by Bec Adams
Brigden nodded at the unspoken request, pressed a kiss to her cheek, and then moved to his computer. Gideon took the opportunity to wrap his arms around her and hold her close as their mate found the correct website. It was an awful photo of her, but it at least showed all of the current rangers working in this area.
“From the raccoon’s description, it could have been this guy.” Gideon leaned closer to read the names underneath the group photo. “Jay Holks. Did you know him?”
Suzanne nodded. “He joined about a year after I did.” He’d also been given the heavier tasks—thanks to his man-mountain size—and that meant he worked more closely with the others. Of course he’d been easily accepted into the group as a consequence. If she’d known that her boss would use the excuse that she enjoyed checking the roads for potholes and fallen trees to keep her on that task she wouldn’t have been quite so enthusiastic when he’d asked her about it that first time.
“Can you print the picture?” Gideon asked. “I want to be certain we’re looking at the right person before we react.”
“React? Why is that necessary?” Hensen asked, clearly as confused as Suzanne was beginning to feel.
“Because our eye witness swears the guy was a shifter—and I quote—‘with a funky kind of smell.’”
“What the hell does that mean?” Canlon asked with an annoying smirk on his face.
Was the fact that she wanted to smack the smirk right off him related to her change into a werewolf?
“I doubt it, baby girl. You’ve probably just never come across someone as annoying as Canlon. The guy’s an A-grade asshole.”
She glanced at the werewolf in question and wondered why he didn’t react to such a damning assessment. Perhaps he hadn’t heard Gideon’s quiet words. Although, considering her own noticeable increase in hearing since becoming a werewolf it seemed unlikely.
And hey, none of that explained how Gideon had been able to answer an internal thought. She moved in his arms, uncomfortable with the realization that she might have said something so inflammatory out loud. Hadn’t she just decided to stay out of everyone’s way until she understood the group’s dynamics?
“It’s okay, Suzanne. I’ll explain everything. I promise.”
Again, no one else seemed to have heard Gideon’s quiet words, and it took a moment to realize that the conversation was still going on around her.
“But if he was a shifter, surely another shifter could identify what species he was,” Hensen said, sounding perplexed.
“Unless he’s never encountered that species before,” Brigden said quietly.
Canlon rolled his eyes as if Brigden’s suggestion was ridiculous. Suzanne bristled again, but Gideon pulled her closer, forestalling her reaction.
“What species wouldn’t he have encountered?” Hensen asked, seeming at least to consider Brigden’s suggestion.
“I’ve read accounts of strange animals in other countries.”
“Read?” Canlon asked dismissively. “Human hysteria on the Internet. Nothing but bullshit.”
“They have werewolf stories,” Gideon said. “It stands to reason that at least some of the humans’ accounts of shifters have a grain of reality. We can’t just assume we know every shifter on the planet.”
“Okay, say we assume, for the moment, that this guy is a shifter of unknown origin, why is he here? Why would a shifter be working as a park ranger and not have at least introduced himself to the local alphas?”
“Maybe he doesn’t know about the alphas,” Brigden said.
“Or maybe his intentions are less than honest,” Henson said with a grim expression. “The kid was too traumatized by what happened to Suzanne to tell us anything coherent.”
“Does he know I’m okay?” Suzanne asked anxiously. In human form the child had looked maybe as young as four years old. She had no translation for what that might be in bear-shifter years, but it was clear that he was very young.
“He does, but it might help for him to see you whole and happy.” Gideon seemed very confident that she felt happy. That alone was enough to annoy her. She might be feeling happy that he was back safe and sound, but that didn’t mean she was happy. “Well, uninjured, at least.”
“Stop doing that,” she whispered to Gideon even as she suspected all four men in the room were able to hear her easily. “It’s getting annoying.”
Brigden gave her a confused look, but Gideon just laughed and hugged her tighter.
“It’s getting late, and our mate needs more rest,” Gideon said with a pointed look at Canlon, almost as if he was daring him to repeat some of the things they’d said about Brigden earlier. Suzanne wasn’t sure how she knew it, but there was a challenge somewhere in there. If Canlon made another derogatory remark about Gideon having to share his mate with Brigden, she had no doubt Canlon was going to regret it in a very physical way.
Hensen glanced at Canlon and then answered for both of them. “No problem. We’re just going to check over the equipment and make sure we’ve got everything we need to get started by next week.”
“I’ve got more on order,” Brigden said, turning back to his computer. “I’ll print a list of what’s due for delivery in the next few days.”
Gideon managed to find enough things to fiddle with so that they had a viable excuse for waiting for Brigden before leaving the room. Fortunately, neither of the men said another word other than a quick thank-you when Brigden handed them the printout.
* * * *
Gideon couldn’t help the smile that curved his lips when he saw what Brigden had managed in his absence. The bedroom that had previously contained two oversized single beds now held a large king-size bed and one of the singles. His cock was hard as granite just at the thought of what he planned to share with his mates. Brigden smiled when he saw Gideon’s face.
“I’m sorry, Gideon,” he said as he placed a finger in front of his lips to warn Suzanne that the two werewolves in the main area of the cabin could probably still hear them. “I wasn’t able to fit two large beds in this room. I thought maybe we can take turns between sleeping with Suzanne and sleeping in the single bed.”
Gideon grinned, wrapped a hand around the back of Brigden’s neck and pulled him in for a quick, savage kiss. By sharing the same bed with Suzanne, Brigden had essentially given them an explanation for why both men’s scents would be in both beds and on each other. His mate truly was a genius.
“I suppose that’ll work,” Gideon said in a tone he hoped sounded disappointed. “Is that arrangement okay with you, baby girl?”
Suzanne looked worried that she might say the wrong thing, so Gideon nodded in the hopes that she would understand what they were trying to say for the two men who were probably listening closely.
“Yes, that should work nicely. I’m glad I get to keep both of my mates close by.” She gave Gideon a nervous smile, and he grinned back, pleased that she’d made it clear to the wolves in the main area of the cabin that she accepted both men as her mates.
He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close as he kissed her gently. It had been a long and confusing day for all three of them. Sleeping should have been the only thing on their minds but the chance to make love to at least one of his mates again was more than a little overwhelming.
He pressed his hips against her, his hard cock nestled against the softly rounded curve of her belly. She smiled, her emotions very clear to him at that moment.
Gideon was about to start stripping Suzanne of her clothes, desperate to bury his aching cock in her sweet wet pussy when his phone beeped with a text message. He glanced at the tiny screen, determined to ignore all except his alpha’s summons. Unfortunately the text came one of the few people on the planet he wouldn’t ignore—his mother.
“I need to make a video call,” he said to both of his mates. “Why don’t you two sleep in the big bed tonight? I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“The alpha?” Brigden asked, not quite hiding his nervousness.
“No, just my parents. I won’t be long, baby girl,” he said for their listening audience, but he leaned over to touch both her and Brigden lovingly. Gideon heard Suzanne’s internal worries even though she didn’t voice them out loud. He just hoped that none of her fears of rejection by the pack or his parents came to pass.
* * * *
“Hi, Mom,” Gideon said as his mother came into view on the webcam.
“You should have called us,” she scolded with a smile on her face. “When do we get to meet her?” It was obvious that she was very excited. He had no doubt his mother would love Suzanne. His father on the other hand, was unlikely to accept an outsider quite so easily. He interrupted before Gideon could answer.
“The alpha said she was a human. Was she at least a strong, healthy human? Please tell me she’s not one of those stick figures humans seem to think is healthy? Will she give us strong grandbabies?”
“Yes, Dad,” Gideon said with a small smile. On this at least he was on solid ground. Suzanne was tall and fit and curved in all the right places. He had no doubt that physically she would be comparable to many of the pack’s females when her werewolf strength was fully developed. “And sorry, Mum, it could be a while before you meet her. Brigden and I can’t afford time off this early in the assignment.”
“Brigden?” his father asked. “As in Brigden Hawkes? What does that runt have to do with it?”
His father looked annoyed, almost as if he knew what was coming, but it was the worry clearly written on his mother’s face that made Gideon falter. Did she know he and Brigden were mates as well? Had she seen something in his behavior that the rest of the pack had missed?
“She’s Brigden’s mate, too,” he said, determined to at least make that perfectly clear.
His mother seemed to relax at that news, but of course Gideon’s father had always placed far more value on physical strength than intelligence, so he wasn’t impressed. As the beta of the pack, he had a lot more influence on the people around him than Gideon would have liked.
“I’ll speak to the alpha,” his father said angrily. “We’ll make certain that Brigden Hawkes so-called claim on her is rejected by the pack. There’s no certainty that he’s even telling the truth. He’s probably just pretending they’re mates so that he has your protection. I won’t tolerate it. And I sure as hell won’t accept grandbabies fathered by that runt.”
Gideon didn’t need to glance over his shoulder to know that both of his packmates were listening intently and agreeing with his old man. If he let his father think that was an option, he would be betraying the trust that both of his mates had for him.
“Suzanne has already acknowledged that we are both her mates.”
His father made a derogatory sound and went to interrupt, but Gideon talked over him.
“I plan to be a good mate, and that means making sure my mate is happy. Brigden makes her happy, so he stays right where he is—by her side. Is that clear?”
“Crystal,” his father said through gritted teeth. In werewolf society, Gideon’s words to his father could have been considered a challenge. If they’d been in the same room the argument might even have come to blows, but as much as he hated the alpha-male posturing, Gideon would fight for what he believed in.
And he believed in Suzanne and Brigden more than anything in the world.
“The alpha said you’ll be away six months or more,” Gideon’s mother said quietly. She always hated it when he left pack lands, but she knew it was part of his duties within their pack hierarchy to ensure that the packs around them were also protecting themselves and shifter secrets. It was like a house of cards. If one pack was exposed, they all would be in danger. With his human-toned skin color it helped very much that he was able to blend in. It was almost ironic that a generation ago it had been considered a weakness to be born without the purple hue common to their pack.
“We’ll come home for a visit before then,” he assured him mom.
His dad moved out of view, but he was certain the pack beta was still within listening distance.
“I look forward to meeting my new—what do humans call them?—daughter-in-law very soon.” His father must have turned away, or perhaps left the room, because the smile on her face faltered and she gave Gideon a very serious look. “I want you to be happy, Gideon. Please tell Suzanne that I will love any babies she might have, no matter who fathers them.”
He heard her defiance of his father’s stance. There was nothing new in that—his father would never have married a weak-willed woman—but Gideon sensed more in her words. An understanding or perhaps a reassurance that whatever happened he’d have his mother’s love and support.
“Thanks, Mom,” he said gratefully. “I’ll call again in a few days.”
Chapter Six
For the second time in a row, Suzanne woke up slowly and felt entirely too comfortable to want to move. It took a few moments to realize that part of the reason was the set of warm arms wrapped around her, holding her close.
“Brigden,” she said on a soft, nearly soundless sigh as she snuggled closer to the hard cock nestled against her bottom. Her pussy muscles clenched pleasantly.
“Good morning, sweetheart,” he whispered in her ear. “Did you sleep well?”
“I did,” she answered shyly. She opened her eyes, expecting to find Gideon in the bed on the other side of the room, but it was neatly made. “Where’s Gideon?”
“I’m in a meeting with the elders from Dry Creek pack. I’ll be home soon.”
“He’s in a meeting, but he’ll be home soon,” Brigden said quietly.
She rolled in Brigden’s embrace and looked at him closely. “You didn’t hear Gideon say that?” she asked, feeling more off balance than she had the previous day.
“Sorry, baby girl, I meant to explain our link last night, but you were asleep by the time I came back to the bedroom.”
“Link?” she asked out loud, glancing around the room, trying to understand why she could hear Gideon so clearly but Brigden didn’t seem to hear him at all.
“What link?” Brigden asked, his arms tightening around her as he watched her worriedly.
“Gideon said we have a link. Didn’t you hear him just now?”
“Suzanne, I think you’re frightening Brig. Please just get some more rest. I’ll be back within the hour and I promise to explain everything.”
It was clear that her behavior was concerning to Brigden, but it was the sudden realization that she and Gideon seemed to share some sort of telepathic link Brigden didn’t that tore at her heart. She closed her eyes against the tears that threatened to worry Brigden even more.
“Sorry, Brig,” she said, praying that she was doing the right thing with the little lie she was about to utter. “I think I’m still half asleep. I had some pretty kooky dreams last night.”
At least that much was true. Her dreams had been both strangely detailed and thoroughly inspiring. She nearly moaned when her pussy muscles clenched again at the memory.
“You should get some more rest,” Brigden said. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and then moved so that she could settle against him more comfortably.
“Brig,” she asked quietly as she wriggled closer, her stomach brushing against his hard cock, “does it feel strange to suddenly have a mate? I mean I don’t even know you or Gideon, yet somehow I’m more comfortable with you two than I’ve ever been in my life. Does it feel that way for you, too?”
“Yes and no,” he said slowly, obviously giving the matter some serious thought. “Very few wolves find their true-mate, but the connection is always instant. Even before you became a wolf, Gideon and I knew who you were to both of us.” His fingers stroked over her shoulder as he seemed to struggle for words. Or perhaps he was just being very careful to phrase things in case anyone was in listening distance. “I wasn’t expecting to ever find you, so in that respect it feels very weird.”
“What if we didn’t like each other?”
“I gues
s that was a possibility. Nature decrees our true-mate but I don’t suppose that ensures that we’re compatible personalities.” His fingers filtered through her hair as even more worries crowded her brain. She wanted to voice them all, but the relationship between Brigden and Gideon made things very complicated and impossible to talk about. In many ways it would have been easier if their relationship really was the way they were presenting it to the world.
“I know, baby girl,” Gideon said inside her head, “but I can’t stop loving the man. He’s my mate, too. I won’t give him up.”
“I would never ask you to,” she thought quickly, hoping that Gideon would “hear” her.
“Somehow I know that, baby girl,” he said thankfully, proving that she’d managed to respond to him via their link. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
And then, almost like closing a cell phone connection, Gideon seemed to be gone from her head. To add to the weirdness, she found that if she concentrated on him she could sense his feelings and the conversation going on around him. She felt his approval that she was able to connect to him in this way, but it felt far different to when they’d been talking.
The topic of conversation seemed very important, and judging by his tone, the alpha of Dry Creek wasn’t happy about something. In fact he sounded downright pissed.
“Suzanne?” Brigden asked worriedly. She’d almost forgotten she was lying in his arms in a bedroom nowhere near the conversation she was listening in on—a conversation that was very likely meant to be private and none of her business.
“Sorry,” she said, snuggling closer to Brigden’s warm chest. “I’m just wondering at all the changes in my life.”
“I’m sorry it happened so suddenly—and that you didn’t get a choice in the matter—but leaving our mate injured, possibly dying, wasn’t something either of us wanted to do.”
“I’m glad you didn’t,” she said, truly meaning it. “I’ve never been eviscerated before, but I suspect it would have been a very long road to recovery.”
