Mates in Life and Death (8 page)

him. Ash couldn’t look at them, couldn’t take the look of pity in their

eyes. “Ash…” Dan began.

Ash shot to his feet. “I’m going out for a run,” he said.

Before they could try to stop him, Ash rushed out into the kitchen

and out the back door. The Rivers’ home was located a short distance

away from the edge of the town, and it didn’t take long for him to

reach the forest.

The warm rays of the sun filtering through the vegetation didn’t

reach him. He pictured the horrible images Dan painted. He didn’t

know what exactly happened after Linden’s transformation, but he

didn’t have to be a genius to guess. Caesar must have been forced to

kill their mate. Did he blame Dan for the mistakes of his past life?

Yes, he did.

He shifted into his wolf form and began to run. Unleashing the

beast within him always served to purge his frustrations. This time,

however, it didn’t work. The primal part inside begged to be back

with its mates, to nuzzle at Dan and Linden’s side, to claim them

both. Even as his senses detected the scent of rabbit, he ached for

more delicious prey.

The feel of another wolf approaching suddenly came to him. His

instinct recognized the other animal, and Ash could no longer control

himself. He veered back, his paws carrying him the way he’d come.

He sensed Dan’s apprehension, but even with that, Dan didn’t stop his

chase. They met in a small grove and circled around each other,

tentatively approaching. Dan looked almost afraid, and yet he padded

forward until he reached Ash’s side. Their snouts touched briefly,

almost shyly, until at last Dan bared his neck to Ash in a gesture of

submission.

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55

They shifted back in their human form at the same time. “If you

ask it of me, I will leave you and Linden be,” Dan said. “I don’t

deserve either of you.”

Fear and anger coursed through Ash. “I would never expect or

want such a thing. Does our bond mean so little to you that you’d cast

it away like this?”

Dan shook his head. “I just want you to be happy. And you’re not

happy. Neither is Linden.” Dan sighed and looked away. “It seems

like the only one who gained something from our meeting is me, who

least deserved it.”

The heavy guilt Dan emanated settled over Ash, and in that

moment, Ash hated himself for being so unfeeling. He should have

been there for his mates, not fled like a coward. He should have

helped them through their dark memories instead of being jealous of

their shared past. A true mate would help his other half surpass the

festering wound of self- hatred, not twist the knife further.

Ash pulled his mate close until their naked bodies came into

contact. “Don’t say that,” he whispered. “We’ll learn to be happy

together. Things are difficult now, yes, but we’ll get used to it in

time.”

Dan seemed doubtful. “But how can you ever forgive me for what

I did?”

Ash hesitated. He recalled his own feelings at meeting Linden, the

intense desire to touch, claim, and possess. From what he gathered,

Dan—in his previous life as Caesar—had been with Linden quite a

while before disaster struck. Could Ash have kept himself in check?

He doubted it. Could he blame Dan for wanting to be with Linden

forever? Definitely not.

They needed to get this out in the open, expose it before the

wound became infected and damaged them all beyond repair. “What

happened?”

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“Linden fell deeper and deeper into the madness with each

passing day,” Dan said. “I killed him. I asked Valerius to burn down

our home with us inside.”

For a few moments, Ash didn’t move and didn’t speak. He

struggled to breathe, the pain that coursed to him at those words so

intense it paralyzed him. They sat there, kneeling, staring at each

other, sharing memories that refused to be forgotten.

“Ash?” Dan ventured at last. “Are you all right?”

Ash nodded and struggled to make sense of the feelings he

experienced. A part of him hated Dan, despised Caesar’s weakness.

How could he not? Caesar’s poor decisions destroyed Linden’s past

life.

But another side of him felt for his wolf mate. He understood.

He’d have wanted to claim Linden, too. He still did. In a sense,

Caesar’s courage and sacrifice had saved Linden, giving them a

second chance. Could Ash deny them? Could he cast it aside in the

wind?

“I understand,” he said simply.

On impulse, he pressed a kiss to Dan’s lips. The other man froze,

and at first, remained completely still. But when Ash pulled him

closer, Dan surrendered to him, or rather to their shared passion. As

Dan parted his lips, Ash fed on Dan’s mouth, but the other man didn’t

disappoint either. He took what he wanted, tasting Ash thoroughly,

wrapping his arms around Ash’s neck tightly. Lust raised inside Ash,

a hunger so intense he couldn’t compare it with anything else.

They broke apart only when another presence approached. Ash

shared a look with Dan and grinned. It was time to bring the three of

them together.

* * * *

Linden trekked through the forest, following the instinct that

called him there. Shortly after Ash left, Dan had gone after him.

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57

Linden decided he couldn’t very well stay behind and wait when both

his mates needed him, so he’d followed, in his slower, human pace.

Fragments of memories were coming to him now. Sometimes,

when he dreamed, he saw bits and pieces, but he never managed to

remember anything else but the figure of a man named Caesar. With

Dan’s appearance, that changed.

It hurt to remember everything he’d said and done, all the love

they’d lost before. But it hadn’t been their fault, and Linden now

hoped to mend things, together with Ash.

He sensed the moment when Dan’s apprehension and Ash’s

loneliness turned to decision and arousal. In his heart, he felt them

even before they actually reached him.

The same wave of heat he’d experienced earlier flowed over him.

This time, though, Linden accepted it, no longer frightened. He now

knew he’d been born for this moment. He’d been born to be with Ash

and Linden.

Someone else might have questioned this peculiar connection,

more so since it implied a three-way relationship. Linden didn’t. He

understood it now. Their bond could only be complete like this, and

somehow, Linden knew that if they’d found Ash in their previous life,

they’d never have suffered through such a loss.

His thoughts threatened to return to those awful times once again,

but thankfully, Ash and Dan emerged from the thicket. The sight of

his mates’ naked bodies scrambled all the glum memories away. In

fact, his brain almost shut down altogether, reverting to the primal

“fuck now” mode. God, and he’d never even had sex. Would he know

what to do?

Before he could worry himself to death, Ash and Dan walked up

to him. “Are you all right?” Dan asked.

“More than all right,” Linden murmured back.

Ash and Dan sandwiched him from both sides. While Dan

peppered kisses over his face, Ash whispered in his ear, “We don’t

know how this is going to work, but together, we can manage.”

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Linden nodded without a word. He didn’t think he could speak,

his heart overflowing with emotion. Ash and Dan guided him to lie

down on the grass, and he obeyed them. His legs already threatened to

give out, simply because of the proximity of his two mates.

Dan and Ash took their time with him. Dan unbuttoned his loose

shirt with excruciating slowness, placing featherlight kisses on each

patch of skin he revealed and sending goose bumps all over Linden.

Ash took position between Linden’s legs and unbuttoned his jeans.

When Ash pulled the zipper down with his teeth, Linden whimpered.

Dan chuckled, and his mouth enclosed over Linden’s right nipple. A

shock of pleasure swept over him, pooling straight into his throbbing

cock. “Dan, Ash, please…”

Dan’s mouth abandoned Linden’s nipple and traveled up his chest

to his lips. Their first actual kiss began gently, like an exploration, a rediscovery of each other. No, this wasn’t their first kiss. Even if

they’d been different people back then, their souls remained the same,

and their love had not faded. If anything, they had at last become

complete, through Ash’s appearance.

Their motions began to turn frantic. Linden’s clothes felt

constricting, but his mates caught onto his wishes and got rid of his

shoes, shirt, and jeans. Ash didn’t even bother with taking off

Linden’s underwear the civilized way. He just tore the simple white

briefs and discarded the useless material in the grass.

When Ash’s mouth lowered to Linden’s cock, Linden thought

he’d died and gone to heaven. The wet warmth around him engulfed

him so perfectly it seemed surreal. Ash took him deep, bobbing his

head up and down the shaft, all the while massaging Linden’s balls

with clever fingers. Dan’s kisses returned, his hands sweeping over

Linden’s chest, tweaking his nipples. Energy arched through Linden,

powerful and intense. He’d never experienced such a thing in his life.

The double sensations made his pleasure soar higher and higher, until

his climax was just within his reach. And then, Ash went even lower

and swallowed around Linden’s cock, deep-throating him expertly.

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59

Linden cried out, and his climax burst out of him, wild and

untamed, just like the lovers that caused it. The pleasure went on and

on, and for a few seconds, Linden’s vision darkened.

When at last he recovered, two pairs of hands soothed him,

turning him over. Dan supported Linden to stand on all fours and

Linden gasped when he felt his second mate spread his ass cheeks.

Ash rubbed slick fingers against Linden’s hole, and Linden had a

distant thought as to where Ash could have gotten lubricant before he

figured out his mate used his own seed for it. It was strangely

arousing, the thought that their coupling would be untainted by

anything coming from the other world. Linden felt something so very

magical in making love here, in the heart of the forest. Quiet

surrounded them, the scent of the trees and the soft wind creating a

magical cocoon around them. And when his mate inserted a finger

inside him, Linden took it with ease, relaxed, no longer afraid. He

accepted the second one in the same way. The third one took a little to

get used to, but then Ash hit something deep inside him, the special

spot that made stars burst in his vision. Linden pushed back against

the invading fingers, needing more of the delicious sensations.

Through the haze of pleasure, he stared up at Dan, “Please,” he said.

Dan caressed his cheek, his expression both warm and reverent.

“Don’t worry, love. We’ll give you what you want.”

Slowly, Dan fed his cock into Linden’s mouth. His unhurried

motions drove Linden crazy, and he forced himself to suck his lover’s

shaft deeper. Much to his dismay, he gagged, Dan’s size being too

great for him to take.

Dan’s hands landed in his hair. “Easy. You’re new at this. Just

take as much as you’re comfortable with and go slow.”

Linden obeyed and focused on the cock in his mouth. Dan tasted

intoxicating, and Linden wanted to make him come, to feel Dan’s hot

seed on his tongue. He greedily explored the delicious flesh, all the

while pushing his ass against the fingers invading his backside.

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Groans filled his ears, and Ash said, “I never thought I’d say this,

but you look so hot with his cock in your mouth. Just like that,

beautiful, take him.”

Ash’s words fueled the fire already burning bright inside Linden.

He wiggled his ass, wordlessly telling Ash what he needed. His mate

didn’t disappoint. After a few seconds, Ash retracted his fingers and

positioned his cock at Linden’s entrance. Like Dan, he took his time

pushing inside. This time, Linden felt grateful for the gentleness.

Ash’s cock was much bigger than three fingers, and it speared Linden

in two. It made him lose his concentration, and he could no longer

keep a pace on Dan’s cock.

But neither Ash nor Dan forced him to go further than he could.

They fucked him slowly, allowing him to get used to the penetration.

The burn began to dwindle and melted into something far more

pleasurable. Ash couldn’t have said what it was exactly, but it went

beyond anything he’d ever expected.

At last, he felt Ash’s cock fully inside him. The heat scorched

from the inside out, molding with the sensations of Dan’s possession.

Linden didn’t think it could get any better than this, but then, his men

began to move. The friction stimulated every nerve in his body, even

some that he hadn’t known existed. O ver and over, they pushed in and