unmanly like yelp when he was suddenly yanked up. He weaved just a bit, reached for the man’s arm to settle himself.
He must have hit his head harder than he thought because he could have sworn the man had fangs in his mouth when he smiled. “What happened?”
“I was just going to ask you that.”
Justin frowned and ran his hand over the back of his head. His fingers came away wet. Oh, that couldn’t be good. “I think…I think I hit my head,” Justin whispered right before his vision started to fade and his legs gave out.
The last thing he saw was the man’s face as he bent over him and his words. “Well, shit! Dominic is going to shoot me for sure after this.”
* * * *
Chase blinked as his eyes fluttered open. Something had woke him up. He just couldn’t figure out what. To top it off, he couldn’t immediately figure out where he was. His ceiling was not mustard yellow.
A soft muffled sound to one side of him caught Chase’s attention. He turned his head, suddenly remembering where he was and why when he saw the brown-haired man in the bed next to him.
Taylor.
His mate.
And yet, not his mate. Chase sighed deeply as he turned to stare up at the ceiling again. At the rate he was going, he would never have a mate, no matter how much he wanted Taylor and Justin.
Chase heard another muffled sound. As he turned to look at Taylor, he realized that the man’s shoulders were shaking. Christ, he was crying. Chase flipped the sheet off his body and took the single step to Taylor’s bed, sitting down on the edge.
“Taylor?”
Taylor sniffled, but didn’t turn around. Chase laid a hand on the man’s slim shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. “Do you want to talk about it?” He wasn’t sure what Taylor was crying for. Sure, he knew Taylor was going ape-shit with worry over Justin, but Chase wasn’t too sure that was all of it. He wanted to make sure there was no other problem Taylor was dealing with.
“I failed him, Chase. For so long I kept him safe. I even sacrificed myself and what people thought of me just to keep the Teacher away from Justin, and now he’s gone.”
Chase sighed, stretching out in the bed next to Taylor. His mate stiffened, but didn’t pull away. He wasn’t sure if that was a sign that Taylor welcomed his company, so he pushed the envelope just a little further by wrapping one arm around Taylor’s shoulder.
Not only did Taylor not pull away, his shoulders began to shake ever harder. Chase was at a loss. He wasn’t used to comforting anyone. But Taylor wasn’t just anyone. Taylor was his mate. He wanted to take the pain away. It hurt Chase’s heart to see Taylor so torn up.
“Come here, hon,” Chase said as he tugged on Taylor’s upper body.
This time Taylor did pull back. He wiped his face on the pillow and then turned, scowling at Chase. “Don’t try to comfort me. This is all your fault, Chase. If you had claimed Justin and me, we wouldn’t be out here in the middle of nowhere, and I would be cuddling Justin in my arms right now.”
Chase growled as he grabbed the back of Taylor’s neck, pulling the man forward until their eyes were so close that he could see the small flecks of black in Taylor’s blue eyes. “I’ll take the responsibility for this, Taylor. But you will stop yelling at me.”
Taylor pushed at Chase, smacking his hands into Chase’s chest as the white-hot tears slid down Taylor’s face. “This is your fault!”
Chase manacled Taylor’s wrists, bringing them close to his chest. “Are you angry with me?”
“Yes!” Taylor shouted.
“Do you want to lash out at me?”
“God, yes!”
“Do you hate me?”
“No!” The answer came so quickly that Chase knew it to be the truth. Before Chase allowed his brain to take over and talk him out of it, he pulled Taylor closer, taking his lips and plunging his tongue deep into Taylor’s moist, hot mouth.
When Taylor groaned, tugging at his hands, Chase released them. Taylor
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