Chapter 27

[ 1,379 words ]

Weird fucker

27: 27.

Weird fucker Theo

I know the exact second her world tilts off its axis.

It’s in her eyes.

Aria’s gaze flicks between Barric, wide and unsteady, and me, like she’s trying to piece together something that refuses to make sense.

Confusion is the loudest thing on her face, but it’s layered—fear sitting just beneath it, curiosity threading through, and something softer, more vulnerable that she doesn’t even realize she’s showing.

Embarrassment.

And under all of it…

Need.

“What the hell do you mean, mate? Because if it’s some BDSM underbelly wolf thing, I’m not sure how I feel about it,” she snaps, irritated.

Her eyes flash, and my wolf rumbles with approval, liking her bitchiness.

Weird fucker.

“She’s right,” I say plainly.

“We are hers. And she is ours.”

Barric moves to her side and runs a comforting hand down her back.

I expect her to pull away, but instead she relaxes, showing me just how fast her biology is changing.

My wolf lifts his head instantly, alert, hungry.

She feels it.

I feel it too.

Mating bonds are complex and simple.

Many factors can contribute to the coming together or staying together of a fated mate pair.

It’s not just the bond snapping into place—it’s what comes after.

The heat.

The pull.

The undeniable gravity that drags us toward her like we’re caught in orbit.

“Shifters don’t date or marry as humans do. We have mates.” I gesture to the sparring mats so she can take a seat.

She and Barric take a seat, and I do the same.

“A mate is… the other half of your soul.

And not in a metaphorical way.

Those bonds are among the most respected among shifters.

They become a part of each other, they can sense each other’s feelings, and if one dies, it’s not uncommon for the other to soon go with them.”

“I don’t get how that works.

My wolf wants…” a red blush flushed down her neck, “both of you.

That’s not a relationship, that’s a threesome.”

I let out a strained laugh.

The thought of sharing her with Barric sends blood rushing south, surprising me.

I’m not finicky about sharing.

Most male inmates aren’t, but I never envisioned being as tolerant about my mate.

Barric subtly readjusts himself.

“It’s a band,” I say before my mind can move too far into my fantasy.

“A rare type of mating that happens between multiple partners.”

Mating bands were mating bonds between more than two people, usually several males and one female.

They weren’t common.

At least not anymore.

These bonds were usually nature’s way of preserving something.

It wasn’t a stretch to think the Sypher line was the trait being preserved by our grouping.

Her scent spikes in a whirlwind of anxiety.

“But it doesn’t mean we expect anything of you. Everything is so new that all we want is for you to be comfortable,” Barric quickly states.

I can’t blame her.

We’re still wrapping my mind around the mating band thing.

I’m sure we all were.

Aria presses her hands against her thighs, fingers curling into the fabric like she needs something to hold onto.

Her breathing is uneven, chest rising and falling too fast.

Barric shifts beside me, arms crossing like he’s trying to cage in his own reaction.

It doesn’t work.

I can feel his wolf just under the surface, pacing.

Same as mine.

I take a slow step forward.

And gently brush her hair from her face.

The small touch calms my wolf and makes her eyes go wide with wonder.

“What does that mean for my wolf?” she asks, subconsciously leaning into my touch.

“It means she’s awake now and her natural elemental desires will start to feed into you,” I say.

Barric places a hand on the back of her nape and rubs soft soothing circles on her skin, and she hums, leaning back.

“So she’ll try to force me to do what she wants?” Aria asks.

“Yes and no.

She’ll make the other side of your nature clearer, the animals’ side.

Certain feelings will make you want to give in, but you can fight it.

As you learn to work with your wolf and find peace with her, you will be as one.”

“Sounds hard,” she says breathily.

“It’s the most important part of our lives. Our balance with our wolves could make or break us.”

Aria closes her eyes; the scent of her need for touch and her desire bleeds into the room.

My wolf pushes me forward.

“Keep doing that,” she says to Barric.

“It’s helping.”

A low, rumbling sound comes out of my chest.

Those gorgeous blue eyes connect with mine.

Her pink tongue comes out to wet her lips, and my blood blazes.

Mate bonds aren’t gentle.

They don’t ease you in, don’t give you time to build something slow and careful.

They hit like a force of nature—raw, primal, undeniable.

Our wolves don’t care about conversation or connection.

They care about one thing.

Mine.

I exhale slowly, dragging a hand through my hair.

“Aria… you need to listen carefully. I won’t lie to you. We want you. I want you.” Her breath hitches, and her eyes flash wolf.

“Barric and I could help you, as much or as little as you want, or we can take you upstairs and wait until you feel ready to be around us again.”

“There’s a but somewhere in there.”

Smart girl.

“There is.

The mating urge won’t leave you.

It will keep coming, grow.

As will your need to be sated in a way only your mates can.”

“Why does it feel like you’re bullshitting me?”

“Because you used to think of yourself as human.

Shifters need touch, social, and sexual.

We are tactile creatures, and it’s healthy for us to do it.”

She thinks for a moment, weighing my words and possibly her options.

“And just how will you help?” Her eyes darken with an instinctual need.

Barric leans forward pressing his mouth toward her ear, “With our mouth. Tongue. Fingers. However, you want.”

She breathes in and out shakily.

Every breath makes my heart beat harder, the throb in my blood louder.

So much for taking it slow.

It looks like our wolves might have a different definition of the term.

Aria looked between Barric and me and then her face set, like she had finally decided what she wanted to do.

“Help me,” she orders.

Barric collars her neck and brings her close to him.

“I’m going to kiss you.”

“Okay,” she says as he swallows the end of her words.

She moans into his mouth as Barric drinks at her lips.

The sight of them together heats my blood, makes it burn brighter.

Barric’s hand splays over her stomach, and I grip her hips, straightening her body before running my hands over her leggings-clad legs.

I watch her reaction, careful to remain within the limits of what she’ll enjoy.

The smell of her arousal perfumes the air.

Barric’s hand moves up to cup her breast, kneading it.

She breaks their kiss, moaning against his lips, and then glances down at me as I crawl up her body.

I take her mouth without preamble, licking into her, caressing her tongue with mine.

My mind blanks, melts, and bends until human thoughts make no sense.

My body moves on its own, drawn to Aria as I’ve never been drawn to anyone else.

My stomach tightens.

I move from her lips to her neck, between her high breasts.

She moans.

“Fuck,” Barric curses.

“Tell us if you want us to stop.”

“Don’t stop,” she says with a mischievous little smirk.

“Well, if you insist.” I pull down her pants, lavishing her pelvis with small licks and kisses.

Barric skims his hands beneath her shift and cups her.

“You smell wet, Aria. Are you? Are you excited to find out what we’re going to do to you?” Barric says.

Her scent gets deeper, sweeter as her pleasure begins to skate down her body.

Her thighs tremble as I slide my fingers down them and focus on her core.

On the mouth watering scent of her.

Mine.

This female is mine.

I resist the smug smile fighting to my lips that I would be the first one to taste her.

Barric supports her between his thighs, and I lift Aria’s legs into his hands.

He holds them wide so she’s fully spread out before them.

I looked into her eyes, finding them hooded, languishing with anticipation and desire.

“You look beautiful like this,” Barric says, his voice husky.

“Spread out and bare. Hiding nothing from our view.”

Her flush goes down to her chest, but she meets my eye with a sure, confident look.

“Bet I taste better than I look.”

I look at her, splayed out in front of me, and zone in on the center of her need.

The heat coming off her hit me straight between my legs just like the glisten from her arousal on her smooth skin.

“Feel free to be loud,” I said.

Then I indulged.

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