Liam I never anticipated ending up in this situation. And neither did Mia, or at least I felt confident that he hadn’t. At the moment, he was tossing and turning with a high fever. Mine was lower, or at least I was conscious. For all the good it would do us. Because while we’d both been out, the tent had been covered by snow, and I wasn’t sure how I could get us out without filling the one shelter we had with snow.Reaching over, I tucked the sleeping bag higher around my husband’s shoulders in the darkness. I had flashlights and a lantern but didn’t want to use up the batteries when I had no way of knowing how long we’d be in here. Walking away from our village was the hardest thing I’d ever dreamed I’d have to do, but now, listening to my husband’s harsh breathing, I knew there were worse things.Fortunately, our stomach symptoms weren’t too bad. Yet, at least. We’d both been vomiting, one of the reasons, along with the weather, that we’d decided to set up camp here. But that had e
LiamI thought she was going to throw us both out in the snow. Probably the only thing that kept her from doing it was being a healer. Her eyes went so wide, I expected them to bulge before they narrowed again. “I do not belong to anyone,” she asserted. “You and your husband belong to one another, and I am merely here to help you feel better.”“My wolf is very sure of this,” I told her, “but perhaps we can discuss it later.”“There is nothing to discuss,” she assured me, easing my arms from the coat. “Except how to get both of you well.”“Your wolf hasn’t said anything?” My head was pounding and my stomach starting to churn again. Reminding me in no uncertain terms that we were endangering this woman’s life by even being here. I took a step back from her.“Why don’t you take a seat at the table and rest?” She took my arm and guided me to the spot she’d indicated. “And, while I get the fire going, you can tell me what’s wrong with you both.”I didn’t have the strength to fight her, hav
“That’s it, Mia, just wake up long enough to take your medicine. You got me into that tent when I was worse off than you, now it’s my turn to help. And more…we got to Triple L pack lands just like we planned. Like our alpha wanted. Jessica is our friend, and she’s our mate, so if you will just wake up, you’ll get to meet her.”Oh… “I’m not—that’s it. I think I see one eye…yes. Atta boy, Mia. You’re doing it. We’ll have you well in no time.” I’d learned a long time ago that the patient’s confidence in the healer made a huge difference in their results. If he thought, if they thought, I knew what I was doing, that I had the path to good health laid out for them, they might just make it. “Now, open your mouth and I’ll spoon some of this yummy tea in.”“Now you’re just lying to him.” Liam chuckled, the happiest I’d heard him sound since I found them. “It’s not yummy, but it is potent. I already feel clearer-headed. And I think a little bit less achy.”“Listen to your mate, Mia.” His mate
Jessica My patient was thirsty, and here I stood arguing with the patient’s husband about whether he was or was not my mate. In fact, Liam was also my patient albeit one not nearly so sick. I poured a mug of tea and hurried to Mia’s side. His eyes were open, but he lay on his side, so I set the drink down and helped him get propped up with pillows. “I brought you some more tea.” I placed the cup in his hands and then smoothed the covers around his waist. “It’s better for you than water.”He lifted it to his lips then made an awful grimace. “This is what my mouth tastes like. It’s what I wanted the water to get rid of. Ugh.”Liam burst into laughter. “I’ve had at least a hundred cups of the stuff and, while it’s absolutely vile, I think it’s doing the job. I’m not nauseous anymore and all the pains are fading back.”“Not a hundred,” I protested, hurrying back to the kitchen for a glass of water. “But you’re right, it is working.” She perched on the edge of the bed and swapped out the
Jessica I had no business crawling into bed with these two.But looking down at Mia lying against the white pillowcases, still not 100 percent but fighting so hard to get his health back, I just wanted to offer all the comfort I could. I believed the toxin was a heavy metal or perhaps chemicals from mine tailings. It would take some onsite checking to be sure, something we couldn’t do while still locked down by this storm. But Liam was nearly healed, and Mia was getting better by the hour.The tea my grandmother taught me to make was doing its job. For which I was very grateful. But what would she tell me to do in this situation?Listen to your wolf, child. She’s a gift to you, one few in this world has to rely on.But what about when it meant going from living completely alone and being the master of my own destiny to becoming part of a relationship already so complete and beautiful it made me want to weep? So when I replied to Mia’s request that I join them in my huge bed with, “All
LiamWe fell asleep. All of us, I assume because when I woke up to find weak sunlight filtering through the gap between the curtains on the east-facing window, we were all curled up together like happy, comfy puppies. I snuggled deeper and buried my face in the soft locks of Jessica hair. When we fell asleep Mia was in the middle, but somehow we’d shifted during the night so my husband and I lay on either side of our female with her cradled in our arms. Exactly where she should be, and I didn’t want to do anything to wake her. She’d be sure to want to get up, especially with the storm abating as it had. No doubt it would be a day with many tasks to take care of.Looking across her, I saw Mia watching me with a small smile on his lips. He probably felt the same way I did. Jessica was an adorable sleeper, with her closed eyes showing off long, dark lashes, hair fluffed up all around her face, and lips slightly parted to release a very soft, ladylike snore. She’d worked so hard to take c
“Or maybe we all belong to one another,” Liam put in. “Now, if you’ll allow us to put you to bed, we can undress and join you.”My breathing stopped. It was so real all of a sudden. I’d made the decision, but what if it didn’t go well? “I don’t have any experience with two men at once,” I said when I sucked in enough oxygen to create words. “Or even one.”“We don’t care what came before,” Mia said, drawing back the covers and helping me to lie down. “Because nothing matters but what comes now.”The two of them undressed quickly. They only wore T-shirts and jeans and socks. Nothing else, so it didn’t take long, and the shadowy room didn’t let me see nearly as much as I’d have liked to, but what I saw was stunning. I’d had a quick glance at Liam when he shifted that first day, and I’d helped bathe Mia, but it had been in my capacity as a healer.This was different, and I murmured thanks to the Goddess for her gift to me of these two. They were handsome, strong, and every woman would be
LiamThe alphas welcomed us at the door, our appearance generating great surprise, and inside we found that there were just a few other guests, elders of the pack who, as it turned out, remembered many members of ours. Ludy Lake pack had an old connection with Triple L, but it had been a while since anyone had visited. Still, shifter bonds once formed were long-lasting.Analise kept plying us with appetizers and eggnog or hot buttered rum as we told them everything from our alpha having hoped we’d get to see them to bolster our friendship to what we found when we returned home.The alphas listened, asking leading questions and allowing us to explain at our own pace. When we finished, Tal set down his hot buttered rum and shook his head. “And Jessica thinks it’s something to do with one of those old mines they’re reopening?”“She does.” Our mate was currently in the kitchen helping Analise to make the final dinner preparations, so I confirmed that for her. “She can tell you more, but s