His Mute Luna
Chapter 18

Callum

My mate was the most beautiful man I’d ever laid eyes on. Fine, he was a little rough around the edges, but living as a rogue would do that to you. I could tell under that short beard laid a soft jaw and great cheekbones. And under the late afternoon sun his hair blazed like dark gold. I was glad we drove to the prison, otherwise it would’ve been an hour’s walk back and something told me my mate wouldn’t have appreciated that or having to shift around us.

I had never felt this unsure of how to act around someone and I could feel Cam was the same. I didn’t know how much of the bond Taylor could feel; the small stolen glances and the way I noticed his hands fiddled in his pockets wanting to grasp something told me he felt something. Not to put pressure on my brother, but if anyone could make this work it would be Cameron. He was the more visceral one, highly attuned to others’ emotions around him. Unfortunately, I was the more physical one that followed his d**k. That approach was certainly not going to work with Taylor.

I was never sure whether my mate would be a man or woman, both myself and Cam had had our fair share of both. But if I was being honest, I preferred the feel of hard muscles to soft curves. Cam seemed to never really care about gender. For him, it was the emotional connection.

“Here you go,” Cam offered as he held the back passenger car door open.

‘I can practically hear smooth operator playing,’ I mind-linked my twin, slightly jealous that I hadn’t thought of it first…but this was his strong suit, I reminded myself. He didn’t bother replying and just rolled his eyes at me.

Taylor mumbled a quiet thank you that melted my heart, his voice was masculine but incredibly soft and held such sadness still. His mate was a f*****g heartless bastard to throw away someone as beautiful as this man. That Alpha’s loss was our gain. Now Taylor had not one, but two devilishly handsome mates.

‘Cato? How’s his wolf, is he responding to you?’ I asked my own wolf.

‘Quiet, but he’s letting me and Cedar in…he’s so broken…’ my wolf whimpered.

f**k. All I wanted to do was hold him, tell him I’d never abandon him and that I’d keep him safe forever…had his first mate promised those things too?

In the backseat, Taylor had his arms wrapped around himself, staring out of the window. His apprehension was beginning to flood through our bond.

“Hey, so what’s your wolf’s name? Mine’s Cedar and my brother’s is Cato,” Cam asked, turning in his seat with a wide smile.

Our mate tore his eyes off of the trees outside. I glanced in the rearview mirror, catching how the low sun illuminated his hazel eyes to a bright golden green. f**k, this was torture! And his sweet, fresh rain scent wasn’t helping.

“…Talon,” he eventually spoke.

Even though he was trying to look anywhere but at us, when he spoke there was no hesitation in how he met our eyes. That settled my worries a little; he wasn’t scared of us, it was the bond that terrified him.

We pulled up at the pack house and I quickly got out to beat Cam to opening the door for our mate. He wasn’t the only one that could be chivalrous as f**k to our Taylor. That hint of blush on my mate’s face was probably the most adorable thing I had ever seen. All I wanted was to pin him to the car and make out with him till he passed out…and Morgan would kick my a*s for doing exactly what I promised I wouldn’t. It was easy for him to say, he wasn’t the one with his gorgeous mate dangled in front of him that he couldn’t touch.

“I made sure someone brought your vehicle to the pack house. Do you have anything you wanna grab first?” Cam asked, stealing my thunder again. Dammit! Why didn’t I think of that first?!

s**t! I hadn’t even talked to Taylor properly yet!

All I’d done was stare and check him out.

Cameron

I was in love.

I knew it already.

Taylor wasn’t just insanely handsome, he held such a beautiful but battered soul; I just wanted to hold him till he healed.

I could already feel my brother’s jealousy through our twin bond that I was way ahead of him in caring for our mate. Tough s**t. He should think with his feelings instead of his d**k for a change, then he might actually come off as a gentleman for once. Cal was in for a shock because I had not only already organised a room down the hall from our suite for Taylor, I had our spare room arranged for him too, just in case by some miracle he wanted to stay with us.

Suck on that, older twin.

“Don’t worry! I’ll grab your bag for you,” Cal rushed out as he briskly walked off in what I assumed he thought was the direction of Taylor’s vehicle.

“I’m not sure where he’s going since he parked right next to your car,” I leaned into Taylor from the side. “But just grab whatever you need, your room’s all set up for you.”

He laughed quietly, looking after where Cal had vanished and grabbed a small backpack from the trunk.

‘When you’re finished running round like a moron, we’ll be inside. You parked your car next his, you f*****g pancake,’ this was more cringy than watching Morgan trying to flirt that one time.

By the time we reached the door, Cal had returned, breathing heavily and pinning me with a glare.

‘A*****e! You could’ve stopped me sooner!’ He bit out.

“Meh. You made our mate laugh, so totally worth it,” I said aloud, loving how my twin’s face ignited red and his mortified frown deepened. He looked just like Morgan when I embarrassed him.

I spotted the suppressed smile on Taylor’s face, watching the two of us. Definitely worth it.

As we climbed the steps of the pack house, praying I would be taking our mate to our suite, I decided to ask the million dollar question.

“We have a room just down the hall from us all ready for you…or, if you want, you could stay…with us?”

I gave my best puppy dog eyes. It was a s**t move, but it usually got me what I wanted; except with my eldest brother, he seemed to be immune to it. I could feel that jealousy spike again from Cal, that I was once again taking care of our mate instead of it being him. He really needed to stop acting like a butthurt b***h.

‘Would you f*****g chill? I said we, didn’t I? I’m making you look good too,’ he grumbled something incoherent in reply which usually meant he knew I was right but still wanted to be a d**k about it.

Taylor looked as though he was internally debating, arguing with his wolf. Come on Talon, win this for us…

“…Can I stay with you?” He tentatively asked.

“Absolutely! You can have anything you want,” Cal almost yelled in glee, while my face felt like it was about to split in half with its smile. Ok, maybe we needed to tone it down a little.

Leading him through our suite to the bedrooms, we stopped outside what would be his door. “Here it is,” I declared, opening up the room. “The bathroom is just across here…or if you wanted you could have my room?”

“Or mine!” Cal shouldered me out of the way. “It does have the better view of the forest,” he leaned against the doorframe, trying to give the ol’ ‘Callum charm’ and cocky grin.

“This is fine…I just want to shower and change now,” he eyed us both warily.

‘You need to rein yourself in, you’re both making him uncomfortable,’ Cedar sighed in annoyance. f**k, he was right, our mate was back on guard again.

“Ok, take as long as you need. I’ll get you some clean clothes too if you want?” I asked hopefully, wanting to wrap him in my scent.

He nodded, but said nothing more as he slowly closed the door on us.

…Damn, this was going to be the hardest thing I had ever done.

Taylor

They were the two most intense people I had ever met.

The way they looked at me was far too familiar for comfort.

But this pack truly did seem different to my home pack. Neither Cal or Cam tried to hide how they looked at me. I wasn’t a secret here like I was with Hunter. Not that he could have ever been so open, not with a bigoted monster of a father like Nicholas.

I listened at the door for their retreat away, simply wanting to get to the bathroom without being noticed. I didn’t know how I would ever handle one mate again, let alone two! What the hell was the moon goddess thinking, pairing me with twin Alphas?! And, heavens, their scent; a musky sweet pea aroma that emanated from Cameron and a deep geranium scent from Callum. Why did they have to smell like my favourite plants, just like Hunter did?

I slipped into the bathroom once I knew the coast was clear and started up the shower, desperately wanting to be clean. I wasn’t in too bad a state as I avoided, where possible, living out in the wild. The large red scar from a silver blade that crossed from my chest to my h*p was a reminder that I wasn’t the best equipped to defend myself on my own in the wilderness. It was still vivid, even now, four years later as I ran my fingers across the raised skin.

While the water was still warming, I quickly shaved off the short beard that had grown. I always hated it as it was itchy as hell, not that I minded Hunter’s…I always liked it on him.

Dammit! I needed to stop thinking about him. He rejected me. He threw me away. He didn’t want me…I now had two mates that did and thinking about him made me feel like I was being unfaithful.

Quickly drying off and trying to tame my longer curls that almost brushed my shoulders, I visibly flinched when a knock sounded at the door. I threw a towel around me and opened the door a crack to find Cal, holding out some soft-looking fabric. I didn’t miss, either, how his dark eyes trailed over my now clean-shaven face or the small view of bare skin of my chest and arm that poked from behind the door.

“Here,” he swallowed with great difficulty, which made that rush of heat flare through my body again. A feeling I never thought I’d feel again.

I mumbled a painfully awkward thanks and practically slammed the door in his face. s**t, I was never like this before! This damn mate bond felt both exhilarating…and terrifying. The t-shirt smelt of Cam and the thin sweatpants smelt like Cal. I threw them on wanting to be covered in their scent…but feeling like there was something missing also…no, I wasn’t about to start thinking of him again.

The clothing wasn’t too big for me, I certainly wasn’t as broad as an Alpha, but I could pass as a warrior with my build now; too bad I was too much of a wuss to want to ever fight. But what if my new mates wanted that? Wanted a warrior, a fighter, someone who could charge into a battle by their side? Hunter ridded himself of me because I was weak, because I was an Omega…what if they did that too?

‘You’ll never know if we don’t give them a chance…please, just try,’ my wolf begged.

Nodding to myself he was right, I left the bathroom with my head held high…and all the confidence I had mustered left when I came face to face with my two handsome mates.

I was beginning to spot the differences between them. Callum was broader with a more heated gaze, rugged face and a more domineering presence. Cameron was a little leaner with a softer expression in his eyes and more refined features. His presence was still dominating but in a more sensual way. What was unfamiliar was the wild rose scent and I realised we weren’t alone. A woman sat, perched on the couch, with a kind and warm expression in her eyes when I met her gaze. The similar features and the dark brown hair told me she was their mother. Her eyes were the same haunting white that Alpha Morgan possessed, so my twins’ beautiful brown eyes must come from their father.

“Hello dear,” she began, turning to her sons. “Let me talk to him for just a minute and I’ll leave you alone. I baked you some treats in the kitchen, go help yourself,” she smiled warmly as the twins’ faces broke out in huge smiles and quickly left.

“Be sure to save at least one for your mate, boys!” She called out after their retreating forms

“They follow their stomachs. Learn their favourites and they’ll do anything you want, that’s the key,” she spoke in a conspiratorial whisper, throwing me a wink.

She was unlike what I thought a Luna would be, with giant daisies adorning her head and a long, flowing patchwork dress covered in flowers.

“Here, I brought you some clothes. They should all be the right sizes. After raising four boys I’m a dab hand at these sorts of things.”

She handed me the bags, which I took, looking at them with wide eyes…it had been so long since someone was this kind to me. The Luna took my hands, pulling me down to sit by her, cupping my face with such warmth I hadn’t felt since my own mother.

“I just want you to know that no-one in this pack or this family cares that you were a rogue. I was one once, I was raised as one and, technically, my eldest was one for the first two years of his life. Whatever the reason was that made your first mate cast you out, won’t happen here. I can already tell my boys are head over heels for you and I can see why. I have another beautifully handsome son to call my own,” and with that she wrapped me in a huge hug that only a mother could give. I returned it wanting to hold on to that warm feeling that I hadn’t felt in years, that feeling of pure loving acceptance.

She pulled back and quickly wiped the tear that slipped down my cheek, “I’ll leave you three alone. Remember, they need a firm hand.”

“Everyone keeps saying that, I feel like I’ve been given a pair of toddlers to look after,” I said sarcastically and quickly realised that I may have just insulted her children to her face.

To my surprise, she just laughed. “You’re not far off. And I very much like that feisty spirit you’ve got,” she beamed at me proudly.

“Oh where are my manners? I’m Grace, by the way. I’m sure you’ll meet their father, George, soon. Oh and my mom, Alice, will just love you! You know Morgan already, it’ll be a few days before you meet Michael though. He’s tied up with his mate right now,” she whispered that last part.

She waved as she left, leaving me completely alone with the twins…I was already alone with them before. Why was I getting all nervous again?

“Did you want anything to eat? Cal can’t cook for s**t, but at least I learnt something from mom and dad,” Cam spoke proudly, while the aforementioned brother looked at his twin like he wanted to murder him.

I wasn’t particularly hungry, with all of today’s events my appetite had completely evaporated. I was exhausted though. I felt like I could sleep for days.

“I think I just want to sleep…” I began, wanting to ask them to join me but feeling too chicken s**t to get the words out of my mouth.

‘Ask them! Please, for the love of the f*****g moon, ask them to sleep beside us! I don’t want to be alone anymore…’ Talon pleaded, resorting to emotional blackmail.

Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I asked, “…will you stay with me?”

“Sure! Come on, my room has the best views you could ever want,” Cal enthused.

“What the hell does he want with a view?! He wants to sleep, mine is the most comfortable bed and you know it,” Cam countered.

“That’s because it’s covered in pillows and they’re annoying as f**k.”

And with that they began quarrelling back and forth…their mother was right; I wasn’t saddled with mates, I had inherited children.

I pinched the brow of my nose, grabbed both their hands and marched to the room I was given, trying desperately to ignore those wonderful tingles of the mate bond that had exploded for the first time…tingles that stirred difficult memories.

“There. Argument solved,” I bit out in irritation, settling myself on the bed. “Well? Are you getting in or what?”

Cam quickly scrambled to lay behind me, wrapping his arm tightly around my waist and burying his face into my hair. Though I loved the proximity, it was a little more intimate than what I had in mind. Cal climbed in at my other side facing me, chuckling quietly at his brother and clutching onto my hand.

“He’s a big hugger in his sleep, just a FYI.”

At his words, Cam’s grip tightened, pressing me further against him with his nose nuzzling the side of my neck and sending a shudder of pleasure down my spine.

“You are without doubt the best pillow ever,” he sighed against my skin.

‘See?’ Cal mind-linked me with a smirk. ‘Get some sleep, beautiful. I’ll watch over you,’ he softly smiled, stroking my hand.

I hoped I wouldn’t regret letting my heart open again. It had been five long years since I let anyone in, terrified that I’d be thrown away again. A small part of me that I wanted to forget, wanted to push away, still clung to Hunter, dreaming that one day he would just appear and love me the way he used to…but that was all it was, a dream. All he ever was, was a fantasy and nothing more.

And I prayed that my twins wouldn’t ever become a daydream fantasy either.