Vera grunted as she pulled her hand free. Shelly gasped and grabbed for her stomach, turning to protect her unborn child. Vera laughed softly as she raised the knife and brought it down to plunge into Shelly’s chest.
“You will not harm my daughter!” Mother Fate’s voice thundered around them.
Vera found herself being lifted and hurled toward the water. She could do nothing but curl into a ball to protect herself as she landed with a thud. Standing quickly, she took an aggressive stance, brandishing the knife and breathing heavily as she thought through the situation before her.
Max and Eli ran toward Shelly, stunned by the appearance of the beautiful woman dressed in a white, diaphanous gown that fell elegantly to the ground. She had long hair that was an amazing silver color that sparkled and fell to Her waist. Wind was whipping it wildly and blowing it away from Her face. They knew She was Mother Fate, and She was pissed. Her golden eyes were bright with the anger that was within Her. Both men could feel the power of the woman who had taken it upon Herself to protect and care for the shifter community.
They reached for Shelly and lifted her gently to settle her on the lounge chair, unable to keep from touching her to see if she was harmed. Shelly was shaking. She was also clutching her stomach. They reached down to cover her belly and felt the contraction of her stomach muscles.
“Shelly?” Max whispered.
Shelly was about to tell them she was okay when her eyes widened and fear gripped her heart. She felt the rush of fluid escaping her body and prayed it was her water breaking and not blood that was gushing from between her legs.
“I think my water just broke,” Shelly said, moaning as a fierce pain gripped her. She fell back against the strength of her men’s arms as they held her.
“I have done what I could to help you in your life, Vera Moore, but your cruelty and viciousness have led you down this path of evil,” Mother Fate called out to her as She watched the woman ease away from Her.
“You’ve never helped me!” Vera nearly screamed. “You help everyone else. You never helped me!”
“I was with you when your parents died,” Mother Fate told her gently, the force of Her anger diminishing slightly as she looked at the broken soul before Her. “I watched over you as you searched for a new home.”
“You didn’t!” Vera yelled.
“I did, child,” Mother Fate said calmly. “I was with you when you crossed the border into Randall’s pack land. I kept you hidden from them so you might see his cruelty.”
Vera remained silent, trying to think through Mother Fate’s words. She had often wondered why she hadn’t been scented when she was on Randall’s land.
“I was with you when you found a place to stay with Alpha Hayward,” Mother Fate continued.
“He was cruel to me and used me as a slave!” Vera spat out. “How did that help me?”
“Hayward led you to your mates,” Mother Fate told her gently. “Kurt and Neil were meant to be yours, Vera. They showed you gentleness and love. It was you who threw that love and kindness away. Each moment of cruelty you showed them and the others around you was by your choice. You were given opportunities over and over again to live a life filled with kindness and love. You chose to take the path of evil. You have no one to accuse or to blame but yourself, Vera. You ignored every opportunity to have love and happiness in your life. Your poor choices were the cause of your unhappiness.”
“Hayward promised me that I could go home,” Vera said haughtily. “I hated Neil and Kurt. I was disgusted by their touches. Triad matings aren’t natural.”
“Love is natural, Vera,” Mother Fate explained sadly. “No one has the right to pass judgment on another who is expressing and sharing love. What Kurt and Neil offered you was true. It was good. They wanted you as their mate forever. It was you who pushed them away with your coldness and your cruelty. It was you who showed your daughters anger and abuse. It was you who are responsible for the deaths of those wonderful men.”
“They deserved to die!” Vera’s voice was reaching fever pitch. Her eyes were wild with anger and hatred as she struggled to defend her actions.
“No, child. They did not. They deserved to live. They deserved to have love and gentleness in their lives. They deserved to be with their daughters and watch them grow into the wonderful women that they have become.”
Vera growled and started to run toward Shelly. Her hand was raised, and the knife was gripped tightly in her clenched hand. She didn’t get three steps before she was picked up and thrown back onto the lake sand once again.
“You will not harm her, Vera,” Mother Fate warned her. “You will never harm her or Synthia ever again.”
Vera felt her entire body filling with fire as she fought the magic that Mother Fate surrounded her with. She wasn’t going to allow the deity to stop her.
“Calm yourself, Vera,” Mother Fate told her, pushing her powers into the woman to help ease her distress.
Vera struggled to stand. She felt her energy draining and had a difficult time keeping her balance. She couldn’t allow Mother Fate to touch her. It felt like her entire body was burning up. Her skin was tingling. Everything felt wrong.
Turning, she viewed the area of trees where she had hidden, intent on heading toward them to escape. She could barely run, stumbling repeatedly as she fought to put as much distance between her and Mother Fate as she could.
Shelly cried out as pain ripped through her. Mother Fate turned to face her and pressed her healing powers into her sweet omega wolf. Shelly’s blue eyes looked at her with thankfulness and relief. Mother Fate sighed with the happiness and love that Shelly sent her way.
Vera saw that Mother Fate was distracted and took that opportunity to run faster toward the trees that had hidden her arrival. She stumbled as her strength gave out, sending her sprawling forward into one of the downed tree limbs.
Her eyes widened in surprise and her entire body jerked with pain. She looked down at her torso and saw the sharp end of the broken tree limb that had impaled her. In just seconds, her body gave in to her fate. The light faded from her eyes.
“I hate you all,” Vera whispered before she fell limp across the tree branch. Her life was over.
“Mother Fate,” Shelly called to her brokenly, horrified by the violent end that she had just witnessed.
“Do not dwell on it, Shelly,” Mother Fate told her as She purposely stood between Her sweet child and the cruel woman who still spouted words of hatred as she died. “Vera’s death can be blamed on no one but herself.”
Shelly looked up at Mother Fate and nodded her head in agreement. She felt the gentle love that was being sent to her and sighed as she willed her body to relax. Her body had other ideas in mind, however.
“Max, Eli, our baby is ready to be born,” she told them urgently. “I can feel it.”
“We need to get you to Drew’s office,” Max said, reaching forward to cover Shelly with one of the blankets. He tried to slip his arms beneath her legs to lift her when she grabbed for his arms and shook her head. “Baby. This is no time to argue. We have to get you to the pack doctor.”
“There’s no time,” Shelly said through clenched teeth. “I have to push. Help me!”
Max looked at Eli in a panic. They both turned to look at Mother Fate. When She just smiled and sent them feelings of encouragement, both men knew that they were going to have to help Shelly give birth right then and there.
“Sweetheart, do you know that you’re the strongest person we’ve ever met?” Eli asked her as he pulled back the blanket, pulled her to her feet, and slipped his hands beneath her sweater to grip the elastic waistband of her sweatpants and pull them quickly down her legs.
Max pulled off her sneakers and tugged her pants the rest of the way off of her body before helping their woman to sit down on the lounge chair once again. Shelly immediately sat forward and gripped the back of her thighs, spreading her legs wide and pushing with all her might. Their baby’s head was already
crowning. Eli eased his body behind her and gave her a solid wall to press against as she fought to birth their child.
Max slipped his right hand between Shelly’s legs to cradle their cub’s head with his open palm, putting just the right amount of pressure against it and holding firm while Shelly took a deep breath and pushed once again. He knew what he had to do to help birth their child. A sense of calm came over him, and he knew it was because Mother Fate was helping him. He was thankful for Her help.
“It hurts,” Shelly moaned as their daughter’s head breached her body.
“If I could take your pain, I would, sweetheart,” Eli whispered against her neck.
Shelly’s bark of laughter surprised him. Max looked up in confusion. Shelly just shook her head as she took a cleansing breath and waited for the next contraction so she could push once again.
“Eli has just volunteered to have our next baby,” she said, moaning as another strong contraction hit her. She took a deep breath and eased forward, grateful that Eli’s body supported hers and held her in place so she could concentrate on pushing.
Shelly couldn’t help the scream that escaped her as their baby’s shoulders pushed through her vaginal opening. Everything happened so quickly after that. She watched as Max’s strong, capable hands eased their baby from her body and placed their little Allison on Shelly’s belly. He ripped a piece of cloth from his red T-shirt, tied off the umbilical cord in two places, and held it firmly between the pinched fingers of both hands while Eli cut through it with the sharp claw of his left hand. Max covered Shelly and their daughter with the extra blanket so quickly, Shelly barely registered the movement.
“Let’s go,” Max said as he stood and gathered Shelly and their daughter within his arms. He waited for Eli to stand then handed their woman over to him. “You need to carry them, Eli. I’m so shaky, I’m afraid I’ll drop them.”
“Where’re we going?” Shelly asked, leaning her head against Eli’s shoulder as he gathered her close. She was exhausted and not ashamed to admit that she was doing a good amount of shaking herself.
“We need to get you to Drew,” Max said as he started to run toward the pack doctor’s home. “You need to deliver the afterbirth, and I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.”
Shelly couldn’t help but laugh at his declaration. He and Eli had done just fine so far. She would have never believed how quickly they reacted and how capable they were in helping her to deliver their little girl.
Looking down at their baby, she was filled with love. Allison was scrunching up her face and preparing to let loose with a loud bellow of protest.
“Don’t cry, Allie,” she said gently. “Your fathers are nervous enough. If you get upset, they’ll get upset.”
Allison looked up at her with wide eyes that mirrored the intelligence of her soul and the caring sweetness of her heart. She mewled softly and scrunched her body up so that she was safely tucked against Shelly’s warmth, but she calmed at once. Shelly could feel her understanding and her love. They had gifted the world with the blessing of another omega.
“You will be well,” Mother Fate called after them, sending the power of Her protection and love to surround the beautiful little family.
“Thank you, Mother,” Shelly said softly, knowing that her words were heard as she felt the warmth of Mother Fate’s touch against her left cheek.
As they raced up the front steps of the porch that led to Drew Barrett’s medical office on pack land, Max reached for the door, opened it, and held it wide for Eli to carry their mate and their daughter inside.
“You couldn’t do it, Eli,” Max told him as they rushed inside.
“Do what?”
“Have the strength to do what our beautiful Shelly just did,” Max told him with certainty.
“No shit.”
Epilogue
“Mommy, are the cookies ready yet?” Allie asked as she peered into the oven through the glass panel of the oven door. Her long, dark ponytail hung over her shoulder as she patiently waited for the treats to be ready.
“Almost, honey,” Shelly said, handing her daughter the digital timer from the counter. “Look at the numbers. It’s on the number three. When it gets to number one, the timer will beep. When it counts down for that last minute until time is up, it will beep over and over again.”
Allison nodded and focused her attention on the oven door once again. “It smells good,” she said, giggling softly.
“It sure does,” Shelly agreed. She handed the small shaker of confectioner’s sugar to Matthew, laughing softly as their son clutched it tightly against his chest. “Matthew, when Allison and I put the cookies on the rack to cool, you can sprinkle some of the sugar over them. Daddy and Poppa love it when we put some powdered sugar on the chocolate chip cookies.”
“I will sprinkle,” Matthew said proudly, looking up at her and smiling widely as he sat in his booster seat at the kitchen table.
Matthew looked exactly like Eli in his coloring. His adorable blond curls were already getting so long, but she didn’t have the heart to cut his hair. Eli’s hair was to his shoulders. Why couldn’t Matthew’s hair be just as long?
The soft cry of their baby Luke filled their home. Allison turned to look at her mother and reached out to touch her hand gently.
“Mommy, baby Luke needs you,” Allison said softly.
Shelly hesitated. She couldn’t leave the kids alone. Just at that moment, the connecting doorway to Max and Eli’s workroom opened, and her mates walked into the kitchen. They walked over to her immediately and kissed her soundly, smiling at the sounds of laughter that came from Allison and Matthew as they watched them kiss.
“Will you watch Matthew for me, honey?” Shelly asked her daughter quietly, winking at her men as she offered the important responsibility to their little girl. She knew that Matthew would get upset that he was being watched. He didn’t like to be thought of as a baby. Luke was the baby, as far as Matthew was concerned.
Allison nodded silently, smiling up at her mother with pride. Her blue eyes twinkled with mischief at the secret that they were sharing. Shelly was so very proud of her. She was such a good and loving big sister. She was also a powerful omega who had the ability to soothe her siblings without even realizing that she was doing it.
Shelly ran up the stairs to the bedrooms on the second floor and scooped up Luke from the gorgeous crib that had been made with love by Max and Eli. Each of their children had slept peacefully in that crib. It was such a beautiful and loving gift. So were Max and Eli.
“Come on, stinky pants! Let’s get downstairs and get you changed before your fathers steal all the cookies,” she told Luke happily as she blew a raspberry against his soft cheek.
Luke gripped her hair and held on tightly as he giggled with appreciation. The love that filled Shelly every time her children touched her, talked to her, cuddled with her, or slept beside her, was absolutely incredible.
She grabbed for the diaper bag and slung it over her shoulder as she left the nursery. Running downstairs quickly, she was sure to bounce Luke just enough to pull joyous laughter from him as she held him securely against her body. When she got to the bottom step, she saw that Max and Eli were once again comfortably settling in to their roles as fathers.
She never had to worry that they didn’t want to be involved with their children. Both men loved every moment that they were with their babies. After Allison’s birth, both men had been there to deliver each of their other two children. Of course, they insisted that Drew be present to oversee the births and make sure that Shelly and their cubs were healthy, but Max and Eli had been the ones to ease their babies from her body.
She looked at her men now and felt a rush of love filling her as she saw their comfortable relationship with their children. Max was sitting beside Matthew at the table, listening to their little boy telling him how he was in charge of shaking the sugar on the cookies. Eli was squatting beside Allison and waiting patiently for the timer to go o
ff. It did, within seconds. He pressed Allison back so that she stood next to Max and waited while his triad partner lifted Allison onto his lap and hugged her carefully, successfully keeping her away from the danger of the stove. Opening the door of the stove, Eli reached in with an oven mitt and pulled the cookie sheet that was filled with cookies from it.
“Just in time, Mommy,” Eli said happily as he placed the cookie sheet on the top of the stove. He pulled off the mitt and turned to face their mate. “Well, hello, Luke! Did you have a nice nap, buddy?”
“Poppa!” Luke called out, reaching out his hands and demanding to be taken.
Eli came to him without hesitation and took him from Shelly. He kissed his cheek soundly then growled against his neck, loving the squeals of happiness that left their youngest baby.
“Somebody smells like they need to be changed,” he said, looking at Shelly and shaking his head at having been caught again. “Did you plan this, Mate?”
“I didn’t,” Shelly said honestly. “It was just a happy coincidence.”
“Yeah, sure,” Eli said, not believing her for one minute. “Max, would you like to do the honors of changing our little boy?”
“Can’t,” Max said as he helped Allison slip the cookies onto the cooling rack with the long cookie flipper that he had bought just for her. It had a crystal handle and a flipper in the shape of a snowflake. Allison had fallen in love with it the moment she had seen it. “Be careful, honey. Wait for me to steady the cookie on the flipper before you carry it to the rack.”
“Okay, Daddy,” Allison whispered. “We do a good job together.”
“We sure do, cub,” Max said softly, his heart filling with happiness and love.
Eli smiled at Max and Allison. Every moment with their cubs was a gift—a gift that neither man had ever thought they would receive. So much had happened since Shelly had come back into their lives. And all of it was wonderful.
He turned and took the diaper bag from Shelly’s shoulder, leaning forward to kiss her lips lightly before bringing Luke into the living room and setting him down on the plush rug in front of the fireplace. As he changed their son, he couldn’t help but laugh softly as Luke babbled and spoke the language of sweetness that all babies spoke.
Shelly's Forbidden Mates [Beckett's Wolf Pack, Triad Mates 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) Page 46