The Trail Back (14 page)

He looked at his brother and found Shane returning that stare. They were twins, twins who had spent the last forty-six years bound up in their own world of self-pity and rage. Shane knew, as Josh did, that they had done this to Abbie and that they would have to fix it.

“We’re not going to dispute the fact that we’re the biggest idiots on the planet, sweetheart,” Shane said. “But we are your mates.” He sat on the cot in the exam room and moved Abbie until she was sitting between his thighs. “We
are
staying to help you through this. We never intend to leave your side again, even after we’re mated.”

Abbie gasped as she swung her head around to look at Shane. He was staring down at her with a hard expression on his face. He looked as though he’d brook no arguments to his proclamation.

“Abbie, I can get Landon in here to throw them out, if that’s what you’d like?” Charlie said quietly. She took one of Abbie’s hands in hers. “Just say the word.”

Josh hadn’t thought there was a compassionate side to the doctor. He’d been wrong. She obviously cared deeply for her patients.

“I like you, Doc,” Josh said.

She gave him a withering look before turning her attention back to Abbie.

“They already saw me naked back at that house. They saw exactly what the vampire was doing to me,” Abbie said. She shuddered and looked down at the floor. “They can stay if they want.”

Charlie nodded. “Let’s get this blanket off. Where are you hurting, Abbie?”

Abbie told the doctor that her feet and legs hurt from being dragged and that the bite to her breast was her only other injury. Josh had failed to notice the cuts and scrapes to her legs. He’d been too enraged at seeing the vampire feeding from her.

Charlie cleaned all the cuts and the bite mark before wrapping the blanket back around Abbie. “I don’t think he took enough blood to impede your shifter and vampire healing process. All your wounds are already beginning to heal. I suggest you shift as soon as you can and remain shifted overnight. You should be fully healed by morning.”

Abbie nodded and moved to the edge of the cot to get down. Charlie stopped her by placing a hand on Abbie’s arm. She glared at Josh and then Shane before returning her gaze to Abbie.

“Did he rape you, Abbie? If he did, I need to examine you for any damage he may have caused.”

The doctor was a shifter. She would have detected the smell of the vampire’s release as Josh had. Josh found himself holding his breath as Abbie shook her head.

“He didn’t penetrate me,” Abbie said. Her voice was so soft that only their shifter hearing allowed them to detect the words. “Josh and Shane reached me in time.”

Josh heard Shane let out a breath. He’d also been dreading Abbie’s answer.

“I’m glad, Abbie,” Charlie said. “Don’t hesitate to call me if you ever need anything.”

Abbie nodded, and Shane and Josh both thanked the doctor as she left the room.

“Do you want to shift now, or wait until we get you home, angel?” Josh asked. He tipped up Abbie’s head with a finger under her chin. When she was looking right at him, he continued. “We were gone longer than we expected to be. We wanted to do something big so you’d forgive us for the way we’ve been behaving.”

“It hurt when you weren’t there this morning,” Abbie said.

He nodded that he understood.

“I didn’t want it to. Brayden and I had decided to try and be friends.” She looked over her shoulder at Shane. “Just friends and nothing more. Then he left me with his lover.”

Josh’s heart broke as tears filled, then overflowed, Abbie’s beautiful eyes.

“Why did he do that to me?”

“Jesus,” Shane said. “I don’t know what Brayden was thinking. But he didn’t do it to hurt you. I know he didn’t.” It seemed their brother had messed up as well.

“We’ve watched the other mated couples make mistakes when they first meet,” Josh said. “We’re doing that, too, but we’ll get there in the end. We need to sit down and talk all this through before we end up hurting you again.”

“I used to find it amusing when the mates pissed each other off,” Shane said. “It’s not funny now that it’s you we’re hurting.”

Abbie smiled, and a little color came back into her cheeks.

“We really are complete bastards. No one likes us,” Shane said. “Ask anyone in town.”

“I might do that,” Abbie said softly. “But I’ll make my own mind up first.”

Josh’s wolf howled in joy at the spark of fire, of life that again lit Abbie’s eyes from the inside. “Can I have my surprise now? I’d like to have it before I shift for the night.”

They all jumped when Brayden cleared his throat. Josh turned to see his brother standing behind him. He was unaware of how long he’d been there or how much of their conversation he’d overheard.

“I’d like to see this present, too, little wolf,” Brayden said.

Abbie moved farther back into Shane’s embrace. Josh wanted to kill Brayden for leaving Abbie with Fiona but knew he and Shane had hurt Abbie just as badly with their mistakes. They’d probably hurt her more.

“Let’s go home,” Josh said. He turned and wrapped Brayden in his arms. His brother had sacrificed a lot to keep him and Shane alive over the years. “We have a lot to discuss, and our Abbie needs a bath before she shifts.” He could not have that vampire’s smell on her as he held her throughout the night.

* * * *

Abbie was scared, scared to trust the things she was feeling. Brayden remained silent as he drove the ten minutes to their ranch. She could scent his fear and pain, but Abbie was too afraid to ask what the cause was.

Josh and Shane sat on either side of her. They were also silent, but they each held one of her hands tightly in theirs. She was terrified of how good it felt to have them touching her. Charlie had given her some scrubs to wear, and she was wrapped in a clean blanket, but she still tingled and burned where their big bodies came in contact with hers.

Her wolf shared none of her fears. It was reveling in the proximity of its mates, all of them, oblivious to the tensely charged atmosphere among the four of them. The agony of her mate’s betrayal and abandonment still tortured Abbie, but did nothing to dampen her wolf’s joy. Abbie needed to address all of her concerns before deciding if being with her fate-chosen mates or going back to Canada and living her life alone was what was best for her.

Abbie sat up straight as they drove up the final section of the long driveway from the road to the house. She sat forward and took a deep breath. She cocked her head as she heard the familiar whines and yips.

As soon as the truck stopped, Abbie climbed over Josh and limped across the dirt to the big barn. She undid the latch and threw open one of the big doors. She was knocked to the ground as her six babies fought for her attention. They nipped at her hands, rubbed against her, and licked madly at her face.

“Whoa there, pups. Mama’s a little fragile right now,” Shane cooed. He knelt beside Abbie and helped her to sit up.

“Sit,” Josh said sternly. As one, all her babies sat. They continued to whine and Abbie wrapped her arms around them in turn, depositing kisses on each of their soft, furry heads.

“I wish they listened to me like that,” she said. Abbie laughed as Josh squatted next to her and was licked all over his face by Rusty, the pack leader. “Rusty likes you, Josh.”

“He doesn’t know me yet. He’ll hate me soon enough,” Josh said. He ruffled Rusty’s fur. “So you’re Rusty?”

“This is what you were doing?” Brayden asked.

The dogs growled softly as he squatted down next to them. He growled back, and the dogs all lay in the dirt and rolled over.

“Wow, we should have taken you with us, Bray. You have no idea how much trouble we had with them,” Shane said.

“I was needed here, remember?” Brayden said tersely.

“They didn’t know what was going to happen any more than you did when you left me alone with that woman,” Abbie said. She felt her cheeks heat as her anger toward Brayden rose and threatened to consume her.

She stood stiffly and pointed her finger at him accusingly. “Did you imagine she and I would become friends? That you could keep fucking her because you could never fuck me?”

Abbie’s hands flew to cover her mouth. She’d never spoken like that to anyone in her life. Brayden stood and removed her hands.

“We’re mates, Abbie. We can’t lie to each other, and it’s best if we never attempt to.”

She shook her head at him and opened her mouth to deny the truth of her words. She found she couldn’t speak at all.

“I imagined Aiden would be at the firehouse to collect you within moments of my departure. I scented Fiona’s lust and anger as clearly as you did, but lives were at stake in that house fire. I honestly thought you’d be safe until Aiden came for you.”

Abbie stared up into Brayden’s pale blue eyes. He scented of pain and guilt. The acrid flavor of it as it wafted over her tongue was making her feel as though she’d be sick. His chest was heaving as he struggled with his emotions.

“Fiona was someone I had sex with exactly twice—twice—almost twenty years ago. We both knew we weren’t mates, and I thought that she understood we would never be more than friends, members of the same pride.” Brayden ran his hands through his short white hair. “I was wrong. I was wrong, and it nearly cost me the life of my mate. I will feel the guilt of that for as long as I live.”

Abbie deflated like a balloon pricked with a pin. All her anger left her and she felt raw and scared. “She said horrible things,” Abbie said, her eyes never leaving Brayden’s.

“She called me a vampire whore. Then she sat and watched as that vampire took control of my body and fed from me. I was screaming. Screaming inside where no one could hear. I swore I’d die before I’d let him violate me again.”

“I’m sorry, Abbie. I’m so sorry that I left you and that it led to that vampire getting his hands on you again.”

“I was more afraid of the things she said. Of her having you when I couldn’t.” Abbie reached out her hand and held it over Brayden’s heart. Even through his shirt he felt hot to her. His heart pounded under her palm.

“I’m yours, Abbie. I was yours the moment Aiden placed you in my arms that night at the Outpost. Even if we never get to make love and I never get to wear your mark, as I yearn to do, I will only ever belong to you.”

Abbie sighed. The betrayal and fear she’d felt in regard to Brayden’s actions were gone completely. She decided to take a chance, and despite the constricting panic around her heart she stepped toward him. She found herself wrapped in his warm embrace. She breathed in his fresh pine and musk scent. The scent of his joy washed away the cloying smell of their combined fear.

“We’ll be together forever, Abbie. Never doubt that again. I’m never letting you go. I told you that already,” Brayden whispered into her ear. She shivered in his arms.

“I’ll try and remember that, snowy,” she said. Rusty whined behind her, jealous that she was paying him no attention.

She turned in Brayden’s arms to see the six dogs, Josh, and Shane all staring at them.

“We’re all sorry, he got his hands on you again, Abbie,” Josh said. “We chose a poor time to go off and leave you unprotected.”

“We messed up so badly that we wanted to do something to show you how sorry we were,” Shane said. “This is instead of flowers and chocolates.” He ruffled Matilda’s ears, and the big husky leaned into his touch with a small whine.

“I love it. Thank you both. I still have concerns about your commitment issues, but I’m willing to talk about it with you.”

Josh and Shane both smiled widely at her and Brayden squeezed her a little tighter. Her heart clenched. They had done something very thoughtful, and they’d done it because it would please her.

“What are the mutts’ called?” Shane asked. “We now know this big fella is Rusty. What are all the ladies called?”

Abbie introduced them to all her babies, Rusty, Matilda, Bessie, Biscuit, Patch, and Hazel. “I’ve had this team from when they were pups. They’re three years old now.” She felt a reassuring calm wash over her now that her babies here with her. She realized her home in Canada held nothing for her now. Everything she’d ever need was right here on this ranch.

Brayden’s phone buzzed in his pocket. Abbie’s heart leapt with fear as she imagined what else was going to go wrong today. Abbie stepped away from Brayden as he answered his call.

“Let’s put them back in the barn for tonight,” Josh said. “We can build them a kennel and run, like they had up in Canada, as soon as…Well, as soon as things calm down around here.”

“Thanks for not mentioning the crazy vampires coming to take me back to hell,” Abbie said.

“No problem,” Josh said. “Subtlety is my middle name.”

Abbie laughed and kissed all her babies before walking slowly into the barn with them. Her breast and feet hurt. She needed to wash off the vampire stink and then shift to speed up her healing, but she needed to hear what Josh and Shane were feeling more, so the shifting would have to wait.

They’d hurt her badly when they’d run from her last night in the kitchen. Their actions today and their thoughtful surprise were at odds with that behavior. She would give them the chance to explain their actions before deciding whether she could ever risk trusting them. Her wolf scratched in her mind, but its angry snarls did not affect her. She had to guard her heart. Josh and Shane had the power to destroy her completely. They’d proved that already.

* * * *

“We have a meeting with Caleb in two hours,” Brayden said. He found his brothers making coffee, as Abbie sat at the big kitchen table, the blanket still wrapped tightly around her. He didn’t hesitate. He needed to hold her. “We’re having the meeting here so Abbie can shift and rest.”

Brayden picked his little mate up and sat down with her on his lap. It felt nice, it felt natural, and he was glad they’d already talked out their issues.

“You’re nice and warm, my snowy wolf,” Abbie said. She snuggled deeper into his hold and kissed his throat.

“I like the feel of your lips on me,” Brayden said. His wolf’s growl rumbled through his chest and made his words vibrate as he spoke.