Chapter 131: Chapter 131
Mason POV
Even though the bed is soft and comfortable, I wake up groggy and irritated. Elara, Kane and Axel are polite and friendly, but I feel like an outsider. I am not a part of their cosy unit.
Quietly, I get out of bed and walk into the living area. I watch the three of them sleeping. All tangled up with one another, and a pang of jealousy jolts through me.
Briefly, I wonder what it would be like to have someone like that in your life who always looks out for you and vice versa. Like last night when Elara calmed our hormones.
Was that what it would have been like if Kane, Axel and I were raised in Constantine, or, at the very least, I were acknowledged by our father?
My thoughts are depressing the shit out of me, so, I turn around and walk outside. I push my hands in my jeans’ pockets and start pacing around the cabin. My mind keeps wandering back to last night. When Elara took care of my needs, I was not even aware that Axel and Kane were there. She touched me, kissed me, and pleased me. Heaven’s door has opened, and angels are smiling. I thought I wanted Alice, I thought I wanted to be the alpha. Now, I know all I want is Elara and the bond she shares with my brothers.
The back door swings open, and Kane and Axel dash out, naked, before they shift and start running. Quickly, I walk to the cabin. This is a perfect opportunity to have alone time with Elara. If I want her, I must get her away from my brothers.
I find Elara behind the stove, humming while she bakes pancakes.
“Good morning,” she smiles brightly when she sees me. “Did you sleep well?”
“You really didn’t have to give up your bed,” I smile, standing beside her, my back pressing against the counter. “I was fine on the floor.”
“Mason,” she sighs, placing the spatula down and looking at me. “This ... thing isn’t easy on any of us. Least of all on you. You needed a break and a good night’s sleep.”
“Thank you,” I smile. “And it worked. My mind’s all clear.”
“So, no more running into the woods?” She teases.
“Not without you,” my voice is low and sultry as I place a hand on her arm. She does not yank away, and it gives me hope. “I still love you, Elara. I would give anything for us ...”
“I’m with Kane and Axel,” she says, clearing her throat and flipping the pancakes. “You and I ... we’re no longer an item.”
“But we could be,” I push softly. “We were good and happy together. We can ...”
“Until you turned jealous and possessive,” she cuts me off, irritated.
“Do you know the benefits of having two mates?” She asks, looking at me.
“Twice the orgasms,” I tease.
“Trust,” she scoffs, turning back to the pancakes. “We rely on and trust one another. There is no room for jealousy or backstabbing.”
“Right,” I nod, keeping my smile to myself. If she only knew that the trust between my brothers is not as strong as she thinks. And the jealousy is much stronger. Especially not from Axel’s point of view.
“Look,” she looks at me furiously. “If you think, oh, dammit.”
She puts the spatula down when a baby starts crying.
“It’s okay,” I stop her from walking away. “I’ll check on them, just enjoy making breakfast.”
I walk to the babies and pick up Lanie, who is crying. She goes quiet as I hush her, and I look into her blue eyes.
“Let me get the diapers,” I coo, laying her down. “You’ll feel like a lady in no time.”
Elara kicks happily as I change her diaper, and I catch myself smiling while I am doing it. I would have loved to be a father, but like everything else, the joy and honour go to my brothers.
“All done,” I say, lying her down. “As soon as I’m done with Isaac and Stella, I’ll feed you.”
I changed Stella’s diaper, made her comfortable and turned to Isaac. He is smiling brightly and looks at me with his big, brown eyes. For a second, it feels like looking into a mirror.
Suddenly, I am struck with a feeling so powerful, I could not identify it at first. But it brings tears to my eyes and sends an explosion of warmth from my chest out to every part of my body.
“Mine,” Colt grunts, but not in the way he would to claim a mate or take on an enemy. Mine, as in my child. My blood. My twins. These pups are mine. Mine and Alice’s. I am more sure of it than even my own name.
What the fuck?
But ... Kane and Axel! They did everything possible to keep them away from me. My body starts shaking, and something between a sob and a growl rises from deep in my chest.
They knew! They knew, and they kept it from me.
I look down at them, these two perfect beings I now feel desperate to protect as my own. I pick up Lanie and Isaac, walk to the couch, and sit down. I cannot stop looking at them. Them ... my children. If I did not hate them before, I sure as hell do now.
It took me ages to accept that it is not their fault Father cast me aside. It was not their fault that Alice picked them over me. It was not their fault that Elara was mated to them. But this! This is their fault.
Kane and Axel stride in from outside, sweating but satisfied.
“When were you going to tell me?” I demand, my voice is dangerously low.
Their faces fall when they look from me to the twins.
“Tell you what?” Kane asks, trying and failing to sound casual.
“Breakfast’s ready,” Elara announces, stepping out from the kitchen.
I look at her intensely, studying her face. Does she know? Is she in on it?
“What’s going on?” Elara asks, confused, looking from me to her mates when she becomes aware of the thick atmosphere.
“I guess Kane and Axel didn’t tell you either,” I say bitterly.
“Lanie and Isaac are my pups,” I say, holding up the twins.
