“That’s not fair,” she retorted.
“Isn’t it?” he countered, spreading his bare feet into the grass. The warmth of the sun hit his naked chest, and deep inside, where his Wolf was usually quiet, he felt the creature stretch in delight.
He wasn’t at one with the beast. Not like his mate. In fact, he rarely felt him. A home truth that hurt him now he really thought about it.
“Look, do what you want with it. I’ll still put the money into the bank every month, and you can either ignore it or use it. Just… I don’t know. Be happy. If you’re embarrassed about the house,” he said with a grimace, “then we don’t have to go. You can just come to mine and meet her there.”
“You’re the best brother in the world, Rafe. You know that, don’t you?”
“Hardly,” he said with a snort. “I just want you to be happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.” It was why she was the sole benefactor in his will, and while Thalia was his mate and he knew he should change that, he saw no real reason to.
His wealth wouldn’t improve Thalia’s life, not when she had more than enough money of her own. But for Laura? It would be the making of her if anything happened to him.
“And that’s what I want for you, darling. Does she make you happy?” Laura asked, her tone urgent.
“She really does.” He let out a choked laugh. “I didn’t even know how miserable I was before.”
“Gods, I know what you mean. It’s amazing how everything changes, isn’t it? In the blink of an eye.”
“Yeah,” he confirmed, sighing as his Wolf shifted inside him again. “I’d best go, Laura.”
“I know. You have things, or someone, to be doing.”
Rafe chuckled. “You’ve got such a filthy mind.”
“Trust me, it’s not the only thing that’s filthy about me.”
“Oh Gods, I didn’t need to know that.”
She cackled. “Eric didn’t pop up out of thin air. Anyway, tell Thalia I can’t wait to meet her, and I’m thrilled for you, Rafe. I couldn’t ask for more for you.”
“Thanks, sis.”
“I love you. I’ll see you soon?”
“Yeah. You will. Love you too.”
He was smiling as he cut the call, and when he turned around, he froze at the sight of Bahkir sitting ten feet away on the steps that led to Thalia’s bedroom. “It’s rude to eavesdrop,” he chided, and then had to grunt as he realized he’d just chided an Elder.
Fuck.
It was a testament to how comfortable he was getting in the old man’s presence.
“I wasn’t eavesdropping. I was resting my old bones.” Bahkir let out a deep breath. “It’s warm today.”
“It’s warm every day,” he countered.
“No. Not usually. I don’t feel the warmth like I used to. I run cold now.”
That had Rafe frowning and studying the old man intently. His healing gifts stirred to life but the truth was, there were so many things wrong with Bahkir it was hard to know where to start.
“I know,” Bahkir replied.
“You know what? I didn’t say anything.”
“I know… Some days I feel like a rusted old car, being kept together by duct tape and glue.”
Snickering at the imagery, Rafe strode over to a man he was slowly starting to consider a friend and took a seat at his side. It was strangely reminiscent of that first night with Thalia, and that thought had him turning back to look through the screen doors. She was slumped over the bed still, deep in sleep.
“She’s tired.”
“She didn’t sleep much last night,” Rafe murmured.
“Why?”
“She wants to be the next Triskele and is figuring out a way to shore up her argument.” When the Elder nodded, processing that, he carried on, “I wish I knew if that were the right step for her.”
“It would allow her to travel around the country. That’s what she needs. What you all need, truth be told. The sooner she finds her other males, the better for the four of you.”
Rafe scowled at that, and even though he knew he’d have to share Thalia at some point, he didn’t want that to be for a long time coming. Bahkir shot him a knowing look, then he asked, “Your sister is Gamma too?”
“No. Beta. They’re all Betas.”
“All?”
“I have four sisters.”
“Interesting.”
“Hardly,” he scoffed. “The greatest source of my father’s shame more like. Four strong daughters and a weakling for a son.”
Bahkir grumbled, “This self-piteous talk grows wearisome. I’ve already told you, you’re not weak.”
“He didn’t know that then, did he? And my father’s beliefs back when I was a child formed me into the man you see before you.”
Though he pondered that, Bahkir confirmed the fact he’d been listening in when he asked, “Do you set money aside for all of them?”
“No. Just Laura. I can’t stand the rest of them. Laura loves me. The rest are ashamed of me and associate with me as little as possible.”
“You’re a good man,” he said eventually, even as he shuffled on the step, the robes rustling as he moved.
“I want what’s best for her.”
“I know. I heard it in your voice.”
Rafe turned to look at the old man. “Is there a reason you wanted to speak with me today?”
“Nothing in particular. I enjoy your company.”
Delight filled him. “You do?”
“You sound shocked by this,” Bahkir said drily.
“I am. Very few people want to associate with me.” He peered ahead, a sudden frown puckering his brow. “I’ve more human friends than Lyken ones.”
A grunt escaped the Elder. “And this is why we need to bring forth a new age among our kind.” He shook his head. “Help me up. I can smell breakfast; they’re making pancakes.”
“The kitchens make pancakes every day if you order them,” Rafe stated, confused.
Bahkir let out a laugh. “True, but not these kind of pancakes. The TriAlpha are not inviolate. They need to watch their kitchen staff better.”
His tone had Rafe stilling in place. “You want to eat in the kitchens? With the staff?”
“I promise, the maple pancakes are worth it.”
Though he snorted his amusement, he also found himself touched. Rafe had no problem in being among his own kind; in the kitchens, he’d undoubtedly find himself among dozens of Gammas and Omegas, but the prospect of the Elder finding a place at that table?
Well, this he had to see. And pancakes sounded like they’d hit the spot; the sweet before the bitter that would undoubtedly ensue when Thalia went face to face with her fathers.
Today was going to be a doozy, and no mistake.
****
“Don’t be absurd.”
Thalia gritted her teeth and tried and failed to seek patience. Discussing anything with her fathers was, she imagined, what Einstein had endured when he’d come up with the notion that the definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over again, while expecting a completely different result.
“I’m not being absurd,” she bit off. “I’m being very, very rational.”
Her nostrils flared as Luca half-leaped off his throne in the council chambers and began to stalk from one side of the dais to the other. She watched him pace, his boots clicking against the wooden floor, the energy bristling from him in a way that stirred her She-Wolf.
Behind her, she heard the titters from the council. But, it wasn’t with amusement, but bewilderment. Truth was, she preferred the latter to the former.
Give her confusion over someone laughing their asses off at her. That just made her want to ram her elbow into their eye.
“How can you be Triskele?” he scoffed. “We haven’t even heard of such an Enforcer for the last two hundred years!”
“That doesn’t mean we don’t need one. Especially when we have Beta soldiers attacking our lower ranks. Whether they’re G
amma or not, none of our people deserve to be abused or raped simply because of their status in our society.”
Damien shifted in his seat. “She’s not wrong, brothers.”
Adam and Luca turned to him, shock lining their features. They were handsome men, her fathers. But then, being Alpha of the nation came with perks.
Not just money, power, privilege, but looks too.
They were charm personified when they wanted, and had an education that most philosophers would sob over.
They had everything in spades. Some of it gifted from the Gods, part of it a gift from their position.
Had she been one third of a set of male triplets, she’d have been lavished with such riches too. As it stood, she’d been homeschooled, had no power or authority, was an exile and was barely passable, in her honest opinion, when it came down to looks.
Sure, she had pretty blond hair, and a set of nice blue eyes, but she was too short, and somehow lanky with it. Her muscles were too strong, even though they were more lithe than bulky.
In many ways, she radiated her She-Wolf far more than most would ever be comfortable with. It was why some of the weaker councilors on her father’s advisory council were disgusted by her.
They were scared.
Her She-Wolf was on display no matter what she did, and their own weaker beasts felt trepidation around her.
For all those reasons and more, she would make a perfect Triskele.
Before her fathers could start bickering or in-fighting, she cleared her throat. “I’m merely seeking a chance to act as the hand of justice for my fathers’ court. That isn’t too much to ask, is it?”
“It’s a political nightmare waiting to happen,” Adam complained, drumming his fingertips down on his knee. Blond hair, shaggy unlike Damien’s which was tied back in a man bun and Luca’s close-shorn locks, rippled as he bounced with his agitation. Adam was a fidgeter. It was his weakness, and one her She-Wolf always narrowed in on whenever he started moving around.
Thalia felt her bitch’s attention zoom in on his fingers and had to force herself to focus on other matters; like her parents being pains in her ass. Even the beast could feel umbrage at that, surely?
“No, the political nightmare was my identity being revealed at the festival because you refused my entry into the children’s zone,” she snapped. “Had you just let me in, my anonymity would have remained inviolate. As it stands, people are aware of me now. More than they were before. If you think there aren’t going to be questions about my reappearance, then you’re mistaken.”
Damien sighed again as he rolled his head back, his gaze turning to the ceiling. “Being Triskele would let her work off that horrendous amount of hostility she has.”
Thalia’s eyes widened. “I’m hostile because my parents have zero faith in me when I’ve never done any wrong to them or anyone in the pack.”
“You frequently maim pack members,” Luca snarled.
“Who come onto me or try to challenge me,” she roared back, and was pleased to note the utter stillness that overset her parents.
“What did you say?” Adam asked, his voice like ice.
She jerked her chin up in the air, defiant to the last. “If you expect me to let a man cover me because he’s on your council, then you’re mistaken.”
More silence fell at her words, and though she stood with her back to the council, she could feel the career politicians shifting in their seat like toddlers on the verge of a time out.
Of the three hundred men, nearly forty had, over the years, made a move on her.
Be it sexually, out of a need to make a power play against her fathers, or with the vague desire to dominate her because of her position in the pack.
And knowing Damien, she imagined he could remember exactly which men had been attacked by her… Or so they’d claimed, and she’d had no choice but to accept punishment because she knew her family would believe their councilors over her.
Yeah, that sucked, but at least it meant she could hold something before them now and, even better, could shove it where the sun didn’t shine.
“The fact that I could and have attacked some of the strongest men in the nation—for why else could they sit on your council?—is proof enough I can handle myself as Triskele.”
“What kind of rights would you be upholding, daughter?” Damien asked silkily, but there was a gleam in his eye as he sat straight, his gaze no longer turned toward the ceiling but scanning the council. She was under no illusion; he was pinpointing the men who had attacked her and claimed the opposite.
“All rights. For the highest to the lowest.”
“Starting with your mate?” Adam’s voice contained a disrespectful sneer, and she winced at the sound of it. Not for her sake, but for Rafe.
“Yes, I would begin there. He came to the palace for help, after all. And though it was to my good fortune, for how else would we have met when he lives in Texas, what’s happening in Austin is truly abominable.
“It’s been too long since we’ve cleaned house if we can appoint Betas who abuse their position, who defy the natural order by attacking those beneath them.”
“Some might say that is the natural order,” Luca retorted.
“Then, they’re monsters,” she said simply. “It’s one thing to control the weakest members of the pack, one thing to keep them in line for fear they’ll run amok. But to systematically attack them? When they are proven to be weaker and unable to defend themselves? When there is no need for punishment, no need save for the sick urges of a bastard in need of a display of might over right from one of his betters?” She sniffed, her nose flying up in the air as she peered down it to declare, “Our local packs need better management. A Triskele is one such way to ensure they remain on their toes, because the current means of governing is apparently not working.”
Though Luca and Adam stiffened, there was an amused curl to Damien’s lips that gave her hope.
There was a reason he was the weak link among the circle of her fathers. It wasn’t necessarily that he was the least strong in a fight, but he was the voice of reason where they weren’t. He was clever; his memory eidetic. They listened to him when it came down to matters of law simply because he knew their bylaws back to back.
In comparison to their book-smart brother, Luca and Adam were obstinate and aggressive with their practices. Damien, though physically strong, preferred using his brain and common sense over leaping headfirst into a fight.
And though she could head off and do whatever the hell she wanted, and ultimately would if they refused her at every turn, it would be the pack version of vigilantism. For the first time, she wanted her fathers to back her, to support her in something that the pack desperately needed.
Why?
Not because she wanted their damn approval, but because their support would add weight to the role. The Triskele needed to be feared and if it was TriAlpha-backed then that was exactly what would happen.
“I think we should allow her to head to Austin with her mate and to, as she phrased it, clean house,” Damien declared after a few seconds of silence had fallen once she’d spoken.
Adam, on the outer throne, leaned forward to stare at his brother over Luca, who had taken up his seat once more between his brothers. “You can’t be serious.”
“I am. Deadly. When El came to us with Thalia’s mate’s tale, I was uneasy.”
“That’s because you’re weak when it comes to the lower ranks.”
Damien narrowed his eyes at Luca. “Watch yourself, brother. It is not weak to, as our daughter says, treat those who can never be as strong or as powerful as ourselves with kindness.
“We are more than just our animal selves. We are humans too. And even our beasts do not take pleasure in beating on our lesser ranks. I fear this issue is why Bahkir is here, period. Having a Beta raping and beating Gammas can only stay under the spotlight for so long. The humans will find out eventually, and that will lead back to the pack. We’ve already had thos
e serial killings in Tucson and Akron, and now there’s the situation in DC.”
Serial killings?
Situation in DC?
What the fuck?
But before she could do more than blink at that, Adam sighed. “But to send her, after all these years of exile? It will undermine us all.”
“The child had to be reintroduced at some point,” a croaky voice stated, and though his words were low, Bahkir somehow managed to project them with a clarity that set Thalia’s nerves on edge.
She wriggled her shoulders as the sound of a cane thumping against the wooden floors echoed around the large chamber. Turning, she saw Bahkir was leaning on her mate’s arm as they walked down the central aisle toward her position in front of the thrones.
She shot Rafe a small smile which died away uneasily as she nodded politely at the Elder.
“Your greatness,” Luca started, getting to his feet. As did the rest of the council and the TriAlpha.
“No need to stand on ceremony,” Bahkir countered wearily. “I’m here to back the child up. It’s time she took her place in her pack. It’s time she found her other mates.”
Damien cleared his throat, looking as uneasy as Thalia felt. “You have had a message?”
“From the Goddess? No. But it’s evident to anyone with eyes, and I’m sad to say that you’ve all displayed a certain amount of blindness where your daughter is concerned.” The chiding had her choking on a laugh as her fathers turned varying shades of puce at the reprimand.
“We did what we thought was best,” Adam retorted, slumping back heavily on the throne behind him.
“Well, your best could be someone’s worst,” Bahkir replied huskily, his words remarkably without heat but with enough power to scorch nonetheless.
She cringed, turned to him and saw eyes as wrinkled as currants staring at her from beneath the hood of his cape.
They crinkled at the edges in what she assumed was a smile, and she returned the soft gesture, though her face felt like it would creak from lack of use.
Trinity (The TriAlpha Chronicles Book 1) Page 17