by Jane Jamison
Did she need the time they’d give her? A soft smile formed on her lips. No, she didn’t. She might not know their favorite color or how they liked their eggs cooked, but she knew them. The strange connection she felt with them made her feel as though she’d known them all her life.
“You’ve felt the bond between us. We know you have. Otherwise, things wouldn’t have happened so fast.”
“What is it, Rent?”
“It happens with our kind. That electric tie between a werewolf and his mate lets us know, sometimes from the first moment we meet, that we’ve found our mate. That’s why we know you felt it, too.”
“So you’re saying we were always meant for each other?” She’d never believed in fate. Had, in fact, formed her own destiny her entire life. But she couldn’t deny that she’d experienced the connection. Or that she’d wanted them right from the start. Her heart swelled with the knowledge. She’d found the men she would love for the rest of her life. The fact that they cared for Jazz and treated her so well was the icing on the cake.
“Is it because of what we are?” Ty leaned closer, the intensity showing in his body. “You have to know we’d never hurt you or Jazz.”
“I know.” Her pulse quickened. She’d pushed the subject aside long enough.
“And you’re all right with that?”
“Yes.”
They seemed surprised yet pleased. “Are you sure?”
“Are you?”
“We’ve never been more certain of anything. But you’re not the one who grows fur on her body.”
She laughed, knowing it was a serious subject but unable to contain her joy. “You haven’t seen my legs when I haven’t shaved.”
“Stormy, this is serious.”
She pressed her palm to his cheek. “Okay. Does it bother me that you’re supernatural beings? A little. But it excites me, too.” She looked at each man in turn, ready to make the commitment she thought she’d never make. “It doesn’t change the fact that you’re the men I want to spend my life with. You’re the men I want my daughter to know and rely on.”
“If you’re sure. Do you need more time?”
Beckett thumped Rent on the head. “Damn, bro. Are you trying to talk her out of it?”
“Sorry. There’s no chance of that.” She slapped Rent’s hand away since he was tickling her.
“Werewolves don’t marry, they mate. Of course, if you need the marriage paper, then one of us can do that. It won’t change how it works between us, though.”
She looked at him then at Beckett and Ty, trying to figure out if it was a joke or not. Now that she’d realized she wanted to spend the rest of her life with them, she found it difficult to restrain her joy. “What? No werewolf ceremony where we all howl at the moon?”
“We can if you want, but usually we skip the ceremonies.”
“Okay.”
“Okay? To mating us or skipping the wedding part of it?” Beckett caressed her legs. “Is that a yes?”
“A yes to what?” She couldn’t help but tease them.
Now it was Ty’s turn. “Girl, you’re driving me crazy. Give us an answer. Say yes to becoming our mate.”
She had no doubt what her answer would be. Werewolves or not, they were the men she loved. But since she planned on never getting a proposal again, she wanted to make this one last.
“I want you to ask me straight out.”
“What?”
She arched an eyebrow at Rent. “Come on. You know what I mean. I want a real proposal.”
“Then let me do the honors.” Rent took her hand between both of his. “Stormy Stevens, will you do us the honor of becoming our mate?”
“And what about my daughter? We’re a package deal, you know.”
“We wouldn’t have it any other way. We want both of you to move in with us. In fact, we’ll build a bigger, nicer house to make sure you two will be happier than a couple of pigs in a fresh mud hole.”
She giggled. “Comparison aside, I accept.”
She interrupted their shouts of joy with one finger in the air. “On one condition.”
“Name it.” Rent smiled bigger than she’d ever seen him do. “We’d do anything for you and Jazz.”
“That’s good. Because Jazz has to want this, too. And she has to know what you are. After all, like I said, we’re a package deal.”
“And like I said, we wouldn’t have it any other way.” Rent leaned in for a kiss, but the noise of someone banging on her door startled him. The men jumped out of bed, pulled on their jeans, and left the bedroom. She hurried after them as soon as she could pull on a robe.
Chapter Nine
Rent flung the door open just as Stormy made it into the living room. Growling, he slammed it closed. “Don’t bother. It’s nothing.”
“Rent.” She brushed off the men’s attempt to stop her and opened the door.
“Very funny.” C.J. didn’t wait to be asked in. Instead, he and the portly man with him barged into the house.
The Malone brothers went on the defensive, closing in around her, but she pushed them back. She was ready to let them help her, but she would stay in control. “I’ll handle this.”
She confronted C.J. and his friend. “I didn’t invite you, so I should ask the guys to toss your asses out. But I won’t, because I want to get this finished once and for all.” She took the paper and waved it in front of C.J. “What the hell is this?”
“I think it’s pretty clear. I’m going to take Jazz away from you.”
No matter how she steeled herself against those words, they still hit her in the gut. “Like hell you will. I’m her mother.”
He snorted. “You’re her unfit mother.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Ty challenged C.J., getting up in his face.
She pulled on Ty’s arm. “Please, Ty. Back off. You’re not helping.”
He did, but not without a lot of grumbling that disintegrated into growls. C.J. studied him, obviously thrown by the sounds.
“Where do you get off calling me an unfit mother? You haven’t even been around for most of her life.”
C.J. strutted to the other side of the room. Although he acted confident, she was sure he’d done so to put more space between him and the men. “Look at you. Here you’ve got three half-naked men in your living room and the only clothes you have on is a flimsy robe. What kind of woman spreads her legs for three men?”
“Watch your mouth, asshole.” If Beckett hadn’t held Rent back, C.J. would’ve had a large man on top of him. A large man who could change into an animal.
She clutched her robe, pulling it tighter around her. “My private life is none of your business. I’m a good mother and her sole provider. Now get the hell out of my house.”
C.J.’s snorts made her stomach twist into a knot. “See what I mean? You can’t even afford your own home. Is my daughter here? Is she in the house while you screw around with three men?”
“Man, I’m warning you. Watch your mouth.” Rent glowered at C.J., his eyes burning with hate.
“Hey, man. I calls them as I sees them.”
Damn, how I hate that phrase.
“Jazz isn’t here. She’s at a friend’s house. Not that I’m doing anything wrong.” She wouldn’t tell him that Jazz was due home soon.
C.J. gestured to the other man. “This is Roger Lewis, one of my many attorneys. Lewis, make a note of this outrageous behavior. Be sure to put down that her boyfriends are dangerous and have threatened me.”
The growling that erupted behind her had her turning in time to see the amber flaring in their eyes. If she didn’t do something fast, they’d lose it and jump C.J.
So that’s why their eyes change.
“Guys, could you please wait in the other room, please?” She begged them to do as she asked with her words as well as her eyes.
“Are you sure?” Beckett had maintained control, but she could sense he was on the edge like his brothers.
“I’m sure.”
It still took another minute of her assuring them to get them to leave the room. Once they had, she whirled on C.J. “You won’t win. The courts give the child to the mother, especially when the father’s never paid any child support or even visited much.”
“You didn’t want my money, remember? As for the other”—his grin was pure evil—“I wouldn’t bet on the judge seeing it your way. Remember, my father has a lot of friends on the bench.”
She felt the color drain from her face. He was right. Even if she had the best attorneys in the world, she’d still have little to no chance once Chad Chandler Sr. stepped in and pulled strings. He’d buy the custody battle and the war would be over before it began.
“How can I make you go away?”
“Hmm, now that’s different.” C.J. strode over to her. “Easy. I plan on leaving very soon. As soon as I have Jazz. We’ve already had a friendly judge draw up an order for you to turn her over to me within the hour.”
“What? You can’t do that. That can’t be legal.”
“The judge says otherwise.” He shrugged and motioned to Lewis. “We can show you the paperwork, if you like. And hey, just to prove that I’m not a bad person, I’ll give you two hours instead of one.”
He chuckled then stalked to the door, pulling out his cell phone as he went. “Two hours. And don’t bother packing. I’ll buy her all new things when we get back home. We’ll wait by the car.”
She didn’t know what to say. How could she? He had all the control just as he’d had fourteen years earlier. All she could do was to watch him walk out the door before sinking to the floor.
* * * *
“We have to stop him.”
“Tell me how to do that short of killing him.” Ty agreed with Beckett. Even with his inner wolf enraged, he’d never felt the urge to take a human life, but he did now. He licked his lips. If only he could shift and take the men. He’d tear Chandler’s heart out and eat it while the light in the bastard’s eyes faded to dark. He peered out the window and watched as the two men waited by their car.
“I want to kill him.”
“Me, too, Rent. But we can’t.” He sought his older brother’s face. “Can we?”
“No. We’re not murderers. Not as men and not as wolves.”
Rent’s eyes blazed with amber and his fangs stuck out over his lower lip. Beckett managed to keep his fangs from coming out, but his eyes glowed with fury. Ty pushed at his inner wolf trying to break free and kept him at bay, but barely.
“I’ve got an idea.”
Rent always came up with good ideas. “What? Tell us. We only have two hours.”
“It won’t take that long.” Rent undid his jeans and dropped them to the floor. “We’re dealing with a coward. Trouble is, he doesn’t get who he’s dealing with. I say we show him.”
Ty cast a sideways glance at the men leaning on the car outside and talking on their phones. “You know he’ll tell everyone what he’s seen, right?”
“That’s a chance I’m ready to take to keep Stormy and Jazz safe and with us, where they’re supposed to be.”
“So he’ll claim to have seen werewolves. Who’s going to believe him anyway? Come on.” Beckett’s quick agreement with Rent made up Ty’s mind. Together, they got undressed.
“Fine. Let’s do this.” He led the way through the living room, where Stormy sat hunched over, her elbows on her knees, her face stained from tears.
Ty struggled to keep from taking her into his arms and comforting her. They had to take care of C.J. and his attorney before Jazz came home. “Stormy, stay inside.”
He followed his brothers out the front door, down the steps, and marched toward the stunned men gaping at them.
“Shit! What the hell are you doing?” C.J.’s face contorted in disgust. “Are you fucking crazy?”
Ty and his brothers stopped and formed a line in front of the men. “You’re going to leave Stormy and Jazz alone. You’re going to go back to the city and never contact them again. If Jazz wants to get in touch with you, then that’s her choice. Not yours. Do you understand?”
C.J.’s revulsion ended with laughter that had him holding his stomach. “You guys are unreal. You think you can show your junk and make me turn tail and run? What are you expecting me to do? Am I supposed to be so impressed that I say, ‘Oh, sure. Whatever you say, guys, because your cocks are bigger than mine’?” He stopped laughing. “They aren’t, by the way.”
Ty sent him a cold smile. “No. You and your hired lackey are going to cry like little babies and beg us not to kill you. And maybe if you do that and promise to leave our girls alone, we’ll let you live.” He made his smile bigger and even colder. “Maybe.”
“Lewis, call the cops or whatever serves that purpose in this shithole of a town. Or call the state troopers.”
Lewis nodded and brought his phone up. C.J. held up his cell phone, ready to use his camera. “These photos are going to look amazing blown up and shown to the judge. Thanks for making this even easier, guys.” He fumbled with his phone. “Damn, I can never push the right button to get the stupid camera to work.”
Ty shifted, letting the animal inside him take partial control. He heard his brothers growl and knew they’d started transforming, too.
“Oh, my God.”
Lewis’s voice was a whisper, but it was enough to bring C.J.’s attention away from his phone.
The world colored with amber as Ty dropped to all fours. Pain spread through him as fur replaced skin, hands turned into claws, and his teeth lengthened. His wolf howled, ready to pounce on its prey, but he held it back.
Lewis scrambled around the back of the car and hurried to the driver’s side. His face was white as he squeaked out unintelligent words. He fumbled in his pocket, found the car keys, then dropped them. Crying out, he went to his knees to scrounge in the dirt for them.
C.J. stood stock-still. His eyes were round circles as his gaze flitted from one wolf to the other. His cell phone slipped from his hands as Ty approached him.
Ty padded up to C.J. then lifted onto his back legs and put his front paws on his chest. C.J. yelped but didn’t move, and he had to wonder if the man was too frightened to breathe. He tilted his head to the side and stared into C.J.’s gray eyes that reminded him of Jazz’s. She had her father’s hair and eye coloring, but that was where the commonalities ended.
Beckett moved around to the other side of the car just as Lewis finally found the keys and hit the button to unlock the car. The rotund lawyer threw his body into the car then slammed the door shut. But in his haste, he once again dropped the keys to the ground.
Rent threw his body on top of the hood and growled at Lewis through the windshield. The man screamed again and clutched the steering wheel.
Ty shoved his muzzle into C.J.’s chest then opened his mouth enough to scrape his fangs over the silk shirt. He shredded the shirt and made thin tracks of blood down his chest. A gurgling sound came along with C.J.’s spittle. Jumping away, Ty whirled around once, but, in that brief space of time, C.J. went into high gear and dashed to the car. He made it inside a second before Ty hit the door, slamming it closed and narrowly missing catching C.J.’s leg.
“Drive, damn you!”
Lewis sputtered, drool coming from the side of his mouth. “I can’t. I–I dropped the keys.”
“Then get them!”
“Noooo. It’ll get me.”
The stench of fear filled the air as the men inside realized they were trapped. Ty shot his brothers a wolfish grin then jumped onto the hood just as Rent launched his body onto the top of the car. They were big men but even heavier wolves. Their claws dug into the paint and metal of the car while their weight made dents. Ty wondered how the men would explain the damage to the car, but it didn’t matter. They could cry werewolf, but no one would believe them.
Beckett lifted onto his hind legs and growled at the terrified attorney. Ty and Rent added their growls while they swished their tails back and forth and flatte
ned their ears. Ty pounced up and down, making the car rock and adding to their fear.
They froze when Stormy came outside and stood on the front porch. At first, she seemed like she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Then, once it hit her, she came down the steps and strolled to the car.
Ty wagged his tail at her. He could see her body stiffen and sniff her nervousness, but she wasn’t afraid. He sensed a combination of emotions rolling off her in aromatic waves. She was nervous, yes, but she was also intrigued and pleased.
“C.J., is there a problem?”
If he could’ve laughed, he would’ve. He was proud of their spunky mate.
“Get rid of them!” C.J.’s voice was high pitched as he plastered his hands against the window.
“Sure. No problem.” She tapped a finger against her gorgeous lips. “Oh, wait. I can’t. You see, they love Jazz, too, and they don’t want to see her go away. Do you know why, C.J.?”
He didn’t answer, although he worked his mouth as though trying to speak.
“Don’t worry. I’ll tell you why.” She stuck her hands into the pockets of her robe. “They don’t like the city. But if you take Jazz away, they’ll have to come visit her there. Do you know why they’ll have to do that, C.J.?”
“Please, Ms. Stevens, call them off.” The lawyer clasped his hands together. “I’ll do anything you say. I’ll quit. I won’t represent him. Please, help us.”
“I’d love to, Mr. Lewis. Providing C.J. agrees to drop his suit, of course. And leave us alone forever. I asked you a question, C.J.”
Ty jumped up and down on the hood again, rattling the men’s nerves even more. Besides, he enjoyed the shrieks the fat attorney made.
C.J.’s hatred flowed off him, combining with the smell of fear to produce a nasty fragrance. Rent and Beckett shook their heads, trying to shake the foul odor off.
“Why will they come to the city?”
Stormy’s nonchalant demeanor changed as she flattened her hands against the window. “Because if you make problems for Jazz and me, then they’ll have to find you. And then they’ll have to eat you.”
