MATED TO SERIES COLLECTION

9. VALERIA: THEY BOTH WANT ME

They shared a glance.

"We are both attracted to you Valeria," Devon said softly. "We want you to be our Alpha Female."

I blinked as his words slowly penetrated my mind. David leaned forward to take my hand. His eyes were focused on our joined hands when he spoke again.

"Being an Alpha female comes with a lot of responsibilities. We know that you'll be able to handle it, but you need some training before you can take the title."

"You can't shift." Devon leaned forward and rested his elbows on his thighs. "We won't always be around you to protect you from danger so you need to learn how to do that."

"You want me to be your mate?" I squeaked when I finally found my voice.

"Yes, doll, we want you to be our mate."

"Both of you?"

I blinked when Devon laughed. He sobered quickly and gave me a small smile. "Yes both of us," he said softly. "Both of us want you."

"I don't . . . how? What?" I fell silent and stared at them.

David's hold on my hand tightened. He shifted into a more comfortable position on the bed. "We lead two packs as one. There are a lot of members here—you haven't even met half of them yet—and one Alpha wouldn't be able to handle them all."

"Some of our people are having doubts about our ability to lead side by side. Most of them are waiting for a war to break out between the two packs when David and I disagree about something."

I nodded. "Alpha's are possessive and territorial."

"Yes." Devon nodded. "We grew up together so we learned to compromise and work together as a team. Most of the newer members are scared to settle down because they fear war as I said earlier. If we take an alpha female she would belong to both of us. That way the members will accept us as their leaders."

"So . . . I don't know what to say," I muttered.

"If we take you as our mate they will feel more at ease and a few more packs would accept us as an ally."

David shifted on the bed, which made my eyes snap back to his. "We want you to train. You need to learn how to fight. We'd feel better knowing you'll be able to defend yourself."

"I—" I swallowed, shaking my head. "I don't know a thing about leading a pack. I'm not good with crowds. I'm not even like you!"

Devon growled. "You are like us. You have some of our blood running through your veins. That's why David wanted Doc Ali to run some tests on you. We want to find out just how much Lycan blood you have inside you."

"Can I t-think about it?"

"There's really nothing to think about, little dove. We chose you and we're not going to give up until you agree." Devon stood and moved closer. He leaned down and pressed his lips against my forehead. "Get some sleep. We'll talk tomorrow."

David followed suit. I sighed when the door closed behind them. It was a lot to take in. They wanted me—a weak half-breed human—to be their mate. It would definitely lead to a disaster. Just thinking about facing a big crowd made my stomach turn. All eyes would be on me. I pulled a face as I switched off the light and snuggled down underneath the blanket.

Pulling the blanket up to my chin, I sighed. What would Aunt Geraldine say when I mate with not only one Alpha, but two? I smiled as I imagined her face.

She never expected me to get a mate. The smile quickly faded as fear filled me. They wanted me to learn how to fight. I've seen them fighting a few times when I stayed at the other packs. It was brutal. One hit from either one of them and it could break a bone or leave an ugly bruise. What if I agreed and they suddenly decided that I wasn't good enough anymore? Would they just throw me away?