by Jane Jamison
Rachel swallowed, hating that she needed to ask. “What did they show you?”
Her face scrunched up as terror met anger. “They were animals. Real animals. A wolf. A tiger.” The woman’s laugh was maniacal. “Real animals. Men who changed into animals. They fucked me.”
Rachel ached for her. Shifters, weretiger and werewolf, were no different than humans. There was good and bad in both. Men who would treat women like garbage. Men who would do the worst they could to a woman. Enough to drive her insane. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
The woman’s body shook, but soon the tears were gone. For a moment, the glint of madness left her eyes. “I have to do it. Don’t you understand? I tried to love them. I tried to take care of them, month after month, night after night, but I couldn’t. Every time I saw them, I saw those animals coming at me. Pulling at me. Pushing my legs apart.”
Then, as suddenly as it had gone, the madness behind the eyes intensified. She lifted the knife again.
“You don’t have to hurt them. Leave them with me. I promise I’ll take good care of them.”
The war raging inside Elizabeth contorted her face. “No, it won’t work.” She clutched at her tangled hair. “They’re inside me. They never leave me alone. There’s only one way to get them out of my head. I have to kill them. They’ll turn into animals, too. I can’t let that happen.”
“Kill them? No. I won’t let you. You can’t blame them for what those men did. They’re just babies.” Rachel stepped back again. She had no weapon, yet if she shifted, she could protect them. But could she put the children down and change before the woman struck? As much as it hurt her to say the words, she had to hope they’d make a difference. “They’re babies. Your babies.”
The woman kept shaking her head, over and over again as she eased closer. “No. They’re monsters. I know they are.” She swallowed so hard Rachel heard the sound of it. “What else can they be? Their fathers were animals, and so are they. They have to die.” She lunged toward Rachel.
Rachel screamed, bringing the babies fully awake. They cried as Rachel threw her body to the side. Expecting to feel the searing pain of the blade sinking into her skin, she closed her eyes and covered Holter’s head. Pain slashed into the side of her head as her mind spun.
Please. Don’t. Kill. Someone. Babies.
The words wouldn’t get in a straight line. Instead they floated in her head, untethered, not making sense. The thud of a body falling to the ground brought her eyes open. The woman lay next to her.
“Baby, it’s okay now.”
Chance’s face floated in front of her. Was she dreaming?
“Boys, you two take care of Rachel and the babies. I’ll take the woman with me.”
Jackson Carr? Where had he come from?
“It’s okay, sugar. We’ve got you. Don’t worry. You’re safe now,” soothed Dylan’s voice.
She smiled and closed her eyes. Dylan and Chance were there. Everything would be all right. She and the twins were safe.
* * * *
A few hours later, Rachel stood on the steps of Lena Fortran’s place, The Rocking Porch Bed and Breakfast, at the end of the main street in Twisted. Chance was on one side of her and Dylan on the other. Holter and Brooklyn played with binkies and a soft, furry ball while sharing a large double stroller. Lena and Miss Clara stood together on the next-to-the-top step. The sight of the two women thrilled her as she recognized the significance of the older matriarchs joining forces. She held her head high and looked out over the crowd.
After taking an hour or so to recover from her encounter with the twin’s mother, she was ready to face the people assembled in front of the wide porch. “I’ve had enough of facing people down today. I hope this is the last time.”
“It will be, sweetie. You just hang in there.” Lena didn’t turn to face her but kept looking out over the crowd. She cleared her throat before speaking to the crowd. “Listen up, everyone. Most of you know what’s happened. You know about the poor human woman who abandoned the two babies. You know that one baby’s part werewolf and the other’s part weretiger. The woman’s been through a lot at the hands of a couple of rogue shifters. Neither werewolves or weretigers can be proud of what those assholes did to her, but we can’t change it now.”
Lena scanned the people. “Jackson Carr and his brothers are handling things with her, letting the human authorities take over, and doing whatever they can for her. The humans won’t believe anything she says, and that’s good for us. Nonetheless, we’re hoping she’ll get the medical help she needs.”
The crowd remained silent, concern bringing them together. Rachel felt the curious gazes set on her.
Miss Clara planted her feet apart, taking a defiant stance. “No matter what some of you might think, these children belong to us, to both Forever and Twisted. Not just to one town or the other. And they need to stay together.”
A few people muttered their disagreement, but no one spoke up loudly enough to stand out from the crowd. She went on. “As you also know by now, Rachel Woods and Chance and Dylan Rothman are mates. They share the connection.”
Rachel could feel the power emanating off the women. Although some of the crowd wasn’t pleased by the news, she couldn’t imagine anyone going against Lena’s or Miss Clara’s wishes.
“The connection is the connection. We don’t question it when we’re lucky enough to get it. When you’ve lived as long as Lena and I have—”
“Hey, old woman, talk for yourself,” joked Lena.
Miss Clara blew out a scoff. “Anyway, as I was saying. When you’ve lived long enough, you know how precious the bond between mates is. These three belong together.”
“My sister doesn’t belong with a couple of werewolves.”
Rachel’s gaze shifted to her brothers. Why did Jarrod have to interfere? She answered before Miss Clara could. “Yes, I do. I’m lucky enough to have the connection with them, and I love them. I hope you’ll learn to accept that, but even if you don’t, you can’t change what is.”
Chance and Dylan eased closer to her. She felt their support and love.
“We’re going to be together whether anyone likes it or not. Love is love. I’m not throwing it away for anyone.” She settled her attention on her brothers, determined to make them understand once and for all. “Not even for my family.”
“What about the babies? A weretiger boy shouldn’t be raised by a couple of werewolves.”
Rachel couldn’t find the speaker. Instead, she addressed the entire crowd again. “Think about it, everyone. Do you have a good father? If you do, do you care what he is? Would you give a damn if the animal inside him wasn’t the same as the one inside you? Would you care if he were human? No. You wouldn’t. All you care about is that he’s your father. The same is true for your mother, I’ll bet. Chance and Dylan are wonderful men. They love me, and they love the children. And I love the four of them. No one can ask for anything more.”
Chance wrapped his arm around her. “Rachel’s our mate. We love her more than life itself. I don’t give a damn who doesn’t like it.”
Dylan took off his cowboy hat and placed it over his heart. “My cousin’s right. We love each other, and we’re connected. How many of you would deny the connection no matter what form it came in?” He took a moment to search the crowd. No one said anything. “That’s what I thought.”
“We love the kids, too. I don’t give a crap what they are. If they were half werebear or vampire, I wouldn’t care. Rachel, Dylan, and I share the connection with them, too. This”—Chance motioned to the babies who were happily cooing away—“is meant to be.”
Lena and Miss Clara turned toward Rachel and her men. Lena’s smile beamed. “Rachel, are you accepting Chance and Dylan as your mates? And do you promise to raise those darling babies as your own?”
“I am, and I do.” Rachel felt as though she was at her own wedding. In a way, she was. She lifted her hand to the mark on her left shoulder then over to the one o
n her right.
“And what about you two?” asked Miss Clara. “Are you her mates and their new daddies?”
“We sure are,” answered Dylan.
“Damn straight,” replied Chance.
“Then take your boy and girl back to your ranch.” Miss Clara pivoted and started down the steps. “As for the rest of you? Get the hell back to your homes and start worrying about your own damn problems. Now scat, cats. As for you wolves, follow me. We’re going back to Forever.” She waved her hands as though shooing a cat out the back door as she strode away. The crowd parted, giving the old woman room. Although a few of the townspeople murmured their disagreement, no one spoke up.
Chance pulled Rachel against him. “What do you say, baby? Want to go to your new home?”
Dylan tugged her back a little and planted a sweet kiss on her cheek. “Home and straight to bed. How’s that sound?”
Her gaze shifted to her brothers. Richman gave her a slight smile then squashed it when Jarrod snarled at him. With one last glare, Jarrod turned on his heel and walked away, taking Richman with him.
She’d do her best to reach her family. Hopefully, her mother and father would see things differently than her brothers. Until then, she’d have to accept things the way they were.
“Are you okay, sugar?”
She sighed, happiness flooding her. “Yes. I’m fine. And going home sounds great.”
Holter burst into a cry. His sister didn’t wait long to join in. Reluctantly, Rachel pulled away from her men and leaned over the stroller. “We might have to wait for the bed part. Right now, we’ve got kids to take care of.”
Epilogue
Two Months Later
“Are you ready yet, baby?”
Rachel leaned over the Brooklyn’s crib then checked on Holter as he lay sleeping soundly in his own crib. Since moving to the ranch, she’d transformed one of the bedrooms into a nursery. Chance and Dylan, with the help of Lena and Miss Clara, had gone overboard. The room was filled with two of everything a baby could need.
“Ready to have our own baby?” She smiled as Chance wrapped his arms around her waist. Turning around, she melted her body against his and locked her fingers behind his head. “So soon?”
“Soon? We’ve been officially together for two months. How much longer are you going to make us wait?”
“Two whole months, huh? Wow. Talk about procrastination.” She paused, the idea of giving her parents a grandchild washing over her. She’d spoken to her parents twice since coming to the ranch. The second time had given her encouragement that they were coming around to accepting both her mates and her children.
“Are you guys talking about us getting Rachel knocked up?” Dylan sauntered into the room. As usual, he looked in on the babies before giving her a smile. Sometimes, she was almost jealous of the twins.
“You agree, right, cuz? It’s time.”
“Sure do. What do you say, sugar? Want me to give you a bun in the oven?”
“Damn, but you can be so corny sometimes.” They’d had the same discussion several times before. This time, however, would have a different outcome. “But okay. Let’s do it.”
Chance reared back while Dylan’s jaw dropped open. She laughed at how easily she’d caught them off guard.
“Seriously?” asked Chance.
The love in his eyes, his excitement had her tearing up. She fought back the urge to cry. At least, if she did cry, the tears would be happy tears.
“Don’t tease us, sugar. Not that way.” Dylan eased closer, catching her between them.
That’s where they like me to be. Right between them. And I like it, too.
She paused, reconsidered asking, and then realized she needed to know. “Did Jackson find out anything about Elizabeth?”
She hadn’t seen the babies’ birth mother since Jackson had taken her away. The anguished look in Elizabeth’s eyes still haunted her.
“Nothing. He checked with the human authorities in Dallas, but they still haven’t identified her. It’s not hard to guess what she went through, but we haven’t gotten a lead on the two rogue shifters, either.” Dylan caressed her arm. “We might never find out where she’s from or exactly what happened. The best we can do is to make sure she’s getting the care she needs.”
“And is she?”
“Yeah. Jackson’s handling everything.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
“Baby, about you teasing us. Were you teasing or were you serious?”
She pushed away thoughts of Elizabeth. “I wasn’t teasing.”
She lifted a finger, silencing them before they could let out victorious shouts and wake the babies. “But there’s something I want to do before we get started.”
Chanced eyed her suspiciously. “Now what?”
Her hand went to the scar on her left shoulder. “I want you two to wear my mark.”
“You do? But why?” Dylan brushed back her hair, exposing the scar on her other shoulder.
Weretigers didn’t usually mark their mates. Even males didn’t do it very often. The whole idea of a mate having a mark showing that they were claimed was old-fashioned. Yet it was something she’d always wanted.
“Fair’s fair, guys. I want every shifter to know you’re my mates. It’s like wearing wedding rings.”
“Look, baby, I know we promised to get you a ring soon, but—”
“I don’t care about a ring. I don’t like jewelry anyway. And I don’t give a flip about getting legally married.” Most shifters went ahead and married one of the males to the woman, but it was only to prove the legality of their union in matters dealing with human authorities.
“But you want to mark us?” Dylan shrugged. “And that’s it? After you mark us, we’ll start making babies?”
“Whoa, hold up, big guy. Baby. As in one. I’m not planning on having a litter.”
“Then let’s get going.” Chance took her hand and started tugging her toward the large bedroom they shared.
Once in the bedroom, he pulled off his shirt and sat down on the edge of the bed. He craned his neck, stretching it while tilting his head. “Bite away, baby.”
“Just hang on. Dylan, sit beside him.”
Dylan did as she asked, taking off his shirt as he did. “Now what?”
She positioned her body between them, once again caught in the middle. “Now this.”
Shifting, she brought out her fangs. Taking both her men by the hair, she jerked their heads to the side even farther. Letting her inner tigress roar to life, she sank her fangs into Chance’s neck.
He struggled, but she managed to hold on, even with his superior strength. Once her fangs had gone in deep enough, she pulled out, gave Dylan a smile, and then plunged her fangs deep into his shoulder.
Although she’d buried her fangs deep into them, they didn’t pass out. Instead, they held back their moans then worked their necks back and forth as they wiped the blood away. Their amber eyes glittered as she backed toward the door.
“Are you happy now, baby?”
She nodded, noting how the wounds were already bleeding less. “I’m happy.”
“Good.” Dylan rose to his feet. He stalked toward her, every bit a predator. “Come here, sugar. Let’s make a sister or brother for the kids.”
Chance joined his cousin, his movements graceful as he came closer. “Ready or not, here we come. Here, kitty, kitty.”
She laughed and started undressing. “Oh, I’m ready all right. Come and get me.”
THE END
WWW.JANEJAMISON.COM
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jane Jamison has always liked “weird stuff” as her mother called it. From an early age, she was fascinated with stories about werewolves, vampires, space, aliens, and whatever was hiding in her bedroom closet. To this day, she still swears she can hear growls and moans whenever the lights are out.
Being born under the sign of Scorpio meant Jane was destined to be very sensual. Some would say she was, and remains, down
right sexual. Then one day she put her two favorite things together on paper and found her life’s true ambition—to be an erotic paranormal romance author.
Jane spends her days in her office surrounded by the characters she loves. Often a new character will knock on the door of her imagination and spark the idea for another book.
Her future includes traveling, learning the art of photography, traveling, and writing more books. Thanks to her loving husband, she continues to turn her dreams into realities.
For all titles by Jane Jamison, please visit
www.bookstrand.com/jane-jamison
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
