“They’re your mates.”
“My what?” She kept backing up until she ran into the desk. Her body shook, losing its strength to keep her on her feet.
“This isn’t my place to tell you, but things have gotten out of hand.”
He rested his rifle on a nearby armchair, and for one wild moment, she dared to think she could grab it and shoot her way out of the room.
“Tell me. I have to know.”
“I don’t know how else to say this so I’m going to say it straight-out.” He paused as though reconsidering his decision. “They’re werewolves. My brothers and I are werewolves. Milly is a werewolf. Almost everyone in Forever is a werewolf.”
She laughed. What else could she do in the face of such an incredulous remark? And yet, it made sense. The amber eyes, the fangs, the strange behavior of the people. Her laughter died in a strangled sob.
“You’re telling me that I’ve fallen in love with werewolves? I don’t know which of us is crazier.”
The smile he gave her was filled with sadness. “We’re as sane as anyone else in this world. But I’m glad to hear that you love them. They love you, too. You know that, right?”
“Do they? Is that why Grant looked like he wanted to tear me apart?”
He bowed his head. When he lifted it again, his jaw was set and his face had a determined look. “He’s a werewolf and it’s the amber moon. Werewolves are naturally drawn to their mate and their mate is drawn to them. But during the amber moon, unmated werewolves like your men lose control of the wolf inside them.”
“Tell me the truth. Do you think they’d kill me?”
“No. I don’t. But there’s no way to know. Emotions, rationality, morality, everything is questionable when the amber moon phase is on us. I’ve never heard of a wolf killing his mate, but then again, I’ve never gone through this before. I’m thinking anything is possible.”
“You’re mated. That means it doesn’t affect you.”
“Then you know. That’s why Grant made me promise to take care of them tonight. He wanted to make sure they didn’t come near you.”
“Then he was afraid he’d hurt me.”
“Not in that way. Or maybe. I don’t know. What I do know is that he didn’t want to risk burning out the connection between you four and losing you forever. Lance and Duncan felt the same way, but they had less control over their wolves. Grant had no choice when he saw Lance grab you. What he didn’t plan on was how much the moon would affect you.”
He was right. She’d been unable to control her emotions or her need. She’d gone almost as wild as they had.
“And after the amber moon is over? Will they still be werewolves?”
“Yeah, they’ll still be werewolves. But more importantly, they’ll still be the men you love. And they’ll be back in complete control of their inner wolves.”
Questions came and went without any answers. If Jackson was right, and she sensed that he was, did she dare wait to see them once the amber moon was gone?
“Where are they now?”
“My brothers took them into the cellar to chain them up.”
“What?” At once, worry for them overtook her fear of them.
“It was their idea. They wanted us to chain them up until the phase was over. That way they couldn’t risk their connection with you.” He picked up the rifle and hefted it into the crook of his arm. “Let’s get back to town where you belong.”
She couldn’t believe the words that tumbled out of her mouth. And yet, they felt right. “No. I’m not going anywhere. Take me to them.”
* * * *
Jackson led her down the stairs then toward the back of the large root cellar. He put out his arm, blocking her way. “Are you sure about this? Your best move is to come back into town with me. If you want, I’ll drive you back out in the morning when I come to set them free. For tonight, it’s best to leave them be.”
Christy pushed his arm away and kept on walking. She thought she’d prepared herself for what she’d find, but she was dead wrong. The second she laid eyes on the men, something inside her broke.
Each of them wore chains strapped around their wrists with another chain hooked to the leather collars they wore. The chains were secured to large metal hooks that had been driven into the brick wall behind them. As soon as they saw her, they yanked on their chains so hard that brick dust fell to their feet.
“What the hell is she doing here?”
“She wanted this, Lance, so I’m giving her ten minutes. After that, I’ll check to see if she’s changed her mind. If she still wants to stay, then I’m not one to stand in her way. Something tells me she’s a lot like Emma in that regard.” Jackson jerked his head toward the stairs, motioning for his brothers to come with him. He and his brothers left.