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  “Time to get started. The day is passing us by and some of us have extra energy and frustration to burn.” Colm patted her thigh as he sat up. He grabbed her hand and tugged her into a sitting postion.

  She groaned. That hadn’t been her idea. “You can go on without me. I’ll be down soon enough.”

  “No, you’re getting in a bath, cleaning up and going down with us. Move it or I can give you a little encouragement.”

  “Your bad mood isn’t my fault. I’m tired now. That’s your fault.” She scowled at them, but moved toward the opposite side of the bed.

  “We enjoyed it, but now move it. You’re coming with us.” Linc nodded toward the door leading to the bathroom. “We’ll clean up a little ourselves in another room. When we get back, we’ll be waiting for you.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  The waiting for her comment hadn’t been a joke. At first, she thought that’s all it was or they wanted to kiss her before they went downstairs. After taking her time in the bath, she walked out with half a plan to curl up for a nap, but found them sitting on the bed and waiting on her.

  It didn’t stop there. One of them stayed by her side almost the entire day. Normally, she wouldn’t have thought much more of it. They knew she wasn’t going to run away or try to leave. She knew she had their trust in that way, but she was a little confused. Tyson had said something about them sticking close to her. At the time, she’d thought it was an exaggeration. Apparently not.

  As unusual as their company with her throughout the day was, she didn’t really mind. At least not yet. At some point, it might get a little annoying. Right now, she enjoyed the time with them. At least, she had until one of their men came to get Colm. After an initial greeting and a significant look, Colm left the room.

  “Still not going to tell me what’s happening?” she asked as she walked up the steps toward their room.

  She glanced over her shoulder. Linc wasn’t thinking about practicing magic or even her. Tension set his face in grim lines and his muscles seemed tighter than normal. The muscles along his cheekbones flexed. The strain grew as time passed. He tried to hide it and that only increased her anxiety and anger. She couldn’t do much about him, but she could try to work off a little of the excess energy it was creating.

  It was time to practice a little magic. Earlier, Linc had argued with her about it. He’d pointed out that she was still recovering from exhaustion. When she’d said she was ready to practice this time, he hadn’t said a word. Something distracted him from his overprotective tendencies. What could he be holding back? Her anger slowly rose. She didn’t need to be protected. Especially if what had taken Colm away from her related to Kynar.

  “Colm went to help some of our men. There’s not much to tell.” Linc shrugged and kept following her.

  Such a lie. There was plenty he wasn’t telling her. Sometime during the day, the intensity of his watchfulness changed. Although she couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment, it had been before Colm left. It wasn’t simply a reaction to the dangerous situation yesterday. She hadn’t noticed too much change at first, but there had been times when one of them had left her. They must have learned something then.

  “Are you sure practicing is what you should be doing?” Linc stepped up beside her and tangled his fingers with hers.

  “And what do you think would serve the purpose of working off some of the extra magic and energy caused by your stubbornness and my anger.” She sniffed dismissively. Sex just wasn’t going to do it this time. On top of that, the next time she was with them, she wanted to be with both of them.

  “I’m not being stubborn. You’re agitated over nothing. Colm is safe and fine.” He smiled and his hand rested at the base of her back as they mounted the last of the stairs. “Since you’re so riled, why don’t you show me some of your magic? No trying that pulling spell again until we’re both with you and you’ve regained your energy.”

  She stiffened. Her mind locked onto those words. Colm is fine. She hadn’t said that Colm might be in danger or hurt. As soon as they both reached the top of the stairs, she stopped and turned to him. He looked at her curiously and didn’t seem to realize that she’d gone from frustrated to angry at his words. Glaring at him, she tried to find the words and patience to speak rather than yelling irrationally.

  “Why would he be in danger?” she asked, although her voice sounded tight and the urge to scream still ran through her.

  “I was just telling you he’s safe and that there’s nothing wrong with him.” Linc’s eyebrows raised, but she could see the tension slowly seeping into his shoulders.

  “Don’t even try that.” She shook her head sharply and then poked her finger into his chest when he took a step forward. “And don’t try to distract me with sex. If he’s in a dangerous situation, I want to know now and I want to know why you’re not out there helping him instead of following me around as if I’m going to disappear.”

  “More because you can’t.”

  At least, that’s what she thought she heard, but it made no sense. “What?”

  “We want to make sure you’re safe. Right now, it’s too soon after Laed managed to get into the fortress to take chances. Colm’s with our men out searching for Kynar. We’re not leaving him free to cause more trouble. After yesterday, we both feel better knowing that one of us is with you.” Linc grasped her hand and removed her poking finger from his chest.

  “I am safe. If Colm could use some help, put a guard with me. I’ll stay with him until you’re back. I don’t want him to be hurt because you weren’t there if he needs help.” She lifted her chin. She didn’t need a guard with her all the time, but she was willing to have one if he needed to go help Colm.

  “They haven’t spotted him. They’re just following a trail right now. Don’t worry.” He smiled and patted her on the shoulder.

  She angrily swiped his hand off her shoulder. “Don’t tell me not to worry. He’s my mate too! If he’s hurt in any way, you’re going to be very unhappy for a very long time.”

  Linc held up his hands. “He’s not going to get hurt. They haven’t even found fresh signs today. If I thought for a moment they were close to catching the tamaurg, I’d be out there helping. I want a piece of him myself for all the trouble he’s caused. If it weren’t for his mistreatment of you, you might not have fought the bond between us as much.”

  “That might have helped me, but our joining wasn’t going to be easy. Colm wasn’t going to accept me with open arms if he’d bumped into me on the street and realized that I was his mate.” She frowned and sighed. “You’d better be right. You’ve been warned.”

  Linc smiled. “Let’s go and I’ll watch you practice. Maybe even teach you a new trick or two.”

  “Maybe? Definitely.” She worked up a wobbly smile and led the way to the room. Worry churned in her belly, but she tried to focus. She needed to be doing something. If not, she was going to obsess and make herself and Linc crazy.

  * * * * *

  Cami walked slowly down the hallway. It felt a little weird to be alone after having either Colm or Linc with her almost all day for the last two days. Without their constant scrutiny and overprotectiveness, some of the tension eased from her body. Danger didn’t lurk in her normal daily activities. They knew it. Considering she was still trying to settle in here, they didn’t help her cause much. Their presence definitely put a distance between her and everyone else.

  She headed toward the kitchen to get something to drink. After the attack by Laed, most of the women had relaxed around her. Most. One or two of them still glared at her and blatantly avoided talking to her. She suspected there might be a few more women hiding a grudge.

  Still, she wasn’t all that surprised to find one of them standing in the hall. Surprisingly, she didn’t recognize the blonde. Not even from her dreams. She didn’t know the woman’s name. Cami thought she might have spoken a time or two to the other female, but couldn’t be sure.

  The blond-haired woman
started forward purposefully. “I’m not attacking you from the back.”

  “Lucky for you.” Cami tilted her head and looked at the woman. She didn’t want to fight. She would if she had to, but this was senseless.

  “You don’t belong here.” The other woman snarled, the expression twisting her pretty face.

  The woman knew this wouldn’t work. She had to know. Cami already dreaded the trouble this was going to cause. The woman seemed reticent. She hadn’t immediately attacked. That gave Cami a little hope that they could end this without making it physical.

  “This isn’t going to make me go away. I’ll still be here. All that’s going to happen is we’ll fight. Someone’s going to hear or see something. You’ll get their attention, but not in any way you ever wanted.” Cami sighed and rolled her shoulders.

  The blonde jumped at her. Cami’s mouth dropped open. The petite female had looked tense, but not ready to attack. The woman’s fist swung toward her. Going on the defensive, Cami stumbled back. Her arm rose to block the blow. The impact jolted up her arm, making it go numb.

  Cami thrust her other hand forward. Her palm landed squarely against the blonde’s chest, shoving the woman back. Anger rushed through Cami’s blood. Her canines lengthened as the tiron inside pounced for control. The animal wanted to rip and tear in response to the threat. Both to her life and her claim on Linc and Colm.

  Cami swung her fist. Her knuckles connected with the woman’s jaw. The other woman staggered into the wall. Cami barely managed to keep herself from using her claws on the blonde. The petite female’s hand grabbed at Cami’s arm. Cami heard the ripping sound of fabric and then felt a dragging pull across her skin. Fiery tingles erupted over her arm as air hit the claw marks.

  Cami shoved again, forcing the woman into the wall. Grabbing a handful of hair, she slammed the blonde’s head into the stone twice. Cami roughly spun the woman and shoved her face first into the wall. At least the bitch was less of a threat that way. The woman’s hand reached back, clawing at her. Cami caught it and twisted it up against the middle of her back, forcing the woman onto her toes.

  “They’re mine. My mates!” Cami hissed as she leaned close. The tiron inside roared and raged, wanting to rip the woman open for daring to attack and dispute her claim.

  “They haven’t claimed you. Maybe you’re nothing more than we were.” The woman’s voice was a little muffled and she sounded a little dazed.

  Cami hoped the disorientation didn’t lessen the impact of the position. She didn’t know if she’d be able to hold back again if the woman didn’t learn her lesson from this fight.

  “Don’t try to lie to yourself.” Cami growled low in her throat, a rumbling warning that the tiron was close to the surface. The urge to make sure her rival never again dared try this ripped at her, but she held back. She was more than her animal. “This time I’m not tearing you open and leaving you bleeding as an example. It’s not easy to resist the urge. The tiron wants your blood for what you’ve done.”

  “How about I take her from your hands, Lady? So that your temper isn’t pushed any more than necessary.” The voice came from the direction of the kitchen, but she knew the man had probably come from the connecting hall near the kitchen door.

  Cami nodded and waited for the man to get hold of the woman before she released her. As soon as her hands were free, she took a couple of steps back just to put some distance between her and the woman. She drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes.

  The aggressive, possessive animal raged inside her. Cami didn’t want to attack her again, but the tiron still saw a threat. It was worse this time than it was the last time. She didn’t know why, either. The blonde hadn’t touched either Linc or Colm in her presence or even been near them when the fight started.

  She spun and paced a little down the hall. Her hands clenched and unclenched at her sides. Distance wasn’t helping much. A few other men rushed into the hallway and took the woman away. Now that the blonde was out of sight, the tiron settled a little, but still wanted to go hunt her down.

  She heard Colm’s voice first. Her head rose and she spun. With her eyes locked on the end of the hallway, she searched for her two men. She saw several men there, but none of the faces belonged to either man she wanted. Finally, they rounded the corner. Before they even saw her, she began walking toward them. Something pushed at her. She had to get to them.

  Colm pulled her into his arms as soon as she reached him. She clenched her hand on his shirt and rubbed her face against the fabric over the hard muscles. From this moment on, everyone would know they were hers. No doubts, no mistakes, no more damn women thinking that her relationship with Linc and Colm would fade or end.

  Female Santir didn’t leave a mating mark on their mates. Although females sometimes bit during fierce sex, the bite mark didn’t scar as it did with men. She wanted to do it, though. Possessiveness raged inside her. She wanted everyone to know they were hers. Even if it was possible, she couldn’t at the moment. Not any more than they could her. The herbs that changed her scent messed with her sense of smell. They smelled a little off to her. But even with that, she knew they were her mates and longed to take the final step.

  The face rub wasn’t enough. She pressed against him and did a full body rub. It wasn’t as effective as if she’d been in cat form, but it would work with the sensitive nose of a Santir.

  Colm gripped her shoulders as she stepped back. His eyebrow arched over his eyes and curiosity burned in his gaze. “Is something wrong?”

  “My cat’s a little stirred up right now.” A blush heated her cheeks. She didn’t like the fact that she couldn’t really control this.

  “I understand the feeling. I felt something akin to that the other day. Feel free to rub on me all you want.” Colm smiled and pulled her close again.

  She held him tight for a little longer, but the need wasn’t satisfied yet. There was something more she had to do. Rather, someone else. Linc. She wriggled. Colm’s hands slid down her back and cupped her buttocks. His head lowered and he nuzzled her neck and shoulder.

  “There, i’ma, if I’m going to wear your scent, you’re going to wear mine. Now go to Linc. I’ll go talk to Allesse and see if she’ll tell me why she decided to attack you.” Colm’s hand on her ass gently urged her over to Linc.

  Cami rolled her eyes. That was simple. Allesse wanted them. No need for explanations. Even full bonding wouldn’t deter her. Cami wrapped her arms around Linc the moment she got within reach. His hands smoothed over her back. He held her tight against him. She moved against him until finally the tiron was satisfied any single woman would be able to tell that Colm and Linc weren’t free.

  “Better?” Linc’s hand stroked down her back. His fingers touched the curve of her buttocks, but he didn’t cup them.

  She pushed back against his hand in silent urging. When his hand swept up her back, only to return to the curve of her buttocks, she knew he was teasing her. She dug her nails into his back in a bit of retaliation. Now really wasn’t the time, but each touch drew her closer. She wanted to deepen the embrace and find some privacy so they could really enjoy it.

  “A little. Something about it this time drove my cat wild.” She leaned back in his loose hold. She didn’t know what it was about this incident that was so different from the other times. If any of them should have set the tiron to roaring, the time when she’d been attacked from the back should have done it.

  “My guess is the timing. It’s close to the time of claiming and that concoction is finally clearing your system. You may have known that we were your mates, but it’s different when the tiron can sense its mates, but is held back from the instinctual claiming.” Linc’s lips twisted. “In the last few days, I’ve felt more possessive and protective of you. Letting you out of my sight for even a small period of time hasn’t been easy.”

  He could be right. Now that she thought about it, most of her feelings had been more intense with concern to them. Maybe it was natural, but
she hoped it would settle down once the claiming was completed. She didn’t expect the trouble with the women to completely fade away, even after the ceremony. Their desire for the position seemed to be too entrenched.

  “Don’t worry. We’ll take care of this. It’s not going to happen again. They’ll realize that there’s no hope for them with us.” Linc dropped a kiss on her forehead.

  She didn’t believe that for a moment. Linc and Colm had already made a blatant declaration. That hadn’t changed a thing. She didn’t think having yet another talk with them would work. She wished she knew what would stop them. She’d do it without hesitating.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Cami strolled down the hallway. She felt relaxed and happy for the most part. Two days without a comment from the single women. That alone relieved her. She didn’t know if she’d be able to hold back right now if another woman made a claim on Linc and Colm. Maybe those women finally accepted the truth. On the other hand, frustration clawed through her. The promise of being with both Colm and Linc had kept her body on fire, but it hadn’t happened yet.

  Either Colm or Linc had been called away on every night since that day. It was the same in the morning. She woke with only one of them by her side. She was ready to tie one of them to the bed. At least he’d stay there while she went searching for the other one.

  They still hunted Kynar. From the intensifying search, they drew closer to cornering him. At times, she could care less about that. She needed to be with her men. The drive pumped through her. They felt it too. Both of them growled anytime another male drew near her. They’d growled at Vin yesterday for merely being in the same room with her.

  The frustration at not being able to claim them and be claimed ate at her. When was the last of the herbal medicine going to fade? She growled and shook her head. It shouldn’t be too much longer, but she’d been assuring herself of that for days. It didn’t reassure her anymore.