**Mason''s POV**


    I startle awake from what started off as a fantastic dream Ivolving Josie and Theo,


    that had been until my father had walked into the bedroom, his whipshing across my back. Iy in my bed breathing heavily, my body is wet with a fine sheen of sweat.


    "You''re fucking dead," I growl at my father in the empty room.


    "I may be dead but that doesn''t mean I''m gone. You''ll never be free of me. I''ll always be here to guide you and turn you into the son I deserved," I imagine his response.


    I throw my covers back and storm into the bathroom. Turning on the water before I push down my boxer shorts and step in. I put my hands on the cold tiles and let the water run down my back whilst I breathe, trying to calm myself.


    "Mace, are you okay?" Theo''s timid voice is barely audible over the sound of the water. I turn my head to see his concerned face looking at me from the bathroom door. He must have felt my emotions through the bord. I put my shields back up, they must have slipped whilst I was sleeping. I don''t like that our entire bond group can feel what I feel. I''d like to keep my feelings as my own and not have five other people sensing my private emotions whenever they feel like it.


    "I''m fine, go away," I snap, taking my issues out on him once again. He gives me a sad smile and I turn my back on him, grabbing the shower gel I wash myself aggressively Guilt creeps up on me and I wee it. It''s better than what I was feeling. Warm handsnd on my hips, making me flinch. I still as Theo presses his chest to my back and wraps his arms around me.


    “Let me in, Mace," he says softly as his cheek rests between my shoulder des. I suck in a breath. I should tell him to fuck off and push him away, but I don''t want to hurt him any more than I already have. It also feels good to have him hold me. "I want all of you, all your love and all of your darkness. There''s nothing you can tell me that will make me love you any less because I do love you. I''m still here, Mason, despite everything. I''m still here waiting for you and I''ll always be here no matter how long it takes or how much you push me away,


    "Boys don''t love boys," my father''s words float into my head, but if he could feel the love that pours from Theo he''d realise how wrong he is. I take Theo''s hand in my trembling one, guiding his fingers to trace over the scars I carry there. I repeat my father''s words to him as we brush over each old whip and knife wound and Theo begins to tremble with me as I tell him my story. A story I swore I''d never share with anyone.


    "I thought now he was dead it would be over and I''d finally be free, but he haunts me. He interrupts my dreams, and he gues my thoughts when I''m awake. I''m broken Theo, and I''m not sure I can ever be fixed," I admit.


    "Your physical wounds may have healed but the emotional ones haven''t, and they won''t ever heal if you keep pushing everyone away. Don''t let that piece of crap take anything else from you. You are loved and epted by our bond group, that''s all that matters, Mace. Leave your dad in the past and live in the here and now," Theo says with a kiss on my back.


    "How can I leave him in the past when he''s still spitting his vile words in my head," I snarl.


    "You do what you are best at. You are Mason Marshall, the badass rebel. So rebel against him," he encourages. I turn to face him and see the fierce determination behind his eyes. My eyes move to his slightly parted lips.


    "Boys don''t kiss boys," I whisper, echoing my father''s words. Then I bring my mouth to his, kissing him until those words be irrelevant. His erection presses against my leg and I reach for it, gliding my hand up and down his length. His hand wraps around my own erection and I flinch at his touch breaking the kiss as I allow my


    focus to slip.


    "It''s okay," he whispers, sensing my struggle.


    I shake my head in frustration and look down at his hard length in my hand. Water still streams down over us from the shower and I use my telekinesis gift to turn it off. I look into Theo''s eyes, wanting to see the light he holds there. A light that''s been dimming ever since Josie was taken and I''d shut myself off from him. He deserves a better life than this. I keep eye contact with him whilst I lower myself onto my knees in front of him. I submit to him in every way possible, dropping my shields and letting dm inpletely for the first time. I watch as his eyes go wide and he ducks in a shaky breath at the realisation of what I''m doing. Gripping the base of his cock in my hand 1 lick my lips.


    "Mace, you don''t have to..." his words cut off with a groan as I suck his tip into my mouth. I hum at the vour that bursts on my tongue. I''d been craving the taste of him ever since I''d had that small sample of him in Josie''s mouth. "Fuck that feels so good," he breathes. I want him to take control, to take the reigns for a while. I have spent so long fighting to be the one in control since I''d broken free of my Dad''s grasp, but now I see that''s not what I need. I need someone else to take control and show me it is safe. Show me that I can trust again. His handes to the back of my head, his fingersced in my hair as he guides my movements until he finds his release in my mouth.