by Lia Davis
Pressing my palms to his chest, I gave a little push. It was a warning. I could overpower him if I wanted, and I could tell he knew that. He leaned into me and captured my lips in a searing, passion-filled kiss. Was he trying to stake claim on me in front of my other two mates? As much as I wanted to strip him naked and take him right there, I needed to respect Harper and Noah. I bit down on Gino's bottom lip, making him jerk away from me.
Staring at me with heat in his gaze, he smiled. "My apologies. The pull is strong."
"Tell me about it," I mumbled and stepped out of his embrace. "Gino, these are my other mates, Harper and Noah."
Noah gave him a nod as he tucked the blanket around his waist. Harper grunted and plucked Noah's shirt off the floor, pulling it over her head. A sheepish grin formed on my face. I guess I could have let them dress before opening the door. Oops.
Gino took a seat on the empty bed, his expression void of emotion. "I feel a little overdressed."
Well, he could remove some clothes. I banished that thought quickly.
An awkward silence filled the room. I didn't know what to say and my body itched to be close to him. At the same time I felt like if I moved to the bed with Gino, it would be a betrayal of my other two mates.
Finally, after a few more minutes I blurted, "How is this going to work? I mean Harper and Noah have known each other and me since they started sentry training at thirteen."
Gino nodded. "I'm not going anywhere. And I've been way more patient than I normally am."
There was a darkness to his tone that made me shiver. Not out of fear, but desire. I opened my mouth to speak, but Harper's words cut me off. "Ami is our alpha. Her well-being and strength is for us to protect and nourish. I will not allow anyone to come in and break her."
Gino's chocolate depths darkened as he locked gazes with Harper. "My intentions are not to break her. Her strong will is what attracts me, besides the hunger of meeting a true mate." He looked at me and my insides ignited into a wildfire of need. "I'm all in. I know I have to share you with two others, and I'm willing to make the effort to make it work. Besides, if you haven't noticed from your encounter with my mother, strong-minded and strong-willed females run in my family. I still think you handled her beautifully."
I didn't like to "handle" people. That was Meda's job. However, Gino's mother was a force to be reckoned with. To my surprise, I liked the little verbal sparring match I'd had with the woman. "Did they come to the island?"
Gino shook his head. "She was quite put out that I did."
The wide smile that formed on his face after he spoke made me giggle. I could see his mom being pissed that he followed his mate to a realm she couldn't access. Especially when she thought it wasn't his fight. That last thought made me frown. "Are you sure you're ready for our upcoming fight?"
He gave a sharp nod. "You're my mate, Ami. I'll do what I need to in order to protect you and your family and your people."
I glanced at Harper and saw her press her lips into a thin line. Then she sent me a thought through our bond. I guess he can stay.
Smiling, I puckered my lips at her. Thank you for trying.
She poked my ribs making me jump. If he hurts you, I'll kill him.
We spent the next several hours talking, watching movies, and playing games. The tension about the pending battle was high and it was nice to spend a night being normal. Plus, it allowed all three of my mates to get to know each other better. It gave me hope that the relationship would work. I needed to take some time to spend with each of them. But we'd figure that all out after we dealt with Trinity.
It was about two a.m. when Noah got up and dressed in his dark gray sentry uniform. Well, unofficial uniform that Mom suggested the sentries wear. Noah and Harper said they were comfortable and liked wearing them. After dressing, he pressed a lingering kiss to my lips. "I'm on post. Randall doesn't trust that Trinity can't breach the portals."
Nodding, I said. "See you soon."
He winked at me, then met Harper's gaze briefly before bending down like he was going to kiss her. She placed her palm on his face and pushed him away. "Don't make me kick your ass."
Noah laughed, nodded to Gino, and left our room.
A few minutes later, Gino put his shoes on and stood. He kissed my forehead. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Harper grabbed me by the waist and pulled me on down to lay beside her. "We're having a meeting late morning. You're welcome to attend."
Gino glanced at her with a hint of surprise, then nodded. "Thank you."
When Gino left, Harper kissed my neck. "Now I have you all to myself."
I giggled and removed my nightie. "As do I."
Desire lit up her gaze and her fangs poked out from her lips. For the love of all unholy, I loved this woman.
Chapter Eleven
"Ami." Harper's voice broke through my deep sleep.
"What?" I whispered. It had to be the middle of the night. My scratchy eyes didn't want to open.
"Wake up," she whispered. Light fingers danced down my bare spine. "It's getting late."
"What are you talking about?" I asked groggily. "We just went to sleep."
"Hey," Harper said more urgently. "Are you okay?"
I cracked an eye at her. "Sure, why?"
"You're always up before everyone else, usually with your nose stuck in a book. I know we're in a high intensity situation, but I would've thought you'd at least want to check out the cool stuff your Poppy provided."
She made a valid point, but why would I want to do that stuff in the middle of the night? "Harp, we can do all that in the morning."
I rolled over to try to go back to sleep and wished Noah was still in bed with me.
"Ami. Seriously. Look around. The sun is shining bright through the window. I'm not sure what's up with time in this place, but it seems to flow just like home, because according to my watch, it's after noon, and according to the sun in the sky, my watch is accurate."
After noon? No way. "That's not possible." I sat up and rubbed my eyes, then looked out of the windows that gave a gorgeous view of the ocean. The sun was high in the sky, all right. "Damn."
Harper's face looked pinched and worried.
"Oh, calm down, I was probably just tired," I said through a yawn. "It's all good."
"I know, I'm just making sure you're okay after the stressful day you had yesterday."
Her concern bordered on irritating. "Harper. Will you chill?"
"Sure," she said in a quiet voice. "I'll leave you alone to get ready."
Her hurt pulsed through the bond. Part of me wanted to call out to her and ask her to come back in, but I didn't. She'd get over it, and I needed a breather, time away from those two.
At least they'd given me a great orgasm the night before.
What's wrong with you? You're never so callous.
Great. I was beginning to annoy myself.
After dressing, I stepped out of my bedroom into the hotel room common area to find Meda with her fist raised, about to knock on my door. "Is Phenex in there?" she demanded.
"No." I pushed past her toward the coffee maker.
"I can't find him anywhere."
While I measured out coffee to make a fresh pot, I reached internally for his bond.
It wasn't there. Or, it was, but it was muted, like someone had laid a thick blanket over it. What the hell?
"Where is he?" I asked as I poured water into the reservoir.
"The last I spoke to him, he was going to pop in and get Marvin," she said in a scared tone. "What if that went wrong?"
Rounding on her, I narrowed my eyes. "You let him go alone?"
"Why wouldn't I? He can make tiny little portals to spy and make sure nothing bad could get him. He's not stupid."
It was increasingly difficult to keep my temper. "Yeah, but what if Marvin wouldn't come to him? And he was exposed long enough for Trinity to realize he was there?" My fearless leader obviously hadn't thought of that.
Her
face paled. "We've got to get to him."
My parents and Tala walked in the door as Meda covered her face with her hands.
"What's going on?" our mom asked. "Why is she crying?"
"I have no idea," I said. "She's missing Phenex for five minutes and she acts like it's the end of the world."
Mom shot me a surprised expression. "Meda rarely cries, Ami, you know that. If she's driven to tears, the threat must be sincere. And since when are you so cynical?"
"Yeah, like she can focus long enough to be cynical," Tala muttered.
"That's it," I yelled. "Outside, now. You're being a bitch."
"I'm always a bitch," Tala countered. "What's your excuse?"
"Enough," Dad yelled. Meda looked up from her sob-fest, and Tala and I turned toward him. "Something is going on with you three. You've never been so out of sync."
"I think it's their curse," Noah said. I hadn't even realized he was out in the hallway. My parents hadn't made it all the way in the door, so we couldn't see that most of our mates and sentries were behind them, heading in.
Everyone moved farther into the room, filling it quickly. I sighed as I looked at the enormous crowd. Even Gino was with them. "What's this?"
"We figured out Phenex was missing hours ago," Harper said. "But you three slept through our search."
Tala held her hands up. "I helped you search."
"Moving from the bedroom to the hammock hardly counts as helping us search," Randell said, face serious. She just shrugged.
Sterling sat in the middle of the floor, followed by Gino and Fenton. "One thing we all agree about is that you are acting completely out of character."
Gino winked at me. "Come on over here, mate."
I sighed and walked over, more interested in the way his shaggy black hair curled around his ears than what he wanted to do with his magic. I wondered if I could come up with a sneaky way to get us out of here so we could finally complete the whole mated thing.
"None of that now," he said, picking up my mood. "We've got work to do."
Meda and Tala sat down in front of their witches.
Fenton, ever the teacher, stood. "Now, the mates have been talking. It's no coincidence that you each have a witch. We figure there's some sort of connection we are supposed to help you achieve. So, let's sit here and have a moment with each other. Let us do the legwork for now."
Sterling nodded. "We want to poke around in your brains for a few minutes. Are you okay with that?"
I looked at my sisters, intensely missing my connection to them. "Yeah," I said. "It's okay with me."
They nodded, both looking lost and sad. I couldn't feel that, and normally I could. "You're right," Meda said.
I finished her thought. Even without our normal connection, I knew exactly what she wanted to say. "Something is blocking us, keeping us from each other."
"Relax," Gino said. "Close your eyes." He took my hands and scooted forward until we sat knee to knee with our legs crossed.
Exhaling as much air as I could, I sucked in a deep, clean breath and focused on his voice. His sexy, sultry voice. Darn it. I squirmed.
He shushed me, running his thumb lightly across the back of my knuckles. The next thing I knew, the six of us were lost in a sea of murky black. "This is what's causing your anger," Gino said.
I looked around, but as soon as I looked away from his face, I nearly lost myself in the darkness. "I can't stand this," I whispered.
"Then get rid of it."
I focused on the blackness, willing it to leave, but nothing happened. "I feel like Meda could burn it off if she had her flames."
"That's the point though, isn't it? This is keeping you from your elements."
I centered myself and drew on energy from my family in the room near me. Gino and I were lost in my head, but physically they were nearby.
It worked. The essence of my niswi, Harper and Noah flooded into me. I didn't draw from Mom, just in case it put too much strain on the baby. Once again, I willed the black murk away, but it was to no avail.
"Try Hell," Gino suggested. "Or we could try you funneling your power to me. I can try to get rid of it."
Hell was being difficult so I tried his other idea. "Okay, sure," I said. Focusing on Gino, I pushed the power I'd pulled from my family at my mate. He yelled and disappeared from my mind. I opened my eyes, jerking myself out of the trance with a gasp. "Are you okay?"
He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yeah, but holy fuck."
My sisters, Fenton, and Sterling blinked and looked at us. "What happened?" Meda asked.
"She tried to let me take control of her power, to see if I could push the black crap away, but when I tried, it was far more power than I could ever handle." He looked at me with a shocked expression. "I knew you triplets were powerful, but damn."
"I was afraid this might happen," Sterling said. "Meda is too powerful for me to help, I think. I'm not sure what the purpose was, them having the three of us. I'm sure there's a point, but I haven't seen it yet."
"So, we're on our own. Again," Tala said.
"That's not so bad." I tried to keep an eye on the blackness, and contain it in my mind. If I sequestered it, I felt more like myself. "Put the curse in a box. Lock it up tight."
Tala narrowed her eyes at me, but then she closed them. In a moment she breathed in sharply. "That makes a difference."
"We may not be able to remove it, but if we can ignore it, maybe we can get through this," I said. I still couldn't reach my air, but I definitely breathed easier.
Meda laughed. "It does feel much better."
"Finally," Mom muttered. "Okay, girls, you sit here until you figure out how to make a portal. We've got to get that damn hound back."
That was easier said than done. We connected to each other, pulled power back and forth between us. We brought our mates in, and while we didn't give them our power to harness, we figured out how to sidle them up to us so that we could harness it together. We couldn't make it work with each other though. It seemed we could connect to our mates or each other, but not both.
When that novelty ran its course, we tried connecting to Hell.
That's when the real magic started. With the power of Hell running through us, we were able to connect to each other and our mates. I felt Fenton and Sterling through my sisters, and they could feel Gino. "Now we're getting somewhere," Gino said, and held out his hand. He made a flower appear, bloom, then wilt and die, then reversed it. Then he conjured a necklace with an enormous emerald.
"Gino Drago, you put that back around the rich lady's neck you took it from," I scolded him.
It wasn't around her neck. It was locked in the Tower of London.
I gasped and looked at him with wide eyes. You can't go around stealing the Crown Jewels, Gino!
His eyes sparkled. "You're a princess, are you not?"
I studied the necklace. What other occasion would I have to see such a thing close up? "Can you send it back?"
"Of course," he said. "With this power, I could duplicate it."
I looked around the room at my family. They didn't look happy. "Would that be so bad?" I asked.
My mother nodded. "If that's what I think it is, yes. That would be bad."
"Okay," he said, and the necklace disappeared. "Back to a portal."
I focused on my bedroom in our dorm. I'd once read a book that said reality was made up of fabric, woven in time, space, and reality. In that vein, I plucked mentally at the wall separating me from the room in my mind.
To my amazement, it moved. "Guys," I whispered as I grasped another thread. "Hey," I hissed.
I felt more than saw them move closer to me. "It's working," I said with a nervous laugh as I continued plucking at the threads. "It's like unraveling a tapestry."
"Can you cut it instead of unraveling it?" Meda asked.
I tried, reaching out with my magic to slice a hole in the tapestry instead of picking at it.
"Yes," I crowed. "It's working."
"We can see that," my mom said. "I can see the inside of your bedroom. She stood behind me, judging by the location of her voice. "Great job, darling."
Chapter Twelve
I sliced into the tapestry, making the hole between the two realms bigger until it was large enough we could walk through. "I don't think we should all go through," I said, peering into my bedroom. Nothing looked out of place, but that didn't guarantee anything.
Meda nodded. "In case Trinity is lurking around, Tala, Ami and I can get in and out a lot quieter."
Randell growled, not liking the idea. "I'm going."
Tala rolled her eyes but when she opened her mouth to tell him he wasn't, Dorian and Harper stood and said at the same time, "We're going too."
The niswi glowered. "If you're not back in three minutes, we're coming through."
"Fine, whatever. Dorian, you can stand in the doorway and keep the people on the other side of the portal updated," Meda said and faced the portal. It was easier to humor them. "Ready?"
After Tala and I nodded, we walked through and into my room at the dorm. Meda moved to the door and listened. "Someone is moving around."
"Smells like demons," Tala added in a flat tone. "Several."
We met each other's gazes and took a breath at the same time. Meda said, "We have to fight the darkness and work together. Marvin and Phenex are depending on us."
Nodding, I opened myself to the power of Hell. It came quickly this time. "I'm ready."
A glance at our mates behind us told us they were ready as well. Meda twisted the knob and threw the door open. The sight in the common area froze us in our tracks. Phenex slouched over, held upright by the ropes tying him to the kitchen chair. It looked like he'd been beaten pretty badly. My heart splintered seeing him injured and broken. It also pissed me off. Phenex was mine and my sisters. No one hurt our mate.
A fierce growl ripped from me as I charged forward. I may not have been as strong of a fighter as my sisters, but I still trained with Randell, who never went easy on me. Plus, these bastard demons hurt my Phenex. They were going to pay for it.
Fueled by my rage and protectiveness for my hound, I slammed into a demon close to Phenex, slashing at him with my hand. My claws sliced into his skin with ease. What? My claws? When the heck did I learn to partially shift? I knew mom could shift at will, but this was different. Mom was the first High Alpha to do so in centuries. The demon retaliated while I stared in amazement at my claw-hands. Jumping back, I blocked his kick and moved past the amazement of my discover. No time to think too much about it at the moment, but I'd sure use it to my advantage.
