Mated by the Pack

by Dizzy Hooper

  So has the sex—let's not kid ourselves.

  But even that long away from my babies was too much. I lead the pack as we head inside, where we find Claire and Nikki and my father, each with one pup in their arms. The TV is on, and all the kids and most of the adults are passed out. I reach for my mates' hands. Grady and Landen grip me tightly, while Colt comes up behind me and kisses my head.

  I stand there in that room I thought I'd never get to see again, surrounded by all the people in the world I love the most.

  As my eyes mist over, I reflect back on the struggles that brought me here. The challenges and pain and fear, and all of it was worth it.

  Because standing there on that precipice, my heart is too achingly full.

  And it's like my entire life is suddenly, perfectly complete.

  19 Epilogue

  One month later…

  "Come on." Cupping my hands around my mouth, I shout up the stairwell. "We're going to be late."

  Warm hands settle on my shoulders, rubbing them hard. I want to be annoyed, but Colt's touch soothes me despite myself. "Shh." He kisses beside my ear. "We're the guests of honor. They're not going to start without us."

  "I just don't want to be rude…" Tipping my head to the side, I allow him to press his lips to my throat. A tickle of arousal hums through me, but my nerves are fluttering too vigorously for me to really focus.

  Besides. I'm still wet and open from the way Landen and Grady double teamed me about an hour before. I clench down hard, shivering at the memory of sitting on my alpha's thick cock while my other mate filled me deeply from behind. It was good—mind-blowingly so.

  It's also the biggest reason why we're running so late.

  "Sorry." I squirm, stepping forward.

  "It's okay." Colt kisses me once more, softly on the cheek. Then he has to go ahead and give my tit a squeeze. "Later," he promises, sending a shudder through me.

  I smile at him in both gratitude and anticipation. I feel bad that he was rocking our son to sleep while the rest of us got some relief, but that's the balance of our lives these days.

  The juggle of taking care of three active, needy pups has been one hell of an adjustment. They've kept us hopping twenty-four seven.

  But we work together as a team, and that means that sometimes some of us get orgasms and double penetration, while others of us get…

  Well, spit up on our shirts.

  Frowning, I inspect Colt's collar. I push him away apologetically. "Pretty sure you need to change."

  Looking down, he scowls. "Dammit."

  He heads off without further complaint, though.

  Not for the first time today, I thank the maker for my fortune in life. A female couldn't ask for better partners than my mates. They change diapers and deal with midnight feedings. They rework their schedules so I can at least keep my business going. They provide, and they love both me and our pups so intensely, it kind of takes my breath away sometimes.

  Not that they're the only ones keeping this ship running smoothly.

  I let out a sigh of relief as Claire appears at the top of the stairs. She has Maya and Stella wrapped up in her arms, looking for all the world like little angels instead of the beautiful, fantastic, amazing holy terrors they decided to be last night.

  My heart picking up just at the sight, I step forward, meeting Claire halfway. She hands me Stella, and I take her happily, cooing at her and kissing her soft, pink cheeks.

  When Claire said she wanted to come with us, I'll admit I had my reservations. She had a haunted look to her, and I wasn't sure if she was running for the right reasons.

  Some days, I still wonder. She can be skittish at times, stand-offish at others.

  Especially around the neighboring pack of lonely, unmated males that lives to our east.

  I swallow hard, eyeing her up. If she's nervous about where we're going today, she gives no sign of it. I offered her the chance to stay home and let us go alone; it is Broken Ladder Falls pack business, after all. She was having none of it, though.

  I shake off my doubts. Claire may still be nursing some wounds from whatever happened to her back home, but she's been rock solid in supporting our family. Even as she's gotten started with her new nursing program, she's rolled up her sleeves and pitched in at every turn. I don't know how our little pack would function without her.

  Smiling at her gratefully, I glance back to the top of the stairs. I have to stop myself from yelling again. I really don't want to become a nag, and in general I don't have to; my mates are grown, responsible adults.

  Sure enough, Grady appears with Ronan sleeping in his arms a moment later. He's followed by Landen and Colt, now dressed in a new, clean shirt. As they stride down the stairs, I nod toward the door.

  It's strange to be heading to a pack meeting in human form. My skin itches slightly, my wolf nudging at me, but I push her back down, promising her a good run later.

  For now, we load up our sexy new van. Three car seats and still room for me, Claire and all three of my mates. Our pups have shifted by accident a time or two now, becoming adorable puffballs of fur and yips, but we can't rely on that transformation yet. So the van it is.

  As we ride to the meeting hall, I gaze out the window.

  The valleys and creeks and waterfalls that dot this land may never feel as familiar to me as my father's home, but there's a rightness that radiates through my bones as I stare out at them. This is where I belong.

  And that sense of belonging has only grown, now that I know I'm here by choice. My father is doing well, all things considered, and our relationship has only grown stronger. I video chat with him every few days, and he keeps asking when we'll visit again. I'm no longer an exile from my ancestral home.

  And if that knowledge leaves me with the occasional pang of guilt that I live so far away, well…

  I have a plan to make that at least a little bit better.

  Before long, we pull up to the center of the little village where the larger Broken Ladder Falls pack holds its meetings. We park and start getting the babies out. I take Maya in my arms, while Claire gets Roman and Landen Stella. Together, we head into the town hall to find most of the pack leadership already assembled, as well as a few of the other shifters we're closest with.

  Including our eastern neighbors. I smile at them warmly.

  Their alpha, Dixon, returns my greeting with a tight nod of his head. He crosses his thick arms across his muscled chest, gaze moving past me, searching and landing on…

  Claire. Of course.

  Dixon and his packmates, Beau and Adrian, haven't had it easy. No one in Broken Ladder Falls has. They've never seemed to hold my pack's happiness against us, but their own longing for a female to complete their household has radiated off them more and more strongly. Bringing an unmated female practically to their doorstep—especially one as wary as Claire—must be torture for them. My heart aches, thinking about how they must feel to scent her in the air, to see her working in the yard or even driving down the road.

  To watch her now, holding a precious pup in her arms.

  Claire knows she owes no one anything. But I ache for her, too. She came here for refuge, and now everyone stares at her.

  I wish I had a way to make this easier for all of them.

  But as it is, there's nothing I can do except offer them comfort and hope for the best.

  The tension between Dixon's pack and mine settles into its usual low simmer. We chat amiably enough, ignoring the stares and the scent of loss and want pouring off the unmated males.

  Fortunately, before things can get too strained, one of the elders of the pack steps up to the front. He clears his throat, and immediately, everyone quiets down.

  "Welcome. Thank you all for coming on this special day." The lines around his eyes crinkle as he looks to Grady and our pack. "Before we get to the reason for this meeting, we have a few items of business to attend to…"

  They go through their usual set of agenda items. Grady sp
eaks up a few times. As the babies fuss, we rock them and walk them, and I end up feeding Maya when she stirs and wakes.

  I let some of the pack business fly right over my head, but I do pay attention.

  And when the elder lifts his head, "Unless there's anything else…"

  I look to Grady. He raises his hand, then speaks. "If I may."

  The elder acknowledges him and invites him to take the floor.

  Grady steps forward, looking gorgeous and strong. As he lifts his head, his voice carries, deeply resonant in the crowded hall. "As you know, we traveled with our mate to her home territory a month ago, where we drove out a female with intent to harm my mate and her kin." He barely manages to suppress a snarl, but with a deep breath, he keeps his cool. "While no new threats have presented themselves, my mate's father and her cousins have been left in a difficult position, with few bodies to defend their lands. We are looking for a party to visit them and help them to recover. If anyone would like to volunteer…"

  A hum goes through the assembled crowd.

  It's an unusual request. In the decades since the tragedy that devastated Broken Ladder Falls, the remaining males have largely retreated into themselves, nursing their hurt in solitude. A few smaller sub-packs have gone out into the world, looking to escape the grief that descended over these lands. Looking for mates.

  Rarely has there been a mission of this sort, though.

  My heart falls as no one steps forward.

  Until a hand goes up.

  I swallow hard.

  A big, burly male steps forward. I've seen him before, but only at a distance. He's a good candidate to defend my father and provide him aid. He's clearly strong enough.

  But is he too strong? Nikki and Tommy have been through so much. If I'm just inflicting another threat on them, I'll never forgive myself…

  Grady smiles, though, genuine and relieved. "Thank you, Arno."

  Arno nods gravely and steps back, resuming his place beside a set of males just as ripped and tall as he is. My nerves strike again, but if Grady trusts this male and his pack, then I trust them, too.

  I'll just have to convince Nikki of that…

  All of that is a concern for later, though.

  No additional new business is brought forward, and so the elder turns to me. To my pack.

  To my little, perfect family.

  My chest swells.

  The elder smiles. "Well, then. Let's move on to the fun part."

  Grady puts his hand at the small of my back. I hesitate, looking to Claire. But she steps forward with the rest of us, Roman snuggled tightly to her chest.

  The crowd parts to make way for us as we move to the front of the room. Cradling Maya, standing at my alpha's side, my other mates beside us, I gaze out at the overwhelmingly male sea of faces.

  A moment's vertigo takes me. Was it really only eight months ago that I stood in the middle of an even larger pack? We commemorated the treacherous attack that purged this clan of shifters of their females. Pure anguish flooded a valley, howls of grief echoing off the mountains until the very ground shook with the depths of this pack's loss.

  How different the assembly is today.

  Today, proud faces gaze at me with joy. There's still a sense of loss—of course there is. But the happiness is stronger. Hope still lives in the hearts of the members of this pack.

  Together with my mates, I work to unbundle my babies from their swaddling blankets. When their christening gowns are revealed, my vision mists over. Maya wears the one I retrieved from my parents' house. The one I wore, and my mother before me, and her mother before that. Roman wears Grady's, while Stella wears Colt's layered over top of Landen's, and they all look so perfect.

  Once we have them straightened out, a trio of elders dressed in ceremonial robes approaches. One of them turns to the crowd. "It's been a long, long time since we've had a chance to do one of these." He glances back at my little family. "It's been even longer since we've heard the joyful cries of newborn pups." His gaze locks with mine. "Since we welcomed Jessica to Broken Ladder Falls, she has brought new happiness and new life to our ranks. And now, she has brought us this. Hope."

  Tears well in my eyes.

  The three elders come closer. Maya sleeps on in my arms. Roman fusses a bit, while Stella watches with wide eyes.

  Each elder dips his fingers into a pot of oil. As one, they dot my children's foreheads with the oil, then slick a line across their cheeks.

  The elder who had addressed the crowd before speaks again. "Today, we anoint these children and welcome them into our pack. They are the children of Grady, Colt, Landen and Jessica, but they are also the children of Broken Ladder Falls. We swear today to protect them."

  "To protect them," the crowd repeats.

  "To love them."

  "To love them."

  "And to raise them with the honor and faith of our pack."

  The crowd echoes the words again. The elder smiles.

  Grady clutches me closer. I glance up at him to find his eyes shiny, and he's not the only one. Landen has tears on his cheeks. Colt is as impassive as ever, but even his throat bobs, choked with emotion.

  These males were alone for so long.

  I was alone.

  But together, we've created a mating bond too strong to be torn apart. We've created a family.

  We've created hope.

  And we're going to protect them. We're going to love them. We're going to raise and nurture and defend them with all the honor and faith of our pack.

  Forever.

  Alone With The Pack

  Broken Ladder Wolf-shifters Book 4

  Chapter 1

  "Don't forget that Stella needs her unicorn nightlight on to fall asleep."

  "I know," my cousin Claire tells me. She has Stella in a sling, strapped to her chest, while Maya is settled in her arm.

  Speaking of...

  "And Maya can't have regular formula. She needs the--"

  "--the gentle stuff in the green tub, I know."

  "And Roman--"

  Claire rolls her eyes in fond exasperation. "Roman is a tiny troublemaker, and I know exactly how to deal with him, Jessica. Remember, I take care of them every day."

  Of course she does.

  I still wish my cousin had had an easier time of things back home, but her decision to move to Broken Ladder Falls with me and my pack was a godsend. It takes a village to raise a child, sure, but it takes five adults to take care of seven-month-old triplets.

  Which brings me back to my current freak out.

  "But you've never taken care of them all by yourself," I remind her. "Not for so long."

  Okay, sure, Claire has watched the kids solo for a few hours. We all have.

  But this is an extended trip. It's one I can't delay.

  Another twisting cramp deep in my abdomen reminds me of that. I crush the doorframe in my grip. Low between my legs, I'm ripening. I got myself back on birth control the moment it was safe to do so after giving birth, but tell that to the gathering emptiness inside me.

  Claire was the first one to realize my mating season was approaching. My heat held off while I was still nursing the triplets, but I weaned them recently, and clearly my body decided that meant I was ready for more. The urge to be bred is growing with every second.

  Plenty of shifters deal with this while still taking care of their pups. I'm in a better position than most, honestly, considering I have three mates.

  My womb ripples. The image of being taken and filled by all three of them at the same time sends a wave of crippling lust burning through me.

  But that's not something I need. Just one or two of them could satisfy me, while the other helped care for our children.

  Hell, they could take turns, rotating in and out, each fucking me one after the other after the other...

  "Jessica."

  Grady's voice behind me makes my blood boil hotter. His alpha tone is full of command, and I want to fall to my knees for him right
then and there.

  He grips my arm, though, firm but gentle. With a little tug, he begins to lead me to the car.

  "Go on," Claire insists. She smiles bravely.

  Warring instincts play out inside me. I want to stay and take care of my pups.

  I want to retreat with my strong, virile, sexy males to be bred and fucked senseless for days.

  "Go," Claire says. "You need this."

  God, I hate that she's right.

  I've been exhausted, running myself ragged of late. My mates haven't been getting my full attention, and I haven't been letting myself have theirs.

  That's probably part of my why my body sent me into this spiralling heat so suddenly and so soon. My biology knows that my connection to my mates is my lifeblood.

  We need these precious handful of days to re-energize our bond.

  And Claire--wonderful, quiet, kind, perfect Claire.

  She's trying so hard to give us this time.

  All I need to do is let her.

  "Jessica." The youngest of my mates, Landen, takes my other hand.

  I turn to look at him.

  His clear blue eyes are soft. "We don't have to do this if you don't want to. We can find another way. It's up to you. But I think it would be good for you." His throat bobs. "For all of us."

  And my mates are so precious. They've been scenting me all morning. My mating season's peak is still hours away from hitting me, but my body has been putting out pheromones, signaling to any red-blooded male shifter that I'm primed and ready to be claimed. My mates must be out of their heads with lust, and yet they're still so patient with me.

  I smile at him, a calm settling in my bones. "I know."

  "Come on, then," Grady intones. "It's time."

  I cast one last look back at Claire and my pups. She's bouncing lightly, and Maya is cuddling into her. I already kissed Roman goodbye before setting him in his crib. I'll miss all of them fiercely, and I know they'll miss me and their fathers, too. But they'll be fine. They love Claire.

  "If you run into any trouble..." I start.