Page 9 of The Alpha's Mates

“That was only one time. They deserved it.”

The deep voice and answering chuckles had my muscles tensing as my head snapped toward the door. I hadn’t even heard them approach, that’s how engrossed I’d been in Vera’stale. My stomach dipped when I saw the three Alphas crowding the doorway. Their good looks had an effect on me that I wasn’t comfortable with.

My heart raced in my chest, my palms turned clammy, and a tiny piece of me—that I refused to acknowledge—hoped they’d stick around. All of these reactions were inconvenient and unnerving. I didn’t have time to crush on these three and it certainly wasn’t in my best interest. If I’d learned anything over the last year and a half it was that males were dangerous. They took what they wanted without any input from the women they were keeping.

“My grandson-”

Now I was staring at her. “You’rehisgrandmother?” She didn’t look a day over forty. That didn’t mean much with our kind, not when we could live to be three hundred years old.

“I am,” she replied, head held high. Pride shone on her face. It was sweet. She obviously loved her grandson, and I couldn’t fault her for that. That didn’t mean I had to like him. Ignoring the little voice in my head that insisted Ididlike him, I focused on the woman in front of me. “He’s a firm but fair ruler, just like his fathers and grandfathers before him. You and your pack will be safe here,” Vera told me. Her eyes pleaded with me to do what she asked. “Please stay.”

Trusting others wasn’t a natural inclination. I’d spent my life being punished for doing just that. Even before my designation had been revealed our pack had been shunned. When your leader started a war, you kind of became everyone’s enemy. When that leader’s son took over after his death and further alienated your pack from the others, it just reinstated the fact that all of you were untrustworthy. When the majority of my pack had shunned me, after I’d presented as a female alpha, it hadn’t taken me long to figure out that it was best to only trust in myself. You could only kick a wolf so many times before shestopped trusting all together. My mother and Emma had been the only exceptions. Now I had nine omegas who had become trusted friends as well.

“We’re not staying.” I gave Vera an apologetic look.

“The fuck you’re not,” Soren growled from the doorway.

Scowling at him, I stood up from the bed. “You can’t keep me here.”

“We can,” he declared.

My mouth gaped open at his arrogance. Firmly locking away whatever fledgling feelings I was having for him, I shot him a glare. If he was going to act like an overbearing jackass, I wasn’t going to allow myself to feel any emotions for him besides disdain. “What gives you the right?”

“The Moon Goddess. She’s given you to us,” Atlas interrupted. It was clear from his tone he was trying to calm the tension sparking between us.

“I don’t know what that means,” I said with a shake of my head. “The Moon Goddess hasn’t bestowed a fated mate pairing in-”

“That’s not what he means,” Calder snapped.

My glare landed on him, but I didn’t respond. These men were testing my patience and it was about to run out.

“Fated mates are gone, but we can still feel when a female is our mate,” Soren explained. “It doesn’t happen much anymore since there aren’t many females.” He was breathing deep, his huge chest rising and falling in a rhythm that told me he was trying to keep his temper from bursting free.

“Bullshit,” I spat. “That’s just what males tell us to force us into a cadre.”

They were all staring at me in shocked silence. Concern and incredulousness filled their expressions. What I said had truly never occurred to them.

“I’ve seen it too many times,” I continued, in a softer tone. “Shifters forcing women into their cadres and abusing them. None of my omegas were claimed in the way of our Goddess. Not one woman in my pack wants to be forced into a mating.”

“They never felt the bond?” Soren asked, his eyes narrowed.

I shook my head. “It’s nothing but lies.”

“Wearen’t lying,” Calder insisted.

Giving him an understanding smile, I held up my wrists. The chains rattled across the floor. “Excuse me if I don’t believe you.”

“That was for your own safety,” Soren snarled. He was pissed that I wasn’t just going along with him.

As the lead alpha of this pack, I could understand why he wasn’t pleased. “You’re notmyalpha. This isn’tmypack. I’m not obligated to obey you.”

“You’re ourmate. You. Belong. To. Me.” He took a step forward with each word.

“Us,” Calder clarified.

“Soren,” Atlas warned, his eyes on my face.

Stubbornness often made me reckless. The strange sensations they were evoking within me didn’t matter at the moment. I wasn’t going to stick around and give them the opportunity to trick me into something I didn’t want. It would be smarter to wait until they’d dropped their guard. Especially after they’d beaten me once before. But I’d kept my pack safe and hidden by trusting my instincts.