Page 6 of Sold to Three Alpha Kings

“I do when I’m wrong. And I’m never wrong.”

“Enough, both of you.” Corvin doesn’t raise his voice. He’s never needed to. Seventy-plus years of outliving Kings younger and louder than these two has given the man a stillness that cuts through noise better than shouting ever could.

Voices fall silent. Not because they’re afraid of him. But because he’s earned our respect.

“The people don’t care who was right and who was wrong,” he continues. “They care that their Kings are supposed to stand together, and instead they watched two-thirds of that unity set fire to a market stall. Our Island’s existence depends on the stability of all five regions, and you three are meant to be the representatives of our region. How do you expect the people to trust you to represent us to the Island when you can’t even cooperate? Do you think the other Kings in other regions act like this?”

Neither of them says another word. Even Wayne has the decency to look faintly abashed, though it won’t last.

Corvin sighs. “The council has discussed this at length.” He pauses, those sharp blue eyes shifting across our faces.

I feel it coming before he says it, and I know Chris and Wayne are about to lose their minds over it.

“As you all know, there is precedent, when Kings share a region and struggle to hold their peace, for a shared mate to bind them. You must be held together not by force. By nature. A bonded Omega ties three Alphas together in a way treaties and threats cannot.”

Wayne’s brows arch. “You’re not suggesting what I think you’re suggesting, are you?”

“If you think the council suggests that you all share a mate, then yes, you’re absolutely right.”

“You can’t be serious,” Chris says calmly, at the same moment Wayne says, “Wait, hold on—”

“I’m afraid it is not a request, my Kings.” Corvin’s voice doesn’t change at all. “It is the strong recommendation of this council, delivered with the full weight of the elders behind it, and I expect the three of you to weigh it as such.”

I say nothing for a moment, turning it over. It’s not a bad idea, in the bones of it. It’s a brutal one, and I think it’s necessary. It’s also the fastest way to assure the people that despite our differences, we have something important that binds us all.

Three Kings pulling in three directions is a region that eventually tears itself apart at the seams.

Personally, I’ve watched Chris and Wayne circle each other for years now, waiting for one of them to finally lose enough control to make the fracture permanent. I’m honestly so tired of being the rope between two men trying to walk in opposite directions.

“If it stops the two of them from burning down another market stall, or eventually helps me keep my sanity,” I say, “I’ll consider it.”

“Why am I not surprised?” Wayne reclines in his chair, staring in my direction.

Chris looks at me like I’ve personally betrayed him. “You’re actually considering this?” It sounds more like a statement than a question.

“Yes,” I reply. “I’m considering anything that gets me out of drafting apology letters at three in the morning.”

Corvin’s mouth does something that isn’t quite a smile. “Then it is settled. The decree goes out today. Omegas of appropriate standing will be brought before the three of you within the week.”

Chris’s jaw works. For a moment I think he’ll refuse outright, elders or no elders, because Chris has never in his life done a single thing he didn’t choose to do first.

But something in his face shifts, some calculation running behind those ice-pale eyes, and when he speaks his voice has gone flat and controlled again.

“Fine.” One word, cold enough to frost the air.

“Fine?” Wayne chips in. “I must say, I’m disappointed. I thought you’d put up more of a fight.”

Chris ignores him and adds, “Let me be clear, I choose nothing rashly. If this creature is meant to bind the three of us, she had better be worth the trouble.”

Wayne slings an arm over the back of his chair, grinning at nothing in particular. “Well…” He sighs heavily. “Could be fun. Never shared anything in my life. Might as well start with the biggest prize on the island, am I right?”

I don’t say anything. I’m already thinking three steps ahead, the way I always am. I wonder how many more meetings this is going to cost me, how many more nights drafting language soft enough to keep two Kings from killing each other over a woman none of us have even met yet.

The more I think about it, the more I realize this might not be as easy as it seems.

***

Selection day comes faster than I expected.