by T. S. Ryder
"I can't believe that you would do that to me," she hissed, clutching her cellphone to her ear so tightly it was a wonder it hadn't snapped already. "I told you I didn't want anything to do with Mr. Abs, yet you give him my number? What is wrong with you?"
She had been getting texts from Daniel Thompson all day. Or, as she liked to call him, 'Mr. Aren't My Abs So Great, I'm Too Sexy For My Shirt, I Don't Know How To Make A Sandwich, Hahahahahahaha, What Do You Mean You're Breaking Up With Me?' He was, unfortunately, one of her brother's best friends.
Adrian still didn't understand why Amelia didn't want a boyfriend who constantly talked about how much he worked out and didn't know the difference between a broom and a mop. The problem was that all of Amelia's boyfriends had been exactly like Daniel, which was why, after months of frustration, Amelia always ended up dropping their loser asses.
"Daniel is a great guy," her brother said. "He's always been really nice to you. Not all men would overlook the fact you need to lose a little weight."
Amelia hissed through her teeth again, imagining bludgeoning her brother with a zucchini. Sometimes she wondered why someone who could be as sweet and protective as Adrian could be friends with someone like Mr. Abs, but then he said something like this and she could see it.
"Daniel is an asshole," Amelia replied bluntly. "It was always, 'Babe, get me a beer. Babe, I can't wash dishes because I worked out for three hours. Babe, why are you mad at me after working an 8-hour shift and then having to clean up the whole house because I had a party with my frat bros? My mother's chili is better than this, I'll get you a recipe.' Can't you just butt out of my love life? The guys you choose for me treat me like crap."
A sigh from the other end of the phone turned her imaginary zucchini to a baseball bat. She already knew what Adrian was going to say. He just didn't get it.
"Why do you always have to exaggerate everything? You're not going to find a guy that bows to your every whim. You need to stop being so picky and learn how to compromise."
There was nothing more to say to him after he made a statement like that, so Amelia hung up. She flicked her cell to silent and set her work phone to automatically go to voicemail. Adrian would no doubt phone back half a dozen times to chastise her for hanging up on him. She would sort out her clients later.
Amelia blew out a breath, trying to calm herself. She was in no mood to deal with customers right now, so she turned to her computer and checked the profile she had set up on a shifter dating website three days ago. 'Meet your one true mate' was the website's slogan. After years of picking all the wrong guys, birthdays steadily ticking by until she reached the big 'three-oh' last year, the idea of a shifter, with their rippling muscles and utter devotion to their mates, sounded great.
She hadn't received any messages since she signed up, but she had been warned to expect that. Shifters generally didn't run around willy-nilly, flirting with everybody that they thought was cute. They waited and only contacted the woman they thought was ‘the one.’ Humans had to slog through hundreds of contacts only to hopefully find that one that they could click with.
Today, however, Amelia had a surprise waiting for her: contact from a shifter.
Wait.
Not a shifter.
Two shifters.
Amelia had to scrape her jaw off the floor and shove her eyes back into their sockets. The message came from a single profile showing a picture of two men. Both were dressed in clean, neat, but cheap-looking suits, each holding a red rose.
The man on the left was Timothy Pond, Amelia read. He was pale with brown hair and green eyes, his confident smile bordering on arrogance. The man on the right, Xavier Knight, had bronzed skin. His hair was in short, tight curls, his black eyes softer, yet more intense than Timothy's. His smile was cheeky, like he had a secret that he couldn't wait to share with her. Amelia looked between the two men, unable to decide which one was hotter.
These Alphas of the joint Rocky Ridge and Lakeland werewolf packs are looking for a female to complete their triad. Likes: empty. Dislikes: Also empty. She checked the joining date. Two hours ago. Seriously? It was like they saw her profile and created theirs just to contact her.
This had to be a scam.
Amelia flicked back to the message they had sent. It contained a phone number and nothing else. A triad. So, if this wasn't a scam, they were basically a couple looking for a woman to join them? She'd heard that shifters were often into that ménage à trois stuff, but it had never occurred to her that she might be invited to join a threesome.
Well, not that kind of threesome. More than one previous boyfriend had brought a floozy home expecting her to just jump into bed with the two of them, not kick him out and take his key back.
It must be a joke, she thought, chewing on her lower lip. Still, what harm could it do just to phone? Snatching up her cell phone, ignoring Adrian's latest call, she dialed the number. It rang three times before there was an answer.
"Xavier Knight." His voice was deep, velvety, and Amelia had to swallow down a fresh bout of nerves. There was no way a man that good-looking could also sound that good and be interested in her. It had to be some sort of sick joke.
"Hi. I'm Amelia Fernandez."
"Amelia, one moment please." The sound of a hand muffled the speaker, but not enough. "Tim, come over. It's Amelia."
Amelia stifled a giggle–this couldn't be real, could it?
"It's Amelia?" A new voice, just as delicious, asked. "Put her on speaker."
There was a clicking noise.
"Hey," Timothy greeted. "Amelia, right?"
"Yes, and you must be Timothy," Amelia said nervously.
"Yeah, that's me."
"I'm phoning because of the email you sent me. I was uh... hoping we could meet in person." Amelia toyed with the strands of her hair. Even if this was a joke, it couldn't be worse than spending another Friday night on her own, could it?
***
Xavier was so busy listening to the delectable tone of Amelia's voice that he almost forgot to confirm their date before he said goodbye. After he hung up, he glanced at Timothy, grinning at him.
After spending years looking for their mate among the werewolves of their joint pack, they had both started fearing that there wasn't a female out there for them. That changed the moment they saw Amelia's picture when they were casually browsing through the shifter dating website.
"Before I forget," Timothy said, his face falling, "Lucinda stopped by again with brownies."
Xavier's good mood was cut short. He and Timothy were the Alphas of the pack, but their council of advisors was pushing them to mate with Lucinda. She was a beautiful female with a strong will and came from good family. She seemed to think that because the council had advised it, it was her duty to make the Alphas mate her. She was constantly bringing them baked goods. It was getting annoying.
"We'll deal with her later," Xavier said. "Once we introduce Amelia to the pack, she'll see. We found our mate, Tim."
"Our mate," Timothy repeated. "I like the way that sounds."
"Me too," Xavier agreed.
Chapter Two
The Alphas' packlands were a two-hour drive from where Amelia lived, and so they met halfway at a restaurant in a small city between the two. The men were even more delicious in person than on the computer, both wearing crisp blue shirts that clung to their muscled bodies, and jeans that curved their asses perfectly. Amelia wasn't sure where to look with the two of them around – more correctly, she wasn’t sure which one to look at, her gazing at one and the other until she was dizzy.
Timothy ordered a steak, Xavier salmon, and Amelia a salad. This was her little trick. Whenever she was on a first date, she would order a salad, and then the largest dessert available. If her date complained about her choices at all, the date was over with no chance of a second one. She had no interest in a man who thought he ought to police what she ate.
Neither of the Alphas commented on her salad. As they waited for their ord
ers to come, Xavier gave her a charming smile that had Amelia's heart fluttering.
"So tell us a little about yourself."
"There's not much to tell."
"I'm sure that's not true," Timothy said. "Why did you decide to join that shifter dating website?"
Where to start? She gulped down some wine. "I have an older brother, Adrian. He's married with three little girls and a boy on the way. He means well, but he can be a little overbearing. It's because we were taken from our parents and split up when we were young. I didn't hear anything from him for years… he had a really tough time in foster care, much worse than I did…"
Why was she telling them this? Normally she had to know a person at least a year before she started opening up to them. The Alphas made her feel calm, though, secure. Xavier nodded at her to continue.
"Anyway, he is always trying to set me up with his friends and has terrible taste. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands and sign up for a shifter dating site."
She was glad that they had chosen to take the chairs opposite her while she sat in the booth. It made looking between the two of them easier. There was no condemnation in their expressions, and their interest was more than polite. Both seemed genuinely interested in what she was saying. Wow. That was different.
Careful, she chided herself, or you'll end up in love on the first date!
"My father was Alpha of the Rocky Ridge pack," Xavier said. "We are a very small pack. Most of our members moved away during the Great Depression era, and by the time I was born, nearly all the children born were male."
"My pack had the opposite problem," Timothy added. "Far more females than males."
"Because of the imbalance in each of our packs, my father made an agreement with Timothy's father that we would be mated to one another while our mothers were pregnant with us."
Amelia's eyes widened. "Did they know you were going to be boys?"
"That sort of thing doesn't really matter to Wolves."
"Oh." Amelia felt the heat creep into her face and reached for more wine. Maybe water this time… she didn't want to end up drunk. "But if you were arranged to be… mated… before you were born, you didn't have a choice in the matter? You two were, like, forced?"
The two glanced at each other and shook their heads. "It's not like that at all. Yes, it was expected of us to form a triad with a strong female to ensure both our packs could survive, but if we had not been able to lead the packs together, we would have fought each other for dominance. Only one Alpha would have emerged, but we have been very close ever since we were children. Other than a brief period when I was a teen, we’ve never wanted anything other than a triad."
Wow. That was intense. Amelia nodded, looking between them. She wanted to ask them if they were lovers or just best friends, but she was too shy.
"So, you know we are looking to complete our triad. Before this goes any further, I think we should say what we are looking for," Xavier continued. "I apologize if it's too soon for you, but I do believe we should have all our cards on the table from the start."
Amelia nodded.
"What I am looking for…" Xavier paused a moment, slowly tracing his fingers over hers. "For me, sex is highly important. Our mate must be sexually compatible with us and sexually adventurous. If you're going to be with us, you have to be willing to be with us–both of us, at the same time."
Amelia could almost feel her pupils dilate. Her heart picked up its pace. Did she have a problem with that? Nope. Not at all. In fact, the sooner they tested their sexual compatibility, the better. She swallowed hard and nodded, not wanting her voice to give her away.
"All my parents had was sex," Timothy said. "What I require in our mate is someone we can talk with – debate with, when necessary. A woman who will stand her ground and isn't afraid to call us out when we're being too macho-Alpha. And, believe me, I have a hard time seeing past my own issues sometimes, so I need someone who will be patient when she needs to be, but won't let my pig-headedness drive her away."
A man who wanted to be able to talk with her and admitted his own pig-headedness? Was she dreaming? Amelia resisted the urge to pinch herself. This couldn't be real. Men like this were not possible, and even if they were, they weren't going to be interested in simple, little Amelia. She was holding her breath by this point, her eyes wide.
"So, one of my conditions is that we don't have sex until we've known each other for at least three months."
Amelia felt like she had just been slapped in the face. Her jaw dropped and the words came out in a rush, carried by her pent-up breath. "No sex?"
Her voice carried throughout the restaurant. All around, other customers and servers turned to stare at their table. Amelia covered her face, wishing the ground would swallow her up. Ugh, could she have shouted that any louder? The two Alphas were probably horrified by her behavior and ready to run.
To her surprise, they chuckled, their voices low.
"I take it sex is important to you as well?" Xavier asked, his voice low and husky.
Amelia gulped. "Orgasms are," she whispered. "If I don't get one, you don't get me."
He nodded seriously. "Noted."
"And any conditions on mine?" Timothy asked, waggling his brows.
"Uh… I guess just don't do things for me, unless it's, like, holding a door or whatever. Common courtesy is great. But if there's a light bulb burnt out in my house, tell me, don't just change it. I can take care of my own problems, and if I can't, I'll ask for help."
"So, you'll be having us to your house, then?" Timothy asked.
More heat, this time, a good deal lower than her face. Amelia let out a choppy breath. "Yeah. I would really like that. I wasn't so sure about the whole ménage à trois thing, but I don't know. It's easy to talk with you guys. I'd like to see if we can make this work."
Her heart was fluttering again. She was going to have to get an EKG if it kept this up, but she couldn't help but grin. She had a nasty habit of falling in love like lightning and then being terribly disappointed when her knights in shining armor turned out to be pigs in tin foil.
Regardless, she had never wanted her fantasies to be true more than she did at this moment.
***
"No sex for three months?"
Timothy grinned at the despair in Xavier's voice as he pulled the car into the driveway of the house they shared. He was expecting his partner to have a reaction like this, but he was going to stand firm on the issue. He had grown up in a house where all his parents did was fight and have sex, and they weren't particularly discreet about either. He wanted–needed–a family that got along, that could talk through their problems and not need sex and kids to glue them together.
Honesty was also really important, but going into the details of why on a first date would have been a sure-fire way to frighten Amelia off. She didn't need to know the details of how his mother constantly cheated on his father.
"I trust that you'll respect my wishes," Timothy said. "I'm going to need your backup if I'm going to resist her. Did you notice the way she smelled?"
Xavier closed his eyes and groaned in agony. "Don't remind me! She was the most sensual—"
Timothy cursed under his breath. Xavier looked at him with a startled expression, and the Lakeland Alpha nodded out the window. "The council."
The council was made up of elderly werewolves, and they were emerging from the darkness, all in their Wolf forms. Timothy and Xavier glanced at each other, frowning, before they got out of the car. Timothy ripped off his clothes and shifted, striding forward to meet the council. As Wolves, they dwarfed the council, but even as Alphas, they had to remain respectful. The council had years of experience on their side.
Lucinda's grandfather, a powerful werewolf in his prime, now half-crippled with arthritis, growled. You are courting a human female.
Timothy's tail cricked in annoyance. We believe she is our mate.
Humans cannot be an Alpha's mate. She would never bear strong
Alpha children. Mating a human is as good as slapping our females in the face.
Timothy growled, his quick temper surging upwards, but, as always, Xavier's calm presence stopped things from getting out of hand. The other Alpha stepped forward, casually placing himself in front of Timothy.
We have not yet mated the female. But if we do, it will be because we are already mated to her in soul. If that happens, you will respect her as your Alpha female.
The old werewolf snarled, hackles rising, but Xavier raised his head, letting out one warning growl. Timothy stepped beside him, echoing the posture.
We are one in the decision, he told the other werewolves.
The council glanced at each other before they nodded and turned back into the darkness. Timothy watched them go, a well of dread rising in him. The decision was made, but what would he and Xavier do if the council decided not to accept it? Any fighting between them had the potential of destroying the packs, and that was something they couldn't risk. He and Xavier were young – they hadn't had time to establish their dominance as their fathers had.
But there was more at stake than just their own futures. The future of the packs was also at risk. If they weren’t strong enough to handle this together… then it might just spell the end of their packs.
Chapter Three
The Alphas, Amelia found out, had a weakness for old cars. Really old cars. She laughed when they showed up at her house in a refurbished Model-T Ford. The top was down, making it look slightly less bulky, but it was so ridiculous to be riding in one of those ancient things that Amelia offered to drive her own car out to the packlands. Xavier and Timothy wouldn't hear of it.
"This is our baby," Xavier said, stroking the hood with tenderness. "She's served us well for years."
"It's the first car we rebuilt," Timothy added. "And what better way to bring you to meet the packs than in our most iconic vehicle?"
Xavier helped her into the backseat and slid in next to her. The engine was smooth and quiet, probably from the modernization that the Alphas had put into it. Amelia's heart thumped, producing butterflies in her stomach as they made their way down the highway, the wind blowing through her hair. She was so nervous that she thought she might throw up.
