Three Fated Hearts by LNC novel Chapter 3

~Landon~

“Portia…..Portia Colby.” She sighs and looks down at her ankle, inspecting the damage.

“Tia.”

“What?”

“I said, it’s Tia.” She sighs again and tries to get up. I quickly move to her side, grabbing her hand. She pulls away at first but then places her hand in mine, and the sparks fly. My body shivers at the contact, and I have to take a deep breath to stay focused. I place my other hand on her elbow and help her off of the ground. She leans into me, trying to keep pressure off of her ankle. I know it will heal pretty soon, but it looks kind of bad right now.

“Why ‘Tia’?” She turns her head to me and raises an eyebrow.

“Huh?”

“Why do you go by Tia?” She chuckles a bit, but there is no humor in her voice.

“Do you know what the name Portia means?” I shake my head. Truth be told, I never really thought about what people’s names mean. “It means, well, in many circles, it means pig or hog. Shakespeare meant it in a different way, but that wasn’t the intended meaning when the name was given to me.” Now I wonder how the hell she knows all of that. “And how do I know that, you wonder? My father told me so. He named me Portia specifically because of it’s meaning. So I go by Tia.” Damn, that’s just f**ked up. Why would a parent do that to a child, and why tell them that they did that?

Son, what the hell is going on? Everyone is confused and waiting for you two. Both of us? I look around, but Lincoln is nowhere to be found. I wonder where he went.

Dad, it’s a bit complicated, but……..we found our mate. Please postpone things for us. I will explain everything later.

Say no more. Take your time, and we will talk tomorrow.

“Who was that you were talking to?” I look down at Tia.

“Just my dad. He will have to postpone the ceremony. We…..we should talk.” Tia sighs and looks down at her feet. She nods slightly before looking back up at me. She is f**king gorgeous. She has big, light brown eyes with long, natural lashes. Her lips are thick and pouty. She has flawless brown skin, and her hairstyle is cute on her goddess braids in a brown/blonde color. The coloring suits her skin tone very well. She is about 5’7 with a body to die for. She has a nice round a*s and a big-sized chest, though not too big. Everything looks well proportioned with her toned body. You can tell that she still works out even though she has been away. My body is starting to respond to hers though now is not the time for all of that.

We start to walk back toward the packhouse, and I notice Tia limping. I quickly pick her up bridal style, making her gasp. “Hey I can walk, you know.”

“You can, that’s true, but you’re limping. You need to give your ankle time to heal. I wouldn’t be a gentleman if I didn’t try to help you along.” I wink at her and notice a bit of a blush appear on her cheeks. She looks away and timidly wraps her arms around my neck. I take a deep breath, trying to savor her scent without being a creep about it.

“Where is your brother? I assume I’m fated to you both, correct?”

“I’m not sure where he is, but I’d imagine he’ll be along at some point.” We continue to head back to the packhouse.

~Lincoln~

I don’t know how long I’ve been running. I stripped off my coat and tie along the way. I put up my mind block and took off. I wish I could shift, but if I shift, I will end up right where I don’t want to be. I end up at the lake we have in the back of our territory. It is a beautiful lake that not a lot of people frequent. It is the perfect place to have a quiet moment.

I kick my shoes off and let my feet breathe. Running in dress shoes wasn’t the smartest idea, but it’s too late now. I sit close to the lake’s edge and place my head on my knees. What am I going to do? If I accept Portia as my mate, that means that my brother and I will have to share her. I’m not sure that I’m strong enough for that. I don’t want to get jealous or angry with my brother. Choosing the twins would have been perfect, and I’m sure that eventually, the bond would be strong there.