“But you said Jackson sent you,” Alex murmured, keeping his eyes focused on the floor.
Sawyer gave Glenn a hard look. “Why did you claim my cousin sent you when you…and I’m guessing here…haven’t even spoken to him?”
“You’re right,” Glenn admitted. “It was Dylon I spoke to and he asked me to tell you Jackson wanted you to call him. It was late and I was afraid you wouldn’t answer the door so I used his name.”
“Yeah, I can see that…but if Jackson wanted to talk to me, he could’ve called me. So why the midnight visit?” Sawyer persisted.
Gazing intently at Sawyer for a moment, Glenn flicked his eyes over to Alex, before saying, “Before I get to that, let me tell you more about myself, if that’s okay.”
Turning to Alex, Sawyer said, “Sweetheart…that sounds good, right?” Whatever was behind Glenn’s late night visit had to do with Alex and Sawyer had a feeling it wasn’t good.
Shrugging his shoulders, Alex really wanted to scream that he didn’t want to know…that he didn’t want anyone other than Sawyer as his mate. But as it had been for his entire life, except for recently, his life wasn’t his to control.Now instead of people deciding my fate, my animals are in charge.
Hearing Alex’s faint sigh of resignation, Sawyer glanced over to Glenn. This wasn’t the time to explain Alex’s apparent indifference, so he hoped Glenn wouldn’t be offended by it. “Well, we know you’re a tiger but what kind?”
“White Siberian. My mother is a Bali Tiger, my father was like me.”
“Was?” asked Sawyer.
“He died when I was a cub so I don’t have a lot of memories of him. It’s just my mother and me…”
“Any other family?” asked Sawyer.
“No…not really. Tigers are solitary animals and that trait tends to carry over in our human forms.”
Giving Sawyer a side-long glance, Alex asked softly, “Are you going to claim me and then leave? So you can be alone?”
Frowning slightly, Glenn studied Alex, looking for a clue that would explain his question. Failing to find anything, he shifted his gaze to Sawyer—to see his reaction to what he was going to say. “Do you want me to go, Alex?”
Alex’s Fire Fox cried out, turning for comfort to his Fire Dragon who folded himself around the small animal. Then, shooting out a blast of fire, he let Alex know what he thought about Glenn leaving. Surprising himself, Alex agreed with his dragon, but that didn’t diminish his fearof losing control of his life. Given no choice by his animals, Alex would still be forced to do their bidding. When his silence lasted too long, Sawyer whispered words of encouragement into his ear. Nodding in response, Alex finally looked up at Glenn. “No, I don’t…but…”
“Go ahead, sweetheart. Tell Glenn what you told me before he came in,” Sawyer murmured.
Glancing at Sawyer, Alex saw both the love in his eyes and the respect his mate had for him. A warm, happy feeling wrapped around his heart. Never before had anyone felt that way about him, but he could lose it all if he fucked up his explanation. He squared his shoulders and jutted his chin forward in a show of determination. He was a Fire Dragon, and while his other animal was only a Fire Fox, they stood together, combining their strengths. Finally opening his mouth, Alex started speaking, “I never expected nor wanted to have a mate…or two, for that matter…because it took me a long time to finally be free of someone else’s rules and orders. I tried to…no make thatdid…Ididreject Sawyer when we met because I was sure he would control me with his Alpha power.”
Pausing for a moment, Alex smiled shyly at Sawyer before continuing. “Instead of pushing to claim me right away, he courted me, showing me who he was and, more importantly, who he wasn’t. I know this must sound sappy to you, but it wasn’t…not to me. For the first time in my whole life…at least as far as I can remember…someone put me first. No longer was I the unwanted child, a problem for someone to handle. And once that happened, I knew there was no way I could go back.”
Taking Sawyer’s hand, Alex intertwined their fingers together, gazing at it. Giving a wistful smile, he raised their hands, before saying, “Did you know Sawyer was going to claim me tonight? He waited until I was ready…until I decided I wanted him just as much as he wanted me.” Lowering their hands, he muttered, “But I fell asleep before that happened.” Sighing, he looked back at Glenn.
“Then you knocked and once I inhaled your scent, I was shocked to find out your tiger is the mate to my Fire Fox which makes Sawyer’s wolf my Fire Dragon’s mate. Instantly, everything I finally wanted was taken away from me again. Both of you…two Alphas…would fight over me just as my animals used to fight with each other, each wanting to be the leader. There isn’t any way I have of fighting back…of keeping my independence…especially against your tiger. I’ll be a slave, again.”
Turning to Sawyer, Alex said, “I know my dragon is stronger than his tiger, but I’m an Omega dragon. Any Alpha, no matter what they are, will always control me. It’s the reason I rejected you, at first, until I realized that not all Alphas would use their power to force me to do their bidding.” Then, turning back to Glenn, Alex gave him a sad smile. “I don’t mean to hurt you, but as I told Sawyer, I don’t want to lose him.”
Remaining still throughout Alex’s explanation, Glenn struggled to show no reaction, even as his heart broke for the life Alex led before meeting Sawyer. Plaintive howls erupted from his tiger at the thought of being rejected by the fox, but Glenn didn’t agree; he was sure that’s not what Alex really wanted. But he was merely guessing, based on his conversation with his tiger after discoveringwhat the Fates had decided. Granted, he never expected to have two mates, but after meeting them both, he couldn’t imagine anything else.
Alex needed him as much as he needed Sawyer. Glenn’s tiger would make Alex’s fox stronger. There would be balance between Alex’s animals and within Alex himself. Glenn knew this, but also knew he couldn’t explain it to Alex, at least not yet, because he’d bet anything his mate would take it the wrong way. It would have to wait, but in the meantime, he could address the other concerns Alex had brought up. The only question rolling around in his head was whether to do it here or back at Ghost’s, but when his eyes landed on Sawyer’s frown, the decision was made. “Sawyer and I will not be fighting over you…not now, not in the future, not ever.”
“You can’t promise that,” Alex said softly, looking back down at his and Sawyer’s hands.
“Yes, I can. Sawyer is my mate too and just as I can’t do anything to hurt you, I can’t do anything to hurt Sawyer.”
“But he’snotyour mate, he belongs to my dragon!” huffed Alex.
“I know, just as my tiger belongs to your fox…but those are our animals. When we’re in our human forms, Sawyer is my mate, the same as you,” Glenn explained.
“I really don’t understand. How can that be? My animals are part of me…”
“Sweetheart,” Sawyer interrupted, “shifters normally have one animal so when we find our mates, our animals also claim each other. It helps to cement the ties between them. But you have two animals so the Fates gave you two mates…so each of your animals would also have a mate.”
