Rowena's Triple Threat

by Maia Dylan

  “Besides that.” Luke’s grin became sly and that one, Wyatt had seen nearly every day of his life. “Our mate has been fated to not just me, which obviously makes sense given how much chemistry there is between the two of us, but to you two ugly bastards as well? The Fates must know how strong she is so that she can deal with all the bossy, demanding shit from you, Wyatt, and Chase’s whining and shitty jokes!”

  He and Chase flipped Luke off at the same time and had them all grinning. It was good to have some levity when they knew that the rest of the day was going to be anything but. “Chase, you head out and grab us some burgers or something for lunch. I guess Angel will need something a little healthier?” Chase nodded and headed out.

  “What about us?”

  “You and I are going to come up with a plan that is going to make our mate’s dream bookstore come to life. I want you to work your magic on that souped-up laptop of yours and give her an actual visual of what we can do to this place.” Wyatt took another look around the room. The house was a great buy, it had the bones and structure to be stunning and in his mind’s eye he could definitely see Rowena’s vision for the space. “Our mate and Angel are going to be living here for a short period of time. The shorter the better as far as I’m concerned, but they will be in this house for the foreseeable future, until we can convince her to move in with us.”

  “I’m going to have a look outside and see what sort of defendable position we have with the property,” a thought suddenly came and Wyatt voiced it to his brother. “Do you think we should talk to Chris about bringing Noah back? His time in the Marines and everything he has been doing to get Parks over the last few months makes me think he would be good at setting traps and ensuring our mate’s safety.” Luke looked thoughtful for a moment and then nodded.

  “Worth a conversation at least, and besides, we’re gonna have to get Angel in to see Chris at some stage, so we might as well talk to him about it when we do that.” Luke went out to grab his computer from the special storage compartment he had made for it, so that it remained charged. Wyatt went out the back door to walk the rear perimeter of the house. It backed onto the woods, which could prove to be a problem because there were so many places to hide, but as wolves who hunted as a pack? The bastard didn’t stand a fucking chance.

  Chapter 5

  Rowena couldn’t quite believe she had told the Greyson brothers and Angel all about Martin Baxter. Hell, she hadn’t even told some of her closest friends about what had happened, but less than a week in Grey River and she felt safe enough to share her story with them. She knew that they had listened and absorbed every word, never interrupting, just letting her get it out in her time. They sat still, almost unnaturally still, but Rowena had felt waves of rage rolling from each of them.

  She had also heard growling every now and then, which was odd but kind of cute. Then there had been the weird blue eye flashing thing that she had never seen before. What the hell had been up with that? She made a mental note to ask Faith about when she managed to get her alone.

  Looking around the room, she smiled when she saw Angel laugh at something Chase had said. He really was a goofball, but a goofball with a huge heart. Angel hadn’t really gone into too much detail on what she was running from, but Rowena knew that it had something to do with Senator Marsha Williams’s son Jeremy, who owned the house where, up until they left Dallas, Angel had worked as a maid. Rowena had seen too many movies and read too many books not to make the assumption that perhaps the baby’s father was the senator’s son. But whatever had happened had scared the hell out of Angel so much that she had simply left in the middle of the night with a bag and a determination that Rowena couldn’t help but admire.

  “Red.” Wyatt was sitting beside her at the table and had been quiet since they had come back with their lunch. “If Baxter is going to come here looking for you sooner rather than later, then I think we should be prepared to welcome him properly.” She frowned at his sudden fierce grin and if she wasn’t mistaken, that was a severe case of bloodlust in his eyes. Eyes that were currently doing the flashy blue thing.

  “What constitutes a proper welcome?” Rowena asked hesitantly. She was the first one to admit that Baxter was due a world of pain, but she didn’t want it coming at the expense of her newfound friends. She was starting to think that perhaps she should have kept quiet and attempted to get Baxter to come for her somewhere far away from Grey River and its people. Some of whom were becoming very important to her.

  “One that takes him out of your life for good, where you won’t ever have to think of him again. Until he becomes such a distant memory, you won’t ever even dream about him again.” Luke’s voice was edged with anger and promise and Rowena shivered at the sound. “Also, princess, I do not like that look you got on your face just now. If you regret telling us your story and think it might be better to ride off and face this fucker on your own”—what the hell, was he psychic? Rowena cursed her Irish heritage for her complexion as she felt a guilty heat rise in her cheeks, basically announcing to them all that yeah, that had been exactly what she had been thinking, earning a gasp from Angel and two growls from Chase and Wyatt—“then you had better think again. You are Grey River now and we take care of our own.”

  Rowena was about to launch into a debate about why her plan had merit when a voice came grumbling from down in the shop. “It’s not matchmaking if you’re simply asking how someone is and what they’ve been doing lately.” Faith’s voice got louder as she started up the stairs.

  “That’s true, sweetness, but you asked Jay and Rhys how they were and who they were doing lately. That is a whole different question and the meaning was very clear.” Ty’s dry tone came up behind her and Rowena giggled.

  Faith walked into the room, Ty and Trent right behind her, her eyes glistening with mischief and a loving indulgence clear on the faces of her two men. What would it feel like to be a part of something so powerful?

  “I told you before, Ty, it was simply a slip of the tongue.” Faith turned to look at him, her face the perfect picture of innocence.

  “You forget, baby, that he can see right through you.” Trent kissed her cheek as he walked past.

  “And you’ll be putting that tongue to good use once we get home, sweet girl, that I promise you.” Ty smirked as he pulled his wife up against his chest with a growl and buried his mouth against her neck. Whatever he did had Faith shivering, and Rowena looking on with a smirk of her own. It was so good to see her friend happy and in love.

  “Ty, put our wife down before I have to get out the hose… again.” Trent laughed as he walked over to the couch and flopped down onto it. “Hi, guys! Sorry for the public display over there. The two of them have no boundaries.” Faith cast a look over her shoulder, frowning at her other husband. And yep, there was a sentence Rowena never thought she would think, but Grey River was a town where love took many forms and Rowena thought all of them were beautiful.

  “Trent Jamieson, don’t you sit over there acting all pious like you haven’t lost your head with me plenty of times.” Trent just grinned in response as Faith sat beside him and then turned her gaze on Rowena. “Hey! There you are! This place is awesome! I can’t wait to see what the boys can make of downstairs. They did wonders with Xanthe’s kitchen!”

  “So.” Ty sat down on the couch next to his wife, Trent on the other side. They looked like matching bookends. “What’s the deal, team? I hear we have a party to plan for, and y’all know how much I love a good party.” Surely it was a coincidence that he would use the term party just minutes after Wyatt did?

  “Yeah, Ty there is a party heading this way and we think the pack should be ready for it.” Wyatt turned to her and Rowena felt her stomach drop at the hesitation in his voice. Oh God, was he going to retell her story? She knew that they would have to share it at some stage, but to have to do so when she was still reeling from the first time was just a little much.

  “Rowena, there is something we need to t
alk to you about.” Wyatt turned in his kitchen chair so that he was facing her, Chase on her other side did the same, and Luke leaned in closer. Whatever they were going to tell her they were hesitant about what her reaction would be.

  “Ummm, should I leave?” Angel asked in a small voice. “I could go for a walk maybe?”

  “No, Angel,” Luke answered first. “If you two are really going to settle for good in Grey River”—Luke’s eyes never left hers—“and I really hope that you do because fuck knows what we’ll do if you want to leave, then you should know this as well.”

  “Grey River is a special town.” Wyatt started, and Rowena turned to him. “The people who live here are more than just neighbors.”

  Rowena started to feel a little hesitation herself. What the hell where they trying to tell her? More than just neighbors? That could bloody well mean anything!

  “We’re like family,” Chase said from her left so she turned to face him, feeling a little like she was watching a tennis match. “We protect each other, and help each other, and love each other.” Rowena startled a little at that. Just what was Chase trying to describe? Was Chase trying to tell her that this was a community of swingers? Rowena was as liberal as the next person, but she was not into sharing herself with more than the three men she was falling for, and the thought of having to watch them with another woman? Not a snowball’s chance in hell of her sitting through that without killing someone. Wait. What? Did she just admit to falling for Wyatt, Luke, and Chase? Because that was quick. Too quick!

  “Jesus, you two,” Ty grumbled from across the room. “You make it sound like we’re swapping houses and beds every fucking night for God’s sake!” Ty threw his hands in the air, then leaned forward, and leaned his elbows on his knees as his gaze locked with Rowena’s. “What these two are pussyfooting around trying to tell you is that we are shifters. Wolf shifters to be exact and we are all members of the Grey River pack and most of the males in this town can shift into growling, snarling, don’t-fucking-mess-with-us-or-we’ll-rip-you-a-new-asshole wolves. Trent and I are the alpha pair of our pack.”

  Rowena felt her face lock into what she commonly thought of as her doctor face. The one that kept her opinions and thoughts to herself, while she processed the information she had just been given. Wyatt, Luke, and Chase all looked at her and if she wasn’t mistaken there was hope, trepidation, and a huge amount of longing in their gazes.

  Faith had dropped her head into her hands with a moan, obviously exasperated at something and Trent just shook his head at his brother. Ty stood up and placed his hands on his hips obviously waiting for her to say something, but to be honest? She had nothing. No clue as to what to say.

  “Oh! Well that makes sense!”

  Rowena gave herself whiplash looking at Angel, who had a decidedly “lightbulb going on” look on her face.

  “I could tell that you were more than human, and I definitely got the shifter vibe, but I couldn’t pick the spirit. At the bar, I had thought perhaps feline.”

  “Oh, hell no!” Ty growled, obviously not at all happy. “We are fucking wolves, Angel. Mean, howling, growling wolves. We run as a pack, we stand as a pack. Strong alone, but stronger together.”

  Rowena felt like everyone around her had suddenly started speaking Swahili and she was the only one still talking English. No one else looked like they were feeling unhinged by the direction of the conversation. No one else was sitting there with a what-in-the-name-of-God look on their face. Angel was going on about having lived with shifter, and Ty was questioning her about her heritage and Rowena reached breaking point. Growing up in the country had taught her a few things, so raising her hand to her mouth, she let rip with a piercing whistle that had all the men in the room groaning.

  “Jesus Christ, woman!” Trent growled, hands over his ears.

  “Aww, baby, that was just cold,” Chase grumbled, while Wyatt and Luke just grimaced.

  “Rowena! For fuck’s sake, are you trying to shatter our fucking eardrums? I have just finished telling you we are shifters. A noise like that could cause us some real damage!” Ty scowled in her direction and she realized that what she had thought of before as her breaking point was really just a plateau. She hadn’t felt crazed at that point but right now she was verging on going psycho on everyone in the room. She pushed her chair back with such strength it clattered to the floor as she moved into the lounge to pace out her anxiety.

  “What in the fuck are you all talking about? What in the hell is a shifter? And, yes, Ty, although you just got finished telling me that you were goddamn shifters I still don’t know what that fucking means!” She spun on Angel. “And you! What do you mean that makes sense? None of this makes sense! The only thing right now that would make sense is if someone were to tell me that the hamburger I ate for lunch was laced with some type of hallucinogenic and I am currently high as a freaking kite, feeling no pain, and riding around on Chase’s back singing ‘Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)’ at the top of my lungs!”

  The only sound in the room was Rowena’s breathing. Slowly coming out of her crazy rant she realized that had been the first time in her life she had flipped out like that. Perhaps the stress of the last three weeks had finally taken its toll. She looked around the room and almost burst out laughing when she saw all the men in the room exchanging glances that screamed, shit what do we do now.

  “Oh. My. God!” Faith stood up and walked toward her, pressing the back of her hand to Rowena’s forehead until she slapped it away. “Did that hurt, drama queen? I mean, I am the first to admit that life is way more fun when you get to throw your crazy around a little, honeybunch, but Jesus Christ, that was a little OTT, don’t you think? You are obviously feeling the need to act out and let your inner drama bitch out to play, so you go right on ahead and let her take center stage. You just flounce your way over to the couch, throw yourself down with a pitiful sigh, and swoon for a bit while the boys here decided how to show you what a shifter is, hmmm, DQ?”

  Rowena harrumphed and stomped her way to the couch. “Man, you sure know how to ruin a good rant.”

  “Oh and, baby?” Chase grinned at her which had her heart beating a little faster. Damn him and those million-watt dimples. “You can ride me any damn time you like.” Normally she would have blushed at that, but she was beyond it now.

  “Good to know, thanks, Chase, but right now, let’s get to the shifting part of the afternoon.” This was met with silence as the men looked at each other and Rowena’s eyes narrowed. Holy shit! They damn well are having a conversation telepathically! That was so damn cool. Then Wyatt, Luke, and Chase stood up and moved into the center of the room.

  “OK, Red.” Wyatt reached for his belt as he spoke, and Rowena’s mouth suddenly dried up. Were they going to get naked? As in “take off every stitch of clothing and stand there in all their glory” naked?

  “Aww hell, yeah! Striptease!” Faith yelled as she settled in to couch next to her to watch and Rowena felt her anger spike again. Hell no, was she going to watch her men get with the skin? Her men? Hmmm, that would require more thought.

  “Faith, let’s go wait downstairs and give them some privacy,” Trent spoke and Rowena could see Ty literally biting his tongue to no doubt keep from roaring. Rowena sympathized because she wanted to roar her objections to Faith seeing Wyatt, Luke, and Chase naked, too!

  “Really, Trent, do we have to?” Faith asked, her lips already pouting. “The only thing that would make this better is if you and Ty decided to join in, we put on some music, and then we got us a stripper pole and some popcorn!”

  “That’s it!” Ty had obviously just reached his limit. He marched over to the couch to where a grinning Faith sat and threw her over his shoulder, growling the entire way. As they reached the top of the stairs, Ty turned. “Angel! You, too! I have some questions for you, so we might as well get to them now.” Angel grinned over at Rowena and the little minx winked.

  “Looks like you’re the only one getting all t
he eye candy today, huh?” Then she jumped up and trotted off downstairs, and then it was just her, Wyatt, Luke, and Chase. And of course their impending nakedness that had her tongue swelling to twice its size, no doubt in preparation for rolling out of her mouth and onto the floor.

  She looked over at the three men and made a sound she would have liked to have thought of as inquisitive. A thirty-four-year-old woman would make a noise like that in this situation, making a sound that vocally represented her internalized struggle to grasp a concept that was foreign to her, but had the potential for that struggle to be solved with the actions of another. However, if she were honest, the sound she made was more like a squeak and represented her internal nervousness of the fact that three insanely hot men with bodies that made her shiver were about to strip down naked before her. Oh yeah, then they were going to somehow shift into wolves.

  “Wait!” Rowena threw her hands out and all three men froze. “Does it hurt you? I don’t want you to do it if it hurts you.” The thought of these men hurting just to prove something to her was simply unacceptable.

  “There is pain when we shift, Red, but it’s more than worth it to become our wolves.” Wyatt said then smiled gently at her. “But it’s nice to know you don’t like the thought of us in pain.”

  “Baby.” Chase’s voice was soft and low and Rowena had the feeling he was nervous. “What we are about to show you is probably going to freak you out a little.” He gave her a nervous half grin. “Well, maybe freak you out a lot, so we might as well go for broke and tell you the rest of it.” Oh shit, there was more?

  “There are many things in the wolf shifter world that emulate wolves in the wild.” Luke spoke as he slid his T-shirt up and over his head, his brothers seconds behind him. She was almost distracted by three chiseled chests and abs the likes of which she had only ever seen in magazines that she had claimed were Photoshopped shamelessly.