by T. S. Joyce
“Telling you all of that helped. I didn’t have to leave you at all last night, and this morning, I just felt different. There’s less fire inside of me. My bear feels…settled around you.”
She clenched her teeth against the urge to cry and tackled him onto the bed. “Did I save you back?” she asked on a breath. Straddling him, she rested the palms of her hands on his chest.
The corner of his lips lifted as he ran his hands down her arms and circled his fingers around her wrists, as if he wanted to keep her touch right where it was against his thrumming heartbeat.
“Yeah, Ever. You saved me back.”
****
Nerves fluttered around inside of Everly, causing tiny earthquakes in her stomach. Tonight she would meet the Ashe Crew. Brighton had told her so much about each one of them, she felt like she already knew them, but they didn’t know her. She wanted them to like her for Brighton’s sake. He would move back to his trailer in the Asheland Mobile Park soon, and the people here were like his extended family. Tagan, the alpha, his pregnant mate, Brooke. Kellen, the crew’s second, and his falcon shifter mate, Skyler. Denison and Danielle. Haydan, Bruiser, and Drew, the bachelors of a crew who lived here and worked as lumberjacks on a jobsite in the mountains near the community.
Everly wanted to fit in with them so badly her hands shook and her palms were sweaty. She’d never been good at first impressions. Her shy awkwardness always sucked the fun out of meeting new people and filled her with anxiety. It didn’t help either that the submissive bear in her middle was telling her to flee the dominant, apex predator shifters who stood at the end of the dirt road that led through the trailer park.
Brighton squeezed her hand from their place hidden in the night shadows of the woods that lined the trailer park. He shifted his weight as if he was nervous about seeing his friends again. She straightened the collar of his button down shirt and patted her palms lightly against his chest. “Perfect,” she whispered.
He kissed her forehead, then rested his cheek against her hair as they watched Denison strut down the road with his bride-to-be thrown over his shoulder. Their aisle was a dusty gravel street that bisected two rows of trailers. Strands of lights had been strung up everywhere. Along the paths and cracked sidewalks, on porches and opened truck beds were candles flickering inside of glass jelly jars. It was stunning and so much more than she’d imagined when Brighton had described his home.
By Brighton’s descriptions, Everly recognized the group of friends who were gathered near a bonfire. Brooke with her flowing blond hair and belly swollen with child, Skyler with her dark hair and striking green eyes. Tagan, who stood stoically with a proud smile on his face. Kellen with his scarred face and dark eyes that stayed on his mate, Skyler. Denison, who looked just like Brighton, only with lighter hair and gray eyes. Drew with his shoulder-length blond hair, who looked like some rugged Viking from ancient times. Haydan with his tattoos and shaved head, and Bruiser with his laughing, almond-colored eyes and shoulders the width of a doublewide. This group of friends already felt so familiar, but…
Brighton pulled her hand and mouthed, You ready?
Panic flared in her chest, freezing her breath. There was so much pressure. This would be her Crew now, and if they didn’t like her, she was shit out of luck. Everly shook her head. “I can’t do this.”
You can. They will love you.
“Brighton, I can’t go in there, right in the middle of a surprise wedding, and take attention away from the bride like that. This is Danielle’s moment. It doesn’t feel right. I don’t want that to be the first memory I make with the Ashe Crew.
His frown lifted, and his expression relaxed. His words were soft as the breeze here in the dark. “Wait here then if it’ll make this easier for you. Come out when you are ready, and I’ll make the proper introductions. Don’t be nervous, Ever. You have me with you. Always.”
She heaved a sigh of relief and nodded.
Brighton kissed her knuckles with a sexy, crooked smile, then turned and strode for his friends. She watched in awe as he endured slaps on the back and rough hugs, and all the while, his eyes stayed green and his bear hidden. She was so damned proud of him. He’d carried a heavy burden for so long, and then been brave enough to share himself with her. This had been his reward—normalcy. Brighton pressed his forehead against Danielle’s, and the woman smiled through glistening tears that spilled over. Then he did the same to his brother.
The ceremony was short and sweet as honey. The bride was glowing, and Denison looked like he couldn’t be happier, positioned in front of his alpha, and flanked by his mate and his brother.
After it was finished and the bride was kissed, when the hugs and congratulations were through and the crew had settled around the bonfire, Everly found her bravery. She smoothed the wrinkles from her dress, then stepped from the shadows.
Brighton’s eyes landed on her, and a slow smile took his face as he twitched his head for her to come closer. He met her halfway, intertwined his fingers in hers, and pulled her to the edge of the bonfire light where the Ashe Crew had gone quiet and still.
She cleared her throat and searched their faces, the people she would be bound to if they accepted her. “Hello.” Her voice came out weak, and heat flooded her cheeks.
“Holy shit,” Bruiser muttered. His nostrils flared, and he took a step toward her. “Are you a submissive grizzly?”
“Yes,” she squeaked out.
Brighton rubbed her back, and she dropped her gaze to the ground, unable to hold eye contact with the shifters who were filling the air between them with something weighty and just above her senses. “I’m Everly.”
Strong arms went around her and lifted her from the ground until her back cracked. Denison was giving her a literal interpretation of a bear hug. “Damn, girl. We thought you were gonna die. It’s good to see you in the land of the living.”
“What?” she asked as he set her down. She wobbled, but caught her balance just as Tagan hugged her shoulders.
“Brighton asked us to come over to see if I could do anything to help you. I take it you’ve Changed now? You look much better than the last time we saw you. We…well, we feared the worst for you.” Denison twitched his head toward his brother. “And for Brighton.”
The Ashe Crew passed her around, shaking her hand, patting her back, squeezing her arm, and gently hugging her, all the while each of the shifters inhaled her scent unabashedly. She didn’t understand. This was supposed to be harder.
When she’d been thoroughly embraced, she settled her shoulder blades against Brighton’s chest and stared questioningly at the band of friends. “I thought I would have to pass some werebear tests to be accepted.”
Brooke’s smile was so genuinely happy, Everly instantly liked her. “No tests from us. If Brighton picked you, you must be special.”
“Does everyone know who I am?” Everly asked. She couldn’t lift her gaze to their eyes no matter how hard she tried.
“Tagan told us,” Skyler explained. “You’re Connor’s claim.”
Those three words drew the hair up on the back of her neck. Everly shook her head as Brighton tightened his grip on her upper arms. “I never belonged to Connor.” She dragged her eyes up to Tagan and clenched her hands. “I’m Brighton’s mate.”
“Good,” Tagan said, lifting his chin in approval. “It seems we have a lot to celebrate tonight then. We’ll do your initiation in the morning. Drew, break out that booze, man. Brighton and Haydan, this shindig needs food.” He jerked a thumb toward a grill to the side of the fire. Behind that was an unstained, rough wooden table with piles of groceries stacked on it.
“I can help,” she whispered to Brighton.
He nodded, then bent down and kissed her lips. He took soft, small sips, then eased back and mouthed, I told you they’d like you.
A grin cracked open her face, and her cheeks burned with shyness. She’d never kissed a man in front of an audience before, but when she turned, no one seemed to notice but Brooke,
who was watching them with a soft look on her face.
Skyler had settled into Kellen’s lap and was nuzzling his cheek, and Denison and Danielle were standing to the side, talking quietly between kisses. The other boys were apparently having an asparagus eating competition, and she laughed at their trash talk. The smelliest piss-off at the end of the night would determine the winner.
Drew handed her a Dixie cup of what looked like red wine, and she thanked him, then slurped it down like a shot in hopes of ridding herself of the nervous flutters that had her hands shaking and her stomach quivering. Drew plucked the empty from her hand and refilled it from a box with a spigot at the bottom. She giggled as he handed the cup back to her, overflowing and splashing dark drops into the dirt near her feet.
Denison pulled a trio of beers from an old cooler by the table, handed one to Danielle and another to Brighton. The brothers popped the tops and tinked the bottles together.
“It’s good to have you back, brother,” Denison said.
Brighton nodded and took a long swig before draping an arm over Everly’s shoulders and pulling her against his side. It’s good to be back.
Denison gripped the back of his head and shook him a few times, then shoved him and rejoined his new wife by the fire. Everly made her way to the table and took up food prep with Haydan as Brighton prepared the grill. She wasn’t comfortable joining in conversation quite yet, but as time ticked by, she settled into the easy connection between the people here. Laughter was constant, ribbing and light-hearted insults were tossed here and there, and the conversation flowed from one topic to the next with the ease of a crew that was happy with the family they’d built. A constant smile stayed on Everly’s lips as she cut zucchinis, squash, onions, tomatoes, and mushrooms, then speared them with metal skewers.
Brighton came up behind her and nipped her earlobe before he took the plate of prepared food from in front of her and lined up the lanced vegetables on the grill. And when she glanced over at him, he was smiling in that absent way that likely matched her own happy expression.
Haydan talked constantly about how when season came again, they’d be up logging in the mountains above them, hitting numbers that a man named Damon Daye had hired them to do. Right now, he was listing all of the questionable decisions he and the other boys had made in the last week out of sheer boredom waiting for the season to start up next month. Mud wrestling, drinking contests, and someone had welded giant horseshoes they had to chuck at a log in the ground. Drew had rebuilt a skate ramp they’d destroyed a while back, and Bruiser broke his arm falling off. Though now, it was already healed again, and from the way he was snickering at Haydan’s telling of it, Bruiser didn’t regret the memory. They’d put an enormous tarp down a hill and sprayed it down with soap suds and water, and at the end, everyone went flying into the water of some nearby pond. That game had lasted a few straight days until Tagan almost got bit by a water moccasin.
Everly cleaned her hands on a paper towel and looked around at the animated faces, talking easily and laughing at something Denison had said.
One thing was for sure and for certain, there was never going to be a dull moment in this crew.
Chapter Twelve
Brighton opened the door to his trailer. He hadn’t been here since the day he’d killed Reynolds, and even then, it was just for a few moments to pack necessities into a backpack before he blasted out of here and sought the safety of the cabin.
He’d expected it to smell rough, but when he opened up the fridge, he huffed air from his cheeks and leaned on the door. Cool, clean air hit his face. Nothing was inside, save condiments with long expiration dates. Denison must’ve come in here and cleaned out the place. His brother was solid like that, always dependable, always giving him what he needed before he knew he needed it.
A flash of Denison slamming Reynolds against the tree and tossing Brighton the ax to end his life flickered across his mind. His brother had been tortured at the hand of that monster too, and he could’ve taken revenge for himself, but he’d known, in that uncanny way of his, that Reynolds needed to die by Brighton’s hand.
Damn, he was so glad Denison had found his mate in Danielle. He’d always liked her, always thought she’d been a steadying force for his brother. Tonight had been big. Tonight, Brighton had gained another sister.
He let the door to the fridge close and looked around at the tidy trailer. He ran his finger across the two-chair kitchen table and inspected it for dirt. Denison, that clean freak, had even dusted. Mom had instilled tidiness in them since they were cubs, but for whatever reason, Denison’s bear required a clean den and a steady schedule, unlike Brighton’s inner grizzly who thrived on chaos. He couldn’t remember much about his life or who he’d been before he was tortured, but Brighton thought maybe his animal had always been a little wild. The cutting had just made him insane as well as feral.
He closed his eyes and searched inward. Oh, his bear was still there, like a hibernating giant waiting for something to wake him and release the titan, but it wasn’t like before. Now, his animal side felt manageable. Everly had done that for him.
A soft knock sounded at the door, and he turned. His mate hesitated in the doorframe, shifting her weight as if she didn’t know her place here. Brighton held out his hands in silent question. What do you think?
Two tentative steps, and she was inside his den. The real place his heart lived. The cabin was a good place to run to, but this old trailer was home.
“I grew up in a trailer park,” she murmured softly, as if she didn’t want to break the spell of this place.
Yeah?
She nodded and pulled a pink beach towel more tightly around her middle. The boys had nixed a hillbilly hot tub to celebrate Denison’s nuptials on account of it taking too long to heat the water, and the boys were too drunk to be safe about it anyhow. Then Bruiser, jacked up on asparagus and boxed wine, got the idea they should all go skinny-dipping in the creek by moonlight. Most of them had been down to party, but Brooke, God bless that woman, had taken one look at Everly’s terrified face and offered her a bathing suit. His alpha’s mate even went a step further and told Everly she was going to wear a bathing suit, too.
Now, everyone had seen everyone in the nude here. Even utterly human Danielle had joined in on the occasional midnight skinny-dipping party. But Everly was different. She was new to this life and unsure of her place in the Ashe Crew. And if he was honest, her shyness and modesty only made him adore her more.
“This trailer park is way nicer than the one I lived in. Neighbors are pretty cool, too,” she said with a self-conscious little shrug.
She was so fuckin’ cute, it wasn’t even fair. If she even knew how much she melted him, how much she locked his damned knees when she was around, she’d think he was a hopeless sap.
Her gorgeous eyes widened as she asked, “Can I look around?”
Oh. Right. Grand tour, and here he was just staring at her like a weirdo. He showed her around. It wasn’t much. Two bedrooms, two baths, only one of which actually worked because of the rampant plumbing problems up here. He was going to dig up the crushed pipes and replace them next week to keep the snakes out of the toilet bowl. Everly deserved a safe place after all she’d been through.
He couldn’t stop watching her. Everly’s nostrils flared, as if she was committing this place to memory. Or perhaps she smelled him all over his den. The absent smile on her lips was so damned sexy he couldn’t keep from kissing her every time she got close enough.
“The girls have all spent time living in trailer ten-ten across the street,” he whispered as he settled his shoulder blades across the doorframe to his bedroom. “Tagan said it’s yours if you want it.”
Everly dropped her gaze to the toe of his boot, and her shoulders slumped. “That’s very kind.”
“Or,” he said, hooking a finger under her chin and lifting her gaze back to his. “You can stay here with me and make this place your home.”
A hopeful smil
e brushed her lips. Her pert little nose scrunched up as her grin deepened. “You mean it?”
“Woman, I can’t even stand the thought of you living across the street. That’s how pathetically deep I am in this. I just wanted to give you space if you needed it. Some of the other women in our crew have had a hard time adjusting to this life. I don’t want that for you. I want you to be happy.” Brighton’s voice caught at the pain of whispering. “I want to make you happy.”
“You make me the happiest, silly bear.” She pushed against his chest flirtatiously and leaned against the other side of the doorframe. “You want to see the swimsuit Brooke let me borrow?”
Hell. Yes.
Her lips lifted in a wicked smile as she pulled the towel away from her skin. A crimson red two-piece with tiny black polka-dots, and his dick instantly thumped against the seam of his jeans. Damn, she was beautiful, and the last week had been good to her. She had weight to gain yet, but the sickly thinness was nothing but a dim memory. She didn’t look fragile anymore. Instead, she looked strong. And there was nothing on this earth sexier than a strong woman.
Just as he reached for her, a tremendous banging echoed down the side of the trailer. Bruiser, that twit, needed to learn to knock on a door.
“We’re leaving!” Bruiser called out through the thin walls. “Quit fuckin’ around in there and let’s go.” His voice went muffled. “Get it? Fuckin’ around?”
“Shut up, man,” Drew murmured from farther away, and Everly snickered and shook her head.
At least she found amusement in their antics. That would get her far here.
Brighton leaned forward and kissed her hard, then bit her lip just enough that she moaned. He slipped his hand down the front of her bathing suit bottoms and ran his finger through the slickness of her sex. She was always ready for him, always wet when they flirted, and he couldn’t get over how lucky he’d gotten, falling for a woman like Everly. His brave little mate who wanted intimacy with him despite what Connor had done to her.
