My room at the pack house was blessedly cool and quiet. Heather had chattered all the way back to Wild Hearth lands, and while I was grateful for her, I also needed time to process my thoughts. Like, how was I supposed to forget that stolen kiss? Or look Xander in the eye knowing his Beta stole a kiss from me? Or get married when my heart was torn between two men? I was screwed. So screwed. And it wasn't fair. I hadn't asked to be the true mate to my Husband, or asked to be so drawn to Rhys. And it didn't make sense. Why was I still drawn to Rhys? The mate-bond, from what I understood, should have cut off that need. For both of us. I groaned, burying my face in my pillow. I needed to forget, Heather was right. Agonizing over this was doing no one any good. I needed to close that door with Rhys and concentrate on Xander. Xander, who had mate-bonded me, and then left. While I was asleep in his bed. Who did that
"You can't keep avoiding this." Rhys followed me as I tried to escape him. I continued through the front door. "And you can't keep doing this, Rhys!" I hopped down the steps into the yard. "I'm so flipping tired of all this!" I turned, flinging a hand out. "All what?" Xander's silky voice slid over my already raw nerves. Not him too! My mate-bond thrummed in my chest, but I ignored the pull. I was angry. At him. At Rhys. At the entire flipping world. Sure, I had problems. I didn't want to be a Bride. I didn't want a mate, and then to feel pulled to his Beta. I wanted…hell I didn't even know what I wanted. The freedom to love who I chose? To choose who I loved? I stood there, a cool breeze tickling across my skin, and I had a moment of clarity. I didn't love Xander. Not in a little over a week. I didn't love Rhys, but I was closer to it. But, I wanted to. I wanted to love Xander,
"You did what?!" Rhys' face was comical as he stared at me with one really wide eye and one swollen shut. The bruising to his face was extensive, and the red around his nostrils led me to believe his nose had been busted, possibly broken. Xander didn't look much better, and he winced every time he moved. Apparently their 'little talk' had involved much more body language than words. They had beat the hell out of each other. But they seemed lighter as they crowded the furniture in my room. Good. I needed them to work out their own bullshit. "I bought a dress." I kept my words slow. A muscle in his jaw twitched. "From a Fae woman with a lock of my hair." "And Heather let you?" "I'm a grown woman. It was my hair. What was your sister supposed to do?" "Stop you! The Fae aren't very trustworthy." "Did she happen to mention what she would be doing with it?" Xander leaned forward, winci
"So what is it we are supposed to be doing?" I glanced at Heather as she paced alongside a van. Apparently collecting my parents was a matter of immediate importance. Heather smiled grimly. "We are supposed to wait right here for Xander and Rhys." She glanced at me curiously. "So, someone spilled some tea earlier." "Oh. That's too bad?" I wasn't sure why someone having to clean up their spilled tea was much of my concern, but if she wanted to talk about it–"There's some hot gossip. Don't you know slang?" "Well yeah, but spilling tea sounds weird." "Anyway, I may have overheard a bet being placed." It was official, I was going to murder that she-wolf from the dining room. "About how long a polyamorous relationship might last within a wolf pack." "Polyamorous?" Seriously, was she just making up words now?"Maddie! Are you and Xander and Rhys all together?!" She huffed out,
The room exploded into action. Or maybe it was just me. I jumped up from my chair next to Xander, slamming my hands on the Clan Master's desk. "Where are they?!" The Clan Master shrunk away, fear twisting his features. "At home! Why wouldn't they be?" "You're lying!" My voice came out a low growl. "Do not test me, Bryant." "She is newly turned." Rhys commented from his spot against the bookcase. "Pretty hard to control the wolf." The Clan Master's face paled. "Turned? You turned her?!" He stared at me in horror. "Madison, child, I didn't know they would turn you." "Being a turned wolf is the least of my worries, Clan Master." My voice was cold. "But it might be your concern very soon if you don't tell me the truth." "We can be civil about this." His fingers were questing along the edge of his desk. Panic button? Oh hell no! I leapt across the desk, papers scattering around me as
No one told me that the shift back to human was nearly as painful as the shift to wolf. Condensing back into my human flesh set my nerve endings on fire. My senses blunted, still sharper than a typical human's but not nearly as sharp in my canine form. I lay in the back of the van, the gentle rock of the moving vehicle calming me as I gasped in pain. Well in the echo of pain. The actual agony was only a flash. "You'll eventually get used to it." Heather's voice was soft. Rhys had joined Xander in the front of the van and they were discussing the logistics of visiting a Vampyr colony. "I hope so." I rolled to my side, groaning. I had been naked more in the past few days with some form of audience than I had in my entire life. Well that's not entirely accurate. Doctor Smith had been more acquainted with my intimate anatomy than any one person really had a right to be. Over something that didn't even last to my wedding night.
I woke up a few hours later, my room bright with sunlight. I was warm. Almost too warm. I blinked away the sleep from my eyes. Why was I so warm? I registered the band across my stomach moments before I realized it was an arm. An arm connected to a very sleep-tousled Rhys who was watching me with hooded eyes. I felt the blush spread across my cheeks. I had slept with Xander, but hadn't woken up the next morning with him in the bed. This was a new kind of intimacy. "I don't expect–" Rhys started, but my lips on his cut him off. Kissing him was so different to kissing Xander. His kisses were more demanding. Rhys took from me. Drank me in. Ignited my blood. And I was so here for it. He rolled on top of me, hovering above me, his weight resting on his forearms. I wound my arms around his neck, pulling him to me. I wanted to feel him press me into the mattress. We broke apart, breathing heavy. "This
I stood in the shower, my forehead pressed against the slick wall. I always did my best thinking surrounded by hot steam. I love you. Those three words should have sent a thrill through me. He loved me. He wanted me. But here I was, where I had fled so I didn't have to look him in the eye. It's not that I didn't care for Rhys and Xander, and they both proved that I could rely on them. I needed them. But I wasn't at the declaration stage. It was too soon. Two weeks was not enough time to fall in love. In lust? Most definitely. Starting to build a base to form a true, lasting relationship from? Check. But love? Not yet. I didn't want to break his heart by not returning the sentiment immediately. But I could feel the shift in the atmosphere when the words didn't fall from my lips in return. I could see myself loving Rhys and Xander. I couldn't imagine a future where they weren't my guys. But love was such a stro