Moira’s eyes flared, anger making them glitter like jewels. “We were taken by hunters.”
“What?” Kingston snarled, his body trembling, eyes glowing deep amber as he and his wolf battled for control.
Wrath unlike anything I’d felt before uncoiled in my chest, something untamed and feral rattling through me. “Where?” I demanded.
Moira fought against a smile. “Easy, tiger. Sunday and I took care of it. Mostly Sunday, but you don’t need to worry about running off and ripping heads from bodies. I just meant that they’ve come after her twice now. Clearly these guys are after something, and I think all of us would feel a lot better if we knew she wasn’t going to find herself in a situation where she had to deal with them on her own.”
“And so you summoned all of us here and left her on her own?” Kingston’s voice was an inhuman growl.
Moira narrowed her eyes at the shifter. “I hoped she’d remain safe while on campus, but after today, if you idiots follow the plan, we won’t need to worry about that again.”
Thorne crossed his arms over his chest. “I can protect her.”
“Can you? You did a bang-up job of it the other night. Real hero stuff there, buddy.”
I rounded on him. “You were there and let her get taken? What the hell is wrong with you?”
“The bastards used silver. They came out of nowhere.”
“So what’s to keep them from doing it again? Clearly you can’t be trusted with her safety on your own,” I snapped, fury still surging through my veins.
“Oh, and you think you can, is that it?”
“I sure as shit wouldn’t be taken out by a bit of fucking metal. If that’s what you’re asking.”
Kingston took a step toward me. “It’s my job to keep her safe. If she’d just accept the truth and let me claim her, she wouldn’t be out roaming the streets with a leech.”
“Silver would stop you just as easily,” I pointed out. “I’m the only one here unaffected.”
“And you think you can stay with her twenty-four hours a day? I bet you’d love that. Having her all to yourself so you could convince her to finally give you the time of day.” Kingston’s words hit home, and rage boiled in my blood.
“Just give it a break, you three,” Moira said, holding her hands out. “We get it. You all have massively big tree trunk dicks. No one cares. We aren’t impressed. This is about Sunday and her well-being. I thought you could all be grown-ups long enough to admit she would be safer if all of us work together. But if I was wrong about you—”
“Enough, häxa. You’ve made your point.” She startled, her eyes going wide as the words she’d been about to say died on her tongue at my harsh tone.
“You’re proposing we all care for her?” Thorne asked, his question hesitant. “She’s my mate.”
“Mine,” Kingston growled. “She. Is. Mine.”
Another ripple of possessive anger rose in my chest, and I had to fight to keep myself from biting outmineas well. My hands balled into tight fists, clenching so hard my knuckles cracked.
Moira smirked at us. “It’s hardly unheard of for a strong woman to have multiple protectors and/or lovers. The fae have been working together successfully for ages. I’m sure you can figure it out.”
“Multiple lovers?” I asked.
“Absolutely not.” Kingston stared at me, the promise of pain in his eyes if I so much as touched her.
If only he knew just how much of her I had already touched.
Thorne, surprisingly, didn’t protest.
“And you?” I pressed, curious as to his seeming acceptance. “Are you okay with this? You’ve practically marked her as yours already.”
“I realized she was meant for me a while ago. The mate bond is strong even though we haven’t completed the ritual. But I’ve already accepted that the wolf part of her is connected to Kingston. It’s not out of the realm of possibility for her to have more than just the two of us.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourselves. It’s Sunday’s choice who she ultimately ends up with,” Moira reminded us. “But if you all care for her as much as it seems you do, then this is a way for you all to have what you want. Devotion comes in many forms. Not all of them have to involve sex, you know.”
“So you’re not proposing to also be part of this... what do you call it, harem?” I asked.