by Abby Blake
“Anyway, the day he got shot, I rushed to the hospital, and all of our friends were there. His parents, other cops from the precinct, almost everyone we knew, but when I went in to visit him there was a woman sitting by the bed.” Andrea pushed the hair from her eyes, and Xavier felt a little more off balance when he realized her fingers were shaking. “I’d never seen the woman before. Her eyes were red and swollen, her fingers entwined with his, and it finally hit me that he wasn’t mine anymore. I’d built my whole life around what Nick wanted and even after the divorce had somehow fooled myself into thinking that things would work out eventually.”
“You still loved him?” He tried to keep his voice neutral, but he couldn’t quite phrase his question in present tense. Even if she’d loved her ex back then, Xavier sure as hell hoped she was over him now. If he was in wolf form right this moment, his fur would be standing up, his teeth would be showing, and he’d be growling viciously. He rubbed a hand over his eyes trying to get a grip on his emotions.
“No,” she answered quietly, and Xavier’s wolf side immediately settled down. “See that’s the thing. I don’t think we ever really loved each other. It had just become sort of a habit for both of us. I’d never given any serious thought to what I wanted to do in life because I’d simply chosen to follow Nick wherever he went.”
And finally things started to make sense.
Except that now she was being asked to do it all over again. She’d found her niche and had built a life on her own terms. One that she’d found completely satisfying, and now Xavier had no choice but to drag her away from it.
“I’m sorry,” he said, pulling her back into his arms. His mind raced with ideas, plans, desperate schemes, but in the end the only safe way to handle a newly made werewolf was to bring her to the compound. It would be years before she learned to control her wolf fully. Even the most willing and skillful members of their pack had difficulty at the beginning. It was no easy task to integrate the instinctive and sometimes violent behavior of a wolf with the reasoned behavior of a human. “If there was another way…”
“Believe it or not, I do understand that you’re only trying to protect me and the rest of the pack. And to be honest I don’t even want to contemplate what sort of damage I could do to the people in this town in wolf form.”
“It’s not like it was with your ex-husband,” he promised. “Maybe in a few years you can set up a shop closer to home.” It probably wasn’t fair to dangle that sort of carrot in front on her. It was liable to take a lot more years for her to gain control over her wolf side, but he simply didn’t have it in him to take away all of her hope.
“Maybe,” she agreed halfheartedly. “Isn’t there some responsibility that goes hand in hand with being the alpha’s mate? I got the impression from Isaac and Daegan that my life would have been less complicated if I’d only been their mate and not yours as well.”
“Just what every man wants to hear,” he said with a laugh. “That he’s a complication in a woman’s life.”
She laughed as well, squeezing him harder as she whispered, “Yup, you’re a major pain in my ass.”
“Hmmm,” he said reaching down to caress her bottom through the denim of her jeans. Lust curled through his groin, memories of the loving they’d shared last night before Daegan and Isaac had left fueling the fire, stoking his need higher. “That thought has merit.”
She reached up to kiss him, but the bell on the front door jangled, and she winked and moved away instead. He watched as she greeted her customer by his first name, asked about his family, and offered suggestions for a gift for his wife to celebrate their thirtieth wedding anniversary. Andrea was incredible, everything he’d ever wanted in a wife and mate.
And somehow he needed to find a way to give her back everything she was about to lose.
Chapter Seven
Wednesday couldn’t come fast enough. Usually Daegan was able to lose himself in the code, but not today. Today—the last several days in fact—he stared at the computer and saw only letters, numbers, and symbols. He’d designed and written computer code most of his life, actually understood this particular program better than anyone, but no matter how many times he went through it, he couldn’t figure out why it wasn’t working properly.
“Maybe you should head home for a while,” Isaac said, obviously sensing Daegan’s frustration. “The new bed is being delivered today. You can go make sure the delivery guys don’t damage anything.”
Hell, no. They’d already arranged for their mother to meet the delivery truck. No way was he going to subject himself to the million “suggestions” that woman had for them. He loved his mother dearly, but Olivia Cloveck was an alpha’s wife—even if their dad had stepped down for Xavier to take over—and as such, his mother expected to get her own way.
The biggest trouble was that Daegan’s emotions were too close to the surface at the moment. It hadn’t made the separation any easier when his mother suggested that they talk their older brother out of mating with a human. She’d suggested that Xavier was mistaken about Andrea, that she couldn’t be his mate as well, and had actually used Isaac and Daegan’s status as identical twins as an explanation for what she termed an “unfortunate mix-up.”
Of all the people in the pack superstitious enough to hold the identical-twin thing against them, Daegan had never guessed his mother was one of them. It had shaken him to the core. Isaac had brushed it off as poorly phrased motherly concern for all three brothers, but Daegan knew that deep down even Isaac didn’t quite believe that either.
It was the only reason they hadn’t headed straight back to their mate. If Xavier was going to face that sort of opposition from his own mother, he needed time to solidify his feelings about Andrea first.
“You missed a semicolon,” Isaac said as he pointed out the problem line in several pages of code.
“Thanks,” Daegan said, finally able to see the flaw in his program. He tried to hide his annoyance, but it was getting frustrating that Isaac seemed to be even more focused on work than usual when Daegan felt like his life was falling apart. Without his mate by his side, everything was starting to feel pointless.
“I think we should head back tonight,” Isaac said casually. “Most of what we’re doing at the moment can be done off-site. If we take our laptops, we should be able to get some work done while we’re there.”
“I want to,” Daegan said, not trying to hide the leap in his enthusiasm. Just the thought of seeing Andrea and he could already feel the knot of tension in his chest starting to loosen. “But I’m not sure it’s a good idea. Xavier needs the time with her.”
“I’ll call Xavier first, but it might be the last chance the four of us get to spend some quality time together far away from the concerns of pack life.”
“Good point,” Daegan said with a nod as a niggle of concern zipped through him. Even though they were brothers and knew each other well, it was probably a good idea to sort out any issues early. With even their own mother convinced that Xavier should mate with a born werewolf—and there was no way she was the only one to think that— they needed to present a united front to the rest of the pack.
* * * *
“I can’t go back, can I?”
The question was so out of the blue that Xavier wasn’t sure what topic Andrea was discussing. “Back where, sugar?”
“Back to the quiet life I built here.”
He wanted to lie. He wanted to tell her exactly what he thought she wanted to hear, but his innate honesty wouldn’t let him shield her from the truth. “No, Andrea. You can’t go back.”
“It’s kind of funny,” she said as she packed away some of the tools she’d been using to repair several watches that seemed old enough to be family heirlooms. “Two weeks ago I would have said I’m perfectly happy here. Hell, a week ago I was willing to fight tooth and nail to get back here, but now…” She ran a hand through her hair in a clear sign of her agitation. “Now, I don’t feel like I fit here any longer.
”
He stepped over to where she sat perched on the stool. He could feel her sadness and wanted nothing more than to take it away for her, but he stayed quiet and simply wrapped his arms around her from behind. She curled her hands around one of his arms and rested her face on his bicep. They stayed that way for a long while, simply holding each other.
“In some ways it’s sort of fitting. Like a type of cosmic balance.”
“How so?” he asked.
“Without Isaac and Daegan I would have died, and my life here would have been over anyway. By making me a werewolf, they gave me a second chance at life.” She slid off the stool and turned in his arms. “A second chance at happiness. A second chance at having my own family.”
Xavier’s wolf spun crazy, happy circles in his head, the thought of having pups with his beautiful mate surprising him by how much he wanted it.
“What about your jewelry?” She’d given up so much of herself in her first marriage. He never wanted her to feel that she should subjugate her own wants and desires. There were some things simply beyond their control, but for the rest he’d make certain she had choices.
“I can make jewelry anywhere. Jessie seemed quite interested the other night at dinner. Maybe I can fill special orders for the pack for a while.” She rubbed her face along his collarbone, subconsciously marking him with her scent without even knowing it. “Maybe one day, when my wolf is under control I can open a shop again.”
“What about this one?”
“My lease is up next Thursday,” she said with a smile in her voice. “First night of the full moon. Kind of ironic, huh?”
“You’re kidding me, right?”
“Actually, I’m not. I was supposed to sign the new lease last Monday evening, but I kind of missed my appointment. You know with the ‘being shot’ and all.”
Hell, maybe fate or karma or, fuck, some of the mating legends were indeed true. His wolf yipped in his mind, demanding he claim her immediately, but Xavier held back, willing to wait an extra night until his brothers could join him. She was mate to all of them, and he wanted, in their relationship at least, for all three brothers to be equals.
It crossed his mind to flip the closed sign over and celebrate upstairs for the rest of the afternoon. But then her phone rang, and again he dismissed the urge. Even with everything she’d just said, he wanted her to know that he would never ignore her needs.
He could tell immediately by Andrea’s leap in excitement who was on the line. She spoke to both Daegan and Isaac before handing the phone to him. Andrea winked and pressed her index finger to her pursed lips, making it clear that she wanted to explain her change of plans face-to-face. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and then turned his attention to his brother.
Xavier laughed happily when Isaac explained the reason for their call.
“Absolutely,” he said with a wide grin.
* * * *
It was only a two hour drive, but from the moment they’d made the decision, Isaac felt impatient to hold Andrea in his arms. They’d spoken to her on the phone every evening that they’d been away, but it just felt too long since he’d breathed her sweet scent or held her lush curves. It didn’t help that concerns on how the pack would accept her had been keeping him awake at night.
“How many with Mom’s attitude do you think we’re dealing with?”
Daegan shrugged in answer. “No clue, but I reckon Sheila is probably stirring up a mountain of trouble.”
That much would be true. It had taken several days, but Andrea had eventually told them what she’d overheard in the parking lot of the restaurant that day. Xavier had been furious and more than willing to do something to preempt Sheila’s plans, but Daegan and Isaac had worried that it would be interpreted badly by the pack. The alpha’s mate would be expected to be as strong a leader as the alpha. Not being born a werewolf already put Andrea at a disadvantage, and having Xavier defend her against baseless accusations would just make things harder in the long run.
“At least we know Dad will support Xavier,” Daegan said grimly.
“True, but it won’t do much good if the pack decides to support Mom and Sheila’s point of view.” Isaac rubbed at the headache beginning behind his eyes.
“You’ve seen Andrea with her customers. She knows how to deal with people—all types of people. I have no doubt she’ll be able to handle whatever the pack throws her way.”
Isaac laughed softly. His brother had a good point. Andrea really was perfect, and in some ways it was starting to make sense why she was mate to all three of them. Daegan and Isaac had always supported their brother, even on the rare occasions when they disagreed. Sharing Andrea solidified that bond and in turn had the potential to make all four of them stronger.
Now they just had to convince a reluctant new werewolf to let them claim her.
* * * *
Andrea smiled when she felt them nearby. It was exactly the same feeling she’d gotten when Xavier had turned up earlier than expected. Memories of the frantic lovemaking that followed had her stomach flipping and her panties dampening.
Xavier winked and took a deep breath. Andrea blew him a kiss. She was actually getting used to the idea of them being able to smell her arousal, and considering that it almost always ended in several screaming orgasms, Andrea was more than happy. She wasn’t so sure of how she’d handle it, being surrounded by other werewolves, but she’d cross that bridge later. For now, she was content just to go with it.
“They’re here, aren’t they?”
Xavier grinned and glanced at his watch. “They who?” he teased.
She growled her annoyance, but couldn’t quite get the right note simply because she felt so happy. He laughed and pulled her into his embrace. He looked like he was going to continue teasing her, but after a moment’s hesitation he became very serious.
“Can we claim you tonight?”
She nodded her consent but laughed at the delivery. “As marriage proposals go, that’s not really what I was expecting.”
“Would you prefer the down-on-one-knee, diamond-ring-in-a-box routine that humans seem to prefer?”
“Well, no. Considering I’m no longer human, it’s probably not appropriate.” She lifted onto her toes and pressed a kiss to his lips. “What happens when you claim me?”
He grinned but didn’t seem inclined to answer. She was about to take him to task when the front door opened and Daegan and Isaac walked in the door.
* * * *
The first thing that hit Isaac was his mate’s sweet scent. The second was the delicious smell of her arousal. His wolf howled at him to claim his mate, but it was barely four in the afternoon, and there was no way he would disrupt the business she loved.
Her enthusiastic welcome made him smile so wide his cheeks began to ache, but his jaw almost hit the floor when she marched over to the front door, flipped the lock, and turned the sign to “closed.”
She exchanged a secretive grin with Xavier. “Upstairs?”
“Probably best,” Xavier said with a quiet laugh. He turned to Isaac and Daegan as he finished his words. “Unless you want to be claimed where anyone wandering past the store front can see you.”
“Claimed?” Daegan and Isaac asked in strained voices at the exact same time. Isaac’s wolf was practically spinning in dizzying circles in his mind, but the human side needed to be sure he’d actually heard what he’d thought he’d heard and not just what he wanted to hear.
“Unless,” Andrea said, a note of uncertainty creeping into her voice. “Unless you…um…want to wait. I mean…”
She didn’t get to finish the sentence. Daegan lifted her into his arms and kissed her in frenzied passion. Isaac helped guide his brother to the stairs and made certain they got to her apartment without major mishap. Xavier followed, his grin as wide as Isaac’s.
As soon as Daegan set her on her feet, Andrea leapt into Isaac’s embrace. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her legs around his waist, and her tongue ar
ound his own. He could already feel his claws growing, the need to strip his mate of clothing damn near undeniable. Xavier pressed against her back and dropped a lingering kiss on her neck.
Andrea sighed and relaxed between them both.
“I missed you,” she said as she hugged him close.
“I missed you, too, sweetheart,” Isaac said as love blossomed in his heart. This was the one. The woman who completed them all, and he’d spend the rest of his life making certain she was happy.
“This spot here,” Xavier said, running his fingers over the back of her neck, “is where we are all going to make our mating mark.” Xavier gave Isaac a measured look and then turned to Daegan.
Both younger brothers knew that a mating mark could be made anywhere on a mate’s body, but that alphas always claimed their mate by biting high up on the back of their mate’s neck. Until that moment, Isaac had simply assumed that Xavier would do what alphas do and that he and Daegan would simply choose another spot.
But by insisting that they all mark her in the same place, he was assuring his brothers that they were equals in this relationship. Isaac nodded, glad to see Daegan nod as well, and then the need to have his mate naked overwhelmed all else.
He took a deep breath, trying to slow down, trying to not frighten Andrea with his need. But she was with him all the way, her smile growing wider when Daegan and Xavier started to strip her of clothing.
Isaac dragged his own clothes off, pulling Andrea back into his arms the moment he kicked his jeans free. He kissed her wildly, her passion matching his own as she damn near climbed up his body and pressed her pussy to his hard cock. He felt Xavier press against her back, pushing her harder against him, his beautiful woman reacting to something that Isaac couldn’t see. But he could feel her, sense her emotions, her heart open to all three men.
He stopped kissing her to stare in wonder at the woman who’d become so important so quickly. She smiled shyly as he used the beginnings of their mating link to send all the emotion he was feeling at that moment. And then he lifted her slightly and sank his cock into her heavenly warmth.
