Chapter Three

Even in a house with wolf shifters and dark fairies, Arion didn’t feel safe. As soon as his coven leader found out where his “pet” was hiding, everyone under Jax’s roof would be in danger.

Jax and Elvine should have left him to die in that pile of leaves. Arion still found it hard to believe a ghoul had tried to eat him. The only reason he hadn’t finished the job was because Akai, the coven leader’s son, had been impatient, ready to go to war with the same fae warrior they’d ambush a few days prior. Arion still didn’t know the reason Akai wanted Casimir dead, but it wasn’t like the guy told him anything.

And because Arion had no choice but to do what Axia demanded, Casimir hated Arion’s guts for setting him up for an ambush. He didn’t blame the guy for the hate, but even worse, Casimir lived here. Arion was positive since he could smell the fae’s lingering scent all around him.

The warrior had tried to choke-out Arion tonight. He had no doubt in his mind Casimir would try again now that they would be in the same house.

With a slight shiver from those thoughts, Arion watched as Jax secured the bedroom windows from the sun’s deadly rays, which would shine in a few hours.

“While it’s still dark out, let me show you around.” Elvine gripped Arion’s hand and dragged him from the bedroom like he was her personal tug toy.

As she pointed to doors, she told him whose bedroom was whose. When Elvine pointed to the last one, she said, “This one is mine. Kalen gave it to me because I’m here so much.”

“Who’s Kalen?” Arion asked. She’d already pointed to the man’s room, but he had no idea who the person was.

“Jax’s dad.” There was nothing but adoration in her eyes as she spoke those two words. “Damon and Jaytee are Jax’s brothers. The two are twins. Raidh is Jaytee’s mate, and Casimir is Damon’s.”

Arion nodded, unsure he would remember some of the names as he stepped into her bedroom. He liked how the room was simple, yet it felt so cozy. Even with minimal decorations, it was far better than the conditions he was living in.

“Aren’t you going to move into Jax’s room now that you’re mates?” He absentmindedly ran his fingers over the smooth surface of her white dresser. His own dresser, the wood faded and scratched, consisted of three nearly empty drawers.

“Why did you say it like that?” Elvine studied him. She was so beautiful, while Arion felt like a beast compared to her and Jax. How could fate have played such a cruel trick on them?

“What’re you talking about?” His gaze traveled down her body, imagining all the ways he could worship her.

“You made it sound like only Jax and I are mates, leaving yourself out of the equation.”

Her closeness made it hard for Arion to breathe. Her fae scent didn’t affect him the way it did others, but it still had an intoxicating quality to it. But he didn’t want to drain her. He wanted to fuck her senseless.

A lowly pet didn’t have the right to touch… Arion took a deep breath and tried to push away the self-deprecating thoughts. That wouldn’t help his already damaged self-esteem.

Without glancing at Elvine’s beauty, he said, “I don’t belong here. You and Jax are perfect for each other. I’m just a third wheel who—”

Elvine suddenly yanked him close and pressed her lips against his in a fiery kiss. Arion could say it was the best kiss of his life after the first two seconds.

He hated the whimper that escaped. It always made him feel weak, but her lips caused his mind to go wild.

And then she slipped her tongue inside his mouth, igniting every nerve ending in his body and rattling his senses. Unable to resist, Arion slid his hands around her small waist and pulled her even closer.

For a moment, he allowed himself to believe that maybe he could actually be what his mates needed instead of what he’d been forced to become. Allowed himself to believe he was worthy of someone like Elvine and Jax and not some pathetic, broken being who had no idea where he belonged in the world.

When they finally broke apart, Arion’s eyes remained closed, his breathing shallow and erratic.

“Open your eyes, honey bunny,” she whispered in the sweetest, softest voice, causing him to immediately obey.

For giving him the first kiss that made him feel worth something, Arion would do anything for her.

He gazed into her meadow-green eyes, fell into them, and then Arion noticed Jax leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed, wearing an odd expression.

Arion quickly took a few steps back, glancing toward the floor and bracing himself for the berating he was so used to receiving.

“You don’t have to act like you’ve been caught doing something wrong, pumpkin. We’re mates.” Jax’s gaze swept over him, and Arion knew that look, had experienced it for a decade.

Pure lust.

“It was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever witnessed.” Jax smiled with a wink. “Feel free to kiss Elvine anytime you want, handsome. It’s very erotic to watch.”

Elvine glared at Jax. “So glad you’re deciding when I can be kissed,” she growled, and it was the cutest sound Arion had ever heard.

“You know that’s not what I meant, brat. You’re not spinning what I said like Jaytee’s and Damon’s mates did.”

Arion had no idea what they were talking about, and didn’t care. He was more interested in kissing Elvine again while also craving Jax’s lips. Arion wanted to know how his mate’s beard would feel abrading his skin, to know if Jax’s lips were as soft as they looked. Without realizing what he was doing, Arion licked his lips.

His body might be a collection of scars brought about by cruel punishments, but that didn’t stop him from yearning to be a part of this mating.

To be a part of something beautiful instead of condemned to something cruel and meaningless.

Jax stepped to him, leaving no personal space between them. Arion’s lips slightly parted at the hungry way the wolf shifter gazed at him, causing his throat to grow tight. He knew Jax was moving in for a kiss.

Arion wasn’t entirely sure why he was so nervous. This wouldn’t be his first kiss, but maybe his subtle trembling was due to the fact it would be the most important one of his life.

Tilting his head, Jax slowly glided his lips over Arion’s, as if his mate wanted to draw out the pleasure.

That was something else Arion knew all too well. Only, this kiss wouldn’t precede pain or humiliation, and Akai wouldn’t drag Arion off to be tortured afterward.

Don’t think of the sadist. Just…sink into the moment.

The way Jax watched him, Arion had never felt so possessed by a single glance and a simple brush of the lips. How could an intense moment such as this capture him so completely?

This time, Jax cradled Arion’s cheek, kissing him deeply. His mate could kiss like a wet dream. The scrape of his facial hair against sensitive skin caused Arion to moan. Wanting closer, he rested his palms against Jax’s broad chest while also telling himself not to get too attached or involved.

If you leave now and return home, Akai won’t find and hurt Jax’s family.

If he stayed, Jax and Elvine would discover the mortifying truth about his life.

Despite that, he couldn’t make himself pull away, couldn’t muster the strength to abandon Jax’s soft lips or deny the way Jax’s touch made Arion feel like he truly mattered for once in his life.

Jax moved his hand to cup the back of Arion’s head, while the other rested against his neck, completely focused on seducing him into feeling cherished.

Then he sensed Elvine move in behind him, felt the nervousness radiating off her like a scared deer trying to be brave.

Reaching back, he held on to her hip as she timidly kissed his bare shoulder. He could feel her slight quiver and her trembling breath against his skin and wanted to reassure her, but he didn’t want to break the kiss.

Jesus. Arion had never felt so surrounded by pure body heat before. Elvine’s soft lips glided across his shoulder, causing goose bumps to break out all over him.

Jax’s tongue delved inside Arion’s mouth, devoured him as if he was some type of delicacy to savor.

Arion’s heart was thundering like crazy, his breaths shooting out in rapid shudders as Elvine flicked her tongue gently against his body.

His insides grew hot and racy, turning his blood into an electrical current as his mates focused their attention on him… Until their hands began to wander over his patchwork of scars.

Panic set in, and there was no way to shut it down. Their touches had triggered him, flooded him with memories he desperately wished he could escape.

He ripped away from them and hugged his arms tightly to his chest as if he could hide the shame beneath them.

“Please, don’t.” Jax tried to reach for him, but Arion took a few steps back. “Baby, your scars don’t matter to us.”

Elvine looked as if her heart was breaking. Arion didn’t want her pity, didn’t want her to feel sorry for him. Then he would always wonder if she touched him out of sympathy or genuine attraction.

There was no goddamn way Arion would become another form of a pet, one Elvine and Jax felt obligated to care for.

“Of course they don’t matter to you,” Arion argued. “You’re not the one who has to live with them. I don’t need your fucking pity, either.”

Arion clutched his upper arm in his hand, looking toward the floor and wondering how they truly saw him, because he felt like a puzzle with missing pieces, a canvas with unfinished patches.

Jax and Elvine exchanged a glance between them.

Finally, Jax spoke up. “Arion, we understand your scars are a part of you, and we don’t want you to ever feel like we’re pitying you. That’s not what this is about.”

They seemed sincere, and Arion wanted to believe them, but it was hard to shake off a decade of abuse, to become vulnerable, even for his mates.

“You’re right. We can’t understand what it’s like to have to live with those scars,” Elvine said. “But we can understand the pain they represent, the hurt they symbolize.” She held out her hands and wiggled her fingers. “My two cuties need to trust me. I think this will benefit all of us.”

Unsure what Elvine was up to, Arion slowly placed his hand in hers. As did Jax, though he looked like he wanted to snatch his hand back.

“Are you about to voodoo us?” Jax asked.

“In a way, yes.” She smirked. “Raidh taught me how to do this, but don’t tell him I’m much better at it than he is.”

“Better at what?” Arion tried to pull his hand away, but for a tiny fairy, Elvine was strong.

“Do you think I would honestly do something kinky to you?” she huffed.

Arion frowned.

Jax choked on a laugh. “Babe, I think you mean hinky,” he said. “But feel free to do all kinds of kinky things to me, sexy.”

“Me too!” Then Arion curled his lips in, embarrassed he’d just blurted that out.

“I’m trying to be serious.” Elvine stomped her foot.

“So were Arion and me.” Jax wiggled his brows. “Hell, I’ll strip my clothes off and lay spread-eagle on your bed. I won’t even mind if you and Arion get freaky with each other while laying on top of my chest, ma petite .”

Arion nearly swallowed his tongue. As for Elvine, he was pretty sure Jax had broken her. Her lips were parted, and she just kept blinking over and over again.

In a low, seductive voice, Jax said, “You two have no idea just how kinky I am.”

Arion wasn’t sure how to respond to that, but the image was now seared into his brain. He shook Elvine’s hand while still clutching hers. “Are you going to voodoo us or try Jax’s suggestion?”

Not a chance was Arion going to get fully naked, but the humor had just slipped free.

Finally, Elvine cleared her throat, but it took a moment for her to tear her gaze away from Jax. Arion knew how she felt. Jax was seven kinds of wicked sin rolled into a gorgeous body.

“Close your eyes,” Elvine said, eyeballing Jax again before she turned to stare at Arion.

“Don’t look at me,” Arion squeaked. “Jax said he would get naked. He never said we had to do the same.”

One thing was for certain, Jax knew how to throw a verbal left and knock Arion right out of his moroseness. Now all he thought about was getting freaky with Elvine while they squirmed on top of Jax.

“Okay, we’ll do this first,” Jax said. “Then I want you both to consider getting hinky .” He winked at Elvine.

She quickly closed her eyes, but her cheeks were the prettiest shade of dark red. Jax lustful gaze swept over Arion, causing him to flush with embarrassment. Then his mate mouthed, “I want to suck your dick, beautiful.”

Oh boy. Arion slammed his eyes closed to the sound of Jax’s soft chuckle and a light squeeze to their joined hands.

As Elvine started to softly chant, Arion felt a strange sensation rippling inside of him. He began to yank his hand away, to tell Elvine to stop, until he saw snapshots of his mates’ lives.

Of Jax fighting the ancient vampire, the heart-wrenching sorrow when he thought his brother had died. It was as if Arion could feel what Jax had felt in those moments. He saw the vampire attack that had almost taken Raidh’s life. He wasn’t sure how he knew that was who it was, but he just did. The vampire army that tried to kill Jax’s entire family.

It was a miracle the wolf shifter wanted any part of Arion considering he was a vampire himself.

But he also saw his mate and family riding the open road on their motorcycles, the peace and contentment that washed over Jax when he was with his family. He felt their close bond, which caused Arion to envy the man.

Then he saw Elvine when she’d first met Jax’s family. She was snarky with Jax, but she was also attracted to him. But she never said anything for fear of rejection. Other snapshots surfaced, like when she was in a magical place that Arion assumed was the fairy realm.

Suddenly, things became fuzzy, as if she didn’t want them to see whatever was behind the blur. But Arion felt the deep fear and anger radiating from whatever she was hiding.

For the next few minutes he was bombarded with snapshots of his mates’ lives and the emotions associated with them. Arion squeezed Jax’s hand tighter when he was shown the day his mate had found out his mother was dead. The grief inside Jax was so raw, so deep that Arion shed a few tears.

But Elvine’s pain was ongoing, and Arion wanted to know what was causing it. How could he even ask when he was unwilling to share his own pain of how he’d gotten so many scars?

Elvine’s grip on his hand loosened, and then the images and emotions faded.

Jax yanked Arion into his arms and simply held him before he pulled Elvine into their embrace. What had they seen as far as Arion’s life? Had they witnessed his beatings, his humiliation, the torture that had given him so many scars?

“Damn,” Jax said with a slight growl, crushing them to him as if he never wanted to let them go.

Arion simply stood there and soaked in Jax’s warmth, savoring the feeling of his mate’s strong arm around him. It made Arion feel safe, like no one could get to him, not even his evil coven leader or the bastard’s sadistic son.

“You may wear your scars on the outside,” Elvine said, and Arion knew she was talking to him, “but all three of us carry them on the inside.”

“I’m not going to force you, kitten, but you’re going to tell Arion and me what you were hiding from us,” Jax said. “I saw a lot of blurring with your memories, hon.”

Elvine pulled away and clapped her hands. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m famished.” Her wings expanded, and she flew out of the room.

“Don’t think for a second your beautiful wings saved you from this conversation,” Jax hollered at the empty bedroom doorway.

He turned to Arion, and now Arion wished he had wings for a quick getaway. He tried to use his inhuman speed, but Jax must have seen the panic in his eyes, because his mate grabbed his wrist.

“Not so fast, pumpkin.” His gaze swept over Arion’s chest and arms, but this time there wasn’t any lust involved. “Who are they?” he asked, his tone low and deadly.

Elvine flew into the room, landed on her feet, then grabbed Arion’s hand, which forced Jax to let his wrist go. “You’re not allowed to interrogate honey bunny until he’s ready to talk about it, Mr. Nippy Nosy.”

“How am I the bad guy?” Jax asked, looking thoroughly confused. “I thought we wanted to end the bastard who did this to him.”

“I have no idea what you mean,” Elvine quickly said, purposely avoiding Arion’s gaze.

“Don’t you dare play dumb with me, young lady.” Jax grimaced. “Shit, I need to stop calling you that.” He glared at Elvine. “When we found Arion, we both said we wanted to kill the person who’d put so many scars on him.”

Elvine pulled Arion away, once again treating him like her tug toy. “Can’t hear you over my tummy grumbles, wolfie,” she said as she pulled Arion from the room.

Something wasn’t right. Jax was too adamant, and Elvine looked a little too guilty. Why? Arion yanked on her hand to stop her. “If roles were reversed, I would want to kill the person who marred your pretty olive skin. What gives?”

He felt Jax’s approach from behind.

Her shoulders sagged like she was defeated. “Fizzle sticks.”

“Elvine, what’s going on?” Jax asked. “Why are you calling me a liar when we both know it’s true?”

Her meadow-green gaze focused on the floor. “Because Arion already thinks I’m a monster. I don’t want to give him more proof.”

“Huh?” Arion wrinkled his nose, feeling just as confused as Jax appeared. “What are you talking about, Elvine? When did I look at you as a monster?”

Jax slid his finger under her chin, coaxing her to look at them. “Answer him, sweetheart.”

She crossed her arms and pressed her lips together.

“Don’t be stubborn, Mrs. Pouty,” Jax said with a soft growl. “Tell us or I’ll take you back in the bedroom and put you over my knee.”

Holy hell. Arion really wished Jax would stop putting those images in his head. Now he saw his mate sitting on the bed, butt naked, his erection sticking straight up as Elvine’s luscious, naked body lay draped across Jax’s muscular thighs.

“When I killed those two vampires coming after us,” she finally said with attitude. “He saw me repeatedly hitting them with bolts, shouted at me to stop, then called me cruel!”

She tried to turn away, but Arion caught her delicate arm to stop her from fleeing. “I didn’t mean it, Elvine, I swear.” He said it a little too panicky. “They deserved what you did to them, but you also triggered a few memories.”

He let her arm go, afraid his grip would leave a bruise. The last thing he wanted to do was harm her pretty skin.

Jax sighed. “All right. We’re going to our bedroom and hash all this out. I don’t want any hard feelings or guilt stewing between us.”

“Now he’s Mr. Bossy Pants,” she said to Arion, as if exasperated with their mate. “I’ll hold him down, and you can spank him.”

“Me?” Arion’s eyebrows shot to his hairline. “I’m not spanking a six-foot-five, muscular wolf shifter. He’d squash me.”

Jax leaned in, swiping the tip of his tongue over Arion’s earlobe. “As long as we’re all naked, both of you can spank me.” Arion could have sworn he heard Jax purr. “But you have to kiss and lick my red ass afterward. And, by the way, the only squashing will be my cock sinking into either your ass or her pussy.”

Both Arion and Elvine stood there speechless.

Jax straightened and headed toward his bedroom. “Now, let’s go hash out these bad feelings so we can get to the carnal ones, my pretties.”

Arion glanced at Elvine. She turned and looked at him.

“I swear I didn’t know he was this…” She tapped her chin, as if trying to find the right word.

“Horny, arousing, sexually outspoken?” Arion suggested.

“All of the above,” Jax hollered from his bedroom. “Now get your sexy asses in here.”

Elvine’s full lips curled into a sly grin, her green eyes flashing with playful mischief. “Which one of us is going to spank Mr. Bossy Pants first?”

She was just… Damn. Arion had no idea how he’d gotten so lucky with such stunning mates. “Rock, papers, scissors?”

Her laughter rang like sweet chimes in his ears. “Let’s keep acting shocked to see how far he’ll go. It’s kind of fun making him work for it.”

Who was acting? He was genuinely shocked by the bold and electrifying words. And deep down, he couldn’t deny how aroused it made him.

Elvine grabbed his hand and used him as her personal tug toy once again, much to his secret delight. She could lead him wherever she pleased, and he would willingly follow.