by Marla Monroe
She followed the sound of the voices and managed to find her way back into the kitchen where the room was overrun with huge men. Testosterone fairly hung in clouds floating in the air. She listened to see what they were talking about.
“He has no excuse for beating her. He must be disciplined for this. Females are to be cherished and treated with respect,” Jessup insisted.
“Forget discipline. He does not deserve to breathe the same air that she does. He must be put down.” Joseph’s deep voice was soft, but full of anger.
“You would draw attention to us by killing this poor excuse of a human?” A man with chocolate-colored eyes and dark, shoulder-length hair who was shorter than the others spoke next.
Everyone began talking at once. Nessa knew they were talking about her and Derrick. She stepped into the room, appalled that they would think to do anything without her present.
“Stop it!”
The room grew quiet. Eight pairs of eyes turned to her. Immediately both Jessup and Joseph converged on her, stepping between her and everyone else. She frowned, looking up at the two men. When her eyes met Joseph’s, she swallowed at the darkness that seemed to almost boil there. She wasn’t going to let him scare her. They weren’t going to make decisions about her or Derrick without her present.
They let her push between them but didn’t allow her to step ahead of them. She felt both of their hands on her shoulders.
“No one does anything that involves me without my say-so. I don’t even know any of you. What makes you think you have the right to decide things about my life like this?”
“Honey, you are a part of our family now. Anyone in this room would do everything in their power to assure that you are not harmed ever again.” Jessup smoothed a lock of her hair from her cheek.
“How can I be a part of your family? I’ve only known you a few weeks and this is the first time I’ve even met the rest of your family.”
“I’ll introduce you to everyone now, Nessa.” Jessup began going around the room to indicate each of his brother’s names.
By the time he was finished, she was even more confused than before. Though they each had something different about them, there were too many of them to keep straight right off the bat.
“I can’t imagine having so many siblings. I imagine you never get lonely.”
Kindle, one of the youngest of the brothers, chuckled. “The challenge is having any time to yourself around here.”
Nessa could imagine that would be true, but she would have loved to have more siblings, just no more like Derrick. All of the Shoewater men were tall, dark, and handsome with intriguing features and compelling stares. She felt as if they could all see inside to all of her secrets. It was unnerving to say the least.
“Honey, you are a part of this family now. We will talk more about that in private, later.” Jessup smiled down at her.
“Promise me you won’t go see my stepbrother.”
“Why would you defend this worthless excuse of a human when he beats you?” Joseph asked.
“I don’t want anyone to confront Derrick. He’s dangerous. I’m scared someone will get hurt because of me. I couldn’t handle knowing that.”
“He couldn’t hurt one of us if he tried.” Joseph’s upper lip curled.
Nessa didn’t want to take the chance. They didn’t know what her stepbrother was capable of. She was. He owned several guns and knives. She had no doubt that he would use them if he was cornered.
“Please don’t, Jessup, Joseph. I beg you not to.”
Jessup looked over to his brother and nothing was said for several long seconds before he looked back down at her.
“Okay, Nessa. We will not go looking for him.”
She sighed with relief. She felt as if she could trust him since he had kept all of his promises to her so far. She could tell that his twin brother was not happy about the situation, but she felt certain he would abide by his brother’s promise. There was something about Joseph that pulled at her. She could tell by the many scars on his body that he’d been hurt somehow. There was a deep sadness about him that made her ache for him. Yet there was also a wildness about him that frightened her to some extent. It was almost like he had a wild animal living inside of him that she had caught brief glimpses of in his eyes. She shivered when he turned his attention back to her.
Looking away, Nessa focused on what Aaron was saying about security. They all seemed so solemn and on edge as if they were in the army or something. She just listened as they talked about taking turns pulling watch around the house. Finally Levi, the oldest, said it was time to finish making dinner.
“Come, Nessa. You should rest until my brothers have the meal ready.” Jessup took her hand and led her back to the bedroom with Joseph following close behind them.
She let him help her back on the bed without saying anything. She was tired, but didn’t think she would be able to fall back asleep. There was too much to think about. Why did Jessup insist she was now part of their family and what about all of the questions they still hadn’t answered, like what did he mean by mate and why was his twin going everywhere they went? How had Joseph known she was in pain and that she had been hurt? Everything swirled around in her mind as she closed her eyes. She would demand some answers to her questions later. They couldn’t keep her in the dark for long.
* * * *
Joseph backed out of the room as his twin carefully closed the door behind them. He wanted nothing more than to curl up beside her, but knew that wasn’t going to happen. He needed to keep his distance as much as possible. He would help Jessup claim her and then return to his home. Joseph would be able to care for her without him.
His wolf growled inside at the idea of leaving without their mate. He would have a fight on his hands where the beast was concerned. The wolf lived purely on instinct, something he’d been doing as well lately. It didn’t understand how leaving his mate behind could be what was best for her. He was what was best for her.
“She needs more rest. We can wake her in an hour when dinner is ready.” Jessup led the way into the large living area where they joined Levi and Aaron.
“She is sleeping?” Aaron asked.
“Yes. She has questions that we will need to answer tonight. I want her to eat first. She’s skin and bones. I doubt she’s had many decent meals outside of the diner at the truck stop where she works.” Jessup lowered himself to one of the chairs.
Joseph glared at his brother before taking a seat on the hearth closest to the French doors that led to the deck out back. Why had his brother allowed her to continue working like that? She obviously needed care. Surely Jessup wasn’t so far gone into the mating that he hadn’t noticed.
“She isn’t going back. You should never have waited to claim her.”
“I didn’t know she was being abused, Joseph. I couldn’t very well tell her to quit work without bringing her home with me. She never would have agreed before. I’m surprised she did this time.” Jessup pushed his hair from his face as he leaned forward in the chair. “What would you have done if you’d been here, brother?”
Joseph growled, fighting the need to attack his twin for leaving their mate in such a deplorable situation. It didn’t matter that Jessup was right and she probably wouldn’t have gone easily. He should have taken her.
“I wouldn’t have allowed her to stay in that rat-infested trailer one more night. That’s for damn sure!”
Levi stood up and stepped between the two of them when he and his brother jumped to their feet.
“Stop this now! You’re going to wake her up again, and she obviously needs her rest.”
“The issue now is to decide what to do about her stepbrother. He will be looking for her eventually.” Aaron tapped his finger against the arm of the chair.
“I promised we wouldn’t go after him, but I didn’t say we wouldn’t take care of him if he showed up here,” Jessup pointed out with a grim smile. “I plan to make sure he knows where she is so we
can take care of that problem.”
“Not until we have everything set up and not until the mating is complete,” Levi said. “All we need is for her stepbrother to claim we kidnapped her and drag the local authorities into this. If she’s already mated then they can’t interfere.”
“Levi’s right,” Aaron agreed. “If they do become involved, the law is on your side once you’ve mated. It was one of the rules negotiated with the government when it was discovered that shifters existed.”
“I don’t want to rush her into this. Not all humans are aware of us. Most choose to ignore the fact that we are real. I don’t know if she is aware of us or not. We’ve not gotten around to talking about it yet.” Jessup looked over at him. “I was waiting for Joseph to broach the subject.”
“I don’t think you have the luxury of waiting, Jess. She is in danger and we have to be able to protect her.” Aaron shook his head.
“She’s got to be told, Jessup. Aaron is right. Waiting around isn’t an option. It won’t make it any easier on her, either.” Joseph fought back the need to go to her and claim her right then. She at least needed some rest and a decent meal first.
“Fine. We’ll talk to her about all of it tonight, but I refuse to push her into a mating tonight.” Jessup leaned forward with his elbows on his knees.
Joseph could feel bits and pieces of the anxiety from his brother. The claiming of a human was never an easy situation. Normally, they mated another shifter. Some males would refuse to claim a human female because of the dangers and problems associated with it, choosing instead to remain unmated or pairing up with another shifter female who had lost her mate. He had never had any intentions of claiming a mate, shifter or human. He wasn’t mate material anymore. He had nothing of worth to contribute to such a relationship.
“Don’t wait too long, Jessup. It won’t make things any different in the long run. She will either accept you or she won’t.” Levi stared at both of them for a long second as if wanting to say something more then left the room.
“Levi is right, brothers. The longer you wait, the harder it will be on all of you. I can feel the distress pouring off both of you already.” Aaron stood up and stretched. “I’m going to check with the guards. I’ll be back in time to eat.”
Joseph watched his brother stride out of the room. Aaron and Levi were both right. They didn’t need to put it off any longer than was absolutely necessary. He could agree with his brother that tonight wasn’t the night—but soon. His wolf paced inside of him, anxious to touch his mate. He didn’t know how he was going to be able to deal with leaving them behind once it was done. Likely it would mean never returning. He would need to find another place to obtain his supplies.
“You can forget it, Joe. I’m not letting you leave us once this is done. She will need you as much as she needs me.” Jessup had moved to stand over him where he sat.
Joseph stood up despite the fact it placed him chest to chest with his twin. They glared into each other’s eyes for several seconds until he finally had enough and pushed past Jessup to head outside. When he opened the French doors, he heard his brother curse and stomp out of the room. Without a backward glance, he stepped out onto the deck and stripped. He needed free of the confines of clothes and humanity. Running as his wolf seemed to be the only time he felt any peace anymore.
Just the thought of Nessa sleeping in the house behind him would probably make it impossible for him to find that peace now though. Her long, honey-gold hair and striking blue eyes had a foothold in his subconscious. She was far too thin for her five foot three inches for his comfort. She had a hint of curves that would be luscious once she gained some weight. She didn’t look to be much older than twenty-two or so to him. At thirty-two, ten years seemed like a big difference for a human. He shook his head and stared out toward the tree line. Run. He needed to run.
As he jumped off the porch, heading for the trees at the back of their property, one thought was foremost in his mind—mine.
Chapter Four
Nessa slowly woke up to someone calling her name. She opened her eyes to find both Jessup and his twin staring down at her. They would have been identical if it were not for the difference in hair length and Joseph’s scars. She hurt for him, knowing that something horrible had to have caused them. She was sure there were more than what she could see and wondered how he’d gotten them.
“Dinner is ready. You need to eat, sweetness.” Jessup held out his hand to her.
“We need to talk, Jess. I don’t understand what is going on.” She let him help her off the bed.
“We will. After you’ve eaten though. You are too thin, precious.”
She looked down at herself in the T-shirt and jeans she’d put on. Sure, they were a little large, but she tended to gain and lose weight depending on work. She sighed. Well, it depended on how her stepbrother was doing. If he was in a good mood, she was able to keep the weight on. When he was in a bad mood, she hurt too much to eat regularly.
“I’m sorry I’m not up to your standards.” She dropped his hand and started to walk toward the door.
“Nessa. I didn’t mean it that way,” Jessup said.
Joseph stepped in front of her, blocking her from the door. She stopped but didn’t look up at him. She could feel the tears in her eyes and she didn’t want him to see them.
“Fuck, Jessup. She can’t even look at me. How do you expect for this to work?” Joseph turned and walked out the door without another word.
Nessa immediately felt sick that he believed she wouldn’t look at him because of his scars. She would never have treated him that way on purpose. Then his words registered. What did he mean? What did “expect this to work” mean? She turned back to Jessup with a frown.
“What is going on?” she asked.
“After dinner, Ness. Let’s just go eat and we’ll talk afterwards.” He gently guided her through the door and down the hall to the kitchen where the monstrous table already held six other men.
“Where is Aaron?” Jessup asked as he seated her next to Joseph.
“He’s on his way in. He was taking care of some things,” one of the men said.
Nessa just couldn’t remember everyone’s name. She hadn’t been around them enough to put their name to their faces. She kept her head lowered as the men talked while they waited on the missing brother, Aaron. There were way too many big men in the room for her comfort. She could feel the energy rolling off of them as if it were a live thing.
“Here he is,” Jessup said.
Nessa looked up as Aaron walked in and immediately headed to the sink. He quickly washed his hands and took his seat to the right of the head of the table where she guessed the oldest sat. As soon as Aaron was seated, they began passing platters and bowls around the table. When she started to take the bowl from Jessup, he merely shook his head and added a helping to her plate before passing it over her head to Joseph. He continued to do that until her plate was full. There was no way she could possibly eat that much food.
Scowling, she added this to the list of things they needed to talk about. She didn’t want anyone making her food choices for her. She knew what she did and didn’t like. As they all ate, she listened to the conversations, trying to make sense of them. Mostly they discussed ranch subjects, but occasionally an odd word would catch her attention, like mate and cubs.
Jessup seemed determined to include her in their conversation and explained that they all had various responsibilities around the ranch. Levi was the oldest and handled the business end of everything with Aaron’s help.
“I handle the security part of the ranch, making sure everyone has their jobs for the week and handling the computer security as well. Lee and Even work mostly around the house and barns. They’re both really good with animals.”
“What you do, Joseph?” she asked.
Jessup and Joseph exchanged glances. Joseph looked away and picked up his glass without answering her.
“He handles security in the ba
ck parts of our land. Until recently he spent most of his time patrolling that area for us.” Jessup went on to explain that while everyone helped out around the house, Kindle and Galen handled the schedules for cooking, cleaning, and ordering supplies.
Nessa didn’t think she would ever be able to keep them all straight, let alone what they did. She felt much like Alice down the rabbit hole only without the drugs to give her a different perspective on things.
She slowly began to figure out that Kindle and Galen had a devilish sense of humor. She caught herself smiling at their antics at times.
“Nessa, if there is anything you need, be sure and let one of us know. We want you to be comfortable here. It’s your home now, too,” Aaron said.
“Thank you. I’m not sure about all of this yet. Too much has happened.”
“You’re safe here, Nessa. None of us will let anything happen to you.” Evan smiled from across the table at her. At least she thought it was Evan.
As soon as she was finished, she started to stand up and carry her plate to the garbage. Joseph caught her wrist and shook his head.
“You haven’t eaten enough to help you heal. You need to eat more.”
“I’m full. I can’t possibly eat this much.”
“Sweetness, try to eat a little more. Joseph is right. You need it to heal.” Jessup tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
She sighed and took another few bites of the delicious roast. She couldn’t believe she was doing it. Something about the two men was almost compelling. She put down her fork and looked over at Jessup with a lifted eyebrow.
He smiled at her. “That’s good. We’ll raid the kitchen later for a snack before bed.”
She started to rise again, but Joseph took her plate from her and carried it over to the garbage where he emptied it and sat it next to the sink. When he returned to his chair, she gave him a puzzled expression. Why had he taken her plate when he hadn’t been finished yet?
