“I know that Jace will uphold your mating,” Martha continued. “You two have to protect her from Vera.”
Her words were directed at Max and Eli. She didn’t try to mask her concern or worry. Vera was a very real threat. Martha had promised Clarice and Cara that she would always watch over Shelly and Synthia. There were many times over the years when she had seen the girls’ sadness that she had felt like she hadn’t always been able to do that. Now that Shelly had found her mates, the urgency to protect her from Vera had increased tenfold.
“We will,” Eli promised.
Martha nodded, kissing Shelly’s cheek quickly before turning and reaching for the ornate, crystal doorknob on the front door of their home. Turning it and opening the wide double doors, she stepped outside and closed the doors behind her, walking across the porch to open the screen door before stepping down from the home that had always been so loving and welcoming. She said a silent prayer to Mother Fate to watch over the new triad within it. They deserved a life of love and happiness.
Shelly turned in her men’s arms and smiled up at them. She could feel their worry. She pressed against them and sent them soothing waves of love and support to ease their concerns. She had always been thankful for her omega abilities in order to help others, but this was so much more important to her to be able to soothe her mates. It made her reason for being an omega so much clearer.
“I need you both to shift so you can heal,” she said gently, leaning forward to kiss the underside of Eli’s chin before biting down on his throat.
She loved the soft grumbling of his wolf at the show of possession that she just couldn’t help but display. Turning in Eli’s arms, she did the same to Max, laughing softly when he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.
“You both need to shift and heal,” she repeated firmly, stepping out of their embrace and walking over to open the front door. “I’m going to sit on the couch on the porch. Please join me when you’ve shifted. I have a need to hold my wolves.”
She left them without looking back, confident that her men would do as she asked them to do. Walking out into the enclosed front porch, she stood on her tiptoes to pull down on the chain to start the overhead fan. She sat down on the center cushion of the burgundy couch and waited. She didn’t have long to wait. In just a matter of moments, Eli’s white wolf trotted out onto the porch, jumped up onto the couch, and settled comfortably against Shelly’s right side.
Max’s black wolf raced through the doorway and bounded up onto the cushions, knocking into Shelly and Eli and causing both of them to nearly fall off the couch. Shelly’s explosion of laughter filled Max with relief. He didn’t mean to hurt her. He could barely contain the excitement of his wolf. Their Shelly was twenty-one. They were going to claim her after her birthday party. Their triad mating was going to be the best thing that ever happened in their lives. He was overwhelmed with his feelings for their woman and the need to see their plan of spending the rest of their lives together come to fruition.
Shelly pulled Max’s wolf next to her, settling him against her left side. She loved the softness of her wolves’ fur. She buried her fingers within its thickness and scratched their necks firmly. Both of her wolves chuffed happily as they rested their heads on her thighs.
She looked out the screened windows of the porch to the beautiful view of the lake beyond. Having spent many years sitting inside the enclosed porch, Shelly had many wonderful memories of watching the seasons changing and enjoying every moment of sharing those changes on the front porch. The screening allowed her to experience the coolness of the day during the gentle seasons, and the sliding glass windows that covered the screening kept in the heat of the home during the colder months. The small wood stove in the left corner of the porch always kept the enclosed porch toasty warm.
Shelly remembered those days spent with Alpha William and Beta Michael, their enforcers Thomas and Walter, Jace and Jackson, and Martha and her mates and children. The loneliness of the men who missed their mates did not prevent the love that they had for their sons to be overshadowed by their pain.
“I’ve always loved this home,” Shelly said out loud as she petted her wolves. “It’s such a nice place to live. It’s also a nice place to raise a family. I’m looking forward to living here with you both.”
She looked down at her two wolves and laughed quietly as the soft growls that escaped both of them filled the porch. She could feel their happiness. She could also feel their need to mate. Although the thought of the physical act of the triad mating worried her slightly, she was also looking forward to sharing her love and her body with Max and Eli. She had no doubt in her mind that the men would be gentle and caring lovers.
“Shelly!”
Shelly’s head snapped up in horror as she faced the owner of the harsh and cold voice. Vera. She stood from her comfortable position on the couch so suddenly, both of her wolves jumped down from the couch and took their places directly in front of her. She knew that her wolves could sense the agitation and fear that filled her in that moment. The contented rumblings that they had been vocalizing quickly changed to growls of warning.
“It’s okay,” Shelly told them both quietly, reaching down and scratching the top of their heads lightly. “She won’t come inside. Jace told her that she can’t.”
“Shelly, come outside!” Vera called to her.
“No.”
“Do not defy me, Shelly,” Vera warned her, her voice filled with hatred as she spoke.
“I’m doing what Jace has instructed me to do,” Shelly said, proud that her voice was strong as she spoke. If Vera heard any bit of weakness, Shelly would never be able to deny her orders. “Have you forgotten that today is my twenty-first birthday? I’m no longer under your rule, Vera.”
“Insolent child,” Vera muttered, doing her best to contain her anger as she walked over to the stairs that led up to the old alpha home. “You will come out here right now, Shelly. Your twenty-first birthday signifies the beginning of your life as a mate to a man of my choosing.”
Both Eli and Max rubbed against Shelly’s legs, pressing her backward into their home. The deep growls that were coming from them displayed their anger. Shelly felt their rage, but she also felt their possessiveness. She felt their need to take care of her, and although she was flattered, she wasn’t about to give them the power over her future. If she did, she would just be trading one person who told her what to do for two people who would tell her what to do. That was not acceptable.
She did not want to be told. She wanted to be asked. She wanted to be cherished and respected. She wanted to have the power over her own destiny. Yes, she wanted a future with Max and Eli, but she wanted that future to be her choice.
“I choose my future,” she said with determination as she looked down at her wolves. She couldn’t help but glean satisfaction at the contrite looks that came across their faces and the sense of apology that flowed from their hearts. “I choose you both.” She spoke the words softly, but what she said was heartfelt and certain. “Do you choose me of your own free will?”
Both wolves nudged her hands without hesitation. They walked around her legs and pressed her between them, letting her know that she was exactly what they both wanted.
“Okay,” Shelly whispered. “Now that we have that settled, I need to deal with Vera.”
“Hayward is in need of a young mate who can give him strong sons to carry on his pack,” Vera called out to her, knowing that not one of the four sons Hayward already had was strong enough to take over as alpha. “Come out of that house and come with me. Hayward is waiting.”
“I choose who my mates will be,” Shelly said with determination.
“One mate, Shelly,” Vera stopped her angrily. “I will not have you defiled by two men like I was.”
“Do not talk about my fathers like that,” Shelly said without hesitation, anger filling her at the way Vera spoke about such wonderful and caring men. “My fathers were good and kin
d men who were good mates to you. You chose not to value their love. I won’t make the same mistake with my mates.”
Leaving the safety of the porch, Shelly walked down the front steps and stood before Vera with a strength she never thought she would ever be able to display. Her blue eyes flashed with determination as she faced the woman who had birthed her.
“You have no control over me anymore,” Shelly said calmly. “I will not be mating with Hayward. I will mate with the men that I fall in love with. Two men. I will be part of a loving triad, and we’re going to have a good life together. Go away, Vera.”
“I forbid you to mate,” Vera said firmly, her eyes flashing with hatred as she looked at Shelly.
“Well, what you say and what you feel are of no importance to me,” Shelly said, shrugging to express her dismissal of Vera’s declaration.
“Child, you are so very wrong,” Vera said smugly. “You are forbidden to have mates. You will have just one mate. His name is Hayward, and you will respect him as you should the alpha of a pack.”
“It’s you who is wrong, Vera,” Shelly said calmly. “I will not be mated to any man that you choose.”
“You will. Just as Synthia will be mated to Jace and Jackson,” Vera insisted.
“You deny me a triad mating, but you want one for Synthia? That makes no sense, Vera,” Shelly said with disgust.
“Your sister is destined to rule this pack,” Vera said proudly. “She is beautiful and perfect. You are not. She will have to deal with the absurdity and the abomination of a triad mating in order to be queen. We all must make our sacrifices.”
Shelly heard the growls coming from the porch and knew a moment of worry that her wolves would show themselves. She worried that Vera would target them for abuse and cruelty just as Shelly had been targeted growing up. She wanted better for her men.
“You, on the other hand, must accept what is available to you,” Vera continued. “Hayward will probably discard you after a while, as he should. You aren’t worthy to be queen. Hayward will see that soon enough. You will live the life of a servant because that’s all that you’re good enough to be.”
Before she could answer Vera’s cruel statement, Max and Eli left the porch in their wolf forms and came to stand beside her, Max on her left and Eli on her right. They positioned their bodies slightly in front of her to shield her from Vera. Their low growls of warning were quite clear.
“These are the men who are the new inhabitants of the old alpha home?” Vera asked, looking down at the large wolves and determining their strength. “It seems that Jace has given you guard dogs.”
“They’re not dogs,” Shelly said angrily. “They’re my wolves.”
Vera laughed bitterly. “Oh, Shelly, you were always a delusional child,” she said calmly. “You’ve somehow gotten yourself wrapped up in another fantasy that allows you to believe that these wolves actually care about you. They are obviously performing a service to Jace by watching over you. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that it’s anything more than that. You’re not worthy of anything more than that.”
The growls that Max and Eli were emitting grew louder. They stepped forward, pressing against Shelly’s legs to move her back toward the house. When Shelly stepped back just one step, they were satisfied that she was at a safer distance from the woman who obviously wished her harm. They could sense Vera’s evil.
Both of them took a protective stance in front of their mate and growled menacingly, their teeth bared. Saliva dripped from their open mouths. Neither man, and neither wolf, would hesitate to rip out the throat of the woman who should have protected her daughter with her life. Instead, this cold woman was ready to sell Shelly to the alpha that both men knew too well.
Alpha Hayward was much the same as Alpha Randall. Both men despised Beckett’s pack. Both men did not respect triad matings. And both men were leaders of packs who ruled by intimidation, cruelty, and fear. Max and Eli would die before they allowed those men and that life to touch Shelly in any way.
“This is not over, Shelly,” Vera said with determination as she stepped back in fear.
She didn’t know who these wolves were, but she was certain that they presented a very real threat to her. She knew better than to take a stand right then. All would be taken care of when Hayward showed up.
“Hayward wants you as his, and he always gets what he wants. When your party is over, he’ll be taking you back to his pack land.”
Shelly didn’t say a word. She felt a moment of dread at Vera’s words, but pushed them aside. She couldn’t allow one bit of doubt to fill her heart. She had two men who were destined to be hers. She had to believe that Mother Fate would watch over all three of them.
Mother Fate, please tell me that Hayward is not going to be my mate, Shelly implored, her heart hurting at the thought of being made to mate with anyone but Max and Eli.
You are meant to be with Max and Eli, daughter, Mother Fate answered gently. You will have much to overcome in your destiny to form a lasting triad with them, but they are meant to be yours—no other.
Shelly’s entire body relaxed at Mother Fate’s promise. She backed up and sat down on the steps of the front porch. She watched in silence as Vera stalked away. She felt a great deal of satisfaction as she watched the woman who had caused her and her sister nothing but pain and loneliness walk away in frustration.
She felt the warmth of Max and Eli as they eased back and stood before her. Their large bodies rubbed against her. She felt their concern, and she felt their love. She reached out and gathered both of them within her embrace, sinking her hands into their soft fur and caressing them slowly. She rested her head against their necks and took deep breaths, allowing their scents to soothe her.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
She felt a sudden darkness surrounding her and her wolves and knew a moment of panic. Hugging them tightly, she felt as if there was a real possibility that if she let them go, her mates were going to disappear.
“Daddy, Poppa, please help me,” she whispered. “I’ve found my wolves. Please help us to stay together.”
She felt the warmth of her fathers surrounding her as she always did when she spoke to them. She reached deep into herself to pull forward her omega powers and surround herself and her men in the protection that she was desperate to give them.
She loved her men. She wasn’t going to give them up. Not without a fight.
Chapter 13
Shelly walked down the wide staircase wearing the Renaissance dress that Martha had made for her. When Martha had been making it for her, Shelly had thought of it only as the dress that would present her to the pack as an adult. She had a different view of the dress now. The dress represented something so much more important. She felt as if it was her wedding dress.
Wearing this dress and being presented to the pack was giving her the permission to make her choice to be the mate of Eli and Max. Being mated was something she had never really believed would ever happen for her before. Sure, she had thought about living in the old alpha home with her two wolves, but it had always been a fantasy for her future. She never really had any real hope to hang onto. She did now.
Eli and Max were very real. They were better than any fantasy she could have ever dreamed up. They were good men who were caring, kind, and sexy as hell. They had quirks that Shelly valued. Each man was strong, sensitive, and protective of her and of each other. They had lived their lives hiding their triad partnership as well as their deepest hopes of finding their triad mate. They had lived under the cruelty and control of Alpha Randall and had done things that they were ashamed of, but Shelly valued every part of them.
To wish that they hadn’t experienced their life as they had, would be to deny the men that they had become. She truly believed that only through pain and suffering could the true measure of a man be found. Just thinking about the many prayers of thanks that filled their souls made Shelly know that even in their darkest times, her men had burned bright with
goodness and fairness.
She looked at her men as she came to the bottom step of the stairway to meet her and smiled, blushing lightly at the appreciative gazes that they directed at her. Both men were looking at her with wide smiles on their faces and desire in their eyes as she walked toward them. She was glad they still had about an hour before Jace and Jackson came to collect her. She wanted to spend some time with her mates. Mates. She never thought she would ever say that word, or have that gift.
“You look beautiful, Shelly,” Eli said softly.
“Thank you,” Shelly said, smiling shyly. “I love this dress. Martha made it for me.”
Max reached up and traced the red piping that edged the low neckline. “Very pretty,” he said quietly. “I’m not sure I’ll be very happy about other men seeing you looking so beautiful.”
“Max, I hardly think anyone else will think that I’m beautiful,” she protested, laughing softly.
“Baby, you have no idea how gorgeous you are,” Max said seriously. “Beauty radiates from you. I know part of it’s because you’re gorgeous on the outside, but I know a big part of it is because your goodness and kindness glows all around you.”
Shelly didn’t know what to say to that. Max’s words touched her heart. She looked up at him and sighed when she saw the golden glow of his eyes as his wolf pressed forward. She turned to look at Eli and saw the way his eyes were flashing golden, as well.
“I hope you realize that Max and I won’t be able to leave your side the entire night, Shelly,” Eli said, his voice almost apologetic. “I don’t think our wolves will allow us to leave you even for a moment.”
“Jace and Jackson have to present me,” Shelly said quietly. “You have to understand that it’s tradition. I don’t want them to take your place, but they have to stand by my side and announce my coming of age in front of the pack.”
Shelly's Forbidden Mates [Beckett's Wolf Pack, Triad Mates 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) Page 14
