Theo found his lips curving in a smile as the former TriAlpha cast each other looks.
Mikkel was an unusual male. Where Rafe was restful and calm, Mikkel was watchful and terse. He didn’t fear to speak his mind, held no apparent respect for the position these men had once held, and didn’t seem to give a damn that he was mated to royalty.
From what Theo could gather, he was also fighting the mate bond.
A singular fact he’d yet to work out.
Why the man hadn’t leaped upon Thalia the minute she’d given him the okay, Theo didn’t know, but fight it Mikkel was.
Matthew sniffed. “We don’t all beat the lower ranks.”
Rafe’s smile wasn’t fake—he was definitely amused by the statement. “I’m glad to hear it,” he murmured gently, making Matthew flush. “You don’t have to watch your words around me, gentlemen,” he carried on. “I’m quite used to being spoken about as though I’m not here.”
And like that, the TriAlpha ducked their heads in shame.
It was a well-aimed hit, one that had found its target in the bull’s eye.
Theo rubbed his chin as he looked at Thalia’s mates. They were beautiful creatures, that he couldn’t deny. And now, through their bond to Thalia and hers to Theo, they would live a very long time.
He’d have them in his bed, of that there was no doubt. But, the stunning fact was, the need was less driven than it would ordinarily have been.
Theo had always preferred men to women.
The Fae didn’t classify themselves as humans did. Seeming to find it vital to put themselves in one box and God forbid they move out of it.
The Fae, on the other hand, were free with themselves, because, quite frankly, they were too damn old, too damn powerful, and too damn capable to really give a shit about who did what with whom.
Even the ones who the humans would call homosexual went with females, usually to beget a child—or at least, that had been the case back before Morningstar had fallen. Theo wasn’t like that. He appreciated women, but just preferred males.
Now, all these years into his existence, he had to wonder if that was because he’d been waiting for the woman.
It was a thought worthy of pondering.
Thalia was his.
In a way no one, not even the man who had taught him what love was—Brian—had ever been.
She was in his bones, in his blood. She was his air, his breath. She called to him in ways that frightened him, and he knew that feeling was reciprocal because her fear made no sense otherwise. She would only respond so strongly if there was something for her to have concerns about.
Matthew cleared his throat. “Rafe, do you mind if I ask you something?”
The Gamma stilled. He’d just taken his shot and had missed, and he remained bowed over the table for a handful of seconds until he straightened slowly. “Of course.”
Matthew reached for the chalk and the blue block made a squeaking noise as he rubbed it over the tip of the cue. “What happened in the arena?”
Mikkel snorted. “Haven’t you watched the footage?”
Louis grunted. “Since when did you have such a mouth on you?”
“Since I found myself related to the TriAlpha family.” Mikkel shot the man a stark look. “I figure I’m entitled to mouth off a little.”
Theo eyed him askance a second; considering he was in the Armed Forces, and they, more than most, considered politeness to be as part and parcel of the job as carrying and utilizing a weapon, Mikkel’s sarcastic reply came as a surprise.
“Have you known each other long?” Theo asked, breaking into the conversation.
“Years,” Louis confirmed. “Since he was a boy. That’s why he thinks he can get away with it.”
“No. Being Thalia’s mate makes me think I can get away with it.”
“Why? Because she’ll beat me up for you?” Louis asked, bearing his teeth in a wide grin.
Mikkel laughed. “Yeah. That’s right. Because I couldn’t take you on your own, old man.”
Louis flung his head back and laughed, further surprising Theo. He’d known Louis a long time, longer than Mikkel could even imagine, and he’d never seen the former TriAlpha respond so freely.
“It’s good to hear you call yourself Thalia’s mate,” Rafe responded, his tone cool as he levelled Mikkel with a glance. “You’ve been denying it more than you’ve been accepting it.”
Mikkel shot him a grim look. “Rafe,” he said, his tone warning.
“Rafe, what?” he mocked. “You haven’t claimed her yet. The proof speaks there. Why are you holding back?”
“Now isn’t the time to talk about things like that.”
Rafe rolled his eyes. “If you say so.”
“I do,” Mikkel grumbled.
“He has a point,” Ade inserted softly.
“I know he does, but that doesn’t mean I wish to discuss it with Thalia’s grandfathers.”
Matthew cleared his throat. “Can we get back to what I was asking, please? I was talking about the healing, Rafe. How you healed Thalia from a distance? I’m curious how that happened.”
From Rafe’s expression, he’d been quite content with the change of subject. Theo watched as the Lyken’s shoulders dropped with discomfort. He surprised himself by defending, “The Goddess’s gifts shouldn’t be discussed over a game of pool.”
Louis eyed him warily. Whatever he saw on Theo’s expression had his brow puckering slightly before he murmured, “That’s Fae speak for ‘butt out,’ Matthew.”
“It’s okay,” Rafe interjected, still discomfited.
“No. It’s not,” Theo told him softly. “You need defend yourself to no one. Especially not the people in this house.” It was the first time he’d heard tell of Rafe having healed Thalia from a distance, but he could distinctly remember the footage.
The Beta had attacked first, had blooded Thalia first. She’d been injured. And then, from nowhere, the pooling blood that had seeped onto her clothes had begun to fade in its intensity.
As if by magic.
It was a slippery slope calling the gifts that the Goddess granted her children as ‘magic,’ but to the untrained eye, that was how it seemed.
Even Theo had been surprised by it at the time, but he’d had no way of knowing that Rafe was the reason for its disappearance.
Mikkel cleared his throat. “Theo’s right. You’ve got the magic touch, dude.” He clapped Rafe on the back, showing a camaraderie that came as no real surprise considering his military history. “Thalia’s in one piece because of you.”
But Rafe surprised them all. “She was in danger because of me. And she saved herself. I had nothing to do with it.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ade asked, his voice gravelly with concern.
Theo watched as Rafe licked his lips. The Lyken male caught his eye and nodded. “Thank you for your support. It’s appreciated.” Theo just nodded, curious as Rafe continued, “Something happened before the challenge. It took both Thalia and I by surprise.”
“Stop talking cryptically,” Louis snapped. “What happened?”
“I found a way to communicate with her.”
Silence fell. Only Mikkel didn’t seem surprised, which let Theo know the other male had known. He’d been there, during the challenge so that could have explained it, but Theo didn’t think so.
Rafe had told him.
Unease rippled down his spine. “Telepathy isn’t a Lyken gift.”
Rafe met his gaze once more. “I know.”
“You must be mistaken,” Louis inserted.
“He isn’t. That’s why Thalia keeps suffering with headaches,” Mikkel told them, bending over to sink his ball into the pot.
“Why? What does one have to do with the other?” Ade demanded, and, striding away from the table, he headed for the drinks’ tray. Why they drank when alcohol had no effect on them, Theo had long since ceased asking, but he watched as Ade poured himself some amber liquid. Before he tossed it
back, Ade demanded once more, “Well?”
“The headaches are because there is no natural equipment to help her with this new…” Theo struggled for words. “Manifestation.” It seemed the best way to describe it.
Rafe winced. “I can’t soothe them either. I can take the edge off but that’s it.”
“It’s not the kind of pain that can be taken away. I suppose you could look at it as… she’s building a highway between you and her. It can’t be built without breaking ground first.”
Louis winced. “Can we not liken my granddaughter’s brain to a highway?”
“Why not?” Theo argued. “It’s a good metaphor, and it shows it for what it is—progress.” He eyed the elder Lyken, and wondered why all three of them were so defensive and protective where Thalia was concerned, and yet, she’d moldered away in the TriAlpha palace for years.
Where had their protectiveness been then?
Mikkel missed his shot and Matthew took his. After he’d potted two balls, he straightened and, almost aggressively, started, “Ask it.”
Theo frowned. “Ask what?”
“I can see, as plain as the nose on your face, what you’re thinking.”
“You have the talent too?” Theo mocked.
“No, but I’ve been around people long enough to see the woods for the trees. Ask.”
Louis and Ade shot each other a look, but Theo saw that in his peripheral vision. His focus was on Matthew, not by a half-inch did he drop it either. To animals, eye contact counted.
“You abandoned her.”
The statement was cold, hard. Rafe flinched and Mikkel heaved a sigh, but Theo noticed neither of them argued.
There was no arguing.
Ade, Matthew, and Louis responded similarly—they all paled. Ade’s nostrils flared, Louis’s shoulders stiffened, but Matthew? His face showed defeat. For a second, his features crumpled, before he nodded. “We did.”
“Why?” It was Mikkel who spoke.
“Because the TriAlpha were her parents, and even we, former TriAlpha, have to abide by their dictates.”
“Bullshit. You could have gotten her out of there,” Rafe snarled. “There are ways. I’ve spent the past few weeks going through Lyken law, trying to find Thalia a loophole for her to be Triskele if her fathers hadn’t agreed. ‘Hadn’t agreed’ being the keywords there. There’s always a way.”
Matthew swallowed thickly, and he accepted the tumbler Ade passed over to him with a shaky hand. The liquid sloshed as he raised it to his lips. After he’d finished the glass, he murmured, “Sometimes, we do what’s best for our loved ones. Even if it doesn’t seem that way.”
For a second, no one spoke, but though Theo could feel an argument brewing in each of Thalia’s mates, himself included, there was no one to argue with.
After Matthew spoke, he placed his cue on the green baize of the table and headed out of the room, his brothers at his back.
When the click sounded loud in his ears, Theo perched his hip on the side of the pool table.
“What was that about?” he asked to no one in particular.
Mikkel, still squinting at the door, murmured, “They’re hiding something.”
“Many things, I’d imagine,” Theo agreed. “But in this instance, I’m not sure what.”
“They love her,” Rafe replied, though he folded his arms over his chest, his annoyance evident. “That much is clear.”
“Indeed they do,” Theo said slowly. “So, why did they leave her in Oregon then?”
Mikkel shrugged. “Doesn’t look like we’re going to find out.”
Theo gave a nod as he straightened up from his half-seated position. “Not now, at any rate. Later, though. Tomorrow’s a new day.”
Rafe shoved a hand through his hair. “You want another game? Thalia needs her rest.”
Pleased by the offer, Theo stated, “That would be great.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a quarter. “Heads I play first, tails Rafe does?”
When they agreed with him, he threw the coin.
12
Thalia
“Stop staring at him like he’s going to eat you.” Rosa’s words were cross and they made Thalia jolt in place.
“Huh?”
“Theo. He’s not going to eat you. If anything, I’ve never seen him so courteous before.”
“You’ve known him a long time?”
Rosa shrugged, then dropped her sunglasses down over her nose so she could peer over them. Thalia’s men were in the stylish backyard of her grandparents’ palace.
Just beyond was the great swathe of the Atlantic Ocean, but before it, there was a pool. A large length pool, and her men were lying on loungers beside it.
Because, yes, Thalia had slowly come to accept that they were her men.
Only one of them was bound to her, to be true, but the others would be soon.
Even Mikkel had ceased dithering, and was starting to touch her more. And when he slept, he cuddled against her, and had stopped clinging to the edge of the mattress as though she were contagious.
If she could thank Theo for anything, it was that.
Mikkel had made up his mind, he just appeared to be clueless as to how to rectify that.
“What a beautiful sight,” Rosa said on a murmur, watching the three men talk as Thalia had been doing for the past ten minutes.
She knocked her grandmother in the side. “ Go and perv over your own men.”
Rosa grinned. “They’re all working.”
She laughed, and asked, “How did you meet Theo?”
“It was back in the twenties, although Louis has known him longer,” Rosa stated gently. “He was handsome then. More so, if I’m being honest because of what he wore. None of this jeans and Henleys lark. All tailored suits and polished shoes and sharp hats.” She tapped her chin. “If I hadn’t been completely swept off my feet by your grandfathers, I’d have been susceptible to his charms.
“But, I was theirs. Always have been. Always will be.”
Thalia squeezed her arm. “I know.”
Rosa nodded, but her eyes spoke of her being in another time. Another place. They were dazed and hazy with the past—sometimes, it was impossible for Thalia to even begin to imagine what her grandparents had seen in their lifetimes. Never mind her parents. “He and Louis had decided to go into business with one another.”
“But they were TriAlpha. They’re not supposed to do business with other supernaturals.”
“Your grandfather has always worked to his own set of rules,” Rosa grumbled. “But in his defense, I don’t think he realized Theo was supernatural. He didn’t know Theo was Fae—he was genuinely surprised when your mate came to our door and revealed himself. I know I was unaware of his heritage. I just knew he was beautiful and that he could dance like a dream.”
It was kind of weird to hear that lustful tone over a man who was her mate, but who hadn’t been back when Rosa had known him… and if that wasn’t confusing, then she didn’t know what the hell was.
Thalia looked over when she heard Mikkel laugh, and wondered when that had happened. He always seemed so tense, and yet, he was laughing, freely.
“They bonded. Last night,” Rosa inserted drily. “Over a game of pool with your grandfathers.”
Thalia rubbed her forehead. “I went to sleep early.”
“I know. Your head again.” Rosa pursed her lips. “I wonder why. You were never prone to headaches before.”
She’d never had her mate speak in her head before either. That was the source of the pain, Thalia had swiftly come to realize these past few days.
Her brain, head, mind, whatever, were doing something. Evolving? She wasn’t sure. But something was going down, and it was to facilitate Rafe’s burgeoning power.
And if that wasn’t enough to freak her out, she had a mate with wings. Actual fucking wings, which had the humans thinking he was an angel.
Yeah, her already complicated life was a thousand times more complicated.
From a small village in Tuscany, in many ways, Rosa was still a simple girl.
Though her mates had introduced her to a world of wealth, privilege, and power that few would ever be able to toy with, it hadn’t changed her intrinsically.
A factor Thalia knew her grandfathers loved.
Rosa had never had her head turned by the glamor of her reign, and to men who were accustomed to being viewed as Gods by their people, such an attitude had to be infinitely refreshing.
Licking her lips, Thalia asked, “Why did you fall out of touch?”
“Their business concluded. Something to do with the Wall Street Crash, I think. Theo moved away, or moved on, and life did too.” Rosa paused then lifted a hand to rub her shoulder. “What’s going on, Thalia? Why aren’t you out there with them?”
How did she even go about answering that?
Well, Nanna, it turns out I might be the Fae equivalent of IVF.
Or, at least, that’s what Thalia had managed to piece together.
Somehow, in Theo’s mind, the fertility of an entire race rested on her shoulders.
And if that wasn’t weird as hell, then she didn’t know what was.
“I just needed some space,” she answered eventually, pressing her head to the glass partition wall that separated the terrace from the house. She didn’t even have it in her to wince at leaving behind a smudge. The chilly glass was pleasant and refreshing against her hot skin. “Nanna?”
“Yes, darling.”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course.”
“It’s rude.” She turned her head, tilting it against the glass until she could see Rosa and could look her square in the eye.
“Oh?”
“Very rude.”
“About sex?” When Thalia winced, Rosa nodded, and there was a touch of sagacity to it. “I can’t imagine that daughter-in-law of mine having spoken to you about sex all that much…” She pursed her lips with disapproval—the relationship between the reigning TriAlpha’s mother and their mate had always been distinctly frosty. “Ask away. I’ve lived far too long to blush over such matters.”
Triskele (The TriAlpha Chronicles Book 2) Page 21