Gasping in shock, Hope leaned over to take a better look. “So…so, you’ve been…claimed? Does that mean you’re a…Oh, God, I can’t believe I’m saying this. Does this mean you’re a wolf, too?”
“Honey, that’s why I was so calm on the phone. I am now.”
For the second time that day, Hope felt the world tilt, and then everything began to go black. At least I’m sitting down this time, was her last thought before losing consciousness.
* * * *
Hope was embarrassed over all the fuss. She’d come to, only to find Adam holding her in his huge arms while Levi pressed a cool cloth to her forehead. Adam had insisted on calling a doctor to examine her, and everyone else in the room had agreed. The only person who thought it unnecessary was Hope. It was just the shock that had caused her to faint. Twice. And she’d always had low blood pressure, which didn’t help since she also hadn’t eaten in several hours.
She didn’t dare tell any of them that she’d also fainted in the bathroom. She had a feeling they’d have her in a hospital for observation so fast her head would spin. As it was, Adam had practically barked orders at everyone, sending people scurrying for blankets, pillows, and tea, as if she were sick rather than shocked out of her mind.
“Really, I’m fine.” She’d told them all the fuss was silly, but that didn’t stop any of them. Adam had stroked her hair until the doctor arrived and Levi had sat holding her hand as if it were made of fine china. “I just need to eat and I’ll be okay.”
“I’ll make you something.” Sarah popped up and hurried toward the kitchen, not even bothering to ask Adam and Levi if they minded her rifling through their kitchen. Truthfully, Hope was glad Sarah had something to do. She’d just been apologizing over and over again, though Hope wasn’t sure what she was apologizing for.
“Some food will do her good.” The doctor who’d introduced himself simply as Mark was finally busy with something other than questioning her and checking her vitals. He briefly stopped packing his equipment away to give the hovering men a nod. “Her blood sugar is a little low, as is her blood pressure.”
“Like I said”—it rankled that Doctor Mark kept addressing his comments to Adam and Levi rather than her—“it’s no big deal.”
It had been strange having Dr. Mark, who looked more like a tall, blond surfer-boy stereotype than a doctor, examine her with Adam, Levi, and Sarah in the room, but they’d all refused to leave her side. Fortunately, she hadn’t needed to get naked. Hope was pretty sure she could have cleared the room if she’d kicked up a fuss, but she didn’t really want to be alone with the doctor. He seemed nice enough, but since they’d introduced him as the clan doctor, whatever that meant, he was probably a wolf, too. “I know my body and I’ll be fine as soon as I eat.”
“Well, that may be true, but keep an eye on her overnight. Any sign of continued dizziness, nausea, or if she develops new symptoms, I want to hear about it. And for God’s sake, don’t let your woman wander around all day on an empty stomach!”
Hope started to tell him yet again that she wasn’t their woman, but she realized it was probably futile. She’d already told him so at least 10 times. He obviously didn’t believe her. “Thanks, Doctor Mark, but no one lets me do anything. I make my own decisions.”
The good doctor smiled at her as if humoring a small child. “Welcome to River’s Bend,” he said and then hurried from the room, probably having other patients to harass.
The silence that followed Doctor Mark’s departure was rather thick. Hope struggled with something to say, even though she had a million questions. Since her sister’s revelation, she’d come to cautiously accept that they weren’t going to hurt her, and she’d taken comfort, yet again, in their touch, but her head was still spinning. Looking up, she met Adam’s eyes and the expression in them was one of such caring and concern that she had to look away. A glance at Levi yielded more of the same, and Hope sat up quickly, pulling her hand away. It was much too soon for what looked like love.
Levi’s concerned look deepened. “Lie back down, Hope, at least until you’re feeling better.”
“I feel better now.”
“Right…” Clearly, he didn’t believe her.
“I do feel better, and I don’t want to lie here like some invalid. What I want is…” She took a deep breath, looking from Levi to Adam, trying to reconcile their handsome faces with what she now knew they were. “I want to know the whole story…what you are, how you do…what you do, and why you keep calling me your fated.”
Sarah came back with a tray laden with scrambled eggs, toast, and orange juice. She positioned the tray over Hope’s lap and pointed a finger first at her and then at Adam and Levi. “You, eat. You two, talk.”
Hope’s stomach growled loudly, clearly having its priorities straight. She ignored it and leveled her gaze at Sarah. “You have some explaining to do yourself.”
“I know, but, honestly, my story will make a heck of a lot more sense after you hear what they have to say.”
When they’d first told her they were wolf shifters, she hadn’t believed them, and she’d wanted nothing more than to get away from them and their mad ravings. Now, though, she wanted to hear it all. If things like this really did exist, there was no way she could walk away without learning more first.
“Okay, then,” she said, taking her first bite of eggs. Sarah had added lots of cheese, just the way she liked them. “I’m ready to hear everything.”
Adam ran a hand through his hair, looking, for the first time since she’d met him, unsure. “Maybe we should wait. I mean, you just fainted.”
“It’s now or never, Adam.” Hope hadn’t come to visit her sister intending to become anyone’s fated. She’d done something uncharacteristic and slept with two men, who were apparently not really men at all. There was something about them that drew her like a magnet, making her want to feel their touch constantly. But despite that, she would soon get up and walk away, returning to her normal, safe life where things like this didn’t happen. But she couldn’t spend the rest of her life wondering about these man-wolves. Before she could head back to the familiar, she had to know what she was leaving behind.
Adam pulled a chair across the room and sat directly in front of her, staring pointedly at her fork until she took another bite. “Alright. Here goes. Levi and I are wolf shifters, which as you already know means we can change—we call it ‘shift’—into wolves. We don’t eat people or terrorize towns like in movies or books. We lead normal lives.”
“Normal?”
“Well, mostly. This area is called River’s Bend, and it’s the Liekos Clan’s territory.”
“I thought wolves lived in packs, not clans.”
“That’s true. Wolves usually form packs, but over the years, some packs align with each other, growing in numbers until they become large clans, all loyal to the same leader. There are still packs, but there are also a few clans on this continent.”
“On this continent? There are wolf shifters on other continents?”
“Of course. Wolf shifters move about just like humans do.”
“And you say you don’t harm humans? What do you eat?”
Levi and Adam both laughed at that, and the sound hit her core. Levi winked at her, giving her knee a squeeze. “You know what we eat. I made it for you last night. We do eat more meat, and more in general than the average guy. But yeah, that’s it.”
“How long have you lived with the Liekos Clan?”
Adam answered this time. “All of our lives. Our father is the alpha, which means he’s our leader. Well, actually, we now have two alphas since we sort of absorbed Clan Lycan a few months ago. We were Clan Raven, but after merging with the Lycans, we became Clan Liekos. It’s complicated, and I don’t want to bore you with all the details right now.”
“Oh, there’s no chance of that happening. Are you immortal?”
“No, I wish we were. We can die just like humans and other animals do. But we do live longer than
humans.”
“How much longer?”
“It varies, but the average wolf shifter life expectancy is about 150 years.”
Hope whistled out a breath. “How old are you?” Her mind rapidly turned over what he’d said. He could be a hundred for all she knew. Did wolf shifters stay forever young-looking?”
“I’m thirty-five,” Adam said.
“I’m thirty-two,” Levi added. “We age normally until we peak, which usually happens in the 50th year. Then our aging slows, so that even at the end of a very long life, we don’t look very old.”
Being a wolf shifter has its perks, Hope thought. “And what about this ‘fated’ business? About me being your mate?”
Adam pointed to her plate. “You start eating, or we stop talking.”
Fascinated, Hope took a bite of her toast and raised an eyebrow for him to continue.
“Every wolf shifter has a mate, a destined mate, that we refer to as our fated. Most of us look forward to meeting that person because it’s our ideal match, or soul mate. It can take years, or even a lifetime to meet one’s fated, and some never do. Those wolves may have relationships, but they are never as complete as a destined match would be. You’re our fated.”
“Both of you? Shouldn’t each of you have his own mate?”
Levi shook his head. “Fate’s a funny thing. Sometimes wolves have more than one mate, especially when the wolves in question have close ties—like siblings or lifelong friends. There are all sorts of mate combinations, but one woman with two men is the most common. Some think it’s nature’s way of balancing things out since male births have outpaced female births for several generations now.”
“But I’m human. Why me?”
“Often, wolves are destined to mate other wolves, but not always. You’re our woman, Hope, the one we were meant to love.”
“How can you possibly know that after one night of sex? It was great, don’t get me wrong, but…” Hope called bullshit on love at first sight. Lust, yes. Love? Absolutely not.
“We knew the moment you entered the Blue Moon.” Adam took the hand not wielding the fork. “We scented you.”
Levi squatted in front of her. “And we felt a physical change. We felt drawn to you in a way that’s hard to explain.”
Hope put her fork down, and took a sip of orange juice. She bet she could guess what that physical change was. “You mean you got an erection?”
They actually looked insulted. Adam stroked her hand with his thumb, reminding her of the strange way his touch made her feel. “No, it was nothing like that. You felt something, too, didn’t you?”
“I was attracted to you, yes. But that’s it.” Hope pulled her hand away and focused her eyes on her last bit of toast.
Sarah had remained silent during this whole exchange, but she spoke up then. “Don’t bother lying to yourself. If you felt even a fraction of what I felt when I first met my men, I know your senses had to be going crazy.”
Forget about when they’d first met, Hope’s senses were going crazy right then. “I…I need to go. Sarah can tell me the rest.”
Adam’s eyes flashed with such a look of hurt that Hope had to look away. “Please, baby, don’t go. Let us take care of you.”
“Adam’s right. Stay with us. We’ll take care of you and explain everything else. Or, if you’re not ready to hear it yet, we can take that slow. Just stay with us a little longer. Give us a chance.”
The more Adam and Levi talked, looking at her the way they did, the more Hope wanted to stay with them that day, that night, and maybe even forever. But that was irrational, even crazier than learning wolf people actually existed. Hope had to put an end to it. “I’m sorry. I can see that you both mean what you’re saying and really want me to be your mate, but fate or not, I can’t be with you. Last night was a one-time thing, and it’s time we parted ways. I’m going back to my sister’s and first thing in the morning, I’m heading home.” Back to where people don’t turn into wolves and no one wants to claim me.
* * * *
“We moved too quickly.” Adam pulled a frosty beer from the refrigerator and twisted the cap off, taking a hard, long swig before he continued. “She’s scared.” He hadn’t been able to keep his hands off their mate long enough to woo her, and look what had happened. If they lost her, it would be his fault.
Levi joined him, sprawling out at the kitchen table. “Yeah, but it probably wouldn’t have mattered if we’d waited. Don’t worry. I don’t blame you.” He rapped his knuckles on the table. “Besides, I jumped in with both feet, too. She’s hard to resist.”
“So, now we have to figure out a way to convince her not to leave. Since we’ve mated, she’ll be even more drawn to us, but she’s so stubborn. I can see her leaving no matter how much her body screams for her to stay. And I won’t claim her unless she’s one-hundred-percent willing.”
“Agreed.” Levi had that look he got when he was working on a plan. Adam hoped it was fucking brilliant. “Now that we’ve found her, and I’ve held her in my arms, I won’t let her go.”
“Yeah, that’s not even on the table. No way we’re giving her up without a fight. So what’s the big plan?”
Levi grinned. “Well, don’t get too excited. I’m not even sure it will work, but we’ll need Nikki’s help.”
Adam groaned. “Then we’re already in trouble. I doubt she can tear herself away from Luke and Mason long enough to do much of anything, never mind help us out.” Their little sister Nikki had found her mates just a few months ago. At first, the threesome had been rocky, mostly because Luke had acted like a true jackass, but it hadn’t taken long for him to recognize how special their sister was, and the three were practically joined at the hip now.
“Yeah, lately they only come up for air for clan business, but I think she’ll pry herself away to do this favor for her big brothers.”
Levi looked as disappointed with the idea of sleeping without their mate as Adam felt. “Hope so, man. It’s going to be lonely tonight.”
Chapter 5
“I can’t believe you’re leaving. You just got here!” Sarah trailed Hope down the hall and out the door, kicking up gravel as she made her way over to Hope’s Volvo. Jackson and Wes had offered to help Hope load up her car, but Sarah had shot them down with a look fit to kill. Apparently, helping Hope leave was a betrayal in Sarah’s eyes.
“How many times are you going to say that?” Hope shoved her last piece of luggage into the trunk. “I can’t stay here. This is all just too much for me. Wolves and shifting and clans and claiming? It’s all so unreal. Look, for the umpteenth time, this is not forever. I just need to put some distance between me and this town.”
“And me?”
Hope sighed, pulling her sister in for a hug. “Of course not. You’re the one reason I already regret leaving.” And Adam and Levi. She wouldn’t say that part out loud. Admitting it to her sister would only make their effect on her more real. She’d spent half the night thinking about them, her body practically shaking with arousal as she remembered their night together. And when she’d finally fallen asleep, she dreamt of them. They were far too prominent in her mind already, and she had to get away from that too-soon, too-intense connection she felt as much as she needed to escape the fact that the paranormal wasn’t just good story fodder.
“I don’t believe you. Prove it to me. Stay!”
“If I stay, things might get even more complicated. You heard Adam and Levi. They think I’m their fated. Can you imagine me married to—”
“Joined with…”
“Okay, joined with two men? And then the claiming, and becoming—”
“Like me?”
“You know I didn’t mean it that way. It’s just that I’m not as brave as you are. I don’t know how you went through all of this without telling anyone. And I like my nice, quiet life. Allowing this…them…into my life will ensure that it’s anything but that.”
Both women turned at the sound of a car approaching
. The cherry-red pickup truck pulled into the driveway right behind Hope’s car, blocking her in.
“Oh, it’s Nikki,” Sarah said, immediately walking toward the pickup.
“Well, whoever Nikki is, she’s blocking me in.”
Sarah glanced back toward Hope, a smile brightening the face that had begun to grow stormy just moments before. “Yes, she is.”
Hope frowned. Obviously, Sarah was happy about the delay, but that’s all it was. As soon as this Nikki moved her car, Hope planned to be out of there. Sarah would just have to understand.
The woman cut the engine and stepped from the pickup, graceful despite her overalls and work boots. She was fit and beautiful, with long, wavy, dark hair and green eyes. She immediately reminded Hope of someone, but she wasn’t sure of whom.
“Hey, Sarah. I was just out making a materials run, and I thought I’d swing by and meet Hope. You don’t mind, do you?”
“Of course I don’t mind. You know you’re always welcome here. Hope, c’mon over here and meet Nikki.”
Hope guessed she had to. There was no excuse for her to be rude, despite the way her body thrummed with the need to escape.
“Hope, this is Nikki Black. Nikki, this is my little sister Hope.”
Nikki put out a hand and Hope shook it, suddenly realizing why the woman looked so familiar.
Sarah confirmed Hope’s suspicions. “This is Adam and Levi’s sister.” Nikki looked a lot like Levi, but Hope couldn’t immediately see the resemblance to Adam.
“I’m so glad to meet you, Hope. I was worried I wouldn’t get to meet the woman who snagged my brothers before she left town.”
“Oh…It’s…um. Nice to meet you, too.” Hope bit back the desire to say she hadn’t snagged anyone. “You caught me just in the nick of time. I was actually just leaving.” She cocked her head toward Nikki’s truck, hoping the woman would get the message.
“I see.” Nikki smiled. “Well, I’d say I was sorry for keeping you, but, well, we’re going to be sisters someday, so why start the relationship by lying? I’m not only here for a little meet-and-greet. I need to talk to you about something, and it’s important enough to block off the whole road if I have to.”
Claiming Hope [Wolves of River's Bend 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 8