Bought By My Alpha Mates

2: LIKE PREDATORS

TENNA.

The VIP suite was pure sin in a room.

Low lights, leather furniture, a bed in the corner that I was definitely not thinking about.

Soundproofed walls that would muffle anything that happened inside.

All three of them were waiting.

Elliot stood near the window, his black suit probably worth more than my car. He'd loosened his tie, and I could see the rapid pulse in his throat. Rowan sat on the couch, sprawled like he didn't have a care in the world, but his amber eyes tracked my every movement like a predator. Torhana leaned against the wall, arms crossed, his silver gaze so intense I felt burned.

The door clicked shut behind me.

"Tenna." Elliot's voice was rough, strained, nothing like his usual smooth control. "We need to talk about—"

"Fifty thousand dollars for an hour," I interrupted, forcing steel into my voice. I was a professional. I could do this. "That's what Marco said you paid. So what do you want?"

It came out breathier than I intended, and all three of them inhaled sharply.

"What do we want?" Torhana pushed off the wall, prowling toward me. "Are you seriously asking us that right now?"

"You're our mate." Rowan stood, his easy demeanor cracking. "Our fated mate. Do you have any idea—" He dragged a hand through his dark hair, looking genuinely rattled. "We've been searching for you for years."

I laughed, and it sounded slightly hysterical even to my own ears. "Searching for me? I've been at your house every week for the past decade. I've watched you f**k half of North America's she-wolf population. Don't pretend you've been searching for anything except a good time."

Elliot moved faster than I could track, suddenly in front of me, his hand cupping my jaw. The touch sent electricity racing through me, the bond flaring so bright I gasped.

"We didn't know," he said quietly, his ice-blue eyes boring into mine. "The bond doesn't manifest until—"

"Until midnight on your mate's twenty-fifth birthday," I whispered. Today. My birthday was today—Christmas Day. I'd been so focused on making money, on getting over them, that I'd almost forgotten.

"You're ours." Torhana was suddenly behind me, not touching but close enough that I could feel his heat. "And we're not letting you go."

My heart was pounding so hard I thought I might pass out. This couldn't be real. This couldn't be happening.

"I'm a stripper," I said bluntly, trying to inject reality into this insane situation. "I'm nineteen thousand dollars in debt. I live in a shitty apartment with a broken heater. You're kings. This doesn't make sense."

"The bond doesn't care about logic." Rowan circled around to my side, completing the triangle they'd formed around me. "It cares about souls. And our souls chose you."

"Or maybe the Moon Goddess has a sick sense of humor," I shot back, but my voice wavered.

Elliot's thumb stroked my cheekbone, and I shivered. "Let us help you. The debt, the apartment—we can fix all of it. Tonight."

"In exchange for what?" I pulled back from his touch, even though it physically hurt to do it. "You paid fifty thousand for a private dance. Fine. I'll dance. But don't pretend this is about anything more than—"

"We want you to be our Luna." Torhana's voice was flat, commanding. "Our wife. We want you to quit this job, come home with us, and let us spend the rest of our lives making up for every second we were too blind to see what was right in front of us."

I stared at him. Then at Rowan. Then at Elliot.

"You're insane."

"Probably," Rowan agreed, a hint of his usual humor creeping back. "But we're also serious. The Pentmoon pack needs a Luna. We need a mate. You're both."

"I don't—" I swallowed hard. "I can't just—you've never wanted me before. You've never even looked at me like—"

"Like you're the most beautiful thing we've ever seen?" Elliot's voice dropped to a growl. "Like we want to rip off that scrap of lace and taste every inch of you? Like the thought of anyone else touching you makes us want to burn this entire club to the ground?"

Heat flooded through me, my thighs clenching involuntarily.

"We didn't know what you were to us," Rowan said softly. "But our wolves knew. Why do you think we were always kind to you? Why do you think we beat the s**t out of anyone who hurt you? Some part of us always recognized you."

"You brought other women home." The words tasted like ash. "I watched you with them. I sat in your kitchen and smiled and pretended it didn't kill me."

Torhana's hand fisted in my hair, gentle but possessive, tilting my head back. "There will never be another woman. Not now. Not ever. You're it for us, Tenna. The beginning and end of everything."

I wanted to believe them. God, I wanted to believe them so badly it hurt.

But I'd spent thirteen years in love with men who didn't love me back. Thirteen years building walls around my heart so I wouldn't shatter completely.

"I need the money," I whispered. "I need to work. I can't just—"

"Name your price." Elliot's voice was pure alpha command. "Whatever you need to feel secure, to feel safe. We'll give you everything we have."

"I don't want your charity—"

"It's not charity. It's a deal." Rowan stepped closer, and now all three of them were touching me—Elliot's hand on my face, Torhana's in my hair, Rowan's fingers trailing down my arm. "Be our Luna. Let us take care of you. Marry us, if you want, when you're ready. And in return..."

"In return?" I could barely breathe.

"In return, you give us a chance to prove we're worthy of you," Elliot finished. "That's all we're asking. A chance."

The bond pulsed between us, stronger with every second, binding us together in ways I didn't fully understand yet.

They were offering me everything. Financial security. Protection. A home.

But what they were really offering was my every teenage fantasy made real—being wanted by the Pentmoon brothers. Being theirs.

And that was the most dangerous thing of all.

Because I knew—I knew—if I said yes, I would fall completely, irrevocably, desperately in love with them.

And they were notorious womanizers. Kings who could have anyone. What happened when the novelty of the mate bond wore off? When they realized I was still just Lyssa's friend, the chubby girl they'd defended out of pity?

What happened when they broke my heart?

But fifty thousand dollars. Plus whatever else they were offering. Freedom from debt. A chance at a different life.

A chance with them.

"I need conditions," I heard myself say.

All three of them went very still.

"Name them," Elliot said immediately.

I pulled back, needing space to think, and they let me go, though I could see the effort it took.

"First—I want complete financial independence. Enough money to support myself if this doesn't work out. Not an allowance. Mine."

"Done," Torhana said without hesitation. "We'll transfer five million to an account in your name tomorrow. More if you want it."

I blinked. Five million? That was—that was insane.

"Second," I continued, my mind racing, "I want time. I'm not jumping into bed with you tonight just because the bond says we're mates. You want me to trust you? Prove it."

Rowan's jaw tightened, but he nodded. "How much time?"

"I don't know. As much as I need."

"That's going to be difficult," Elliot said roughly, his eyes dropping to my barely-covered body. "The bond is already—you can feel it. It's going to get worse before it gets better. The need. The hunger."

I could feel it. My skin was too hot, too tight. Every breath brought their scents—cedar and smoke and winter frost—and made me want to climb them like trees.

But I couldn't show weakness. Not now.

"Third," I pushed on, "I want transparency. No more women. No more games. If you're serious about this, about me, then I need to know I'm not just—"

"You're not just anything." Torhana's voice was sharp. "You're everything. And there haven't been other women for months."

I frowned. "What?"

"We stopped," Rowan admitted, looking almost embarrassed. "Around six months ago. None of us could explain why, but suddenly no one else was—appealing. Our wolves wouldn't let us touch anyone."

"Because they knew," Elliot said quietly. "Even if we didn't. Your twenty-fifth birthday was approaching. The bond was preparing."

Six months. They'd been celibate for six months because of me?

"Okay," I said slowly. "Okay. Those are my conditions. Financial independence, time, and complete honesty."

"Agreed," all three of them said in unison.

"Then I guess—" I took a shaky breath. "I guess we have a deal."

The relief on their faces was palpable. Elliot looked like he wanted to kiss me. Rowan was grinning. And Torhana's eyes had gone molten silver.

"But," I added quickly, "you still paid for a private dance. And I keep my promises."

"Tenna—" Elliot started.

"Sit down," I ordered, gesturing to the couch. "All of you."