Claimed by the Alphas: Part Three Read Online Free

truck.
    Any joy she may have felt over the bags quickly dried up when she saw the woman standing with Asch and Caim on the dais. She was tall with long graceful legs, tanned skin, and hair that was an opulent shade of gold.
    Mila knew that she had never seen this radiant being in the den before, and that she was undoubtedly the fabled Lotus. She also knew why the name had seemed so familiar to her.
    Lotus was one of Caim’s favorites.
    This bothered Mila. Way more than it should have. After all, her best friend (could she really call Brae that?) had been one of Asch’s favorites, and they got along just fine. So why did the sight of this woman casually putting her hand on Caim’s chest make her want to growl?
     

CHAPTER FOUR
     
    “You know River. He’ll keep his distance unless he’s sure to have an in. I would not worry about him,” Lotus said to Asch. She ran her finger up and down Caim’s arm, the way she did when she was talking about something that did not interest him.
    Her touch had always anchored him, helping him to focus on the issues at hand, instead of contemplating all of the things he would rather be doing. He did not care for discussing politics and pack relations, but knew it was part of being an alpha, so he endured it with the knowledge that whatever the issue, Asch would handle it.
    “I decided it would be a good idea to bring Mila’s things back.”
    Hearing the human’s name made his jaw tick, and he remembered why he felt so agitated. For the second time, his needs had been at the human’s mercy, and had gone unassuaged. Then, she had the audacity to tell him, her alpha, that he was not permitted to take his pleasures elsewhere. How did she really intend on enforcing that?
    Had Asch not been there, Caim would have dragged her back to bed. No, had Asch not been there, she never would have left the bed in the first place. She had woken with just as much need for him. If Asch would have just let well enough alone, all three of them could have had a satisfying morning.
    Still talking, Lotus asked, “And how is Mila adjusting to life in the pack?”
    “She is well,” Caim replied without thinking.
    Lotus looked to Asch. Caim hated it when she did that. Why was his counsel never sufficient for her?
    “She wants to be here,” Asch told her. “I think that’s the most important part. Happiness will come, in time.”
    Caim’s mouth flattened. He did not like being contradicted, and for some reason it was even more irritating in this matter. The human never went hungry, she had two powerful mates, and a secure territory. What could she possibly have to be unhappy about?
    “Lotus!”
    Caim cocked his head to see Brae making her way up to the dais. His eyes did not linger on her for long because the human was trailing behind her, and immediately caught his attention.
    Her hair was a wet, tangled mess and her dress was sodden. In her small hands was a fat trout . When he caught her scent, his lips curled distastefully. Usually, the human smelled like things that appealed to him—namely his own scent—but tonight she smelled like fish and dirt. Those were not things that she was supposed to smell like, and he knew that Brae was to blame.
    He glowered at Brae as she approached, but she only had eyes for Lotus. He decided to deal with her later, and made his way down the dais to meet the human halfway.
    She looked uneasy as he approached, and he found that this bothered him, though he wasn’t sure why. A few days ago, it had pleased him that she was intimidated by him. Now it was yet another thing on the growing list of things that were annoying him.
    When he stopped in front of her, she held up the glassy-eyed trout and gave a weak smile.
    “Look, I caught a fish with my bare hands.”
    She said it as if it were some great accomplishment, which it was not. Had she felled a buck or run a boar aground, he may have been impressed, after he gutted whoever had allowed her to put herself in such