Chapter 13

The three of them made their way up to dinner—Decker in the lead with Greg holding Adriana’s hand. They entered the dining hall that way, and she was pleased to see that no one even raised an eyebrow. Apparently while the three of them had been trying to be discreet, the rest of the clan had figured it out.

She noticed there were three empty seats at the alpha’s table. While it might be out of the ordinary for the captain of the guard to sit and dine with the alpha, this was not so much the case for the clan’s chief medical officer and the resident witch/beta to the Shadow Sisters.

“In the future, when you return from a special ops or intelligence gathering mission, I would appreciate you checking in with me,” said Colby in a neutral tone such that she couldn’t tell if he was bemused or annoyed.

“In the future, I will always look to the needs of our people as I have in the past,” said Decker, with a decidedly testy edge. “One of the reasons you brought me on was that you knew your focus would need to be on your mate, the Resistance, and the Shadow Sisters. As an alpha, I could accept and respect that. In many ways it was the first of many unique situations in which I found myself, but I will expect you to afford me the same respect where my mate is concerned.”

Colby sat back. “God, you can be a belligerent asshole when you try,” he chuckled.

Bemused.Colby had definitely been bemused.

Decker grinned. “Takes one to know one,” he countered. “Nothing we discovered was urgent—somewhat earth-shattering but not urgent.”

“You had earth-shattering information and kept it to yourself so you could get your rocks off?” Adriana accused, wondering what it was that had her so on edge, especially after having just been laid.

“He said it wasn’t urgent, sweetheart. I think we both know by now Decker will never sacrifice the security of this stronghold just to get laid,” soothed Greg. This wasn’t good; the two of them seemed to be finding their own asexual mating bond.

“Interesting,” said Colby with a sly grin. “At first, I’d felt sorry for the two of you having to try and handle Adriana, but I’m beginning to suspect that you just may be exactly what she needs.”

“We are,” said Greg.

Decker shot him a knowing grin. “The site where the coven once lived has been razed—nothing left but a few badly charred timbers and a whole lot of ash. Samuel reported he couldn’t even find evidence of their bodies or any graves.”

“You’re sure it was O’Shea?” asked Colby.

Decker nodded. “The priest confirmed that.”

“Really? I find most human priests to be decidedly unhelpful, ignorant, or both where witches and shifters are concerned,” sniffed Adriana with disdain.

Decker caught her fingers, lifting them to his lips and kissing them. “It’s incredibly helpful to have a blade pressed to the throat of someone when you question them. But I digress. Did you know O’Shea has massive land holdings all up and down the western coast of England and eastern coast of Ireland?”

Adriana nodded. “I found that out today when I was stuck here at the abbey doing research instead of being out in the field.”

“Until O’Shea is neutralized,” said Greg, “you’re not going to be doing much of anything outside these walls.”

“But Brie needs me…” Adriana protested.

“I’m afraid I have to agree with them. You are too important to the Shadow Sisters and to the Resistance, I suspect, to be without protection until O’Shea is neutralized,” answered Brie.

Colby nodded. “But I think it’s got to be more than that. Mere wealth wouldn’t have provoked all of this.”

“Said the man who has more money than God,” quipped Brie.

“I agree with him,” said Decker. “When the priest told me about O’Shea’s holdings, he also warned me that the bastard is forcing his people to pay protection money. Given that he has that kind of wealth to begin with, why would he be willing to sell Adriana to Strode? But more than that—no offense, babe—why would he bother with her at all? And why mark her?”

“I’d like to think I’m not chopped liver,” she said.

“You aren’t. In fact, I think you are far more important than any of us have realized. Let me reiterate what Greg said earlier and expound on that. Until we get this figured out and O’Shea is neutralized, you are not to leave the abbey by any means without Greg’s or my permission.”

“We’ll see about that,” snarled Adriana, not liking at all how this evening was progressing.

“Don’t try me, babe. I’ve got dungeons, and your other fated mate knows all about drugs.”

“And I can turn both of you into toads.”

“But only until we mark you,” said Decker evenly.

“Shit. That’s why he marked her,” said Greg. “He doesn’t want her to be able to use her magic against him.”

Decker nodded. “That would be my guess.”

“Makes sense,” said Colby. “Adriana, is there anything you know about O’Shea that you haven’t mentioned? Even if it seems insignificant, it might not be.”

“Eoghan always hinted that he was ‘more than a wolf.’ That’s an exact quote. I didn’t understand what he meant, and I just thought he was being arrogant.”

“Understandable, sweetheart,” said Greg.

“I never saw anything that made me think differently or explained his statement. Wait,” she said bringing up her hands to rub her temples. “After he marked me, he seemed particularly pleased with himself. He told me that now if I managed to kill him—magic or not—I would die, too.”

“That won’t be a problem,” growled Decker. “I plan on reserving the pleasure of killing the bastard for myself.”

“I think we need more information before anyone kills anybody else,” said Colby. “There may be some kind of wolf/witch mate bond thing we don’t yet understand. I’ll put Wordsworth on it…”

“Adriana can help,” offered Greg. “She was pretty restless today.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem for the next few days,” said Decker.

“I don’t know that there’s anything to be concerned about,” said Colby. “O’Shea could have been trying to frighten Adriana, but we’ll need to do some research. I’ve never heard of anything, but like I said, a wolf to witch bonding is something of an unknown. There’s nothing like it with wolves…”

Adriana felt the color drain from her face. “But I have—not amongst shifters, but there is a legend in my former coven about what can happen with paired and bonded witch mates. It’s said that the original banshees were formed when their bonded mates died in battle and they sought to avenge their deaths, holding those responsible to account and ensuring their souls wandered forever in the Shadowlands.”

For a moment, the alpha’s table was silent.

“Sweetheart, are you suggesting that O’Shea might be some kind of a witch or warlock?” asked Greg.

“I never saw him perform any kind of magic, but it would explain how he knew where to find me; how he managed to kidnap and subdue me. My coven was very well hidden. We used both magic and camouflage to remain out of sight for centuries. Erin mentioned that when her coven was attacked, the wolves who did it had red eyes. The only creatures I know with red eyes are warlocks and vampires.”

“Shit,” swore Decker. “In my mind, the need for both Greg and I to mark Adriana has become imperative.”

Colby nodded. “It may be the only way to weaken the bond with O’Shea.”

“And if he dies—regardless of who kills the bastard,” said Greg. “A fully formed link between Adriana and both of us, may be the only thing that tethers her to this life.”

They finished their meal in silence. As members of the clan began to disperse, Colby stopped Decker. “We managed to find that bed. Our people have been setting up your room all day. You should feel free to change anything that isn’t to your liking. If the three of you need a little time to yourselves, just let Maya know, she’ll ensure food and drink is brought to your room.”

Adriana was fuming as Greg and Decker led her to their new room within the main keep. “You had this all planned out.”

“Not all of it, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized we needed to be together. We needed to start acting like a bonded trio,” Decker answered.

“He’s right, Adriana. You know he is.”

They entered the room and Adriana was caught up short. Not only had Colby, and she suspected Brie, set up this room for the three of them, they had ensured a great many of her things had found their way here. Some of the things that had arrived were things she hadn’t taken out of storage or boxes.

Decker hadn’t been exaggerating. The bed that was centered on the wall facing the French doors that led out to the balcony that overlooked the sea was huge. In a smaller room, it would have dwarfed the space.

“Decker,” started Greg, “I think we could all just use a little rest…”

“That’s Greg’s delicate way of saying he thinks we ought to avoid an orgy and the two of you tearing chunks out of my neck.”

“Only I’ll be tearing the chunk. If we’re to eliminate O’Shea’s link to you, the mark needs to be gone.”

“Besides which, alphas really cannot abide the mark of another wolf on their mate,” explained Greg, “but Decker’s figured out a way around that.”

“I don’t think I want to hear it,” Adriana said, trying to sound more disgusted than frightened.

“It’s all right, babe. Greg’s right. I think we should spend a couple of days getting settled in. We’ll take care of you.”

Adriana walked into the closet, undressed, and grabbed one of Decker’s t-shirts. Normally, she slept in the nude but sharing a bed with two male wolves made her think a little modesty might be in order. When she emerged from the closet, Greg was already sitting up in bed, the bedclothes covering his lower body and his upper body naked, showing off his leaner, yet still cut chest and chiseled abs.

Decker was standing on the other side, holding the covers up. “You sleep in the middle and lose the t-shirt.”

“I thought it might be better if I wasn’t…you know, naked.”

“You thought wrong,” said Greg.

She reached down, grabbed the hem of the t-shirt and pulled it over her head. There was no hiding her stiff nipples, but then, the t-shirt probably hadn’t hidden them, either.

“I told you earlier,” said Decker, not seeming to mind he was naked with his cock pointing towards his navel, “no more panties for you. Take them off… or I will.”

Adriana bit her tongue but removed the panties. She made the mistake of glancing at Greg, whose own erection was tenting the sheets.

“It’s okay, sweetheart, this is a little weird for all of us, but Decker’s right. We might as well start as we mean to go, at least with sleeping arrangements.” Greg patted the bed beside him. “Come and get in bed.”

She tried to nonchalantly pass Decker and slide into bed. She might have been able to pull it off until he ran his hand down her spine, parting the cleft in her ass and cupping her mons from behind. She was on her hands and knees and was just about to turn and growl at Decker when Greg reached up to tweak her nipple. She whirled around and laid down, grabbing the covers and pulling them up to her chin.

“You don’t really believe that would be much of a deterrent, do you?” asked Decker. “But settle down and go to sleep. We’ll leave you be tonight.”

Adriana was awake long after her two fated mates fell asleep. At least they didn’t snore. Finally, she was able to close her eyes and drift off. The dreams that night were not of the erotic, sexy kind involving Decker, Greg, or both. They were very Eoghan-centric. She could see his shadow moving through the mists, never leaving them to step into the clearing.

He made a low woofing kind of noise—not quite a bark or a howl—it was as if he was trying to call her to him. Adriana got the feeling that he was trying to compel her to come to him, with him, maybe. She felt the same pull she always had when Eoghan had used the mate bond against her, but this time before her resistance failed, she could feel the presence of her two fated mates. Both Decker and Greg were there with her. Both growled low in their throats, moving between her and Eoghan, their hackles raised. Decker’s wolf moved in front, baring his teeth and pointing his ears straight up and forward.

When Eoghan bounded away, Adriana woke, trembling. The room was dark, but she could feel Greg spooned up against her—his front to her back—his arm wrapped around her waist. Seemingly not to be left out, Decker was sprawled on his back, his large hand resting between her legs. Normally she woke from her nightmares terrified and drenched in sweat, but not tonight. She felt safe and warm sandwiched between the strength and comfort of her fated mates.

Adriana snuggled closer to Greg and laid her hand over Decker’s. There were probably dangerous and frightening days ahead, but for tonight—for the first time since Eoghan had kidnapped her—she felt as if they were all going to be okay.