before, but she deserved it. She
deserved anything he could give her
after what he’d done. “You are right.
Nothing can excuse our behavior.
My name is Tristan of the House of
Akira and this is my brother Kadan.
Our other brother’s name is Savitar.
We have waited our entire lives to
find a mate that would complete us
and when we saw you, we knew you
were meant for us. I could smell
your desire for us.”
“So it’s my fault?” she asked
bitterly.
“Nay,” Tristan said sadly as his
broad shoulders slumped. “We are at
fault and we will do whatever it
takes to make it up to you, Raven.”
“How do you know my name?” she
asked as her eyes narrowed.
Tristan and Kadan both tensed.
Instinctively Tristan knew she would
be furious that he had seen into her
past, but he made a promise to
himself never to lie to her. “When we
formed the blood bond, I was able to
see your memories.”
She froze. “You saw…?”
Her breath hitched and Tristan felt
a wave of shame wrack her small
body through their link. “Nay, you
have nothing to be ashamed of,”
Tristan rushed to say. He tried to
keep his voice calm, but he was
filled with such rage it was difficult.
He wanted to find that male that hurt
his mate and rip him apart with his
bare hands.
“It is the male who hurt you that
deserves the shame,” Kadan added,
his voice a low growl as he tried to
control his rage. “I only wish I could
kill him myself.”
Kadan and Tristan looked at each
other in alarm as they felt the bond
between her and them close down as
if she had slammed the door shut in
her mind, blocking them out.
“Do you feel that?” Tristan asked
his brother.
“I do. In fact, she has been almost
impossible
to
read,”
Kadan
confirmed. “The only time I was
able to reach her mind was when I
formed the bond with her.”
“Please, just leave me alone,”
Raven said, her voice devoid of all
emotion.
“Raven—”
Cold green eyes stared back at
them. “I don’t think it’s too much to
ask after what you’ve done. I get it.
I’m stuck here. Fine. But I don’t have
to like it.”
“We can make you happy if you let
us,” Kadan said softly.
She scoffed at that. “How, by
telling me what to do and what to
say? You don’t even know me, but
you’ve wasted no time telling me
how I need to change. How would
you feel if you suddenly found
yourself on another planet then told
you were virtually a slave to three
strange men? Please, just leave.”
“We shall give you some time to
rest as you asked,” Kadan finally
said after a long pause. “I was
wrong. I do not want to change you,
Raven. You are no slave to us. You
are beloved in every way. You will
see how much you mean to us.”
She looked away and waited until
she heard the sound of the door to the
bedroom shutting before she could
breathe again. She had felt their
remorse through whatever fucked up
bond they had created with her. Hell,
she still felt them, but she was too
angry to care. They had seen her ugly
past and it sickened her that they
knew what had happened to her. She
had been a victim once, and swore it
would never happen again.
Unfortunately for her, it was.
She was stuck here and now
essentially belonged to three men she
didn’t know. They had overwhelmed
her, and part of that shame was hers.
She had felt their hunger for her and
it had fueled her own. Truthfully, she
had wanted them with a passion that
shocked her to the core. Until Tristan
had grabbed her hands like that and
held her down.
Confusion filled her mind. She
knew that she should be grateful that
they had stopped when they had.
Raven understood that another set of
men might not have. She was in a
strange world, with strange customs,
and could be forced into a number of
horrifying scenarios. But the true
reason she was so upset was that she
had felt a connection with them. A
part of her had believed Kadan when
he had said they wouldn’t hurt her.
But they had betrayed that trust, not
matter that it had been unknowingly.
She felt their self-loathing and their
desire to make it up to her, but it was
too hard to just let it go. She’d been
hurt by too many people in the past
for her to trust easily and now that
they had betrayed her she wasn’t sure
what to do.
Hearing the door open, Raven
slowly slid off the large bed, wanting
to be on her feet when she confronted
Kadan and Tristan again. She had
officially reached her limits for today
and couldn’t deal with anymore
bullshit. She turned around prepared
to blast them, only to freeze in shock.
Holy fucking shit…
Raven stared at the large lion-like
creature as it butted its head against
the door, slowly opening it so it
could enter the room. It padded into
the room, looking around then locked
eyes on her. It let out a soft growl that
had Raven backing away slowly. Her
heart pounded so hard it felt like it
was going to jump out of her chest.
The large creature followed her
every move, tracking her as she
slowly pulled the thin blanket from
the bed and backed away, out to the
balcony.
Fuck!
After all that she had been through,
she was damned if she was going to
let herself be eaten by a frickin’ hell-
cat. Part of her wanted to call out, to
scream for Tristan and Kadan to
come save her, but she had depended
on herself for far too long to leave
her survival to someone she barely
knew.
Without taking her eyes off the
large animal stalking her she quickly
looped the blanket around one of the
stone columns of the balcony then
tied the two ends together, praying
that the damn creature wouldn’t
follow her outside. She risked a
quick glance over the edge and
gulped at the sight of the long drop
below. Of course they would have to
be as high as the heavens. The castle
had been built into the side of a
mountain overlooking a large pink
sea and the balcony seemed to be
carved out of the mountain itself. If
she fell into the water from this
height, it would surely kill her. She
hoped with everything in her that she
wouldn’t have to use her make-shift
escape route.
Her heart dropped as the large
creature slowly continued to track
her. It let out a loud roar that had her
scrambling over the side of the
balcony in terror.
Shit! She really was going to have
to this.
When the animal lunged forward
Raven wound her hands into the
material in a firm grip and slid down
so she was sitting in the makeshift
sling she had created. The good thing
was that she was now out of the
creature’s reach so she wouldn’t be
eaten.
The bad news was that she was
fucking terrified of heights.
Fear had her paralyzed as she held
on with a death grip, closing her eyes
as she prayed. She dimly heard the
sound of a door crashing open but her
blood was pounding too loud in her
ears for her to pay any attention to
what was going on above.
“Raven!” Kadan yelled.
She jerked as she heard his voice,
but couldn’t respond or open her
eyes. If she did she knew she would
look down, and maybe throw up.
No. Eyes were staying closed.
She heard a low growl from above
and, after taking a deep breath, found
the courage to pry open her eyes and
look up. Standing at the railing
looking down at her was Kadan and
another man who she assumed was
Savitar, the oldest brother of the trio.
Savitar looked almost identical to
Kadan, only slightly bigger. He had
on black leather pants and around his
waist he wore a belt with a sword
attached. Across his broad, chiseled
chest he had on a black leather vest
with a variety of knives and other
weapons sticking out of it. He had his
light-brown hair pulled back and
Raven could see a vicious scar
across his neck and chest that
disappeared under the leather of his
vest.
She should have been terrified of
this new brother who looked like a
warrior of old, but as her eyes met
his she saw him as safety instead. His
glowing golden eyes were bright
with concern and his knuckles were
white with strain as he gripped onto
the top of the balcony railing. She felt
both of their fear for her through the
bond she had with Kadan. She
refused to look away from Savitar,
using him as a focal point so she
wouldn’t freak out and look down.
A wave of sadness emanated from
Kadan that made her heart hurt. “I
felt your terror through our bond.
What are you doing, Raven? Was
your fear of us so great you thought
to escape us this way?”
“The only thing I was trying to do
is not get eaten by the ginormous lion
in your room,” Raven said through
clenched teeth.
Savitar growled softly at her and
reached down his hand.
“Reach up and grab hold of
Savitar, sweetling. Let us pull you
up,” Kadan ordered softly in her
mind.
“I…can’t.” She could see the
sadness deepen in Savitar’s eyes as
they dimmed and wondered how the
hell she could know what he was
thinking simply by watching him.
Still, he held her gaze as he stretched
his hand out to her, beckoning her to
him.
“Please, Raven. Do not blame
Savitar for what Tristan and I did.
Let him pull you to safety,” Kadan
pleaded.
Tears of embarrassment filled her
eyes. “I mean, I can’t. Literally. I
can’t let go. I can’t move.”
Understanding had the sadness
clearing from Savitar’s glowing eyes
and she saw sheer determination fill
their depths. He quickly removed his
sword
and,
after
a
moment’s
hesitation, took off his leather vest,
baring his muscular, scarred, golden
chest to her view.
Wow, now that was definitely the
way to distract her.
Eye candy…yum!
Focus Raven, she scolded herself.
Her breath caught as she heard
Kadan’s inner thoughts. He was
hoping she wouldn’t be cruel to
Savitar because of his imperfections,
and she knew instinctively that he
hadn’t meant for her to hear what he
was thinking.
Keeping the knowledge to herself,
she kept her gaze on Savitar as he
swung himself over the balcony so he
was on the outside with her. Before
she knew it he had crouched down
and jerked her up onto his lap with
one arm wrapped securely around
her waist. Raven reacted without
thought and let go of the blanket to
latch on to him. She wrapped her
arms around his neck, burying her
head into the crook of his neck so she
wouldn’t have to see over the edge.
Her legs came up around his waist as
she tried to climb him like a tree as
he slowly stood up.
She heard him growling softly to
her as he awkwardly climbed over
the railing with her attached to him.
Kadan was careful not to touch her as
he helped his brother over and
stepped back once they were safely
back on solid ground. A low
animalistic
growl
had
Raven
practically squeezing the life out of
her savior as her head whipped