Page 21 of Claimed By Two Alphas

Joshua thrust a few more times then began to rock inside of me, slowly, easing his canines out of me before he licked the wound. He pulled out of my ass, lifted me from the floor, and carried me to the bed. I curled onto my side, smiling.

I couldn’t, for the life of me, say what happened next. I was so exhausted that I closed my eyes, and the next thing I knew, I was fast asleep.

* * * *

Delvin

“Did you feel it?” I stood by the bed and stared down at Shane, who was now asleep. None of the partners I’d shared with my brother had ever fallen asleep this fast. I’d wanted to pull Shane into the shower but was glad I hadn’t. He just might have passed out in there.

“Yeah, he’s our mate.” Joshua curled around Shane, pulling our mate toward him, nearly tucking the small human under him as I thought of what John had done, how close Shane had come to being taken by Nezat.

The demon had lost. Or I hoped he’d lost. If Shane hadn’t conceived tonight, it would be a miracle. If Shane wasn’t with child, he soon would be, because I planned on having him every chance I had, and from the way my brother was holding him, Joshua would too.

And anyone foolish enough to come near him would suffer the same fate John had.

Chapter Seven

Delvin

I kept my eye on Shane throughout the morning. We’d gone into Bailey’s, although Joshua and I had argued that our mate should stay home. Shane wasn’t having it and threatened to neuter us if we tried to stop him. After an hour of debating loudly, we’d given in but told him he wasn’t working. Not with his wrists still healing. He’d only cause more damage by trying to carry heavy trays. So now he sat at the bar, pouting, his back to me, sipping on cranberry juice.

And Janie was testing my patience. For the third time today, she walked up to me and asked, “So why isn’t Shane working?”

Honestly, at this point, I wanted to tell her to mind her own damn business. But I didn’t, because I didn’t treat our employees that way, and I also didn’t want bad blood between the coworkers. Shane would have to deal with her for hours on end when he worked, not me, and I didn’t want her getting petty with him.

Shane shot off the stool, his hand over his mouth, and beat a hasty retreat to the bathroom. “He has a stomach bug.” I took off after him.

“And you let him come into work?” Janie shouted behind me.

I stepped into the bathroom to the sound of Shane hurling. When I saw him on his knees, I grimaced. He was getting sick in a public bathroom. Maybe now he would see reason and let me take him home.

“Shane, don’t touch the toilet.”

“Too late,” Shane groaned. “Now I’m nauseous and horrified.”

After wetting some paper towels, I pushed at the stall door, glad it was unlocked. Shane was now seated on his ass, his back against the wall. True, Joshua and I kept this bathroom spotless, at least as pristine as one could keep a public restroom, but the thought of someone… Well, it made me want to hurl, too.

I pulled him off the floor and led him to the sink. I cut on the faucets. “Wash your hands.”

“I need to burn them and get a new pair,” he groaned. “I can’t believe I touched the toilet. I was trying not to, but I started to fall forward and grabbed it by instinct.”

He washed his hands, soaping them so much I thought bubbles would trail out of the men’s room behind us. Never had I seen someone coat their hands in soap the way Shane did.

Clearly my wet paper towels were useless, so I tossed them in the trash can under the sink. “Do you want to go home and shower?”

“I want to go home and fumigate my hands. I think I’m going to be sick again.”

I thought he was joking, but nope, he ran back to the stall and dropped back to his knees. I stood behind him, holding his arms, giving him leverage so he didn’t have to use his hands again, but I was careful not to touch his wrists.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” Shane said when I helped him back to his feet and used my own foot to flush the toilet. “I don’t know why I’m feeling this way.”

He went to the sink again, but this time, he rinsed his mouth out.

“Let’s talk in my office. I promise to keep a trash can close by.” I trailed behind him as he walked out, stopped, sucked in a few breaths of air, then continued through the kitchen to the office I shared with Joshua.

Seconds after we entered, Joshua was there, too.

“He got sick.”

---