Chapter 9

Snuggling closer, Adriana chuckled. “Could we fix it so we don’t have people walking in on us? This morning… or should I even talk about that? This is weird.”

Greg chuckled. “No more for you than for Decker and me, and I’m sure there will be some who think three is a really interesting number. And you can talk to me about anything.”

“Colby said he’s never heard of a she-wolf having two fated mates at the same time.”

“Me, either. And I know Skylar Granger. She’s had two, but the first one died before the second one appeared on the scene many years later.”

“You know the women of Bae Diogel?” Greg nodded as he rolled up into a sitting position on the edge of the bed, laying his hand on her hip. “One of the first things I learned as a she-wolf was who they were and how much they were despised.”

Bae Diogel was the all female pack led by the legendary Skylar Granger. She and her pack had lived off the radar from the male-dominated wolf-shifter society for a number of years before the Ruling Council had moved against them and disbanded the pack.

“By some, yes, but they are an amazing group of women. If I leave you here, in my room and not in the exam room, will you try and just get some rest? You’ve really been put through a ringer: turned against your will, a number of abductions and escapes, summoning the banshees—that can’t be easy—and now dealing with two fated mates…”

“You seem far more comfortable with all of this than Decker.”

“It actually, especially given your vision, makes some sense, and I think you’re right, this will probably be harder on Decker than me. Alphas are overly protective and possessive of their mates. Sharing you with me has to go against every fiber of his being.”

“So you would give me up?” she asked.

Greg laughed. “I may not be an alpha, but I can be just as much of an overprotective and possessive alphahole as Decker.”

Adriana laughed. “Good to know, and yes, I’m a bit done in. The fact is, I’m exhausted, and this is the first time I’ve felt truly relaxed, at peace, and safe since my coven rejected me.”

He could hear the pain that had caused her and leaned over to kiss her forehead. “They never should have done that. I understand that wolf-shifters and witches have not always liked or respected one another, but given what I know of wolf packs, I don’t think if the situation had been reversed, your pack would have turned its back on you.”

“What about the clan here at the abbey? Some of them give me a wide berth.”

Greg nodded. “I know, but they’re new and this is a unique clan on so many levels. Give them time to get to know you. For some of them, all they know is that you summoned the banshees and banished Strode’s soul—whatever might remain of it—into some kind of hellish limbo.”

“You have a point,” she said, smiling.

“Regardless of what the clan wants or thinks, you will never be alone again. It will always be the three of us.”

“You think so? What if others won’t accept it?”

“Then we’ll reject them and form our own clan.”

“Decker is all about responsibility and duty…”

“Yes, and his first responsibility and duty is to his fated mate. He will always choose you, as will I. Now, try to get some rest. I’ll ask Maya to bring you something to eat in a bit.”

“Where are you going?”

“The library. My guess is I’ll find Decker, Colby, or both down there talking to Wordsworth. We all need answers, and if they’re to be found anywhere, it’ll be down there.”

He kissed her again. Greg hoped Decker didn’t mind him kissing their mate frequently. If he did, he’d just have to get over it, as Greg found he liked kissing her. Rising from the bed they had shared, Greg got dressed and headed down to the library.

The place really was a modern masterpiece, and Greg was having all the medical knowledge and data he had accumulated while with Oliver’s pack copied and shipped here. Wordsworth had never said it, but Greg suspected Wordsworth and Colby had visions of creating something that rivaled the Great Library of Alexandria, which had been a center for knowledge and learning. The library had been the largest and most significant repository of books scrolls and ancient texts in the known world. While many people knew that, most didn’t know that the library was part of a much larger research facility known as the Mouselon, which was dedicated to the goddesses of art and knowledge.

He opened the door just as Decker was heading out. “Just the man I was coming to see. How does my… our… mate fare.”

Greg put his hand on Decker’s shoulders. “I got her to agree to rest. I really think she needs that more than anything else.”

“Colby, Brie, and Erin are in with Wordsworth. It would seem Erin has decided to be Wordsworth’s successor when she grows up.”

“So, Colby’s decided she is to stay?”

“I don’t think anyone believes she would be safe anywhere else. If push comes to shove, my guess is the Shadow Sisters will move her to one of their safe houses.” Decker shook his head. “I never knew how organized, how large, or how extensive their network was.”

“They’re pretty amazing, and never doubt Adriana is one of them,” said Greg, provoking a growl from Decker. “I know. I don’t like it, either. But I watched Oliver Halsey bring his mate Roz to heel, and it doesn’t get done by just dictating orders. It’s more about negotiating what you—or we, in our case—can live with and then holding Adriana accountable and figuring out how to keep her safe.”

They made their way to the back of the library where a large, ornate library table was loaded down with scrolls, books, texts, and computers.

“Sweetheart, why don’t you and Erin go and find Maya? I’d be willing to bet by now she has some amazing treats baked,” said Colby.

Brie smiled at him before looking down at the little girl who was holding her hand. “Would you like that, Erin?”

“How do you know I was talking to her? I have no idea whether or not Erin likes baked treats, but your sweet tooth is legendary.”

Brie rolled her eyes. “That must account for the reason I bite you so often.”

“Yes, that must be it,” Colby chuckled, before leaning over to kiss her.

It was good to see their alpha was affectionate with his mate. Greg had worried a little about that when he agreed to join them. He’d become accustomed to life in a pack with an alpha who was in command but was affectionate and indulgent with his mate. Given some of the stories he’d heard about Colby, he’d been concerned, but had soon discovered for the most part the reputation was merely a smoke screen.

“You must have met Decker as he was coming to get you. How fares Adriana?” asked Colby.

“I think she’s doing much better than any of us would have done,” answered Greg truthfully. “She’s a tough cookie.”

“She doesn’t have to be,” said Decker in a voice that bordered on a snarl.

Colby laughed. “My guess is with you two as her fated mates, she’ll have to be. Don’t get me wrong, I know both of you will keep her physically safe, but you have to remember that her physical safety isn’t your only concern. And she’s a Shadow Sister—their penchant for staying safe is not their strong suit.”

Decker growled and Greg joined in Colby’s laughter. Greg was almost beginning to feel some sympathy for the captain of the guard.

“Wordsworth here started doing some research after speaking with Decker this morning. I’m going to turn it over to him.”

Wordsworth cleared his throat, obviously getting ready to pontificate on a topic he found interesting.

“Bottom line it for me, Wordsworth; are Greg and I going to have to face off in a fight to the death?”

“Don’t be so sure you could win that fight,” growled Greg.

“I’m not. I know Oliver Halsey. If he had you with him during his special ops days, you know how to hold your own. Besides, you’re a doctor; you’re going to know the places on a human body that will yield the most devastating results. I imagine you’re rather lethal. And that’s even if I didn’t think that us squaring off would harm Adriana, and that I am not willing to do. My apologies that I didn’t make that clear.”

Greg nodded. “And mine for thinking you were offering me insult. I should have known your first concern would be for Adriana.”

“Would you two like a moment alone?” Colby quipped. “If not, can we let Wordsworth speak?”

Wordsworth was not about to be interrupted for a second time. “So, here’s what I’ve been able to find. Although rare, a female having multiple fated mates at the same time is not unheard of. It does seem to be confined only to wolves, which I found interesting. The Celtic Iceni queen Boudica was thought to have been a she-wolf and had two fated mates: her husband, Prasutagus, and a druid mage whose name the Romans ensured was snuffed out when Boudica and her people were enslaved after Prasutagus died.”

“Didn’t she lead a revolt?” asked Greg, who had always been fascinated with the idea that a warrior queen like Boudica had a fated mate who was a druid and a healer.

“She did,” said Wordsworth, nodding. “But she was ultimately defeated. The Romans maintained she died, but I’ve found information that leads me to believe she, her remaining mate, and their daughters shifted into wolves and faded into the mountains, where they harassed the Romans until the Romans abandoned Britain.”

“That actually makes some sense,” said Greg. “Having the ability to shift and live wild would keep them safe.”

“I thought the same,” said Wordsworth. “From what I can find, this kind of triangular bonding only happens with two wolves and one she-wolf. It comes about when fate, if you will, realizes a singular bond will not suffice.”

“We have always known that a mate bond can be overwritten by a more powerful species or bond. My guess is Eoghan’s forced bond can be overwritten only by some kind of dual bond.”

“Adriana mentioned that in a vision, she saw Eoghan as bigger than both of us. Do you think he’s a dire wolf?”

“She didn’t seem to think so. She saw her wolf as the smallest in size, then mine, then Decker’s, then Eoghan’s, but she didn’t think he was that much bigger than Decker’s.”

Decker nodded. “But I don’t think the vision would be quite so literal. He might be slightly bigger, but what if the difference in size is more indicative of a difference in power?”

“Decker could be onto something,” said Colby. “There’s not a lot known about him or his pack. At first I chalked it up to being a minor pack, but the more I try to track them down, the more I think they are deliberately keeping themselves off the radar.”

“I would agree,” added Wordsworth. “I think fate has decreed Adriana as a warrior of the light, perhaps it is not just the banshees from whom she descends, but Boudica and the druid mage as well?”

“I can accept all that,” said Decker, “not happily, but if it’s what she needs, it’s what she’ll get. But why is the recognition of a fated mate not being resolved with her having been mated by both of us?”

Greg looked up. “How did you know?”

Decker chuckled. “The same way you did. I can smell her all over you.”

All three men looked at Wordsworth. “My guess is that as Eoghan has marked her, you will need to do the same in order to break the bond. Until the tether is broken, he’ll be able to track her.”

“How the hell do we do that?” asked Decker. “Eoghan is an alpha. Greg isn’t, but I am. If I eradicate his claiming bite with my own, then what? I can’t imagine Greg not wanting to mark her as his, as well, and I don’t blame him.”

“Maybe right beside yours?”

Wordsworth chuckled. “You two don’t know English history too well, do you?” They looked at each other and then back at Wordsworth. “When Henry Tudor defeated Richard III at Bosworth, he promised to unite the warring houses of the Yorks, who were represented by the white rose, and the Lancasters, who used the red rose as their emblem. He created the Tudor Rose—a large red rose with a smaller white one superimposed on it.”

Greg nodded. “Decker would claim her first, eradicating Eoghan’s claiming mark and breaking the bond.”

Decker grinned, “And then Greg would bite down into my mark, overlaying it with his own.”

“That should do it, I would think,” said Wordsworth.”

“I would think in order to do that, we’re going to have to both be there so that your bite can go over mine and they can heal as one bite,” Decker added.

“I don’t think I want to be there when the two of you explain that to your mate,” quipped Colby.

Greg nodded thoughtfully. “I think you’re probably right, but this is all theoretical, right? What if we both mark her, and it makes things worse?”