“Dante is a good stirrer,” Alicia noted.“You say that because you hate doing it.” If I didn’t have to stand at the stove, I would have chased him around the kitchen until I caught him and planted a kiss on his lips. But my job was to ladle stock and stir until it was absorbed.“My turn to ask you questions.” Clarissa leaned on his elbows while Alicia chopped coriander and grated parmesan cheese. “Can you give me details about your life before Aspen became Alpha?”My stirring hand froze and Alicia edged closer to me. “I’ll sum it up by saying our lives were the complete opposite of what they are now.” What I didn’t say was that Clarissa might not have liked who Alicia and I were before Aspen took over.“Maybe another time,” my Beta mate muttered as he checked the seafood and peas had defrosted.“Sorry, that was thoughtless of me,” Clarissa said and changed the subject.While I resumed stirring, we chatted about our favorite food and colors, though when Clarissa asked us to name our fa
ALICIAI didn’t want to go to work and leave our mate. It felt wrong, the two of us going off together and leaving him alone. Except his work was done alone and mine was with Dante. It took a lot to adjust to all the newness in our lives.But not all. My love for Dante wasn’t new. Letting each other know and freely expressing it was, but the feelings had been there for so long. And now that we could be open about them… that love grew.“Are you sure you don’t need anything before we go?” I asked Clarissa, who was attempting to work.“I have to get this done, so you leaving is what I need.” Clarissa rolled his eyes. “This bid could be big monies.”I didn’t fully understand what he did for work, but what I understood had me in awe. He put visuals to people’s dreams. That was pretty amazing.“See you after work.” I bent down and gave him a kiss. “Love you.”He pulled my head closer and kissed me deeper, mumbling, “Love you, too,” against my lips as the kiss broke.“We ready?” Dante came o
But now that curtain was pulled away. We were more than I ever dared dream—we were mates, and we had the most amazing omega. We could do everything I longed to do and more. He was mine… at last.“I love the idea of us completing my checklist.” I rolled onto my side to look at him. “I had one, you know. Most were silly stuff like climbing trees and watching the sun rise. But some were more than serious, you know?”“Like what we have with Clarissa?” Dante filled in for me.“Yes. I guess. But also no. Like the two of us being together. I want that to be special but also I want that with Clarissa, too, and I hope that you do as well. Do I make any sense at all?” Because it didn’t feel like I did.He rolled onto his side to face me full on. We were both out here, naked, inches apart, and yet this wasn’t sexual at all. It was just as intense and intimate, just in a very different way.He reached over and cupped my cheek. “You want to have this beautiful connection between us with Clarissa,
CLARISSAI wasn’t sure how a bear den worked yet, not the nuances anyway. But being asked to visit the Alpha as soon as my mates were back didn’t sound ideal. Not once had I heard anyone say, “And then the Alpha called me to the Alpha house and threw me a huge surprise party.” Or something equally fun.No, there was an ominous feeling to it. And the worst part was, I had to wait—wait until my mates got back from their errand to the feed store, which left me pacing back and forth.He didn’t say it was about my kind. But it was. That was the only thing it could be. And his inability to tell me what it was without my mates present told me it was bad—potentially awful. Not that I asked him to tell me what it was about. Nope. I just stood there, words escaping me as I nodded like a little bobble doll.“Maybe I should be productive.” Operation distraction it was. I could work on one of my design projects. That would distract me.Or so I thought.Instead, I found myself staring at my compute
“Yes and no. They understand that fated mates cannot be separated and even if something were to happen to you two, the odds of Clarissa following you to the goddess were great, and even if he didn’t, the chances he’d take another as his mate were slim to none.” And they would be right on both accounts. “They also understand that matings often result in babies and they want control over how the young are raised.”“Problem solved.” Dante slammed both hands on the table, shaking it. “We won’t have babies. Done. If they don’t want you raising snow leopards with non-snow leopards, then we won’t have any.”I leaned into his side. “What if that’s not what we want.” My eyes were starting to fill with tears. I could and would fight the council to my death, but giving up a huge part of what I wanted in my life—to start a family—that was going to break me.“Let’s not make any rash decisions. I still have a meeting with the council to get through. Right now, they just say that the snow leopard wo
DANTE“Everybody up. Rise and shine.”Light flooded into the bedroom. Alicia put a pillow over his head and mumbled, “Go away. It’s my day off.”“From work maybe, but not from having fun.” Clarissa’s bubbly voice reminded me of champagne in a movie he’d streamed for us. That was one of many new experiences he’d brought into our lives.I agreed with my Beta mate. “There’s no fun to be had this early when we don’t have to work.” Maybe because snow leopard shifters didn’t have a den or a pride, they searched for ways to amuse themselves when not at their job.“I’ve planned a special date. Not a night or an afternoon but a whole day,” Clarissa told us as he yanked the bedding on the floor.“Can we do it while we’re in bed?” I opened one eye and closed it again. Clarissa’s bright-orange shirt had palm trees plastered on it and his wide, cheesy smile was too much this early in the day.“Nope. Get up or we’ll be late.”Folding my pillow against the headboard, I sat up and studied him, bleary
Alicia’s eyes were closed. “Tell me when we get there.”My palms were sweating buckets and I almost jumped up and shouted, “I want to get off.”Help, my bear squeaked.Clarissa’s idea of a date was not what I’d imagined. I gulped and leaned forward over the bag as a loud clunking had me copying Alicia and closing my eyes.Clarissa was talking softly, explaining what was happening, and I concentrated on his calming voice, or tried to. As the plane lifted off, it left my stomach behind on Earth as I begged the universe to spare our lives.There was an announcement, something about a cruising altitude, whatever that was, and I looked up as people got out of their seats and there were lots of little dingings.“Look.” Clarissa pointed out the window beside Alicia. We were far above the ground and he pointed out Bruin Ridge in the distance. The farmlands crisscrossed one another, intersected by the river that ran through our land.Never having seen the Earth or our home from above, I unbuck
ALICIA“I can’t stand this anymore.”And neither could my bear. He complained every time I got an elbow in the ribs or a slap on the face.I stood at the end of the bed, arms folded.Clarissa struggled to sit, a pillow balanced on his head, while Dante yawned and rubbed his eyes. They shared a glance and then looked at me before saying, “Can’t stand what?”“Sleeping in this small-ass bed.”My mates checked out each other’s naked butts. “Not small.”“Gorgeous.”I slow clapped. “Ha ha ha. Very funny.” While our future was in a holding pattern—I’d learned that expression when we flew back from the beach—Alpha had given us permission to choose which cabin we wanted for our triad and to make it our own. Not any cabin, mine or Dante’s.We’d been putting it off, fearful that we’d jinx something. But I was falling asleep while at work and Dante’s puffy eyes and dark circlesspelled out that he wasn’t, either, while Clarissa who worked from home, could take a nap at any time.“Come on guys. We
“Không, nhưng tôi nghĩ tối nay anh ấy sẽ cầu hôn,” Liam nói. “Nó chỉ hợp lý thôi. Hôm qua, tôi tình cờ nghe được cuộc trò chuyện qua điện thoại của anh ấy với ai đó - tôi nghĩ là một nhân viên PR nào đó. Westcliff nói rằng nhà vua sẽ đưa ra thông báo sau vài ngày nữa - ý tôi là về Hoàng tử Haydn. Westcliff cũng muốn thông báo về việc đính hôn của chúng tôi vào khoảng thời gian đó. Nó có ý nghĩa. ”Jules đã nghiên cứu kỹ lưỡng về anh trai mình.Khuôn mặt đáng yêu của Liam rất khó đọc, nhưng đôi mắt của anh ấy không hẳn là ánh lên hạnh phúc.“You don’t have to say yes,” Jules said, feeling painfully uncomfortable. He was so damn torn about the subject he didn’t know what advice to give. He didn’t want Liam to marry an alpha he didn’t love for the sake of their family, but… He was scared that if he told Liam not to marry Westcliff, it would be selfish advice.To make things more confusing, there was a small, horrible part of him that did want Westcliff as the alpha of their family. That
Except even that fantasy wasn’t enough. Thinking about the Xeus just made his broken bond ache. Ache and hurt like an old wound that was starting to bleed again. The pain somehow amplified the desire, and soon Jules was half-sobbing into his pillow, his hips pushing greedily onto the dildo. Need him, need him, can’t need him, need him. Gone, need him, gone. I need—I need—I need. It was fucking horrible. Jules had never felt worse in his life, his muscles trembling, his cock sore, his body oversensitive and needy, and his bond aching.So he tried not to think about his Xeus. He made himself think of other alphas, trying to tell himself that any alpha would do. Any alpha with a thick, hard cock would do. He was desperate enough to almost believe it.He imagined going to a ball, his cock stiff and his slick dribbling down his leg. He imagined alphas turning toward him, their nostrils flaring and their cocks straining their pants. He would be attractive to alphas for once. They would want
Julian flushed. “It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing, after…”After sex.Devlin gave a clipped nod, clasping his hands behind his back. His fingers and his jawline itched, as they did when he was on the verge of transforming. Through sheer willpower, he managed to keep his claws in.It was a normal enough reaction, to feel protective of a young omega he cared about.It was.“But the bond took?” he said, his voice very neutral.Julian nodded, not looking at him. “We were naturally compatible.”Devlin’s claws dug into his palm. He turned away and walked to the window.He took a deep breath, staring at Dainiri’s nearly full disk, and then another, until he had his claws under control.“I see,” he heard himself say. “The risk still exists, then. Medical intervention might be needed.”“What do you mean?” Julian said. “More suppressants?”“Increasing the dose again might do more harm than good,” Devlin said stiffly. “I’m hardly a doctor, but even I know that you can’t keep changing yo
Ignoring the question, Devlin studied him carefully. “Do you feel better?”“What?” Julian said, his brows knitting together.Devlin looked at him sharply. “Your brother said you didn’t feel well.”Julian averted his gaze. “Right! Of course. I feel better now. Much better—”“You didn’t want to go with us.”The omega winced, but he didn’t even try to deny it. So it was true.It shouldn’t have bothered him. It really was none of his business.“Why?” Devlin said.Julian shrugged. “It’s not exactly fun being a third wheel.” He still wouldn’t meet Devlin’s eyes.“You’re not telling the truth,” Devlin said, becoming more certain of it the longer Julian avoided looking at him. Stepping into the room, he closed the door behind him.It shut with a click.“What are you doing?” Julian said. “And I’m not lying. You think it’s fun—”“Julian,” Devlin said quietly. “Look at me.”After a moment, the omega finally did as he was told. There was a half-scowl on his face but some other emotion in his eyes
“All ri—” Liam started saying, but Devlin cut him off.“Your brother can’t leave the ball with me,” he said, looking at Julian. “You don’t want any nasty rumors to start flying around, do you?”He could actually hear Julian grind his teeth.“Fine,” he said, still sounding a mix of annoyed and bewildered.The helicopter ride to the Blake house was a strange one. Liam was the only one talking, chattering non-stop about the perfection that was Viscount Nasr while Julian determinedly didn’t look at Devlin.Devlin bored his eyes into him, his fingertips tingling, his claws itching to come out. He curled his hands into fists and breathed shallowly, trying to ignore the way Julian smelled. It was impossible. Julian fucking reeked. He reeked of another alpha. Devlin wanted to fix it, run his hands all over the brat, until he smelled right.It was probably a good thing that Julian was the first to jump out of the helicopter when they arrived, because Devlin didn’t trust himself.Tearing his ga
Julian glared at him, his cheekbones a little pink. “That was a dick move,” he said, glancing back at Nasr, who was left standing in the middle of the dance floor.“He’s much too old for you,” Devlin said, stroking his thumb against Julian’s wrist.“Stop scent-marking me,” Julian gritted out, his color heightening. “And he isn’t too old. He’s half Korf’s age.”“That shouldn’t be your measuring stick,” Devlin said. “I told you I wouldn’t allow your uncle to give you to Korf. You deserve better.”Julian chuckled. “Better? Who?”Devlin’s lips thinned. “Someone better than Nasr.”“There’s nothing wrong with Viscount Nasr. He’s perfectly nice and pleasant, and he actually sees me for being me. I’ve known him forever—he has a neighboring estate. He was always nice to me when I was a child.”“That hardly says good things about him, does it? What a creep.”Julian stomped on his right foot. “You’re being an ass,” he said, his voice a mix of annoyed and bewildered. He blinked a few times. “I do
Their date that day was unexpectedly tedious.Devlin found it difficult to keep his attention on his date, his mood sour and distracted. He was aware that he was acting like a dick, his attitude probably too cold and unapproachable. Liam seemed to have given up on trying to strike up a conversation with him after a few hesitant attempts and focused his attention entirely on the aircar race. When Liam spoke, he spoke only to the beta chaperone who had accompanied them to the race.By the time the race was over, Devlin had a headache once again, his body brimming with tension and anxiety, the source of which he couldn’t pinpoint. He barely had the patience to smile for the paparazzi as they left the track, and his smile was probably very strained. Hopefully he didn’t actually look like he wanted to punch someone.He dropped Liam off, and then he hesitated, looking at the Blake house. It would be only polite to inquire how Julian was feeling.Devlin pulled his phone out of his pocket and
Several weeks passed like that. Westcliff called on Liam and took him out on dates, putting on that disgustingly charming mask he wore in public. More often than not, Jules accompanied them, serving as a chaperone, for appearances’ sake—officially. Unofficially, he kind of… he went because he wanted to be around the duke. It freaked him out that he felt addicted to the way Westcliff made him feel, but he couldn’t help himself. It felt so good, especially when Westcliff allowed him to rub his face against his scent gland—the euphoria was beyond his ability to express properly. Afterward, Jules felt so embarrassed, but thankfully, Westcliff didn’t make fun of him and always acted as if there was nothing weird about his behavior. “Better?” he would say in a quiet murmur, and Jules would flush and nod and look anywhere but at him. Every time he told himself it was the last time, but his resolve melted into a mass of goo the next time he saw the duke. It was horrible. Horribly addictive.
Jules ôm lại anh trai mình, nhưng cảm giác lo lắng, bất an dưới da anh không thể biến mất. Ngược lại với ý muốn của mình, anh thấy mình đang nghĩ đến cảm giác an toàn như thế nào trong vòng tay của Westcliff ngày hôm qua, như thể không gì có thể chạm vào anh hay làm anh bị thương. Có lẽ có Westcliff làm alpha của họ sẽ không phải là một điều tồi tệ. Có lẽ anh nên cho anh ta một cơ hội. *** Quyết tâm của Jules để cho Westcliff một cơ hội kéo dài chính xác cho đến khi Westcliff gọi điện cho họ - trên Liam - vào buổi chiều. Anh không biết điều gì ở người đàn ông này đã khiến anh nổi gai ốc, tự ý thức và chỉ trích thái quá. Đó là một sự kết hợp kỳ lạ giữa các cảm xúc, nhưng anh không thể không nhìn Westcliff bằng ánh mắt dò xét, hoài nghi khi công tước đang nói chuyện nhỏ với Liam và chú Wayne. Thằng khốn thậm chí còn chưa liếc nhìn anh một lần kể từ khi bước vào phòng. Jules khoanh tay trước ngực, sau đó không bắt chéo chúng. Nhặt chiếc máy tính bảng trên chiếc bàn trong góc, anh n