Laurie’s Wolves(71)
Corbin didn’t like it, but he went with that plan. What choice did he have? In the morning they would drive to Mimi’s—the long way. Corbin had come home using that path tonight. It was over an hour from his office with the main road closed. And there was no way to know when the authorities would be able to get enough of the ice off the road to reopen it. It was so thick.
He couldn’t imagine sleeping, but he trudged to the bedroom anyway, kicked off his shoes, and dropped onto the bed.
»»•««
Laurie awoke with a start. She bolted upright and glanced around the room.
Right.
Her childhood bedroom.
She was sweating profusely. Her entire body was soaked.
She kicked off the covers and climbed out of bed. Why was it so hot in the house? She crossed to the bedroom door and opened it. The rest of the house was silent and dark. The bag she’d packed and brought with her was sitting in the hall. Bless her mom.
She grabbed it and headed for the bathroom. Ten minutes later, she felt much better with her teeth brushed, her makeup removed, and an oversized T-shirt hanging loosely down to her thighs.
Five minutes after that she lay in bed staring at the ceiling, chilled now.
What the hell was the matter with her?
She shivered under the covers, tugged them up higher, and rolled onto her side. She curled up in a ball and fisted her hands against her thighs. She couldn’t get comfortable.
Her mind wandered to her mates. God, they must be worried. She hadn’t given them any consideration thus far. She’d literally shut them out and trudged forward.
Would they be pissed? She would be.
Or hell, perhaps they thought she was hurt somewhere. Or dead. How mean could she be?
She’d thought of no one but herself when she’d left. Well, that wasn’t true. She’d done this for them. Right? She needed to prove her point—that Fate hadn’t meant for her to be mated to these two men. She couldn’t imagine what Fate had in mind when she lined the three of them up and caused the claiming to occur in the first place, but obviously She didn’t want Laurie anywhere near Cambridge or Sojourn. If She had intended for Laurie to make a life for herself in that area, She wouldn’t have put up ten thousand road blocks, sent a series of spirit guides, and nearly hit Laurie over the head with weird weather-related antics.
Laurie took a breath and tried to calm herself. She started shaking, like a chill, but she wasn’t cold. She was too hot again.
She had slept so peacefully for so many nights in a row with her men flanking her that she didn’t know how to lie alone. After only a week, already she felt their loss. It seemed strange to be in the bed without them.
An ache formed in the pit of her stomach that made her hold her breath. She panted through the weird sensation until it abated.
Was she pregnant?
That didn’t seem reasonable. Her mates would have told her. They would have scented it. Hell, her parents would have known too.
Even though Laurie herself wasn’t in tune with her lupine side enough to know such a thing yet, any other wolf shifter would know.
So, pregnancy was out.
Maybe she had PMS. She tried to remember when she’d last had her period. Before she met Zach and Corbin. But when?
She squeezed her eyes shut and thought about the strange pain in her belly. It wasn’t like cramps. It wasn’t like an upset stomach. She couldn’t describe it.
It lessened again, but left her uneasy. Restless. Fidgeting.
She took deep breaths and fell asleep again.
The next time she lifted her eyelids, light was streaming in the room from between the partially open curtains. She smelled coffee.
Her mother would be in the kitchen.
She shivered, feeling the chill again. As she unballed herself and rolled onto her back, she groaned. Her body ached as if she’d run there yesterday in human form instead of having driven or even bounded there in wolf form.
She held the covers to her chin with one hand, her fingers shaking.
The door opened, and her mother walked in. “I sensed you were awake.” She smiled and sat on the edge of the bed. “Did you sleep okay?”
Laurie licked her parched lips. “Not really.”
“Did you think you would?”
She lifted both brows. “Why not? I was exhausted.”
“You left your mates, sweetie.” Her mother patted her leg.
“It’s only been one day. I don’t think it’s worth freaking out over.”
Her mother cocked her head to one side and stared at her with her mouth hanging open for a few seconds before she spoke again. “Sweetie, you can’t walk away from mates. You know that.”
“Of course I can. It’s unconventional and rare, but it can be done.”