Claimed by the Mate, Volume 1 (24 page)

Steph had kept quiet, but she continued staring at the picture. “It would explain that ‘one week no contact' rule. I mean, I don't know if fictional werewolves have anything to do with real werewolves—assuming real ones exist, but in the fictional pack, and yes, Cherry, I read the book and I loved it. Anyway, in the fictional pack, when werewolves mate, it's for life, and generally includes biting the mate and turning them into a wolf, which sounds blatantly impossible.”

“But if it is possible, imagine the life you could live. You and Christa would be mated through your mates, because Ronan and Wils are a pair, aren't they?”

Christa nodded. She didn't seem quite as disbelieving at this point. “They are. They're the ones who encouraged Steph and me to come out to you. I don't know why I worried about telling you the truth. It just felt like such a huge step. The parents aren't going to like it.”

Cherry laughed. “Personally, I love it. You've always been the perfect daughter and I've been the huge disappointment. At least now we'll be on equal footing.”

“Yeah,” Christa said drily. “We'll both be pariahs!”

“Four-legged pariahs.” Steph's droll comment had them all in hysterics.

They were all sort of mulling through the past week and trying to see things through the filter of werewolves. As much as she kept looking for proof she was wrong, Cherry couldn't find it. Her phone chimed, and she grabbed it out of her handbag. “Probably the office, checking to make sure I'm coming back to work tomorrow.”

She stared at the text for so long that Christa reached across the table and took the phone out of her hands. “Wow! Steph, it's from Brad.”

“What's it say?”

Cherry didn't wait for Christa to read the text. “‘Don't give up on us. Cain and I love you. We'll see you at the end of the week.”

“That is so cool.” Steph smiled at Christa. “I wish Ronan and Wils would come, too.”

“You never know.” Cherry stared at her phone and sipped her café mocha, but when she raised her head she was smiling. “There never was a Gina, was there? You know, that mythical friend who dropped out of the three-person vacation package? The one whose spot I took?”

Christa and Steph looked at each other and then they both smiled at Cherry.

“I thought so. Thank you. Thank you both so much.”

This was going to be a very long week.

Chapter 22

Friday

Cherry walked the last block to her apartment, convinced she might not make it. This had been the longest week at work she could remember, and the only thing that had kept her going was the hope that Cain and Brad might be here tomorrow.

She hadn't heard from them all week long, and she missed them with a fierce longing unlike anything she'd ever experienced in her life. Tonight she was going to take a long shower, have something easy for dinner, and then sleep. With luck she wouldn't look like death warmed over if—no,
when
—the guys showed up.

She had to believe. She couldn't
not
believe!

Normally she'd take the stairs—she was only on the fourth floor—but tonight she got into the elevator and made the quick trip to her level. She hung her tote bag over her shoulder and unlocked the door, closed and locked it behind her, and dropped the bag on the floor. Kicking off her shoes, she walked into her bedroom to get out of the long skirt and tank top she'd worn to the office.

Thank goodness the company wasn't too strong on dress codes. Days like today, the last thing she wanted to worry about was …
a wolf on her bed
?

Big and dark with soulful brown eyes, he stood alone in the middle of her bed with his head down, ears flattened to his skull, and his tail tucked between his legs, and all she could do was stand there with her hands over her mouth and cry. For about ten seconds. Then she flew to the bed, wrapped her arms around him, and sobbed.

“Brad! You came! Where's Cain? Is he here? I am so sorry I left without talking to you. I was wrong, but I was such a mess and Fred and Suni said a bunch of stuff and I should have gone to you first, but I was totally humiliated and I'm such a coward that I left. I was wrong and I'm so sorry.”

“I'm here, Cheraza.”

“Cain?” She whipped about and he was standing there beside the door, his hands at his sides, a half smile twisting his lips. “Oh, Cain.” Trembling from head to toe, she stood there as if rooted to the floor. “This is Brad, isn't it? You can both turn into wolves, right?”

Cain reached her in two steps and she was in his arms, her mouth crushed beneath his kiss, her face wet with her tears and his. The wolf whimpered, and Cain ended the kiss, laughing.

“Yes, my darling Cheraza. I told Brad you had us figured out.”

“I did, at least I was almost positive, but I wasn't sure until now. You're so beautiful when you're wolves. And I love you. I love you both so much. Will you forgive me? I never should have doubted you, but you just seemed too…” Shaking her head, she tugged Cain closer to the bed and buried her face in the thick ruff at the back of Brad's neck and sobbed.

He licked her face, washed away the tears, and she finally pulled it all together. She took a shaky breath and asked, “Is it hard to shift? I love you as wolves, but I want you, Brad. I've missed you both so much.”

He stood and bowed his head and his body rippled and flowed, and with each ripple more skin appeared, and while it was soundless—thank goodness—his bone structure changed until it was complete. She'd thought the change would take a long time, but in less than a minute it was Brad on his hands and knees, gloriously naked on her bed.

He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, so close she felt his heart thundering in his chest, heard the break in his breathing as if his emotions threatened to overtake him. She couldn't let go of them—both men were even more wonderful than she remembered.

Cain pulled away far enough to look at her. His eyes were filled with tears and his voice broke when he said, “You need better locks on your door. Do you have any idea how easy it was to break in here?”

Laughing, crying, she kissed him. “What girl needs to worry about locks when she's got two fierce wolves to protect her?”

“Excellent point.” He kissed her again and she tasted salt. Brad was right. Tough guy Cain really was a softy. They made love, the three of them as one, and Cherry realized there were no doubts in her mind or her heart. She loved both of them and they obviously loved her. They'd come after her, hadn't they? They all showered together. Brad got his clothes out of her closet where he'd hidden them earlier and dressed while Cherry ordered pizzas delivered. Cain opened a bottle of wine they'd brought, and finally the three of them settled in to talk.

“How did you know? Cain was convinced you'd figured us out from the beginning, but how?” Brad twirled her long, damp hair with his fingers. He'd not stopped touching her since his shift.

“Your eyes gave you away. Yours are dark chocolate brown and Cain's the color of pine trees. Two übersmart wolves hanging around with eyes that same color?” She laughed. “Impossible.”

“As impossible as men changing into wolves?”

“No, Cain.” She kissed him. “That's entirely possible. I'm a mathematician. All I need is proof. And you are absolute proof.”

He laughed and then his expression went totally serious. “We're getting cable Internet installed in the lodge. Our quarters will be totally wired by the end of next week. There are rooms up there you can use as your office if you want to keep your job here and telecommute, and I know Trak wants to hire you for some contract work. Will you come back with us, Cheraza? Will you be our mate? Werewolf life isn't all that different from any other life. We do like to run under the full moon, but it's a choice, not a compulsion. Our children will all be boys, born to this life, though natural wolves like Brad and I don't make the shift until we're around thirty. Of course, we stop aging with the shift—you will forever be twenty-eight.”

Cain kissed her. “Brad's got his architecture business, and I'm the pack enforcer, so that can take me away on occasion, but he and I also want to continue to work at Feral Passions. However, I promise no more naked massages with women.”

Cherry sighed dramatically. “I wouldn't ask you to quit altogether. As long as I'm the one getting the naked massage, I'm okay with them. In fact, I really love them.”

“Only for you.” He kissed her again.

“You're the pack enforcer? What's that mean?”

He shrugged. “I'm the one Trak calls on when anyone gets out of line. They're all just a little afraid of me.”

She laughed. “It's that tough-guy persona, but I can see right through you.”

He kissed her. “Please, don't tell. You'll ruin my cover.”

“Never,” she said. “What's going to happen when you change me?” She wasn't afraid, but she definitely wanted to know what was coming.

“Brad and I will both bite you, which will make the three of us mates. All it takes is a small nip, just enough to break the skin. Usually, within twenty-four hours, you'll go through the change. It's not painful, though you might sleep a lot during that time. You'll awaken as a wolf with the knowledge of how to change back, but generally for the first change we'll take you for a run, introduce you to the wild wolves. That way they won't challenge you if they see you later.”

“Can you communicate as wolves?”

Brad shook his head. “Not well. We're not really telepathic, though we do get better at understanding one another. Cain and I have been together for so long that we understand each other fairly well, but it'll take a while with you because we haven't known you all that long. Once you've changed, you'll live a long, long time.”

She looked at them, both so young and healthy and way too sexy for their own good. “How long have you been together? How old are you guys?”

Cain smirked and glanced at Brad. “Rather rude questions, don't you think, Bradley?”

“Cherry, he's only saying that because he's sensitive about the fact that he's older than me. I was born in 1931. Cain and I have been together since I was about thirty, in 1961.”

“And he doesn't look a day over eighty-five.”

“Better than you, old man.” Brad jabbed him in the ribs with an elbow.

“Personally, I think I look pretty good for my age. One hundred and six and I can still make Cherry scream my name.”

“That you can.” She gave him a sexy glance and slipped her fingers inside the collar of his shirt to tease. “But so can Brad. I think I need some more screaming demonstrations, if you're up to it.”

They were both on their feet within seconds.

It wasn't all that many minutes later and Cherry was definitely screaming their names. Quite clearly.

Epilogue

Two nights before the summer solstice, at Feral Passions Resort

The summer solstice wasn't until Monday, but they held the mating ceremony on a Saturday night when there were no guests at the resort. Instead, the lush meadow was filled with strikingly handsome men, including a few older mated couples who'd made the trip back to the preserve just for this occasion.

Cherry wore a beautiful white gown and stood between Cain and Brad. Steph and Christa wore white as well, standing proudly between Ronan and Wils. The sisters and Steph had shared so much laughter all day while preparing for tonight, they'd decided ahead of time not to risk even a glance at one another until Trak completed the ceremony.

They'd all made their first shifts the weekend before, but tonight? Tonight was the real thing, more real even than growing fur and running on four legs. Tonight Cherry stood in front of the pack alpha, promising to love and cherish the two men who promised the same to her and to each other.

Brad and Cain had never had a ceremony of their own. They told her they'd been waiting all these years to find her. Tonight was significant on every level possible.

As Christa and Steph repeated their vows beside Ronan and Wils, Cherry tightened her grasp on Cain's and Brad's hands. Then Trak stepped back to the middle once again and faced all of them. He'd worn a dark suit for the occasion, and he looked absolutely regal standing before them with silvery moonlight bathing a small meadow beside the lodge. Cherry thought of her dreams that first night, of running beneath a full moon with two wolves by her side, and she felt the power of Trak's words, as if by speaking them he created something magical out here. The moon, almost full this close to the solstice, was a silver beacon of light bathing the entire group of werewolves gathered for the ceremony.

Trak raised his hands, encompassing the newly turned wolves and their mates. “You have made your vows to the ones you love and to the pack you serve. Go forth secure in the strength of the pack and the love of your mates. My blessings and those of the pack on each of you for peace, good fortune, and love from this day forward. As Alpha of the Trinity Alps wolves, I pronounce each of you mated for life.”

Brad and Cain kissed her and then kissed each other, and it was done. Cherry glanced toward her sister and caught Christa's eye. “Thank you,” Cherry said.

Christa dragged her three mates with her. “What are you thanking me for?”

“For dragging me on a vacation I really didn't want to go on.”

“You had a good time, right?” Steph slung an arm around Cherry's shoulders. “I sure hope you did, sweetheart, because it's too late for a refund on the deposit.”

The band started to play and drowned out the rest of Steph's teasing comment, but it was all okay, because Cherry learned something else she hadn't known about her two wolves.

They both really knew how to dance.

*   *   *