11

Thalia

 

 

 

Moaning, Thalia felt the headache that had appeared last night and disappeared by this morning, make itself known to her once more. That sudden shard of agony pierced her memory.

That was why she’d passed out.

Rubbing her temple, she jolted when another’s hands appeared, touching on the opposite side. Then, she sucked in a breath and scented Rafe. The minute his essence flooded her senses, she breathed a little easier.

“Rafe,” she whispered.

His lips brushed the crown of her head, and she realized his lap was her pillow. “It’s okay, love. You’re okay. Just overwhelmed.”

She cringed at that. Days ago, she’d slaughtered a Beta. An abusive, cruel bastard who hadn’t deserved the title. Today? She’d fainted. Because a dude had. . . .

Well, he’d. . . .

Sprouted wings?

Was that even the right terminology?

Could a person sprout anything?

But the wings had been a trigger of the worst pain Thalia had ever experienced in her life.

Her head ached more than before, and she nuzzled her face into Rafe’s lap. Caelus, he scented like heaven. Like earth and fire blended together, merging into this strong mixture that was his alone. It nourished her and empowered her. Made her own senses tingle in response to the knowledge that this powerful male was hers.

And she didn’t give a shit what anyone else said.

He was powerful.

Truly.

His hand combed through the baby hair at her temple, and she sighed at the touch. Not wanting to open her eyes, she drew her legs up against her chest, curling deeper into him, and whispering, “Can we go back to bed?”

Rafe snorted. “We can, sweetheart, but I’m sure you’d prefer to have this conversation first.”

She popped an eye open and winced when she saw the other male, the third one, seated on the side of her mattress.

Unlike Rafe and Mikkel, he wasn’t welcome there. She’d seen both of them and had felt like falling to her knees in wonder.

Now?

She didn’t feel wonder.

In fact, she wasn’t sure what she felt.

It was deep and it was scary. When her eyes caught his, it was like drowning. It was like everything that made her Thalia was flooded with this stranger’s essence, until she didn’t know where he ended and she began.

It was a different connection. Not better, not worse. Just different. And Thalia was so damn tired of different.

Especially when this kind of different brought on a tidal wave of pain.

But Thalia had never been a coward.

She licked her lips, wincing a little at how dry they were. “Theodore,” she rasped.

“You can call me Theo,” he told her gently, the smallest of smiles gracing his lips. It had been there throughout their few conversations with one another. On anyone else, she’d think it mocking. But with him, it wasn’t.

It was unnerving.

It was all-seeing, just as his glance was.

“Theo,” she amended. “You are my third mate, aren’t you?”

He nodded. “This surprises me as much as it does you.”

“That’s what I don’t get. You’re the one who came searching for her,” Mikkel pointed out, and his tone was brusque . . . her warrior was sulking.

Pouting.

She hid a smile at that even as she slipped her hand across the bed to touch the bottom of his back. Where Theo was at the foot of the mattress, Mikkel was nearer. Not as close as Rafe, but dithering in the middle. She guessed it was fitting considering his stance in regards to the mate bond.

Unsure whether to leap forward or roll back.

“I did. But I came for a different reason. I didn’t expect to be bound to her. Although, it does make sense considering the gravity of our task.”

She frowned at that. “The gravity of what task?”

“You are the child of a prophecy, Thalia,” Theo intoned, but she could sense he was trying to be gentle. His hand came out, the fingers long and slender. They hovered above her ankle, and she watched him fight himself. Watched as his fingers spread and flexed, uncertainty throbbing through him as he decided over whether he ought to make the connection or not.

“What kind of prophecy?” she asked. Refusing to help him out, she watched his hand not him. Her gaze glued to the fragile strength of those fingers.

“A prophecy that is older than civilization as you know it.”

She swallowed. “And I’m at the center of it?”

“Indeed.” He let out a hiss that had her jolting, and suddenly, his hand was on her ankle, and they were touching.

The digits curled about the bony joint, and she moaned as a sudden searing heat roared through her from that one point of connection. She shivered, and her legs unfurled from the protective fetal position she’d fallen into. A part of her, like a magnet to iron, craved his touch. Was attracted to it.

Another part was scared. Frightened of the repercussions.

Her mouth quivered as his fingers stayed where they were, unmoving. Now he’d made the connection, something seemed to settle inside him. He appeared to breathe easier, deeper.

“You had wings.” Her tone was accusatory.

“That’s what I said,” Mikkel inserted, and his tone was dry.

She flashed him a look. “He does. I didn’t imagine that, did I?”

“No. You didn’t. I’m Fae. More than that, I’m Royal.”

“What does that mean?” She frowned. “Do only Royal Fae have wings?”

“The Royals are bred from the creatures you know as Archangels. That’s why it’s so fitting. Raphael, Mikkel, Gabriel.” His smile grew. “The Fates have an amusing way of dealing with their children.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“We’re named for the original Archangels. God’s original messengers,” Rafe murmured, then when Theo glanced at him in surprise, he shrugged. “My family practices Catholicism.”

Thalia jolted at that—Lykens believed in the Mother Goddess and the gods, not the deity the humans worshipped. “They do?”

“Aye. A grandmother a century back was human and Catholic.” Another shrug. “It just carried on in respect to her. She lived a long time,” he said with a smile.

“The Fae are the angels of which you speak,” Theo murmured, and his fingers twitched on her ankle, sending a shooting spark of heat through her blood. “We answer to none.”

“Not even God?” Rafe asked.

“We all answer to God, but we have different means of communicating. Humans pray and are ignored. Supernaturals practice a closer faith, one a singular God hears, but only the Fae communicate with them all. Or,” he hesitated, clearing his throat, “used to.”

“Used to?” Thalia pounced on.

“Aye. Something happened a long time ago. The gods ceased communicating with us.”

“Why?”

Theo glanced at Mikkel. “One of my ancestors betrayed them.”

Rafe laughed. “Don’t tell me. Let me guess. Lucifer?”

When Theo winced, behind her, Rafe stiffened. The Fae’s tone was mournful, shamed, and pained. “You know him as this, but his true name is Morningstar.”

“You’re not serious,” Thalia breathed. Just because they didn’t believe it, didn’t mean Lyken pups weren’t taught human ways. With as many wars as they had over religion, it would have been foolhardy to have been kept out of the loop.

That meant she knew the true creation story as well as she knew the human’s.

“I am. Deadly.” Theo’s lips flattened. “The first of the fallen, Lucifer betrayed the gods, and as a result, they cast us out.”

“From heaven?”

He shook his head at Rafe’s question. “No. Don’t forget, the Catholics jerry-rigged their religion from us. Not the other way around.

“Heaven and Hell are human constructs. They’re not real.”

Thalia wasn’t sure why that relieved her. It just did. “Where do the dead go?”

“To the soil. There is no after life. After this world, we cease to be. Our energies revert to the universe, and we power another generation.”

“Like reincarnation?” she asked.

“No. Similar, but not. We all have an essence. The Catholics call it a soul. That is our intrinsic self. It is unique to us. There is no replicating it. Once we pass, that essence reconnects with something greater than any of us can envisage, and merges once more with that energy. We disappear into that mass of power, and are lost to it. But new souls are born from this amalgamation. We are all a piece of our ancestors, and that is where the phrase ‘when our ancestors call us home’ came from.”

“That’s kind of cool,” Mikkel whispered, his tone thick. When they turned to look at him, he jerked his shoulder. “I’ve lost a lot of good men on the battlefield. I’d like to think they’re at one with the universe. At peace.”

Theo’s lips curved. “It is an eternal peace.”

“Where did Lucifer go if there is no hell?” Rafe questioned.

“To this plane of existence, of course.” He rubbed his chin. “Where the Morningstar can make mischief among those too foolish to realize his intent.”

Thalia rubbed her temple; the ache was getting worse. “So, Belinda Carlisle was wrong.”

Theo blinked. “Excuse me?”

“Heaven isn’t a place on earth,” she murmured. “Hell is.”

“Belinda Carlisle? Who is this?” Theo demanded.

Thalia snorted. “Never mind. She’s a singer. It’s from a song.”

He frowned at her, but slowly, distrustfully, nodded. “Aye.”

“There’s no punishment for the evil people in this world then?” Rafe asked, sounding disappointed.

“No,” Theo confirmed. “We live, we die. Whether we are good or evil matters not. More evil does muddy the waters, though.”

“Huh?” Thalia rubbed at her temple again.

“The gloop that is this eternal wheel of souls. The more evil souls there are, the deeper, darker, and murkier that gloop becomes,” Rafe stated, reading between the lines and apparently doing well if Theo’s impressed, and exuberant, nodding was anything to go by.

“What’s heaven then?” Mikkel asked.

“It’s where the Fae live.” His fingers flexed on her shoulder. “Of course, it is not heaven, but it is what the humans know it to be.”

“This is crazy,” Thalia breathed.

Theo’s smile was decidedly toothy. “We haven’t even gotten started yet.”

 

** **

Theodore

 

Surprised in no way described Theo’s current state of mind.

Stunned? Bewildered? They were far more powerful adjectives for him to even begin to quantify his astonishment in finding his mate here.

He’d never expected that.

Had expected simply to bind himself to her in the ways of the humans—through marriage. But not through a binding of souls.

He rubbed his chest again where the ache seemed to be making no bones about stirring. What was with this pain?

It had been so long since he’d felt the like that he wasn’t sure what to do with it. The rubbing did nothing, but he felt if he ignored it, didn’t acknowledge it, it would grow stronger. And Thalia was looking at him like a frightened human looked at a big spider.

Truly, Theo was tiring of being gaped at as though he were some kind of ghoul.

It was hard not to bristle, but he managed, and instead, curled his fingers tighter about her ankle. It was a simple touch, the barest of connections, and in response, a whimper escaped her.

That the binding was there, an open link, was indisputable.

She felt it, too.

“What’s going on?” It was the second mate, the male with Scandinavian bloodlines who spoke. He was jealous, Theo thought. Jealous and uncertain and frightened, and for a man such as he, whose name was that of an Archangel—and for a purpose, for the Fates did nothing for no reason at all—was not a man who often felt fear.

“It is a complicated time to be alive,” Theo started. “But then, for me, it has never not been complicated. I was born after Morningstar fell, and the world has been in uproar ever since.”

Thalia blinked. “Why am I a part of this?”

Theo’s smile was gentle, genuine, because he’d never known before . . . until now. “Because you are mine.” His gaze swept out, drifting over all three of them on the bed. “You are all mine.”

Mikkel reared back, but the other male didn’t. Raphael tilted his head to the side. “Do you mean . . .?”

Thalia scowled and sat upright. “They’re straight.”

Amused that it was what had her sitting upright and not flailing around on the mattress, Theo asked, “Aren’t we all until the right person comes along?”

“No!” she declared crossly. “That isn’t how sexuality works.” She peered back at Rafe. “Is it?”

Rafe let out a small laugh. “I have no idea, sweetheart.”

“Mikkel?”

The warrior huffed. “I’m as straight as a ruler.”

“We will live a long time. Too long to say never,” Theo murmured softly.

Thalia licked her lips. “I’m not sure I. . . .”

“You’re not sure what? You don’t want to see Mikkel kiss Rafe while I explore you with my mouth? Or you don’t want to share kisses with both Raphael and I?”

Her cheeks burned bright pink, and she ducked her head.

“I’ll take that as a, ‘you’re curious.’” He shrugged. “There is no shame in that, Thalia. We must all explore the world to our hearts’ desires. And thankfully, the world of the Fae is not judgmental. We’re a hedonistic brood. Hence our issues with Morningstar.”

Thalia whispered, “I won’t have them pressured.”

“I know. I have no intention of making them do anything.” The idea amused him. “Why should I? Their free will is far more attractive to me than blind obedience.”

Rafe sighed. “We’re going off topic. That’s not useful given our current situation.”

Theo blinked. “He’s right. We are.” Then, he rubbed his chin. “My mother lives, still. But she is old and tired. Our people and yours share a link. . . .”

“We do?”

“Aye. Royals can only inherit the throne once they have given birth to another heir. Of my seventeen siblings, none of us have done this.”

“Seventeen?” Thalia squeaked.

Theo smirked. “Aye. Seventeen. We live a long time. If I’m twelve thousand, how old do you imagine my mother is?”

“You’re the eldest?” Rafe questioned.

“Indeed. It was always deemed likely that I would inherit the throne because of that, however, I have yet to produce an heir. Neither have my siblings.”

“Why? Why is your mother so fertile and her children aren’t?”

Theo merely stared at Mikkel. The man was impudent, but then, he supposed he’d have to be—they’d all have to develop tough skin to survive at court. “Because of Morningstar. When the gods ceased communicating with us, those born in the aftermath of Lucifer’s fall were denied the most basic of privileges.”

“The right to reproduce?”

Rafe’s soft words had Theo’s mouth firming. “Aye. For is there another right so basic, yet so intrinsic? We live and do not die for millennia, and yet, we are dying out. The eldest among us can only breed so many times. We were never that prolific anyway. Seventeen may seem a lot but in fifty thousand years?” He shook his head.

“But how am I supposed to help?” Thalia asked, her voice small.

“And there shall come a day, when a child of light shall swathe through the darkness. She shall bathe in the blood of her enemies as she fights for those who are weaker than her. But she is pure, good. All that is decent.

A child born of three bound souls, her magic deeper than bones and cleansing, purified by a triad born of a triad.

The light shall imbue her in the shape of the Mother. From her fruitful loins can forgiveness be sought. She shall have the power to bring war, but she is a unit striving for peace. Three bore her, three shall tame her, and three will reign at her side.

Her trinity of mates will be her guiding light, the final end to counter the bright star of morning’s powers.”

Thalia whispered, “I understood that. I speak English. But what the fuck?”

For the first time, his smile was tight. “Yes. ‘What the fuck’ about covers it.”

“She’s going to be some kind of evil-fighting Mother?” Mikkel demanded, folding his arms across his chest. “That’s stupid.”

Theo shook his head. “No. There is no fighting evil. It is a part of humanity, as is the propensity to do good. The prophecy speaks of our sterility.”

“How did Lucifer betraying the gods fuck with your fertility?”

“You ask me that and think I know?” Theo retorted. “I am here, I am real. I am evidence enough that we don’t always understand the world around us. Simply because I am aware of other facets to this universe does not mean I have the answers.

“It simply means I am aware of the question.”

Thalia blinked. “But how can I-I . . .? I’m really young, Theo. Like really young.”

“I know.” He let his fingers move over the taut rise of her calf, his intention to soothe rather than to incite. “There is no need to fear, Thalia. The prophecy has stirred. That does not mean it will be acted upon immediately.”

Rafe snorted. “Haven’t watched many Marvel films, have you?”

“Marvel? Those superhero movies?” Theo shook his head. “No. I suppose I’m what you’d call old-fashioned.”

“Well, if you did, you’d realize that prophecies, once triggered, always come to fruition before the end of the first movie.”

“This isn’t a movie,” Mikkel said drily.

“Might as well be,” Thalia retorted. She pushed her fingers into her eyes, rubbed a little. “My head’s aching again.”

Theo flinched. “Again?”

“She’s had it off and on since the challenge.” His mouth worked. “You’re aware she challenged a Pack Beta, right?”

Nodding, Theo murmured, “And won. I also know you’re the healer, Raphael, however if you would be so kind as to allow me to alleviate our mate’s pain?”

Thalia gulped at that, and he noticed the bobbing of her throat as he called her ‘our mate.’ His gaze was steady as he looked upon her, needing her to know that even if she was fearful, that was exactly what they were.

She would never be alone now.

It was time she realized that.

Raphael nodded. “Just be careful with her.”

“She’s not as fragile as you think,” Theo told him softly, but he stretched over the bed, not stopping until his hand could reach Thalia’s side. He pressed it to her forehead, called upon his magic to ease her suffering, and watched as her eyes fluttered shut. “She will sleep now. A dreamless sleep, and when she wakes, she will be energized, and she will be more receptive.”

“Did you force her will?” Mikkel snapped. “Because Thalia may be many things, but I wouldn’t describe her as receptive.”

Rafe chuckled at that, but he bowed his head and kissed her temple. “Sadly for you, Theo, Mikkel isn’t wrong. Thalia has a mind of her own, and I, for one, am damn glad about that.”

As her eyelids fluttered, the stirrings of deep sleep approaching her, Theo murmured, “Then I shall be thankful, too.”

 

** **

Theodore

 

“It’s a long time since I’ve played billiards,” Theo murmured.

Louis snorted. “Pool. How old are you, man?”

Theo shot him a look. “Do you really want to know the answer to that?”

“Twelve millennia,” Mikkel said. “At least, that’s what he told us.”

Ade whistled. “That makes you one of the oldest, no?”

Theo shook his head. “Hardly. My mother’s seen fifty.”

“I know very little about your people,” Ade admitted drily, “but the Eldest don’t frequent this side of the world often, do they?”

“No,” Theo conceded as he lined up the white ball with the striped yellow. He was on Rafe’s team, and they’d called stripes. “But then, would you? I’d want to be among my own at that age.”

“She’s considered old then?” Rafe asked with no little interest.

Studying the mate of his mate, Theo pondered what it was about Rafe Santiago that was so. . . . He thought about it, thought about the word that best summed the man up, and could only state ‘restful’ as being the perfect way to describe him.

There was a perpetual serenity about him, and Theo, though bewildered by such a state of being, found it very reassuring.

Thalia did, too. He’d seen her clutching the other male’s hands like her life depended on it.

She clung to him, hid behind him, and used his body as a shield even as Theo knew she’d turn She-Wolf in an instant to protect the lower-ranking male.

Theirs was an interesting dynamic, but then, the dynamic she had with Mikkel was just as unusual. And considering she was terrified of Theo, their own was hardly bland.

Clearing his throat, he murmured, “She’s one of the oldest, yes. But she’s tired. If she could, she’d abdicate. Pass on the reins to one of her children.”

“Which is why you’re here.”

Matthew’s bland statement had Theo wincing. “To some extent. I’m in this realm to get away from my people.”

“Why?”

“Because if I’d stayed, I’d have found myself in an arranged marriage like the rest of my siblings. I’ve never found such matches interesting.” When he missed the ball, he watched as Louis took his shot and pocketed one.

The rules weren’t beyond him, but he was only truly playing to do something with his hands as well as using it as a means to start a dialogue.

The men in this room were on edge, twitchy, and uncertain.

In fact, most of the people in the house were.

His mate included.

Theo covered the chalked tip, ignoring the blue powder, and pressed his palm to it. Then, he propped his chin on his knuckles and watched the game unfold.

“You came to this realm to escape an arranged marriage. Not to find your mate?” Ade asked, his tone one that spoke of his seeking clarification.

Theo nodded. “Exactly. The prophecy is another matter entirely.”

“I don’t like talk of prophecies,” Louis grumbled. “I’ve already heard the one that Bahkir, one of our Elders spoke of. One that says Thalia will bring forth a new generation to our people.” He groused. “What’s wrong with the current generation?”

“They’re bigoted,” Mikkel retorted. “They attack lower ranks, don’t care if that involves dozens of females being raped, and generally, don’t know how to behave themselves.

“Being empathetic and caring doesn’t suddenly make them weaker. You can give a shit without becoming a pussy,” the human stated bluntly before he calmly took his shot.

Theo found his lips curving in a smile as the former TriAlpha cast each other looks.

Mikkel was an unusual male. Where Rafe was restful and calm, Mikkel was watchful and terse. He didn’t fear to speak his mind, held no apparent respect for the position these men had once held, and didn’t seem to give a damn that he was mated to royalty.

From what Theo could gather, he was also fighting the mate bond.

A singular fact he’d yet to work out.

Why the man hadn’t leaped upon Thalia the minute she’d given him the okay, Theo didn’t know, but fight it Mikkel was.

Matthew sniffed. “We don’t all beat the lower ranks.”

Rafe’s smile wasn’t fake—he was definitely amused by the statement. “I’m glad to hear it,” he murmured gently, making Matthew flush. “You don’t have to watch your words around me, gentlemen,” he carried on. “I’m quite used to being spoken about as though I’m not here.”

And like that, the TriAlpha ducked their heads in shame.

It was a well-aimed hit, one that had found its target in the bull’s eye.

Theo rubbed his chin as he looked at Thalia’s mates. They were beautiful creatures, he couldn’t deny that. And now, through their bond to Thalia and hers to Theo, they would live a very long time.

He’d have them in his bed, of that there was no doubt. But, the stunning fact was, the need was less driven than it would ordinarily have been.

Theo had always preferred men to women.

The Fae didn’t classify themselves as humans did. Seeming to find it vital to put themselves in one box, and gods forbid they move out of it.

The Fae, on the other hand, were free with themselves, because, quite frankly, they were too damn old, too damn powerful, and too damn capable to really give a shit about who did what with whom.

Even the ones who the humans would call homosexual went with females, usually to beget a child—or at least, that had been the case back before Morningstar had fallen. Theo wasn’t like that. He appreciated women, but just preferred males.

Now, all these years into his existence, he had to wonder if that was because he’d been waiting for the woman.

It was a thought worthy of pondering.

Thalia was his.

In a way no one, not even the man who had taught him what love was—Brian—had ever been.

She was in his bones, in his blood. She was his air, his breath. She called to him in ways that frightened him, and he knew that feeling was reciprocal because her fear made no sense otherwise. She would only respond so strongly if there was something for her to have concerns about.

Matthew cleared his throat. “Rafe, do you mind if I ask you something?”

The Gamma stilled. He’d just taken his shot and had missed, and he remained bowed over the table for a handful of seconds until he straightened slowly. “Of course.”

Matthew reached for the chalk, and the blue block made a squeaking noise as he rubbed it over the tip of the cue. “What happened in the arena?”

Mikkel snorted. “Haven’t you watched the footage?”

Louis grunted. “Since when did you have such a mouth on you?”

“Since I found myself related to the TriAlpha family.” Mikkel shot the man a stark look. “I figure I’m entitled to mouth off a little.”

Theo eyed him askance a second; considering he was in the Armed Forces, and they, more than most, considered politeness to be as part and parcel of the job as carrying and utilizing a weapon, Mikkel’s sarcastic reply came as a surprise.

“Have you known each other long?” Theo asked, breaking into the conversation.

“Years,” Louis confirmed. “Since he was a boy. That’s why he thinks he can get away with it.”

“No. Being Thalia’s mate makes me think I can get away with it.”

“Why? Because she’ll beat me up for you?” Louis asked, baring his teeth in a wide grin.

Mikkel laughed. “Yeah. That’s right. Because I couldn’t take you on your own, old man.”

Louis flung his head back and laughed, further surprising Theo. He’d known Louis a long time, longer than Mikkel could even imagine, and he’d never seen the former TriAlpha respond so freely.

“It’s good to hear you call yourself Thalia’s mate,” Rafe responded, his tone cool as he leveled Mikkel with a glance. “You’ve been denying it more than you’ve been accepting it.”

Mikkel shot him a grim look. “Rafe,” he said, his tone warning.

“‘Rafe,’ what?” he mocked. “You haven’t claimed her yet. The proof speaks there. Why are you holding back?”

“Now isn’t the time to talk about things like that.”

Rafe rolled his eyes. “If you say so.”

“I do,” Mikkel grumbled.

“He has a point,” Ade inserted softly.

“I know he does, but that doesn’t mean I wish to discuss it with Thalia’s grandfathers.”

Matthew cleared his throat. “Can we get back to what I was asking, please? I was talking about the healing, Rafe. How you healed Thalia from a distance? I’m curious how that happened.”

From Rafe’s expression, he’d been quite content with the change of subject. Theo watched as the Lyken’s shoulders dropped with discomfort. He surprised himself by defending, “The Goddess’s gifts shouldn’t be discussed over a game of pool.”

Louis eyed him warily. Whatever he saw on Theo’s expression had his brow puckering slightly before he murmured, “That’s Fae speak for ‘butt out,’ Matthew.”

“It’s okay,” Rafe interjected, still discomfited.

“No. It’s not,” Theo told him softly. “You need defend yourself to no one. Especially not the people in this house.” It was the first time he’d heard tell of Rafe having healed Thalia from a distance, but he could distinctly remember the footage.

The Beta had attacked first, had blooded Thalia first. She’d been injured. And then, from nowhere, the pooling blood that had seeped onto her clothes had begun to fade in its intensity.

As if by magic.

It was a slippery slope calling the gifts that the Goddess granted her children as ‘magic,’ but to the untrained eye, that was how it seemed.

Even Theo had been surprised by it at the time, but he’d had no way of knowing that Rafe was the reason for its disappearance.

Mikkel cleared his throat. “Theo’s right. You’ve got the magic touch, dude.” He clapped Rafe on the back, showing a camaraderie that came as no real surprise considering his military history. “Thalia’s in one piece because of you.”

But Rafe surprised them all. “She was in danger because of me. And she saved herself. I had nothing to do with it.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ade asked, his voice gravelly with concern.

Theo watched as Rafe licked his lips. The Lyken male caught his eye and nodded. “Thank you for your support. It’s appreciated.” Theo just nodded, curious as Rafe continued, “Something happened before the challenge. It took both Thalia and I by surprise.”

“Stop talking cryptically,” Louis snapped. “What happened?”

“I found a way to communicate with her.”

Silence fell. Only Mikkel didn’t seem surprised, which let Theo know the other male had known. He’d been there, during the challenge so that could have explained it, but Theo didn’t think so.

Rafe had told him.

Unease rippled down his spine. “Telepathy isn’t a Lyken gift.”

Rafe met his gaze once more. “I know.”

“You must be mistaken,” Louis inserted.

“He isn’t. That’s why Thalia keeps suffering with headaches,” Mikkel told them, bending over to sink his ball into the pot.

“Why? What does one have to do with the other?” Ade demanded, and, striding away from the table, he headed for the drinks’ tray. Why they drank when alcohol had no effect on them, Theo had long since ceased asking, but he watched as Ade poured himself some amber liquid. Before he tossed it back, Ade demanded once more, “Well?”

“The headaches are because there is no natural equipment to help her with this new . . .,” Theo struggled for words, “manifestation.” It seemed the best way to describe it.

Rafe winced. “I can’t soothe them, either. I can take the edge off, but that’s it.”

“It’s not the kind of pain that can be taken away. I suppose you could look at it as . . . she’s building a highway between you and her. It can’t be built without breaking ground first.”

Louis winced. “Can we not liken my granddaughter’s brain to a highway?”

“Why not?” Theo argued. “It’s a good metaphor, and it shows it for what it is—progress.” He eyed the elder Lyken, and wondered why all three of them were so defensive and protective where Thalia was concerned, and yet, she’d moldered away in the TriAlpha palace for years.

Where had their protectiveness been then?

Mikkel missed his shot and Matthew took his. After he’d potted two balls, he straightened and, almost aggressively, started, “Ask it.”

Theo frowned. “Ask what?”

“I can see, as plain as the nose on your face, what you’re thinking.”

“You have the talent, too?” Theo mocked.

“No, but I’ve been around people long enough to see the woods for the trees. Ask.”

Louis and Ade shot each other a look, but Theo saw that in his peripheral vision. His focus was on Matthew, not by a half-inch did he drop it, either. To animals, eye contact counted.

“You abandoned her.”

The statement was cold, hard. Rafe flinched, and Mikkel heaved a sigh, but Theo noticed neither of them argued.

There was no arguing.

Ade, Matthew, and Louis responded similarly—they all paled. Ade’s nostrils flared, Louis’s shoulders stiffened, but Matthew? His face showed defeat. For a second, his features crumpled, before he nodded. “We did.”

“Why?” It was Mikkel who spoke.

“Because the TriAlpha were her parents, and even we, former TriAlpha, have to abide by their dictates.”

“Bullshit. You could have gotten her out of there,” Rafe snarled. “There are ways. I’ve spent the past week going through Lyken law, trying to find Thalia a loophole for her to be Triskele if her fathers hadn’t agreed. ‘Hadn’t agreed’ being the keywords there. There’s always a way.”

Matthew swallowed thickly, and he accepted the tumbler Ade passed over to him with a shaky hand. The liquid sloshed as he raised it to his lips. After he’d finished the glass, he murmured, “Sometimes, we do what’s best for our loved ones. Even if it doesn’t seem that way.”

For a second, no one spoke, but though Theo could feel an argument brewing in each of Thalia’s mates, himself included, there was no one to argue with.

After Matthew spoke, he placed his cue on the green baize of the table and headed out of the room, his brothers at his back.

When the click sounded loudly in his ears, Theo perched his hip on the side of the pool table.

“What was that about?” he asked to no one in particular.

Mikkel, still squinting at the door, murmured, “They’re hiding something.”

“Many things, I’d imagine,” Theo agreed. “But in this instance, I’m not sure what.”

“They love her,” Rafe replied, though he folded his arms over his chest, his annoyance evident. “That much is clear.”

“Indeed they do,” Theo said slowly. “So, why did they leave her in Oregon then?”

Mikkel shrugged. “Doesn’t look like we’re going to find out.”

Theo gave a nod as he straightened up from his half-seated position. “Not now, at any rate. Later, though. Tomorrow’s a new day.”

Rafe shoved a hand through his hair. “You want another game? Thalia needs her rest.”

Pleased by the offer, Theo stated, “That would be great.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a quarter. “Heads I play first, tails Rafe does?”

When they agreed with him, he threw the coin.