She smoothed her hand over the hand-sewn work and closed her eyes.
It seemed like minutes passed before she opened her eyes again. But as she blinked into the room, she realized the sun was low in the sky, and the living room was cast in shadows.
There were also several men on the porch in a heated discussion. She could hear their voices traveling through the broken window now covered with plastic but not thick enough to keep their voices from traveling.
Griffen and Miles were there, but two others whose voices she didn’t know as well.
She pulled herself to sitting, feeling the groggy, hung-over sensation one gets from taking a nap way too long in the middle of the day. She’d been asleep for hours. There was no doubt she needed the rest, but now she felt a bone-weary tired that kept her from dragging herself to standing.
And she’d never gone for her run. Dammit.
She leaned her head back on the couch and dragged her knees to her chest. And then she listened.
“No. It’s not an option. I told you twice already. We aren’t leaving this house. And I’m not sending away either of my mates, either.” This was Miles. He sounded firm.
And then Griffen. “He’s right. We can’t split up. Not gonna happen.”
And then the voice of someone she didn’t know. “Listen to reason. What if it’s not safe here? Don’t you think you’ve had enough evidence to support that idea?”
Safe? Rebecca glanced around. The man had a point. The house had been vandalized.
“This is my property, and I’ll protect it,” Miles insisted.
She could picture him standing on the porch, stance wide, arms crossed at his chest, head held high. She smiled.
Another unknown voice. “Miles, it’s been years since one of our own has mated outside the pack.”
“So? Your point?”
“Just sayin’, man. Maybe that’s what the spirits are inflamed about. Did you ever think of that?”
“You’re fucking kidding me, right?” Miles’ voice was louder now, and then it dipped again. She imagined he realized he might wake her.
Too late.
“Listen. I know you two mean well. I get that entirely. And it’s your duty to protect the rez. But you aren’t mated. Until you are, don’t fucking talk to me about leaving my mate, whom I’ve barely claimed thirty hours ago, and separating my family. Griffen, Rebecca, and I are not separable. It’s done. Fuck, it was always done. Even before it was done, it was done.
“So, unless you have some suggestion that doesn’t involve me leaving my home or separating from my mates, we don’t have anything else to discuss.”
Her heart pounded at his vehemence. She squeezed her legs together to stave the irrational pull she had toward him just listening to his words. Her pussy tightened with need. She crossed her arms over her chest to squeeze her swollen breasts tight.
That didn’t help.
The words Miles used were harsh, but he was firm about his intentions toward her. And Griffen. And he knew the number of hours since they’d first had sex. That made her smile.
Then Griffen spoke. “We’ll take turns patrolling the property. No one is going to be able to approach without us scenting them from quite a distance.”
The first man who’d spoken sighed so loudly even Rebecca heard him. Feet shuffled on the porch. “No,” he nearly moaned, “I’ll get some officers over here to patrol. You two go back inside and take care of your human mate. She must be freaked the fuck out by now.”
The man had no idea. Was he also a shifter? She assumed so by the way he referred to the pack. And what did he mean by the spirits being angry about this mating? Was it possible the unbelievable apparition was actually trying to keep the three of them apart instead of bring them together?
That made no sense, considering the intensity in his grandmother’s voice when she’d insisted they mate and do it immediately.
“I’ll have two men circling the property through the night. We’ll reconvene in the morning.”
Shit. Rebecca dropped her legs and glanced around. It was Monday. She had to work tomorrow. Seven o’clock in the morning. She jumped up from the couch and scrambled around in the near darkness to locate her purse on the kitchen table. She flipped it open, intent on calling her boss. There were three missed calls and three messages. One from the hospital.
She pushed the button to listen to that one first, exhaling slowly as she heard the voice of the head of her department, Marian Pierce, telling her she’d heard about the fire and wanted to ensure Rebecca was indeed safe as the police had informed her. She’d also switched the schedule around so Rebecca had the next two days off, and she asked Rebecca to call her if she needed more time.