by Jana Leigh
Simon frowned at his leader and shook his head. “What the fuck are you talking about? Why am I getting blamed for your lack of sex? Shit, she is your mate, command her.”
Declan sighed and put his head in his hands and groaned, “Are you really that thick in the head? Dude, it is the rule for our women. Let me explain a few things, when they say they are blood sisters, they mean literally. When they were young, they did the whole childish, blood bond thing, thinking it was a promise, but because of their ancestors, when they did that, they were bonded instantly. We have to respect and understand their bond. When Calli went to bat for you with Rissa, it was as if she cut off her fuckin’ arm. We have had to live with the fall out for weeks, so suck it the fuck up, play nice with your mate, and learn the goddamn rules!! We have been celibate for too long, man, if one of the girls is pissed off—then they all are.”
Simon raised an eyebrow at the wolves’ growls of frustration. “Okay, so tell me what the hell I am supposed to do to make this better. It's not like I am the warm, fuzzy type. Hell, my idea of romance is a six pack and some chips.”
“For starters, you could actually try to appease our mates, and maybe go talk to her family. I mean, so far, all you have done is come in here and yell, then insult your mate,” Nik said smoothly from his chair.
Simon sighed and ran a hand down his face in frustration. He had no clue how to deal with this, he had been undercover for a long time; everything was handed to him on a silver platter for the last year. Granted, he had only done what he had to, and not accepted most of what was offered; there were certain lines he would not cross. Still, it had been too long, and he wanted his mate.
Chapter Four
Rissa laughed from her place of hiding. She was thrilled her friends finally stood up for her. However, she was pissed, and they would have to bow to the Princess of Blankenforth, her name for the compound, because it needed one and she really thought they had to have some kind of formal name. It only made sense. Now, she had time on her hands until her friends were properly chastised. Hmmmm… what to do?
She could work, but that would require her to actually think, and right now, her brain was going a mile a minute, she couldn’t sit and concentrate, both her mates were found, and she was not happy with the situation. She had one mate she didn’t trust, and the other she didn’t know. Rissa needed a plan. Damn it, Calli and Cherri usually kept her from planning too much, since her plans always seemed to get them in trouble.
She frowned to herself; it was a quandary why though. Her plans were well-thought out, and usually they had entrance and exit plans, okay, so sometimes her exit strategies involved a little bit of acrobatics and fighting than necessary. However, if you looked back on it, it really wasn’t her plan, it was more of the external factors that got in the way. Like the time they rescued that shifter child from the abandoned tire factory. Sure, she had the plans for the building, but how could she ever have known that dry rot would cause the floor to collapse under them, or that a group of Ulfers had taken the underground room as a hiding spot. Jeeze, like she could tell everything that was in the world out there.
They should have been grateful for her planning, but no, they were like vultures picking at a bunch of dead bones—relentless. Every time in the last few years, when she said she would plan something, they would totally take over and remind her of that time and time again. Like they were better, hell, the last mission they went on, all of them had been kidnapped and almost slaughtered. They weren’t pointing out her bad points when she kicked that guy’s ass and then hotwired the car.
Rissa stood up from the small desk and stretched, she just needed a good plan. Really, if you thought about it, she reasoned, why wouldn’t she totally be happier in this cave? She had everything that she needed—food, computer, vibrator, and her stuffed monkey. What more did she need? Shit, who was she kidding? Rissa kicked a leg out and made the dirt fly. She needed her friends, their fuckin' weird connection was like a live wire—all of them could feel it. When they were apart for a long time, they could feel the pull. The sad part is a long time was only a few hours. How would she ever deal with living apart from them?
They planned this when they were younger, as innocent children often do. The three of them were going to live together forever. Damn it, that’s when they did the blood oath. The fateful overnight they had when Calli said they should have been real sisters, and by doing the blood oath, they would be. Since then, the three of them had not been separated for more than a day. They lived, worked, played, and yes, trained with each other. When Calli found her mate, they knew things were going to change. However, they never thought they would live apart. Their mates would have to realize they were just close, and they had so far. Of course, her murdering mate would be the difficult one.
She had too much time on her hands, thinking like this made her crazy, it was like replaying things over and over in her head. She needed to move on. Rissa looked at the wall again—a plan was what she needed.
The wall was only a few feet thick at the weakest point. She could tell the natural rock decay wouldn’t have made this huge hole in the side of the wall this way. She looked closer at the rocks and she grinned. There was a tunnel here before. She put her hand out, ran it along the large, gray stones, and began to hum. She could make a tunnel to the other compound.
Rissa clapped and laughed, oh yeah, this was totally cool. What would the owners of the Blankenforth Castle need a tunnel for? It could be anything. Rissa’s mind began to wander as she pulled the stones free from the already built-in tunnel. It was genius—whoever wanted to hide this did a damn fine job. The tunnel was built in sections, you had to move one section and enter a hollow, small doorway of sorts, then you had to close one part to open the next.
She looked for a small latch that would help and then smiled when she saw a well-placed rock that didn’t move on the ground. Rissa bent over and inspected it; the small rocks were pressure releases. It was ingenious, the small rocks would never have been discovered unless you knew what to look for. The brush she had cleared out hid the tunnel from view.
Her brain slowly began to work out the plan they must have had to make this happen, her little home was once the tunnel that degraded because of age and no upkeep. She could still do this, make the tunnel move and still stay hidden, the branches from the bushes and trees would keep her away from the cameras, and unless someone were walking by, they wouldn’t be able to hear. She had a plan, and now she was gonna execute it, she was seeing her second mate before the day was done.
Rissa grinned to herself and was ready to take control of her destiny. She moved her belongings she placed against the part of the wall that would have to be moved. When she was done she looked closely, hopefully, the wall would open away from her small apartment not into it. Crossing her arms over her chest Rissa studied the wall before slowly walking to where the small pebble was. She stared at the wall and then shrugged, in for a penny, in for a pound.
The crackling of the rocks as they began to move made her wince. It was like fingers across a chalkboard. The tall wall began to move and shift, she laughed as she watched it—just freaking crazy. It folded itself back into the other part of the wall. She could tell the part of the wall that was missing would make it easy to actually get the tunnel open.
Rissa walked to the next pebble, taking a deep breath she stepped on it. Either it was going to knock her little cave apartment to the ground or it was going to create an opening from which she would be able to move from one side to the other. The thought of more freedom had her wolf growling and barking inside.
The wall shook and slid and she gasped, awesome, it went the other way. Soon she was going to meet her mate, how exciting. She worked her way to the back part of the wall. When she finally made it to the last part of the wall, she paused, her excitement was building, she didn’t want to look like such a freaky dork, popping out of the wall and saying ‘hi’.
Damn it, she wanted to make a good
impression to her second mate. The other one was an ass. Maybe this one would be the one she would be able to depend on. Taking a deep breath and brushing the dirt from her clothes, she walked, and stepped on the last pebble.
The wall opened to the other side and she grinned. This was so freaking cool. Looking behind her, she made sure there was no one following her. Hell, with her luck, Calli and Cherri would pop out and yell ‘surprise.’
Rissa stepped out of the tunnel. This side of the wall was just like the other, with a smaller castle in the center. Although it looked as if most of the brush had been cleared and a small garden planted. They had been here for a while, perhaps as long as they had. Which begged the question—who were these people?
***
Phillip watched as the wall moved. They had all been in the dining room for lunch. He could feel the pull to his mate. He had been waiting forever it seemed. He wished his sister would totally call him. Pilar was like that, cryptic and serious, whereas Phillip was more lighthearted and easy going. He could be fierce if someone was threatening his family or Pride, but right now, he was feeling twitchy.
Knox came up to his side again and looked where Phillip was staring. “Your mate?”
“Yep, I am wondering if I need to go out and make myself known. You know, just see what the hell is going on,” Phillip smirked and looked at the wall again.
Hearing his mate yell and mumble to herself had been quite entertaining. He knew he would have a handful with this one. There was another, he knew it. As he and Pilar were growing up, they talked about their mates. They both knew from their family history, they would have two of them. At the time, Phillip was sure he would have two females. However, as he grew up, he realized that having a male and female mate would be okay. He wasn’t bisexual; however, he was open to many things, especially when he found his mates.
Phillip envisioned having a close relationship with his male mate, like he would a brother, and together they would protect and keep their female mate happy and safe. He had seen so much in this world, maybe too much, and soon he was looking forward to seeing the final step, finding his mate, and settling down.
He looked back at the wall again and laughed when he saw it move a little, suddenly there was a small walkway in the wall, the magic flowed around it, surrounding and protecting the small compound. Then he saw a head poke out and look around briefly before receding back into the doorway. Then she jumped out and did this crazy, little happy dance and looked around before jumping back into the doorway—his first glimpse of his mate. Phillip rubbed his hands together and then clapped loudly.
“Everyone stay inside the house for now, my mate has made the decision for me and has come to our side of the wall. I will go and approach her,” Phillip called and the others in the group laughed and responded. Their leader had found his mate, many wondered what this would mean for them, but they were happy.
For years, he had traveled and taken in the wandering magical creatures that had no pack, pride, or coven. It was amazing to find they were abandoned or chased away from their home—the humans were not as forgiving in some areas of the world.
Phillip walked out of the house and laughed when his mate once again peeked out and looked around. She had short, black, spiked hair with what looked like blue tips, she was adorable, with a small pixie-like face, and when he stretched his neck he could see she was a little on the short side, with a gorgeous, hard, physically fit body. He wanted to laugh when he saw what she was wearing. Apparently, she wanted to be comfortable, since she had on dark sweatpants and a black tank top that showed off her muscular shoulders. However, it was the small picture on the tank top that he found funny—it was a pink monkey with a crown and under the animal it said, ‘Princess in Charge.’
“Hello?” Phillip called and watched as his mate froze and then searched for him with her eyes until she finally located him. Her eyes widened and he grinned, she could feel the pull. His magic was old and powerful. He knew he could be an Alpha if he wanted, but Pilar explained in a letter a few months ago what the situation was. If he was not mistaken, this was one of the three women, whom Pilar wrote about. She was strong, but since she had two mates, she was destined to be the Beta of the Pack. A place he was more than comfortable being in.
***
“Shit,” Rissa muttered and stepped back. Her mate was right there, and he was like a fuckin' Adonis. Her first glimpse of him made her almost fall to the ground and thank the gods for him. He was pretty, his face a classically, beautiful, chiseled face, with high cheekbones and a perfectly straight nose. Peeking out again, she saw he was tall and thick; his muscles were sculpted perfectly as the t-shirt he wore stretched across his chest beautifully. Damn, two handsome mates—one more handsome in the powerful sense, and then other model like.
“Umm…Hello?” Rissa called out and then slapped her forehead with her hand. Stupid, she should have been coy and seductive like she had seen Cherri do so often.
“Are you gonna stand in the doorway all day or come on out?” the sexy deep voice teased. She could feel the arousal already pulling her toward the man destined to be hers.
“Uh…yeah. Well, that is… I kinda need to know what you are doing over here first. I mean, you could be a drug dealer who wants to capture innocent maidens and sell them into slavery where they will be tortured until a sexy man comes and rescues them,” Rissa called.
She heard the soft chuckle and shifted a little. When she peered out, she could see him looking at her with an amused expression on his face.
“I think you are safe with that one. We don’t seem to have any chains with which to keep you secured. I am Phillip, by the way,” he called.
Phillip, hmmm, sexy and cute, she could call him Philly for short and he would definitely be on her side, she could tell. Mr. Twisted Mate wouldn’t stand a chance with the two of them. Her plan began to look up.
“I am Rissa,” she called, stepped out, and she could tell he was hiding another laugh by pressing his lips together. She frowned and looked down, nope, no food on her shirt. She looked up and frowned deeper when she realized his gaze was focused on the slippers she stuck her feet in before she explored. The pebbles may be the trigger, but the other little stone cut into her feet. Before leaving, she had slipped on her favorite blue monkey slippers. Duh, she had a thing for monkeys. Looking up and glaring, she continued with dignity. “I would appreciate you not laughing at my Shamaroo Monkey slippers, by the way.”
Phillip let his gaze travel up her body slowly, she felt like he was undressing her with his eyes and she shifted uncomfortably. Wow, just being this close to her mate made her desire skyrocket. She wondered what it felt like to be with both. Damn it, she didn’t care about Mr. Twistfuck. He was probably planning her capture anyway. She needed to plan.
When his gaze reached her eyes, he grinned. “Oh, I wasn’t thinking they were funny. I was thinking they were adorable, just like you.”
Rissa blushed and looked down. She sucked at this. Since she was young, flirting and the other stuff that goes along with dating, didn’t really come easy to her. Even her friends knew she was still a virgin because she chickened out when it came to taking off her clothes in front of someone else. Not that she was ashamed of her body, no she wasn’t, she actually was proud of her slim and tight build. Heck no, it was the thought of being naked, she thought and shuddered, what if something jiggled when it should have been perky and tight. Hell no.
“Thanks, uh, what is this place?” Rissa asked. “I mean, you are right next to the Blankenforth Castle and all, none of us had a clue who was here, we never see any movement.”
Phillip frowned and she wanted to reach up and touch his long, black hair. It was tied back with some kind of leather piece that was resting on his shoulder. “Blankenforth Castle? I didn’t know it had a name!”
Rissa smiled, “It does now, I had to name it, you know, it was just calling to me. A proper castle should have a proper name, you know, like it was a require
ment or something.”
Phillip looked at her and saw she was completely serious. Well, his mate was a little quirky, he could do quirky, in fact, it may make life interesting. “I agree, a castle should have a name.”
Rissa relaxed and looked up at him through her eyelashes. Just a few more feet and she would be standing before her mate. She wanted to run and jump in his arms and have him take the last month away. The stress of being mated to the Ogre in the castle had been enough to drive her batty. “So, you never answered my question. What are you doing here? Your compound seems a little close to where we are.”
“Is that a problem?” Phillip threw back at her. He wanted to tell her who he was, but he also wanted to protect his sister.
Rissa frowned and she looked at him again closer. Damn, what if he was a psychopath and she just delivered herself to him like a stuffed turkey on a platter? Calli and Cherri would kill her if she were murdered. Lose-lose, situation for her.
“Not really a problem. I mean we are warded as you are. I was just wondering since we were so far from the city, why you would need a ward. Most people don’t worry about it unless they want to be hidden,” Rissa said slowly.
“Well, since you are warded, I am assuming all of you want to be hidden. Our compound does as well; there are fifteen magical creatures here. We have been running and hiding from the Ulfer for a long time,” Phillip said hesitantly.
Rissa nodded and looked around the smaller compound. It held a large building, she assumed was the main house, and then a barn and small shed. She couldn’t see around the house, so she wasn’t sure if there were more buildings. Smiling, she said, “Why here?”
