by Lauren Dane
Jack dried his hair, still smiling and relaxed from the sex they’d shared only hours before. His woman, so strong and yet small, her mouth on him, her heart opened wide, his man, adoring her and yet leaving space for Jack. Both to love Renee and to love Galen too.
Funny how that had turned out. When he’d found Renee he wouldn’t have ever thought he’d end up with her and her man. He smiled as he zipped his jeans, doubly fortunate, doubly blessed. What they had was beyond his wildest dreams. Gabe had been right.
When he walked out of the bathroom she was there, in her closet, putting lipstick on. He’d never seen her with makeup other than some mascara. He liked how she looked with a bit of extra sparkle.
“You look very Fey right now.”
He stood behind her, needing to touch her. That was something unique to his bond with her. While he loved touching Galen, he needed to touch her. Needed to rub himself along her skin, to mark her with his scent, to mark himself with her. That need to know she was there, solid, and to delight in everything she was seemed bottomless.
She leaned back against him. “Fey? In a good way? The Fae are an amazing people.” She frowned, as if that didn’t apply to her.
“And? Of course in a good way. You are amazing, silly woman. Do you think two men could adore you as much as we do if you weren’t?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. The bond to you is not something you have a choice over.”
“That’s not true, sweetheart. I did have a choice. Yes, I was attracted to you because you were capable of being my mate. But other women could have been if I’d wanted to look and find them. It’s not one-person-on-earth rare, though it is about genetic compatibility as well as magic stuff. I chose you because you are the one person on earth I wanted. I wanted you, Renee, and I still want you. Sure, our mate bond means I can feel your emotions and being a shifter means I seek to touch you to comfort myself and you. But what we have isn’t something I was forced into.”
She turned in his arms. “I’m sorry, I know it seems silly.”
“Nothing you do seems silly.” He shook his head and hugged her. “You’re not a shifter so how can you know? Never hesitate to ask or talk to me about something you’re unsure of or bothered by. I love you and the more I know you, the more I love you. More importantly, I like you, I respect you. You and Galen are my family.”
She chewed on her bottom lip a moment.
“You’re going to eat your lipstick. Just say it. I’m never going to judge you like that.” He realized he wanted her to share, to give him more of herself.
She paused and then forged ahead. “I’m nervous. About meeting Grace. I wish I wasn’t. But I am.”
He let himself relax, but chose his words carefully, not wanting to upset her or bring on another fight. “You know she’s important to me and you know why. More important, you and I are solid, important. What we—you and me—have is totally different and far deeper than what ties me to Grace and Cade. She’s curious. Because she loves me and she wants me to be happy. Loves me but not like you do, okay? You are important to me because you make me whole. You are important to me because you’re my everything. You and Galen are part of me, in every breath I take. She’ll see that and things will be fine. I’ve told her this, told Cade too. Told my friends and my pack because it’s important.”
Some of the tension left her spine and he breathed a bit easier.
“I don’t have to rumble or anything, do I? None of this fucked-up shifter political crap, right? Because I could tell you some shit about what my first year as Galen’s girlfriend was like.”
“What? Galen’s jamboree hurt you?”
She shook her head. “I’m sorry, never mind. It’s silly and I’m talking out of school.”
He shook his head right back at her. “It’s not silly and you’re not talking out of school. You’re sharing something about your life with your mate. Please, share with me.”
She licked her lips and nodded. “Okay so no. Not exactly. Jaguars are so, gah, they’re incestuous! They’re constantly up in each other’s business and there’s all this hazing for humans who join the jamboree. I have always sort of felt...never mind. It’s dumb.”
He took her hand and drew her into the bedroom. Sweeping her up, he sat on the big chair near the window and settled her on his lap. “Tell me.” Damn she felt good there, warm and substantial, all his.
“They’re all sleek and beautiful. Well educated. Many of them speak three or four languages. All his siblings are lawyers. His mother is a judge. They adore Galen and he loves them too. But I’m not what they wanted for him. I feel short, fat and dumb. Human. Weak. I can’t shift into a five-hundred-pound predator with razor-sharp teeth and nails. I can’t run more than a few blocks without begging for death and they’re rowing and jogging and sporting it up for kicks because they’re all insane. I don’t fit and they know it. Some of them take time to remind me of that. Not all of them. I don’t want you to think they’re all mean to me. Most of them are really sweet and supportive. I suppose I hadn’t really given them enough credit until more recently. It’s my fault for being myopic. His father is a sweetheart. His older brother is my biggest defender other than Galen. You’ll love Max, it’s impossible not to. He’s got seven brothers and sisters, by the way. Five of them like me, well, six if you count Galen. I can’t complain about the odds really. Most of the rest of the group fall into the ‘she’s not bad and he loves her’ camp.”
“But not all?”
“Not all. I understand their perspective. I’m just a human. He’s one of the alpha cats in the jamboree. When I have children, they’ll be mixed. This weakens their genetics. Makes the jamboree less strong.”
These people had done such a damned number on her. He wouldn’t show her any pity, she’d hate it, but she sure deserved a fucking break.
“Bullshit. When you have our children, they’ll be shifters. It’s the dominant genetic trait. Cats, wolves, whatever. You’re a powerful witch, our children will be stronger for it, not weaker.”
She smiled and it made him feel like he was ten feet tall.
“That’s what Galen says. But it’s hard when his sister comes to my cart to tell me she’s doing the right thing for her family with her pregnancy and if I wasn’t just with him for money I’d let him go and be with one of his own kind.”
He sighed. “She sounds like a twat. The mother?”
She rolled her eyes and he wanted to laugh.
“His mother is a stone cold bitch and I love her to death.” She snorted. “She hated me for three years. Every time I’d come in contact with her, she’d give me company manners. For her, that was a slap, you know? The other wives and husbands don’t get waited on, they get their own iced tea or whatever. For me, she’d offer. Underlining my difference.”
He didn’t feel too kindly toward Galen’s family at that moment. “So what happened?”
“She came over here to bring food for Galen. Another slap. Like I couldn’t feed him after all that time? So I taught her that just because I’m quiet and don’t make a scene didn’t mean I was a pushover. I have my limits and she reached them. We had a discussion. I cleared up her misapprehensions. She’s been very good to me ever since. I can get all morose sometimes, but in truth, his parents are very wonderful people and the majority of his family and jamboree are accepting of me.”
He grinned, liking how spunky she was when she needed to be. “I know this makes me a pervert, but that’s a hot story about his mom. I like the idea of you getting up in her face to set things right.” She blushed and shrugged. “You’re not a pushover. Not a gold digger. You’re not just anything, much less human. You strengthen us, Renee, not weaken us. Anyone who says different will get a mouth full of my fist.”
“He didn’t know. Galen... I don’t want you to think he stood by when this stuff happened. H
e knows some of them don’t like me, but they rarely mess with me if he’s around and after a while, he realized I was uncomfortable with some of them and he made sure to be around. I honestly don’t think he knows the extent of it. The hazing period has passed for the most part. There’s no need to dredge it up again. From what I understand, it’s part of the process, that sort of hazing. I dread it though. But you’re worth it.”
Jack hugged her, breathing her in. She’d been with her sister and aunt for the last several hours and the spice of her magic painted his senses. His wolf loved it. Her power drew him, both parts of his nature.
“Curly, being worth it is great and all, but it’s unnecessary past a certain point. Anyway, sharing part of yourself with me isn’t dredging. It’s good for me to know, so I can understand you better and so I know what the situation is. I would never think Galen would sit by while anything bad happened to you. That’s not who he is.”
“Not who I am what?” Galen strolled in with a huge bouquet of wildflowers. Renee saw them and shot up with a squeal of delight. He handed them to her with a kiss. “I picked them up on my way back from the office. I deposited the check Susan had sent over. I’m glad you like them.” His grin told Jack Galen knew exactly the reaction he’d get.
“You know I love them. Look at these poppies! Bluebells and cornflowers too. So pretty. It’s like a party in my hands.” Galen laughed as she yanked him down to kiss him a few times. “I’m going to put these in water. We should get moving soon so we’re not late. They have kids so I don’t want to mess up their schedules.” With a flash of color and her smile, she spun and left the bedroom.
“What were you two talking about? I’m not who?” Galen walked past Jack and into the bathroom where he washed his face and brushed his teeth.
“She told me some of the difficulties she’s had with your jamboree. She was reassuring me it wasn’t stuff that happened in front of you, that you’d not let her be abused and insulted and just stand by.” Anger rushed through his veins at the thought of how alone she must have felt. “I told her I knew you wouldn’t have. She stuck with you because she loves you. Your sister, the pregnant one? She should count her lucky stars she’s knocked up or I’d be on her ass demanding she apologize for her insults.”
Galen turned back to Jack after he’d dried his face. “Do you think I’d let my family treat her badly?”
“I just said I didn’t. If I did, this would be a different conversation. But your sister and some of your jamboree have used her being human to manipulate Renee into thinking she’s a gold digger or a pollutant in their precious genetic stream.”
Galen froze. “What?”
“Told her if she had kids with you it would damage the strength of the jamboree, and you in the bargain. That she was only with you for the money. Said if she truly loved you, she’d let you mate with one of your own kind and leave you alone.”
It was clear to Jack that Galen had no idea the level of nastiness that’d been aimed at Renee and Jack regretted not being smoother in his delivery. He should have been sure she was okay with him sharing. At the same time, it needed to be said and they’d deal with the other stuff later as they got used to each other.
“She knows you wouldn’t let her be hurt.”
“Oh for Pete’s sake! Jack, what are you doing?” Renee came into the room again, looking mightily annoyed. “I can’t believe you. You should have left it to me if and when to tell him. What on earth was the purpose?”
He resisted the urge to hang his head. Only barely, because she was right to be mad at him for not asking her if he could share the info with Galen. “I’m sorry. He needed to know, sweetheart. I’d want to know if our situations were reversed.”
“Listen here, you two, neither of you get to make that choice for me. I know you’re protective alpha shifters, blah blah. But I don’t recognize your sovereignty over me. Got that? As for the issues with Galen’s jamboree—it’s over. Most of it anyway. I love his mom, she loves me. We’re good. It’s only two siblings and no one has partially shifted and menaced me with a claw in a long time.”
Galen’s eyes widened. “What! Who the fuck did that? Tell me right now, Renee.”
She sighed dangerously, narrowing a glare at Jack before turning back to Galen. “No. Now come on. We have a dinner to go to with Jack’s sort-of-wife. Joy!”
“Renee, you can’t just walk away from this.” Galen followed her out into the living room. Jack joined them.
“Galen, what on earth can you possibly do at this point? If you had stepped in it would have only made things worse. They already think I’m weak for being human. If I needed you to protect me all the time, they’d never have accepted me. Cats don’t embrace the weak. You know this better than I do. They hazed me. I survived and did so without running anyone over in my car. I think that’s a win.”
He took her by the upper arms, pulling her close. “Babe, you are mine to protect. That’s part of what I am. What they are. Who did the partial shift?”
“It doesn’t matter. Please, Galen, please respect my need to have handled it on my own. I had to do it my way, on my own. Don’t pretend you don’t understand that. Other mates brought into the jamboree deal with the same sort of stuff.”
“Who? Renee, it can’t stand that you were threatened that way. Yes, there’s some hazing, but there are lines. Also, you two go on ahead because I need to stop in at my sister’s house on the way.”
Renee widened her eyes, surprised and then annoyed. “It’s like I’m not even speaking. Are you thinking about sports right now instead?” She spun, turning her glare to Jack. “And you! I shared that with you for entirely different reasons than why I didn’t tell Galen myself. You had no right to do that. You had no right to disrespect me the way you did. How can I trust you to tell you things now?”
She had a point, and he knew this would come up again many times in their future. She was a woman who liked to handle her own shit. It was a quality he respected. But.
“Sweetheart, you are mated to two shifter males. It’s who we are. You’re ours to protect. To keep happy. I’m sorry you’re upset and I agree, I should have brought it up better, or at least told you I planned to discuss it with Galen. He had a right to know.”
Galen smoothed down the front of his pants. “Jack’s right, babe. I’m not mad at you. I understand you wanted to stand on your own two feet with my family and friends, but we have rules and it’s clear those rules were violated.”
“Well jeepers, silly me! I’m so glad you’re sort of accepting of my feeble female notions about standing on my own and proving to your family—who already think I’m a horrible choice for you—that I am not. That I love you and when I need to be strong, I am. You don’t know what it’s like. But what does that matter as long as you two get to protect me? Who cares if your sister thinks I’m fucking you for your paycheck? I’ll just let you two handle everything because thinking is so hard.”
Jack sighed. “That’s not what we’re saying and you know it. It’s one thing to stand up when you’re being tested. It’s another for a shifter to bring about a situation where a human could be infected without their consent. More than you being ours, more than you being disrespected in your mate’s jamboree, I’m a lawkeeper, this sort of thing is my job. It can’t go unaddressed.”
She looked at them both and shook her head. “That settles it, huh? This is all about you and your cocks. Why should I bother, you know, actually trying to solve problems and stuff, after all, I’m just a human and you are a werewolf FBI agent and he’s a jaguar superhero. I am not your job, Jack.”
She threw her hands up and stepped back, grabbing her bag. “I’m not going to talk about this anymore. Let’s get this over with please. I don’t want to be late.”
Galen clenched his fists and tried to relax, but Jack felt his tension, his anger and need to comfort.
They echoed his own. On the other hand, Renee was pissed off. His wolf liked that, but the man had been around enough women to know they’d be paying for this for a while longer.
“We’re not going anywhere until we get this settled. When anyone in my family or jamboree harms you or threatens to harm you, I expect to be informed immediately.”
“Same here. Wolves used to be a lot more hostile to humans, but over the last several years, it’s eased up a lot. But you’re my mate, which means you carry my position in the pack. I’ve explained already that you have chosen not to convert and no one seems bothered. Any wolf who doesn’t show respect will get the shit kicked out of them via my boot.”
“Why bother even speaking, I wonder? Do either of you even listen to me or, for fuck’s sake, yourselves? When it comes to physically protecting me when I’m threatened, I accept and am grateful for your help. I understand who you both are and I make lots of allowances for that. For instance, if human men said and did the crap you two have in the last twenty minutes, I’d have gone after them with the kitchen shears. You notice they’re right within my reach. My, how very rational I’m being. Still, this experience has left me running low on calm just now and I can see you don’t take me seriously because, after all, you’re giant male predator shifters and I’m just a little human woman.”
“If you expect me to back off on this, Renee, you’re wrong. And it’s not because I think you’re weak.” Galen shrugged and Renee rolled her eyes. He did like how she got up in their faces without fear. Having her fear him would be his undoing.
She grabbed a coat from the peg and went to the door. “We going now?”
“Fine. You know I love you, you know I respect you and you know I’m not going to let this go. So, you two go on to dinner and I’ll join you in an hour or so. Please send my apologies for my being late. I’ll go to my parents’ house and speak to them about all this.” Galen stalked out the door without another word.
“He did not just do that.”
