Chapter Eleven
Parker peeled Tatiana off his side, annoyed, tired, and emotionally wrung out. He didn’t have it in him to deal with…whatever this was right then, but he knew he didn’t have a choice. They were now relatively alone except for the two sentries who stood by on guard. Neither he nor Tatiana was Pack, so Parker didn’t blame the two guards one bit for staying near.
He’d rather be with Avery and Brandon, working out exactly what was going on between them, but, apparently, that wasn’t going to happen right now.
“Tatiana,” he said in a clear voice. “What are you doing here?”
She frowned. “I came to see if you were well after your illness.” Her voice held the slight lilting accent of her place of birth, but he didn’t find it tempting. She was a beautiful woman who would make someone very happy in mating one day, but she was not his woman.
“I’m doing much better,” he lied. It wasn’t fully a lie since meeting Brandon and Avery had put new life within him, but he wasn’t recovered yet. The dizziness and pain spells still attacked him out of nowhere, and according to Tatiana’s elders, he wouldn’t heal fully until he found his mate.
He hadn’t taken them at their word, of course, but had gone to one of his own elders, Emeline, to ask what she knew. She was one of the oldest wolves in the Redwood Pack, but since she’d newly mated a wolf about thirty years ago named Noah, she also was more down to earth than many of the otherworldly elders he’d met in his travels.
“I’ve heard of the spear of the first hunter,” Emeline had said when he’d given her his secrets. He’d kept everything so close to the vest, but he’d needed to tell someone. He knew she’d tell her mate, of course, but Noah wouldn’t tell another soul unless it was harmful to the Pack.
“What do you know of it?” Parker had asked.
“All I know is that the spear was the one that killed the wolf during the man’s hunt. The moon goddess broke the blade off the tip of the spear and threw it deep into the forest.” Emeline had smiled at him softly. “This is all legend, Parker, you know this. But you’re also of the line of the hunters, and as the moon goddess talks to us on occasion, we know that legends are born of truth. I don’t know how the spear ended up in the hands of a Pack so far away, but it could be true. You see, long ago, when the first hunter came back to his people, he made more wolves. It was a viscous time, as you know, making so many wolves, but his own wolf needed a Pack of its own so he would not live so long alone. I don’t know if the moon goddess planned that, but she has her reasons for everything, so I wouldn’t be surprised. The first hunter made three wolves at first, using his three closest friends.”
“And then the three men made more and so on,” Parker had continued for her. “I remember this story now. My mother told it to me as it was told to her.”
“She’s of the first line, as well, so she would want your history to be carried on. The sons of the first set of wolves eventually moved away to create more Packs. From there, we now have the Packs within our country and around the world. It could be that one of those sons took the spear with him to Europe and formed a Pack there. We might not ever know. But if you’re this sick from a disease that only hurts your line, I would think this could actually be true. And I might not know exactly how to heal you, but I do know that mating bonds are the strongest bonds there are, even stronger than that of an Alpha with his people. If anything can soothe the ache and heal the heart, it’s a mating bond.”
Parker had said his thanks after they’d finished talking and moved out of the Redwood den the next day. He hadn’t known he’d find his potential mates so quickly, but he’d known he couldn’t risk hurting his family.
But before he could deal with any of that, he needed to make sure Tatiana knew exactly what was going on.
“I’m glad to hear you’re better,” the woman said with a small smile.
“You could have called,” Parker said, slightly annoyed. “You didn’t need to fly across a freaking ocean to see me. What is really going on?”
She sighed and pressed her lips together. “I thought…I thought there was a connection between us.”
He held back a curse. “There wasn’t, Tatiana. You know this.” And while things with finding potential mates might have changed, Parker would have felt some sort of attraction if she were indeed his intended. He knew at least that much remained the same, as was evidenced by what had happened between him, Brandon, and Avery.
She closed her eyes, and he felt like a jerk but he couldn’t help it. She wasn’t his mate, and while she might be attracted to him, she was still so young when it came to emotions and the way the world worked. Why her Alpha had even let her come to a strange den on her own, he didn’t know, but he’d be having a talk with the other man soon. He hadn’t liked him to begin with, and now, he really didn’t.
“I found my mates,” he said after a moment.
“Mates?” she said with a smile that confused him. “Truly? You found more than one?”
“Yes…”
“The two that were here and looked like they wanted to hurt me for daring to touch you?” She sighed. “You are truly blessed to find these mates. I thought…well, I thought there might be something between you and me, but I was clearly wrong. Please forgive me for making things awkward. And I hope I didn’t harm the bond you hold with them.”
Off-kilter, he didn’t mention that he hadn’t actually bonded with Avery and Brandon yet.
“I also came for another reason,” she said quickly, making his wolf perk up to attention. “My Alpha does not want to become public, even though many humans around the den have already guessed what we are. There will be no hiding soon, but he doesn’t see that. I want to help fight on the front lines. I’m a stronger fighter than people give me credit for because of the way I dress and how small I am, but I don’t want to go into the next century—if I’m blessed to make it out of the war alive—and know I didn’t do everything I could to protect my people. My Alpha sent me this way because he didn’t want to deal with my whining anymore, and that is fine. I will do what I can to make sure that all wolves have a fighting chance.” She winced. “I kind of used you to get out here. And for that, I’m sorry.”
Parker blinked at her before barking out a laugh. “You knew we weren’t mates and yet you told him we might be so you could leave your Pack and head out here to help us fight?”
She bit her lip. “Well, I didn’t know if we could be or not. I’ve never felt a mate before, and for all I knew, you could be it. So that was the truth, if not all of it.”
He shook his head. “Okay, then. I guess I need to see what Gideon has to say about that.” He paused. “No, Kade. Let’s go to my Alpha and see what he has to say.” That way, she wouldn’t be anywhere near his two mates just in case there were any issues. He had a feeling Tatiana wanted to do more with her life than be the soft-spoken aide of the elders, but he still needed to be careful.
After all, every wolf was more than they seemed—this young maiden from a far-off land included.
By the time he got back to the Talon den, his head ached, but at least Tatiana was safe with the Redwoods. They had cautiously welcomed her, all the while giving him a look that said they would be expecting him to explain in full later. And he knew they were right to worry. He hadn’t been honest with them about what had happened, and now that was going to bite him in the ass. Brandon and Avery knew, but not his parents or Pack. That would have to change soon, and he had a feeling Tatiana would change it for him if he weren’t careful.
He was on his way back to Brandon’s when his phone buzzed. With a sigh, he answered and kept walking.
“What do you want, Blake?”
“So, this girl just shows up out of the blue with big eyes and long, flowing hair and you say you had nothing to do with her? I mean, she followed you across the damn ocean, and you’re just leaving her with us? And don’t even get me started on the whole thing where she says she healed you because I’m about to kick your ass for failing to mention that you almost fucking died over there.”
Parker pinched the bridge of his nose, thankful that Blake was on the phone rather than in front of him. He wasn’t sure he would be able to deal with his brother face-to-face at the moment.
“I didn’t touch her, and I’ll talk about everything else soon. I promise. Now, go be the good son and take care of Mom and Dad while I deal with my own problems.”
“You’re an idiot, big brother. You’re always the good son.”
“I love you, too, Blake.” He smiled despite everything going on around him because his brother could always make him laugh.
“Love you, big brother. Now, go get it on with those two wolves that you’re going to mate, and let me see what I can do with this sweet new wolf in our den.”
Parker barked out a laugh and hung up, aware that Tatiana was probably going to end up in over her head if Blake had set his sights on her. He’d just made it into Brandon’s house when the scent of home, heat, and pine surrounded him. He turned as Avery and Brandon walked into the house, their faces carefully blank.
Fuck. He’d been the one to make them hurt, and he needed to fix it. What they had was fragile as hell right now, and just one mistake could shatter it all.
“Tatiana is with the Redwoods,” Parker blurted out. Avery raised a brow, and he held back a curse. As usual, Brandon didn’t do a damn thing but look at him, his emotions locked down tightly. “She’s from my past, not my present, and definitely not my future.” He cursed again at the look on Avery’s face. “Tatiana and I were never together, but she was there to help me heal enough to come back to the den. She’s a sweet girl, but not for me, and not my mate. I’m sorry if her being here hurt you in any way.”
Avery winced before coming up to him and wrapping her arms around his waist. “I’m sorry, I’m acting like a jealous girlfriend instead of being an adult about the fact that, hey, you do have a past and have probably had sex with other people.”
“I never had sex with Tatiana. Not even close,” he interjected.
“Be that as it may, my wolf is riding me hard.” She looked back and scrunched her face. “At least, I think that’s what’s happening. I’m not sure what is going on exactly, but I’m really new to this whole thing and not acting like myself.”
Brandon chose that moment to move forward and place his hand on Avery’s back. “I think we’re all feeling the mating heat, and our emotions are running a little high right now.” He looked directly into Parker’s eyes. “And I do believe you. It was just a little shocking to see her jump into your arms after our night together.”
“But that’s on us, not you,” Avery added. “And we’ll do better.” She looked at Brandon. “Right?”
Brandon smiled softly before kissing the tip of her nose. Parker’s wolf perked up, enjoying their interaction. “We’ll try.”
Avery snorted, and Parker squeezed her hip. “It’s so weird that I’m perfectly fine with you two getting it on, but the idea of anyone else near one of you makes me want to use my claws.”
Parker shook his head. “Not weird at all. Triads aren’t that much different from other relationships. Instead of two, there are three, so there shouldn’t be jealousy within the relationship.”
“And even though it’s a relationship of three, there are also connections between each of us as pairs,” Brandon added. “That’s why some of the triads I know are the strongest matings I’ve ever brushed up against. It takes more effort, and far more communication for it to work, but in the end…if this mating is what we want, then we’ll thrive.”
Parker swallowed hard, his wolf at the forefront. “I…I hope that’s what we do.”
Avery looked between them. “I’m not ready for that kind of bond yet,” she whispered softly. “I know you both need it, but I need time to get to know you guys.”
Parker leaned down and brushed a kiss over her lips. “Take your time, wolf of mine.” He’d rather fade away than hurt the woman in his arms, and he needed her to know that.
Brandon opened his mouth to speak at that instant but froze, his eyes going glassy as he pitched forward. Parker gripped the man who would be his mate by the hips and caught him before he fell.
“What is it?” Parker growled. “A ward flare again?”
Brandon shook his head, his face pale, his skin clammy. Avery cupped Brandon’s cheek and looked into his eyes while Parker did his best to keep the man steady.
“What’s wrong? Do we need to get Walker?”
Once again, Brandon shook his head before taking a deep breath. “It wasn’t the wards,” he croaked out.
Parker cursed and gently nudged Avery back before lifting Brandon into his arms. Brandon clearly wasn’t at full-strength because he wrapped his arms around Parker’s neck and leaned in while Parker walked them to the couch, Avery behind them. He sat down, Brandon in his lap, and Avery at their side. Parker might not be at full-strength either, but he was still wolf enough to lift Brandon without straining himself.
“What was it, then?” Avery asked. She was on her knees beside them, running her hands down their arms.
Brandon let out a long breath. “I’m having these dreams. Maybe visions? I don’t know, but they knock me for a loop each time. I just don’t know. It’s like I’m seeing the past, but it makes no sense.”
Avery’s eyes widened, and Parker blinked. He hadn’t been expecting that at all.
“So, let me get this straight,” Parker said after a moment, “Avery sees the future. You see the past. And it looks like I’m stuck here in the present.” He looked between the two of them. “What the fuck does this mean?”
He didn’t have an answer to that, but he had a feeling the question was only the beginning.