Chapter 20

He didn’t waste any time getting there, almost causing several accidents despite the short distance between the Club House and the Roost.

“Why the hell did I just have to listen to a bunch of bullshit about being cheated on?” he called out loudly as he stormed inside, slamming the front door behind him for good measure as a way to blow off some of the anger coursing through him. That was his problem, too quick to anger over stupid shit. Shit he knew couldn’t be true.

He didn’t get a reply, but it became apparent why that was when he entered the living area.

Lake was sitting on the couch, tense and clearly upset, his gaze locked on the coffee table where Yejun had Nix on his back and was brutishly rutting him. It was hard enough that the table was shaking, and the sound of slapping flesh mirrored the ones West was familiar with at the boxing gym in the ring. He actually winced a little, and he was usually the one who liked pain and rough sex.

“Tell me he didn’t really cheat,” West asked, stopping at the end of the couch where Lake sat. It was the only explanation he could think of for what he was currently watching, though. Yejun had always been soft with Nix, careful, as though he feared the other man was made of delicate glass. If he was punishing him like this…

“He didn’t,” Lake managed to get out, though his voice was tight. In his lap, he was clenching his fists to the point they were bone white.

“What?” That didn’t make any sense. “If he wasn’t unfaithful then why the hell is this going on? June.” West took a step toward him, but when his best friend growled ferally, he paused. “Dude, why are you so pissed off for? What did he even do?”

“Iris,” Yejun growled, the single word piercing through West’s chest like a sharp dagger.

“Huh?” Was he insinuating that Nix and Iris had been working together? No. He didn’t buy that either. The cheating story would have been more believable.

Yejun made a strangled sound in the back of his throat and somehow managed to thrust his hips even harder. “They’re related. He’s her fucking cousin!”

He was…

Nix was Iris’s cousin…

But Nix’s cousin was named Branwen. And she was—

West took a step to the side, finally able to catch sight of Nix’s face.

His puffy, tear-streaked face. When his head lolled, it became obvious he was unconscious.

West reacted without thinking, shoving Yejun off hard enough it sent his best friend practically flying. He didn’t watch as he landed somewhere on the couch, too busy collecting Nix into his arms, cradling his limp form in his lap. He slapped his cheeks lightly in a poor attempt to wake him, but got no response.

“Come on, Nixie,” he shook him a bit, but still nothing. “Damn it! Wake up!” This was serious. How long had the three of them been doing this? It’d been over four hours since Nix had sent that text. “What the hell is wrong with you?!”

“What’s wrong with us?!” Yejun shot onto his feet, his still fully engorged cock swinging obscenely between his thighs. Thighs that were coated in glistening fluids. “What’s wrong with you? Did you not hear me? He’s related to that bitch!”

“And I’m related to Demitrious,” he snapped back, “so what? You secretly been waiting to slit my throat when I’m not looking?”

Yejun pulled back slightly. “That isn’t the same at all. How could you even say that to me? She almost killed you! His cousin almost—”

“He is not his cousin,” West interrupted. Gathering the unconscious man up, he lifted him, taking a full step back when Lake stood and made as though to help. “Back the fuck off or I really may result to violence. We joke all the time about which of us would win in a fight, but last I checked, I’m the one who has a few dozen awards in that department.”

Lake stared at him blankly, but there was no hiding how pale he was.

“You should be disgusted with yourself,” he growled, then corrected, “both of you should be!”

“He lied to us,” Yejun insisted. “He—”

“Is ours,” West reminded. “Is this how you treat the person you’re in a relationship with? No wonder you can never keep someone more than a single fuck.”

“He doesn’t mean shit to me! Not now!”

“Fine, then he’s mine,” he turned to Lake. “You bit him, so it’s already too late to turn back the clock there. You better pray he forgives you once he’s woken up, otherwise it’s going to be a life that feels like hell for all of us.”

“He chose this,” Lake said. “He’s the one who undressed for Yejun.”

“Yeah, because he was terrified June would take one of his eyes otherwise!” It was so obvious West thought they had the IQs of goldfish for not realizing it. “Please tell me there was more to it than that. That you didn’t put him through all of this just because he shares the same bloodline as Iris?”

Lake glanced away, but Yejun was still fuming.

“Isn’t that enough?” he replied. “After what she did to us, he had some nerve coming here.”

“He didn’t know,” Lake told West.

“Right, let’s not forget that Lake here found out weeks ago as well and kept it to himself!” Yejun looked like he was about to punch someone but stood his ground.

“Oh, so I suppose you planned on breeding him like cattle as punishment next?” West couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth, but he couldn’t seem to get control of his emotions.

No. He didn’t want to.

They’d done some pretty heinous things, the lot of them, but there’d always been an invisible line they wouldn’t cross. The moment Lake had claimed Nix as his mate, he’d made Nix one of them, and they didn’t treat each other this way.

“That’s why you bit him, isn’t it? That’s why he’s been trying to forgive you and move on. Because he knew that on some twisted level, you had good intentions.” He shook his head incredulously at Lake. “And now? This? How are you going to explain this to him, huh? What excuses are you going to make for sitting there while Yejun tried fucking him to death right in front of you?”

“At least he would have died screaming.” Yejun shrugged. “It’s what he deserves.”

Lake’s eyes widened, the icy mask he was known for slipping as he turned to their friend. “What?”

West swore. “You’re so clueless. You want to be responsible for the entire planet but can’t even manage to protect your man?”

“You’re way out of line,” Yejun came to Lake’s defense. “Why are you even mad at us ? His—”

“His cousin is dead,” West snapped, effectively shutting June up for the first time since he’d arrived.

“She…What?”

“Iris is dead,” he repeated. “She killed herself. Don’t you remember what Nix said to us in this very room the first time we confronted him? He came here because of his cousin. He never hid that fact.”

He suddenly understood why Nix had felt the need to sneak into his computer to download her chat logs instead of simply asking him. He’d sort of figured it was because Nix hadn’t wanted to bring Iris up, knowing how upset they always got when she was mentioned, but this made sense.

Nix hadn’t come here to experience new things.

He’d come here to find out what had happened to his cousin.

“If he was planning on getting revenge against us,” West said, “he would have done so already. That means he’s known we’re responsible for Iris’s expulsion and he hasn’t done anything about it.”

“Someone else pushed her over the edge,” Lake replied, cluing them on to the fact he’d known much more than he’d shared.

“You’re such a bastard,” Yejun sneered.

“Who?” West asked.

“That’s what he’s been trying to find out.” Lake’s eyes lingered on Nix, and a flash of sadness twisted his features in a rare show of emotion.

West held Nix a little tighter and then walked around the couch, heading for the spiral staircase. There was no point in continuing this conversation right now. He needed to get Nixie somewhere safe and give him a proper inspection to check for any severe damage. If it was bad enough he needed medical attention, he’d call his personal doctor, but was hoping that could remain as a last resort.

Neither of his friends followed him, and he made it to his bedroom in record time. As soon as he had Nix on the bed, he went back to shut and lock the door, not wanting to give anyone the chance of walking in and interrupting. Then he went to the bathroom and started the bath, grabbing the first aid kit he’d taken from the gym on his way out.

Nix was still unconscious when he returned, making it easier for West to check every inch of him. There was bruising in a few places, scratches on his thighs, and his wrists looked like they’d been rubbed raw. His body was sticky and flushed, and when West finally made it down to his ass and lifted his legs, a river of come poured out of him.

He cursed under his breath, listening for the second the bathtub clicked, indicating it was full. Then he scooped Nix back up and carried him to the tub, climbing in with him. As soon as he had the other man settled against his chest, his fingers reached down, searching for his abused entrance.

Nix flinched in his arms and made a pained sound, but he didn’t wake.

West hushed him anyway, resting his chin on the top of his head as his fingers gently pushed inside of him. “It’s okay, babe, I’ve got you. It’s over. I just have to clean you out so I can check he didn’t hurt you.”

Yejun had definitely hurt him, but West couldn’t bring himself to say that, even knowing there was very little chance Nix could actually hear or process his words.

He continued to talk him through it as he washed Nix’s body, then drained the tub and refilled it with cold water, apologizing to the other man as he lowered them both down into it. There was some swelling though, and after being kept in the same position for hours on end, Nix’s muscles had to be sore.

Still, he timed it for five minutes and then quickly lifted him back out, drained the tub a second time and refilled it again, with hot water this round. He was careful not to make it scalding, just a bit hotter than warm.

They’d only just gotten comfortable in it when Nix finally stirred awake.

“What…” He took a shaky breath and tipped his head to blink up at West, “What’s going on?” Nix tried to pull away but grimaced and stilled, allowing West to ease him back against his chest without argument.

“You have a few tears,” West told him. “It’s nothing major. Once we’re done here, I’ll apply sun cream. By morning, they should be healed.”

“What happened?”

West remained silent, unable to meet his gaze.

“Oh.” Nix seemed to remember on his own. “Did I pass out again while Yejun was fucking me?”

“That wasn’t fucking,” West growled. “What he did to you—”

“Don’t be mad. I let him do it.”

“You let him abuse you?” He wasn’t convinced, but Nix shrugged a single shoulder.

“I let you do it all the time.”

He flinched. “Don’t compare what we’ve done to that. I’ve never ripped your hole. The marks I leave have never been like this.” He picked up one of Nix’s wrists and ran the pad of his thumb over the red patches.

“Didn’t you bring me here to do something similar?” Nix asked, and he sounded resigned. “Aren’t you just as angry with me as he is?”

“No.”

“I don’t believe you. Iris drugged Yejun and betrayed all of your trust, and I kept the fact she was my cousin a secret for weeks. You aren’t the forgiving sort, West. More the act first, think later, type of guy.”

“Does it look like I plan on punishing you, Nixie?”

Nix took in the bath and frowned. “Why are you wearing your clothes?”

“I didn’t want to waste time taking them off.”

He seemed to struggle to comprehend that answer, brows furrowing even more. “You were…worried for me?”

West was an asshole. All these weeks he’d been falling for Nix, but he hadn’t stopped to consider how Nix might be feeling about him in return.

“Didn’t they tell you why they were doing that to me when you arrived?” Nix asked. “My cousin—”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” he said. “I know how much she meant to you. Learning that she was involved with Yejun…that couldn’t have been easy.”

“So, you believe I didn’t know beforehand?”

“Of course not. I know you better than that.”

Nix held his gaze, searching his face for something. “Do you?”

“I do,” he stated confidently. “Yejun is confused at the moment, but once he calms down, he’ll realize his mistake as well. Your cousin really messed him up. He hasn’t been himself since. For a moment, it seemed like he was finally finding his center again, thanks to you, but…”

“I heard she was caught drugging him.” Nix tilted his head down as though ashamed, even though he had absolutely no control over what others did. “I was too afraid to ask for details before but…Can you explain it to me? She knocked him out so she could plant something on his paintings?”

“Kind of.” West hesitated, but for what? Why should he care about Lake and Yejun right now? They weren’t the ones who needed him the most. “Let’s get dried off and dressed first, okay? Then I’ll tell you everything.”

Nix remained stiffly in place until West sighed.

“I promise, babe. I’ll tell you the whole story, start to finish.”

“Why are you being so nice to me?”

“Déjà vu,” he said it hoping to lighten the mood, but it didn’t work. “I care about you. I’m furious that they did this and that you’re hurting.”

“Why?” Nix pushed against his chest, just enough he could separate them a couple of inches. Then he turned in West’s lap and stared up at him. “Why aren’t you just as angry with me? I don’t get it.”

“Don’t you?”

Nix shook his head.

“We don’t choose our family. And we definitely don’t control what type of people they decide to be.”

“Basically, I lucked out and landed on the one thing you could relate to.” Nix snorted. “Guess my luck isn’t all that bad, huh? The difference is, I was close with Branwen. You hate your father.”

“And now?” He cocked his head. “Now that you’ve discovered who she was behind your back?”

Nix huffed. “Fair.” It was clear he didn’t want to continue, but eventually the silence became too much for him. “I was really hurt when I found out. The letter she left me? The one I told you guys about in the beginning? Hindsight is twenty-twenty. I’m pretty sure she wanted me to come here.”

“To find out who she blames for her death?” he asked. “And you’re certain it isn’t us?”

“It’s not,” he sounded certain, that was for sure. “There was someone else. Someone who convinced her to do all of that stuff against you guys. That’s who she wanted me to find. I doubt she ever imagined I’d get mixed up with you, especially since she’d used a fake name during her time as a student here.”

“And you don’t know why she did that?”

“I’ve thought about it over and over, but nothing ever comes to mind. Branwen is an old family name. Maybe that’s why? Could it be that simple? She’s never been fond of it, but I’ve never once heard her mention the name Iris as a replacement. Are,” he snuck a sideways glance at West, “you really okay talking about this?”

West wasn’t the best at putting himself in other people's shoes, mostly because it wasn’t something he even bothered attempting on a daily basis. There were obvious triggers, sure, like being tied to a family member and judged for it, but typically, he was too self-absorbed to notice those around him struggling.

How often had Nix bitten his tongue to keep from saying something potentially displeasing to one of them? He was always so vocal and forward that West had just assumed he was comfortable speaking his mind, no matter the consequences.

He should have known that wasn’t the case. A clever, adaptable person like Nix survived by having strong instincts and an ability to read the room.

Downstairs, West had accused Yejun of taking advantage of Nix, automatically assuming Nixie had settled for the best of what he deemed two possible punishments. If he’d been keeping this secret close to his chest, a part of him must have been afraid all this time.

“You’ve been using me as a shield for weeks,” he said, shaking his head when Nix tensed. “I’m not upset about it, I just want you to know that I know.” That explained why he’d forced himself to get more comfortable around West. Why he’d walked into his bedroom that night fully knowing where it would lead.

Nix had just been accosted by Lake’s teeth, discovered he had a secret that could turn Yejun against him, and had no one else to rely on. His last resort had been to seduce West.

“Keep doing it,” West told him, lifting Nix out of the tub with ease. He set the other man on his feet just outside of it so he could climb out himself and then reached for a thick coffee-colored towel.

“Why would you say that?” Nix asked. He didn’t pull away when West began to dry him off, standing still and even lifting his arms and parting his stance when the towel swept over those parts of him. Almost as if he trusted him.

Another survival tactic? Placate West to keep himself safe?

“You don’t have to be timid or cautious with me, babe,” West said. “I like who you are, always have.”

“The last time you got mad at me, you almost choked me to death,” Nix reminded, but his tone lightened very so slightly.

“Still going to pretend like you didn’t enjoy it?” West teased, laughing when his cheeks turned pink and Nix glanced away with a huff. “Turns out, I like taking care of you. I like the feeling of having someone who needs me. I even like that out of the three of us, I’m the one you chose for the task, even if you didn’t exactly have a choice.”

He reached for Nix, but the other man held up a hand. “I can walk now.”

West hesitated but then nodded, linking their fingers instead. He led him back into the bedroom and over to the bed. “Are you cold already?”

“Not yet.”

“Good. Lay down on your stomach.” He opened the first aid kit he’d left on the end table while Nix slowly did as he was told, then quickly stripped out of his soaked clothes. “Relax. I’m just doing what I promised and applying ointment. We aren’t doing anything sexual tonight, Nixie.”

“Why not?” Nix rested his cheek against the pillow, face turned in his direction.

“That an invitation?” He chuckled when Nix merely stared at him blankly. “I told you not to do that.”

“Do what?”

“Treat me like some predator you need to be wary of.”

“But you are, and I do.”

West moved onto the bed with the sun cream and unscrewed the top. “Do you remember that conversation we had here a few weeks ago?”

“We’ve talked a lot in here,” Nix pointed out.

“You told me you weren’t a fan of pain.” West squeezed a large amount of sun cream on the tip of his pointer finger and rested a hand on the back of Nix’s left thigh.

Nix spread them before having to be asked, seemingly unconcerned about the potential for pain or discomfort. He wasn’t shaking or nervous, not like that first time West had touched him in this bed.

“I’ll try my best to be gentle,” West said anyway. “Let me know if it stings.”

He started slow, circling the tip of his finger around Nix’s puffy rim to work the cream in there first.

“Do you need help?” Nix asked, and before West could reply, he reached back and parted his cheeks for him, exposing his private areas more openly.

“Are you really all right with doing this, or are you faking it?” he couldn’t help but wonder.

“Does it matter?”

He considered that and then nodded. “It does.”

“That’s…” Nix pursed his lips, staring across the room blindly. “I shouldn’t believe you, but I do. Even though it’s more likely this is a trick and you’re trying to get me to drop my guard, knowing there’s a good chance that’s the case…I believe you. Does that make me the biggest moron on the planet?”

“You know how loyal I am.” West eased his finger into Nix’s body.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “To Lake and Yejun.”

“And to you.”

“Yejun hates me right now. How can you be loyal to us both? Why would you even want to be when Yejun is—”

“They’re my best friends, my brothers, my family.” West pushed in a little deeper, carefully watching Nix’s face for any signs he was hurting him.

“Exactly.”

“That means I know them better than anyone,” he continued. “June is angry, but he’ll see reason once he cools off. Whether or not you forgive him is up to you, but I know he’ll feel like shit for what he’s done. As for Lake, he really is the biggest moron on the planet. He’s too rigid, too singularly focused. In his mind, sitting back and letting the two of you work it out was his way of ensuring things didn’t get worse.”

Nix snorted.

“You don’t think so?”

“No,” he sighed. “The problem is I do. I can totally see where you’re coming from, and that bothers me more than being fucked into unconsciousness did. I don’t want to like you, West. Any of you. I want to quit this university and go back to Hyacinth and graduate like a normal student.”

“Really?”

“That’s what I want to want,” Nix admitted. “I think a part of me will hate you three forever for making me desire something else. My future was set. I had it all planned out…”

“But you’re not Lake.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Which means you can take a step back and look at the picture from a new angle.” West really liked that about him. “Start small. What do you want right now, in this moment?”

Nix shifted as West’s finger penetrated him deeper. “I want to know why you have a reputation for being bad with your emotions. Clearly that isn’t the case. With your temper, I thought you’d be livid, but instead you’re being so gentle and understanding…”

“Do you not like it?”

“It’s not that,” he said. “It’s just…confusing.”

“Because June was always the soft one with you?”

He frowned. “Is that why you’re being like this? You’re trying to emulate Yejun?”

“This is how I’ve always treated Yejun and Lake, actually. Ever since we were kids. Though, I will admit it’s a learned behavior, and June is the one who taught it to me. When we were younger, I was the runt of the litter, so to speak. Other kids used to pick on me all the time. Lake and Yejun would come to my defense, and June would always tend to my skinned knees or bloody nose.”

When he couldn’t care for himself, he’d always known Lake and Yejun would be there to do it for him. They argued all the time, disagreed over everything, and sometimes got angry enough to throw a punch or two. But they were always in each other's corner. No matter what, whether they weren’t on speaking terms because of something stupid and petty, West knew if he needed them, they’d come through.

“I never knew my mother,” West told him. “I didn’t miss her or long for something I couldn’t have. There was no space in my heart, no sense of inferiority toward the other kids who had two or more parents. My dad was awful enough, why would I wish for another of him, was my childish way of viewing it. So, when Lake’s mom died, I didn’t know how to comfort him.

“Yejun stepped up and did most of that himself. I sat quietly with them and beat up anyone who tried to comment about it at school. If someone whispered about how sad it was or how they pitied him, I’d make them pay. Even though half the time those comments weren’t meant to be cruel. Using my fists was the only thing I had to offer, so that’s what I did.”

“When my cousin betrayed Yejun?” Nix tentatively asked. “What did you do then?”

West gave a partial smile. “Later. I’m not done reminiscing yet.”