McKenzie, Cooper - Autumn Healing [Welcome to Sanctuary 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)
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Welcome to Sanctuary 4
Autumn Healing
Army veteran and midwife Autumn Ryan’s spirit is shattered. She just wants to find a cave to hide in. Instead, her father sends her to Sanctuary, where everyone is expectantly waiting for Spring to give birth to the next generation of Sullivan shape-shifting Irish Wolfhounds. As soon as she meets them, Autumn is drawn to Evan and Frank. For the first time in her life, she feels a contentment and peace she’s searched the world over for.
Frank and Evan envied their brothers but discounted the possibility that the last Ryan sibling would be their mate. Then Autumn walks into their furniture-making shop, and all they can think about is claiming their mate. But Autumn has painful secrets haunting her.
Can they heal their woman and find the kind of happiness their brothers have found? Will she stay long enough to help Spring have her babies? Or will she cut and run?
Note! Even though each title in the Welcome to Sanctuary series is stand-alone, we recommend reading this book in sequential order.
Genre: Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Shape-shifter
Length: 21,420 words
AUTUMN HEALING
Welcome to Sanctuary 4
Cooper McKenzie
MENAGE AMOUR
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Amour
AUTUMN HEALING
Copyright © 2011 by Cooper McKenzie
E-book ISBN: 1-61034-672-6
First E-book Publication: June 2011
Cover design by Jinger Heaston
All cover art and logo copyright © 201 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
Dear Readers,
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DEDICATION
To Jillian, Stacy, Stephanie, and all my loyal readers who encourage me to keep writing. Thanks for your continued support!
AUTUMN HEALING
Welcome to Sanctuary 4
COOPER MCKENZIE
Copyright © 2011
Chapter One
Autumn Ryan wondered if she could really go through with what she was about to do. All she wanted to do was find a cave to crawl in until she felt up to dealing with life and people again. Instead, her father had talked her into going to Sanctuary to visit her sisters and brother, all of whom had gotten married three months earlier.
While she’d kept in touch with her siblings, only her father knew why she’d left the Army six months before her enlistment was up. He was the only one she’d allowed to visit while she’d undergone therapy to find her way back to life. He had promised to keep her secret until she was ready to share with the rest of the family.
“You cannot hide forever. They are your family,” her father pointed out just the week before during his last visit. “They love you and want to see you. And Sanctuary seems like a very special place. You might find the healing you’re looking for there.”
So, instead of hunting for a cave with electricity and running water, Autumn packed her belongings into her twenty-year-old SUV and followed the detailed map and directions to Sanctuary, North Carolina that her father had left. She’d only had to stop twice during the seven-and-a-half-hour drive from the nation’s capital to the mountains of western North Carolina. Once was for gas and food. The second time had been to throw up the greasy hamburger she’d eaten.
Just as she was about to give up and try to turn around on the narrow logging road and head to Raleigh where her parents lived, the terrain flattened out and the forest ended. She slammed on the brakes when the road abruptly ended at a pile of logs painted bright orange and yellow.
She froze as the logs morphed into a sand-colored concrete and steel barricade. A barricade she’d driven ambulances around, between, and beside too many times to count. When she began to hear echoes of screaming men in pain, she took a deep breath and blinked several times. She sighed when she once again stared at a pile of brightly colored logs.
“Welcome to Sanctuary,” she read aloud the sign just above the blockade. “Okay, so Dad’s directions were right on the money. What the hell am I going to do in the middle of the woods? I’m a medic, not a woodsman.”
Looking around, she turned left into a parking lot. A small silver car that she thought might belong to her second oldest sister, Summer, sat alone in a gravel parking lot big enough to hold a dozen vehicles. At the far end of the parking lot sat a huge metal building that looked big enough to house an eighteen-wheeler or two.
Once she pulled in and parked next to the car, Autumn sat for a moment, enjoying the stillness and silence. No sirens, no explosions, no city sounds, and no one calling out in pain or low, intense voices trying to reassure an injured or dying soldier that all would be well. All she could hear was the soft whoosh of a gentle breeze through the treetops. Taking a deep breath, she felt a small portion of the tension that had knotted her shoulders for the past year ease.
Looking in the rearview mirror, she took a moment to check out this place where her father had sent her. In the Army, she’d learned that taking a few secon
ds to stop, look around, and take stock of the surroundings before moving in could save your life and the lives of those depending on you.
The clearing was bigger than she’d first thought and encompassed several acres. Through the shadows from the mountains to the west, she saw a number of buildings set in a half circle. As her gaze took in the scene, she wondered if she hadn’t driven down Alice’s rabbit hole into Wonderland. Or maybe this was the set for some funky fantasy movie.
Turning in her seat, she looked out the back window to make sure her mirror wasn’t playing tricks on her. But the view remained the same. Whatever Sanctuary was, her father had sent her here. This was where her brother and two sisters now lived with two men each. That thought sent a small stab of jealousy through Autumn as she took in the scenery.
Closest to the parking lot and the metal garage building sat an ornate Victorian house. It was painted peach with hunter green and navy blue trim. A wraparound porch and three-story circular tower were decorated with intricately cut gingerbread work.
She wondered what it would be like to sit in one of the rocking chairs and just spend an afternoon watching the grass grow or the clouds float by.
Hmm, sounds like a plan. I only hope the home’s owner won’t mind.
Next was the biggest, reddest barn she’d ever seen. Only it wasn’t a barn. It stood three stories tall with a wide covered deck out front and lots of windows on all three levels. There was a sign just above the first floor windows, but she couldn’t read it from here.
Moving on, she took in a trio of log cabins, each with a wide front porch. They looked like some of the other cabins she’d seen on her drive through the mountains. At least they looked like they belonged in this mountain hideaway. The one to the left was smaller and obviously decades older than its companions. Its logs had weathered silver while the others appeared much newer in construction. Could it be the original homestead?
The last building had Autumn swallowing hard as she fisted her hands. The gray granite castle was built of stone with a flat roof and a square turret at each corner. The pale-gray structure too closely resembled the desert castle where she had been held prisoner for two weeks before being rescued. Sure, it looked exotic and medieval, but just the sight of it caused Autumn’s stomach to knot and her breathing to grow harsh. The big difference between this building and the one in her nightmares was that satellite dishes and antennas topped one of the turrets.
Climbing from the truck, Autumn decided to leave her things until she was sure she would be staying. As she locked and slammed the driver’s door closed, she heard the whine of machinery coming from the metal building at the end of the parking lot.
Crossing the parking lot toward a well-marked path that circled in front of all of the buildings, she took a deep breath and froze. Instead of clean mountain air as she expected, her lungs filled with an aroma so enticing she froze mid-step. Another breath and she identified individual scents of healthy male sweat, fresh cut wood, and some kind of spice.
She gasped as her body responded immediately. Her nipples beaded, her clit throbbed, and her pussy flowed with sex. Never before had she been so aroused. Following the scent like a cat tracking a mouse, Autumn approached the garage. The scent grew stronger the closer she got to the open sliding door
Just inside the open garage door, she stopped. Halfway across the room, two men were feeding a large, thick sheet of wood at a huge machine. She decided to wait until they finished before making her presence known. Her next thought was to question to which of her siblings these two fine specimens belonged.
One of the men lifted his head and looked out of the corner of his eye for a second before returning his attention to the wood panel in his hands. Something deep in her pelvis and behind her clit clenched in reaction. What the hell was going on?
In profile, the man was gorgeous. She couldn’t wait to see what his entire face looked like. The knowledge that he had a twin knotted her nipples even tighter.
Her immediate physical response shocked her.
She had been around thousands of well-built men in the past six years. More than a few of them had been good-looking in one way or another, and during her first year in the Army, she dated and slept with many of them. After her first year in the Army she’d accidentally overheard two of her conquests talking about how she was sleeping her way up the ranks. As they comparing notes as to her performance, she took a long, hard look at herself. She didn’t like what she saw. She was, indeed, becoming a slut. After that, she looked at anyone in a green uniform as a patient, not a potential sexual partner.
Then “The Incident” happened and since that time, men had become a source of fear, not pleasure.
Until now. For the first time in more than a year, she wanted to lie down on the closest flat surface and beg for one of these men to fuck her boneless.
Chapter Two
Hearing an almost silent footstep, Evan Sullivan looked away from what he was doing just enough to see someone standing in the doorway. When he realized it was a woman and she didn’t appear to be threatening, he turned his attention back to what he was doing. They could not stop planing the tabletop now without ruining it. And he and his brother, Frank, had spent the four days piecing the damn complicated thing together. This was the tabletop’s final trip through the planer and any hesitation would mar the top.
Once the wood cleared the machine, he helped Frank carry it to the sawhorses where they would do the fine sanding and then staining and varnishing. Only then did he turn and acknowledge the visitor. Taking off his safety goggles and sawdust-covered baseball hat, he headed for the open doorway.
“Hi, can I help you?”
“I was wondering if you could tell me where I could find my brother and sisters?” the woman asked as she stepped farther into the building.
She took three steps in then stopped and assumed an “at ease” stance that spoke of military training. She looked familiar and yet different than the pictures he had seen of Autumn Ryan, the only member of his in-laws’ family they had yet to meet. Her jaw-length curly hair was redder than that of her siblings and longer than in the last pictures she’d sent just a week before the wedding. The wild curls looked cute on her.
As he approached, so he didn’t have to yell at her, the fear and hunger he saw in her amber eyes surprised him.
His gaze dropped and he took in the black ARMY T-shirt and khaki cargo pants that hung from her. While her sneakers looked brand new, the rest of her outfit appeared worn. Forcing his eyes back to her face, he saw she hadn’t noticed his perusal. She was busy looking around the workshop. He thought it was just as well as he didn’t want to scare her to death.
Taking another step, the scent of fresh apple cider and spices teased his nose. Mate, his brain registered. With that, his cock filled, and an intense craving for this woman urged him to tackle and claim her. This was the woman destined to spend the rest of her life between him and his brother.
Turning his head, he looked at Frank who’d moved up beside him. Did he recognize her as well? Or was he the only one affected by the earthy scent wafting on the air?
When Frank turned and met his gaze with wide eyes, Evan nodded with a single drop of his chin. The brothers smiled at each other and then turned to look at their mate. He was surprised to find her staring at them with an uneasy expression.
“This is Sanctuary, isn’t it?” she asked when he hadn’t answered in a timely manner.
“You must be Autumn,” Evan said.
He slowly closed the last few feet between them. He did not stop moving forward until he wrapped his arms around her back and hugged her close.
She immediately went stiff in his arms. “Uh, yeah, that’s me,” she said.
She sounded lost and confused but felt like heaven in his arms.
“I’m Evan Sullivan, and he’s Frank,” he said as Frank eased up behind her.
“Welcome to Sanctuary,” Frank said by way of greeting.
Evan le
aned down and nuzzled his nose along the side of her neck where it flowed out into her shoulder. He took a deep breath to confirm that the delicious scent of their mate was, indeed, coming from this woman. Hugging her even tighter, he frowned. Under the loose, baggy clothes, she was thin. Too thin. He could feel her ribs under her shirt.
“Mmmm, mate.”
When he released her, Frank twirled her around and gave her a hug and a sniff of his own. When he felt how delicate their woman was under her baggy clothes, he looked over her shoulder at Evan as if asking what was wrong with her.
Evan shrugged in response.
When Autumn squirmed in his arms, Frank released her with a sigh of regret. She eased to the side and back, not stopping until she was out of their reach. Shifting slightly, she positioned herself to keep them both in sight.
What the hell had happened to her to make her so wary of men? And how were they going to claim her as their mate if she wouldn’t even let them touch her?
Before he could voice his concerns, Autumn wrapped both arms around her middle as if to hold herself together. In seconds, the scent that swirled around them soured with her fear.
“We’re mates, aren’t we? Like our siblings? That’s why I’m feeling this way, right?”
Chapter Three
Autumn cringed when she heard the words that had just come out of her mouth. What the hell was she thinking? To admit you felt emotion was to give them the power. She remembered her drill instructor screaming that during basic training when she and her fifty or so comrades-in-training were soaking wet, freezing cold, beyond exhausted, or starving.