ALEX 001

ALEX 001
Clearing my throat, I opened my mouth, choked, and then cleared my throat again. Finally, I nodded. “Okay,” I whispered. “I trust you both to come back to me in one piece, or else I’ll find a way to bring you back and make your lives a living hell.”
Tears erupted in my eyes once more, panic seizing my body. Then Alex dragged me back into his arms, hugging me close. He kissed my head. It wasn’t enough, so I tilted my head and captured his lips with my own.
“Promise me you’ll stay safe,” I said against them.
“I promise.” He nodded.
Looking to Thorn, I reached my hand out to him. He crawled onto the bed and moved my way before hovering over me as I lay back onto Alex’s chest. “Promise me you’ll keep safe.”
“I vow to you I will do everything in my power to come back.”
With my hand to the back of his neck, I drew him down and kissed him just as fiercely as I had Alex. My heart raced behind my ribs. I hated the thought of them leaving the community, the safe sanctuary we had here.
My hands trembled as I loosened my grip on Thorn. He moved back and stood beside the bed, smiling warmly down at me. Alex lifted me, and I was in Asher’s arms. They wound around me as Asher sat me on his lap, and then Alex got off the bed to stand beside Thorn.
“I’ll walk them out,” Nate said, his voice hard and rough. He disliked this as much as I did.
However, I nodded. “I want to be updated every half hour until you’re both back here with us.”
“We will,” Alex said. “No trap will keep us from coming home.”
“You’d better be right,” I told him.
They made their way to the door, opened it, and walked out. Nate gave us a look before he closed it after them.
“Did I do the right thing by letting them go?”
“Yes,” Asher whispered.
“Then why does it feel like I didn’t?” My face stung with the number of tears that bombarded my eyes. I bit my bottom lip to stop the tremble.
“Because you love them, and it will never be easy to watch them walk into battle, but you’re strong enough to know you’re doing the right thing to save all the lives you can.” His hand threaded into my hair, and he tipped my head back with a gentle tug. “It doesn’t mean you have to stay strong behind closed doors when I’m here to catch you.”
With that, I buried my face into his chest and cried.



ALEX:

With the bond between Paige and I complete, I finally felt like my feet were firmly set on the ground. I hadn’t realized I’d been floating around the world missing something until the moment Nate claimed me and one foot got placed down. But then, when Paige’s power bonded us together, my other foot solidly got pushed to the ground.
My life, my purpose, finally made sense. I was theirs and they were mine. I also felt like I belonged to Thorn and Asher. Even with my own family, I hadn’t sensed being wanted, needed, or loved… until now. Until my new family.
All because of Paige.
I couldn’t thank Fate enough for choosing me to be a part of something so important, giving me people I would cherish for the rest of my long existence.
Smiling, I glanced to Nate and Thorn as we stood in the war room with Felnick and twenty other brothers-in-arms. Thorn had just informed them that he and I would be involved in the capture of Selma. Nate had stated how Paige wouldn’t be joining us before anyone else could question it; there wasn’t a chance we’d let Paige out into the world. There was too much at risk. We still didn’t know why the demons had been after her in the first place or who sent them. Or were they working on their own accord?
Before we entered the war room, I’d voiced my other concerns—ones Nate and Asher would have to keep an eye on. Grace, the coven mistress who had been against Paige’s changes for the community, hadn’t as yet done anything to move against Paige, and even though we’d made sure to keep up to date with Agatha, a witch who was keeping tabs on her coven mistress for us, there was still a risk something could happen to Paige because of that woman.
Nate, in his grumpy way, told me he wasn’t that stupid. Of course he’d keep an eye on things.
“Thorn and I will transport to the hotel she’s holed up in and scout the area before entering.”
“Is it advisable for the queen’s bonded males to go into battle?” one of the guards from the brotherhood said.
Thorn snapped his gaze the guard’s way. “Just because we’re mated to the queen doesn’t mean we’d sit on our asses and let everything go to shit when we have the strength and the power to help.”
The guard bowed. “Of course, sire.”
“Now I understand why Paige is against being bowed at and called queen. I’ll never get used to being called sire,” Thorn grumbled. He moved to the wall of weapons and strapped on some knives and guns. My magic was my weapon. Hands touched my thigh. Startled, I swung my gaze down to see Nate fitting me with a thigh holster.
My pulse raced. I wanted to smile, to gush even, but that would piss him off. “What are you doing?”
“Shut up. Just fucking humor me like you did when Asher ordered you to carry one weapon. Know you’re strong in magic, Alex, but for my own sanity,”—he shoved a gun into the holster—“you’re taking this.”
I ran my hand over his shoulder. “All right.” I couldn’t help but grin since he’d never worried like this about me before, but now we were mated, he was a wreck. I didn’t wipe the grin away quick enough. When Nate looked up at me, he growled low and kept doing so when he slowly stood in front of me.
The room quieted, sensing the rising pissed-off wolf.
His hand gripped the back of my neck, and he slammed his mouth onto me in a hard, punishing but delicious kiss. He broke it when he sensed Thorn close because in a blink, Thorn crashed into us, and Nate was kissing him too.
When Nate broke the kiss, his eyes were dark, his wolf there, and he ordered in a dark voice, “Have each other’s back. Come home. Pack first.”
“Pack first,” I told him.
“We’ll come back,” Thorn reassured him. He stared at us both before snarling, turning, and walking out of the room.
“He… the wolf… I’ve never—”
“Never what?” Thorn snapped.
The guard blanched. “Never seen a wolf take more than one mate,” he blurted.
“Congratulations, sire,” Felnick offered.
Thorn smiled. “Thank you, brother.” I didn’t know much about Thorn, and I needed that to change. What I did know was that he was a respected, good man. One Nate’s wolf claimed without question. And that told me a lot more than anything else. Nate didn’t take people into his pack easily. But it seemed knowing Thorn was Paige’s also made the choice simple. We were now in each other’s lives forever.
It was definitely time to get to know him.