by Helen Scott
"I'm Nina, well, you already knew that, but it is very nice to meet you too."
She chuckled at my response and I relaxed slightly. "You'll fit in just fine around here, don't worry. We take all sorts. I've got to get back to Woody, my mate. He's got a bad hip and doesn't get out much anymore, poor dear."
"I hope he feels better," I said as she waved goodbye.
She seemed nice, a little motherly, which made my heart twist with grief, but it was an old wound. I wouldn't say I'd healed from my parent's death, or from Sammy's, but I didn't feel them as keenly as I once did. Most of the time I didn't even cry about them anymore. I wondered what they would think of my current situation.
I looked over at Roman again and guilt wove through me. Micah and I should have talked to him before anything happened. It wasn't like I'd planned on having sex in the bathroom though. All I knew was that one moment I was angry and the next I was horny as all hell. Just thinking about it made the ache between my legs return with a vengeance. I needed to tell Roman the first chance I got, but I really didn't want to do it here where anyone could hear what we were talking about, especially if he got angry. Would he though? I honestly didn't know. I mean I barely knew the guy at all.
"I see the welcome committee has already come to see you," another voice said, pulling my attention away from Roman when I just wanted to watch him and learn as much as I could about the man that was my mate, well one of them anyway.
"I'm sorry?" I asked as I turned to face the new woman. I hadn't seen any committee, wasn't that usually multiple people?
"Wilma. She gets her nose in everyone's business. Don't be surprised if after you've been here a while she knows more about you than you do about yourself." The woman that approached me was closer to my age, or at least appeared that way, with her hair pulled up into a severe bun on the crown of her head. She wore a black turtleneck sweater and a pair of black wide-leg dress pants which were tied together with a large, chunky belt and sky-high heels. She looked very chic, and I could tell, just from the quality of the material that they were expensive.
"Good to know," I said carefully, with a neutral smile.
"I'm Victoria, but everyone calls me Tori." She didn't offer to shake my hand, just took a sip of the coffee she was carrying in one hand, while her other held an oversized bright-red clutch.
"Nina," I said with a smile.
"You're one lucky wolf, Nina. Roman's been on every bitch's hit list since as long as I can remember." The comment was said like it was a compliment, but the undertone read as something else entirely. Jealousy? Maybe? I wasn't sure though.
"Thanks, I certainly think so," I said, as I pasted a large smile on my face, even though I felt more like clocking the bitch to show her exactly what I thought about compliments that were actually insults.
She smiled back at me, but it barely even left the corners of her mouth before she pulled a pair of large, dark sunglasses from her purse, slipped them on and walked away. The act was impressive considering she didn't put her coffee down or spill a drop, which is probably what I would have done, except I would have spilled the whole thing, not just a drop. I glanced over my shoulder at her retreating form. Well, that was weird.
When I turned back around it was to find another woman approaching me. What was this, a way station for people to pass by before they left? Couldn't they see that I had shit on my mind?
"Don't mind Tori," she said as she approached. "She's just lusted after Roman for years, even though he's always told her no, so she's a bit bitter that he's mated to someone else now. I'm Charlie." She thrust her hand forward and I took it. With just one glance I knew that this girl and I would get along.
Her red hair was cut into a cute bob that perfectly framed her face, while she wore a pale, lime green T-shirt and ripped jeans that were paired with some thick, Doc Martin looking boots. She had a frank, I don't give a fuck look to her, which I could relate to.
"Nina. Pleasure."
"How weird is it to have a mate?" she asked as she plopped down on the chair a few feet in front of mine.
"Pretty weird," I replied honestly. "After everything that happened, it was the last thing I expected. I'm glad it happened though, and I'm glad it's Roman—" I cut myself off before I said Micah's name as well.
"Sorry," Charlie said. "I don't mean to ask you to spill your guts to me. Most of the women in the pack have been mated a while, so it's nice to see that it does still happen, you know?"
"I get that," I replied with a genuine smile.
Her phone buzzed in her hand and she looked at it, her face dropping. "I've gotta go, but it was really nice meeting you, Nina."
"You too."
Charlie scurried away and I had a moment of clarity, a moment of pure revelation when I realized exactly how nice it could be to be part of a pack. I could have friends, family even, if I chose to. It was something I'd never considered before because I thought all packs were the same. That was how the world had been presented to me as a child. All packs were run by the alpha and his word was law. To go against the alpha was death, unless you could defeat him in combat, but then you became the new alpha, and most people didn't really want that kind of responsibility. Women were second class citizens, useful, but not important.
Roman's pack wasn't like that, at least from what I could tell. I mean the alpha was willing to consult with a council of elders which would have been seen as weak in my old pack. According to my old pack the alpha was the end all and be all, there was no need for anyone else. It was different with Roman's pack though.
Everyone so far seemed nice, even Tori wasn't outright mean, just a little dismissive, which I could understand. I mean a stranger coming in and bagging the guy you'd been lusting after for years? I'd probably be a little bitter as well.
By all appearances this pack was the polar opposite of the one I grew up in. I got the feeling from Micah's reaction to our mating bond that the niceties only extended so far though, so what would happen when everyone found out? Because unlike my second mate, I knew everyone would eventually find out. I had no faith in this being kept a secret.
Roman glanced over at me and smiled, which made my heart flutter in my chest. He was wrapping up, I could see it in his motions with the nods and pats on the shoulder. He was doing his best to wind things down even though people still seemed to want to talk to him.
I wasn't sure how long I'd been waiting, maybe an hour? I was more than ready to go home though, or to Roman's home, so I could talk to him about Micah. When he walked toward me I pushed to my feet.
"Sorry, love, I got caught up and—" he froze. His words cut out and his nostrils flared. Anger, no, rage, danced across his face as he growled, "Where is he?" The sound was so low and menacing that it sent a shiver of fear up my spine.
I didn't know what to say since I actually had no idea where Micah was, or any way of getting in touch with him, but I wanted to reply somehow so my mouth opened but no sound came out.
"Nina, where is he? Don't test me with this," Roman's voice was loud and growly enough that ears perked up across the room.
"I don't know, his home maybe?" I replied. I'd been hoping since no one else had seemed to notice Micah's scent on me that Roman wouldn't either and we could talk about it like adults, but that wasn't in the cards.
Roman turned and stormed out of the meeting room looking like thunder before the lightning. I had no choice but to follow. I just hoped I wasn't following to witness a blood bath.
28
CHASING AFTER ROMAN was like trying to keep up with a lion going after a gazelle. I needed him to calm down so he didn't kill Micah, but I couldn't fully catch up to him to stop him and talk to him.
He seemed to be moving so much faster than I thought he'd be able to at just a walking pace, and I was struggling to keep up without turning to actually running, which would only draw more attention as we exited the building. Pack members were still milling around, chatting, catching up, and most definitely taking
note of Roman hustling out of there like his ass was on fire, with his new mate in tow.
I knew he must have scented Micah on me. Why he could smell it and the women I'd spoken with couldn't was beyond me. I also was more confused than ever about the mate bond since I thought he would have been able to sense my emotions through it and I definitely had a wide array of emotions when I was in the bathroom with Micah.
"Roman," I hissed when we were far enough away from the crowd that no one would overhear.
"I'm going to kill him. Don't get in my way," my mate growled over his shoulder, his wolf not only present in his voice but in the flash of his eyes. The streetlight turning them reflective as we passed.
"Roman, just listen to me for a gods damned minute," I said, pushing into a run to try and get in front of him.
A snarl sounded in response and that was it. As though he'd sensed my movement and intentions he broke into a run as well, and before I knew it the two of us were running down the road. Me trying to catch him and failing, especially when he took sharp turns and I overshot, not realizing what was happening, and had to backtrack to catch up to him again.
Was it bad that I found this anger of his insanely sexy? Roman, from what I'd seen of him was cool, calm, and collected, even when he found his barely alive mate on the shore of a lake he didn't freak out. Hell, even when I'd called him to ask for help he'd barely sounded more than a little concerned.
Now though?
Now he was a feral beast. I wasn't sure whether it was more about me being his, or that he thought someone had hurt me, or a combination. I knew I shouldn't find it sexy, that I shouldn't be turned on by how Roman was responding to the situation, but I was. The strong, independent side of me wanted to throw up. How could I be so attracted to a man that was acting like nothing more than a neanderthal. Nina, mine. Roman, smash.
Ugh.
Maybe I just wanted to be wanted, to be protected and treasured? Was that really so bad? My kick ass and ask questions later side said yes, that I couldn't let him hurt someone else just because his pride about his territory or whatever was wounded, but the side I didn't think about, the soft, needy side, was beyond happy with Roman's reaction. That side of me concluded that the mate bond was the best thing ever.
I wasn't sure how Roman knew where to go, maybe he and Micah had spent some time together at some point, but he ran us straight over to a condo complex where he began banging on one of the doors so hard that it was rattling on its hinges. The thing looked like it was about to break in two around the force of Roman's bleached knuckles. I looked down as I finally caught up to him and saw that it wasn't just the hand that was hammering on the door that was clenched into a tight fist but the one at his side as well.
"Roman, don't do anything you're going to regret," I said trying to draw his attention away from the door that he was now alternating between banging on and glaring at.
A moment later the wood and glass that had been blocking Roman swung open and Micah answered the door, midway through pulling an earbud from his ear. When his eyes landed on me, followed by Roman the color drained from his face, leaving him white as a sheet. I had seen it happen before but I'd never seen anyone go quite as pale as Micah did.
His eyes almost bugged out of his head as he took us in, and not a breath later he slammed the door in our faces. The deadbolt being thrown into place audibly. A savage snarl ripped from Roman's throat as he beat on the door once again.
We both knew that Micah wasn't about to come back and open it up for us, not after locking it and from what I could hear, running away from the door. He clearly didn't expect us to just leave either since he seemed to be trying to get away from us. I hated the idea of him feeling threatened in his own home, but I also had no control over the beast that Roman had turned into. He was a hair's breadth away from shifting, and I didn't want to accidentally trigger that so I kept my voice soft when I spoke next.
"If you'd just listen to me I could explain what happened," I said, pleading with Roman.
That was the moment that Roman decided to start kicking the door. The wood groaned in protest as he continued wailing on it until it gave way. I couldn't help but wonder if the walls and doors around the pack’s land were reinforced, because I'd never seen a door stand up to a shifter for so long. I mean, my apartment door was kicked in on the first try by Jax's men. Reinforcing them would be the smart thing to do, after all, as Roman was proving in that moment, shifter tempers run high.
When the door did give way, it splintered and broke apart in a small explosion of wood. Once I was able to get through the door, after Roman sprinted ahead, I realized that Micah hadn't gone all that far. Now the two of them were running around like headless chickens as Roman tried to corner and catch Micah.
"Stop it! Roman!" I screamed, but he was too lost to hear me.
"Roman! Listen to your mate. Nothing happened, man," he said. "Nothing we weren't going to talk to you about, anyway."
Roman roared. Micah's words were probably not the best thing to say to a shifter who is feeling territorial about his mate. Apparently the younger shifter's mouth worked faster than his brain.
"Roman, Micah is my mate, too!" I tried, finally feeling okay saying it out loud since we weren't out in the open, but he seemed to have blocked everything out. He had also changed his tactic from running and chasing to silently stalking Micah throughout the condo, which, honestly, was a lot creepier. Especially when he began to randomly break furniture.
He picked up something off a shelf and threw it against the wall. From what I could tell it was a framed photo.
Fuck that photo.
He did the same to a chair. Apparently, the chair was an asshole.
And that table was as well.
And definitely fuck that fancy big screen TV that was mounted to the wall.
Each item broke apart as though it was made from fragile crystal. I could swear I heard Micah groan when the TV shattered.
Roman was getting closer and closer to Micah, and the next time he lunged, with the table now destroyed, he was able to grab the younger shifter's wrist. It all seemed to happen in slow motion after that, as Roman pulled on Micah's arm, using his own momentum against him and sending him spinning to the floor, where he dropped on top of him with a knee in his back. He held him there until Micah stopped struggling and then eased up enough so that he could roll Micah onto his back, his knee now pressing, somewhat gently, on Micah's chest.
Roman looked every bit the alpha wolf in that moment, and even though he wasn't alpha of the pack, that didn't mean that he was lacking in alpha energy. The moment of bringing Micah to the floor had been almost elegant, and was probably the most non-violent way he could have done it. I knew that even though Roman was kneeling over and slightly on Micah, he didn't want to beat the shit out of him, let alone kill him. If Roman was more alpha like I suspected, and if he was a good alpha unlike my old one, then it would be hard for him to hurt a lower member of the pack.
I dropped to my knees beside them and wrapped my hands around Roman's face, forcing him to turn his head and look at me. "Stop this. He—We made a mistake. We should have talked to you, but I know you feel the truth of this situation. I know you know Micah didn't hurt me. Just stop for a moment and think, feel." I dropped one hand from his face and rested it against Micah’s chest for emphasis.
For a minute I thought my words had landed on deaf ears but finally his eyes actually focused on me and, with his pupils dilating, I knew he was taking what I'd said into consideration. When Micah turned to face me as well, the two of them, almost in sync, began to sniff the air.
I knew I must smell like a strange combination of emotions, fear, lust, anger, to name a few. To top it off Micah's scent from earlier was probably still there as well. Part of me hoped that they could also scent the bond between the three of us, but I wasn't sure how much of that was true and how much was wishful thinking. Each of them should be able to smell their bond with me, and my bond with the o
ther.
Roman's gaze grew puzzled as he took in the new information and he moved off Micah completely, letting the other man sit up. He brushed his suit down, sneering at the rumpled fabric and tugging it straight once again before looking over at Micah. His hand connected with the younger shifter's shoulder and startled the two of us as he patted it and watched the other man.
"The bond is between all of us," Roman said eventually as he looked from me to Micah and back again, his eyes wide.
Now he knew, and seemed to at least partially accept what Micah and I already knew, there was only one question that beat at my brain. What did that mean for us?
29
"WAIT. What do you mean the bond is between the three of us? Shouldn't it just be two bonds, one between me and you and one between me and Micah?" I asked, suddenly realizing the meaning of his words.
"I mean it's between the three of us. I can feel Micah is bonded to me, the same way you are. I mean, it's not romantic, I don't think. It feels more like the bond of a family, brotherly even. I know that if I wasn't around, Micah would protect you with everything he had." Roman's voice was suspiciously calm, like he wasn’t upset anymore in the slightest.
“And that’s what matters most.”
"And you're both … okay with this?" I asked.
"For me, the moment I felt the bond click into place my anger faded. I realized I had nothing to be angry over because there was no competition, no threat to my relationship with you." Roman paused for a moment and his gaze went blank as though he was internally evaluating the bond. "Our love for you, or what will be love, supersedes any kind of jealousy. Fated mates aren't usually the kind to share much of their partners with the rest of the pack, at least not at first, but with this bond I want to share you with Micah because I know the bond is there with him as well. I know he'll protect you and care about you and appreciate you just as I will."