4 - Outside Help

~Vance’s Point of View~

My tiger paced in my head, fuming. We had found and tracked the Omega, she should be ours. My heart raced just thinking about her luscious body.

But technically, Barrett put his hands on her first. He was the one who pulled her from the river and that fact made me absolutely sick. Had I gotten to her first, won her … it would mean everything. To me, to my brothers and our entire family.

She was so damn lucky to have only basic cuts and scrapes, she could have died. What the hell was she thinking?

The fact that there were four Omegas today, four, was unreal. My brothers and I knew for sure we would get one, we had to really due to an ultimatum laid down by our parents. The time for playing around and waiting for the perfect female for us was over.

But when my tiger smelled her, no other would do. She was IT. THE ONE. The one we’d been waiting for, and I had to have her. Once I laid eyes on her, I knew she was mine. There would be no chasing after another. I immediately mind-linked my brothers and demanded we consolidate our efforts to get her. But for whatever reason, only my brother Christian really helped. Liam, well … I don’t know where the fuck he went. Not a surprise there though.

We are lucky as hell normally to get two or three Omegas in a year as a possibility. Females that are brought from out in the world to the Sky Light. This told me there likely wouldn’t be many more chances for some time. Sometimes my brothers and I are so incredibly turned off by them, we don’t even try. Much to our parents’ disappointment.

But I didn’t want more chances, I wanted the perfectly curvy brown haired vixen who seemed to have absolutely no fear. She had a fire that made my tiger roar, and we’d never felt that.

She was clearly smart in how she tried to run, and hide. But my beast Rowe had her lilac scent and couldn’t give up. He would have found her no matter what. It was definitely not a scent we had here on the island, we only knew it from the few brief trips we’d had outside the kingdom. 

It was the most intoxicating thing we’d ever experienced.

But then there were her soft features, her body. There was no way she wouldn’t be able to handle triplets, she was made for us and I wasn’t giving her up without a fight. Whether I had to fight another male or even fight with her, I’d get my way.

It’s been said that once your other half decides, chooses his mate, there is no other option. He’ll tear you apart trying to make sure he gets what he wants. And what if three animals are doing that all at once? There hadn’t been triplets in the Sky Light that had settled down and shared a mate in a long time. Our fathers refused to do it, wanting to try and populate the world basically. While we had pretty big egos they weren’t that bad.

The bear shifter, Barrett, had to be more than twice the Omega’s age. I had no doubt she would refuse him, if not flat out reject him. I had to hope like hell for it at any rate, but I wasn’t opposed to challenging him for her. Such things were rarely done.

That wouldn’t go over too well though and I was certain my father would have something to say about it. Several things. Easy for him to say when he has multiple females who have given him many offspring.

“What the hell happened, I thought you had her,” Christian whined, finally meeting up with me.

“I thought I did, but where the fuck were you huh? Could have used the help. I thought I was on the right side of the water but I was wrong, fucking Barrett was closer,” I snapped, having to point my anger at someone else. It was my fuck up and I knew it.

My brothers and I were twenty-five years old and for us to still not have children was a nightmare. We should each have several by now and if we didn’t figure it out soon, it might cost our family everything. Our fathers could only make excuses for us for so long.

We just couldn’t bring ourselves to give our seed to any female. While it killed us to use the rubber shields we felt we had no choice and our beasts agreed. Our seed would only be for the female we mated and shared. We wanted a cohesive family unit.

But the females here were devious, many wanted to infiltrate our family and especially the triplet princes. When Christian caught a she-wolf trying to empty his used shield into herself, we had to make a tough choice. So for nearly a year none of us have bedded a female. It’s been fucking torture. What’s worse? Everyone knows it and we get teased like you wouldn’t believe. 

My father had so many offspring he didn’t even know all their names. My brother Christian’s father was much the same. Liam however, well his father only had two and that put all the more pressure on him. Not all shifters are able to lay seed in a female and have it take, so they don’t care about being reckless. They’ll mount anyone who is willing. Even if it does there is no guarantee the female is strong enough to birth it. But this Omega looked incredibly strong and tough. She was feisty as hell and her fire was exactly what we needed.

Unfortunately for Christian and I, Liam was an asshole on his best days. Hardly attracted many females. Not only that, once they found out what his other half was, few wanted to go near him. Since we were old enough to understand how the world really works, we’d all agreed that we would share one mate and she would be the mother of our offspring. We would in no way take multiple women and split up.

“We have to get to her somehow. Talk to her. She knows your face right,” Christian whispered, not like it mattered. Any shifter has incredible hearing and so did the other misfits who called The Sky Light kingdom their home.

“It's against the rules of the hunt and you know it. We can’t even tell her who we are and risk tipping the scales,” I whined.

Yeah let me just come on out and tell her we are princes, next in line to the throne. How could she resist? Well to Christian it was a no brainer, of course any female would want the chance to be Queen. He felt that way because most female shifters here absolutely do. But an Omega from out in the world? She’s not going to give a damn, especially one who fought so hard to flee. This was going to be the fight of our lives in more ways than one, I already knew it.

But she was worth it.

My brother and I stood watching two females walk off happily with the males who won them. I had no idea where the third was, not that I really cared. My Omega was with a healer and I would have their head if they didn’t fix her. 

“They need to let me help,” Christian mumbled, shifting on his feet. I knew his wolf had to be losing his mind. He wouldn’t stop telling Rowe how much he loved her scent. That was a good thing, but we couldn’t be reckless.

I put my hand on his shoulder and tried to calm him. It’s usually Liam and his beast that need to be reminded to be still. Now wasn’t the time to fly off the handle.

Speaking of…

“Where the hell is Liam anyhow,” I asked, as we both turned away and began to walk toward our small hospital.

“Who knows. He can’t be far. I feel his connection,” Christian sighed. I grunted, annoyed.

*Where the hell are you,* I practically shouted, over mind-link. I left the link open so that Christian could hear me and any response that might come in. It was often how we communicated so no one was left out.

It was quiet for a couple of minutes as we walked, and my frustration only grew.

*You handle things your way and I handle them mine,* Liam finally responded.

Christian and I shot each other a look. My brother rubbed his hand over his beard and chuckled. I licked my lips and had to hope like hell Liam was doing something worthwhile. I didn’t like surprises and I hated him keeping us in the dark. Unfortunately it was his way. What he loved to do.

Rowe got busy trying to speak to Liam’s better half to get me information. Those two always want to be so damn secretive, it drives me insane. Liam was older than me by eight minutes and then I was older than Christian by five. Not that it really mattered or meant anything but our fathers always want to point it out.

I quickly noted a fairy named Puck who was very tight with Liam. Fairies can be tricky little bastards and it's hard to trust them. But Puck came up with us, through thick and thin so out of the hundred or so fae in the Sky Light, he was just about the only one I truly trusted. Also, if he fucked around or messed us up in any way, he’d have Liam to contend with, and you didn’t want to be on his shit list.

Christian and I gave him a nod and he grinned, bearing his fangs to us. The fae always do that when they’re excited. What was he up to? Why was he even here?

“You seen Liam,” Christian asked, before I could. He pressed his lips together like he wasn’t going to say, but that’s all part of his act. The fairies are the biggest gossips under the sun.

“Spoken to him very recently. Said you had a problem, needed some help,” Puck said, a sly grin permanently stuck on his face.

Within seconds the loud sounds of a male shouting as if in pain came out of the cabin. Rowe chuckled, as if he knew something I didn’t. I ran my hand through my shaggy wet hair that had fallen over my eyes.

*What did you do,* said, over mind-link to Puck. I left it open to both of my brothers.

*I am but a servant to my princes,* he laughed, before he disappeared.

I shot Christian a look and shook my head. He laughed.

The male continued to scream and it soon became apparent that it was the bear, Barrett, shouting. I’d had enough.

Shoving my way inside through the few gawkers, I was quickly met with one of the most foul stenches I’d ever encountered. I quickly put my hand over my nose and gagged, as did my brother.

“You need to get into the garderobe, you’re messing all over,” someone shouted, as they approached him with towels.

I wanted to laugh but the risk of getting the disgusting odor in my nose wasn’t worth it. Barrett was quite literally shitting his brains out all over the floor.