Three marks, one mate

Eleven

Desiree pov

The moment the word left his mouth, he slammed his hand over his mouth shut but it was too late.

My stomach twisted.

“Rogue situation?” I repeated slowly, folding my arms across my chest. “Care to explain?”

Grayson leaned casually against a nearby tree, his dark eyes glinting with amusement.

“Oh, I thought you knew,” he said lazily.

Brandon shot him a murderous glare.

“You had no right to bring that up,” Brandon growled.

“And you had no right to keep her in the dark,” Grayson shot back immediately. “She’s not some fragile doll you can hide behind walls.”

Zachary stepped forward, placing himself slightly between the two men.

“That’s enough,” he said firmly.

But the tension between them was thick enough to choke on.

I exhaled slowly, pressing my fingers against my temple.

“Someone,” I said firmly, “needs to start talking.”

Silence followed.

Three powerful men… suddenly acting like children caught stealing.

It would have been funny if it didn’t concern my life or my mates own.

“Fine,” Grayson finally said with a shrug. “I’ll do it since apparently honesty is a rare virtue here.”

Brandon looked like he wanted to rip his throat out.

“Grayson—”

“There’s a rogue pack moving toward our territory,” he continued smoothly, ignoring Brandon completely.

“Is that why no one is talking about my trial any longer?” I asked quietly, dread slowly creeping into my chest.

“I don’t know why he is putting you through the stress of the trial,” Grayson scoffed, rolling his eyes with obvious annoyance. “He can just reject you and Zachary and I will take care of you.”

My breath caught.

“I will not reject her!” Brandon growled out immediately, his voice filled with fierce determination. “The Moon Goddess chose her as my mate for a reason.”

“And the reason is to ridicule her in your pack,” Grayson retorted coldly.

“Can you guys please—” Zachary suddenly raised his voice, frustration finally breaking through his calm demeanor. “Can’t you see you both are making her uncomfortable?”

“I am still your Alpha,” Brandon reminded him, his pride clearly wounded.

“Alpha or not, she is my mate…” Zachary paused, his eyes briefly flickering to me before he corrected himself, “…our mate. Which means she comes first.”

The words made warmth bloom softly in my chest despite the argument raging around me.

“You two are acting immature and I won’t speak to you until you both accept you own me both,” I said firmly.

I grabbed Zachary’s hand, intending to leave and ask him more about the rogue situation away from all this tension.

But Brandon caught my wrist before I could move.

“Please,” he pleaded.

The desperation in his voice made my chest tighten.

I looked at Grayson too and could see that beneath his usual arrogance, sadness flickered in his eyes.

“We are ready to keep our differences aside,” Brandon added softly. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“We might hate each other,” Grayson muttered with a sigh, already holding my other hand, “but please don’t ever leave us.”

My heart melted a little at their words.

I smiled softly, warmth spreading through me at the realization that these powerful men truly cared about me.

And somehow, I had managed to stop their endless bickering.

“So… what about the rogue situation?” I asked again.

“Don’t worry about it,” Brandon assured me quickly. “I am already taking care of it and moreover you have your trial to worry about.”

“But Alpha, thirty days is too much for a trial,” Zachary said, concern clear in his voice. “Can’t you talk to your elders?”

“He is right,” Grayson added immediately. “Or you aren’t her mate again. Why does she have to prove herself just to be with you?”

“I will talk to them,” Brandon said after a moment. “She doesn’t need to prove herself and if they insist… I will think of something.”

“That’s why we fight,” Grayson snapped, his anger rising again. “Are you the Alpha or the elders? Why do they get to decide everything that happens in this pack?”

“Do you have a secret with them?” Zachary asked suddenly.

I stayed silent, but curiosity burned inside me as well.

The elders always seemed to have more authority than they should.

“No,” Brandon said quickly. “I am the Alpha. I just want peace to reign and that’s why I let them do what they do.”

“No wonder they kept taking you for granted,” I muttered under my breath.

Unfortunately… they all heard me.

Brandon stared at me in disbelief.

“You feel that way too?”

“You usually agree with whatever they tell you to do,” I admitted honestly.

I was tired of hiding what I felt.

Something shifted in Brandon’s expression.

Determination.

“I will let them know who the Alpha is when next I see them,” he assured me.

I couldn’t help but smile at that.

“Now that we have settled that, let’s lay out some rules,” Grayson suddenly said.

“Rules?” I asked, stunned.

“Yes,” he grinned mischievously. “Since you belong to the three of us, there are rules attached to it.”

Something about his smile told me I probably wasn’t going to like these rules.

“I will obey them if I get to have some rules too,” I said, rolling my eyes jokingly.

He glanced toward the other two men.

They seemed to communicate silently.

“Done.”

“I’m listening then.”

Grayson suddenly pulled me down to sit on his lap.

My breath caught as I felt the hard outline of his shaft beneath the thin fabric of my dress.

Heat rushed through my body instantly.

“Rule number one,” he said near my ear, his voice low and teasing. “You sleep in the same room as us.”

That wasn’t difficult.

My wolf wanted nothing more than to stay close to them.

“I told you she would enjoy the first rule,” Zachary laughed.

“Rule number two,” Grayson continued, his hand resting firmly on my waist. “No other man is permitted to touch you apart from the three of us.”

“We don’t share what is ours,” Brandon added darkly.

Jealousy practically radiated from him.

“It’s not like I will have another mate apart from you three,” I joked.

“You are not permitted to have another mate,” Grayson said possessively.

The three of them nodded in agreement.

“Even you, Zachary?” I asked teasingly.

“Do you want us to f**k you until you can’t even carry your legs, let alone think about another mate?” he asked bluntly.

His dirty words made heat rush through me instantly.

I shifted uncontrollably on Grayson’s lap.

“Easy, mate,” Grayson murmured against my ear. “We haven’t even started anything and you are already grinding yourself against my crotch.”

His lips brushed my ear and I shivered.

“Lucky bastard,” Brandon hissed.

Were they here to explain rules or to torture me?

Because I could feel myself getting wetter by the second.

“I can smell your arousal,” Grayson whispered before teasingly sliding his tongue into my ear.

My entire body trembled.

“We all can smell it,” the others added.

Their eyes darkened dangerously.

Embarrassment flooded me and I looked away shyly.

“The rules,” I reminded them quickly.

“Oh yes… the rules,” Brandon muttered.

He tried to pull me away from Grayson, but Grayson’s grip only tightened.

“Rule number three,” Grayson continued smugly. “You must love the three of us equally. You are not allowed to choose.”

“The most important rule of all is number four,” Zachary interrupted eagerly.

“I am getting there, be patient,” Grayson retorted.

“How many rules are there?” I asked.

“Just five,” Brandon answered proudly.

“Okay… what’s the fourth one?”

“Communication,” Grayson said seriously this time. “You must communicate with us if there is any problem. If you hear anything about us that you don’t like, you must come to us first.”

“Now rule number five,” Brandon said excitedly. “Which is my favorite.”

Grayson cursed at him.

“Rule number five,” he finished. “You should please all of us in bed. Your job is to make sure we are satisfied.”

My face burned red.

“What about me?” I asked shyly.

“Don’t worry about that,” Zachary said softly. “Your satisfaction is our utmost victory.”

My body reacted instantly to their words.

Why did everything they say affect me this much?

“Now,” Grayson said slowly, his voice thick with desire, “let’s do something about your arousal.”

The remaining two men immediately stepped closer.

“My Love.” The familiar voice made all of us freeze.

Slowly… we turned toward the door.