Chapter Sixteen

I woke up sweating.

Surrounded by warmth, I came back to my body piece by piece. First, the burning pain in my middle. My blanket twitched when a grunt slipped through my teeth, but my eyes were shut tight as I grasped my stomach.

The manticore tail! Realization hit me. Venom. Every muscle was locked. Pain as it spread through me. I shook, teeth locked as my body shivered against the fever.

"Mallory..." A hand pressed against my clammy forehead. "You're home. You're safe. The manticore is dead."

"Dean?" I whispered.

"I'm here." He said from behind me.

"Home?" I echoed in confusion.

"The Aos Sí." Kaleb clarified. "Your fever is going down. Thank goodness." His fingers twitched against my forehead.

I shifted position, groaning as I reached down and pressed my hand against my stomach. It took a moment to open my eyes, and when I did, I found myself surrounded by naked men.

Kaleb sat before me, wearing only the wooden pendant necklace he kept around his throat. His silver hair fell in his eyes as he studied my pupils and examined my face.

I looked up at the ceiling, trying my hardest not to stare at his cock.

Someone had dragged a mattress to the floor, exposing the bed slats. Somehow, all four men had managed to cram themselves onto the mattress. Mitchell and Wyatt were fast asleep, each contorted in a way that couldn't be comfortable. The mattress was covered in a thick layer of furs in various colors. Soft and warm.

"Why are you all naked?" I made a grab for the nearest fur but quickly found the material pinned by a heavy naked body.

"Skin on skin healing," Kaleb explained.

"Was it bad?" I looked over my shoulder, but Dean refused to meet my eyes. "I guess that means yes ." I joked.

Dean leaned forward, resting his chin against my bare shoulder. The gesture was oddly familiar. "Don't do that again. I don't think my heart can take it." He groaned.

"That thing threw you clear across the lot." I pointed out.

Dean reached up, showing the bracelet on his wrist. "My lucky charm."

I exhaled a laugh, wincing when the movement jarred the wound in my stomach. "I thought it was dead."

"It was. Is ." Dean assured me.

"We make a good team," I told him before glaring at Kaleb. "No thanks to those two." I gestured to Mitchell and Wyatt, who were sleeping naked on the mattress.

"You handled it well," Kaleb grinned, the first time I'd ever seen such an expression on his face. He looked almost proud.

I'd tried my best to ignore their nudity, but as I shifted on the mattress, my bare ass cheek brushed against Dean's hard cock. I froze, my muscles locked, and my skin heated against my will.

I fanned myself, laughing breathily as I pushed my hair away from my face. "I'm almost healed. Maybe we should put our clothes on."

Dean's eyes darkened with lust. "If that's what you want."

Kaleb's brow furrowed, and he reached forward, his fingers brushing against the skin of my belly. My breath hissed through my teeth, but my hips rocked of their own accord as Kaleb reached between my legs.

" Wet ," Kaleb growled.

"Mallory is still healing." Dean pointed out.

Kaleb flicked him an irritated glance. "Skin contact will help."

I couldn't argue with that. Not that I wanted to.

My eyelids fluttered closed as he used a single finger to trail my wetness from my pussy, up to my clit, with one delicious circle.

I held my breath, bottling the sound, aware that Mitchell and Wyatt slept beside us.

Dean placed his hand on the curve of my hip, his fingertips feathering my skin as Kaleb touched me with slow and deliberate movements.

Dean pressed his lips to the seam of my jaw and down my shoulder. Kaleb shifted his hand, forcing his index finger deeper into my pussy, and I opened my legs, exposing myself, desperate for his touch.

Dean placed a kiss against my lips, his tongue delving into my mouth as Kaleb continued to touch me. He rolled his thumb over my clit with every thrust inside of me, adding another finger.

The sound of my wetness echoed through the room as Kaleb's fingers thrust inside of me.

Dean's hands trailed a path up my body, dancing up my ribcage until he came to my breasts. He brushed a thumb over my hard nipple, and I whimpered into his mouth as I grew wetter. Kaleb's fingers fucked me hard as he added another finger, to the knuckle.

Even with three fingers inside of me, I needed more . With Dean's cock pressed against my ass and Kaleb's hand thrusting inside of me, I could barely think.

Kaleb pulled his hand away, brushing his fingers over his lips and licking my juices. He flashed a wicked grin, still lying on his hip, as he gripped his stiff cock and gave it a leisurely stroke from root to tip.

Dean reached between my legs, parting them and holding my thigh. He shifted up until his cock lined up with my entrance from behind. Kaleb watched, his gaze hooded as the Alpha sunk inside me so deep that I felt his cock at my cervix, low in my belly.

I closed my eyes, savoring the feel, the stretch of him, when Dean began to move, his hips pumping off the bed as he thrust up to meet my core, holding my legs open for Kaleb to see.

Dean reached between us, where our bodies met, and began to rub my clit with his thumb. I didn't care how loud I was as I let out a low moan, rocking back to meet his thrusts.

"Suck Kaleb's cock." Dean demanded with a grunt as he pushed himself inside me so deeply that I saw stars.

I hadn't even realized that Kaleb had moved, holding the swollen, angry head of his cock to my lips. I extended my tongue to catch the single pearl of precum that leaked from his slit.

Dean began to move, rocking his hips until he sat fully inside of me. I squirmed, seeking friction, but Dean's fingers dug into my hips, holding me in place.

Kaleb's cock rested on my lips, and I sucked him into my mouth, squirling my tongue against the head of his cock. Kaleb clenched his fists, rocking his hips.

Both Dean and Kaleb moved in time, thrusting inside of my mouth and pussy.

It was too much. I was on fire. Every inch of my body alight, as my nerve-endings short-circuited with pleasure.

I hadn't even noticed that Mitchell and Wyatt had woken up, shifting to the other side of the mattress to watch as Kaleb and Dean plunged inside of me.

My sleep was more restful once the pain had broken like a fever.

I expected to be on edge, surrounded by a motley crew of naked wolves, but I had the best sleep of my life.

When I woke, I was alone.

I sat up, wiping the crust from my eyes with the back of my hand, as I studied Kaleb's room. The door to his private bathroom was open, just a crack. Two people argued, the words barely audible. The rush of the tap covered most of the sound.

Kaleb and Wyatt?

I wondered where the others were. Dean, at least, would have stuck around. Had something happened?

"Did you see the bracelet?" Wyatt bit out. "That's not weak magic. You said she was weak , her Sídhe side polluted by her wolf blood. If she's as powerful as her grandmother—"

"It doesn't matter," Kaleb argued.

"Doesn't matter?" Wyatt scoffed. "That bauble saved Dean's life, and we're all just going to pretend it didn't? Does she know?"

"The Huntsman suspects." Kaleb sighed heavily.

"That isn't what I asked," Wyatt growled. "What if she can close the Gate?"

"Her grandmother faded," Kaleb argued. "Spent, for whatever reason. Perhaps from forming the Gate or simply from her time in the Human Realities, I don't know. But do you want Mallory to risk herself? What if closing the Gate takes her from us? What if she cannot survive back in Tennessee because her magic is gone ."

"Her grandmother lived for hundreds of years in the Human Realities!" Wyatt growled.

"éabha was the eldest daughter of Mother Spider," Kaleb argued. "She was an old and powerful Fae."

"How many Wolfkin have died fighting?" Wyatt sneered. "How many of our grandfathers, uncles, and mothers fought in the Huntsman's war? How many humans get eaten every year because of her grandmother and that damned Gate!"

"Don't put those deaths on her." Kaleb snarled. "Don't blame Mallory for things that happened long before her birth."

Silence, save for the sound of rushing tap water.

I'd suspected my grandmother had something to do with the Gate, but hearing it confirmed was difficult. Had she torn apart reality to escape the Huntsman?

I didn't notice as the door opened, revealing Dean with a food tray in his hands.

"You went for breakfast." I sagged with relief. Dean hadn't left me.

His eyes crinkled at the corners. "Of course I did. I didn't know what food you like, so I got a bit of everything." Dean handed the tray to me and sat down on the edge of the mattress. "How do you feel?"

I grabbed one of the sausage links on the plate and took a bite before I answered. "Better," I told him. "That wolf skin-contact thing is no joke."

He gave me a strange look. "When it works." He murmured, glancing at the bathroom room. "Mitchell is reporting to the Huntsman. We had to carry you back to the portal and we were spotted by several humans."

"Did someone call the police?"

Dean shook his head. "Not to my knowledge. Kaleb had to use one of the Huntsman's charms to dissolve the manticore's body."

"Kaleb can use magic?" I wondered.

"The Huntsman's magic." He clarified. "Wolves cannot access any magic or shift unless the Huntsman gives permission."

My cheeks heated, and I looked down at my plate. "All because his wife ran away with a wolf?"

"Mitchell told me about your husband. What you said to Faith about the way he was." Dean admitted, frowning as he stared at the uneaten food on my tray.

"Mitchell has a big mouth." My nose wrinkled. "The police said it was suicide." I put the tray down, my stomach sour.

"Do you believe that?" Dean cocked his head to the side, "You were married once, it's normal to grieve."

I sighed, pushing my dark hair away from my face. "Am I a bad person because I'm okay?"

"You're not a bad person." The surety in his voice shocked me. "Not at all."

"Ever since I heard that wolves can't have children unless it's with their true mates, I just..." My lips scrunched together, and my nose burned with tears that threatened to fall. "I can't stop thinking about what I could have done. I lost a child. I got pregnant and lost a child because I didn't wait for the ‘ right ' person. How many other Wolfkin have experienced the exact same thing as me? I could have dealt with it if there was a health issue. If something happened. But Joel told me I was a murderer and a bad mom because I couldn't even keep my baby safe. Deep down, I hadn't believed him. Things happen naturally, and sometimes they aren't meant to be. But what if I was to blame? If I'd waited for my Shíorghra, my child wouldn't have died."

"Its the Huntsman." Dean reached up, placing a hand on my shoulder, his gaze demanding mine. "You are not to blame. If anything, the Huntsman and his bargains are the enemy. And you are right; sometimes things are not meant to be. You were in hiding. You were taking a potion to subdue your wolf side. Even if you did know about the curse, it would be reasonable to think it wouldn't affect you. You're half Sídhe."

"Do you want children?" I asked.

Dean avoided my eyes. "Yes."

"Me too." I brushed my hand against my cheek, wiping the tears. "My mom died when I was born. I had my grandmother, but it wasn't the same. Deep down, I knew she blamed me. I was the reason that my mother had died. My grandmother was a shouter. She would take over and finish what I was doing because I could never do anything right. Cleaning. Cooking. Even weaving. I wanted a child of my own so bad. In my mind, I planned to do everything right. I wouldn't do any of the things my grandmother did to make me feel small and useless."

"I've always wanted children. I was an only child, and it was lonely." Dean rubbed his mouth. "But, some things aren't meant to happen."

I glanced at the bathroom door. "Kaleb and Wyatt have been in there a while, huh?"

Dean's brow furrowed. "Probably eavesdropping."

Something in the bathroom dropped—it sounded like a shampoo bottle in the tub. "I resent that!" Wyatt called through the door as Kaleb hissed for him to shut up.