Malek’s p.o.v. I can’t blame Marley for her response to her Grandmother. After all, a Mate-bond is a different kind of prison, if you ask me. Okay, please don’t shoot me. I don’t mean it as bad as it sounds, but a Mate-bond is strong on both ends. Neither one wants to be apart, nor does neither one likes it when the other gets attention from the opposite sex. It takes years before they are comfortable with letting the other leave the territory without them and even then, they expect the other to reach out multiple times a day. Marley wasn’t allowed to leave the territory, couldn’t do what she felt like doing and needed permission for everything she wanted. The only difference with an actual prison was that she wasn’t locked in a small cell. I am not saying that her Mate would keep her from doing anything, but he would want to be with her every step of the way. If he isn’t going to keep her past in mind, he will most likely piss her the hell off and complicate their relationship in the process. “What have you found so far in the journals?” Alpha Lincoln asks and we all stare at him, because we agreed not to discuss this in public. “He left the territory an hour ago and from the looks of it, he plans on staying out all night.” Beta Lennox states.“Plenty of information, but also enough to come up with even more questions.” Meadow answers. “At least we know that my family had a right to the Beta position, but Rhys wouldn’t have the position if the Duverons had still been in power.” Dad looks at her with a small smile, but he seems to be miles away in thought. I wonder what is going through his mind and whether he will give us more questions to answer. “It is almost midnight.” Mom says and I want to ask her why she is pointing it out. After all, we already know that our Mate isn’t in this territory and no one turned eighteen since the last Full Moon. I follow her line of sight and see her looking at Marley. She could find her fated Mate tonight, if the Goddess feels that she needs to. “She isn’t the only one who could find her fated Mate?” Barison pipes up. “There is no one in the territory that hasn’t been through a Full Moon yet. So, there is no one else who could find their fated Mate.” I respond. “What about her fated Mate?” Barison asks and I face-palm myself because he is right. Marley’s Mate will be the other Shifter to find his fated Mate. “You do realize that anyone can be her fated Mate and that includes us, Dummy.” Barison says as he lies down in the back of my head. I turn toward Mauro as I let that sink in and it looks like Gossom informed him of the same thing. I don’t hear the others counting down to midnight; my mind is too busy trying to process the possibility of finding our fated Mate tonight.My eyes break the look I shared with Mauro to find Marley staring up at me and before I can say or react, Mauro beats me to it. He lifts Marley as he gets up and calls out “Bey” as he walks out of the main living room. I hear Marley giggle as she wraps her arms around his neck and she smiles at me over his shoulder. We walk up to the Gamma floor and head to the room that Mom decorated for us. The room she wanted us to have with our Mate and I am grateful that she had the foresight to keep that option in mind. “You are setting the pace, Marley. We will accept whatever you decide, as long as it doesn’t include sleeping separately.” Mauro says as he sits down on the couch. I sit down next to them and place her legs on my lap, needing some way to touch her. This wasn’t what I had expected after the disappointment of not finding our Mate for so many years. Yes, I know I am not that old. “I was serious when I said that I didn’t know how I would react. My reaction was mild compared to what I was thinking because I honestly believed that I didn’t want a Mate right now.” Marley says as she looks at us. “We understand…” She places two fingers on my lips to stop me from speaking. “I also knew there was a chance that I wouldn’t mind finding my fated Mate and it turns out that it is the latter. Acadia and I want this Mate-bond, we want the two of you.” Marley says and I pull her forward to kiss her. We take our time to kiss her and our breaths become labored the more we kiss. Our hands are roaming her body as she lets her hands explore ours and I wiggle a bit to get comfortable as my cock grows harder. Slowly, our clothes make their way to the floor, while we try to keep our bodies as close as possible to each other. Mauro and I slow down once the three of us are down to our underwear and I lift her to walk over to the bed. “If you get uncomfortable, tell us and we will stop.” I whisper in her ear. Neither of us wants to risk anything and Mauro confirms my words to her. “Thank you, but I am fine. I appreciate your concerns and if I get uncomfortable, you will know.” Marley says with a smirk on her face. Yeah, she is right. She would make it clear if she were to get uncomfortable in any way and we would definitely know it. I place her on the bed as Mauro walks around it, and in seconds, we are back to kissing and touching one another. Discovering what the other likes and how to take advantage of it, getting each of us more turned on with every passing second. Barison growls when her hand comes briefly into contact with my cock and hearing Gossom do the same, tells me that she is doing the same to my Brother. Marley knows that she is playing a dangerous game by teasing us like this, but it doesn’t seem to bother her and I actually like this playful torture. I know for sure that by morning, she will be ours in every way and the same goes for us.