A Sinful Trap (Three Sinful Wishes 2)

At least not successfully.

What the elders believed, based on all their lists and databases, was that mating appeared to serve an evolutionary purpose for the species. They’d observed that children from mated pairs grew up healthier and more resilient, usually finding positions of leadership in the pack hierarchy. Sometimes forming new packs of their own.

But when two were called to the same mate—something they considered an aberration—the strongest would usually prevail and the other would…not. Death or exile was the implication. And since they had no lists or historical mentions of two shifters who’d marked the same mate and survived, they were confident in those findings.

Their conclusion was unacceptable. Cam didn’t want to think about how he felt when he heard it, or the way he’d lashed out at them in response.

The bridge there wasn’t burned, but it was a near thing on both sides. Only Davide’s calming influence and the need to return to Bailey had saved them from Cam’s anger.

“What are we going to do?” Davide asked quietly.

Cam took his hand and walked over to the island, settling on one of the sturdy stools. They’d had them specially made, and their delivery was one of the requirements before his arrival. He remembered Davide laughing over the email their innkeeper had sent in response to that. They must have sounded so spoiled and pampered to her. The truth was that Cam, Aaron and the others weighed more than the average human. They were also rougher on the furniture.

“Cam?”

He sighed, knowing he couldn’t avoid this conversation any longer. “Our best option at this point would be to tell her the truth.”

“About what we are? I’m ready.”

“About all of it,” Cam said darkly. “Who we are, what’s happening to us and what it will eventually lead to if she doesn’t release us.”

His hold turned unforgiving when Davide tried to pull away. “If she knew we were in pain, she wouldn’t hesitate. In return, we’d put the inn in her name and leave her with enough funds to pay for repairs and employees for the rest of her life. Then we’d leave.”

And never come back.

“No.” Davide’s eyes were dangerously bright. “What are you talking about, Cameron? This isn’t another business deal. You want to pay her to…? She belongs with us. Not just with this family we’ve built, but with us. She’s yours and mine. Didn’t you feel it when you held her?”

“We’ve only known her a few days,” he forced out, hating every word.

“Fuck that.” Davide stared as if he didn’t recognize him. “Who are you right now? I knew the moment I saw you that I loved you. Time wasn’t an issue. She’s our mate and she’s special. Don’t lie and tell me you haven’t fallen for her as swiftly as your wolf did. Don’t tell me you’re okay with never seeing her again.”

Cam took a breath instead of lashing out. He wasn’t okay. He saw her face every time he closed his eyes. The fae features that hid a sharp mind and wicked tongue. That swoop of short blonde hair threaded with pink. Eyes like an autumn forest. Green mixed with honey. That freckle on her temple he always wanted to kiss.

He knew her scent. Wildflowers and summer rain. It was bright and inescapable, and from the first breath of it, the civilized façade he’d spent years cultivating had started to crack.

“I’m not, but I have to consider it. I have to, Davide, when the only other alternative pits us against each other. You heard what they said.”

“You don’t believe them. I don’t believe them.” Davide tugged his hand free to place both palms on Cam’s chest, his touch both soothing and seductive. “We’ve been together in everything else—why not this as well? Some part of you has to know there’s another way. You bought this house yesterday, and I know you’ve already started the process to add Bailey’s name to both deeds.”

He should never underestimate his lover’s ability to snoop. “We have homes everywhere, and the others love it here. Why wouldn’t I buy it?”

Davide’s nails dug lightly into his flesh, sending all the blood to his cock. “And Bailey?”

Cam couldn’t imagine leaving her in that tiny, crowded room she’d lived in for the last decade because her old boss was an ass. She deserved room to breathe. A bed big enough to stretch out in. She deserved to enjoy her life.

He wanted to take care of her, as much as she’d let him. He wanted to give her everything, even if he couldn’t have her for himself. “Would you leave her with nothing when we have this house that will be empty for years at a time?”

“I wouldn’t leave her at all.” Davide ran his thumbs over Cam’s nipples, making him shiver. “I’m not naïve. I heard what they said about how bad it would get if this went on unresolved. Before my mother died, she used to tell me stories about my great-grandfather. She said he’d chased a mate who wouldn’t accept him or release him. No one believed her, but she swore that was what made him feral. Why he killed the woman, then so many of us that we were sent away.”