Chapter 4

REMUS AND TARUS LEFT the Watering Hole together, but the lingering tension mirrored the conflict between them. The muddy ground squelched beneath their boots, while the heavens rumbled, and bolts of blue lightning lit up the sky.

Tarus broke the stressed silence between them by grabbing his brother's arm and turning him to face him. "You need to step aside," he insisted. "Amethyst Stone is my mate. I can feel it."

"Earlier today, she touched me, and a jolt of unmistakable recognition shot through me. It set fire to my blood and rendered me speechless. And you know me. I'm never at a loss for words. Which is why I won't be stepping aside."

Usually quiet and reserved, with a long fuse, as the humans would say, Tarus struggled to keep his brother's words from igniting his temper. He'd waited thirty-three annum to find his mate, and he refused to allow anything or anyone, including his twin, who was like a part of himself, to get in his way.

"I sensed her presence before I ever laid eyes on her," Tarus responded, his voice quivering ever so slightly with the effort to maintain his composure. "The sweetness of her scent was instantly familiar. It was the awareness mated males describe when they meet the one meant for them alone. I also knew it was Amy because my cock got as hard as the uladite blade we use during sparring."

"That doesn't prove your claim. Only that you are male," Remus bit out, with a stubborn set to his jaw. "Besides, what you describe is the same jolt of awareness I felt."

"She cannot be both our mates," Tarus insisted with a growl, getting into his brother's face.

"Precisely," Remus snarled back. "Which is why you'll be the one to stand down. I saw her first."

"Don't be childish," Tarus snapped, his control all but gone. "This is my future, not a footrace. As the eldest, I demand that you step aside."

"There you go throwing birth order in my face, as usual. As I've told you our entire lives, older by a quarter of a time cycle doesn't grant you unlimited and enduring authority over me." Remus straightened and looked down at him, his jaw clenched. "It also doesn't make you wiser because I'm bigger and you know I will kick your ass before allowing you to claim what is mine."

Tarus stepped closer, deliberately bumping his chest into his brothers. "Cut your hair and the height difference disappears. As for kicking my anything, who has bested whom during training drills for four years straight?"

Remus chest bumped him back. "You have a distorted perception of reality. We tied in most of our sparring sessions, and you know it."

"Amy is mine," Tarus snapped. "You believe by flashing a smile and pouring on the charm, you can take whatever you want. Not this time. "

"I don't have to take something that already belongs to me," Remus shot back, his words piercing the thick, humid air, amplifying the weight of their confrontation. "She's mine. It's fate. You'll have to suck it up and accept the inevitable, big brother."

Their argument quickly escalated, fists flying as each determined brother tried to prove his dominance, not over each other but over the object of their desire—Amy.

The past day and night of rain had turned the ground to sludge. Their boots slid, making it difficult for either to gain the upper hand. Mud splattered everywhere as they grappled, their grunts and curses filling the air.

Tarus landed a jarring blow that knocked Remus to the ground with a wet splat and a grunt. He loomed over him and said with a smirk, "Bested again, little brother. Amy deserves someone who can protect her."

With a roar, Remus launched himself at Tarus, who landed on the mucky ground with a seven-foot-tall angry male body on top of him. The struggle continued, each brother fueled by a mix of anger and possessiveness.

They rolled in the filth and goo, exchanging punches and hurling insults until the sky opened up, drenching both of them. The cool shower served to diminish their tempers.

"Enough!" Tarus gasped as he released his grip and rolled off his brother. Remus complied, and they both lay on their backs, chests heaving, letting the rain wash some of the filth from their faces.

The first to sit up, Remus muttered in disgust, "Look at us. We're acting like Amy is the coveted prize in a children's game of tug-of-war. "

Tarus rose to a seated position beside him. He wanted to wipe the sweat and mud from his stinging eyes, but with what, covered from head to toe in filth. Dealing with the discomfort, the price to pay for brawling in the street like a fool, he said in a low rumble, "You're right. We haven't had a fistfight since we were boys. We can't let a female come between us."

"We need to come up with a solution, since we both want her."

"Agreed," Tarus murmured.

Silence stretched between them.

"I suppose we'll have to leave it up to Amy," Remus concluded with a sigh.

"Yes, we will show our interest individually and see how she reacts. If she prefers only one of us, the other will step aside."

"What if she's interested in both of us? Then we're back where we started."

"Not necessarily."

Remus turned and looked at him, prompting when he didn't continue, "You're plotting something. Care to let me in on it?"

"Remember the Altrusean woman at the Tremeth outpost?"

Their extensive travels with the princep's elite guard took them to various worlds, where they sought a compatible species to integrate and breed with. Since the humans' arrival, they had stayed close to home, guarding the females who were the future of their species. Tarus would never forget the visit to the outpost nearly five annum ago. In their open-minded society, they embraced a variety of interpersonal relationships, including mixed gender, same sex, and multiple partners. The passionate encounter with the outpost owner's beautiful daughter had opened their eyes to a whole new world of possibilities.

From the way his brother's mouth fell open, he hadn't forgotten the experience either. "Are you proposing we share her?"

"I know it's unconventional for Primaria, but this is Terra Nova. A triad isn't unheard of in human culture, and I don't have to remind you we tried the traditional way with dismal success. So, why not?"

"Why not?" Remus repeated then squawked more loudly when he parroted, "Why not? Maybe because never in thousands of years has a Primarian male shared his mate. Is it even possible?"

Tarus couldn't believe he'd asked such a thing. "You were there with me, so you know it is. Or do I have to draw you a diagram as a refresher?"

He shot him an irritated look. "I didn't mean the mechanics of breaching. I'm neither na?ve nor an idiot. But how would transformation and the cellular changes that occur work with two males and one female?"

"Ah..." he said, not having considered those details. When Primarians mated with a female who was a highly compatible match, changes occurred inside and out. Often, the female took on the male's characteristics—scent, hair or eye color, and skin tone. With a fated pair, when the match was near perfect, profound changes occurred, including the male's mate mark replicating on the female. How would that work with a match among three, if at all?

"If we're not fated mates, or even mildly compatible, which neither of us achieved in a year of testing and searching, what does it matter?"

"What of children?"

Tarus grunted. It was something all Primarians dreamed of since being denied for almost twenty annum after the rain of fire. "If procreation isn't part of the Maker's design for us, must we also suffer without a mate of our choosing as well?"

"No, the Maker would not be so cruel."

"And seeing our Princep and Prima, General Trask with Lana, Beck and Adria, and all the other mixed species pairings, I'm often reminded that mating with humans is unlike anything we've experienced before."

"But two males to one female? I can't imagine how the council would react."

"If we stay on Terra Nova, where humans will govern—"

"Beck, you mean, since the election is next week, and he is running unopposed?"

"Even better. Since our friend Beck and his council will govern, our triad shouldn't be a problem. And once we're mated, especially if she transforms in some subtle way, the council dare not question it."

"That's a longshot, considering our testing history," Remus muttered.

Tarus turned and punched him hard in the arm, mud flying.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, sounding human after living among them for months. "What was that for?"

"Stop being such a pessimist!"

He stared at him and demanded, "Who are you and what have you done with my usually reserved, rule-abiding, mostly surly, and glass-half- empty brother?"

None of what he accused him of being was untrue, and Tarus shrugged once more. "I'm being practical because I've found my mate and will do what is necessary to claim her." He reached out and clapped Remus on the shoulder, ignoring the spatter of mud that went flying. "Short of going against my twin who is part of me."

His brother nodded in acknowledgement. They had always been close, and neither wanted that to change. "Perhaps we didn't match before because Amy is our fate." Suddenly, he frowned. "We're in agreement. What if she doesn't see it the same way?"

"We each spend time alone with her and see if things progress."

"We've both experienced the awareness. Next comes the scenting."

"Not progress from us, Brother," Tarus said with much more patience than moments before. "I meant Amy's feelings for us growing."

Remus took a deep breath and blew it out. "And if she progresses with one of us, but not the other?"

"Then we have no choice," Tarus concluded. "The loser must step aside."

Remus' head fell back, and he glared up at the moon, now visible since the storm clouds had passed as they sat in the mud and discussed their unorthodox plan.

"Why does mating have to be so damn hard?"

Tarus got to his feet, slipping several times as he did so. He offered a hand to help Remus up. When they both stood eye to eye, he stated, "It doesn't seem hard for everyone, only fated mates. Have you noticed? "

"Max Kerr, Roth, Ram, the general, and even Adria had a hell of a time."

"But, if you ask them, they would go through it again to reap the reward on the other side. Maes eternium ."

Remus met his gaze. Although he didn't speak, Tarus knew instinctively what he was thinking.

After years of longing and searching, can she truly be the mate for us both?

"There's only one way to find out. We must test our theory." Tarus shifted and pulled a token from the bar out of his pocket. "Shall we flip to see who goes first?"