“You look like a very happily mated woman,” Martha said finally, laughing softly at the sweet blush that came to Shelly’s cheeks.
“I am. Eli and Max are the best. I’m so thankful that I’ve found them. They’re better than anything I could have ever imagined as my mates. My fathers were right. I have two sweet wolves to love and protect me.”
“It’s as it should be, Shelly,” Martha told her as she led the way into her home. Entering the kitchen, she pointed to the chair that was closest to her and instructed Shelly to sit. “I’ve made you a cheeseburger and fries.”
“Oh, Martha! Thank you!”
Shelly gushed with excitement as Martha placed the plate stacked high with fries in front of her. Beside the fries was a perfectly grilled hamburger with extra cheese on a huge bulkie roll, just the way Shelly liked it.
Martha laughed softly as she placed plates that held cheeseburgers and fries at two of the other sittings. Shelly knew that one was for Martha and the other was for Janine. She was relieved that the young woman was going to join them.
“Janine, honey! Lunch is ready!” Martha called out, looking at Shelly with great joy when she heard the thumping of Janine’s feet on the stairs as she ran down them to join them in the kitchen.
“Shelly! I’m so glad you’re here,” Janine said happily as she came over and hugged Shelly tightly before kissing her cheek sloppily. “Mom said you were coming for lunch.”
“I wouldn’t miss it,” Shelly said as she snatched a fry and popped it into her mouth. She couldn’t help but moan at the delicious, salty flavor.
Janine laughed at the soft growls of pleasure that left her big sister. She took her seat across from Shelly and snatched one of the fries from her plate. She bit into it hungrily, unable to keep her own moans of appreciation from escaping her.
“I think my two girls are hungry,” Martha said, laughing softly.
She placed the large plastic bottle of catsup between her cubs and moved her hands away quickly as both Shelly and Janine grabbed for it at the same time. Both of them held on tightly, neither one of them wanting to give up their prize. Martha was overwhelmed with happiness at the way the two of them always acted when it came to grabbing the catsup first. The bargaining was about to begin, and Martha couldn’t be more pleased. It meant that Janine was happy and back to her old self.
“Okay, cub, what are you going to give me to let go of the catsup?” Shelly asked her very seriously. “I think it had better be something good because I’m pretty hungry and I need catsup for my fries.”
Janine looked at Shelly and judged her determination to keep the catsup for herself. It looked as if Shelly was pretty adamant that she get the catsup first.
“How about if you just let me have it first because I’m your little sister and I’m adorable?” Janine asked her seriously.
Shelly’s bark of laughter filled the kitchen. “Oh, cub, you’re going to have to do better than that,” she said, quirking her eyebrow and letting Janine know that she wasn’t going to give up her catsup easily.
“How about if you give me the catsup first and I’ll give you one of my caramel apple lollipops?”
“Do you have caramel apple lollipops?” Shelly asked warily.
“I have a whole box. Daddy and Poppa gave it to me yesterday,” Janine said quickly. “It has forty-eight lollipops in it.”
“And you’re only offering me one?” Shelly asked, her voice holding the insult that she was pretending to feel.
Janine couldn’t help but laugh. Her blue eyes twinkled with mischief as she looked at Shelly. Boy, she really missed her big sister.
“Shelly, I’ll share the entire box with you,” Janine told her sincerely. “But only if you let me have the catsup.”
Shelly released her hold on the catsup bottle, shaking her head as Janine snatched it up, unsnapped the cap, and squirted a huge dollop onto her dish and over her fries. Humming with satisfaction, she handed the bottle back to Shelly and smiled.
“I want three lollipops,” Shelly bargained as she accepted the catsup.
“Three? Why three?” Janine asked as she dragged a fry through the mountain of catsup she had squirted onto her plate and popped it into her mouth.
“One for me, one for Max, and one for Eli,” Shelly explained as she squirted the catsup over her own fries.
“Your mates are good guys, Shelly?” Janine asked softly, concern filling her.
“They’re the best,” Shelly answered without pause. “I love them so much.”
“That’s good.”
Janine’s voice was soft as she spoke. It was obvious to Shelly that Janine was thinking very hard about something. She could feel the instant sadness in her little sister. Pushing her omega abilities into her, she pressed love and support deep so Janine would understand that she would never be alone.
“Janine, I have to tell you about a dream that I had about you,” Shelly said quietly, looking at Martha and wondering if she should continue. She saw Martha nod once and knew that it would be okay to tell Janine what she had seen.
“You had a dream about me?” Janine was completely surprised. “Why would you dream about me?”
“I don’t know, but it was a really nice dream, honey,” Shelly said gently.
“It was?”
“It was.”
“What was it about?”
“I saw you at college,” Shelly began.
“College? What college?”
“I’m not sure, honey. Be quiet and let me finish.”
“Okay, Shelly. Sorry. Go ahead.”
Shelly couldn’t help but smile. Janine was such a sweetheart. She was glad that she could sense interest and happiness from her little sister right then. There was a lingering sadness, but maybe what Shelly was about to tell her would help her.
“I saw you at college,” Shelly continued. “There were two men who were walking on either side of you. One was blond and his hair was a little longer. It touched his shoulders. The other one had really dark hair. I couldn’t see their faces because they were looking to the side as they talked to you, but I could tell that they were both very happy.”
Janine hesitated with a fry halfway to her mouth, completely enthralled by Shelly’s words. “They were?” she whispered.
“Very happy,” Shelly said firmly. “They were laughing and you were smiling.”
Janine didn’t say anything for a moment. She put down her fry and sighed softly. “That doesn’t mean anything, Shelly,” she said after a moment. “They don’t have to be anything to me.”
“No. You’re wrong, honey,” Shelly disagreed. “I know they were your mates.”
“Yeah, right,” Janine said, snorting in a most unladylike manner.
“You know how I know they were your mates, Janine?” Shelly asked gently. “Do you want me to tell you?”
“Sure.”
“You were holding their hands.”
“That still doesn’t mean anything, Shelly.”
“You were also wearing their claiming marks,” Shelly added gently. “I could see them when your shirt moved.”
Janine gasped. “You saw their claiming marks?”
“I did.”
“Mom, are you going to be mad at me if I mate when I’m in college?” Janine asked, worry filling her immediately.
“No, baby. I won’t be upset. I’ll be happy that you’ve found and claimed your men,” Martha answered with all honesty. “I’ve been mated to your fathers since I was twenty-one years old. I’ve never regretted that choice.” She reached out and took Janine’s hand in hers. “Just promise me that you’ll finish college.”
“I will,” Janine whispered, overwhelmed by everything.
“You know what else I saw in the dream, Janine?” Shelly asked as she picked up her cheeseburger and prepared to bite into it.
“What?”
“I saw a beautiful necklace with a gold chain. There was a garnet heart on it. I think that’s very telling.”
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“What do you mean, Shelly?”
Shelly looked at Janine’s beautiful, innocent face and smiled softly. It was so wonderful to know that the Fates had destined her little sister to have such loving men as her mates.
“If your men gave you a necklace with a stone in the shape of a heart, it tells me that they’re very romantic men who wanted to show you how much they care about you with the symbol of that stone,” Shelly explained quietly. “I could sense their kindness. I also saw how much they cherished you by the way they were holding your hands.”
“How were they were holding my hands?” Janine whispered, her food forgotten as hope filled her. Maybe there were two men out there waiting for her. She was afraid to hope, but felt the spark of it beginning to ignite deep inside of her.
“The way they held your hands showed me that they craved your touch. As you were walking and your hands fell from theirs, they reached for you at once and held them again. The man with the dark hair brought your hand to his mouth to kiss it. The man with the blond hair held your hand against his chest and leaned over to kiss your cheek before he nuzzled against your temple. They both embraced you carefully, and they were smiling as you settled between them. The way they felt about you was obvious in the way they touched and held you, Janine. I think you’re going to be a very lucky woman.”
Janine folded her hands on her lap, twining her fingers together as nerves assailed her. Shelly had to be wrong. She wasn’t going to have any mates, certainly not mates who cherished and loved her. Wasn’t she unlovable? That’s what the words she had heard made her feel.
She had to remind herself that she was thought of as spoiled and mean. She had overheard the cruel words. She had heard that she was looked upon by the entire pack as a girl who needed to be put in her place. She remembered the words.
No one will ever want her, the voice had said.
Chapter 22
Shelly walked down the worn dirt path toward the lake. It had been an enjoyable lunch with Martha and Janine, but she had sensed Janine’s withdrawal after she had told her about the dream. She didn’t understand why, but Janine had become very quiet. No matter how Martha or Shelly had tried to engage her in conversation again, Janine had remained silent. She had barely touched her lunch. Every time Shelly had tried to search out Janine’s feelings with her omega abilities, she had found a solid wall surrounding Janine’s heart.
Taking a calming breath, she thought through the entire lunch over and over again as she walked toward the lake. Maybe she would think of something as she swam. Maybe Max and Eli would give her a fresh perspective when she told them what had happened. All she knew was, she had to help Janine. She was such a sweet cub. Shelly adored her and wanted her to be happy.
The sound of a snapping twig behind her made Shelly jump. Before she could turn around, she found herself being wrapped in strong arms and thrown to the ground.
The first hit was a surprise. The second hit was expected. Shelly did her best to wrap herself into a ball to protect her body as best she could from her mother’s ire. It was no use. Vera Moore was intent on doing damage. Shelly knew Vera was going to be successful.
“I’ve told you and told you that you’re not worthy of having a mate, Shelly,” Vera yelled as she continued to punch and kick at Shelly’s back and head. “I’ve forbidden you to mate. I’ve forbidden you to sully yourself with the disgusting men who dare to believe in triads.”
“Stop!” Shelly screamed, reaching out and gripping Vera’s leg and pulling with a strength born of a lifetime of being made to feel less and unworthy of attention or love. “You can’t hurt me anymore.”
Vera’s laugh was cold and heartless. “Oh, how wrong you are, Shelly,” she said calmly as she picked up a small branch with several lateral sprouts that she knew would tear into Shelly’s skin perfectly. “I’m going to teach you a lesson. You will never defy me again. When I’m finished with you, you’ll be more than willing to do whatever I tell you to do and mate with the one man I tell you to mate with.”
She knelt on the small of Shelly’s back to hold her in place. Reaching up, she gripped the collar of Shelly’s shirt and sliced it with the tip of her claw. She tore the material apart to expose Shelly’s bare back. Lifting her arm, she began her assault.
“I’m already mated,” Shelly protested angrily, screaming out each time the branch Vera swung with such viciousness connected with her back.
It seemed that Vera’s anger knew no bounds. She swung repeatedly. The many jagged edges of the branch cut through Shelly’s skin and sent excruciating pain coursing through her.
“I’ll take care of that,” Vera vowed, swinging again and again, experiencing great satisfaction every time Shelly screamed and another series of wounds opened up on Shelly’s already injured back. “I’ll also take care of the bastard you’re carrying.”
Shelly was frozen in shock. She was pregnant?
Before she could react, she saw the great looming figure of a man step around Vera and reach for her. She shrunk back in fear. She had never seen such evil in any man’s eyes as she did in this man’s. She could feel the taint of true hatred in his heart as he smiled down at her. Who was this man?
“Enough, Vera,” the man said firmly, his deep voice resonating through Shelly’s skull. “This needs to be finished in the privacy of your house. Once she is cleaned of the abomination of the triad mating, I will take her to my pack land.”
“No,” Shelly whispered. The pain in her back was throbbing, but it was the pain in her heart that was nearly crippling her.
“You have no say in this,” the man said without concern. “You were pledged to be mine the night your fathers died.”
He picked Shelly up, his arms bands of steel around her as he turned and carried her toward Vera’s house. Shelly tried to struggle—she really did. Nothing she could do gave her one moment of relief from the man’s cruel hold. She knew in her heart that this man was someone that she wasn’t going to be able to fight alone.
In that moment, her mind took over in order to protect her. She found escape in the darkness as unconsciousness took her.
“It’s a nice day for an afternoon swim,” Max said as he and Eli walked toward the lake.
“It is,” Eli agreed.
Both men were dressed in their jeans, black Tshirts, and boots. They had worked all morning, as well as an hour after lunch to fix the roof of their new home. They were both proud that it was now completely repaired. They liked being able to keep the home that they shared with Shelly cozy and safe.
Max couldn’t help but chuckled at his thoughts. He kept picturing how he saw their home—a haven where they would live a life of happiness with their mate.
“What are you laughing at?” Eli asked him, smiling as he faced his triad partner.
“I was just thinking about our home,” Max explained. “I feel like we’ve helped to keep it a safe place for us to live with Shelly and our cubs.”
“That’s a nice thought. Maybe we’ll be making our little girl today,” Eli offered.
“I hope we do.”
“Yeah. Me, too.”
They made it to the water’s edge in no time. Looking around, they didn’t see Shelly and grew concerned. Both of them had an uneasy feeling. Max looked at Eli and saw his triad partner sniffing the air. He felt the disturbance, too.
“Something’s not right,” Eli said after a moment.
“I feel it, too. Something smells off.”
“I believe you’re scenting the anger of your alpha,” Alpha Randall’s deep voice boomed from behind them.
Before either Max or Eli could turn around, they were jumped by six of Randall’s men. Ethan and Boyd Webber wrapped silver ropes around their necks and held them down, offering Max’s and Eli’s backs to their alpha.
In an instant, both men felt the repeated lashing of Randall’s whip that he always carried with him. Randall loved that whip. It was tipped in silver. It cut into their backs with unerring acc
uracy. The pain was instant. The agony went deep as the silver from the whip, as well as the silver of the ropes that were wrapped around their necks, seeped into their systems, weakened them, and made them unable to fight.
The scream of pain that rent the air made both men freeze as horror filled them. They knew they were hearing their mate’s voice calling out in agony.
Baby! Max called out to Shelly through their link, clenching his teeth as he struggled with all his might to get loose. He ignored the constant barrage of pain that laced across his back. It was nothing. The pain he felt through their link was driving him insane with fear and anger.
“No!” Eli yelled, hearing the words being yelled at Shelly through their link.
I’ve told you and told you that you’re not worthy of having a mate, Shelly. I’ve forbidden you to mate. I’ve forbidden you to sully yourself with the disgusting men who dare to believe in triads.
Stop! You can’t hurt me anymore.
Oh, how wrong you are, Shelly. I’m going to teach you a lesson. You will never defy me again. When I’m finished with you, you’ll be more than willing to do whatever I tell you to do and mate with the one man that I tell you to mate with.
I’m already mated.
I’ll take care of that.
“No,” Max moaned, feeling the pain that Shelly was experiencing. Shelly.
Oh, sweetheart, Eli whispered in Shelly’s mind. We’ve failed you.
“Stand them up,” Randall demanded, allowing the bloodied whip to hang by his side as he watched his men drag both Max and Eli to their feet to stand before him.
Shelly, baby. Please answer us, Max pleaded through their link.
I can’t sense her, Max.
Both men stood before Randall, anger and pain filling them. They had to get to Shelly. Their sweet and loving mate needed them.
Chapter 23
Max and Eli stood before Alpha Randall. Their bodies were wracked with pain from the silver that was already coursing through their bodies from the merciless whipping that they had sustained.
Shelly's Forbidden Mates [Beckett's Wolf Pack, Triad Mates 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) Page 24