by C. D. Gorri
“You should have told her. I told you that at the apartment.” Conan broke in.
“I know.”
“What about your engagement? Your fiancée?” I asked Conan.
“She’s a strong woman. She’ll be all right.” His eyes slid away from mine.
“If she doesn’t beat your ass.” Bran laughed.
“Really?” I looked between the brothers.
“Penelope is a match for Conan in every way.”
“Do you love her? Will this be a problem?” I felt horrible.
“I like her a lot, actually.” Conan unbent a little. “She is really tough, but she has to be.”
I wondered if he knew that he glared at Bran as he spoke.
“She’s going to be pissed. There’s no way around this.” Conan looked over at Sharona. “You’re going to have to work to earn your keep with the Knights.”
“Penelope Knight?” I gasped. I’d seen her at the last pack meeting a year ago. She was fierce, fighting in contests with male wolves, both as a human and as a wolf. Half the time, she won. “Oh, hell.”
“Exactly,” Bran said.
“Who’s your fiancée?” I asked Bran.
“Her name is Nina Longtooth. I don’t know what she’ll think or do. She’ll be hurt, but we’re not in love. We both agreed on that.”
“Could you have loved her?”
Bran hesitated. “Maybe.”
I knew he didn’t want to tell me, but he did anyway, which was good. He was learning.
I was done being left wanting for information, being left out of the decision-making. Even half an hour ago, I’d been willing to step out of the room so that Bran could handle something.
Never again. I promised myself that. I didn’t need to make a big statement about it, but I’d been on the sidelines of my own life for too long.
It was time to break that habit.
“I wonder.” Sharona thumped over to where I stood with the brothers. “Mate bonds don’t happen like they used to. It’s even stranger that you have bonded with two of the Blackwood brothers.” She eyed me. I felt like a bug under a microscope.
“We’re going to need to talk to your father. This isn’t just a simple matter.” Caro walked into the kitchen.
“You can’t cut off a mate bond. You know that.” Andi was speaking to her—what was Caro to her? Her sister-wife? Co-wife? I didn’t know.
Sharona turned to Conan, ignoring his mothers. Clearly, she had a fondness for him. “Where’s your other brother?”
“What?” Conan asked, startled.
“Alec. Where is he?”
“Why?” Bran moved closer to me.
“Because if Lena is mate bonded to two of you, we need to see if it’s just the two of you, or if there is something about you Blackwood boys.”
“Hey.” I broke in. “I’m right here. You’re talking about me like I’m not part of this discussion, and that is not going to happen. Don’t I get a say?”
Sharona’s eyes glinted with humor and something else I couldn’t identify. “You can say whatever you like, my dear. But this is a mate bond we’re talking about. No one gets a say. The heart chooses, the bonds and the wolves choose, and we go from there. If it makes you feel better, though, say all you want.” She waved her hand graciously.
“Why does Alec Blackwood have anything to do with this?”
“I don’t know that he does.” Sharona was blunt. “It’s better to find out if he does, however. I’ve already got my work cut out for me dealing with the Knight and the Longtooth clans. If I need to add the Firewalkers to the list, I’d rather know now.”
“What if I’m good with Bran and Conan?” I felt the pleasure from both men at my words.
“I told you, doll, it doesn’t matter what you want. Mate bonds cannot, will not, be denied. If we’ve learned anything over the years, it’s that if you deny them, they only strengthen, and honestly, create a hell of a mess until all concerned recognize and honor them.” Her words had the air of formality.
She looked over to Caro and Andi. “Ladies, would you please find your eldest son and tell him to come here immediately?”
“I’m not sure about this.” I didn’t need another guy. I didn’t.
“It’s going to be all right.” Bran came close to me, comforting me with his body.
I wasn’t sure if Conan would do the same. This was too new, and our very beginnings were playing out in front of an audience.
But Conan didn’t hesitate. He put his arm around my waist and leaned down to kiss the top of my head.
Having my mates next to me felt… good. Right. They were supposed to be here, with me.
Meeting Alec was just one more thing to get through.
We’d do it together.
Hopefully, it wouldn’t tear us apart.
Chapter Ten
Lena
Both Andi and Caro had walked to the other ends of the great room, both on the phone. Andi came back first. “Alec was with Xavier, and they’re on their way back.”
Caro joined her. “I talked with Xavier.” She laughed, but it sounded kind of grim. She was worried.
That worried me.
Caro continued. “He wanted to know why I was calling him when he could hear Andi on Alec’s phone just fine. Alec was out and met Xavier back at the real estate office, but they’ll be here shortly.”
I wondered what they were doing at a real estate office. Yuri, Zane’s father, had groused from time to time—usually when he’d had more than a couple of drinks and wasn’t as cautious about what he said—that that damn Xavier Blackwood seemed to have a golden horseshoe up his ass because everything he did worked out. Yuri also made references to the idea that maybe there was something shady.
I realized that I needed to take all that I knew from the Darkbanes with a lot of grains of salt. These were the people who were totally fine with me marrying Zane as he screwed around far and wide.
Not entirely trustworthy.
Like my tendency to let others determine my life, though, this would be a habit that took some time to break.
They’d been my family for so long. Why had I been the one with ideas about family that they didn’t share? I thought after my mom died, and my sister was married and in her own life, and my dad realized it wasn’t working and he fostered me with the Darkbanes, that I would find the family that I wanted. That for a time, I had. But my ideas about family weren’t on the same page with the Darkbanes. Or they wouldn’t have kept this crap from me for so long.
That hurt more than Zane’s betrayal.
Something wasn’t right. Now, looking at my life with the Darkbanes in a different way for the first time in years, I knew it. Something wasn’t right.
I just didn’t know what it was.
It wasn’t merely me being naïve.
Something was off.
Another thing I needed to find out. Why was I seeing visions?
Only when I’d bonded with each of the Blackwood men.
Did the mate bond trigger something?
Maybe Sharona could help me? Or knew someone who could? She seemed to know a lot.
Worse, why wasn’t I able to sit on my own and remember the past twelve hours with Bran? Losing my virginity in the most amazing way was something to mull over in a hot bath with a cup of tea.
But that wouldn’t happen anytime soon. I could tell that.
I filed it under ‘Future business.’
All too soon, I heard a car come up to the house. With the slam of the car door, my heart began to race. This must be Xavier and Alec.
Alec-who-might-be-my-mate-along-with-his-brothers.
I didn’t want another mate. One was overwhelming. Two was… I didn’t even know how to describe it. But three? With these same kinds of feelings? I worried there wouldn’t be enough of me left over for me to be me.
And those days of me living for others were gone.
I didn’t want to disappear in a pile of Blackwood men.
/> Although, given the looks of the Blackwood men, it might not be a bad way to go. I tried not to giggle as the front door swung open.
The first guy through the door was obviously Xavier. He was tall, like Conan, and his hair was medium brown. His face was tan, like a man who was outside most of the day, and I could see that his eyes were a brilliant blue.
Andi and Caro both moved forward when they saw him.
He bounded up the stairs and kissed first Caro, then Andi.
I watched this with interest. His care and affection for them were obvious, and he didn’t care who knew it.
He was proud of his family. That rolled off him as though he were shouting in front of me.
“Sharona.” Xavier leaned down to kiss the older woman on the cheek. “Dare I ask what brings you here?”
“That’s why we asked you to come home.” Caro was brisk.
Then Alec stepped out from behind his father. He was tall but not as tall as Conan. He and Bran were about the same height. He had red hair and a trim red beard. His eyes were nearly as blue as his father’s.
Okay. Okay, maybe being mated with Alec wouldn’t be the worst thing ever.
How had these people produced such stunning children? Andi, Caro, and Xavier were all good-looking. But their sons?
Sweet baby Jee. Hot didn’t begin to describe it.
“Shit,” Conan muttered from behind me.
Shit. I thought the same thing. If I could feel their emotions strongly, they could probably also feel mine, which made me retreat to my earlier position. Two mates would be more than enough. No matter how good-looking Alec was. His smile was friendly, but his eyes were watchful and cautious.
“Okay, then what’s up?” Xavier looked around.
Andi took the bull by the horns. “Bran and Conan have found a mate bond.” That was all she needed to say.
“What?” Xavier breathed. A stunned expression settled on his face, and his gaze flew to his other sons. “Both of you? On the same day? Who?” He noticed me, almost for the first time.
I was pretty sure he’d noticed me immediately, but he played things close to the chest.
“Who are you? No, wait. I know you. You’re a Darkbane.” His face darkened, and he stood back, taking a protective stance in front of his wives. “Why are you here, on Blackwood land?”
“I’m not a Darkbane,” I spoke before anyone else could speak for me. “My name is Lena Raff.”
“Are you the reason that the Fat Boy that looks suspiciously like Zane Darkbane’s is parked out in front of my home?” Xavier did me the courtesy of addressing me, even though his words were so, so cold. “And why is everyone talking about the Darkbanes being in some sort of disarray?”
I could feel my mates and others in the room dying to burst into this conversation, but they kept silent, whether out of respect for me or, I suspected, respect for Xavier.
“I am. I had to leave the Darkbane house last night. I don’t have a car. I’ve never been allowed to have one, or a bike.” I shrugged. “I figured it was time I had one. As for the Darkbanes being in disarray, I can’t say. I’d be surprised if they truly were.”
Xavier studied me. His mouth twitched, but his expression remained solemn and guarded. “Why are you here, Lena Raff?”
“Because she is mate bonded with your sons,” Sharona answered him.
“Which one?”
“Both of them.” Sharona’s eyebrows went up into her fluffy hair, and she nodded toward where I stood with Bran and Conan. “From what I can tell, it happened when she touched them. Bran last night, and Conan this morning.”
“What?” Xavier breathed, his gaze on the three of us with an expression I couldn’t decipher. “How is that possible?”
Sharona shrugged. “Who knows? Mate bonds form with no concern for us. But they form for a reason, and generally good reasons.”
“We cannot end the alliances or the engagements. Not with either of them.” Alec latched onto the practical matters. “To do so would cause so much offense, they would want blood.” He shook his head as he stuck his hands in his pockets and looked at his feet. “Couldn’t have made this tougher if we tried.” He glanced at his brothers. “I don’t know how this will be possible, honestly.”
“You’re thinking of denying the mate bond?” Andi looked at her mate.
“Is there any other choice? Plenty of wolves have a wife and a mate.” Xavier nodded, his expression grim. “Alec is right. We cannot break the engagements.” He looked around at his mates, at his sons. “You all know what’s at stake.”
What was at stake? Clearly, I was missing something big.
“Oh, there’s more,” Conan spoke. He glanced over at Bran, who made a snorting noise as they both stared at Alec.
I got the feeling both of them were enjoying what their eldest brother didn’t know.
“What else?” Alec looked around.
“It’s very strange that one woman has bonded with two of the three Blackwood brothers. We need to be sure that it’s just the two of them.” Sharona was direct.
The silence was like someone dropped a bomb.
Alec looked at his mothers, at his father, at Sharona. He didn’t look at his brothers or me. Xavier’s silent questions were for his wives, who both nodded.
“What?” Alec finally managed to speak. “No.”
“No!” Xavier said with far more feeling. “This is not happening.” He strode away out into the great room to stand in front of the window, just as I had. “It’s bad enough to know about the two bonds.”
Even though I’d just been saying the same thing, I felt affronted. I knew that I had bedhead, but I wasn’t that bad for this outright denial.
“Yes. Don’t try to argue.” Sharona pointed her cane between Alec and Xavier’s back. “I need to know. It’s going to be enough of a challenge to extricate your brothers. I need to know if I have to manage this for all three of you.”
After a moment, he strode back, his face set. “This can’t happen. Sharona, there will be nothing to extricate. Boys, how could you do this?”
“What?” Bran yelped.
“This wasn’t planned,” Conan responded a lot more calmly.
“I can’t believe you betrayed me like this.” Xavier looked up at the ceiling, maybe looking for some sort of salvation. “Jesus, do you have any idea what this means?”
“No, Dad, we haven’t been paying attention at all.” Conan barked. “Bran and I are completely unaware.”
“Then why are you standing there with her? Like you’re okay with this?” Xavier yelled. “What the hell? Conan, you know what this means.”
“What does this mean?” I couldn’t take it anymore.
Xavier’s head snapped like the crack of a whip. “You really don’t know? What the hell were the Darkbanes thinking? You really don’t know?”
I shook my head.
“The three packs, or clans, that my sons are promised to, are all clans that were part of the uprising against the old king years ago. The uprising failed, but the king, who was a good one, fell. His entire family was lost in the conflict. It wasn’t just him, but his wife and his child. And then, as wolves do, we resorted to fighting with one another. The three families we are allied with were at one time all on the opposite side of the Blackwoods. Through hard work and a lot of sacrifice, we’ve changed that.” He ran his hands through his hair, looking away and stepping out of the kitchen and then back again.
Pacing.
Xavier came to stand in front of me. “Even with all our hard work, all three of the families we have made betrothals with are still close with the Darkbanes, who, I am sure you must know, despise me and anyone with the name Blackwood. We walk a thin line—a very thin line. These marriages would be a new beginning, a putting down old grudges, fights, and conflicts. We cannot—our world cannot—have them go to pieces. Not now.” He threw up his hands and walked away from us again.
Great. Now my mate bond was going to start the next wolf
war.
Not that I really knew about the old one. Xavier was right. I didn’t know anything. And the Darkbanes had made sure of it.
Why?
Andi watched her husband, obviously worried.
“Xavier, we can find a way out of this.” Sharona nodded her head as she spoke.
“How?” Xavier’s voice rose. “You know how long this took, Sharona! You, of all people, know! You know what this means.”
“Yes, I know what this means. But you know that fighting against a mate bond is nothing to ignore. When you do, things go straight to the dogs. And you, you’re stupid when you get into disagreements with other alphas—the Knight alpha in particular. You’re worried. I understand. That’s why I’m here. Let me do my job, boy.” Sharona poked his thigh with her cane.
Then she looked over at the eldest Blackwood. “You, Alec, go over and take Lena’s hand.”
“Alec.” Xavier’s voice was filled with warning. “Don’t do it. There is no need to—”
“I don’t want to,” Alec said, his words like icicles breaking from a roof, almost as though they were aiming for people walking below. “I don’t want to be mate bonded with anyone.”
“It’s all right,” Conan whispered in my ear. “Don’t take this personally.”
Bran tightened his hold on my hand. “Yeah, he’s a big ass baby when he doesn’t get what he wants.”
“Just because he’s the oldest by nine days and the one who will probably take over the Blackwoods doesn’t mean he’s learned that ‘no’ is an entire sentence,” Conan added.
Then both of them snickered.
It made me feel a little better. Not completely, but a little. His brothers knew Alec best of all. I could feel both my mates wanting to know I was all right, so I nodded twice, my movement sharp and jerky. I heard what they were saying, but it was tough. It felt really personal.
I would, however, try to see the humor in it. Alec wasn’t acting like the oldest and heir apparent right now. He was about four seconds from stomping his foot and crossing his arms, pretending that we weren’t here.
