The Fire Goddess and Her Wolves [The Shifters of Freedom Springs 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Maia Dylan

  He got things sorted as fast as he could. Then, the next morning, he headed for Freedom Springs. The closer he got to home, the stronger the urge became, until he was flirting with a huge speeding fine if he was caught, and he had a single point of focus, to get to Freedom Springs as fast as he fucking could. He would find out later that night about the crazy shit that had gone down up at Devil’s Table, but it was obvious he was feeling Cole’s tension and fear for their mate. Travis needed to pull his truck over at one point because of the fear and rage that suddenly filled him.

  It wouldn’t be until a couple of days later that he and Cole would figure out that the timing would have coincided with the exact moment Cole had been stuck behind the barrier trying to get to Fiona, but couldn’t breach the damn thing. Travis didn’t know how Cole had managed to stay sane! But out of the two of them, Cole had always been the level-headed one.

  Travis had arrived back into town late that night. Rather than heading out to their place or even heading over to see his mom and dad, he had stopped in town, stepped out of his truck and taken a deep breath, feeling the tension of the past few years just rolling away. He had felt he had to enlist and do his bit for his country, but he had seen things that he would have to live with for the rest of his life, images that flooded his dreams at night, turning them into nightmares.

  But he didn’t regret it for one moment. He had saved more lives than he cared to remember being a medic in a war zone, and no one could take that away from him.

  He had been turning in a tight circle, taking in the familiar scents and sounds of home, when he caught Cole’s scent on the wind. He had followed it, vaguely recognizing that he was heading to the old Bradford place, wondering what the hell his brother was doing there. As he neared the yard, he heard his brother talking to someone on the porch. Then he cleared the hedge and Cole caught sight of him. Travis was so pleased to see his twin that he hadn’t really paid any attention to the person who remained on the porch.

  They had gripped each other in a brotherly hug, complete with back-slapping, and Travis was about to ask what the hell he was doing there when the warm breeze that washed over them brought the scent of the person on the porch with it. The scent drove him to his knees with a groan and he recognized the fact that his brother fell right beside him. Jesus Christ! The snap of connection within him and the swell of power and strength that rocked him signaled one thing. His mate was near!

  Travis shook his head to clear the moment he had scented his mate from his mind, and he looked across the table and saw that Cole was just as lost in his own thoughts as he had been in his. They had talked at length about the fact that the fates had blessed them with the same mate.

  Cole heaved a sigh. “Maybe we should go.” Travis had been thinking the same thing. Casey had told them that Fiona had wanted to talk with them, but it was painfully obvious that she didn’t.

  “Don’t you boys give up on that girl.”

  Travis spun around to look at the woman who spoke. Maggie Rika was a beautifully striking older woman, and the mother of their brother’s mate. She stood in the doorway with her arms crossed, and she was glaring at them. “She deserves to be happy, and my money is on you boys to do just that. She just needs time to get used to the fact that y’all actually want to get to know her. She hasn’t had too many people take the time to do that.” Travis felt his heart clench at that and nodded.

  “We weren’t giving up on anything, ma’am.” Travis stood and turned so that he could see her better, and so hopefully she could read the sincerity in his expression. “We just don’t want to crowd her, or make her uncomfortable.” He stopped when she waved her hand and made a pfft sound.

  “Now, Travis”—she moved further into the kitchen—“there is definitely a time when you need to stand back and give a girl some space.” Travis nodded, knowing that this was one of those times. “But honey, this is most definitely not one of those times.”

  Apparently, he knew nothing.

  His confusion must have been evident on his face, because she stepped up to him and placed her hand against his cheek in a true mom gesture, one his own mom had been doing every five minutes since he had been back. “You need to invade her personal space and make her acknowledge you. Then you both have to work to get her to accept you, that’ll be a little harder, but again, I have faith in you both. And Travis, my darling, I’ve told you to call me Maggie.” She smiled and patted his cheek, and walked back into the living room.

  When she stepped away from him, he turned to Cole and saw he was on his feet as well. “You know, that makes a whole shit-load of sense to me. You?”

  “Yeah.” Cole nodded and grinned slow. “And I am all about invading her personal space to get her to acknowledge us. You thinking what I’m thinking?”

  Travis grinned back and nodded, then, as one, they turned to the stairs that led to the bedrooms upstairs. It was time to get their mate to talk to them. They got to the stairs, then followed their noses until the stood in front of the room where her sweet and spicy scent was strongest. They could hear her moving around inside, and from the sound of it, she was pacing and muttering, too low even for their enhanced hearing to catch.

  Travis knocked on the door and the pacing stopped. “For God’s sake, Casey! If you don’t leave me alone and let me do this on my own, I swear to all that is holy in this world that I am going to hurt you!” The door suddenly flew open and their mate stood there with eyes flashing in anger and color high in her cheeks.

  Travis felt his heart turn over in his chest at the sight. She was so damn beautiful. He heard his brother inhale sharply beside him at the same time. He watched her face intently, looking for any real sign of distress, but all he saw was shock, then surprise, then she bit her lip as a small trace of shame filtered across her expressive face and Travis frowned, trying to think what she would feel ashamed for, and then a resigned sadness that had his wolf whimpering. What in the hell was this?

  Then it was if she had simply dropped a curtain over her emotions and her face became a mask of indifference. “Oh, it’s you two.” There was a hint of anger in her voice, but Travis could only smell nerves and fear within her scent. He shot a glance at Cole and saw that he was just as confused. “I thought you were Casey. I guess you’ve come to talk to me, huh?”

  She waved them through the door and Travis ached to pull her into his arms. She pointed over to the small sitting area that sat just off the bedroom. Since this place used to house a bed-and-breakfast, each of the rooms had their own bathrooms and a sitting area, which meant that everyone in the house had their own space.

  Cole and Travis took the couch, leaving the armchair for Fiona. When they were seated, he watched as Fiona sat with her arms folded and her eyes darting between the two, and then when she realized they sat with their eyes glued to her, she seemed to sit taller and schooled her features. Jesus, she looked like she was waiting for a fight to break out, and from the looks of her, she was going to come out swinging any second now.

  “Fiona.” Cole’s voice was cautious, much like it was when he talked to their horses when they were spooked. “You wanna tell us why you look like you’re expecting to have to fight your way outta here at some point during this conversation?”

  Fiona flinched slightly, but her expression didn’t change. “I’m sure I have no idea what you mean, Cole.” Her voice was pure steel and ice. Something was really wrong here. “Just tell me what you’ve come here to tell me, then leave. I only have ten weeks to solve my portion of the prophecy and I need every single moment to gain control of my power.” Travis narrowed his eyes at her. He had a nasty feeling he knew what she was expecting.

  “Fiona,” Travis said, fighting to keep his voice calm, “do you think we’re here to tell you we don’t want you?” He felt his brother flinch beside him, and it was obvious he hadn’t come to that conclusion. “That somehow there’s been a mistake and we have come to the realization that you aren’t our mate and that we are here
to tell you that?”

  Oh. Shit. That was exactly what she thought. He could tell from the look on her face. He stared at their mate. She had no idea how beautiful she was, how fucking desirable she was to them, and what she would come to mean to them both. He and Cole could only hope that she would come to care for them half as much.

  “Fiona.” Cole’s voice vibrated with pain, not for himself but for their woman who had faced more people turning their backs on her than opening their arms. “Baby, that’s not what we have come to talk to you about. Hell, that couldn’t be farther from the truth.”

  Travis leaned forward drawing her gaze. “I know you don’t know me yet, lovely.” He took a breath to slow his racing heart. “And, God, I hope you want to get to know me, but please believe me when I tell you that you are my mate. You are our mate, and you are everything we ever hoped to have in a mate. Cole has talked about you incessantly since I got back and I have hung on and soaked up every damn word. I definitely like everything I’m hearing and seeing, and all it does is make me yearn to get to know you better.” Finally, her face seemed to soften.

  “If we had known”—Cole sat forward so that they were both leaning toward her with their elbows on their knees—“that you were thinking those thoughts, doubting that you are our mate, we would have been here a lot sooner. Jesus, Fi, it breaks my heart to think that you’ve been sitting here for the past two weeks believing that we made a mistake!” Travis watched as her face became vulnerable and her eyes shimmered with unshed tears.

  “The only mistake we made, Fiona, was leaving you here on your own for so long. We would have moved heaven and earth to have been here with you,” Travis said softly, then panicked as he watched a single tear slide down her cheek and her chin start to wobble. Fuck this! He leapt up, moved around the table, and plucked her off the arm chair, then moved back to sit on the couch with her in his lap, right next to his brother. Damn, she felt fantastic in his arms! With the three of them sitting so close that she was effectively lying across their laps, he felt their mating bond snap stronger into place.

  All three of them trembled and he knew that they had each felt it. “See, lovely?” He squeezed her in his arms, loving how she snuggled into him and placed her hand on Cole’s where it rested on her thigh. “That makes it real clear that you are our mate. The mating bond is in place and will only grow stronger between us if you’ll let it. We aren’t asking you to let us claim you right this second. All we want is the chance to get to know you and explore this attraction we have for each other. Do you think we can do that?”

  The moments between his soft question and her answer stretched, and just as Travis thought she was going to turn them down, her face bloomed with a smile so beautiful his heart ached. “I’m not sure that getting to know me will make it easier or harder to start or try to have a relationship with me. I can be kinda difficult sometimes, and I do have a little bit of a major kinda fly-off-the-handle type of temper.”

  “No,” Cody deadpanned, “I’ve never seen that in you.”

  “Shut up, Cody, you dick.” Fiona punched him in the arm with a laugh, and Travis grinned. “But as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted…” She glared mockingly at Cole, who grinned unrepentantly back at her. “I’m not sure what will come out of getting to know me better, but I’m willing to give it a try if you are.” She smiled shyly at them and Travis resisted the urge to whoop and holler his joy. He just grinned and hoped she could see his joy at her words, then he leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to her lips, enjoying her surprised squeal at the move.

  “You won’t regret this, Fiona.” He leaned back to stare into her shocked eyes and smiled when she raised a slightly shaking hand to her lips. When she turned to Cole, he leaned in and kissed her just as softly.

  “We’ll do everything in our power to make sure you never do,” Cole whispered as he sat back to give her a little room. Her smile was shy, but her eyes flashed with heat and Travis felt his heart swell. All he and Cole needed to do was convince her that they could be what she needed. He and Cole had never failed at anything they set their minds to as a team, and they had sure as hell had set their minds on Fiona. Hell, they had their hearts set on her, too.

  Chapter 3

  “Come on, Fiona, let’s get drunk and tell each other everything we’re too afraid to say sober! We deserve this break from our same old, same old.” Casey grinned at her from over her shoulder as she led her further into the crowded bar. She had been in Freedom Springs for a little over seven weeks and so much had changed that she hardly recognized herself!

  Fiona had settled into life here a lot faster and easier than she thought she ever would. She had taken a job at a local café owned by an older Jewish lady she had come to adore. She waited tables and ran the office, and she found that she quite liked the bookwork side of things a lot. She was even contemplating taking a course or two through an online university Casey had found for her.

  Casey had been working with her almost daily on controlling her powers, and other than a couple of intensity issues, she had managed to keep her powers under control. She could hit the targets Casey would lay out for her with an accuracy she had never had before, as well as in any order she called out, but there were a few she hit with a spark and then others she incinerated.

  Casey dragged her to the bar and ordered them both a whiskey with a beer chaser. Apparently they were settling in for the night, not that Fiona minded. She was wound so damn tight she needed to spend some time slamming a few drinks and dancing to a few songs just to relax.

  “So,” Casey said, sitting on one of the stools at the bar while Fiona took the one beside her, “how are things with the wonder twins?” Fiona felt her heart kick into a higher gear at the mention of her...boyfriends? Was that what they were? Hell, they weren’t her lovers yet, so she guessed “boyfriends” was the correct term, and that right there was one of the reasons she was wound so tight.

  “Slow. Too bloody slow,” Fiona grumped as she slammed her shot of Jack and signaled the bartender for another while she sipped on her beer. Casey, the whore who was actually getting sex on a fairly regular basis, laughed. Bitch. “It’s not fucking funny, Casey! They come to me three weeks ago and tell me that they want to get to know me, that I’m their mate and they want to work up to claiming me, and we spend all this time together and here I sit, still a virgin, waiting for the two men who are supposed to be my be-all-and-end-alls to man up and take me!”

  Casey grinned as she slammed her own drink. “Yeah, I thought that perhaps they had been starting your engine but not actually taking you for a spin.” Fiona paused with her bottle halfway to her lips. Then she turned to stare incredulously at the woman who was more like family to her than anyone else in the world.

  “Dude, did you just refer to me as a car?” Fiona watched as Casey started to laugh. “’Cause I gotta tell you, I am not too sure if I shouldn’t feel insulted by that comparison.”

  “Even though it is extremely apt and totally accurate?”

  “Yeah,” Fiona admitted with a sigh. “Pretty damn accurate. I mean, what do I have to do, grab their dicks and drag them to the damn bedroom to make my point?”

  “Hell, baby,” an unfamiliar male voice said close to her right shoulder. When she turned, she looked into the bloodshot eyes of a tall, dark-haired cowboy wearing a black Stetson and, from the looks of him, a skin full of alcohol. “If you’re looking for a dick to grab, why don’t you just reach on down and grab mine?” Fiona stared at him, looking swiftly over his shoulders at his two chuckling cohorts who obviously found the fool hilarious.

  Fiona turned in her chair so she faced him fully, feeling Casey lean over her shoulder so she didn’t miss any of the action. Deliberately, Fiona looked down in the direction of his groin, and then looked him dead in the eye. “Awww, sorry, I didn’t bring any tweezers with me.” Casey choked on her beer a little as she laughed, and if Fiona wasn’t mistaken, quite a few of the people in the bar laug
hed as well. Had to be shifters.

  “What about you, Casey? You got any tweezers in your bag?” Fiona leaned back a little to talk to Casey, but never took her eyes off the man standing in front of her.

  “Ah, no, sorry,” Casey answered, her laughter very clear in her voice.

  Cowboy’s smile had dropped away completely as red suffused his cheeks and his eyes darkened in anger. “Fuck you, I’ve had heaps of women scream in pain when I fuck them, I’m so big. All of them better looking than you, whore.”

  “Wait, wait, wait. Hold up a minute,” Fiona placed her beer down on the bar. “Firstly, you stand there and tell me that you have had, and I quote, heaps of women, and I’m the whore? Really? Second, if you make a woman scream it had better be in pleasure, otherwise it’s not a good thing at all, you douche, and thirdly…” She released a little of her power so that her inner flame shimmered in her eyes. She watched as the color drained from his face and he stepped back into his friends. “I think it’s time for you to head on out and leave my friend and me alone now, because you are starting to piss. Me. Off.” She targeted a stream of flame toward his Stetson, smiling as it started to smoke before a small flame burst to life on the rim of his hat.

  She watched in amusement as his friends threw their drinks over his head in an attempt to put the flames out. He yelped as he threw the now-sodden hat, that was miraculously still burning, to the floor and the three of them stomped on it until the flames were out. The drunken cowboy turned, glared and pointed right at her. “You did that somehow, you little bitch! I’m gonna enjoy slapping the shit right outta you!”