To Come First

by J C Rae

  He finally turns around and looks at me. I can still see the sadness in his eyes but the slight curve of his lips show there is still hope.

  “Now, let’s get this damn meeting over with because I’m hungry. Well, I’m tired and hungry. Holy shit, I don’t know how you guys function with no sleep! If there wasn’t gonna be food here, I probably would’ve snuggled back in bed and slept more. Ugh, let’s go. I think it would be nice if you would both escort me. You know, just in case someone ate all the food and I decide to go all Kung Fu on their asses!”

  By the end of my rant, they are both smiling and I can definitely see their resemblance.

  Uncles' office is full of classic old world style. From the dark cherry wood desk to the matching cabinets and shelves. There is a couch against one wall with a large, dark coffee table in front of it. Bookcases stand on each end of the couch like sentinels and a large burgundy rug lies on the floor. Scattered throughout the room are multiple chairs, both single and double seats, each with their own matching end table. The walls are a lighter color that seems to tie everything together to make it look homey and comforting. I could see myself curling up with a book in one of these double chairs and getting lost for the day.

  After taking everything in about the room, I notice a full spread of food along another wall on a buffet table. Not wasting a minute, I head that way. The slight snicker I hear from my left lets me know that Braxton has noticed where my mind is and he is following me. I discretely look to my right and see that Bryce is following along too.

  When I reach the food, I stop and just inhale. It smells delicious and my stomach growls loudly. The snicker turns into a full on laugh but I ignore him and start loading my plate. Scrambled eggs that look like they will melt in my mouth are the first to make it on my plate. I quickly follow that with crispy hash browns, bacon, and some fresh fruit. There’s a toaster at the end of the buffet and I quickly pop in a couple pieces of toast and grab some butter. Once that is done, I grab some orange juice and head towards the couch so I can set my plate on the coffee table.

  The boys follow behind me after they get their plates and we all dig in. In between bites, I notice that more people have come into the room since I noticed the food. Uncle is sitting at his desk, drinking some coffee, while chatting with Randolf and a guy I don’t know. Jacob is sitting in one of the chairs to the side of Uncles desk with Matt and they are both enjoying a plate of food. Every so often Randolf tosses a piece of bacon towards the wolf, who I think is Luca, laying in front of Uncles desk. There’s a couple other guys standing around the room, mostly by the doors and windows. I guess those could be Uncles enforcers. They look familiar but I don’t think that I’ve been introduced.

  Before I know it, my plate is clean and I’ve drank my OJ. Looking over towards Bryce, I see that he has another plate that he’s just started on with sausage gravy and biscuits. How the hell’d I miss that! He’s talking to one of the guys at the door so I sneakily take my fork and make a go for his food. Once the biscuit and gravy hits my tongue, my taste buds go into overdrive. Everything I ate was amazing but these just top it all off and make my mouth water for more. I glance back towards Bryce to see if I can sneak another bite while he’s distracted, only to find him smirking at me. Guess I wasn’t as sneaky as I thought I was.

  Before I understand what he’s doing, he has his fork loaded and headed in my direction. I have never had someone feed me before so I hesitate while looking at him. Without another thought, I open my mouth and take the bite he offered. I moan and close my eyes, enjoying the taste. When I open my eyes, I can see that I have not only Bryce and Braxton’s attention, but also a couple of the other guys in the room that I don’t know. Randolf is looking at me with an amused smile and Jacob looks like he’s trying to keep from laughing out loud as he takes in the scene.

  Never one to think before I speak, “What? That shits amazing. Hell, I’d sell my soul for another bite. Don’t act like you didn’t already know that! If I ever leave, I’m warning you now, I’m taking Ms Alma with me.”

  With that said, I look back towards Bryce and wave my hand between his food and me, hoping he catches the hint. Based on the slight tilt of his lips, he does and he loads another bite. This causes the room to erupt into laughter. Shrugging my shoulders, I continue eating until his plate is cleaned. I wonder what they would say if I licked the plate. Damn, I think I need to get out more.

  I thank Bryce for sharing and he nods at me. Without putting much thought into it, I lean over and give him a peck on the cheek. He might act like a grade A asshole most of the time, but anyone that’s willing to share their food with me can’t be all that bad.

  Once the room quiets down and everyone seems to have finished eating, Uncle clears his throat.

  “First off, lets go over the attack by Alpha Caden and his men. This isn’t the first time that he’s tried to get to me but this is the first time that he’s went after the kids. For the time being, I want all enforcers on high alert. I don’t think he will try again any time soon but he seemed really interested in Ash, so he might try to get to her.”

  The growling from my twins causes him to pause. I just shrug as I smack both their shoulders. It’s not the first time that someone has wanted to hurt me but I was really hoping that I was over that time in my life. The boys stop growling and I can’t help but smirk. When I look back at Uncle, I can see the humor in his eyes.

  “As I was saying, Caden usually comes at me directly, like with the car bombing. I don’t think he realized what was going on that day and he didn’t really push it too hard. Yesterday, however, he figured out that something else was going on. Ash, I am so thankful that you were able to shield everyone and keep them from more than just some bruising. Everyone in this room has been sworn in with a blood oath to me that nothing said here will leave this room. You don’t have to go into much detail, but I would really like it if you would give them the basics.”

  I look around the room and sigh. “What is a blood oath?”

  Instead of Uncle, it’s Matt that answers me. “It’s a promise to your Alpha, binded by blood, that cannot be broken. If you even try, the pain is so extreme that you can’t function. It’s unbreakable and not often done, unless there’s a large secret that needs to be kept.”

  I think that over and look at everyone again. They all have felt what I can do and trusted their Alpha enough to not question anything.

  “I call it my shield. It can protect against bullets, bats, knives, and basically anything thrown at you. If someone tries to hit you, they won’t make contact but you can still be physically moved. If someone knocks you over or trips you, you will still fall down. If they try to hit you in the face, your head will still be thrown back. The good part is that where normally you would get a bloody nose or black eye from being punched in the face, when you are shielded that won’t happen.”

  I pause to take a deep breath. This is not easy to talk about for me because I have kept it a secret for so long. As if Bryce and Braxton can feel my anxiety, they each grab one of my hands and squeeze. That reassurance helps me continue.

  “Recently, I learned that my shield also keeps you from catching my scent. If I have you shielded, then your scent disappears too. I talked to Uncle about this and he wants me to see if I can figure out a way to get around that. Like, he wants to know if you can be shielded but still let others smell you. I’ll work on that but I don’t know if it’s possible.”

  “Which brings us to our next hurdle. Right now, as Ash said, you cannot scent her. I asked her to drop her shield a couple days ago and we found that the twins were her mates. I am not sure if she will have any other mates but she is strong, both of mind and will, so that is a possibility."

  My shouted "What?!" stops him from going on. I don't know what to think. I look at Braxton first and then Bryce and see that they were aware this might happen. Wow. I try taking deep breaths to calm down but I'm not sure if it's working. My chest feels tight and I think my
heart is going to pound out of my chest. My hands are shaking and I can feel sweet beading up on my forehead.

  Braxton catches my attention and I realize that he is crouched in front of me. His mouth is moving but I can't figure out what he's saying. I stare in his eyes and try to calm my breathing. After a couple minutes, I can hear him quietly saying, "You're having a panic attack but you're going to be ok. Deep breaths in and out. There you go. You got this." He's repeating the same thing over and over and I realize that it's just as much for his benefit as my own.

  Once I feel like I have myself under control, I grab ahold of him and squeeze my thanks. After a minute of holding each other, we slowly separate but don't completely let go. For the first time, i realize that Bryce was rubbing my back while Braxton was calming me down. After thanking them both, I look over towards Uncle, who seems to have a worried look on his face.

  "Uncle, I really would've appreciated you telling me that privately but I guess it's too late for that. So, I'm assuming you are wanting me to drop my shield again?"

  "I would like to introduce you to the pack tomorrow evening. We will be having a pack run so everyone will already be together. I was hoping that we could figure out the scent issue so that we didn't have to explain your shield. Everyone in this room was already aware that you had protected us in some way but they didn't know how. I enacted the blood oath that night and part of that was that they told no one. I am trying to do everything that I can to protect you."

  While he's talking, I am trying to think of a way to keep a shield in place without stopping everything else. I can still breathe when I'm shielded, so there must be a way. Maybe it's as simple as just wanting it to happen. With that thought, I think about my shield only protecting me from danger and nothing else. I look to Bryce to see if it worked and I can see his beautiful brown eyes glowing. Looking over at Braxton, I see the same thing.

  "Well, I think I figured it out Uncle."

  Before I can say any more, two growls filter into my brain along with two different voices saying MINE. One I hear out loud and can tell it's coming from Randolf. The other is in my mind and I'm not sure where it came from. I look towards Uncle to see a baffled look on his face and I'm confused for a second. Then I notice both Randolf and Luca stalking my way, one set of vibrant blue eyes and one set of glowing gray eyes locked on me. Damn, looks like I'm about to be a Beta sandwich!

  Chapter 18

  What kind of luck is this? I’m surrounded by Beta’s and Uncle looks baffled. "What the hell is this? Are you fucking kidding me?" I can't help the slightly panicked sound of my voice as I wildly look around the room. Someone must be playing a joke on me. This is too much. I am just getting used to Bryce and Braxton! Now, I've gotta add 2 more men? I mean, I liked Randolf when I met him but Luca and I did not start off good. Add on Bryce's constant mood swings and I'm worried they will drive me crazy. Well, crazier since I'm nowhere near normal. That thought makes me snort out a small laugh and my head clears some.

  Now that I'm calming down, I can hear the noise in the room a little better. It seems like everyone wants to talk at once and I can't keep myself from shouting, "Quiet! Goodness, if you guys can't shut up for a minute then I would appreciate you leaving. I'm freaking out enough without all your shit adding on to it."

  Once everything calms down with Luca and Randolf, and of course the twins, I settle back in the couch and shake my head.

  “So, basically I now have four mates, one of which I’ve never met as a man?”

  Uncle clears his throat a couple times and then looks around the room before his eyes settle back on me. “Yes, Ash, that’s what it looks like. As for Luca, he is capable of being a man, he just chooses to stay in his fur most of the time. I would guess that he will change back if you ask him to though.”

  The man, or wolf, in question swings his big head back towards me. Do you want me to change back?

  “No,” I answer him out loud, “you don’t need to change right now, unless you want to.”

  I should be freaking out but for some reason I still feel calm. The twins are still sitting on either side of me, holding my hands tightly, and Randolf has taken a seat in front of me on the floor, with Luca lying beside him. They are both snuggled up to my legs and watching me intently. The glow has receded slightly from their eyes but the happiness gleams brightly.

  No one is saying anything since my outburst and it’s kind of freaking me out.

  “So, is this all the mates that are going to pop up or should I just hang a sign up outside the door for a line to form? I mean, I’m just getting my head wrapped around having two mates and then two more pop up. Is that normal? What the hell is normal. Well, I guess I don’t do normal so what the hell is abnormal around here for how many mates a person can have?”

  Uncle stands up from his chair and nods towards one of his enforcers. They both start to head in my direction. The low growls coming from the four guys surrounding me stop them both in their tracks. Uncle growls loud enough to make me flinch while staring daggers at the guys.

  "Boys, I am still your Alpha and you WILL show me respect! I do not intend to harm your mate but I suggest you remember your place. I understand your need to protect your mate but you need to remember that I am the one that brought her here so she is under my protection first!" With that, he continues towards us and the guys stop growling. When he squats down in front of me, the guys scoot out of his way but still within reach of me. It's so weird how safe I feel next to these growling idiots.

  "Uncle, I'm so confused right now. I don't know if I can handle one mate, let alone four! How does this work? Do I have to choose just one or am I supposed to be with all four of them? You really didn't explain this very well to me!"

  His patient smile stops my babbling. "I understand that you are confused and I apologize that I wasn't able to go into more detail. It seems like you have been thrown into the deep end since you got here and I feel like I let you down."

  I jerk my hand up to interrupt but he shakes his head and continues. "I promised you protection and it seems like you are the one that has been protecting not only myself, but my pack. Without your help, we would've lost some good wolves to Cadens' attack and I don't think that I can ever pay you back for your assistance. Now, to answer your questions, it is normal for a mating triad to form, and sometimes even a quad. We have more males than females and the stronger the female, the more mates will present themselves. In your case, you are extremely powerful, but I don't believe any further mates will present themselves. Your quintet is not entirely unheard of, it's just not an everyday normal, so you will get some curiosity. Please let me know if anyone bugs you and I will...."

  I can't help but laugh and shake my head, cutting him off. "Uncle, I appreciate the concern, but I am more than capable of kicking someone's ass when they offend me. I am letting you know in advance, after everything that I have put up with in the past, I refuse to ever be the victim again and I won't back down. If that's a problem, then I need you to tell me now so that I can leave."

  The low growls that fill the air stop me in my tracks. When I look around, my four mates' eyes are glowing wildly while they stare at me and I hear Luca in my head, You will NOT leave without us and we will not allow anyone to hurt you.

  His conviction floors me, especially since I didn't think he even liked me when we met. Once I settled my nerves, again, I look around at the guys. "I won't leave without informing each of you. That includes you, Uncle. But I also will not hesitate to protect myself." I stared at the wolf making himself comfortable by my feet when I said the last. He nods his head in understanding. Uncle also nods his head.

  "I would not stop you from protecting yourself. If you haven't noticed, we are a feral bunch and fighting for dominance is never looked down upon, unless you take on more than you can handle. People will underestimate you because you are not wolf, but I will be sure to point out that you will accept challenges if needed to prove your worth. Normally, my word is enou
gh but I cannot guarantee it. Especially since you have snagged all four of my Beta's. There will be some upset women running around but I know that you can handle them."