Page 103 of Beasts of Mine

“No one could decide what you eat.” Luca countered with a laugh beside me. “You’d argue until the food went bad.”

“I have standards.” Tavian defended himself while shoving a branch out of his path.

“You ate three green guavas last week.” Malek reminded Tavian, his voice perfectly flat.

“They were almost ripe.” Tavian protested over his shoulder, sounding personally insulted by the accusation. I smiled as I stepped around another muddy patch, the easy back-and-forth doing more to show me how long they’d been together than any explanation probably could.

“So outside of the things Malek handles, you’re equals.” I glanced toward Luca to make sure I had the important part right.

“Exactly.” Luca confirmed with a small nod, shifting the rolled tarp beneath his arm. That answer created another question almost immediately. I spent several steps deciding whether I actually wanted to ask it. The only sounds around us were boots against wet ground, the occasional drip from the leaves, and Tavian moving through a patch of low vegetation ahead.

Curiosity won.

“What happens when one of you wants a mate?” I asked the men, keeping my attention on the trail and trying not to sound quite as interested in the answer as I was. Tavian’s pace slowed. Luca was quiet for a moment beside me, and Malek’s footsteps came a little closer from behind.

“We never planned on finding separate mates.” Luca finally answered, his voice losing some of its earlier amusement. I stopped walking. Tavian took another couple of steps before realizing and turned toward us.

“No separate mates?” I repeated to Luca while looking from him to Tavian and finally Malek.

“No.” Malek answered from several feet behind me, my gear still hanging from his shoulders. “That was never what we wanted.”

“Then what did you want?” I asked Malek as I shifted my weight on the uneven trail.

“One mate for the pack.” Tavian answered from beside a tree, resting one hand against the trunk while his usual grin disappeared.

“Is that common?” I asked Luca, keeping the question firmly in the territory of shifter culture.

“Pretty common.” Luca adjusted the tarp beneath his arm as he answered. “Not every pack looks the same, but several Alphas sharing one Omega wouldn’t turn any heads where we come from.”

I glanced toward Malek, yesterday’s explanation about his role taking on a slightly different shape now.

“And being Head Alpha—” I started, letting the unfinished thought hang as my attention moved between the three men.

“Doesn’t change anything romantically.” Malek finished for me without hesitation, his expression turning serious.

“He doesn’t get first pick either.” Tavian added from beside the tree, the edge of his grin finally returning.

“That is not what I was asking.” I informed Tavian as I gave him a flat look.

“You were thinking about it.” Tavian replied with an unapologetic lift of one shoulder.

“I was wondering whether Malek being in charge of the territory somehow carried over into the relationship.” I corrected Tavian, folding my arms while he continued looking much too pleased with himself.

“It doesn’t.” Luca assured me, his mouth curving faintly. “If a woman chose all three of us, she’d be with all three of us. Malek being Head Alpha wouldn’t put him above either of us.”

The answer settled something I hadn’t realized was bothering me. The structure itself wasn’t entirely foreign. Human packs could contain more than two partners too. Three Alphas sharing one Omega wasn’t something I encountered often, but the relationship wasn’t difficult to understand once I stopped trying to fit Malek’s territorial role into parts of their lives where it didn’t belong.

“What makes it more common for your kind?” I asked Luca after Tavian pushed away from the tree and started moving again.

“Some of it is tradition.” Luca returned to my side, stepping over a slick root before continuing. “Some of it is practical. During a heat, one partner can stay close while somebody else handles food, sleeps, keeps an eye on the territory, or does whatever else needs doing.”

“Not because an Omega can’t take care of herself.” Malek added from behind me, his steady voice making me glance back. “The point is that nobody in a pack has to handle everything alone.”

I held his gaze for a second, letting the distinction settle before Luca continued.

“If a pack has children, it helps there too.” Luca ducked beneath a low branch, then held it aside so I could pass without catching my braid. “More parents around. If somebody is exhausted, working, or needed somewhere else, there are still people there.”

“If they want children.” Tavian emphasized from ahead, looking over one shoulder with an unexpectedly serious expression. “That part isn’t automatic.”