Joe chuckled and buried his nose in their mate’s neck. It felt good to laugh. It felt even better to love.
“I love you, Nessa.”
“You need to tell her that when she’s awake, brother,” Jessup said.
“Don’t worry. I plan to. She’s the best thing that ever happened to me, Jess. I plan to tell her I love her every day for the rest of our lives.”
Nessa fidgeted in between her mates as they waited for the thirty something wolves and their mates to settle in the lodge where the pack held all of their meetings and celebrations. Even the children were present for this meeting since a new mate was being introduced. She could hear the sounds of young children as their parents tried to keep them still and silent.
Finally, Jessup and Joseph’s parents walked into the room along with their enforcers before Nessa, along with her mates and all of their brothers, entered as well. She fought to keep her eyes straight ahead so she didn’t panic at the number of strangers watching her. When they had reached the tables where they would sit, Joe urged her to take a seat with them following.
For the first time, she looked up and out to find dozens and dozens of eyes peering at her with open curiosity. The weight of those stares nearly overwhelmed her, but she gripped her mates’ hands and let their comfort ease her fears. She could do this because they needed for her to. This was as much for them as it was for her. They were proud of her, and she vowed to live up to their expectations if it killed her. Looking out over the sea of faces, she admitted that it very well might do that.
Deland stood up and the room fell silent around them. His impressive build and commanding presence demanded their full attention, and they gave it willingly it seemed. She could see where the twins got their strength of will. Though she couldn’t tell who they favored more since both of their fathers were also brothers, she did feel as if they had gained some of their aura from Deland.
“This is a joyous occasion as our sons Joseph and Jessup have been blessed to find their mate, Nessa. She comes willingly into our pack and will be a great asset to us. Join me in welcoming her to our land and into our hearts. May she bless us with many fine children.”
Everyone stood and howled, clapping their hands or pounding the tables. Even the children got into it by jumping up and down, their shrill, high-pitched howls joining the others. She hadn’t expected anything this boisterous but found herself smiling along with her mates at the apparent warm welcome. Then it was over and the men began pushing the tables out of the way and lining the chairs around the outside of the center of the room.
What were they doing? She stayed by her men as they rearranged the chairs from the head tables then seated her between them.
“It’s time to party now, precious,” Jess said at her questioning look.
“Wolves love to dance, baby.” Joe squeezed her hand before bringing it to his lips to place a kiss on it.
“I’m not much of a dancer, guys. Um, I’ve never really danced at all.” She knew her cheeks would be red at the confession.
“Don’t worry, sweetness. Most of us can’t dance either. We just like to get out there and act like fools.” Jess winked at her.
“Excuse me, boys, but I want to introduce Nessa to a few people before you disappear with her.” Andrea waited patiently for them to relinquish their hold on their mate.
“Keep the males away from her, Mom,” Joe said with a growl.
“I’m just going to introduce her to some of the other females so she’ll know some people. Don’t tell me what to do, young man. I can still spank you.” She growled at Joe before turning a smile to Nessa. “Let’s go while the getting is good.”
Nessa soon found herself surrounded by other women of all ages. They all seemed to genuinely want to meet her. It was a little too much for her to handle all at once. Just when she thought she would hyperventilate, Andrea sent them all away except for a stunning redhead with shoulder-length hair that fairly shone like pure spun gold. Her dark-blue eyes danced with mirth as she pulled her into a hug.
“I’m Gabrielle, Gabby to my friends. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Hi, Gabby. Andrea speaks highly of you.”
“Why don’t you girls sit here and chat while I find us some refreshments?” Andrea steered them to a couple of chairs set away from the others then disappeared into the crowd.
“She’s an amazing woman, isn’t she?” Gabby said.
“She sure is. I don’t quite know what to make of her. I’m not used to how, um, open she is about things.”
Gabby laughed a deep-throated sound that would probably strike lust into most men.
“She talked to you about sex and mating, right?”
“Well, yeah, sort of.” Now Nessa was uncomfortable that Gabby would start.
“Don’t worry. I won’t say anything. I can tell by the alarm on your face that you don’t feel comfortable discussing some things yet. It will get to be old hat soon enough. Wolves are very open about their sexuality. The one thing I will caution you about is not to get too close to any unmated males or let them touch you. It will enrage your mates’ wolves to the point of fighting.”
“Andrea pointed that out to me already. I plan to stay well away of other men in general. If they get even half as upset over other men as they do with their own fathers, I won’t live through the
cleansing
process.” Nessa covered her mouth with her hand. She couldn’t believe she’d just said that to a virtual stranger.
Gabby laughed and gave her a brief hug. “You’ll fit right in. Just wait and see.”
Andrea returned with cups of what turned out to be spiked punch. “I’d drink it slow, girls. I’m not sure who was in charge of the punch this time. It smells stout to me.”
They both laughed and sipped cautiously. Nessa couldn’t really taste the liquor in it but took her word for it. After all, she had a wolf’s nose and the experience to know what the norm was at pack meetings.
Music blared over speakers and people converged on the dance floor in no apparent order. She couldn’t make out specific couples and finally decided that it was a free-for-all with everyone dancing with everyone else. She had to admit that many of them didn’t have much grace or rhythm, but they made up for it with enthusiasm. Maybe she could manage to dance with her mates after all.
She, Andrea, and Gabby chatted about life as part of a pack and what she could expect in the next few weeks. They were both surprised when she had asked about howling and growling. Evidently that didn’t usually happen for months into a mating.
“Maybe she has some shifter blood in her somewhere down the line,” Gabby offered.
“That’s possible. While most of our cubs are born as shifters, there are a few who don’t shift,” Andrea agreed.
“What happens to them if they can’t shift?” Nessa was almost scared to hear the answer, envisioning her child being kicked out of the pack or worse, killed.
“Nothing. They just don’t shift. They’re still pack and considered rare jewels since most of them are women. All females are considered gifts. There are so few of them born to us for some reason. Gabby is one of the few female wolves here who can shift.” Andrea patted Nessa’s hand. “Don’t worry. Any child you give to your mates will be loved and cherished.
Nessa relaxed and smiled. It was obvious she was as easy to read as a book to Andrea. She would have to be careful around the woman on the rare occasions that she was mad at one or both of her men. She had no doubt it would happen as protective as they were of her.
After nearly thirty more minutes of gossiping about pack life, her mates slipped over and claimed her from their mom and Gabby.
“We want to dance with our mate before it gets too late,” Jessup told them.
She laughed and allowed them to lead her to the edge of the dance floor then, after a few seconds of hesitation, Nessa joined in the craziness around her. Despite the packed area, her mates still managed to keep her sequestered, to some extent, from the other men. Then maybe they all understood the need to keep back from her since it was almost as if only females surrounded them while they danced. Had she not noticed that Joe’s and Jess’s attention was focused entirely on her, she might have done some growling of her own to be surrounded by so many pretty females, especially female wolves.
After the third dance, she begged to rest. “I’m not used to this much activity. I’ll have to work my way up to it.”
“We’ll help you all the way, babe,” Joe promised her with a kiss to her cheek.
“I’ll run and get us something to drink,” Jess said once they reached a circle of empty chairs. “I’ll be right back.”
Several seconds later, Gabby walked up. “Joe, your fathers need a word with you. I’ll keep Nessa company until you get back. I think Jess is already over there.”
“We’ll be right back, babe.”
Nessa watched him walk away, enjoying the view of his muscular ass encased in tight jeans. Gabby’s laugh pulled her attention back to the other woman.
“What?” she asked.
“The look on your face as he walked off. It was priceless. I think if you could have you would have taken a chunk out of his ass.”
She felt another blush creep up her face. She hated that she was so easy to read and easily embarrassed.
“Don’t worry about it. It just proves that you love him and will be loyal to your mate. It’s a very good trait. Even some mated wolves will let their eyes wander. They could never act on it because, well, for the men, they couldn’t get it up, and the touch of another man on a female is repulsive.”
Her face grew hotter. She really had to get over the blushing already. Now she needed some air. She felt as if she was suffocating. Looking around, she noticed one of the doors leading outside was just behind them.
“Can we go outside for a few minutes? I’m hot. I think if I don’t get some air, I might pass out.”
Gabby frowned and instantly stood up. “Are you okay? Should I go get your mates?”
“No. It’s nothing wrong. I’m just flushed. With all the dancing and my embarrassing blushes, I got too hot.”
“Okay, but just for a minute. Your mates won’t like for you to be outside at night without them.” Gabby led her to the door and pushed it open before leading the way outside.
A small patio with several wrought iron chairs around a glass-topped table offered a place under a light that looked to be perfect to Nessa. She took a seat, soaking in the cool night air. She could already feel the heat easing from her cheeks.
“Thanks, Gabby. This is just what I needed.”
Before Gabby could answer her, someone darted into the light and grabbed Nessa by the throat.
“I’ll give you what you need, you ungrateful bitch! You owe me.”
Nessa couldn’t believe her stepbrother had her in his hands again. She couldn’t scream with his hand around her throat, but she fought with all her newfound strength. When she managed to break his hold on her, she felt a moment’s triumph. Then she looked over to where Gabby had been and saw why the other woman hadn’t come to her assistance. Anger boiled her blood at the sight of her new friend standing still with a gun to her head.
“Derrick owes us for his debts, Nessa. Time for you to pay up again,” the bastard her brother kept gambling with said with a sickening smile.
The other man with him grinned, showing yellowed teeth. “Think we might take her with us as well.”
“Leave her alone. She isn’t part of this.” Nessa wanted to cry at the injustice of everything.
She’d finally found a little piece of heaven and her stepbrother was going to ruin it for her. She had no doubt her mates would never want to touch her again once Derrick’s friends got finished with her. The fear that they would someday find out about her past had worried her from the start. Now it looked like it wasn’t going to be her past that killed her chance at happiness, but her brother’s greed.
“Her husbands will tear you apart if you touch her,” Gabby said.
“Husbands? Are you crazy? You can’t have more than one husband and my bitch of a stepsister couldn’t hold on to one man, much less two. She’s worthless. I have to beat her to get anything out of her as it is.” Derrick’s laugh grated on her nerves.
“I’m warning you, touch her and they’ll kill you.”
“They won’t do shit. They’ll never know what happened to her. Once my debt is paid, I’m shipping her off on the next skin train for a pretty penny. She’ll be some other poor bastard’s problem then.”
“And you won’t be able to tell anyone because you’re going with her. All that red hair will make us a mint.” The one holding the gun grinned.
“No! You let her go. She has nothing to do with this!” Nessa pushed past Derrick and shoved the gun away from Gabby. “Run, Gabby!”
The second man grabbed her off of the first, but she elbowed him hard in the stomach, making him let go of her even as the first man aimed the gun at Gabby’s racing form. Nessa screamed and launched herself at him, both of them falling to the ground. They fought for control of the gun, rolling around on the hard concrete of the patio.
Nessa prayed she was buying Gabrielle enough time to get away and perhaps find help. Derrick tried to grab her legs, but she managed to kick him in the shin and then nail his balls with her other foot. The second man stayed back, watching them like a kid at the movies. She wasn’t going to let them rape her ever again if she had anything to do with it. She was stronger now, she could stop them. All she had to do was keep the first man from aiming the gun or pinning her. She was sure that Gabby would get help soon.
She thought she heard Joe’s scream of rage, but in that instant, the gun went off and the deafening roar blocked out all sound. Pain blossomed in her shoulder even as she lost her grip on the gun and her strength fled. She looked up at the shock-filled eyes of the second man standing over them then nothing.
* * * *
Joe felt as if his heart was ripped from his chest as blood appeared on Nessa’s blouse before the bastard with the gun rolled off of her and got unsteadily to his feet. Sound evaporated as he raced toward his fallen mate. A red haze filled his sight and reason left him. Then he was there, and the man’s neck was in his hands. Blind rage filled him. This human had hurt his mate. He’d never hurt another person again.