“She just keeps working for that new boss of hers and burying herself deeper and deeper into her own mind,” Becca added and frowned. “I love her, guys. She’s our sister. And she’s in pain. But we can’t be the ones to fix it. You have to be. So take her to the fae or mer realm and figure out what is going on with you three.”
“Just know if you put our friend in danger, we’ll not only kick you in the nuts, we’ll lop them off when we’re done with them,” Eliana put in and glared.
Tristan did his best to not cross his legs, and Seth pulled in an audible breath. “Are you sure you aren’t a dragon underneath?” he asked the only human left at the table.
She just raised her chin. “Who knows? But what I said wasn’t a threat, it was a promise.”
Tristan nodded. “Hurting Amara is not what I want.”
“And what do you want?” Dante asked. “Make your decision now before you go after her. Don’t break her because you’re in doubt.”
Seth stood then. “She’s ours. I may have let Tristan do the talking just now, but I won’t stand back any longer. She’s in pain...” He nodded at the table. “Thank you for the push.” He met Tristan’s gaze. “Coming?”
Tristan stood and looked into the eyes of the man who would be his mate if fate had anything to say about it.
“Yes. Let’s get our girl.”
Seth grinned, and they turned from the table and made their way to the door Amara had exited the club through earlier. Tristan could feel her; scent her on the other side. They were taking a step that could prove pain-ridden; yet he knew it was the only step he could take.
Without Amara and Seth in his life, he wasn’t sure he would be able to continue on. At least not like he had. He’d fought wars, helped build civilizations, loved and lost. But never mated.
Fate had paved the course in front of him, and now he had to take the next step. For himself, for Seth, for Amara, and for what could be.
Chapter Two
Amara Young ended her call with her employer and shut her eyes as tightly as she could. She hated the man’s voice, his demands, the way he looked right through her as if she didn’t exist beyond what she could do for him. Maybe if she wished hard enough, she’d have a new job and wouldn’t be forced to work with such an asshole.
Of course, she wasn’t a djinn like Jamie, and wishes didn’t work that way. Instead, she slid her phone back in her purse and opened her eyes, knowing she’d have to go back into Dante’s Circle and face her friends’ pitying stares.
And she’d have to face them.
Tristan and Seth.
The two men her body wanted, but weren’t hers. She didn’t feel the pull like the other women had described when they’d met their true halves. Tristan and Seth weren’t her mates, and lusting after two men without a mating bond wouldn’t get her what she wanted. What she needed.
A home.
A family.
A future.
Call her old-fashioned, but she wanted all of that. She’d never had it before. The environment she’d grown up in couldn’t really be called a family, and thanks to that and the obstacles life kept throwing in her way, she didn’t really have a home or a future like she wanted either.
The door opened behind her and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Seth and Tristan were there. She knew that just as she knew if she didn’t move from this spot and walk away, everything would change. She didn’t know how she knew it, but she did. It wasn’t fair that they weren’t her mates. Though having two men when she’d never really even had one was selfish in itself. Nadie and Jamie had each been lucky to find their triads, while Faith, Becca, and Lily had found just one man to complete them.
Maybe one day Eliana and Amara would be able to find their fates, as well.
Hers just wouldn’t be with Seth or Tristan.
“What’s wrong, darling?” Tristan asked as he came forward.
She took a step back without thinking and wanted to kick herself at the look on Tristan’s face. It wasn’t quite pain—maybe hurt in some way? She wasn’t sure, but either way, she’d put it there. She hadn’t meant to, but as they said…good intentions and all.
“I’m sorry, I just…anyway, what are you two doing out here?” she asked as she gripped the handle of her bag tightly. She didn’t feel threatened by the two large men in front of her, far from it, but she didn’t feel comfortable either.
She could never feel fully comfortable around them. Not when she wanted to climb their bodies and see just exactly how big and hard they were.
Her cheeks heated, and Tristan raised a brow at her as if he could fully sense her thoughts. She knew he was fae, but didn’t know what powers came with that. For all she knew, the man could actually hear her thoughts.
“We came to ask you a question, actually,” Seth said as he moved closer to Tristan’s side. The two men’s arms brushed ever so slightly, and each of them stiffened before relaxing.
Interesting.