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He promptly forgot what Quinn had asked in favor of begging him to touch him, to move faster and harder, to let him come.

The only response he got was murmured nonsense and soft growls against his neck, but Quinn slid a hand down, grasping Max’s aching cock and giving him something to thrust into.

Right before sinking his teeth into Max’s neck, on the opposite side of Caius’ mark.

He jerked at the sharp pain, his eyes flying open with a soundless scream.

Max was no stranger to pain, but being bit by a shifter was something else entirely.

The pain was temporary and quickly turned to a bright hot spark of pleasure that radiated through his entire body and into his core, like a thread of Quinn’s essence was reaching for Max’s flames.

His magic surged as the thread connected to him, stronger than it’d been when Caius bit him. There was an answering pulse as the magic Rían set in the foundation and amulet flared in response, channeling and diffusing the burst of excess energy before it could set the entire room ablaze.

Quinn tightened his grip on Max’s cock and stroked faster, matching the speed of his thrusts, until Max tipped his head back with a loud cry as he shuddered with release. Quinn followed a few thrusts later, pulling his teeth from Max’s shoulder with a sharp growl as he came.

Max’s body turned liquid, small tremors of pleasure curling his toes, though it wasn’t long before his arms and shoulders started to protest his position. “Arms,” he slurred.

“Fuck, sorry.” Quinn groaned as he pulled out before guiding Max’s arms free of his sweater. Then he rolled off the bed and disappeared into a bathroom before returning with a warm cloth to wipe them both down. “You good?” he asked, sprawling out next to Max.

“Uh-huh.” So good. Afterglow was awesome. He could see why people got addicted to sex.

Quinn chuckled and pulled the blanket over them, hooking an arm and leg over Max before nuzzling against his mark.

His claiming mark.

Fuck. Bound and claimed by shifters.

Max’s last thought before he passed out was what the hell was his life?

HE WAS woken by a commotion upstairs and burrowed against Quinn’s chest, dread swelling inside him before he fully regained consciousness. He was sure Caius would be pissed, despite saying he was okay with this .

Quinn stirred and tightened his arms around Max. “None of that,” he murmured. “It’s fine, you’ll see.” He rolled away with a yawn and started tossing clothes onto the bed. Once he dressed, he headed to the stairs like he had no care in the world. “I don’t smell sushi,” he called.

“Your nose is broken,” Lukas called back.

Max chewed on the inside of his cheek as he lingered at the bottom of the stairs. A few moments later, Aradia sailed down and landed on his shoulder with a soft chirp, nuzzling into his cheek. “I’m fine,” he murmured, stroking her soft fur.

He took a breath and headed up to the kitchen.

Quinn was digging through food containers, and Lukas was hauling large pieces of what looked like a metal fence upstairs, but his attention zeroed in on Caius setting several bags on the table.

Max froze when Caius turned and gray eyes focused on him.

He didn’t miss the quick glance to his neck or the way his nostrils flared as if scenting Max from all the way across the room.

Which he probably was. He could probably smell the grilled cheese Max had eaten for lunch.

Fuck, did he smell different since Quinn bit him? Did he smell bad? They hadn’t showered; he must still smell like sex. Fucking hell, Caius could probably smell Quinn on him. Who in their right mind wanted to smell someone else on their…. What were they? Lovers, boyfriends? Bound and master?

He opened his mouth to say he needed to go shower, but all that came out was a strangled gurgle.

Both Caius and Quinn moved towards him, Caius gripping his shoulders as Quinn wrapped arms around his stomach from behind. Caius slid his hands up until they wrapped around the sides of Max’s neck, tipping his head up with thumbs under his jaw.

“There’s nothing wrong.”

Max sagged against Quinn and nearly choked on a relieved gasp, latching on to Caius’ wrists. “Really?”

Caius leaned down, claiming Max’s lips and kissing him as thoroughly as he had the night before, leaving Max momentarily dazed.

He lingered with another kiss before stroking his thumb against Quinn’s mark.

His nod of approval was the last bit of reassurance Max needed to relax into Quinn’s hold with a shaky exhale .

“What’s all this?” he asked, nodding to the bags.

“Supplies.” Caius stepped away and pulled out boxes of pet food, treats, and toys.

Max’s eyebrows inched up a bit farther with each one, until Caius had emptied all four bags.

Aradia launched off Max’s shoulder and glided to the table, sniffing at the boxes until she found one she wanted and pawed at it.

Caius immediately opened it and shook what looked like bugs and small pieces of dehydrated fruit onto the top of another box.

“Oh gross,” Max muttered, pushing back into Quinn. “I don’t do bugs.”

Quinn laughed and propped his chin on top of Max’s head. “I think Cap can handle the bugs.” He patted Max’s stomach before he went back to sorting the containers with their dinner.

Max picked through the toys and supplies, finding a hammock, a hanging tent, hanging jungle gym, and various swinging toys, several forage toys and treat dispensers, and a giant chew toy. He turned an incredulous look on Caius. “You didn’t need to get all this.”

“I wanted to. Your familiar is part of the pack, just like you.”

He blinked against the stinging in his eyes and reached out to rub one of Aradia’s ears. “Thank you.”

“Of course. If you want to have any say on where the cage goes, you should catch Lukas before he finishes setting it up.”

Max hurried up the stairs and found Lukas putting together a large cage, tucked against the wall in Caius’ room by the bookcase. “Shouldn’t this go in my room?”

When Lukas glanced at him, Max got the distinct impression he was annoyed.

“This is your room.”

He could have argued that, considering all his clothes and possessions were in the room he’d first woken up in, but he decided against it. He hesitated near the bed, wondering what he could have possibly done to make Lukas mad, or if it was only his imagination. “I can finish,” he offered.

“I’m almost done.”

Max nodded even though Lukas wasn’t looking at him. “Okay. Thanks.” He backed out of the room and headed back downstairs.

Caius was clearing off the table while Quinn set out their dinner .

Max desperately wished one of them could learn to cook, but at least sushi wasn’t grilled cheese or greasy.

Maybe after his finals, he’d look up some recipes.

It couldn’t be that hard to follow some directions, right?

So long as he didn’t have a hot guy dancing naked and distracting him from paying attention.

When he reached the table, Aradia raced up his arm to settle against his neck, thankfully no longer munching on bugs.

“Here,” Caius said, handing over what looked like a stuffed sugar glider plushie with a long strap. Only when he turned it over did Max see it was a pouch. When he opened it, Aradia hopped right in, twisting around and around before finally curling into a ball with a contented chirp.

With a soft laugh, Max hooked the strap over his neck and adjusted it until it settled against his chest where Rían’s own pouch had hung. “Thank you.”

Quinn dropped into the seat next to him and popped a piece of sushi into his mouth, closing his eyes with a groan. “I’ve missed sushi.”

Max rolled his eyes and reached for his own container. “You ate it last week.”

“I’d eat it every day.”

“You’re ridiculous,” he said, though as soon as he took his own bite, he had to fight against groaning like Quinn. It was good. But he still wouldn’t want to eat it every day.

Lukas came downstairs and sat across from Quinn. “Cage is set,” he said, digging into his own food. Not sushi. It looked like some kind of beef stir-fry.

Max watched him from the corner of his eye, but Lukas kept his focus on his food. Before the silence could turn awkward, he cleared his throat. “I have finals on Thursday, if I could borrow a car.”

“I’ll take you,” Quinn said.

“I can drive myself. I’ll be there for a few hours.”

Quinn gave him a look and shoved another piece of sushi into his mouth, tucking it to the side to say, “You’re not going anywhere alone while the Order is after you.”

“Quinn’s right,” said Caius. “Until you’ve learned to use your magic properly, it’s too dangerous. Especially when we don’t know who all might be targeting you. ”

Max tensed, his fingers nearly snapping his chopsticks in half.

He knew Caius meant well, but those were nearly the same words his father had used, always paranoid someone would attack them.

Or target Max, even though his father had made it clear that Max would never inherit, even if he’d wanted to.

His twelve-year-old sister, who he’d rarely been allowed to speak to, would inherit when she came of age.

Eventually, not being allowed to leave without a bodyguard turned into not allowed to leave without an escort to leave without his father’s explicit permission to not allowed to leave at all.

He wouldn’t be trapped like that again.

“I won’t be held prisoner,” he said, thankful when his voice didn’t shake. Three pairs of eyes focused on him, but he kept his attention on Caius.

“You’re not a prisoner,” Caius said, meeting his gaze. “You can go wherever you need to go, so long as you have protection. If you’d prefer I hire a bodyguard until the Order is dealt with, I can.”

“Once the Order is gone, I can travel alone?”

“Once we have established our territory and you’re no longer a target, yes.”

“How long do you expect that to be?”

“A few months, maybe.” Caius held up a hand before Max could protest. “I promise you will not be a prisoner here. I’ll hire a bodyguard so you don’t have to rely on one of us if you need to go somewhere. For now, can Quinn go to the campus with you?”

Max stared at his plate, his instincts still raging at him to fight for his freedom before he fell into the familiar, bottomless hole of helpless despair.

Where did he draw the line? Where could he?

He’d already let them bind and claim him.

He was pretty sure shifters and mages lived by different laws, and even if they didn’t, Caius could order him to stay inside and the bond would ensure he obeyed.

“Fine,” he said, hating how he felt like he’d lost. His appetite was gone, but he forced down a few more pieces of sushi before sliding the rest over to Quinn.

He grabbed the bags of supplies and took them upstairs.

Only when he got to Caius’ room, he decided he really didn’t want Aradia’s cage in there.

He piled the bags in his own room and carefully set the pouch on his bed before heading back up and starting the arduous task of dragging the cage out and down a flight of stairs without drawing attention to himself .

Thankfully, the others were smart enough to leave him be if they heard anything.

It took over ten minutes, and he nearly lost a finger in the process, but he managed to get the cage into his own room.

He closed the door, wiggled the cage into place in the corner where sunlight wouldn’t hit it too much, then set to work filling the bottom with litter and hanging the beds and toys.

Aradia came to inspect when he was finishing up and gave it her seal of approval, promptly climbing into the tent and going back to sleep.

“Well, at least someone’s happy,” he muttered. He set up the food trays and filled the bottle from the bathroom tap. He gathered up the trash to set by the door, then flopped onto his bed.

Had he overreacted? He didn’t think so. He’d said from the beginning he wanted his freedom. Caius might mean well, but the Order hadn’t come knocking on their door. They’d probably given up. Surely they knew he wasn’t worth training this late in life.

Still, his father would come after him sooner or later, regardless of training or potential. It would be nice to have a shifter at his side when that happened.

He groaned, rolling from side to side before pulling his pillow to his chest and shoving his face into it. “Fuuuuuuck.”

A knock at the door made him freeze, and he slowly lowered the pillow to peek over it. “Yeah?”

The door opened enough for Caius to poke his head in. “You okay?”

Max sighed and sat up. “’M fine.”

Caius raised an eyebrow, glancing at the cage, though he didn’t comment on it. “If you’re sure.”

He tightened his arms around the pillow and nodded. He’d be fine, so long as they kept their word. The moment they tried to tell him he couldn’t go somewhere or do something, then they’d have a problem. Of the house burning to ash variety.

“Are you sleeping here?”

“Probably,” Max said after a moment. “I need to study more.” And he needed a shower and some quiet time to himself.

“All right. Good night.”

“Night.” He waited for the door to close before flopping onto the bed again. He felt like a dick, but he refused to wallow.

He showered, put on some music, and pored over his notes for a few hours.

His studying had gone well enough the past week that he was confident he could pass the finals.

Amazing what a change in environment could do.

Even if he was bound to shifters, at least they weren’t telling him how disappointing his entire existence was.

Only time would tell if they would keep their word. By the time they showed their true colors, he was determined to have learned enough magic to break the bindings and make it on his own if he had to.