by Becca Van
“Well, I don’t, but I’m not totally ignorant. I do know how to read, and I’ve heard other women talking,” Olivia said with exasperation and a roll of the eyes.
“April, stop blubbering,” Olivia said, walking further into the room. She spied April in bed with her baby girl in her arms. Gage and Saxon were reclining on the bed beside her. Both had worried expressions on their faces.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. You three get out now. You’re only making things worse. Go and do what you…do, and leave us women in peace for a while,” Olivia commanded.
Olivia saw Gage and Saxon raise their eyebrows at her audacity in ordering them, the Alphas of the panther clan, out of their bedroom. But when they sighed, she knew they were actually glad to have an excuse at a reprieve.
Olivia watched as April’s three mates practically ran out the door. She snickered and then crawled on the bed beside April and baby Jade. That perfect angelic face and the small bowed lips smiling in her sleep was enough to get her all weepy, too. Instead she looked up into April’s tear-drenched eyes.
“You can stop that right fucking now, girlfriend. You’ll not get an ounce of sympathy out of me. You have those three men wrapped around your little finger. You in tears isn’t going to make me pander to you, so suck it up. You have a beautiful baby girl. You should be happy, not sad.”
“I am,” April wailed. Olivia was doomed. She’d tried and failed. The perfect little girl was enough to melt any jaded heart. Both the women spent the rest of the day cooing and bawling over the baby Jade.
Olivia felt a yearning in her heart and soul. She imagined herself with a round belly as her own child grew inside her womb. The thought of holding her own baby, a piece of her mates as well as herself, made her tear up. She could think of nothing better than holding her own child in her arms. Once that thought took hold, she knew she was never going to leave.
She was going to have to try and come to terms with all her demons so she could realize the ultimate dream of having her own baby. She just didn’t know how to go about being a complacent female. She hoped she could let down all her barriers one day soon. She was driving herself insane as well as her mates, and she knew she couldn’t keep her walls of protection in place forever.
Chapter Eight
Cedric pounced on his Alphas as soon as they entered the communal dining room. His brother was beside him. He had a dilemma he didn’t really want to sort out but knew the emotional and physical safety of their mate depended upon him solving the problem. He waited until their Alphas were seated at their table and approached.
“Alphas, if we may join you, we would like some advice,” Cedric asked courteously.
Cedric was relieved when Gage swept his hand out in invitation, watching as he and Hugh approached their table. “What seems to be the problem?” he asked.
“I found Tony pursuing our mate earlier today. He was in panther form, which of course called to my beast to challenge. Our mate was brave enough to defuse the situation,” Hugh said. Cedric saw his brother’s proud grin spreading across his face and knew he was just as impressed as he had been at their mate’s actions.
“Once we had both calmed down, Tony revealed he thinks Olivia is his mate also. We don’t know for sure if what Tony says is true, but we don’t know how to go about finding out.”
“Hm, these women are becoming such a pain in the ass,” Gage said with a smile. “But they are so sweet and precious.”
“So what do we do?” asked Cedric.
“I think you should introduce Olivia and Tony. Let them have some time together, get to know each other,” Ben stated, crossing his massive arms over his chest.
“I understand what you’re saying, Alpha, but Olivia doesn’t even know us well, yet. She’s still very skittish around us. We haven’t had the time to spend with her and make her more comfortable,” Hugh stated.
Cedric watched the three Alphas look at each other. They were obviously communicating using their own private telepathic mind link. He waited expectantly and with trepidation for their Alphas to speak. Finally, the three Alphas leaned back in their chairs, turning to the front of the table again.
“We are giving you a week’s reprieve from your duties. You will spend that time with your mate. She needs to be at ease with the both of you. I am also giving Tony that week free from duties. He will also be spending time with your mate. I want you all here for the evening meal. The four of you will sit at that table, where we can see how your mate interacts with you all. If Tony believes your mate belongs to him as well, it will be apparent to you and us by meal’s end,” Gage stated with conviction, brooking no arguments.
Cedric wasn’t very happy with Gage’s decree, but since he was an Alpha, he had no choice.
“As you wish,” Cedric conceded. He and Hugh gave slight bows, turned, and left the dining room.
What do you think, brother? Do you think Tony has a claim over our mate? Cedric asked.
I’m not wanting to admit it, but from his reactions, I would say yes. But I won’t be agreeing to anything until I see how our mate and Tony interact. I’m hoping he has no claim over her at all. We’re having enough trouble wooing and taming our mate as it is. Our mate’s reaction to introducing another mate to her is going to be catastrophic.
Well, we don’t have a choice. We’ll just have to deal with issues as they crop up. We are going to have to inform Tony that Olivia uses her mouth when she feels frightened or threatened. You know what a hard-ass he is. The last thing we want is him scaring our mate any more than he already has, Cedric mused.
She’s going to freak. I know.
* * * *
Olivia crawled from April’s large bed where she had spent the day visiting baby Jade. She stood, preparing to leave, when persistent knocking on the double doors drew her attention.
“Liv, can you see who that is? God, if Gage was here, he wouldn’t have let the second knock land. He’s so protective of Jade. It’s funny,” April muttered.
“Jade’s not the only one he’s protective of,” Olivia threw over her shoulder, heading to the door.
She opened the door, scowled when she saw who it was, and tried to slam the door in their faces.
Hugh moved so fast he was a blur. He had the door out of her hand before she could blink. “Hey, what the fuck? You can’t come barging in here. It’s not even your room.”
“We have orders to take you to the dining room for the evening meal. You are to dine with us, as well as Tony Kial, in the presence of our Alphas,” Hugh commanded.
“Liv, what the hell have you been up to?” April called from across the room.
“Nothing,” Olivia replied over her shoulder, puzzled. She swung her head back to Hugh, pinning him with her eyes. “Has this got anything to do with him changing and then chasing me?”
“Did I hear you right? Tony changed to his beast and chased you?” April asked with indignation, rising from the bed with her hands on her hips.
“Yeah. What’s up with that?” she asked.
April stared at Olivia for a moment. Olivia could practically see the cogs turning in April’s mind.
“Ah, Liv, did you happen to notice if his eyes were flicking from his normal eye color to gold?”
“Yeah, what is with that?”
“Oh, girlfriend, it looks like…”
“April, what are you doing out of bed?” Ben called, hurrying into the room.
“Oh, for God’s sake, Ben. I gave birth, I’m not sick. Women have been doing it since the dawn of time. I’m sick of you, Gage, and Saxon coddling me.”
“Olivia, we must hurry to join the evening meal. We cannot dismiss a direct order from our Alphas,” Cedric stated, reaching for Olivia’s hand as Hugh took the other and led her from the room.
Olivia dug her heels in, not wanting to have dinner in a room full of shape-shifting strangers. She had a sinking feeling in her gut. She just knew she wasn’t going to like whatever it was Cedric and Hugh were trying to hide fro
m her. And from the scowls on their faces, they didn’t like it either. She was still mad at them, too. How did they think she would feel waking up after a wonderful night of sex, cold and alone? She was already full of self-doubt, and to find herself alone this morning was enough to give her low self-confidence another battering.
“Please, Olivia. We cannot dismiss a direct order from our Alphas,” Cedric said gently as he looked down at her.
“As if you care,” Olivia spat back.
Cedric and Hugh stopped so suddenly, she nearly fell on her ass.
“What do you mean by that?” Cedric asked, frowning at her.
Olivia hadn’t meant to blurt that out. She’d become so adept at lashing out with her tongue when she was hurt or insecure, it had become natural. She lowered her eyes to the floor, giving a negligent shrug of her shoulders.
“You will answer, mate,” Hugh commanded, raising her face up to them, using a firm but gentle thumb and finger to hold her head in place.
Olivia could see by the steely determination in their eyes they weren’t going to let her get away without answering. She had nothing to lose anyway, as far as she was concerned. She was going to find a way to leave and get back home if it was the last thing she did. She didn’t belong in this world.
“Well, you certainly didn’t hang around this morning,” Olivia spat belligerently.
“We had duties to attend to. We didn’t want to leave you, sweetheart, we had to,” Cedric replied gently.
“You thought we didn’t care for you after we claimed you last night?” Hugh asked incredulously. “How could you think we didn’t care for you? You’re our mate. We want to be at your side always, but we have duties we need to do. We have just been given a week free from our duties. We will be able to spend the next week by your side every minute of every day.”
“Careful what you wish for,” Olivia muttered beneath her breath, seeing the irony of her contrary thoughts. She had spent so much time and put so much thought into trying to get away from them and keeping them at arm’s length, it had become a habit. Now, she was going to spend the next week in their presence and them in hers.
“What did you say?” Cedric asked.
“Nothing. We’d better get to the dining room before we upset the oh-so-exalted ones,” Olivia stated, walking away.
Hugh took a few long strides, caught up with her, and placed his hands upon her shoulders. He turned her body around and tapped her on the ass. “Your sense of direction is terrible,” he said with a chuckle.
“Why do you have to tease me? I can’t help it that I get lost,” Olivia said, lifting her chin and glaring at Hugh.
“I am sorry, honey, maybe we should have maps with labels put in all the corridors for you, that way you may be able to find your way.”
“Ha ha, very funny,” Olivia muttered, knowing full well it was true.
They arrived in the dining room just as the evening meal was being served. Cedric and Hugh led Olivia to a table in front of the raised Alphas’ table. The man who had changed into his panther form was sitting at the table Hugh and Cedric stopped beside. He stood up, looking at her with a heated gaze. She could actually see him struggling to not pounce on her. She looked into his blue eyes and felt as if she was drowning in his heat. She shivered, goose bumps rising over her body. Her pussy began dripping juices, her nipples hardened, and her clit throbbed. What the fuck?
“Olivia, this is our second-in-command, Tony Kial. Tony, our mate, Olivia Hammond,” Hugh snapped out. His voice was so deep she could feel it vibrating through her.
“Olivia, it’s a pleasure,” Tony rumbled, taking her hand in his.
Olivia stared at the tall, handsome man. What was wrong with her? She already had two men who had claimed her as their mate. Why was her body aroused by another man? One who had scared the shit out of her this very morning? Her hand trembled when he turned it over in his, exposing her palm. She couldn’t help the whimper of need that escaped from her when his rough tongue tickled across the sensitive skin of her hand. She couldn’t pull her eyes away from his heated stare. The man was huge. He had muscles on muscles. His legs were as big as tree trunks, and his arms were hanging out from his body, the muscles in his arms too big to allow them to be close to his side. And he was absolutely gorgeous. Her eyes were drawn to the cleft in his chin and the creases in his cheeks, as well as his full lush lips That is until his eyes began to change. They flickered from glowing gold to blue, making her scared. She jumped behind Cedric, gripping the waistband of his trousers, peeking out at the crazy man trying to stare at her.
“Mate.”
Olivia gasped as Tony pinned her with his heated stare, the hackles on the nape of her neck standing on end. Is he crazy? She already had two mates. Olivia had had enough of this bullshit. She stepped out from behind Cedric and stood at his side.
“What the fuck? I am not your mate. So you can just go and sit with someone else,” Olivia spat, remembering her fear and anger from when he had chased after her in his animal form. She tried to stare the mountain of a man down.
He glared at her, his eyes on fire with arousal, but there was also anger. The way he looked at her scared the crap out of her, and she hated being scared.
“You are my mate. You will please, accept me?” Tony asked through clenched teeth.
“Go fuck yourself,” she snapped at him then turned and walked toward the glass doors on the opposite side of the room. She didn’t get more than three steps away from the table. A humongous paw of a hand wrapped around her wrist and pulled her toward the man who had just declared she was his mate. She struggled halfheartedly but didn’t have a hope in hell of escaping him. Not that she really wanted to. Tony turned her on just as much as Cedric and Hugh did. She felt the yearning in her heart to be cherished and looked after by Tony as well. She just didn’t want to give in too easily. She had a reputation of being difficult to uphold, after all.
“Let me go. My best friend is your queen. I’ll tell her to sic her mates on you,” Olivia said desperately, her muscles getting tired of fighting for her freedom.
“Olivia, come here,” Gage called.
Thinking she had April’s men on her side, she looked up into Tony’s eyes, poked her tongue out at him childishly, and stomped away when he released her hand.
“Take a seat,” Gage commanded. Olivia saw that Gage was now standing beside the empty seat his mate usually sat in and pulled it back for her so she could sit.
Olivia turned to Gage with a smile on her face, about to thank him for rescuing her. But her smile quickly turned to a frown of trepidation when she saw the serious expression on Gage’s face.
“We are all grateful that you are here. April is much happier having someone she knows and loves in our home. We are thankful for you helping her through the birth of our daughter and the hormones she’s been dealing with. We would never place you in any harm. We would rip out the throat of anyone who hurt you, but do not lie to yourself, little one. You know just as much as Tony does that you are his mate also,” Gage stated gently.
“I don’t care. I don’t want him.” Olivia looked at Gage.
She hid her anguish and arousal from him as she stared. She did want Tony, but she wasn’t sure if she could cope with having three mates.
“Why?”
“He’s huge. He’s a head taller than Cedric and Hugh. He wouldn’t even have to try to hurt me. He could snap my neck between his fingers without any effort at all.”
“You’re scared of him?” Gage asked. “No one would ever hurt you, Olivia. We treasure our women. Haven’t you noticed how few women we have?”
“Well, yes, I had wondered, but I don’t care. I mean, I do, but I can’t have him. I don’t want him,” Olivia stated, her voice quavering. She looked over to where her mates and Tony were in deep discussion. She saw a surprised expression flit across Tony’s face, and then his eyes pinned her. She lowered her lashes, turned her head away, and looked back at Gage.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t want you to decide now. Take some time to think things over. You are his mate and I want you to seriously think about accepting him before you deny him. You haven’t even taken the time to get to know him yet. How can you refute him as your mate? Please, Olivia. Please take some time to talk with Tony.” Gage’s steely voice brooked no argument.
“Whatever you say, your highness,” Olivia replied disparagingly then rose and walked away. Instead of going back to the table where her mates were, she walked to the sliding glass doors and out into the gardens.
There was no fucking way she was obeying a stranger. She was leaving.
Chapter Nine
Olivia made it to the large hammock then stopped and stood staring into the fish pond, her arms wrapped around her waist, her stance protective and defensive. She had nowhere else to go, and she’d already tried to run once. The thought of another shifter species trying to claim her as their mate was repugnant. She didn’t fit in. She’d never fit in anywhere, not even in her own home. She knew her mom loved her, had protected her when her mom’s latest boyfriend had tried to touch her, but she felt guilty. Her mom had been charged with assault. The bastard had pressed charges against her mother. Her mom had ended up in jail for three months, serving time for something any normal mom would do to protect her child. Olivia had never gotten over that. She and her brother had had to stay with her mom’s sister.
Her aunt had resented having to look after her and her brother. She’d been young and single, and they had obviously cramped her style. Her Aunt Delia had blamed Olivia for her mom’s incarceration, calling her a little slut and tramp. Olivia had learned from her aunt how to protect herself using her tongue. She gave back as good as she got. When her mom had finally been released from prison, they’d had to find another place to live. Their previous apartment had been re-leased, and her mom had never been the same.
She was harder, tougher, not as in touch with her two children as she had been before her stint in prison. She’d tried to talk to her mom and apologize, but her mom had brushed her aside, saying she had nothing to apologize for. Their relationship had deteriorated in Olivia’s eyes. She felt like an outsider in her own home, not knowing which way to turn or how to fix things and get back to where they had been before. Olivia’s older brother had tried to make up for their mom’s lack of affection, but somehow, things had changed too much from what they had been. She’d carried around the guilt for years, using her mouth whenever she felt hurt or threatened. It was as natural to her as breathing now. She didn’t know how to change. Not sure if she even wanted to.
