“We’ve missed you,” Wade said softly.
Meeka smiled sadly. “I wish that were true,” she said finally. “But we all know that it’s not.”
Reece couldn’t take it anymore. He had to touch her. He had to feel the warmth of their mate. He wanted the connection to their woman. Reaching up, he took her hand tenderly within his own and brought it to his mouth to tenderly kiss her palm before placing it against his chest.
“It is true, little one,” he said quietly. “We’ve missed you.”
Meeka shook her head to deny his words. Before she could speak, Wade took her other hand, drew it toward his mouth, and kissed her inner wrist before biting down on it lightly. She couldn’t prevent the soft moan that escaped her.
“Let go,” she said firmly, glad when both men released their hold on her immediately.
She placed her hands on her lap, clasping her fingers together. She saw the way both men’s eyes flashed golden and knew that their wolves were angry at the loss of her touch. Good. They were going to learn that they couldn’t just come back into her life and expect to be able to touch her whenever they wanted to.
“Why are you here?” Meeka asked them calmly.
“We came to explain,” Wade said gently.
“Explain what?”
“What you overheard us talking to Drew about,” Wade continued. “You misunderstood what we were saying.”
“Really?” Meeka asked, her voice deceptively calm. “You mean you didn’t say that you both should break our triad bond?”
“Well, we did,” Reece admitted, looking at Wade worriedly.
“And you didn’t say that you hoped that a baby hadn’t been conceived when we made love?” Meeka added, her brown eyes narrowing in anger as she looked at them.
“We did say that,” Wade admitted softly, the cruelty of their words making him cringe.
“So, how could I have possibly misunderstood?” Meeka asked them both. “You don’t want me as your mate and you don’t want any baby that I might have conceived. I think that’s pretty clear.”
“Meeka, please open your bond with us so you can feel what we feel,” Reece requested gently.
“I don’t think so,” Meeka said, shaking her head. “I hurt enough. I don’t want to feel your rejection again.”
“That’s not what you’ll sense,” Wade told her. “And how is it that you know how to do that?”
Meeka laughed softly, no humor lacing her laughter at all. “All of the women have learned the skill to shield ourselves,” she explained. “We need to have some measure of privacy.”
“Well, I don’t like it,” Reece snapped.
“Tough!” Meeka snapped right back.
Reece blinked in surprise. He looked at Meeka silently for a moment then smiled. “By the Fates, I’ve missed you, little one,” he said softly.
“I’ve missed you, too, baby,” Wade added, his deep voice strong as he spoke.
Meeka didn’t know how to react. Both men seemed sincere, but she had learned not to trust what she hoped was true. It was her own desires that affected her perception of what was happening. She would not give in to the delusion that things could ever be right between them.
“You’ve wasted your time coming here,” she said firmly. “I want you both to leave. Now.”
“We’re not leaving,” Reece said, his deep voice filled with determination.
“You most certainly are,” Meeka nearly shouted, anger filling her. “I don’t want you here. You can’t just waltz back into my life and think you’ll be welcomed with open arms. Get out!”
“Baby, please,” Reece said gently. “Give us the chance to show you exactly what we feel. If you open your link to us, you’ll see that we’re sincere. We’ve missed you so much.”
She looked at both men and shook her head. “I’ve missed you both, too,” she admitted. “But, you know what I don’t miss?” She waited until both men shook their heads. She saw the caution in their eyes and had to steel herself so she wouldn’t cave. “I don’t miss feeling like I wasn’t worth loving.”
“Baby, that’s not true. We do love you,” Wade said softly, reaching out to touch her and hating it when Meeka pulled away from him, sitting further back in her chair so that his hand never made contact with her.
“So, you’re telling me that when you love someone, you throw them away?” she asked, her voice dead and her eyes dull. “When you love someone, you hope you haven’t created a baby together, and, if you have created that baby, you want the person you love to get rid of that child? Is that what loving someone means to you and Reece?”
“You will not get rid of Maizy,” Reece snapped, a deep growl rumbling from his chest as he leaned forward to wrap his arms around her. He rested his face against Meeka’s neck and breathed in deeply so he could scent their mate and the baby that was growing inside of her.
Meeka pushed out of his embrace and stood up so quickly, her chair flew back and hit the sink behind her. Both men stood and reached for her so that she wouldn’t fall over, but she shoved their hands away. She covered her belly with her hands and looked at them with panic in her brown eyes.
“We know our daughter is growing inside of you, baby,” Wade said gently.
“Is that why you’re here?” she asked, sadness slicing through her. “It is, isn’t it?”
“Baby, listen to us for just a minute,” Wade told her gently. “If after what we have to say, you want us to go away, we will.”
Meeka remained silent, glad when the two of them stood before her without trying to touch her. She nodded once and waited. She couldn’t imagine what they could tell her to make her want to be with them again.
“More than fifteen years ago, our families were attacked by a man named Randall who was our pack alpha,” Wade began. “He hated all of us. None of us really fit in with his pack. He controlled with force and intimidation.”
Meeka listened quietly, seeing how both men became very still as Wade spoke. She could sense the tension in both men and couldn’t help but want to comfort them. That was a desire she stamped down immediately.
“Drew, Suzie, and Carter had just mated,” Wade continued. “Suzie had a dream that we were all in danger so we made plans to leave Randall’s pack. We were almost successful, but Randall captured Suzie and Carter.”
“When we tried to help, both of us were injured,” Reece continued for them. “Randall had a cruel habit of using silver to inflict the worst injuries on those wolves who challenged or defied him. When we tried to protect Carter and Suzie, Randall did this to me.” He indicated the scars across his throat. “He did that to Wade.”
When Meeka looked at Wade’s arm, she saw the claw marks that bisected his muscle. She nodded as she looked at Reece and saw the deep scars that graced his neck.
“I know all about that night,” she said calmly. “Suzie told me about it when she was helping me recover from what Boyd did to me. She wasn’t aware that the two of you had been injured. When we came to the Circle Three Ranch and she found out, it devastated her.”
“It wasn’t her fault,” Reece stopped her. “The blame is completely on Randall. He was a disgrace to the shifter community. He bullied and hurt people every day of his life. When he tried to prevent Suzie from being with Carter and Drew, we had to do what we could to protect them. Wade and I would come to their aid again in a heartbeat.”
“No matter how we tried, we couldn’t stop Randall from hurting Carter and Suzie,” Wade told her softly, his voice betraying the guilt and pain he was feeling.
Meeka nodded, unable to prevent the feelings that swamped her because of her mates’ willingness to help despite the pain that they had received. They really were good men. They just didn’t want her.
“Because of those injuries, a high concentration of silver was introduced into our systems,” Wade continued. “Reece had been affected worse than I had been, but the silver poisoned the both of us. It also affected our wolves. We had less control over t
hem and had little control over when we shifted. Because of that, we were both concerned that we would harm you or Eric.”
“That would never happen,” Meeka said without hesitation.
“We didn’t know that, Meeka,” Reece spoke up. “Wade and I were worried that when we claimed you with our mating bites, our saliva had introduced the silver poisoning into your system. That’s why we went to see Drew. We wanted to make sure that we didn’t cause you injury.”
“We were also worried that if you got pregnant, our baby would be hurt,” Wade said as he stepped forward and lifted his hand to gently cover her belly. “We would never want you to get rid of our baby, Meeka. Maizy was made with love. We already love her.”
Meeka looked from Wade and back to Reece and saw their eyes flashing golden. She saw their wolves looking back at her with a combination of happiness and possessiveness. Both made her hesitate. She didn’t want to feel hope.
“We went to Drew because we were afraid,” Reece admitted. “We should have told you what we were worried about. We’ve lost nearly two months with you and Eric because we were foolish.”
“You won’t get an argument from me,” Meeka said, crossing her arms across her chest and staring up at them angrily. She was well aware that both men were now covering her belly with their hands. She felt the warmth of their hands directly on her skin as they slid their hands beneath her heavy sweatshirt.
“Drew tested our blood after we mated with you,” Reece said, leaning in and kissing her cheek lightly.
Meeka didn’t want to lean into Reece’s kiss, really she didn’t. But her body betrayed her. After being without him and Wade for so long, she craved their touches and their gentleness.
“He found that the silver levels in our blood had dropped considerably,” Reece continued, leaning back and looking down at her, his blue eyes softening with the feelings he had for their mate.
“What does that mean?” Meeka whispered.
Wade leaned in and kissed her neck softly. “It means your blood has healing properties for us,” he told her. “Drew said that it was the same when he and Carter reclaimed Suzie. Their bites infused their DNA into Suzie’s bloodstream which helped lower the silver level in her blood.”
“Their seed also helped,” Reece said, growling softly. “There’s not a moment each day that we don’t think about making love with you again and filling you with our seed.”
“Do you think about making love with us, Meeka?” Wade asked her as he leaned against her and kissed the corner of her mouth, not daring to take a full kiss without her permission. Both of them knew that they had to wait for Meeka to make the decision to continue their mating. It was what they both wanted, but it was something they could not demand of her.
“Yes,” Meeka admitted on a whisper.
“Will you please give us a chance to love you again, baby?” Wade asked gently.
“You think I should take you back just because you’ve found out that the silver levels in your systems are better because of my blood?” Meeka asked, astounded that they could ignore the hurt and loneliness that they had caused her.
“No, little one,” Reece stopped her. “We want you back because we love you. Every moment you were away from us made us crazy from missing you and ache from losing your love.”
“We needed Drew to convince us that we couldn’t hurt you or the babies you’ll carry. There is nothing more important to us than your safety,” Wade told her quietly. “We couldn’t live with ourselves knowing that your health would suffer because of us. We need you to be well, Meeka. We need our babies to be well. We need Eric to be our son. Please, baby. Will you at least think about allowing us back into your heart? Will you give us a chance to prove to you that we love you?”
Your mates love you deeply, my daughter. Open your heart to them.
Meeka gasped in surprise as she heard Mother Fate’s gentle voice in her head. Mother Fate, I want to, but I’m afraid.
Allow your men to ease your fears, sweet child. You deserve the happiness and the love that they will give you. Open your link to them and feel how much they love you and how much they feared for your safety.
Meeka closed her eyes and concentrated. She didn’t really understand why Mother Fate just hadn’t told her all of this before. It would have saved so much heartache for all of them.
Those reasons will be revealed to you soon, dear one.
Meeka could hear the apology in Mother Fate’s voice. She could also hear the humor. What was that about?
She pictured the solid wall that she had constructed around herself, seeing that it was completely intact. Very slowly, she deconstructed it, brick by brick, allowing a bright light to enter into the gray that surrounded her. The result was instant. She felt the flood of warmth and love wash over her like a tidal wave.
In that moment she experienced the longing, the need, and the concern that her mates had for her. She felt the emotions that surrounded them over the pregnancy that they feared yet hoped for. She experienced their guilt that they had injured her with their mating bites. She saw the agony that they went through when they realized that their desires had clouded their judgment that they should keep her safe above their wants. She felt their deep sadness and loneliness without her in their lives. She felt their deep love for her and Eric and their fear that they would lose them. She felt their happiness in having her within their arms once again. And she felt their joy that their daughter was happy and safe within her womb.
Her knees buckled beneath her, and she found that she couldn’t hold herself up. She slid to the floor, grateful when Reece held her tightly against his side and Wade grabbed for the chair to settle her carefully on the cushioned seat.
“Baby, are you okay?” Wade asked, panic in his voice as he looked down at her pale complexion.
“What’s wrong, Meeka?” Reece knelt down beside her and took her hand in his, rubbing it briskly.
Meeka looked at both men and smiled weakly. “I’m okay,” she whispered.
“You are not okay,” Wade snapped. “You’re as pale as a sheet of paper. You just nearly passed out. What’s wrong?”
Meeka eased her body against the back of the kitchen chair and smiled as she looked at her two men. Now that she could feel what they were feeling and know their thoughts, it wasn’t fair to keep her own thoughts and feelings from them. Opening her heart and her mind to them, she allowed everything that she was thinking and feeling to travel through their bond.
“Can you feel how much I love you?” she asked quietly, smiling when she saw the relief on their faces.
When both men took her hands in theirs and entwined their fingers, Meeka knew that they did know exactly how she felt. When they brought her hands to their mouths to kiss them then held them against their chests, she leaned forward and rested against them as they pressed her between them.
“Love you, little one,” Reece whispered as he pressed against her temple to bestow a light kiss.
“Love you, baby,” Wade told her, kissing her neck lightly.
“Will you come home with us?” Reece asked her, nuzzling against her hair. “We want you to come home and raise our family with us. Please.”
“You’re happy about our baby,” Meeka said, knowing that they were. “I am, too.” She looked at their smiling faces and saw the pride in them that she was carrying their child. “Maizy is very lucky to have you as her fathers. Eric is, too.”
She squealed with delight as both men wrapped her within their embraces and hugged her tightly, lifting her off the chair and spinning her in their exuberance.
She was finally exactly where she belonged—within her men’s arms.
Chapter 27
“Do you think they’re okay?” Brett asked worriedly as the rest of them waited in the living room.
“Your brother better not hurt my sister again,” Kaley warned him, turning around to look at him and finding herself trapped between him and Nathaniel. “Do you have to stand so close?” S
he huffed as the men stepped even closer.
“Yes,” Nathaniel answered for both of them.
“You’re quite the ladies man, aren’t you, Nathaniel?” she accused him.
“No, Kaley. I’m not,” Nathaniel said without hesitation.
“I think you are.”
She turned to face Brett and looked at his obscenely good looks, realizing that both men could be models for a macho pin-up calendar. It angered her that these men were toying with her.
“I think you both are,” she said finally. “Find someone else to flirt with. I’m not buying.”
“We’re not flirting,” Brett said sincerely. “Well, we are flirting, but only with you, baby. We’re serious about trying to get you to notice us.”
“You’ll be very happy with us, Kaley,” Nathaniel offered quietly. “Give us a chance, sweet cheeks.”
Kaley stepped back from them as if she had just been slapped. How dare they expect her to fall for their crap? Sweet cheeks? Is he kidding with that? Oh, hell, no! When they both reached out to embrace her, she pushed away from them and stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at them as anger filled her.
“Back. Off. You’re not going to jerk my chain and get away with it,” she warned them.
Nathaniel couldn’t help but laugh, his hazel eyes sparkling when she turned on him and actually growled. “You’re the best,” he said, reaching out to touch her cheek.
Kaley slapped his hand away. “Listen, human with a penis! I’m not interested,” she told him through gritted teeth.
“I’ve got a penis, sweet cheeks, but I’m not human,” Nathaniel teased her.
Meeka's Reluctant Mates [Beckett's Wolf Pack, Triad Mates 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) Page 24
