30. Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Eight

U lises held Todd’s hand as Izzy drove Ulises’ car. They were in the backseat together. He’d told Izzy he could take his bike, and he would drive on his own. Todd would have had fun on the ride. But Izzy wanted the three of them to be together. Especially after bonding but also after they’d told him about the red truck.

“Talk Daddy into taking you for a ride later,” Ulises took his seatbelt off and scooted closer to Todd, laying his head on his shoulder. He felt needy for reasons he couldn’t explain. Bonding made him want to snuggle.

“I’ll take you out, sweetheart. We can watch the sunset together.” Izzy’s eyes softened when he met Ulises’ gaze in the rearview mirror. “And I’ll hold you when we get to the club.”

Ulises relaxed, knowing Izzy would gave him what he wanted.

Todd kissed the top of his head and put his arms around Ulises’ shoulders, pulling him closer. “When we get back to work, I’ll make cinnamon rolls.”

Ulises put an arm around Todd. “I like your love language.”

Todd chuckled. “I like yours too.”

Ulises met his gaze. “What’s mine?”

“Making sure I have fun. And making sure Daddy gives me equal time.”

Oh. Right. Ulises probably did do that. He just wanted Todd to do all the fun things Izzy had done with him in the past. Like take him on a motorcycle ride.

Ulises lay against him again. “You’re a Dragon Skull now. You have to ride a motorcycle.”

“What if I want to ride on my own?” Todd’s gaze went to the back of Izzy’s head.

“I’ll get you a bike, sweetheart. One that fits you. And I’ll teach you how to ride so you can get your license.”

“Seriously? Just like that? No protests about safety.”

“I’ll teach you.” Izzy wouldn’t worry about Todd’s safety on a motorcycle. He was the best with motorcycles in the entire club. Not only did he know a lot about them, but he had a lot of connections. He’d find the perfect fit for Todd. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you, sweetheart. I promise.”

At least Izzy realized he couldn’t keep them in a bubble. Ulises feared he’d try. But motorcycles didn’t scare Izzy.

It was amazing how good he felt. He wasn’t as tired as usual. Most days he woke up fatigued, having to force himself from bed. The feeling never left him. But it wasn’t there anymore. Maybe it was Easton’s drugs. But Ulises wanted to think it was bonding with Izzy and Todd.

Izzy parked at the back of the lot and shut off the engine. He turned in his seat. “Ulises, make sure Todd knows the rules.”

“So there are rules for everyone. Unwanted advances, touching, and even sometimes looking is a no-no. Basically we want it to be a safe space and we all have to help maintain that.”

Todd seemed surprised. “That’s…amazing. Not like other clubs I’ve been to.”

They started across the parking lot and headed inside. “We started charging a fee at the door for nonmembers and that’s been pretty lucrative. But I think the main thing we’ve found out is how many people come to a middle-of-nowhere biker club because they feel safe. We have a way of quantifying that now with literal dollars.”

“Boys come looking for a good Daddy. In the club they don’t have to worry about someone taking advantage of them.” Izzy pulled Ulises to his other side part way through the walk when the people entering the club ahead of them slowed down.

Ulises didn’t pay attention until Izzy went on alert.

Izzy growled. His hold tightened. Steer clear of them.

They were familiar. Ulises recognized one of them from the club. His name was Cain. He was always trying to fuck the Dragon Skull alphas. It was as if he were trying to either ruffle feathers amongst the family or trying to find a permanent home. But no one fucked their way into the family. That wasn’t how the Dragon Skulls worked.

It took Ulises a moment to figure out where he’d recognized the other guy. The dating app. He was BossMan7.

Cain turned and gave them a cold smile. “Daddy. I see things are going well for you. Two boys at the same time. Impressive.”

Who is he? Todd asked.

The guy met their gaze. “Don’t get comfortable, boys.” And then his gaze settled onto Ulises. “Well, you lasted longer than most, didn’t you?”

“Fuck off, Cain,” Izzy growled.

Ulises’ memories came back to him.

They were of Cain sitting on Izzy’s lap.

You were fucking him at the same time you were fucking me. Something about the realization made Ulises feel dirty. He wanted to shower their past off him. If he let it wash down the drain, he could forget everything that had come before mating.

He waited for Izzy to deny it. When he didn’t his heart sank.

He thought he’d worked through it until the reminder of it walked into the club ahead of them. His contentment disappeared along with his good mood.

BossMan7 stared at Ulises. “Hello, Magic Man.”

Ulises couldn’t muster a smile.

“What’s wrong, boy? You don’t have anything useful to say.” BossMan7’s seemed calculated. “I’d keep him close if I were you. You just never know who’s going to steal him out from under your nose.”

Izzy tried to go after him, but Skippy was the bouncer for the evening. Izzy backed off when Skippy stepped between them.

Cain’s smile was wicked as though he were going in for the kill. He tapped his neck. “Izzy is full of surprises.”

And with that they turned and paid the door fee before entering.

Izzy’s jaw muscles jumped as they made their way inside. “I wasn’t going to kill them,” he mumbled to Skippy.

“No fighting in the club. You know that.” Skippy met Ulises’ gaze and smiled. “Hey, Ulises. You look like you’re feeling better. Sort of. Y’all are mated, huh? Congrats.”

“Thank you.” Ulises didn’t feel as though it was something to celebrate anymore. He tried to pull out of Izzy’s hold, but Izzy wouldn’t allow it. “I’m sitting at the bar.”

“Those guys gave me the creeps. We should stay together.” Todd needed his help to navigate the club. At least for the first few times. It might be a safe space but with the biker culture that was almost a separate thing from the dragon culture, it wasn’t the easiest group to become a part of.

Ulises stopped fighting Izzy. For the time being anyway. He was still bound and determined to get drunk. Pickling himself in alcohol seemed like a good idea.

Skippy grabbed his arm as they made their way inside. His gaze darted to Izzy and then back to Ulises again. “What put that look on your face?”

“Izzy fucked Cain at the same time he was fucking me. Makes me feel less than.” And Ulises had always been less than everyone else. He’d wasn’t a good warlock because his magic was all messed up and he was weird because of the tumors. He even got the flu like humans did all because he was a weird fucked up paranormal.

Since he got the pity party started, he wanted to run with it.

Izzy cursed. “Baby.”

Ulises headed for the bar. “If you need me, I’ll be over there.”

Izzy would have to help Todd for a while. At least until Ulises got drunk enough to forget the past.

“Get back here, boy.”

Ulises turned and met Izzy’s gaze. “I bet you’re regretting mating with me now, huh?”

“Ulises. Stop. Right now.”

“You had a choice, and you chose wrong. You could have chosen the other guy you were fucking. He’s probably not all messed up like me. But Todd is normal, so one out of two isn’t bad, right?”

Todd was the one who stepped between us, wrapping his arms around Ulises, hold him close.

Skippy stood and closed the door on someone who tried to enter the club. “Wait outside.”

“For how long?” The patrons whined.

“Don’t know and if you don’t like it, fuck off.” And with that Skippy shut the door in his face.

Ulises hesitated to accept the comfort but eventually he returned the hug.

Izzy stood close as though he was a sentry ready to defend them.

The hug lasted a lot longer than he thought it would and Todd stayed silent the entire time. Ulises wasn’t sure how long they stayed that way, but he shut his eyes and rested his head on Todd’s shoulder.

He thought he was over crying, but the tears came anyway. And with them came the slow realization it wasn’t Izzy who’d brought his emotions to the surface again. It was more about the hand he’d been dealt in life. What a shitty fucking hand. He was bound to lose. Nothing would change it.

He tried to be strong. How many times had he smiled when he really wanted to cry? He didn’t want to pretend it didn’t affect him anymore. I’m going to have a party with a bottle of Ronin’s moonshine on the nearest empty barstool but if you have any questions, I’m here for you.

Izzy and I are your mates, Ully. You can’t just forget that.

I’m not. Ulises kept out of Izzy’s reach when he tried to grab his hand. Maybe I’m the one who made a mistake.

Boy. Izzy growled.

“Leave me alone.” And with that he pulled out his wallet and put forty dollars in the jar on the counter before he slipped onto a stool at the end, away from everyone else. When Casper, the bartender saw him, he didn’t have to ask Ulises what he wanted. He just poured Ulises a glass of hooch and slid it in front of him.

How many glasses would it take for him to stop picturing Izzy pounding into Cain? Ulises didn’t know, but he was about to find out.

It wasn’t until he was into his second drink that something struck him as odd about Cain. It was the way he tapped his neck. It was on the same side as Ulises’ tumor. It was as if he knew about it. But it wasn’t visible anymore. Someone had to know it was there. It hadn’t been visible when Cain had started patronizing the club. And he’d come with the dating app guy. That was one hell of a coincidence. Too much of one.