Van, Becca - Keeley's Opposition [Terra-Form 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) by Becca van

his brother moved over to the supine Lawrence, who hadn’t made a move to stand up and draw more attention to himself. The young warrior stood before him with his head bowed in obeisance.
    “Why?” Lucius roared the question before Liam could and watched when his brother shook the man with fury.
    “W–We… I–I—”
    “Speak up now before I rip your fucking throat out,” Liam commanded.
    “There is a rumor that your mate tried to kill you both, and Louisa stepped in to save you.” Lawrence spoke so quickly, Liam had trouble separating the words until they were intelligible. When he finally worked out what the young man said, he laughed, but his laughter wasn’t humorous. It was full of anger.
    “And how do you think she would have been able to achieve such a thing?” Lucius spat out.
    Liam waited to see if Lawrence would answer, but he didn’t. He saw the young man’s face turn crimson when he obviously realized how impossible that scenario was.
    “Where did our mate go?” Liam yelled.
    “She was found by one of the panther clan. She is safe inside their home,” Lawrence replied.
    “Leave my sight. Do not come near me until my mate is safely back inside the pride house,” Liam snarled. Lawrence scurried away.
    “What the hell have we done? How could we have not known of what was going on right beneath our noses? Fuck! I had no idea that was the reason for the scowls directed our mate’s way,” Lucius barked out.
    “It would seem we have been remiss in the care of our woman,” Bradford stated. “We need to deal with this and then we will try and win our mate back.”
    “It won’t be easy. The last time we were at the panther clan’s home they said they would tear us apart if we returned,” Lucius reminded them.
    “Shit. They aren’t going to let us within calling distance of their den. What the hell are we going to do?” Liam asked dejectedly.
    “Maybe I can get to Ben Koku alone and appeal to him since he is of the same species as I,” Bradford suggested.
    “It’s worth a try, I suppose. Other than that we will have to fight our way in. If we do that, Keeley won’t ever want to return. Fuck! Why in the hell would seasoned warriors believe our mate would attempt to kill us? How could they believe such crap when they know she isn’t a shifter but a human woman? Has everyone in this pride taken leave of their senses?” Liam queried and ran a hand over his face in frustration.
    “We will call that meeting now, Liam. I don’t want to wait any longer. Our pride members deserve our ire and we need to lay down the law. Anyone not willing to accept our mate will be banished just as Louisa was. We can’t have the members of our pride trying to run this pack. We have been remiss in our leadership while our mate recovered from her injuries. It is time to take back our leadership and show this pride that we won’t be circumvented or challenged. We are the Alphas of this pride and what we say goes!” Lucius roared.
    “You’re right, of course. I will place the call now,” Liam replied.
    Liam drew in a deep breath and let out a massive roar. He knew every pride member would hear his call and run to the meeting place no matter where they had been or to what duties they were attending. No one in their family had ever denied a call from their Alphas.
    Five minutes later Liam strode into the dining chamber with determination, and Lucius and Bradford walked by his sides. The room was packed to capacity, and they crammed together tightly to fit everyone within the four walls. They had so many members that two sittings were planned for every meal. To have everyone in the room at one time was not usually done.
    Liam leapt up onto the table he usually sat at to eat, and Lucius and Bradford followed suit. He glared at the senior warriors as he waited until the noise in the room diminished to silence.
    “It has been brought to our attention there is a rumor making the rounds regarding our mate. I