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10. The Aftermath

10

THE AFTERMATH

Telos came back to consciousness facing down on the bed, with cum drying under his stomach and his entire body bare.

For a moment, he drifted. He felt good. Loose. Possibly the most relaxed he’d been in several years.

Then he noticed a mild ache between his legs. He noticed wetness, too. Down the back of his balls, and between his asscheeks. When he tightened his abdomen, wet warmth leaked out of his hole.

It couldn’t be anything but cum.

Who—?

He remembered, then, the heavy, muscular body on top of his, thick fingers in his hair and a low voice in his ear.

Mav biting his neck, pushing inside him, his cock bigger than anything Telos had ever taken.

“Holy fuck!” Telos scrambled to sit up, his heart pounding. “Fuck, fuck—”

He turned. Mav was sitting against the headboard of the other bed, fully dressed, doing something on his phone.

Telos froze. Fuck.

Mav knew. Oh, gods, Mav knew his secret. Not all of it, but a large part of it.

Mav looked up. Before their eyes could meet, Telos turned away, scrubbing the cum off his stomach. His face scorched. How much of everything had he just fucked up?

Behind him, Mav cleared his throat. “Hey.”

Telos all but leaped off the bed, pretending to sniff disdainfully. He straightened his shoulders and strode into the attached bathroom, shutting the door behind himself.

He wasn’t going to jerk off to that memory here. Wasn’t going to give Mav more ammunition.

He ran the water hot and scrubbed himself down with a washcloth, until his skin turned pink and no one could possibly smell Mav on him.

But he couldn’t resist slipping his fingers between his cheeks, probing himself to find that he was still loose where Mav had been. He was still completely wet inside, and cum came out with his fingers when he withdrew them.

How long had Mav knotted him? Telos hoped he’d spent some time in there.

Then he blushed, and felt surprise flickering at the back of his mind.

Ah, fuck. He buried his face in his hands. How much more had Mav found out?

How long could they go with this elephant crashing through every room?

A throat cleared behind the shower curtain.

Telos jumped and nearly slipped. “What the hell! I closed the bathroom door for a reason. ”

“We should probably talk,” Mav said slowly.

Telos panicked. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

“I don’t want this to mess up communications between us, and jeopardize the mission.”

“I won’t let it.”

But the shadow came closer. Large fingers grasped the edge of the shower curtain. Mav pulled the curtain aside, his gaze flicking down for a second, before locking on Telos’ face.

Telos gritted his teeth, his skin prickling. Mav couldn’t possibly have been checking him out. “I’ve scratched my itch. We can pretend nothing happened.”

“Really?” Mav stepped into the shower with him, fully clothed, the shower spray running all over his shirt.

Telos stopped breathing. But Mav acted like it wasn’t something big. His shirt began clinging to his body, turning translucent, accentuating the outlines of his pecs and biceps. And still he crowded closer, leaving barely an inch between them.

Telos refused to back away. He refused. But it only made everything worse because Mav was so close to him, all over again.

Mav studied him. Ever so slightly, uncertainty flickered in his eyes. “You like me.”

Telos’ heart stuttered, that damn traitor.

Mav’s gaze dropped to his chest. Then it shot back up, and Telos felt another flash of surprise at the back of his mind.

“I thought it was a fluke, at first,” Mav said slowly. “When you had me pick Estie out of your beak. You felt... warm.”

Telos frowned. “Warm? That wasn’t—”

“Then you began feeling awkward. I’ve never known you to be awkward around me.” Mav’s gaze intensified. “Or shy. ”

Crap. “I wasn’t shy. ”

“So tell me why you’re nervous now, then. Why you’re not insulting me like you usually do. Why you can’t even look me in the eye, when you’re usually trying to stare me down.”

“I—” Telos’ heart pounded. He wasn’t in the mood for Mav’s criticisms, Mav telling him he was fucked up, or that there was no way he’d ever return Telos’ feelings. “I don’t even want to feel this way.”

Mav froze. Telos felt his surprise again, and—maybe a whisper of disappointment?

He had to be projecting onto Mav. Mav didn’t feel things like that toward Telos. Telos shouldered past the other alpha and stepped out of the shower, grabbing a towel to dry himself. Then he headed to his bags, yanking out a new set of clothes.

He felt too bare right now, in front of Mav. Now that Mav had touched him where he was vulnerable, and seen his secrets.

Mav shut off the shower and followed him out, leaving some distance between them. “After Reinford, I thought—”

“We’re not talking about Reinford,” Telos growled.

Reinford was almost three hundred years ago, a dark, stormy night in a beautiful castle, and it had been the best and worst time of Telos’ life, because they’d become such good friends in a matter of weeks.

Then Telos had to go and ruin everything by falling in love.

“I’m sorry,” Mav blurted. “I didn’t think—”

“You didn’t think a lot of things,” Telos snapped. “And that’s fine. Leave me alone.”

He felt Mav’s gaze on him, though. His skin prickled when he bent over to stuff his legs into his pants. Even though Mav had seen everything, he still felt so naked with his balls hanging out. Mav had been inside him.

“You stole my clothes.”

Telos stiffened. His pants snagged against his damp legs and tore, but he was in such a hurry to leave that he didn’t care.

“Telos.” Mav strode over, grabbing his arm. “Listen.”

His voice was low, insistent. Telos turned his head slightly to indicate he was listening, but he also couldn’t help slowing down, letting Mav’s warmth soak into his skin.

“I didn’t realize you felt that way,” Mav said quietly. “I—I was brought up to think it was wrong. That it wasn’t even a possibility because alphas were not born to mate with other alphas.”

Telos snorted. “Yeah, I’m a freak of nature.”

Mav’s mouth twitched. “Does that have to do with you shifting into dinosaurs?”

Telos rolled his eyes. “Please. Dinosaurs ruled the planet before we took over. They’re not a freak of nature.”

Instead of scoffing at Telos’ love for dinosaurs like he usually did, Mav nodded, breathing in. “Okay.”

Telos squinted at him. “You’re being suspiciously nice.”

“I need some time to think about this.”

“And then what?”

“I don’t know.” Mav sighed, scrubbing his face. “How long were you—?”

“I’m not telling you that.” Telos barely managed to clamp down on his pulse.

“Look, I’m—I’m sorry. About everything.” Mav looked down, his shoulders drooping. “Give me time.”

He looked truly sorry. Telos’ heart tugged.

He wasn’t supposed to feel more for Mav.

“We don’t have time for this,” Telos said, turning away so his heart wouldn’t betray him again. “We’re on a mission.”

“Yeah.” Mav released his arm and wandered off. Then he approached Telos again, stuffing something into his hand. “I’ll see where Crush and Duke have gone.”

He slipped out of their room. When Telos looked down, he found Mav’s old, crusty shirt in his hand.

He was so surprised that he almost dropped it. What the hell is happening? Why had Mav... willingly given Telos his shirt?

Telos watched the door, half-expecting Mav to come barging back in. But Mav didn’t.

He pulled on the rest of his clothes. Then he pressed Mav’s shirt to his face, sniffed it deeply, and stuffed it into his bag, under a pile of his own clothes.

Telos left the room, back straight, shoulders up, like nothing earth-shattering had just happened.

Mav was with Ace and Raptor in one corner of the suite’s shared living room, scrolling through something on his phone. The brothers looked up when they heard Telos, their grins wide and shit-eating.

Telos froze. He’d completely forgotten about their teammates earlier. Just how much of the fucking had they heard? Were they going to judge him for being on the bottom?

He scrubbed his face and swallowed his groan. He was an alpha. He could do this.

“You’re finally out and decent,” Ace said good-naturedly, his eyes flashing dragon-red. “That was... quite the show.”

Telos scowled and lifted a shoulder. “Just scratching an itch.”

“Yeah, one you had to scratch immediately,” Raptor drawled, giving Ace a fist bump. “You couldn’t even wait to do the debrief first.”

Mav looked up and met his eyes. Telos tore his gaze away, but he couldn’t stop the blush from crawling up his neck.

“Duke got so tired of waiting for mission updates, he and Crush went out for some food,” Ace added with a laugh.

Telos winced and pulled out his phone. “I’ll tell them I’m ready. Until then, I need some father-daughter bonding time.”

“I’ve already messaged them,” Mav said.

Telos fumbled with his phone. “Well, good.” He turned abruptly and headed for the small dining area, frowning when Raptor wolf-whistled.

Mav punched Raptor in the shoulder, hard enough that Raptor stopped immediately.

“Ow,” Raptor grumbled.

“Shut it,” Mav growled. Then he sneaked a look at Telos, like he was seeking Telos’ approval.

Telos pretended not to notice, but his heart warmed.

At the dining table, Hilly-Billy and Hadley were playing with Estie. They held a colorful stuffed rabbit above her head, throwing it to each other until Estie grew frustrated.

She screeched suddenly, lengthening her body and arms so she could grab the rabbit.

The butler brothers stared at her, then at each other, and burst into identical smiles.

“That’s it,” Hilly-Billy said proudly. “You’re learning!”

That was Telos’ daughter. He couldn’t believe she’d just figured it out, all on her own. Well, with some heckling from his brothers.

Telos stepped forward, scooping Estie into his arms. “You’re a smart lil cookie, aren’t ya?” He gave her a noisy kiss on the forehead, only for her to whack him in the face with her prize rabbit. “Oof.”

Estie giggled brightly.

“I can’t stay mad at you.” He swooped her into the air, his heart near-exploding when she kicked and laughed in his arms. Telos gave her another kiss.

He sneaked a look at Mav, and found Mav watching him.

His heart thumped again.

In a fit of insanity, Telos blurted, “Would you like to hold her?”

Mav blinked. His eyebrows went up. “Are you sure?”

“I’m not going to ask twice.”

Mav was in front of him faster than he expected, peering down at Estie. Estie babbled and thumped the rabbit against Telos’ chest, so Telos turned her around. “This is Grumpy Mav. Remember him?”

“Goo wah ah,” Estie said, smacking Mav with the rabbit, too.

Mav twitched, biting down a smile. He kept watching Estie, leaning toward her like... maybe he really wanted to hold her.

Telos swallowed hard. Then he held her out, meeting Mav’s eyes. “You can hold her for two minutes.”

Something flickered through Mav’s face. Disbelief, at the back of Telos’ mind.

And gratitude.

Like before, Mav took Estie carefully into his arms. His entire face softened when he looked at her, and it turned Telos’ insides into goop. Especially when Mav’s warmth came through their connection.

Mav didn’t even feel that way about Telos, but... he definitely did with Estie.

“Hi,” Mav said quietly to Estie, cracking a smile. “I’m happy to meet you again.”

Maybe... Maybe Telos could offer Mav time with Estie. Maybe that would be enough incentive for Mav to want to hang out with him.

He ignored his pounding heart, watching as Mav flashed his red eyes at Estie. Then Mav blew a small plume of orange flames into the air, and Estie’s entire body caught on fire.

“Estie,” Telos yelped.

“It’s fine,” Mav said. He held her more securely in his arms—the spelled clothing didn’t burn. Estie was a baby made of fire now—a firewalker—and her eyes glowed white, the outline of her body disappearing into the flames.

It unnerved Telos. If Estie had been in his arms when that happened, he might’ve dropped her in shock.

Suddenly, he didn’t feel prepared to be her dad at all.

“You’ll learn to deal with it,” Mav said, glancing at him. “You just need to keep a layer of spelled fabric between your body and hers at all times.”

“I don’t care if I get burned,” Telos growled. “I don’t want to drop her.”

“She’s less vulnerable when she’s like this,” Mav said. “Fire changes shape. Hers isn’t quite solid.”

Telos wanted to hold her, to make sure he wouldn’t drop her when she was burning like that, but he was also... nervous.

Mav rocked her for a second longer. “Want to hold her?”

Telos wet his lips. “I should.”

He hesitated in stepping forward. Mav huffed and closed the distance between them, tugging Estie’s clothes over her exposed flames. “It’ll be easier when she’s in a onesie with mittens and booties.”

Carefully, Mav handed her over, making sure Estie’s hands and feet were held away from Telos. His fingers brushed Telos’ chest. Then he stepped back, to let Telos focus on Estie.

She was much lighter in this form, almost too hot to hold even through her spelled clothing. But she was placid, looking up at him with a smile.

“There,” Mav said, his lips pulling into a half-smile. “You did it.”

“I’m just holding her,” Telos grumbled. “Not bathing her or anything.”

“We’ll figure that out sooner rather than later,” Mav said. He reached over to touch Estie’s flames, and a phone camera clicked.

When Telos looked over, he found Hadley with his phone raised.

“A commemorative picture,” Hadley said proudly. “I’m sure everyone will want to see it.”

“Don’t,” Telos growled, nervous again. Aside from Hilly-Billy, no one had known about his feelings for Mav. He really didn’t need this spreading through his entire family.

Mav scowled at Hadley, and something passed wordlessly between them.

“Fine,” Hadley grumbled.

That was the third nice thing Mav had done for him, in the span of minutes.

“Are you being possessed by someone or something?” Telos asked.

Mav raised an eyebrow. “Do you want me to be?”

“It sure feels like you’re a whole other person.” Telos eyed him warily. “Quick, say something so I know you’re the real Mav.”

“Pterodactyls suck,” Mav said.

“That’s better.” Telos breathed out. “This is just too weird. Don’t you think so, baby girl?”

Estie opened and closed her mouth, but she didn’t speak in this form.

Telos rocked Estie in his arms until he calmed enough to think again. Then he looked back at Mav. “Do you want her back? I don’t think that was two minutes.”

Mav raised an eyebrow. But he opened his arms, and Telos carefully handed her over, savoring Mav’s strong hands against his own, Mav’s warmth soothing when he was so close.

He took a step back so his heart would stop pounding. Then he took another step, and another.

When he was a safe distance from everything, Hilly-Billy slid up to him. “Sorry,” Hilly-Billy whispered, nodding at Telos and Mav’s room. “I know it worked out, kinda, but I’m still sorry anyway. I didn’t mean to fail you.”

“Nothing happened,” Telos muttered.

Hilly-Billy huffed. Hadley looked over and smirked. Ace and Raptor coughed. And Mav was watching Telos from the corner of his eye.

Telos turned away hurriedly.

“Anyhow, we brought you a special drink,” Hilly-Billy said, perking up. “It’s for, ah, improving your... blood flow.”

“My... blood flow.” Telos frowned.

Hilly-Billy made swooping gestures toward his crotch. “Blood flow.”

“Oh, gods.” Telos’ ears burned. Especially when all the alphas were looking over, clearly listening in. “I don’t need that kind of help.”

Ace looked surprised. “Is that why you were taking it up your—”

Raptor elbowed him hard in the gut. Ace shut up.

“My parts work perfectly,” Telos spluttered. “Not that it’s any of your business.”

“Wait till you see the packaging.” Hilly-Billy left to rummage through a bag on the dining table. He returned carrying a tiny blue box.

Printed on its front were two rounded clam shells... and a long, thick something standing upright between them.

“It’s the ginseng root,” Hilly-Billy explained.

“I don’t think ginseng roots are quite that... thick throughout. Or smooth,” Telos said. “Or blunt at the tip.”

“This drink was made with one that looked exactly like that,” Hilly-Billy said, nodding sagely. “It said so on the signboard. Supposedly, clam extract helps blood flow as well.”

Telos buried his face in his hands. “I don’t need any of that. Send it back. Ask for a refund. I’m not paying for it.”

“I’ll drink it,” Mav said.

Telos froze. He turned slowly to stare at Mav in shock. “You what.”

Mav shrugged, something dark flashing in his eyes. “It can’t hurt to have more... blood flow, can it?”

Telos’ brain broke. “Wh—How. What. Why.”

“Why not?” Mav replied.

“You don’t even know if it’ll break your... ginseng root.”

“I’ll check if it works later. You’re welcome to observe.”

Telos’ brain splashed into the gutter and didn’t surface for a while.

Mav smirked.

“Holy hell,” Raptor muttered. “Get a room, you guys. Actually, you have a room. Go have that conversation in your room. ”

“Like you won’t be eavesdropping anyway,” Telos sniped.

Before they could turn it into an argument, a car pulled up outside the suite, followed by the slamming of two car doors.

“Want to explain what that distraction was about?” Duke asked from outside, before walking into the suite. Crush followed him in. “Mav. I expected better of you.”

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