Rebecca's Wolves (Wolf Masters Book 6) (21 page)

“Do you think they’re going to let me in today?” she asked Sharon.

“Seems like it. Someone from the fire department is meeting us here to make sure you’re safe while you clear out some things.”

Rebecca nodded as she stepped closer. The damage to the building was worse than she’d expected, although it did indeed appear to be more extensive two units down from her.

Running through her mind nearly constantly was the thought of the threat against her. Human, shifter, or phantom?

In any of those cases, whoever it was missed their mark if they intended to mess with her in particular. Her unit had suffered the least damage.

Take that, whoever you are
.

Miles chuckled behind her, and she turned to glare at him for invading her mind again. He held up both hands in surrender, not looking the least bit contrite.

Sure enough, minutes later, a truck from the fire department arrived, and two uniformed men greeted her. They introduced themselves, shook hands with her party, and then opened the door to her apartment to let her inside.

They’d attached an extra lock on the handle to keep out looters and prevent the owners from trying to sneak into their condemned place.

Rebecca reached out for Griffen’s hand and squeezed it as she surveyed the damage. Everything was wet, and black soot covered most surfaces. It would be hard to retrieve much of worth.

They made their way to her bedroom first.

One of the firemen returned to his vehicle and came back with a stack of boxes. “Anything you want, we’ll box up for you and get it out of here.”

She nodded, grateful they had thought of that detail.

Her mind, however, was on the state of her bedroom. Yes, there had been a fire, but fires didn’t wreak this level of havoc, and Rebecca was not a slob.

Clothes were everywhere, on the floor, on the bed, even spilling out into the hall and attached bathroom. This was not how she’d left her room Friday. This was never how she left her room.

She fingered the hem of her shirt, fighting the urge to slump onto the floor and have a good cry. What the fuck was happening in her life?

“You okay, baby?” Griffen set a hand on her lower back and then fisted it in her shirt.

She swallowed back her emotions and nodded. She didn’t want to say anything and exacerbate the already vigilant stance of her mates. If one more strange thing occurred, they would likely lock her in a room for safekeeping.

She had a life. A job. A race coming up. And she would fight to keep those things in her sights.

So, how did the room get tossed? Some freaky spirit intent on messing with her? Or an intruder? Either way, the message was clear—she was pissing off the universe in some fashion.

With shaky fingers, she decided not to say a word while she easily located a suitcase and filled it with her clothes. The items in her drawers weren’t in too bad of shape. The closet didn’t fare as well, but Miles went to work filling a box with her hanging items.

The items on the floor were soaked and darkened with soot. She scooped most of them up and tossed them on the unmade bed, wincing.

She grabbed her jewelry and scrounged around locating any mementos that meant something to her. Most of the pictures weren’t salvageable, but luckily she didn’t have a lifetime of treasures in the condo. Her belongings from childhood were in boxes at her parents’ home in Arizona.

After packing up her bathroom and then hitting the kitchen, she was done.

It made her sad to think it only took them about two hours to sift through her belongings and say good-bye to the rest. But none of the furniture had any sentimental value, and most of it couldn’t have been saved. Who wanted a soaked black couch?

Insurance would cover the loss.

By noon they were done and had everything loaded in the back of the truck.

Their next stop was Griffen’s parents’, and they followed Sharon through the streets of town until they came to the base of the ski resort where his family lived. Rebecca was awed to learn that Griffen’s parents owned this gorgeous mountain home she’d envied every time she drove past it.

Although she and Sharon had been friends for a while, Rebecca had never been to this enormous, two-story log home against the mountainside. Considering she now knew how Sharon felt about introducing friends to her brothers, it wasn’t surprising Rebecca had only met up with her friend in other locations.

The house was intentionally rugged on the outside, blending in with the trees and mountains unobtrusively—rough logs and dark green trim. It was amazing, and it took her breath away. “How many of your siblings still live at home?” she asked Griffen.

“Everyone but Trace. My parents are very respectful of their privacy. We’re all adults now, of course, but Mom and Dad love having us around. They still gripe about Trace and I getting our own place.”

Miles chuckled. “You are thirty-two.”

“Exactly.” Griffen opened the truck and stepped down.

“How old are you?” Rebecca asked Miles as she followed him out of the truck.

“Thirty.”

“I’m older, and so much wiser,” Griffen teased. “We better get inside. I’m sure they’re chomping at the bit.”

His mom had insisted on preparing lunch for them, and the moment they stepped onto the porch, she opened the door.

She smiled warmly and wrapped Rebecca in a huge hug. “Welcome to the family. Rebecca, right?”

Rebecca nodded.

“I’m Carlie. So good to meet you.”

Still holding Rebecca by the arm, she gave a half hug to Miles next. “You too, Miles. We couldn’t ask for a better addition. Please, come in. Lunch is almost ready.”

Rebecca followed Griffen’s mom into the house and through to the kitchen. The inside was no less impressive, though shockingly modern and sleek in contradiction to the log cabin look of the outside. The kitchen was done in stainless steel with a gray and black marble counter and white cabinets.

Sharon propped up on a stool at the bar, still grinning.

Griffen’s father came in from the back as they entered. He was a tall man, perhaps taller than Griffen, and he surprised Rebecca by pulling her into his embrace the same as his wife had done and hugging her tight. When he released her, it was to hold her at arm’s length and smile down at her. “My son is a lucky man.” He winked while Griffen moaned at her side.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Masters.”

“Call me Adam.” He turned slightly to greet Miles with a firm handshake and an arm to his back. “Please, sit. Is lunch almost ready, hon?” he asked his wife over his shoulder.

“Yep. Sharon, help me get everything on the table, will you?”

It seemed to Rebecca all these wolf clans ever did was eat and feed her.

Griffen pulled out a seat for her and scooted her in. He sat at one side of her while Miles took the chair on her other side. Both men set a hand on her thighs, making her gasp and slap them away.

It was bad enough when they were alone. No way could she concentrate in front of Griffen’s parents with them touching her.

“I spoke to my brother yesterday,” Adam announced.

It seemed like a strange segue to Rebecca, but she watched him as he continued.

“Not sure if you remember,” he said to Griffen, “but all four of his boys in Oregon mated with two people.”

“Yeah. I thought of that.”

Sharon set a dish on the table and gave a fake pout, looking at Rebecca. “They have a sister too. Tessa. Apparently the luck did not extend to her.”

Rebecca laughed. Leave it to Sharon to think this arrangement was over the moon and feel envious.

“Must be a generational thing,” Adam continued. “Damn strange if you ask me. But here we are.” He smiled again as his wife kissed him on the forehead and took the seat to one side of him. “Your brothers are a little leery, it seems.”

“I’m sure,” Griffen said. “I would be too if I were them. Now they have to wonder if every man they run into is destined to share a woman with them. And the truth is they probably won’t know until they meet her.” He turned to face Miles.

Rebecca never thought of it that way.

Griffen grabbed her hand and squeezed. “I’ve known Miles for years. Never would have expected to sleep with him,” he teased.

Trace walked in at that moment, shocking Rebecca. She hadn’t realized he was in the house. He froze in the doorframe, grabbing the wood with both hands. “Please tell me it isn’t like that.”

Griffen laughed, tipping his head back for several seconds while the sound vibrated through him and warmed Rebecca’s entire body. God, she loved that sound. Finally, he wiped his eyes with one hand and met his brother’s gaze. “No. Not a chance, Trace. This arrangement is strictly two on one.”

Trace’s shoulder visibly relaxed as he eased farther into the room, his brow still furrowed.

Rebecca fought to keep from giggling. How comical was it that every one of his brothers now had to worry about what man they knew was destined to share a woman with them? Or was it possible they didn’t even know the male component yet?

It certainly wasn’t a topic she had ever entertained in her life.

Lunch was wonderful. Carlie served Mexican—every conceivable item anyone could want to make soft- or hard-shelled tacos with all the fixings.

The family made her feel so welcome in their gorgeous mountain home. Griffen’s parents regaled her with tales of his childhood until he finally told them to stop and save some of his embarrassment for another day.

They had finished eating, and Rebecca was helping Carlie and Sharon clear the table when the ground shook.

Everyone froze in their spots and grabbed the edge of the counter or wall or table to steady themselves for the five seconds that seemed to last much longer. The rattling and clanking of dishes in the kitchen made Rebecca cringe, but nothing fell.

“What was that?” Sharon voiced.

Adam stood and headed for the back door. “Earthquake. Small one.”

“Shit.” Griffen came straight to Rebecca’s side and wrapped his palm around the back of her hand.

She still gripped the edge of the kitchen island, her knuckles white.

“You okay, baby?” he asked.

She nodded. She was physically fine. Emotionally, she was hanging on by a thread.

Miles’ phone rang in his pocket, and he yanked it out. “Melinda, you okay? Grandma?” His shoulders lowered as he listened to his sister on the other end of the line. “Good. Stay close to the house. I’m in Cambridge… No, I don’t think it was very big. The house shook, things rattled, no real damage… Good. Okay… I’ll call you later.” He disconnected and put the phone back in his pocket.

Adam came back inside. “No visible damage in the vicinity.” He sauntered to the living room and flipped on the television. “Never expected an earthquake in northwestern Montana,” he mumbled while shaking his head.

Already there were reports coming in from all over the place. The first channel that came on with the TV had switched to news coverage that fast. The broadcast started inside the studio but quickly switched to various reporters out on the streets as the entire family watched.

The scenario was eerie. It had been many years since there had been noticeable seismic activity anywhere near northwest Montana.

When the excitement finally died down, Griffen talked Trace into staying at his parents’ house, and he brought his mates back to his condo for the night.

Rebecca was obviously antsy. She had to work tomorrow, which made Griffen nervous also. Besides, another day had slipped away without her being able to get her workout in. She was growing concerned about her upcoming race. It was important to her. She’d worked hard for months preparing for the race. He could tell it was eating at her.

Griffen’s apartment was smaller than Miles’ house. He wondered what his mates thought of his personal space as they each wandered around, taking in their surroundings.

His possessions were nice. He liked nice things, but he was a bachelor, so he realized his condo wasn’t particularly well decorated.

“I’ll make dinner,” he said as Rebecca and Miles stared at his collection of CDs.

Rebecca didn’t turn around as she spoke. “If you feed me one more time today, I’ll explode.”

He chuckled and headed to the kitchen. Whether or not the woman wanted to eat, he and Miles would need to. “Burgers okay?” he asked as he stuck his head in the refrigerator and surveyed the pickings.

“Perfect,” Miles consented, leaning his chin on Rebecca’s shoulder as they moved on to the DVDs.

Griffen watched them from the kitchen island, a smile spreading across his face. A few days ago, if someone had told him he would find another man fondling his mate so appealing, he would have laughed them off the planet.

And here he was. In his apartment. His mate right in front of him. And one of his best friends wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her in tight.

His other mate, he reminded himself. A man he would rely on for the rest of his life to help protect and worship her. As weird as that may have seemed just days ago, it was a comforting thought now.

He almost laughed out loud when Trace had popped into the room at his parents’ earlier, concern on his face about Griffen’s sexual interactions with Miles.

Trace had a close friend named Keegan, and Griffen had suspected for many years the two of them liked to share women. Griffen did
not
think that attraction swung both ways. He smirked to himself as he got dinner started. Maybe there was something to the idea that this generation of Masters men was destined to mate in threesomes.

If that was the case, Trace must have been shaking in his boots worrying if his male mate would turn out to be Keegan.

It didn’t take long for him to have the burgers grilling on his small back deck.

When his mates gave up their perusal of his music and movie selection, they wandered into the kitchen.

Griffen grabbed three beers and held two of them out with raised eyebrows. Miles took one and popped the top. Rebecca chewed her lower lip and scrunched her nose before she finally grabbed the bottle.

“Not mandatory,” Griffen said. “We’ll keep you even if you don’t like beer.”