“Duress?” Kenai’s voice cracked with disbelief. “We protected her. We gave her every choice?—”
“Enough,” I cut in. “Aleksi, I am Kenai and Taimyr’s mate. That’s not up for debate. They are mine.”
Kenai and Taimyr booth preened at that, but something flickered through Aleksi’s eyes that made my heart ache. I softened my voice. “Don’t you see? This is exactly what Jólnir wants—the three of you tearing each other apart instead of working together.”
All three alphas turned to me, and I felt their surprise ripple through the bonds—well, through two bonds, and whatever this electric connection was with Aleksi.
“Kenai, you’ve been trying to organize for years, haven’t you?” I turned to Aleksi. “And you’ve been fighting alone because you couldn’t trust that anyone else would prioritize your people’s suffering.”
Aleksi’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t deny it.
“So here we are,” I continued, moving to stand equidistant from all three of them, claiming the center of the room as my space. “Three alphas who all want the same thing—justice for your people—ready to rip each other apart over an omega.Exactlywhat Jólnir would want.”
I looked at each of them. “And now, instead of recognizing that you’ve all been trying to protect your people, you’re here fighting over me like I’m some prize to be won.”
“You’re not a prize,” Kenai said quietly. “You’re?—”
“I’m someone who gives a damn,” I interrupted. “Just like all of you. And maybe that’s why there’s this…connection.” I gestured between us. “Because we’re all angry about the same injustices. We don’t just want to complain about them—we want to do something.”
I took a breath, centering myself the way I did before a final deposition before a judge. “But if we’re really going to change things, we can’t be at each other’s throats. The system survives because it keeps you divided and suspicious of one another.”
Aleksi’s expression shifted, those forest-green eyes studying me with an intensity that made my skin prickle. “You understand.”
I nodded. “I’m an employment lawyer,” I explained. “I’ve seen this playbook a hundred times. Divide the workforce, make them compete against each other, convince them their real enemy is the worker beside them rather than the system that keeps them exploited while the people at the top stay rich.”
“You would ask me to sacrifice my people for the greater good.” Aleksi’s voice trembled. “Just as they have?”
“We would never ask that,” Kenai protested, but I raised my hand again.
“Aleksi, you’ve been asked to be patient while your people see little change and Kenai’s people get magical protections. I know it seems unjust, and you’re angry. Just like they’re right to be frustrated when unity falls apart. Everyone’s anger is valid here. The question is—are we going to let that anger destroy any chance of genuine change?”
The room fell silent except for the crackle of the fire. I could feel the shift in energy—the way their aggression softened, their posturing giving way. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.
I reached out to the bond between me and Aleksi—because it was there. I couldn’t deny it any more than I could deny what I felt for Kenai and Taimyr. I didn’t understand magic, but I understood how the two men behind me had changed my life, had made me feel safe and loved. People can’t make good choices when they’re alone, when they’re fighting to survive. How could I expect that from Aleksi?
Please, trust me. Trust us.
Aleksi’s nostrils flared. He looked me up and down, then whispered something under his breath before turning toward the fractured door. “I need to think,” was all he said as he stepped out into the falling snow.
Aleksi didn’t go far.I watched him pace in the snow at the edge of the forest surrounding the chalet. As the sun began to set, Kenai tried to offer him the spare bedroom, but he’d refused.
Kenai stomped back into the chalet. “He said”, Kenai slipped into a gruff Finnish accent, “‘We forest reindeer don’t need such luxurious accommodations. We are used to the cold and snow.’Like I’m not!” He scraped his hands down his face and flopped onto the couch between Taimyr and me.
The firelight painted shadows across their faces as we sat in silence, the weight of Aleksi’s presence pressing against the windows like the gathering dusk. Through the bond, I felt Kenai’s frustration churning, while Taimyr’s energy hummed with irritation.
“He’s impossible,” Taimyr muttered finally, his dark eyes tracking Aleksi’s silhouette as it moved between the trees. “This is exactly what happened last year. We were so close to a unified front, and he just…walked away. Let perfect be the enemy of good.”
“You saw what his people go through,” I said quietly, watching the massive figure pause in his pacing to stare up at the emerging stars. “You know why he did.”
“We know,” Kenai gritted out, his voice edged with defensiveness. “But incremental change is better than no change at all. If we could’ve gotten that first agreement through?—”
“He can’t see it that way.” The words came out sharper than I intended. Both my mates turned to look at me, their surprise rippling through our bonds. “I’m not saying you were wrong to try. But can you really not understand why he couldn’t sign his name to a deal that made everyone else’s lives better while his people remained at the bottom?”
Taimyr’s jaw tightened. “So what do we do?”
I stood and moved to the window where I could see Aleksi more clearly. He now stood perfectly still, his breath visible in small puffs against the darkening sky. The loneliness radiating from him made something twist in my chest. “We use this. Use what just happened.”
“Use him breaking down our door and attacking us?” Kenai’s voice dripped with skepticism.
