Authors: Becca Jameson
Charles shifted his gaze back to his young brother. Perhaps it would be better for everyone if he gave a few pointers.
Shit
. Who wanted to give their little brother, barely an adult, pointers about how to make a girl seem to belong to you. And he sure as hell hoped that’s all this was, a mustered-up wave of altruism. He couldn’t even contemplate the alternative. They were both so young.
Glancing at Reese and then Jessica, he spoke to them silently.
“Gonna go … supervise this …
pretend
mating. Be right back.”
“Good plan.”
Reese squeezed Jess tighter. It wasn’t far from anyone’s mind she too could be in danger if these assholes recognized her by looks or scent.
Charles made his way past Tessa and her kids on the floor. Her husband, Aaron, glanced at him but remained tightlipped. Lucky bastard.
Charles coughed as he approached Michael and Alyssa. The girl was staring at his brother with a combination of emotions; shock, fear, trepidation, and, fuck it all, lust. Hopefully she was simply attracted to the man and not falling for him hard. He was a good-looking guy as far as Charles figured, but still… He was
twenty
. “If you’re serious about doing this, Michael, you’re going to have to smother her in your scent so it seems you two are extremely close lovers on the cusp of a claiming. Otherwise, no one is going to buy the ruse.”
“I think I can handle it, bro.” The cocky bastard didn’t even look at Charles. Instead, he took Alyssa by the hand and left the room.
Shit
.
The two walked down the hall, and Charles hoped to God Michael used his big head instead of his little head with this woman.
He’d barely turned around toward the Christmas mess when a second knock at the door made him jump.
That was fast
.
Chapter 16
Jessica could smell a wolf. Make that two. Her senses were super heightened since she’d mated only days ago. And the men on the other side of that door were wolves.
Her hands sweated, and she wiped them on her jeans. She was a grown woman, not a ten-year-old child. She could handle anything now. She could face off with anyone who threatened her family, not cower in the corner and watch them be killed this time.
“Is that what you think, hon? You think if you’d done something different your parents would still be alive? You think you could have prevented their cold-blooded murder? Jess? You were ten. Just a small child. You can’t blame yourself for their deaths.”
Reese pulled her in tighter and backed them away from the front door as far as possible.
Charles acknowledged their silent conversation as he walked past with a glance, but he didn’t stop. He simply brushed his hand across her arm on the way by.
Her flesh tingled where he’d left his light touch, as though he were still kissing her.
Jess glanced at Reese. She hadn’t realized until just now he was right. She’d blamed herself all these years. Well, not precisely for the murder of her mom and dad, but for her cowardice with regard to being frozen inside the house watching the scene unfold.
“You are not a coward. You are completely the opposite, in fact.”
Charles didn’t turn around, but he communicated his thoughts with his hand on the front doorknob.
With a jerk, Charles yanked the door open. His father, brothers, and the other mated men squared off at the entrance. Even with all the testosterone filling the space, Jessica had a clear line of vision directly to the two assholes she’d hoped to never lay eyes on again in this lifetime. She sucked in a breath. Even knowing there was a good chance these same men would show up to get Alyssa the same way they’d come to collect Jessica all those years ago, she was still unprepared for the onslaught of emotion that warred inside her.
“Are these the same men, babe?”
Charles asked. No one had moved an inch or said a word yet.
“Yes.”
Even telepathically her word sounded breathy to her ears.
The bastards had barely changed in twelve years. They stood there all cocky, sure of themselves. They’d shot her parents in cold blood and irrevocably altered her life. Her blood boiled as she glared. She’d given them her power. Realization dawned. They were still controlling her from halfway across the country like a weak victim. Jessica had allowed these murdering beasts to make her flinch at her own shadow.
Not anymore. Her spine stiffened as she resolved to take control of her life. No longer would she be a victim. Jessica stood taller, shook herself free of Reese’s arm wrapped around her, and watched how this scene unfolded.
“Excuse our intrusion on this special holiday, but we believe a member of our pack is staying here under false pretenses. Perhaps the girl has lied to you, made up a story that has caused you to protect her.”
Richard took the lead. “No one is here but family and impending family. You are misinformed. There are no pack members other than those who belong.” His words were perfectly selected. Ambiguous.
The taller, skinnier man opened his mouth to speak, but the shorter, chubbier asshole shushed him with a look and a hand. “I beg to differ. I can smell our packmate from here. Alyssa is her name. If you’d hand her over. She’s a runaway. Her parents are very worried.”
A throat cleared from just outside the kitchen area to Jessica’s right, and she turned to see Michael with his arms wrapped around his fake intended, her back pressed against his front. “Alyssa is my mate. She will not be returning with you to your pack. Tell her parents she is safe and sound and happy.” Michael’s performance was so perfect Jessica could have been fooled herself as to his intentions where they concerned Alyssa. In fact, after he spoke, he tipped his head down and kissed her. Jessica was certainly convinced. They looked exactly like two people very much in love.
The short man spoke. “You have not claimed her yet.”
“No. She’s very young. I’d like to give her some time to acclimate to the idea first. Common courtesy when the woman in question is just barely an adult.” His jibe didn’t go unnoticed by anyone. “When the time is right, I
will
be claiming Alyssa. Not beforehand. I won’t force her to speed through her youth just because we are mates.”
Lost in the litany, Jessica even forgot this was all a hoax. Wasn’t it?
The two hired killers stood at the door with their mouths hanging open, unsure what to do. Seemingly at once, their gazes landed on Jessica, and they gasped. “You,” they said in unison.
Jessica cringed under the scrutiny and then remembered her new resolve. She narrowed her gaze. Her fists clenched at her sides, and her wolf hovered beneath the surface unexpectedly.
“That’s right.” Charles inched forward, his threatening frame taking up the door and entering into the personal space of her childhood pack members. “And I bet you two were in a heap of trouble when you returned to the pack without Jessica. She was just a child. You told them you’d killed her. You lied.” He let each statement hang in the air for several seconds before he spoke the next. “Bet you never expected to see her again, did you?”
The fat man lurched forward before he could stop himself, one foot inside the house. He narrowed his gaze on Jessica and bared his teeth.
Jessica backed up, stepping behind Reese. She needed to get control of her wolf. A few steps more and she was in the hallway. If she didn’t remove herself from the bastards’ line of sight, she’d lose it. Her senses were so heightened she could hear everyone speaking as though she were standing right among them in the foyer. Her pulse rate soared, and she leaned against the wall to cool her forehead.
“Both of those women belong to
our
pack.” The deep voice sounded firmer as the fat man regained control.
“Not any more they don’t,” Charles challenged.
Jessica took deep breaths.
What’s happening to me?
Suddenly her clothes felt too tight. Her skin crawled. For the first time in her life, she craved the shift. Somehow the air around her had changed. All eyes and everyone’s attention focused on the predators at the door. No one looked in her direction. Even Reese and Charles were concentrating so hard on the front of the house they didn’t notice her disappearance. She stood alone in the hall.
“Might I make a suggestion?” Charles continued. “Unless you want to further embarrass yourselves, I think now would be a good time to turn tail and get the fuck out of here. If we ever see you again, or hear even a peep you’ve been in our territory, we will hunt your asses and tell your pack leader about your lies twelve years ago. Your choice. You could make a scene, but you are severely outnumbered here. I’m betting if your leader finds out about your lie, he’ll kill you himself. Am I right?”
She needed this—for herself and her new pack. She needed to shift to wolf form and assert herself. Show those bastards they couldn’t control her any more. No more jumping at shadows.
“How about, instead, you turn Jessica and Alyssa over to us, and we take our women back home where they belong?” The fat bastard sounded as though he were overconfident in his request.
What made him think, in a standoff of two against a dozen, he would leave here with two women?
Hell, just the sound of her name crossing his lips again pushed her over the edge. Jessica stripped out of her clothes in record time and closed her eyes, pausing naked in the hallway while she concentrated.
An animalistic hiss from someone in the Masters family rang in her ear.
Moments later Jessica fell to all fours as her bones popped and twisted, reforming and contorting. Hair poked out all over her body, and her face elongated. It was over in seconds, and then she growled, deep and long and menacingly.
All heads turned as she bounded out of the hallway, leaped over paper, gifts, and furniture, and jumped onto all fours in front of the two men standing at the door.
Teeth bared, Jessica lifted her head and howled.
“Jessica?” Charles laid a hand on her rump, but she ignored him.
“Step back, babe. Please. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Jessica didn’t respond. She stared down the men, feeling freer than she’d ever felt in her life. For the first time, she faced her opponents head on and confronted her worst fears. Never mind she was too small and weak to actually take anyone on single-handedly. There were numerous shifters at her back who wouldn’t let anything happen to her.
This was for herself.
The men backed up a step as though afraid. It wasn’t logical, but it still made her pride soar.
“What are we supposed to tell Fredrick?” The shaky voice belonged to the skinny man. He squeaked out the question, and his tone grated on Jessica’s nerves.
“I don’t give a fuck what you tell that dictatorial asshole. That Alyssa is mated? Dead? You couldn’t find her? Just make sure it’s convincing, ’cause your ass is on the line. If Fredrick doesn’t kill you, I might just finish the job myself. Got it?” Charles grazed his hand over Jessica’s back. “Oh, and I don’t think it would be wise for you to even mention Jessica’s name to anyone in your pack. Have I made myself clear?”
The fat man gulped. “Yes.”
“Good. Now get the fuck off our property and don’t step foot anywhere near any member of my pack again, ya hear? That includes anyone protected by my family and under our care.”
Charles slammed the door in their faces without another word.
Jessica turned her clumsy body around to find the entire family staring at her. Her gaze found Reese’s, and he grinned in her direction, pride making him hold his shoulders a little higher than usual.
Warmth spread through her under the layer of fur. Her mate was proud of her. She twisted herself to look at Charles at her side. His smile broadened also, and he petted her behind the ear. It was an odd sensation, but she could get used to it. Behind the layers of fur, she was smiling.
“You’re beautiful.”
Reese sauntered over toward her and Charles.
“That’s a fact,”
Charles added.
“You think they’ll leave? For good?”
she inquired.
“I don’t see what other choice they have,”
Reese communicated.
Richard stepped into her line of sight. “I’m proud of you. You really stood your ground against those bastards. I don’t think we’ll see them again anytime soon. And you”—he turned toward Michael and Alyssa—“were very convincing. If I hadn’t known better, I’d have bet my last nickel you were destined mates. I’m so proud of all you boys today. Now let’s get some breakfast started. Who’s hungry?” Richard clapped his hands together and rubbed his palms against each other.
Michael peeled himself slowly from Alyssa. The woman was shaking. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms when Michael backed up. He didn’t take his gaze off her.
Interesting
.
“Do you need help shifting back?”
Reese’s voice drew her gaze back to his tall, lean frame next to her.
“No. I think I’d like to go for a run. Join me?”
She glanced from one mate to the other.
“Wonderful idea.”
Charles led the way toward the back door, ignoring the whispers of everyone in the family as he passed. Reese held the screen door open for Jessica, and the three of them pushed their way onto the porch.
Jessica stared in awe at her mates as they quickly shed their clothes and shifted to join her. They were larger than she was. Deep brown fur covered Charles, while Reese’s coat was a lighter shade, almost blond. Their loving gazes burrowed into her as they tangled their heads and necks with hers in the manner wolves would show affection.
Her chest tightened. They loved her. And she loved them.
“Follow me?”
Charles nodded in the direction of the woods briefly and then bounded off the porch toward the trees.
Reese followed on his heels, and Jessica’s blood pumped with the freedom she experienced as she leaped off the porch behind the two lupines who owned her heart.
* * * *
Hours later, when the three mates had returned, breakfast was over, and the dishes had been cleared away, the entire family sat around the living room to open gifts.