He knew his mistake instantly for Faunus suddenly grew so immobile, he appeared made of stone, and Tedrey was too scared to glance at Saturn, for he felt the oppressiveness of the room and he knew he was the same.

None of them moved.

None of them spoke,

Until Saturn broke it.

“Faunus,” Saturn whispered when Faunus seemed incapable of breaking the hold his emotion had on him. “Faunus,” Saturn said louder.

Faunus’s voice was a sinister whisper when he said, “If I make you mine, I will find your sire and I will make him regret this betrayal of his flesh.”

If I make you mine.

“I have forgotten him,” Tedrey assured on a lie.

“Then why do you hide your body from us?” Faunus asked.

“My marks,” Tedrey explained.

“Bullshite,” Faunus spat. “It is the mark your sire made in your head.” He leaned toward Tedrey, only slightly, but the movement still held great power. “I will erase that mark, Teddy. If I am for you, or not. If you are for me, or not. That is what I will leave you. I will erase the mark he left on you and leave you free to be.”

Tedrey found he was not breathing.

Faunus’s voice dropped low. “But mark this now, bello, if you become mine, he will pay. There is no word you can say against it that I will hear. It will be my right to claim that vengeance for you. And I will claim it, make no mistake. Before this goes further between you and I, you must understand that.”

Tedrey just stared at him.

“Nod if you understand that, Teddy,” he prompted, now speaking gently.

Tedrey nodded.

Faunus leaned back, took a sip of his wine and reached for an olive.

The spell he’d cast over Tedrey was broken, but Tedrey’s hand was shaking when he took his own sip of wine.

Faunus looked to Saturn. “When I recover, Teddy’s going to suckle me. Do you want my mouth around your cock, or yours around his?”

“Start with you, end with him,” Saturn answered.

“This works,” Faunus murmured then looked to Tedrey. “Now, Teddy, come closer, get rid of that gods-damned silk, rest your head on my chest, and tell us about the children in your class.”

At this order, the subject change and the swift shift in mood, Tedrey couldn’t help it.

He burst out laughing.

He had not done that since…

Maybe.

Ever.

He wasn’t sure if that was right.

What he was sure about…

It felt good.

Faunus rode beside him all the way back to Lorenz’s home.

He also rode with him to the back of the house.

And he dismounted when Tedrey did.

After they handed the reins to Tedrey’s horse to the stable boy and secured Faunus’s mount, Faunus walked Tedrey to the back door.

There, they stopped.