Caden shook his head. “Need help getting him in the bedroom?”
Kieran’s head swiveled in Caden’s direction. “Are you gonna fuck with us? You could both fuck me.”
“Enough!” Matt pushed Kieran down onto the couch. “We talked about this after Caden moved away. You are mine and I will not share you. Not with Caden or anyone else. If you want to be with another person, then you need to tell me, because we can’t be together anymore.”
Kieran’s eyes opened wide, tears that had been pooling in them, now sliding down his cheeks. “No! I don’t want that. I need you. Please, don’t leave me.” He started sobbing.
Caden wanted to rush over to him, but stayed where he was.
Matt knelt next to the couch and took Kieran’s hand.
“Listen, you know how much I love you. Sometimes it drives me nuts to realize what you mean to me. We talked to Caden once about trying to make it with the three of us, but he said no and we respected that. You can’t go asking him to join us in bed or, worse, ask him to fuck you. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?”
“I’ll be better, I promise. Don’t leave me. I need you.”
“And I need you.” Matt pulled Kieran close. “I never want to let you go.”
The two of them were wrapped in the other’s embrace, and it was beautiful to see. Caden stepped away, not wanting to disturb them, and went to his room. When he got there, he pulled out some paper from the desk drawer and sat down, trying to work up lists of things he’d need if Dandrot agreed to the park. He had visions in his head of big, beautiful blooms scenting the air with a delicate fragrance, while the colors would be bright and vivid, an attention-grabber.
But… he wondered what about at night when people wanted something more sedate. He grinned. This would require a lot more thought, but he was ready to tackle this project.
A soft rapping at the door drew his attention away from his work. He got up and pulled it open to find Kieran and Matt standing there. Kieran swayed unevenly, and if Matt hadn’t been propping him up, he’d probably be flat on his face. His gaze was locked on the floor, and his voice hitched when he spoke.
“I came to apologize. It was wrong of me to say what I did.”
“It’s okay. I knew what you meant. I love you both too.”
“I’m going to be pun-punished for what I did. Matt’s not going to let me come for a whole week. He said he has a cock cage packed away and it’s got my name on it.”
“And here we go, oversharing once again.” Matt nuzzled Kieran’s neck. “What am I going to do with you brat?”
“Keep me forever?”
“I think we can work with that.” He pecked Kieran on the lips. “Say good night to Caden, and then we’re going in the bedroom and start working on your punishment.”
Kieran leaned closer and tried to whisper, “He’s going to make me blow him. I don’t see how that’s a punishment, but if it is, he can do it every day.”
Looking up, Caden saw Matt doing his best not to laugh. He led Kieran off to the spare bedroom. Matt winked as they stepped inside, then closed and locked the door.
Caden was just about to return to his work when someone started pounding on the outer door. He rushed over, threw the door open, and found Quade, slumped against the wall. He looked up, his eyes glassy.
“Can I come in?”
From where he stood, Caden could smell the booze. “You’re drunk.”
Must be the night for it.
“Nah, it takes a lot for a lycan to get drunk. Tipsy? Maybe. Drunk? Hardly. We need to talk. Now.”
Stepping back, Caden gestured for Quade to enter. He wasn’t perfectly steady—in fact, he wobbled quite a bit—but he was a lot better than Kieran had been. He shuffled over to the couch, flopped down, and put his feet up on the table.
“Do you wanna know why I’ve been drinking? Let me tell you, it’s not because I was celebrating, that’s for sure. Well, maybe I am. I mean, it’s not every day you find out you’ve got a son, right?”
Caden was sure his mouth was hanging open. “You… you have a son?”
“Sure. Good kid. You’ve met him. His name is Tennyson.”
The whole thing got weirder and weirder. “How is he your kid?”
Quade started chuckling, which morphed into a full-on body shaking laugh. “Don’t know. I’ve never had sex with a woman.”
Taking a seat next to him, Caden wrapped an arm around Quade’s shoulders. “Talk to me.”
And he did. The words came slowly, almost as if Quade were nervous about Caden’s reaction. He told him about Ten’s visions and how he saw no future for them. How Quade had sworn he’d protect Ten and Caden, and how he’d said that Ten was family and he loved him. And then the words that Ten spoke afterward.
“He called me Daddy.”
Trying to lighten the mood, Caden leaned closer. “Would you rather I call you Daddy?”
Lurching up from the couch, Quade spun around and glared at Caden. “You think this is some kind of fucking joke?”
Contrite, Caden got off the couch and pulled Quade in close. “You know I don’t. Did he say why he called you daddy?”
“Oh, yeah. You’re going to love this one. In his visions of the future—you know, before we had none—you and I were supposed to be his fathers. He saw the three of us together, as a family. And the best part? He said we were happy.”
A family? Caden bit his lip.
“You’re not laughing. Come on, it’s funny. The three of us a family?”
A soul-deep hurt flashed through Caden. “Why the fuck is it funny? Don’t you think I can be a father?”
“What? No, not you. Me.” Quade sighed. “I’m not cut out for it. I don’t have… I never had a family of my own. My people weren’t really nurturing. It was fight until you dropped, and then don’t stop fighting. What kind of father could I be?
“A damn good one.”
Quade’s eyes opened wide. “What?”
“Look, I know we haven’t talked. I get that this is all new. I know that Ten shared a lifetime of memories with us, but we don’t really know each other at all. Us being together? It’s a scary idea.” He sighed. “My only family was my mom. I never understood why she was always so careful with me, but now I do. She knew I had something special about me, and she wanted—needed—me to see it.”
“So you could see us? As a family?”
“Of course. Am I saying it would be easy? No. But you? And Ten is… Ten is the perfect child. He’s sweet and sassy and has no problem playing us for his own gain. And… shit, I love the little bastard. I could picture him as my son with no problems whatsoever. But if it’s not something for you, then we’ll deal with it.”
Turning to go into the bedroom, Caden was surprised when Quade grabbed his arm. He spun Caden around, and in that moment, judging by his expression, Caden knew the truth, because it was plain on Quade’s face.
“You do want a family.”
Quade groaned and dropped back down on the couch, his head in his hands. “I’m supposed to be a lycan. I was the one who grew up with the fucked-up representation of what family was. Honestly, I never thought it would be possible for me, but Ten? Yeah, I’ve thought of him like my own. Then you came along and… shit.” Quade scrubbed a hand over his head. “You came along, and I dreamed about us—you and me—raising Ten together. When he said ‘Daddy,’ I knew if it was a dream, I’d be crushed. I can’t tell you what my heart did when I heard it from him. It was as though everything I ever wanted in my life had finally come true.”