The Trail Back (9 page)

“We give them a wide berth, too,” Shane said, a smile on his face.

Brayden gasped softly again. Since when did Shane know how to smile?

“We’ve worked as forest rangers since we were about sixteen. We like it out there by ourselves. We can shift whenever we like. It’s a good life.”

“I rent a small cabin outside of town. It’s just me and my dogs. I only take enough work to pay the rent and buy food. I just like to be outdoors. My mom is used to me taking off hiking and being out of touch for long periods. She won’t have missed me yet.”

So the conversation went as the breakfast was devoured and two pots of coffee drunk. Brayden joined in when needed, but mostly just marveled that his brothers remembered how to have a conversation. He hadn’t heard them say so much in the last forty years combined.

When Abbie started to yawn Shane went and got his phone for Abbie to call her boss and her mom. She also wanted to find out if her dogs were being cared for. Brayden hadn’t suggested it, Shane had just done it.

They left Abbie to make her calls, and Brayden went to run a bath for her. Josh returned with another of Brayden’s shirts for her to wear.

“I’m not sure she’s ready to wear one of ours yet,” Josh said, “not after how we acted when we first met her. She seems to like your scent though. It will help to calm her wolf so she can sleep.”

“Who are you, and what have you done with Josh?” Brayden added some body wash to the bath to make it foamy and girly.

“Thanks for putting up with all our crap and never giving up on us.” Josh smiled and Brayden got a glimpse of the four-year-old boy he’d once been before their world went to hell. “I can’t promise I’ll change overnight, but I’ll be trying.” He punched Brayden on the arm and went back downstairs.

Brayden waited for the bath to fill, then went to see if Abbie was finished with her calls. She was still sitting at the table, and Shane was standing next to her. He had his shirt lifted up at the back as he pointed to a large jagged scar on his side.

“This was where I got into a fight with a pack of wolves who were trying to attack an injured doe and her fawn.”

“Ouch, that looks like it was painful.”

“Josh and I stayed with the doe until she was well enough to care for herself and her fawn, so it was filled with dirt by the time I got a chance to wash it out. That’s why it left such a big scar.”

Brayden tried not to laugh at Shane. He cleared his throat to draw Abbie’s attention. “The bath’s ready.”

Abbie slowly lowered her legs from the chair and swayed as she tried to stand.

“I’ll take you, little wolf. I like having you in my arms.”

She murmured her thanks as she relaxed into Brayden’s chest. He loved holding his mate close like this. When they got to the bathroom Brayden placed her on her feet.

“Do you need me to stay? You look exhausted.”

“I need this bath like I need air. I’m rank.” Abbie smiled and then made a twirling motion with her finger. “Turn around while I get in. I’ll be decent once I’m under all the bubbles. Thank you, Brayden.”

He spun around and seconds later heard her groan loudly.

“This feels amazing.”

“Why don’t I get in there with you and wash your hair?” He turned and saw she was chewing on her lip with her brows furrowed. “I’ll keep my pants on.”

“That’s ridiculous.” Abbie laughed, and her features relaxed. “I’ll close my eyes while you get in. Honestly, you wouldn’t think I grew up in a pack. I don’t know why I’m so modest.”

“You’ve been through a lot, Abbie. It’s going to take time for you to heal.” Brayden slipped off his sweatpants and got into the bath. “I’m in. Turn around and I’ll wash your hair.”

Abbie spun around, and the water sloshed over the side of the big corner tub. There was too much water now that he had joined her, but he had no intention of getting out. He reached for the shampoo he’d put on the edge of the bath for her, and poured some into his hand. She leaned back and wet her hair, then sat back up for him.

“Scoot back here and relax, Abbie.” He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her between his legs. Once she was leaning comfortably against his chest he started to rub the shampoo into her hair. His skin tingled where they touched, but he distracted himself by concentrating on cleaning his mate.

“Mmmmm,” she murmured and relaxed farther against him.

By the time he’d lathered and rinsed her hair she was breathing slowly as she slept. He relaxed and enjoyed the feel of her weight against him. She felt perfect. He indulged in the sensory pleasure of simply holding her.

“She’s asleep?” Shane asked. He squatted down beside the bath and reached in to play with a lock of Abbie’s wet hair. “It’s red. Really deep red. I thought her hair was brown.”

“Could you grab the body wash and wash her? I don’t want to wake her by moving.”

Brayden was surprised when Shane didn’t hesitate. He poured the body wash onto his hands and gently washed her arms and legs.

“She’s so thin and frail. I’m afraid I’ll break her just by touching her,” Shane whispered.

“She’s a shifter. She’s tough.”

“She’s had to be to survive what she’s been through.” Shane stood and got a towel from the shelf above the bath. “She makes me ashamed of the way I’ve behaved for the last…well, forever really. Thanks for everything you always did for me, Bray.”

“Just be good to Abbie and let yourself be happy, Shane. I just want you and Josh to have a real life. It’s all I’ve ever wanted for you.”

Brayden stood with Abbie in his arms, and between them they got her dry and placed her in the center of Brayden’s bed. Brayden dried himself and slid into bed behind her. He placed her head on his shoulder and spooned in close.

Her wet hair was cool against his chest. Her hair was long and thick and would need to be brushed free of all the tangles, but Brayden didn’t want to wake her so he left it for her to do. Plus, he had no idea how to brush hair that long. She felt wonderful in his arms, her skin so soft and warm from the bath. He couldn’t help his erection from forming, she just felt so good. He growled softly into her hair.

“Perfect, Abbie. You’re damn perfect.”

“She won’t want us in bed with her yet,” Josh said.

Josh came into the room and stood beside Shane. They were both gazing at Abbie. They each looked at her with a mix of wariness and wonder on their faces.

“At least the bed’s big enough,” Shane said. “If she ever wants us to sleep with her at least we’ll have the room.”

“I did another patrol. It’s quiet out there. Prescott said there are no other vampires around right now.”

Josh stripped off his clothes and went into the bathroom. Shane did the same, and they were both back from their showers in a couple of minutes.

“Prescott has doubled the patrols. You’re on tonight, Brayden, but he gave Shane and I the night off in order to stand guard over Abbie,” Josh said.

He shifted, and his wolf settled down beside the bed. Prescott was a good enforcer, and Josh would hear immediately if a vampire was discovered now that he had shifted. Shane shifted and lay on the floor next to Josh.

“I can scent your fear. Are you afraid of the vampires, or of Abbie?” Brayden asked his brothers.

Brayden had never known his brothers to be afraid of anything. As he inhaled his mate’s scent he now appreciated the delicate mix of spice and vanilla that was unique to her. He growled as he thought of all she’d had to endure over the last few weeks.

“I’m going to kill the creatures that have hurt our mate.”

Josh and Shane growled.

“I’m glad you’ve decided to live.” He didn’t mean that he was glad they hadn’t ended their lives today. He was glad they’d finally found a reason to want to live. They’d come a long way today. Accepting a mate was going to change everything for them. For all of them.

Brayden didn’t sleep as he held his mate throughout the day. The myriad ramifications of Abbie’s appearance in Pine Falls kept him wide awake, despite his exhaustion. She would effect great changes in the lives of not just his brothers and him but also the town. Her appearance was going to be the catalyst for change in the vampire race as a whole.

“It’s time for your patrol,” Josh said. He was standing by the side of the bed in clean clothes.

Brayden must have finally drifted to sleep because he hadn’t heard Josh leave the room.

Shane shifted and pulled on his clothes. “We’ll watch over Abbie for you.”

Brayden slowly moved his sleeping mate from his shoulder and turned to raise an eyebrow at his brothers. “Just for me?” he whispered.

“Don’t start in on us until we’ve had coffee and food, Bray,” Shane said.

Brayden shifted and let his wolf have a taste of its mate. He placed his tongue lightly on her bare shoulder. Delicious. She was just delicious. He turned to leave and saw both his brothers smiling at him. She had changed everything. In just one day she had changed everything. She was theirs forever now. He only hoped that their forever was to be measured in centuries, not days.

Abbie woke up to the unfamiliar smell of food in the air. Her stomach growled loudly, her wolf would have been proud to make such a noise. She sat up and looked around. She wasn’t in the cage. She was no longer a prisoner. It hadn’t been an illusion conjured up from her latest head injury. The scent of male wolf surrounded her. It was in the bedding, in the air. “Mine.”

They had the potential to be hers and that was a whole hell of a lot more than she’d had two days ago. She shuddered involuntarily as she remembered the cage, the vampires, everything. She ran her hand over the scar on her lower abdomen. It was healing rapidly now, and it hardly hurt at all, but she’d nearly died from their abuse.

“Nearly still isn’t dead, though. I survived, and I need to go back and get those other shifters—today.”

Abbie reluctantly pulled herself from the comfort of the soft, clean, warm bed and walked to the bathroom as quickly as her unsteady legs would carry her. She had to laugh when she saw the bird’s nest her hair had become. She showered and conditioned her hair as quickly as she could. She didn’t want one of the brothers to come check on her and find her naked. She wasn’t ready for that.

As soon as she was dry she pulled on the shirt she found on the bathroom counter. It had been folded neatly beside a toothbrush still in its package and a tube of toothpaste. She brushed her teeth thoroughly and delighted in the feel of having clean teeth. Toothpaste had never tasted so good. She searched the drawers for a brush and set to work on her hair as soon as she found one.

Regarding herself in the mirror when she’d finished, she thought she resembled her former self now, at least a little bit. She was pale, no longer tan from spending her days out of doors, and her eyes looked huge in her thin face. As she searched her neck, arms, and legs she found the bite marks and bruises had faded but not disappeared completely, as she would have liked.

“I will wear them proudly. These scars show that I didn’t let the vampires win.” She sighed and felt like crying at the stupidity of her feigned bravado. “Who am I kidding? I’m still terrified, and I’m still all alone. I have mates who don’t or can’t want me, and I look like shit.” She snarled at her reflection and went in search of the source of the delicious smell that had woken her.

She thought she’d walked quietly down the stairs, but when she walked into the kitchen she froze. The twins were there. They were both sitting at the table, and they were both looking right at her. They were shirtless and beautiful, shirtless and brooding. They were so close yet still seemed so unreachable.
Will they ever be close enough for me to feel them? Will I ever be free to touch them?

Stiffening her spine, Abbie focused on the coffeepot she spied on the kitchen counter. She tried to ignore the hugely muscled torsos on display as she walked into the kitchen. She only got two steps before Shane rose from his chair and stood directly in her path.

“Abbie.”
“Shane,” she said, following his lead in the conversation.

He did nothing else. He just stood in front of her, his warm breath washing over her face and making her skin tingle in awareness. She stood still, breathing in his delicious scent. So wild, so musky, the mating musk seeping from his pores made the urge to touch his skin almost impossible to resist.

She took a step back. He was too close. It was too intense for her to be this close and not touch him. It was too much to want to touch him so desperately.

“Abbie,” Josh said.

Her back came in contact with his solid abdomen and chest. She took a half step away from him, feeling his breath on her hair as well. She felt trapped. Her heart rate spiked and she felt a fine sheen of sweat erupt on her forehead. Both of them had never been this close to her before.

At a distance their scent was alluring and sweet. This close it was overwhelming. She wanted to touch them. She balled her hands into fists, her own nails biting into her palms. The pain was enough to stop the ache in her hands but not in her pussy. It was wet and beginning to leak. As she stood there not moving, her juices moistened her thighs under Brayden shirt.

“Josh.” She whispered his name as she felt him move her hair away from her neck. His breath ghosted over the skin below her ear. Pleasure coursed down to her nipples, making them bead and harden painfully. As surprising as the feeling of arousal was, it was not unwelcome. It felt right with them. The mating bond was a powerful salve to her emotional scars.

Abbie felt a tug at the front of her shirt and snapped her eyes to Shane. He was opening the buttons of Brayden’s shirt, his fingers deftly popping each button without once making contact with her skin.

When all the buttons were open, he drew the sides apart to reveal her naked body to his gaze. The numerous bite marks were healing, but she knew she’d wear some of the scars for the rest of her life. She looked down and saw the silvery marks shining on her breasts and abdomen.

She watched Shane’s eyes drift down her body, his hot breath still ruffling her hair. Josh’s breath breezed seductively over her taught nipple as he leaned over her shoulder to gaze at her naked front.