Chapter Twenty-One Erick

I woke up just long enough to kiss Sam before he had to sneak out early the next morning. I tried my best to stop him, to tell him that the front desk could watch itself for a while. But he wouldn’t hear of it. He insisted on going down but encouraged me to get some more sleep. With a soft kiss, he snuck out of the room without ever waking Calum.

Despite my best efforts, I quickly dozed off again, my arms wrapped around Calum. When I finally came to, it was getting close to noon and Calum was still snoozing away. Not that I could blame him. We’d been out running late the night before and then spent the earliest parts of the morning fucking like rabbits. I supposed it was only natural that he was tired. I knew I was still exhausted. Elated, but exhausted.

I made little effort to stay quiet as I peeled myself off the floor, rousing Calum from his slumber. He grumbled and rolled over, pulling an armful of pillows tight against his chest. Even with the blanket and the pillows, the floor was still hard as fuck and my body was sore from sleeping on it all night. I needed to get moving or I was going to do some damage.

It wasn’t until I got back from the bathroom that I realized we were still in Sam’s room. Calum was finally sitting up, the blanket pulled up and over his head like a cloak. He was still naked and poking uselessly at the electric fireplace on the wall. For all the handyman skills he had, the guy was not great at anything digital. He could wire one of them up, but turning it on? That was another matter entirely.

“I got it,” I said, smirking at him as I grabbed the remote from the bedside table.

I flipped the fireplace on, the digital flames popping into life. The motor whirred and began to creak as the heating elements came on. A few seconds later warm air began to rush out the front and Calum opened the blanket wide to let it in.

“Fuck yes,” he grumbled, closing his eyes. “It’s so fucking cold here.”

Taking a seat beside him, I wrapped my arm around his waist and joined him under the blanket now filling with heat.

“Well, you better get used to it,” I replied, leaning my head against his. “Because we just mated that man last night.”

“So that wasn’t a dream,” he muttered, shaking his head. “I was half convinced I’d made it all up. I didn’t expect it to happen like that.”

“Me either.” I paused for a moment. “Do you think we rushed into it? Are we being crazy? After all, we’ve only known Sam for a couple of weeks at this point.”

“My brain is telling me we’re moving fast,” Calum replied thoughtfully. “But my heart and my wolf… they say we’re not moving fast enough .”

I let out a long sigh. “Okay. So, it’s not just me then.”

“Definitely not.” He looked up at me, a soft smile on his face. “This is all a bit sudden and crazy, but honestly? I can’t imagine it going any other way.”

I bit my lower lip, searching his eyes. “We both love him, don’t we?”

Calum nodded slowly. “Again, it feels crazy. But the way I feel around the both of you… it’s like our mate bond but turned up to one hundred. It’s so much more intense than I thought it would be.”

“And easy,” I added. “Way too easy…”

Calum leaned against me, his fingers digging into my thigh. “I think it only feels that way because everything was so difficult for us.” He shook his head, pressing his body against mine in search of comfort. “We had to keep everything a secret for so long. It was hard and we felt like we always had to be on our guard. When my father found out about you, I wasn’t surprised he was such a dick about it. I knew he would be. And I was afraid he would come after you too. That’s why I had to work so hard to keep everything hidden from him.” He squeezed my thigh again. “And your family… They were so loving and gentle with you when you did everything they wanted. But the moment you chose me… they turned on you like a pack of rabid hyenas. I can’t imagine how that must’ve felt. Leaving my own family behind was easy. I didn’t like them that much anyway. But you loved yours.” He paused, shaking his head again. “Sorry. I’m rambling.”

But what he couldn’t see were the tears streaming down my cheeks. He was right of course, my family had surprised me with their reactions. I knew Calum would lose his place in his pack. However, when he came to me looking for help, I thought my family would welcome him with open arms. But when I introduced him to my parents as my mate, they turned on me. First, they begged me not to be gay and then they begged me to be with anyone else except the Alpha’s son of our rival pack. I denied both of their demands and was promptly tossed out like yesterday’s garbage. So much for being the golden child.

Calum was right of course. I was still processing all of it. And honestly, I’d been ignoring it as much as possible. There was so much pain and anger to work through and I didn’t have the tools to do it. Sam had been a nice distraction and a way of keeping me focused on the positive instead of the awful shit my parents had said to me.

“It’s okay,” Calum said softly, my stifled breathing giving away my emotional turmoil. He wrapped his arms around me tightly. “I’m here, baby.”

“Do you think we’re using him?” I managed to get out at last. “As a distraction I mean? Just to dull the ache?”

Calum pulled back, grabbing my chin and forcing me to look into his blue eyes. “If I thought that, I wouldn’t have mated with him last night. And neither would you.”

“God… I feel kinda crazy,” I sobbed, laughing in embarrassment at the same time.

“You aren’t crazy, Erick. In fact, you’re the more level-headed of the two of us.”

“Fuck…” I groaned, wiping away tears. “That worries me a bit.”

Calum reached up, grabbing both sides of my face before kissing me softly. “I don’t think you have any reason to worry,” he said softly, pressing his forehead to mine. “There’s a lot of life-changing things happening in a short amount of time. It makes sense it feels a little crazy.”

“Are you sure you’re okay with all this?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“It’s never going to be just you and me again. It’ll always be you and me and him.”

Calum smiled wide. “That sounds amazing to me. Now I get to take two beautiful boys out on dates. I feel like the luckiest guy in the world.”

I nodded. “I do too… it’s just… a lot.”

“Well, then let’s take it one step at a time.” Calum was usually the one leaning on me, but in situations like this, he was more than happy to take the wheel and help me through it. In fact, he was really good at it. “Instead of jumping straight into exchanging vows, why don’t we just spend more time with Sam and let things progress naturally? There’s no rush to become anything just yet.”

“We already mated with him,” I scoffed.

“Yeah, but mating with someone and loving them are two different things,” Calum corrected. “I’ve met plenty of mates that feel no love for each other. Or they once did, and it fades away.”

“Do you think that’ll happen to the three of us?”

“Not a fucking chance. You love me, don’t you?”

“With all my heart.”

“And I love you back just as much and then some,” he said. “But no matter how much I love you, I’m still capable of loving Sam too. Don’t you think?”

I nodded. “It feels… I don’t know… limitless I guess?” I shook my head, trying to arrange my thoughts. “I love you more than I thought I could love anyone. But I’m surprised to find I still have love to give, and I didn’t have to take any away from you to do it.”

“My thoughts exactly.”

“So, we’re really gonna do this, huh?”

“Babe,” Calum chuckled. “I think we already did.”

He was right of course. I fell into his arms once more, my head over his shoulder as I let out a long sigh. There were so many conflicting emotions fighting for space in my brain that I had to take a moment and release a few of them. I decided to focus on the positive. As I held tight to Calum, I made a concentrated effort to let go of the wrong my parents had done me and all the guilt I was feeling about finding happiness so quickly after such a traumatizing event. I attempted to let go of my worry about caring for Sam too much too quickly. And I tried to allow myself to feel happy for what I had and live in the moment.

I wasn’t sure how successful I was at doing all of that at once, but it was a start. When I finally pulled back and looked Calum in the eyes once more, I felt a little lighter. I leaned down and kissed him softly, letting my affection pour through my skin into his.

“I love you so much,” I said. “Thank you.”

“I love you too, babe.” He took my hand, giving it a squeeze. “What do you need right now? What’ll help you feel better?”

As if on cue, my stomach growled loudly enough that we both heard it over the buzz of the fireplace vent.

Calum grinned. “Let’s go get something to eat then, huh?”

“Okay.” I started to get up before I paused. “And maybe we should get Sam some too?”

“I think that’s a great idea.”

“So… are we polyamorous now?”

Calum just shrugged. “Fuck if I know. I’m just following my heart.”

“How many more mates do you think we have out there?”

Calum’s face dropped. “Don’t even joke about that! I’ve got as much as I can handle with the two of you! My dick and ass are gonna be raw constantly now thanks to you two, I just know it.”

“Sam said he’s not much of a top, though.”

“Uh-huh. And neither were you at first. Now you fuck me damn near every day.” He paused, a sly grin pulling at his lips. “Although I do like the sound of getting fucked twice as much.” He looked up at me. “Can you lotion your butthole?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Probably not the inside of it.”

He shrugged. “Oh well, I’ll figure it out I guess.” He tossed the blanket to the side and got to his feet, his half-hard cock swinging in front of my face as he held out a hand. “Come on, let’s get you something to eat and then we’ll fuck Sam again, huh?”

“Bent over the front desk?” I asked, taking his hand.

“I bet he’d like that.”

We took a few minutes to get showered, the pair of us going at the same time. There were several wandering hands, groped cocks, and at least one finger in Calum’s ass by the time we were done. But we didn’t want to get off just yet. That we were saving for Sam.

By the time we were dressed and had slipped out the back door of the hotel, it was well past noon. We were both tired of pizza and still exhausted, so Andy’s bakery was the most obvious choice. The lunch crowd was in full swing and by the time we made our orders, we were lucky to get the baked goods we wanted. When Calum told Andy we were surprising Sam with lunch, he refused to charge us for the food or the drinks. Instead, he packed up more than what we’d ordered and sent us with a small box to carry it back to the hotel.

It was incredible how nice everyone was in town, considering we were not only a pair of rogues, but new faces as well. However, there was a glimmer in Andy’s eye that led me to believe he knew more than he was letting on. Then again, Calum said Ace already knew what was going on and we both smelled like Sam more than ever. I had a feeling it wouldn’t be long before the entire town knew what we got up too in the wee hours of the night.

But we took the food without complaint, expressing our thanks many times over. The walk back to the hotel was more pleasant now that the clouds had moved away and the sun was out. It was still freezing and there was snow piled high everywhere, but the cold felt far away. Between the warmth of the sunlight and the heat of new love blossoming in my chest, it seemed like nothing could put a damper on my spirits. Calum seemed to feel the same way. There was a definite bounce in his step that I hadn’t seen before.

The longer things went on, the more I realized how much we not only needed this, but how much Sam brought out the best in us. In a matter of a couple weeks, we’d gone from rogues with no place in the world to belonging in Shifter Grove. People knew our names, we had jobs, and somehow, we’d found more love than we ever thought possible.

It was at that moment that I realized we were home .

Calum and I were grinning like fools and laughing as we pulled open the front door of the hotel lobby. We stepped inside and I felt my chest fill with excitement. I knew I’d see Sam’s smiling face in a moment as he looked up from the front desk, a smutty romance book in his hands as always.

However, as I came around the corner, I saw something that made my blood run cold.

There was Sam standing in the lobby with another man. They were close together and the man had his hands around Sam’s waist. It wasn’t until I took another step that I realized they weren’t just talking. They were kissing .

It was all I could do to stop myself from dropping everything right there on the lobby floor as my heart nearly stopped beating.