Page 2 of Knotted By the Triad

“Fictional Zuri had reasons for becoming the way she did,” Ciori argued. “You just refuse to have any sympathy for her.”

“I had plenty of sympathy for her in the beginning of the book. Her family treated her like shit because she couldn’t shift. Her father forced her to marry three men who didn’t want her, and those same men made it clear they were in love with somebody else. I was on her side right up until she decided all of that was the heroine, Mei Lin’s, fault.”

“Exactly,” Kena agreed. “That’s where she lost me too.”

“Thank you.” I pointed toward the front seat. “See? Kena understands.”

“I didn’t say I agreed with everything you’ve been saying for the last two years about the character. Just that part,” Kena clarified, staring back at me, her natural curls bouncing every time she moved her head.

“You agreed with the important part,” I told her.

Ciori shook her head. “Zuri was desperate. She spent her entire life being told she was defective since she couldn’t shift. And then when her designation couldn’t be determined, her father made her undergo so much testing to prove she was an omega and able to bear children. On top of all that, he made it clear that producing an heir for the princes was basically the only way she could prove she had any value to the family.”

“And Orion Bane was trash for that,” I said. “Which is why she should’ve poisoned his ass instead of Mei Lin, the female lead.”

Kena burst out laughing.

Even Ciori laughed at that. “And then I wouldn’t have had a book.”

“You would’ve had a shorter book,” I shrugged.

“A very short book,” Ciori said.

“At least it would’ve been satisfying,” I mumbled.

“You’re impossible.”

“No, I’m practical. If three men tell me they’re in love with another woman, I’m not spending months trying to convince them they picked wrong. I’m going to believe them. I mean, the alphas were hot and all...”

“Hell yeah,” Kena agreed. “I wish CiCi would’ve made the story more erotic because those fade-to-black parts had me wanting to throw my e-reader at the wall.”

“I’m not good at writing sex scenes,” CiCi whined. “I described their junk and their knots. You got to see a little hanky-panky. That was enough. I made sure they had big dick energy.”

“True,” I agreed. “But that big dick energy wasn’t worth her losing her life,” I finished.

“Not even three big dicks?” CiCi joked.

“Not even three,” I laughed.

“What about the marriage?” Bri questioned in that soft voice of hers.

“What about it?” I asked, looking over at her.

“You can’t just walk away from a royal marriage,” she pointed out.

Yeah, walking away wasn't exactly an option in the world Ciori had created. A royal decree was law, and defying the King could get your entire clan killed.

“Would you walk away from a marriage the King decreed?” Bri asked.

“No, I wouldn’t disobey the decree. But I wouldn’t obsess over those men. I would let them go play house with their delicate little Mei Lin while I found something better to do with my time.”

Ciori looked back at me. “Something better like what?”

“Anything. Learn to shift so I could learn to fly. The heffa never learned to shift in the book. She never figured out that her inability to shift was a mind thing, not a physical thing. And you’re wrong for that.”

My friends laughed as they often did when we had these types of book discussions.

“Also, if I were her, I would’ve spent my days shopping. Those triad dragons Zuri married were rich and hoarded gold. As their wife, half of that gold was mine. I could find a hobby. Zuri came from the Poison Clan. She could’ve gone and made antidotes to help people who’d been poisoned or something. Anything would've been better than destroying her whole life over three men.”