Page 26 of Aries Mated

MAEVE

Seeing all the men huddled together in such an intense way made my heart warm. They looked a little like they were talking about something serious, but there was a real sweetness to the sight. I couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across my face. We might not have talked about that incredible night ever since it happened, but I knew my feelings had grown exponentially, and seeing them as one was a beautiful sight.My harem, I thought, before shaking my head. I couldn’t think of them as mine until we had that talk. We might have been acting a little bit like a harem over the last few days, with the guys treating Sol and me like we were part of their family, but without the talk, nothing could ever be solidified.

Am I crazy? I asked myself as Sol and I walked toward the group, with Viola texting someone on her phone not far behind us.Thinking of these guys as mine when I have only known them for a couple of weeks?

Rationally, I thought I was pretty insane. My brain told me that I was acting nuts, like a lovestruck teenager. But emotionally I couldn’t help myself. I justknew this was right, I could feel it deep within me. I guess the Astro Games intensified everything and put pressure on us. We couldn’t just think of ourselves taking things slowly when there was the potential that one of the guys could end up with Princess Azariyah. I would have loved to have wholeheartedly thrown myself into this harem, to explore where this relationship was going to go, but without knowing where any of the guys stood with their own feelings, there was nothing I could do. And it had to be all of them—it wouldn’t work if even one of the guys didn’t want it. The chemistry wouldn’t be the same, and the dynamics would be different. Since we all brought something different to the table, if anything was missing, it wouldn’t work. There would be no point in exploring this further without everyone on board.

It was all or nothing. And, God, that was scary. To think that we could experience all of this and come away with absolutely nothing. If I didn’t end up with Atlas, Matt, Kai, and TJ, I wasn’t sure I would ever find love. I was surprised to find love after Pi, as I didn’t think I ever would again, but this was a whole different experience. This was something brand new, which made it feel okay. But I was absolutely certain that if this didn’t work out, it wouldn’t happen again. I would never be able to put my heart out there and risk it being trampled on again. I wouldn’t be able to stomach it.

“How did the training session go?” I asked as soon as I was in hearing range. “Sol said it was amazing, but I would like to hear from all of you too.”

Matt stepped forward and nodded. “Sol is doing an incredible job. He still has a way to go, but he is learning in leaps and bounds every single day.”

“I’m confident Sol will be the best bear shifter in his age group,” TJ added reassuringly. “Especially since we are the ones showing him the ropes.”

“Oh yeah, I agree,” I chuckled. “It isn’t everyone who has the opportunity to be taught by competitors in the Astro Games. I hope you know how lucky you are, Sol.”

Atlas ruffled Sol’s hair, causing my son to shake with laughter once more. I absolutely adored hearing him chuckle and seeing him smile. My heart swelled. If these guys continued to be so amazing with my son, bringing happiness and joy back to his life, that was just more proof that they were absolutely perfect for me. No wonder I had happily fallen head over heels for them all. Even though I was absolutely terrified that I was going to lose all of this, I knew I wouldn’t change this experience for the world. It had uplifted me in ways I didn’t even know I needed.

“We will do some more training whenever you are ready for it,” Matt said, which made Sol light up like a freaking Christmas tree. He was loving every minute of this. “It was a lot of fun today.”

I kind of wanted to bring up the fact that they should probably save some time for their own training, but I didn’t. Bringing up the games would mean we needed to talk about the future. I had no idea which way it was going to go. Losing them would kill me. But if I had no choice, I would let them go. I didn’t know if I would be able to watch them get to the top of the leader board and win Princess Azariyah’s hand in marriage, but I would support them from afar, because that was what you did for the people you loved.

Love. Something I never thought I would be able to feel again. I suppose people were right and life did go on. I didn’t want to hear it after Pi died, but it was the truth. Here I was considering a brand new life, and it had come at exactly the right time.

All of a sudden, all the men stiffened. Tension filled the air. The way they moved in sync made ice cold panic bolt through me. I twisted around to see what was going on, but I was too slow. Kai grabbed me, Viola, and Sol and shoved us behind his back to protect us from whoever was coming our way. This was dangerous. Three burly men I didn’t recognize approached us. Why were the men reacting like that?

“What is this about?” Kai demanded as he stepped forward to try to detract attention from us.

“We are guards of the Bear King,” the guy in the middle boomed back. “And, Maeve, your presence is required in the Bear King’s residence.”

I blinked a few times in confusion. I assumed it was going to be one of the competitors they wanted, not me. I ran Pleasures, my business was outside of the arena, so what the hell was going on?

“Atlas, you as well.” At least I wasn’t alone in this, but I wasn’t sure it was any better.

“Me?” Atlas cried out, more confident than me to answer back. “What for?”

No one explained further. The silence was so thick I could hardly breathe through it. My head was spinning.

“You can’t make anyone go with you without giving them a reason why,” TJ said fiercely.

The guards exchanged looks. “It’s an order,” the middle guy finally declared. “But the rest of you can come along if you wish.”

I felt Viola’s hand touch my arm, but I didn’t get any comfort from her at all. She wasn’t in the middle of this, she didn’t know what was going on, and worst of all, she couldn’t help me. No one could. I was going to have to face Mobius, the Bear King, and I didn’t know why. At least I wasn’t going to be alone.

“Come on.” Atlas turned to face me. I could see in his eyes that he had partly shifted. This had to be scary if he was half bear. Fuck, I was freaked out. “I will protect you.”

I nodded slowly because I knew I had to do this whether I wanted to or not. An order from the Bear King had to be followed. Calmy or violently, hence the three burly men. I wasn’t going to endure violence, especially because I had my son with me. I kneeled in front of him and held on to Sol’s shoulders so I could really look him in the eyes. “You will go back home with Viola while I do this.”

“No, Mom,” he hissed, clearly worried. “I don’t want to leave you. I don’t want you to go with these people without me. I should come.”

“No, Sol, I don’t want you involved in this. I have to go, but I won’t be long.”

“What if you are?” he whined, but I could see this was coming from a place of terror.

“I won’t be. I promise.” I hoped I was telling my boy the truth. Not that it was under my control. “You just need to trust me on this one because I have to go right now.”

I darted my eyes up to TJ and Matt, worried. Thankfully, TJ nodded in understanding way and knelt next to me. “Sol, Matt and I will go back with you and Viola. Kai and Atlas will go with your mom. Everything will be fine. I promise you.”

I could tell that Sol didn’t like it, but at least I could be sure he was safe with Viola, TJ, and Matt. He trusted the men enough to go with them. It was hard to let them all go, but I knew it was the right thing to do. I wouldn’t ever do anything that could potentially put my son in danger. Even if it left me a bit more exposed to it. He was a million times more important than me.

Once they were out of sight, and hopefully somewhere safe, I glanced at Atlas and Kai. They were both part shifted and it felt like they were more than ready to protect me at any cost. I It was quite an intense feeling to know that I was safe in the hands of these guys who were happy to put me first. It made me vow to myself that if we all came out of this in one piece, I would give them all the attention they deserved. I would even brave asking them if they wanted to be in a harem with me. I’d been trying to avoid bringing up that question because I was fearful, but having my life on the line like this changed things. It made me want to be braver.

The guys had their eyes fixed forward as we followed the Bear King’s guards toward his place of residence, but I could still feel our intense and powerful connection. There really was something intense here, something overwhelming. They had to feel it too, right? I couldn’t be alone in this. I wasn’t imagining these feelings, I was sure of it. Now we just needed to get through all of this, and we could finally figure out where we stood once and for all. I kept that thought in the forefront of my mind so I didn’t get totally consumed by the sheer terror of what the Bear King wanted from me. I was no one, just a normal person, so I couldn’t see any reason that my presence would be required. Unless it was because of me and the guys. The Bear King would go crazy if he knew some of his contestants were fooling around with someone else.

But then wouldn’t he want to speak to the guys, not me? Surely they were the ones who were in the competition and needed to follow competition guidelines? I couldn’t be blamed. Could I?

Oh shit, now I wasn’t sure. I started to tremble in fear. I reached out to grab Atlas’s and Kai’s hands because I desperately needed that comfort and support. I couldn’t do this without them.

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