Page 43 of That's the Way Rejection Goes

Erick didn’t pull out of me like I expected. Instead, he rearranged my legs and turned me to the side so he could spoon me from behind, his cock still buried deep inside me. Once he was lying beside me with his arm draped over my waist, Calum got close on the other side, his forehead pressed to mine as he stroked my stubbly cheek with his thumb.

A quiet washed over us that could only be described ascomplete. There was nothing to say after what we’d done. Our only job was to lay there and enjoy it. The room was filled with our scent, pungent with sex. But it had changed now. Instead of three separate scents like it had been before, they all began to converge until they became one beautiful mixture.

It wasourscent now. The mate bond was complete and for the first time in over a decade, I fell asleep knowing that in the morning, I’d have my mates lying beside me when I woke up. And that was a beautiful feeling.

Tomorrow, I’d tell them I loved them.

Chapter Twenty-One: Erick

Iwoke up just long enough to kiss Sam before he had to sneak out early the next morning. I tried my best to stop him, to tell him that the front desk could watch itself for a while. But he wouldn’t hear of it. He insisted on going down but encouraged me to get some more sleep. With a soft kiss, he snuck out of the room without ever waking Calum.

Despite my best efforts, I quickly dozed off again, my arms wrapped around Calum. When I finally came to, it was getting close to noon and Calum was still snoozing away. Not that I could blame him. We’d been out running late the night before and then spent the earliest parts of the morning fucking like rabbits. I supposed it was only natural that he was tired. I knew I was still exhausted. Elated, but exhausted.

I made little effort to stay quiet as I peeled myself off the floor, rousing Calum from his slumber. He grumbled and rolled over, pulling an armful of pillows tight against his chest. Even with the blanket and the pillows, the floor was still hard as fuck and my body was sore from sleeping on it all night. I needed to get moving or I was going to do some damage.

It wasn’t until I got back from the bathroom that I realized we were still in Sam’s room. Calum was finally sitting up, the blanket pulled up and over his head like a cloak. He was still naked and poking uselessly at the electric fireplace on the wall. For all the handyman skills he had, the guy was not great at anything digital. He could wire one of them up, but turning it on? That was another matter entirely.

“I got it,” I said, smirking at him as I grabbed the remote from the bedside table.

I flipped the fireplace on, the digital flames popping into life. The motor whirred and began to creak as the heating elements came on. A few seconds later warm air began to rush out the front and Calum opened the blanket wide to let it in.

“Fuck yes,” he grumbled, closing his eyes. “It’s so fucking cold here.”

Taking a seat beside him, I wrapped my arm around his waist and joined him under the blanket now filling with heat.

“Well, you better get used to it,” I replied, leaning my head against his. “Because we just mated that man last night.”

“So that wasn’t a dream,” he muttered, shaking his head. “I was half convinced I’d made it all up. I didn’t expect it to happen like that.”

“Me either.” I paused for a moment. “Do you think we rushed into it? Are we being crazy? After all, we’ve only known Sam for a couple of weeks at this point.”

“My brain is telling me we’re moving fast,” Calum replied thoughtfully. “But my heart and my wolf… they say we’re not moving fastenough.”

I let out a long sigh. “Okay. So, it’s not just me then.”

“Definitely not.” He looked up at me, a soft smile on his face. “This is all a bit sudden and crazy, but honestly? I can’t imagine it going any other way.”

I bit my lower lip, searching his eyes. “We both love him, don’t we?”

Calum nodded slowly. “Again, it feels crazy. But the way I feel around the both of you… it’s like our mate bond but turned up to one hundred. It’s so much more intense than I thought it would be.”

“And easy,” I added. “Way too easy…”

Calum leaned against me, his fingers digging into my thigh. “I think it only feels that way because everything was so difficult for us.” He shook his head, pressing his body against mine in search of comfort. “We had to keep everything a secret for so long. It was hard and we felt like we always had to be on our guard. When my father found out about you, I wasn’t surprised he was such a dick about it. I knew he would be. And I was afraid he would come after you too. That’s why I had to work so hard to keep everything hidden from him.” He squeezed my thigh again. “And your family… They were so loving and gentle with you when you did everything they wanted. But the moment you chose me… they turned on you like a pack of rabid hyenas. I can’t imagine how that must’ve felt. Leaving my own family behind was easy. I didn’t like them that much anyway. But you loved yours.” He paused, shaking his head again. “Sorry. I’m rambling.”

But what he couldn’t see were the tears streaming down my cheeks. He was right of course, my family had surprised me with their reactions. I knew Calum would lose his place in his pack. However, when he came to me looking for help, I thought my family would welcome him with open arms. But when I introduced him to my parents as my mate, they turned on me. First, they begged me not to be gay and then they begged me to be with anyone elseexceptthe Alpha’s son of our rival pack. I denied both of their demands and was promptly tossed out like yesterday’s garbage. So much for being the golden child.

Calum was right of course. I was still processing all of it. And honestly, I’d been ignoring it as much as possible. There was so much pain and anger to work through and I didn’t have the tools to do it. Sam had been a nice distraction and a way of keeping me focused on the positive instead of the awful shit my parents had said to me.

“It’s okay,” Calum said softly, my stifled breathing giving away my emotional turmoil. He wrapped his arms around me tightly. “I’m here, baby.”

“Do you think we’re using him?” I managed to get out at last. “As a distraction I mean? Just to dull the ache?”

Calum pulled back, grabbing my chin and forcing me to look into his blue eyes. “If I thought that, I wouldn’t have mated with him last night. And neither would you.”

“God… I feel kinda crazy,” I sobbed, laughing in embarrassment at the same time.

“You aren’t crazy, Erick. In fact, you’re the more level-headed of the two of us.”

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