Page 59 of Monster

“Yours,” Jericho said before he took a drink from his longneck.

Pablo turned, spoon in hand. “Do you really want him stuck in the past—with all that Lore did to him?”

“He’s been freed and you want to imprison him again?” Jericho asked.

Jericho opened his mouth to argue that point, but the words died on his lips.Was that what he was doing?

“Your mother moved on and made a new life for yourself with Martel before she passed,” Pablo said.“He’s not allowed to do the same?”

“He just found out she passed.Shouldn’t he mourn her?” Bull asked.

“He likely mourned the loss of her for years before he was driven mad,” Pablo said. “And he said the memories feel far off and distant. You said something about him merging with the panther—perhaps that added more separation between the man he was and the man he is now.”

“If Drake truly is his mate—well—you know how the mate bond feels. You understand the need that could very well be flowing through him now.”

“If he was Drake’s mate, how did my mother play in to his life? She was a mistake?” Bull asked. “Am I a mistake?”

Jericho lowered his beer and rose to his feet.He moved within inches of Bull, eye to eye. “You are not a mistake. Your parents were already married when they were changed into wererhinos. They already loved one another—of course he wouldn’t abandon his wife. They both told you that you were wanted, a child of love. How could you think you were a mistake? To think that is a disgrace to the memory of your mother.”

Bull looked away, his heart aching.

“He’s merged with the panther. Did it ever occur to you that the panther spirit within him is what’s tied to Drake? He isn’t the man he was before you were born. He’s become more.” Jericho sighed.“Just as I became more once I had this were inside of me. I’m not the same male I was before I was changed. We might not be together had I not become a beast.”

Bull couldn’t imagine Jericho not in his life. He lifted a hand to the man’s face, stubble tickling his palm.Leaning in, he pressed a gentle kiss on his lover’s lips. “I thank the gods every day you’re both in my life,” he murmured before looking to Pablo.

“You would take that away from Luca?” Jericho asked.

Bull clenched his teeth, his anger warring with what he knew Luca deserved…

What Drake deserved…

Their chance to find happiness.

Like he had with Pablo and Jericho.

“Why do you both have to be so damned logical?” Bull asked them.

“You have every right to feel what you feel… but Drake and Luca have a right to feel what they feel, too,” Pablo said.

Bull reached out a hand to Pablo. Pablo linked his fingers through Bull’s and allowed himself to be dragged closer. Bull held both his mates close, giving a kiss to Pablo. That kiss grew quickly, the need he felt for his mates overwhelming him.

The heat between them grew. They moved up the stairs, a twist of feet and bodies that nearly had them falling back down the treads. Clothes flew, shoes were kicked off, until they fell into their big bed together.

Bull drew Pablo between his and Jericho’s bodies—they took little time preparing him before both men were deep inside his body. Bull couldn’t wait, he’d been on the edge all night.

An hour later, they lay spent. The fire alarm pierced the silence of their home.

“Were we that hot?” Jericho asked lazily.

“No, shit—the chili!” Pablo jumped naked from the bed and raced down the stairs.

“I guess we’re getting frozen dinners tonight,” Jericho said, languidly stretching his body against Bull’s.He pressed a kiss to Bull’s lips. “We should go down and make sure the kitchen’s not on fire.”

Bull chuckled.“Might be an upgrade.”

Chapter Twelve

So close yet so far away…

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