Eric’s mouth dropped open as he took a moment to process his brother’s words. “How can that be?”
David scowled. “You know damn well what it means. Fate gives us our mates.”
Eric shook his head. “Sorry, I’m not making any sense.”
“Then say what you mean, brother.”
“My wolf says she’s our mate as well.”
David stared at him for a moment, and then a huge smile stretched across his angular face. “So we’re gonna have a life like Kitania, Ethan, and Latan?”
Eric smiled. “Could we ask for a better relationship than they have?”
“It won’t be the same. Laynee’s human, and she’s got to accept our animal side or Alpha Remus won’t sanction the mating.”
Groaning, Eric tossed a stick onto the fire. “Do we have to head back to the pack in the morning? Can’t we just take her home, to our place? We could just ignore Latan’s invitation this once.”
David snorted. “Are you crazy? First, we’re gonna have to figure out why her old man did this, and how we’re gonna keep her safe from him.”
“And second?” Eric asked.
“Huh?”
“If there’s a first, there has to be a second.”
“Well, if you really need a second. How about the fact that Latan only passed on the invitation.”
“Yeah, but Uncle Remus would forgive us this once.”
David laughed. “Uncle Remus probably would, but he didn’t send the invitation.”
Eric raised his brow. “What does that mean?”
“It means that Latan said Alpha Remus ordered everyone home for this meeting. Do you wanna risk that Alpha Remus would understand us blowing him off?”
Eric swallowed hard and shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. He’s always been pretty supportive of all his adopted nephews, but he’s still the leader of our pack. We’ll head straight for the pack house in the morning.” He grinned and rolled out his sleeping bag. “Besides, we might just need his help to keep our mate safe. The soda can is in the jeep. Maybe they can help me find out what they drugged her with.”
“I’ll call Latan before we hit the road and fill him in on the situation. Maybe he’ll have some advice on how to proceed when we get there.”
Eric laughed. “I can’t wait to see what he says about a bear and a wolf mating the same woman.”
Chapter 2
Remus walked into the kitchen and stopped when he saw Maddie at the kitchen stove. The twenty plus years they’d been together had been good to her. Technically, she was forty-seven years old, but her Wolfen DNA kept her young. Her shoulder-length brown curls had only a few strands of gray, and she still had her girlish, curvy figure after bearing him four healthy pups. The only way their life could get any better would be if one of their brood would find their mate and present them with some grandpups.
His eyebrows rose as he watched the salt shaker slide across the cabinet right into Maddie’s hand. He walked quietly up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist. “I thought you were going to make an effort to stop using your hocus pocus around the house.” His mate had been involved in a serious boating accident when she was a child that left her in a coma. When she’d awakened, she’d found herself telekinetic. It was a great many years before she learned to understand and control her gift.
Maddie snickered. “Practice makes perfect, my alpha. Besides, all this talk about our people disappearing is making me nervous. I wanna keep in top form just in case I need to use my special skills on any unsuspecting bad guys.”
Remus pressed a kiss against her neck and opened the cupboard above her head and removed a cup. He picked up the coffee pot and groaned when he found it empty. “Where’s my coffee?”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. You know what Dr. Tehran said.”
The Alpha growled. “That old fool doesn’t know his ass from his elbow. My father drank coffee every day of his life.”
Maddie turned and glared at him. “And look how young he was when he passed on.”
Remus slammed the empty cup down on the counter. “Yeah, but coffee didn’t kill him.”
Maddie reached for the kettle on the stove. “I’ll make you a nice cup of tea.”
He watched as she poured the pale liquid into his cup. Grumbling under his breath, he took the cup to the table and sat down. He watched his mate crack eggs into her skillet and thought back over their life together. He’d first seen her as a young child of only eight years. She’d been visiting her grandfather right here on this very mountain. Victor Barrow had been a friend to his father, and a member of their pack after marrying his wife, Eloise, even though he was human. Remus had been in his wolf form when he’d met the little girl, but he’d known instantly she was his mate. Only a few months later she’d lain in a hospital bed, possibly dying.
Her slow recovery, and an evil doctor intent on experimenting on the shifter race, had kept his mate from him for ten long years. But fate has a way of evening things out. His Maddie finally came home to the mountain, and they’d been inseparable ever since. Their life together had created four pups.
The twins, Victor and Eloise, were twenty-six years old now. Someday, he hoped his son would carry on in his place and lead the pack. He glanced at Maddie and grinned. His wife was adamant that their daughter was firstborn so she should be the next Alpha of the Wind River pack. I’m not sure how that would work since I’ve never seen a female alpha lead a pack before. But if anyone could do it, Eloise could. Presently, their daughter taught the pack’s grammar school and dreamed of having an adventure in her life. Her twin, Victor, was the sane one in the family. Very calm in nature, always thinking things through carefully. His degree in business administration qualified him to run the family construction company.
Their younger daughter, Elyne, was living in Casper and working as a secretary for a bank. She was twenty-three and had promised to spend the summer at home this year, taking a leave of absence. Remus had plans to talk her into staying home and working for the family’s business. She leaned toward pretending to be human and had hopes for finding a human mate.
And finally, their baby, Kanor, had just turned twenty-one. He worked for the family’s company, having refused Remus’s offer to send him to college. His main goal in life was to find his mate and have a family.
Remus looked up when the back door opened, and his brother walked in. Of the three brothers, he was the most serious and levelheaded. He’d retired from managing the family’s business a couple of years back, and like Remus, now waited impatiently for one of his six children to make him a grandfather.
“Good morning, Latan. Would you like some breakfast?” Maddie asked. “There’s plenty.”
Latan walked over and glanced at the stove, his eyes lighting up. “Looks great, little wolf. I’d love anything you can spare.”
Maddie giggled. “Kitania not feeding you enough these days?”
He scowled. “She’s on another one of her health kicks. I swear the woman spends too much time watching daytime television. She had the nerve to tell me I eat too much red meat!”
Remus snorted, spraying tea down the front of his shirt. “What the hell does she think a wolf should eat?”
Latan sighed and inhaled deeply before he walked away from the stove. “She thinks I need more vegetables and fiber in my diet. She isn’t even making desserts anymore.”
Maddie patted his shoulder. “Sit down, honey. I’ll bring you a plate.”
Remus pushed one of the chairs away from the table with his foot and nodded toward it. “Take a load off, brother. What brings you by so early, besides your hunt for breakfast meat. Is everything okay?”
“Sorry for barging in so early, but I need to talk to you about a potential problem, and I thought it would be better not to wait since so many others would be around today.”
Remus took a sip of his tea and grimaced. “What’s the problem?”
Latan snickered. “The little woman’s got you drink
ing tea, huh?”
Remus growled. “State your business, or leave me to suffer my tea in silence.”
Maddie placed two loaded plates of food on the table and promptly smacked Remus on the back of his head. “Quit your complaining, old man. That tea will probably keep you around a few more years.”
Remus rolled his eyes. “Come on, brother. What can I do to help you?”
“I got a call from David and Eric early this morning.”
Remus stopped his fork halfway to his mouth. “Don’t tell me they’re not coming. I made it clear this was a mandatory meeting.”
Latan shook his head. “No, they’ll be here. In fact, they should be showing up within the next couple of hours.”
Maddie joined them at the table with her breakfast. “They must have left sometime yesterday.”
“Yeah, they drove until dark last night and camped in the woods.”
“So why’d they call this morning?” Remus asked. “Are they in some kind of trouble?”
Latan stared down at his plate. “Yeah, they’ve got trouble all right. They’ve met their mate.”
There was silence for a few moments, and then Maddie cleared her throat. “Their mate?”
Latan nodded. “Yeah, you heard me right. They both claim this woman is their mate.”
Remus shrugged. “So what’s the problem? I seem to recall it worked fine for you and Ethan.” Latan and Ethan had met Kitania when she came to teach the pack school. At least that was why they thought she’d come. In reality, she’d been working undercover for the National Council on a secret mission. No one had been more surprised than her when it turned out the alpha’s brothers were her mates. It had caused quite a stir in the pack twenty-five years ago. Now, it wasn’t uncommon for wolves to share a mate since the males outnumbered the females two to one.
“Well, one problem is she’s human.”
Remus dropped his fork and sighed. Bringing humans into the pack was always problematic. He sensed something else was troubling his brother. “Is that the only problem?”
“No, she’s apparently in some kind of trouble.”
Remus sipped his tea as Latan filled them in on the boy’s story.
“Her own father tried to kill her?” asked Maddie.
Latan picked up his cup. “That’s what the boy told me.”
Remus pushed his plate away. “And you say she’s blind, so she hasn’t seen them in their animal forms.”
“According to David, when Eric found her in the woods, she thought he was a dog and cuddled up to him with no fear.”
Maddie laughed. “I’ll bet David loved that. He’ll be regaling us with that story for years. God, we’ll have to listen to all kinds of puppy jokes. The boy will be relentless.”
Remus groaned. “And you say they’re bringing her here?”
Latan nodded, shoveling a forkful of eggs into his mouth. He swallowed quickly. “I told them to take her to the guest house and stay with her, and I had Kitania run some groceries over there. They’ll call me when they arrive. Eric managed to bring back the soda can that he thinks had drugs in it. He’s asked if I can help him find out what her father used on her and what, if any, side effects it might have.”
“Smart.” Remus pulled out his cell phone. “I’ll give Tehran a call and have him come in early. He should have any equipment needed to test the can. We’ll need all the ammunition we can get to protect her. It’s good you told them to use the guest cottage. It’ll give her a safe place and keep her isolated from the rest of us until we can explain things. They’re both sure she’s their mate?”
Latan shrugged. “That’s what they told me. Both said their beasts claimed her. You know as well as I do that the animal never makes a mistake.”
“Maybe not, but this is sure one strange mating. A wolf, a bear, and a blind human.”
Maddie giggled, then covered her mouth with a napkin.
“What’s so funny?” asked Remus.
“A wolf, a bear, and a blind woman.” Maddie snickered. “Sounds like the first line of a really bad bar joke.”
Latan snorted. “At least our mating wasn’t quite so mismatched.” Their mate, Kitania, was a half-breed. Part wolf and part feline, she could only shift into an ordinary, small black house cat.
Remus pushed his chair back and stood. “When they arrive, I wanna see the boys before you tell anybody about them. If her father really tried to kill her, he’s not gonna be happy when her body doesn’t turn up.”
* * * *
David parked the Jeep and turned off the engine. He looked over at the small, ranch-style house constructed of weathered cedar, situated on the side of a wooded hill. Alpha Remus had built the guest house almost ten years ago, and everyone in the pack worked to keep it in good condition. Its wooden wraparound porch gleamed with its annual coat of gray paint, while the welcome mat looked as if no shoe had ever scraped over it.
“Laynee,” Eric said. “We’re here.”
Laynee pulled herself up where she’d been napping across the seat. She turned her head toward the window the sun shined brightly through. “Is there anybody else here?”
“No.” David climbed from the car and opened her door. “This is our family’s guest cottage.”
Laynee blinked twice. “Your family keeps a whole cottage for guests?”
David laughed. “Yeah, but it’s small. Our al…um…Uncle Remus does a lot of business with people out of state, and they visit the company. When they do, he puts them up here because the nearest hotel is quite a ways off.”
Laynee slid across the seat, keeping her hand on the Jeep door. “What sort of business does your uncle have?”
“Construction,” Eric said. “He’s built things all over the west, but mostly here in Wyoming.”
David took her arm and led her toward the steps. “Come on inside, Laynee. I’ve got to call our dad and let him know we’re here.” When they reached the porch, he stopped. “There are three narrow steps up to a flat porch. Just hang onto my hand and go slow.” He relaxed when she didn’t hesitate to follow his directions.
David looked around as he led her through the door. The living room held a large couch he knew rolled out into a bed, and two plush chairs. A television sat tucked into a rustic entertainment center, which also held a small stereo. A huge fireplace dominated the wall across from the couch, with a small stack of wood inside just waiting for someone to light a match. The hardwood floor had thick throw rugs to comfort feet on cold mornings. They could prove to be dangerous for Laynee.
He moved her forward slowly. “Feel ahead with your foot, Laynee. There are several rugs around the room that you could trip on.”
She moved her foot forward slowly, until her shoe bumped against the rug. “I’ll go slow and be careful. You wouldn’t happen to have a walking cane around here, would you? I guess mine is still in my father’s car.”
Eric grabbed her hand. “I’ll check with the family and see what I can come up with. There isn’t anything glass on the tables, so don’t worry about knocking anything off. Just be careful that you don’t fall. There are a couple of tables around the couch that could leave quite a nasty knot on your head if you fell over one of them.”
“Could you show me where the bathroom is?”
David tugged on her arm. “Sure, it’s to the right.” He helped her navigate across the room to a closed door. Opening it, he switched on the light and revealed a spacious bathroom. He placed her hand on the counter by the sink. “You’re facing the back wall. The toilet is about three steps away on your left, with the tub on your right. The sink is about eight inches from your left hand, and there’s a container of liquid soap on the right side of the faucet. A hand towel is hanging on the wall beside the light switch right inside the door. The toilet tissue will be on the wall to your left when you sit.” He cleared his throat. “If you have any trouble, just give a yell.”
Laynee’s face turned pink. “Thanks, but I think I can take it from here.”
> David felt his own ears getting hot. “Sure,” he mumbled. “I’ll leave you to it, then.” He backed up and shut the door, breathing a sigh of relief. Walking over, he glanced into the bedroom. Besides the enormous bed, there was a pleasant grouping of furniture consisting of a couple of chairs with a table between them that held a reading light, and a dresser with a full-size mirror hung above it. On a small nightstand he could see a digital clock glowing softly in the semidarkness. It proclaimed the time to be ten thirty.
Eric moved to stand at his side. “You gonna call Latan, or do you want me to?”
“You go ahead, and find out where we can meet.” David strolled through the kitchen to look out the back door. The azure skies were pale, with smudges of clouds lying low. The sun filtered down to the ground in patterns through the leaves across the back of the property. The trail behind the house was used frequently for evening runs. I guess it won’t matter since she can’t see anything.
Turning, he studied the kitchen. It was compact, and efficient, but not very modern. There were no dishwashers or disposals. The counters were fairly new with colors that matched the appliances. A small table that would seat four took center stage in the middle of the room.
“Latan wants one of us over at Remus’s house and one of us to stay here. What do you wanna do?” Eric asked.
David ran his fingers through his hair. “I’ll go and see if I can find out more about her father. Try to keep her calm, but don’t tell her anything about us yet. I think that’s a discussion we need to have together.”
“No problem. I’ll fix her something to eat and see if she’d like to take a bath or shower. They used to keep a bunch of clothes here in case anybody needed them. I’m sure I can find her something that’ll fit. She’s got to be ready to get out of the clothes she slept in last night.”
“I’ll ask Latan if Kitania’s got anything at their house. She’s about the same size as Laynee.”
“See if anybody’s got a cane she could use,” said Eric.
Blind Acceptance Page 3
