Chapter Six
Raven
Alix and I lay together for a while until his knot abated. Then, he pulled out of me and brought me more food and drink, which I took without complaint this time. Everything seemed normal until he stiffened beside me, sputtering as he attempted to sip some water.
“We’re no longer alone,” he whispered. His eyes darkened dangerously and had they been focused on me, I would have been afraid. His chest rose and fell with an effort to keep still. His upper lip rose at the challenge. I could feel his fury, but most of all I could sense his protective and powerful nature.
I was his mate and he was going to defend me with his life.
I sniffed the air and drew in a breath, sensing the intoxicating scent of another male.
He gathered his pants and jerked them up hastily. I pouted and he ignored me, instead pulling on his boots in silence. He rose up and walked out of our well-used nest and I sighed plaintively, but he didn’t listen.
“Stay here,” he demanded, and I stared after him as he pushed the boughs of the evergreen aside. The moment he left our little den, I shivered. Taking a sheet and wrapping it around my body, I ignored his command and followed him. I pushed a branch aside and gasped at the sight that met my eyes.
There wasn’t only one man out there. There were two and they looked savage.
Alix was a big guy. I knew he trained hard and that he had experience in combat, but the looks of these two strangers made me anxious. They were equally large, approaching seven feet tall and just as muscular, but in a different way that spoke to their experience living out here in the wild.
One of them had golden eyes, rich like the rays of the sun. Long blond hair swayed in the breeze, shiny and thick and for a moment, I yearned to touch it. A smattering of light stubble grazed his square, firm jawline, and thick eyebrows gave him an intense and formidable strength that left me nervous in his presence. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, just a pair of leather rawhide pants and a corded necklace that was long enough to settle on his upper belly. His body was painted with tattoos, but I didn’t know what they meant. Native, circular tribal designs maybe, but I wasn’t ready to find out. His body spoke of raw power, tense and strong and ready to do whatever he needed to do to claim me as his.
The other stood by his side, his eyes dark and sinister. His thick chocolate brown hair was pulled up into a tight knot on the back of his head. A beard lined his chin, thick and a little unkempt, wild and feral looking. A jagged scar ran from his left eye down to his chin, stark white against the tanned skin of his face. His cheek was brushed with black paint, three fingers drawn across the right side of his face, making him appear far more dangerous than the other male standing next to him. He wore similar leather hide pants, but he carried them with a certain air of confidence and boldness that left me feeling anxious. His eyes caught me studying him and he smirked boldly at me, like I was his next conquest. I rolled my lip to him in challenge and he pulled his shoulders back, standing impossibly taller. He tensed, his lips firming into a single strong line, ready for action at any moment. He was clearly unafraid of my challenge; in fact, he looked like he enjoyed it.
Like he’d enjoy breaking me.
I sniffed the air and my body reacted violently to their presence. I pushed the branch aside and left the safety of the den.
They were alphas too. I could feel it in my bones and deep in the pit of my belly.
The claiming mark on my shoulder burned a little and I walked forward, pulling the sheet closer around my naked body. The two strangers’ eyes roved up and down my body, likely sensing the copious amount of fluids lining my skin. The blond studied the bloodied bite on my shoulder, narrowing his eyes and I bit my lip.
My inner walls fluttered a little in anticipation of what they had to offer.
Alix circled around them, his growl loud and full of warning, but the strange men didn’t back up an inch. In fact, the one with brown hair simply sneered back at him, rising to his challenge. Beside him, the blond-haired man bristled with restraint, ready to attack at a moment’s notice. Their muscles tensed and rippled, fully prepared to pounce if Alix moved against them.
I grew nervous for the sake of my mate.
“Who are you,” Alix growled. “And why have you disturbed me and my mate?”
The brown-haired man chuckled.
“I’m Wolfe. This is my brother Ivan,” he answered simply, while gesturing toward the blond man at his side. “We’ve come for the omega.”
“She’s mine. I’ve claimed her already,” Alix countered, his fingers fisting at his side. He sneered in the direction of the strange alphas.
“The claiming mark is incomplete. I can sense it. A true pair bond is much stronger than that, gives off a different scent. She needs more than you, and I can see it just by the way she’s looking at me,” Ivan observed, his golden eyes staring into mine. He looked at me with contemplation and it drew me to him. Deep in my core, my arousal began to simmer once more, stronger now that I was in the vicinity of three alphas all at the same time.
Then a strange thing happened. My body called for them. All three of them.
“She needs us, two real alphas to fuck and breed her, not some inadequate city boy who wouldn’t know his cock from his ass. We’re taking her as ours,” Wolfe retorted, his tone powerful.
“Fuck off,” Alix replied, his voice low and incredibly dangerous.
“What’s your name, city boy?” Wolfe questioned and Alix scowled toward him.
“Alix,” he answered finally, glowering at his challengers.
The three men slowly circled each other. The tension was so strong that I felt like I could cut it with a knife. The brothers moved closer to me and Alix snarled with fury and warning. Wolfe purposely took a step straight in my direction and Alix charged, furious at his audacity.