The salmon that Eric prepared may just have become my favourite dish... well maybe second.. no third favourite dish. Gammon and venison steaks still remain my favourites.
Eric had made a little chive sauce to go with the fish and a side of green vegetables. He set the table, before urging us all to sit around it. I confess, we didn't bother using it all that often. My odd shifts and taxing hours meant that we were lucky to be together when we ate our meals, usually on trays in the living room with the television on. Eric never complained though.
Eric said something to Alex that made him giggle, it was one of the sweetest sounds I have ever heard. Not the high pitch giggle of a petite submissive trying to act all cute, but light laugh filled with honest joy. Eric placed the dishes onto the table with an exaggerated flourish, clearly showing off in front of our mate. I felt a little jealous that Alex had opened up so well to Eric, despite fainting because of him earlier, but that was all swept away when my boy smiled at me. Mesmerising. Eric coughed to recapture our attention as he sat down and told us to enjoy.
The salmon was tender and moist, becoming flaky when my fork pressed into the pink flesh. It burst into flavour on my tongue, but it lacked the bite of a steak, I was complaining inwardly when I heard a clatter of a fork falling upon china. "Are you alright?" Eric was asking Alex. My wolf whined pitifully when we noticed that Alex was pressing his fingers to his lips and tears were pouring down his shallow cheeks.
"Eric, you didn't add chilli flakes to the sauce, did you?" I asked, with a slight groan.
"I wouldn't do something so stupid!" He hissed at me, but then poked the sauce with his little finger and dabbed it on his tongue, before looking at me with a satisfied expression. Alex chuckled with a slight sobbing sound.
"I'm sorry," he sniffed, I grabbed him a piece of kitchen towel from the side in order to mop up his tears. He took it from me gratefully. "I didn't mean to cry, it's just it tastes delicious."
"Well I am good," Eric preened in jest. "But it's probably nothing to cry over."
Alex shook his head. "I'm not explaining this well," he said. "It's just that I haven't been able to taste anything in three years, so..."
"So, happy tears?" I asked. He nodded and wiped his eyes gently. I wonder what happened to make him lose his sense of taste? He picked up his fork and proceeded to taste a little of everything on his plate. His eyes half closed and his tongue flickered out between his pink lips as he captured any flakes that attempted to escape him. Tiny moans of delight followed eat and every bite. Eric and I both allowed our food to go cold, completely hypnotised by this little show. We were only unable to snap out of our reverence once every morsel upon his plate had gone.
"Were you not hungry?" He asked as he sat back on his chair rubbing his tiny stomach. We both glanced at our plates and at each other. Eric grinned and quickly polished off his meal. And I discovered that salmon was my third favourite meal.
*****
We curled up on the sofa in the living room, Eric and I on either side with Alex in between us. We were still a little uncertain of Alex' stance on our three person mating, so we were only so close as to feel the warmth eminating from his body, but not so close as to touch him physically. Although, I know we both longed to. We were watching some sitcom or other, I can't say I was paying it much attention. I don't think any of us were as none of the scenes were causing any laughter, either that or it just wasn't that funny.
"Sweetheart?" Eric called out this endearment and I'll be damned if Alex didn't turn to look at him. That sly cat was already burying his way under our skittish mate's skin, if he kept that up, I suspect it wouldn't be long until he buried his way into his pants as well. I felt myself harden at the thought. "Would you tell me what happened three years ago to make you lose your sense of taste?" This question had been on the tip of my own tongue since Alex' confession, but watching him enjoy his food had been too much of a distraction for me to ask it.
Alex fidgeted slightly and I worried that Eric had been too forward. "You don't have to tell us, if you're not ready to share," I offered him an escape route. He gave me a small, grateful smile and I felt like my heart was melting in my chest.
He shook his head and took a deep breath, centring himself. "Three years ago.. I watched the man I thought I was in love with get married to his mate," he told us, his voice quite. Thank the goddess for supernatural hearing. We remained quiet as he continued; "and on the same day, I was rejected by the man that turned out to be my mate." My wolf whined in pity, wanting to reach out and nuzzle our boy, to share his grief and then he growled angrily at the men who dared hurt him. I reminded the beast that if not for his past, the Goddess wouldn't have gifted us his future and he quietened down.
"Sweetheart," Eric was more physical than I when offering his sympathy; his arms reached around to embrace Alex. "Shall I hunt them down for you? Tear them limb from limb?" My wolf snorted, I felt as if he was looking at me and suggesting that he was with Eric on this one. I inwardly rolled my eyes at him. Since when did violence ever solve anything?
Alex chuckled a little and nestled into Eric's hold causing his tiger to purr like a kitten. "It's alright," Alex said. "Marcus didn't know about my feelings for him and his mate Jenny was so lovely, I couldn't summon even a slither of dislike for her. As for David... I am better off without him."
"I totally agree," I said and voiced the same thing that I had told my wolf. "If this David hadn't been so blind and stupid, we wouldn't be blessed with you in our lives." Alex blushed, his point of focus dropped. That told me that no how much Eric had broken through his defences, he was not quite ready to believe in us yet. We would just have to reassure him over and over again, but that was fine by me and my wolf.
"Michael is right," Eric said and then whispered as if I wasn't there; "Don't tell him that though, I don't want him to get a swollen head." Alex laughed at my expense. I didn't mind though. He could laugh at me all he wanted so long as he accepted me, accepted us. Eric began to stroke his hair, causing him to shiver, no more resistant to the sparks of attraction that flashed between all of us than we were. "Was it because you are human that the rejection effected your sense of taste, I wonder?"
"I don't know," Alex mentioned. "It was just.. when I woke up from the coma..."
"Coma?" I found myself interrupting. Just how much had our boy been through because of this rejection?
"Ah, yeah," Alex said, unable to meet my eyes. "I was a bit of an emotional mess what with the bonding ceremony and that and all I wanted to do was go home and hide in my room for a while. But then I saw David in the crowd and he saw me. I should have realised what was going on, but I let him take me away from the festivities and into the woods, which is where he rejected me. It was so painful, my former heartache was nothing compared to it and I fell unconscious." I could see that this was hurting him, to tell us this, but I needed to know what had happened. There was a determination in his eyes, he wanted to share this with us. I was torn between making him stop, so he wouldn't hurt anymore and pride that he was willing to continue. Eric clearly felt the same and continued to try and soothe him through his touches.
"David... David didn't tell anyone," Alex whispered. "He didn't even hint at the fact that I was lying there, alone in the woods. The ceremony finished mid afternoon, but the festivities were planned to go on for quite sometime. If it wasn't for the fact that the wolf pack also have a tradition of continuing the celebration as wolves once the sunset and moon was in the sky..." My wolf raged and howled, tearing about inside me, desperate now to hunt this bastard down. Eric's tiger was no better, I could see the beast burning in my mate's eyes. "I was under for just about a year. After I woke up, there were several things wrong with me." He fidgeted within Eric's grasp. Eric was being so careful not to harm him as the rage effected us, but wasn't about to let him go either.
"Your sense of taste being one?" I asked. He nodded. "Can you tell us what else?"
"Don't reject me!" He blurted out suddenly, his eyes becoming slightly glassy with tears. "Promise me! I know I am defective but...!"
"Sweetheart," Eric murmured into his hair, his tiger scent marking our boy. "Haven't you figured out that you are stuck with us yet?" Alex let out a broken sob and gripped hold of his shirt, his tears beginning to fall freely. My wolf urged me forward and I found myself wrapping my arms about both my mates. Alex cried for a while, his tears soaking into Eric's clothing, before the sobs gave way to soft sniffling and quiet little hiccups. I pulled away realising that he had fallen asleep, exhausted by his outburst.
"He's asleep," Eric pointed out the obvious as he looked down with soft eyes. His heart has always been on his sleeve; quick to anger, quick to laugh and even quicker at falling in love. I couldn't blame him though, for falling so soon for our mate. It's not like I wasn't following suit.
"You are amazing, you know that?" I told him as he lifted Alex princess style into his arms.
"I know, you should praise me more often," Eric grinned. "But what's the occasion?" He made his way to the stairs, carefully adjusting Alex' long frame to protect him from hitting the walls as he carried him.
"You got him to open up to you," I replied. "Whereas I have been struggling for weeks."
"But I think it's due to you being gentle with him that gave him the time he needed to adjust to the idea of having a mate again," Eric pointed out. "I think if I had met him first, he would have run for the airport and emigrated!" I laugh softly, unable to keep in my mirth at his self-depreciation. "So you are amazing too."
He placed Alex upon the centre of our bed and kissed his forehead before wrapping his arms about my neck. I looked one arm about his waist as I look down on our sleeping mate. "He's amazing," I whisper. So amazingly brave, so amazingly strong.
"Yeah, he is."