Susannah's Saviors [Beckett's Wolf Pack, Triad Mates 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More)

by Lynnette Bernard

  How much of the silver do you think I’ll be able to handle before it makes me sick?

  Carter’s soft question concerned her. He was getting sick because of her? She struggled with the thought. It made sense. He had been poisoned with the silver just as she had been. Granted she had been continuously exposed to the poison over the years, but his system had to have a lower tolerance for it because of the extent of his injuries at Randall’s hand. Drew would also be susceptible since he had been stabbed with Simon’s silver knife. Why hadn’t she thought about hurting the two of them? There was no excuse for not thinking about their health.

  I think we can safely claim her for a few more days, but I’ll do blood work on both of us in the morning to check our levels. It probably would be best if Suzie claimed us instead. That way she would ingest our blood and get the full benefits of the instant transfusion. Once she’s able to get her canines to drop, we can suggest it to her.

  Okay, but I’m not going to stop claiming her. Carter’s voice was firm as his thoughts boomed through Drew’s head. I don’t care if the silver makes me sick. I’ll deal with it.

  Carter, your chance of a reaction to the silver is much higher than mine.

  No, Drew. I’ll deal with it. Don’t say anything to Suzie. I don’t want her to worry. I need to claim her just as much as you do.

  Okay. For now, Carter. We can discuss this further once I do the blood work on us both.

  Suzie moaned slightly, pulling them both tighter around her body. The worry that filled her was almost too much. She kept her eyes closed so the men wouldn’t know she had heard their voices in her head—even though they had appeared as a mere whisper. The mating bond that allowed them to hear each other’s thoughts and see each other’s visions was strengthening. She would keep that to herself for now. It was the only way she could be sure that she knew exactly what the men were thinking. As much as she didn’t like being deceptive, she would do what it took to see to the protection and safety of her mates.

  She turned toward Carter and rubbed her face across his chest. She couldn’t stop the purr of contentment that escaped her as she settled against his warmth and felt the roughness of his chest hair against her cheek. Drew rubbed his whiskers against her shoulder, biting down on her gently as he plastered his body against her back and tightened his hold on her.

  She smiled, feeling safe and loved for the first time in a very long time. Just as they were determined to take care of her, she was determined to take care of them. She would not allow either of them to suffer because of her. All of them had experienced enough suffering to last a lifetime. Now it was time for rainbows and unicorns. That was her last thought before she fell asleep, completely happy and totally optimistic.

  “Rainbows and unicorns?” Drew whispered, leaning up to face Carter.

  Carter looked up at him, his eyebrows raised in confusion. “I thought that came from you.”

  Drew shook his head and looked down at their sleeping mate, his smile broadening as realization hit.

  “It came from her, didn’t it,” Carter said quietly, afraid to hope.

  “Yeah. It did.” He leaned down and kissed Suzie’s temple lightly. “Welcome back to the mating link, honey,” he whispered.

  Carter felt the white ribbons of their bond rush through his chest and wrap around his heart. Their connection was strengthening. He felt Drew reach over their mate’s body to touch his shoulder and squeeze it gently.

  “I feel it, too, Carter,” he told him softly. “Thank the Fates we’ve got her back with us in mind, body, and soul.”

  “Drew, what time will Carter get home?” Suzie called to him as she walked into his office and smiled at him sweetly.

  “He’ll be home from his shift by four o’clock, baby. Why?” He looked up from his seat at his desk and smiled at her, loving every time he saw her.

  “Because I want him here when you examine me.”

  Drew stood up and walked around the front of his desk to stand before her. “What’s wrong, Suzie? Why do I have to examine you? Are you feeling ill?”

  “No. I feel fine.”

  “Then why do you want me to examine you, honey?”

  “Because I want to make sure I’m okay.”

  She reached out and took Drew’s hand in hers, bringing it to her mouth to kiss it gently. She snuggled against his chest as he immediately took her in his embrace.

  “Tell me, baby,” he whispered against her temple as she rubbed her face against his.

  Suzie was quiet for a moment, squeezing Drew tightly within her embrace. “I need to make sure I’m okay because I want us to have a baby,” she whispered.

  The vision was quick and filled both men with complete happiness. They looked at each other and smiled before looking down at the woman who would soon be pregnant with their cub. Suzie’s face held the most contented smile they had ever seen.

  “You saw that, too, didn’t you, baby,” Carter whispered, kissing her forehead lightly.

  “Yes,” Suzie answered on a sigh, never really coming fully awake.

  “I think you’ll be pregnant soon, sweetheart,” Drew whispered softly, kissing her temple.

  “Congratulations, Daddy and Poppa,” Suzie told them both, a whisper of a smile on her face.

  “Congratulations, Daddy,” Carter told Drew.

  “Congratulations, Poppa,” Drew responded, unable to keep the burst of happiness from exploding from his chest and wrapping around both of his mates.

  Suzie turned in her sleep and embraced Drew, happy when Carter pushed against her back and sandwiched her between them. “Our babies are going to be very lucky to have you as their fathers,” she whispered, kissing Drew’s chest lightly before rubbing her face against his hair and snuggling against his warmth.

  “They’re going to be very blessed to have you as their mom, Suzie,” Drew whispered.

  “And we’re going to love making you a mother,” Carter added, biting down on her shoulder and growling possessively.

  For the first time in fifteen years, the three of them fell asleep completely content—a denied triad finally together again.

  Chapter 13

  Drew turned toward Suzie in his sleep, pulling her tightly against him as cruel memories filled his dreams. He saw Randall’s claws tearing open the skin on Suzie’s abdomen. He saw her screaming his name and reaching out her arms to him, pleading for him to take her. He saw Carter bleeding out as he lay nearly unconscious on the ground, suffering from the silver alloy that Randall had poured into his open wounds. He saw Carter’s twin brother Reece holding his throat as blood gurgled from the open wound.

  Don’t hurt them!

  His voice screamed at Randall in his dream. He felt as if iron bands were constricting around his chest. He tried with all his might to go to his mates and protect their family, but he felt like he was running in molasses. For each step he struggled to achieve, the people that he loved drifted further away from him. Through it all he heard Randall’s voice taunting him.

  Choose, Barrett. I’ll kill them all if you don’t choose.

  How can I choose?

  Drew growled in his sleep, the life-changing decision he had been forced to make haunted him in his waking hours and in his nightmares.

  I’m sorry, Mates. I’ve chosen for us and have condemned us all to a life of pain. I’m so very sorry.

  Suzie’s eyes flashed open. She could feel Drew’s pain. She could see the nightmare he was experiencing. It was playing in a loop over and over again in his head. Her heart hurt as she felt the extent of his guilt, and she knew how tormented he was because of the decision he had been forced to make.

  “Carter,” she whispered, reaching out to search for his hand.

  “I’m here, baby,” he told her immediately as he grabbed for her hand and squeezed it tightly.

  “Were you able to see Drew’s dream, too?”

  “Yes.” He reached over and touched Drew’s shoulder lightly. “He’s kept his pain fro
m me over the years. I knew he felt guilty about the choices he had to make, but I’ve never felt his deep pain like I did just now.”

  Suzie felt the guilt and pain coming from Carter. Combining that with the pain she felt emanating from Drew, she could barely breathe because of the emotions that were completely suffocating her. This pain had to stop.

  Releasing her hold on Carter’s hand, she rolled on top of Drew, taking his face between her hands and kissing him deeply. She felt the moment he jerked awake and fought to orient himself.

  He growled as his arms surrounded her and pulled her tightly against his chest. Her soothing presence helped him to calm his racing heart. He pulled himself away from his nightmare and concentrated on the loving woman in his arms. She was all that mattered. Nothing else came close to being important.

  “I love you, my Drew,” she whispered against his lips. “I love you.”

  Drew growled and tightened his arms around her, kissing her deeply, demanding that she belong to him. She kissed him back just as fiercely, reaching out to pull Carter closer.

  “Suzie,” Drew moaned into her mouth. “I love you, baby. I’m so sorry for all the years of pain I caused you.”

  “No,” Suzie told him angrily. “You will not feel guilty about saving all of us.”

  Drew shook his head. He looked over at Carter and saw the anger on his triad partner’s face. “I’m sorry, Carter.” Agony filled his eyes as he looked at the man who had suffered both physically and emotionally for the last fifteen years.

  “Drew.” Carter’s voice was hoarse with emotion. He took a breath and swallowed. “I’ve been blaming you all these years because I needed to blame someone. But I was wrong. You did what you had to do in an emergency situation. You made a decision that I don’t think I would have had the strength to make. You saved Suzie. You saved me. You saved my brother and both our families. And all I’ve given you over the years is anger and accusation.”

  “Drew,” Suzie whispered, waiting until she felt him turn his head to look up at her. “Are you looking at me?”

  “Yes, Suzie,” Drew answered sadly.

  “You were forced to make a decision in a no-win situation,” she told him softly. “It changed our lives, but you didn’t cause that change.”

  “Baby, yes, I did,” Drew told her quietly.

  “No,” Carter spoke up, his voice filled with anger. “Randall did that. He’s the one who hurt Suzie. He’s the one who hurt me and Reece. He’s the one who threatened to kill our mate and her family.” Carter reached out and touched Drew’s shoulder, squeezing it as emotions filled him. “He caused our pain. He caused us to lose our mate. My anger should have been directed only at him, not you. I’m so sorry, Drew.”

  Drew nodded, unable to speak, wanting desperately to believe what his mates were telling him. He took comfort in the warmth of Carter’s hand on his shoulder. He could feel the honest emotions coming from him through their bond and breathed a sigh of relief as he finally accepted that Carter no longer blamed him for their lost years with their mate.

  Suzie felt the honesty of Carter’s words. She hoped Drew felt them, too. Leaning forward, she rubbed her cheek against Drew’s whiskers, needing the connection and reveling in his strength as he held her. When she felt Drew’s chest rumbling with happiness, she lifted her head and focused on the shadow that was his face.

  “Are you laughing at me, my Drew?” she teased him.

  “Not at all, honey,” he told her, smiling. “I love when you do that.”

  “Good.” She kissed his chin quickly, biting down on it lightly and growling in happiness. “Then you’re gonna love this,” she whispered as she leaned up to hover over him.

  Her canines dropped, and she lunged forward, biting Drew’s pectoral muscle and marking him again as her mate. Drew’s responding howl of pleasure made her smile. She drew in great gulps, swallowing his blood and binding him to her once again.

  Drew gripped her hair in his hands and pulled her closer to his chest. The feelings of belonging and need he felt were almost overwhelming. The fact that Suzie’s wolf had taken over to claim him made him realize that she was well on her way to a complete recovery.

  Suzie hummed against his body, removing her canines from his chest and licking at the wound sensuously. Her constant purrs of happiness resonated through her. Her wolf was back, and she was claiming her man. One down, one to go.

  She lifted her head and smiled. “You’re mine, Drew,” she told him firmly. “Don’t you ever pull away from me again.” She slid off his body and reached out for Carter, whose arms were open to accept her in his embrace immediately. “You’re mine, too, Carter,” she told him, growling.

  “Baby, you’ll get no argument from me,” he told her, pulling her so that she lay on top of him.

  Before he could say another word, she bit into his chest, drawing his life-giving blood into her mouth and swallowing greedily. His growl of pleasure made her smile against the warmth of his body. She held him tightly, caressing his arms as she completed the marking. When she released him, she licked his wounds slowly, kissing him lightly before running her tongue around his nipple and drawing it into her mouth to suckle it gently.

  “So good, baby,” he moaned, carding his fingers through the silkiness of her long hair and caressing her tenderly.

  Suzie pulled back and knelt between her two men, unconcerned that she was completely naked and displayed before them. They were silent as she reached out and touched each man’s chest, resting her hands on them to feel the solid thumping of their hearts.

  “We need to move on,” she told them firmly. “What we have now is what’s important. We’re a mated triad, and we have a life to build together. I don’t want there to be any secrets kept from any of us. I don’t want any guilt to come between us. We need to put all the years we were apart behind us. If we dwell on the past, we’ll miss out on an amazing future. Okay?”

  Drew pulled her hand from his chest and brought it to his mouth, kissing her palm lightly. “Okay, Suzie Q.”

  Carter squeezed her hand and pressed it tighter against his chest. “We’re going to have a wonderful future, Mate,” he told her softly. “Drew and I have already shared visions of you with our children.”

  “I think I saw something like that, but I’m not sure if it was a vision,” Suzie told them, her forehead scrunching as she tried to remember. “I do remember hearing your voices in my head talking about my blood making Carter sick.”

  Both men looked at each other with concern.

  How much should we tell her, Drew?

  “You’re going to tell me everything, Carter,” Suzie told him firmly. “Unless you want me to leave this bed and never make love to you again.”

  “You heard me, Suzie Q?” Carter asked her, astonished and happy at the same time.

  “Yes, I heard you. Now, are you going to be honest with me or not?”

  “I promise I will never keep anything from you ever again, honey,” Carter told her sincerely.

  “And what about you, Drew? Do you promise to always tell me what worries you?”

  Drew smiled slowly, something settling in him as he realized that he would always be able to depend on her softness and understanding. His soul was soothed by the knowledge that their Suzie would give both him and Carter all her love and support, unconditionally.

  “Yes, baby. I promise.”

  Suzie ran her hands lightly over their chests, tugging at the hair that made her incredibly aroused. She couldn’t prevent the liquid that was pooling inside of her and starting to drip down her channel.

  “All right then,” Suzie said, breathing a sigh of relief. “Now that that’s settled, we have one more thing we need to do.”

  “What’s that honey?” Drew asked her, smiling as she sat back and slowly ran her hands down the length of their torsos.

  “We need to make love.” She searched for and found their hard cocks and took them in hand, loving the feel of their hardness and familiar
ity.

  It had been so long since she had touched them, but she remembered the silkiness of their shafts, the way her fingers couldn’t quite encircle their girths completely, and the way they moaned as she pulled up on their lengths. Their growls of approval made her smile. She was determined to love her men completely.

  “I’m going to love on you,” she told them, her soft voice filled with seductive determination. “I want you to relax and enjoy every bit of pleasure I’m going to give you. I want you to tell me before you come, though. I want you both inside me together when you do. I want to swallow your seed, but that will have to be another time, all right?”

  “Baby, you’re killing us,” Carter croaked, trying to control his desire to pull her down beside him and plunge inside of her until she screamed out her release.

  Suzie laughed with delight. “Not yet, my Carter,” she whispered as she leaned forward and licked up his length from ball sac to tip, dragging her tongue slowly around the mushroom head before pushing into the slit and gathering up the life liquid that was pooling there. She hummed her approval at the taste of him then opened her mouth and enveloped as much of him as she could before sucking deeply and pulling back.

  Carter’s hand hit the mattress, and his hips rose to plunge back into the warm wetness of her mouth. She held his hip to steady herself as he pumped up into her mouth repeatedly. Drew’s moans of ecstasy joined Carter’s as she pulled on his shaft in slow, firm movements, pushing back down with her hand and gripping his balls lightly.

  “Stop, Suzie,” Carter moaned, tugging her head away from his groin, his breathing labored as she pulled off his cock with a wet pop.

  She kissed the tip of his cock before nuzzling into the curly hair that surrounded his glorious member. She couldn’t prevent the growl of need that escaped her and was happy that her wolf was surfacing. She didn’t know if her eyes were glowing golden, but she could definitely feel the strength of her wolf increasing.