“I’m more upset that you were apart from me,” she told them, looking up, her blue eyes sparkling with the tears that began to fall from them. “I want to help you when you’re upset.”
“Baby, you do,” Clay told her, pulling her tighter into his embrace. “Knowing you’re ours and you’re here to come home to gives us such comfort. We know you’ll give us exactly what we need whenever we need it. We wouldn’t be able to get through our days without feeling your kindness and support. We can do what we do because we have you, honey.”
“Then don’t push me away,” she told him firmly, growling her frustration.
“You sound like a sweet little wolf,” Hunter told her, smiling.
“Don’t you even think about making this a joke, Hunter Stewart!” she warned him.
“Sorry, sweetheart,” he told her, becoming serious at once. “Please, baby, you have to understand that there’s a lot of bad that we see. We don’t want you to have to live it with us.”
Abbey looked at him silently, the anger in her easing at his heartfelt words. “Okay,” she finally conceded. “You don’t have to let me see what you see. But you do have to keep our link open so I can feel you in my heart all the time.”
Hunter smiled down at her, all the love he had for her very clear in the way his brown eyes softened as he looked at her. “Sweetheart, it’s a deal. We’ll always keep a little bit of the link open so you can always tell how much we love you.”
Abbey nodded then turned to Clay. “What about you?” she asked him.
“I promise to always keep myself open to you,” Clay answered quietly. “I love you so much, Mate. There is no way you’ll ever be unsure of that.”
Abbey looked at Clay then turned to face Hunter. A small smile pulled at her lips, and she couldn’t prevent the happiness she was feeling from spilling out through their mating bond. She pictured the three of them lying in their bed, the two men deep inside of her and loving her.
“I think you’re going to have to show me, Mates,” she told them, smiling at the growls that were emanating from them. “Just to be sure.”
Hunter stood and leaned over the hospital bed to kiss their woman’s lips gently. “Abbey, sweetheart, you’re absolutely perfect for us.”
Clay leaned in and rubbed his cheek against hers before pulling back and kissing her slightly parted lips, smiling at the sigh that left her when he pulled away. “Honey, you have no idea how long we’ve been waiting for you,” he whispered.
Abbey reached up to touch their faces lightly before running her fingers through their hair and scratching their scalps with just the right amount of pressure. Their immediate growls of pleasure made her smile.
“I like that,” she whispered, rubbing her face against their necks before settling back in the bed, her hands falling to the mattress as exhaustion claimed her once again. Her brows furrowed in confusion as she felt and heard the constant growls that vibrated against her chest and head. She struggled to open her eyes, surprised but not afraid when she saw and felt the two men’s faces close to hers.
“Clay? Hunter?”
“Yes, baby,” Hunter answered for the both of them.
“We’re here, honey,” Clay assured her.
“Have you been here for a while?”
“Yes, Abbey. We’re not leaving you,” Hunter told her gently, taking a chance and kissing her lips, smiling and growling when he felt her responding to him.
He pulled back and smiled down at her, losing himself in the pretty, blue sparkle of her eyes. She didn’t look panicked or upset with his forwardness. It was a good sign.
Clay leaned in and kissed her cheek, smiling when Abbey immediately turned toward him and sought out his mouth. He didn’t deny her. Covering her soft lips with his own, his kiss started gentle but quickly turned to something more urgent as his need for her was pulled from him. The way she responded to him, giving him the acceptance and love he craved, made his wolf jump and slam against his chest as he demanded that their mate be claimed.
He pulled away from her reluctantly, kissing her lips one last time as she arched up toward him. “So sweet, little one,” he whispered, unable to take his eyes off of her.
Abbey opened her eyes, smiling at both men and settling contentedly between them as they leaned on their forearms on either side of her pillow. “Hi,” she whispered.
“Hello, sweetheart,” Hunter answered, smiling at the comfortable way she rested between them. “How are you feeling?”
“Sore, but okay. I’m really tired.”
“That’s normal,” Clay told her, reaching up to touch her cheek gently. “The sedative they gave you was pretty strong. It will take a while for it to leave your system. You’ll just need some time to get stronger. Hunter and I will help you.”
“You will?” Abbey was confused. How could they possibly help her? No one could help her. She had to help herself. Only her friends Synthia and Shelly were always ready to help her. She became worried as she suddenly realized that they were probably waiting for her to contact them.
“Don’t worry, honey,” Clay told her. “We’ll be with you from now on.”
“Don’t you have someplace to go?” she asked them, her head aching slightly as she thought that that these men probably had a job to go to. Why were they staying with her?
“Abbey,” Hunter began gently. “Will you give us a chance to explain something that’s very important to us?”
“What?” she asked warily.
“Sweetheart, you’re meant to be ours,” he told her, looking at Clay for support.
“Honey, we belong to a group of people who have a special bond with the Fates,” Clay added. “Our history pairs men in triad partnerships that are destined to find their triad third in one special woman that they will mate with and share a life with.”
“You’re our triad third, Abbey,” Hunter told her, taking over the explanation. “You’re our mate. You’re meant to be claimed by us. We’ll build a life together and have a family that will belong to all three of us.”
Abbey rubbed at her temples as the memory of a beautiful woman saying much the same thing came to her. The memory was unclear, and she reached for it desperately, somehow pulling forth the sight of her father standing beside the kind, loving woman. Both of them were telling her something very important about the two men she would meet. She whimpered in pain as she rubbed against the injury of her right temple.
Both men reached out and grabbed for her hands to pull them away from her head and the bandage, dragging her against their chests and holding her tightly within their arms. The flash of the memory Abbey saw of her father visiting her with the beautiful woman with the silver hair was shared with both men, and they growled as they held her tighter against them.
“You’ve been visited by Mother Fate,” Hunter whispered, kissing the top of her head as emotions filled him. “You’ve been told that you would find us, and that we would love you with all that we are.”
“She told you we’re wolf shifters,” Clay continued. “The beautiful woman who is the gentle and loving Mother Fate to us all told you that Hunter and I will give you children, and those children will belong to all of us.”
Abbey pushed out of their arms and lay back against her pillow. “You want me to believe something that was a dream,” she told them skeptically as she crossed her arms across her chest and stared at them defiantly. “Not going to happen.”
Both men looked at her silently. When she saw them look at each other and smile, she knew she was going to have her job cut out for her. These men would not go away quietly. Well, she wasn’t about to cave in to her own delusions and suck them along with her.
“Okay, Mate,” Hunter told her, smiling. “Explain to us how we saw your vision of your father and the beautiful woman with the silver hair if it didn’t have something to do with divine intervention?”
Abbey’s eyes narrowed in anger. She had to keep that anger bright or she would find herself believing the fa
ntasy that her mind had created. “Listen, Mr. Gorgeous. Back. The hell. Off.” Energy filled her, sparked by the anger that consumed her. She poked him in his chest with her index finger and succeeded in moving him zero inches.
He reached up and held her hand tightly within his own, smiling broadly. “Mr. Gorgeous?” he teased her. He turned to Clay and winked. “How about that, Clay? I’m Mr. Gorgeous.”
Clay snorted and shook his head. “Mr. Conceited would be closer to the truth,” Clay answered, looking at Abbey and smiling. “He’s insufferable, honey. Don’t add fuel to his fire of delusion.”
“Please!” Abbey told him angrily. “Like you aren’t just as drool-worthy!”
“Thanks, honey,” Clay told her happily, leaning forward and kissing her lips lightly before she could turn away. “I’m glad you think so. I think you’re pretty amazing, too. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
“Yeah, right!” Abbey snorted. “Who’s filled with drugs here? Me or you?”
The growls that erupted from both men made her jump. The way they both reached for her and held her hands tightly filled her with sudden fear that was quickly replaced with a good dose of pissed off.
“Do not question what we feel for you, Abbey,” Hunter warned her. “We would never tell you anything but the truth. You’re our mate. We’ll be honest with you in everything that we feel.”
“You’ll need to understand and accept our wolves, honey,” Clay added, low growls emitting from deep within his chest as he faced her. “You belong to our wolves just as much as they belong to you. They know you as ours. We know you as ours.”
“Okay, enough!” Abbey told them both, trying unsuccessfully to pull her hand from Hunter’s grasp. “Let go of my hand,” she demanded.
“No,” Hunter told her calmly.
Without hesitation, she balled up the fist of her free hand and punched him in the arm, snatching her hand away when he loosened his hold on her. Hunter’s burst of laughter that was quickly joined by Clay’s confused the hell out of her. These men were not reacting as she expected them to. The dull ache that was beginning in her temples was turning into a deep headache.
Both men’s wolves barked with approval. Their mate was strong and determined. She was a worthy mate.
“Please, just go away,” Abbey told them softly, closing her eyes. “My head hurts.”
Both men’s good humor vanished immediately. Hunter reached out and petted her hair lightly while Clay ran his fingertips over her eyes, soothing her as she grudgingly gave in to the gentleness of both men.
“Abbey, we know this is a lot for you to accept,” Hunter told her, his voice deep and gentle. “But please understand that we are meant to be a mated triad. Please be open to accepting us. We will only know your love and kindness for the rest of our lives. Wolves mate for life, baby. You’re the one for us, and we’ll do our best to make you happy.”
“I’m trying to sort through what I can remember my father telling me,” she told them, her head aching as she tried to call forth her memories. “I remember what the beautiful lady told me. She made me feel very calm and very warm. I could feel the love she had for me. It was a really nice feeling.”
Hunter leaned down and kissed her lips lightly. “Being loved is a very nice feeling,” he whispered against her mouth.
Abbey pushed at his chest, surprised when the behemoth of a man sat back without a fight. She wasn’t sure she liked the way he was smiling at her as if he was humoring her. “I am not going to blindly accept that you’re supposed to be anything to me.”
“Your father told you to trust the woman and be open to her words,” Clay told her.
Abbey nodded.
“She said you were going to meet the two men who were destined to be yours,” he continued.
“How do you know that?” Abbey asked, her voice barely above a whisper as Clay Forest practically repeated the words that were replaying in her memory.
“When we held you we could see what you saw,” Hunter explained. He reached up and touched her cheek lightly, running his hand down her neck and shoulder before squeezing her arm and claiming her hand. “We saw that you were told that you were meant to be ours, soothe our hearts and souls, and have children with us.”
“It’s destined to be, honey,” Clay spoke up. “The beautiful woman explained how we’re wolf shifters. She told you that together, Hunter and I will contribute half of the DNA to make every one of our children. You have been given the knowledge of our pack family and our magic. You are truly a special woman to be so trusted with such a visitation. We are blessed that you’ve been destined to be our mate. You belong to us now, baby.”
“Okay, let’s just say I’ll accept that we’re meant to be a triad,” Abbey told them, looking up at them tiredly. “Let’s say we’re meant to be together for the rest of our lives.”
“Yes, honey,” Clay encouraged her, his fingers massaging her forehead gently before tracing her eyebrows lightly, smiling as he watched her close her eyes and accept his ministrations.
Abbey sighed heavily. She so did not want to accept that his touch was helping her.
“Be quiet,” she warned him softly, her blue eyes flashing with impatience as she opened them and looked up at him.
“Yes, Mate,” he teased.
Abbey took a calming breath, trying to push aside the frustration she was feeling. It helped somewhat, but the scents she took inside of her made her a little woozy. They were scents she had never smelled before. They felt warm and calming and wrapped themselves around her heart. It made her feel protected and cared for, and it scared her more than a little bit. Instead of relaxing into the soothing scents, she pushed them away and gathered her anger about her to shield herself from whatever freakiness was happening to her.
“That does not mean that I’m going to accept that you’re wolves,” she insisted. “You guys are delusional. It’s a good thing we’re in a hospital. You both need to be checked out.”
“Abbey, sweetheart,” Hunter called to her, drawing her attention to him. “The only way that you’ll believe that we’re wolves is to show you.”
“Go for it, big guy,” Abbey told him, looking at him and indicating with her hand that he should perform the miraculous transformation.
Hunter smiled and removed himself from the bed to stand beside it. Abbey watched him in fascination as he pulled his black T-shirt over his head and threw it onto the bed.
“What’re you doing?” she asked warily.
“I’m showing you.”
Abbey looked at Clay and saw that he was watching her intently. She wasn’t sure, but she thought she saw his eyes glowing a golden color. She returned her attention to Hunter and nearly swallowed her tongue when she saw that he had stripped down to nothing, gracing her with the vision of his unbelievably sexy body that bulged with muscles. To say he that he was cut was an understatement. His broad shoulders and arms were filled with muscles. His chest was powerfully built and held just the right amount of hair that made her mouth water. Geez! Even his abs had abs.
“Oh my goodness,” she whispered, her mouth suddenly dry as she took in his masculine beauty. She had to control the deep need that seized her as she took in every delectable inch of his body.
And speaking of inches—holy smokes!
His heavy cock had to be at least eleven inches long, as thick as her wrist, and held prominent veins and a flared, mushroom head she found her mouth watering in anticipation of licking. The black curly hair that surrounded his shaft and the heavy balls that hung below it made her body clench with sudden need to have him deep inside of her. The sudden thought of Clay just as naked and just as gorgeous filled her mind. The instant picture of the three of them wrapped in each other’s arms and her loving both men flashed through her mind. She couldn’t prevent the feeling of complete love and peace that filled her at the thought of being surrounded by their strength and caring.
Both men growled as the picture in Abbey’s
mind was gifted to them, and the scent of her arousal filled the small hospital room. It was a wonderful blessing to know that their mate desired them. There was nothing that would make them happier than knowing that she was attracted to them and felt the connection of the love that was destined to be shared by them.
“I don’t know why you just stripped naked, Hunter, but I have to tell you, I’m not going to wish you hadn’t, and I’m absolutely not going to look away,” Abbey teased him.
“Just watch, sweetheart,” Hunter told her, smiling.
“Hell! Just try and keep me from watching,” Abbey told him, laughing softly.
She looked at the gorgeous and kind man in silence as a swirl of blue energy surrounded him and his human body changed before her to shift into one of the biggest black wolves she had ever seen. She sat forward and watched as the wolf stepped toward the bed. When he rested his chin on the mattress to nudge at her hand, she reached out tentatively and touched him.
“Hunter?” she whispered, running her hand through his fur and tightening her hold on him.
His low growls reminded her of a contented purr, and she had to admit that what had just happened was freaking amazing. She looked up at Clay and saw him watching her with concern.
“Are you okay, Abbey?” he asked her softly.
“Can you do this, too?” Her blue eyes were wide with wonder as she looked from him to Hunter’s wolf and back again.
“Yes, honey, I can do that, too,” he told her, smiling.
“Show me.”
He pulled his red T-shirt over his head without hesitation and threw it onto the end of the bed. “You’re handling this pretty well, Abbey,” Clay told her calmly as he unzipped his jeans and pushed them and his boxer briefs down his muscular legs. “Why is that, honey?”
Abbey shrugged her shoulders. “This is all just a result of head trauma,” she offered. “Add in a good dose of painkillers and you’ll find that these hallucinations are just a part of my very active imagination—although, I couldn’t have ever imagined such a beautiful naked man or an equally amazing wolf.” She was quiet for a moment as she tried to think through the reality of the situation as opposed to the ridiculous possibility of it ever being real. “I’m not going to question it right now. I’m going to enjoy the beautiful nakedness before me.”
Abbey's Protectors [Beckett's Wolf Pack, Triad Mates 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) Page 8
