Three Mates, One Destiny (6 page)

“Yes, Doctor Blunt,” the soldier replied without missing a beat.

Deciding to choose his battles, Paulie focused on the patients.

“Anything else of note?”

“Patient Number Three seemed restless, nothing out of the ordinary, but still…”

Paulie made a mental note to pay close attention to the third patient. “Thank you. Follow me. I’ll check on them now.”

They swept through the cells, with Paulie analyzing the prisoners and several guards watching his back. At last, they reached Patient Number Three. Like the others, he didn’t move when they opened the barred door, nor did he move when Paulie stepped closer.

Paulie expected this final visit to go as smoothly as the others. He couldn’t have been more mistaken.

The moment Paulie touched his patient, the feral snarled and grabbed his arm. The soldiers shot forward, releasing Paulie from the prisoner’s grip. The feral shifted into his wolf form, growling at them.

Several of the spirit wolves began to do so as well, obviously intending to attack the prisoner. More guards were approaching, the commotion drawing everyone in the direction of the third cell.

The prisoner must have realized he didn’t have much time at his disposal. What little reason he had left made him back away slowly.

Paulie couldn’t have said how the next thing happened. It all went on so fast, and at the same time, as if in slow motion. One moment, he was trying to soothe the out-of-control feral, the next, he watched the prisoner jump with all his might against the hard walls, effectively mashing his head into the rocks. It all lasted maybe two seconds, during which the feral had the time to hit the wall a couple of times.

Brains flew all over the place, splattering onto Paulie’s face and clothes. Before the group of soldiers could do anything, the wolf lay dead, his skull shattered by the strength of the impact.

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Everything stilled. For a few moments, Paulie couldn’t even breathe. Like an automaton, he reached for his face and wiped the blood from his cheek.

He didn’t know how he managed not to break right there and then.

He simply went into doctor mode and wondered what the fuck had gone wrong. How could they mess up so completely? They’d kept the ferals bound in the beginning, but it proved to be counterproductive for their psyches, so they’d taken a chance and allowed them the limited freedom of using the entire cell. It looked like they’d made a serious mistake.

“Get my father,” he said when he thought he could speak without bursting into tears. “And bind the other two. We don’t want the same thing to happen.”

His orders were immediately obeyed. Paulie’s heart hurt at the sight of the wolf, but he knew he couldn’t give up. He needed to take a sample from the body and find out what led the feral to commit such an act. Had something in particular been the catalyst or simply an accumulated sense of despair? They needed to find out, to prevent any further deaths.

He remembered his dad’s words about keeping professionalism at all times. “One day, you’ll lose a patient, Paulie,” Drew had once said. “It’s unavoidable. But when that day comes, you have to find the strength to continue because of all the other people who need you.”

And so, Paulie proceeded to take a small sample from the wolf’s body. In the back of his mind, he sensed a warmth closing in, something that prevented him from losing it.

He heard their dim voices crying out to him just as he finished his gruesome task. “Paulie!” Sebastian said. “Paulie!”

They must’ve been stopped from entering the underground level of the clinic, but somehow bypassed the guards shortly after. They came closer, and Paulie found himself swept into a comforting embrace. Sebastian pulled him close, while Marcus caressed his hair.

“Are you all right, gorgeous?” Sebastian whispered.

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Paulie nodded and bit his lip hard. He didn’t think he could explain. If he started speaking, he would burst into tears. He just knew it.

His father’s strong voice sounded behind him. “What happened here?” Drew asked.

“One of the ferals snapped, Doctor Blunt,” a guard replied. “We couldn’t prevent him from killing himself.”

“I see,” Drew said. “Did you bind the others down?”

“Yes, Doctor,” the same soldier answered.

Paulie registered all this as if through a dream. He felt his father kneel by his side. “Paulie, can you hear me?” Drew inquired.

“Sure,” Paulie somehow managed to reply. “Why wouldn’t I?”

His father didn’t answer. However, Valerius who must have come with Drew, said, “Sebastian, Marcus, take Paulie to his room. We’ll talk to you later.”

Paulie couldn’t be bothered to protest, not even when Sebastian took him in his arms, carrying him like he would a woman or a child.

If Drew had any protests over this decision, he didn’t say it. Instead, Paulie heard him begin to give orders to deal with the situation left behind by the feral’s death.

At one point, Sebastian asked him the direction of his room, but Paulie couldn’t focus enough to figure it out. His mind wondered to what he could have done differently, how he could have prevented this from happening. He berated himself for his incompetence, for his stupidity. If Drew had gone to check on the ferals instead of him, this never would have happened.

Through the haze of his mind, Paulie took in the moment they reached an unfamiliar room. Sebastian first took him to a bathroom, where he removed the bloody clothing off Paulie. After washing him up, the two men wiped him dry and wrapped him in a thick robe.

Afterwards, Sebastian placed him on a large queen-size bed. The sheets smelled like Paulie’s two mates—comforting, warm. Paulie
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couldn’t come up with any better idea than to just close his eyes and fall asleep here, in Sebastian and Marcus’s room.

The two men lay down by his side, sandwiching him between their hard, muscled bodies. It was quite ironic something that should have been the fulfillment of a sexual fantasy ended up just a source of comfort, but to Paulie, it meant more than any sensual exploration he might have desired. “You can cry, gorgeous,” Marcus whispered in his ear. “You don’t have to be ashamed of your pain.”

And Paulie did cry. He sobbed his heart out, for the dead prisoner, for himself and his father, for each and every person they hadn’t been able to help, for Ross who might one day end up with his brains splattered on the walls. All the while, the two hunters held him, soothing him with soft, loving murmurs. Through all the pain, Paulie found a certainty. For whatever reason, Sebastian and Marcus did want him. Perhaps he couldn’t understand it yet, but he’d do his best to accomplish it.

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A knock sounded at the door of the room Marcus and Sebastian shared. Marcus gently broke away from his mate, paying close attention so that he would not wake Paulie. The young human had finally gone to sleep, after exhausting himself crying. Marcus would have done anything to turn back time and keep Paulie from seeing the horrible death of the feral. At this point, the only thing he and Sebastian could do was to support Paulie and comfort him.

He’d have ignored anyone who dared to disturb them, but his senses revealed the identity of their visitor. Marcus slipped through the room, cracked the door open, and stepped into the hallway. Doctor Andrew Blunt stood in front of him, as usual flanked by one of his mates—in this case, Trent.

“Is my son here?” the doctor asked, frowning.

Andrew spoke calmly, even if Marcus knew he must be feeling quite worried. “He is here. He’s sleeping.” After a short pause, he decided to point out the elephant in the room. He and Sebastian had intended to talk to Andrew anyway, just not in these circumstances.

“He’s our mate.”

“Valerius and Trent told me,” Andrew answered. “I can’t say I don’t approve, but I’m not very happy about it either. He doesn’t have a lot of experience with relationships. I tore him out of normal life by bringing him here.”

This time, Andrew no longer disguised his emotions, and Marcus could tell the real concern and remorse the doctor felt because of Paulie. “He’ll only be more vulnerable after this unfortunate fiasco with the feral.”

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“Valerius and I believe your presence might help,” Trent said.

“But please take into account what we mentioned.”

“Of course,” Marcus answered. “You don’t even have to say it.”

Andrew smiled tightly. “I appreciate it. Get him to rest as much as you can. He works far too much.”

With that final piece of advice, the doctor and Trent said their good-byes and took off. Marcus breathed a sigh of relief. This conversation had gone much better than he’d expected. As he entered the room again, he met Sebastian’s gaze. “I suppose that went much better than it did with your parents,” the other man said.

“It could hardly go worse,” Marcus whispered back, his tone measured so as not to wake Paulie up. The attempt at humor failed for both of them. The situation didn’t warrant it.

Marcus joined his two mates on the bed once again. He didn’t think he’d get any sleep, but their proximity would suffice.

* * * *

Paulie awoke with a choked cry. He couldn’t remember exactly what he’d dreamt, but he knew it involved lots of blood and gore. To his surprise, he found himself wrapped in a strong embrace.

The memory flashed back through his mind. He recalled going to check in on the feral, then having the man kill himself in front of him.

He remembered the two hunters carrying him away and bringing him here, to their room. He’d cried in front of them. Worse, he’d abandoned his duty as a doctor.

“Shhh,” Marcus whispered in his ear. “Calm down. It’s all right.

You’re safe.”

Paulie shuddered, the other man’s voice scrambling his thoughts.

He shook himself and tried to break free. “I appreciate the help, but I have to get back.”

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Warm lips brushed against his cheek, Sebastian’s breath mingling with his. “No, you don’t, gorgeous,” Sebastian whispered. “You need to rest some more.”

“I’m fine,” Paulie protested weakly, doing his best to avoid the other man’s gaze.

“Are you sure? Do you think you’re over it?” Marcus sounded skeptical. “Don’t force yourself. In the end, you won’t be able to help if you’re not feeling yourself.”

Paulie begrudgingly agreed with Marcus. Still, he couldn’t just stay here and laze around while others needed him.

As if guessing his thoughts, Sebastian forced their eyes to meet.

“Sometimes, everyone needs a break,” he murmured. “That’s what we’re here for, to support you. So relax.”

Paulie couldn’t hold on to his desire to return to work. He was only human, and a healthy young man. Being squeezed between two hunks represented a dream come true for his libido. Perhaps taking a moment wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all.

Once he took the decision, casting away his misgivings turned out to be quite easy. As if of their own accord, his hands traveled over Sebastian’s chest, the feel of the hard muscles under his fingertips arousing the most basic instincts within him. His cock, already half-hard simply from the two hunters’ proximity, went rigid in a mere instant. The scent of his two mates enveloped him, and Paulie couldn’t remember why he’d even hesitated. He was so close to them he could feel a hard dick next to the crease off his ass, and another nudging his thigh.

Rubbing his ass against Marcus, he reached between him and Sebastian, intending to touch his mate’s cock. Sebastian stopped him.

“Don’t,” Sebastian said huskily. “You’re not ready.”

Paulie would have protested, except he remembered his own reaction earlier, and that brought different, more gruesome memories back. “No,” Marcus whispered. “Don’t think. Just let us take care of you.”

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They removed the robe off his body, leaving him naked and exposed on the bed. It was the first time he’d ever been naked in front of anyone, but beyond the physical nudity, Paulie felt bared—

emotionally. It seemed as if the two men could read his every thought.

In a strange way, it both embarrassed and relieved him.

Sebastian pressed his lips to his, and the moment their lips came into contact, shocks went through Paulie’s body, almost like he’d touched an outlet with a wet hand, but somehow still incredibly pleasant. The flicks of energy made every inch of skin beg for his mates’ touch. He forced his mind to focus just on the here and now and with each second that passed, he found it got easier and easier.

Sebastian’s tongue licked across the seam of his lips and Paulie gladly granted entrance. He didn’t know much about kisses—he’d only kissed a handful of people in his life—but Sebastian’s blew his mind.

His mate’s tongue massaged Paulie’s, ravaging his mouth, taking no prisoners.

All the while, Marcus swept his hands over Paulie’s body, reaching in front of him to tweak his nipples. Paulie moaned into Sebastian’s mouth at the touch. He wanted more, skin on skin, without the barrier his mates’ clothes presented.

But the two spirit wolves seemed determined to drive him crazy.

When Sebastian moved away, they shifted him so that he lay on his back on the bed. It was Marcus’s turn to kiss him. Unlike Sebastian, Marcus coaxed gently, the lip-lock a sensual seduction, rather than a raw, carnal conquest. He wrapped his arms around Marcus’s neck and surrendered to the delicious exploration.

For a few moments, Paulie lost track of Sebastian. He only realized where the other man had gone when wet heat surrounded his shaft. Sebastian took him with no problem whatsoever, sucking him in greedy motions. He bobbed his head up and down Paulie’s shaft, and to his embarrassment, Paulie felt his orgasm approach. He’d never experienced such a thing in his life and as much as he wanted to prolong the moment, he simply couldn’t hold on.