Also -- this book delves a little more into Project Zed and where that will be going.
While Killian and Finn loved the idea of being sent away to med school
by their alpha, the idea of leaving their mate behind wasn’t ideal.
Doubling up their course load whenever they could wasn’t getting them
done fast enough. When Ronan shows up at their dorm one night, lustful
and needing, they take what’s offered wholeheartedly.
After years
of near misses, Ronan finally confronts Killian and Finn and demands
their touch. Yet once it’s done, he struggles with his feelings. Hearing
the words his vile fathers beat into his head doesn’t help, either.
Unable to cope with what he’s done, he returns home to lick his wounds.
Torn
between their duty to their alpha and their need for the mate they
adore, Killian and Finn stay back to tie up their loose ends before they
return home to build a life for them and their future family.
If they can convince Ronan to join them before their world explodes.
But
now… now that he was here, potentially only a few doors away, his insecurities
came into play. What if they saw him and weren’t happy he was there? What if
they sent him away?
What
if… what if they weren’t alone?
A
growl rumbled up his throat at the thought of another being with his bears. A
young human female walking past looked up at him, her eyes growing large.
Apparently, he hadn’t done a good job of hiding the sound. She kept moving,
rather quickly, as he spied her over his shoulder, watching her scramble away.
Once she was gone, he turned back to face forward and got another whiff of
their scent.
His
cock thickened even more…
Finish what you’ve started.
One
step came after the next. He passed door after door, the aroma thickening in
his nose and calling him onward. When he sensed it at its strongest, he paused
before a closed door. Ronan turned to face it… but couldn’t find the strength
to lift his hand and knock.
After
all he’d just put himself through… he was chickening out now?
“Hey,
excuse me,” a female’s voice rang out beside him.
Ronan
tilted his head and looked down at a blonde. He supposed the humans would
consider her pretty. “Can I help you?”
She
both grinned and frowned at the same time, an odd mix of curiosity and
irritation filling her features. “I need to get to the door you’re in front
of.”
“Oh,”
he murmured and stepped back slightly.
She
faced the door and knocked… and then glanced over her shoulder with another
smile as she awaited someone to answer. This smile was a bit seductive. Too bad
she didn’t have what he was looking for.
It
took a couple of seconds to realize… if he’d picked the right door…
It
swung open, and he got his first glance at Killian. He gazed down at the girl,
a smile spreading over his face…
Ronan’s
heart thundered in his chest. That smile was enough to make him ache with need.
Yet Killian had never smiled at him like that… not that Ronan had ever given
him a reason to.
“I
was hoping I could take a look at your notes from yesterday’s lecture. I missed
class,” the woman said.
“Sure,”
Killian said before his stare lifted, and he caught Ronan’s. The smile faded.
“What’re you doing here?”
The
woman turned to stare at Ronan, too.
“I…
I had to come.”
Killian
brushed past the woman and grabbed Ronan’s shoulders, a fierce look of worry
crossing his face. “Is something wrong?”
Ronan
felt the heat of Killian’s hands on him, and he struggled to think, let alone
speak.
“What
is it?” Killian demanded, his features twisting with concern. “Are you okay?”
Ronan
nodded, his tongue too tied to speak. His stare roamed over that handsome face.
That face he’d missed so much.
Killian
moved closer—a half step—but it was enough to make Ronan fight back a groan.
His mouth was hungry to taste Killian’s. He licked his lips, almost feeling the
brush of Killian’s over his.
And
then he looked down and remembered they weren’t alone.
“She needed your notes,” Ronan spat,
feeling her stare burning on him. It would be hard enough for him to admit why
he was there. He didn’t need an audience.
Killian
stood a little straighter and cast a glance over his shoulder. “Right.” He
grinned at the girl. “Let me get those for you.” And then Killian took Ronan by
the arm and tugged him inside the room…
Where
Finn lay across his twin-sized bed reading from a textbook. He was shirtless,
and his feet bare. Only a pair of jeans were slung low on his hips. Ronan had a
few seconds to take in the sight before Finn was off the bed and charging forward.
“Why
are you here?” Finn asked as Killian shuffled through papers on his desk.
Finn
was too close. Too hot. Too everything.
Ronan licked his lips again and stared at Finn’s. Oh, how he wanted to plant a
kiss on those lips and catch up on all he’d missed while the pair were away.
“I,
ah,” he started, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. He looked to the
door and saw the woman leaning in, her stare and composure leading him to
believe she was being nosy as hell.
Killian
grabbed a set of papers and handed them to the curious co-ed. “Here you are.”
Without
looking at Killian, she asked, “When do you need them back?” She stared at
Ronan, a half smile playing over her lips.
“I’ve
already typed them up,” he said. “Keep those.”
“Who’s
your handsome friend?” she asked, her smile widening.
“Nobody,”
Killian said, urging her back with the door.
She
grinned wider. “I’d say he’s definitely somebody… to you both.”
“Goodbye,”
Killian said, sounding irritated.
She
pouted slightly, but it didn’t stop Killian from shutting them inside and away
from the world. “Explains a lo—” she said before the door slammed in her face.
Killian
spun to face Ronan. “Why are you
here?”
Can’t a guy come and see his mates? Ronan shook his head. Mates would
imply he’d accepted them as such. He didn’t. He wasn’t like his brother, Tyler,
ready to bow down to a couple of betas. He was a beta himself, not an omega.
Nor was he human.
His
bear roared within. His animal knew the truth, even if he wanted to ignore it.
“Ronan?”
Finn urged.
“Nothing’s
wrong,” he finally said, but then he
stopped before he said too much. Before he admitted he was there because he
missed the pair of them. It had been too long since the last time he’d seen
either male. Early the morning before last, the distance and length had grown
unmanageable.
It
had driven him to risk danger just to see them.
“There
has to be a reason why you crossed treacherous territory to come here,” Killian
said as he stepped closer.
“There
is,” Ronan murmured, fighting the mounting need within him.
“What
is it?” Finn asked, stepping closer.
Ronan
lifted a hand and encircled the back of Finn’s head. “This,” he said seconds
before he forced his lips on Finn’s.