Page 30 of An Alpha's Commitment

The mage sighed. The hood flipped back off his head, and he shook out a mass of curls as if glad to set them free. Oh my Goddess, he really was young. Would he even have the skills to do what we needed?

Oblivious to my doubts, the young mage leaned forward, pale arms resting on the table.

“Yes, I know him. We kind of grew up together. Not pack. But his mother was on the Council as was mine, so we ended up spending a lot of time together.”

He gave me a shrewd, appraising look. It seemed out-of-place on one so young. Perhaps he was an old soul.

“So you’re the Alpha he was so enamored with,” he mused, drumming his fingernails on the wooden desk. “Tell me… who found this other omega you have in your triad? Yourself or Irian?”

“Uh, well, Irian made friends with him first,” I admitted.

“Of course he did,” it was said with a sigh of fondness, like a mental shaking of the head.

Silence fell between us, interrupted only by the rhythmic drumming of fingernails on wood.

A faraway look brushed across the young mage’s face, his eyes blank.

He blinked and brought his focus back to me.

“I can’t break the mate bond,” he repeated, “but I can help you forge another.”

******

“He’ll have to submit to you… completely and permanently. So the question is, does he have the personality to do that? And would he be willing?”

I got stuck on the first statement. I wasn’t sure how I felt about this.

It was different with Irian and I, there was never any ‘having to’ anything. Although I was his Alpha, and he my Omega, he wasn’t afraid to argue with me if he thought I was wrong, or if he had a point to make. But always, if I refused to budge, he would submit to me with a grace and good-nature that was astounding. And he acquiesced in the best possible way. I never used my alpha compulsion with him, he just... submitted, and by the Goddess it was so damn sexy that I always wanted to take him to bed straight after. Given Irian’s enthusiasm for sex, maybe that was part of the reason he submitted so freely.

But he always had that choice. He knew if he truly objected, I would not force the issue. It sounded like Isca would not have the choice.

“I… I don’t know about that. That’s not how I operate. Irian stands up to me on the regular,” I told him.

“Maybe that works for Irian and you. But this is a different relationship. I ask you again – does he have the personality to do this?”

“But it’s unfair,” I protested, again not answering the question, “for Irian to have freedoms that Isca doesn’t. The whole point of this is so they’re equal in the relationship.”

Xeres gave me a look that suggested this was taking a great deal more of his patience than it needed to.

“He’ll still be an equal partner. Just because you’re in a triad doesn’t mean the relationship between each of you has to function the same. It depends on the personalities and needs of both parties. Even if they’re very similar in many respects – and from what you’ve told me, they are – there will still be differences between them… otherwise they’d just be clones of each other. This omega will have different needs from your relationship than Irian does.”

“Oh.” I thought about that for a few minutes. It made sense. Although Isca was gaining in confidence every day, he was much quieter than Irian and he was very submissive. He may well have been naturally submissive. And he often seemed unsure of himself. Maybe he would be happier in a completely submissive role.

“I’d have to ask Isca how he’d feel about it,” I decided. “I wouldn’t feel comfortable forcing something like that on him.”

For the first time since we’d sat down, Xeres’ mouth twisted into a half-smile. His eyes glinted, whether with amusement or just good nature I couldn’t say. He was an enigma, this mage, and yet somehow I felt I could trust him.

“Of course. I wouldn’t expect you would do otherwise.” Then he surprised me by winking, and adding, “Irian told me a lot about you.”

I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

Chapter 15

ISCA

I quivered with barely contained excitement as I heard the familiar sound of Talius’ vehicle coming up the driveway.

I was hanging around the front door, peeking through the screendoor. I didn’t want to rush out and make a scene. Although I was anxious to find out if he’d been successful, I didn’t want Talius to think that was all I cared about. I was delighted to have him home again, and if I never got the chance to be officially mated, I would still be happy as long as I was still in a relationship with Talius and Irian.

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