Sharing a Mate Read online

  “Apologies,” Sorin said blandly. “I just wanted to be certain we stick exclusively and scrupulously to the facts.”

  Like the fact that you two made me fall for you and then dumped me and each other at the same time? Kayla thought but didn’t say.

  “Fine,” she said aloud. “The two of you go talk to the High Council. I’ll go back to the lab and start working immediately.”

  Sorin raised an eyebrow at her.

  “You don’t want to take a little time to rest? It’s been a…stressful journey in more than one way, Kayla. If you want to have some time to yourself—”

  “I want to make the damn antidote,” Kayla snapped at him. “I want to be able to take it before…before I have another attack. Because God knows I can’t count on either of you to help me if I do.”

  “Small one—”

  “Leelah—” they both started at once.

  Kayla held up a hand to stop them.

  “Don’t either one of you dare say a word to me,” she said through gritted teeth. “I am holding onto my temper with both hands here, as my Granny used to say. So don’t even start.”

  Sorin looked like he wanted to protest but at last he just shook his head.

  “Fine. You know where the specimen collection bag is. We’ll meet you in the lab after we debrief the Council.”

  “Fine,” Kayla echoed him. She went to the back of the ship and picked up the dark gray bag which was made of heavy fabric and had a temperature and humidity controlled interior. Slinging it over one shoulder, she exited the shuttle before the guys could say anything else that might make her want to kill them…or hold them tight and never let them go.

  “Oh hi, Dr. Smith! How are you?”

  Kayla, who had been walking along the corridor leading from the Docking Bay, looked up to see Olivia—one of the head nurses in the med center—waving at her. She was walking with her friend, Kat—a lovely plus-sized girl with auburn hair.

  Inwardly, Kayla winced. She didn’t feel like making small talk right now—all she wanted to do was get to the lab and get to work on the Lust Blossoms. But she couldn’t completely throw politeness and social convention to the wind just because she was feeling utterly horrible.

  “Oh, hi, Liv,” she said, trying to smile at the blond girl. “Haven’t I told you to call me Kayla?”

  “Sure, I know but I like to give credit where it’s due,” Liv said. “I mean, you earned a Doctorate in xenobiology and chemistry. That’s impressive.”

  “Liv here tells me you and your two scientist buddies are going to find an antidote for the lust attacks we’ve all been having,” Kat said, looking at her hopefully. “Any luck with that?”

  “I have some Lust Blossoms right here.” Kayla held up the gray specimen bag. “They’re what the Xi-46 that affected everyone is distilled from. We’re hoping to be able to find a cure using the fresh blossoms.”

  “Oh, perfect!” Kat clapped her hands excitedly. “I am so glad to hear it. Not that I don’t love having lots of hot nookie with my two guys but it’s hard to get anything done when you have to drop everything to do the nasty every few hours.”

  “At least you’ve got two to share the load,” Liv pointed out. “I’m wearing poor Baird out!” She turned to Kayla. “She’s lucky—mated to Twin Kindred,” she said. “And in this case, I think two is definitely better than one.”

  “Oh, I…I see…” But suddenly Kayla couldn’t see very well. Her vision had doubled and then trebled and her eyes were stinging as something warm and wet rolled down her cheeks.

  “Oh, honey!” Liv exclaimed, taking her by the arm. “What in the world is wrong?”

  “Was it something we said?” Kat asked anxiously.

  “I…I’m sorry,” Kayla sobbed, putting a hand to her face. “It’s just…when you were talking about having…having two mates. I just…”

  But then she broke down completely and couldn’t go on.

  “Oh, you poor thing!” Liv rubbed her shoulder. “It’s okay, Kayla—just let it out.”

  “I can’t…can’t do this.” Kayla shook her head and swiped at her tears. “We’re in a public place. I can’t have a …a break down here.”

  Liv took a quick look around the crowded corridor.

  “Okay, we’ll go someplace private so you can cry,” she said quickly. “Kat, we’re not far from your place, are we?”

  “Right this way—here, we can take a side corridor. It’s less crowded,” Kat said.

  “No, no…” Kayla shook her head. “Just leave me be—I’ll be all right in a minute.”

  “No you won’t until you’re able to talk this out,” Liv said, sounding stern and gentle at the same time. “Come on, hon, let’s go. You’ll be glad you got it off your chest.”

  Before Kayla knew it, she was seated comfortably on Kat’s Twin-Kindred-sized couch between the two friends with a cup of hot tea and a plate of brownies in front of her. The place was deserted except for the three of them and she wondered if Kat had called ahead and asked her husbands to take their kids out for a little while. If so, it was very nice of her. She didn’t want to have a breakdown in front of strangers and since she couldn’t seem to stop crying, that was about what her emotional state amounted to.

  “Okay, doll,” Kat said, rubbing soothingly between her shoulder blades. “Come on and spill—what’s going on that has you so upset?”

  “I…I…hardly know how to talk about it,” Kayla sniffed and swiped at her eyes with some tissues that Liv had handed her. “I…I’m in love with my coworkers—both of them!”

  “The other two scientists you work with, you mean?” Liv asked gently. “Oh dear—but isn’t one a Beast Kindred and one a—”

  “Blood Kindred,” Kayla finished for her. “I was dreaming of them both and they both of them helped me with my…my needing.” She felt her cheeks getting hot as she spoke. “I touched them at the same time and then I found I couldn’t touch one without the other or I got a horrible shock. So both of them just…just kept on helping me. Every time I had an, er, attack.”

  “Wow.” Kat looked at her wide-eyed. “And they put up with that? With sharing you?”

  “I have to be honest,” Liv said. “I would have thought that they would have fought each other to the death rather than share a female they both love.”

  “They didn’t like the idea of sharing but they’re best friends so they decided to do it, at least temporarily,” Kayla explained. “I love them both so much I kept hoping the temporary solution would become permanent—I didn’t want to lose either one of them. But now…now I’ve lost them both,” she finished, feeling desolate.

  “Oh honey, surely not,” Liv exclaimed. “There must be some way to, uh, bring the three of you back together.”

  “I don’t think so.” Kayla shook her head. “When we were hunting for the Lust Blossoms…” She held up the collection bag she was still clutching, “We were shown three possible futures if we stayed together and all of them were awful. It made my guys decide it was time to…to end things between the three of us once and for all.”

  “And do you trust these futures you were shown?” Kat asked.

  Kayla bit her lip, considering. “I do,” she said at last. “They felt…true. And we were told one or more of them would happen. It scared the living crap out of all of us and then my guys started fighting and before I knew it, the three of us had just…” She sniffed miserably. “Just fallen apart.”

  “Oh, Kayla…” Liv put an arm around her shoulders and squeezed gently. “I don’t know how, my dear, but I’m sure the Goddess is going to work this out. You did say you were dreaming of them both, right?”

  Kayla nodded. “Yes—a lot.”

  “And did they dream about you?” Kat asked.

  Kayla nodded. At certain times in the past both of her guys had said something like, “I had the weirdest dream about you and Sorin last night, Kayla,” or, “Kayla, you wouldn’t believe the dream I had of you and Bron.” The dream