Havermouth, Present TimeAislen’s restless fidgeting increased the closer that they got to the river house and Heath tried to push down the ache that gnawed in his sternum. “We are working on the garden,” he said as he turned in the gate, seeking to relieve the growing tension with conversation. “There’s an argument whether to restore the formal gardens that were original to the house, or to do something more natural and lower maintenance.”“Oh.”“We will probably have to hire a landscaper to decide the matter for us,” he pressed the button to activate the roller door of the garage to the side of the house.“This is new,” she said as he pulled up in his space.“Needed somewhere to park the cars.”“And the tractor,” she nodded towards it. “I’m guessing that’s Cameron’s as it isn’t precisely your or Rhett’s style.”He laughed, but his laughter sounded tight and forced to his own ears. “Come on,” he got out of the car and went to the rear of the car to collect the groceries. By the time
Havermouth, Five Years BeforeRhett reached the classroom first and leaned back against the wall, staying out of the press of students making their way from class to class. The mate bond inevitably drew his eyes through the crowd of blue clad students to where Heath was making his way towards him. Heath was shadowed by Lillian Ridgeway and Diana Boyston.Lillian made doe eyes up at Heath, though the blonde alpha was oblivious, his eyes already on Rhett’s and a smile curling his lips. Rhett knew he was smiling back, the happiness bubbling up within him at seeing his mate.As he reached Rhett, Heath forgot about the she-wolves with him, and Rhett saw Lillian’s disappointment as Diana tugged her away back into the flow of students towards their next class. Heath leaned his shoulder against the wall next to Rhett and inclined towards him, breathing in the scent of Rhett’s hair. “I missed you last night,” he said softly.“Dad’s in town,” Rhett replied. He could feel the heat of Heath’s bod
Havermouth, Present TimeHeath continued the tour of the renovated river house, taking Aislen upstairs to where the Triquetra kept their work and play areas – and it was both. There was an office for Cameron, one for Heath, and a generous area that served both as office and art-studio for Rhett.And then there was the playroom.The door was code-locked, and Heath opened the double doors into a darkened room. As he stepped over the threshold, a strip of red lighting set at ground level lit up, revealing a massive room that easily occupied half the second level. It was so large that there were structural support poles that divided the space.A huge four poster bed was central, circled by a variety of leather covered benches, frames, restraints, swings and St Andrews’ cross.The walls of the room were curtained, and Heath picked a remote up off a table and they pulled back to reveal internally lit glass fronted cases displaying a range of toys and BDSM wear.“This is other level,” Aislen
Havermouth, Five Years BeforeSunday night, Rhett crept into the house. He could hear the scrape of silverware over china from the living area, and the soft tones of the classical music Phillip liked to play during mealtimes.Heath and Cameron went home Sundays from the river house, to attend their mandatory Sunday family meals. Things in the Salem’s house was less formal, unless it was the weekend of the full moon and Phillip was home, in which case Lora Salem would cook a roast to appease her husband’s liking for the impression of family bliss.“It has almost been a year,” Phillip said, his voice echoing hollowly through the almost-silent barn. “And the three of them seem to have little interest in finding a mate.”“Not all werewolves mate their first adult year, darling,” Lora replied. “If I remember correctly, you were twenty-nine when we married, not nineteen.”“I was studying law. And I wasn’t a member of a Triquetra,” Phillip’s tone was clipped and irritated. “They have one pur
Havermouth, Present TimeHeath arranged the spill of Aislen’s hair over the edge of the mattress. “When I tell you…” He said sliding his hand under her back. “I want you to lift here, and your leg,” he adjusted the position. “Here.” He stepped back and ran his eye over her and Cameron. “Yes, that…” He was breathing heavily.Aislen smirked. “Gets you off.”“It does,” his smile was wry. “As does looking at the images after.”“Well, let’s make these worth wanking over,” she gestured come hither with her fingers to Cameron. “You know where I want your lips, handsome,” she purred up at him. “Like you promised, an orgasm for each photo.”“That’s not quite how the game was intended. We’re supposed to be in charge,” Cameron braced his arms over her. Heath snapped a photo startling them both, and then a second as they both looked up at him. Cameron was laughing as he looked back down at Aislen. “I like this way,” he said softly, and began to kiss her beneath her jaw, so that she angled her hea
Havermouth, Five Years Before“F-k I need more coffee,” Rhett complained as the Triquetra made their way towards the lockers, dodging the puddles that an earlier rain shower had left behind. They passed a group of footballers deliberately kicking up the icy water at the younger girls as they passed, spraying their bare legs and making them scream.“Well, you know why,” Heath grinned wickedly flicking Rhett a look out of the corner of his eye.They had snuck into Cameron’s bedroom, waking the red-haired alpha from a deep sleep and f-king him between them whilst he was still warm and dazed. Heath felt his c-ck throb at the memory of f-king Cameron’s arse whilst Rhett sucked him off. He’d used his hand to gag Cameron’s moans so that he didn’t wake his parents and the act of restraining a sleep-confused Cameron had added an element of thrill to the f-k.“Absolutely worth it,” Rhett smirked.Cameron yawned widely. “Not complaining. Hey,” his eyes sharpened as they entered the covered area
Havermouth, Present TimeAislen lay on Cameron’s chest as they watched as Heath showered in the open-air ensuite bathroom tucked into a corner of the playroom. He faced towards them as he washed, gripping his c-ck and stroking himself back to hardness, his eyes glinting wickedly and a small smile on his lips.“He’s planning evil things,” she murmured.Cameron pressed his lips into her hair. He was contentedly lazy below her, awash in post orgasm satiation. He had lasted through two of her orgasms before losing control and rolling her under him so that he could f-k himself hard and fast into completion whilst Heath photographed the action. “You’ll love every moment of the evil,” he predicted.“Highly likely,” she kissed his chest. “What happened between you and Talen?”“Why do you think something happened?” He asked, but his c-ck twitched back to life.“Your c-ck says something happened,” she closed her hand around it, encouraging him back to full hardness. “What did my vampire do to y
Havermouth, Five Years BeforeRhett leaned against the wall between the transportable classrooms.As was typical of the season, it had started off rainy that morning, but the sun had come out in the afternoon, creating a steam as it evaporated the puddles off the pavement, and lifting with it the scent of minerals and earth, creating an intoxicating vapor that the wolf within him enjoyed and recognized as the beginning of Spring – breeding season – making him feel a little wild and restless. And f-king horny.His art class fell during a double free for Cameron and Heath, so they usually left during lunch to buy beer and took it to the park between school and Heath’s house. By the time Rhett finished the day, they would be half tanked and working on a tan in the park whilst they waited for him.Without Heath and Cameron present, Rohan and his cronies made it blatantly obvious that they considered Rhett a fringe dweller and wanted nothing to do with him unless he was with Heath and Came
Havermouth, Present Time Talen and Aislen were quickly called to a stop as they approached the busy area directly in front of the town hall. The police and the firies were packing up, she noticed, frowning, and none of them looked happy about it. “We are encouraging civilians to stay in their residences and off the streets,” a stern voiced soldier told Aislen and Talen disapprovingly. “There are many hazards left after the storm, and our men need free access to clear the roads of debris and make repairs.” Aislen swallowed back the words that she wanted to say, and instead smiled sweetly. “We’re from Boyston’s coffee shop,” she lied showing him the box that she held. “Making a delivery. Cakes and slices that are going stale, to help fuel the forces here. They’re free,” she added with a bright smile. “See, that’s our coffee van, over there,” she nodded with her chin. “Oh,” he was non-plussed, looking over his shoulder at the van, and then back at the box that she held. “Let me look,”
Havermouth, Two Years Before“Aislen Carter graduated from Rideten School of Art with honors on the eleventh of the month, and vacated her school accommodation four days later,” the PI’s report stated blandly the words that sent icy shards of fear and horror through Heath’s soul.“Her vehicle was placed for sale at North Rideten Car Sales one week prior and sold on the fifteenth with deposits made into bank accounts that were, in turn, closed on the twentieth. We have seen this sort of behavior before, in victims of domestic violence, where the subject is escaping an abusive spouse through the help of an organization. It is our companies ethical position not to pursue such cases further.”“Sure,” Heath snarled at the email. “But you f-king charged me the full price.”He was tempted to throw the laptop against the wall in his frustration, but he gripped the table edge instead and blew out his breath, controlling the anger, turning the heat to ice, and focusing on the house around him t
Havermouth, Two Years Before The Rideten night club was overflowing with patrons, and Heath had to fight for the standing table where he could look out across the dance floor and keep an eye on Rhett, who was having a fantastic time with his co-workers celebrating the end of his apprenticeship and the purchase of his own shop in Havermouth. It was the happiest that Heath had seen him in a long time, and that thought pained him, but did not surprise him. The Triquetra pretended well, most of the time, however the waiting was slowly tearing them apart. They were spending less time together at the river house, and it often felt more like they were house mates than mates, as they rarely even shared a meal let alone a bed. Cameron was spending more and more time on the land now that he had graduated university, Rhett had thrown himself into getting as much experience as he could before starting his own shop, and Heath was working part time at the law firm he had purchased in Havermouth i
Havermouth, Five Years BeforeThe little Redbank tattoo parlour that had agreed to take him as an apprentice had many things that Rhett liked, and many that he didn’t. The shop was tiny, with a staircase to the second level which was so steep that it kicked in Rhett’s phobia about heights, and, whilst the workstations were brightly lit for the purpose of the artists, everywhere else was shadowy and pokey. The little kitchen could only fit one person at a time, and the toilet was so narrow that cleaning it (which was one of Rhett’s duties as an apprentice) was a bit like performing yoga in a box.Mostly he divided his time between manning the reception desk, doing clean-up of the workstations, and making drinks for the artists and customers, but on the slow days, the artists would take turns working with his sketches, and he would sit with his pants around his ankles on one of the chairs and practise on himself, upside down.If he produced a decent piece, one of the other artists, Matt
Havermouth, Five Years BeforeHeath left the final class of the year feeling as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Just the exams left to do, and high school would be a thing of the past. He paused for a moment, his eyes adjusting from the artificial light of the classroom and his body to movement after two intense hours of mental activity as the teacher had taken the opportunity to run them through a practice exam.Cameron’s bright hair caught the sunlight over the heads of other students moving out into freedom. “Hey!” Cameron grinned as he headed over. “It’s done! We are free!”“Until exams,” Heath corrected. “And, then the pre-reading for university.”“Ugh,” Cameron’s groan of disgust was throaty. “Let me have at least today to enjoy the end of classes without filling my head up with more useless knowledge.”Heath slung his arm around Cameron’s shoulders. “Will you miss school?”“Nope,” Cameron leaned into Heath. “You?”“Nope,” Heath agreed. He gave Cameron’s shoulders
Havermouth, Five Years BeforeCameron’s dreams were filled with chasing Aislen through the fields. He could see her just ahead of him, her dark hair bouncing with the motion of her run, the weeds catching on the skirt of her dress and dragging long scratches along her legs that she didn’t seem to notice. “Aislen!” He cried out. “Slow down!”He woke with a start to the echoes of his own voice. It wasn’t yet midnight and he was alone in bed. He pressed his face into the pillows, breathing in, seeking the scent of Rhett and Heath from the fabric, but it had been too long since they’d slept there, and the scent had faded beneath his own.He couldn’t remember ever having fought with either of them. It left him feeling off-balance, and unwell. He’d thrown himself into working the farm with his dad, trying to distract himself from the anguish of it. Jules hadn’t questioned why Cameron wasn’t going to school, studying, or spending time with the other two members of the Triquetra, although Cam
Havermouth, Five Years Prior“I can’t go home - things are too bad with dad and he seems to be hanging around more than ever, and things are f-ked up with Aislen at home too, so I was thinking that Aislen and I could stay at the river house for a few days until we all find somewhere to rent in Havermouth. If we all go in to Aislen’s we can get her packed and out of there before her parents can do anything about it, right?” Rhett suggested, twisting in his seat to look from Heath to Cameron.“Sure,” Cameron leaned forward and gripped the front seats. “We can all stay at the river house. It will be fun.”“Exams next week,” Heath said softly, his heart sinking. “We should study more. But, sure, a few days at the river house won’t hurt. We can study during the daytime whilst there’s light.” What day would they take Aislen away, he wondered. Did she know that she was going to Rideten? Had that been why her suitcases had been under the bed?“Speak for yourself,” Rhett snorted. “I’m not f-ki
Havermouth, Five Years BeforeAs dawn pinked the sky, Cameron scuffed the toe of his shoe through the dust that was all that remained of the grass where cows had been killed. Now that he knew what caused these patches, whenever he was by the river, his eyes were peeled for them, and he was surprised by how many there were – patches where nothing seemed to grow, which he’d always accepted as just being randomly barren spots because he’d grown up with their occurrence.“Don’t play in the dust,” Jules reprimanded as he returned to the Ute.“Why?” Cameron wondered. “It’s just dirt, dad.”“It’s still dead. I don’t trust it until it grows green again.”It made sense that Jules would think that way, Cameron thought stepping away from the patch. Jules' relationship to the land was other level, as Jules’ father and grandfather had been before him. Cameron loved the farm. He loved and respected the land, the river house, and the work. He couldn’t imagine doing anything else with his life, but h
Havermouth, Five Years BeforeHeath fed some twigs into the ashes of the firepit knowing that below the layer of ash, there was enough heat to get the fire going again. They’d be grateful in the morning when they went to make coffee and breakfast if there were still hot coals, so he’d get the fire going again whilst Rhett got his drunk on, and then the three of them would go to bed, f-k it out, and get some sleep, he decided.Rhett winced his way through a swig of whiskey, drinking to the side of his mouth away from the piercing and then deliberately swishing the whiskey over the wound, using it as a disinfectant, the action betraying how much it was paining him and his concern over the damage. He met Heath’s eye and gave a little rueful shrug – there wasn’t much that he could do other than hope that it healed alright.Heath took the whiskey bottle from him and took a swig before returning it and leaning over to throw some logs onto the firepit as the kindling leapt into flame. “I got