Chapter 14

The first thing that awakened him was the sweet scent of Adriana’s hair, into which he’d buried his nose sometime during the night. Considering his hard cock was nestled between them as he spooned against her with his arm draped around her middle, it would seem they were making progress. She’d been nervous when they went to sleep last night, but apparently at some point, he’d pulled her into his body.

Raising his head, the first thing he noticed was that the covers had moved down past Adriana’s waist, and her lush upper body was on full display. The second thing he noticed was Decker’s hand resting between her thighs. He looked over to Decker to see his co-mate was awake as well, his eyes sweeping down Adriana’s curves. There was a moment of awareness, or maybe it was recognition, that the pieces between the three of them were falling into place.

“Do you remember getting into this position?” asked Decker softly.

“No. All I remember is how nervous she was and then some kind of weird dream where we were all there.”

Decker nodded. “O’Shea, too.”

“Yeah. I remember seeing her from the back and realizing he was a threat.”

“He was trying to call her to him.”

“Right. We moved forward, flanking her on either side and then I moved in front of her, and you moved in front of me.”

“That’s weird,” said Decker. “That is exactly how I remember it.”

“I remember feeling her tremble, but then it was like she recognized we were with her…”

“And that we wouldn’t let him take her from us.” Decker glanced at the bedside clock. “Shit. Can you handle her? I’ve got to be on duty in ten minutes.”

“Colby seemed to indicate we could take some time.”

“I know, but I was gone all day yesterday. I know you want to give her some time, but I could feel the pull of the mark he has on her. We need to get rid of it.”

“Couldn’t I just give her a localized pain killer and excise the thing with a scalpel? It would be much less painful and stressful for her.”

“I have no idea if that would work, but what would you suggest then, that we wait until it heals and then I bite her savagely and have you follow it up with your own claiming bite? It’s not just the removal of O’Shea’s mark, it’s placing both of ours as well.”

“Maybe it’s because I wasn’t wolf born, but I have to ask: do you really think both marks are necessary?”

Decker laughed as he rolled out of bed, leaned over to kiss Adriana, and then stood up. “You might not understand it because you were turned, but trust me, the instinct to mark her as your mate isn’t going to go away, no matter how much you might think you want it to.”

“I’m just trying to make it easier on her. Maybe if we bite her down at the clinic…”

Decker continued to laugh, which Greg couldn’t decide if it was more annoying or insulting. “Greg, I get it. You want to make it as easy on her as you can. I do, too, but at the end of the day, we’re wolves. There’s a certain amount of savagery that comes with the job.”

“Do you have to go?” she asked reaching for Decker before growling and elbowing Greg in the gut. She sat up and turned to face him. “Don’t, just don’t. You’re all curled up behind me and Decker is out of bed. He’s obviously getting ready to go on patrol, and you seem content where you are. Honestly, I’m developing feelings for both of you, which is confusing and difficult enough, but I can’t handle the two of you going at each other and putting me in the middle. I swear, if you two try to play push-pull with me, I’m out. I don’t give a shit what you think. Trust me, the Shadow Sisters’ ability to protect our females trumps a fated mate bond.”

Greg looked at Decker, who was still laughing. “It’s not funny.”

Decker sobered. “No, it’s not. She belongs to both of us. If I can control my own possessive, jealous tendencies, so can you.”

“What do you have to be jealous about?”

“I have to go on patrol and leave you and our very naked and more than a little bit aroused mate alone in our bed. Trust me, I’ve got plenty to be jealous about.”

Decker left, and Adriana turned to look at him again, her residual anger bubbling down the link.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. You should be able to expect better of Decker and me. Especially me.”

“How do you figure that?” she asked.

“Decker is an alpha. Possessive, jealous, and dominant kind of come with the job. I should know better.”

She leaned over, her lips hovering over his. “I’ve discovered with male wolves that possessive and dominant are part and parcel of who they are. You have no need to be jealous of me and Decker any more than he has of me and you. And he’s right—he’s gone out on patrol, and we’re all alone in this nice big bed with no clothes on.”

He chuckled softly as he put his lips on hers, relishing the way Adriana seemed to just sort of melt into him. She snaked her hand under the covers and wrapped it around his cock. She ran her hand from the base of his cock up to its head and back down again, squeezing lightly, making him groan with pleasure. Decker was right, Greg had nothing to be jealous of. Sharing Adriana would be a lifelong exploration of pleasure.

“A little harder, sweetheart.”

He groaned as she gripped him a little more firmly, applying the most perfect pressure. As she pumped his cock, she lifted her face to his and he leaned down to kiss her. Their tongues tangled and danced as he pushed her onto her back, nudging her legs apart and settling himself at her core. She was wet and ripe. He lined his cock up and pressed deep, loving the way she breathed in as he got inside her. Her pussy seemed to open up and draw his cock deeper.

Adriana’s legs went around his waist and her head fell back. He pulled back and thrust in again, gritting his teeth and growling low from the intense pleasure he took in fucking her. Over and over, he repeated the process, pulling back before stroking back in. He knew at that moment he would never get enough of her and understood what Decker meant about marking her as his own. He’d never wanted to bite a she-wolf; never felt his fangs elongate, but he could feel them trying to. Decker was right. They had to do it sooner rather than later, and it had to be done together.

He angled down and managed to hit her clit every single time he drove in. Adriana moaned in a continuous keen until she cried out, her pussy clamping down on him, setting off his own climax. He could hear the waves crashing below them as pleasure rocked them both to their core. As he started to come down from the orgasmic high, he tried to re-establish normal breathing.

He’d planned to drag her into the shower and fuck her in there, as well. He’d just rolled out of bed and had extended his hand to her, when there was a knock on the door, and without waiting for any kind of acknowledgment, Colby stepped inside.

“Okay, you people have got to start locking doors. I’m alpha, and I lock my bedroom door. Greg, I need your assistance. Good morning, Adriana, you’re looking quite beautiful this morning.” Colby waited for a moment, looked at Adriana and then back at Greg.

“She has sharp elbows, and I’m pretty sure Brie knows more ways to kill you than you know how to die,” quipped Greg.

Colby laughed and left them alone.

“He isn’t wrong,” said Adriana.

“No, he’s not,” Greg said, going into their closet, getting dressed and re-entering their room. Adriana climbed out of the bed and sauntered over to him.

“But what if my need is greater than his?” she asked.

“It isn’t,” he said, smacking her backside and making her jump. “Behave yourself. It looks like they set up your computer in the sitting room. Why don’t you keep seeing what you can find on O’Shea or this whole triad bond.”

“Triad bond?”

“It seems like it should have some kind of name. We can’t call it a mate bond because there are more than two of us or a pair bonding for the same reason.”

“Triad bond or pairing. I like that. I could go with you.”

“No, sweetheart, you can’t. I do need to focus on patients and whatever it is Colby wants.” He gave her a quick, hard kiss and started to leave. “Wait, are you frightened and don’t want to be alone?”

“Would you believe me if I lied to you?”

“Probably, so don’t do it, okay?”

“Okay. I guess this is part of being mated to a warrior and a doctor—both of you have jobs that mean that sometimes I just need to take a cold shower and suck it up.”

Greg chuckled. “Yeah, sometimes.”

Greg trotted down the stairs, only to find Colby waiting for him in the foyer. He inclined his head towards his study. Greg followed Colby into his office and took a seat next to him on the leather loveseat. Colby unrolled a scroll that appeared to be made of ancient parchment.

“Take a look at this. Wordsworth found it early this morning. Do you read early Celtic?” Greg shook his head. “Then I’ll save you some trouble. Basically, it says we need to secure this weird mate bond…”

“We decided to call it the triad bond.”

Colby grinned. “We need to secure the triad bond sooner rather than later. Wordsworth thinks that O’Shea is some kind of dark power that is rising and could take over the world—doing what the Shadow League has been wanting to do for centuries. Supposedly the last time it tried to rise, there was a mate triad that stepped in and stopped it. From what Wordsworth can tell, it is only this triad of yours that can stop it.”

“That sounds rather ominous.”

“It does, and urgent. Look, I’d never tell any mate or mates that they need to solidify their bond with their mate. God knows I’ve protected dozens of women from being forced into a bond, but if Wordsworth is right, this may be what Strode wanted with Cullen Manchester’s mate and now yours. I think you and Decker need to get to romancing and convincing your mate. I plan to speak to Decker when he reports in.”

“No need, Colby. The three of us are already in agreement that while we might not totally understand this, we’re honest enough with ourselves and each other to know it’s real. I think once Adriana knows, she’ll push the fear aside. The last time she was bitten, it was done against her will and changed her from human to witch/wolf-shifter hybrid. It was terrifying and painful. It won’t be like that this time. We’ll do what we can to minimize the pain, and I think Decker’s plan is to make sure she’s far too gone in the throes of passion to care.”

Greg headed back to the clinic to check on his staff and the few patients who were currently being looked after. He wanted to talk to Decker and share with him what he had learned before they approached Adriana. It seemed to him that the more they could shield Adriana from any arguments between him and Decker, the easier it would be for all of them.

Ensuring that the clinic could do without him until the following day, Greg finished up and then went in search of his… co-mate? Partner-mate? They were really going to have to figure out how to refer to him and Decker. He shook his head. If that was their biggest concern, this whole triad bond was going to be a breeze.