Page 127 of Blood and Trouble

“And leave her all alone to grieve two mates?” I scoffed. “Typical.”

“I’m serious,” he said. “I lost you once before. I won’t do it again. Don’t fuck this up.”

I took a moment to choose my words, to really let the weight of his threat settle over me. He cared about me. He cared about Ava. He wanted this to work. And in the deepest, darkest parts of my wretched heart, I did, too.

“I swear it, Poe,” I rasped, “never again.”

He dragged his gaze over my face, seeming to read whether I meant it, and when he decided I did, he leaned in to press his lips to mine, much more aggressively than I’d anticipated. More like a claiming than a “congratulations-you’re-alive” kiss, but I’d take it. Hell, I’d take whatever he gave me if it meant I got to keep him.

Our bond flamed to life, glowing and golden and beautiful. Ava startled awake and peered up at me, her radiant blue eyes widening when they met mine. Concern rippled through the bond, immediately replaced by sheer happiness when she saw me conscious.

“You’re awake,” she said, raking her focus over my body and back up again. “Are you okay?”

“I am now,” I said, tugging her hand. “Come here, Trouble. I missed you.”

“Oh, my God.” She stood and leaned over me to plant a gentle kiss on my mouth before dragging her lips over the rest of my face. “We were so worried about you. You didn’t wake up, and I kept trying to give you my magic, but Poe told me it was too much. Kodiak and Morwyn took turns, but the alpha could only give so much when others needed him, too. And God, I’m just so happy you’re alive, and you’re here, and you’re—” She paused and straightened as if she’d just remembered where she was and what had happened. “You’re a fucking prick, Lycan Mitchell. You promised you wouldn’t die on me, and look at you!”

I laughed and tilted my head, ignoring the stabbing pain in my ribs. She was so damned cute when she got all pissed off. Her cheeks flushed, and her eyes sparkled, and I couldn’t imagine how anyone would ever call her the cold Vanderbilt bitch. There had never been anything cold or frigid about her. She burned with passion. She radiated light and fire. And I loved every fucking second of it.

“Why are you laughing?” She put her hands on her hips in a very impressive imitation of a scolding schoolteacher. “This isn’t funny.”

“I just love you, Trouble,” I said, reaching for her hand again. “I don’t think I ever told you before, but I do.” I looked at Poe. “I love you both. Thank you for saving me.”

My confession vented some of her steam, and she deflated, her shoulders lowering, her expression softening.

“I love you, you silly wolf. Don’t even think about dying on us again,” she said, leaning down to give me another kiss.

“I already threatened him,” Poe said. “Said I’d stalk him into hell if he ever tried something like this again.”

“Threats and stalking are Poe’s love language,” Ava said. “So I guess that means he loves us, too.”

“Yeah, I guess I do,” Poe said, hiding a silly grin.

“One last thing,” I said, narrowing my eyes at Ava. “I love you no matter what, Trouble. You don’t have to give everything of yourself to earn it. You don’t have to earn anything. So stop trying.”

She licked her lips, nodded, and stared at the ground, her cheeks flushed.

I didn’t deserve them. I was still a selfish Bastard with a penchant for violence and hedonism, but at least I could say I had the love of two amazing people who cared for me as much as each other. And didn’t that make me the luckiest fucking wolf in the whole wide world?

CHAPTER 31

Poe

I sat in front of the alpha’s desk while he studied me, his dark eyes narrowing at the bite marks on either side of my neck. It had been almost two weeks since we returned from London, and in that time, word had spread like wildfire about the triple bond. That was the thing about living in close quarters with so many shifters. Everybody talked. Nothing stayed secret forever…not that we were trying to hide it, not that we even could. Two sets of bite marks announced themselves from across the room.

I’d filled Kodiak in on everything I’d seen at the ritual, recounting the mating as fully as I could remember it.

He drummed his fingers on the desk and raised an eyebrow.

“You were reluctant to go to Copenhagen,” he said. “You argued with me for twenty minutes.”

I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat. “I did.”

“And?”

Clearly, he wanted an apology from me, or at least a verbal confirmation that I’d been wrong, that he was alpha for a reason and he knew this pack better than anyone else ever could.

“I stand corrected,” I said.