Chapter 18:
I got up, dividing the food up, and brought it all out to the coffee table. I put Garrus's separate from the rest, of course. With Midsomer playing in the background, we ate, chatting quietly as time slid by.
Kolyat didn't address his father directly, but he didn't shy away from responding when it was reversed. His tone left little to the imagination of what he thought about the older drell, but he wasn't openly ignoring his very existence, and I counted that as a win. Every time he interacted with Thane, I felt a little swell of pride. The kid was trying, in his own way. It was crystal clear to me.
You are proud? Thane's voice flitted through my mind.
I cast him a smile. I am. He's trying so hard.
A tilt of his head, a bit of confusion bleeding through.
If he really wanted nothing to do with you, he wouldn't be here. Slowly, he looked to his son, seeing him in a new light. He's trying, love. I think he wants you in his life but isn't sure how to go about it. Go slow. Little steps.
I will. Thank you.
Kolyat had been watching us closely during our silent conversation, and I flashed him a smile when we were done.
"What would you like to do with your life?" I asked, making everyone look at me with confusion.
Because that had come out of nowhere, for them.
He sat in silence for a bit, thinking it over. I doubted he'd ever really given it much thought, with how hard he was having to think.
Slowly. "I wanted to be a doctor, when I was young."
"And now?" I pressed.
"I think I would like to try."
"I'm in school to be a doctor." I told him. "And I have all my notes from my previous years in school, if you would like a copy of them. They could help you decide if you want to pursue it."
He regarded me for a few moments, searching my face. "Thank you."
"I'll get started on copying the files." I stood, dodging my mates' reaching hands, and went to my desk.
Firing up my computer and going about making a copy of the folder containing all three years' worth of notes and materials.
"They'll help you get a jumpstart, too." I said, coming back out of my little office space. "I take really detailed notes, so you shouldn't have any gaps in the knowledge. The only thing you'd be missing out on is the actual experience of working with cadavers."
The door slid open, and a man ran in, zooming straight for me. I caught him in my arms, patting his back.
"I'm okay, Avery. I'm okay." I soothed my manager.
"Your family told me what happened." He pulled back, eyes roaming my face. "The important question is: are you safe?"
"I am. I'm more than safe. I've got my guys here tonight." I motioned, encompassing all three of them, much to Kolyat's surprise. "I have everything I need. And we-" A look at him. "-need to discuss me getting back into the scene. If that's even a possibility."
Nodding like a bobblehead, he stepped back. "Of course. I'll get it up right away." A pause. "It hasn't been the same without you."
I blushed. "Thank you for saying that."
"I mean it."
With the promise of sending over a new contract, he left.
I checked my computer, before sending the copied file to my omni-tool. Going up to the younger drell, I sent it to his.
"All set." I beamed. "I hope it helps."
"Thank you." A slow nod. "I'm sure it will."
He glanced at his father, and I sat between my mates.
A little while later, spending the time just relaxing together in the living room, he stood and said he should go. Thane offered to walk him to where he was staying and, after a moment of hesitation, he agreed. They left together shortly after.
Garrus pulled me closer, guiding me to sit on his lap, straddling him. "Thane hasn't talked to his son in ten years."
I blinked. "What? That's... I'll have to ask him about it when he gets back."
"I could tell you, if you want." I tilted my head. "We've talked a lot about our pasts."
I booped his nose. "Thanks, but I'll let him tell me, if he wants to. I don't want to know things that he doesn't want me to know, if that makes sense."
"Yeah."
I went to boop him again, but he caught my finger between his teeth gently. I giggled, shaking my head.
Releasing me, he pecked my knuckle. "Have you talked to your family yet?"
My mood instantly soured, and I looked over his shoulder. "Yeah. Everyone was really happy to see me alive. Except for Isadore. She made a shitty comment, and I told her that if she hates me, she should just say it. She tried to say she doesn't, that she just doesn't like me. And then, I just... I lost it. I told her that I'm perfectly aware of the way she acts whenever I'm around. How she treats me. And then, I hung up on my family. It was so..."
"What did she say?"
"To make me say that?" I asked.
He nodded.
I leaned forward, resting my chin on his shoulder. "She asked if that made me a freak, because I'd been dead."
He let out a dangerous growl, and I dotted his neck with kisses.
"It's okay." I assured him. "I think... I'm done with her. She may be my twin, but she's not my family. Hasn't been, for years. She's made that clear." A sigh. "I guess it's high time I wake up and realize that."
"I'm sorry." He murmured, rubbing my back. "I can't imagine having to turn your back on family."
"How's your sister, by the way?" I asked, nuzzling his mark.
He froze.
"Garrus?"
He didn't say anything.
"Garrus!" I shouted, exasperated, as I leaned back to get a look at him. "Tell me you didn't shut your sister out."
The way he looked off to the side, avoiding my attempts to make him look at me, confirmed his guilt. I jerked his arm to the side, bringing up his omni-tool and scrolling through his contacts until I found Solana's info. I pressed call.
It only rang once, before the female turian was shown, her voice desperate. "Garrus?! Garrus, is that you? Are you okay?"
He let out a low growl, but I ignored him, angling his arm so I could be seen. "He's fine. He's being dramatic right now, is all."
"Andromeda!" She gasped. "You're alive!"
"It's a long story, but yeah. And your brother is alive and well." I cast him a glare, because he wasn't done growling yet. "He's just being dramatic, as I said."
"I'm so glad the two of you are alright." With that, she burst into tears.
Garrus moved his arm in front of him, so he could see his sister. "I'm sorry, Sol. I just... I thought it would be better, if I didn't contact anyone. If I died, no one would care, that way."
She and I both let out alarmingly loud growls.
"How dare you think that way?!" She scowled.
"Excuse me?" I hissed.
He looked at a loss as to how to deal with two angry females.
The door opened.
Garrus just told me and Solana that he wanted to die?! I sent to him.
"Thane, good. Get this one off me, please."
"Absolutely not." He said, taking his seat. "You deserve this."
A groan left the man under me.
"Andromeda." I looked to the screen. "Let me give you my contact information."
She rattled it off, before hanging up. With a smirk, I got up and went to the spare room, calling her on my own omni-tool. I felt the unease bleed through the bond. She answered, and we resumed our conversation, both of us angry at her brother.
I'm not sure how much longer we were in the call, but she started yawning, which made me yawn. There was a knock on the door to the room, and I opened it, finding Thane there.
"Are you coming to bed soon?" He asked softly, reaching up and touching my cheek.
I melted. "Yeah." A glance at the screen. "Solana, I'm gonna let you go, but we'll talk again another time."
"You bet."
The holographic screen minimized back into the bracelet.
We walked through to the bedroom, and I paused, frowning. "Where's Garrus?"
"He thought you wouldn't want to see him tonight."
Panic filled me, and I started to have a panic attack. "No. No, no. Never."
His eyes widened, and he guided me to sit on the floor. "I will send him a message. Just breathe."
I was so focused on trying to breathe, that I missed the door opening and a pair of arms wrapping around me from behind. His scent filled the air, and I felt myself relaxing. My breathing quickly coming easier. Turning to face him, I peppered his face with kisses, sobbing out my apologies.
He hushed me, holding me tightly to him.
"I never, ever want you to think that I don't want you. Ever. Never ever." I whined. "I'm so sorry."
Coupled with Genesis's heartbreak over making him feel like we didn't want him, my emotions were overwhelming. I'd never felt anything so strongly before, and it was causing me physical distress.
Both men gathered me up, setting me on the center of the bed and curling up around me on either side.
"Breathe, Meda." The turian murmured.
Soft kisses were showered along my spine, the drell's doing.
They were doing everything they could to help, but nothing was working.
Finally, what broke through the crashing waves was Thane's voice. Deep and dark. Demanding.
"Stop."
I hiccupped, before freezing, instincts kicking in. He only used that tone for one thing- to make me obey. To make me be a good girl. I bared my neck, waiting. Light kisses trailed up my spine to the base of my neck.
"Good girl." He praised.
A shiver ran through me.
Garrus chuckled, a deep, husky sound. "You want to make us happy, right?"
I nodded, a whine leaving me.
"Then, you need to listen to us." Dark.
Hands pushed my shoulders forward, until I was face down on the bed. More spankings. Punishment for disobeying them by not calming down sooner, they said. These hurt. Stung. I knew, if I wasn't a wolf, I would have a hard time sitting tomorrow. Gen and I both had fleeting thoughts of wishing we wouldn't heal so quickly.
A hand turned my head, guiding my mouth open, the drell's thumb slipping between my lips. At the same time, I felt Garrus at my core, rubbing back and forth between my folds. Another shiver, this one harsher, ran through me. They were about to make me go feral. Something Garrus had seen before, with my heat. I distantly wondered how Thane would react to my heat.
The turian slammed into me, just as the drell slid into my mouth. My eyes widened at the feeling of being full. I reveled in it. Craved it, even though I was experiencing it. A part of me was already mourning the loss of it in the future.
A hand went around my throat, flexing just enough to cut off my airway but not hurt me. And only for a fleeting moment or two. Not enough to cause panic or discomfort.
"How do you feel... about collars?" Thane murmured, thrusting harder suddenly.
Please, please, please. I chanted.
"Would you like a collar, little wolf?" Garrus chuckled at his words, the sound dark, ominous.
I want to please you.
A sharp thrust. "Good answer." Into my throat. "What a good girl you are for us."
I melted at those words. The ones I sought out the most. He took full advantage of that, sliding into my throat over and over, using my relaxed state against me. His hand still wrapped around my neck.
Garrus spanked me a few times, hard, solid hits. I wanted to cry out, but I couldn't. I wanted to howl with pleasure, but I couldn't. I was being tortured- in the best possible way.
I took it all, everything they gave me, without any hesitation. While they were still cleaning me up, I drifted off, pleasantly sated and sedated.