Page 27 of The Wolves At My Sides

“I know that,” I said. “I just---”

“It’s okay to be afraid. I was too,” Irwin said. “But this is your home, here with us, for as long as you want it. There’s never going to be a meeting where someone gets kicked out. We’re family. We’re mates. I just wanted to tell you guys about the rodent water and amusement park that just opened up. I’ve made a reservation and Shepard’s agreed to watch Faran. I thought maybe getting away from the day-to-day grind might help us all connect, if you’re still ready. The true-mate response magic is taking its toll on all of us. I think at the very least, we need a break from our big responsibilities and just a chance to hang out together. We’ll get room service and go on rides. We’ll eat ourselves stuffed full of funnel cakes and whatever fried foods the rodents serve up at the park. It’s a suite so you won’t have to share a bed with us if you don’t want to.”

My breath caught in my throat. There were so many words that had gotten stuck there since I met Marcus and Irwin, I was surprised I could still breathe through them all.

“But I do want to sleep in your bed,” I finally managed to say. “Maybe not in the way you’re thinking, but I hate not being close to you – to both of you,” I glanced at Marcus.

“Sex isn’t the price of affection,” Marcus said.

“Don’t do that,” Irwin shook his head. “Don’t put on your therapist voice.”

“Sorry,” Marcus said, the slightest hint of red marking his cheeks.

“Actually, that’s very concise and maybe what I needed to hear,” I admitted.

Irwin pushed himself upright and took our wine glasses. Neither of us had drunk more than a sip. Then he took each of our hands and led us down the hallway to their bedroom. I’d never been inside it before, but it was pretty much what I expected. The bed was made up nice and neat. Marcus was the neat freak. The extra decorative pillows came from Irwin’s preferences. Bookshelves lined some of the walls and the closet door was closed.

“Wait here,” Irwin told both of us and Marcus grinned and glanced at me out of the corner of his eye.

“Marcus, if you say ‘yes, daddy,’ I swear to Juda!” Irwin laughed.

“Not my fault it trickled over the mating link, love,” Marcus teased.

Irwin stacked the decorative pillows on the rocking chair in the corner of the room. Then he took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a long second. I almost asked if he was okay, but glanced down just long enough to see that he was hard and straining against his jeans. I glanced away as quick as I could, but not before he noticed that I noticed. Was the thought of cuddling with your mates always this arousing?

With determined strides, Irwin crossed the bedroom and turned down the duvet and the rest of the blankets before crawling into the far side. Without warning, Marcus scooped me up and slid me into bed next to Irwin, before sliding in himself. Then I was surrounded by them, and my breath caught in my throat. Their scents wrapped around me, competing for which one I’d pay the most attention to, but they smelled so alike I couldn’t unravel who was feeling what by their scents.

Irwin pulled the blankets up over us and turned on his side to face me. Marcus spooned in behind me. The room spun and I gulped down air.

“It’s okay. You’re safe,” Marcus whispered. “You’re safe with us.”

“And you’re loved,” Irwin whispered. “We love you no matter what.”

My eyes misted over and I blinked hard so I didn’t cry. Being loved shouldn’t make a grown man think he’s about to break down in tears. Being safe shouldn’t make someone tremble from head to toe. Only it did and neither of my mates commented on it. They both just inched in closer and held me tighter.

The scent of our joint arousal spread into the nooks and crannies of the room, but no one brought it up. No one complained that they were horny and not getting laid. No one demanded more. For the first time, in a long time, hell, maybe for the first time in forever, I felt like I was enough. I was enough just for existing and cuddling down in between my true-mates. Maybe Irwin was right, and this was my forever home. Maybe I could let go of the walls I held up around me. I knew, come morning, there would be new walls and new issues. There always was. That’s the thing about growing up like I did. Then again, maybe the walls would stay down. Maybe, just maybe, I could come out of the fog and start living for real. I dozed off with my thoughts spinning in circles, but I slept hard and when I woke in the morning Marcus and Irwin were still there curled around me.

Maybe home wasn’t a place. Maybe home was lying with the people you loved first thing in the morning and for once not sniffing for threats. I closed my eyes, willing myself to go back to sleep because I never wanted this moment to end.

Chapter Twenty-One

Marcus

I hadn’t taken much time off work since I officially started my job as Heartville’s only therapist. I’d never been more than a mile away from Baby Faran. I looked forward to the first and dreaded the second. I trusted Daniel with my life and with Baby Faran, but being that far away made me think of everything that could possibly go wrong in Heartville.

“Stop it!”My fox scolded me.“Faran will be fine with Daniel. We need this. Fen needs this. Irwin needs this.”

The furry guy was right, but it felt like we swung a one-eighty on being the ones always with the baby. It was only for a week, but would he remember it? Probably not. He loved Daniel and Shepard. He loved curling up with Norbert to sleep.

“What are you thinking about so hard, mate?” Irwin lifted his head from the pillow to glance at me.

Fen was curled up on my other side out cold to the world.

“Faran,”I whispered over our mating link.

“He’s right here,”Irwin said looking down at our furry wolf pup all curled up in a ball between us with his face buried under his paws.

“And he’ll be right here while we go on vacation too.”

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