by Alicia White
Emily stood there, naked in the snow, shivering, but she couldn’t move. Her mind rebelled as her body rejoiced. Her mates, two sexy wolf shifters, were close enough to touch, but she just shook her head, her mind reeling. Emily inched backward. She had no idea where she was going, only that she wasn’t staying here. She knew it was useless to run, as they would follow. That’s what mates did. They followed, chased, and tracked. She would never get a moment’s peace.
Without thought, Emily shifted and ran. Her giant paws slammed into the icy earth, and she moved as if the hounds of hell were nipping at her heels. She almost laughed at her own analogy. Using her keen sense of hearing, she concentrated on her surroundings. Her ears were alert for any sign the wolves may be tailing her. Wolves were faster due to their smaller mass, but bears had some advantages. They were more powerful. Emily had never taken on a wolf before, much less two. Her adrenaline spiked and she ran faster.
Shit, shit, shit. How the hell can my mates be wolves? A bear with wolves…yuck…this has to be some sort of sick joke. How I am going to have the family I always wanted? Their animal makeup is so different, that if we did have any babies, they would shift into some weird-looking crossbreed. They would never be accepted, not by the bear clan or the wolf pack.
Emily made up her mind in that moment. She would refuse them. They could go back to wherever it was they came from, and she would continue her life the way she wanted. If only her body, head, and heart were on the same page. Damn conflicting emotions. Her head immediately rejected them, while her body craved both of the sexy men, and her heart, her heart just, well, it ached. That’s the only word that described the feeling deep inside. How could fate, destiny, or whatever crap picked out mates decide that she should be with wolves?
Emily shifted back into human form when she reached her home. She bounded up the steps and rushed inside, locking the door behind her. She exhaled slowly and ran a shaky hand through her hair. She needed a quick plan. It felt cowardly to hide, but she’d be damned if she’d let her false bravado get her caught. Instantly an image of two men formed in her mind. She shook her head to clear it, but the pictures only intensified. Sweat broke out over her top lip.
Twin bronzed, naked gods, their bodies cut from granite, forming muscles that begged to be touched, licked, and nibbled on. Their eyes had been dreamy, like milk chocolate, and hair cut short, begging for her fingers to glide through. Just thinking of them made her body shiver and her pussy gush with recognition, begging her to seek them out and be claimed.
Emily stomped her foot and fisted her hands. She would not let her body decide her fate. She was in charge of her life. She pushed away from the door and stalked through her home, trying to shake off the vision of her twin nightmares. She went straight to her bathroom to shower, needing to cleanse herself. She wanted to wash away the memory of them. When steam began to billow out of the small stall, Emily climbed in and stood under the spray. The hot water beat against her neck and shoulders, relaxing her tense muscles.
She couldn’t understand why fate would be so cruel. Didn’t she deserve to be loved and desired? Didn’t she deserve to have a family? Resigned to always being single, she grabbed the bar of soap and lathered her hands. Was it possible that she had another mate somewhere, another bear perhaps? So far, none of the males in her clan was a match, but there could be another clan. Emily exhaled and scrubbed at her skin, wanting to rid herself of the nightmare on Overwhelm Street.
After what seemed like an hour, Emily shut the water off and climbed out. Grabbing a towel, she wrapped it around her body and went over to the large mirror. It was steamed over and she made a swiping motion with her palm on the surface to see her reflection. She stood there staring at herself, wondering what everyone else saw. Chloe, Katie, and Emma had all envied her looks. Men had always lusted and wanted to bed her, but no one ever saw the real her. She was more than a pretty face and firm body. There were deeper layers to her that were easy to see if anyone bothered to peel them back and glimpse the woman beneath.
A soft noise caught her attention, and Emily started. She turned from her musing to see her wonderful brother, Thomas, leaning against the door frame, feet crossed at the ankles. She didn’t miss the look of concern on his handsome face.
She cleared her throat. “Is something wrong?” Although she knew the answer, she hoped she was wrong. He cleared all doubt with his next words.
“Why are you here Em, when you should be out there with your mates? What made you run?” His piercing gaze never left her face, and Emily felt a bit self-conscious.
When she didn’t answer right away, he raised an eyebrow and waited. She wasn’t sure how to explain it to him where he would understand, but she needed to try. This was Thomas, he loved her.
“I didn’t run exactly.” Crossing her arms over her chest, Emily tried to appear casual.
“Fine.” Thomas pushed himself off the door frame and mimicked her pose, crossing his muscular arms. “What do you call it then, a fast jog?” His sarcasm wasn’t lost on her, nor was the spark of humor in his eyes.
“They’re wolves,” she sneered, and he just stood there with that same twinkle in his baby blues. How could he not understand? Why didn’t he show pity or at least console her on her impending doom?
“Let me put this in a way you’ll understand…mates are sacred.” He threw her words back at her, and Emily ground her teeth. She took a calming breath to keep from lashing out at him. This was her brother. He loved her.
“Emily, what are you doing?” His tone softened.
“I don’t know!” she bit out. “I just wanted to be mated to my own kind. I wanted to have cubs, beautiful little bears, and to grow old here with our clan. That dream is gone now. I don’t know how to do this, Thomas. This wasn’t in the cards, it’s a mistake…it has to be.”
“Emily…” he groaned. “You can have all of that, sweetheart. You can still have a life and a family.” He took her hands in his and gave them a light squeeze. “Your mates are here.”
“Here? Where?” Emily jerked out of his hold and glanced around frantically. Her heart threatened to flutter its way out of her chest. This was her home, her safe place.
“I mean here in our territory,” he clarified, looking almost apologetic. Almost.
Chapter 2
Thomas was a little shocked with his younger sister. She’d always been such a romantic dreamer, weaving together magical stories of when she met her mates. Looking at her now, he wondered when all that had changed and how he hadn’t noticed it. Instead of being overjoyed, she was angry with fate for giving her wolves as mates. He never would have thought her to be so jaded. Sure, it wasn’t the norm, being with someone outside one’s own species, but it wasn’t as horrible as she was making it out to be either. Humans married outside their race all the time.
It had always been just the two of them. He could barely remember their parents. Even now when he tried to picture them, they were like distant shadows. What would their advice have been? He’d been raising Emily with that question in mind, always trying to be an older brother and a parental figure. He would give anything for their mother to be here now to guide her daughter in the right direction and soothe her fears. He was suddenly at a loss.
Thomas ran a hand through his hair, causing it to stand on end. His sister was behaving irrationally, and he didn’t have a clue what to do in this situation. He was only a couple of years older than her, but if he ever found his mate, he wouldn’t care if she was a damn bunny shifter, she would be marked and his within minutes. He wouldn’t allow her to run or hop away from him. The corner of his mouth lifted in humor. He cleared the thought before he laughed outright.
“What?” Emily demanded, and Thomas shook his head. He needed to focus on the problem at hand instead of fantasizing about the future.
“Em…you’ve been waiting for your mates. They’re here.” He implored, trying to get through to her, but he could tell she’d already shut him out.
/> It was obvious her stubborn, stupid thoughts were jumbling up that pretty head of hers. She was his sister and he loved her, but the woman could be stubborn to the point of stupidity.
When the wolves had announced she was their mate, his first instinct was to shift, congratulate her, and welcome them. Watching her reject them and run was a bit surprising, not only to him, but the rest of the clan. He couldn’t even imagine what her mates were thinking. Poor bastards. They’ve got a long road ahead of them.
“I don’t want them.” Her words were whispered, and his stomach clenched at the implication of it.
He could barely speak. She was actually going to reject them and send them on their way? She was that selfish?
“You…They…I mean.” He ran a hand down his face. “You don’t mean that. You’ve been talking about being ‘saved’”—he put that last word in air quotes—“by two mates ever since you knew boys existed.”
“I’ve changed my mind.” Emily brushed past him and went into her room. The door shut in his face with finality.
Thomas stood there, staring at her closed bedroom door in utter shock. Rejecting one’s mate or mates wasn’t something shifters took lightly. In fact, he couldn’t think of an instance where it had ever happened before. It was unheard of. Shifters waited years, hoping and praying one day they would find the perfect match, and here Emily had two men right in front of her. Not only was she dooming herself to a life of loneliness, she was damning her mates as well.
Thomas raised his hand to knock, and then let it drop. He turned on his heel and strode to the kitchen, muttering something about silly women and bunnies. First order of business was grabbing a beer from the fridge. It had been a hell of a day. It had started out like any other and took a turn for the worse with the arrival of the last two wolves. After going to work, he’d gone to see his sister at Mack’s Bar and Grill. When the call came in that the Youngblood brothers needed the clan, he was the first to volunteer. It had been a while since he’d been in a good fight and he’d been itching for some excitement.
Damn…if only Emily would’ve stayed behind. She never did listen to him. The woman was single-minded, and once she got an idea, there was no stopping her. She would argue with him even when she knew he was right. Thomas fell into his favorite chair and took a long pull from his beer. The icy-cold beverage felt good sliding down his throat, and he let his head fall back with a sigh. He could hear his sister pacing above him in her room and he felt a twinge of sympathy for her. She was only prolonging the inevitable and the longer she rebelled, the more her mates would suffer. Poor bastards. He couldn’t help but feel bad for them, they didn’t ask for this any more than his sister did.
Thomas hated to get involved, but something needed to be done. The last thing he wanted was for two macho wolves to be camping outside their home or worse, invading it. There are no boundaries when it comes to a mate. Nope, that wouldn’t do. Kicking back in his chair, Thomas dug into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. There was only one person that could help in this situation, and he gave the orders around here.
“Yeah,” a gruff voice said through the phone, and Thomas relaxed slightly. He’d made the right decision.
“Alpha, its Thomas, do you have a minute?”
“Let me guess, this has something to do with Emily.” Thomas could hear the laugh in the other man’s voice. Whenever he needed Emily to follow orders, he had to enlist their Alpha to enforce them.
“Doesn’t it always?” He smiled.
“I know you’re probably concerned about the two wolves claiming her. They’re here in my home right now getting settled. I’m hoping you and Emily can come over tonight for dinner. I’m sure when she spends some time with them it will alleviate some of her fears.” There was a pause. “Not all wolves are bad, and these two seem pretty honorable.”
Thomas blew out a breath and took another drink of his beer. “She’s aware they are her mates and mean her no harm, yet she’s adamant about not accepting them. That’s the problem.”
There was a sigh on the other end of the line. “She’s just a little afraid. It won’t be a problem after dinner. Come on over and bring Emily.” It was not a request.
“Yes, Alpha.” Thomas ended the call not feeling any better than he did ten minutes ago.
He wasn’t convinced the Alpha understood Emily’s position here. Hell, truth be told, neither did he. There was more going on here than he realized. One didn’t just turn their back on a mate, no matter their origin.
Thomas emptied his beer and stared at the pictures on the wall across the room. Most of them were of him with Emily and several clan members. His gaze landed on a single framed picture of his parents. His eyes softened, and an old familiar ache settled in his chest. He set his empty bottle on the end table and pushed his big body up from the chair to get a better look. He crossed the room in a few long strides and plucked it up from the shelf it rested on. A sad smile lifted the corner of his mouth and he ran a finger across his mother’s face.
“Sure wish you were here.” Thomas stared at his parents a minute longer before replacing the image back to its designated spot.
The pacing upstairs suddenly stopped and Thomas listened for any sign of Emily leaving her room. He needed to break the news to her about dinner at the Alpha’s and hoped she didn’t throw a fit. When they were younger, he would throw her over his shoulder when she was being difficult, but somehow Thomas didn’t think that would go over too well as an adult. He inwardly cringed at the thought.
The bedroom door opened with a creak, and Thomas hid his smile. Emily never could stay locked up in her room for long. She hated being alone. He turned to face her when she entered the room wearing jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt and black knee-high boots. Thomas raised his eyebrows in question, but was only met with a frown.
He opened his mouth to say something and Emily held up her hand to stop him.
“I didn’t go grocery shopping yesterday. Can we go out and grab some dinner?”
“O–o–okay…are we going to talk about…” He let the sentence trail off, not really sure how to voice the question.
“I’m hungry, and I really don’t want to talk about anything else but food. Nothing happened. End of story.”
“Seriously? Come on, Emily…” he said, disbelieving.
Something was off, he could feel it. He took a step toward her and she made a big pretense of looking for her purse. She completely ignored his inquiry, silently telling him, “End of subject.”
“Fine. Dinner. Let’s go.” He pushed his unease back and waved her ahead of him to the door. He would take her to the Alpha’s and force her to face this problem head-on. If she wouldn’t open up and talk to him about what was bothering her, his hands were tied. The wolves wouldn’t tuck tail and run. She was their mate whether she liked it or not. They were actually showing great restraint. Hell, if he were in their shoes, he would have stormed her home and demanded answers.
Thomas shut the door behind them with more force than necessary. Emily glanced back at him with a slight frown on her pretty face. “Problem?” He just shook his head and started down the steps, urging her forward toward his truck.
He pressed the keyless entry and heard the satisfying sound of the locks springing up. They climbed in and pulled on their seatbelts in silence. After making sure Emily was safely buckled in, he started the engine and eased down the snow-covered driveway. At the main road, Thomas turned right without taking his eyes off the road. He saw Emily glancing around a second before her pissed-off gaze landed on him. Here it comes.
“Tommy…Where the hell are we going?” How many times have I asked her to call me Thomas? “Tommy!” He didn’t answer. Nothing he said would make a difference at this point. “Fine. Forget it.”
With those three words, she crossed her arms over her chest and stared out the window. He stole a glance at her and almost changed his mind. She looked so lost and small it tugged at his heart. He pressed the gas h
arder before he turned the truck around. He was doing the right thing. He hoped.
* * * *
The silence in the truck was deafening. Emily hated not being honest with her brother, but she was too ashamed to tell him the truth. She continued to stare out the window while memories from her past flashed through her mind in a kaleidoscope of painful images. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes in an attempt to stop the thoughts before they took hold. The old wound was still there, and being in the same room with wolves would only risk it reopening. It was like picking at a scab until it was raw and bleeding again.
She was a bear…they were wolves. The two didn’t belong together. She would go to her Alpha’s for dinner and get this over with as quickly as possible. They could both go home to their pack and she would stay where she was, with her clan. There could be another mate out there for her. Emily shook her head even as the thought entered her mind. The chances of that were almost zero and she wasn’t going to kid herself. Better to be alone. Everything would work out, it had to.
The landscape flew by and as they approached their Alpha’s home, Emily’s muscles tensed. Her palms became sweaty, and she suddenly felt nauseous. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, but it did little good. She considered pleading with Thomas once more but decided it wouldn’t help. He would only tell her to grow up, and who could blame him? He had no way of knowing what she was feeling, or the reasons behind the off behavior.
Emily held her breath while Thomas turned in to the drive leading to Adam, Brandon, and Chloe’s home. I can do this. I am strong. I am in charge of my own life. She repeated the words several times in her mind as the truck came to a stop. Smoke billowed out of the chimney, the lights were warm and welcoming, and only a few vehicles sat outside covered in snow.
