by R. E. Butler
“No, Dom and Ehrin are getting dressed and will be down here in a few minutes.”
“What are your plans for today?” John asked.
“We’re going to take Ehrin to the craft store, and then tonight we’re going to take her out on a date.”
“Sounds fun,” John said. “Where are you going on your date?”
“Dinner and a movie, but we haven’t decided on where to eat yet.”
“We took Rue to a Brazilian steakhouse,” James said. “That was pretty neat.”
“Cool.” Henry gathered mugs and filled them with coffee. “It’s our first date, so we want it to be special. Which is kind of weird.”
John arched a brow. “What’s weird about it?”
“We’re already mated. It feels like we skipped a step, even though everything also feels very right.”
John and James both smiled knowingly.
James set his mug down and leaned back in the chair. “We felt the same way. Before we’d even had a chance to get to know Rue, we claimed her. At least Ehrin isn’t fighting the mating.”
Henry could be thankful for that. If they’d met Ehrin and she hadn’t been willing to mate them, he would be beside himself.
James pushed his chair back and stood. “Before I forget, some of the rooms on this floor are full of old junk.”
Henry set down the plates and silverware. “Um, okay?”
James laughed. “Sorry, I mean it might be worth digging around to see if there’s anything Ehrin can use. I don’t know that there is, mind you, but when we moved in here, there was crap everywhere and we were renting at the time, so we didn’t throw anything away. Now that the pride owns the house, it’s kind of out of sight, out of mind.”
“And if Ehrin’s looking for a workspace,” John said as he carried his mug to the sink, “we could empty a room out. In fact, we should probably go through the rooms and clean them out anyway. We could use the space.”
“Well,” Henry said, “I don’t know about cleaning all the rooms out, but if Ehrin wants a place to sew, and I’m sure she does, then we’ll get one cleaned and organized.”
“And maybe you’ll find a sewing machine or something else she can use,” James said.
Henry said his goodbyes and turned his attention to the meal. By the time he’d heated the syrup and scrambled a half-dozen eggs, Ehrin and Dom had joined him in the kitchen.
Ehrin helped him finish up and they all sat together, her at the end of the table and he and Dom on either side. Henry explained what he’d learned about the rooms on the first floor.
“Oh, that would be so nice,” Ehrin said. “I wasn’t sure where I’d be able to work.”
“We could move the bed out of my old room,” Dom said, “but I’m not sure you want wood chips and sawdust on your creations, and it’s kind of hard to control that.”
“It might be a little more rustic than I’m used to,” she said with a smile. She cut her waffle into bite-sized pieces and then crumbled two strips of bacon over top before drizzling syrup over everything.
She picked up a waffle and bacon-laden fork and said, “You guys are looking at me like I’m a nut.”
Dom swiped a piece of bacon through a pool of syrup on his plate and took a bite. “Not nuts. Adorable.”
“Well, I aim to please.”
Henry took out his phone and opened the movie theater app. “Do you want to see a funny movie tonight? Or something romantic?”
She leaned over and watched him scroll through the choices.
“I like funny movies, but I like action ones, too. I like to save romantic movies for rainy days when I can cuddle up with a blanket and some hot tea.”
Henry made a mental note to get her a blanket just for romantic movie cuddling. He wasn’t much for the sappy sorts of films that the females in the house enjoyed, but if it made Ehrin happy, then he’d learn to like them, too.
They settled on an action movie about a disgraced cop attempting to clear his name. Henry ordered the tickets while Dom and Ehrin discussed dinner options. He told them about the restaurant James had suggested, and they all agreed it sounded like a winner.
“I’ll get the dishes,” Dom said. “Go ahead to the rooms and see what you can find. I’ll join you when I’m done.”
Ehrin leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Thanks.”
“Sure thing, sweetheart.”
Henry took Ehrin down the hallway past the family room toward the unused rooms on the first floor.
“Let’s start at the farthest one from the family room.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Because it can get noisy in the family room when everyone’s watching a movie or hanging out. I figure you might like some privacy.”
“It would be nice to be able to concentrate,” she said.
The door stuck a little, but he shoved his shoulder into it and it squeaked open. “I think it’s humidity that causes the doors to stick sometimes, but if it’s a real issue, we can sand them down.”
He flicked on the overhead light. There were two old, dusty couches in the room, several floor lamps, and some wall mirrors leaning against the furniture.
“This is a nice room,” he said, opening a closet door and finding it full of boxes.
She pulled back the heavy curtains and sneezed when dust flew up with the motion. Waving her hand in front of her face, she took a step back and smiled. “The view’s nice, but the dust has to go.”
Dom walked into the room. “Judging by the dust cloud, I’m guessing we shouldn’t sit on the couches either.”
Ehrin laughed. “Probably not. What were these rooms used for?”
Henry poked around inside the closet but didn’t see anything aside from the boxes. “The previous owner said they were offices and storage. One of the rooms was mostly empty, so the pride uses it for an office. The kids will go in there to use the computer for homework or playing games.”
They moved from that room to the others, poking around in the closets and peeking into the boxes. Although they didn’t find a sewing machine like he’d hoped they might, they did find an old desk that Ehrin said would be perfect. She decided to use the farthest room at the end of the hall, and Henry knew the pride would help them clear it out and get it cleaned so she could start rebuilding her business. She was smiling, and her eyes were glittering with excitement as she talked about setting up the room and making clothing.
“Thank you so much,” she said, giving Henry and then Dom a hug.
“For what?” Henry asked.
“Your support. My grandma was the only person who ever really supported my sewing. My parents were glad I learned a trade that would, according to my father, make me a good wife and mother, but they didn’t really care about it, or that it made me happy.”
“We definitely want you to do what you love and be happy,” Dom said.
She smiled. “I want that for you both, too.”
“We’re happy,” Henry said. “We’ve got you.”
* * *
They left the room she’d chosen, and she stopped at the door to the office. “I need to get online before we leave. I haven’t checked my email or website since I left the nest.”
Dom looked at Henry. “Let’s find out what our dads want us to do with those two couches and we can get them cleared.”
“See you in a bit,” Henry said to her.
She blew them both a kiss and sat down at the computer. Setting her phone on the desk, she pulled the keyboard tray out and opened the main page of her email host. After typing her login information, she clicked Enter and frowned when red-colored font appeared stating her email address was not found.
She entered her information again and was met with the same negative response. Closing the browser, she cleared the cookies and history from the computer and reopened the email host, only to find that her account was still missing.
She went to the help menu, and clicked the link for account recovery. When she entered her cell phone number to prove she w
as the account holder, the notification stated that the number had been changed.
A sinking feeling settled in her stomach. She typed in her website address and the screen prompt stated the site had been deleted. Her eyes stung with tears, but she blinked them away and picked up her phone to call her parents. There was no other explanation for her account closings except for someone doing it on purpose.
She pushed the Call button.
‘Phone service has been terminated on this account.’
“What the…?” she said, looking at the screen. She’d just used the phone that morning.
Had her parents not only deleted her website and email account but also taken her off their account? She paid her cell bill, but it was on her parents’ plan.
She slammed the phone on the desk and put her head in her hands.
They’d hobbled her financially. She couldn’t access her website that she’d worked so hard on. There were photo galleries of clothing she’d made over the years that were only on the website. Her client information was in her email, which she’d been locked out of. And now her phone was useless except for texting and internet with Wi-Fi.
“Baby?” Henry asked, coming into the room with Dom on his heels. “What’s wrong?”
She sniffled and blinked rapidly to dispel the tears, but she couldn’t stop them from rolling down her cheeks. Trying to hold back the sobs and explain what had happened, she shared her suspicions with her mates. By the time she told them about her phone, she’d lost the ability to speak coherently. She was utterly wrecked by the thought of her parents behaving so vengefully.
Henry and Dom pulled her from the chair and hugged her between them.
“They’re bastards,” Dom said. “But you can’t let this ruin you, okay? You’ll get through this.”
“I should’ve changed all my passwords when I left home. I only changed my bank information.”
Henry tucked his finger under her chin. “You couldn’t have known that they’d behave so terribly.”
“This is worse than them kicking me out. It’s like they want me to suffer.”
“Do you think your alpha was behind it?” Dom asked quietly.
“Maybe.” She rested her ear over Henry’s heart and inhaled deeply. Exhaling with a sigh, she said, “I guess it doesn’t really matter. It’s done. I really do have to start from scratch.”
“Fortunately,” Dom said, brushing her hair from her shoulders and kissing her neck, “you have two very willing mates who are eager to help.”
“What if I can’t get back to where I was before?” she asked.
“You’ll get there in time. There’s no clock running on your ability to be successful,” Henry said.
“I was going to call them,” she said, turning in Henry’s arms and looking at Dom.
He rested his hands on her hips and gave them a squeeze. “Your parents?”
“Yeah. Then they shut my phone off. It was like they knew exactly when to do it to hurt me.”
“You can still call them if you want,” Henry said.
She shook her head. “I felt really unwanted before, but now I feel downright forsaken. They cut me out of their lives in a way that would hurt me the most. I don’t want anything to do with them.”
Henry squeezed her shoulder. “Did you check your bank account?”
“I changed everything on it when I came to Ashland.”
“Just to be safe, though,” he suggested.
“Okay.” She sat at the computer and opened the browser, entering her bank name. Her heart started to pound as she typed her log in information. When she clicked Enter, she held her breath, letting it out in relief when the account opened and her money was still there.
“We can be thankful for small miracles,” Dom said. “They didn’t take everything from you.”
“Good thing.” She chuckled humorlessly. “I was already jobless and homeless. I didn’t want to also be entirely destitute.”
“You wouldn’t be anyway,” Henry said. “We’re your family now, and you have whatever you need right here. A home, a place to set up your sewing business, and two supportive males who are crazy about you.”
She swiveled in the chair to face them. “Are you?”
“What?” Dom asked.
“Crazy about me.”
“How could we not be?” Henry said. “You’re sweet, funny, and gorgeous.”
Dom leaned over, resting his hands on the chair arms. “And ours.”
Her bird trilled in happiness. She cupped Dom’s face and stared into his blue eyes, then looked up at Henry and held out one hand to him. He linked their fingers with a smile. “I’m crazy about you both. And I’m glad I’m yours.”
Henry bent down and kissed her, sliding his hand into her hair and massaging the back of her neck.
“Um,” she whispered, “shut the door.”
“We should take this party upstairs,” Dom said. “The kids are in the family room, and even with a locked door it’s not super private in here.”
“Upstairs it is,” she said.
She logged out of her bank account and tucked her phone into her back pocket. She’d need to get a new account and number, and she was staring down the barrel of a lot of work to get her business up and running again, but with her two sexy cats by her side, she knew she could do it.
Her parents might’ve been trying to hurt her or erase her from their lives, but she had a right to live and work, and someday have a family with her mates. If they didn’t want to be part of it, then that was on them and she’d move on with the pride, who didn’t care that she’d never shifted before.
She reached the bedroom first and their clothing hit the floor in a flurry as she lost herself in her mates and their affection. She didn’t need a website and emails right then; she had all she needed in that room. Everything else was just details.
* * *
Dom carried the packages from the craft store into the house. Behind him, Henry followed with the sewing machine Ehrin had bought after seeing a flyer in the craft store for a second hand shop that had them for sale. He didn’t know anything about sewing machines, but Ehrin had been excited to see one particular model in the store, and they’d picked it up along with a dress form, ironing board, and iron.
“Hey,” Holden said, taking two bags from Dom’s arms and carrying them. “I heard you needed some help with the couches in one of the rooms.”
“Yeah,” Dom said. “You busy?”
“Not at all.”
“Thanks,” Henry called.
They set the items in the office and joined Holden in the room Ehrin had chosen.
“Where are we putting these?” Holden asked.
“Out at the street. Dad called a local charity, and they’ll come get them later today,” Henry said.
The couches were old and heavy, but between the three of them, they moved them out of the room and outside. When they returned, Ehrin was sweeping the hardwood floor and had pulled down the curtains.
“Does anything need to come in here?” Holden asked, leaning against the doorjamb.
“Just the desk in the other room,” Ehrin said, looking up. “But I need to clean the floor, walls, and fixtures first.”
Dom looked at the walls. “Seriously?”
She nodded. “The room is a dusty mess and needs to be cleaned top to bottom.”
“Sounds like you’ll all be very busy,” Holden said with a chuckle.
“Worth it, though,” Henry said.
Ehrin beamed at him and Dom smiled. “What can I do, love?”
“I left the microfiber mop and floor cleaner in the office.”
“On my way.” He walked out of the room with Holden.
“I’m happy you guys found your mate,” Holden said.
“Us, too.” He glanced at the male, then stopped at the office door. Holden stopped next to him. “How are you and Jackson doing?”
In September, several female mountain lions had tried to kill Dom’s step
sister Jilly’s twin mates while everyone was out for a full moon hunt. Treasure had burned the females to a crisp, but they hadn’t been alone. Holden and Jackson had found a female named Honor, who was the leader of the Canadian all-female pride. Just like what had happened with Jilly and her mates, Holden and Jackson shared blood with Honor and the curse was lifted. But before they could help her understand what was happening, she ran away and disappeared with several other females.
Holden exhaled. “It’s been rough. We keep hoping Honor will just show up one day, that she’ll realize we’re her mates and seek us out.”
“Melody doesn’t know where they live?”
Their niece Melody had been kept captive with the Canadian pride, but had escaped and run in her shift to Ashland.
“She doesn’t know where she was or how long she ran in her shift until she reached civilization. I’m afraid we’re just stuck waiting for Honor and hoping for the best.”
Dom and Henry were fortunate. They hadn’t met their mate and lost her the way that Holden and Jackson had.
“I’m sorry. I hope she comes to you soon.”
Holden nodded, his eyes full of pain. “Thanks. Let me know if you need any more help moving furniture.”
“Will do.”
Dom grabbed the supplies and returned to the room. The trio spent the afternoon scrubbing every inch of the room. He’d never cleaned so thoroughly in his life, but Ehrin’s happiness at the transformation made it all worthwhile. They cleaned the desk and moved it into the room, and Henry set up the sewing machine for her while Dom liberated a small, two-drawer dresser from another storage room.
She sat at the desk and put her hands on the sewing machine, running her fingers over the top. “This is so much nicer than what I had before.” She swiveled in the chair and stood, rushing to him and Henry. They caught her between them in a three-way hug. “Thank you for your help.”
“Anytime,” Henry said.
Her stomach growled, and Dom chuckled. “I think someone needs to eat.”
“I’m starving. We worked through lunch. You guys must be hungry, too.”
“Let’s see what’s in the kitchen,” Henry said.