by Zach Collins
“Do we make suggestions?” Zade whispered in his ear.
“Pretty sure we are supposed to sit here and shut up. Although there is some kind of hope, she said something about tasting; the cooks are whipping up samples of something. We could at least get some good food out of this,” Killian whispered.
“Maybe we should make an excuse and leave,” Zade whispered back.
“Right, you do it, I will sit and watch,” Killian laughed. “I am a King and have diplomacy, but this is not something in my expertise. Shit, we are talking mom here,” Killian said.
They had already talked about their families and pasts. Zade had four brothers, all Shifter Warriors, and all here. Killian had liked all of them when they came over to watch a game on the television. It had been fun, although the brothers warned him about their mother, a single female tiger whose mate died in an attack. She was very protective and sometimes a bit obsessive. Having all her boys here and not being able to know if they were okay was probably driving her nuts.
However, before they closed the portal, Sage, one of Zade’s brothers, had gone back with a few Warriors to make sure the Shifter Stratum was defended and to make sure they told their mother they were fine. She was also informed about Zade finding his mates. Whew, at least that announcement had been taken out of their hands.
Since Killian had no brothers, sisters, or parents, he was on his own, had been for a long time. Both men agreed they would move slowly, wanting to get to know each other while they were forced to wait for Sasha, that didn’t mean they had not kissed or given each other some release. They just hadn't went all the way with the mating—they were waiting for her—she was the center to hold them together. They couldn't wait.
Both men found each other incredibly sexy, they fit, and when Sasha finally gave in, she would fit between them, beside them and stuffed full of them. Just the thought made both men hard.
“Shit,” Zade whispered and took a deep breath; it was as if they could feel each other, what they were thinking. His cat was pacing and growling being so close to one of his unclaimed mates.
“Yeah, we are not going to be able to hold out long for our little spitfire.” Killian smiled and thought about all they learned over the last few weeks.
Sasha’s family was amazing, and all they had to do was sit in the same room with them and they found out a lot of information by just listening. She was smart, funny, and sexy, everything the men could ask for. If she would just accept it.
Blake walked into the dining room and Bria paused with her eyes narrowing in on her first-born son. Oh, this was so not going to be good.
“Where is she?” Bria growled and all of the men cringed.
“Ma, shit, tone it down,” Blake said and turned. Logan and Ryker came in, dragging something behind them with a grim expression on their face.
Bria crossed her arms and they felt the power rising in the room.
Logan and Ryker let what they were holding go and Killian and Zade leaned forward and looked in horror as their mate's feet dropped to the ground and she pulled herself upright. They had dragged their mate in by her feet, she really didn’t want to mate with them, they thought and sat back dejected. While there mate stood with a roar and yelled.
“Assholes, I was on my way,” Sasha said.
Killian and Zade wanted to disappear. Shit, she was pissed. Logan, Ryker, and Blake stood with smirks on their faces while the two women squared off. Apparently, this happened frequently for them to be standing so calmly and watching.
“Young lady, what in the hell were you thinking?” Bria yelled and stepped up to her daughter. “You saw what happened to Crispin, how could you be so cruel, I have raised you better. You can feel the pull and they know it. But you and your high-all-mighty self has made them wait, patiently, I might add since this is the first I have heard about it. What is wrong with you?”
“Damn it, this is none of your business. I will deal with my mates the way I see fit. You can’t be butting your nose into my life. Besides, we have to have the true-mate ceremony with one of the Wizards,” Sasha roared.
Zade and Killian sat up straight—she called them her mates. She knew, she accepted, and both of them felt a rush of relief that she said it aloud. Hell yeah, they were primed and she would be too. They would make sure of it.
“We have plans and I have already spoken with one of the Wizards about the true-mate ceremony. That has been taken care of and he gave his approval on the mating. After we spoke, he waved the ceremony in regards to you,” Bria said with a smirk, her daughter wouldn't be getting out of this because she has planned for this time since Sasha was born.
“How can the Wizard wave the true-mate ceremony? Oh, never mind, I don't even care how you did that, back to the plans. No mother, you have plans. My plans entail finding the fucking asshole who is trying to kill my brother and his mates,” Sasha snarled at her mother.
“That is not your job. You are in charge of the portals. That is where your expertise lies. We have been over and over this. When it comes to fighting—Logan wins hands down, he is the security expert. Blake is the King, he is also well versed in battle—but he directs and leads. Were you not in the same meeting as we were?” Bria scoffed. “And before you say it, no I don’t question your abilities at all. I know you are a strong Witch, but in this case, we all have our limitations, and no matter how strong you are, those assholes will kill before looking at you.”
The wind was taken out of Sasha's sails as she looked at her family who loved her. She was the only one who thought she had something to prove. She didn’t—it just sucked having two brothers who were someone she looked up to. She wanted to be like them, not compete with them. Fuck, she had gone about this all wrong, and look what she had done, caused a mess.
“Fuck,” she yelled and looked at her mother, who was staring at her with understanding in her eyes. She hated it when her mother was right.
Chapter Eight
Bortant looked at Dion as he ranted and raved around the room. “How could you have not gotten her? We trusted that you were going to bring her directly to her us. The plans were set, and we waited and ended up having to attack when one of the stupid Warriors saw us. Explain how this happened.”
Bortant looked bored and stared directly at the dipshit and said, “It was your fault, you inept piece of shit. Your anger has clouded your thoughts, we can do more than just take this small pitiful Stratum, the Elven Stratum is full of gold and jewels waiting for us to take, we would be unstoppable if we took that Stratum.”
Dion scoffed and looked at the man who he had been working with for months in secret. He was supposed to fall in line and listen to Dion, but the asshole thought he was better than him. Dion may have to do something about this since the Fae was no longer welcome in the Stratum castle.
“The plan was to take this Stratum, and then we would go from there. We will not lose this Stratum,” Dion stormed.
Bortant smirked and looked around; Dion had lost followers because of his crazy rhetoric. He was not impressed and knew the people that remained would follow him if he decided to leave. Plans were forming in his mind as he stood there half listening to Dion try to salvage this Rebel group. There was no way he would be able to, the mistakes he continued to make, and the people he lost were just signs that he never should have been in charge in the first place. Bortant had only agreed to help Dion for his own purposes.
When they were on the Fae Stratum, he completed his mission there. Became the Second to the King by killing the previous Second, and he had barely broken a sweat. However, he had a little help in the form of poison, though no one had found that out. The previous Second had gone down like a ton of bricks when he drank the water Bortant planted. It had been ingenious; being Second of the Fae Stratum had given him the information he needed to find people to help him.
The goal, of course, was the Human Stratum, it was the prize to beat all prizes since there were more people to control and play with, and the
thought of human domination was a heady feeling. First, he needed money to buy his peoples’ loyalty and then he needed muscle. It was not going to be hard.
“Calm down, Dion, we still have a chance to get the female,” Bortant said in disgust. “There will be a ceremony yet again. The Fae King has found his mate.”
“Mate? That means you were replaced,” Dion yelled.
“Please, like I really need that prick to get in and out of the palace? I may not be the Second anymore, but I am still allowed on the grounds until I leave. They actually think I will fight for them.” Bortant laughed.
“You have limited time. I need to have her impregnated before the end of the moon cycle. So get me the female,” Dion yelled.
Bortant nodded and walked out the door. He would not be doing this shithead's bidding any more. Stopping to whisper in the ear of one of the Fae he had handpicked to come here and help, he felt confident about his plan. This Stratum was a loss, and he knew when to leave. When Bortant was through with his plan, he would be the ruler of all the Stratums and be the most powerful man alive.
Chapter Nine
“Fine, I get it,” Sasha said as they were walking back to the Fae King's rooms. She had already apologized.
“Damn it, I don’t want you mating us because you feel like you have to,” Killian yelled, which caused Sasha to jump a little and stop.
Zade paused and ran his hands through his hair in frustration. This was not going as they wanted. All they wanted was a few minutes alone with their mate to convince her that they were serious and wanted to mate with her, be partners, and it had spiraled out of control.
“That is not why I am going with you, trust me. If I didn't want to be with you, I wouldn’t go anywhere,” Sasha yelled and then looked shocked at her own statement. She had all but admitted she was attracted to these two men and wanted to go with them.
Killian and Zade grinned and then each held out a hand to guide her the last few steps to the suite for the time being. Killian couldn't wait to take his mates back to his home and introduce them to the Stratum. The Fae were formal, and they liked the ceremonies, but Killian would not last that long, he felt the pull and need to mate. It had been weeks since he discovered his mate, a long time in their worlds to wait.
When they entered the door, she sighed loudly, went to the long comfortable couch, and flopped down on the cushions. This was going to be a bit of a battle. Zade looked at Killian and smiled. His cat was purring at having his two mates in the same room. It was important to do this right.
“Sasha, we just wanted to talk with you,” Zade said smoothly and took one seat beside side of her.
Killian took the cue, and sat on her other side and faced them. “We have been trying for weeks to talk to you.”
Sasha growled and glared at them, “I know—but really, my mom?”
Zade laughed and looked Killian who shrugged. “Sorry, but that was kinda funny.”
“Sure, laugh it up. Wait until she asks you about sex and shit, then who will be laughing,” Sasha scoffed and waited.
Both of the men looked at her in horror and then Killian said, “Hey maybe we could slip back to the Fae Stratum without her knowing.”
“It is my mom, she knows everything,” Sasha said and then laughed. “It's okay, and I am sorry for all this sucky drama. Seriously though, I just needed time to think about all this shit.”
“We are your mates. We could have talked it out together,” Zade said firmly.
“Yeah, the whole possessive thing is the problem. I mean, I can take care of myself, and everything. You need to back off,” Sasha said.
“We will agree to back off when you admit you are our mate and know we are meant to be together,” Zade purred.
Sasha rolled her eyes, “Of course I know that. Damn, I just was trying to figure out what the hell it meant.”
“My Stratum has a tale of a triad mating, one that would bring the people back together after all the turmoil we have had. Our mating is important. You will be the Second in the Fae Stratum. This title is important, as you and Zade will be responsible for not only the well-being of our people, but also security and portals,” Killian said and waited while Sasha thought about this.
“What about my job here. I am one of the Royals and the best at portals,” Sasha said slowly.
“Can you do the job from both places? I mean you are a Witch with the ability to use portals, you could open one from our palace right to your office if you wanted.” Killian shrugged. “As long as you are in our bed every night, we can work with this.”
“And you understand that I can take care of myself. Well most of the time, if there isn’t a war in the making,” Sasha said slowly.
“We want to take care of you, it is in our nature. However, we do respect your powers and abilities,” Zade said and ran a hand down her arm.
She shivered as she felt his touch; her panties became a little wet thinking about them. Shit, they were hot, and she was distracted enough that her body was not responding to her thoughts of calming down.
Killian ran a hand down her other arm and whispered, “We want you in our bed, and in between us all the time. But we are not greedy—we can certainly wait while you work.”
“Shit,” Sasha muttered and allowed her head to fall back against the couch. Their touch was driving her wild. She knew it would be like this, which is why she did not get close to them. Her body would have betrayed her like it was right now. Damn it, she wanted them, all of them.
“What is wrong, sweetheart?” Zade asked and palmed her breast through her shirt. Running his thumb over her straining nipple.
“We have danced around this for weeks, you know us, you have watched us, don’t lie,” Killian whispered closer to her ear and then took her lobe in his mouth and bit gently.
Sasha moaned and allowed them to continue their explorations, she had been waiting for his touch—it felt right.
“Will you trust us?” Killian said and she only felt her head nodding in agreement.
“Let's go to the bedroom,” Zade said.
“Can I just have a second,” Sasha said, she was not going to smell like a hospital wing, she could still smell it on her from just her visit with her mother. She needed a bathroom.
They showed her where to clean up and she shyly thanked them and then walked back into the living room. When she came out, they were waiting.
“We thought maybe you would like something to eat first,” Zade said smoothly and took her hand, guiding her back out into the living room.
They had really gone all out here, setting a seduction scene just for her. There were three glasses of champagne. Some kind of chocolate dessert that had fruit, and little cakes with spears. Even the lights had been dimmed. The room looked like seduction at its finest. She was going to be in trouble with her mates and she knew it.
Her men led her to the side of the table next to each other, but they had changed. Both wore silky, black pants and no shirt, and Zade held out a matching robe for her and smiled. “We wanted you to get a little more comfortable."
Sasha grinned, and went back to the bathroom. Everywhere around it showed places where they had stored their belongings. There were two closets and theirs was full of boxes and clothes.
Both had their bathroom things laid out, and she sighed. This is what she wanted. Sasha quickly removed her clothes, leaving on just her lacy panties, cleaned up, and brushed her hair. She pulled it back in a sleek ponytail and then brushed her teeth. Putting on the silky robe that was laid out just for her it seemed. Yeah, my men came prepared, she thought. She tied the robe and looked one last time in the mirror. She felt sexy. Especially knowing they were waiting for her out in the living room.
Sasha walked back into the room and laughed when she saw them waiting for her. Zade and Killian seemed relaxed with each other, which was good and strange, they hadn't really talked about the two-mate thing, and she supposed they had better. There could be no jealousy between them.
>
Sasha cleared her throat and both men remained on the floor but turned to look at her. She grinned and joined them on the floor.
After a few minutes, Sasha said, “So, I think we should talk about the two-mate thing. I mean it's different, and I really want this to work.”
“We agree. We have talked and we think that if each of us gets our own time with you, and then together, we'll be good. For some reason, the thought of sharing you with anyone but Zade drives me crazy, but with him it seems—natural.”
Zade nodded. “I agree. I think we're going to be fine, take it one day at a time, and be honest with each other.”
“Okay, well, I honestly want to get naked with you. How's that?” Sasha said softly and looked at them with the desire they all felt.
She felt bold and wanted to claim her mates, so she crawled slowly toward her men. They were lying in the perfect position with their heads together and their legs stretched out. She leaned in and kissed Killian, softly exploring his mouth with hers, trying to tease them into action. It really didn’t take much. Killian reached up, fisted his hand in the back of her hair, and took the kiss over. He demanded a response and she gave it to him with everything she had, sweeping her tongue in his mouth. She dueled with him for dominance, but he won, making sure she knew who was boss. She shivered at the thought.
Being a strong female turned off some men, or made some think they could conqueror her. She would never submit to anyone but her mate and she had found two and she was willing to give it all over to them. She sighed in Killian's mouth, leaned her head to the side, and allowed him to plunder her.
When he released her, Zade was right there and took over. Zade’s kiss was different, just as demanding but softer. Killian was going to be the most dominate of the trio. Which was fine with her. She leaned back and looked at her men.
“We were going to talk about the triad mating as well, uh well, it means that all of the people in the relationship have a sexual relationship with each other, and claim each other. If it's a trio mating, the woman claims both the men and the men claim her together. In a true triad, the men will also claim one another, uh, well that is, while having sex,” Zade said slowly, waiting for her to figure out exactly what he just said.
