Page 22 of Monster

“Want backup?”

Bull leaned against Jericho’s strong chest.“I think one observer might be enough.”

“If you’re sure… I’ll be there if you need me.”

Bull smiled, knowing how blessed he now was to have these two men by his side.“Being here now is enough.” He reached over and drew Pablo closer before looking over his shoulder at Jericho.“I love you both.”

Jericho kissed him softly. When they parted, Bull turned to share another with Pablo. Both men wrapped their strong arms around him, hugging him tightly. He rested his forehead on Pablo’s and felt Jericho leaning into him.

He wasn’t sure how long they sat like that, holding on to one another, but he was thankful for the lifeline they afforded. It felt like the only thing holding him together.

When he was buoyed enough by their strength, he shared his parents with them, a true smile finally coming to his face. Page by page, he recounted stories of them, ones he’d heard from his mother all those years ago. Near the back of the album were later pictures of him growing up… and the change in his mother.

How the smile had never truly reached her eyes after Luca was lost.

That was, until closer to the end of her life.Near the last page was a photo of his mother with her last love, the man who’d cared for her until her death.

“This is Martel.He was a fox shifter… and married my mother back in the eighties,” he chuckled, remembering the small farm the pair had lived on in the French countryside, one that had been in his family for generations. “We’d bounced from commune to commune for most of my life. Martel’s younger brother had run off to America and ended up in one.He’d come to find his brother and ended up with a wife.”

The pictures here, her smile was truly real. She’d found a little bit of happiness in her later years, and for that, he was glad.

“I’ve heard a lot of communes are heavily populated by shifters,” Pablo said.

“And where did you hear that?”

“There are a lot of new shifters moving in as of late.One hears things,” Pablo said with a smile.

Bull chuckled, but his stare was drawn to the pictures again.He traced a finger over her smile.

“You miss her,” Pablo murmured.

“I do,” Bull answered. “But you two are my family now. And I’m thankful for you both.”

His mates held him tight… and he melted into their hold, submitting to their strength for once.

Bull leaned in and pressed his lips to Pablo’s again, the kisses soon growing heated.In time, they lay together naked in that cramped, dusty room, their bodies entwined and straining against one another.

They did all the work… allowing him to revel in their touch. Pablo rode him from above, straddling Bull’s lap. He held onto Pablo’s hips with a tight grip as his mate took all of him.Jericho joined him, adding his cock to Pablo’s body, making them one.

Time stopped existing in that moment, there was no past, no present. There was only the three of them, raging together against the dying light drifting through the uncovered windows.

When they were done and exhausted, sweat coating their bodies, they clung together. Both Pablo and Jericho still wrapped around them, buffering the outside world from him… and making him love them all the more for it.

* * * *

How did I get roped into this?

Drake looked at the cage before him, still wondering how he’d allowed Deacon to talk him into coming in close contact with the beast. Distance had helped him settle his raging mind and body. The second he’d walked into the barn, he’d felt the pull wash over him once more, dragging him closer.

The creature seemed to calm a little as he neared, those striking eyes pinning him with a gaze that momentarily appeared crystal clear… before it once again seemed to fade into madness.Screams rose, growls filling the dusty barn.

He realized the rhino shifter beside him had been talking… and him ignoring… so he focused on the words coming out of the man’s mouth.

“I’m not sure how much you know about the experiments—since you seem to be free from them,” Bull said, turning to face him.

“They tried adding DNA to both Jaeger and me.Didn’t take, our systems seem to destroy the parts that weren’t us,” he answered.“But I heard some of the staff talking over the years.I heard the screams… the wailing… I know some of what was done to them.”

“The screaming seems to come from the mental fight within.They have numerous shifter spirits within them, all fighting for supremacy.We have a serum—two of our doctor developed it. It helps the victims of Zed… it quiets the other voices screaming in their heads and gives them the strength to control themselves,” Bull said, lifting a hand in the direction of the beast. “But it doesn’t appear to be working on him.”

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