A Wife for the Wolves (BBW Shifter Mail Order Bride Romance) (Mail-Order Mates Book 5) (4 page)

“Wow, this place shuts down early,” Jackie said. It was barely nine o’clock and most of the shops in town were closed.

“It’s spring break now. Most places have longer hours in the summer,” Mark explained.

“But it’s warm here in the winter,” she said. “Why wouldn’t people be out? It’s not like the Midwest or the East, where it snows for months on end.”

“I think it’s got more to do with the holidays,” Matt said. “After Christmas and Thanksgiving, people have no money for luxury spending.”

“I don’t know if I would call this luxury spending.” Jackie laughed.

“You haven’t had one of Frank’s brownies,” Matt told her. “We’ll go there in the morning if you want. But it’ll have to be early. He has a line out the door from ten in the morning until close these days.”

“He’s the one I read about on the web,” Jackie said. “I watched the video after I read the
Shifters Weekly
article. He doesn’t look like a baker.”

“No, he doesn’t in that video.” Mark agreed. “He didn’t always sport the giant beard. I think his new wife likes it, though. I don’t know if we’ll ever see Frank’s chin again.”

Matt laughed. “He’s lucky he can get away with that in the food industry. I would never let our cook have facial hair like that.”

Jackie stuck out her tongue. “Yuck! I didn’t even think about that. Now I’m going to be nervous about finding a beard hair in my cupcakes.”

“I’ve never found anything in my food.” Mark punched Matt in the shoulder. “My brother is just an uptight nerd who’s jealous he can’t grow facial hair.”

“You can’t either, baby brother,” Matt pointed out. He turned in the driver’s seat to look at Jackie. “That’s it. You’ve seen the whole town now. We could go and look at the ranches or Brooks Farm tomorrow, if you’d like.”

Jackie made a face. “I don’t think I’d like that too much. I’m not really an outdoorsy kind of girl. I would like to see the waterfalls at some point, though.”

“For sure,” Matt said. “We’ll go on a weekend.”

“We can wait for your family to come out,” Mark suggested. “That way we can make a whole family trip of it. The Falls are a great place for all ages.”

“That’s a good idea,” Jackie said.

She’d called her dad while she was waiting for Kai at the airport. She would call her mom in the morning and tell her about the twins. So far, so good. Jackie liked them. They looked identical as far as she could see. If they had some identifying feature, it was somewhere she hadn’t seen. But their personalities were so different she didn’t think she’d ever mix them up.

Mark seemed younger and was the “bad one,” but he wasn’t really a bad guy. There was no way Matt could be the “bad” twin. He was too prim and proper. Mark was quick to joke and was more emotional. He was quick to anger, judging by how he’d sworn at a car that had cut them off. That was probably why Matt drove all the time.

Matt would be a great dad one day. So would both of the twins, actually. They complemented each other’s personality. While Matt had more of a leadership air about him, Mark was the one who made people feel comfortable, like they could tell him anything. Jackie could see them being alphas of their pack easily.

“How are things going with the vote?” Jackie asked.

Mark and Matt looked at each other. Matt spoke first. “It’s going.”

“Do you think it’s going well?” she asked.

“I think we have a good chance of leading the pack,” Matt said.

“We should do okay,” Mark assured her. “Most of the pack supports us. There are a few noisy holdouts, but they don’t matter.”

That didn’t make Jackie feel good about the vote. Things were already going to be strange for her if she decided to stay in Sunset Falls. She didn’t want people to be angry about the vote as soon as she got there.

“Are there other LK Brides in town?” she asked, suddenly nervous.

The twins laughed.

“What’s so funny?” It was a strange way for them to react to her question. It made her even more nervous.

“We’ve had a wedding every month since the fall, basically,” Matt told her. “You would be the third out-of-town bride. Gwen was an LK Bride, too, but her husband was someone she already knew.”

Jackie breathed a sigh of relief. She would have to meet the other three women. They could give her some advice on getting settled. “I thought shifters knew when they met their mate?”

The twins looked at each other again. She was going to have to get used to that. They were obviously communicating with each other with just a glance.

“They do,” Mark said. “That doesn’t mean you have to do what your animal tells you. It’s painful to deny your mate or to be denied. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.”

“What happens if someone is turned down by their mate?” Jackie asked, fascinated. She hadn’t read anything about that before.

Matt shuddered. “Nothing good. That shifter would have to live a very lonely life. There would be an empty spot in his soul forever.”

“That’s sad,” Jackie said. “Does it happen often?”

Matt shook his head. “I wouldn’t say often. But it’s happened to people in our pack before. We just don’t talk about it.”

“Can we head to Two Wolves?” Mark asked, changing the subject. “We’re just driving around in circles now. I like Sunset Falls, but this is a waste of gas and I’m sure it’s bad for the environment too.”

“I could eat,” Jackie said.

They had driven by the restaurant earlier, when it was just closing. There were a few customers milling around in front of the place. Jackie was eager to see the inside—it was better than talking about lonely shifters without mates. She wanted to ask the twins if they thought she was their mate, but she was too chicken. What if they said no? Maybe they would say yes because she’d put them on the spot. But wouldn’t they have told her as soon as they met her if she was the one?

This mail-order bride thing was both more difficult and much easier than she’d expected. People were very nice to her, and the twins were very sweet. They were just as great as they’d seemed in the email. The emotional part was what was surprising her. She had just met them, but she liked them. She was already feeling invested in their relationship. She wanted them to like her and to be happy with her. She was happy being around them and learning about them. She hoped they thought well of her too.

***

Mark didn’t love cooking at Two Wolves. They would have taken her back to their house, but that would have been moving too fast for her. They’d chosen something simple for the night. He was grilling steaks and had made some salads earlier, and Matt had picked up a cake from Frank’s to celebrate Jackie’s first night in town. At the last minute, Mark had also grabbed a bottle of wine. He preferred hard alcohol, but Jackie struck him as a wine girl.

He hated having to be in the kitchen cooking while Matt chatted with Jackie at the counter. She loved the place and seemed to be having a good time, which was a bonus. He wanted her to like them
and
their town. It was bad enough they had to have a vote to be alpha. He didn’t want to lose his mate and potentially his pack in the same week.

He knew she was their mate. He didn’t know how LK Brides did it, but they had found the one person in the entire world who could complete their triad. He couldn’t control how the vote with the tribe went, but at least if they were able to convince Jackie to stay and marry them, everything would all be alright. He would be ashamed if the pack voted no, but he would get over it. He and Matt could start a family with Jackie and their problems would all be forgotten in time.

He was nervous about the upcoming vote. Something didn’t feel right. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but something was going on and they were missing it. Matt felt the same way: there was something off in the pack. If Mark had to guess, he would say it was the younger people. The newly eighteen and graduated were the easiest to sway in the vote. They probably liked not having an alpha to answer to. That was how Mark had felt at that age.

He’d been thinking about it nonstop. The only reprieve he got was when he saw Jackie. She was so perfect, and so close to being theirs.

Mark seared his steak and pulled them all off the grill. He plated them and brought them to the booth.

“We can eat, guys,” he told Matt and Jackie.

Matt held out his hand. “Choose your seat.”

Jackie put her finger next to her mouth as she thought. “I’m going to sit next to Mark because I’ve been talking to you this whole time. Everything smells really great, Mark. Thanks for cooking.”

He beamed. “No problem. I like cooking.”

Matt gave him an amused look but didn’t say anything.

Dinner was very nice. Jackie told them all about her parents and brothers. She also told them about college. It sounded awful to Mark. He was glad they’d been able to open the restaurant almost fresh out of high school, because he and Matt weren’t school people, either, much to their guidance counselor’s horror. He and Matt had gotten great grades in school, but never did anything extra, even though their teachers had always tried to recruit them into sports or clubs.

After dessert, the three stayed in the booth, talking. It was well after midnight and Matt was opening the next morning. Mark knew the night was ending soon.

Matt excused himself to go to the restroom and Mark saw his chance to make a move. He had an idea that Jackie would probably want to kiss them one at a time, or that she’d at least be more comfortable with one of them. He didn’t let Matt in on his plan. It didn’t matter; Matt would be able to have her eventually. Mark couldn’t wait.

He listened to Jackie talk about her favorite pet. The whole time, he was watching her lips and praying Matt didn’t come back early. When she paused in her story, Mark seized the moment. He leaned forward and gently pressed his lips to hers. She was surprised, but didn’t stop him. After a moment, her hand came up to rest on his belt buckle as they made out in the booth. He could feel her pulse quicken under his thumb.

When he heard the bathroom door open, he broke the kiss and looked her in the eye seductively. He nipped her bottom lip and smiled smugly at Matt over her shoulder. He’d gotten the first kiss. It wouldn’t be the last.

Matt gave him a curt nod and sat in the booth next to Jackie. He pulled her close and kissed her passionately. When he let her go, she was breathless. “It’s been a great night,” he said. “I have to open tomorrow. Sorry.”

It was perfect. They had given her a taste of what life with them could be like, and Matt had a feeling she’d be coming back for more.

“Were you trying to snake her for yourself?” Matt asked Mark as they waited for Jackie to get into her hotel room.

“No way. I just wanted to get her warmed up for you.”

Matt could feel rage building deep inside. His wolf wasn’t amused by Mark’s jokes or how he had acted. He’d wanted to fight Mark in the middle of the restaurant when he saw him kissing Jackie. That wasn’t how it was supposed to be—Mark should have asked before he got physical with her. Matt had covered up his anger and kissed Jackie himself, which had calmed his wolf right away. But now that Jackie was out of the car, he was getting angry again.

“You can’t do whatever you want, Mark,” Matt scolded. “This is a triad. You aren’t supposed to be with her without me.”

“How is that supposed to work? What if you’re on vacation or taking a nap or something? If she wants me, I’m not going to turn her down.”

“That’s. Not. How. It. Works,” Matt snarled.

Jackie’s hotel light came on and she waved from the window. Matt put on a big smile and waved back before turning to his brother. “You can’t pull shit like that and expect this to work. Grow up, Mark. We’re trying to be alphas here, and you’re being a selfish baby.”

“You’re just jealous that she likes me more than she likes you.” Mark’s eyes glowed dim yellow. “She’s going to prefer one of us. There’s no way she can like us equally.”

Matt pulled out of the parking lot and drove to a nearby street to park again. He didn’t want Jackie to see them arguing in the parking lot. It would only make her feel bad or angry. Either way, Matt wanted to keep this between him and his brother.

“That’s the entire point of what we’re doing,” he told Mark. “If you want a girl all to yourself, let me know now.”

“That’s not what I want.” Mark sighed. “It wouldn’t work. We’re supposed to be a triad. We’ve always known that.”

“That’s how I feel too.”

“I just didn’t know it would be this hard,” Mark said. “I didn’t think I’d be jealous or that I’d want to spend time with her alone.”

They sat in silence. This was going to be hard, Matt realized. He’d been jealous and angry. Would it be the same when they were alphas? He always got jealous when Mark had an easier time being relaxed and talking to people. He could deal with those feelings, but it was an entirely different thing when it came to their mate. He cared for her too much. His wolf was territorial when he thought Mark was trying to cheat.

“You know, I wasn’t jealous that you were kissing her,” Matt told him. “I was mad that you did it without asking me. If you’d talked with me before you did it, I wouldn’t have been angry at all.”

“So should I ask you whenever I want to kiss her?”

“No, I don’t think that’s going to work. But I think it’ll get easier the more we’re together.” Matt looked out the window. “This is really new right now. We have to get used to it and how it all works. This is just what it’s going to be like when we’re alphas, too. It’s going to be the same give and take.”

Mark nodded. “As long as you’re not mad at me. I don’t want anything to come between you and me or us and our mate.”

“Agreed.” Matt put the car in drive again. “I had a good time tonight. I really like her.”

“She’s our mate,” Mark said, looking at Matt. “You feel it too, right?”

“I do,” Matt confirmed. “She’s it. That’s why I don’t want to screw this up. We have to get our emotions in check so we don’t freak her out. This is already weird enough for her. Remember what Olivia said.”

“Yeah. Take it easy and give her time and space. I’m glad she seems like she really likes us. She’s already got herself a job lined up and she rented a car so she can get around without us. I think that’s a real good sign.”

“I think so too. We’re going to have to buy her a car, though.”

“Agreed. A nice one, too. I don’t want to be outdone by Kellan.”

Matt laughed. “All the other husbands in town are going to hate us. The LK Brides are all going to be driving luxury vehicles.”

“More promotion for the service! Maybe we can get a discount if we spread the word.”

“The fee is so small I feel like we’re cheating them.”

“Oh, man. Especially after meeting Jackie. They could charge men ten times as much and I would still think it was a bargain.”

Mark’s phone buzzed. “Hey, it’s Virginia. She says we should go out to the desert. There’s something going on we would be interested in.”

“That’s a little too cryptic for my taste.”

It buzzed again. “She says we can ask Kellan what’s going on.”

Mark pulled out his phone. “I’ve had the ringer turned down. It looks like Kellan already texted me. There’s some meeting going down in the desert tonight. Boys only or something.”

“You think we should go?” Matt asked. It had been such a good night, and he had to work in just a few hours. He didn’t want to ruin his night for what could be nothing.

“I think we have to,” Mark said. “What if it’s something dangerous? I’ll tell Kellan we’ll go but he doesn’t have to.”

Matt turned around and headed out of town. He punched the location Kellan had given them into the GPS. “You know what? We’ve been there before.”

Mark looked clueless.

“The high school boys.”

“The hyenas? No way, man. Can’t be the same spot.” Mark looked at the GPS. “You don’t think it’s connected, do you?”

“Maybe.”

The night wasn’t going to be fun; Matt knew that much for sure. They’d gone out with Kellan and Owen to find who was attacking and mutilating their cattle. It turned out to be a gang of hyena shifters from a nearby town. The hyenas were only teenage boys being led by a loser college dropout. Kellan had scared the boys and let them go. There hadn’t been any trouble from the group again, and they’d all forgotten about the ordeal.

Matt didn’t know what they were going to find, but he was pretty sure it wasn’t going to be good. When they got close they parked the car and shifted, and they crossed the last five miles on paws.

Even in wolf form, Mark was Matt’s mirror image. Matt loved being out stalking with his brother. They didn’t get to do it much anymore. This wasn’t an ideal situation, but it reminded him that they needed to shift together more. Maybe they would join Kellan’s boys’ trip next winter.

When they got closer to the spot, Matt saw that it was indeed the exact same ring of rocks where the hyenas had made their fire. There were at least twenty men around the fire this time. Some were teenagers, but there were older men too. Matt and Mark got as close as they could without being seen. It wasn’t close enough. They couldn’t hear anything.

Matt shifted back. “We need to go over there.”

“I think so too. We need to be really careful with this,” Mark warned. “We weren’t invited. If they ask us to leave, we go. No questions asked.”

Matt nodded. “Agreed. I just want to see who’s leading this thing.”

Mark got up first and strode toward the group of men. Matt followed quickly, watching the men for any signs of danger. When the first few people noticed the twins coming up, a ripple went through the group. The men parted as they approached and let them go to the front.

Matt recognized one of the men at the front: he was the man who’d been so upset the night they’d announced their plan to become alphas. Matt knew him well. Jim Restal liked to go out and drink the night away. He often missed work and wasn’t married. He wasn’t close to any other members of the pack and spent more time with humans.

“Hello, Mark. Matt.” Jim nodded. “Guess you heard about our little meeting out here.”

“What’s going on?” Mark asked. “Is this some kind of run for alpha?”

“Not at all,” Jim insisted. “I don’t think we need an alpha at all. I just wanted to give my opinion to the group.”

“Why all the way out here?” Matt asked. “There are underage kids here. They can’t even vote.”

“That doesn’t mean our opinion doesn’t matter,” someone in the crowd yelled. The voice sounded very familiar to Matt. It had to be one of the teens from Sunset High.

He searched the crowd behind him, and sure enough, he found a group of teens. Hank was among them, but he wasn’t the one who had spoken up. There was another boy with his arms crossed. He was the son of one of the guys who worked part-time at the hardware store. As far as Matt knew, the guy was on board with his and Mark’s run for alpha. Matt had no idea why the man’s son would be out here.

“I don’t exclude anyone from my meeting,” Jim said. “These kids are going to be adults soon enough, and I think it’s important to hear what they have to say.”

“Sure,” Mark said. “But I don’t see why you couldn’t air your grievances in front of us.”

Matt knew why. Jim had known they would shoot down his cockamamie ideas. Of course a guy like him wouldn’t want an alpha. Matt wanted to wrap his hands around the guy’s neck and squeeze. The first thing he would do when he was alpha was banish this guy.

“Why do you care?” Matt demanded. “You don’t even spend time with the pack. I didn’t see you at the Christmas or New Year’s parties. When was the last time you attended a pack event?”

Jim lifted his chin. “You don’t have to attend events to be a member of the pack. I’m as much a member as you two.”

Mark faced the crowd. “Is that what you all think? If that’s true, we don’t even need a pack. What’s the point? We’re supposed to support each other. Pack is family.”

There was uncomfortable shifting and mumbling in the crowd. It was that easy to sway the crowd. Matt didn’t know why they were even out there. These people knew what they were doing was wrong. Suddenly, he understood. Most of the men didn’t want to stop him and Mark from becoming alphas. They wanted to grumble about it, was all. He had a hunch that this wasn’t going to be the last time men met in secret without inviting him and his brother. He bet that if he asked Steven and Rusty, they’d admit they did the same thing. They needed to vent about what was going on in private.

“We’re going to leave,” Matt told the crowd. “Have all the meetings you want, but Mark and I are going to become alphas of the Lunar Pack. We’re going to put an end to this alphaless phase and bring the pack into the twenty-first century.”

He shifted down and ran out of the circle with Mark following. He took a detour getting to the car, and he and Mark ran until the sun started peeking over the horizon. He was going to be incredibly tired when he went to work, but it didn’t matter. He was going to be alpha and he had found his mate.