Shelly's Forbidden Mates [Beckett's Wolf Pack, Triad Mates 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More)

by Lynette Bernard

  “You still have homes ready for us?” Synthia asked, surprised. She hadn’t thought that the promises made to them as children would be honored after all this time.

  “Of course,” Jace told her, reaching out and hugging her to him carefully, looking over his shoulder and growling softly as he looked at Simon and Warren, clear warning flashing in his golden eyes. He pressed his alpha powers out toward the men, giving them the understanding that he would not tolerate their interference in greeting his sisters.

  “I want to go to my home, but I think I’ll wait a while,” Shelly said softly as she reached out and wrapped her arms around Jace’s waist to hug him tightly. “I feel a little nervous about going there. Does that make sense?”

  “It does, honey,” Jace told her gently. “The day you left pack land, you were pretty upset. You still need to explain some things to me, Shelly.”

  Shelly rubbed at her temple gently. She could feel the beginnings of a headache and tried to press through the pain. It was as if something was pushing at her mind, trying to make her remember, but she was stubbornly locking it away.

  “What’s wrong, honey?” Jackson asked gently, reaching up and threading his fingers through her hair at her right temple and massaging it carefully.

  “Headache,” she whispered. “I don’t feel well.”

  “She needs to rest,” Synthia spoke up, stepping closer to her sister and rubbing soothing circles across her back. She looked up at Jace and pleaded with her eyes for his understanding.

  Jace nodded once, wrapping his arms around both of them and hugging them gently. “You both do,” he said quietly.

  “Thanks, big brother,” Shelly whispered, her body going lax against his.

  “Any time, Shelly,” Jace whispered.

  “I love you, you know,” she told him, smiling at the immediate chuff of pleasure that escaped him.

  “Hey! What about me?” Jackson protested, tugging on her hair to pull her head back so that she could look up at him.

  “I love you, too, Jackson,” Shelly said, laughing softly as she turned into his hand and nuzzled it gently. “Even if you are annoying.”

  Synthia laughed at the teasing. She loved it when Shelly teased their brothers. It gave her a little hope that Shelly was becoming more comfortable with being back on Beckett’s pack land. Maybe soon she would be able to allow the veil of protection that had surrounded her painful memories to be lifted. She hoped so, for her sister’s sake.

  “Oh, you’re going to pay for that, cub,” Jackson threatened her, his deep voice rumbling with promise.

  “Yeah, yeah,” Shelly said, throwing her head back and laughing softly. “All talk, Jackson.”

  As Jackson embraced Shelly and lifted her off her feet so he could spin her around as he tugged on her long hair, Jace reached for Synthia. He smiled tenderly at her, his soft growls echoing through the living room. He was enjoying this—a lot. He would normally never antagonize the men of a new triad, but this was something that he felt he needed to do. He needed Simon and Warren to know that Synthia was cherished by him, Jackson, and every member of their pack family. He needed Simon and Warren to know that they would be, as well. The Fates would not have destined Synthia to be their mate if they had not been worthy men.

  “Jackson, if you don’t stop spinning me around, I’m going to puke on you,” Shelly told him firmly, laughing with complete abandon as Jackson released her immediately.

  She lost her balance and started to fall when she felt four strong hands reaching for her and keeping her upright. She turned her head to thank the two men, but the words caught in her throat as she looked into the beautiful hazel eyes of the man with the dark hair, and the gentle brown eyes of the man with the blond hair. She suddenly realized that she felt no fear as they touched her. She tried to identify what it was that she was feeling and realized that she felt warmth, contentment, and belonging. It was the sadness that rushed through her that made her carefully ease out of their hold and take one step away from them.

  “Sorry about that,” she said softly. “Thanks for saving me from falling on my ass.”

  Both men’s immediate grins made her smile. That smile disappeared in an instant when both men took a step toward her. She could sense their attraction to her and their need to embrace her. The sadness that she was feeling intensified to a level that was nearly crippling. Pressing her fingertips to her temples, she pressed firmly and took deep, even breaths.

  “I need to leave,” she whispered, something close to panic welling up inside of her.

  “We’ll take you wherever you need to go,” Max offered, careful to keep his distance from her.

  “Do you need me to carry you?” Eli asked, clearly upset by her pale appearance. He could feel the sickness slamming through her head and her stomach. They may not have the mental link with her anymore, but he was definitely in tune with her physical feelings.

  “No!” Shelly shouted, stepping back and slamming into Jackson’s chest as he stood behind her. “Jackson, can you take me to the home that Abbey is sharing with her mates?”

  “Sure, Shelly,” he answered without hesitation. He saw the way Max and Eli clenched their jaws and fisted their hands at their sides as they fought the urge to reach out and take care of their woman. Good. He wanted them to need her. They had to fix this problem. The more agitated they were, and the more frustrated that he and Jace could make them, made Jackson know that this was exactly what needed to happen. It might possibly serve to put an end to this stand-off.

  “Synthia, I’ve asked Simon and Warren to be certain of your safety,” Jace told her calmly.

  Synthia looked over her right shoulder to stare at the men who stood silently at the edge of the living room. She took a deep breath and drew in their scent, her eyes flashing golden as her wolf stepped up and took notice.

  “Jace,” she whispered.

  “What?” he whispered back.

  “I think they’re my mates.”

  “I think so, too, Synthia.”

  “You do? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I’m telling you now, honey,” Jace said, reaching out and tugging on the length of Synthia’s blonde hair that fell forward over her shoulder. “I want you to go back to the house by the lake and spend some time with your men. They’re good men who’ve been through a lot. They need your gentleness, Syn.”

  “I don’t know, Jace.” Synthia looked at the men once again and saw the pain that radiated around them. “Maybe, after a while. For now, Shelly and I will be staying with Abbey. It will give us time to think things through.” She hesitated a moment then leaned closer to Jace’s chest so she could speak so that only he could hear her. “I need to make things right with so many people. I can’t think about my own happiness until I’ve done that.” She hesitated a moment, looking back at the men that she was already drawn to. “I’m a little overwhelmed by them. I can’t help it.”

  Jace nodded, understanding Synthia’s reluctance to trust the men who were complete strangers to her. He turned to look at Shelly and saw that she had backed herself against the far wall of the living room. She was looking at Max and Eli. It seemed that his little sisters were experiencing more than just nervousness. He could scent their fear. That would not do, at all.

  He held out his hands and waited for Shelly and Synthia to take firm hold. Tugging them closer, he started walking from the living room. Max, Eli, Simon, and Warren gave him room to pass and held back as he left the house through the sliding glass door of the kitchen that led out onto the huge deck. As he walked down the steps, Jackson took his place on Shelly’s left side, taking her hand in his and squeezing it lightly in support.

  Jace looked over at his triad partner, knowing that Jackson was just as concerned as he was. He could feel his worry. He could also feel his determination to make things right for their little omegas.

  This is going to be a struggle, Jackson.

  That’s an understatement if I ever heard one, Jace. This
is going to be hell!

  Chapter 28

  Shelly walked toward the old alpha home that was designated as hers, her steps slow and measured. As she neared the log home, her stomach tightened with worry. She loved that home. She didn’t know why she was feeling worry over going there.

  She and Synthia had stayed with Abby at the home she shared with her mates Hunter and Clay for nearly a week. It was a beautiful home with a swimming pool that they took full advantage of. It was so wonderful to share the afternoons with some of the women of the pack and their children. It made Shelly’s heart ache to watch those precious cubs, especially Meeka’s son Eric. Watching him made her remember the baby that she had lost.

  Seeing the dark hair on that little boy made her think about a little girl with dark hair. She kept picturing the sweet smile of that child. It made her ache with pain. She did her best to ignore the sadness and focus on the people who had been so kind and welcoming to her and Synthia.

  Abbey had been supportive and helpful as she tried to accept and understand all the secrets that Shelly and Synthia had been keeping from her. Having two wolf shifters as mates certainly helped in her understanding. Jace and Jackson’s mate Laurie had been welcoming and kind. Both she and Synthia really liked her. They especially liked how happy Laurie made Jace and Jackson. To see them so much in love was a balm to Shelly’s soul. She had often worried about their big brothers over the years. She hated to feel their loneliness. Now, she only felt their happiness and love. The fact that Laurie was pregnant with their cub had made both men more protective and more in love with their mate—if that was even possible.

  Knowing that Vera had been banished for trying to kill Laurie and the cub she was carrying had given Shelly and Synthia a great deal of guilt. The fact that Laurie held no anger toward them just proved to them how perfect she was to be the third in the alpha triad and lovingly accept the role of pack queen. She was kind and understanding. Her ability to focus on the feelings of the pack members was a true gift.

  Laurie’s friend Nikki was absolutely hysterical. Shelly had never met anyone like her in her life. Nikki was certainly one of a kind. She was a nurse with a no-nonsense attitude. She was smart and kind, and it was obvious that she loved her mates Alexander and Butler to death. Nikki was also pregnant.

  Shelly touched her belly lightly with her right hand. She thought about her mates and the words that she heard them tell her as she slept every night. She could hear them whisper sweet words of love. She could hear them telling her how much they wanted a family with her. She felt the warmth of their touch and the love in each caress that she lived over and over again in her dreams. Her mates had been gentle lovers. They had also been her friends. She didn’t know why she had lost them. She wished she could remember them. She also wished that she hadn’t lost the baby that was a part of them. It made her sorrow double. She had not only lost her baby, she had lost the only link that she had with her men.

  She climbed up the front steps of the home slowly, reaching out and opening the door to the enclosed porch and stepping inside. Looking at the comfortable, burgundy couch placed there, she sighed as a sweet picture of two men holding two children flashed in her mind’s eye. She recognized the men as those who had stood beside her and had offered her help when she wasn’t feeling well the night she and Synthia had returned to the pack. Was this their home? Was she seeing them with their children?

  Sitting down on the couch, she looked around the enclosed porch and took in the cleanliness of it. Whoever had been taking care of this home had done a good job. There was not one bit of dust or dirt to be seen. The caretakers had even set plants on the ledge that bordered the windows that had been slid open to allow the soft breeze of the day to enter the porch.

  She heard the rhythmic sound of an ax being raised and lowered, and the crack of splitting wood coming from the side of the home. Whoever it was had to be responsible for the state of the home. She would have to offer her thanks. Standing slowly, she reached for the doorknob of the front door and tested it to see if it was unlocked. It was.

  Opening the door wide, she stepped inside and smiled at the familiar sight before her. It was in the exact same condition as she remembered it. The living room and the kitchen were still comfortable and made her feel at home. The scent of freshly baked cookies had her mouth watering.

  Walking over to the stove, she saw the cooling rack with chocolate chip cookies on it. A memory sparked in her mind of another time when she had made those same cookies and had teased her mates with them. She remembered their soft growls and the way they had chased her to the lake. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the memory, trying to see through the haze in her mind so she could see the faces of her men.

  A flash of a picture made her lose her balance. Reaching out, she gripped for the kitchen counter to steady herself, succeeding in knocking the two cookie sheets to the floor and following them down as she toppled sideways and fell hard. It was a cacophony of sound that could have woken the dead.

  The sound of running boots assailed her. Before she could right herself, the back door to the kitchen was thrown open and the two men who had tried to help her not so many days ago were pushing through the open door. Both men stood in shock as they looked down at her. She couldn’t help but laugh.

  The man with the dark hair actually cracked a smile. The sternness of his look melted away as he looked down at her. The man with the blond hair knelt down beside her and reached out to pull the cookie sheets from her lap and set them aside.

  “If you wanted cookies, Shelly, you could have just asked,” he said calmly. “Max and I would have shared. You didn’t have to destroy the kitchen.”

  Shelly’s smile widened. She looked up at the man who had to be Max and reached out to ask for help. When his hand surrounded hers, something zinged through her. When the man who knelt beside her took her other hand, the charge that passed through her was instant. She didn’t understand it at all.

  The two men carefully tugged her to her feet and stood silently with her between them. Max reached out with his left hand and tucked her hair behind her ear. She saw the red material that surrounded his wrist and felt the tugging of a memory that she couldn’t quite place.

  “Did you hurt yourself, baby?” he asked her gently.

  “Just my pride,” she admitted, liking the endearment that he used. It felt comfortable. For some unexplained reason, it felt right.

  “Are you sure, sweetheart?” the other man asked, taking her hand in his and bringing it toward his chest to press it against the black T-shirt he was wearing.

  Shelly could feel the steady beat of his heart and smiled. Another endearment. She was liking this. A lot.

  “Do I know you?” she asked suddenly, looking from one man to the other. “I feel like I do.”

  Max looked at Eli in silence. This was not good at all.

  She doesn’t remember us, Eli.

  It makes sense now. No wonder she felt fear when she looked at us. I wonder why she can’t remember us.

  “My name is Eli Granger,” Eli introduced himself. “This old wolf is Maxwell Oliver.”

  “You’re the same age I am, Eli,” Max muttered. “And thirty-six is not old.” He turned to look at Shelly and saw the way she was thinking so hard. “Don’t let him influence you, Shelly. He’s just jealous because I’m so much better looking than he is.”

  “In your dreams, Max,” Eli muttered.

  Shelly laughed with complete delight. She couldn’t help it. These two men made her heart light.

  “Oh, I would argue that you’re both pretty handsome,” she said, pulling her hands from theirs and turning to take two cookies from the cooling racks.

  She turned and offered one to each of them, laughing softly when they immediately snatched them from her hands and bit into them. She hesitated a moment as she watched them. Something felt very familiar, like this had happened once before, but that couldn’t be. She took one cookie for herself and bit into it,
enjoying the decadent flavor of it.

  “This tastes delicious,” she muttered around the morsel in her mouth. “Did you make them?”

  “Max made them,” Eli answered. “He’s a pretty good cook.”

  “They’re not as good as the cookies that our mate made us,” Max said softly, wishing with all his heart that Shelly would remember.

  “You have a mate?” Shelly asked, stepping back and placing the unfinished cookie on the counter. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be here with you. It’s not right. Your mate will be upset.”

  “No, she won’t,” Max said quickly, reaching out and taking her hand in his. “We lost her a long time ago.”

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” Shelly whispered, not understanding why she was both pleased and sad at the same time. “I lost my mates a long time ago, too.”

  “How did you lose them, Shelly?” Eli asked her, hoping they would finally understand what had happened to make her leave them.

  Shelly pulled away from both of them to walk toward the couch that still faced the large fireplace. She loved sitting on that couch, cuddled up with blankets during winter storms, and enjoying the warmth of the roaring fire. She had a sudden flash of sitting there with her two men and fought to keep hold of the picture. She wanted to see them. She wanted to remember them.

  Max and Eli walked toward the couch and watched as Shelly’s eyes took on a faraway look as she stared into the empty fireplace. They knelt down before her, Eli to her right, and Max to her left.

  “I don’t remember,” Shelly said finally, her voice sad.

  “Try,” Max encouraged her, needing to know.

  Shelly’s forehead wrinkled as she tried to call forth the memories. Her head started to hurt, but she pushed it aside. She needed to know. She needed to remember.

  “I remember being forced to go back to Vera’s house,” she began as the memory of that day pushed through the veil that was separating her memories in her mind. “She said I was forbidden to have the mates that I had. She said I was going to be the mate of Alpha Hayward.”