Protect and Fur [3xtasy Lake 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (10 page)

“I was serious, though, Craig. He needs a more secure system. There are ways of securing the town without it looking like a military fortress.”

“Too bad you aren’t planning on sticking around. You could’ve spoken to him about it and maybe convinced him.”

* * * *

Craig walked off after that comment. Aiden struggled with the urge to tackle Craig from behind and pound out some of this frustration. He hadn’t asked for a Mate. He didn’t want one. Why did Fate choose now to fuck with him? Couldn’t this have waited for after he killed those asshole rogues?

He hated the feeling that punched him in the chest when he thought about moving on and leaving Brenna behind.

Craig drove away, leaving Aiden standing there to watch the sun drop down beyond the forest. The trees’ shadows stretched out until everything around him was covered in the misty gray of dusk.

He didn’t have any idea what he could offer Brenna. She spent her days trying to take care of helpless animals and mongrels abandoned by their selfish owners. She tried to save lives, and he took them. She was loud and bold and loveable. He brooded and glared and generally made people uncomfortable. Craig was easygoing and quiet. He was there when anyone needed to talk and the first to jump in the melee if someone needed help. Why would Fate put the three of them together?

If he wasn’t here to protect Brenna, then what did he have to offer her? He doubted a broken heart was what she wanted in a Mate, but that was all he could give her.

Brenna looked around the parking lot of the veterinary clinic and then up into the stretch of trees surrounding the lake. She couldn’t kick the feeling she was being watched. Part of her wanted to believe it was Aiden, but after she’d walked out on him she couldn’t bring herself to believe he would be back. She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket. Aiden’s bold handwriting dominated the paper. She’d thrown it out three times, only to regret it a moment later. She would never call that number, but carrying something he wrote made her feel a bit better.

Brenna hadn’t realized how often Craig’d been around until he’d disappeared. Had he found out what she did with Aiden and decided he didn’t want to share? What was that stupid saying she’d heard before? “Bros before hos”? Craig had no reason to be loyal to her, and it was obvious he’d known Aiden longer.

Hoping a walk would help clear her mind, she headed out. It was a quiet day, and River was inside with Carol, checking out travel destinations on the computer. Carol was planning a trip this winter with her husbands, Jaxon, Kaden, and Sloan. Brenna was happy for her friend. She’d known the Henderson brothers almost her entire life, and they loved their wife with every bit of their souls. That’s what she wanted. She wanted to be loved like that.

She sauntered down the main street without having any real destination in mind. The McGuigan sisters waved from their chairs out in front of the yarn shop. Their metallic knitting needles flashed in the sun as they worked. Lavender waved her over, so after a quick look back and forth, Brenna crossed the street.

A young girl sat on a stool next to Lily and was being taught how to crochet. Brenna smiled, remembering when she sat on that exact stool and learned how to knit. She didn’t have much time to practice what the sisters had taught her all those years ago.

“We have something for you,” the three of them chimed out in harmony. Poppy handed her a large bag. Inside was a set of scarves and a cap. One reminded her of the warm gold tones in Aiden’s eyes, and the red wool cap would look incredible on Craig. She wasn’t a bit surprised when there was a fluffy black scarf with accents of both gold and red in it. Her heart clenched as she looked at it. “They’re beautiful, thank you.”

Lavender stood up smoothly and gave Brenna a tight hug. She was always amazed at the sisters’ strength. They played the part of frail old ladies, but Brenna knew not to underestimate them. “We want to see you smile more, and hopefully this will help.”

Brenna kissed each of the women on the cheek, and they promptly went back to their yarn work. Lily winked up at her and grinned. “It’ll get better.”

Lavender gasped, and Poppy shot her sister a dirty look. Lily stuck her tongue out at them and went back to teaching the child at her knee. Brenna wasn’t exactly certain what all that was about, but she felt better than she had earlier.

As she walked down the street gently swinging her bag, she wondered what it would be like to be between Aiden and Craig. Her heart clenched at the idea, more out of fear of what might happen if she let herself dream.

She understood Aiden’s loyalties lay with his job. She didn’t like the idea of her Mate loving his duties more than her, but was she so selfish she couldn’t live like that? Should she expect her Mates to focus all their attention on her all of the time? Well, not all of the time, but was it too much to expect them to want her over everything else?

“Now where are you going in such a hurry, young lady?”

Brenna looked up and met the dual gaze of her mothers walking toward her
. Oh, shit.

* * * *

Brenna sat in a corner booth at The Shack with moms flanking her. She’d known the minute she’d seen them both heading toward her that she might as well give in. According to her dad, there wasn’t a force stronger in the world than her moms on a mission. They had a plate of Catherine’s sausage rolls and a big pot of tea. Currently Catherine was carrying Willow around, visiting with everyone in the shop.

“Where’s Lulu?” Brenna’d been trying to keep the conversation on anything and everything except herself, and so far it’d been working.

“She’s out at Lars’s place with your dad. I’ve already warned him that he and Lars had better not get any bright ideas about putting her on her first dirt bike.” Ann shook her head and took a sip of her tea. “They’re going to give me gray hair. That child is adventurous already. She doesn’t need encouragement.”

Helen stroked the back of her fingers along Ann’s cheek. “Better she explores and tests her boundaries under Gordon and Lars’s watchful eyes. You know they wouldn’t let anything happen to her.” Brenna’s mom Helen was human and looked much older than her wife, even though Brenna knew that Ann was almost double her biological mom’s age. Brenna and Ann looked more like sisters than mother and daughter.

“You’re right.” Ann reached out and clasped Helen’s hand. “What would I do without you?”

“Have the kids wrapped in Bubble Wrap,” Brenna replied dryly. She often teased Ann about being overprotective, not that Helen had been any less when Brenna was a kid.

“Just you wait.” Helen shook her finger at Brenna. “One day, you’ll have children, and Ann will be the one calming you down.”

“Speaking of which,”—the moment Ann turned her gaze toward her, Brenna realized she was about to face an inquisition—“what’s going on with you, young lady?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Brenna hedged and looked around to see if there was a way to escape this conversation.

“I heard Officer Walker has been paying Brenna some special attention,” Helen said to Ann. “My source told me that he kissed her to give her smile back.”

“Oh, really?” Ann pretended to look surprised. “I heard she kicked a man named Aiden O’Reilly out of the clinic the other day swearing hell would freeze over before she ever fucked him again.”

“Oh, god.” Brenna could feel the heat rising up her neck. She buried her face in her hands. “I can’t talk to you two about this.”

“Why the hell not?” Helen asked.

“Because you’re my moms. There’s a law about this kind of torture. It’s in the Geneva convention, I’m sure.” Brenna grabbed a sausage roll and bit into it.
If I have food in my mouth, they won’t make me talk.

Helen shrugged and reached out, linking her fingers with Ann’s. “Craig Walker is a very good-looking man, but there’s something about him. I can’t put my finger on it. Something’s wrong with him.”

“Dere ifn’t ahfin wrond wif im.” Brenna automatically defended him. He had his reasons to hold himself back from her. Neither she nor her wolf understood why he wouldn’t open up to her, and it hurt every time she thought about it.

“Brenna, don’t talk with your mouth full.”

She shot her mom a dirty look and took a sip of tea to wash the delicious mouthful down.

“What about this Aiden character? I haven’t heard much about him.” Helen lifted her cup and took a sip. “Maybe we should invite them both over for dinner and let Gordon talk to them.”

“Okay, I give! I’ll talk.”

“You would make a terrible spy, dear.” Ann patted her hand. “Your mother and I are worried about you. So is your dad, but you know he pretends that nothing bothers him.”

“I don’t know what the big deal is. It’s not like being interested in more than one Mate is so extraordinary around here.”

Helen’s cup hit the table with a clunk. “Mates? They’re your Mates?”

“This is wonderful, Brenna.” Ann reached over and grasped Helen’s hands. “We’re going to be grandmas again.”

Brenna knew her moms were upset her sister, Ava, had moved out east with her Mate. They’d made a few trips out there since the baby had been born, but it wasn’t that easy to see them whenever they wanted. Skype was a wonderful thing, but it wasn’t the same.

“It’s not wonderful.” Brenna poured herself another cup of tea. “It’s horrible. I don’t want a Mate and have to deal with all that overprotective bullshit. Regular sex is great and all, but I don’t want to be tied down or controlled.”

“Is that honestly how you see Mates, Brenna?” Ann looked stricken, and Helen had gone pale. “Why would you think that?”

“Being Mates doesn’t mean you automatically fall in love with each other. What you two have with Dad is so incredibly special. It’s one in a million. I don’t think it’s for me.”

“But why, honey?”

Brenna felt like a shit blurting her feelings out like that. While Ann and her dad were True Mates, Helen wasn’t. Luckily enough, they loved each other anyway and didn’t let that bother them. They were together because they wanted to be, not because they had to be.

But she knew Helen wished that she was their True Mate as well. “Mom, they don’t want me. Not in the way Ann and Dad wanted you.”

“What do you mean they don’t want you?” Helen was frowning, and Brenna heard a distinct growl emanating from Ann.

“No, you two are not allowed to get involved with this. I love you both dearly, but this is my decision. Aiden has no plans to stick around, and Craig won’t trust me enough to let me see his wolf. There’s no future here.”

“You’re right,” Ann replied. She looked as though she’d calmed, but Brenna could see the wolf behind her eyes. She wasn’t as calm as she was letting on. “These are some pretty big roadblocks to overcome. It would take a lot of work.”

“And they might not be worth it,” Helen added. She patted Brenna’s hand. “Why don’t you simply enjoy what you can for now? If you have your eyes open and your heart guarded, then there’s no reason why you have to worry about getting hurt.”

“She’s right. They’re beautiful men, and you’re young and single. Why not enjoy yourself?”

Catherine brought Willow back to the table, and Helen accepted their daughter while Ann finished her tea.

“You’ll have to wait a long while for more grandkids,” Brenna said.

Ann and Helen shared a look Brenna couldn’t decipher. “Of course, dear. There’s no rush for these things. ”

That’s not such a bad idea.
Brenna sipped at her tea and thought about it. She was pretty sure that one of them was watching her at all times but didn’t come within scenting distance. Knowing they were there was driving her insane. She wanted to feel their skin under her hands. That damn dildo she kept in the bathroom was getting a workout, but no matter how many times she backed herself against the silicone phallus stuck to the wall of her shower, it wasn’t the same.

If they wanted to keep it casual, then so could she. No broken hearts or unreasonable expectations.

A low mournful howl echoed out over Ecstasy Lake. The wolf’s heartfelt cry echoed in the sounds of the loons resting on the black water, creating a symphony of sadness for everyone listening.

Brenna sat on the roof of her apartment and stared up at the crescent moon in the sky. It was the middle of the night and she wanted to be pissed off at the public display that damn wolf was putting on, but her heart echoed the cascading sadness that had driven her up there. From this vantage point, she could see anyone heading in her direction, but all she saw was the soft shadows the moon caused. It seemed as though the night itself was hiding from the pain. She’d been there for hours trying to piece together her feelings and what she wanted in life. After talking to her moms and the knitted gifts from the McGuigan sisters, she knew she needed to figure out what
she
wanted.

Her cell phone vibrated against the shingles next to her, and she answered it right away. “Craig?”

“No, Brenna, it’s not. What the hell is going on?”

“Hi, Dad. Nothing’s up, why?”

“Because it’s 3:30 in the morning and you’re sitting on your phone, obviously waiting for a call from one of those two stupid men.”