Abbey's Protectors [Beckett's Wolf Pack, Triad Mates 4] (Siren Publishing Menage & More) (12 page)

Both men dressed silently as they watched their mate sleep. They climbed onto the bed and took their places on either side of her, gathering her in their arms and holding her solidly between them. They would rest beside her and take the soft comfort being with her gave them. When she woke up they would show her their wolves again. When she truly accepted them and what they were, they would claim her. Then they could begin their life with her.

Closing their eyes, they breathed in her sweet scent, loving the way it settled deep within them. She felt good within their arms. She felt right between them. It was a place they were determined to keep her for the rest of their lives.

Hunter kissed the top of her head gently, careful not to wake her. He smiled as she snuggled between them, holding onto their forearms tightly. She may not realize that she had accepted them yet, but her subconscious mind had welcomed their presence. It was a good start.

“Hunter,” Abbey whispered, kissing his chest as she lay against him.

“What, sweetheart?” he whispered back, hugging her tightly, never opening his eyes.

“I love you.”

Hunter opened his eyes and smiled, looking at her as she faced him. “I love you, too, baby,” he answered softly.

“Okay, just checking,” she told him, satisfied. She turned to Clay and touched his face lightly. “Clay?”

Clay opened his eyes and smiled, the blue of his eyes sparkling as he looked at her with complete happiness. “Good morning, honey,” he whispered.

“I love you, Clay,” she told him.

“That’s good, Mate,” he whispered. “Because I love you, too.”

“Thank you.”

Both men sat up and settled against the headboard of the bed. Abbey pulled herself up to kneel between them, her eyes flicking from Hunter to Clay before she looked down at her hands as she gripped them together and rested them on her thighs.

Both men watched her silently. Their mate was absolutely beautiful. She had no idea how much they loved being with her. She could never know just how much her being in their lives meant to them and settled something deep within their souls.

Clay reached out and took hold of a long lock of her silky hair and twisted it in his hand, tugging on it gently until Abbey’s eyes met his. He didn’t like the sadness that they held.

“What’s this about, Abbey?” he asked her gently. “Why do you question our love for you?”

Abbey shrugged. She closed her eyes and tried to turn away.

“Unacceptable, Mate,” Hunter told her, reaching out and touching her face lightly, turning it toward him. “Look at me.”

The command in his voice made it impossible for Abbey to do anything but obey him. She opened her eyes and looked at him sadly.

“What’s wrong? Why are you sad?”

“He’s going to take our baby away from us,” she whispered, reaching out and taking Hunter’s and Clay’s hands in hers and bringing them to her belly, pressing their open palms against the beginning swell of their child. “He won’t let us have our baby.”

“No, Abbey,” Hunter told her firmly as he caressed her belly. “Our cub will not be taken from us.”

“Our entire pack will protect you and our baby,” Clay assured her. “Hunter and I will make sure that you’ll be with us forever. Our children will be safe.”

“Come here, sweetheart,” Hunter called to her gently, drawing her into his embrace and settling her against him so that she lay on her back and his chest was pressed against her.

He cuddled her carefully, holding her still while Clay moved so that he rested against her side and pressed her tightly between them. Both men’s hands caressed her body soothingly, lingering on her belly to give love to their child that was growing inside of her.

“The Fates have blessed us with you,” Hunter told her, kissing her temple lightly. “And we’re blessed with our little one.” He rubbed her belly gently.

“We’re never letting you go, honey,” Clay told her, leaning forward to kiss her lips lightly.

Their baby chose that moment to make its presence known. The butterfly feeling of movement made the three of them smile. Abbey pressed their hands firmly against her belly.

“Your baby is saying hello to you, Daddy,” she whispered to Hunter, kissing his neck lightly before biting down gently. Turning her face so that she leaned into the crook of Clay’s neck, she did the same to him. “You, too, Poppa,” she told him gently.

Hunter pulled Abbey closer against him as the vision faded. Clay’s arms tightened around her as they held their mate.

“I can’t believe we’ve actually found her,” Clay whispered as he leaned in and inhaled her scent, the sweetness of it calling to his soul and soothing him down to his toes.

“We have to protect her and our cub,” Hunter spoke determinedly. “I don’t know who she’s afraid of and running from, but we have to make sure whoever this guy is that’s threatening her never comes anywhere near her. And he sure as hell isn’t going to have anything to do with our cubs.”

Clay was quiet as he looked down at Abbey, reaching up to trace her jaw slowly, smiling as she automatically turned toward his touch and sighed softly. “It sure was nice feeling our baby moving inside of her,” he said finally, lowering his hand and resting it lovingly over her belly. “I can’t wait until that really happens.”

Abbey reached for him suddenly, wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him to her so tightly Clay was impressed by her strength. She leaned into his chest and rubbed her face against his T-shirt.

“Please don’t let him take our baby,” she whispered.

Clay reached up and grabbed her long tresses in his fist, holding her firmly against him. “He will
never
take our baby,” he promised, kissing her left temple lightly. “And he will
never
take you from us, Abbey.”

She tipped her head back and rested against Hunter, never opening her eyes. “Yes, he will,” she whispered. “I know he will.”

Tears squeezed from between her closed eyelids, rolling down her cheeks. No sound escaped her, but both men could sense her deep sadness. Hunter growled softly, his wolf pushing him to soothe their woman. He licked at her cheeks, tasting the salty tears that fell from her beautiful blue eyes. He loved looking at the sparkling blueness of them whenever her gaze landed upon him.

Clay smiled as he watched Hunter lose himself in the wonder of their mate. He could completely understand that. He had already lost himself to her. Seeing her so obviously upset that someone might take their baby made his wolf pace restlessly. He was pushing him to claim, to love, and to make their cub.

Abbey reached out and searched for him. He leaned toward her immediately and fit her snugly between him and Hunter. She settled somewhat, making him smile at the way she needed both of them.

“Clay.”

“What, honey?”

“Will you stay with me?”

“Yes, Abbey,” he whispered, leaning forward and claiming her lips tenderly. He smiled against her mouth as she tentatively responded to him, relaxing her lips and opening her mouth to allow him to lick at them sensuously.

The rumbling purrs that built up in his chest to be released in a show of constant contentment were met by responding moans from her. He leaned back to look down at her, smiling when he saw how she settled herself between them with her eyes closed and her body relaxed.

“Hunter?” she called to him softly.

“Yes, baby,” Hunter whispered, nuzzling against the side of her neck and biting down lightly on the sensitive skin between neck and shoulder.

“Will you make sure he won’t take us?”

Hunter growled possessively and pulled her tighter against him. “No one will take you or our cub,” he told her firmly.

Abbey opened her eyes and turned toward him, reaching up to frame his handsome face with her hands. Her glazed eyes searched his, and she lost herself in the warmth of his brown eyes. The gentleness and caring he showed her melted her heart and eased her fears. Leaning forward, she kissed his lips tentatively, moaning as he wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her toward him tightly, taking over the kiss and demanding her submission. She gave it to him without hesitation. His claiming and his ownership of her seemed right, and it was exactly what she wanted and needed.

He pulled away from her mouth—his breathing harsh and labored. “You belong to us,” he told her, growling as he leaned his forehead against hers, his wolf demanding resolution. There was no way he was going to allow Abbey to think anything except that she belonged with them.

Abbey nodded, kissing his cheek softly. Turning, she reached out and searched for Clay, whimpering softly until she felt his hand wrap around hers and pull her toward him. She leaned into his warmth and allowed him to cuddle her against his chest. The way he wrapped his arms around her and held her with a tightness so fierce made her melt into him. She reached up and carded her fingers through his hair, pulling on the soft darkness of his brown strands and holding him tightly in her grip while she leaned up and searched for his mouth with her own.

Clay kissed her then. His kiss was far from the gentle exploration he had taken before. His wolf howled within him as he ravaged her, opening his mouth and thrusting his tongue deep inside her parted lips. His kiss showed her that she was his. She was theirs. And he’d be damned if either one of them were ever going to let her go.

When he pulled away from her, he kissed her closed eyelids tenderly. Continuous growls rumbled from him, and he wasn’t about to pull back his wolf. His wolf was an equal participant in this claiming—and claiming is exactly what he and Hunter were going to do.

“Thank you,” Abbey whispered.

“Rest, honey,” Clay told her softly, pulling her tighter against his body and settling her between him and Hunter.

“You don’t have anything to be afraid of anymore,” Hunter told her as he pulled the sheet and light blanket over her legs, wrapping his arm around her body and drawing her snugly between the two of them. Reaching around her, he rested his hand on her belly, smiling when his hand met his triad partner’s hand already there.

“Soon,” Hunter whispered.

Clay looked at him and smiled. The flash of their vision raced through both of their minds at that moment. Their mate would be pregnant with their cub—there was no doubt in their minds.

“Very soon,” Clay added softly.

Abbey startled awake. She had a hard time focusing. She tried to muddle through the snippets of the memories that were tugging at her mind. She wasn’t sure if what she remembered was a dream or if it was something that actually happened. She remembered being pregnant. Well, that certainly had to be a dream. There was no way that was possible. She had made sure of it.

She also remembered Hunter and Clay holding her so tenderly. That was a wonderful part of the dream. They were so strong, and she felt so safe in their arms. She kind of wished that part of her dream was real, but she knew that it also wasn’t a possibility. They were the police officers who had found her and had brought her to the hospital. They had just shown concern for her. And she had to be honest with herself—it was a professional concern. The way her mind was making it what it was not was actually making her angry with herself for buying into the delusion.

The dream had certainly bordered on fantasy. She remembered a blue swirl of color that had surrounded both of the handsome officers before they had changed into wolves. She made a decision right then and there to keep that little bit of psychosis to herself. Sharing that would only gain her some time in the psych ward.

What she remembered most about her dream was the way the men had held and kissed her. She had felt like she belonged to them, and they belonged to her. It was a nice feeling, and it was incredibly erotic. They sure knew how to kiss. She didn’t think she had such an amazing imagination, but obviously she did because the memory of their kisses was actually making her body clench with need.

She pushed aside her erotic thoughts. It was just a damn dream. It didn’t matter that it was a dream that she craved would be a reality. It wasn’t. She was alone. She was injured. But she wasn’t giving up.

It was time to take back her power. She had to get back on track and follow through with her plans. No fantasy could stop her from protecting herself, her friends Synthia and Shelly, or her company. She had to be honest with herself and be realistic. No dream was going to help her. She had to help herself.

The hospital room was bathed in muted light, but she could tell that it was night. The moonlight peaking in through the closed blinds attested to that fact. She was alone for the moment. There was no nurse or doctor checking up on her, and she hoped it would stay that way for a while. She needed to get moving.

All of the wires that had been attached to her chest, and the monitor that had been clipped to her finger had been removed. The bag of glucose hanging from the IV pole was no longer hooked up to her arm, although the lead was still embedded in the vein of her hand.

She lay still for a moment, listening. There was the sound of people walking by in the hallway outside her hospital room and the occasional ring of an intercom followed by muted announcements—but nothing more. Very slowly, she pulled back the covers from her body and swung her legs over the side of the hospital bed. The room spun slightly as she leaned forward to stand, but she fought through the nausea and dizziness and grabbed for the side bar on the bed to steady herself.