by Marla Monroe
Wolf’s Pass Shifters 1
Nessa’s Two Shifters
Convincing his twin to help him claim Nessa Clemmons as their mate is one battle Jessup Shoewater plans to win quickly. Joseph thinks he is too broken to take care of a mate, with or without his twin’s help. Held captive and tortured, Joe thought he’d lost the human side of himself.
Nessa wants to believe Jess and Joe truly care for her, but pledging herself to two men, let alone wolf shifters, seems a little like jumping out of the frying pan into the fire. Having survived years of abuse from her step-brother, Nessa hesitates to trade one familiar situation for another one she knows nothing about.
Can she overcome her fears of inadequacy and the unknown to help Joe learn to trust himself and his ability to control his wolf, or will she turn away from the two men who open up a world of love and acceptance she’s never felt before?
Note: There is no sexual relationship or touching for titillation between or among siblings.
Genre: Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Shape-shifter
Length: 40,201 words
NESSA’S TWO SHIFTERS
Wolf’s Pass Shifters 1
Marla Monroe
MENAGE EVERLASTING
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting
NESSA’S TWO SHIFTERS
Copyright © 2013 by Marla Monroe
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62740-371-9
First E-book Publication: August 2013
Cover design by Les Byerley
All art and logo copyright © 2013 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
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NESSA’S TWO SHIFTERS
Wolf’s Pass Shifters 1
MARLA MONROE
Copyright © 2013
Chapter One
The pain was mind shattering. It felt as if his entire body was on fire from the silver blade that had sliced into him over and over again. They knew what he was and had come prepared to inflict pain and death in the most excruciating way they could.
Joseph Shoewater had no idea how much time had passed since he had been captured, but he was well aware of the slices they had made up and down his body. Weak from blood loss and pain, he could only endure and pray for it to end soon. He didn’t expect to be rescued since he wasn’t supposed to have been there in the first place. They had all known when they accepted the appointments to the special team that they would work off the record in their new positions.
Even though he knew struggling was useless, he couldn’t help but pull against the chains that held him captive as they got busy over his body once more. White-hot fire tore into his flesh and…
Joseph came awake with the taste of fear and anger bitter in his mouth. The dream seemed so real. He could almost smell his blood there in the room with him. The pounding of his heart matched the pounding in his head from the reoccurring nightmare he couldn’t seem to escape. It had been nearly ten years since he’d come back from that mission a changed man. Now he spent most of his time as his beast, living day to day as far away from humans as possible. Or he had been until his brothers had called him home.
There was no way he would get back to sleep again now. He climbed out of bed and stretched the kinks out of his muscles before deciding to take a quick shower. His brothers would be up soon anyway, and they could get whatever was going on out in the open so he could leave. When Levi, his oldest brother, located him and called him back home, Joseph thought about what was wrong for them to have wanted him back. They had gotten in late the night before, and it was decided that they would talk the next day after everyone had gotten a good night’s sleep. Right. Like that was going to happen.
The pulsing spray of the shower did little to relax him, but it did wash away some of the months of living in the wilds of Montana. As soon as he was finished washing, Joseph shut off the water and stepped out of the shower to dry off. He didn’t bother wiping off the mirror so he could see. He’d shaved in the shower and already knew what he looked like without the benefit of glass to reflect the features of his ruined body back at him.
No matter what scenario he came up with for why they needed him home, nothing seemed important enough. As shifters, they didn’t get sick and they healed most injuries without much difficulty. Nothing short of silver to the heart or decapitation could kill them. God knows he had proven that to be true.
His family was descended from a long line of wolf shifters. They were blessed to live close to two hundred years of age. His parents and his seven brothers lived on Shoewater land outside the town of Wolf’s Pass, Montana. Until recently, everyone had lived in the family home where he now stood, but two years ago, his parents had built a house a couple of miles down the road and moved out. They said it was time for them to retire and leave running the ranch to them.
The door to the bathroom opened and Jessup walked in. His twin’s initial smile slid south when Joseph scowled back at him.
“Morning. Did you sleep?” Jessup didn’t back away when Joseph stepped
toward the door.
“Sure. I’m going to start coffee.” Joseph pushed past his twin and stepped out of the bathroom.
He stopped midstride when a strange scent caught his attention. Mate. And it was coming from his brother. He growled deep in his chest and turned back toward the bathroom. Jessup stared at him. A cautious expression filled his brother’s face. Joseph stared back at him for several long seconds, his jaw tightening. Drawing on all his strength, Joseph turned around and walked back to his room to drag on jeans and a shirt.
The entire time it took him to dress his mind screamed, mate, mate! Now he knew why he had been called back. Jessup had found his mate. They wanted to know if she was Joseph’s mate as well. It didn’t matter. He wouldn’t subject a mate to his volatile existence. There was a reason he stayed away from everyone. He wasn’t safe to be around. They had broken something inside of him back all those years ago and nothing could make it right again.
By the time Jessup made it to the kitchen, Joseph had the coffee made and was drinking his while staring out the French doors. They led out onto a patio and offered a view of the glorious mountains where he lived.
“Coffee’s good.” His brother leaned back against the counter, watching him as he sipped the black liquid.
Joseph grunted and turned back around to stare outside again.
“Do you need any supplies while you’re in town?”
“I’ll get them before I leave.”
“I knew I smelled coffee.” Levi walked into the room.
Joseph didn’t bother turning around. He could see his two brothers in the reflection of the glass. Levi, at just over six feet, was the shortest of his brothers, but he was the Alpha of the family. It didn’t matter that all of them had been born as alphas in the pack, his brother was the lead wolf and in line to rule when their fathers stepped down.
He and Jessup were third in age but the tallest of the brothers. At six foot five only a handful of others in town could claim that height. It served them well when they had been growing up. Being the tallest around gave them advantages the others didn’t have. Now all of that seemed so petty and juvenile. Height and weight didn’t make a man or a wolf. It only added a slight advantage. Skill and experience were the true measures of a man.
He and his brother shared the same dark eye color as well as their long black hair. Where his was past his shoulders, his twin kept his shoulder length. Since he spent so much time in his wolf form, Joseph didn’t see much reason to worry about his hair or appearance.
Aaron walked in and stood next to Levi. He was between Levi and them in age. He and Levi constantly argued good naturedly between them, but were close. When Levi took over as Alpha, Aaron would be his Beta. He and the rest of his brothers were the enforcers of the pack.
His two youngest brothers burst into the kitchen next. Kindle and Galen were barely eleven months apart in age. Kindle headed straight for the fridge and Galen began pulling out skillets to start breakfast. Joseph continued observing through the reflection of the window and wondered how long it would be before Levi got down to business. He wanted to get to town as early as possible to load up on supplies. He didn’t see any reason to waste a trip when he could refill his larder again.
“Joseph. Did you hear me?” Levi asked.
Joseph sighed and turned around to face the others. Everyone was there now except his parents. He had a feeling they weren’t going to get involved unless things went bad. And they could go bad.
“No, sorry. What did you say?”
“I asked if you wanted more coffee.”
“Sure.” He walked over and let his brother refill his cup.
Lee and Evan didn’t say anything when he carried his cup over to the table and took a seat across from them. They kept to themselves most of the time and seemed closer to each other than he and his twin were. There were times that he envied that about them. He missed the connection he and Jessup had once shared. Where once they knew each other’s thoughts and feelings as if they were their own, now he only got bits and pieces that only left him aching for the way things had once been. Something else they had broken when he’d been captured.
Kindle and Galen passed plates filled with meat, eggs, and toast to everyone then joined them at the table. When Jessup sat next to him and Levi took the chair at the head of the table, Joseph felt the only measure of peace he ever felt anymore. Being this close to his family felt good, but it wouldn’t last. It never did.
He listened as everyone talked about everything except for the reason they had brought him back. Updates on the ranch and gossip from the pack as well as tales from town filled the spaces while they ate their fill. Slowly the tension in the room built, smothering him in the process. His wolf whined inside of him. It didn’t understand the man’s anxiety at being among pack or his resistance to finding his mate. Now that he had a whiff of her, his wolf expected him to find her and take her.
Lee and Evan cleared the table but returned before starting the dishes. Evidently it was time. Joseph sighed with relief. He would be on his way to town soon.
“Jessup found his mate.” Levi looked down at him from his position at the head of the table.
“Congratulations, brother. Have you claimed her yet?” Joseph asked.
“No. I needed to know if she was your mate as well.”
“Doesn’t matter if she is. I’m not fit for mating. Claim her and take good care of her.” Joseph started to get up.
“Sit down, Joseph.” Levi stood up and crossed his arms against his chest.
Joseph settled back in his chair. He looked into his oldest brother’s eyes and waited.
“If you are also her mate, not claiming her could be dangerous for her. You’ve got to meet her and be sure. You don’t want to doom her to a life of feeling half-fulfilled. If you are her mate and you don’t claim her, she could very well become ill or be unable to conceive.”
“That’s a fucking old wives’ tale. How many women never meet their mates and continue on despite that?”
“Look at Sarah, brother,” Jessup finally spoke up. “Her mate died before they joined and she’s all but crazy from it. I don’t want Nessa to go through that.”
Joseph looked in Jessup’s eyes. Worry and anger warred inside of his twin. Joseph couldn’t help but wonder which would win and what that meant for their fragile relationship. He knew Jessup hadn’t forgiven him for joining the Marines all those years ago. It had caused a rift between them and it looked like now it was going to endanger his brother’s mate as well.
“Fuck! What in the hell do you want me to do? I’m not stable enough to care for a mate. What do you expect me to do?”
“The only thing you can do. If she’s your mate, you help your brother claim her and then you leave them alone,” Levi said.
* * * *
Nessa Clemmons climbed out of her ragged Honda Civic and sighed. She was in for a long night ahead of her. The truck stop outside of Wolf’s Pass looked busy. She worked as a waitress in the diner side of the truck stop. It was supposed to be her night off, but one of the other waitresses had called in sick. As much as she needed the extra hours, she was tired and needed the sleep even more. Her back still ached from the beating she’d taken from her stepbrother several days before. It had made it nearly impossible to get a good day’s sleep.
Pasting on a smile, she entered the employee’s entrance and grabbed her apron before clocking in to start the shift. Buster, the cook, noticed her and stopped her before she made it into the front.
“Thanks, Nessa. I really appreciate it. Carol Ann has the flu bug and was throwing her toenails up.”
“No problem. I need the extra hours. I better get out there and help Sandy. She looks overwhelmed.”
He nodded and she pushed through the door to get started. Most of the patrons of the truck stop were actually truckers, but there were a few locals and what looked like a table of bikers in the back corner. Sandy caught sight of her and the relief that washed ov
er her face made her smile. Besides, her stepbrother, Derrick, would probably show up at home drunk again, and she wouldn’t be able to escape another beating if he didn’t like what she fixed him to eat. Not that he actually needed a reason to beat her. He pretty much did what he wanted to regardless.
Her mind drifted to Jessup, the man she’d met several weeks before when he’d come in after a long trip into Billings on business. He had stopped for coffee to help him make it the rest of the way home, and she had waited on him. They had hit it off right away, and she had agreed to go out with him on her next day off. It had been a magical night for her. Jessup had been a perfect gentleman, though he had kissed her. She wasn’t a virgin by any means, but she hadn’t been with many men. It had been obvious from the beginning that he was honorable and kind. She could still remember his scent. It was like a mountain forest full of pine trees.
They’d spent several days just hanging out when she wasn’t at work. They’d gone to the movies once and had a picnic another time. She knew it was too soon, but something about him called to her. She felt as if she’d known him all her life already. She knew she was falling for him, and though it was fast, it felt like she already loved him.
Shaking her head, Nessa concentrated on work. She didn’t want to think about the beating she’d received for getting home late the other night. No, she only wanted to think about Jessup and how much she liked him. He’d called her several times to talk, and they planned to see each other that weekend. Hopefully Carol Ann would be okay by tomorrow night. She didn’t want to miss out on being with him.