Our mate. Our mate. Our mate.

Every beat of our heart is for her. It bleeds with her every step away from the Brat. We want to scream. To rip our insides out of our body. To die. The Brat... her mate. We are green with jealousy. They have both Marked each other. We are nothing more than the male who was once her lover.

Our mate. Our mate. Our mate.

We snarl and snap, tasting the scent of her mating venom in the air. We see the Brat sway, his face pale, but ecstatic. He loves her, her best friend, her hero, her male. Our mate. Our mate.

Hollow. We are nothing. Less than nothing. All our life we have tried to be everything we were not. It was all meaningless. We are nothing without her.

She is so perfect. Why would she want us? We are dirty from the other female, untrue, unworthy. Our decisions cost us the female approaching us over the bloody field. She is like a doll, a china doll. The Brat has a good pet name for her. It hurts to look at her, to know what we lost.

We were never good enough. The Brat will give her everything we never could.

Why is the Brat so angry? He is glaring at the wolves around him, his lips pulled back in a silent snarl, canines gleaming. We strain to hear what he can, but all we can listen to is the thud of our heart, bleeding for her.

"Mate" we growl as she approaches. She is wearing black and dressed for fighting. Tight clothes that cling to every slim curve of her body. Her hair is pulled back from her neck, revealing the Brat's Mark. Not ours. It should be ours.

"Sean," she murmurs as she comes to a stop in front of us. Wariness shimmers in her eyes. Our delicate doll. Breakable. The pain scorching through us is nothing. We can't shatter our doll. We stop pacing, stop growling. We hold still, watching her.

Slowly the sound drains away. The hum of the crowd is quiet.

"Sean, I Marked Brax," she tells me. Her head tilts to one side, examining me with dark grey, soulful eyes. Her she-wolf watches us warily, too.

"We know," we snarl. It burns.

"Georgina has told the council that she's your mate. The pack... everyone believes her."

My wolf shies away from her as if her words are daggers. His claws rake over everything he touches. It scorches my guts, my heart, my lungs. Everything is on fire.

"You can have her," our mate continues blithely. "You can win this match against me, easily, and be the Beta. You'll win, fair and square. You can go find Georgina in GreyMist and Mark her, Claim her. She will be the alpha female. Your mate. You and she will have all the power you've ever wanted."

Why is she taunting us? "Stop, mate," we warn her, claws flashing as we flex our fingers in agitation.

She steps closer, her eyes hard on me. "You can have everything you always wanted with your perfect female. You can have it all. Braxton and I will disappear. You'll never have to see me again."

Leave? They can try. We will follow. "Are you trying to get Claimed, mate?" we ask. "We promised we wouldn't hurt you."

"What, then, do you want, Sean? Georgina and your life-long dream? Or a triad mating where you are only one-half of my soul?" she asks cruelly.

We were wrong. She is not breakable. She is like the ice she skates on. Beautiful, otherworldly, and utterly deadly. She has worked her way into every crack of our psyche, flowed in like liquid fire, then froze solid to force us to break.

We once thought the other female was our angel. She looked like the silly little figurines humans like so much. We thought she saved us, but it was all a lie. A lie we told ourselves because our mate was so untouchable to us.

Our mate is a dark angel, a demoness in a beautiful shell sent to break us. We didn't know we would love her cruel touch, beg for her to shatter us over and over.

"You could Mark me," she says to us in a low voice, a dark angel dancing on our shoulder, "and Claim me here, now." She doesn't look afraid of this. Her lips, so pretty and pink, curl up at the edges. Does our pain amuse her? Does it matter? She is ripping us to pieces and we are helpless against it. "Do you want to force me, Sean? To Claim what is yours by right?"

Yes. "Never," we lash out. We won't ever hurt her again. We promised. Our stomach aches. Our heart is on fire. Her sweet venom is flowing through the Brat. It burns in our veins. We are in agony and we relish it. Our suffering is making her speak with us, making her pay attention to us.

"Tell me, Sean. What do you really want?" Grey eyes peer into our soul. Our dark angel is cruel.

We crash down to our knees. Our hands go behind our back, claws twisting, biting into our flesh as a reminder to keep still. Slowly, holding her eyes, we tilt our head to one side, revealing our neck, revealing our vulnerability. Begging silently for our dark angel's mercy.

Her breath catches in her throat. Tears shimmer in her eyes. Her lips part, pink and shiny and holding the hint of the Brat. A tiny bead of mating venom quivers on her mouth.

She comes to us, within an inch of touching. Her hand goes into our hair, grasping it hard. She twists our neck more. We allow it, pliant in her grasp. "There's part of me that will always hate you, Sean. You nearly killed me for my sister."

"Mate," we beg, quietly, "please."

"Please, what, Sean?"

"Claim me."

Her fingers tighten painfully in my hair. Her eyes stop holding mine to sharply glance over my shoulder. They return to me, hard and determined. She bends and sinks her sharp teeth into our neck.

Every muscle in our body ripples. We are light-headed as all the blood rushes right to our cock. Moaning in pleasure, eyelids fluttering, we force our body to hold still. We promised. It is her choice, now. We do nothing that she doesn't ask for.

She pulls away so abruptly that we whimper from the loss. Tears stream down her cheeks. The Brat is there, then the alpha. The Brat holds her tight, his face worried and tired. He is fighting his exhaustion from her Mark. The crowd is shouting. Some are cheering, some are unhappy with our capitulation.

Our mate is crying. We kneel in the dirt, tired but so thankful. So, so thankful. Our mate disappears from our view as wolves flood onto the field. Panicked, we try to stand. Our legs are too tired. We wobble and nearly crash face-first into the bloody mud under us. The young wolf from the LoboGris catches us.

"Let's get you up, cabrón," he mutters. "Everyone gets Marked but me, sí?" He helps us stand. Without him we wouldn't be able to. After fighting off every beta contender, then having our mate Mark the Brat exhausted us. Her mating venom surging through our body took our last bit of energy.

"Mate," I croak. Wolves jostle us. The male holding me up snarls, lashes out to keep them away. There are so many voices raised in excitement.

"Enough!" the alpha's booming voice silences the crowd. " ClearHowl, the Challenge for Beta is over! Congratulations, Beta Iliana!"

The pack howls, but not all of them. The snarl from the alpha divides them. Some leave, others stay. The crowd thins enough that I can see my mate. The LoboGris male seems to realize what we need, and helps us to her side.

A male approaches. Large. Older. Powerful. He grabs my shoulder despite the warning growl from the young LoboGris. "She has Marked him," he says loudly.

The crowd buzzes.

"I did," our mate says. She is tired from Marking two males but hides it well. Our mate is strong.

"You Marked your sister's male," he says in disbelief.

"Is he hers?" our mate sounds smug.

"This is a crime," the male snaps out.

The alpha approaches, his green eyes glaring. The older male lets my shoulder go and squares up to face the alpha, but I see the tremor of fear in him. The alpha makes a show of examining my Mark.

"This is a crime that this female has committed!" the male says, sounding outraged.

"Apparently," the alpha agrees with a casual smile. "Iliana was eager to Claim a male. She's MateLess, did you know? It's only natural that she would look to the strongest males to Claim. Adrenaline and all that," he says mildly as the pack hangs on his every word.

"She Claimed her sister's mate, an alpha-blood male," the male says with disbelief. "Such a crime is highly punishable! By death if necessary!"

"For an unranked female," the alpha says, still sounding contemplative, although the hint of derision is there, "but she is my Beta."

There's a pause, then the male explodes in anger, "she is only your Beta because this foolish male knelt for her!"

"Which he did," the alpha interrupts smoothly, "before she Marked him. Making her my Beta."

The older male straightens. "She will answer to the council, then," he blusters.

The alpha glowers. "You want my Beta to stand trial in front of the council?"

"It's the law!" the male says with satisfaction.

"Alpha Conner," our mate says, her voice smooth and unruffled, "I request a week to prepare my defense."

"And in that week your sister suffers?" the councilmember ridicules her.

"I will make certain that my Beta is isolated from all males who are not her mate or an immediate family member, as the law states," the alpha says.

"And Tremaine?" the councilwolf huffs.

"I assume that the council can wait a week?" the alpha says with a heavy dose of sarcasm aimed at the older male. "In the meantime, we will ensure that he is taken care of until he can be reunited with his mate."

"Agreed," the male says. Through my fading vision, I can see that his eyes are lit with greed and avarice.

The LoboGris male pulls us from the crowd. He is on his phone, muttering agreements, "sí, sí, I'll take him there. C'mon, cabrón. Let's get you to your mate." We let him drag us away only because we can smell the Brat next to us, and ahead of us... our mate.

---

It's the same cabin as before. Conner delivers me to the doorway, his eyes dark with worry. "Get settled with your mates, yeah?" he says quietly. "You have a week alone with them."

I sputter through my tears, "don't let any of those alpha female bitches near Bailey!"

His lips twitch. "Not a problem. Remember, Dad is going to return suddenly. Such a sudden miracle," he says with a wink.

I laugh weakly, "just in time." I'm still not sure why Beta Teague had to leave, but I'm guessing that his absence emboldened the council jerks to come to harass us today. Or he was doing something top secret.

"I don't honestly know if I can ever look at him the same way. He was my closest friend. Funny. Smart. I didn't like his relationship with Georgina, but I never realized..." his voice trails off, his eyes darkening. "I remember studying this shit with Uncle Alex, ya know? All the stories and traditions about mates. There's a reason why Marking a mate before twenty-five was made illegal."

"He loved her. I can feel it in the bond," I confess quietly to Conner. "He doesn't love her anymore, but he did... he really did before."

He looks at me steadily, "your bond is brand-new, Ili. Don't trust the very first sparks, yeah? Your bond tells you what preys on you and your wolf, first. If I had listened, I would have probably killed Jared, Bailey's friend, just from jealousy."

"You would have had a serious problem had you done that," I hiccup.

He smiles. "I know. It's why you need time. Rest, be with your mates. Let's say he loved Georgina, yeah? He needs you. He's lost without you. He loves you, but it's deeper than love," he says quietly, his eyes soft as he clearly thinks about Bailey.

"I told him part of me would always hate him," I confess in a whisper.

Conner shrugs, "well, he deserves that." He turns to look down the driveway, looking pensive.

A pick-up truck rumbles up. Rique is driving, with Braxton in the passenger seat. In the truckbed is Sean, with Vicente making sure that he doesn't roll everywhere.

"Dad is going to kill that pup," Conner says thoughtfully as he watches Vicente help Sean out of the truck bed.

"He's a sweet wolf," I defend the young male.

Conner smiles. "He's as much of an ass as every other Lobo. He's sweet to you because you're cute. Best Beta ever. My female's a fucking genius."

I blush, then laugh. My laughter is cut short when Vicente half-drags, half carries Sean inside the cabin. Vicente manages to set him up a little against the wall, slumped over. Sean collapses, eyes closed into dark slits that won't leave me. Braxton waits next to the bed, swaying back and forth.

I don't waste time crawling in next to Sean. He's filthy, covered in sweat and the blood of the beta contenders, but I'm too on-edge and tired to care. The dual bonds are yanking at me, both incomplete, neither satisfied with missing parts.

I hear Braxton mutter, "I'll take care of them. Make sure none of those bitches go near Bailey, right?"

"I can't believe she Marked you first," Conner laughs at his little brother. "On your wrist like a little vampire."

"Shut the fuck up," Braxton mutters.

"Whatever. Just remember, Iliana is to be isolated for a week so she doesn't steal anyone else's mate. Make sure you don't leave the cabin, yeah?" Conner says to me. "And make sure Sean is... ah... taken care of." Our alpha is still laughing as he leaves. I lock the door behind him, turning the locks, then trying to open the door, just to double-check.

"Doll?" Braxton mutters, looking ready to fall asleep on his feet.

"Lay down, baby," I tell him. His caramel eyes are dark brown, his body trembling.

My clothes itch my skin horribly. I pull them off as I cross back to the bed and throw them to the side. Naked, I collapse next to Sean's nude thigh. I hear Braxton hurry to take off his clothes. Then he slides into bed on my other side.

"I have to complete the Claim," I murmur to him.

Braxton freezes. "Babydoll," he says softly. His lips find mine, kissing me gently. "Doll," he begins again, "you're too tired to make love." His eyes droop.

"I'll just put it in and swirl it around a little," I tell. My words make more sense in my head. Braxton starts to laugh. Even my she-wolf is looking at me as if I'm weird.

"Shit. Sean did a crap job of fucking you, yeah?" Braxton chortles.

"Did good," Sean mumbles in protest on my other side.

I start to giggle, too. I'm funny. "I'm funny."

"You're bite-drunk," Braxton says teasingly.

"Am not," I snap. I struggle to sit up, woozy when I lift my head more than a few inches. "Lay back, Brax."

"Alright, Doll," he murmurs against my lips. He lies back, his hot, muscled body stretched out on the bed. I squirm over him until I'm on top of him, my core nestled against his rock-hard cock.

"OK, I'm ready," I murmur against his chest. I wiggle a little, moving down, while Braxton holds utterly still under me.

"Doll," he whispers. His eyes are wide on me, his sleepiness vanished.

"Shh, I'm concentrating," I tell him. My nervousness climbs. I've never been in charge of this before. Sean did all the work during my heat.

I position myself and gently grasp him in my hand, guiding his head to my entrance. I try to push down, but miss, Braxton's cock bobbing up in front of me. Frowning, I grasp him again. His stomach muscles tighten. This time I get us lined up, but when I try to sink down, it hurts.

"Doll," Braxton pants a little. "Easy, babydoll. It's hurting you, baby."

Sean's eyes flare open. He flashes fang and growls. "Climb up here, Angel. Let me lick your pussy."

"I'll do it," Braxton argues. I hesitate, worry flaring about the unfairness of this entire situation. Sean growls, but when his eyes slide closed again I decide that Braxton is going to win this one.

"Right on my face, baby," Braxton's breathing deepens. I climb, feeling my entire body blush in embarrassment.

"There's probably oil somewhere-" I start to say until Braxton wraps his hands around my thighs and yanks me up the last few inches to his mouth. His lips close around my clit and I let out a shocked gasp. Sean's eyes open into slits again. His lips curl up in a smile.

"Smells delicious," Sean mutters.

Braxton mutters against my clit, "it's fucking gorgeous, too. Prettiest I've ever seen." The vibrations make me gasp in pleasure again.

"Hey!" I moan, rolling my hips against his mouth. "How do you know it's so pretty?"

"Porn," he grunts. His hands tighten on my thighs as if he thinks that I'm trying to get away from him. Nothing could be further from the truth.

"Braxton!" I call out as my stomach tightens.

"Yeah, doll. Give me that cunt, baby." Braxton tongues me, his hours-old scruff rasping on my inner thighs. "This is heaven."

"Come right on his face, angel," Sean commands next to me. "Give him that sweet pussy."

I come with a choked scream. The bond tightens, prepared to snap into its iron-tight bindings. Close, but not yet. My she-wolf nips at me, impatient. I'm shaking, but I'm in a hurry, too. With shaking thighs, I slide back down Braxton's body.

"That was fucking unbelievable, Doll," Braxton says happily. "Goddess, you're fucking-" Braxton chokes off his words when his cock slips into me an inch. "Fuck. This is how I lose my virginity, yeah?"

"Stop complaining," I say sternly. I rock, watching beads of sweat roll down his chest. I'm soaking him, gliding over him easily now.

"Not!" he says quickly, his hips thrusting up, "never."

I sink down another inch when he thrusts, inhaling and exhaling slowly, keeping my eyes on Braxton's face until his eyes drift closed in ecstasy. Sinking down more, I steal a peek at Sean.

He stares back at me with dark, intense eyes. When I meet his eyes, he lifts a shaking hand and strokes my thigh. "Ride him, gorgeous," he rasps.

Braxton's eyes shoot back open. "How you feeling?" he murmurs to Sean.

"Fine. Jealous."

"Not hurt?" I ask him as I finally take all of Braxton into me.

"No. It's good, angel. It's good to watch you fuck him," Sean rasps. "Play with your male, angel. He was a virgin, baby. Make him feel good."

"Fuck. Fuck. It's so good, Ili-doll. Oh, goddess, this is fucking heaven," Braxton moans under me. His back arches, sending him deeper.

Whimpering at the sensation of being so full, I start to rock back and forth. Braxton goes crazy under me until Sean reaches over and grasps his wrists, pinning them above his head. "Let our mate be in charge," he commands Braxton. Watching Sean immobilize Braxton, even if it's just for show, is the sexiest thing I've seen since they kissed.

"Yeah, cool. Fuck, just like that, babydoll. In charge... right... Right fucking there, Ili-baby," Braxton begs and pleads under me.

My she-wolf is reveling in her males. She's the Beta, so she's in charge, as Sean said. It feels wonderful, maybe even better than our heat. Then it was need and instinct, right now it's a celebration. I'm Claiming Braxton in full, and Sean is here right with us.