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She is ours; he is ours.My tiger growled at me.
I know, but I need to protect them. From everything.I tried to get him to understand, but he just kept pushing to shift.
Care for them, now.His strength doubled as he pounded against the hold I had on him.
When I know they are safe. When I know we are all safe.I gritted my teeth against his onslaught. I sat in the grass of Amelia’s front yard for anyone to see, my skin shimmering between fur and skin.
The sound of heavy rotors reverberated around me as the trees swayed. Leo and Diego were early. Leo must have threatened enough lives to get them home on his schedule. My mind reeled, but I let the thought slip away as I fought for control. I had to finish things off.
“Niko, are you okay?” Betty’s voice penetrated my chat with my tiger.
I looked up at her tears gently flowing down my cheeks. I felt the wetness as they made small rivers on my skin and dripped from my chin. “I think I fucked up,” I admitted out loud.
Betty knelt in front of me. “Niko, you are the most protective man I know. You give all of yourself and more to this pride to keep them safe.” She laid a hand on my forearm. “It’s time for you to let others fill that role so you can be with your mates. Many shifters struggle and search all their lives for that kind of bond, but you found not one but two. You have been blessed to find your true mates. Take that gift and treat it with care.”
“But I need to help find him.” It was hard to get the words past the lump in my throat. “I have to make sure they are protected and safe. I have to take out any threat to them.”
“No, you don’t. Jerome and I have the best men on the job. It’s okay for you to step back.” Leo’s commanding voice startled me. He must have come straight from the landing pad.
“Niko, just the man I wanted to talk to.” Diego’s deep baritone was calm as he joined us. He squatted down to my level. “I am officially taking you off this case. Your only job is to take care of your mates. Connect with them and spend time with them. We’ve got everything else covered.”
I opened my mouth to reply, but Diego stopped me with a gesture. “Nope, that’s a direct order from your Alpha and Beta.”
“Now, go back inside. I have a feeling you are going to need all the time you can get to salvage the day.” Kat patted my arm before standing next to her mate. I watched them walk away as I dug up the courage to go back inside.
It was time to take care of Amelia and Miguel.
Ours.My tiger was back to one-word sentences.
Yes, ours.I agreed.
Inside, I found Miguel trying to coax Amelia out of her corner. I walked over and lifted her up, sat down where she had been, and wrapped my arms around her. She struggled to get away, but I held firm, leaning down and rubbing my nose along her neck to her ear. “I’ve been an ass,” I said loud enough for them both to hear.
“That’s an understatement,” Miguel stated as he twined his fingers with mine.
I squeezed his hand. “I’m sorry I didn’t give you my full attention. That I didn’t take your words in with care and respond openly. This talking about emotions and being vulnerable with both of you…” I looked over Amelia’s shoulder to Miguel before leaning my head against hers. “Is new and frightening, but that’s still no excuse for how I treated you.” She pulled away, turning toward me in my lap.
“That’s exactly why this won’t work. You won’t listen, and I’m done with being rejected. I’ve had enough of that over my lifetime. What I do know is that if we can’t all three figure this out together, then it won’t work for any of us.” I felt her muscles tighten up, and she vibrated with energy. “I can’t do this. I can’t leave myself bare for you both to walk on, and I’m too broken to be the strength you both need.” Tears spilled down her cheeks onto my arm before she sprang from my arms. I let her go thinking that giving her a bit of space would help, that maybe my need for contact was overwhelming her. I changed my mind when she turned to look at us. Her eyes were dark, and slowly, her body straightened, her face falling into a neutral expression. She was shutting down on us. The only thing left open to us was her feelings along the tribond. She hadn’t shut that down yet, and fear and insecurities swam in the dark pools of her eyes.
I stopped giving her room. My tiger couldn’t handle watching or feeling her hurt anymore. I scooped her up again and settled her between us, holding her close. Miguel wrapped his arms around both of us, and we sat there and let her cry, comforting her the best we could. We let our touch and our tribond flow with all the love, fear, and hope we carried inside. All the emotions hitting at once and bursting out the only way they could, through tears.
She struggled against both of us. “Let me go!”
“No, I won’t, not again.” My words were choked with emotion.
She gave up the struggle and sat stone still. “I’m not who you think I am, and I can’t be what you want me to be.” Her words wobbled as she tried to contain her tears.
“Baby, we aren’t perfect. There are going to be days where we are at each other’s throats, and we’ll have days where we want to be skin to skin all day long. Every relationship has its own learning curve. We just have to find ours.” I had never heard wiser words come out of Miguel’s mouth.
“I couldn’t have said it better myself.” I kissed Amelia’s temple and then pulled Miguel behind Amelia to capture his lips. “All I know is I don’t want to lose either of you.”
She pushed against my arms again, and I let her go. Miguel sat back as well.
“It may already be too late.” Amelia stood and rushed upstairs. Her pain, fear, and overwhelming sadness flooded our bond, taking my breath away.
“I fucked up,” I whispered as I felt my tiger clawing to get out, to comfort our mate. I struggled to balance all the emotions flowing through the bond.
“You sure did,” Miguel commented as he stood from the couch. “And you have to figure out how to fix it.”
I watched as he followed Amelia, taking the steps two at a time.
