by Eve Vaughn
“I was meant to be Alpha fem, and you won’t stop me.”
“And how do you propose to get rid of us? Who’ll believe you over us?” Talh asked.
“They’ll believe me. You three have already let our people down by bringing that whore to Laiocean. They’ll think you no longer care for them, especially when they see what you’ve done to me,” she sneered.
Roar sighed. “We’ve done nothing to you, Nika, and you know it.”
“But you have. You know it’s against our laws for men to strike a woman. You’ll be banished for what you’ve done, maybe even killed. I’ll enjoy watching you all die!”
To Roar’s astonishment, she grabbed a chunk of her hair and pulled it out of her scalp. She let out a blood curdling scream. “No, Alphas. Please don’t hurt me!” She smacked herself so hard he knew she’d leave a mark. That’s when he knew what she was trying to do.
“You bitch!” Roar grabbed one arm and Bayoh the other to stop her from hurting herself further, but he knew the damage was done. Already he could hear footsteps approaching, probably people investigating the scream.
“No, Alphas! Please don’t hurt me! I only meant to help. Please don’t hurt me!” she screamed, a maniacal gleam in her eyes. If he weren’t seeing this with his own eyes, Roar would never have believed it.
“Alphas, what’s going on here?”
Roar looked up to see a crowd gathering around them.
“They’re beating me because I spoke up against the human. Please, someone help me. The Alphas have gone mad.” Nika burst into tears, giving a performance like none other.
“She’s lying. She did this to herself,” Bayoh yelled.
Nika wasn’t ready to let go of her charade. “Why would I do something like this to myself? Please, won’t someone help me?”
“Let her go, Alphas. She’s just a harmless woman.” Moyre, a tall tow-headed warrior, stepped forward.
“She’s lost control of her emotions and started to inflict injury on herself. We’re only trying to restrain her,” Talh said.
The crowd looked doubtful, and Roar realized exactly how it looked. If they truly believed that they’d done this to Nika, then he wished that he had hit her, but no. That wouldn’t solve anything.
Roar looked over at Bayoh with a nod and they let her go. She immediately ran into the arms of the warrior who’d stood up to them.
The crowd stared at them accusingly. Roar didn’t know what pure evil was until he looked into Nika’s eyes. How were they going to get out of this when the evidence was overwhelming?
“We didn’t strike her,” Roar began.
“No, they didn’t. I did!” someone called.
The stunned crowd parted to reveal Trina stepping forward with Shelby Morgenson, the first human brought to the village. The crowd gasped in astonishment. “They didn’t strike her, I did. They were only trying to protect me,” she declared to the crowd, her head held high.
Roar, Bayoh, and Talh rushed over to her, but she held her hand up. “Let me handle this,” she said, and then turned to look at the crowd. “I’ve brought Shelby back, for the same reason I’ve come back -- to clear our good names. And if anyone says one word, they’re going to get the same thing Nika got!”
* * *
Trina trembled on the inside. She couldn’t believe what they’d stumbled upon. Coming up to her hut, she and Shelby had witnessed Nika’s hysterics. The woman was a true nut. Trina had only seen people like that on television. She didn’t want to interrupt the scene because she wanted to see what Nika’s next move would be.
When the bitch started hurting herself, Trina was about to step forward, but Shelby held her back because the crowd was starting to gather. She couldn’t be restrained, however, when the psychotic woman lied about the Alpha Triad hurting her.
“She’s lying! The Alphas did this to me!” Nika screamed, pulling herself out of the warrior’s arms.
Trina had had enough of the nut and walked over to her calmly. Without a word, she slammed her fist into Nika’s jaw, sending the woman to the ground. She then turned to the crowd. “Do you need any further proof? This woman is very troubled. Why else would she accuse the Alphas of doing her harm when it was clearly I who’d done it?”
“You should be banished!” a woman called from the crowd.
“And you should shut the hell up!” Trina yelled.
Stunned gasps rippled through the crowd and Trina realized she’d made a mistake. She hadn’t come back to start an argument, but she also didn’t come here expecting to see crazy Nika trying to pull a con job on her mates. She took a deep breath and turned to the woman she’d just yelled at. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that.”
The woman looked surprised, but merely grunted in response.
“I’m not the bad person Nika and Reyo have made me out to be and neither is Shelby. She’s a good person who loved her mates. She was never unfaithful to them just as I’ve never been unfaithful to my mates. I love them very much and would never do anything to betray their trust in me.” She looked behind her and saw Roar, Bayoh, and Talh’s faces. She wanted to run to them and beg forgiveness -- tell them how much she loved them -- but knew she had to handle the issue at hand first.
Reyo stepped forward. “Then why did you try to seduce me?”
“You lying sack of shit! You know that isn’t true. You’re not going to get away with ruining me like you did with Shelby.” Trina turned to the crowd. “How is it possible that any of you believe a word this man says after he and his Triad tried to overthrow the Alphas? Do you honestly think he’s as innocent as he appears?”
Reyo smirked. “This human would say anything to save herself. And how dare she bring that woman back among us!” He pointed at Shelby.
Shelby glared at him. “This woman has a name, you bastard.”
Trina shook her head at her new friend. “Let me handle this.” Reyo’s smug expression wouldn’t last after what she had to say. She turned to him with a smile of her own. “You never did get over the fact that your little coup didn’t work. Your Triad wasn’t strong enough to overthrow the Alphas. Now in your own twisted search for revenge, you’re trying to force them to step down because it’s eating you up inside, isn’t it?”
Reyo laughed. “You’re being ridiculous.”
Trina raised a brow. “Am I?” He was going to be a tough nut to crack but she knew she was getting to him by the way his jaw clenched. Thank God for those psychology classes she took in college.
“I think you should stop talking before you get yourself into more trouble, human,” Reyo sneered.
“Reyo, how dare you speak to her like that,” Roar’s voice sliced through the air.
“Please let me take care of this.” Trina shot him a pleading look. She needed to do this on her own. Her mates wore grim expressions on their faces, but remained where they were.
Reyo used this as an excuse to turn the crowd against them. “Do you see how she talks to the Alphas? They let her disrespect them and they beat a revered female. What kind of leaders are they?”
Trina’s impatience with him snapped. “They are wonderful leaders who care about their people.” She faced the crowd. “Can any of you honestly say anything bad about the Alphas? Have they done or said anything for anyone to believe they could do what they’ve been accused of? If someone can step forward and say so, then do it now.”
Murmurs rippled through the crowd. “I didn’t think so,” she said triumphantly before letting Reyo have it. “As for you, Reyo, it’s time for you to admit that you and your Triad would never have been the leaders because the Alphas are stronger, smarter, and much better liked by their people. When Shelby overheard your plot to overthrow the Alphas, you started spreading lies about her -- you and Nika.”
“Liar! You dirty human bitch!” Nika sprang to her feet, and with claws out, charged toward Trina.
She was ready for the blonde, however, blocking her arm and using Nika’s weight aga
inst her to perform a standard throw Trina had learned in self-defense class.
Nika went flying with a scream.
Trina wasn’t finished with Reyo yet. “You two plotted against Shelby when she’d done nothing wrong. You didn’t want anyone to find out that you were the mastermind behind the plot to take down the Alphas. People actually liked Shelby until you had her banished. Admit it!”
“I admit nothing.” Reyo crossed his arms against his chest, with a defiant tilt of his chin.
“You admit nothing because you are nothing, and it’s killing you, isn’t it? You’ll never be able to beat the Alphas and you know it. That’s why you tried to get rid of me -- to hurt them. But you’ve failed. I’m not going anywhere, and now everyone knows you’re weak. You’re a pathetic excuse for a man. Hell, you’re not even a man.” Her last taunt got the desired results.
With one swift move, Reyo backhanded her, driving her to the ground. “Shut your mouth, bitch. I’d do it again too. I would have made a great Alpha. They don’t deserve to be the Alphas. I do!” His face contorted into an ugly scowl from his rage.
Before Trina could speak, Roar, Bayoh, and Talh were on the hapless Reyo, pounding their fists into him. She stood up, looking at Shelby. “Now everyone knows the truth,” she said with a slight smile.
Shelby’s eyes widened. “Trina, look out!” she screamed.
Trina turned around just in time to see Nika charge at her with a chunk of firewood in her hands. This time Trina didn’t have a chance to duck. Pain exploded in her head before she passed out.
Chapter Nine
Trina’s eyes slowly fluttered open. Her head ached like a son of a bitch. This scene was becoming all too familiar.
“She’s awake.” Feeling the bed dip, she slowly looked over to see Roar by her side with an anxious expression on his face. “How are you feeling?” he asked, placing his hand on her forehead.
“My head is splitting. What… what happened?” she asked, running her tongue over dry lips.
“It’s over. We had to get rid of Reyo.”
“You banished him?”
Roar shook his head. “It was a fight to the death.”
“Oh.” Trina wanted Reyo to pay for what he’d done to her and Shelby, but she didn’t know if she’d wanted him dead. “And Nika? What’s going to happen to her?”
“She… she’s not well mentally. She’ll be cared for, but will be guarded at all times so she won’t ever harm anyone again.”
“Good. I’m glad. What about Shelby? What will happen to her?”
“That’s between Shelby and her mates. I think they have a lot of issues to work out.”
“Do you think they’ll be okay?” Shelby deserved happiness, especially after what she’d gone through this past year.
Roar shrugged. “I can’t really say. Angry words were exchanged and feelings were hurt. A lot of time has passed so it may not be an instant reconciliation, if there is one.”
“Oh no, poor Shelby. She’s actually a very nice woman. Damn Reyo and his Triad for doing what they did.” When Trina jerked her head forward the motion increased the pain. She placed her hand to her forehead. “Ow.”
“Here, I mixed a concoction that should help.” Roar offered her a cup, placing it to her lips. It tasted foul, but she drank it without protest.
“What’s going to happen with Shelby? Please tell me you didn’t send her away. She didn’t do anything wrong --”
Roar halted her with a finger to her lips. “It’s okay, Trina. She won’t be sent away. Everyone knows of Reyo and Nika’s treachery. Things will be different around here now. People may be a little apprehensive at first, but that will pass quickly.”
Trina bit her bottom lip before asking the question that was foremost on her mind. “And what will you do to me?”
Bayoh and Talh joined them on the bed, smiling at her. “We’re going to shower you with love. You scared us to death when you ran away. Don’t ever do that again,” Bayoh scolded.
“You… you mean you’re no longer angry with me?” Her head shot up in surprise, looking at the faces of her mates.
Roar answered, “I admit that it did upset us to find you missing, but only because we feared for you out there alone. You gave us quite a scare. Trina, why didn’t you tell us about the advice Reyo was giving to you?”
She felt ashamed to admit her weakness to them, but then remembered her resolve about completely opening her heart to trust. “I was scared that if you knew about what I was doing, you’d think I was weak. I wanted to prove I was a worthy leader.”
Bayoh touched her shoulder, forcing her to look at him. “While we think being a good leader is important, even if you weren’t, it was something we could have worked on. Our love for you isn’t so fickle that we’d turn on you for the first thing that goes wrong.”
“But the three of you seemed so cold to me. I didn’t know what to do. It seemed like the only time you wanted to be around me was when you wanted to have sex.”
Talh reached over to brush his knuckles over her cheek and then let his hand fall. “We’re sorry if we ever made you feel like you couldn’t come to us. I guess we’re at fault for not properly explaining how time consuming it is to be the Alphas around here. Yes, there is power in the position, but with power comes responsibility. If we had known the people were disrespecting you in any way, it would have been put to an end right away.”
“But I didn’t want to complain,” she protested.
“And because you didn’t, it made you unhappy,” Roar pointed out.
Trina sighed. “You’re right. I should have come to you with my problems, but Reyo was so convincing. He made me believe that you’d think less of me. It’s all my fault because I should have trusted enough in our love to know you wouldn’t think badly of me.”
“And we should have been more accessible to you,” Talh said.
“I was a little hurt that you’d believe Reyo’s lies at first. You wanted to keep me a prisoner in the hut and I guess that made me angry,” Trina explained.
Bayoh nodded. “Believe us, we were angry for having to do it, but it wasn’t because we believed Reyo’s lies. We were just hurt that you wouldn’t tell us what was going on. We suspected that all wasn’t right with Reyo when he tried to befriend you so soon after he decried you at the first meeting. It was a little suspicious.”
“You threatened to have me banished,” she accused, unable to forget that incident.
Roar pulled her into his arms and ran his hand down her back. “It was said out of hurt. It seems like there have been a lot of misunderstandings between us since we came back to Laiocean. You should have been more honest with us and told us what was going on, and we could have worked it out. And we shouldn’t have let our jealousy get in the way. You mentioned trust, but it goes both ways. Strength doesn’t mean not being able to admit you have a problem. It means being strong enough to recognize when you have a problem.” He paused to kiss her on the head.
“Trina, we love you, and nothing’s going to change that. You are our world and mean more to us than anything.” He kissed her tenderly again, this time on the lips.
Tears sprang to her eyes as she turned to Bayoh and Talh who each gave her sweet kisses. Her heart filled with love for them and she felt free for the first time. Not only did she love them, she trusted them.
Trina knew now that whatever happened from here on out, she could always turn to them whenever she had a problem. Her head felt a lot better. She smiled. “Since we’re all in bed, let’s put it to good use.”
Roar grinned. “I think that sounds like the best idea all day, but are you sure you’ll be okay?”
She nodded. “Of course. I’m tougher than I look.”
“Don’t we know it,” Bayoh laughed.
The three men surrounded her, each of them running their hands over her body. Instant arousal assailed her senses. Her nipples tightened and pussy tingled. She wanted them now, all at once.
As tho
ugh he’d read her mind, Talh pulled her into his arms and began to rain kisses on her face and neck, while untying her top. Hands roamed up and down her back. She tore at his pants, wanting to feel his nakedness against her.
Roar, who’d made short order of undressing himself, slid behind her, his cock pressing against her rear, demanding entrance. She gasped in anticipation, wanting him inside of her more than anything else.
Trina pulled Talh’s pants down his thighs, revealing his thick turgid cock. It was beautiful and it was all hers. She wanted to taste it. Talh scooted backwards, so she could tug his pants down his legs. Once they were tossed aside, he lay on his back, aqua eyes filled with lust.
Trina bent over, pushing her hips in the air, Roar’s hardness still pressing against her. Encircling Talh’s cock in her hand, she engulfed the head with her mouth, laving it with her tongue. His fingers dug through her hair. “Oh, Trina, that feels so good,” Talh moaned, bucking his hips forward, pushing his member deeper inside her mouth.
Her head bobbed up and down his length, as she savored his unique masculine flavor. It gave her as much pleasure, tasting him like this, as it gave Talh to be pleasured. Wetness formed at the juncture of her thighs. Trina was ready to be deliciously filled by Roar’s cock. Instead of pulling her skirt down her hips, he ripped the material away from her body.
She moaned when Roar gently parted her labia with his sturdy fingers before sliding his hard rod deep within her channel. If her mouth weren’t full, she’d have let him know how good it felt to be wonderfully stretched by his thick length.
Bayoh, not to be ignored, scooted forward to run his hands over her exposed skin. He then lowered his hand to cup a breast in his callused palm. The stimulation sent a shockwave of pleasure up and down her spine. He squeezed and molded the mound, making her shake. Bayoh tweaked her taut nipple, rolling it between his fingers and thumb. Trina didn’t know how much more her body could take before she exploded.
She was so hot and excited, her knees could barely hold her steady. Roar’s fingers dug into her hips while he thrust into her with slow, sure strokes. “Your pussy is so tight,” he groaned.
