“Hey,” he said, more sharply than he meant to, but nothing to do about that now. He sat up and passed his empty mug behind him to Caius as he narrowed his eyes at Lukas, jabbing a toe against his thigh. “Why you no bite me?”
Lukas blinked at him, a touch of pink spreading across his cheeks. He licked his lips, glancing at Caius before focusing on Max again. “I wasn’t sure you wanted me to.”
“You’re not as scary as you thought I were,” Max replied, wrinkling his nose and wondering why that sounded wrong as he crawled forward. Didn’t matter. He grumbled as he worked to get Quinn’s legs out of the way, finally resorting to pinching him. He ignored the yelp and quiet cursing as he straddled Lukas’ lap with a grin.
“You’re lucky I like you,” Quinn muttered.
Max stuck his tongue out and draped his arms over Lukas’ shoulders, tweaking one of Quinn’s nipples since it was within range and snickering when Quinn squeaked.
“Cap, get your mate under control!”
Caius snorted. “I don’t want to be suffocated with a pillow in my sleep.”
Max nodded like that was the most sage advice he’d ever heard. “Smart man.”
“You’re drunk,” Lukas said, resting his hands on Max’s waist.
“Noooo.” He was not drunk. He’d hardly had anything to drink. His thinky was very clear. Two drinks was not enough to affect his thinky. “I can still cossent…. Constant. Co—you know what I mean!”
Lukas raised an eyebrow and didn’t look convinced, which was as unacceptable as him not doing the biting and claiming thing.
Max rocked his hips forward with a soft growl. “You bit Quinn.” He’d seen the marks on both their necks. He’d have to find a way to mark Caius. Maybe he could use the magic-blood-ink tattoo trick, but he could figure that out later. “Now bite me,” he said, tilting his head to the side, baring the mark Quinn had left on him. That felt right. Quinn’s and Lukas’ marks should be next to each other.
Lukas flexed his fingers, gripping Max’s hips tighter.
He watched in fascination as a soft glow lit Lukas’ eyes and his face shifted. Not full-wolf, but enough for a few of his teeth to sharpen. He’d missed what this looked like since Quinn and Caius had both been fucking him from behind when they bit him. If he’d seen this the first time, he might have freaked out a bit, but he’d seen all of them as wolves now, and he knew none of them would intentionally hurt him.
Max dragged his thumb across Lukas’ lip and the tip of his sharp canine, anticipation burning hotter than the cider in his gut. “Do it,” he whispered.
A soft rumble of a growl vibrated in Lukas’ chest as he gripped Max’s hair and pulled him close.
His breaths stuttered as Lukas licked his neck and Quinn’s mark. He tangled his hands in Lukas’ hair at the first scrape of teeth on his flesh, a sharp cry tearing out of his throat when they pierced skin. The pain was more intense than he remembered, but this time he felt the initial twist of magic that coiled around the mark. A warm burst of sensation that seemed to whisperhomeandbelongingandfamily.
The pain faded almost immediately, and he slumped into Lukas with a low groan. He nuzzled against Lukas’ neck, trailing a line of slow kisses to his ear. He dragged his teeth against flesh and bit down over Quinn’s mark on Lukas’ neck, grinning when that earned a hiss.
“Unless you’re going to put on a show, you need to get a room,” Quinn said.
Max lifted his head with a curious hum. Putting on a show sounded fun. He opened his mouth to say exactly that, but Lukas beat him with a low, throaty growl and lurched to his feet. Max yelped and dissolved into tipsy giggles as he clung to Lukas like a monkey, waving to Quinn and Caius as he was carried off like a princess about to be ravaged.
Except he wasn’t the one about to be ravaged. Oh no. He remembered all too well how Lukas melted between him and Quinn. How readily he submitted.
Max laughed as he hit the bed and bounced, squirming out of his hoodie and sweater when he was suddenly far too hot. He grumbled as he got tangled up in the bulky material and too large sleeves, flopping back to the bed in defeat when he couldn’t escape the knitted death trap. “Help.”
Lukas snickered, walking his fingers up Max’s chest and making him squirm, before tugging the sweater away with a soft crackle of static in his hair.
“My hero.” Max yanked Lukas forward with both hands in his shirt, grinning when Lukas caught himself before their faces smashed together. “Hi.”
“You are so drunk,” Lukas said with a soft laugh.
“Nope. Just happy.” When was the last time he’d been able to say that? No worrying about that now. Life was sure to be worlds better without his family trying to kill him.
Max tugged at Lukas’ shirt and managed far better at getting it off and tossing it across the room. “Pants. Off. Now.” Lukas looked about to protest, so Max pressed a finger to his lips and leaned closer. “Good boys do as they’re told.”
Hot breath rushed against his skin, and even in the low light, Max saw the faint flush spreading across Lukas’ cheeks. He pressed the advantage, dragging his nose across Lukas’ cheek to his ear and flicking his tongue against the shell. “Are you a good boy?”
Lukas whimpered, parting his lips and licking Max’s fingertip. “Yeah,” he breathed.
Max hummed approval and nipped Lukas’ ear. “Good. Then get naked.” He flopped back on the bed with an expectant look.
