Reynolds Pack (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Becca Van

  “Will he bite me?”

  “No,” Johnny replied. “None of us would ever hurt you, Melanie. Even though he is in animal form, he's still able to think and control his wolf to some degree.”

  Her shoulders relaxed, and then she slowly lifted a trembling hand and rested it lightly on the top of Kris’s head. Kris lifted his head from her leg and butted her hand with it.

  Jules’s tension eased when she gave a small giggle, exhaled gustily, and relaxed even more. Then she lifted her other hand and began petting Kris in earnest. She rubbed over his wolf’s neck and shoulders and halfway down his back before returning to his head to scratch behind his ears.

  “This is unbelievable. His fur is so soft. I didn’t expect that. And he’s so damn big. Even sitting down, his head is level with mine. Are you sure I'm not dreaming? Did one of you drug me or something?”

  “No, you're not dreaming. And how could you even think we would do something so evil?” Jules asked, and although he was angry, he made sure to keep any inflection from his voice.

  Melanie shrugged. “This is all so surreal. It's hard to believe.”

  “Wolf shifters are much larger than a natural wolf,” Johnny said, and Jules was glad his brother redirected the conversation. “We think it’s because we are part human and that a human is much larger than wolf.”

  “Makes sense I guess,” Melanie muttered.

  “Okay, Kris. Change back. There are more things for us to tell your ma— Melanie.” Blue waved his hand.

  “What things?” Melanie asked as Kris moved back. Jules saw her clench her jaw when the sounds of Kris’s bones reforming permeated the room with popping and cracking. “Does that hurt? It sounds terrible.”

  “The first couple of times we make the change to our wolves our bones and bodies ache, but it doesn’t really hurt per se. It looks and sounds worse than it actually is.” Jules raised an eyebrow at Kris when he gave him a cocky grin.

  It seemed his brother had seen the way she had ogled his naked body and hard dick and had smelt her arousal. Jules wasn’t really jealous of her reaction to Kris, but he was a little envious that she had seen Kris naked first. He wished that his Alpha had commanded him to undress and show Melanie his wolf, but he wasn’t about to argue with the leader of their pack. And hopefully he would have plenty of time to be naked with his mate whenever he wanted in the not-too-distant future.

  “I can understand why you would want to create your own little town away from the rest of humanity,” Melanie said sincerely. “If anyone found out that werewolves were real, the idiots would be out for blood. Not to mention what the scientists would do if they got their hands on any of you.”

  “Yes.” Blue leaned forward in his seat and rested his elbows on his knees. “We’ve kept this secret for generations, and no one outside the pack is aware that we’re wolf shifters.”

  “Then why are you letting me in on your secret?” Melanie frowned. “I could have worked here without being any the wiser as long as no one shifted in front of me. What makes me so special?”

  Jules hated the facetiousness of her tone, as if she were putting herself down, and decided then and there that if she did so again after agreeing to be theirs he would take her to task over it. No one put his mate down, including her.

  “There is only ever one true mate to a werewolf or, as it seems in our pack, werewolves,” Kris said as he pulled his shirt over his head and then sat down on the edge of the armchair cushion.

  “And you’re telling me this…because?”

  Jules heard the hesitancy in her voice and knew that the others had as well. He was hoping her mind was already on track to what they were about to tell her, and although he was excited for her to know how much she meant to them, he was also scared what her reaction would be.

  He drew in a deep, ragged breath and exhaled slowly. Melanie must have heard his gusty exhalation because she turned to meet his gaze and frowned at him before moving her gaze to Johnny and then Kris.

  “You’re not going to say… You’re not trying to tell me…”

  Johnny beat Jules to the punch, jumping in with both feet. “You’re our mate, Melanie. You’re the one woman we could have a lasting, loving relationship with.”

  Melanie shoved to her feet, walked around the back of the sofa, and began pacing and mumbling to herself. “You can’t know that. How could you know that? We’ve only just met for Christ’s sake. How can that be possible? I’m not even a werewolf.”

  She hurried into the kitchen, and even though Jules wanted to go after her to make sure she wasn’t freaking out—which was a laugh really, because she was definitely freaking out—he remained seated, hoping that giving her a few minutes to process would alleviate the panic he could sense in her. It would be so easy to push his calming influence on her again, but since she didn’t know any of the male members of the pack had such an ability, he felt sort of guilty for using it. Although why he couldn’t have said. It wasn’t as if they were influencing her decisions or taking her free choice away from her, but he had a feeling that she would be angry if they continued to use it on her without her being cognizant of the fact.

  He heard water running and then her gulping down a glass of water. When she’d finished her drink, she came striding back into the room. Jules stood up and opened his mouth to speak, but he stopped before he started when Melanie held her hand up, palm out.

  “No more. I can’t handle listening to any more of this. I’m sorry if that upsets you all, but…I just need a little time.”

  Blue nodded and then shoved to his feet. “I need to go and check on Jenny. When she’s feeling better, she’ll want to talk to you again, and if you need or want to talk to me or Joe, please feel free to come find us.”

  Melanie nodded and watched Blue until he left the small cottage.

  “Are you okay, Melanie?” Johnny strode slowly toward her and stopped a few feet from her.

  “To be honest, I have no idea.”

  “There is so much we need to tell you, baby.” Johnny lifted his hand toward Melanie’s face but halted in mid-air when she reared back as if he’d been about to strike her.

  Jules frowned but kept quiet about her reaction, but it did make him wonder if someone had hit her before. Hopefully, when she got to know them a bit better, they would be able to ask, and she would answer them, but that was for the future. They needed to spend as much time with her as possible so she would become comfortable being with and opening up with them.

  “I wasn’t going to hurt you,” Johnny finally said, breaking up the pregnant silence.

  “I didn’t think you would,” Melanie replied with sincerity as she crossed her arms over her chest.

  Jules sighed with relief but then frowned again as he tried to figure out why she’d moved away from Johnny’s touch. Her stance was a definitive keep-your-hands-to-yourself sign. Thankfully she answered the question before he had to voice it.

  “I’m not used to being touched. Especially by people I don’t know.”

  “The only way to get to know someone is to spend time in their company,” Kris said as he moved to stand at Johnny’s left. Jules moved to his right.

  “That may be so, but you guys have just dropped a bombshell on me, and I haven’t even been here for that long. It’s just…too much for a girl to take in all at once.”

  “You’re right,” Kris agreed with a sigh. “You’ve had a long journey and are, no doubt, exhausted. We’ll leave you to rest, and maybe if you’re up to it tomorrow, we can talk some more.”

  Kris turned toward the entrance.

  “Maybe, but I’m not promising anything.” Melanie exhaled gustily. “I haven’t even started work here yet. I need to find my place before I’d even contemplate getting into a relationship with one man let alone three…werewolves. I don’t know any of you so how the hell am I supposed to have a relationship with you?”

  Kris came back into view. “Come on, guys. Let’s leave Melanie to get settled so she
can get some sleep.”

  “Will you promise me something?” Johnny asked.

  “I don’t know. It will depend on what the request is.”

  “I want you to promise me you will come to us if you have any questions. We don’t care what the question is, even if you think it will be insulting to us,” Johnny said.

  “I can’t promise because I’m sure you have jobs you need to do, but if you’re around when I have any questions, then I will ask you.”

  “That’s all we can ask for.” Jules smiled. “Do you need any help bringing your things in?”

  “Actually if one of you could drive my car over, that would be great. Jenny was going to arrange for someone to do it, but I think she forgot when she got sick.”

  “Do you have your car keys?” Johnny asked.

  “Let me get them.” Melanie rushed into the kitchen and was back moments later with her keys.

  “We’ll help you unload your things, and then we’ll leave you to it,” Kris said before following Johnny out the door.

  Jules stayed with Melanie until he heard her car pull up outside. “Do you want everything brought in?”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, darlin’. Don’t come out. It’s getting chilly, and I don’t want you getting cold.” Jules headed out to help his brothers unload her belongings.

  Jules, Johnny, and Kris were as good as their word. They unloaded the cases and boxes, and after locking her car up, Johnny returned the keys to Melanie.

  “Sleep well, baby,” Johnny said as he left for the last time that night.

  “Thank you.”

  “I’ll see you tomorrow, darlin’.” Jules brushed his finger down her cheek and drew back before she could protest. She nodded and then looked toward Kris.

  “We’re here if you need us, honey.” Kris smiled and winked at her, and then he and Jules exited her cottage. Jules quietly closed the door behind him and sighed with resignation when he heard Melanie engage the lock.

  “Do you think she’s going to fight us?” Jules asked.

  “I don’t know. She’s attracted to all three of us,” Kris said.

  “Yeah, but she doesn’t know us from Adam.”

  “I think she’s used to being alone. That comment about not liking to be touched was pretty damn revealing.”

  “Yeah, and that worries me. Where the hell are her parents? Her family? Doesn’t she have any brother or sisters or even a friend or two? It makes me wonder what sort of life she’s had.”

  “It does that. What I’m worried about is that maybe someone has hurt her before and she’s closed herself off from everyone around her.” Kris glanced back toward the cottage.

  “Do you think Blue would let us see her file? You know as well as I do that he wouldn’t have employed her unless he’d done a thorough background check on her.”

  “And what do you think her reaction would be if she ever found out we read her file?” Kris asked.

  “Shit! Okay, so I’m not thinking straight.”

  “None of us are.” Kris shrugged. “But we need to back off and give her time. If we don’t, we could lose her before we even have her.”

  “Kris is right,” Johnny said.

  Jules had been so intent on walking and talking to Kris, he hadn’t even noticed his older brother standing on the porch to their four-bedroom home—nor that they were already home.

  “We need to treat her like we would a friend and not a lover. We’ve got to stop thinking with our dicks and keep our animals on a tight leash. If we want her to be our mate, we have to back off. We’ve overloaded her with too much already. We’re lucky she didn’t get into her car and hightail it out of here.”

  “Let’s hope it still doesn’t come to that.”

  Chapter Four

  Melanie couldn’t settle long enough to sit and concentrate on the book she’d started reading on her Kindle, so she turned on the TV and flicked through the channels, but still, her mind kept going round and round in circles. How the hell was she supposed to accept the fact that she was supposedly a mate to three men—well, men who could change into wolves?

  She’d never been great with relationships, or so she’d been told by the two men she’d dated for hardly more than three months a piece.

  The sun had set a couple of hours ago, and although she was hungry, the thought of food didn’t sit well with her right now. She had so much pent-up energy she needed to exert some of it so she’d be able to sleep at least for a few hours. Maybe if Jenny was feeling better she could talk to the other woman and get more of an insight into werewolves.

  Although she was very attracted to Johnny, Kris, and Jules on a primal level, she wasn’t about to jump into a relationship with them. The more she envisaged Kris changing from man to wolf, the more she thought that she might be going a little crazy.

  Maybe she'd had a car accident, hit her head, and she was dreaming everything up. Surely what she'd seen couldn't have been real, but how was she supposed to refute what she'd seen with her own two eyes?

  Melanie was normally a very logical person, but right now she felt like she was stuck in a continual nightmare. She pinched the skin on her forearm hard between her nails and bit her tongue so she didn't yelp. The last thing she needed was to have those men come busting inside if they heard her crying out in pain. She wasn't sure where they were or if they'd be able to hear her, but she wasn't going to take any chances. Maybe the best thing to do would be to pack up her car and leave, but she just couldn't do that—not after telling Blue she would stay to cook for them. If she left she would feel guilty for breaking her word.

  Fuck! I am so confused. What should I do? How can I believe any of this shit? It can't be real. It just can't be.

  When she realised she was once more thinking in circles, she took a deep, steadying breath and then released it slowly—and then repeated the process.

  Where had her common sense gone? All of this was so fucked up and maybe she was, too.

  Her thoughts centred on Johnny, Kris, and Jules again.

  She had moments where she could be spontaneous, but where men were concerned, she’d learnt to be cautious. Not that she’d had her heart broken or anything—she’d never really been in love before—but she had been in like, and her pride had taken a battering when she’d been the dumpee rather than the dumper.

  Deciding that some fresh air might help, she took her slippers off, put her sneakers on, and headed out. It was really dark outside, but thankfully, light from various small cottages lit the way and she could make out the gravel pathways since they were lined with trees and shrubs. She breathed deeply of the cool, fresh night air, looked toward the main house, and headed that way when she saw the veranda light was on. Melanie didn’t hurry as she walked. However, she looked about as much as she could with the lack of illumination, and from what she could see, the property was really pretty. As she traversed the path, she could see narrower shorter pathways, which led to more houses. Most of them looked as if they had occupants living in them, but there were also quite a few that appeared to be empty. There were no chairs or small tables out on the verandas, and they had an emptiness about them. She wondered if there was more family, or should that be pack, who weren’t here right now.

  Melanie had never imagined herself as a country girl, but the more fresh air she breathed, the more peaceful she felt. She hoped that this job would work out because she hated the idea of trying to find another job elsewhere or heading back to a major town or city. For some reason she felt this place could end up being her home, but it had nothing to do with the three handsome shifters claiming to be her mates. That was what she told herself anyway.

  She stopped at the bottom of the veranda steps and listened intently. It was almost nine o’clock, and she didn’t want to knock on the door and disturb Jenny if she was sleeping, but she sighed with relief when she heard a thud from within and started up the steps. Mel hadn’t even gotten her foot on the third step when the f
ront door was jerked open.

  She looked up and forced a smile at Joe after he smiled at her.

  “Is everything all right, Melanie?” Joe asked as he ushered her inside.

  “Yeah. No. I don’t know.”

  “You’re confused,” Joe stated, and she found herself nodding in reply. “Come and sit for a while. I’m sure you have some questions.”

  Melanie let Joe lead her into the living room, and she was pleased to see Jenny curled up on the end of the sofa reading a book. She looked up when Mel crossed the room and sat in the armchair closest to the boss lady.

  “How are you feeling, Jenny?”

  “Much better, but from the bewildered look in your eyes, I should be asking you that question. Are you okay?”

  “I think so.”

  “What do you want to know?”

  “Do Johnny, Kris, and Jules only like me because of the way I smell to their wolves?”

  “In a way, yes, and in a way, no.”

  “Care to elaborate?” Mel raised an eyebrow.

  “Everyone has natural pheromones, and when they meet someone they are attracted to, the scent of those pheromones gets stronger. Normally a human wouldn’t even realise that the scent of the person or persons they are attracted to come into play, but they are there. Just a hell of a lot more subtle where the average human is concerned.”

  “Do you ladies want something to drink?” Joe asked.

  “I’d love some orange juice please, baby,” Jenny answered.

  “Melanie?”

  “Please, call me Mel, everyone does. Could I have some orange juice, too, please?”

  “Coming right up.”

  “See how wonderful he is,” Jenny said with a sigh and dreamy smile on her face. “He and Blue are so attentive and make sure I have everything I want. Most of the time they take care of me, not the other way around, like most relationships work. Werewolves mate for life and will do anything and everything they can to keep their mate happy and protected. Most of the time it’s endearing.”

  “And the other times?” Mel asked.

  “Sometimes their protectiveness is over the top, but they mean well.”