe here. I’ll pick something up to eat while I’m out.” As calmly as he could,
Constantine
strode out the door, shut it behind him, and then started walking. He had no idea where he was headed, and he didn’t really care.

Chapter 3

“I was always fond of humans,” Christian said as he looked at Owen. “I always thought they had things on the ball, but you really are an idiot, aren’t you?”

Christian was in no way surprised by the astonishment, followed quickly by outrage, that crossed Owen’s handsome face. It was the response he had been hoping for when he spoke. Owen needed to get over the past and look toward the future, their future.

“Excuse me?”

Christian snorted and rolled his eyes. “I’m not really sure there is an excuse for you. You’re a moron.”

“Would you stop saying that?” Owen stomped his feet.

It was a good temper-tantrum move, but Christian thought he might have been able to pull it off better. His lips were plusher, and he could pout better. “Make me.”

Owen frowned, his forehead wrinkling in confusion. “What is your problem? I saved your fucking life, and now you’re treating me like shit?” Owen threw his hands up in the air. He looked agitated. “God, are all of you werewolves like this? First Constantine, and now you. What is it with you guys?”

Christian leaned back on the pillows behind him and smiled. “Do you really want to know?”

“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want to know.”

“Fine, have a seat then, this may take some time to explain.” Christian gestured to the side of the bed and waited until Owen sat. The man really was too cute for his own good. “A Delta is a werewolf born on the outside of a pack.”

“But
Constantine
has parents. I met them.”

“Oh, they have parents and siblings, an entire pack even, but they never truly belong. They are always on the outside looking in. A Delta puts off a pheromone, like a scent, that drives other werewolves crazy. It’s like a million-dollar aphrodisiac. Other werewolves will kill to get to a Delta.”

“I didn’t smell anything,” Owen protested.

“And you won’t because you’re
Constantine
’s mate. Alphas, Betas, and mates are immune to the scent.” Christian chuckled. “Things would go to shit pretty fast if the Alphas couldn’t keep their heads screwed on straight whenever a Delta was around, don’t you think?”

Owen nodded, but he still looked as confused as hell. He kept glancing up at Christian, then down to a small piece of the blanket he was tugging on.

“What does that have to do with me?”

“Because of this pheromone,
Constantine
can never be involved with the pack. He can’t attend pack functions or celebrations. He can’t even go to pack rituals. It would send the pack into a frenzy.” Christian grimaced. He knew the particulars of what a Delta went through. He just never thought about it in terms of what his mate might be going through. “He’s alone, always alone. The only comfort he has is the knowledge that at some point, he might be lucky enough to meet his mates.”

“Us?” Owen whispered.

Christian nodded. “Us. We are his solace, his port in the storm. He fights every day to give us the freedoms we have, to enforce our laws, and to ensure our safety. Until he found us,
Constantine
had no one to care for him, to love him. He’s all alone in the world even in his own family.”

“And now?”

Christian smiled. “And now, we get to spend the rest of our lives loving
Constantine
and showing him what he’s been fighting for all of these years.”

“We?” Owen asked. “So, it's true? We’re both his mates then?”

“Yep, we are. Every Delta has two mates out there for them. They have a higher than usual sex drive created by their increased adrenaline.” Christian chuckled. “It will take two of us to keep up with him.”

“But how do we…” Owen waved his hand between the two of them. “You know?”

“That’s the best part.” Christian leaned up and tapped Owen on the tip of his nose. “Not only are we both mated to
Constantine
, but we’re also mated to each other. The three of us get to share everything together.”