The Oddball Alphas

Chapter 5

Kieran

My mind wakes slowly to the silence surrounding me. I did not really want to wake up, which drove a groan-whine from me. It is the beautiful warmth filling me with security and safety that makes me want to sleep forever. I wanted to bask in its presence, too. A smile is on my face from it, letting the happiness fill me. At the same time, I wanted to unleash the tears that had been stored inside me over the wreckage of my life. It has been a long time since I felt like I was protected, which makes me want to know why I feel like that now.

What has changed that I suddenly feel like no one will ever harm me again?

My mind is teasing me with this curious question, so I will open my eyes. I still do not want to. I wanted to continue feeling these pleasurable sparks and tingles radiating up and down three of my limbs. They leave me breathless while imbuing me with more soothing and comfort. It feels so good that I cannot help moaning at it.

I know that you’re enjoying the sensation, Kieran, but you might want to open your eyes.

Moonbeam’s groggy voice disturbed my good feeling. They shifted to worry. My brow twitched, feeling a slight burning and tightness in my skin. I briefly wondered if I was sunburned before I focused on why she wanted me to open my eyes. I could not fathom a reason. Did something happen? Why was she so tired? I could not even find an answer in my memories that would help ease the fear starting to thrum through my heart.

Slowly, I pulled one eye open, finding a darkened blob in my vision. Am I in a box or something? Why is it so dark? I pulled the other eye open, finding a soft light distorting everything until I blinked them rapidly. That is when I found out what I was looking at. My hair had covered part of my face when I shifted my head a little while my other eye saw the ceiling of a room. It was dark brown, which slightly alerted me, until all the memories of today flooded back. The Hunter stabbed me, wolfsbane, healing sleep, and someone carried me somewhere that felt warm and delicious.

My eyes widened as I realized that I had three hands on my limbs, causing me to suck in a breath. My heart started drumming heavily with the fear of what I knew I was feeling. The urgency building in my lower abdomen was my arousal that mixed with my need to use the bathroom. All of these should have been signs for me. I should have known what the good feeling was about and why it was caused by those hands on me.

“It’s alright,” a masculine voice called softly. “You’re safe.”

My head jerked towards that sweet voice. It was deep enough to send a shudder all the way to my core. It made me want to hear him more, but I had to know that I was right. The smell of grass and jasmine hit my nose, making my eyes lift to see his beautiful blue eyes. I had to know…

“Mate,” I croaked as a smile slid up my face.

“Mate,” he responded back with red eyes.

Our eyes are locked on each other. I forgot about his handsomely chiseled face that looked tanned with a smile slowly lifting his pale lips. I could only see those eyes and feel the bond clicking into place. I wanted to pull back to see the rest of him, but I felt someone kiss my hand.

My head jerked, again, to another man who looked like the first one. Our eyes locked, too, and Moonbeam and I called him mate, too. He looks just as sexy, with that nearly white blond hair and those blue eyes that seemed to search for my soul. His musky scent ensnared me just like Mate One, until a throat cleared.

My eyes flicked down quickly to yet another man who looked like the first two. I found myself calling him mate and getting lost in the smell of strawberries and lilacs. My eyes locked onto his, too, while feeling the yearning that built for these three men. The playful smile on his face did not elude me that he was not only happy to meet his mate, but he was aroused by me, too. I wish I could say I wasn’t aroused by him, except he has that same chiseled face that made me want to touch it.

I pulled back from the bond, blinking away the images as I looked at them in turn, but no. They did not leave me even though I wanted it to be a horrific dream. I see three men who look alike and are my mates, smiling at me. The first man is broad and muscular, more so than the other two, who are a different variation of lean. I would say the second man is a little bigger than the third man who is currently massaging my other leg now.

“Water,” I croaked breathily.

My heart is pounding heavily at the thoughts slamming into me. These men are going to hurt me three times as much as my first mate. There may be nothing left of me when they get done. It is what fated mates do! I know that I cannot do this, even as I struggle to sit up, feeling a sting come from my side.

Great! I forgot that I was stabbed by a hunter.

“Here, Darling,” Mate Two said, keeping his voice gentle. “Put your weight on me.”

He helped me sit up with his arms curving around my thighs and back. I bit back a pleasurable moan that wanted to slip out of me. The sparks and tingles were rushing through me and hitting every nerve that made me want him. Meanwhile, Mate Three had come around to fluff up my pillows while Mate One was bringing back a glass of water. I would say that I was in sheer bliss with the care that they were giving me, but I am leery. I do not put anything past an alpha to do as he sees fit. But I do have to say that, without the mate bond present, I would have thought this was all sweet.

Mate Two eased me down to the pillows, keeping his arm around my back. That is when Mate One gave me a glass of water that I greedily gulped down. It was cool and refreshing, as I thought it would be, but it did not take away from the panic filling my mind. I was hoping that this would all be a dream that would disappear the minute I had something refreshing in me.

Yes, we are mated, again. Don’t worry. I have not talked to their wolf or even opened the connection. We are safe for a while. I cannot promise that I will be able to help for long. The mate bond affects me more so than you, to want them.

I say nothing to her, but we share a mind, so she knows that I understand. We have grown a hatred towards fated mates after what ours had done to us. He was cruel and callous, but in the end, we got the rejection. We were freed from him. It was the best feeling I have felt in a long time, but now, I am facing my new mates. They are alphas and that means I am screwed if I reject them immediately. I must play my cards right so that way I do not end up on the bad side, again, like last time. They will mark me, and then, life will be terrible after that.

“Do you feel better?” Mate One asked, looking at me earnestly. I nodded, feeling like if I spoke, then I would give him a rejection. “Good. I know this is quite a shock…”

“Quite a shock?” I repeated shrilly. “I think Big Foot coming out of the woods and showing himself is a shock. This, this is just f***ing unbelievable. I am mated to three men while I was in my healing sleep? How the h*ll!?”

“Watch your tongue, Darling,” Mate Two growled at me, and I frowned at him. “I’m tolerant to a point, but I will not let my mate get by with swearing at me.”

“I wasn’t ‘swearing’ at you specifically,” I defended myself. “I was swearing in general.”

“Don’t,” he growled at me, seeming to get angrier.

“Ted,” Mate One warned. “I think this calls for a bit of swearing, don’t you?”

Mate Two - Ted - seemed to concede his point and calmed down a bit, but I could feel his anger still. A part of me wanted to reach out and touch his hand to help ease it further. I pushed the feeling away, refusing to let the mate bond dictate to me what I should and should not do. These men are not going to be my mates. I just have to figure out how to reject them without getting forcibly marked.

“What do you mean by your ‘healing sleep’?” Mate Three asked curiously.

S**t!

I winced, hoping that Ted would not hear me swear in my head. I do not want a confrontation right now as I feel the need to relieve myself.

“Excuse me,” I said softly, and began to slide to the edge of the bed. I am using this excuse to not answer him. They don’t need to know what I can and cannot do. “I need to go to the bathroom, badly.”

“Here,” Ted said gently.

The urgency in his voice was a contrast to his angry one. I thought my head was spinning with his emotions. It almost did when he picked me up and carried me to a door with his scent filling my nose. It did not elude me that he only had one scent while the other two had two. I found it weird, but I was basking in the sparks and tingles rushing through me too much to care.

Mate Three rushed to open the door. Maybe they, too, are feeling the chaos of the bond playing with them. I hope it settles down some, so maybe they will see that they have the wrong woman as their mate. It will save me a lot of heartache and pain later.

Ted took me into a large bathroom that had all the splendors a woman could ever want. The bathtub and shower stall are huge with jet streams built into them. There is a jacuzzi placed between them with cup holders for drinks along the back wall of the two tubs. The counter was light brown, which was a contrast to the purple tiles that swirled black and gold. The built-in shelves were a contrast to it, too, as they held colorful towels, washcloths, soaps, shampoos, conditioners, and oils. There were even loofas and other things that I would have to snoop through later.

This mate sat me down to use the bathroom and was waiting for my attention. That is when I realized that I was only in a gray t-shirt. It smelled like Mate One, and I turned red at the thought of them seeing me naked. They are the only ones I could think of that would change my clothes. Most alphas do not do all the work themselves for their mates, but a part of me felt honored that they would dress me. It was like a rite of passage to say that I am going to be cared for as a mate.

“I will be right outside,” Ted said softly. “Just give me a holler and I will come in and get you.”

“I can walk,” I said, scrunching up my nose at how ridiculous he was being.

His face hardened more and made him impossibly sexier. I did not think that a scrunched nose flaring his angry breath would make me feel this way. I was wrong. It matched the fire in his eyes that screamed for me to kiss him, but it also flared my fear. I know when an alpha gets angry, blood flies. And his anger is directed towards me, which means I may die.

“Your feet will not touch the ground, Darling,” he said through huffed breaths. “You were injured just this afternoon and have barely been awake for ten minutes. I mean it when I say that your feet will not touch the ground until the doctor clears you.”

“Ssstop,” I stammered.

I meant to sound firmer than I did, but it did not go that way for me. The fear was starting to crowd my senses and wake Moonbeam from her needed sleep. She peered into my eyes, turning them somewhere between an orange and a yellow color. She was angry while I was giving him a pleading look. I did manage not to shake and give him more fuel for his anger.

His face slackened when he heard me so scared. He pulled me into a hug, sending a fresh comforting wave through me. His musky scent filled my nose, easing the tension in my shoulders, letting me bask in it and relax. I sighed and leaned into it feeling relaxed even as he sniffed my neck, veering too close to my marking spot. It sent a chill down my spine that ignited more of my arousal. I was not wet yet for them, but it will not take long with the mate bond.

I am shunning it with all my might and my wolf is helping to do it, too. We agreed that we cannot trust the goddess to give us a good mate that will cherish us like he is supposed to do.

“I’m sorry,” Ted breathed in my ear softly. “I did not mean to scare you.” Again, I nodded, fearing what my voice would sound like and what I'd say. I know that it will gush at this point with how I feel towards this man. He pulled back, though, and looked into my eyes for a moment like he was searching for something in them. Then, he kissed my forehead quickly before continuing to explain to me what he really wanted to say. “I only meant that you were injured a little over four hours ago. I do not allow my mate to get up and walk around until the doctor clears her. It would hurt me if you were not truly well enough, and something would happen to you. I would blame myself for allowing that. And besides, I love babying, my Darling.”

“I understand,” I said softly as my eyes lowered. I refused to be caught up in his eyes and lose myself to the bond. It is already having a profound effect on me that I am fighting constantly. "But could I have some privacy to pee?"

“Of course!” Ted nearly shouted.

He rushed out of the bathroom, leaving a c***k in the door. I wished it were closed, but I pretended like it was and did my business. Meanwhile, I spoke to Moonbeam.

Do they smell weird?

Yes. I would say they are a wolf, but not the breed we are.

A Lycan? I know that is farfetched. Most of them are in Canada or on the West Coast of America.

It’s possible.

Thanks for trying to come to my rescue.

I’m curious about that mate. He wanted you to stay off your feet? Our last mate did not care about our health.

I know. It is a little strange, but this is the South, remember. They care for their ladies differently.

I finished my business and opened my mouth to call for Ted, but then, I got this weird feeling about testing boundaries. It was more of a playful feeling that made a smile curl up on my face. A giddiness started to twist my insides with anticipation to see if I could get by with a toe on the floor.

I stretched my leg out as quietly as I could, and I pointed my toe. I bit back a laugh at how ridiculous that man was being and what he would look like when he heard that I did it. I don’t know why I wanted to push him that much. I was nearly close to touching the floor.

“I would retract that foot from touching the floor!”

Ted’s sharp warning startled me out of my mischief. My heart hammered in my chest. I am frightened of what he might do to me. I looked at the door wide-eyed, waiting for him to burst through it, but he did not. I looked around to see if someone was in the bathroom with me hidden somewhere. There was no one. I was alone to do my business.

How?

“I… uhh… I’m done,” I squeaked after I settled my pounding heart.

He entered with a satisfied look on his face that said he was happy to put me in my place. He did it only with words, but he probably wanted to do more than that.