Chapter Nine

To say I was nervous when I readied for the train station was the understatement of the year. I was picking up not one, but two alphas and an adorable little girl, and I was bringing them all back to my place. Sure, it was a motel, so everybody would have their own spaces, but still. They were coming to my home.

One person was coming here to be my mate and the other as a guest, which kind of hurt, even though that made no sense. Why should it? We weren't now, nor ever had been together. My feelings on the subject should be neutral. Only they weren't. It felt like a loss that one was coming to "chill" for a bit.

Not that anything could be done about it. This was life, and you played with the cards you were dealt. Right now, those cards had me parking at the train station and going to meet my future mate and my guest—at the same time.

It hadn't been difficult to find Zeus. His daughter was twirling around like the little princess that she was, right there on the platform. When he looked up, I waved at them both. Gods, he was gorgeous, and I knew the exact moment he recognized who I was. A smile bloomed on his face, and I felt completely cherished. I had never fully understood the power of a smile until then.

Zeus tapped his daughter on the shoulder; she stopped and turned to me. I expected to see something similar to her father, a smile, or possibly even a frown—kids were nothing if not honest. What I hadn't anticipated was her running at me full throttle and hugging my leg.

"You're Fyn?" she asked.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"Daddy told me we were going to see you, that you were going to take us home."

"Yeah, I am. Do you like that idea?"

"I love it! I can't wait."

She was still hugging me tightly when Zeus walked up. I froze, unsure what to do, and found myself whipping out my human manners for Zeus. I stretched out my hand to shake his. Could I get any less shifter?

More than anything, I just wanted a hug and to be able to scent him deeply. A handshake would have to do, as awkward as it was.

"There's one more person we have to pick up," I said.

"Oh okay."

"He was on the train with you. Did you see anybody else come off?"

"Only one person. His name is Ripley."

My jaw nearly fell right off. He knew Ripley. "Yeah, I felt that... I don't see him." I didn't even know what I was saying, my words getting stuck, my ability to think clearly gone. The scent of this alpha had my brain going wonky, and that was before this new revelation that he knew Ripley.

"Oh, he had to do something at the ticket counter." At least Zeus didn't seem to notice.

"Do you mind if we all go together and pick him up? It's on the way to my car."

"Sounds good." He scooped up Thia and told her where we were going, and she giggled and when he put her back down, she twirled and twirled, the giggling still going strong.

There was something unreadable on the alpha's face. Unlike his daughter, who showed her joy for all to see, he kept his emotions close to the vest. The more I tried to decipher them, the more confusing it got. So, when his daughter grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the inside of the train station and off the platform, I didn't hesitate to go with her. Not that I believed it would ever be easy to deny her anything.

"Ripley is so nice, and he likes to hide, but let me tell you, I just know things," she rambled on. I wasn't sure what she meant by hide, and my best guess was that he'd played hide-and-seek with her a time or two.

"Oh, I see." I didn't. "Well, let's go find him."

It wasn't hard. He was standing right at the ticket counter, just like Zeus had said. For a split second, my stomach fell. What if he was leaving already? Not that I should be worried about that. Zeus was here for me. That was enough.

Ripley turned around, and the most genuine, ginormous smile I'd ever seen graced his face.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"We're taking you home with us," Thia said, with a confidence I sure wasn't feeling.

My cheeks burned. I suppose, in a way, she was being accurate, but there was more to it than that. It wasn't until we were in the car that I fully understood what was going on. My wolf was pounding at me from the inside to call them both mates. Not one. Not the other. Both of them.

I didn't say anything about it on the way home, unsure how much to say in front of Thia. She didn't need to be mixed up in all this adult stuff. And, really, I wasn't sure what to say. Hey, nice guy with the sweet kid, remember when I said you could live here with me and start a new life? Maybe we change that to include this random guy? Or did I say to Ripley, Hey, remember when I sort of rejected you on the app—just kidding?

Nothing seemed right. I was going to have to wing it when the time came, and it came quickly. I pulled into the parking lot of the motel. I barely stopped when Thia begged to twirl. Her father agreed and out of the car she went, running then twirling and twirling and twirling.

I looked the alphas in the eye and said, "You're both my mates."

Ripley nodded.

Zeus said, "That's what's happening?" with a hint of a question in his voice. At least neither of them denied it. That was a start, right?