Alpha Province: Shining Beacons (Siren Publishing Menage Everlasting)

by Becca Van

  “Ambrose and the men in it, turned out to be a godsend. I’m now mat…married to three men who love me, and I love them more than life itself. They protected me when the danger caught up with me, and I’ve never been happier.”

  Dusty opened her mouth to reply, but she didn’t know what to say, so she quickly closed it again.

  “I know how exhausted you must be. You’re pale, and you have dark marks under your eyes. The guys in this town are very protective of those weaker than they are and wouldn’t hesitate to put themselves in the line of fire to keep anyone weaker than them safe.”

  “Why are you telling me this?” Dusty frowned. She had no idea she was such an open book and hated that this stranger, this woman, knew she was in trouble. She didn’t like other people knowing her business, because it was too damned dangerous. She had no idea who she could and couldn’t trust.

  Emmy cocked her head and stared intently at her. “Because I’ve been where you are. I don’t know what you’re running from, but I can tell you that you’ll be safe as long as you stay in this town.”

  “You can’t know that.”

  Emmy nodded. “Yes, I can. Eat. I can hear your belly rumbling from here.”

  Since she was hungry, she decided to do as the woman said. If she hadn’t been starving, she would have told Emmy where she could shove her vegetables.

  She scooped up a forkful of cauliflower with cheese sauce and assumed the sprinkling on top was pepper. She quickly chewed and swallowed the food, and immediately felt her tongue swelling and her airway closing.

  Oh fuck. That wasn’t pepper. It had to be nutmeg.

  Dusty gazed at Emmy frantically as she gasped air through her rapidly closing throat, making frantic wheezing sounds. She clawed at her neck and thumped the table hoping that the other woman would realize she was in trouble.

  Emmy shoved to her feet, knocking the chair over behind her, and yelled across the room, “Broden, she’s having an allergic reaction. She can’t breathe.”

  Dusty grew lightheaded, her vision dimmed, and even though her throat was almost closed, she was able to draw a minimal amount of air into her starving lungs. She felt herself sliding from her chair onto the floor, but she couldn’t stop herself. She landed on her side, and what little oxygen she had left was forced out the minute gap in her throat.

  Her nails raked down her neck and everything around her faded away as blackness swirled in front of her eyes. She felt a hand on her body, and then someone stabbed something into her thigh. Her last thought before she lost consciousness was that the leader of the biker gang had finally found her, and he had just jabbed a knife into her leg.

  * * * *

  “Airen, go get my bag. Now!” Broden ordered.

  Archer jumped from his stool and was across the room moments later. Broden was right on his heels. He slid to his knees beside his mate and reached out for her. He tipped her head back, trying to open her airway, but the wheezing noises their woman was making were getting fewer and far between until there was only silence. Her face was swollen and red, and her eyes looked like they’d swollen shut. His gaze zeroed in on her pulse point at her neck, and when he saw how slow it was beating, he looked at Broden. His brother was a doctor and was taking their mates pulse, but from the way he was so tense and scared looking, Archer knew this was bad. His heart ached as he shifted his gaze back to their mate and tears burned the back of his eyes. He didn’t want to think about not having a chance to get to know their woman by having her die on them before ever officially meeting her.

  He turned his gaze to the pub doors when they burst open and Airen sprinted across the room, knocking a few glasses from the tables as he passed by. He dropped to his knees and tugged open Broden’s medical bag. Broden snatched the bag from Airen and tipped the contents onto the floor beside him. As soon as he found what he was looking for, he picked it up, pulled the protective top from it, and pressed the EpiPen against their mate’s thigh and jabbed the button.

  “Is she going to be okay?” Emmy asked as she brushed the hair off of their mate’s forehead.

  Archer had been so intent on their woman that he hadn’t even noticed Emmy was kneeling by their mate’s head.

  “Yeah,” Broden answered on a gusty sigh of relief. “Her heart’s already getting stronger, and she’s breathing easier. I need to listen to her chest, though, to make sure she’s getting enough air into her lungs.”

  Archer grabbed the stethoscope from the floor and handed it to Broden. His brother nodded as he put the listening device into his ears and then he lifted their mate’s top and shoved his hand under the material. He glanced away from the creamy expanse of her stomach and felt like an asshole when he started getting hard. His Kodiak was pacing in circles, alternately snarling and growling. His animal wanted to claim his mate, but he was also worried about her. Archer pushed his bear down as he drew in a deep breath. His woman’s delicious scent of honeyed-hazelnuts permeated his senses, making his mouth water. He swallowed, pushed his lust aside, and concentrated on their mate, hoping that she would wake soon and be well again.

  He hated seeing her this way. Not because he didn’t like being around sick people, but because it gutted him that she was suffering. If he’d been able to take her pain and illness into himself, he would have done so gladly.

  “We need to get her home. She needs to be watched for the next twenty-four hours. There’s a possibility the reaction isn’t over, and she’ll need more adrenaline,” Broden said after he’d pulled the stethoscope from his ears.

  “Why not the clinic?” Emmy asked.

  “I have everything I need to treat her at our house, Emmy,” Broden said. “I want her to be comfortable when she wakes up. The beds in the clinic aren’t that great.”

  “I’ll get the truck.” Airen shoved himself to his feet and hurried toward the door.

  “Is there anything I can do?” Emmy asked.

  “Not right now, honey, but thanks. However, I think we’ll need you on hand when she awakens.”

  Emmy nodded. “Call me as soon as she starts to stir. I don’t care what time of day or night it is.”

  “Thanks, Emmy.” Archer squeezed her hand in appreciation.

  “Archer, you’ll need to carry her out. I want my hands free in case she goes back into anaphylaxis.”

  Archer didn’t need to be asked twice. He carefully lifted her into his arms and up against his chest, making sure her head was supported against his shoulder. She was so fucking light in his arms, her weight barely registered, but she also felt perfect. This was where she was meant to be, but he knew convincing her she was safe and to accept them as her mates was going to be a hard sell. Especially since she was human and had no idea shifters even existed.

  With a sigh of nervous anticipation, Archer stood, taking their woman with him, and started toward the door.

  “Wait!” Emmy called out. “You need to take her purse and bag. They’ll be the first thing she’s going to ask for when she wakes up.”

  Broden took the purse from Emmy and then raced past him to hold the door open. Airen grabbed her backpack. Archer inhaled the cold winter air and glanced into his mate’s still red, swollen face. Even looking the way she was, she was gorgeous. He just hoped she didn’t freak out when she woke up in a strange place.

  Archer was more than worried by the time they got home, and from the way Broden kept his finger on their mate’s pulse point, he was, too.

  He carried her inside and took her straight to the master bedroom, and with his brothers’ help, they removed her shoes, socks, and sweater, leaving her in jeans and a T-shirt. “Do you think we should take her jeans off?”

  Broden ran his fingers through his hair as he sighed. “If it was me, I wouldn’t want to wake up in confining jeans, but we aren’t talking about me.”

  “I think we should leave them on,” Airen said as he sat on the side of the bed and stroked a finger down their woman’s swollen cheek. “She’s going to flip out enough to f
ind she’s in a strange bedroom, let alone having us three here. We don’t want to get on her bad side before we have a chance of courting her.”

  “You’re probably right,” Archer sighed with resignation. The last thing they needed was their woman accusing them of copping a feel or gawking at her body while she was sick and unconscious.

  “Why is she so red and swollen?” Airen rubbed the back of his neck. “Is she in pain? Do you need to give her something for pain relief?”

  “She shouldn’t be in any pain. She might feel nauseous, and the obvious signs of her allergic reaction are the swelling and difficulty breathing,” Broden explained. “Where’s her purse? She might have an EpiPen or an alert that tells me what she’s allergic to. Even if she doesn’t have any information or an EpiPen, I have everything here to treat her.”

  * * * *

  “You left it in the truck,” Airen answered as he rose. “I’ll go get it.” He raced down the hall and out the front door. He didn’t bother closing the door behind him, because he wasn’t planning on being outside long. He opened the truck door, reached in, grabbed their mate’s purse, slammed the door, and hurried back inside. He cursed under his breath when he felt how much cooler it was in the living room after leaving the door open. He couldn’t afford to be so thoughtless. Their woman was human and wouldn’t be able to stand the cold elements the way a shifter could.

  He was excited about having her in their house, but he and his brothers were going to have to be more diligent in their care of their mate. Her health and well-being came before theirs at all times. However, it was going to be difficult to remember to not leave the doors wide open, among other things. He smiled for the first time that night as he imagined leaving the toilet seat up in the en suite bathroom. He’d heard Declan and Tatum discussing their women’s hissy fits about just that, after getting up in the middle of the night to use the facilities and sitting without looking. He couldn’t help but chuckle as he imagined how cold the porcelain would be on bare skin, and now that they were nearly in winter, the cold would be a hell of a lot worse. He’d have to try and remember to tell his brothers to make sure they put the seat down and closed the lid if they ever used the bathroom adjoining the master bedroom. Maybe it would be better if he and his siblings used the other restrooms.

  Airen walked toward the end of the bed and dumped the contents of their mate’s purse onto the quilt. He rifled through the things until he found her wallet and flipped it open. He sucked in a breath when he saw the photo on her license. She had waist length brown hair and she’d looked so happy. He wondered what had happened to dull that joy and put the wariness and shadows in her stunning green eyes.

  “What?” Archer asked.

  “Her name is Dusty Cutter. She turned twenty-three nearly six months ago.” Airen pulled the license from the pocket and handed it to Archer. His brother studied the plastic card and then passed it over to Broden.

  “She’s from Tucson, Arizona.” Broden met his gaze.

  Airen nodded and then tugged another card from the wallet. “She has a current student card to the Brookline College.”

  “Is there anything in there to indicate what she’s allergic to?” Broden frowned. “Give me her wallet.”

  Airen handed it to his brother and watched while Broden removed all the cards. “Here it is.” He held up a medical alert card. “Shit. She’s allergic to nutmeg.”

  “Didn’t the cauliflower and cheese sauce I saw on her table have nutmeg on it?” Archer asked.

  “I didn’t take any notice,” Airen answered. “I was too busy worrying about our mate.”

  “I’ll call Declan and ask.” Archer unclipped his cell phone from his belt and made the call. “Declan, did our mate have the cauliflower with the nutmeg?” Archer covered the phone. “He’s checking with Emmy.” He took his hand from the phone when Declan came back. “Shit, it did? Fuck! Yeah, she’s allergic. Can you spread the word around? Make sure nutmeg is removed from all dishes. In fact, it would be better if the stuff was trashed. We don’t want to put our mate at risk again. Okay, thanks.” Archer disconnected the call. “Declan’s spreading the word. You can bet your ass by tomorrow morning that there will be no nutmeg to be found anywhere in town.”

  Airen turned to look at Dusty when she groaned. Her face looked redder than before and more swollen. Before he could say anything, Broden was at her side with another EpiPen in his hand. He pushed the cylinder against her thigh and pressed the button, injecting the adrenaline into her system. It took about five minutes before her restlessness abated, and she began to breathe easier again.

  “How long is she going to suffer?” Airen asked.

  “I’m hoping that was the last time I need to inject her,” Broden replied before he gazed at Airen. “Did Declan or Emmy tell you how much of that cauliflower she ate?”

  “One bite.” Airen frowned.

  “Fuck! I’m glad the word is being passed around. She’s highly allergic if she reacted this way from one mouthful. She could have fucking died.” Broden combed his fingers through his hair.

  Airen squeezed his brother’s shoulder. “But she didn’t. Thank fuck Emmy realized what was going on. If she hadn’t—I don’t even want to think about it.”

  Broden and Archer nodded. Broden glanced at his watch, and Airen looked at the watch face on his brother’s wrist. He had no idea how much time had passed, but it was late. However, there was no fucking way he was sleeping until he knew that their mate was out of the woods and wouldn’t have another relapse. If he had to sit at her bedside all night long, he would.

  Airen met his brothers’ gazes. “Why don’t you both go and get some sleep? I’ll sit with her to make sure she’s okay.”

  “I don’t want to leave her.” Archer moved closer to the bed and stroked a finger down her blotchy, swollen cheek. “What if something goes wrong and we’re not here?”

  “You think I’d let something happen to her?” Airen asked angrily.

  “No.” Archer sighed.

  “You can stay if you want. I wasn’t trying to order you around.”

  Archer glared at him, but Airen could see the twinkle of amusement in his brother’s eyes. “As if I’d let you.”

  “We’re going to need our wits about for when she wakes up,” Broden said. “I don’t think she’ll have another reaction after two shots of epinephrine.”

  “I know, you’re right.” Archer stared intently at their mate. “But my Kodiak doesn’t want to leave.”

  “Mine either.” Broden nodded. “However, we don’t want to overwhelm or scare the shit out of her.” He pointed at Airen. “The minute she stirs, you come get us. We’re going to need Emmy here, and I don’t want her hurting herself if she freaks out.”

  “I will,” Airen agreed, and watched as his brothers gave a lingering look to their woman before heading for their own rooms. He grabbed the large armchair from against the wall and carried it close to the bed. Once he was near enough to touch Dusty, he sat and propped the lower half of his legs on the edge of the mattress.

  It was going to be a long night.

  Nonetheless, Airen was excited about officially meeting their mate for the first time.

  He just hoped that she didn’t get scared when she opened her eyes to find him watching her. He wasn’t sure he or his bear could handle her fear of them.

  Chapter Three

  Dusty sighed as her conscience surfaced from sleep. She was so warm and comfortable, she didn’t want to move. Yet, she didn’t feel right. Her stomach was roiling, and her skin felt a little too warm and tight. She forced her heavy lids open, blinked her vision clear, and stared at the cream-hued wall. She tried to remember where she was, and for a moment nothing came to mind, but then clarity hit like a two by four.

  She’d had an allergic reaction and had nearly died—no wonder she felt like shit.

  She bolted upright and stared the man gazing at her avidly. He was huge, and there was something familiar about him, yet she kn
ew she hadn’t met him. His short brown hair didn’t touch the neck of his shirt. His blue eyes were filled with concern. When he shifted in his seat, she could see his big muscles flexing under his jeans and shirt, and they looked big. He had a squarish jaw with slight stubble, and he was very handsome in a rugged way. He dwarfed the armchair he was sitting in with his broad body and freakishly tall height.

  “How are you feeling, honey?”

  “Who are you? Where am I?” She was definitely in a bedroom. Why wasn’t she at a hospital or the clinic she’d seen?

  “My name is Airen Higgins. You had a severe allergic reaction last night, and since my brother Broden is a doctor, we brought you home to watch over you.”

  Dusty didn’t like being around strangers, but she was eternally grateful this man and his brother had taken care of her. Had ultimately saved her life. She licked her dry lips and nodded. “Thank you.”

  “Are you hungry? Broden and Archer are fixing you some breakfast. Emmy should be here any second, too.”

  “Who’s Archer?” Dusty was glad to see she still had her long-sleeved shirt on and shifted up the bed until she was leaning against a pillow and the headboard.

  “He’s also my brother.”

  She nodded. “Why is Emmy coming? Is she your wife?”

  Airen shook his head and smiled. “No, honey. Emmy is mat…married to the pub owners, Declan Swish, Brooks McKay, and Jett Burns.”

  She nodded even while wondering why one woman would want to be with three men. She didn’t care that Emmy was married to three men—is that even legal?—as long as everyone was happy and in love, but that wasn’t something she’d ever imagined. She hadn’t envisaged herself in a relationship with one man, let alone more.

  Dusty glanced toward the door and sucked in a deep breath when two other big men entered the room, one after the other. These three men were the ones she’d been scared of last night when she was at the pub. She frowned over her remembered fear. She should be terrified out of her mind to be in their home and the only female, but for some reason, she wasn’t. In fact, parts of her body sat up and took notice of how tall, muscular, and handsome they were.