Corbin lowered his voice to a calmer level in her head. “Babe, we need you. You can’t leave.”
“And I’m asking you to give me a few days.”
“A few days? It’s already been a few days for me,” Corbin said.
“I need a few days away from town. Let’s see what happens.”
“What happens?” Zach continued. “What happens is that all three of us curl up in a ball and die a slow death, that’s what. My mother had a friend who left her mate and came to stay with us for about a week when I was ten. The woman was completely confused and sick within a day.”
“How long had she been mated at the time?” Laurie ventured.
“About a month I think. They had a few fundamental differences. But they eventually worked them out. There aren’t other options. No matter what we may disagree about in our lives, separating isn’t an option, baby. Wolves mate for life—both the real ones and the shifters. We’re lupine, Laurie. Our bodies are aligned now. We won’t be able to tolerate separation.”
Laurie’s teeth chattered again. She closed her eyes and tried to control her racing heart. She needed more sleep.
Her mother walked in and set a glass of orange juice on the bedside table. She walked back out without a word, probably recognizing the dazed faraway look of a shifter communicating with their mate. Or in this case—mates.
“We’re coming to get you, babe,” Corbin said.
“No.” She tried to remain calm. “Don’t do it. I’ll never be able to forgive you if you don’t heed my wishes on this. Give me three days. Then we’ll talk again.”
“Three days? That’s like a lifetime, baby.” Zach’s voice was strained.
“That’s my request. Please honor it. I’ll contact you in three days and check in.”
“Check in?” Corbin interjected. “You make it sound like that’s the timeline after which you’ll reevaluate.”
“It is.”
“That’s not going to work, Laurie. Not for any of us. Not even for you.”
“Humor me.”
There was a long silence. She imagined her two mates standing in Zach’s bedroom shouting at each other out loud, trying to figure out how to make her see reason.
“If by the end of three days there’s no change in the weather and no reason to believe anything dire is about to occur in the community, then we’ll know.”
“We’ll know what? Laurie, this is insane. You think if we don’t get a significant snowfall in that time, it must be because you left town?” Zach paused. “If you want to get out of town, that’s fine. We can all three leave. Hell, we can leave the state if you want. But you can’t separate from us.”
“Three days,” she repeated.
“Have you talked to Melinda or Mimi?” Corbin asked.
“Not yet.”
“And what does your mother say?”
Laurie balled up smaller, like a child. Her arms hurt. Her legs hurt. Her entire body felt beaten and bruised. Had to be the flu. She gritted her words out. “She agrees with you.”
“Smart woman,” Zach grumbled.
“But I make my own decisions. I’m a grown woman. I’ll reach out to you on Monday, and we’ll renegotiate.”
“Renegotiate,” Corbin stated matter-of-factly. “Fine.”
Laurie flinched. She’d pissed him off. It couldn’t be helped, but she felt bad anyway.
Zach never said another word.
After a few moments, she shut her mind down and cut them off. It hurt. The silence was awful. But she knew she was doing the right thing. They would see. Everyone would see.
Eventually.
She thought about reaching out to Mimi or Melinda, but then thought better of it. They would try to talk her out of this thing. And she had her mind set.
Her mother stepped back in. “You okay?” she asked as she resumed her spot on the edge of the bed. “Zach and Corbin coming?”
“No.”
“No?”
“I told them not to. And I don’t want you conspiring with them. I need this. All of you are going to have to humor me and let me have my way on this issue.”
“You really believe your presence in town is affecting the weather?”
“Among other things, yes.”
“What other things?”
Laurie licked her lips again. So dry. “The entire town is in an uproar over our relationship. Without me there, they can settle back down to normal.”
“An uproar? Why?”
Laurie rolled her eyes. “They’re conservative. They aren’t taking kindly to three people moving in together. Nor are they particularly receptive to mixed relationships.”