Chapter Twelve

Cary

Frustration. Irritation. Cary was not happy with his mates. They were pretending that everything was okay, but it clearly wasn’t. Cary sighed from where he was playing on the floor. Lucifer was building a rocking horse while Gage messed with his train set. Gage was getting very good at finding other places to be but with them and Lucifer was letting Gage act like a brat.

The house vibrated with the new warning system that Lucifer has implemented. They were now alerted when anyone stepped onto their property and the magic kept the person on the walkway up to the door. No sneaking around the house or entering without them knowing. Lucifer was obviously trying to make up for his brother’s actions. Cary didn’t blame him. Gage needed to get over his hissy fit.

Cary hurriedly dumped his toys into a bucket.

“Whoever could that be?” Lucifer set his sander down before wiping his hands. He peered over at Gage warily.

“I’ll get it,” Cary said as he stood. He grabbed the handle to his bucket. “It’s for me.”

“What do you mean it’s for you?” Gage demanded. Wow, that scowl was impressive.

Cary lifted his chin. “I invited someone over to play with me.”

“I would have played with you.” Gage abandoned his train set and started toward him.

“I don’t want to play with you!”

Gage stopped as a look of hurt crossed his features. “What? I—”

Cary was not going to give in. He’d made this plan early this morning and he was going to stick to it. “No, you’re being a big meanie. I don’t want to play with you until you apologize to Daddy for being a butthead.”

“Cary!” Lucifer exclaimed.

He knew this wasn’t going to be easy. Cary did sort of feel bad as Gage looked devastated.

“Cary, Gage has a right to feel—”

Cary rolled his eyes. He was tired of Lucifer making excuses for Gage. “Whatever. You two can go on like this forever but I’m not going to put up with it.”

“Who’s being the brat now?” Gage sneered.

“Still you.” Cary strode forward as the doorbell rang. “That’s why I have a friend coming over.”

“What friend? Who do you even know that wants to play?”

Cary knew that Gage was lashing out in pain. “Asmos,” Cary admitted. “I emailed him this morning and asked if he wanted to come play. Then we’re going to watch a movie.” Cary pointed at Gage then Lucifer. “You two can work your shit out while I’m occupied. I’m tired of being in the middle of this.”

Gage snorted.

Cary strode forward to stare hard at his mate. “You’re angry and I don’t think you even know why.”

The fact that Gage looked away spoke volumes.

“But I do,” Cary said.

“Oh, you think you know?” Gage retorted.

“Yes. You’re mad because I got embarrassed.”

“No one should make you feel that way in your own home!” Gage yelled. “If this is our home, we should be able to indulge however and whenever we want.”

“And Lucifer fixed that,” Cary pointed out. “But you are still holding a grudge. I realized that if I wasn’t ashamed, you wouldn’t be acting like a big jerk!”

Gage’s mouth dropped open.

“I’m not going to be ashamed for being a little!” Cary declared. “I like being little. You always lecture and go on and on to anyone who will listen, but they aren’t the problem. I was!”

“You are not the problem!” Gage argued.

“See, that’s where you're wrong. It wouldn’t matter what anyone said or thought if I was comfortable with it. If you want to be mad at someone, then be mad at me!”

“Never!” Gage replied. “There is nothing wrong with being a little, middle, or a Daddy!”

“But I didn’t believe that!” Cary reveled.

He’d shocked his mates.

Gage moved his mouth like a fish out of water. Lucifer was nearly in tears.

“I don’t know what changed,” Cary confessed. “I do now that when I woke up this morning that I realized that I’m the problem. If I’m ashamed about this need deep inside me then we’ll always have something hanging over our heads.”

“Cary!” Gage took a step toward him.

Cary shook his head. “I’m not going to be ashamed. There are men and women out there just like me. People who love the same things that I do. What is there to be embarrassed about?”

The doorbell rang again. “Now I’ve informed you of my plans. Do whatever you want.”

Gage cried out as he yanked his shirt over his head then shoved down his shorts. He was shifted and running from the room before Cary could stop him. No, Cary wasn’t going to do anything more. His mates needed to work out the rest for themselves. Cary was going to have a fun afternoon with his new friend.

“Figure it out, Daddy. Maybe put Gage over your knee.” Cary marched out of the room, proud of himself. Being little didn’t mean that he couldn’t be tough on his mates when they needed it.

Lucifer’s heavy sigh followed him out.

He left his bucket in the decorated room that he loved to be in. Lucifer’s office was becoming the main room in the house. Even when his mates were driving him crazy, they tended to all end up there. Gage was on the highest platform in the corner of the room, watching him with dark eyes.

Cary wanted to call to his mate. Nope, he had to remain strong. He skipped toward the closest door, asking the magic to have him at the front of the house. Cary opened the door grinning as Asmos huddled on the front stoop.

“Come in!” Cary told him.

“It’s cold!” Asmos said with a shiver. “Can’t you get your mate to calm the snow just a little?”

Peering down the street, Cary had to admit that the snow was piling up pretty high. “I’ll ask.”

“I’d appreciate it, little buddy!” Asmos dragged him into a rough hug.

Cary laughed as he pushed the demon away. He was freezing! “Come on! The fire is going and we can play in front of it!”

“I brought snacks!” Asmos held up a cloth bag.

“Yay!” Cary closed the door before dragging Asmos over to the fire and where he’d left his toys.

“I brought chips, chocolate candy, sweet candy, sour candy, Cokes—”

“I’ll take that.” Lucifer swooped in and stole the bag.

“Hey!” Asmos cried.

“No junk food until you’ve both had a good meal. Dinner will be ready in an hour. Have fun playing.” Lucifer didn’t even slow down as he headed to the corner of the room. He floated up, snagging Gage by his neck before he was gone.

“He is such a Daddy,” Asmos commented.

Cary nodded while dropping down on his butt. He’d had Lucifer put a diaper on him earlier before dressing in an elf onesie. The onesie was awesome. It was green with candy cane arms and legs. Perfect for an afternoon of fun.

“I like your outfit,” Asmos told him.

Cary beamed then gasped as Asmos waved at himself and was suddenly wearing the same outfit. “Yay!” He clapped.

“And…” Asmos drawled. “I sort of figured Luci would take our treats.” He dug into his pocket and pulled out two huge suckers.

They were seriously the biggest suckers that Cary had ever seen. He ripped off the packaging before stuffing the sucker in his mouth. Cherry, his favorite! Cary reached over and dumped out the bucket of his figurines. He had three Santas, reindeer, elves, and of course his Satan figurine.

“Oh! We can do better than that!” Asmos waved his hand and several more figurines joined the pile.

Cary picked up the closest one that looked like Asmos in his full demon form. He also recognized demon Bel.

“I heard you met a couple of Luci’s brothers.”

Cary grunted. That stupid Michael was the one that started all the problems between his mates.

Asmos snapped his fingers and several more figures appeared.

Cary picked up the one that looked like Michael. “He’s the bad guy!”

“We should tie him to a chimney!” A large house that looked exactly like the outside of the one they were currently playing in formed in front of the fire. Asmos took the Michael figure from him and tossed it at the house.

The Michael doll was tied to the outside chimney with red and green garland.

“Perfect!” Cary declared.

“The demons have to stop the angels from rescuing him. They’re always doing goody-goody crap like that.”

Cary started to line up the demons in front of the house. This was the best idea he’d ever had! He wasn’t even worried about what his two mates were getting up to while he was busy.

* * * * *

Lucifer

He dropped Gage on the mattress before he stood with his hands on his hips. “Shift, please.”

‘Mer—’

“I said please,” Lucifer said firmly. “I can force you.”

Gage hissed.

“I don’t want to force your shift here, Gage, but I will. Cary is right. This has gone on long enough. It is starting to affect our other mate as well.”G

age didn’t move for a moment but then the transformation took place. He sat cross-legged on the bed in a pair of black shorts. Lucifer’s mates were really getting the hang of using magic.

“Thank you,” Lucifer told him.

Gage set his teeth as he glared.

“Is Cary right?”

“Cary is always right,” Gage snapped.

That was interesting. Lucifer leaned forward, putting his face inches from Gage’s. “If I kissed you right now, what would you do?”

“Why? Are you worried I might hurt you?”

That was cute. “I'm respecting your boundaries.”

“Oh!” Gage’s shoulders fell. “I don’t want to be mad. I hate living like this. Trying to avoid you and Cary. My stomach has been hurting for days.”

“I know, baby.” The most difficult time in his entire life had been watching his mates suffer. It had been worse than Lucifer has first created the hell realm at his father’s wishes. “Why didn’t you reach out for me?”

“I don’t know,” Gage said. “I don’t know how. I’ve always been the one that had to be strong. Figure out how to keep me and Cary together. Fight anyone who threatened him. Beat the mean kids up in school for bullying him. I don’t know how to do this.”

Well damn, this was about so much more than Michael’s stupid moment. “A lot has changed in a short amount of time. On top of everything you went through with your clowder and parents, you found out that you have another mate. You were basically plucked out of your home and brought to another realm. Where magic rules. Cary is the only familiar thing left in your life. Whether he wants you to be protective or not, you can’t help it.”

“Does that make me a bad person? A bad mate?”

“No.” Taking a chance, Lucifer reached out to his mate.

Gage sprung himself at Lucifer and clung tight.

He squeezed tighter and tighter.

Gage had really been hurting and Lucifer had been too afraid to fix things.

“Baby.” Lucifer ran his hand down Gage’s back. “You are a wonderful mate to both of us. It’s okay to be scared. To be unsure.”

“I’m not unsure about you,” Gage said. “Or Cary. I just don’t know where I belong here. What to do.”

“Anything. Baby, you can do whatever you want.”

“I worked part-time at a gas station. Cary is having fun right now, but he’ll eventually want to go back to school. I’m assuming you can make that happen for him. We could never afford it.”

“Of course he can go to school. Any school he wants in any realm that he chooses.” Lucifer was glad that Gage brought that up. He’d had no idea.

“Which leaves me on my own again.”

“Or maybe it gives you time to focus on you,” Lucifer responded. “There are a lot of options out there for a smart, strong, and caring man like you.”

“Like what?” Gage breathed in with his face buried in Lucifer’s neck.

“Train with the demons? Work with other shifters? Hang out with me all day? You don’t have to have all the answers right this minute.”

“I love you,” Gage said. “And I’m so sorry that I was acting like a brat.”

“You are forgiven.” Lucifer ran his hands down Gage’s back to cup his ass. “Although Cary did suggest that I put you over my knee.”

Pulling back to look at him, Gage grinned before he kissed Lucifer.

It had only been a few days, but Lucifer had missed his spirted mate. Cary was sweet and had tried to make up for the distance between him and Gage, but Lucifer needed both of his mates.

He sucked on Gage’s tongue as he squeezed the firm globes of Gage’s ass.

Gage moaned while pulling back. “Would you be mad if I told you that I wanted to wait to have sex until Cary was with us? I put him through a lot too.”

“Of course I won’t be mad,” Lucifer assured him. He eased back, letting Gage drop to the bed. “How fast do you think we can get rid of Asmos?”

Gage laughed. “With the mood that Cary’s in, he’s going to make us suffer for hours.”

Lucifer sighed. “That sounds about right. Okay, two choices. We can go back to the workshop and both work on our projects or we you can shift and let me pet you. As much as I would prefer stroking all your beautiful naked skin, I’ll settle for you purring on my lap.”

Gage shifted quickly before leaping into Lucifer’s arm.

Lucifer lifted the black cat up to his face. “You are adorable.”

‘Meow, meow, meow.’

“I love you too.”