“Why did you spend so much time in wolf skin, Thalia?” Theo asked quietly.
A hard laugh tumbled from her lips. “To escape you all.”
Silence fell, and Mikkel cleared his throat, his discomfort evident. “When we had sex, Thalia had visions of us with other females. If she wasn’t in this form, she didn’t have visions.”
“And you all had a lot of sex.” Caelus, some weeks, it had been several times a day. There’d be a brief respite, then it would start up again. Endless female faces, bodies that weren’t hers, sexes that gave her males pleasure.
Just thinking of that made her She-Wolf stir to life. She could feel the beast’s presence, could feel her starting to do what she did best—protect Thalia. Offering her comfort, solace in the blank world that was a beast’s mind where nothing mattered save for fucking, eating, fighting, and protecting territory and young.
It was a simple life, far simpler than a human’s, and for too long, it had offered her a temptation Thalia had been too weak to ignore.
“What do you mean ‘visions’?” Theo asked gruffly.
She tensed and her head whipped around so she could glower at him, but before she could say a word, Rafe stood. He held out his arms and with a murmur, told her, “Come here.”
She fought her temper a second, then still bristling, she strode over to her first mate, needing his calm, his rationale to soothe both woman and beast.
“You had sex the day Thalia challenged Jason Torres, didn’t you?” Rafe said matter-of-factly. “It wasn’t Mikkel, because he was waiting in the airport for our flight to land. It has to be you unless he had someone in the airport toilets.”
Mikkel grunted at his statement.
Though she was ensconced in Rafe’s arms, Thalia moved her head to the side so she could look at her mates. The guilt on Theo’s face spoke loudly, but the bitch of it was, there was no need for any of them to feel guilt.
It wasn’t like they’d known, was it? Wasn’t like they’d set out to hurt her.
She sighed. “You don’t have to feel badly, Theo.”
“I never imagined you’d be able to see…” He swallowed thickly. “I’m stunned.” He looked it. He sank back down against the lounger, and the thick, plush cushion sank under his not insubstantial weight. The slight puff of air escaping the mass made her wonder just how heavy he was.
“Of course you didn’t,” she whispered.
“But why? What good would that do? Why would you seeing that do anything but ill?” he asked, more to himself than to them, she thought.
“I don’t know. But what’s done is done.” It was her turn to swallow. “I didn’t mean to make you feel horrible. That was never my intention. I’m just trying to explain.” She squeezed Rafe tighter, and his scent, always strong, overloaded her senses, enabling her to breathe a little easier, to relax a touch more into his embrace. “I think if something hadn’t changed, my She-Wolf would have taken control of me soon. I could feel it. Every shift, she pulled at me harder. Didn’t want to let go. She was tired of me hurting, tired of me being so angry all the time, and sometimes, I let her suck me in. Hold me back. I just wanted to escape, and she gave me that.”
“But what does that have to do with seeing Theo’s wings, Thalia?” Mikkel asked, his question soft. So soft, it surprised her that it had come from him.
He was ebullient and mouthy. That, she’d identified almost from the very start. To see him so pensive and careful was something she didn’t appreciate.
Rafe called him a douche, and maybe he was. Maybe he was selfish and angry with the situation, and perhaps he was arrogant too. But he was also amusing with a wicked laugh that made giggles bubble in her chest at his irreverence. He was disdainful of elitism, which considering his position in the Army came as a surprise… but then, did it? In the Armed Forces, rank had to be earned. In her world, it was born, ingrained into each person by the will of a deity. The more she thought of it, the more she knew that was the reason why.
A person had to prove themselves to Mikkel, and that was something he lived by. Pushing himself, becoming leader of his team to be the best he could be.
No, he wasn’t perfect, but she wouldn’t want him to be.
She wanted his cheeky smiles and quick grins. His snarky humor and impudent jokes.
“For so long, I’ve been on the brink, Mikkel. Seeing the wings was like… I knew he was mine. I did, Theo,” she whispered earnestly. “I felt it then as I feel it now.” And Gods, did she. It was like a burning hole in her soul. One that he’d fill if she’d just let him in. “You were there and you were mine, but the She-Wolf saw the wings, felt how strange you felt and she pulled me back. I guess—” She gnawed at her bottom lip. “There was like a tug of war. Neither of us won and that’s why I passed out.” She bit down harder on her lip. “The headaches I’ve been getting of late didn’t help with that,” she admitted ruefully.
Rafe stiffened but he didn’t interrupt, just carried on holding her, resting his palm at the bottom of her back in a way that, Gods, made her want to connect with him.
“Do you think you’re ready to see them now?” he asked, still sounding stunned at her earlier revelation.
Because she heard his hesitance and somehow knew it was important she see all of him too, she squeezed Rafe but pulled back—even if it was the last thing she wanted to do.
“I’m ready.” She squared her shoulders and turned to face him.
He stood once more, but the move was slow and creaky. She knew she’d shaken him but, seeing him, watching him, she realized how badly she’d surprised him with her admission.
Thalia knew, bone deep, how difficult it was to shock her mate. How couldn’t it be? What hadn’t he seen in twelve thousand years?
He sucked in a sharp breath and then his eyes flared wide. What had once been shamrock green became a stormy, flinty silver. They pierced her to the core, made her gasp as she felt things she’d never…
Her throat closed as she felt him inside her. His lips against her cheek, his body hot and hard over her. She felt his sweat-slick chest rubbing against hers, her nipples firming into taut peaks that he bit down upon and sucked hard.
A whimper escaped her as, lowering his eyelids, he broke the connection, and with a whoosh of air, the wings appeared.
“Gods,” she hissed, stunned.
They were…
Huge.
But they were beautiful too.
So fucking big! Sweet Gods, where did they even start and end?
They were bigger than him, and he wasn’t small at six and a half feet! Then, her gaze took all of him in and she let out a gasp. What did Fae have? Was it glamor? Well, whatever it was, it meant that his shirt had disappeared. And she checked—it hadn’t fallen to the floor in shards of expensive fabric. Nope. It had just vanished out of nowhere. Before she could obsess over its absence, she realized what his lack of covering exposed.
Muscles.
She’d known he wasn’t slender, but dear Gods, he was built.
Feeling her tongue cleave to the roof of her mouth, she took a hesitant step toward him. He didn’t move, just stood there watching her. Those silver eyes glinted in the sunlight in a way that made them seem even more metallic. And as he took her all in, she realized something…
He was a predator.
Just like she was.
Though her stomach tensed, the She-Wolf roared to life, refusing to be cowed by this strong male. The bitch recognized the Alpha before her, recognized it and both celebrated and reviled the sheer dominance Theo exuded.
In his jeans and Henleys, it was easy to mistake the man for just an ordinary guy. But he was anything but. Saying he was extraordinary was a misjudgment.
As she approached, his wings rustled, catching her eye. They were like an eagle’s wing, soft and seemingly silky, but they carried this beast of a man who hid his power under clothes and only the Gods knew what kind of magic. She wanted to touch them, wanted to feel them against her ski
n. The very notion made her shudder, piercing her with a longing that went beyond desire.
He let her move behind him, and he did so without any tension filling his muscles. She knew that was because he trusted her. Because she was his mate.
A part of her wondered if he’d have allowed Mikkel or Rafe to make the same move, but then, those questions disappeared as she peered at the root muscles where the wings were stacked.
Fuck.
They were like… Was it strange to think of the Willow tree back at the TriAlpha palace in Oregon?
Thick roots that sprouted through his skin, forming a trunk that cleaved off into branches of bone and cartilage.
It was only now, so close to him, that she saw the musculature and skeleton that made up the wings. And even then, because it was so bright, the light pierced through the dove gray feathers and let her see beneath.
It was compulsion that propelled her forward. Her fingers itched with the need to touch him. In fact, itch was an understatement. It settled underneath her skin, making the fingertips burn, and the breath sough from her lungs as she fought herself and ultimately lost. Even the She-Wolf wanted to feel her mate’s touch, because no matter what he was, strange foe, predator—he was hers.
She just had to learn him.
Thalia’s digits traced over a few feathers before she moved up to the wing base. He stiffened at her touch, his muscles shifting, making the wings flutter out and straighten before bobbing back to what she knew was a neutral position. The muscles that held the wings high were incredibly thick, and they burned with a heat that scalded her enough to draw her hand back in surprise. But, that compulsion drew her to move back to him, to touch him there once more. She tested the flesh, pressed it, half-massaged as she ascertained the pliancy there.
So focused was she on her task that she jolted in place when he spoke, his voice thick, “Gentlemen, would you leave us, please?”
She felt the heat of the day disappear into Arctic temperatures at her other mates’ disapproval of Theo’s request. She opened her mouth to tell them to stay, but when she spoke, the words that fell from her lips stunned even her.
“It’s okay. Rafe, Mikkel, I’m fine. I’ll be in shortly.”
“Thalia…” Mikkel’s voice dragged out her name.
“Are you sure you’re…?” This from Rafe.
She stood on tiptoe, barely managing to peek over Theo’s shoulder to her other mate. When she saw his face, she bit her lip. She’d feared she’d see jealousy, but instead, there was uncertainty.
Pressing a hand to Theo’s back, trying to transmit calm his way, she stepped around him and headed for Rafe. He hauled her against his chest.
“You don’t have to do anything you’re not ready for.” His hand came up to touch her forehead. “Especially if you’re in pain.”
“It’s not too bad at the moment,” she assured him, nuzzling into him by pressing her nose along the line of his jaw. It was a lie. Her head felt as though it was on fire, but he didn’t need to know that.
She wondered why he couldn’t sense it, and then, she wondered if his healing talents were in flux, as her own were.
Something was happening to them. The both of them. Some kind of evolution that would take them only the Gods knew where.
“I love you,” she told him, stepping on tiptoe again and pressing her lips to his. “I’ll be fine.”
“I’m not scared for you,” he said a touch angrily. “I’m just… I don’t know.”
Was he jealous? “I love you,” she whispered again, needing him to know that.
He released a breath. “I know you do. I love you too.”
“Have faith in me.”
He clicked his tongue angrily. “Of course I do.”
“Then what’s the problem?” she asked, a touch amused. Because, no, he wasn’t jealous. Her She-Wolf would have sensed that by now.
“I don’t know,” he admitted, then sucking in a sharp breath, he squeezed her and immediately pulled free.
She didn’t like that. Didn’t like the distance. Her She-Wolf liked it even less. For a second, the woman had to tangle with the beast in a fight for control. She could feel the She-Wolf’s demand that Rafe stay, and maybe he sensed it too, because his head tilted to the side in surprise.
He clicked his tongue again. “I’ll be inside,” he reassured her. “Not too far.”
Relief swelled inside her. “Close,” she whispered, stunned to hear how guttural her words were.
“Close,” he promised, catching her eye and holding it—more proof that he wasn’t Gamma. Very few could maintain eye contact with her for sustained periods.
Mikkel cleared his throat, inadvertently dragging her gaze from Rafe. Her first mate stepped away, she heard the bright white gravel beneath the sun loungers shift under his feet as he headed inside.
When she turned to face her second mate, she saw he was standing, his hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans. His shoulders were rounded and he was scowling. At her.
“What is it?” she asked, but unlike with Rafe who she’d tried to soothe, her tone was belligerent now.
“Nothing,” he retorted, equally as belligerent.
“You don’t want me. Remember?”
Her words had his jaw gritting. “I never said that.”
“Erm, I think you’ll find you did.”
His nostrils flared. “Well, we both know that was bullshit.”
Despite herself, she had to laugh. “You speak a lot of bullshit?”
“From time to time,” he admitted calmly. Then, his glance shifted to Theo whose wings had retracted—they hadn’t disappeared, they were just tucked into his back now. “You going to be okay?”
“Are you?” she countered, taking a step nearer him. She could only imagine how overwhelming this was for him.
Sure, he’d known of the supernatural elements in the world, but Fae? And ones who looked like angels walking the Earth?
His nod came quickly, but it reminded her of a little boy denying he was frightened of the spooky house at the bottom of the road.
She rarely touched Mikkel. He’d never invited it, and if they did touch, it was a brush. The accidental meeting of their clothes as they walked close to each other. But now, she changed all that. She placed her palm against his chest.
“You need to stop fighting the bond.”
“I’m not fighting anything,” he argued, his eyes on Theo’s wings.
A soft snarl escaped her, one that was pure canine. His attention reverted to her, settling her She-Wolf’s ire. “You’re mine.”
“If I’m yours, then you’re mine,” he immediately countered, his tone aggressive, and somehow, she needed that.
Just like she needed Rafe to be her guardian, Mikkel was fire to her fire.
“I never argued about that,” she snapped, and then, she stunned him. She leaped up against him. His reflexes were good. He caught her. His hands coming up to cup her ass as she parted her thighs and cupped his hips.
Before he could do more than sputter, she pressed her mouth to his and she bit him. His bottom lip. The growl that escaped him was pure Wolf. He didn’t have an ounce of Lyken in him, that was true, but that noise?
Fuck. It made her She-Wolf roar right back, and when he dove onto her mouth, plundering its depths, she fought him inch by inch. There was no submitting as she did with Rafe, no allowing herself to simply enjoy the pleasure. She raged with him. Their lust was a hot, furious thing, and it burned hotly. Brightly.
Gods, it was beautiful.
It made her feel incandescent with its light as he fucked her mouth with his. His tongue thrust against hers, inciting grunts and growls from her, and she thrust right back. The two of them tangling, seeking to tame the other. Her nails dug into his shirt and she heard the fabric rip under the pressure.
He didn’t jerk back in surprise, if anything, his hands pressed harder into her ass and he rocked his hips up. When she felt his cock against her core, rubbing along
her slit, she pulled back with a pant.
“Mine,” she hissed.
“Mine,” he hissed back, and the glower turned his eyes flinty.
“I never denied it,” she spat. “You denied me.” Hurt throbbed in the word.
“I needed time,” he countered, that hurt seeming to change the tenor of this surprising encounter.
“No more time. No more waiting.”
He jolted at her command, and though his eyes narrowed, he lowered his chin once in agreement. Then, he stunned the shit out of her. He darted forward, pressing his mouth to her throat, and bit down so hard she yelped.
Fire stormed through her veins, sending liquid arousal chasing through her body.
Her head fell back in sheer delight and she was panting seconds later when he helped her step down, steadying her as she stumbled at being moved from him.
“Later,” he vowed, the word coming from between gritted teeth as he flashed an angry glance at her.
She reached up, pressing her fingers to the indents on his bottom lip where her teeth marks still showed. “Promise?”
She hated the uncertainty in her voice, and he flinched, regret chasing back the glower narrowing his eyes.
“Promise.” His nostrils flared as he hesitated, then he swore under his breath, pressed the gentlest of kisses to her lips—so gentle in comparison to the rough slaking of lust they’d just shared—took a step back from her, and slipped between the loungers to head for the house.
Leaving her with her third mate.
Gods, what must he think of her? Leaping on Mikkel like that? Submitting to Rafe and nuzzling into him?
Then, as the thought crossed her mind, she straightened her shoulders because each man provided her with something she lacked. He too would have a role in her world, and it wasn’t down to her to feel shame for what her males inspired in her.
The Mother had granted her these three very different men, and it was time to learn exactly what her Fae mate would bring to the party.
13
Theodore
Twelve thousand years wore hard on a man.
Triskele (The TriAlpha Chronicles Book 2) Page 23
