“Everything, Jaxon, my wolf is clawing the shit out of my insides over this. I’m fighting my own instincts, and it hurts.”
“Kaden, you said that she was your mate. Did you mean it?”
“Yes, but how can I get involved with a human?”
“The same way you would if she was a shifter. You can’t blame her for what happened to Jack.”
“I know, but it’s more than that. Look what happened to Mai. When the Hungarians took her, the Solfalvis almost went feral looking for her.” Kaden shook Jaxon’s hands off his shoulders. “What if something happened to Carol because we brought her into our world? Could you live with yourself over that?”
“You know as well as I do that there is nothing in our world that is certain. Shifters die in battles, and they die in accidents.” After their father’s death in a freak mining accident, Kaden had become incredibly protective of their mom. It took them moving to Ecstasy Lake and her meeting her True Mate here for him to start to relax again. Their mother mourned their father, but she survived because they weren’t True Mates. Jaxon knew if they lost Carol, he wouldn’t be far behind.
“What if I can’t protect her enough?”
Jaxon wrapped an arm around Kaden’s shoulders. Out of the three of them, Kaden was always the one to take everything to heart—the loss of their father and then the violent death of his best friend in front of him. “We’ll protect her, Kaden. She will have the three of us to care for her. Don’t you think the idea of her getting hurt scares the hell out of me? Between her and Sloan, I expect to start sprouting gray hairs any day.”
“Jaxon, I don’t know if I can do that, but I don’t know how I can walk away from her.”
“Then stop pushing yourself. Let it happen. But I’m telling you, the longer you wait the harder it will be. You’re creating a massive distance between the two of you, Kaden. You didn’t see her face tonight. You’ve hurt her, and you have to make it right with her.”
“I will, as soon as I can think clearly. I’m going to let my wolf run and see if I can straighten my head out. I have to work early tomorrow anyway. Pass on my good-byes to everyone for me.”
Without anther word, he stripped out of his jeans and shirt and leaped into the forest as a wolf.
Chapter Eleven
Three hours later, Carol had convinced herself that she was overreacting. Both Jaxon and Sloan had tried to talk to her, but she rebuffed them as gently as she could each time. She didn’t want to hear any excuses, and eventually they stopped trying to corner her. They might think they wanted to share her, but that wasn’t a realistic idea, especially since their brother obviously wasn’t interested. They would find some tiny fashion model to pass around, and then they could all live happily ever after.
Sitting curled up in a swing chair, she looked out over the large yard while sipping white sangria out of a fishbowl for a goblet. Tiki torches lined the edge of the large deck, keeping the bugs at bay, creating flickering shadows against the backdrop of the forest. There were still a few people milling around, but most everyone had gone home by now. Jaxon left an hour earlier, but not without curling her toes with another incredible kiss and a promise to call tomorrow. She glanced over at the bonfire they’d started earlier. Sloan stood out in the yard talking to Vencel and Gaspar, but she had no trouble knowing him by his silhouette.
“I don’t think I have ever been this relaxed.” She sipped at her drink and then picked a large frozen red grape out of her glass and popped it into her mouth with a dramatic sigh. Both Mai and River laughed in response. River lay sprawled out on a lounger, and Mai sat curled up on another wicker swing chair. A small table sat in the middle of them with their second pitcher of sangria perched on it.
“See, that is the fresh air getting to you.” Mai waved her glass, and a bit of sangria sloshed over the edge and on to her hand. “Soon you will wonder why anyone would want to live in a smoggy city—all the crowds, dirt, and crime.”
“I don’t think so. I have to go back so I can reopen my animal shelter.”
“Right after she kicks her ex in the nuts for stealing all her money.” River lifted her glass in a toast, and all three of them took a sip, then dissolved into giggles.
“Is that what happened? Do the police have any idea where to look for him?”
“I don’t know. I hope so, but even if they do find him, I doubt I’ll ever see my money back. He could be on the other side of the world by now for all I know. Ann offered to feed him to the wolves, but I couldn’t in good conscience risk Gordon getting indigestion.”
Carol didn’t understand Mai’s shocked look and for a moment thought that River had told her something Mai didn’t want shared. River waved her hand in the air. “It’s okay, Mai. Carol knows all about us.”
This time Mai’s shocked look turned in her direction. “Did I miss a memo because I’m starting to think I was the only person who didn’t know about shape-shifters until I moved up here?”
“I only know because Brenna and I used to share a crappy apartment when we were in University. The wiring was shoddy, and one day Brenna electrocuted herself trying to change a fuse.”
“Holy shit, what happened?”
River leaned closer to Mai and said, “Brenna told me she shifted, right there in front of Carol, and freaked her out completely.”
“Well, hell yeah.” I’ll never forget that moment. “One minute I’m nagging at her not to touch the stupid power box and the next the power goes out. When I flipped on my flashlight, there is an unconscious wolf at my feet.”
Mai lifted her eyebrows high over her wide-open eyes. She looked completely entranced in Carol’s story. “What did you do?”
“Turned and ran of course. I phoned her father and freaked out. It’s almost funny now to think about it because I’m sure I sounded like a lunatic on the phone. But he’s always so calm, and he told me to sit down and take some deep breaths. Not long after, Brenna came back upstairs. We sat there in the most uncomfortable silence because we didn’t know what to say. Gordon drove to our place and immediately ordered us to move. He and Brenna then sat me down and told me everything. I never would have said anything, but it put my mind at ease.”
Gaspar jogged up the stairs to the deck and headed toward them. “Sorry, ladies, don’t mean to interrupt.” He paused and gave Mai a kiss. “Having fun, Angyalom?” Carol mentally sighed at the sweet endearment Gaspar used. Mai told her earlier, when she inquired, that it meant “Angel” in Hungarian.
“Yes, how about you guys?” Mai patted her husband’s chest and grinned up at him.
“Nothing but boring guy talk, you know.” He kissed her again and then continued into the house, emerging a moment later carrying three bottles. That was the third beer run that her husbands had made, and they never failed to check on her as they passed.
“Holy shit, Mai. Are your husbands always this sweet?”
“Usually.” Mai’s impish grin morphed into something more seductive as she watched the men walk across the lawn. “Sometimes they drive me insane, though.”
“They’re why you stayed up here instead of going back to the city?”
“They might have had a hand in convincing me to stay up here.” A tipsy giggle escaped her lips, and she covered her mouth, looking around to see if anyone else heard.
River laughed out loud. “Don’t listen to her. They came up here because she wanted to move from Toronto. They popped up here now and again to let their wolves run free, but after they met her, the three of them all moved here.”
“Wow, I couldn’t make things work with one. I can’t imagine how hard it is to split your attention between two men.”
“I don’t understand.” Mai sipped her drink as she waved to her husbands. They waved back and each blew her a kiss.
“Doesn’t one man get jealous if you’re spending more time with the other one?”
“No, of course not.” Mai placed her glass on the table in front of her and sat forward in her seat
a bit. “I don’t know if it’s because they are twins, but they get as much pleasure out of sharing me as I do.”
“That is a lot of demand on you.”
“Something I can’t get enough of anyway.” She laughed. “But I’m never alone, and I like that. One of them is always around if I need to talk to someone or need help with something. They’re insanely protective, but after everything that happened earlier this summer, I’m glad for it.”
River filled her in on some more details. “They’re originally from Hungary, and their pack came here demanding their return. Having a human mate wasn’t an acceptable companion, so one of them decided to take care of Mai.”
“Oh my god, how did you get away?”
Mai moved to lean on the arm of her chair and missed. Giggling, she corrected herself and then proceeded to speak in a very loud whisper. “I’ll let you in on a secret. Werewolves have very sensitive noses. You hit one of them hard enough in the snout, and it’s like kicking them in the balls with a wooden shoe.” Mai smacked her hands together. “Bam! Down they go.”
River refilled their glasses, and Mai lifted hers up from where she’d placed it on the table. “To protective men and knowing how to knock them on their asses when need be.”
“Mai is different though, because she is True Mated to her men.” River flopped back, making her chair ease back and forth in small waves. The tone of her voice was wistful, but Carol could see that her new friend wasn’t merely acting dramatic.
“True Mates? You’ve never mentioned that term before. What is it?”
“Think of True Mates as soul mates. I was meant to be with Gaspar and Vencel, and they waited a very long time to find me. I can’t really put it into words, but when I’m with them, everything feels…right.”
Carol had a good idea what Mai meant. Everything she said sounded like how she felt when she was with one of the Henderson brothers. With that thought, she understood why Brenna’s parents’ relationship made sense.
“That is why Gordon knew that Ann was meant to be with him. She is his and Helen’s True Mate.”
“Kind of. The forces that dictate True Mates also allow free will. Gordon loves Ann and so does Helen. But Helen isn’t his Mate. Which means that her life force isn’t tied to theirs.”
“What have life forces got to do with anything?”
“If something happens to either me or my guys, then the other two won’t survive. It sounds tragic, but honestly, I can’t imagine living without either of them. Shape-shifters are very long lived but not immortal. My husbands are older than Gordon.”
“Oh god, that means that one day Helen will pass away, but Gordon and Ann will live on.” Carol felt tears prick her eyes at what sounded like such a tragedy. “That’s horrible.”
“It’s life. No one knows when they will die, so that is why each day is so important.”
Carol pushed her toes against the ground, making her chair rock as she sipped at her drink while watching the flames from the tiki torches flicker against the night sky. All that True Mate stuff sounded horrible. Is that what the brothers thought she might be? Did she want to be responsible for three other lives? What about when they got sick of her or irritated with her and then couldn’t get away from her because of this strange bond between them? The idea of being caught in a forced relationship with no chance of escape made her feel sick.
“Wow, for something so incredible, it really brings a party down.” Mai sipped more of the sweet sangria from her glass. “I wouldn’t change this bond with my guys for anything. They’re my rocks. You’ll both understand when it happens to you.”
Carol waved her free hand in front of her as she spoke. “Oh no, not me. I’m not meant to be caught in anything like that. River, you go ahead and tell me all about it later.” Both Mai and River burst out laughing.
“Okay, Carol.” River lifted her glass in a mock salute. “You keep telling yourself that, but no one ends up in Ecstasy Lake by accident.”
“She’s right. I’ve heard the stories. It’s true. That lake creature they love to talk about should’ve been named Serendipity instead of Blavet.” Mai shrugged her shoulders as if there was no point in arguing about it.
River looked at Carol as if that should explain it all. When Carol didn’t say anything, she continued. “Carol, my mom ended up here by accident. She was seven months pregnant with me, and running away from family. She didn’t know my dad was a shifter, and her parents didn’t like having an unwed mother for a daughter. Her car broke down out by the antique shop, and Miss Anilla called Gordon. Gordon could tell by her scent that I was going to be born a shifter. Ann is the one who sat down and told her everything.”
“There is a story for almost everyone in this town.” Mai pointed at the sangria on the table. “We would need another pitcher for me to tell you the story about how I met Gaspar and Vencel.”
“But there wasn’t anything mystical about why I came up here.” As interesting as all this sounded, Carol couldn’t believe that Fate had a hand in any of it. “Brenna asked me to help out for a few weeks while she went to stay with her sister.”
“And her cousin needed her sooner than expected, leaving you here and available for the taking?”
River had a point, but Carol couldn’t wrap her brain around the idea of staying here. “But I’m moving back to the city.”
“You keep telling yourself that, Carol.”
Chapter Twelve
Pain pierced Carol’s skull when she tried to open her eyes. Her mouth tasted like…better not think of an example because her stomach rolled dangerously at the idea and made her moan, “Oh, please. Kill me now.”
A low chuckle from next to her caused the breath to freeze in her chest. What did I do? Covering her eyes with one hand to block the sunlight, she tried to peer out from underneath. Sloan lay on the bed next to her. She could see his chest was bare but didn’t have any clue about the rest of him. Oh god, I’m in bed with the wrong brother. Fragmented memories of the night before shuffled slowly through her thoughts, but nothing surfaced of how she ended up in bed with Jaxon’s brother.
“Good morning, I’m not going to bother asking you how you’re feeling right now.”
“I’m dying.” She shifted her weight and tried to figure out what she was or wasn’t wearing. She had a T-shirt on and her panties, but that was all, from what she could tell. A quick glance down and she realized that it was the one Sloan wore last night.
He leaned down and pressed a kiss against her head. “I imagine so. If it’s any consolation, I think that River and Mai feel the same way?”
“Really?” River’s metabolism broke down alcohol so quickly that she’d bragged about never being hungover.
“No, not really, but I hoped it might make you feel better.”
“No…yes.” Her patchy memory worried her. What the hell was she thinking drinking like that? With incredibly slow movements, she rolled onto her side facing away from Sloan. If she humiliated herself, she didn’t want to see the sympathy in his gaze. Her hair drifted over her face, and she closed her eyes, content to pretend she was hiding as she whispered to him.
“Did I do anything stupid? Make a fool of myself? Do I need to apologize to anyone? My memories are very foggy.”
Sloan curled around her and brushed her hair off her face. “No. Not at all. River and Mai were cute drunks. You’re sexy as hell, and behaving myself was the hardest thing I’ve done in a long time. Especially when you insisted I give you my T-shirt to sleep in.”
“I don’t feel so sexy right now. I have to get to the clinic and check on the animals.” Although the thought of cleaning anything animal related made her stomach roll dangerously.
“Oh, baby, let me take care of you. Close your eyes and rest a bit more. River said she would take care of the clinic for you today. There weren’t any appointments scheduled, and she will call if there is an emergency.”
“What about your arcade? You’ll have a line of kids waiting f
or you to open.”
“I have a couple of reliable teenagers that work there as well, and it’s my day off, so you’re stuck with me. How about I make you something light to eat when your stomach is feeling up to it?”
“Really? You would do that for me?” Carol couldn’t help but be surprised. She was so used to taking care of everything around her that it almost felt wrong to lay back and do nothing. “This is all my fault. You don’t have to. I’ll get up.”
“That’s enough of that.” Sloan’s sharp tone surprised her. “So you tied one on last night with the girls and now you feel like shit. It’s nothing to beat yourself up over. Let me take care of you. I want to.”
“Does Jaxon know you’re here with me?”
“Yeah, and he’s pissed because I’m here and he isn’t. We played rock-paper-scissors for the honour.”
“That’s sweet, Sloan.”
“No, baby. I’m not being sweet. You promised me all sorts of immoral things last night, and I want to nurse you back to health. The sooner you feel better, the sooner I can work through your list with you.”
“List? I made a list?” Of all the habits to keep to when she was drinking. Despite the wretched hangover plaguing her, she felt a small wave of excitement ripple though her. She still had some problems with Jaxon and Sloan’s willingness to share, but a part of her very much wanted to explore the idea of being shared. “Can I see it?”
“Hell no. You might change your mind on some of them, and I don’t want you to.” The warmth of his body eased hers and soothed her deep-seated insecurities. The wretched feeling she woke up with already seemed to be receding.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to get back to sleep again.” A large yawn slipped out as she finished her sentence.
“That’s all right. Close your eyes and relax. I’m not going anywhere.” His arms wrapped around her and pulled her closer. The throbbing in her head eased as she relaxed against him.
Funny, Carol thought as she drifted off. He sounded like he meant that.
Davies, Corrine - Embraced by Fur [3xtasy Lake 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 10
