“I know, baby,” he told her, smiling.
“Drew?”
“What, honey?”
“You know I love you, too, right?”
“I had no idea,” he told her seriously, smiling as he heard her giggle. “Yes, sweetheart,” he told her finally, kissing her shoulder gently. “I know.”
Chapter 15
Carter rolled down his sleeve and watched as Drew took the vial of the blood he had just taken from him, wrote on it to identify it, and set it beside the vial he had taken from Suzie. He smiled at their mate as she stood beside him, her hand resting lightly on his thigh as she waited for Drew to finish.
“Are you finished, Drew?” she asked him quietly.
“Yes, baby. I’m finished.”
“Good.” She leaned forward and embraced Carter, kissing his cheek lightly before rubbing her face against his whiskers.
Carter’s arms encircled her and pulled her closer. “Do you think you have enough of my scent on you yet, Mate?” he teased her.
“No.”
Carter smiled at Drew over the top of her head. “You can take as much as you need, honey.”
Drew stepped closer, pinning her body between them. He leaned down and kissed her temple lightly. “I’ll work on the blood samples this morning,” he told them both. “Maybe we’ll be able to see improvement in yours from yesterday’s draw, Suzie.”
“What about Carter?” Suzie asked him worriedly.
“I don’t think we have anything to worry about yet, honey,” he told her honestly. “Since you’ve claimed us and drew in our blood, and we’ve filled you with our seed, the level of silver in your system has probably already diminished. But I’ll keep an eye on Carter’s levels just to make sure.”
“What about you?” Suzie asked him, reaching out to hold his arm gently.
“I’m fine,” Drew told her, brushing aside her worry.
“Oh, no you don’t, buster,” Suzie snapped at him, stopping him from ignoring the need to take care of himself. “You’re at risk, too. You need to test your blood, too.”
Drew smiled down at her. “I love it when you get all forceful on us, Suzie Q,” he teased her.
“Don’t play, Drew,” she warned him. “This is not funny. You were poisoned by a silver blade. If you don’t check your levels and make sure you’re not at risk, I will not allow you to claim me ever again.”
Drew looked at Carter over the top of their mate’s head. If he was looking for support, he was sorely disappointed. Carter shook his head at him, hugging Suzie tighter against his chest.
“I agree with Suzie,” he told Drew firmly. “We all have to be sure our levels are acceptable. If one of us is sick, it affects all of us.”
“Please, my Drew,” Suzie whispered. “I need you to make sure that you and Carter aren’t hurt because of me.”
Drew hesitated only slightly. He knew he would not be able to dissuade Suzie—or Carter for that matter. He knew they were just looking out for him. He also knew that he was guilty of putting his own safety aside for the sake of others.
“Not gonna happen, Drew,” Carter told him firmly.
“What?” Drew looked at his triad partner, confused.
“You’re not gonna get away with putting yourself last anymore.”
“That’s right,” Suzie spoke up, reaching out to search for Drew’s arms. When he wrapped his arms around her, she reached up to unbutton his shirt so she could rub her face in his chest hair.
“Suzie, if you keep doing that, I’m not going to be able to work today,” he told her honestly.
“Maybe I should stay home from work today so we can strengthen our bond,” Carter suggested, not wanting to leave them.
“No, you both should work,” Suzie told them firmly. “Carter, as soon as you draw Drew’s blood, you can go to work. Drew, you’re going to test all the samples and make sure that you and Carter are okay.”
“Okay, baby,” Drew conceded. “What are you going to do today?”
“I’m going to spend the day with Mitchell. I’ve missed him.”
“Okay, honey,” Carter told her, kissing her cheek lightly. “Be sure you stay safe. We just got you back, and you are not to put yourself in jeopardy ever again.”
“Yes, sir,” Suzie told him, laughing.
“This is serious, Suzie,” Drew told her, taking her shoulders and turning her to face him. “Promise us you’ll be careful.”
“Drew, what in the heck do you think I’ll be doing with Mitchell?” Suzie asked him, raising her hands up then lowering them and slapping at her thighs in exasperation.
Drew and Carter glanced at each other, having the decency to look ashamed at their overprotective reaction. They reached for her at the same time, feeling the way she remained stiff within their arms.
“Sorry, honey,” Drew told her softly. “We just don’t ever want to be separated from you ever again.”
“Well, geez, Drew, you have to give me credit for my brains.”
“I do, Suzie. It’s not because I don’t have faith in you. It’s because I’m afraid of losing you again.”
“Baby, I would lose my mind if you were taken from us again,” Carter told her honestly.
Suzie’s heart softened toward them immediately. How could she fault them for their love of her?
“Okay,” she told them finally. “I’m going to spend the afternoon with Mitchell. You both can do your jobs. Tonight I’ll make us a nice dinner. After dinner, I want to spend a quiet night with you.”
“Sounds good,” Drew agreed.
“I agree,” Carter added. “Then we’ll make love again.”
Suzie laughed softly. She reached up and touched Carter’s face gently. “Yes, Carter. Then we’ll make love again.”
Suzie held Mitchell’s elbow as they walked toward the main ranch house on Beckett’s pack land. Dean walked by his side. She could sense the bond between the two new triad partners. It made her happy. Even more than that, though, she was comforted by the easy friendship that the two men displayed.
“My sister and I have been living here for about a month now,” Dean told her. “We really like it. I think you will, too.”
“I think you’re right about that, Dean,” Suzie agreed, tipping her face up to the sky and taking in the warmth of the sun. “I can feel the way everyone is a real family here.”
“They really are, Suzie,” Mitchell told his sister as they walked toward the playground that Jace and Jackson had built for the children of the pack. “I always knew Randall was a bad alpha, but I never realized what a good alpha should be until I met Jace Beckett.”
“I knew he would be good for you, Mitchell,” Suzie told him softly, looking up at her brother, searching the cloudy shadows her eyes allowed, to see the confident man he was becoming. “I saw that he would help Meeka and Eric, too.”
“Speak of the devil,” Mitchell told her, laughing. “Here comes that bundle of fire now.”
“Aunt Suzie!”
Meeka’s three-year-old son Eric ran toward her, launching himself against her legs and wrapping his little arms around her knees. Suzie laughed and reached down to grab the adorable child and pull him up into her arms.
“Hello, Eric! How are you, honey?”
“I’m good, Aunt Suzie. Do you want to play with me in the sandbox?”
“I would love to play with you in the sandbox,” Suzie told him seriously, setting him down and laughing as she heard the sound of his little feet running away, knowing he had to be making a beeline for the large sandbox. “Meeka?”
“I’m here, Suzie,” Meeka told her quietly as she stepped toward her and touched her arm lightly. “Janine brought us here to meet you.”
“Janine?” Suzie asked. She had not heard that name yet. “Who’s Janine?”
“I’m Janine,” a soft, feminine voice answered. “It’s nice to meet you, Suzie. Welcome to the Circle Three Ranch.”
“The Circle Three Ranch?” Suzie was confused.
“Al
pha Jace Beckett and Beta Jackson Scott have opened a vacation lodge here on pack land,” Janine explained. “It’s only been open for a little more than a month, but it’s going very well. Maybe you’d like to work in the visitor’s lodge when you get your sight back.”
“If my sight comes back,” Suzie cautioned her.
“Suzie, it will come back,” Mitchell’s soothing voice interrupted them.
“You don’t know that, Mitchell,” Suzie protested.
Mitchell took his sister’s hands in his and turned her to face him. “Concentrate, Suzie,” he told her gently. “Look at me and tell me what you see.”
Suzie looked at the shadow that was her brother and narrowed her eyes slightly as she tried to focus. She saw the gray that she always saw when she looked at figures that were illuminated by the sun.
“I see your shadow,” she told him, sighing. “Nothing more.”
“When you first came here yesterday, I saw that your eyes had been completely changed by the silver in your system,” he told her. “They were totally blue. Today I can see your natural, hazel color coming through. I know that they’ll be the same hazel with blue flecks that they should be very soon.”
“How do you know that, Mitchell?” Suzie asked him softly, afraid to hope and be disappointed.
“I dreamed it, Suzie.”
“You did?” she whispered, glad to feel Meeka stepping closer to her to wrap her arms around her shoulders.
“Yes. I dreamed that you could see. And I dreamed that you were pregnant.”
“You dreamed I was pregnant?” Her voice was barely audible. “I can’t be pregnant yet, Mitchell. The silver in my body would hurt my baby.”
Mitchell shook his head. “No, Suzie. The silver will be gone from your body. The baby will be fine. I saw it.”
“Do you know when, Mitchell?” She held her breath, afraid to entertain the thought that she might actually have a baby with her men.
“I think soon, Suzie.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because I saw you placing a birthday cake in front of Carter, and he thanked you for the gift of the baby that you were carrying.”
“Carter’s birthday is next month,” Suzie told him, smiling.
“I know. Janey told me.”
“Who’s Janey?”
“Me,” Janine spoke up, exasperation filling her voice. “They insist on calling me Janey.” She looked at both Dean and Mitchell and scowled. “I don’t like it.”
“Come on, wolf girl,” Dean told her, pulling at the end of her long, blonde hair and reaching for her hand. “Let’s sit over on the canopy swing and let Meeka and Suzie visit and play with Eric in the sandbox.”
Suzie turned and allowed Meeka to lead her over to the sandbox where Eric was already playing. She kicked off her sneakers and dug her toes into the soft sand before sitting down and running her fingers through the warmth of it.
“Don’t call me wolf girl!” Janine faced Dean and told him through gritted teeth.
Dean smiled down at her, his brown eyes sparkling as he enjoyed her anger. He looked at Mitchell briefly and saw that his triad partner was trying hard not to laugh.
“What would you like me to call you?” he asked her, crossing his arms across his broad chest and waiting patiently for her answer.
“My. Name. Is. Janine.” Her words were stilted and angry. Dean Young made her so mad. Mitchell Robinson was no better as he stood by and allowed Dean to tease her. They both infuriated her.
“I told you before, Janine doesn’t suit you,” Dean answered her quietly, leaning in to place his face directly even with hers. “Janey is much better. Don’t you think so, Mitchell?”
“I like Janey,” Mitchell agreed, enjoying himself despite the immediate tensing of Janine’s frame. He was really starting to enjoy the easy way Dean had with people. He had warned Dean that Janine wasn’t going to appreciate the way he teased her, but he had to admit he loved doing it himself. “I do think wolf girl is rude, though.”
“Okay,” Dean conceded. “Sexy wolf babe is probably better.”
Janine’s growl made both men laugh softly. Dean reached out and grabbed Janey’s hand, pulling her toward one of the freestanding canopy swings that bordered the playground.
“Come on, Janey. Let’s go sit and enjoy the afternoon,” he told her, not giving her a chance to resist him.
Before Janine knew what was happening, she found herself being pulled toward the edge of the playground where the canopy swings were set up. Dean turned her and pushed at her shoulders to get her to sit in the middle of the seat. He sat to her right, and Mitchell sat to her left, successfully sandwiching her tightly between them.
Dean set the swing to rocking with his booted foot and stretched his left arm along the back of the swing to lightly rest against Janey’s back. He held her upper arm and pulled her snugly against him. He smiled when he felt Mitchell’s arm rest on top of his so he could hold Janey tightly against him as well.
“This is nice,” Dean told them loudly, trying to drown out the constant growls that Janey was vocalizing.
“You’re an ass,” Janey muttered, trying to get up.
“Oh, so it’s not nice for me to call you wolf girl, but it’s okay for you to call me an ass? Not cool, Janey,” Dean told her, pulling her back against the swing and holding her tightly so she couldn’t escape.
Mitchell leaned toward Janey and breathed in deeply. For some reason, he felt a sense of peace fill him. He didn’t really understand it.
“Stop breathing on me,” Janine told him, pulling away from him and leaning toward Dean to get away from Mitchell’s searching nose as he nuzzled against her hair.
“Dude, what are you doing?” Dean added, smiling at his triad partner.
Mitchell pulled back, resting his left hand on his thigh as he tried to understand what was happening to him. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “She smells good, Dean.”
Dean leaned toward Janine’s hair and took a deep breath. Mitchell was right. She did have a nice scent. He had never smelled anything so nice.
“He’s right, Janey,” he told her, smiling. “You do smell good.”
“Oh, for goodness sake!” Janine mumbled, trying to rise from her seat.
Both Dean and Mitchell reached out and pulled her back down to sit between them. She landed with a thud on the cushion, surprise stunning her to silence.
“Sit back and relax, Janey,” Mitchell told her calmly. “Enjoy this time with us. Please.”
Janine stilled immediately at his polite request. She looked at Mitchell and saw the calmness that surrounded him. Turning to look at Dean, she saw the sparkle of humor in his eyes. She realized that both men held no ill will toward her. They weren’t making fun of her. They were teasing her, but there was no malice in their words or in their hearts—at least, that’s what she was sensing from them. She felt herself relax, willing to accept the calm friendship that they offered her despite the fact that she was afraid to take a chance and open herself to it.
“Okay,” she told them softly. “Maybe I can stay for a little while.”
Dean looked at Janey briefly before looking at Mitchell and winking. Mitchell nodded and smiled at him. Janey settled back against the seat of the swing, allowing their bodies to touch as the swing rocked back and forth soothingly.
“Thank you, Janey,” Dean told her sincerely. “This is nice.”
Janine stiffened briefly then relaxed, knowing both men really did want to just sit and spend time with her. It was a nice feeling. She was afraid that she might get used to it. That would be a very bad thing. Even worse—they both smelled so damn good. She was in so much trouble.
Meeka sat down in the sand beside Suzie, running her hands in a wide arch on either side of her and making a design in the soft sand. She watched her son fill small, plastic buckets with the little, plastic shovels that were in the sandbox.
“So, are you doing okay, Suzie?” she asked her friend softly.
“Yes. I’m doing really well,” Suzie answered without hesitation. “I love them so much, Meeka. I can’t believe I’m finally with them again.”
“I’m glad, honey,” Meeka told her, smiling. “You deserve to be with your mates.”
“What about you, Meeka?” Suzie asked her quietly. “Are you doing okay?”
“Jace has given a really nice room to me and Eric,” she told her. “Janine suggested that I work in the main visitor’s lodge so I can earn some money.” Meeka hesitated slightly.
“What’s wrong, Meeka?”
“Reece and Wade.”
“What about them?”
“They’re always wherever we are. It makes me nervous. They’re both so big, Suzie. They could really hurt me.”
“Meeka, they would never hurt you.”
“You don’t know that, Suzie. They could hurt us.” She was quiet for a minute, digging her toes deep into the sand as she thought. “I really don’t get them. One minute they seem to hover over me and Eric to make sure we’re okay, and the next they keep their distance.”
“Do you want them to keep their distance?”
“I don’t know,” Meeka answered honestly. “I’m afraid. And confused. They confuse me.”
“It’s understandable that you would be afraid,” Suzie told her. “Boyd didn’t exactly give you a good introduction to wolf shifters. But why would they confuse you?”
“Sometimes it seems like they want to be close to me and Eric,” she explained softly. “Then, all of a sudden, they act like they can’t stand being anywhere near us.”
Suzie thought about Meeka’s words for a moment. “There has to be a reason for it, Meeka,” she said finally. “I’ve known both men since I was ten. Reece is Carter’s twin brother. Did you know that?”
“I didn’t know they were twins, but I can see the family resemblance,” Meeka told her. “What do you remember about them?”
“Well, I remember they were always nice to me and Mitchell. They used to help my mother with stocking her supply of wood for the winter months. I remember that Reece was pretty quiet. Wade was more of a talker. Both of them were really strong. And I remember how they were really good with cars and motorcycles.”
Susannah's Saviors [Beckett's Wolf Pack, Triad Mates 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) Page 19