Three Fated Hearts
Chapter 61

~Tia~

This was unexpected, yet very expected. I told mom to stay upstairs and let me handle things, but she could feel the fury and tension through the bond. I had a feeling that she would end up following me downstairs, but I knew, deep down, I wouldn’t be able to hold her back.

Mom comes to stand next to me, and I gently place my hand on her back. I don’t want her to think she has to succumb to his demands, nor do I want her to feel threatened. Mom steps forward a bit, and dad turns to face her.

“Let’s go, Nikki. You need to come home.”

“I’m staying here, Stuart. We need a break from each other for a while.” I can see my dad’s face scrunch up, and the veins in his neck pop out.

“COME HOME, NOW!” Dad’s eyes are black, and his voice drops a few octaves and took a husky tone. Dad’s wolf, Caesar, is in front now. I can hear my mom whimper. I step forward and look at her, noticing her eyes have gone black as well. Caesar is reaching for mom’s wolf, and if he succeeds, she will go home and be lost to me.

“You need to leave Caesar. You’ve hurt me for the last time.” Dad growls, and the walls shake a bit. Luna Kimberly takes a step back, and Landon steps forward to put himself between my dad and us. He crouches to get into a defensive position.

We stand there for what seems to be hours, waiting for something to be said or done. Caesar huffs and shifts his feet. “This isn’t over, Aluma. You will come home whether you want to or not.” Caesar turns around and starts to walk down the hall to the stairs. He stops at Luna Kimberly and looks at her for a beat. It’s weird how he looks at her, as if there is a longing there. Maybe I’m just seeing things at this point. I’m tired, and the situation is very emotional. Caesar continues past the Luna and down the stairs.

“Was all of this really necessary?” I ignore her. She will only be Luna for a few more days, so what she thinks really doesn’t matter. I grab my mom’s arm and turn her toward me. I notice her eyes have gone back to their brown hue, and she is breathing a bit heavily.

“Come, mom. Let’s get you upstairs so you can rest.” Mom nods, and she follows me to the back stairs.

I’ll be up soon, love. I nod and take my mom up the stairs.

~Adela~

I couldn’t believe it when Aida told me that Portia had helped mom leave the house. Who does she think she is to disrupt a mating situation? What, exactly, is going on these days? Everything has been upside down and topsy-turvy. This is not how things are supposed to be right now. My sister and I are supposed to be the Lunas of this pack right now, and we should be mated and marked by the twins. Instead, their fated mate is Portia, of all people. She is going to be the Luna in a few days’ time. Luna Kimberly, who had always been in our corner, has sent some rich b***h here to try to take the twins from us. Now our mom is leaving the house, following behind Portia. The entire situation is making my head hurt.

On top of everything, I haven’t heard from Neal. I told him what needed to be done, yet here we are, and things haven’t changed. If the twins see that Portia is open to others, they will be quick to toss her aside. Portia getting tossed aside will leave the spot open for Aida and me.

I grab my phone and dial Neal’s number. We are quickly running out of time to make things happen. Once the ceremony happens, it will be a lot harder to get to the Luna, and I’ll be damned if Portia becomes the Luna of this pack.

Neal answers on the second ring. “Hey, beautiful. Are you missing me?”

“What’s going on with you and Portia?”

“Why? Are you jealous?” I scoff, and I hear Neal sigh. “It’s okay to be jealous. It’s fine to admit that you have feelings for me. We have been dealing with each other long enough that it would make sense.” What the hell? This isn’t supposed to be him trying to get with me. Neal is supposed to be trying to get to Portia. I close my eyes and open them back with new resolve.

“What about Portia?”

“Portia is mated to the Alphas. I doubt they want to add a third to the mix.” I don’t respond. “Don’t get me wrong. I kind of like Portia to be honest. She’s beautiful, smart, funny…….” Ugh! I swear I’m going to gag right now. Portia is none of those things.

“Oh….have they marked each other yet?”

“Ah, no. I didn’t see a mark, but you should have seen them when I was talking to her. If looks could kill,” Neal starts laughing into the line while I roll my eyes.

“I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but,” I stop to build up the suspense.

“Yes?”

“You can’t say anything. Portia told me this in confidence. She’s unmarked because she is having doubts. She said that she feels the bond, but there is someone else that has captured her interest.” I wait for a response, but I didn’t get any. “She….well she told me that she was interested in you.” I hear the small intake of breath, and a smile breaks out on my face. I think I got him. “Maybe you should explore that with Portia. At the very least, you should talk to her about it. If you are both feeling the same for each other, it wouldn’t be fair to the twins if she were to continue with the ceremony. Just think about it.” I didn’t wait for a response. I hang up the phone and lean back on the bed. Neal is definitely intrigued, and that’s all I need for him to take the initiative with Portia. It shouldn’t take long for the twins to be mateless again.