Page 15 of Knotted By the Triad

“You said you loved how kind they were to the citizens. And how they were working hard with their guards and other workers to help rebuild the structures damaged by the flood. You were shocked to learn they were members of the Triad, just like everyone else in the countryside. By the time they left, you and the others viewed the Triad more favorably than the tyrant king, who hadn’t sent any aid.”

I nodded. A part of me remembered that. Not from the book. It was as if I was acquiring some of the original Zuri’s memories and feelings. I could feel her admiration for them, feel how much she’d crushed on them. She’d truly fallen in love with them at first sight.

“You never approached them while they were there,” Allie continued. “But you always watched them from afar. You admired them after that. Especially because they came themselves instead of only sending servants and supplies.”

I vaguely remembered this bit of backstory from the book. CiCi didn’t touch on it in detail. It was mainly there to explain why Zuri had wanted the three alphas badly enough to eventually lose herself trying to win them over.

Even with old Zuri’s memories and emotions blooming within me, I still didn’t think it was reason enough for her to turn into a villain. I definitely wasn’t going to fall in love with them for simply doing the job they’d been sent to do.

“Well, I no longer have a crush on them,” I told Allie. “All I want to do now is give them an heir and leave.”

Allie looked at me like she still wasn't convinced. I couldn't blame her. As far as she knew, I'd spent years talking about these men. One bad wedding night shouldn't have been enough to make those feelings disappear.

But those feelings had never been mine. I knew where loving Kai, Daemin, and Zian had gotten the original Zuri. She'd spent years trying to make them choose her, only to lose herself along the way.

I would not walk the same path she had. I would find out exactly what the King's decree required. I would find my loophole. And if giving the princes an heir was the price of my freedom, so be it.

After that, they could have the life they wanted with Mei Lin, and I would forge my own path. Besides, sleeping with them wouldn't be any hardship. They were sexy as hell. In the real world, I’d be called a hoe for fucking three men at the same time.

Here, I could fuck until I was all out of slick, and no one would judge me. Here, most relationships consisted of multiple partners. I smiled, thinking of the fade-to-black sex scenes CiCi had written.

These alphas were not ready for me. I was going to slut them out before returning them to their precious Lin’er. After I’d used them up, she could have my leftovers. And I would move on with my life and live it well.

CHAPTER FOUR

KAI

Seated behind my desk, I twisted the jade ring on my finger, my thoughts on the woman we'd left behind in the bridal chamber. Zian and Daemin sat across from me. From the confused expressions on their faces, I knew they were thinking of her too.

I could also feel a hint of their emotions through our pack bond. Our bond wasn’t the strongest. We often blocked each other out, which had fractured our connection. But the bond was still there.

Every now and then, I could feel a sliver of what they were feeling. We'd formed our pack a few years ago, as most unmated males eventually did. There was nothing romantic about it.

Daemin and Zian had been my closest friends for most of my life, and when it came time to form a pack, they’d been the obvious choices. We fought well together, even in our dragon forms.

Plus, we’d all been friends with Mei Lin. And we’d all wanted to protect her. It was only natural that we form a pack while we waited for our inner dragons to choose her as our Fated mate.

Our pack bond didn't allow us to read each other's thoughts. However, strong emotions had a way of bleeding through. Sometimes it was nothing more than a faint tendril of anger, fear, or excitement that didn't belong to me.

Other times, especially when one of us wasn't guarding the connection, the feeling came through much stronger. Over the years, we'd gotten into the habit of blocking each other whenever we wanted privacy.

We did it so often that our connection wasn't as strong as it should have been. That suited me just fine tonight. Because if I could feel their confusion, there was a chance they could feel what I was desperately trying to hide from them.

For several minutes, none of us spoke. We'd come to my office intending to discuss Triad business, but we all seemed lost in our own thoughts. Finally, Daemin broke the silence.

“Should we address the elephant in the room?”

I looked up to find Daemin staring at me.

“What elephant?” I asked.

“Our bride,” he answered.

“Which bride?” Zian spoke up. “We have two.”

Daemin glared at him. “Which bride do you think I'm talking about?”

“The unwanted one,” I answered.