“What’s wrong?” he demands instantly, high-strung at being away from her like we always are these days.
I’m not sure how exactly this bond works, but fuck, she’s wound so intrinsically into every fiber of our beings now. I’m half convinced she’s drawing our other halves to the surface just carrying on as we are, our more primitive parts rising in an attempt to get closer to our mate. I know the newbloods said nothing like that happened after meeting our sister, but if the mating ritual was a bunch of ritualistic bullshit, who’s to say everything else that we’ve been told isn’t a lie? Hell, the Gauntlets are just death races designed to prey on our pride and cull our numbers to a sustainable level. And there are far too many people in this world that believe everything they’re told instead of reading between the lines or thinking for themselves, which is exactly why the world is going to hell with such little resistance.
“I need you to swing by the hardware store.”
There’s a beat of silence before he scoffs, sounding far less anxious. “You can go yourself when we’re home from work. You’ve had her to yourself all day, it won’t kill you to do your own shopping.”
Clearing my throat awkwardly as Saige smothers an amused smile, I continue. “Umm, no actually, I can’t.” He’s silent, waiting for me to elaborate, and Saige grabs the phone when I hesitate for too long.
“He wanted to make sure I couldn’t leave, so he got desperate and superglued my hand to his dick.” She grins, throwing me under the bus.
Kahl explodes in a tirade and she shamelessly passes me the phone back to set the story straight. I decide I might as well rip off the band-aid and fill him in about Donovan at the same time, since he’s already upset. I can picture him pinching the bridge of his nose across the deadly silence of the line, blaming himself for things falling apart the second he left, but he shocks the hell out of me when he’s finally calmed down enough to respond.
“This is good. The event is next weekend and it might help inspire the slackers around town to see just what we’re fighting for. Too many people are starting to relax after this much time has passed without another attack on the city, so it might light a fire under their asses.” His words come more confidently the longer he speaks, working through some plan. “Text me the list of what you need, alright?” He hangs up and I do just that, praying nothing is out of stock.
“So,” she drawls slowly. “What now?” I bite my lip and she narrows her eyes in suspicion.
“I have to piss,” I blurt out, but she just shrugs.
“Do you want to take the stairs backwards, or me?”
“I’ll just carry you, it’s easier.” I pull her against me, heading upstairs to the bathroom before pausing awkwardly. “Umm, so, how should we do this?”
She snorts. “Just do what you normally would, I’m not going to take over and write my name on the wall.”
Several minutes pass, but it’s just awkward as hell. “I swear, this doesn’t usually happen.” I chuckle uncomfortably, one hand over hers on my dick and the other scratching the back of my head, gazing up at the ceiling in embarrassment.
Saige rolls her eyes. “Trust me, there’s no reason to make it weird. I’m used to not having any privacy and I promise, I’ve seen a hell of a lot in my years. Doesn’t bother me in the slightest, so no reason to be embarrassed.” Another minute ticks by before she mutters, “Oh, for the love of...” and starts humming, closing her eyes and tilting her head away from me.
I’m ashamed to admit it actually works, and the next thing I know, we’re just flat out singing until I finish. I wash us up as best as I can before we settle in to wait for who knows how long. Grabbing a bag of chips, I recline on the couch with my head against the arm so she can lie on top of me. This way we can both see the TV and pretend it’s just a frisky, relaxing date.
She tenses when we hear someone at the door, but relaxes just as swiftly. The way she can sense us is surreal, far beyond anything I‘m used to. We have an incredibly close bond as triplets that most people don’t understand, an instinctual awareness of each other that defies logical reasoning, but even I couldn’t tell it was them until Kaiden took his first steps into the house.
“After the first orgasm debacle, I’m relieved to find out our dicks don’t work like voodoo dolls.” He cringes, covering himself with one hand and setting a grocery bag on the coffee table. “That dried glue has to itch like a motherfucker.”
I shrug a single shoulder, sitting up while Saige reclines back on her heels. “I mean, the hand job helps to soften the blow.”
Kahl joins us and between the four of us, we manage to fumble our way through the process. We’re left with a clear, slippery gel a little thicker than lube, and I shift back on the couch again to give us room to work, because it’s all hands on deck for this project.
Kahl uses a paint brush to try and get between Saige’s palm and my cock that’s trying to hide in shame, while Kaiden gently pries her fingers off as the glue starts to gradually soften. And I’m just busy picturing her naked to try and get hard again to make it easier to work, and it’s way more uncomfortable than when I had to piss.
Fuck, I’m going to develop performance anxiety. My poor cock is going to be traumatized. I’m going to see my mate reaching for it and he’s just going to ‘nope’ right out of there. No pregnancy scares for this reluctant celibate.
One hand latches onto the couch cushion in a death grip while I bite my cheek to stifle the pain. “Ah, little more there please?” I beg Kahl, my other hand snapping around Kaiden’s wrist to stop him from ripping the skin off.
“Kinky,” a voice tosses out distractedly from the doorway and Saige tenses before we realize it’s just Ezra. Shimmering blue scales spread over Saige’s arms, but Ez doesn’t even bat an eye, walking past us towards the kitchen.
“What are you doing here?” Kahl asks as I try to cover myself up, wondering where the nearest cliff is to throw myself off of.
“Child support,” she retorts flippantly, grabbing a tote bag and raiding the cabinets. “You have any idea how much a teenage boy eats?”
With one swift jerk that has me punching him in the arm, Kaiden tears us apart as I curse up a storm. Grabbing the antibiotic ointment to smother my abused flesh selfishly first, I offer some to Saige, but it looks like they were far more careful with her than they were me.
She sighs, heading into the kitchen to scrub her hands of the slimy solvent. “It’s my fault,” she admits. “He doesn’t like me and I practically forced him out of his own house just by being here.”
Ezra snorts, moving to the fridge. “No, it’s one hundred percent his hang ups, not yours. Add in the age, and he’s making way more out of it than he needs to.” She sets her bag down and leans a hip against the counter, arms crossed and giving Saige her full attention now. “He’s trying, but is still convinced you’re going to end up leaving and taking our brothers with you, so there’s no point getting attached. You just need to prove him wrong and he’ll come around, but it will take time for him to let his guard down. Nothing’s going to happen overnight.”
Saige dries her hands, glaring at the iridescent scales on her arm. “I don’t want to leave. Where would I even go besides constantly running again? And that sure as shit didn’t work out well for me this past year. I just have no clue if I’ll ever be able to fully shift or at least suppress this enough that I can blend in. What about when someone eventually finds out about me being an anomaly, even if word doesn’t get back to any survivors of the lab? Someone will still try to drag me somewhere to test my blood and do this to others. I’ve seen enough of the world this last year to last me a lifetime. Your government is shit and has far too much power. I can’t promise anything right now besides that I won’t willingly leave.”
