by Zach Collins
From the first moment he saw her, he knew she was destined to be his. Then when he focused on Zade, he was shocked, and the powerful attraction to both of his mates had hit him like a ton of bricks. He will never know how the hell he got through that meeting. When all he wanted to do was claim them, then and there.
For years Killian had been the ruler of the Fae Stratum, their Stratum was known for being technology smart, all of the new toys the humans had to play with were developed in the Fae Stratum and then taken to the human one and sold, they had made a lot of money over the years to barter with. And their King was standing here, shaking in his shoes, facing down a Witch. It was unheard of.
Zade shook his head, stepped forward, and took the woman’s hand. One thing Killian discovered over the last few weeks was his shifter mate was suave, and quite the romantic. Killian knew this was where he lacked. He was more direct in what he wanted. Maybe allowing his handsome and sexy shifter mate handle this would be best. He certainly didn't want to say anything that would piss off his future mother-in-law. With the exception of the Royal family, who he knew was strong with their power, Killian didn’t hold much enthusiasm for the Wizard Stratum. They were rash, and tended to act without thinking, whereas Killen never did anything without planning. Well, except for going to his mate’s mother and talking to her. That, he had not thought out.
“Bria, we are in need of advice,” Zade said smoothly and winked.
Killian saw Bria blush and almost fluster at the attention from the rough, yet sexy man, whom Killian was having more and more difficulty keeping his hands to himself.
“Of course, I will answer any questions you need.” Bria laughed and patted Zade on the hand before pulling away. “You certainly pack a punch, young man, now stop trying to flirt with me in front of your mate, and tell me what you need.”
Zade looked at Killian with humor in his eyes, and the King wanted to roll his eyes. “Bria, we are in a unique situation. It seems we have another mate.”
“Oh my, that is wonderful.” Bria grinned.
“The thing about it is that our mate is somewhat reluctant to accept our claim. We aren’t sure if it is because there are two of us, or if we are just approaching this wrong,” Killian said.
“Oh, well medically speaking, I am sure any woman would be a little surprised about having two mates; however, you know there are several ménage relationships in the Wizard Stratum. I've not witnessed any jealousy or problems with them. I think psychologically you have to just think about how you are feeling. Maybe it would be solved with just a simple conversation,” Bria said, switching into her working voice. “I must say however, I am not sure what woman would not want to shout the claim of two such handsome specimens from the rooftops.”
Killian smiled and nodded to Zade, who grinned back at him. “That is what we thought, too. Maybe you could help us talk to her. She just seems reluctant to even be in the same room as us.”
“Are you sure you are her mate, you did say it was a female, yes?” Bria asked.
“She is beautiful, sexy, and amazing, and I am positive she is my mate,” Killen said and leaned forward a little. “I am not sure if you know about the Fae Stratum’s history.”
“Not a lot,” Bria admitted and sat down.
“It has been a long standing prophesy about a triad who would come into power. I am not ashamed to admit, although our Stratum has prospered, there have been issues. Some of my people have struggled with certain developments that come with technology, we have had a few uprisings, and unsettledness, mostly because of our sharing the technology we have in the Stratum, and some of the revolts have been quite bloody over the years. With the triad seated as the leaders, they are supposed to bring peace and solidarity to the Stratum,” Killian said and looked at his mate. “My mates will be my Seconds, and with Zade here being a tiger shifter and a Warrior, I expect we will be a strong crown. Our other mate is a strong-willed Witch.”
“Oh, one of ours then,” Bria smiled. “Well with a Witch, you will also have powers, I would guess that this triad will be very strong. Now what can I do to help, I could order the female to the palace and have her for dinner, we can all help ease the way for a smooth claiming. She is probably just nervous.”
Zade snorted and said, “She is already here.”
Bria looked at him in surprise and then frowned, “If she is at the palace then why haven’t you spoken to her. Hell, we have plenty of rooms you can lock her in and explain the situation.” Bria sighed and looked up with a dreamy expression, “My mate had to do something similar to me, can't say it wasn’t a bit of a turn-on, if you know what I mean.”
Shit, Killian thought and looked at Zade in panic, picturing the future-in-laws entwined in the throes of passion was not on the menu for the morning. They may need to seek counseling after this.
“Uh, yeah, well that is, I am sure that it worked for you,” Killian started awkwardly. Damn it, he could lead a Stratum, and mediate a group of angry Fae with one hand tied behind his back but when it came to talking about touchy feely shit, he was not real good at it.
“What my mate is trying to say, is that we came to you because you know our mate very well, and we are hoping you will be able to help us convince her to at least have a meal with us to talk. We don’t want to force her, but with everything going on, you understand my cat is really pissed that we are unable to protect her.”
“Of course I understand, I saw Crispin, the poor dear, he almost went mad. No, your mate needs to know what she is putting you through, even if she doesn’t allow the claiming right away, staying away completely has to be hard. You say I know her, well spit it out, I will call her immediately and take her to lunch and delicately explain what she is doing to you. We could have this cleared up in a few hours,” Bria said confidently, of course she would, Bria was the matriarch of the Royal family, she was a force to be reckoned with if need be. She put her hands on her hips and tapped her small foot in impatience to have this conversation done with.
“Well….” Killian said trying to figure out how to tell Bria, the woman they were referring to, was her daughter.
“Spit it out, Killian,” she laughed and said, “I won’t bite her.”
“It is Sasha!” Zade blurted out quickly and then watched.
It was amazing, the older woman’s face went from amused to dismay to furious all within a moment.
“Excuse me?” Bria gritted between her teeth.
Maybe they had miscalculated, that could always be the case, Killian thought. Maybe she didn’t want her daughter mated with two men. Fuck, maybe she didn’t want her daughter mated to them.
Killian shifted uncomfortably from foot-to-foot, so this is what it felt like to be in trouble with your mom. He missed this, he thought a second before Zade opened his mouth again.
“Sasha,” Zade said slowly, as if the woman was hard of hearing. “Our mate is your daughter, Sasha.”
“I will kill her!” Bria yelled. “How dare she refuse the claim, she is Royal, single, and my daughter, damn it, my only daughter, the wedding I had been waiting for.”
Killian and Zade looked at each other in confusion while the small Witch muttered and grumbled to herself, throwing her hands up and yelling to the ceiling. Wow, they had never seen anything like it. When she finally stopped, her eyes snapped to where they were standing, staring wide-eyed at her.
“Give me five minutes, I will have this settled. You two go and prepare for your claiming ceremony. It will be coming sooner than you think,” Bria said with determination, flipped out the small communicator, and called her husband, her sons, and then her stubborn pain in the ass daughter. All while Killian and Zade stared wide-mouthed at her.
Chapter Six
“Oh no—he did not.” Sasha stormed around her office. Her mother had just called her and reamed her ass for the last fifteen minutes before demanding her presence in the lab in the next hour. Damn it, she was not a child. She had a job.
She thr
ew herself into her chair and growled. There was a report she had to give Blake and the others tomorrow about the fucking mess she had going on with the portals. Today she found three different portals that were illegally used. Someone was gaining access to her coins without her knowing. Unless they sealed the entire Stratum with magic, they would not be able to contain this.
Sealing the Stratum would take too much power away from the Wizards, and Fae. Killian, she slammed her hand down on the desk. The bastard knew right where to hit her. Through her family.
Sasha was the only female child of the retired King and Queen. She grew up in the shadow of her brothers, one the King, the other the Security Specialist. She loved her gift of being able to create the portals, but sometimes she wondered if they really took her seriously.
When push came to shove, during the battle, instead of being by her family’s side, she had been forced to remain in the castle with her mother. Who was one of the strongest Witches in the Stratum—she took shit from no one. Sasha was a lot like her mother; however, she had not gotten the whole conniving, backstabbing bitch thing down. It was something to aspire to.
It was not as if she didn’t want a mate, she did. But two. She was not sure having a Witch, a Shifter, and a Fae all mated to one another was going to be smooth. They were both too demanding and bossy, and Sasha was not going to have any of that.
However, if she were in the market for those types of men for mates, well, she could see herself doing those two. They were sexy and hot. When she was in the vicinity of them, she felt parts of her heat to almost unbearable levels. Not that she was admitting that to anyone. Hell, she wouldn't even admit it to herself. Damn it, her luck had finally ran out it seemed.
There was a knock at the door bringing her back to the present. Sasha sighed and went to face the music, she had a fifty-fifty chance that her mother was on the other side. She almost jumped with joy when she saw Logan, her brother, the Head of Security.
“Hey, sis,” Logan said and pushed his way into her sanctuary.
“Come on in,” she said sarcastically.
“I will,” he laughed and put his feet up on her desk when he plopped down in the big chair across from her. Sasha rolled her eyes, and walked around her desk.
“We have the report on the coins. I have no clue how they are doing it, but at least three portals were opened for a few hours, so possibly a lot of people were able to come through. Since the last one, there has been a break. Either the coins’ magic finally wore out, or my blocking spell finally came in distance,” Sasha said briskly.
Logan nodded and looked at his sister closely. “Yeah, I get that, uh, but that is not why I am here.”
Sasha closed her eyes and shook her head, holding her ears and she started to say, “La, la, la, la, la, I am not listening to you….”
“Real mature,” Logan laughed and Sasha stopped and grinned at her brother. She loved both of her brothers, they were overprotective and obnoxious, sometimes a serious pain in the ass, but always loving.
“I know,” Sasha laughed. “Who called you?”
“Mom,” Logan admitted. “She said you are hiding from your mates, and that you needed to get your ass down to the office pronto, she wants to start planning her only daughter's last mating.”
“Shit,” Sasha groaned and buried her head in her hands.
“Yeah, well you should have known better,” Logan laughed and shook his head.
“Really? Why would I have expected it, I am a hundred years old, they certainly do not have to actually babysit me anymore. If I find my mates, then I do, when I decided to mate, then I do,” Sasha grumbled.
“What is the big deal, you have mates.” Logan shrugged.
“MATES, as in plural, so I get not one, but two demanding assholes who will not let me do what I want to do. Instead, I am gonna get to sit and play house like a good little girl, while they go off and do all the fighting. I am not made like that,” Sasha said.
“How do you know they are gonna be like that, damn, sis, you gotta give them a chance,” Logan said and then laughed when she frowned.
“Let’s see, I guess my perception could be from last week when I cut my hand by accident. The cat practically had a hissy fit, yelling at me that I should be more careful and then he took my hunting knife and hid it. The Fae healed it before I could even leave the room to see ma. They are driving me nuts, following me around everywhere, and making sure I eat, and shit.” Sasha stood and talked with her hands. "The list goes on. They are at every corner, talking to me, and trying to touch me all the damn time. Ugh."
“Gasp,” Logan said putting his hands up to his face and looked surprised. “How dare they.”
Sasha paused to flip him off and continued pacing when there was another knock on the door. Logan stood smoothly and went to answer, his older brother and the King of the Stratum stood there in his usual formal garb, jeans and a t-shirt, with an amused look on his face.
“Can I come in, ma is on a tear, and I am hiding.” Blake laughed and entered when Sasha nodded.
At least her wards were holding, her mother had not found a way to take them down and storm her office, yet.
“Sis, you have stepped in a big pile this time.” Blake laughed and took the other chair.
“Why, because I don’t want to mate yet, well, she will have to get over it. I will decide when I will entertain their claim. We have too much to do right now, and I, for one, am not going to let Dion and his little assholes gain any more ground,” Sasha said with a bored tone. “Mom can blow hot air all she wants, but I have my priorities, and they are not to be claimed by the arrogant assholes yet.”
Shit, she said yet. She could feel the pull, the attraction, the bastards were sexy as hell and every time she thought of them she could feel herself getting hot. The claiming pull was getting worse; she may have to leave the palace for the tour she was going to do soon. Sasha planned on taking guards and hunting down the remaining coins. A claiming would have to wait.
“Whoa, I am so staying out of the line of fire, mom is already making plans for the ceremony.” Blake chuckled and then there was a knock on the door. Logan stood once again, but paused before he opened it.
“Could be her.” Logan smirked.
Sasha shrugged, distracted about what the hell she was going to do. She heard her father's voice and felt a sense of relief come over her. At least it was not her mother yet.
“Sash, are you listening?” Blake laughed loudly as he pointed to her father who looked harried and slightly ill.
“What?” she rolled her eyes and asked, only her mother could make her father look like that, she was pissed and demanding that her father get her under control, like usual.
“She is demanding your presence in the main dining room in thirty minutes or she is coming to look for you, Killian and Zade are feeling really sorry they went to her. They explained she seemed so rational when Blake and Logan mated and they thought she would just give them some advice,” her father said.
Sasha snorted, “Yeah, as if she has ever been reasonable when it came to me.”
“She only wants what is best for you,” Logan offered.
“Like hell, she wants a grandchild,” Sasha said and then turned to her brothers. “How the hell are you getting away with waiting?”
“Shit, we are smart. We told her that we had to find the perfect surrogate, and Ian needed to get used to being here since he was human.” Blake laughed.
“Ditto, I told her Trent was trying to find out where he fits in.” Logan grinned and the brothers high fived each other.
“Assholes,” Sasha muttered. “It is not the middle ages anymore.”
“Regardless, you are our only girl, your mother has dreamed of this day since you were born. She wants to do the female thing with you, you know…” Her father almost pleaded.
Her father, the retired King of the Wizard Stratum, who could scare the crap out of most Wizards with one of his hard looks, was afraid of her mother.
Well, she wasn’t and she would not be bullied.
“Nails, hair, and all that shit. I know, her scrapbook is being dusted off—right?" Sasha snarled.
The scrapbook. Her mother brought it out every so often to add things to it, or show Sasha exactly what her claiming ceremony was going to look like. She even had the seating arrangement done and if people died or left, she changed it so it was always up to date. It kinda creeped her out, it was her mother’s one weakness. The otherwise strong, determined, and well-behaved Queen never acted like this—only with Sasha.
“When is the show down?” Sasha said and squared her shoulders; it was time to take her stand once and for all. She would not go down without a fight, and her mother was just going to have to understand.
“Half an hour,” her father said with resignation in his voice, he was going to have to be the mediator once again for one of their blow-ups.
“Fine,” Sasha said and went back to her desk and began to gather her papers for later. After she dealt with this, she was going to have a long talk with her brother. She was ready for it. Only glancing up a few times as the men in her family watched her warily. When she was done, she turned to them and paused.
“Ready?” her father said and looked to the door.
She felt a bubble of panic rise, and she nodded. “Yep, cover for me,” Sasha said and ran for the window and waved her hand, exposing the exit for the magic she placed on it. With a quick flick of her wrist, the window opened and she jumped out.
“Shit, she is running!” Logan yelled and went to chase after his sister, but she turned, waved, and sealed the window back up, slamming it in his face.
“I am not telling mom that.” Blake stood.
Chapter Seven
Killian and Zade sat at the table with the scrapbook opened in front of them and looked at Bria wide-eyed. What the hell had they started? they wondered as they listened and nodded.
