MoonlightBundleSet

by Moonlight Protector, Hero, Guardian, Champion (mobi)

  “Yes, to both questions, although the leader is usually called the alpha,” he answered.

  “So you know that I’m supposed to be a mate to you or one of your brothers. You’re the one who told them that I was part of their pack?”

  “Yes,” he answered again.

  “Do you know who I’m supposed to be with?” she asked him.

  “No. It doesn’t work that way. I can only tell that you’re part of my pack. Who you end up with is entirely up to you.” After seeing her with Cole earlier, he knew who her mate was, but it was better for her to think she had some say in the matter.

  Marin nodded. “If y’all will excuse me, I think I’ll go upstairs for a few minutes.”

  The brothers stood as she got up from her seat. Marin took her plate and glass to the sink and headed up to her room. She wasn’t tired, but she needed a minute to herself. Everything she had learned today was a lot to take in. Her brain was still having a hard time dealing with the fact that werewolves existed; much less that she was part of their pack. And how exactly was she supposed to decide which one she would spend the rest of her life with? That was a huge commitment!

  When Marin got to her room, she brushed her teeth and got out a pair of socks and her brown low heeled boots. She put her socks and shoes on and sat on the bed for a minute. After being stuck in the house for several days, she could use some fresh air. At the same time, she was too scared to go out. What if Stefan was still lurking in the area?

  Deciding that she couldn’t hide in her room all day, she walked downstairs and looked for the brothers. Cole was sitting at a desk in the living room working on a laptop. The television was on, but she didn’t see Michael or Gabriel anywhere.

  “Where did your brothers go?” Marin asked as she walked into the living room.

  Cole looked up from his laptop. “They went to work. They own the garage across the street and work as mechanics over there five days a week. Michael usually has today off, but they were swamped so he decided to work. Gabriel will probably tell him to take tomorrow off instead.”

  “And you said you work at a bio-med company? How is that you’re home today?” Marin asked.

  “Yes, I work for a company called Sabin Bio-Med. I’m a biologist, but I’m one of the lower level ones. My boss thinks I’d be good in management, but I don’t know if he’ll move me up or not,” Cole said. He knew he was rambling, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself.

  “You didn’t answer my question about how it is that you’re home today. I would imagine your job is a Monday through Friday type of thing,” Marin said.

  Cole smiled. “It is. I took a week off.”

  Her face fell. “Because of me…”

  Cole got up and walked over to her. “Hey, don’t be sad. I needed some time off anyway. I’ve worked for the company for four years and haven’t taken a single day off work the entire time. Even taking this week as a sick week, I still have about a month of vacation, a month of sick time and two weeks of personal time. My boss was glad to hear I wanted to take some time off.”

  She looked up at him as she came to stand in front of her. “Really?”

  He put his arms around her and hugged her. “Really.”

  Stepping back from her, he turned back to his laptop. “Just let me get through some of these emails and we can watch a movie or something.”

  “That sounds nice,” Marin said as she walked over to the couch and sat down.

  “Did you want to go somewhere?” he asked, noticing that she had put on her socks and shoes.

  She didn’t want to voice her fears just yet. “Not right now. I don’t want to over-do it too much this morning.”

  “Smart woman,” he told her with a grin.

  Cole finished his last email and shut down his laptop. He went over to the cabinet by the television and opened it. There were probably a hundred DVDs or more inside.

  “Do you have a preference for movies?” he asked her.

  “Anything is fine. I haven’t seen a movie in a while.”

  He browsed through the titles and decided to pick something light and humorous. After he put Legally Blonde in the DVD player, a gag gift to Michael from Cassie, he went and sat beside Marin.

  “Cassie bought this for Michael as a joke. When she asked him what he wanted for Christmas last year, he told her a hot blonde; so she bought him Legally Blonde on DVD.”

  Marin smiled at him. “I’m sure I’ll like it.”

  They sat in silence and watched the movie. Not far into it, Marin laid her head on Cole’s shoulder and relaxed into his body. She found the movie to be funny and entertaining, but her body was more tired than she realized. By the time it was over, she was sound asleep.

  Cole gently picked her up and carried her to her room. He laid her on the bed and pulled her boots off. Pulling the covers up over her, he pressed a kiss against her temple. The werewolf blood might have healed her cuts and any broken bones, but the emotional stress she had been under would have to be healed through rest.

  Not wanting to leave Marin for long, Cole went up to his room and selected a novel to read. When he got back to her room, she was curled on her side facing the window. He walked around to the other side of the bed and stretched out beside her. Propping himself up on some pillows, he read his novel while she rested.

  By lunchtime, Cole got up and went down to the kitchen. Gabriel and Michael would be coming soon and probably would be starving half to death. Working on cars seemed to give them a hefty appetite. He remembered the days of working in the garage while he was in college. Once he’d gotten the job at Sabin’s, he’d signed his part of the garage over to Michael and Gabriel. It was their only source of income so it only seemed fair.

  Cole pulled out some angel hair pasta, olive oil, crushed walnuts and various seasonings. He boiled the pasta until it was tender. In a small skillet on the side, he mixed the seasonings and olive oil. Heating it on the stove, Cole slowly stirred the pasta into it and added the walnuts. He buttered some thick slices of baguette and put them in the oven until they were crispy.

  Using a damp cloth, Cole cleaned off the table and placemats. After filling four glasses with ice water, he placed them at the table and started filling the plates. He pulled the bread from the over and placed a slice on the side of each plate. Just as he was putting the plates and silverware on the table, Marin padded into the kitchen barefoot.

  “Is it lunchtime already?” she asked in a sleepy voice.

  “Yes, it is. I hope you like pasta. Give me a second to call my brothers and I’ll sit down with you.”

  Cole pulled his cell phone out and called the garage. Michael answered and said they would be home in a minute. Hanging up his phone, he went and sat next to Marin at the table.

  “I’m sorry I fell asleep during the movie,” she said as he sat down.

  Cole smiled at her. “You needed the rest. Don’t worry about it.”

  They ate lunch in companionable silence. A few minutes later, Gabriel and Michael walked in. They both went to wash their hands before sitting down to eat.

  “How are things going over there today?” Cole asked his brothers.

  “Busy, but good. Mostly just oil changes and other light stuff. We’ve got one engine rebuild to do by Monday and two ignitions to change out,” Michael answered.

  “Speaking of cars,” Marin started. “The one that I was driving didn’t belong to me. It belonged to one of Stefan’s friends.”

  The brothers looked at her. They had figured it wasn’t her car, but it was nice to know for sure.

  “It was totaled,” Gabriel said.

  “That just means he’s going to be even more furious with me when he finds me,” she said. She couldn’t stop her hand from trembling slightly. The brothers said they would protect her, but what if they couldn’t?

  Cole reached over and placed his hand on hers. “He isn’t going to find you, Marin. And if he does, he isn’t walking out of here with you.”

  �
�I can’t ask you to put yourselves in danger for me,” Marin said.

  Gabriel looked at her. “That’s what being part of our pack is all about. We protect our own.”

  “But am I really part of the pack if I’m just here but not really with anyone?”

  Gabriel sighed; he knew he should have explained things better earlier. “You don’t have to be married to one of us if that’s what you’re thinking. The fact that Cole’s blood healed you is proof enough that you’re already part of the pack. Selecting your mate isn’t something you have to rush through.”

  Michael smirked. “I think she’s already selected him, whether she realizes it or not.”

  Marin looked at him. Could he be right? Was that why she felt so safe with Cole, because he was destined to be her mate? She glanced at Cole and found him watching her intently. It was obvious he felt something for her.

  “I don’t understand how all of this works,” Marin said, not quite sure how she felt about everything.

  Gabriel answered, “You don’t have to say anything or do anything special. Just spending large amounts of time with one pack member in particular is enough to claim them as your mate.” He looked significantly at Cole.

  Marin looked around the table at the brothers. Gabriel had been really nice to her, but she definitely felt differently about Cole. The question was whether or not she felt enough for him to spend the rest of her life with him. It was a big decision to make, and one she didn’t want to make lightly. “What happens now?” she asked.

  “Right now, nothing. You concentrate on getting better. No decisions have to be made this week. Or even next week or that matter,” Gabriel responded. “You can take as long as you want. None of us are going anywhere.”

  Marin nodded and finished eating her lunch. When Gabriel and Michael were finished, they went back to the garage to finish working. Cole and Marin cleared the table and went into the living room. When Marin sat next to him on the sofa, he pulled her into his lap. She was astonished by the move. Did she dare hope that he might want her to choose him for her mate?

  Cole ran his fingers through her hair. It was so long and so soft. “I love your hair,” he told her.

  She blushed. “Thank you.”

  Cole felt her body relax into his. He was glad that she could trust him so easily after everything she had suffered. It showed how strong she was.

  “I didn’t mean to startle you. I just wanted to hold you for a minute. Is that okay?” he asked. “I don’t want to do anything that might make you uncomfortable.”

  “I like it when you hold me,” she said in a near whisper, almost afraid to admit it out loud. Marin was afraid of what he might think of her. He probably already had a bad opinion of her after the way she had kissed him earlier thinking back to the morning, she couldn’t believe she had been so uninhibited with Cole.

  Cole put his arms around her and pulled her close. Marin buried her face in his neck and wrapped her arms around him. She knew at that moment that she wanted to be his mate, the one woman who was meant to be with him. He was so kind to her and so loving. She could never have asked for more from the man she spent the rest of her life with. It was still a little terrifying, but part of her was already accepting this new life that she had stumbled into.

  They stayed snuggled together until it started to grow dark outside. Cole eventually set Marin away from him. She looked at him in confusion, thinking she had done something to upset him.

  As if reading her thoughts, he said, “My brothers will be home in a few minutes. Why don’t you go lie down until dinner?”

  “Okay,” she said.

  Marin got up off the couch and went up to her room. Stretching out on the bed, she dozed off within minutes. It was amazing that she could go to sleep yet again that day.

  Downstairs, Cole worked on his laptop a little. He hadn’t told anyone, but he was actually doing some research on Stefan. The man didn’t even have so much as a parking ticket. How had he stayed so squeaky clean and yet been so horrible to Marin? Surely she hadn’t been the first woman he had bought or kidnapped? Cole was still working on his project when Gabriel and Michael came home.

  Gabriel offered to make dinner and Michael turned on the television. Cole closed down his laptop and headed upstairs. He hadn’t had a decent shower today. Running up to his room, he stripped off his clothes and took a hot shower. When he got out, he shaved the five o’clock shadow from his face. Grabbing a clean shirt and jeans, he got dressed, even putting on socks and shoes.

  On his way downstairs, Cole stopped to check on Marin. She was awake and was just slipping her boots back on when he walked into her room. When she saw him, she smiled and got off the bed. She walked over to him, but once she was standing in front of him she wasn’t sure what to do. Part of her wanted to hug him and part of her wondered what it would be like to kiss him, on purpose this time. She ended up doing neither of those things and mentally chastised herself for being such a chicken.

  Reaching out to take his hand, they walked downstairs together. When they walked into the kitchen, Gabriel was putting the last of the plates on the table. They were having pork chops with rice. The aroma was enough to make Marin’s mouth water.

  Everyone sat down and ate dinner. Marin and Cole kept sneaking glances at each other. Gabriel was watching them, but he hoped he wasn’t being obvious about it. He was happy that things were working out so well for Cole. He had been really worried about his little brother after Cassie had fallen for Matt.

  Six years ago, when they had met Cassie at Whispering Lake, North Carolina, she had ended up sharing a cabin with the three brothers. At first, Cassie and Cole had really hit it off. Later, Matt had shown up. No one had known that Cassie and Matt had been dating. She had told Cole that she wasn’t seeing anyone and things had gotten pretty serious between them. Matt had come as a complete surprise. What they hadn’t realized at the time was that Matt had been a surprise to Cassie, too. Up until that moment, he had been a ghost in her life… literally. It had all worked out for the best though. Cassie and Matt had gotten married a few months later and now they had two children with another baby on the way. Just looking at them you could see how happy they were, how much they completed each other.

  Since that time, Cole had only dated a few women, and none of them had been serious. One of Cassie’s friends, Kari, had pursued him relentlessly. She still showed up every now and then, but she’d been out of town for the past year traveling the country. Hopefully, Kari wouldn’t be back for a while. Gabriel tried not to think badly of people, but Kari made that difficult. She was usually a bitch and felt every man should beg to be with her. Thankfully, Cole had never given in to her and usually did his best to avoid her.

  While Gabriel was watching Cole and Marin, Michael had been watching him. Michael had thought that Gabriel would be upset when Marin had obviously picked Cole as her mate, but he seemed to be taking it pretty well. Michael had been thrilled that Marin hadn’t chosen him! He wasn’t ready to stop playing the field so to speak. He fully admitted that he loved going out with a different woman every night. He hadn’t had a serious girlfriend since high school, and he planned on keeping it that way! Although, the woman he’d been with the night Cole had found Marin had been worth seeing a few times. Not wanting to give her the wrong idea, he stopped calling after their third date.

  When they had finished eating, Michael excused himself and headed to his room. Gabriel figured that Cole would want some more time with Marin so he excused himself as well. It was his way of making sure that Cole and Marin ended up together. If he and Michael stayed out of the way, she wouldn’t have any choice but to select Cole as her mate. It was obvious the two of them were meant to be together.

  “If y’all don’t mind, I’m going to head back over to the garage for a few minutes. I need to get my schedule figured out for tomorrow,” Gabriel said as he headed for the front door.

  Cole put his plate in the sink and turned to look at Marin. “Would
you like to take a walk if I promise to keep you safe?”

  Marin smiled. “I’d like that a lot.”

  She put her plate in the sink and went to stand beside Cole. He reached down and took her hand. Pulling her toward the back door, they stepped out into the chilly night air. Cole hadn’t thought about her getting cold since he typically didn’t feel the cold unless it was below twenty. A higher body temperature was part of being a werewolf, which came in handy during the winter months.

  Cole squeezed her hand. “Hang on just a minute.”

  He opened the door and leaned back inside. He grabbed his brown leather jacket and draped it over her shoulders. Marin pushed her arms through the sleeves and laughed. Her hands completely disappeared in the long sleeves and the jacket hung down almost to her knees.

  Cole smiled and rolled the sleeves up for her. When he started down the steps again, she slipped her small hand into his large one. It was nice hearing her laugh. It meant that she was healing more than just physically. Cole had been worried that her emotional scars would take a long time to heal, but she seemed to be recovering rather quickly… and it didn’t have anything to do with the blood they gave her.

  They walked quietly through the woods. The clouds were long gone and they could see every star in the sky. The moon was still full and illuminated everything around them, making it a beautiful night.

  Breaking the silence, Marin asked, “Cole, can I be honest with you about something?”

  “Sure. You can tell me anything,” he responded.

  Marin looked at him hesitantly. “I liked your brother, Gabriel, when I thought you were just a wolf. I don’t think of him the same way that I think of you, but I thought you should know. I guess I’m just worried that I’m going to screw up your lives by choosing the wrong guy. If I pick you but I was supposed to be with Gabriel, then does that mean he never finds his mate?

  Cole stopped and looked at her. “Marin, you don’t have to put so much thought into it. There’s no rush. You can stay with us as long as you want to. Get to know us before you try to make a decision on something like that. It’s not like there’s a deadline.”