by Marla Monroe
Thankfully they remained busy all night and the shift passed quickly. By six the next morning, she was exhausted and ready for bed. She hung around the diner and had a light breakfast and coffee before going home in hopes that her stepbrother would already be up and gone to work. He worked a half a day on Saturdays and usually didn’t bother coming home after work before going out that night.
Finally she couldn’t stand it another minute. She needed to get some sleep. The trip back to the trailer didn’t take long at all. When she pulled up her heart sank. Derrick was still there. Either he hadn’t managed to get up on time or he wasn’t going in at all. Nessa steeled herself for the confrontation she was sure would happen when she walked through the door.
“Where in the fuck have you been?” Derrick’s shrill voice grated on her nerves.
“I left a note. I took an extra shift. They called me in.” She eased through the door and started walking toward her bedroom.
“I saw your damn note, but you get off at six and it’s almost eight now.”
“I stayed to eat. I get a discount when I eat there. It’s cheaper to do that.”
“Don’t give me that bullshit. You should have been here and gotten me up for my shift. I’m late now.”
She kept walking in hopes he would storm out so he wouldn’t be any later. Instead, she found herself on the floor when he’d hit her in the back with his fist. She curled up, trying to protect her head, knowing what was coming.
Chapter Two
Jessup watched his brother out of the corner of his eye as they drove toward Nessa’s trailer. He knew it was asking a lot of Joseph to do this, but he couldn’t stand being without his mate much longer, and he wasn’t going to chance that Nessa wasn’t both of theirs. Once he claimed her, she would know that a piece of the mating was missing if Joseph was also supposed to be her mate.
Being twins had always been great growing up. They had been close, sharing everything, including women, until Joseph had gone into the special ops unit made up of nothing but shifters. Then their connection had been all but severed so that he wouldn’t know where they were or if something happened to his brother. Despite the training they’d had to keep the link closed, he’d known when his brother had been captured and was being tortured.
“Stop it.” Joseph’s deep, raspy voice broke into his thoughts. “You’re thinking about it. Stop it.”
“Sorry.” He sighed and turned down the dirt road that led to the trailer park where Nessa lived.
“She lives in this dump?” Joseph’s outrage was almost palpable.
“Yeah. She lives with her stepbrother.”
“You should have already claimed her, gotten her out of this place.”
Jessup heard the barely contained growl in his brother’s voice. He was right though. He should have moved her out of this mess as soon as he sensed that she was his mate. But he knew she wouldn’t have come with him unless he had marked her and explained that they were mates. He couldn’t do that until he was sure about his brother.
He pulled up in front of the trailer and cut the engine of the truck. He could feel Joseph’s wolf pacing. It stirred up his own wolf.
“You need to calm down, brother. Don’t scare her.”
“I didn’t want to do this in the first place.”
“I know, but it has to be done. She might be your mate, too. I don’t want her to suffer.”
“Let’s just get this the hell over.” Joseph opened his door and climbed out of the truck before slamming it behind him.
Jessup shook his head and prayed for patience in dealing with his brother. He got out of the truck and led the way to the door. When he knocked, no one answered at first. He knocked again and finally he heard the creak of flooring as someone walked toward the door. When it opened only a little ways, he smiled at his mate.
“Hey, honey. I came to pick you up for our date. I brought one of my brothers for you to meet, too.”
“Hey, Jessup.” She opened the door a little more but only enough that he could see her pale oval face and a hint of her gorgeous honey-colored hair. “I didn’t have a way to call you to tell you that I couldn’t go tonight. I’m sorry.”
“What’s wrong, Ness?” He could smell her distress, and her voice was hoarse.
“I–I’ve been sick. I think I caught the flu from Carol Ann at work. I’m sorry.” She started to close the door when Joseph put his foot in the door.
“Joseph?” Jessup put his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “What are you doing?”
“Don’t you smell it? She’s in pain.” He looked at Jessup.
“Nessa? Are you hurting, honey? What’s going on?” He looked at her, but she dropped her eyes.
“I’m okay. I just don’t feel well. I’ve been throwing up. My stomach hurts.”
“You’re lying. You don’t lie to your mate.” Joseph pushed on the door until she had to step back.
Jessup could smell the lie as well. He didn’t stop his brother from pushing his way inside the ratty trailer. Instead he followed him. Joseph continued walking into the room as Nessa backed up with her hands in front of her.
“Easy, Nessa. Joseph isn’t going to hurt you. Are you, Joe?” He watched how his brother’s nostrils were flaring as he drew in her scent.
He knew the instant his twin’s wolf accepted her as his mate. Happiness warred with fear over the fact that she was Joseph’s mate as well. He hadn’t wanted to claim a mate without his brother by his side, but he also knew how delicate the situation was going to be. He had no intentions of letting Joseph help him claim her then walk away. There had to be a way to work it out between the three of them.
“Jessup? Why is he looking at me like that? What does he mean by mate?” Nessa had backed all the way up against the far wall, and his brother was only an arm’s length away.
“Honey, we need to talk. First, why don’t you tell me what’s really wrong?”
“N–nothing. I told you. I’ve been sick.”
Joseph was on her before Jessup could get between them. His brother had her caged in with his hands on the wall on either side of her even though his body wasn’t touching her. Long, wavy hair that nearly reached her waist looked limp and tangled. He’d never seen it like that before. Neither had he seen her sky-blue eyes, normally light and sparkling, look so dull and lifeless.
“She’s lying. I smell blood on her and it’s not moon blood.”
“How can you smell blood? What’s moon blood?” she asked, her eyes jumping back and forth between them.
“Where are you bleeding, Nessa?” Jessup sniffed closer and smelled the faintest of traces of blood. His brother was damn good.
“I cut myself shaving.”
“Another lie.” Joseph leaned in and sniffed of her neck.
“Please, you’re scaring me. What’s going on?” Her whimper jerked Jessup into action.
He pulled at his brother. “Let her go, Joe. You need to back off so we can find out what’s going on.”
His brother slowly backed away, and Nessa slid down the wall with a pained expression on her face. Now he could really smell her pain. He stopped her with a hand on her arm and she winced. Jessup looked down at where he held her and slowly pulled the sleeve of the shirt up to reveal bruising. His wolf growled, scratching to get out to see about his mate.
“Honey, what happened? Where else are you hurt?”
“Please, Jessup. You need to go. I can’t see you anymore.” She tried to pull away, but he held to her wrist where there was no visible bruising.
“Check her back, brother. She’s been bleeding somewhere.” Joseph sounded worse than before.
Jessup spared a glance toward his brother and winced. Joe’s eyes were already nearly full black, and he could tell from how he talked that his teeth had lengthened. He gently pulled their mate over toward a chair and eased her into it. She winced but didn’t say anything. When he started to lift her shirt she tried to pull away.
“No. Don’t do this
. Please, Jessup. Just go.”
“Not until I see what’s wrong with you.”
“There’s nothing you can do.” Her voice was almost a whisper.
He ignored her and slowly pulled up her shirt. She wasn’t wearing a bra because he doubted she could stand anything to touch her that close. He growled, but it was nothing compared to the howl that erupted from his twin. Nessa nearly crawled up his body with fear.
“Joseph! Stop it. You’re terrifying her!” He struggled to hold her without touching her back.
The bruising ranged from fresh, dark black patches the size of his fist to older, faded oranges. He settled her on his lap as he sat down, nuzzling his face into her neck and breathing in her scent to try and calm his wolf before she saw his eyes. He could tell they had changed by the grayed world around him.
“Who did this to you, Nessa?”
“He’ll kill you. Please. You have to leave.”
“Answer him. Who hurt you?” Joseph had walked around until he was standing in front of her.
Jessup started to tell him to back off, but his brother surprised him by kneeling and gently brushing the hair from her face. There was pain in his twin’s eyes.
“Was it your stepbrother?” he asked.
“He’s all I have. If he kicks me out, I don’t have anything.”
“Where are your things?” Joseph stood up.
“Why?” She looked up at him.
“Because you will not stay here another night. You’re coming home with us.”
“I can’t stay with you. He’ll find me, and he’ll hurt you. He’s dangerous.” She turned entreating eyes toward Jessup.
“My brother’s right. You’re not staying here. You belong to us now. We’ll take care of you.”
Joseph turned and walked away. He disappeared down the hall. Jessup knew he was locating her room by her scent. He had no doubt his brother would gather up her things for her.
“What is he doing?”
“He’s gone to pack your clothes. You’re moving in with us. There is no way you are staying here with that bastard.” Jessup had to grit his teeth to keep from promising to kill him.
“Let me up. I have to pack my own things. He won’t know what to bring.”
Jessup smiled and helped her ease off his lap. Then he followed her down the dark hallway to a tiny room in the back of the trailer. He found his brother standing in the doorway, just staring.
“Joseph?” He moved him over so that Nessa could squeeze by him.
When he looked into the room he knew why he had just stood there. There wasn’t room for more than one or maybe two people in the room. There was a twin mattress on the floor that took up almost all of the tiny room. Her clothes were folded up in a plastic box sitting next to two other smaller plastic boxes.
He watched as she added a few things to the boxes then closed them and started to pick one of them up. Joseph stopped her from lifting it.
“We’ll get these. You grab a pillow for your back.” He picked up the larger of the two boxes.
Jessup waited for her to grab a pillow then ease out of the room and back down the hall. Joseph followed behind her while Jessup stacked the two smaller boxes to carry out. Nothing had prepared him for this today. He’d had no idea she was being abused. He felt like a failure for not picking up on it before. If he had, he would have been able to save her the latest beating she had taken. Shame was a bitter taste in his mouth.
“Jessup. Stop it. I can feel you. It’s not your fault.” His brother’s voice was meant to soothe, but it only angered him.
“I should have known.”
They loaded her boxes in the back seat of the truck. When she tried to climb up beside them, his brother’s hand stopped her.
“You’re riding up front with us.”
“There isn’t room.”
Joseph visibly swallowed before answering her.
“There’s room. Jessup, help her up. I’ll drive.”
Jessup took the pillow from her and placed it in the middle of the bench seat before lifting Nessa at the waist in hopes he wouldn’t hurt her. She didn’t say a word. He made sure she was settled with her back against the thin pillow and her seat belt on before he sat next to her. His twin started the truck and they backed out of the drive. Nothing was said during the nearly thirty-minute drive back to their ranch. He kept a loose grip of Nessa’s hand to settle his wolf and to reassure her that everything would be okay.
As soon as they pulled up outside the house, Joseph cut the engine and jumped out of the truck. He opened the back and grabbed the largest container once again. Jessup helped Nessa out of the seat belt and then down from the truck. By now, Aaron had made it outside and was watching them with a curious expression on his face.
“Is there more?” he finally asked.
“Two more in the back,” Joseph said as he walked inside.
Aaron just nodded and walked over to the truck. He stopped and smiled at Nessa.
“Nessa, this is one of my brothers, Aaron. Aaron. This is Nessa.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Thank you.” Nessa lowered her eyes and then turned to look up at Jessup.
Jessup smiled down at her then shook his head at Aaron to let him know she still didn’t know anything. To his credit, his brother didn’t push it. They all ended up in the kitchen a few seconds later.
“We need to check Nessa over, Jessup.” Joseph’s hard stare reminded him that his brother was fighting his anger over Nessa’s injuries.
“Check her over? Why?” Aaron looked from one to the other of them.
“Her stepbrother beat her.” Joseph walked toward the back of the house.
“Jessup!” Nessa looked appalled that he had told Aaron.
“Nessa, we have no secrets among us. Let’s go see what needs tending to.”
“Do you need anything, brother?” Aaron asked.
Jessup knew that Aaron was offering to help them hunt down her stepbrother and punish him.
“Not yet.” He urged Nessa through the door and into the large den.
When they made it to his room, Joseph had a large towel spread out on the bed and the first aid kit open on a chair by it. He brought in a small pan of water with steam rising from it and several cloths.
“Come on, Nessa. Let’s get your clothes off so we can see how bad this is.” Jessup started pulling up the hem of her shirt.
Nessa grabbed at his hands and stilled them. “What about him? He can’t stay.”
Jessup didn’t bother looking over to where his brother stood near the bathroom door. There was no way he would ask his brother to step out. She was his mate and he had been the one to notice that she was injured. Besides, he doubted Joseph’s wolf would allow them to be separated right now.
“Honey, we have a lot to talk about, but now isn’t the time. We need to take care of your injuries first. He isn’t going to hurt you. He’ll stay right there.”
“Why does he have to even be in here? He’s not my boyfriend. I–I don’t even know if you are or not.” Her voice had gone quiet toward the last.
“Nessa. You are my mate. The one I care for more than anything. We’re beyond boyfriend and girlfriend. I’ll explain it all later.” He kissed her lightly on the lips before pulling her shirt from her grip.
The minute her shirt was off, she covered her breasts with her hands. Jessup didn’t say anything about it, choosing instead to let her have her bit of modesty while he concentrated on her warm-ups. She stood still while he lowered them, glad that she was facing Joseph so that he couldn’t see her hips and upper legs. He found the source of the smell of blood. A bandage with dried blood lay taped over where her kidney was on the left side. When he gently pulled it off, he winced. She had a two-inch cut there that looked like she’d been hit with something sharp.
“Nessa? What made this cut on your lower back?”
“Derrick has steel-toed boots.”
Joseph pushed off from the wa
ll and walked over to them. Nessa backed away from him, still trying to cover her breasts and now her pussy.
“He kicked you?” Joseph’s low growl turned to a strangled groan when he saw the extent of the damage to her.
“He stopped hitting me where people could see because I couldn’t work if I was all bruised up.” Nessa’s soft voice sounded defeated now.
Jessup helped her lie down on the bed. Then he gently bathed her with the warm water. He could smell the healing salts his brother had added to it. They’d used them on his twin when he had come back from overseas all those years ago. He never would have believed he would be using them on his mate.
The salts had been passed down from generation to generation and helped to speed up the healing, taking away much of the pain in the process. He wasn’t sure how well they would work on a human, but prayed they would ease her suffering.
Once he had finished cleaning her, Jessup smoothed salve on the cuts and the newest of the bruises before applying a bandage to the place near her kidney. Then he carefully lifted her while his twin pulled back the covers so he could settle her in bed.
“Nessa, are you bleeding when you pee?”
She blushed and turned away from him. “Yeah, some, but it will go away. It always does.”
They left her to rest and gathered in the kitchen. Aaron had evidently called everyone in. Levi looked at them when they both grabbed a beer from the fridge.
“Is she okay?”
“She’ll heal.” Jessup swallowed down the ice-cold liquid.
Unable to fully control his anger, the aluminum can in his hand began to dent. He gritted his teeth and concentrated on calming his wolf.
“Is she your mate, too, Joseph?” Levi asked.
Joseph stared out the window and nodded. “God help her, she is.”
Chapter Three
The loud murmur of voices slowly penetrated her sleep until she opened her eyes, momentarily unsure of where she was. The soft bed and warm sheets were foreign to her. Panic began to seep into her mind. Then everything came back to her as the voices began to grow louder. Nessa rolled over and began to push the covers off of her. It registered that she was naked as the cooler air in the room met her bare skin. Hearing her name, she grabbed her clothes and pulled them on as carefully as she could.
