by Becca Van
Sugar Creek 5
Sugar Creek 5: Marigold’s Werewolf Mates
Marigold Hemming is thankful when she meets Taylor Henderson, and Sin and Michael Avero when she gets two flat tires and ends up with a sprained ankle on the side of the road. She can’t get enough of their delectable musky-pine scents and is drawn to them almost instantly. But when the three men tell her they are werewolves and she is their mate she isn’t sure what to do.
She plies her good friend Primrose with questions and although she knows she could end up with a broken heart she can’t walk away.
There is also dissension in the merged packs and although the three men vow to protect their mate at all costs Mari finds herself in trouble. She’s able to escape the danger of one crazy wolf only to find herself stepping into the path of another. Will her mates get to her in time to save her life?
Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Vampires/Werewolves
Length: 46,005 words
SUGAR CREEK 5: MARIGOLD’S WEREWOLF MATES
Sugar Creek 5
Becca Van
MENAGE EVERLASTING
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting
SUGAR CREEK 5: MARIGOLD’S WEREWOLF MATES
Copyright © 2014 by Becca Van
E-book ISBN: 978-1-63258-754-1
First E-book Publication: December 2014
Cover design by Les Byerley
All art and logo copyright © 2014 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Epilogue
About the Author
SUGAR CREEK 5: MARIGOLD’S WEREWOLF MATES
Sugar Creek 5
BECCA VAN
Copyright © 2014
Chapter One
Mari's breath caught in her throat and her heart stopped beating for a second when she saw the large cow running toward her moving car. She slammed her foot on the break and tugged on the steering wheel to avoid the animal, all the time cursing the rancher who hadn't fixed a hole in the fence or let the animal get loose in the first place. It was too late to react when she saw the large tree branch near the shoulder of the road to steer away from it, plus she didn't want to hit the cow and kill it or herself. Her heart was now pounding in her chest and she was breathing so quickly her mouth was drying out.
When she felt the front wheel of her car hit the branch and then the undercarriage of her vehicle, she hoped it hadn't ripped a hole in the bottom. She tried to turn the steering wheel so her back tire didn't hit the large limb, but she had been driving too fast and her reflexes weren’t swift enough. Just before she came to a complete stop the back tire went up and over that branch. Annie cursed up a blue storm because she probably now had two flat tires instead of one.
The only solace was that her car had stopped on the shoulder of the road and not in the middle of it. After taking a few deep breaths and getting her rapidly beating heart and her breathing to slow somewhat, she looked about for the wayward cow. She muttered under her breath when she didn't see it and wondered if the stupid beast had gone back to where it had come from or if it was still running up the road for another unsuspecting driver to come upon. She reached for her purse and cursed again because the contents were strewn on the floor of the passenger foot well. After releasing her seat belt and picking up her stuff she unlocked her cellphone and nearly threw it back onto the floor when she saw there was no reception.
"Fucking great." Mari got out of her car and, after seeing that she did indeed have two flat tires, grabbed her purse, locked her car and started walking. She looked for the cow as she walked along but couldn't see it anywhere. When she heard a loud moo, she jumped so high she nearly fell over. There on the other side of the fence was the damn cow she'd nearly wrecked her car for when she swerved to avoid it, placidly eating grass as if it didn't have a care in the world. How it got back on the other side of the fence she had no clue, but at least it was safe again.
"Damned animal has no idea what the hell it just did," she muttered under her breath as she continued walking. At least she could stop worrying about it getting hit by another car and ending up dead. Although why she was worrying when it was probably going to end up in the supermarket she didn't know. No, that was a lie. The thought of any animal being in pain and suffering made her feel sick.
With a sigh, she pushed the cow from her mind and just hoped that either someone came along and she could hitch a ride or she got to Primrose's place soon. She wasn't sure how far away s
he was from her friend's but she wasn't about to sit in her car all night long. She listened to the crunch of gravel underfoot as she walked along the side of the road. Even though her eyes had adjusted to the dark as much as they could, it was still damn dark. The moon wasn't at its zenith and the clouds in the sky concealed what little light there was.
Mari didn't see the small rock or hunk of bark her foot landed on but she cried out with pain as her ankle rolled and the next thing she knew she went ass over teakettle into a ditch. The only consolation was that she landed on grass and not the road or the gravel and hadn't ripped the skin from her hands or knees as she went tumbling.
In a fit of temper, she lifted her head and screamed. It didn't help the situation but it did make her feel a little better. She grunted and groaned as she got back up onto her hands and knees. Pain shooting up her ankle made her grit her teeth, but she couldn't give in, because she had no intention of sitting in a ditch all night long. Gathering her courage and trying to push the pain to the back of her mind, she got her good foot on the ground and pushed up with her hands. Of course, being on one leg was precarious, but just for a moment she was steady. Then she had to go and put her injured leg down. The pain was so intense tears formed in her eyes and then she was falling to her ass again.
Well, it looked like she wasn't going to be walking anywhere for the next little while. Resigning herself to rest for a bit, she prayed that someone came along to help her, or that she miraculously got phone reception long enough to call Prim to come help her.
* * * *
Sinclair and Michael Avero sat down across from one of their new pack members, Taylor Henderson. The man who had challenged and won against his Alpha, and had decided to join his small pack with Sugar Creek’s pack, looked like he’d just lost his best friend.
“What’s up?” Sin asked after taking a sip of his beer as he glanced around at all the pack members socializing at the Sugar Creek Inn.
“Nothin’,” Taylor replied.
“Doesn’t look like nothing,” Michael said as he leaned forward. “Are you regretting joining your pack to ours?”
“What? No.” Taylor sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. “I didn’t want the responsibility of being Alpha, and before I made the decision to join our packs, I asked the few of our remaining pack members what they thought about it. They were in total agreement.”
“So why the long face?” Sin asked. He really liked Taylor and respected the wolf for doing what was best for his pack. Plus it never hurt to have a cop on their side.
“I don’t think everyone in my pack was honest when they said yes to the merging of our packs. I’ve smelled rage coming from one of my pack members, but when I try to sniff out the source, I can’t pinpoint who it is. They are doing something to circumvent the scent of their anger. I’m concerned for the women and children in the pack. If this person is up to no good, they would likely target the weakest members.”
“Have you spoken with Lucien, Rafe, and Gabe? Have you told them of your worries?” Michael asked.
“Of course I have, and the Omegas were warned to keep a close eye on the men in my pack. I thought you’d have heard already.”
“No. We’ve been out on patrol,” Sin said and then sighed before slugging down half of his beer. “We’ve been…having some difficulties of our own to deal with.”
Sin felt Taylor looking at him, but he kept his expression stoic as he once more glanced about the room. His eyes snagged onto Primrose, and her mates, his cousins. He was happy for Palmer, Edison, and Barrett, but it was really hard to watch them since he and Michael hadn’t found their mate. The mated wolves were so in love with their women, and the women were so happy they almost glowed. Although he was happy for them, he seemed to get more and more depressed whenever he watched them interacting.
Some werewolves never found their true mate, and even though they could slake their lust with any willing woman, it wasn’t the same. Sinclair had a feeling that he and Michael would never find that one woman meant for them. He hated feeling despondent, and that was one of the reasons he and his brother had volunteered so much of late to go out on patrol. It was easier for them all around. For him because he didn’t have to watch the loving glances or touches between mates, and for the rest of the pack because he wasn’t sure how much longer he could hang on to his sanity.
His wolf seemed to have more and more control as time went by, and he was worried that his beast would take over totally. If that happened, he would be a danger to the rest of the pack and would need to be put down.
He and Michael had been sniping and snarling at each other more often than not, and even their wolves were angry nearly all the time. If their animals finally wrested what little control they had…He shook his head and pushed those disconcerting thoughts away. There was no use pondering on what could happen. He was still able to control his wolf, even if it was just barely, and he didn’t want to even contemplate what would happen if he lost it totally.
He looked up when Prim laughed and decided he couldn’t take any more. After draining the rest of his beer, he shoved his chair back and rose to his feet. Michael followed him, and he was surprised when Taylor did, too.
“You heading back home?” Taylor asked when they were all outside in the open, fresh night air.
“Yeah,” Sin answered, then headed toward his truck.
“I know why you’re leaving,” Taylor said quietly.
Sin spun around to face Taylor and studied the man’s face. His expression gave nothing away, but when he looked into his eyes, he saw the emotion in them that he was sure mirrored his own.
“I can see you do.”
“Why don’t you come back to our place? We can watch a movie or something,” Michael suggested.
Sin, Michael, and Taylor got on really well, and in the three months Taylor and his pack had lived on Sugar Creek land, they had interacted often. He felt connected to Taylor the same way he was connected to Michael and felt like he was a brother of his heart. The man was straight as an arrow and didn’t take shit from anyone, not even his own pack, nor from the young Sugar Creek Sigmas who had been causing a little dissension when the two different packs had merged. Taylor had handled them gently but with authority, and they hadn’t been a problem since. Even Lucien, Rafe, and Gabe had been impressed with the way Taylor had handled the young males.
In fact Taylor was liked all around, but Sin was sad that their new brother was feeling just as down and antsy as he and Michael were. Taylor had never been an extrovert, but he was becoming more introverted as time passed by and Sin began to wonder if he was having trouble controlling his wolf, too.
“Yeah,” Taylor finally answered Michael. “Sounds good. I’ll meet you at your place.”
Sin watched as the tall, muscular man turned and headed to his truck before he got into the driver’s seat of his own. Michael jumped into the passenger seat, and then they followed Taylor out of the parking lot.
Sin slowed his truck when Taylor did and tried to see what was happening. His eyes spied the car on the side of the road, and he pulled his vehicle onto the shoulder behind Taylor’s and got out. Michael was right behind him.
“What’s up?” Sin asked as he gained Taylor’s side.
“Something’s wrong.” Taylor pointed at the tires of the small car, and Sin saw they were both as flat as a pancake.
He and Taylor both inhaled deeply through their noses at the same time, and then both of them growled one word. “Mate.”
Michael looked at Taylor and Sin before sniffing the air. His brother’s eyes changed from green to a golden, glowing yellow as his wolf came to the fore, and he, too, growled the word, “Mate.”
“Shit.” Sin sniffed the air again as they all moved closer to the abandoned car. He couldn’t smell any scent other than his mate’s delectable perfume. The closer he got to the vehicle, the stronger the aroma got, and his wolf nearly wrested control from him. The struggle between him and his beast was a ha
rd one, but in the end his human side prevailed.
When he glanced at Michael and Taylor, he saw they had been wrestling with their animals, too. Both of their eyes changed from their normal colors to the glowing gold, then changed back again. He wasn’t surprised to see claws erupt from the tips of Michael’s fingers or fur race over Taylor’s arms before receding again, because he’d just had the same thing happen to him.
“There’s only one fragrance here,” Michael said once he had control of his wolf.
“Yes,” Taylor replied as he met first Sin’s eyes before meeting Michael’s. “It would seem that all three of us have the same mate.”
“Yeah, but where the hell is she?” Michael said in a growly voice, obviously fighting with his wolf again.
Sin couldn’t stop drawing the sweet scent of apples and cinnamon in through his nose and deep into his lungs, and even though his wolf was pushing to get out, he pushed the beast back down. They needed to find their mate.
“Michael, why don’t you change into your wolf?” Taylor suggested. “You can track her, and Sin and I will follow. We need to find her quickly, but we don’t want her freaking out by having three wolves coming after her.”
“Good idea,” Sin said before nodding at Michael.
Michael stripped off his clothes, flung them into the back of the truck, and called on his wolf. His animal walked around the small car sniffing, and then he took off down the road. Sin and Taylor followed behind, all of them eager to find the one woman who would complete them.
Sinclair didn’t know how things would work out since Taylor wasn’t of his and Michael’s blood. In fact he’d never heard of anyone who wasn’t a sibling sharing a mate, but he wasn’t going to question the fates. He, Michael, and Taylor had clicked from the start and were great friends. Surely destiny wouldn’t have given them one mate to share if it didn’t think they could do so amicably. But he wouldn’t worry over that now.