CHAPTER THREE-HUDSON

HUDSON ENJOYED the early mornings. It was quiet, outside of the birds chirping, of course. Very few of his dragons were stirring this early, so the house was silent.

There were no emergencies or demands for his attention. For a bit, he could just breathe and enjoy the stillness around him. It was a treat he rarely got to have.

In the distance, a deer stepped from the tree line. Surprised, Hudson watched the animal. The scent of predators was usually a deterrent to natural wildlife. The deer stared at Hudson for a few seconds, then retreated.

Smart creature.

Most dragons enjoyed the taste of venison, himself included. His dragon rumbled in his head, agreeing. As tempting as it was to strip and shift, he wasn't plowing through the forest and chasing a damn deer before the sun was barely up. Now, catching one out in an open field was another matter.

Instead, Hudson remained seated on his private deck, sipping his coffee like a civilized dragon as the sun slowly climbed into the sky.

He replayed yesterday in his head.

Last night was Kit's first appointment with Dr. Frederick King, a psychiatrist Kit was seeing because of the attack by Nox. A psychiatrist who also was part of the St. Clair coven of vampires.

Kit had been hesitant to see Frederick, thanks to having been bitten by a mimic and then having his blood taken involuntarily.

Hudson frowned down into his mug. Kit's reaction could be a problem later because a dragon extended a human's life by sharing their blood with said human.

Yeah, that could be a huge problem since Kit was his and Connie's soul bound mate, although Kit was unaware of that fact. With every fiber of his being, Hudson wanted to tell Kit, but he wasn't sure how his mate would react to that information.

Kit had been thrown into the deep end of the pool, and Hudson was afraid to keep pushing his head underwater. Kit was human, and he'd had no idea paranormals even existed until Nox had attacked him, taken his blood, then transformed into a carbon copy of Kit.

Hudson took another sip of coffee—it was that or chuck it across the deck. Nox had assumed Kit's identity, lured Austin to the bookstore Kit owned, and attacked Austin. That, of course, brought the Elder of the San DeLain daemons, Kage, who was also Austin's mate, running.

Well, since Kage was a daemon, he'd stepped out of a shadow, which Kit had seen. That alone was terrifying. Then Kit got to see Kage's true form, which resembled a demon—wings, fangs, horns, and all.

It really was a wonder Kit wasn't a blithering idiot after all he'd experienced. Most humans would have broken under that kind of pressure, but not Kit. But he was most definitely bruised, and Hudson hated that.

Everything should have ended with Nox's death, but it hadn't. Now Nox's brother, Lennox, was targeting Kit, which was why Kit was living with Hudson. The hunters were still stalking paranormals and humans in San DeLain too. The threat was not over by a long shot.

Connie stepped out on the deck, still in his night pants and holding a cup of coffee. "Good morning."

"Good morning, sweetheart." Hudson admired the view in front of him—all six feet of the sexy redhead dragon with bedhead who was also his mate.

Well, technically, Hudson and Connie did not share a soul bond—and that made absolutely no sense. He wasn't sure what Gaura, their fire dragon god, was thinking. He and Connie should have that soul bond with each other.

Instead, they both shared one with Kit, which was crazy. Both he and Connie had a bond with Kit, but not with each other. It made him want to set something on fire.

"What's going on? I can hear you thinking all the way into the bedroom." Connie ran his fingers across Hudson's shoulders as he sat down at the patio table.

"Kit. I was thinking about Kit, of course." And everything that went along with Kit being their mate, but he didn't mention that to Connie.

"Has something new come up since last night?" Connie asked, sprawling in his chair next to Hudson.

"No." Hudson set his coffee down. "I was questioning myself, is all."

Connie abruptly straightened in his chair. "What? In what regard?"

"Whether or not we should tell Kit he's our mate. But that's just my dragon being impatient. Kit has enough on his plate without us adding to it," Hudson admitted.

Connie rested his hand on Hudson's arm. "It's not like you to question yourself."

"I'm aware." Hudson patted Connie's hand before picking up his mug and taking a sip.

"So…?"

"I want Kit to know, but that's me being selfish. I keep reminding myself we need to do what's best for him. He's been subjected to so much since he was introduced to our world, and now Fate has paired him with two dragons."

Connie contemplated Hudson before speaking. "One of which is a king."

"And a thousand years old, which Kit has mentioned more than once," Hudson said, frowning at the tree line before him. "I don't know which is worse in Kit's eyes—me being a royal or me being the age I am."

"Well, the good thing is that you don't look a day over forty," Connie snarked.

Leave it to Connie to snap him out of his bad mood. "Brat. You want to end up in the pool again, don't you?" Hudson threatened with a laugh. "And I don't look much past middle thirties, so bite me."

"Whatever you say, old man." Connie snickered when Hudson lightly slapped him on the arm. "Hopefully, the activities today won't be too much for you."

"Just keep talking. Just keep digging that hole."

Connie waggled his eyebrows. "And we all know how much you like holes."

A startled laugh escaped Hudson. "Good grief, what are you? Twelve? Did you wake up horny?"

"You've met me, right? You ask that like you don't already know the answer. Not to mention we have our mate in a guest room not far from here. Of course I'm horny." Connie blew out a breath. "I dreamed about that kiss last night too."

"You mean the one Kit demanded we do for him?" The dominant streak Kit had exhibited had surprised him. "That kiss?"

"Hell yeah. And let me tell you, that mouth of his should be illegal. The things he can do with his tongue." Connie shivered. "If we keep talking about this, I'll have to take a cold shower."

"Changing the subject then." Because if they did keep talking about this, Connie was going to end up over the table they were sitting at. Connie wasn't the only one horny. "Do you have any suggestions for activities since Kit wants to hang around here?"

"He mentioned the pool, but I'm kinda in the mood to ski. Why don't we take the boat out and do that?"

"Ski?"

"Ski or wakeboard. I'm good either way."

Hudson kicked around the idea. A day at the lake sounded fun, and he could ask the kitchen to fix them a picnic basket. "We don't know if Kit can ski or wakeboard."

"If not, we can teach him, if he's interested. Or we could take a couple rafts and just float around on the lake. Mainly, I'm trying to get away from the house," Connie said, sipping his coffee. "You won't have a day off if we don't, and you know it."

Connie was right. If Hudson was at the house, someone eventually would bring a problem to him. Not that he minded, but he deserved a day off occasionally. "We'll run it by Kit and see what he says. But I like the idea of getting away from here. I was also thinking we could do a picnic."

"Ohhhh, yeah, that's romantic. I think Kit would like that." Connie pursed his lips. "We're supposed to be wooing him anyway, but that's kinda hard to do since we don't really know his likes and dislikes."

"Don't we, though? We know the kind of movies he likes. He's a bookworm who has a thing for dragons. He likes to read, obviously. He's trendy and likes jewelry. He mentioned he likes the outdoors. I think we have a good place to start," Hudson said.

Connie nodded. "You're right. I bet he'd love your horde too. Your dragon has a thing for gemstones, in particular."

"I'd have jewelry dripping off of him if he'd let me," Hudson admitted. His dragon rumbled in agreement.

"I hope he likes art, since that's what my dragon is attracted to," Connie said.

"You have some nice pieces. Speaking of that, feel free to put anything you want of yours up in my private areas."

"I was hoping you'd say that. It'd make my dragon feel more at home," Connie said, then finished his coffee. "I'm going to grab a quick bite to eat, then head over to my cabin. Maybe I can get some packing done before we spend the day with Kit."

"Do you need help?"

"Naw. Most of my clothes are over here already. I'm going to bring the rest of them and maybe a few odds and ends. Do you think we have any boxes around here?"

"Ask in the kitchen. I think they got an order in yesterday. Also, put on my calendar to call the construction company that built my underground vault, please. We'll tackle that Monday," Hudson said. This was something they'd talked about recently.

Connie whipped his cell phone out, unlocked it, and started typing. "Done. Monday night is also the meeting with the other paranormal leaders of San DeLain."

"I know."

"By the way, have I told you how much it means to my dragon that you're giving him a place for his hoard?" Connie looked up from his cell phone.

"Whatever I can do to make you comfortable, sweetheart," Hudson said, taking Connie's hand. "I want my home to be yours and Kit's too. Combining three lives won't be easy, but we'll make it work."

Connie squeezed Hudson's fingers. "Yes, we will. Okay, I'm off as soon as I get dressed and eat. Kit never said who he was going to text when he got up, so if he texts you, let me know."

"Of course. Same goes. Call me if you need anything."

Connie stood and slipped his cell phone into his pants pocket. "I will. See you shortly."

"Okay." Hudson watched Connie leave, enjoying the view.

After a few minutes, he wandered back inside and refreshed his coffee. A quick glance at his cell phone showed it was still pretty early. Hudson stepped into the master bath, where his massive walk-in closet was.

Frowning, he walked into it. This was something else that probably needed to be expanded. A huge chunk of Connie's clothes was already in there and more were coming. What little space there was would soon be gone.

This simply would not work. There had to be enough room for the three of them. Plus, Kit had things like purses that Hudson hadn't factored into his design. Not to mention the jewelry he'd seen Kit wear.

Hudson left the walk-in and stood in the middle of the bathroom. It was probably big enough, but maybe he could add a makeup area for Kit.

Next, he strolled into the bedroom. Hell, since he was expanding the bathroom, he might as well expand this area too. Even though he had a king-sized bed, it was tight with him and Connie in it.

Three grown men would make it even smaller. They needed something much bigger. He sent a text to Connie to check to see if something like a double king existed.

Now the question was, should he go ahead and start the construction or wait until after they told Kit he was their mate? If Kit ever saw what was being done to the bathroom—say, the makeup area, for example—it'd surely bring up questions Hudson wasn't ready to answer yet.

After all, Kit was the only one of the three of them who wore makeup, so why would Hudson be building a makeup area? Yeah, definitely problematic. But he could meet with the construction company and start planning things out. That would definitely work.

IT WAS almost ten before Hudson got a text from Kit. Wanting to hear Kit's voice, Hudson called him instead. Texting was so impersonal.

"Good morning."

"Good morning to you. How did you sleep?" Hudson asked.

"I've had better nights. How about you guys?"

"Very well." Hudson scowled. Kit's voice sounded… off. Strained. The usual pep was missing.

"Is it too late to have breakfast?"

"Breakfast is over, but there are leftovers. We can stop by and see what we can find."

"We? Haven't you two eaten yet?" Kit asked.

"Connie did. I was waiting on you."

"What? Jeez, Hudson, you didn't have to do that."

"It's not a problem, I assure you. There's always something to eat. Are you ready to go, or do you need more time?"

"No, I'm ready."

"Perfect. I'll stop by your room shortly, then," Hudson said.

"Just you?"

"Yes. For now. Connie had something he needed to do this morning, which is why he already ate, but he asked me to text him when you were ready. Or you can send him a text and tell him we're on our way to breakfast if you wish."

"I'll text him. How long do you think it'll take him to get back?"

"He went to his cabin, which is within the compound. It shouldn't take him more than fifteen minutes to get back here."

"Good. I'll text him right now," Kit said. "I'll see you shortly."

"See you soon." Hudson disconnected the call and stared at his cell. There was something wrong with Kit. Hudson's dragon rumbled unhappily in agreement.

Hudson couldn't imagine what could've possibly gone wrong since they'd said goodbye last night. Kit hadn't left his room once he'd retired. And if he had tried to leave the compound, Hudson would've been told.

Within moments Hudson was standing in front of Kit's door. He knocked, and it swung open.

Kit looked tired and annoyed. That was Hudson's first thought. The second was that Kit was dressed down. He wore a pair of blue jean shorts with the hem frayed, and a sleeveless, lace-up beach tank top that was a faded khaki. On his feet were a simple pair of slip-on sandals. His hair was in a ponytail, and a few strands of hair had escaped.

"Kit? Is everything okay?"

"It's fine." Kit walked past Hudson into the hallway, the guest room door swinging shut behind him.

Hudson's instincts roared awake. Whatever was going on, it was indeed not "fine."

"Come on. Let's go," Kit tossed over his shoulder as he started down the hallway. "I want to eat before Connie shows up."

He blinked in surprise as Kit walked away from him. Well, that was rude, not to mention disrespectful, especially to one of Hudson's standing. Reminding himself that Kit was not a dragon, Hudson hurried after his mate. Plus, he'd never seen Kit purposely act rude, so this was out of character.

He tried to make small talk as they walked, but all he got from Kit were one-word answers. He wanted to take Kit's hand, but he wasn't sure how that would be received.

Hudson's unease grew.

By the time they got to the kitchen, Hudson was ready to pull his hair out. Breakfast was indeed over, just as Hudson had said, but there were plenty of leftovers.

He fixed Kit a cup of coffee while his mate munched on some homemade blueberry muffins. Kit smiled and made conversation with the kitchen staff, but Hudson could tell the smile was strained and forced.

Hudson had a really bad feeling.

Time dragged as they waited for Connie, and Hudson was becoming more and more uncomfortable.

"Thank Gaura," Hudson said softly when Connie walked into the kitchen.

Kit stiffened.

Eyebrow raised, Hudson studied Kit's reaction. Okay, what was that about?

"Good morning," Connie said as he reached out to hug Kit.

"Morning," Kit said, stepping back.

Freezing, Connie shot Kit a confused look. "Kit?"

"Not here. Let's go back to Hudson's quarters. We need to talk," Kit said.

A shiver ran up Hudson's spine. Those were words no man, nor dragon, ever wanted to hear.