Their Terrified Mate

Chapter Eighteen

Dennis feeds me grapes out of his hands while I sit on the couch in between him and James. Dennis feeds me another grape and my stomach cramps. I move closer to James and bury my face into his large chest.

"Do you want more?" Dennis asks and I shake my head against James' chest, breathing in his scent.

"Okay," Dennis says, running his fingers through my hair. "You did so good, baby."

I relax against James chest. This feels so good and I purr. But then I stop and pull away, embarrassed.

"Hey," James says, taking my face in his hands, moving my blushing face to look at him, and I stare at his deep dark eyes. "Come back here," he says before he takes my body and maneuvers me to sit in his lap.

I squeak and he laughs. I bury my face in his neck, where his scent is the strongest, and I'm able to relax against him.

"Good boy," James says and I squeak again, embarrassed at how his words affect me.

"What?" he asks, laughing, "don't you want to be my good boy?"

I blush harder and nod against his neck.

"Good boy," he says again and I cuddle closer to him, wrapping my arms around his shoulders.

He's so strong, and there's a part of me that is terrified of that. He could hurt me and I'd be powerless to stop him, but another part of me is comforted by his strength. His strong arms might be able to hurt me, but he can also protect me.

He puts his arms across my back and I fall asleep like that.

-

James' POV

Noel is so precious, snoring lightly into my neck and I resist the urge to rock him like a baby. I also want to ravish him and with the way his ass is pressed into my lap, the temptation is so much.

"I can't believe Seth and Cam were spotted together," Dennis says, "what could they be planning?"

"I'm not sure," I say, "but I'm going to make sure we station guards around the woods and all of our borders. Whatever they're doing, it can't be good. We need to prepare ourselves for war."

"I agree," Dennis says, "though I'm hoping it won't come to that."

"Yes," I agree, "but I have a feeling our hopes won't matter."

Dennis frowns, but he doesn't say anything else for a moment.

He sighs and looks at me and Noel. "As much as I don't want to be controlling, we can't let him out alone, at least not until this situation with Seth and Cam is sorted out."

I nod and look at Noel. I never want to let him out of my sight ever again.

The TV plays in the background, but I pay no mind to it, all of my attention is on Noel and then I look at my other mate, sitting on the other side of Noel, gently brushing his hair.

I smile at Dennis and gesture at him to come to me. He leans forward, over Noel and gives me a sweet kiss on the lips. I want more. We've been so busy with Noel and all of the changes in our lives that it's been a while since the two of us have had sex. But despite how horny I am, I simply kiss Dennis sweetly back.

I might want more, but now is not the time. I'm not about to ravish my partner in front of Noel. I can only imagine the fear that would strike his face if he were to wake up to see me and Dennis do anything more than share sweet kisses.

I watch Noel as he sleeps, frowning as he moves around in his sleep, muttering to himself. I can't hear any of the words that he is saying except when he says no and begs some invisible assailant to stop.

This poor man has already been through so much and something tells me that it's not over. Seth and Cam together, two people who wanted nothing more than to hurt my mate, is a bad omen. I just pray to the moon goddess that me and Dennis will be able to protect Noel. In an us against them fight it looks pretty close, but I have to have faith that me and Dennis are strong enough to protect our mate. I would die before I let anything else bad happen to Noel.

After a while, Noel wakes, stretching his too thin arms and cracking them above his head. I smile at him and lean into his face. I want so much more, but I settle for placing a sweet kiss on his forehead. I lean back and allow for Dennis to do the same.

Noel smiles sleepily at us, but then frowns, but it's the kind of frown that seems unintentional, the kind that seeps into your soul and must be let out.

"What's wrong, little love," I ask, concerned at his expression, even though it has relaxed slightly as Dennis has started to pet his hair.

Noel shakes his head and looks away from me, leaning into Dennis' hand as Dennis strokes our mate's hair.

"Just bad dreams," he says.

"Oh," I say, already knowing that he was having those, but something tells me that there is much more to it than that. I don't want to push, however, so I let it go.

I snuggle closer to him on the couch and join Dennis in carding a hand through his hair. Noel sighs in relief and I make note that he enjoys his hair being played with. Something tells me that he hasn't been spoiled like this since he was a pup and I enjoy giving him even the smallest amount of joy.

As I think, it strikes me that I don't know my mate too well, just some of the horrors that he's been through, and that is no where near the same.

"Noel," I say, "how would you feel about going on a date with us?" I ask. Dennis looks at me in confusion. A date? he asks through our mate bond and I nod. I have to admit it's a little unusual.

Werewolves have a tendency to skip steps in the courting process. Unlike humans, who don't have mates, we have no need to discover if we're compatible. The moon goddess already knows that we are. And typically, mates tend to rush into things together as soon as they discover one another. That's how me and Dennis were.

We didn't go on dates when we first met, and there was no reason for us to gain each other's trust, we just trusted one another wholeheartedly from the moment we realized what we were. But, for Noel, who's trust has been broken by someone he was supposed to be able to trust, I have a feeling that me and Dennis are going to have to work hard to gain his trust.

"A date?" Noel asks, furrowing his eyebrows, a little confused. He must know that this isn't how things are typically done, but my hope is that he'll agree regardless.

"Yes, love," I say, "so that we can get to know each other a little better."

Noel pauses. He doesn't answer for a moment, looking unsure and I worry that I asked at the wrong time, or that he's not ready to be open to even the possibility of opening up to us. But then he slowly nods and I smile at him.

"Thank you, my love," I tell him, "I'll make sure you don't regret it."

He gives me a sweet and slightly tired smile before he leans over and rests his head on my chest. I give slight smile even though he can't see me from this position. I think that things between us are going to work out. Noel is terrified, but it looks like he's willing to trust us, even the smallest amounts, and we can work with that. We just need to work on figuring out how to earn his trust more.

I kiss him atop his head and long for the day where he will trust me to do more than give him kisses. But I'm already so proud of him. With everything that's happened to him, the fact that he is able to lay on me without fear is a miracle.