Trinity (The TriAlpha Chronicles Book 1)
Page 28
And Thalia saw red.
That the bastard intended to go back on his word should not have come as a surprise, but it did. She’d presumed he’d have more honor than that.
More fool her. Or him, she supposed as, with barely a blink of an eye, the hybrid paws made their appearance. Her bitch funneled every last ounce of energy the woman and She-Wolf had into the half-shift, making her faster, stronger, a hundred times deadlier than she already was.
As an outraged shriek soared through the crowd at Torres’s duplicitous attack, it was quenched into stunned silence at the sight of her second half-shift of the night. Thalia ignored the crowd, ignored even the thud-thud of her mate’s heartbeat in the back of mind. Instead, she channeled her focus on her next move. Even as Jason’s fist pulled back, his aim her center mass, she swiped her hand out and sliced it through his skin.
Like putty, it parted.
His head fell back, blood gushing like a geyser from the killing blow she’d struck. His fingers scrabbled at his throat, but the digits slipped and slid through the arterial spray. She didn’t care that it covered her, that his blood painted her.
In his eyes, she saw the knowledge of his death, and her She-Wolf was content. Even if the woman, deep down in her soul, wept.
16
“Are you okay?”
Rafe reached for Thalia the moment she stepped off the arena. Uncaring about his clothes and the gore covering her, he tucked her in his embrace. He knew she was fine; could feel that she wasn’t injured, but that didn’t stop her from looking shell-shocked. And injuries weren’t always visible with the shedding of blood.
Gods, he’d spoken to her. With distance between them. His words had pierced her mind, and she’d replied. He’d heard her. Over the chants of thousands of Lykens. Over the chatter and the hum. Then, he’d distracted her. Distracted her and caused that bastard to injure her.
Not all of the blood covering her was Torres’.
Some was hers.
Because of him.
Mother, forgive me, he pleaded, as he tightened his arms around her. Thalia, forgive me, he whispered silently.
“No, I’m not okay,” she whispered, and the despondency in her voice had him tilting back so he could reach for her chin. When she was looking at him, he stared into her eyes, and felt the stillness deep in her soul.
He hadn’t had faith in her. Back in the Alpha’s box, he’d been nervous for her. Scared that she wasn’t strong enough to take on Torres. Scared that he’d hurt her. And Rafe had been right, but for all the wrong reasons.
Torres had hurt her because now, Thalia had killed.
For the first time, maybe not the last, she’d executed her challenger and Torres’ blood was forever on her soul.
In his arms, she began to shudder. The tremors unnerved him even though he understood she was going into shock. Behind him, he scented Mikkel. The man hadn’t been far behind him when Rafe had taken off to reach the arena’s entrance. The minute Thalia had sliced Torres’ throat, Rafe’s healing senses had sensed the last beat of the Beta’s heart and had known what had happened even before the audience took its next breath.
“She needs you, Mikkel,” he whispered roughly, but he didn’t hate the man for that. Thalia took precedence over his ego. She was paramount. And Mikkel could fight his feelings later, but now wasn’t the time.
Dressed in a smart suit, Mikkel didn’t hesitate to come up behind Thalia and to wrap his arms around her from the back.
Tucked within their embrace, the tremors began to die down, but they were just the physical manifestation of her shock. The emotional would be much harder to tackle.
“She didn’t mean to kill him, did she?” Mikkel asked softly.
Rafe, recognizing the question was aimed at him and not Thalia, murmured, “No. She just wanted to punish him.” That was another way he’d not had faith. When he’d heard her throw down the gauntlet with the Alpha in the Packhouse, Rafe had felt certain she was whitewashing over his wants.
He’d never wanted Torres’ blood to stain his or Thalia’s hands.
Now that it did, he registered that it had been unintentional, as well as the bastard’s fault.
“He ceded,” she sobbed, the words bubbled out from between him and Mikkel. “Why did he do that? Why did he have to do that?”
“Because he was a cheat, Thalia,” Rafe said gently, stroking the back of her head, hoping the touch soothed her.
“Sometimes, rabid dogs need putting down,” Mikkel told her, and though Rafe didn’t appreciate the imagery, at that moment, the other man seemed to sense that was the answer Thalia needed.
“H-he did. N-Need it, didn’t he, Rafe?” she stuttered, pushing between them to peer up at him. They backed off, thinking she wanted out of their embrace, but her left arm slipped around Rafe’s waist from the front, and the right tugged Mikkel close from the back.
Because he knew she needed forgiveness, even though it wasn’t his to give, he nodded. “He could have walked away, Thalia. No Wolf, not even one as strong as yours, could back down from that kind of insult.”
And he wasn’t lying. Didn’t have to say that to try to make her feel better.
It was the truth.
Torres was an idiot.
“You sure know how to make a name for yourself, sweetheart,” Mikkel said gruffly, and Rafe noticed the other male rubbed his nose against her temple—probably one of the only places that was clean on her otherwise gore-coated body. “If they didn’t know what a Triskele was before,” he continued, “They do now.”
Rafe tilted his head to shoot his female’s second mate a look.
“Will you be by her side, Mikkel, while Thalia accedes to her rightful place in the pack?” Rafe asked gravely, posing the question on Thalia’s behalf.
Though he stiffened and his nostrils flared at being cornered, Mikkel nodded.
Thalia, though she hid her face in Rafe’s shirt, seemed to sense that, because she gave a final shiver in their embrace.
“If nothing else makes sense today,” he said somberly, and that was a gross understatement considering the way he’d healed Thalia from a distance, had spoken to her telepathically, and the way she’d annihilated a Beta just twenty feet from where he and Mikkel were seated, “then this has to be our place of safety. Amid the chaos, we’re each other’s peace.”
Mikkel sighed. “You don’t know me. I don’t know you. How can we be each other’s peace when we’re strangers?”
“We don’t have to know each other,” Rafe whispered softly, pressing a kiss to the crown of Thalia’s head. His voice was steady, sure, and he spoke the words as though they were a vow. “The Mother knows. She decided for us.”
And Her decision was all that counted.
To be continued…
AUTHOR NOTE:
Trinity, and the TriAlpha Chronicles on the whole, has been in the making for over seven years.
Before Reverse Harem was even a subgenre of romance, this story took over my imagination. For seven years, I wondered when I’d be able to release this kind of tale. A story that wasn’t ménage, that wasn’t anything like I’d read at the time. Before I even knew what Reverse Harem was, this book existed, and it’s my honor and my privilege to bring it to you today.
If you know my work, you know I’ll be getting these books to you as fast as I physically can. Book two is already close to completion and will be ready for publishing at the end of September. These books are long, very long, and they require a lot of time and energy, and while I love every moment of it, if you loved Trinity, please, leave a review. Let me know what you think, give me feedback. Tell me that my close-to-eight years of working and waiting was worth it! And if you can’t leave a review, send me an email. I love to hear from fans, I love your insights—you inspire me. (Email: serenaakeroyd@gmail.com)
I wanted to tell you two things. One, the name Louis. It isn’t spoken as Loo-Is. But the French way. Loo-ee. I have no idea why that’s important for me to
tell you that, but it is. Haha. I’m weird like that! Two, that this series is the start of my paranormal RH journey. The universe you read about today will be explored in several upcoming series I have planned—I hope you’re as psyched about that as I am. :D
If you want updates, then add yourself to my mailing list. You can grab a free, full-length novel too if you sign up: www.serenaakeroyd.com/newsletter. Alternatively, you can join my Facebook reader group. I’m way more active on there, and you can get an insight into how these series are made. Become a Diva: www.facebook.com/groups/SerenaAkeroydsDivas
As always, thank you for reading. Thank you for your support. It means the world to me.
Serena <3
PS. #WHYCHOOSE????!
AND REMEMBER: Book two, TRISKELE, coming September 2018!!
Other titles by Serena Akeroyd:
Kingdom of Veronia
Perry & Her Princes
Her Highness, Princess Perry
Long Live Queen Perry
QUINTESSENCE
Charmed by Them
Healed by Them
Worshipped by Them
Protected by Them
Loved by Them
Anchor Pride Series
Claimed by Caden
McKinnon’s Mate
The Sanguenna Chronicles
Christmas: Dragon Style
Valentine’s: Dragon Style
The Corsakis
Three’s Never A Crowd
Old Enough to Know Better
The Federation
A Menage Made on Madison
Jayce Ventura – Ghost Detective Series
Ghost Detective
Ghost Avenger
La Belle sans La Bete Series
Menage Material
A Thoroughly Modern Menage
The Luck of Love Series
The Luck of Love
The Power of Love
The Strength of Love
The Depth of Love
The Triskele Prophesy
Trinity
Triskele (Coming September 2018)
Touched
The Raw Touch