Abbey's Protectors [Beckett's Wolf Pack, Triad Mates 4] (Siren Publishing Menage & More) (10 page)

“Okay, sweetheart,” Hunter promised, sitting down on the chair beside her bed and reaching out to again hold her hand lightly within his.

“We’ll make sure,” Clay added as he sat in the chair on the opposite side of the hospital bed and reached out to take her free hand in his. “Just rest. We’ll be here to watch over you.”

Abbey’s eyelids slid closed despite her efforts to remain awake. “I’m sorry. I’m just so tired,” she apologized. “Will you stay here or do you need to go somewhere?” Her voice faded slightly as sleep called to her once again.

“We won’t leave you, Abbey,” Hunter vowed. “You go on and go back to sleep, sweetheart. We’ll be here when you wake up and then we can have a long talk.”

“About what?” Abbey whispered, squeezing their hands lightly before giving in to her exhaustion.

Both men leaned forward and kissed her cheek before nuzzling into her neck, breathing in deeply and drawing in the sweet scent of their mate. Rumbling growls vibrated from their chests, the humming purrs that escaped them lost against the soft skin of her neck.

Abbey’s sweet, soft laughter made them smile, the intensity of the love they already felt for her taking them by surprise. When she looked at them or they felt the softness of her touch, they could feel the promise of the love that was meant to be. When she touched them, the soft way she trailed her fingers through their hair gave them a sense of peace and contentment that was more powerful than any feeling either man had ever had.

When she looked at them, there was deep longing and caring in her eyes. She didn’t know it yet, but she was destined to love them—and they would love her in return with all the magic that was in their hearts.

* * * *

Hunter and Clay watched their mate as she slept. She was relaxed and sighed often, squeezing their hands occasionally. Neither man could contain the smiles that covered their faces each time she reassured herself of their presence. When she pulled their hands up to press them against her face, their wolves growled possessively.

“Hell,” Hunter whispered, looking at Clay with a desperation in his eyes. “Did you ever expect to feel so consumed with the need to claim our mate?”

Clay shook his head, reaching out to touch Abbey’s hair and pet it gently with his free hand. “I didn’t,” he admitted. “Alexander and Butler told me that they were drawn to Nikki immediately, and they wanted to claim her quickly, but I didn’t realize how strong the mating urge would be.”

“I’m fighting with my wolf for control,” Hunter admitted. “He wants to claim her and make her submit.”

“You might want to cool it on the submission part,” Clay advised. “We should probably ease in to that need. Abbey may not be the type who wants to submit to us.”

“Hell, I don’t care if she wants
us
to submit to
her
,” Hunter snapped in frustration. “It doesn’t matter as long as she belongs to us.”

Clay laughed softly. “That might be interesting,” he said between chuckles. “I can’t imagine you being anything but in control.”

Hunter smiled slowly, looking down at the woman he wanted to have laid out beneath him, accepting him completely. “I know, but all I want is for her to belong to us. I want to love her and take care of her. Does that make me a caveman?”

“Well, if it does, then I’m one, too,” Clay admitted. Watching their woman, he was amazed by her strength. She was definitely a worthy mate. “She’s got to be strong. Just look at what she’s already survived. I have no doubt that she can take care of herself, but I want to be the one who makes her safe. I want to take care of her and love her, too.”

Hunter looked at their mate, smiling at the picture of perfection that lay before them. Despite the injury and the bruises, she was absolutely beautiful. Her skin was soft and creamy with just a hint of color. He reached up and touched her cheek lightly, running the pad of his thumb across it, happiness filling him at the sigh that immediately left her lips. The pleasure he experienced quickly turned to concern as her face tightened with sudden fear.

Abbey fought to control her worry as she ran toward their home. She ran up the front steps of the wide front porch and pushed open the door.

“Where are you?” she called out, rushing inside as she searched out her mates.

“We’re here, honey,” Clay called to her, stepping into the kitchen and opening his arms to accept her as she launched herself against him. “What’s wrong, Abbey?” His arms tightened around her, fear filling him as he felt the way her heart was pounding against his chest.

“What happened, sweetheart?” Hunter asked her, leaning against her back and pinning her tightly between him and Clay.

“You know damn well what happened,” Abbey told him angrily. “You and Clay cut me off.”

“But, honey,” Clay started.

“Don’t you even dare!” The anger flashed in Abbey’s eyes, letting both men know she was not in the mood for their excuses. “We had a deal. You promised you wouldn’t shield yourselves from me. I can’t handle it.”

She reached up and ran her fingers through both men’s hair, rubbing at their scalps lightly before taking firm hold of their hair and pulling on it. She looked up at both men, worry filling her. Her expression softened considerably as the love she felt toward each man filled the ache in her heart. Her eyes were bright with unshed tears, and the pain that was in her heart was there for them to see.

“You don’t know how empty I felt,” she told them softly. “I couldn’t feel you. I couldn’t tell if you were alive or dead.” She tugged on their hair as she tightened her hold. “I felt so alone. And I was afraid that something had happened to you. I need you to be in my heart all the time.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Hunter whispered, leaning down and kissing her forehead lightly. “We didn’t want you to see the accident we were called to today.”

“We didn’t want you to be upset,” Clay added, kissing her temple and nuzzling into her hair.

“I’m more upset that you were apart from me,” she told them, looking up, her blue eyes sparkling with the tears that began to fall from them. “I want to help you when you’re upset.”

“Baby, you do,” Clay told her, pulling her tighter into his embrace. “Knowing you’re ours and you’re here to come home to gives us such comfort. We know you’ll give us exactly what we need whenever we need it. We wouldn’t be able to get through our days without feeling your kindness and support. We can do what we do because we have you, honey.”

“Then don’t push me away,” she told him firmly, growling her frustration.

“You sound like a sweet little wolf,” Hunter told her, smiling.

“Don’t you even think about making this a joke, Hunter Stewart!” she warned him.

“Sorry, sweetheart,” he told her, becoming serious at once. “Please, baby, you have to understand that there’s a lot of bad that we see. We don’t want you to have to live it with us.”

Abbey looked at him silently, the anger in her easing at his heartfelt words. “Okay,” she finally conceded. “You don’t have to let me see what you see. But you do have to keep our link open so I can feel you in my heart all the time.”

Hunter smiled down at her, all the love he had for her very clear in the way his brown eyes softened as he looked at her. “Sweetheart, it’s a deal. We’ll always keep a little bit of the link open so you can always tell how much we love you.”

Abbey nodded then turned to Clay. “What about you?” she asked him.

“I promise to always keep myself open to you,” Clay answered quietly. “I love you so much, Mate. There is no way you’ll ever be unsure of that.”

Abbey looked at Clay then turned to face Hunter. A small smile pulled at her lips, and she couldn’t prevent the happiness she was feeling from spilling out through their mating bond. She pictured the three of them lying in their bed, the two men deep inside of her and loving her.

“I think you’re going to have to show me, Mates,” she told them, smiling at the growls that were emanating from them. “Just to be sure.”

Hunter stood and leaned over the hospital bed to kiss their woman’s lips gently. “Abbey, sweetheart, you’re absolutely perfect for us.”

Clay leaned in and rubbed his cheek against hers before pulling back and kissing her slightly parted lips, smiling at the sigh that left her when he pulled away. “Honey, you have no idea how long we’ve been waiting for you,” he whispered.

Abbey reached up to touch their faces lightly before running her fingers through their hair and scratching their scalps with just the right amount of pressure. Their immediate growls of pleasure made her smile.

“I like that,” she whispered, rubbing her face against their necks before settling back in the bed, her hands falling to the mattress as exhaustion claimed her once again. Her brows furrowed in confusion as she felt and heard the constant growls that vibrated against her chest and head. She struggled to open her eyes, surprised but not afraid when she saw and felt the two men’s faces close to hers.

“Clay? Hunter?”

“Yes, baby,” Hunter answered for the both of them.

“We’re here, honey,” Clay assured her.

“Have you been here for a while?”

“Yes, Abbey. We’re not leaving you,” Hunter told her gently, taking a chance and kissing her lips, smiling and growling when he felt her responding to him.

He pulled back and smiled down at her, losing himself in the pretty, blue sparkle of her eyes. She didn’t look panicked or upset with his forwardness. It was a good sign.

Clay leaned in and kissed her cheek, smiling when Abbey immediately turned toward him and sought out his mouth. He didn’t deny her. Covering her soft lips with his own, his kiss started gentle but quickly turned to something more urgent as his need for her was pulled from him. The way she responded to him, giving him the acceptance and love he craved, made his wolf jump and slam against his chest as he demanded that their mate be claimed.

He pulled away from her reluctantly, kissing her lips one last time as she arched up toward him. “So sweet, little one,” he whispered, unable to take his eyes off of her.

Abbey opened her eyes, smiling at both men and settling contentedly between them as they leaned on their forearms on either side of her pillow. “Hi,” she whispered.

“Hello, sweetheart,” Hunter answered, smiling at the comfortable way she rested between them. “How are you feeling?”

“Sore, but okay. I’m really tired.”

“That’s normal,” Clay told her, reaching up to touch her cheek gently. “The sedative they gave you was pretty strong. It will take a while for it to leave your system. You’ll just need some time to get stronger. Hunter and I will help you.”

“You will?” Abbey was confused. How could they possibly help her? No one could help her. She had to help herself. Only her friends Synthia and Shelly were always ready to help her. She became worried as she suddenly realized that they were probably waiting for her to contact them.

“Don’t worry, honey,” Clay told her. “We’ll be with you from now on.”

“Don’t you have someplace to go?” she asked them, her head aching slightly as she thought that that these men probably had a job to go to. Why were they staying with her?

“Abbey,” Hunter began gently. “Will you give us a chance to explain something that’s very important to us?”

“What?” she asked warily.

“Sweetheart, you’re meant to be ours,” he told her, looking at Clay for support.

“Honey, we belong to a group of people who have a special bond with the Fates,” Clay added. “Our history pairs men in triad partnerships that are destined to find their triad third in one special woman that they will mate with and share a life with.”

“You’re our triad third, Abbey,” Hunter told her, taking over the explanation. “You’re our mate. You’re meant to be claimed by us. We’ll build a life together and have a family that will belong to all three of us.”

Abbey rubbed at her temples as the memory of a beautiful woman saying much the same thing came to her. The memory was unclear, and she reached for it desperately, somehow pulling forth the sight of her father standing beside the kind, loving woman. Both of them were telling her something very important about the two men she would meet. She whimpered in pain as she rubbed against the injury of her right temple.

Both men reached out and grabbed for her hands to pull them away from her head and the bandage, dragging her against their chests and holding her tightly within their arms. The flash of the memory Abbey saw of her father visiting her with the beautiful woman with the silver hair was shared with both men, and they growled as they held her tighter against them.

“You’ve been visited by Mother Fate,” Hunter whispered, kissing the top of her head as emotions filled him. “You’ve been told that you would find us, and that we would love you with all that we are.”

“She told you we’re wolf shifters,” Clay continued. “The beautiful woman who is the gentle and loving Mother Fate to us all told you that Hunter and I will give you children, and those children will belong to all of us.”

Abbey pushed out of their arms and lay back against her pillow. “You want me to believe something that was a dream,” she told them skeptically as she crossed her arms across her chest and stared at them defiantly. “Not going to happen.”