CHAPTER FIVE: CONNIE

CONNIE BARELY managed not to shout no. Every instinct he had demanded Kit stay in their territory where he could be protected. Maybe even lock him up in his hoard and set anyone who got near on fire.

That was the mating instinct talking, though, the possessive part of him that needed to keep Kit safe. If the look Hudson shot him was any indication, his king was fully aware of what Connie was thinking. Probably because he was thinking it too.

According to Gaura—holy hell, Kit had met Gaura—Lennox wanted to force a mating on Kit. Connie's dragon roared in his head. The very thought made him crazy. He'd burn the world down if that happened.

"Where is home again?" Hudson asked.

"The Ozarks," Kit answered. "Little town called Mountain Springs in Missouri."

Connie glanced at Hudson. Was Hudson stalling for time? He already knew this, of course. From the moment Kit had been exposed to the paranormal world and Kage had asked Hudson to keep an eye on the human, Hudson had investigated him.

They knew of the commune Kit had grown up in, where it was found, the people in it, his parents, and so on. The part of the Ozarks their mate had lived in was a highland region that covered almost half of the state of Missouri.

It extended over all or part of ninety-three counties in four states: Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. The total area was approximately fifty thousand square miles, an area the size of Florida.

In retrospect, it was the perfect place for a shifter to hide.

"Okay," Hudson said.

Connie gaped at Hudson. "What?"

"What do you mean what?" Kit demanded of Connie. "In case you didn't notice, I wasn't asking permission to go. I am going. Period."

"Then we'll go with you," Hudson said.

"What?" Connie nearly shouted. Had everyone lost their damn minds?

The part of him that stood as the right hand of his king wanted to yell that logistically, it was a nightmare in terms of protection for both his king and his mate.

"Um, I didn't ask you to go. Just wanted to point that out," Kit snapped.

"Do you have any idea how much of a pain in the ass that'll be as far as providing protection goes?" Connie demanded of Hudson, ignoring what Kit said. "And not just your protection, but his too. We know Lennox is targeting him. Kit may be our mate, but he is unclaimed."

"Connie," Hudson warned.

"Wait. Wait. Hold on just a second. What do you mean by that?" Kit demanded.

"Just what I said. You are unclaimed. That means you could have a claim forced on you!"

"Dammit, Connie!"

"You wouldn't dare," Kit whispered.

"Not us, Kit. You should know we wouldn't do such a disgusting act. But Lennox? He absolutely would. Is planning to, in fact. Dragons are damn hard to kill, but do you want to know what could destroy them?" Connie snarled.

Hudson jumped to his feet, grabbing Connie by his arm and pulling him up too. "That's enough."

Connie fought not to yank his arm away from Hudson. It was not enough. This was dangerous. Connie's vision sharpened, a sure sign his eyes had changed.

He glared at Hudson, unsurprised to see that his king's eyes were also those of his dragon. Hudson was pissed at him. The need to lower his gaze and apologize hammered inside his head, but he refused to give in to that need. He was in the right, dammit.

"Connie."

Connie shivered, his eyes involuntarily closing at the low, menacing growl that Hudson's voice had turned into. Shit. Hudson was really, really pissed. Connie was about to get disciplined if that look on Hudson's face was anything to go by.

And the thing was, he totally deserved it, even if he was right. He didn't want to fight with Hudson. That was a battle he would not win since Hudson was stronger than him. He also didn't want to fight with his lover. Unable to help himself, he tilted his head, bearing his throat to Hudson.

"Okay, shit, stop. Please. This is getting us nowhere," Kit said breathlessly.

Hudson grumbled, but the sound wasn't quite as terrifying as before.

"Jeez, Hudson, you sound rabid. I've never heard you sound like that." Kit rested a hand on each of their arms.

"He's pissed at me," Connie said quietly, opening his eyes. "I'm sorry, my King."

"Look, I got snappish about going home, and I'm sorry. I knew Connie wouldn't try to stop me from leaving, so that's my bad. But Connie is trying to tell me something, and I think I need to know what it is. Everybody just take a breath."

Connie felt the tension drain from Hudson's body. He let go of Connie's arm, but clasped his hand and kissed his fingers. "Did I hurt you?"

"Of course not," Connie said. Hudson's grip on his arm had been tight, but he hadn't bruised him.

But the truth of the matter was, Hudson was an Ancient, and extremely powerful, both mentally and physically. He could've forced Connie into submission with brute strength or the power of his mind, a neat little trick that royals could do to their followers. He'd done neither.

Kit blew out a breath. "Well, that was fun. Not. Jeez."

Connie wrapped one of his arms around Kit's waist and pulled him closer. Since Hudson was holding his hand still, Connie pulled him into the hug as well. "I apologized to Hudson, but I owe you one too, Kit. I'm sorry."

Kit patted Connie on the back. "It's all good. I'm sure this won't be the last argument the three of us have."

Hudson pressed a kiss to Kit's temple. "We didn't mean to scare you."

Kit sighed. "And I didn't mean to be a bitch."

"Why don't we sit down and try this again," Hudson said. "This time calmly."

Once more, they parked Kit between the two of them. Hudson had his arm on the back of the couch around Kit, and Connie had his hand resting on Kit's knee. He needed to be touching Kit right now.

"As inelegant as Connie's words from earlier were, he had a point. You are an unbound mate. Certain species, like werewolves, bite their mate during a mating."

"Usually where the neck and shoulder meet," Connie said, running a finger down Kit's neck and tapping the spot. "That way, it can be seen. The mark proclaims that the person is mated. It's something they're proud to show off."

"Dragons don't do that, though. We don't bite and scar our mate in that way. The soul bond is invisible, but the tie can be sensed by other paranormals," Hudson said. "Once you are our mate, your life force will match that of a dragon. You also won't age, as Connie mentioned."

"With your blood, right?" Kit asked.

"Yes." Connie squeezed Kit's knee. "You have to drink it."

"Fuck." Kit winced. "Okay, that's gross. Not gonna lie, but at least there is no biting involved. Right?"

"Not unless you want there to be," Hudson said. "Ingesting the blood is the important part. Biting is the fun part."

"Right.Quick question. Do I have to drink blood from both of you?"

"I…" Connie looked at Hudson. "I think so? I mean, we're both your mates. Doesn't he need to drink blood from both of us to establish a mate bond?"

"We need to get Beckett to look for an answer on that too. But it would make sense that yes, Kit needs to drink from both of us. At least once to establish the bond. Then I would imagine he needs to drink from at least one of us to continue his lifespan."

"But there isn't a bond established between us yet. Because of that, another mating bond could be forced upon you." Connie scowled at his hand on Kit's knee. The tips of his fingers tingled, a sure sign his claws were trying to extend. He willed them to stop.

"Shit. Does that happen a lot? Forcing a mating on someone?" Kit asked. "Because that's freaking horrible."

For a split second, Connie thought Kit noticed he was struggling to control his claws.

"Hundreds of years ago, yes. Not so much now, though. If it is forced, and being forced can be proven, there is a way to break such a bond, but it's ugly," Hudson said.

"Gruesome," Connie added.

"The one who forced the bond is killed," Hudson said. "The person who the bond was forced on will suffer through the breaking of the bond, even if it was something they didn't want. As I said—ugly."

"And Lennox wants to do that to me." Kit shivered.

"According to Gaura, yes," Connie said.

"Fuck. That's fifty shades of fucked up. But it's something I needed to be told, even if Connie did just blurt it out there," Kit said.

Hudson grimaced. "I didn't want to worry you."

Kit turned to Hudson and rested his palm on Hudson's cheek. "While I appreciate that, I can't protect myself against danger that I don't know about. Or understand."

"You are our mate. It is our duty to protect you," Hudson protested.

"And that might have been swell in the Middle Ages, but I'm a modern man, Hudson. No, I can't turn into a dragon like you, and I can't breathe fire, either. But leaving me uninformed leaves me at a disadvantage. Do you see that? Not a paranormal, remember?"

Hudson turned his head and kissed the inside of Kit's hand. "You're right."

"I usually am," Kit quipped, running his thumb across Hudson's lips.

Hudson nipped Kit's thumb. Kit licked his lips, and Hudson groaned.

"Um. Ah…" Connie cleared his throat. "Guys?"

Kit laughed softly and lowered his hand. "Later," he promised.

"We will definitely remind you of that," Hudson replied.

"Okay, so." Kit discreetly rearranged his cock. "What are our options? I need to talk to my parents—that hasn't changed. Do we go there? Do we do it at my apartment? Or do we do it here? Is here even an option?"

"Well, first off, have you told your folks that you're living with us?" Connie asked.

Color crept into Kit's face. "About that. The answer is no. And before either one of you gives me dirty looks, I haven't told them anything about the attack and everything that followed."

"Can I ask why?" Hudson asked.

Connie really wanted an answer to that, as well. Kit had been attacked, for crying out loud. Wouldn't that be something to share with his parents? But then again, Kit had promised not to reveal the paranormal world to anybody. Of course, he hadn't known that one of his dads was an actual paranormal.

"Because there would've been questions I wouldn't have been able to answer. I promised not to reveal what I knew, and that simply wouldn't have worked with my mom. She's relentless, especially when she thinks I'm hiding something," Kit said. "I decided it was better not to say anything at all. About any of this."

Just as Connie had thought. "So, they have no clue. Whoo boy."

"Yeah. Talk about a can of worms." Kit scrubbed his hands over his face. "I'm going to have to come clean about the attack if I confront them about my papa being a paranormal."

"I agree. I don't see a way around that," Hudson said.

Connie nodded. "You should know, also, that as soon as your papa gets near me or Hudson, he's going to scent that we're dragons and probably not react well."

"Why?"

"Because dragons have a history of taking humans regardless of whether they're willing," Hudson admitted. "You, being our bonded, puts a different spin on things, but it's still going to come as a shock."

"Not to mention Hudson is royalty," Connie added. "So, you're not bonding just any dragon. As a mate to a royal, you automatically become a target for anyone who has a bone to pick with Hudson. As a human mate to a royal—"

"I become a liability," Kit finished for Connie.

"I wouldn't put it that way," Connie grumbled.

"A liability. A weakness." Kit shrugged. "I'm not a paranormal, and even when I take your blood, I'm still the weak link, so yeah, I would put it that way. Why do I have the feeling there are bodyguards in my future?"

"Because there will be," Hudson said. "But to be fair, I rarely travel alone either, especially for business. Normally, Connie is with me. If he can't be, I take Torres."

"And if he isn't available, another one of Hudson's inner circle goes with him," Connie said.

"Just so you know, when we officially mate, Connie will also have a bodyguard," Hudson said.

Connie's mouth fell open. "Wait, what?"

"You might be a dragon and my right hand, but you will still be the mate of a royal. You also will have a bodyguard."

Kit snickered. "It won't be just me, then."

Hudson eyed Connie. "No. It won't."

Connie grumbled. Having a bodyguard was completely pointless, but he understood the necessity. Plus, he couldn't argue about it without looking like an ass. He and Kit were going to have bodyguards. End of story.

"Now that we have that settled, let's return to the subject at hand," Hudson said. "Going home to your parents is an option, Kit, but it means several dragons will be going with us as a security detail."

"Which will panic your papa and trigger his instincts," Connie said. "That many dragons on what he considers his territory will most likely lead to him feeling threatened. He has mates too."

"A shifter feeling threatened is never a good thing," Hudson said. "Then add in that you're his son… and there you go. All the ingredients are there for such a meeting to go south."

"Before you say anything, we know he's not your biological father. Obviously. If he was, you'd be a shifter. But I can promise you, it'll make no difference to him," Connie said. "You're his son."

"Oh, I know," Kit said. "So, going there isn't the best idea. What about coming here? Is that an option?"

"I'm okay with your parents coming onto my territory," Hudson said. "But that means you'll need to tell them where they're coming, meaning it won't take much for your papa to figure out who I am if he has any ties to the paranormal world. So, again, he's going to feel threatened and outnumbered."

"So really, the only neutral place is my apartment." Kit sighed heavily. "With its thin walls and people all around."

"We have something for that, don't worry." Connie patted Kit's leg.

"Yeah?"

"Magic, remember, Kit? Dragons are creatures of magic. I can make it to where no one can hear our conversations," Hudson said. "And while I agree your place isn't the best option, I think your papa would consider your apartment your territory. Not his. Not mine. Yours. Being a shifter, I'm sure he knows protocol for visiting someone's territory."

"In other words, you don't go to someone's territory and act like a dick," Connie said.

Hudson nodded. "Exactly. I'd also tell him you're involved with us. That way, there'll be one less surprise."

"Ah, no mentioning you're my mates yet?"

"I'd rather we be face-to-face with your papa before we tell him that. He'll most likely have questions and concerns that can be addressed much more easily in person than over a phone," Hudson said.

Connie didn't bother to mention it was also much easier to intimidate somebody in person than over the phone. Throwing that out there would only piss Kit off, and Connie didn't see a reason to do that. At least, not until they had to. If they had to. Because whether or not Kit's papa agreed, Kit was theirs.

"Okay, good. My place it is. Now I have to figure out how to get them here without triggering the Spanish Inquisition from my mom," Kit snarked.

Connie patted Kit on the back. "If it makes you feel any better, Hudson and I also have not told our parents about you."

Kit perked up. "I won't be the only one going through this?"

Connie swallowed heavily. "Not by a long shot."