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“Bullshit!” Saber said, standing. We were all the same height, so neither was intimidated or intimidating. Menace was pretty damned growly, but we had gotten over that a long time ago. “All of your security measures and constantly monitoring the video feeds. Not to mention that you train as though war were around the corner. That’s driven by fear and now you’re letting it infiltrate this.”
“Fuck you, Saber,” Menace yelled. Gods, I hated yelling, and he knew it. He glanced at me and then scrubbed his hands down his face. “She’s going to run.”
“What?” I asked.
“If we tell her,” Menace said and walked over to Saber. They embraced and whispered some things I didn’t hear but most likely apologizing to each other. “If we tell her,” he said, straightening after he and Saber had a forehead-to-forehead moment. An orc move if there ever was one. “She came here because we were safe. Don’t you see that?”
Saber jumped all over his theory. “Do you really think she would run from us? Didn’t you see the look in her eyes all day? Haven’t you seen the way she acts toward us since the moment she got here. This isn’t only about us, Menace, it’s affecting her in a way we don’t want.”
“What if she does run?” I asked, hating to be the naysayer. “I would rather she go because we told her the truth than what’s happening right here under our noses, which is that she might run because we are causing her pain. We have been cold then hot with her. She’s probably confused and second-guessing everything she not only came here for but also our entire sexual experience.”
Saber flopped back down on my bed and groaned. “She knows we have something special and yet here we are, heads up our asses, denying her.”
“What in the fuck do we do?” Menace asked. “I can’t hurt her. Either way, I can’t.”
I huffed out a laugh through my nose. “Because she’s your mate. She’s our mate.”
Menace pinned me with a pointed glare but I didn’t care. He needed to orc up and admit that she was the one for us. We had somehow lucked out and gotten exactly what we wanted.
Three bastards who got their princess. I never thought it would be us.
“I wanted it so badly,” Menace whispered. “I wanted a mate for us, one that was the perfect match for us in all ways. And now we have her, and I honestly don’t know what to fucking do. I’ve been avoiding her and not reaching for her when that’s all I’ve wanted. I’ve been cold and distant. I’ve screwed this all up.”
We took a moment to process. He was right. We’d all been half the mates we should’ve been and, when we knew she was our fated, we did the wrong thing by not telling her.
“We have to tell her. She’s in there, consoling herself—alone.”
Menace shook his head. “Let me do it. I’ll go in and tell her everything. I’m so afraid that she will reject me or leave but not telling her is killing me.”
“Are you sure?” Saber asked. “We can go in together.”
“No. I have to do this. I’ve been keeping the most distance. A mate is someone you tell everything to, right? You crack your chest open, and they get to see the good and the bad. I’ll go and tell her everything. She’s our mate. She will listen. She loves us, right?”
Poor Menace. He put up walls that were miles high, and now he was here, scared of the one person on this earth who could both ruin us and make us whole. “She does. Go to her. Now. Tell her everything. We will be right outside. Her heart is so good. Everything will be okay. Just be honest, Menace.”
“Yeah. You’re right, Draven. Wish me luck.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ilya
I was sitting on the side of my bed, duffel beside me, trying to work up the energy to pack. I’d been in such a funk after what was arguably the most important night of my life. Those hours spent in the arms of these three would never be topped by anyone else, partly because of how physically amazing it was—they could win awards in the sex Olympics—but more because I’d fallen in love in the process.
Ordinarily, that would have been the ultimate good thing, but that would have been under circumstances where the others loved me back. Oh, they liked me and probably would even say they felt some kind of affectionate friendship. And I could stay here the rest of my life and enjoy many nights of great pleasure. But they’d been very clear that they could not love me. It just wasn’t in their characters.
Would they be able to love our children if I stuck around long enough for us to have any? I couldn’t say. But I had recognized that I’d never be able to do that. Not a fan of unrequited love, as it turned out. How things changed in such a short time. I’d be walking out into the world with nothing but the two bags I’d arrived with. My stored items were already on their way here, but I’d be gone before they arrived. And they were only things, after all. I had a little money, at least, and could take a bus to some small town and try to get a job and a cheap apartment.
“Ilya?” A soft rap on the almost-closed door preceded the word. “May I come in?”
“It’s your home after all.” I hadn’t meant to be so snappish, but avoiding the three of them was the only way I’d be able to leave without tears.
“I don’t blame you for being upset. We weren’t very thoughtful.”
“What?” I blinked at him, shoving my duffel behind my back to avoid questions. “When have any of you been inconsiderate? From the moment I met you, you’ve all been kind and careful and kept your word about giving me a safe, secure home. I’ve lacked for nothing.”
“I wouldn’t say that.” He sounded less gruff than before. Why? “Can I sit down with you? So we can talk for a while?”
“I’m kind of busy.” And if he sat there, he’d see the bag. He’d have questions. He’d know.
