Where There is Hope [Taos Wolven Mates 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (9 page)

“They have children?” Why hadn’t she seen any? “If they think there’s danger, why didn’t they head straight for their children instead of coming here?”

“Ha-ha! You silly girl. They have no children. They will want you to bear them.”

“I–I can’t have children.” Why did the thought suddenly make her want to cry? She didn’t really believe they brought her here to become their wife. For one thing, it was illegal, no matter what time they found themselves in.

“Do not worry, Hope. Have faith that when they mate you and make you one of their kind, the change will heal you and you
will
bear their babies.” Amelie moved to pat her on the back, her mood suddenly somber.

“Now,” she said, with a clap of her hands. “Let us find you a wardrobe any wolf-man would be proud of.” Amelie turned back to the rack that held the ready-made items and pulled five dresses in assorted colors and styles from the bunch. “These should do nicely, don’t you think?”

Not waiting around for an answer, she took them to the counter, laid them down and headed for a small room off the main shopping area. “This is where I keep the women’s unmentionables. You would not believe the way the men looked at the things when they were out in the main room.” She clucked her tongue. “The men, they do so want mates. I am sad for them.”

She picked out seven sets of pantaloons, three long, shirt-like garments, two corsets, and several petticoats, all the while ignoring Hope’s protests that she wouldn’t be caught dead wearing most of what she picked out.

“Hush, Miss Hope. Of course you will be a proper lady. Otherwise, men passing through town might mistake you for a loose woman. Only a loose woman would go out without the proper underthings.” She smiled. “Though you do not wear the proper things now, I know you are not a painted lady. I can tell these things. After all, I am French!”

Hope wanted to laugh at the other woman’s antics as she flitted about the store, grabbing hair ribbons and pins, stockings and shoes.

“You cannot wear those shoes.” She wrinkled her nose at the clunky black shoes the men provided for her. Following Amelie over to another area of the store, Hope pressed her lips together when she saw the shoes the French woman was so proud to have on display.

“You see these?” She held up a black, ankle-length boot with a two-inch heel. The laces fed through six sets of eyes then laced up the ankles with hooks.

Hope couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen anything but a pair of ice skates that laced up the way the shoes did. Where did they get this stuff, from a costume shop?

Whatever. She would let the woman pick out what clothes she would, because that was what she was supposed to do with newcomers, apparently. It wasn’t as though they couldn’t wash the things and bring them right back here when she was through with them. This was a reenactment, not real life, for God’s sake.

“This is the last thing you need,” Amelie said, picking up a large bag that looked as though it was made out of someone’s gaudy red-and-gold rug. “A satchel to pack your things in.” She looked up at the counter with a frown then looked back at the bag. “This will not do. It is not big enough.” She set the bag back down and moved down the aisle a bit. “Here we are.” She picked up one end of a trunk and started dragging it to the front.

“Here let me help.” Hope rushed to the other end and tried to pick it up. It weighed a ton and it was empty! Man, either she’d grown weak, or this woman was strong. “Holy cow! This is heavy.”

“Do not worry, Mademoiselle Hope. It is not heavy for me. I am of sturdy stock.”

Yesterday, Hope would have said the same thing. Now she wasn’t so sure. This woman was made of very sturdy stock if she could lift that end and carry it. Maybe it had something to do with the hard life they must lead here doing everything the hard way, the way they used to in the old days.

“I feel useless.”

“Never feel that way, Hope,” Joran said as he moved to help Amelie by picking up the other end of the trunk. “You are many things, but useless is not one of them.” He winked at her before she looked away.

She couldn’t even pack the thing. When they set it down and opened it up, Hope had no idea that certain items of clothing went in certain areas. Apparently, everything had a specific compartment in the bottom, except the dresses which Amelie attached to one end by the hanger so if someone stood it on end, the dresses would hang instead of falling into a heap at the bottom.

“How can you tell which end goes up?”

“Do you see the name across the top of the trunk?” Amelie pointed to what must have been the name of the manufacturer. At Hope’s nod, she continued. “When the writing is upright, the trunk is set as it should be.”

“Oh! That makes sense, but I don’t see how you could make baggage handlers care what end is supposed to go up. In my experience, they jerk the bags up and throw them around like sacks of rubbish.” At least that was what had happened to her suitcase the last time
she
had gone on a trip. The airline baggage handlers had ruined her new suitcase and she’d had to buy a new one. Lugging a large suitcase through an airport was a difficult task with no handle and the wheels ripped off it.

Amelie’s eyes rounded. “Treat my trunks as though they were the rubbish? They wouldn’t dare!” She packed the last dress inside, closed the lid then looked up with a smile. “You see? It is easy. We are
fini.
”

Easy
wasn’t the word Hope would have used. She would never remember which compartment the pantaloons or those long shirts that Amelie called shifts went into. The stockings had another compartment as did her shoes, nightgowns, and dressing robes. Why these people insisted on wearing so many layers of clothing in this heat baffled her. Hope was sure she would expire from heat exhaustion in no time if they forced her to wear more than her dress and her own serviceable bra and underwear.

Hope’s face grew warm at the thought of the state of her panties.
Damn!
Like it or not, she was going to have to wear those stupid, old-fashioned pairs of underwear. Thanks to Braxton and their incredibly hot ride into town, her previously serviceable underwear could no longer be considered anything but trash.

With a sigh, Hope resigned herself to the fact that she would have to wear the ugly, oversized underwear as long as they held her here. What other choice did she have?

“Are we ready to go? We’re burning daylight. I don’t want to have to spend more than one night on the trail,” Braxton said as he made his way to his mate’s side. “We’ll have to get Hope and the other ladies bedrolls. I don’t want anyone getting cold.”

“Oh, no way.” Hope held up her hand and backed away. “I am
not
sleeping on the ground. If you think I am, you’re out of your mind.”

“You won’t have to sleep on the ground, Hope,” Braxton said with a grin. “We have two large wagons you ladies can share. It will keep you up off the ground, and we have canvas to shelter you.”

“I know you’re not talking about a covered wagon.” Hope held up her hand and backed away. “I have gone my entire life with neither seeing, nor riding, in something so antiquated. I don’t plan to start now.”

“Antiquated? Our wagons are almost new. We bought them just before we came here from back east, a few months ago.”

Hope looked around at the inside of the store, no doubt taking note of the workmanship and the way Amelie had stocked it so well. “Like I’m supposed to believe that you all built this and stocked it in only a few months?” She waved her arm toward the front door. “Did you think I didn’t see the building when we came in? It’s weathered far too much to only be a few months old. Come on, people. If you’re going to play like this town is new, it should look new, shouldn’t it?”

“I know you think we are playing some sort of game with you, Hope, but I can assure you, that is the farthest thing from our minds. The town has been here for a while. It was built at the height of the gold rush, and when no one found the gold they were certain was in the area, they abandoned it. Our people found it and purchased it from the government. We want to make a life here.”

“Uh, yeah, right. Okay. Let’s say I believe that.” She glared at them through narrowed eyes. “When do I get to go home?”

“We only ask that you allow us to woo you, Hope. If you still want to go home after we have done all that we can to convince you to stay, we will find a way to get you home.”

She didn’t look convinced, but at least she wasn’t demanding they take her home immediately.

“If you don’t mind, we must go now. There are others we must collect along the way. We do not wish to lose any more of our people.”

He didn’t add that finding people to join them and keep their secret was a difficult task. Not only did they live their lives outside the norm for these people and this time, they couldn’t afford to let anyone go who would tell others their secret, especially the one about their not being human.

Of the fifteen women they collected from Philadelphia, there were only five left. The others took their money and left or married drifters they fell in love with and moved away. The women didn’t know what they were, only that they wished to mate as triads or sometimes have even three or four men to a union. Some of them just couldn’t stay after all they had been through. Once they agreed to mate with one of their kind, Braxton knew they must tell them. They hadn’t planned to tell Hope, but she’d seen them and was terrified. The only way to keep her from falling into hysterics was to tell her the truth.

Braxton hoped that they could trust Hope to keep all of this to herself if she refused them. They couldn’t keep their promise to return her home if she couldn’t swear to keep this to herself.

“Are we ready then?” he asked as Joe entered the store, picked up Hope’s trunk with a grunt, and carried it out to the wagons.

“As ready as I’ll ever be, I guess,” Hope replied. She didn’t sound too happy, but she wasn’t fighting them every step of the way. That was something at least. With a sigh, she followed Joe through the door and out into the sunlight.

I’m glad we didn’t have to force her. You know we couldn’t take her back now if we wanted to. We have to get the others to safety first.

I know.
Braxton agreed with a slight nod.
She would never forgive us for forcing her hand. This may seem like a small thing, but to her I’m sure it’s huge. We should remember this when she reacts to something unknown to her.

You’re right. She isn’t from this time, nor is she from this area of her world. There are many things that could frighten her. Perhaps we should remain close to help her should she need us.
Joran pressed his lips together and winked.
Maybe she will be grateful for our presence. It could go a long way to helping her make up her mind to stay.

Yes, it could go a long way, especially if they found out who killed Robio and Dradon and ended the run of terror the culprits planned for their little town.

There was no doubt in Braxton’s mind who or what was behind the attack. It was elitists. His only question was, how had they gotten here on Earth without Carella seeing another ship approach? Either they had developed some sort of cloaking device for their vessels, or they were included in the men who petitioned to come to Earth in search of their mates.

How they got here wasn’t nearly as important as finding them before they left Serenity Falls and made their way to other towns and began to slaughter innocent humans.

One thing was certain, the council needed to screen those who petitioned for the right to search better. Perhaps they should require a background check that went back more than five years. Who knew how long those bloodthirsty idiots have been in deep cover?

Braxton helped a few of the women into one of the wagons, tied Diablo to the back and climbed to the seat to drive. Joran did the same on the other and Joe drove the empty buckboard. They had a few stops to make on their way to the alpha’s, and they needed all the room they could get. With luck, they would reach Lorcan’s home in one piece and the women would be safe.

Until then, he knew that they must all be vigilant. Like Joran and the human, Joe, Braxton was prepared to lay down his life to protect the women, but he didn’t plan to go down without a fight.

Hope sat next to Joran on the hard seat of the buckboard. Her back hurt and her rear was blessedly numb after what seemed like hours in the seat. Still sore from the ride in, she hadn’t been prepared to sit for a long period when they got to town. She had hoped they would agree that there was safety in numbers and stay in town. Apparently, the numbers were higher at the alpha’s home, wherever that was.

Cupping her hand over her eyes, Hope looked out at the horizon. She couldn’t see anything but mountains in the distance and what seemed like an endless ocean of tall grass waving in the breeze between.

Looking down at the horses, Hope couldn’t believe she was actually riding in an honest-to-God covered wagon. Who still had these things in the twenty-first century? She shivered at the thought as they bounced over another rut that caused her to bump into Joran yet again.

She looked up at his chiseled profile, his straight nose and his square jaw. The cowboy hat he wore gave him a rakish look, along with the five-o’clock shadow that covered the lower half of his face.