by Maren Smith
She sighed. “It’s not your problem, Shelby. I’ll figure things out.”
She wouldn’t, though. My mom had never made more than minimum wage, which just didn’t cut it when it came to paying the bills.
I needed to go back to Hoedown where I could make quick cash, so she wouldn’t be tempted to drive to Meade every day. Just the thought of her on those roads before dawn had me freaking. I had to stay. I had to. She needed support, and I couldn’t do it from Wyoming.
I glanced back toward Alan’s house. Heartache—yes, even after less than a day—set in to accompany the twinges of being sexually satisfied… multiple times. My she-wolf wanted to be with her mates, practically nudged me to get up and go back inside to them. Hell, I wanted to, too, but my mom needed me. She relied on me, and I couldn’t walk away now. She wouldn’t be able to pay the mortgage. Or the second. Or the car payment. Or the lights. Or food. Not if she only had the cashier job.
It was all because of Dad. This mess, this never ending hand to mouth arrangement was all because of him. I didn’t want him in our lives since he was an asshole, but if he’d stayed, Mom wouldn’t have to drink five cups of coffee a day because she worked herself weary. Wouldn’t have to debate if she should pay for heat or food.
I’d fallen for Gibson and Ben, and their wickedly skilled dicks, in less than a day. How could I build a foundation of a lifelong mating if they were anything like my dad and bail on me? It was a good thing we’d used condoms. I refused to be like my mom. Oh, fuck, I loved her, but I didn’t want to be trapped in a cycle of unhappiness.
“Now, tell me about your news,” she said, cutting into my thoughts. “I heard that smile in your voice. I want to hear all about it.”
This was the moment I did the one thing I was used to. I lied to protect my mother. “I heard Lizzie’s crawling.”
Chapter Nine
BEN
I sensed the moment Shelby came back into the tattoo artist’s house that something was off. She’d been warming up before she took the phone call with her mom. Hell, not even that. She’d sat in Gib’s lap like the good girl we adored as I got my tattoo. Her sass, her loving nature had been evident. She’d been her true self. She was comfortable with Alan, trusted the shifter, which was obvious with the amount of ink she’d had him put on her skin. She’d been at ease here and with us. Now, she seemed to be putting on a pleasant front. Like we were friends, not her fucking mates. Like her pussy hadn’t milked my dick as she came all over it.
I had to wait until our tattoos were finished and we had her to ourselves again to ask what was up. My back stung where the silver dust had been embedded along with the ink. It was a minute amount. The burn was a reminder Shelby’s name was permanently on my body for all the world to see. She-wolves had the bite and their mate’s scent on them to know they were claimed, but this? No one would question who I belonged to. Same went for Gib, who had his new mark displayed prominently on his arm. We were Shelby’s. Irrevocably.
She was already beneath our skin. Figuratively and now literally.
But the moment we all stepped outside, she crushed us both.
“I can’t move to Wyoming with you,” she blurted, turning to face us and crossing her arms over her chest.
I swore to fuck, it felt like someone punched me in the gut, but I did my best to hide my reaction, the way Gib always did. For an enforcer, I was pretty level-headed, but when it came to Shelby, I was losing my cool.
I forced myself to sound casual. “What’s holding you back, kitten?” I picked up her hand and tried to catch her gaze. Gib came to flank her other side.
She shook her head and wouldn’t meet our eyes. I experienced her upset like it was my own. Tasted her turmoil. Sensed the way her insides twisted and bunched like a wet dishrag. “It’s just… all too sudden. We only met last night!” Her arms went up in the air, her body full of agitation. “I have a life here. Jobs I like. My pack needs me.”
I had a feeling there was something she wasn’t saying. Something didn’t add up because she wasn’t acting like a female who just found—and was thoroughly satisfied by—her mates. I glanced at Gib, who said nothing.
“Well, I’ll stay here with you until you're ready,” I offered. “I’ll take you down to visit Gib since he needs to return for the pack. We can work this out. We’ll do long distance until you’re ready.”
It wasn’t ideal—not by a long shot, but I wasn’t going to pressure her. Taking a mate without consent was unconscionable.
“No, I don’t want you to stay,” she whispered. Guilt shone in her expression. “You can mark me before you go. I know you need to.” She blinked back tears.
“Fuck that.” Gib stabbed his fingers through his hair. “We’re not going to claim you if you’re not ready.”
“I’m not going to let you go moon mad,” she countered, looking up at him and almost pleading with her eyes.
Gib drew in a breath and exhaled. “I’ll take my chances.”
Shelby stared at him, arrested, fear swirling in her lovely blue eyes. “You can’t,” she whispered. “I can’t leave here, and you must claim me.”
I wanted to grab her and shake her or spank her or fuck her into giving us her secrets, but I wouldn’t force them from her. She had to come to us willingly, with her whole heart, her whole body. Completely. Otherwise, our match was worthless. That was almost worse than never having found her at all.
“Shelby,” Gib said, a note of alpha sternness in his voice. “What’s going on? Is this about that phone call?”
She shook her head, blinking rapidly. “I don’t want to be dependent on you guys. I’m just not ready to commit.” She walked toward the truck, but Gib caught her around the waist and pulled her back.
Not ready to commit didn’t make sense. That was a human sentiment, not wolf.
“We’re not going to leave you,” Gib said firmly. “Dependence isn’t weakness. It’s strength. It’s… love. We love you, Shelby.”
I’d never heard Gib make himself so vulnerable, but rather than comfort Shelby, it made her chin quiver and tears swirl in her eyes.
“I need to go see my mom,” she said, voice choked with tears. “Will you drive me back to my place, so I can get my car?”
Gib drew in a breath and sighed. “We’ll take you back, kitten. We’ll give you some space and time to think. But this isn’t over.” He rubbed his beard. “Far from it.”
Shelby bobbed her head, agreeable as always, even though the line between her brows showed her anguish.
SHELBY
The moment my mates drove away, it felt like a limb had been ripped from my body. Every cell literally screamed for them to come back.
Ben. Gibson. My mates. My daddies. My world.
Dammit. Yet I’d driven to my mom’s as planned.
I felt the separation from Gibson and Ben keenly. It was as if I was magnetized to them, like my insides were going to stretch through my skin. My she-wolf howled and prodded me to go find them. To sit on Gibson’s lap again, to feel his arms around me. To hear Ben’s praise, feel his gentle touch.
I sank down on my mom’s porch, covering my mouth with my hand. I was lost without them.
“Shelby? Honey? What’s going on?” My mom pushed the tattered screen door open and sat beside me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders.
I gave into the tears that had been threatening since I told my mates to leave. “Mom, last night I found my mates,” I said between sobs. “But they live in Wyoming.”
My mom gave a surprised laugh. “Wait—mates, plural?”
“Uh huh,” I sniffed, swiping at my tears with the back of my wrist. “Two of them. A pack alpha and an enforcer.”
“Oh, Shelby! This is wonderful! I don’t understand why you’re upset.” I felt her pleasure, the squeeze of her hold, the vibration of joy emanating from her body.
“Wyoming, Mom,” I reminded her. “You just lost your job. The timing’s awful. I don’t want to leave you now.”
She pulled back, looked at me with a frown. “They haven’t marked you yet?”
I shook my head, fresh tears swimming at the mention of my beloved daddies. The males who wanted to take care of me. Guilt tore at my throat. They’d probably been climbing out of their skin with the need to mark me, but they’d held back.
They refused to pressure me. I wondered how they were feeling right now, being separated.
“I always thought it would be a fairytale,” I explained. “You smell your mate, and it’s magic right from the start. But it took me by surprise. I wasn’t ready for them, and now… now I’ve screwed everything up.”
“You’ve screwed nothing up,” my mom insisted. “Come inside and have some coffee. I want to hear the whole story and know why they aren’t here with you. I can’t believe they’d let you out of their sight.” She tsked them, but I set her straight.
“Again, I’ve screwed up,” I practically moaned, realizing how much of a mess I’d made.
I let her usher me into the kitchen, my stomach in knots, my skin burning and itchy to be near my mates again.
They’d be back, though. Gibson promised we weren’t through. He needed me. They’d tattooed my name on their bodies.
It was that thought and that thought alone that kept me from shifting right there and howling at the day-moon.
Chapter Ten
BEN
After we reluctantly—that was a tame word for it— left Shelby at her place, we headed to Wolf Ranch to meet with her alpha. We figured he could give us some pointers or clues about what would be holding Shelby back from accepting us as her mates.
I’d met Rob Wolf in the fall, and I knew him to be a calm, fair alpha.
We pulled up in front of the big ranch house and parked. Rob emerged and met us in the big circle drive, offering his hand when he recognized me.
“Ben, good to see you again.”
We shook hands, and I introduced Gib.
“I’ve heard of your pack.” He eyed us curiously, his nostrils flaring as he took in our matched scent, probably Shelby’s, too. “You mate in pairs, right?”
“That’s right,” Gib said, extending his hand. Not everyone appreciated the concept of two males claiming a female together. It ensured she was protected and cherished along with any pups she gave us. We were proud to claim Shelby together, and Rob should be happy one of his own would be so well cared for.
“We’re here for some help with ours. But first—” Without breaking the handshake, Gib swung his left fist in an uppercut and punched Rob in the gut. “That’s for letting her dance at Hoedown,” he said, his voice full of his alpha resonance.
Rob growled, but Gib held onto his hand, as if to prove they were still friends despite the assault.
Physical expressions of displeasure were common among shifters and meant little since we healed immediately. Still, they both were alpha, so this could go sideways fast.
“The fuck?” Rob snarled, eyes showing a bit of his wolf. His eyes lighted on Gib’s fresh tattoo. “Shelby’s your mate?” He shook his head. “I don’t know anything about her working there.”
I had to say, I was relieved Rob didn’t know. It bothered the fuck out of me thinking an alpha wasn’t taking care of his own if she needed help. Of course, maybe Shelby wasn’t that hard up and actually enjoyed it, as she’d claimed. Although she’d said it rhetorically—maybe I like it, not I like it, assholes, now back off.
“Fuck.” Rob shook his head. He leveled an even gaze at Gib, who had dropped his hand. “I’m gonna let that punch slide because I’m sure I’d want to clock someone in charge, too, if a bunch of humans saw my mate naked. But you swing again, I’m gonna go furry on your ass.”
Serious fights between shifters and fights to prove dominance happened in wolf form, with the powerful jaws and razor-sharp teeth that benefited our species.
The corners of Gib’s lips lifted in respect. “I got it out of my system,” he said mildly, all signs of aggression gone.
Rob pinned me with a stare, the look shadowed by the wide brim of his cowboy hat. “You gonna try that, too?”
I shook my head. “Nah. Gib speaks for both of us. Besides, we’re hoping for some help from you.”
“That’s a helluva way to ask for it.” He shook his head, but there was no rancor in his tone or gait as he turned and beckoned us toward the house. “Come in.”
We entered and followed him down the central hallway past the stairs into what must be his office. Once he had the door shut and settled into his chair behind his desk, we dropped into the two seats for visitors. He took off his hat, set it on the desk.
“Shelby know you’re her mates?” he asked. “She’s okay with there being two of you?”
Gib nodded. “She does, and I don’t think it’s having two mates that bothers her. But something does. She’s reluctant to mate. She says she can’t leave her pack to go to Wyoming.”
Rob absorbed that. “She and her mom are tight. Even tighter since her dad walked out.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t know about her working at Hoedown. But her mom works hard at low-paying jobs. They’ve never asked me or the pack for help, but, fuck.” He frowned. “Maybe they needed it.”
“We found her at the club last night, so we don’t know much. It doesn’t sit well that she’s had to strip to make ends meet. If we’d only found her sooner,” I said, feeling like shit for not having been able to help her. “I caught her scent when I was here in November, but I wasn’t sure, and I had council business to tie up.” Dammit.
“Well, Shelby’s never asked for anything,” Rob shared. “She’s the one always offering to help everyone else around here. She could be hard up, but I never realized.”
“She’s afraid to trust us even though she agrees we’re her mates,” I explained.
Rob slowly shook his head. “Shit,” he muttered. “Her father took off when she was a teen. He’s a fucking asshole for what he did to his family, and he’s been long gone ever since; otherwise, there’s a long line of shifters who want to fight him. I didn’t realize it still messed with her. She comes off as strong and capable. Independent as fuck. She’s a real sweetheart. The type to help others, not ask for it.”
I agreed with everything he said, and we’d only known her less than a day.
“I guess it’ll take time for that to come, to believe you won’t bail like her father. And she’s got two mates, not one. It’s going to be doubly hard for her.” He looked between us.
We didn’t say anything because he was only voicing what we already knew.
Rob sat back and steepled his fingers. “The roles are kind of reversed with her and her mom. She had to be strong to get her mom through the devastation of being left. Maybe it’s as simple as her not wanting to inflict the same pain by her leaving, too.”
Gib’s brows shot up. “Fuck.”
I brought my fist down on the desk. “Dammit. We should have thought of that. She called it off after she spoke to her mom on the phone.”
Gibson stood. “Let’s go get our mate,” he said to me. “Thank you, Rob.” He held his hand out.
Rob looked at it. “Yeah, not falling for that one again,” he muttered, and Gib grinned.
“Sorry about that. I’m the dick, I know.”
“Mates.” Rob shook his head. “They’d give us all ulcers, if shifters could get them.” He shook my hand and slapped me on the shoulder.
He led us out. At his front door, we turned to face him.
I shook his hand again. “If you’ll give us directions to her mother’s h
ouse, it seems it’s time to get some things straightened out.”
He told us the way. “Good luck. Make that girl happy, or I’ll kick the living shit out of you.”
“Depend on it,” Gib said with his hand in the air, striding out to the truck.
Chapter Eleven
SHELBY
I knew before I even heard the crunch of gravel under their tires that they were here. My body started quivering, and I surged to my feet and threw open the door. I couldn’t wait a second longer to be close to them.
Ben’s truck tore into the drive and lurched to a stop, and both males tumbled out and came striding toward me.
I ran for them.
“Shelby-girl.” Gibson caught me up in his arms and squeezed me so tight I lost my breath. “Looks like you missed us.” He set me down and cupped my face brushing the errant strands of hair back from my face. Ben came and stood behind me, so I was sandwiched with their huge, hard bodies. I leaned my head back against Ben’s solid chest.
God, being between them soothed something in me. Made me happy. Content. It was as if all my troubles couldn’t get to me around their huge bodies.
“How’d you find me?” I wondered.
“Your alpha gave us directions,” Ben said.
I gasped at the implications. The screen door opened, and both men looked over at my mom standing on the porch. Without waiting for an introduction, Gibson strode over and held out his hand. “Ma’am, I’m Gibson West, alpha of the Cowboy Ridge pack, and this is Ben Davies. We’re your daughter’s mates.”
“I’m Marne.” My mom ignored his extended hand and threw her arms wide, giving him a classic mom hug, even though she’d never met the guy.
Ben led me over, so he could receive the same welcome.
“Ma’am, I’d like to invite you to join our pack in Wyoming,” Gibson offered.
