Conquering Theana (5 page)

"Yes.
Until we find out why, and then we can make sure justice is served. Trust me. I
protect my own. Isaac, you are Royce's alpha. I'll allow you to decide her
punishment when we find out what's going on. We need to know why she brought a
gun with a silver bullet in the first place," Rafael said.

"Silver
has always been a weakness for us. That's been in human lore for quite some
time. She could have just prepared herself, on the chance it would work,"
Isaac added.

"True.
But she thought enough to bring a gun, and she didn't even sleep with him. From
accounts he didn't get violent with her. She had no reason to fear for her
life, and she shot him the minute they got in the room by themselves," Walter
said.

"Then
it was planned, and we need to know why. And we need to talk to her to find out
why. She had something against him. We need to know what," Rafael said
then. "Walter," he said, turning.

"What
do you need?"

"Bring
your daughter home. With this out there we don't need her in harm's way."

"Thought you were her mate.
Why not take her?" Camden said, sarcasm
dripping from his lips. Again Gregori got the scent of hurt feelings. What the
hell was going on?

"Because we are not dogs.
We are people, we are shifters. My mate will be
given all respect she deserves. And you don't question me."

Whatever
was going on with this attack, it wasn't right. Even that, and Camden's odd
reaction, though, couldn't take Gregori’s mind off what was more important in
his life right now.
His mate.
He'd found his mate.
Nothing, in Gregori's mind, meant more than that right now.
Theana
.
Even her name felt good
to think about it. She was out there, the one woman made for him.
Made to complete him.
He didn't think he cared anymore about
the fact that she could have been made for one or the other and only the
blood-bond made her both of theirs. He just wanted her. He wanted this.

No
matter how he had to work it, he had to have it, and her. He shifted his weight
on his feet, feeling antsy. She was getting farther away while they piddle-paddled
here with this shit. Camden was going to find the shooter, of that they could
be sure. Camden wouldn't want to have to explain to Rafael how he could let an
attacker go free, after hurting one of theirs. He also wouldn't want to take
the chance of appearing weak in front of the other packs. No, Camden would do
his job, and they'd question this woman and move on. But right now, right this
moment, Gregori didn't give a shit about any of this. He just wanted to get
away from here, find his mate, and get to the point of claiming her. Until
Camden brought them something, they would have time anyway.

"Are
we done?" Gregori said low enough for only Rafael to hear, as he was eager
to clear out.

"I
think we are," he said back quietly. "Gentlemen, that's enough for
tonight.
Camden, get word to me as soon as you find out who
this woman is.
Isaac I will keep you in the loop. Walter, if you
please?"

"What's
this about my daughter having two mates?" Walter questioned without
preamble. Walter was an alpha from the old times. He had lived over two
centuries. He'd been around when the shifters hadn't even been public. For that
alone Gregori and Rafael gave him the utmost respect.

"You've
never heard of it happening before?"

"It
did with some brothers, back in the day. It usually happened among the Convel
clan, who had more men than women. The women tended to take on the brothers as
mates, and it seemed the bond was genuine. But I haven't seen it in quite some
time."

"When
was the last time we've had an abundance of mates in the Convel clan?"
Rafael asked.

"True.
They don't mate very often, so it may still be possible for them. But that
doesn't explain why my daughter is now going to be claimed by two men, who
aren't of Convel," Walter said then, brown eyes narrowing with
intelligence. He stood taller, his slender frame full of vitality and strength,
despite his age. The only thing that hinted to his advanced years was his salt
and pepper hair. No wrinkles marred his dark face, his shake was still strong,
and his mannerisms everything an alpha’s should be. This was the father of
their mate.

"We
are blood-bonded," Gregori answered then, wanting to show his respect.

"Blood-bonded?"
Walter asked looking from one to the other, and
then he laughed, so suddenly that even Rafael took a step back.

"Priceless,"
Walter finally said, taking a gulp of air.

"That
is amusing?" Rafael questioned. Gregori could see the confusion on
Rafael's face.

"Yes.
And fitting, now that I think about it," Walter said then. "You may
have some years on you, Rafael, but not nearly as much as me. I've seen a lot
of things in my time. You are not the first in the world to blood-bond. It is
not often done with alphas and betas, but it is done. Some brothers do it for
senses when they are in the field. Others do it for connections in the future,
omegas who think one of their friends could make it in rank and bring them
along with them. And some, to save a life," Walter said, his gaze turning
sad.

"So
you know about what we did?" Rafael asked.

"Oh
yes. I've done it myself," Walter said.

"Excuse
me," Gregori said with shock sweeping through his system.

"My
best friend, my brother, and my beta," Walter said. "We grew up
together, like you, and we wanted to stay together. We bonded, so that he could
survive the fights to be my beta. He was nothing more than a wolf in the
hierarchy. Not an omega, but not much. But we were friends, and he brought with
him our mate. He already knew her, you see."

"Theana's
mother," Gregori said then, in awe. He and Rafael weren't the only ones to
protect friendship.

"Yes,
and oh how I loved her."

"Loved?"
Gregori asked, and then stopped himself.

"It's
okay. It seems that you will be my sons-in-law, so you will find out anyway.
Ariana was everything I could have ever wished for, and more than I deserved.
At the time we were hunted by humans, fanatics who thought that we were evil in
the world. In the darkness, in the woods we use to run in, they took my life
from me, and the life of my beta. They burned the forest after that, took
everything with them. And so, I was an alpha alone, my mate gone, and my third
in the triad gone. I lost everything in one night."

"How
did you survive?" Rafael asked.

"It
seems, since they were bonded before me, that I escaped with a broken heart,
and a child to
raise
. We marked her at separate times,
she as his first."

"So,
she
is
one of our mates, and the bond just makes her both of ours?"
Gregori asked, feeling his stomach drop. If she was only one of theirs, whose
was she?

"No.
Not necessarily. At this moment your bond came long before you met her. She is
for both of you. By now your blood is as one, there are only two bodies for it,"
Walter said.

"What
are you saying?" Gregori asked, daring to hope.

"What
I'm saying is she reacted to the blood in
both
of you. That means that,
unequivocally, she is not for one or the other, but both. There is no
separation, no chance that it's one she needs. I loved Ariana, and she loved
me, but she was lost to Jake. There was a difference, and we all knew it, all
felt it. Mated, but not as one. The bond came after their mating. She loved me
for the blood in my body that was Jake's. For a time I despaired, even fought
against it. I wanted to fight against it, but eventually I gave up. I let the
love I got be enough. But you are lucky. You don't have to deal with that. You
have a chance to take a woman who can be yours, all the way."

Gregori
felt his chest swell. She was theirs. There was no separation, no thought. Only
that they would be one, would be everything that they needed.

"We
will have her," Rafael said, again reading his thoughts in his odd way.
 Gregori
nodded,
his mind at ease. No matter what
they would have her.

"Gentlemen.
Take care of my daughter. I'll get her home for you, where she's
safe. I hope you have a plan. She's never wanted to be a mate to anyone. She's
going to fight tooth and nail, just as stubborn as her mother," Walter
said with a smile, and then left the room.

"It
won't matter," Rafael said to Gregori.

"No,
it won't."

"No
more questions?" Rafael asked him, and he knew what he was saying. Would
he question his place? Would he feel inferior? Or would he take the bull by the
horns and take what was his? Gregori knew that answer already. He was more than
willing to give it a chance. He would do anything for that chance.

"No,
no more questions. I want what's ours."

"And
we will have her. Once Walter gets her back in Seurri we can deal with her.
She's had a hard time with Camden, so I don't doubt she will fight us just as
hard, but we are her mates. She will desire us, no matter what her head tells
her. She will have to give in. She has no choice," Rafael said, laughing.

"Then
how do we play this?"

"Lock
her up for her safety," Rafael said seriously. "There are attacks
going on out here. She may have been living her life outside of Seurri, but no
longer. As ruling alpha, I cannot abide for my mate, or a future alpha bitch,
to be in harm's way. What else can I do but keep her within the folds of
Seurri?"

"What
indeed?" Gregori asked.

Inside
he was laughing. They'd find a way to do this, find a way to have her. Theana,
no matter how hard she tried to run, wouldn't get away from them.
Them.
The idea was tantalizing. If he thought about it, let
himself
really think about it, the idea turned him on.
To see her, shared between the two of them, taking their cocks and
held between them, unable to move, unable to get away.
She would submit,
she would give in, and they would love every single minute of it. Every time
she moved she'd feel them; every time she took a breath, she'd smell them; and every
time she swallowed she'd taste them on her tongue. No matter what, no matter
what, they would have her. They would take her. They would make her
theirs
.

Chapter Three

She
slipped off her heels before she entered the darkness of the wooded area. Theana
ran and ran until she could not flee any longer. Her lungs were burning,
escaping the fear of what remained back at the hotel. The previous years of her
life had been carefully strategized in a way to steer clear of any clan groups,
let alone betas and alphas. But there was something about the man she’d met in
the elevator. His eyes alone pierced right down through her soul, scratching
her wolf to life. He changed her inner spirit and made her want to comply with his
every need.  Exposing her wanton flesh to his teeth was so easy. Why? He
could’ve marked her in that
moment,
and she would’ve
let him. Why? What the fuck was wrong with her?

Slowing
her sprint to a jog, she spotted a tree in the night to lean against. How had
she gotten to this point in life? It was not her choice to be the daughter of
an alpha who had big plans for the clan rather than considering his daughter’s
feelings. It was not her choice to be bartered off to the highest bidder with
Camden. Theana dropped her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. She had
been having these sorts of mental rants since the whole Camden issue came
about, and it truly wasn’t fair to put all the blame on her father.
Or her status in life.
It wasn't a bad thing that her father
wanted to make their pack stronger. It wasn't as if he were actively pursuing
it. To be honest he hadn't even said a word to her when she'd left Seurri.
Hadn't forced her to come home, and accept Camden. And Camden, well, before
he'd thought to take her as mate they'd gotten along well enough. He'd been
attentive, nice, and a person she could talk to about her position. And then
he'd stopped searching for alpha bitches within the other clans and started
looking at her. Their friendship had backfired on her. He'd learned about her
and liked what he knew. Everything had changed then.

Being
an alpha bitch potential was definitely something not of her choosing
considering the political ramifications. To react to primal impulses was
something she loathed in herself, but, she could not doubt the fact that being
one of the strongest of shifters had its positives, one being the power and the
dominance that she had over others. It had gotten her to where she was now.
Nothing less than alpha bitch.
But the question that she
couldn't let go of was why did she react to Gregori, and who in the hell was
that sex god with eyes like the morning sky? And why did she lose all her wits
when she was around them?

Considering
there were one too many shifters at the hotel, she postponed going back to
retrieve her car until later that evening. Gregori had called her his mate. His...
mate
.
There was no way in hell she was going back in that vicinity anytime soon. She
had been noticed. Plus there was no telling how many others from Seurri were at
the hotel. Maybe even her father and she wasn’t ready to face him after she
fled his home like an insolent pup.