Authors: Lynnette Bernard
“Does either man worry that you will love the father of your child more than the other man?” Laurie asked quietly.
“Both men are the fathers of my children, Laurie,” Julia explained, smiling. “When a triad creates a baby, both fathers contribute sperm that fertilizes the egg. The baby carries the DNA of both men.”
“How is that possible?” Laurie asked, confused. “That goes against basic human biology.”
Julia laughed quietly. “You just answered your own question.”
Laurie looked at her in confusion. “I did?”
“We’re not human, Laurie,” Julia explained patiently, reaching out to touch her hand gently. “We are wolf. And we are triad mates. The Fates have given us the gift to love our mates without worry. The children that we produce are the product of the love the three mates have for each other. When a triad is formed, the souls of the three entwine, and their bodies become one.”
Julia leaned forward to whisper so that only Laurie could hear her. “Our doctors have researched why this happens. They’ve found that when a male becomes part of a bonded triad, he and the other male in the triad partnership together contribute half of the DNA for the baby while the woman contributes the other half of the DNA. Doc Barrett explained it to me as nature’s way of adapting and changing to accommodate our history as triad mates.”
“That’s amazing,” Laurie whispered. She turned to face Julia and smiled. “And wonderful.”
“Yes, it is,” Julia agreed.
Nikki came up to the doorway, several bags hanging from her hands, smiling as if she were the cat who ate the canary. “You guys ready to go?” she asked, her blue eyes twinkling with mischief.
“What have you done, Nikki?” Laurie asked her warily, knowing her friend was up to something.
“Nothing much,” Nikki told her, laughing. “Be sure to open all the bags when you get home. I put in some toys I think you’ll be needing.”
“What kind of toys?” Laurie’s voice was wary as she looked at her friend. Knowing Nikki, Laurie knew immediately that she was in for a surprise she wasn’t sure she would be able to handle.
“Oh, just some different sized butt plugs,” Nikki told her innocently. “You’ll need them to prepare yourself for some really hot nights of sex.”
Julia burst out laughing while Laurie blushed profusely. Laurie watched as Nikki walked away, unable to speak.
“She’s right, you know,” Julia offered as she slowly stood and turned to face Laurie. “You’ll need the plugs. Just wait until Jace and Jackson see you wearing one. I’ll bet the whole ranch will hear their howls.”
She chuckled as she walked away, leaving Laurie with instant visions of how her sex life was going to change. And she had to admit to herself that she was looking forward to learning every bit of it with Jace and Jackson. Despite her embarrassment, she could feel her body tensing in anticipation of the love she would share with the two men. Love. Did she love them? Despite her fears, she couldn’t help but admit that she already did love them. More than she had ever thought was possible.
Standing, she made her way over to the two women who were definitely her partners in crime today. Nikki smiled at her and took her arm as she led her to the front of the store.
“I made sure to get several bottles of lube, too,” she whispered, making Laurie blush and Julia laugh out loud.
“Laurie, I really like your friend,” Julia said, wiping the tears of laughter from her eyes.
“Well, what have we here?” a deep voice bellowed, making Laurie freeze in fear. Her mind screamed out in panic, and she could feel the immediate response from Jace and Jackson.
Laurie!
Jace’s voice was filled with fear.
Sweetheart, what’s happened?
Jackson called out to her.
She felt their warmth surround her immediately, but she couldn’t answer or stop the immediate, frantic pounding of fear in her heart. She couldn’t control her thoughts and knew everything she was feeling and seeing was bleeding through to both men. She didn’t have it in her to be in control of anything at the moment.
She looked up and saw before her the one person that she never wanted to see again. Her ex-husband. Patrick looked exactly the same. He was still well-dressed. His tailored, black pants and red button-down shirt spoke of the money he was always willing to spend on himself. His short blond hair was styled to perfection, and his green eyes were as cold as ever as he looked down at the three women.
“What could you possibly want to buy in that store, Laurie?” he practically sneered at her. “There’s nothing in this world that would make you look appealing. Why would you even bother trying?”
She couldn’t prevent the attack of pure panic that raced through her. Her fear sent a jolt of terror through her link to Jace and Jackson that she was unable to shield from them. Patrick’s vicious sneer was coldly familiar, sending Laurie back to a terrifying place that she had lived during the years of her marriage as well as despaired to for the last fifteen years.
Who is that, baby?
Jackson’s voice held a panic that Laurie was feeling herself.
The sound of Jace’s growl filled her head as his emotions met hers.
Laurie, are you safe?
Their deep voices echoed through her, but she was frozen by old feelings of worthlessness and inadequacy. She couldn’t prevent the whimper that escaped her and was transmitted back to them through their link.
Patrick reached out and tugged at the bag from the boutique. “Don’t you know that dressing up a sack of shit doesn’t change anything? It’s still a sack of shit.”
“Back off, Pigface!” Nikki stepped forward to put herself between Laurie and her ex.
Nikki was not about to allow Patrick to show his violence toward Laurie again. Their divorce had never stopped him from continuing his abuse. She had seen his cruelty over the years and had seen how he had often hurt Laurie’s children as well as her friends in order to keep Laurie under his control.
What happened next happened so quickly, Laurie barely had time to react. Patrick reached up and pushed his hand against Nikki’s chest, shoving her hard. She fell backward, slamming against the store wall and falling to the ground, unconscious. Laurie reached out to grab for Nikki, but he wrenched her wrist back and squeezed with all his strength, making her cry out in pain. Julia reached out to try to pull his hand from Laurie’s wrist, but he turned and backhanded her, connecting with the right side of her face. She staggered and fell forward, going down to her knees.
Fierce growls filled the air as Alexander and Butler burst forward and pulled Laurie’s ex away from the women and slammed him down onto the ground. Alexander held him by his throat, squeezing tightly, uncaring that they had a crowd gathering around them.
Butler rushed to Nikki and gently pulled her into his arms, lifting her to cradle her against his body as he turned to face Laurie and Julia. Reaching down, he helped Laurie and Julia stand and cuddled them against his massive chest. Julia reached out to pull Laurie into the safety of her arms as Butler held them both. Laurie held her wrist against her body as tears fell down her face.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, reaching out to touch both of her friends, her concern for them outweighing the concern for herself.
“I am the one who should apologize, my Alpha,” Butler told her quietly, closing his eyes as he fought to control his anger. “We should have been closer. That man would not have been able to touch any of you if we had done our job.”
Laurie looked up at Butler and saw the raw pain that filled his face. “No, Butler,” she told him, her voice strong. “You’re not to accept blame for what my ex-husband did,” she said, indicating the man who lay pinned by Alexander’s hand. “It was my fault for telling you to stand against that far wall while we shopped.” She waved her hand, indicating the wall of stores across the mall walkway that faced them.
She pushed herself out of Butler’s embrace and walked over to look down at Patrick. His face was decidedly purple as Alexander’s massive hand squeezed his neck without mercy. Patrick was splayed out on the mall floor, his hands ineffectively pulling at Alexander’s grip. She stood between his sprawled legs, stepping close to his crotch.
To the utter amazement of Alexander, Butler, and Julia, Laurie lifted her sneaker-clad foot and placed it firmly on her ex-husband’s genitals, pushing down just enough to get his attention. At his choked groan of pain, Alexander looked up at her, unsure what to do.
“My Alpha?” he questioned.
“Let him go, Alexander,” she told him quietly.
“I cannot risk your safety, Alpha,” Alexander responded quickly, his face a mirror of concern.
Laurie looked down at him with a hardness that surprised even her. “Let him go. Now.” Her voice allowed for nothing but his complete compliance to her order. Very slowly, he removed his hand from her ex-husband’s throat, careful to remain alert in case he had to prevent another attack on the women.
Patrick took in great gulps of air as he pulled at his throat. He looked up at Laurie with murderous intent in his eyes. “I’ll kill you,” he croaked. “And then I’ll kill the kids and your friends.”
Laurie’s foot increased the pressure on his groin, pulling another groan of pain from him and making him freeze his movements. “No, Patrick. You won’t,” Laurie told him, a deadly calm coming over her as she spoke.
She didn’t hesitate. She didn’t blink. She stared at him with such anger that, for the first time in her life, the fear that usually paralyzed her left her and was replaced by a hardness that promised retribution.
“These people belong to me,” she told him calmly, indicating the people who stood behind her. “You won’t go near them. And you won’t go near the kids,” she told him, her voice controlled and soft, increasing the pressure on his genitals as she spoke. “Because if you go anywhere near the people I love, I’ll cut off your balls and feed them to you.”
She pressed down with her foot to emphasize her words. Patrick’s groan of pain satisfied the need in her to show him that she meant exactly what she said. No one was going to hurt the people who belonged to her. She looked at Alexander and nodded to him.
“Let’s go home,” she told him quietly.
He nodded and stood, taking her arm and pulling her back away from Patrick. He was careful to put his body between Laurie and her ex-husband. He wasn’t taking any chances that the man would reach out and grab their queen. He turned and gently pushed her toward Butler, who still cradled an unconscious Nikki in his arms and a stunned Julia against his side.
“Take them to the truck,” he told his triad partner, reaching up to touch Julia’s bruised cheek, his jaw clenching in controlled anger. Turning to Nikki, he gently brushed her hair off her forehead, worry overwhelming him. He looked up at Butler and saw the same concern mirrored on his triad partner’s face. “Call Jace and let him know what happened. I’ll call Clayton and wait for him and Hunter. I’ll be out shortly.”
Butler nodded, looking at Alexander, both their eyes flashing golden as their wolves fought to get out. Julia reached out and took Laurie’s hand in hers, pulling her toward them as they turned and walked away.
Laurie walked silently beside them, looking at her injured friends as they walked. She felt a sickness deep in her stomach as she saw the pain that they were experiencing because of her. She was especially worried about Nikki, who was still unconscious in Butler’s arms.
Alexander turned to face the man who was still lying on the floor. He walked over to squat down beside him. He faced the poor excuse of a man, his hands resting against his massive thighs. Patrick tried to scuttle away, but Alexander stopped him with one large hand on his shoulder.
Taking out his cell phone, Alexander pushed speed dial for the local police department. He watched Patrick silently as he waited for the connection. “Clayton, it’s Alexander,” he said quietly as the phone was answered. “We have a situation at the mall. An attack was made on our queen and two of our females.” He hesitated, listening to the officer’s response. “Thanks, Clay. Make it fast. All of the females have been injured and need medical attention.”