Page 49 of Unleashed

The shelter was suddenly silent but for the ragged breathing of its occupants and the howling of the wind outside. Even the torrent of emotions had ceased.

She pushed against Vortok’s arms again, and this time he released his hold without resistance. She fell onto cold dirt, shivering now that the cold air had been given a clear path of entry, and lifted her head to look at the fighting valos.

Aduun was atop Balir, pinning the slightly smaller valo to the ground. Blood glistened on their claws from fresh cuts on both of their bodies. They were looking at one another with confusion on their faces, as though they’d just woken from a dream to find themselves in their current positions. It didn’t matter to Nina.

The anger rushing through her now was her own.

She stood up, and though she had to angle her head down to avoid hitting the roof, she strode toward the two with her fists clenched at her sides. She slammed her hands into Aduun’s shoulders.

Dazedly, he fell backward off Balir, landing on his ass.

“The choice is mine!” she yelled, glaring at Aduun. “Mine! You do not get to decide what I do or who I do it with!” Her vision blurred, but she was too angry to care about the tears filling her eyes. “Balir is your tribe, yourfamily!”

The confusion on his face faded, and his expression hardened. Pride, however bruised, tipped his chin up, and bitterness lowered his brows. “And what choice were we given?”

His voice was low, but Nina flinched as though he’d yelled in her face. She crossed her arms over her breasts and looked away from him. “You’re right. You weren’t given a choice,” she said flatly.

“But it is clearer with each passing day that, even given a choice, all three of us would make the same one,” he continued.

Nina frowned, shifting gaze back to his. “What do you mean?”

“We all would have chosen you.” His features softened, though the easing of his brow was nothing compared to the gleam that appeared in his eyes. “What was done was done, Nina. You blooded our heartstones. But even if you choose none of us, our want for you will not diminish.”

Her lips parted as she searched his face. She glanced at them one at a time — Vortok sitting nearby, staring at her with a blend of desire and concern; Balir, sitting up with his face turned toward her, his unseeing eyes downcast but somehow hopeful; and Aduun. Proud, stubborn, selfless Aduun, with more openness, vulnerability, and regret on his face than she’d seen from anyone.

“I can’t choose one of you,” she said, stepping closer to Aduun. That hard, guarded light immediately reformed in his eyes. She briefly touched her fingertips to his cheek. “Because I’ve already chosenallof you.”

Surprise slackened his jaw and rounded his eyes; she felt the same emotion from all of them, keeping them silent for a time.

“What do you mean?” Balir finally asked.

“I want you all as my mates. All for myself.” She turned toward Balir. “It is not uncommon among other valos tribes.”

“It…it is not the way of our people,” Balir said, uncertainty tinging his voice.

Nina knew that. She’d seen into Orishok’s past, his history, his tribe. They chose a single mate, just as he had with Quinn. It was the same for the northern valos’ pairings.

“I want all of you,” she said again, glancing at Vortok, “but I will not have you fighting over me. I will not be the thing that tears you apart. It will be either all of you…or none of you.”

Their jumbled emotions swept over her, too confused to sort out. There was happiness there, from each of them, but it was laced with uncertainty, possessiveness, and jealousy. This was new to them. In most ways, it was also new to her. She knew only that such relationships were common among the other valos and that the individuals involved in them seemed to share powerful bonds with each other.

She had no idea how those relationships worked, but she wanted to figure it out with these three valos. Withhervalos.

“We are changed,” Aduun said, looking at Balir, Vortok, and finally Nina again. He drew himself onto his knees; the ceiling was too low for him to stand beneath. “That does not mean we must abandon the ways of our people.”

Nina’s heart plummeted. She looked away, shivers intensifying as the cold in the shelter deepened.

“But why should some of those traditions not change, also?” he continued. “We are different, and the world is different. Would it not be folly to continue the way we were when those lives are only memories?”

Aduun lifted a hand and cupped her cheek in his palm. “I accept your choice. I cannot say there will be no conflict between us, but for you…I will try.”

Elation struck Nina with such swiftness and power that she nearly leapt at him. Grinning, she covered his hand with hers and looked hopefully at the others. “Balir? Vortok?” she asked.

Balir moved onto his knees and extended a hand, placing it on the other side of her face. “For you, Nina. For our tribe.”

The three of them shifted their attention to Vortok.

“We three have lived as brothers since we were young,” he said. “We have shared our tents, shared our furs, our spears, our food, and fires. We have bled for each other, and we have made each other bleed. But we have remained a tribe, a clan, throughout.” He crawled forward, his mane brushing against the snow overhead. He spread his huge arms to the sides, and before anyone realized what he meant to do, wrapped Nina, Balir, and Aduun in a massive hug. “We will do all those things and more, time and again. Why not strengthen that bond by sharing a mate? She is more than worthy of having three males protecting her.”

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