by Dizzy Hooper
I want to laugh—almost as much as I want to cry.
Little did she know, I was an untouched virgin at the time. But my father's rejection drove me back into the world, aching and wet and on the cusp of my season. Desperate to be mated, I landed on the doorstep of these three prime shifter males. They welcomed me in. They took care of me. They treated me with respect, and yes—they offered to breed me and help me soothe my aching need.
But they offered me so much more.
With their mating bites, they made me a part of their family, and I've never once looked back. Becoming their mate was the best thing to ever happen to me.
So never, not once in all this time, have I so much as considered the idea of going back. Of reclaiming what was mine.
Now a tender place inside my heart cracks open. Sorrow bleeds out, but a sliver of golden light, of hope, leaks in.
"You mean it?" I ask, scarcely daring to believe.
"Just say the word," Colt confirms.
"But my father's mate—her family—"
Her kin had lined up beside them at the border, all strong shifters in their own right. They'd prevented me from so much as trying to make my case. They refused to listen to reason.
They were ready for a fight.
Landen's eyes go fierce. "We will take you anywhere you want to go. We'll take back whatever it is you lost. We'll fight for your family. We'll fight for you."
My very bones shake. "They'll stop you."
This time, it's Grady who has danger in his tone. "I'd like to see them try."
"Tell us," Colt insists again. "Do you want us to take you back?"
The way he phrases it hits me right behind my ribs. Do I want them to take me back—not home.
Because my home is right here, and they know it. That hasn't ever been in doubt.
Regret washes over me. I should have trusted these males from the start.
I can't travel back in time to erase my silence of these last few weeks, though. All I can do is be open and honest with my mates so we can move forward.
My vision blurs all over again, but not with loss. Not with sadness.
With hope.
I look to each of them in turn. Landen grasps me by the shoulders, and I reach out for Grady and Colt, taking each of them by the hand.
"More than anything," I whisper.
And just like that it's decided.
These males are my future. They always will be.
But part of moving forward is them helping me reclaim my past.
So that's what we're going to do.
Chapter 4
Our preparations pass in a whirlwind. I put in a call to my midwife. She cautions me about the trip but gives me permission to go. My stomach churns with nerves as I pack an overnight bag, but my soul soars.
All this time, I've been so weighed down by my silence and my yearning for my family. I feel like an idiot now for not trusting my mates from the beginning. Going back to my father's lands seemed impossible. But now that we've decided on it as our course of action, it feels inevitable.
Grady dusts off his rarely used Jeep, and we pile inside. At all my mates' insistence, I sit in the front while my alpha drives. It doesn't matter that the seat reclines. With my enormous belly and my tiny bladder, it's a slow, uncomfortable ride. I shift and try to find new ways to sit that put less pressure on this hip or the other, but it's not much use.
We take it easy, stopping often. Over Landen's half-hearted protests, Grady picks the music. Secretly, I know he's choosing artists that he and I both like, accommodating me and trying to make me happy even in this.
Turning my gaze to the window, I watch the scenery go by.
Was it really only nine months ago that I drove these roads, panic in my heart and heat in my blood? When my father turned me out, I had nowhere to go. Desperate, I pointed my car in random directions and just went.
It strikes me all at once how lucky I got. My car broke down on a lonely, snow-covered stretch of road. I could have died of exposure, even in my wolf form. A predatory shifter could have found me, wet with need and desperate to be bred. I could have been raped or worse.
Instead, I happened to wander onto the property of these three kind, gorgeous, generous, protective males. They waited for my consent and then they fucked me until I glowed with pure carnal satisfaction, my body sore and my flesh covered with their bites and their seed.
In the aftermath, they welcomed me into their home and made me their mate, and even now, they're taking care of me.
Since that time, I've never left Broken Ladder Falls. Their clan has become my clan, their pack my pack. These woods and canyons are my home. Even the trips to the edge of the pack's territory to see my midwife have torn at me. At the end of each one, I've been eager to get back to the old farmhouse where I feel safe and loved and like my truest self.
As we pass over the river and onto open road, I let out a little whine of distress. I want to tell them to turn back; this entire trip is a terrible idea. It comes at too great a cost. My stomach twists again, a sick sensation at the base of my ribs that feels like more than dread, but I close my eyes and swallow back the sourness in my throat.
Colt reaches over the back of my seat to grasp my shoulder. I clasp his hand in mine and hold on tight. I don't let go for miles.
For hours and hours, we drive. The churning in my gut remains, but I push past it, focusing on what's to come.
Finally, the open plains give way to rolling hills. A sudden wave of nostalgia washes over me, taking my breath away.
Grady glances at me. "You okay, baby?"
I nod furiously. It feels like the hundredth time I've stood on the brink of tears today, but my vision blurs.
I knew I missed my family, but it never occurred to me how much I miss this place.
The woods and mountains and creeks of Broken Ladder Falls are my home now, but rolling hills and old woodlands have the comfort and familiarity of a well-worn pair of shoes or a perfect old bathrobe. The air smells of open skies and soft fur.
The closer we get to my father's compound, the deeper the memories seep into my heart. This is the landscape I loped across as a pup. This is the shade of green of all my early memories.
This was my mother's homeland. She was born and raised only minutes away.
This was my home.
Back before I was cast out of it.
I told my mates and I told myself I had no interest in returning here for good. But with each mile we cross, the land sings more loudly in my blood. This beloved terrain sparks something inside me I haven't felt in so long.
No, I would never leave my mates. I would never want to stay here.
But I've been away too long. Broken Ladder Falls is my home now, but that doesn't mean that my roots have been cut off. I'm still in a car, but the earth beneath me beckons me to roll around in the plush grass and drink the scent of the very dirt.
Strength I'd forgotten about flows through me.
I'm still terrified of facing my father and his new mate. Katarina and her kin may try to drive us off again. We may have to fight for our right to visit these ancestral grounds.
But I belong to this place.
I refuse to cede it.
My mates and I will not be denied.
With that certainty humming through my bones, I sit up straighter. One of the triplets gives my abdomen a kick, and I press right against that little foot.
"Almost there," I whisper under my breath.
I have no idea how right I am.
Minutes later, the entrance to my father's lands comes into view. I gaze at the strip of road as if I could burn it with my eyes.
"There." I point toward the turn off. "On the right."
"Got it."
Immediately, the atmosphere in the Jeep changes. I can smell the fight on my mates' skin. They're all coiled strength and silent anger. I want to reach out to them each in turn and soothe them, to tell them it'll be all right, but I have no way of knowi
ng if that's true. We might just need that fire in their chests. We might need their muscles.
Their claws and their teeth.
Gripping the edge of the car door, I hold my breath as Grady turns. I scan the tall grass and then the trees as we move deeper into my father's territory. I catch a glimpse of movement, then another.
Right.
Still, no one stops us. No one attacks.
Finally, we pull up to the big iron gates that surround the compound.
A growling whine builds at the back of my throat.
I never made it past this point the last time I tried to enter the grounds. My knuckles go white, the metal of the car door threatening to give beneath my fingers.
The pain hits me like a blow, crushing my ribs, diminishing my already impaired ability to breathe.
The night I was cast out flies across my vision. I remember the stoniness of my father's glare. The coldness with which he turned on me.
He accused me of such terrible things. His mate stood beside him, her lips peeled back to show her teeth. She looked so smug. So satisfied.
I remember her kin surrounding me and chasing me back to my car.
I remember driving, unmoored and alone, the vulnerability of my approaching season only adding to my misery. I was friendless, defenseless, hopeless.
Grady reaches out to grip knee. I'm pulled out of my flashback instantly. I look to him with gratitude so strong that I could cry.
Colt and Landen radiate loyalty and protectiveness, too.
Buoyed by my mates' presence, I take a deep, shuddering breath.
I was alone the last time I approached this gate.
This time, I couldn't be in better company.
Engine idling, Grady raises his brows. "Now what?"
This strong, virile alpha is deferring to me. In another lifetime, that would have filled me with panic, but now it makes me feel even stronger.
"Now we wait."
Chapter 5
We don't have to wait very long.
Movement in the brush draws my attention. I follow it, catching a glimpse of dark brown fur. My pulse races.
But I stay where I am. The tension and anticipation inside the Jeep continue to climb, until finally a gap in the tall grasses at the side of the road appears.
I let out a breath of relief when I recognize it's my cousin on watch tonight—not one of Katarina's kin.
"Tommy," I call out.
He's tall, with golden skin and dark hair down to his shoulders. Dressed only in a pair of jeans he must have had hidden away near the gate, he approaches my side of the vehicle.
There's no surprise in his eyes as he regards me. "Jessie."
"Long time no see." I smile at him, but it's not returned.
"You know you're not supposed to be here," Tommy says. His voice is all warning, as is his posture. He crosses his arms over his muscled chest.
But despite the outward show of menace, he's calm. He doesn't want a fight.
Based on his scent, he doesn't want to be doing this at all.
My heart aches as I take in the careful distance he's keeping. We're kin. Once upon a time, we were as close as brother and sister. The wrongness of him turning on me makes my stomach twist all over again.
"Tommy," I try again. "You can't keep me out forever."
"I'm under orders to."
"And since when have you ever been one to listen to orders?" It's a gamble, but I have to try it.
Tommy's eyes flash with uncertainty. What trouble he used to get into as a pup, rebellious and bold.
But he's been cowed.
Undeterred, he asks, "What do you think you're doing here?"
"She belongs here," Landen says from behind me. I glance back to find him rippling with agitation, his teeth already a little longer than they should be for a friendly conversation.
Tommy picks up on it, bristling anew.
I want to pound my head on the dash.
Jesus, males and their testosterone.
"Cool it." I sigh, trying to stay calm. "This is my cousin, Tommy." Not a rival male, but kin. I look to my cousin again. "Sorry."
Tommy tips his head toward the car. "Who're these fools?"
I shoot him a warning glance. "These males are my new pack." I swallow hard. "My mates."
Now I've really rocked Tommy's chill. "Mates? As in plural?"
Uncertainty roils in my gut, but I refuse to let it show. I'm not ashamed. Quite the opposite.
Forget that my father cast me out because his mate convinced him I was a wanton whore and a slut, bringing shame to the family name.
I'm in a committed relationship. I'm loved and protected and bonded. I'm part of something larger than myself.
I'm in love.
And yes, I like sex. I love having my three mates take me over and over and over—or better yet, at the same time.
But Katarina's false accusations from almost a year ago have nothing to do with the reality I'm living now.
I brought my mates here to see my ancestors' home. I brought them to assure my safe passage so I could reconnect with my family, so I could reclaim some of my mother's legacy.
So I could give this side of myself and my past to our children.
They're the reason for this journey, after all.
Tommy is wavering. It's now or never. Either I lay my cards out on the table, or I turn around and go home.
And that's simply not an option.
Taking a deep breath, I undo my seatbelt and reach for the handle of the car door.
As one, my mates tense. I motion to them to stand down, to let me do this. Grady lets out a low growl, but he trusts me.
This is a risk, but I take it without an iota of doubt in my heart. If things go pear-shaped, my mates will be out of the car and lost to their wolves in a heartbeat. They'll protect me—and our pups—from any possible threat.
I open the door. I step out.
And Tommy melts.
"Jessie—you're—"
"Triplets," I confirm. "Due in a couple of weeks."
"Oh my God, congratulations." Tommy's tough guy act disappears in a flash. He takes a step toward me, arms wide and grin huge, and I move toward him.
Car doors open and close behind me, but I ignore them. Of course my mates can't allow their heavily pregnant female to embrace a male that they don't know. Not without being close by.
But I let Tommy wrap me up in a hug regardless, and my heart feels so big it could beat right out of my chest.
"I missed you," I grit out.
"Missed you, too."
As much as I'd like to linger, I pull back after just a few moments. There's no reason to push my possessive mates' patience any further than I need to. Tommy drops his arms and steps away, all but radiating the fact that he poses no threat.
I reach out my hand to the side, and Colt takes it in a flash. My touch seems to reassure him. The couple of feet of space between me and my cousin help ease all my mates.
At last, the tension drops from the air.
Newly relaxed, I look to Tommy. I keep holding onto Colt, while lifting my other hand to rub at my belly.
"So now you see why I needed to come back."
Tommy smiles fondly. "Classic nesting female."
Is that what this is? I've missed my family and my childhood home, certainly. I felt anger that my pups would never have my kin in their lives. That none of the heirlooms that should have been my birthright would ever be theirs.
But was there more to it?
He's not wrong. It's instinct for a female who's about to give birth to seek safety and familiarity. To gather the soft things and protection every mother wants to give to her pups.
Is that what drove me here?
Did I not even realize it?
I glance over at Grady to find him with a faint smirk on his face. My cheeks heat.
Oh, hell. My mates knew, didn't they?
Well, right or wrong, none of these males' opinions about my behavior m
atter. Turning to Tommy, I lay out my case. "I left everything behind. I can't give my pups any of my mother's things. My old toys, my grandmother's christening gown…"
"You left everyone behind, too," Tommy interrupts.
My eyes sting. "I didn't want to."
"Believe me, I know. Katarina…" He hesitates.
"Is a heartless, power-hungry bitch?"
His throat bobs. That's as much confirmation as I need.
But apparently it's also all the confirmation I'm going to get. "She forbid us from letting you in."
"Because she can't stand the idea of anyone inheriting these lands besides her and her kin."
Tommy grimaces, silently agreeing. "My orders still stand."
"And you're going to enforce them? By yourself?"
Grady takes the slightest step forward. Landen puffs out his chest.
I didn't mean it as a threat, for all that my mates have taken it that way. I honestly meant it as a question. I shake my head minutely.
"Where are they? My father? Katarina? Her boys? Surely they must have seen our approach."
I spotted half a dozen cameras between the main road and here. My father's always run a tight ship, but it's gotten tighter still since his mate staked her claim.
If I didn't see it with my own eyes, I would never believe it, but Tommy visibly squirms. "Doesn't matter."
"Yes. It absolutely matters."
It matters more than he can possibly understand.
This has got to be the luckiest of lucky days.
"Where are they, Tommy?"
"The beach," he finally grits out. "It's their anniversary."
I want to laugh—nearly as badly as I want to cry. Is he kidding me?
My father always hated to travel. My mother knew that. She tempered her own occasional bouts of wanderlust for her mate. He indulged her from time to time, but if he had it his way, he'd never leave the stretch of woods that surround the main house of our compound.