Claiming Her Mates: Book Three: A reverse harem paranormal romance series

by Dia Cole

  Now to solve my romantic situation. I didn’t want to lose Nathan, but I also couldn’t abandon my other mates.

  Why is Nathan being such a stubborn ass?

  I balled my hands up in frustration. Nathan loved me. They loved me. I was pretty confident I could keep all four of them sexually satisfied. I pressed my thighs together, trying to ease the insistent ache of my lady blue balls.

  So why can’t we all live together happily-ever-after?

  When Nathan had initially demanded I choose between them, he’d asked me how I’d like it if the situation was reversed. Although the notion of sharing Nathan with three other women made me want to chew glass, I might have been willing to try it if it meant we could still be together. Why won’t he at least try?

  Instead, he wanted me to unclaim him and destroy any possible future between us. What am I going to do?

  I couldn’t force Nathan to stay with me. Or can I?

  A dark voice, one I hardly recognized, whispered inside my head, “I can compel him to stay.”

  No. I shook my head immediately rejecting the horrific idea. I’d never force someone to be with me. Even if this break up shattered my heart.

  The sound of Mira’s laughter filtered in from the lobby. I stopped and closed my eyes. The idea of never seeing that sassy little girl again physically pained me. I loved her, just as I loved her father. If Tasha hadn’t stormed Nathan’s house months ago, he and I would probably be married and I’d be Mira’s stepmother.

  I reached into my robe pocket. Nathan’s engagement ring wasn’t there.

  Crap. I turned the pocket inside out before realizing I’d never picked it up when it’d dropped near the pool. By now the ring could’ve fallen into a drain or something.

  God damn it. I turned and kicked the bottom of the ice machine.

  The loud thud echoed in the hallway along with my curse of pain.

  I inspected my bruised toes. Ouch. Without the ability to shift and heal myself, I’d have to rein in my temper.

  “Vana!”

  I turned to see Mira standing at the end of the hallway. I forced a smile. “Hi, bug.”

  “I don’t feel so good,” she said rubbing the back of her neck.

  Concern for her wiped away my frustration. “What’s wrong?”

  “My neck feels funny.”

  I let out the breath I was holding. “Remember Mason said you might have whiplash. That would make your neck and back sore.” The helicopter had crashed hard. It was amazing she’d walked away with only a few cuts and bruises. I walked over to her. “Does it hurt when you move your neck?”

  “No.” She rotated her head from side to side so fast the butterfly hairpin went flying. “Oh, no!” She bent over to pick it up.

  Even though she couldn’t be that seriously injured, I decided to insist Mason do another examination. “We’ll have Mason take a look at your neck, okay?”

  “He gave me this hairloom.” She held up the hairpin. “Look. It’s a butterfly.”

  “It’s beautiful,” I said, trying not to laugh at her mispronunciation. “Let me put it back in.”

  “Okay.” Mira handed me the hairpiece.

  The walnut-sized diamond butterfly was stunning, but I hadn’t realized that the gold pin was a good three inches long. “You must be careful with this, bug.” I didn’t want her hurting herself with it.

  “I will,” she promised. She stood still while I swept her long tangled mane into a knot and slid in the pin. With her red turtleneck and topknot, she looked far older than her years.

  “There, you look just like a princess.”

  “Yay,” she squealed. “I want to show Daddy. Where is he?”

  I glanced over at the door to the pool. “He’s at the pool right now—”

  “Pool!” she shrieked. “Can I go swimming? I want to go swimming!”

  “What about your neck?”

  “It’s fine. I want to go! Can I go? Please! Please!”

  “All right then.” I laughed. “Assuming Mason approves, you can go swimming.

  “Yes!” she jumped up and down. “Can we go now?”

  “Um.” I glanced back at the pool door remembering Nathan and Liam’s lack of clothing. “Let’s check the luggage behind the front desk for some swim clothes.” And some clothes for the guys.

  “I want one that’s pink and has a unicorn on it.”

  “Let’s see what we can do,” I said, letting her drag me to the lobby. “Why don’t you tell the boys about the pool while I go look through the luggage?”

  “Okay!” She darted off to the Christmas tree where the boys sat sucking on candy canes bigger than their faces.

  Ugh. They were all going to be sticky messes. A dip in the pool was definitely in order.

  I looked over at the rest of the survivors. Most stood near the front desk still arguing in low voices. Seriously? I rolled my eyes. Maybe a dip in the pool might improve their moods too.

  Shaking my head, I stepped behind the front desk. An explosion of clothing and toiletry items covered the floor. I sighed wishing I’d been a little neater when I’d search the bags for Christmas gifts.

  Despite the mess, I located a pair of jogging pants I thought might fit Nathan. Liam was out of luck, but I found a girl’s swimsuit somewhat close to Mira’s size. I walked around the front desk and brought the turquoise suit over to where Mira stood talking to the boys.

  “Look what I found, bug. It has mermaids on it.”

  “I love it!” Mira snatched it out of my hands. “I want to go swimming now!”

  Kaden and Jackson threw down their candy canes. “We want to go too!”

  “Shh! Inside voices,” hissed Rebecca, patting the now sleeping Sierra’s back. The woman sat on the closest windowsill, her watchful gaze on the children.

  The little ones immediately quieted.

  Rebecca nodded her approval. “If you’re good and sit down criss-cross applesauce, maybe all of us can go swimming in a little bit.”

  All three kids immediately sat down.

  Man. I can learn a thing or two from that lady. “I’m going to let the guys know the plan.” And make sure they get some clothes on. As I turned to leave, Marshall intercepted me.

  “Hey, legs. Do you know where Nathan went?”

  I bristled, not liking the older man’s demeaning nickname or his demanding tone. “Yes.”

  When I didn’t elaborate, he scowled, and rubbed the hawkish point of his nose. “Tell him we’re not leaving here.”

  My hands involuntarily curled into fists. “Is that so?”

  Rebecca stood and marched over to the balding man. “Our best chance of survival is to stick with Nathan and his friends.”

  Go Rebecca.

  “No,” Marshall replied. “Our best chance of survival is to wait for help.”

  The man was delusional if he thought help was on its way. If what my mates had told me was true, all of human civilization had fallen. No one was coming to save us. We’d have to save ourselves.

  Rebecca clearly felt the same. “There’s no help coming, Marshall. I trust Nathan’s judgment. He’s the only reason any of us are alive. If he says we go, we go.”

  “No.” Marshall’s face turned beet red and the vein on the side of his liver-spotted temple throbbed. “Help will come.”

  Enough. I caught his eye. “Marshall, you will—”

  Rebecca interrupted my attempt at compulsion. “If you stay you’ll either starve or you’ll become lunch for the next horde of zombies. Now stop leering at Havana, take that self-righteous stick out of your ass, and tell the others to get their things together.”

  Marshall gaped at Rebecca like a dying fish. Likely, no one had ever talked down to him like that in his entire rich and powerful life.

  I freaking loved this woman. Deciding Rebecca had it well enough in hand, I tucked the jogging pants under my arm and headed back to the pool.

  Poor Marshall. He was still clinging to the rules of the old world. The w
orld where police officers and soldiers protected us from the bad guys. Although it would be hard, Marshall would eventually adapt to our new reality.

  Just like Nathan would eventually adapt to my mates. Discovering I was mated to his friends and pregnant to boot was a lot to handle. Nathan just needs some time to adjust.

  I’d give him that time, and I’d try to be patient with him. But I would not break our bond. Not now. Not ever.

  Squaring my shoulders, I pushed the door to the pool open. I’m not sure what I expected to find, but it wasn’t all four of my mates seated at a small patio table deep in discussion. It was strange, but definitely better than finding them at each other’s throats. “What’s going on, guys?”

  The four guilty expressions didn’t give me the warm fuzzies. I walked over and set the jogging pants in front of Nathan. “What are you all talking about?”

  No one said anything for a heartbeat, and then Nathan said, “We’re discussing the terms of me staying.”

  I blinked in surprise. “Terms? What terms?”

  “We’ve agreed to put Nathan in charge,” Mason called out.

  “He’s Head Mate,” added Liam, who’d already put back on his jeans.

  Head mate? “What does that mean?”

  “It means they are under my command.” Nathan stood, his rugged face perfectly healed. Damn he was sexy with that silvery beard. Even without one of his four thousand dollar suits on, he exuded so much power and confidence, I was irresistibly drawn to him.

  I looked up at him through my eyelashes. “Am I under your command too?”

  His eyes blazed a mesmerizing shade of amber. “If only.”

  “So you’ll stay?” I searched his face and our bond for some hint at his emotions.

  He was completely closed down. “For the time being.” He pulled on the jogging pants.

  “I’m so glad. We’ll make this work. You won’t regret this.” I tried to kiss him, but he turned toward the others.

  “And our agreement stands?” he said to my three other mates.

  They all nodded like obedient lap dogs.

  I looked at them in confusion. “What agreement?”

  Mason stood. “Besides him being Head Mate, he gets to sleep with you alone a minimum of three days a week. He gets to have lunch with you and Mira alone five days a week.”

  “And he gets first mating when you are in heat,” added Liam.

  “And Nathan gets to watch us mate whenever he wants,” Gabriel said through gritted teeth.

  What? “And you decided all of this without me?” What about my thoughts and feelings?

  All four of my mates nodded with a male arrogance that infuriated me.

  As anger simmered inside me, I curled my hands into fists. “What if I don’t agree to these terms?”

  Nathan opened his mouth to say something, but the sound of a woman’s scream interrupted him.

  We all jerked around.

  Another scream rang out from outside the door.

  “Oh, no! What’s happening?” Are the survivors under attack? I ran for the door.

  “You stay here.” Gabriel grabbed my arm. “Liam and I will check it out.”

  Nathan stepped in front of him. “I’m in charge, remember? Vana, you stay here with Mason. Liam and Gabriel, you’re with me.”

  “Wait. I can fight too,” Mason shouted.

  The other males shoved past him and left Mason and I alone in the room.

  “It’s probably nothing, love,” Mason said, pushing me behind him. He scanned the room and ran over to the long metal pool net mounted on the wall. After pulling it down, he forcefully snapped off the net and held up the pole as if it were a spear.

  I opened my robe, preparing to shift into my monster werewolf form before remembering I couldn’t. Crap.

  Nathan’s horror, panic, and grief blasted me, nearly bringing me to my knees. “Nathan! What is it?”

  He didn’t respond, but there was only one thing that would make him lose it like that.

  Mira! “Something’s happened to Mira.”

  The door swung open.

  Liam stood in the doorway, his face pale. “Doc, we need you.”

  “What’s happened?” I shrieked. “Is Mira okay?”

  His bleak expression froze my blood. “She’s infected.”

  7

  Mason

  My heart raced as Havana and I rushed after Liam down the hallway. How could the little Alpha be infected? Mira seemed in fine health just an hour ago when she’d adamantly refused to give up the champagne.

  “Did zombies break in?” Hysteria made Havana’s voice tight.

  “Nothing like that,” Liam called back. His long strides ate up the hallway, making both Havana and I jog to keep up. In seconds we reached the lobby.

  The humans were huddled near the fireplace, their horror-filled gazes on the small swimsuit clad Alpha female.

  Mira squirmed in her father's arms. “Let me down, Daddy. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “I know, sunshine,” Nathan said in a choked voice.

  “Keep her away from us,” shouted Marshall. “She could infect us all.”

  “Be quiet!” Although Gabriel’s tone was no nonsense, his gaze never left Mira’s back. As we grew closer, I saw why.

  Long tendrils of black veins streaked down the little girl’s spine.

  Bloody hell. The vascular necrosis was unmistakable. Somehow the little girl had contracted the Z-virus.

  Havana let out a gasp and sprinted over to Nathan and Mira. “Oh no, baby!” Tears ran down her face as she threw her arms around Mira and Nathan. “How did this happen?”

  “I don’t know,” Nathan said, his voice tighter than a bow. “She was fine yesterday at the lodge. It must’ve happened after Liam took her.” He glared at the redheaded Enforcer.

  Liam stopped a few feet away. A look of guilt and pain crossed his face. “I didn’t… I don’t …”

  Mira pushed away from her father and jumped into Havana’s arms. “You said I could swim. I want to swim.”

  “And you will, bug,” Havana said with forced cheer. “But first we need to look at your back. Does it hurt?” She rubbed her fingers over the dark veins.

  Mira shook her head.

  I stopped next to them. “Do you mind if I look, Miss Mira?”

  The child blinked at me with her large golden eyes. “Okay, but I’m not giving you my juice.”

  “Of course,” I said, trying to keep my tone light. I swept my gaze over her body trying to locate the origin of the infection.

  Havana shifted Mira so I could see more of her upper back. “Mira’s been complaining that her neck felt funny. But I never thought…”

  It took only a second to find the origin of the infection—a small laceration no bigger than a thumbnail near the base of her skull. The necrosis radiated from the superficial injury that, under any other circumstances, would have healed without a scar. Christ. I’d missed the small injury during my exam of Mira yesterday, but even if I’d seen it, the Z-virus was initially impossible to identify with the naked eye.

  Havana let out a sob. “A horde of zombies attacked the helicopter before I could take them out. They smashed the windows… One must’ve scratched Mira. Oh, God.” She started hyperventilating.

  I put my arm around her. “Deep breaths, love.” We didn’t need Havana collapsing.

  Mira pursed her lips. “What’s wrong with my back? Am I sick?”

  Havana drew in a steadying breath and schooled her face into a smile. “Yes, bug, but Mason will cure you just like he cured me.”

  Nathan, who’d been standing frozen, broke from his stupor. “You can fix this, Wheeler?”

  This wasn’t the time to remind him of my new surname. I opened my mouth and then closed it when I realized he’d go mental when he discovered the truth.

  Havana grabbed my arm. “Mason, you can help her, right?” Her fingers dug into my arm painfully.

  If only that were the case. Tru
e, I’d been able to accelerate Havana’s first Lykos transition with Tasha’s blood. However, Havana had been just days away from her first transition. Mira was over a decade away from hers. Until she could take wolf form, she would be just as vulnerable to the virulent Z-virus as human children. The best I could do was ease the little girl’s imminent passing.

  The smell of fear wafting off the humans grew stronger. It was in their and Mira’s best interest, that we moved her away from them.

  I took a deep breath and summoned my years of experience interacting with bereaved family members. “I’ll do my very best. Now let’s get Mira somewhere more private.”

  Gabriel glanced out the window. “What about the clinic next door?”

  “Perfect. We can treat her there.” I looked over at the front desk. “I’ll need my messenger bag.”

  “We’ll get you everything you need,” Nathan said, his eyes filled with desperate hope. He turned to Gabriel. “Go get my daughter’s clothes. She says she left them in the women’s restroom.”

  Gabriel inclined his head and headed toward the bathroom.

  Nathan looked over at Liam. “Get Mason’s bag.”

  Liam nodded and strode over to the front desk.

  Havana set Mira down. “We’re going to the lodge, bug.”

  “No!” The little Alpha stamped her foot. “I want to go swimming!” Tears sprang into her eyes. “You promised!”

  “You’re right I did,” Havana said, facing down the mini tornado. “And we will go swimming right after you get a checkup. We can even get more crayons from the gift shop on our way.”

  “I want crayons. Can I go with Mira?” shouted Kaden, jumping to his feet.

  “Kaden Phillip Ackerman sit down,” Rebecca ordered.

  Marshall leaned toward the boy and whispered loudly, “Don’t go anywhere near that girl. She’ll give you the virus.”

  I cleared my throat. “That’s not how the transmission works—”

  Liam interrupted me. “The Z-virus is only contagious after death, right Doc?” He handed me my messenger bag.

  Technically, yes. I nodded and slung the strap around my shoulder. The infected person had twenty-four hours before the virus killed and reanimated them. If Havana was correct on the time of Mira’s infection, the girl had roughly ten more hours to live.