by Grey, Aspen
“I’m here, Sasha.” His voice came from beside me and I turned to see him standing beside my bed, a hospital gown draped over him. “You’re in the hospital. We were attacked. Do you remember?”
“Yes,” I muttered as the cotton in my brain began to thin out. “Are—are you okay? Why are you in a gown?”
“My ankle,” he replied, glancing down. “It was hurt, but I’m all right. You got it worse than me.”
He took my hand. It was strong and firm and his scent was incredible and exactly what I needed. But there was another scent…not in the room but close by, and as I sniffed the air and it slid into my nostrils, I remembered.
My fated mate! The one who saved us!
Suddenly, the noise of the hospital seemed far away. The pain in my shoulder seemed nonexistent. The only thing my senses seemed to care about was finding the source of that scent…like a warm, comforting, crackling campfire.
“Where is he?” I stammered. Jace misunderstood.
“They don’t know,” he began to explain. “He got away when Arnold rescued us—”
“No, not him!” I blurted out as my eyes, as if on their own, followed the scent to the hall where a man was standing. “Him…”
He was an alpha, and that much would have been obvious even if I’d had the world’s most monstrous cold and hadn’t been able to pick up his incredible scent. He was well over six feet tall, and had short, dirty blond hair that had probably been combed back earlier but now hung loosely across his brow.
He was wearing a pair of jeans with no shoes and a white t-shirt that someone had given him. He reminded me of Brad Pitt in that twisted movie Se7en, which seemed fitting as he was in the middle of speaking to several police officers.
“He’s the one that saved us,” Jace said, as though it wasn’t obvious already. He was saying something to the men, probably telling them about what had happened, but when he nodded in my direction, and our eyes met, I felt the air escape my lungs.
Holy shit…
Even with him standing outside of my room, I could see the bright blue of his eyes that gleamed like the sky at noon. They held me firm like a tractor beam, as though they had a strong gravitational force that was threatening to pull me in.
In that moment, I felt bad for humans who would never know what it was like to truly experience love at first sight. It was just something you knew deep down in your bones. When I looked at him and saw the way he stood, the way he moved, smelled and looked at me, I just felt a piercing knowledge, a realization that our stars had aligned. It was like a warm hand around my heart letting me know that everything would be okay.
But then, a sudden sense of guilt invaded my mind.
What about Jace?
I forced myself to break away from the hypnotic stare of the alpha in the hall to look at the omega who’d been at my side, unquestionably, and was the only real rock I had in this world—the only person I’d been able to rely on. And I knew we weren’t really together, but there was something going on between us that we’d never really spoken about, and after the attack, I was feeling closer to him than ever.
He must have seen something in my face, though, that let him know what was on my mind, as he slowly nodded and whispered, “I know. I feel it too.”
Chapter Eight
Arnold
“There’s nothing else you can tell us, Irons?” the uniformed officers in front of me asked, referring to me by my last name as was customary in the force. “Distinctive markings? Body language?”
“I know deal, kid,” I growled. The nerve of this guy—acting like I didn’t know the important things to go over after witnessing a crime. “I’m a detective, for fuck’s sake. I’ve told you all I know, and now I have to deal with something else.”
Leaving it at that, I stepped away from the conversation and back into the room where Jace and Sasha were now awake and both looking over at me. I tried to wrap my mind around what I was feeling, to put in rational terms the emotions racing through me at the sight of my fated mates.
I’d been protecting them for a while now without them knowing, and felt as though I already knew them. I knew that Sasha relied on Jace in an almost brotherly kind of way, but I also knew there was something else going on between them, even if they didn’t know or acknowledge it.
There was a tension there as though both of them understood the potential of what there was between them, but something was missing. And I knew what that something was: me.
“How are you feeling?” I said, addressing Sasha for the first time. “My name is Arnold. Arnold Irons.”
Sasha’s lower lip quivered. I tried not to acknowledge the fact that he was blushing.
“S-Sasha,” he replied.
I know.
I reached out with my hand, and he instinctively raised his to mine. I took it and felt its warmth and held it gently as though I might break him. I wanted to raise it to my lips and kiss it, but that was probably too much, especially given the fact that this was a hospital setting and I was here as a cop.
“I…am a detective,” I explained. Surely he was confused as to how I’d come to their aid in the alley. “I’ve been tracking the man who attacked you for some time. When I saw you in trouble—”
“Thank you!” Sasha blurted out. I felt his hand tense in mine and felt an overwhelming urge to sweep him into my arms and comfort him.
He was such a sweet boy and I could see that life had dealt him a horrible hand and he was still recovering from whatever had happened in his past. All I wanted to do was fix that for him—give him the life he deserved. He was just one of those people that needed a chance. I could see it.
Let me give that to you.
“You’re very welcome,” I smiled, wishing more than anything that I could kiss his hand.
Let me help you.
“And you’re Jace,” I said, breaking my eyes from Sasha and locking them on the other omega in the room who smelled just as sweet and was just as easy on my eyes. “How’s the ankle?”
“Fine, thanks,” he replied, playing it tough. Of course it hurt, but it wasn’t as bad as Sasha’s shoulder.
“My shoulder isn’t that bad either,” Sasha said. I couldn’t tell if the joke was directed at me or Sasha, but it made me smile anyway.
Yeah, you’re tough, Sasha. Tougher than you know.
His raspberry pie smell had me salivating, and his thin, beautiful body had things beginning to stir inside my jeans. Jace’s sweet cream smell mixed with it so perfectly that I couldn’t ignore it. Was it possible, somehow, that both of them could actually be my fated mates?
I didn’t think that was how it worked, and in all my time on the earth I’d never met anyone who’d ever been in that situation themselves. Of course I’d met the kinky swinger types or the polyamorous humans, but never a fated mate shifter relationship of two omegas and an alpha, or any other combination you could think of. But…maybe it was possible?
Under normal circumstances, these working boys would have been nervous as Hell around a cop like me. They were probably steaming about their lost money from tonight, but neither of them seemed on edge at all. In fact, they seemed as infatuated with me as I was with them, and I wasn’t about to let this opportunity slip through my fingers.
“Is there anybody I should call?” I asked, already knowing the answer. “Friends? Family?”
“No,” Sasha replied quickly.
“No one,” Jace added. “Just us.”
“Why don’t I get you out of here and take you home?” I asked them. “As long as the doctors say it’s okay?”
Jace glanced over at Sasha, the more cautious of the two, but Sasha responded instantly.
“That would be great!”
Jace turned back to me and nodded. “As long as it’s okay with the doctors.”
“Oh,” I replied. “I’m sure it will be.”
Chapter Nine
Jace
As we got into the backseat of Arnold’s car, a civil war w
as raging inside of me.
On one side were the intense emotions screaming out to me that this man was my, our, fated mate and that it was perfectly fine to be going home with him despite the fact that we didn’t know him from Adam. And on the other side, was my street-boy side telling me that this was just another crazy stalker who was going to take us back to his home and kill us and eat us after playing the good guy and saving us. All part of his twisted game!
Relax, I told myself, holding Sasha’s hand tight as Arnold sped away from the hospital. But as we got on the freeway, I saw he wasn’t heading towards Mission Beach where we live, but was instead heading east. I felt myself instantly tense up.
“Hey, where are we going?” I asked him.
He’s taking you home, idiot! My optimistic side screamed at me, his undeniable scent soaking my nostrils. Shut up and go for it!
“Serra Mesa,” he replied. “My place. I’d just feel a lot better than bringing you back to Mission Beach with the killer still on the loose.”
“That’s nice of you,” Sasha said quickly, very carefully flashing me a look that said, “relax.”
“I just…I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if anything happened to you two,” he said with a tone that instantly wiped away any doubt I had about him.
Arnold Irons. This was a reliable, truthful man, unlike the guys we regularly ran into out on the streets, and I should trust my senses. But there was still the matter of him being my fated mate as well as Sasha’s.
I saw that he felt was I was feeling too. But how could that be? He couldn’t be meant for both of us…could he?
A strange sensation hung in the air as Arnold drove. It was as though we’d sat in the back of his car before, like we’d known him forever, like our souls were vibrating at the same frequency. There was also something new happening between Sasha and I. I couldn’t fully explain what it was, but it was like a new territory had opened up between us—a place we’d been afraid to go before that now seemed accessible. It was almost like we had found someone to guide us. As Arnold pulled off the freeway and took a turn into a nice neighborhood, I felt an excitement beginning to grow in me.
I was feeling adventurous. I wanted to get to know this man. I wanted him to get to know not only me, but Sasha too. I felt as though the three of us were intricate pieces of a fine dining recipe and that alone we were okay, but together we could be great.
As Arnold slowed his car in front of a medium-sized tan stucco house, Sasha leaned against me and whispered in my ear.
“Do you feel it too?”
“Yes,” I replied quietly.
“But—how can it be?” he asked. “Is he…for both of us?”
“Didn’t you ever learn to share?” I joked. I was half kidding. Only half.
Arnold’s scent and presence were so overpowering that I was on autopilot as he parked the car and got out.
“Home sweet home,” he said with a smile as he got out.
Yes, I could see that being true, I thought as I opened the back door and slid out, Sasha right behind me.
Compared to our neighborhood in Mission Valley, which was dodgy to say the least, Arnold’s place was like a kingdom. It sat on the corner of two streets just before a cul-de-sac. There was a garage, but he parked in the driveway and led us to a small gate that opened to the front door on the other side. I’d never lived in the suburbs, but I could see that changing…
“Come on in,” Arnold told us as he unlocked the front door. I went first, out of reflex really. Out on the street I always checked things out first to make sure it was safe for Sasha. It wasn’t that I was afraid of Arnold—quite the opposite actually—it was just something I was used to doing. And when we stepped inside, I knew there was nothing to worry about.
The kitchen/living room was open and sparsely decorated, but as our wondrous alpha turned on the lights, which cast a warm glow over the room, I felt more than at home—I felt safe.
The walls were decorated with a few paintings of old ships from way back when they used masts to cross the oceans, and an old map was framed beside the refrigerator. The dark granite countertop was mostly bare and a couple of glasses sat in the sink. I saw several pizza boxes in a recycling box, along with a few Styrofoam food containers.
He doesn’t cook, I thought. Either he can’t, or he works a lot. Either way, Sasha will be happy.
Sasha loved cooking. He’d picked it up as a way to save money when things were tough, but had really gotten into it from watching videos on YouTube of Marco Pierre White, Gordon Ramsay and Albert Roux. Unlike the streets where I handled things, I played second fiddle in the kitchen and was Sasha’s prep cook. I’d chop onions and garlic, marinate meat and boil pasta. He’d do all the fancy stuff.
The whole house smelled like Arnold, and it was warm and cozy without being stale. A set of sliding doors looked out into a backyard that was small but better than what most people in San Diego had. There was even one of those plug-in recycling water fountains and a swinging chair that hung from a white painted veranda. It wasn’t Beverly Hills or Del Mar or La Jolla, but compared to what I knew—it was paradise.
I could see myself being very happy here, I thought.
But I was getting ahead of myself. All this was happening so quickly that my instincts were kicking in.
Slow down, Jace. Slow down.
But it was next to impossible to do with Arnold’s scent beating away at my reservations with its undeniable power. It was telling me that this alpha was my fated mate, but Sasha was feeling that too, and if we didn’t figure out how to both come to terms with that, this could be a problem.
Chapter Ten
Sasha
No, this isn’t for you.
You’re worthless.
You’re a home wrecker.
You’ll destroy this too.
I couldn’t shake the horrible voice inside me that kept telling me these things, despite the fact that I was swooning over Arnold and visions of my life with him and Jace were racing through my mind like a high-speed photo slideshow.
His scent!
It was almost impossible for me to describe, but it was as though his soul was speaking to me. I barely knew him, but I felt as though I knew him. Jace would be more cautious than me, but I knew Arnold would never hurt either of us. In fact, he’d do everything he could to protect us. That’s just the kind of guy he was and that’s why he became a policeman. A detective even. This guy was no slouch.
“So, this is it,” he told us, turning around and raising his arms to his side like a game show host presenting a car to the show’s winner. “It’s not much, but it’s—”
“It’s great,” I interrupted. “It really is. And even better? It’s nowhere near that freak stalking the streets looking for boys to kill!”
Arnold smiled. “Very true. Why don’t I show you the rest of the house?”
Before we could reply, he stepped past us and made his way up the stairs to the second floor. My shoulder still hurt, but the pain was becoming less and less present with every minute. I glanced over at Jace, hoping that he, as he usually did, had an answer for what we were going to do. But of course this time—the time I really needed his advice—he simply shrugged.
“Beats me, buddy,” he said. “What are you thinking?”
“I don’t know!” I whispered, trying to make sure Arnold didn’t hear us. “I mean—you feel it too, right?”
“Of course I do,” he replied. “It’s overpowering. It’s…incredible.”
“That’s exactly how I feel,” I said almost sadly as I realized the predicament we were in. An alpha for two of us?
“What’s the matter, Sasha?” he asked with a smile. “Don’t think we could share a man like that?”
I looked up at him to see if he was kidding or not, but his eyes were true. There was nothing more to be said; we both felt it and we both wanted him.
I nodded.
“I could,” I smiled. As I said the words, I felt something
between Jace and I begin to vanish, like a dam slowly being eroded by water had finally burst and let loose the waters behind it. My heart had been so closed off for so long that I’d never acknowledged the feelings I’d had for him. Or maybe I had.
Maybe I’d known but I’d just pushed them away as my feelings of worthlessness were just too high for me to deal with. If I’d let myself love Jace, I’d destroy him. I’d ruin what we had and hurt him in the process. But now, seeing Arnold and his desire for me, I started to feel cracks forming in the hard shell that had formed around me for so long.
Suddenly, Jace’s scent was sweeter, fresher in my nose, as though I was smelling it for the first time. I began to notice the curves in his body and the way he resembled Jude Law and stood with a poise and confidence that most omegas wished they could have. With his fresh cream scent and Arnold’s warm campfire holding onto me, I felt for the first time in a long time that there was more to life than survival—there was hope.
“I…I want to go upstairs,” I told Jace, stepping forward and taking his hand in mine. It was warm and I was beginning to sweat as I looked into his eyes. “And I want you to come with me.”
Jace understood my words that were unspoken. He leaned forward and I felt my heart flutter like a teenager as he brought his lips to mine. He kissed me, delicately, as though I might break if he went any harder.
A moan forced its way from my mouth and I closed my eyes and let my head tilt back as he pulled back and slipped an arm around my lower back.
“Come on,” he told me. “Let’s go join our alpha.”
Chapter Eleven
Arnold
Come on, my angels, I thought as I stepped into the upstairs living room. Their scents lingered behind me, and I could hear their voices as they whispered to each other, but I didn’t eavesdrop. They were thinking and I would give them that time. This was a major moment for all of us and I didn’t want to rush them.
