by Jane Jamison
Feeling more like a woman than ever, she glanced first at one of her lovers, then the other. “Can I talk freely now?”
Declain laughed. “Yeah. Talk away. Hell, girl, you earned it.”
Lying between the men, she moved her gaze to the ceiling above her and put on a deadpan expression. “If you guys keep ripping my clothes off, you’re going to have to take me shopping for clothes.”
Nolan, as serious as ever, answered. “Fine. It’s well worth the cost.”
* * * *
“Zoey, we need to talk.”
She swallowed the last bite of her sandwich, and it went down rough. “Isn’t that what men say when they want to dump a girl?” It was a joke, but all at once, the prospect that it wasn’t chilled her. Surely, after what had happened only an hour earlier, they weren’t going to tell her that it was over.
Nolan leaned against the kitchen counter while Declain sat sideways and loped his arm over the back of his chair. Their green eyes sparkled, giving her hope that her joke wasn’t about to become an all-too serious reality.
She slid onto the chair across from Declain. Since coming home from the festival, she still hadn’t relaxed. How could she when Rick was in town? She swallowed again, getting rid of the clog that had stuck in her throat. It was time to confess everything. “You’re right. We do.”
Declain leaned forward. “Okay, you go first.”
Crap. She hadn’t counted on having to spill the beans until after she’d found out what they wanted. “I haven’t exactly been truthful with you.”
Nolan pushed away from the counter, his scowl in place. “What are you hiding?”
She couldn’t help but feel defensive. She hadn’t hidden anything from them. Not telling wasn’t like hiding something. Or was it?
“Okay, here it is. You know I’m from Atlanta.”
They nodded, but remained quiet.
“What you don’t know is that I kind of ran off from my pack.”
Nolan came around to take the seat next to hers. “Kind of? You either did or you didn’t.”
Declain raised his hand, halting Nolan before he could get fired up. “Hold up. A werewolf should be able to leave anytime he or she wants. So why is it that you had to run off?”
She closed her eyes and gathered her strength. They were her mates and they’d done everything to prove that short of biting her and officially making her theirs. She could trust them.
“The leader of the pack wanted me for his own.”
“Wait a sec. Is that even legal? Under pack rules, I mean.” Nolan shifted his gaze from her to Declain then back again. “I mean, the way I understood it, a werewolf can’t take a female that isn’t his intended mate.”
Declain shook his head. “He can under certain circumstances. Like when a female has been widowed. But normally? No, he can’t. Then again, each pack has their own set of rules.”
“Yeah, but isn’t there like a basic code that all packs have to adhere to?”
Declain shrugged. “And if one pack leader decides not to follow those codes, who’s going to go after him? The FBI?”
Nolan muttered a curse. “Then what gives?”
She hurried on, wanting to get the ordeal over with. Once they’d gotten past this, she could tell them about Rick. Then Declain could confront Rick and tell her that she was his intended mate. Nolan, however, would serve them better by staying out of it. With Rick’s hatred of humans, he wouldn’t care what Nolan said.
“Rick Clayton—that’s the leader of the Clayton Pack—has a connection with another female. But he wants me, too. Until recently, I believed him when he said I’d have to mate with him or have no one at all.”
“Why would you think he’s right?”
She loved how earnest Declain was. He was fighting to understand. Nolan, on the other hand, was holding back, even leaning away from her as though physically putting distance between them.
“Because that’s what Rick and his father, Harland Clayton, always told me. Harland’s deceased now, so that’s why Rick’s the leader. Rick brought me into the pack after I left my mom’s home. You see, she never wanted me. She said I reminded her of my father who ran off when he found out that she was pregnant. It was Rick who found me on the streets and sensed that I was part werewolf. He’s the one who told me what I was.”
“Apparently, he told you more than that.”
Tears sprang to her eyes at the anger in Nolan’s voice. “You’re right. Harland and Rick told me that I didn’t have an intended mate because I wasn’t a full werewolf. Rick said that no one, not even a human, would ever want me. And up until a few weeks ago, I believed him.”
“What happened to make you see that he was lying?” Declain covered her hand with his. “You do know that he lied, right?”
She wiped away a tear. “I heard the rumors about a place where werewolves and other shifters live out in the open. Once I heard about Forever, I was determined to come here and find out. I never really thought I’d find a mate”—she peeked at Nolan and noticed him edging back toward her—“much less two.”
“Is that why you think you can’t shift? From their brainwashing you into thinking so?”
She gawked at Declain. “What do you mean by ‘brainwashing’?”
“Because they must’ve fed you that lie so much that you believed it.” Declain leaned forward even more. “Baby, I’ve seen other half-werewolves shift. Sure, it may take longer for it to happen, and there’s no telling when, but they all do eventually. Why should you be any different?”
“I don’t know. But it’s not like I’m a teenager any longer. I should’ve shifted by now. I know I should’ve and I’ve tried.” The despair at not being able to transform twisted her gut, and she lowered her gaze to the table. She wanted so much to change. Why hadn’t it happened yet?
Declain squeezed her hand, but it was Nolan’s gentle touch on her shoulder that made her breathe a sigh of relief. Declain lowered his head and met her gaze to make her look at him. “Don’t you get it? Rick and his father psyched you out. Shifting’s not only a physical thing. It’s a mental one, too. I’ll bet you’ll shift once you get all their lies out of your head. Sure as a rain in Seattle, I know you will.”
“Do you really think so?”
Nolan brushed his fingertips under her hair to massage her stiff neck muscles. “Listen to Declain. I know I’m not a werewolf, but I’ve got a gut feeling that he’s right.”
“There’s something else.”
Nolan left out a hard breath. “Better get everything out now. Don’t hold anything back, got it?”
“Got it.” She was more confident now, certain that they’d have her back no matter what. “I saw Rick at the festival.”
Declain’s confusion was as tangible as Nolan’s irritation. “What? Where? What’s he want?”
“I didn’t talk to him. That’s when I pulled you guys into the photo booth. But I know why he’s here. He’s come to take me back to Atlanta with him. No one leaves the Clayton Pack. At least not alive.”
Declain’s growl was all werewolf. Although Nolan couldn’t growl the same way, his snarl was just as angry. “Why didn’t you tell us right then and there?”
“I don’t know. I guess I wasn’t ready. I know you’re my mates and all, but I wasn’t sure if the pack in Forever would take Rick’s side since he’s an alpha. And a part of me was afraid you’d change your mind.” She sat up tall, ready for the rejection that might still come. “I thought maybe you didn’t want to fully claim me because I’m part werewolf.”
“You’re part human, too.”
She bit her lower lip. Did Nolan dislike that about her? Or did he like that they had at least that in common?
“That doesn’t matter to us.” Declain rose and stepped over to stare out the kitchen window. He pivoted back to face her. “We don’t care what you are. It’s who you are that makes us love you. That’s what we needed to tell you.”
Love.
She’d fi
nally heard the word she’d longed for all her life. At last, it had come. Now she could say the words she’d ached to say, but hadn’t had the nerve to do so. “I love you both, too.”
Nolan tilted his head much like a werewolf would and gave her one of his looks. “Damn it, Zoey, for such a smart girl, you can be dumb as dirt.”
“Hey!” Yet she knew he didn’t mean it.
“Of course, we want you. Hell, I love you so much that I’m thinking about becoming a werewolf. Once you go through your transformation, you can change me.” He lifted his hands, palms out, then jerked his thumb at Declain. “You have to change me, because, girl, no matter how much I love you, there’s no way in hell that I’m letting his ugly mug bite me.”
She wanted to hug them. Moving to do exactly that, she stopped short, fear clutching at her heart, at the pounding on the front door.
Rick!
She could sense him.
* * * *
Nolan led the way to the front door. Keeping Zoey behind them for her protection, he swung the door open.
Four men, all werewolves by the scent of them, glared at them. She recognized the two other shifters with Rick. Rubin and Slade were part of the Clayton Pack and two men who would do anything Rick ordered them to do. The other man had dark hair and glittering eyes, and stood with his feet planted apart and his thumbs hooked in his jeans. Like Declain and Nolan, he wore faded jeans and a work shirt. His cowboy hat was pushed back on his forehead.
“Jackson, what’s going on?”
Jackson tossed a look at Rick and his men. “We’ve got a situation on our hands, Declain. Can we come in and discuss it?”
“Nope.”
Declain’s refusal surprised everyone except Nolan. Both of them planted their feet apart, then crossed their arms, making a physical barrier into their home. She could sense the wolf rising in Declain and could smell the anger wafting off Nolan.
Jackson frowned, obviously thrown by Declain’s tone. “This man says that the girl’s his mate.”
Zoey’s mouth couldn’t have dropped open any faster. “The hell I am!” She stepped out from behind Nolan and Declain, determined to stand up to Rick once and for all. Of course, it didn’t hurt that she had two strong men on her side.
“Zoey-girl, you know you are.” Rick scowled at her, but kept his tone level. “You’re mine.” He cast aside his scowl and put on a tired-but-patient look that she knew was meant for Jackson’s benefit. “I know we had an argument, but don’t all couples? Still, I forgive you. You can come on back home now, sweetie.”
“I am home, you asshole.”
“She’s not his intended, and he sure as hell hasn’t mated her.” Declain’s tone had dropped to a lower pitch.
She could see Jackson trying to assess what was going on by the way he watched their exchange. “Okay, Declain, take it easy. And you know this how?”
She could feel the blush coloring her face. Some werewolves retained a scar where their mates had bitten them, claiming them as their own. But some didn’t. Still, she knew what Declain was going to say.
He’s going to tell them that I was a virgin when we had sex.
She steadied her nerves, refusing to be embarrassed. After all, she was a grown woman with desires just like everyone else.
“I’m going to have to ask you to trust me on this, Jackson. I know she’s not his. I know it for a fact.”
It was apparent that Jackson was having a hard time understanding what was going on. Still, she could see that he liked the Sawyer brothers and that he wasn’t fond of Rick and his men. “Look, Declain, if it was up to me, I’d have no problem taking your word for it. But this is a major problem. She’s part of his pack—”
“Was. I was part of his pack.”
Jackson heaved a sigh. “Okay. She was part of his pack, and he wants her back. You know we can’t get between a werewolf and his mate.”
“I’m telling you I’m not his mate. I never was and I never will be.”
She could almost see Jackson’s fur rise. “That may be, but there’s another problem.”
“What’s that?” Nolan slid his arm around her waist. It was a simple gesture, but one that told everyone that she was his. Rick’s fangs peeked out and his nostrils flared.
“She has to go back with him to stand pack trial.”
“What the hell for?”
Nolan’s anger rippled off his body and into hers.
Jackson’s expression grew even glummer. “He said she shot him.”
Chapter Nine
Nolan couldn’t help but laugh. “Are you shitting me?” He turned to her. “Do you go around shooting everyone?”
Jackson didn’t laugh. “Who else did she shoot?”
Nolan didn’t have to see the look on Zoey’s face to know that he’d screwed up. “Me. But it was an accident.”
Rick, who had joined in on the laughter, lost his momentary good humor. “It wasn’t an accident when she shot me. If she weren’t such a bad shot, I’d be six feet under right now.”
Zoey slanted a look toward Nolan, the pleas evident on her face. “I’m betting that she was only defending herself.”
Zoey’s relief was immediate and palpable. “That’s right. I wanted to leave the pack and Rick wouldn’t let me.”
Jackson Carr was known as the unofficial leader of the werewolf community in Forever. As such, he’d proven himself to be a fair man who often put others’ concerns before his own. “Why wouldn’t he let you leave?”
Rick had retracted his fangs, but he couldn’t hide the animosity brewing just below the surface. “That’s none of your concern. I run my pack the way I see fit.”
Nolan’s anger was growing stronger, and for the first time ever, he wished he could shift and take the werewolf leader on his own terms. As a human, he’d have little to no chance against Rick and his two pack members if they decided to change. That made him feel useless next to Declain and Jackson.
Declain once again put his body between Rick and Zoey. “This isn’t your pack. She told us you wanted to claim her even though you’ve found your intended mate. That’s just plain wrong, and we’re not going to let it happen.”
“You can’t stop me. I make the rules in my pack.”
Nolan and Declain moved closer together, putting their shoulders together. Jackson shifted his body, turning enough that it was clear he was standing with them against Rick and his men.
“I think you need to get on your way, Mr. Clayton.”
“You can’t do that. She’s mine and I claim my right to take her back where she belongs.”
Nolan no longer cared that he was human and not a match for the Atlanta werewolves. He’d do anything to keep Zoey safe. “Get off my land and take your lapdogs with you. Get off or you won’t live to regret it.”
Rick’s nostrils flared and his eyes blazed. Nolan half expected him to shift and attack. Instead, after an obvious battle to keep his temper in check, Rick visibly relaxed his body.
“This isn’t over.” He lifted a corner of his mouth in a seer at Zoey. “I’ll be back.”
“If you do, be ready to get your head blown off.”
Declain put his hand on Nolan’s arm. “Easy, man. They’re leaving.”
They watched Rick and his two pack men stalked over to the huge black Cadillac. It wasn’t until they were down the driveway that Jackson turned to Zoey. Nolan stiffened and readied for whatever he’d say.
Jackson pulled his hat back down on his forehead. “Zoey, I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself at the festival. I’m Jackson Carr.”
Zoey’s face filled with a pink that rushed up from her neck. “Oh, uh…It’s nice to meet you. I’m Zoey Wate.”
Jackson tipped his hat in welcome. “Good to meet you, too. Don’t let these two hog you. Make them take you into town real soon. We’re all excited to meet you.” He tipped his hat again before stepping toward the end of the porch. “Guys, can I have a private word with you?”
&nb
sp; “Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of Zoey.” Nolan wasn’t sure if he was pressing his luck. He knew enough about werewolves to know that they could be prickly at times.
Jackson’s dark eyes took them in before he finally nodded. “Good enough. I’m assuming you three are connected?”
Although Jackson had included him, Nolan thought he’d done so just to cover his bases. “Yeah.” He pulled Zoey closer. “We are.”
“Okay then. I’ll take your word for it. Thing is, because she shot him—” He paused, then redirected his words to Zoey. “You’re not denying that, right?”
“No, I’m not.” She pulled her body straighter. “And I’d damn well do it again.”
Pride swelled in Nolan, and even Jackson couldn’t suppress a small smile.
“At any rate, if he presses the matter, he may have the right to take her back with him. I don’t like going against another pack’s rules. It makes for bad blood.”
“Bullshit,” retorted Declain.
“We won’t let him do that and you know it, Jackson.” Nolan’s anger rose again. “No matter what you or anyone else says.”
“I figured as much. I guess we’re going to have to wait and see. The next move is his.” He tipped his hat to Declain and Nolan. “You two take care of her. I’ve got a feeling you haven’t seen the last of that guy.”
Zoey leaned closer to Nolan as they watched Jackson saunter over and get into his pickup. He tossed them a quick wave and left.
Nolan hugged her tighter. “Come hell or high water, baby, we won’t let him take you back.” He just wished he had shifter strength to help keep his promise.
* * * *
“Will Declain be long?” Zoey bumped her hip into Nolan. He grumbled as he always did, but each day he acted less and less like a grouch. “I still think it would’ve been okay if we’d gone with him. When the hell am I going to see Forever?”
Nolan grabbed her and bent her over the top of the couch. She’d come to find out that it was one of his favorite positions to put her in, especially when she was wearing a short skirt. Skirts weren’t always practical for helping out around the ranch, but they were very handy when it came to sex. The Sawyer men preferred her without underwear and with easy access to her pussy.