three of a kind

Castor feels like he’s dreaming, like there is a glitch in his brain and this isn’t actually happening. She really just took his breath away and now she’s begging him to take her home now. That never happens after one drink, but the kicker is she decided all of this the minute they met? She fucking felt it too and that is probably the most amazing and weird thing to happen in the history of ever in his eyes. “You don’t have to tell me twice.”

Without worrying about the bill or the people that may or may not give a shit about them, he grabs her hand and pulls her outside into the crisp, cool air. Castor weaves them both through the walkways of Port Gem with one mission in mind, but as they are getting nearer to his ship he wonders if she’ll care that it’s somewhat small and pretty bare inside. When they reach his designated landing pad, he hesitates for a split second before placing his hand on the scanner to open the door. “It’s… really not much. I hope you don’t mind the mess.”

Vintage paper photos were strung across the top of one side of the main area, all photos of his large family. A picture of Gem flipping off the camera and Desmond behind her rolling his eyes, there’s one of Pluto and Desmond with their arms around each other staring out onto the icy plains, another of the whole lot of them holding up peace signs, and so much more pretty much telling his whole meaning for life.

As soon as the door slides shut, Castor’s heart jumps into overdrive and he’s pushing her back against the door. Time seems to slow down, and the moment before he kisses her, his eyes focus on hers to remind her she can change her mind if she wants. If she’s on cloud nine like he is, she’ll probably just be annoyed with another hesitation. Castor can’t help it though, because this is wonderfully strange as it is.

Mina has never been a patient girl, and she's physically burning up the longer she waits. But once she steps into the pod, her desire is on hold. It felt like she'd just stepped into his life. What he loved and cherished plain for her to see. A gentle smile graces her lips and it's still there when he pulls away to question her desires again. 

 "I told you no more hesitation," she whispers, lifting her shirt up and off. She's not wearing a bra underneath and her nipples pebble in the chill of his ship. She lays a hand flat on his chest, reaching up on her tip toes to kiss him some more. Tries to show him how sure she really is. With a soft gasp, she pushes his jacket off of his shoulders and feels his arms beneath her fingertips. Strong, corded with muscle. 

With his hands on her hips and their bodies moving together with the beat of the music, Cas feels like he is high. Coincidentally, getting high didn’t change him at all anymore either, but if being around her made him lightheaded this had to be real love. It is so strange to admit it, but this has to what it really feels like.

Castor has to think of everything else to keep himself from getting hard against her behind, but it’s difficult when all of his senses are filled with her. His voice is lower and a bit more husky when he replies, “You could come with me.” And now he doesn’t want to dance anymore, he just wants to take her…

Shit. He can’t take her to his house, but what would it look like if he took her to a hotel? Would that offend her or make her feel special? The real question is does he even have money for a hotel. Of course, his ship is pretty cozy and now he feels like an idiot for not thinking of that first.

His hands travel up her body and farther up her arms until he grasps her hands in his. Castor spins her one more time before he stops her to look in her eyes, “My ship is at another docking area, it’s not too far…”

Mina’s breath is coming faster now, cheeks completely flushed. The way that she loved him, nothing could compare. She wanted to be his everything. She wanted to everywhere he was. Wanted to care for him, and cook for him, and bear pups for him. The last thought has her shuddering in want, bouncing lightly on her toes and hoping he doesn’t notice the spike in her arousal.

It’s embarrassing, how worked up she is after simply dancing. She doesn’t let him finish, covering his mouth with her own. Her kiss is not gentle in the slightest, a heady mixture of love and lust. She needed to be alone with him, to learn his body. To be studied by him. Her head was full of pheromones.

Castor sets his glass aside and stares at her lips while her finger crosses them, he bites his knuckle when she sucks her finger before his eyes meet hers again. She knows exactly what she was doing and for whatever reason he is the one lucky enough to have her attention. Maybe she feels the same pull towards him.

His family knew what it was like to distance themselves from parents, so he didn’t bother to dig deeper. If she wanted to talk about it she could, but now didn’t seem like the time either of them wanted to waste on words. Almost as if she knows what he was thinking, she leaves the booth to hit the dance floor and he’s not far behind her.

“A little.” he smirks before he grabs her hand and spins her into his body. With her this close he is enveloped by her scent and he almost moves to quickly and kisses her. Instead, he starts swaying his hips with hers, content in rubbing his cheek in her hair. Castor almost keeps his thoughts to himself, but he had two drinks and she has no idea they aren’t affecting him. He could blame his bluntness on that.

“I don’t know what it is about you, but I feel like you’re driving me insane. All day you were on my mind, I would have finished work early if my last shipment came in on time.” Never in his life has a woman stolen his heart like this, not even when he thought he found ‘The One’ as a teenager.

Even if he wasn’t touching her this way, his words alone would have her aching for him. Mina trembles a bit in his arms but she pushes closer to him so he knows it isn’t out of fear. Her nose is in the perfect place, close to his warm neck. She takes in his scent, letting out a little whimper as she drags her nose upwards. Her mouth is close to his ear now, and she wants to nibble beneath it but she refrains. He just smells like he’d taste so good.

“It feels like you were made for me,” she whispers, a bit nervous despite knowing he would still want her. That her affection won’t scare him. “I was burning up just thinking about you.” And the way their hands were clasped so tight, it was dizzying. It was the most amazing sensation. She turns her head so that their mouths brush briefly, she lets him see the overwhelming desire in her eyes.

Leo can’t keep his eyebrows from raising in surprise. “You’re part of a pack?” That was a little strange because as far as he knew, wolves didn’t have packs with humans or witches in them unless they were mates. He is almost afraid to ask, but he is curious if she found someone to spend the rest of her life with. He doesn’t say anything else about Kurt, the guy is already ten light years out of his mind because of her next statement.

Leo doesn’t want to talk about it, but he has to reassure her that she’s not hurting him. Or at least make it seem like this doesn’t hurt. “Oh I know, I just worry is all. I want to see that you’re doing okay.” he waves his hand and turns to look at the rain again.

“So did you… like Ariella… find a mate?” It’s strange to call them that, but that’s what wolves find. Mate or soulmate. Basically the same thing right?

A laugh escapes her, not mocking, but genuinely surprised. "A mate? Heavens, papa, no." She sits back and shakes her head at him. "No, they're just... nontraditional." That's one way to put it.

To be honest with himself, he really didn’t expect her to wait around for him. Castor knew he was pretty damn good looking, but she sought him out and now she even waited eight and a half hours for him. Maybe she really didn’t just sit around and wait, but it was a little sketchy. Why does it matter though, why is he questioning himself now that he’s sitting in front of her? He could smell her, not the perfume she had on earlier which was pleasant but a little strong.

Castor raises his fingers for three drinks and a waiter shows up with them shortly after. Thankfully, Polly is being nice tonight apparently. He downs the first one and pushes a second one over to her, “Well you know, no one could top the first one.” He winks and raises the third glass up to cheers.

Alcohol didn’t really affect him anymore since the attack, and after his first full moon he realized what might be happening to him. Luckily, Desmond actually knew a lot about other species so he was a helpful sort of guidebook. It was frustrating, but tonight he really doesn’t want to think about that.

Now that he’s off work, Castor is enjoying that strange feeling from earlier. It seems more appropriate in this setting, somewhat private even though they are surrounded. He wants to hold her hand, to share electricity with her again. Melt together like they were meant to be even though they just met. Castor never before believed in love at first sight, but Mina was changing his mind. “Honestly, I’m a little surprised I found you. I didn’t think I would. How’s Port Gem treating you?”

Mina knew better than to drink with wolves. She had one or two embarrassing stories about trying to outlast her pack members in a drinking contest. She looks at her drink, running a finger down the glass and through its condensation. She wasn’t surprised he found her at all, it was in their blood. “Good enough,” she murmurs like she’s tired of the small talk. She thinks they both are. Leaning her face on one hand, she raises her drink to him before downing it as well.

With the same finger she wipes the excess off her lips and sucks it off, leaning back in her chair. “Mmm, think I found what I was looking for,” she continues, her gaze almost as electric as her touch. She decides to share a little more with him, hoping he’ll trust her as much as she trusts him right now. He’d rip a throat out for her, she already knew. Love was funny like that. “Taking a break from my family, well, my dad in particular.”

“Shut the fuck up.” he says before Paul can say anything. Then Castor hears a crackling noise before Desmond’s com is back on and Castor repeats himself, “Shut the fuck up.”

“I’m telling Gem everything, you look like you have a boner. I can see all the way from here.” Desmond laughs as he signs off on more shipments. His side was looking much more organized than Castor’s, but before his brother can ask he says, “I’m not taking your work.”

Cas rolls his shoulders and sighs as he starts checking over the annoyed captain’s shipment. “Fuck off, Des.” Eight hours is a long ass time and Cas is going to do his best to get the work done early like the overachiever across the way.

He really did his best to finish before eight, but Nico was on his list and Desmond wasn’t lying when he said he would not help. Nico is always fucking on time or late, never ever early. What the hell did that guy even do all the time. After giving the guy attitude and petting Bella, he was finally off to go find Mina Hopkins.

Unsure of how he’d actually find her, he followed what he thought was just a feeling straight to his favorite bar. Sure enough, she is there sitting in his favorite booth oddly enough. He makes his way to her and slides into the seat across from her, “I’ve had a long day, how about you?”

Mina almost heads straight for the bar, but with the wind that blows past her she’s reminded of the hairspray and perfume and lotion covering her body right now. She thinks of his poor nose in this port all day, surrounded by heavy unfamiliar smells. How did he stand it? She stops short on the boardwalk and turns back towards her ship. A hot shower has her body stripped of artificial scent, and she stares at herself in the mirror as she towel dries her hair.

She didn’t look any different, but she felt like a whole new person. A mate. She had a mate. A lifetime spent loving werewolves, and now she finally belonged. She traces the freckles on her chest, remembering the spark of electricity between them. A soft, happy giggle escapes her. Her own mate, and he was beautiful. Turning away from the mirror, she digs through her closet for something new to wear.

It’s hard to settle but she thinks a skirt is best, to show off her legs. Castor’s wolf would probably want a good look at her, even without him knowing it. She pulls it on before grabbing a loose top, one that shrugs on her shoulders. Before she heads out the door, she slides on her boots and grabs the map he’d lent her. 

“A whole pack of wolves?” The news isn’t surprising really. Leo had accepted the fact that Mina would always attract wolves. It wasn’t really Kurt’s fault or even her uncle Vincent’s. Leo was icy toward both of them earlier in their lives, but after all these years he realized a good person can be any species. “Were they good ones or bad ones?” he assumed so because she’s still alive, but at the same time she’s strong enough to take some out. 

For some reason, a memory of Kurt answering the door in sunglasses crops up and Leo tries not to laugh. At the time it was annoying, but now it’s funny thinking about those days. Mina loved him then, she talked to him then. “Did you meet them through Kurt?”

Mina feels her muscles ease, the tension slowly leaking out of her. Who was this man? She stares at him for a moment before slowly sitting in her chair. Suddenly she wants to tell him everything. And that feeling made her fingers tremble. She curls them in, holding her hands in delicate fists on her lap. 

“They’re my pack now,” she says, still a bit nervous. “They’re good people. A little... crazy... but good.” She looks into his eyes briefly, she really did look so much like him. “I haven’t seen Kurt in awhile, he’s got a new litter.” Sometimes Mina wondered if Kurt was just building a pack of his own. Wasn’t this Riley’s third or fourth litter now? She shakes her head to focus on her father again.

“So… you’re just visiting then.” Castor looks down at his checklist and doesn’t see her name anywhere on it. The person behind her is really not even trying to be subtle about their annoyance with the hold up and Castor is kind of irritated now too. This isn’t the dock for visitors, she should have been on the complete other side of the port. Before he has a chance to let her down she’s just going right for him.

Gem would murder him if he stepped out for even a break. Cas sighs and rubs his eyebrow before he turns her away, “Mina… Miss Hopkins. I literally just started an hour ago.” He gestures to the whole of the platform to emphasize just how busy he really is, “As you can see there are still ships coming in and a… fucking mess of cargo cluttering the whole block.” What on Port Gem is he doing? Screw Sampson for being sick, Cas would much rather be spending his day with her satisfying her appetite.

“Look, I’ve got a map you can borrow that’ll lead you to some places to eat.” he pulls his own map out of his back pocket and offers it to her. “This is my port.” Cas licks his lips and glances over her knowing he’s making a fucking mistake. “Mina this is literally the worst day you could have arrived, I can’t leave my post for another eight hours.”

Mina is flooded with a disappointment she’s never known before. She takes the map from him, letting her fingers slide over the back of his hand. Fucking electricity moves between them and her mouth opens slightly as she stares at him in wonder. Her lips spread into a smile after a beat and she holds the map to her chest. 

“You’re worth the wait,” she assures him, backing away reluctantly. “Castor.” The way she says his name has the other guard snickering. She says it like it leaves behind a delicious taste in her mouth. “You’ll know where to find me.”

“Checking in cargo has got to be the worst fucking job.” he mumbled. The ship captain in front of him smiled and went off back to his ship since his job was now done. Castor rubbed his eyes and signed off that everything was in order with this shipment before someone else came to load them elsewhere for delivery.

A voice crackled in his ear, “It’s not that bad, Cas. Just focus and get it done.”

Castor flipped his middle finger up in the direction of Desmond all the way on the other side of the platform. Desmond was much better at just getting shit done because no one wanted to carry on conversations with a wall. The guy barely ever talked to anyone outside of the family, and when he did it was only to threaten them for trying to hurt anyone in it. Bastard.

Before he could give Desmond an earful about disrespect, he locked eyes with a woman that was b-lining for him. “Shit…” something really weird happened and he couldn’t take his eyes off her. The feeling… well it felt like he just fell in love. Literally tripped and fell into some romance novel scenario where the heroes can barely stand being apart. “what in the hell is happening to me?” He heard a click in his ear the same time the woman’s name fluttered out of her mouth. Desmond hung up on him.

“Castor… what can I help you with?” he took her hand and shook it as briefly as possible without offending her. If she’s here to pick up a shipment, he really doesn’t want to piss her off. It was just too weird because when they touched the feeling intensified and he really didn’t need some fantasy shit like this right now. There were too many shipments to check in and send off. He didn’t have the time for distractions.

Mina has several answers to that, especially after their hands touch and the ache in her belly grows. She can feel a soft blush grow on her cheeks, and she knows it’s not fair that she knows exactly what’s happening while he looked lost. Dropping her hand, she gives him a slow smile and leans on the post beside him. “What’s good to eat around here?” she asks lazily, “I’m starving.”

In more ways than one. She can hear someone shuffling impatiently behind her, and looks over her shoulder briefly to give them a silencing look. One she definitely got from her father. Oh her father wouldn’t approve of what she was trying to pull off. She smirks, looking back at Castor. “What time do you get off?” Her eyes wander, taking in his form. He must make a beautiful wolf, she thinks. She couldn’t wait to bury her face in his fur.

She knew exactly where she was headed. The gates to the city were hardly anything impressive, but there’s a glint shown by the sunlight, revealing the forcefield reinforcing it. The only way in and out was through two narrow doors. And standing in front of one was her target.

“Shit,” she whispers as she stops in her tracks, someone knocking into her shoulder rudely and cursing at her for being in the way. She doesn’t mind, she’s too enraptured. She knows this feeling, been told about it her whole life. The instant yearning, like the earth has fallen away beneath you. Smiling shakily, she pushes her hair behind her ears and continues on her way. 

Kurt catches the pen and sets it back down, “Come on moon moon we gots us a fire to start” and motions her to following him to the fireplace. Her laughter was like a beautiful song that warmed his heart, he couldn’t imagine a better feeling that making that tiny little angle happy.

Quickly grabbing a pile of logs from the stack that was close to the fireplace, he places them neatly in a stack so they start up quick. “Now moon moon we almost forgot the most important part, the smores ingredients! Go grab them while i set this up.” He says with a smirk. Once she returns he says, “Okay now its time for some fireworks, I seem to be all out of matches, could you lend this fire a light?”.

Mina does as he instructs, waddling to and from the kitchen with her arms overflowing. Excitedly, she settles in front of the fireplace and tilts her head just a bit. Sparks fly across the logs, licking up into a flame. The fire is roaring in seconds. Quickly, she gets to work on assembling her smores.

A little glimmer of hope, something for him to grab on to. Leo nods and ruffles his hair again, “Yeah, ‘course.” Maybe this would be better, just the two of them alone watching the rain together. They’d be able to catch up with each other, it wasn’t like they never called or talked on the phone. He just wanted to be in her presence, the buzz of her energy felt more like home to him than anywhere he laid his head at night.

Leo watches her as she moves around her small kitchen and wonders if they’d still be this way had her mother died of old age instead. Would they still be this broken inside? Living in what ifs, Leo needed to learn to stop regretting everything but the longer he lived the more he wanted to trade places with the dead.

Tearing himself away from his thoughts, he decides to open up a conversation so he’s not drowning in his sorrows again and again. “Meet anyone interesting on your travels? I’ve just been swamped trying to help your aunt Ari.”

“No one in particular,” she lies through her teeth, and expertly so. Mina doesn’t know when the lying started, the constant hiding. Leo wasn’t a particularly bad father, sure he’d made mistakes but what father didn’t? It’s not like he had a great role model, someone to teach him to be a dad. But she loathes him sometimes, loathes the father she knows he could have been. Loathes that there were nights she was desperate to be sung to sleep by him but he was half a world away.

Stirring a cube of sugar into his cup, she stares at her painted fingernails on the spoon. Looking at him proved harder every time they were together. “Well...” she hesitates. “A couple of...wolves.” She braces herself for his chastising. Wolves were untrustworthy, reckless. The only wolves she should trust were the ones in her family. Sometimes she wondered if he was just bitter that he kept losing the women he loved to them.

“Moon Moon you silly goose it’s in the top cabinet” he rushing into the kitchen and swiftly picks her up and plops her on his shoulders so she could reach the tape herself.

She’s in a giggling fit from being pick up so he’s extra careful to stabilize her so she doesn’t go tumbling to the ground. Once he’s set her down he watches with a smile on his face as she waddles to the fridge to tape her masterpiece up. He tosses her a pen from the counter and says, “Hey little picasso don’t forget to sign the bottom, that could be worth something someday”.

Mina starts giggling the minute he calls her Moon Moon. It was a nickname she loved dearly, especially after Kurt took her to the woods for nearly a week when Mommy had to go on an important trip. Her Daddy wasn’t so happy when he’d found her covered in dirt and eating mostly raw deer meat. But then again, her Daddy didn’t like Kurt all that much either.