Abbey's Protectors [Beckett's Wolf Pack, Triad Mates 4] (Siren Publishing Menage & More) (49 page)

The men laved at their bites to close the wounds and settled her between them carefully. Closing their eyes, they wrapped their arms around her and settled their large hands on her stomach.

“I can’t wait to feel our cub moving,” Hunter whispered.

“I know. Me, too,” Clay admitted.

“We’re lucky bastards,” Hunter offered after a moment’s silence.

Clay couldn’t even answer. His emotions were overwhelming as he thought about their mate and the way that she loved them. It was going to be a wonderful future now that they had her in their lives.

“We love you, sweetheart,” Hunter whispered.

“Love you, too,” Abbey mumbled. “I’m so tired.”

“Sleep, honey,” Clay encouraged her. “You and our baby need rest. We’ll be here when you wake up to love you again.”

“Will you watch over me and our baby?” she asked, her voice filled with worry.

“Always,” Hunter promised.

“Forever,” Clay added.

Nuzzling against her temples, they settled comfortably as she snuggled between them. For the first time in a very long time, both men slept without the frequent nightmares they had often experienced because of their job.

Their souls were soothed, and it was all because of the amazing woman they held between them.

“Are you sure you can’t wait for us to get off our shift, sweetheart?” Hunter asked as he handed over the keys to his truck.

“I promised I would be there no later than three o’clock,” Abbey explained patiently. “I know you’re worried, but I’m sure everything will be okay. My friends and I will be out of there by three-thirty at the latest. Thank you so much for asking Jace and Jackson to allow them to come here. I hope they’ll want to stay. They’re my sisters in every way except blood.”

“We didn’t have to do much convincing,” Hunter told her honestly. “Both Jace and Jackson said they would welcome your friends without question.”

“They believe that Mother Fate has spoken through you,” Clay added. “Your friends are meant to be members of our pack family.”

Abbey smiled. “I think so, too.”

“Nate and Brett are waiting for you at the family lodge, sweetheart,” Hunter told her, leaning forward and taking her within his embrace. “They’ve already been assigned to you and your friends for the day. They’ll help you load the truck with whatever your friends would like to take back here.”

“I’m not going to complain about having two enforcers going with me because I know it won’t do me any good,” Abbey told them both, sighing heavily.

“Not a discussion we’re going to have, Mate,” Clay warned her. “There is nothing more important than your safety.”

“There are too many dangers outside our pack land, Abbey,” Hunter added. “You and our baby have to stay safe.”

Abbey smiled and leaned up to kiss Hunter’s neck, humming happily against his warm skin. “You’re a nice guy,” she whispered.

“Yeah, I’m a peach,” Hunter answered dryly.

Abbey reached up and ran her fingers through his hair, fisting its soft length tightly within her hand. “You are a wonderful man even if you are overprotective. And you’re going to be a wonderful daddy.”

Hunter’s eyes softened immediately. “I hope so, sweetheart,” he told her softly.

“Of course you are,” Abbey told him gently. She turned toward Clay and reached out to draw him into their circle. “You’re going to be a wonderful poppa, Clay.”

Clay smiled widely, his eyes flashing golden as he leaned forward and buried his nose against her neck. “We love that you’re carrying, honey,” he told her quietly, leaning down and kissing her temple, breathing in deeply and humming with pleasure at the combined scent of her and their cub.

“I am, too,” she whispered, kissing Clay’s jaw and laying her cheek against Hunter’s chest. “Now, get going. You’re going to be late for your shift. I’ll go to the main lodge and get Nate and Brett then head out to Denver.”

“Here, baby,” Clay told her, pulling a cell phone out of his front pocket and handing it to her. “I want you to take my cell phone.”

“Why?” Abbey asked, taking the phone from him and slipping it into her shoulder bag. “If I need to talk to you I won’t need a phone.”

Clay and Hunter both smiled at her. She could feel their happiness that their mating bond was so solid. She felt the same way.

“You might need to call your friends,” Clay explained. “You also may need to call someone here on pack land. I have everyone in our pack programmed into my phone. You need to have that same access.”

“But what about you?” Abbey asked him. “Don’t you need your phone?”

“I’ll pick one up today after our shift is over,” Clay told her. “Since I’ll be with Hunter, I won’t have a need to have my own phone right away. It’s more important that you have it. Please, honey. I’ll feel better knowing you have a way to contact someone if you need to.”

Abbey sighed as she reached up and touched Clay’s jaw lightly. “You’re so sweet. Don’t worry so much, Clay.” She looked up at Hunter and ran her index finger along his shoulder. “You, too, Hunter. I’ll be home before you know it.”

“Be safe, baby,” Hunter whispered as he leaned forward and claimed her lips, intensifying his kiss. “I’m already getting an ache in my chest at the thought of being away from you for the day.”

“Come home to us as soon as you can but drive carefully,” Clay told her, hugging her tightly before leaning down to take her face between his large hands so he could stare into her eyes. “It physically hurts us to be away from you, Mate. We need you with us.”

“I’ll be back before you even finish with your shift,” Abbey told them, laughing softly. “I’ll be the one missing the both of you.”

She took the sweet kiss he offered her, licking at his lips before pulling away. Easing herself out of Clay’s embrace, she faced Hunter and offered her mouth, laughing against his lips as he devoured her mouth, biting her lower lip lightly and humming happily before he released her.

“I’ll see you later, Mates,” she whispered, hugging them tightly before stepping back and walking toward Hunter’s truck. Opening the driver’s side door, she climbed up into the cab and slammed the door shut. Lowering the window, she rested her forearm on the door as she started the truck. “I miss you already,” she told them gently before she drove away to head toward the main lodge.

“By the Fates, that woman is perfect,” Hunter declared, watching as she drove away.

Clay reached up and rested his hand on Hunter’s shoulder, connecting to the emotions his triad partner was feeling. He felt the exact same way.

* * * *

Abbey pulled up to the front entrance of the family lodge and turned off the truck. Waiting patiently, she checked her watch and saw that she still had plenty of time to get to Synthia and Shelly’s apartment in Denver. Opening her purse, she took out the cell phone Clay had given her and touched the dial pad to call her friends. She wasn’t surprised when it went directly to voice mail, knowing Synthia would never answer the phone if she couldn’t identify the caller.

“Hi, Synthia, it’s me,” Abbey spoke, her voice happy.

She couldn’t hide the excitement she was feeling at the thought that she would be seeing her friends soon and bringing them back with her to the Circle Three Ranch. It was finally going to be as it should be—having her friends with her so they could be as happy as she was.

“I’m going to be heading out to come and get you and Shelly in about fifteen minutes so I should be there way before three o’clock. I guess I’m just anxious to see you guys. I can’t wait to have you both here at the Circle Three Ranch. I just know you’ll be happy here. Okay, Syn, I’m going to hang up and shut off my phone. Actually, it’s Clay’s phone. He gave it to me so I could call you. Anyway, I’m shutting off the phone while I’m driving. I’m just waiting for the two men who will be coming with me. Hunter and Clay aren’t taking any chances on anything happening to me—protective to the end, I guess.” Abbey laughed but the warmth that filled her at the thought of her men caring so deeply about her was a really nice feeling. “So, I’ll be seeing you soon. Be ready to leave as soon as I get there. I love you.”

Abbey disconnected the call, smiling as she turned off the phone. She slipped it back into her purse then pulled out the small zippered case that contained a good amount of money and her driver’s license. She was thankful that Synthia had sent it to her. She wouldn’t have been able to drive Hunter’s truck otherwise. Tucking the small case back into her purse, she set it beside her on the bench seat and waited.

She didn’t have long to wait. Nathaniel and Brett came out the front door of the family lodge and walked down the front porch steps to stand beside the truck. She could tell by their serious expressions that something was wrong.

“Is everything okay?” she asked them as they stood beside her open window.

“I’m sorry, Abbey,” Nathaniel told her gently.

Abbey looked at his kind, hazel eyes and knew she wasn’t going to like what he was going to tell her. “Did something happen?”

“Alpha Gil contacted Jace just a few minutes ago,” Brett answered for the both of them, his light blue eyes clouded with concern. “He said there was an attack made on their pack land.”

“Did anyone get hurt?” Abbey asked, worrying immediately for her new friend Dara.

“No, no one was hurt,” Brett assured her.

“There was a lot of damage done to their perimeter fencing,” Nathaniel explained. “Two of the enforcers on duty saw the explosives when they were patrolling. Luckily, they weren’t hurt in the blast.”

“Thank goodness,” Abbey whispered.

“Because of the attack, Jace has tightened security around our pack land,” Brett told her. “We’re going to have to meet with the security teams. Jace has already brought in experts to set up a series of monitoring stations. They should be here within the next couple of hours so we’ll have plenty of time to work out the new schedule of patrols before they get here. We’re going to have to cancel our trip with you today so we can supervise their work.”

Abbey’s heart fell. She understood the need for all possible enforcers to be on duty, but she needed to get Synthia and Shelly here. She just knew they were meant to be here.

“Okay, I understand,” she said finally, truly understanding their predicament.

Brett nodded and smiled softly. “We’re sorry, Abbey. We can plan this trip for another day.”

She watched as the men turned and went back into the lodge, knowing there was nothing she could do about what was happening. They had to secure the ranch. Her need to get her friends was a mere blip on their radar right now, and that was as it should be. The pack needed to be safe. She would never complain about having to sacrifice her desires in order to make everyone safe.

Abbey fought back the lump in her throat as she thought about not seeing her friends or having them with her on pack land. After hoping and planning to get them there, the letdown was tremendous. She wanted them with her, but it was more than that. She wanted them at the ranch so they could finally relax and be happy. She truly felt that both of her friends would find their futures here.

After sitting quietly for a moment, she made a conscious effort to pull herself together. She started the truck, put it in drive, and pulled away from the lodge.

She didn’t even realize that she made the decision that was probably going to get her into trouble with her mates, but she couldn’t help the driving need she that had to go and get her friends. Carefully blocking her thoughts from her men, she headed up the long driveway that led away from the ranch.

As she drove away from the safety of pack land, her thoughts were a jumble as she argued with herself. She knew that what she was doing was completely reckless. She knew she should call Synthia and arrange to get them another time, but she also rationalized with herself that it would only be one hour and forty-five minutes to their apartment, a few minutes to load the truck with whatever items they wanted to take with them, and another hour and forty-five minutes back to the ranch. She would be home before Hunter and Clay even knew she was gone. What could it hurt?

Half an hour into the ride, the guilt she was feeling was almost unbearable. She was having more and more trouble shielding her feelings and thoughts from her men, and she knew it would only be a matter of moments before they felt her unrest.

Hunter? Clay?

What, sweetheart?

Abbey, you sound upset,
Clay interrupted.
What’s wrong?

Well…

Abbey, what have you done?
Hunter’s voice was firm.

The concern Abbey could feel building in both of her men made her cringe. She knew they were going to be mad at her. She also knew they would be justified in their anger.

I’m on my way to Denver.

We know that, honey.

Clay’s calm voice didn’t help her sudden case of nerves.

I didn’t exactly do what you asked me to do.

What does that mean, Abbey?
Hunter asked immediately, fear edging his words.

Nathaniel and Brett couldn’t come with me. They had to work on pack security.