42. VANYA

“You’ll be safe here,” Devrim said as he turned to face me again. “It won’t be for long. We just need to figure out how they knew where you—”

“I heard you and Ezra talking,” I interrupted him. “Ezra said that his food had been drugged. You think that my father’s involved.”

Devrim swallowed. His eyes darted around and his shoulders slumped. When he finally looked at me, I could see how hard this was for him to tell me what he knew, or at least suspected.

“Your father is a suspect, Vanya.”

He moved closer and pulled me against his chest.

Should I tell him about my father’s request? Should I tell him about the video they showed me?

I pulled back and opened my mouth, but the words died down when a man stepped into view. Noticing my distraction, Devrim turned and frowned at him.

“Orion,” he greeted. “Is everything set?”

“Yes.” His eyes darted between us. “A word before you leave?”

“Fine.”

When he disappeared, Devrim turned to face me again. He cupped my cheeks and smiled at me. “They will protect you with their life if it comes to it.”

“W-what are you going to do?”

“First, we’re going to make sure that none of the pride members had given away your location, then we’re going to see if we can find out anything in town regarding your father.” His smile faded. “I’m sorry, I know how important family is to humans.”

I nodded. “I know you’re doing what you have to.”

Devrim leaned down and pressed his lips against mine. I knew it was supposed to be a short kiss, but I wasn’t ready to let him go yet. Reaching up, I gripped the back of his neck and arched my body against his as I deepened the kiss.

A groan fell from his lips. Devrim wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me even closer. It was him who broke the kiss and stepped away.

“I need to go.”

He ran a shaky hand through his hair, and without looking at me, he spun around and almost ran from the room.

It was only a few seconds before he was suddenly back.

A gasp fell from my lips when he gripped the back of my neck and pulled my lips to his. He stepped forward, forcing me to move back. My ankles hit the mattress, and a second later, I was being lowered onto it with his body coming down on top of me.

His hands slid down my sides and underneath the t-shirt. I moaned when he cupped my breasts and squeezed. His thumbs flicked across my nipples, making me gasp.

Devrim broke the kiss and sat up between my legs. Our eyes locked when he pushed the t-shirt up to expose my bare breasts. Leaning down, he flicked his tongue across my nipple before wrapping his lips around the puckered flesh.

I moaned and reached up to bury my hands in his hair to keep him in place. My back arched as his lips started moving down my stomach. An unexpected giggle fell from my lips when he dipped his tongue into my bellybutton.

“We can’t have sex,” he rasped. “They’re waiting for me, but I can’t leave without tasting you first.”

He tongued the band of my yoga pants.

“Mine,” he growled.

“Yours,” I breathed. “Always.”

***

The brothers, as everybody referred to them, lived in a tree house.

Devrim had briefly shown me around when we first arrived. It was  average sized, but it had some basics except things like a kitchen and beds, which wasn’t much of a surprise considering the fact that their house was built in the trees and they loved to hunt in their shifted form which was their means to eating.

The tree house was built at the top of a large tree near a river. It was scary and totally unnerving to be so high up, but the view was amazing. There was a platform similar to a porch, but without a railing. Their living room had a wall missing and opened onto the platform.

Which was where I found myself standing after Devrim had left.

“Devrim left you some drinks. Would you like one?”

I turned towards the man and softly declined his offer.

My eyes darted over him in the same way he was studying me. He was tall and muscular with high cheekbones, a square chin, tanned skin, and pale blond hair. His eyes were green instead of the dark blue I had gotten familiar with.

“I don’t know if you remember me. I’m Dorian,” he introduced. “You’ve already met my brother, Orion, the idiot.”

“I am not an idiot!” Orion called out.

“You are!”

“Am not!”

“Are so!”

I stumbled backwards when Orion suddenly tackled his brother from behind. They hit the wooden platform hard, making me wince. My lips tugged up at the corners as I watched them play-wrestling.

Finally, they rolled apart, both breathless but smiling.

Orion sighed as he sat up with his elbows resting on his knees. He was staring at me, I realized with a start. Swallowing, I looked away and watched a bird in the tree a few feet away.

“What’s it like?”

My eyes snapped back to his. “What?”

He hesitated. “What’s it like having three males?”

“Three?” I shook my head. “Obsidian doesn’t want me as a mate, so I only have two.”

Dorian scoffed and muttered something under his breath that made his brother laugh.

“What’s so funny?” I questioned.

They shook their heads and glanced at each other before focusing on me. Orion cleared his throat, and after a moment, he asked a question that made colour flood my cheeks.

“Is sex with your mates any different from sex with humans?”

I stared at him and realized that he was being serious.

Dorian moved, snapping my attention towards him. He rubbed a finger across his lips and gave me a small smile. “We’re not trying to be disrespectful or anything.” His smile faded. “Devrim warned us to behave. We—”

“We’re just curious,” his brother interrupted. “Our females are not interested in having two males as mates. They want only one of us. We want someone who will accept both of us, so our small family does not need to live separately.”

“You humans seem to like the idea of having two males caring for you.”

I hesitated before I took a few steps towards them and took a seat. It had to be the most awkward conversation I’ve ever had with strangers.

“What do we have to do to catch the attention of a human female?” Orion questioned.

I gave them a small smile. “Just be yourself. It’s never a good idea to pretend to be someone else in order to catch someone’s attention.” My eyes dropped. “If they… the person can’t accept you for you, then he or she isn’t the right person.”

As I spoke, I realized just how unfair I was being towards Obsidian. He had been trying to explain things to me and I just kept refusing to listen.

There was a connection between us, but I was also scared of him. I was scared of the things he was capable of doing with his bare hands. After seeing Obsidian torturing that man, I knew that all those times we had sex, he was definitely holding a part of himself back.

***

I wasn’t allowed to attend my best friend’s funeral.

After what happened at my father’s house and the cabin, Devrim thought it would be best for me to stay as far away from the humans as possible. No matter how much I argued with him, he didn’t change his mind.

I was stuck in a damn tree house with two men who were trying to distract me.  

Turning onto my side, I stared at the wall a few feet away. He hadn’t said for how long I’d be forced to stay with the brothers. It could be weeks or longer. I was getting sick of being left in the dark. I wanted to go back home to our cabin. I wanted them to trust me enough to tell me what was going on. 

My phone vibrated, making my body jerk in fright. I instantly reached for it, thinking that it might be one of my men. I couldn’t have been more wrong. It was a message with a video attached to it.

THE CHRISTMAS BALL IS NEXT. SHALL I LEAVE YOU ANOTHER PRESENT?

I sat up and licked my lips as I opened the video.

The screen was black at first, but it changed in the next second. There were tall trees, and short, neatly cut grass. The scenery changed and it didn’t take me long to figure out where it was.

Groups of people all dressed in black surrounded a white coffin with flowers on top.

The camera zoomed in on the coffin and then changed direction. My father was first, followed by Joy, then Betsy, and a few other familiar faces.

But my heart constricted and panic hit when the camera darted over to the left, where Devrim and Obsidian stood among the trees.

And then it abruptly ended.