We crossed through the portal and entered a beautiful, brightly lit penthouse in Philadelphia. I was in awe of the fact that we had just travelled thousands of miles in the blink of an eye. The buzzing sound of the portal behind me weakened, and I turned around in time to have it disappear right in front of my eyes.

I heard chairs being dragged across the floor and I saw the boys had found themselves a spot at the island in the kitchen. Instead of joining them, I decided to take the time to explore. The apartment was gorgeous- it had a modern feel to it with outstanding hardwood floors and sleek blackwood cabinetry all around. The floor-to-ceiling windows allowed for the warm rays of the sun to pervade the whole space, giving the place a warm and cosy feel. Three huge bedrooms were spread across the apartment, together with two large light grey bathrooms with black fixtures, large tubs and sophisticated steam showers at the disposal of those staying here. There was even a private elevator to access the penthouse.

I made my way back to Aiden and Rafe, picking up the note that they had chucked on the island surface.

Make yourselves at home. I am otherwise occupied today but I will come tomorrow to check on you and brief you. There is a car at your disposal in the garage. Enjoy your time in Philly. T.

I wish my brother had told me more about his contact so that I knew what to expect, or rather who to expect. He did tell me something else though. Something that I had not really been able to stop thinking about since he mentioned it.

"If you have the time, go to the Silver Haven pack in Woodmoor and ask to speak to Eden Quinn. If my intel is correct, Eden also has two mates and she can perhaps shed some light on why you do as well."

He told me all of that so matter-of-factly that he could as well have been talking about the weather in Philly. Was he really serious when he told me to visit Eden if I had the time? I was obviously going to find the freaking time to go and speak with her. All I could hear were the million questions I had in my mind. Was she also human or was she a shifter? Were her mates the same shifters? Did she reject one of them or did she stay with both? How on earth did they make it work if she was indeed involved with both? And what the hell were the Goddesses playing at with both of us?

In a way, finding out about Eden also excited me- I felt relieved to know that I am not the only one like that in the world and I secretly hoped that Eden would be able to give me some of the answers that I so badly needed, at least as far as my "mates" predicament was concerned.

I had already checked out Woodmoor before we arrived, so I knew that it was an hour away from Philly. So, here I was with a car at my disposal and a whole day ahead as it was only midday on the East Coast. My mind was made up - I was going to Woodmoor.

"It looks like we have some free time today. Why don't you guys go and check the bars- or whatever it is that you do in your spare time- and I will go out and keep myself busy," I interrupted the boys' conversation, eager to get a move on.

"You do know that it is midday here, Moreau? Do we look like we have a drinking problem?" Rafe cocked an eyebrow.

"Riley, I don't mean for us to be a pain during this trip but you do realise that we can't let you wander off on your own with Markolf out here," I heard Aiden add.

Rafe stood up from his chair and walked over to me, circling me and narrowing his eyes at me in suspicion. "What are you up to, Moreau? I can see it that there is more going on in that pretty head of yours than you wanting to keep yourself busy," he whispered in a low voice next to my ear but loud enough for Aiden to hear him as well.

A shiver went down my spine as I realised two things.

One, Rafe Macalister called me pretty. Well, okay, my head but semantics! It was still damn surprising.

Two, I was alone with the two of them in this penthouse, and over the next few days. I had slept with both of them and although I was not embracing the mate bonds, one of them made my knees go weak and the other one made my panties wet. They were like my very own yin and yang- different but complementary. For a second my mind wandered back to the dream I had of the three of us together, both of them pleasuring me. I blinked and I saw both guys looking at me intently, waiting for me to speak. The memory of my dream though had made my mouth dry so I had to swallow hard before I could say a word.

"I have some errands to run....out of town," I muttered.

Aiden jumped out of his chair. "And you planned to go on your own while Rafe and I are meant to go bar-hopping according to you?"

"Woah, Woah, Woah. Easy there, dragon boy! I am not some damsel in distress- before all of you barged into my life, I was perfectly capable of taking care of myself and bringing down plenty of the most sought-after criminals, and I am still capable of that. So excuse me if I did not ask either one of you for permission for what I need to do."

"Riley-," Aiden tried to speak up.

"No, Aiden, you listen- one date doesn't mean that you get to tell me what to do and act all overprotective. Nothing has changed between us," I paused and looked between the two of them. "Between any of us."

Aiden winced and my heart ached a bit over the fact that I had caused him pain but I was ready to stand by what I said. I was not theirs and they were not mine. We were three free, independent adults that some weird text that had been etched across our bodies supposedly implied that we were mates. Since that night at my place in Putney though, the text had disappeared now and I realised it was the same for Rafe and Aiden as I had not seen it across their bodies during our recent....encounters. All the more reason why I had to go and speak to Eden and find out what this all meant.

"I didn't mean it like that," Aiden said as he lowered his gaze to the floor.

"As enjoyable as it actually is to watch you two have your first fight, I am with Aiden on this," Rafe spoke up, although he probably should have kept quiet as Aiden smacked him around the head, muttering "prick" under his nose.

"Don't take out your frustration on me, Hayes," Rafe chided him. "Anyway, as I was saying, it would daft to go on your own and expose yourself to the risk of falling into Markolf's hands. You've seen what he can do, Riley."

Images from what we came across in that mansion the day we rescued Natalia were still fresh in my mind. But I was not planning to submit to these two.

"He will do what, Rafe? Take away my wolf?" My voice was harsh and bitter, my sarcasm aiming to mock them to hide the fact that at the end of the day I was not one of them- I had already lost my wolf. "Been there, done that. The joke would be on him."

Sure, I was behaving like a petulant child right now but the anger bubbling inside me was clouding my rational thinking. I felt someone reach for me and I looked up to see Aiden gently grab my hand as he gave me a weak smile. Fuck, my comment earlier had clearly hurt him and I hated that I had gone that far.

"Riley, we know that you are fearless, strong and all-around badass. We have seen you in action. Goddess, you led an entire team of Alphas and Betas - that's how capable and remarkable you are. This is not about undermining you- we want you to be safe. We want to protect you. To help you." I saw him look at Rafe, searching for a response from him and he got it as the wolf shifter nodded in agreement. For some crazy reason, both of them vowing to protect me warmed my heart a little and made my anger fizzle out.

"Look, Riley," Rafe continued, "you might not be worried about what he might do to your wolf but think about Lucien. If Markolf gets his hands on you, he can use you as leverage against your brother." A loud sigh escaped him. "And against us."

The idea of me falling in the hands of the cambion appeared to pain them just as much as the thought of Markolf using me to hurt them affected me.

"Fine," I finally agreed. "But I get to say where we go and you two better keep yourselves in check."

They both nodded before we grabbed some things and made our way to the car in the garage.

The drive to Woodmoor was silent as I was busy looking around while we drove out of Philly and through Pennsylvania. Eventually, we reached our destination and the gates to the Silver Haven estate emerged in front of us. We drove up to the gate, where the guards stopped us.

"Hi there," I said, flashing them my best smile. "My name is Riley Moreau from the Blackwood pack in Scotland. I am here to speak with Eden Quinn."

"Is she expecting you?" The guard asked while he carefully observed my companions.

"Erm... no exactly."

"Wait here."

After a fifteen-minute wait, a tall, muscular man with dark hair emerged and went ahead to speak with the guys. He was absolutely gorgeous and yet, in my eyes, he paled in comparison to Aiden and Rafe. Shit- had these mate bonds ruined my ability to appreciate hot men? Not cool, Goddesses, not cool.

"I hear you want to speak with Eden," the mysterious stranger said to me as he joined us. "What does a pretty little human want to discuss with her and why do you have a wolf and a dragon as bodyguards?"

I heard a low but threatening growl coming from Aiden and Rafe. Oh, here we go again- so much for keeping themselves in check.

"I have a private matter to discuss with her that I do not wish to disclose in front of you," I pointed to the guys before I spoke again," or them for that matter."

"Well, tough shit, little girl- you will tell me why you want to speak to my Luna and I will not ask you again."

To his Luna? Shit, how did I not know that Eden was the Luna of the pack? Damn Lucien and omitting important details. Judging by the behaviour of this guy though, he must have been the Alpha- I had been around too many of the Alpha males lately so their bossiness and authority was easy to recognise. That would also mean that he was one of her mates though- I guess that she for sure picked at least one of them.

The threat in the Alpha's tone put Rafe and Aiden on the edge and they were both now in full-on mate protective mode, eyes flashing yellow and all. Unexpectedly, that surprised the Silver Haven Alpha.

"Interesting. Are they both your mates?" he asked with slight amusement in his voice and I nodded. "Come on in. The packhouse is straight ahead. I'll meet you there."