His two youngest brothers burst into the kitchen next. Kindle and Galen were barely eleven months apart in age. Kindle headed straight for the fridge and Galen began pulling out skillets to start breakfast. Joseph continued observing through the reflection of the window and wondered how long it would be before Levi got down to business. He wanted to get to town as early as possible to load up on supplies. He didn’t see any reason to waste a trip when he could refill his larder again.
“Joseph. Did you hear me?” Levi asked.
Joseph sighed and turned around to face the others. Everyone was there now except his parents. He had a feeling they weren’t going to get involved unless things went bad. And they could go bad.
“No, sorry. What did you say?”
“I asked if you wanted more coffee.”
“Sure.” He walked over and let his brother refill his cup.
Lee and Evan didn’t say anything when he carried his cup over to the table and took a seat across from them. They kept to themselves most of the time and seemed closer to each other than he and his twin were. There were times that he envied that about them. He missed the connection he and Jessup had once shared. Where once they knew each other’s thoughts and feelings as if they were their own, now he only got bits and pieces that only left him aching for the way things had once been. Something else they had broken when he’d been captured.
Kindle and Galen passed plates filled with meat, eggs, and toast to everyone then joined them at the table. When Jessup sat next to him and Levi took the chair at the head of the table, Joseph felt the only measure of peace he ever felt anymore. Being this close to his family felt good, but it wouldn’t last. It never did.
He listened as everyone talked about everything except for the reason they had brought him back. Updates on the ranch and gossip from the pack as well as tales from town filled the spaces while they ate their fill. Slowly the tension in the room built, smothering him in the process. His wolf whined inside of him. It didn’t understand the man’s anxiety at being among pack or his resistance to finding his mate. Now that he had a whiff of her, his wolf expected him to find her and take her.
Lee and Evan cleared the table but returned before starting the dishes. Evidently it was time. Joseph sighed with relief. He would be on his way to town soon.
“Jessup found his mate.” Levi looked down at him from his position at the head of the table.
“Congratulations, brother. Have you claimed her yet?” Joseph asked.
“No. I needed to know if she was your mate as well.”
“Doesn’t matter if she is. I’m not fit for mating. Claim her and take good care of her.” Joseph started to get up.
“Sit down, Joseph.” Levi stood up and crossed his arms against his chest.
Joseph settled back in his chair. He looked into his oldest brother’s eyes and waited.
“If you are also her mate, not claiming her could be dangerous for her. You’ve got to meet her and be sure. You don’t want to doom her to a life of feeling half-fulfilled. If you are her mate and you don’t claim her, she could very well become ill or be unable to conceive.”
“That’s a fucking old wives’ tale. How many women never meet their mates and continue on despite that?”
“Look at Sarah, brother,” Jessup finally spoke up. “Her mate died before they joined and she’s all but crazy from it. I don’t want Nessa to go through that.”
Joseph looked in Jessup’s eyes. Worry and anger warred inside of his twin. Joseph couldn’t help but wonder which would win and what that meant for their fragile relationship. He knew Jessup hadn’t forgiven him for joining the Marines all those years ago. It had caused a rift between them and it looked like now it was going to endanger his brother’s mate as well.
“Fuck! What in the hell do you want me to do? I’m not stable enough to care for a mate. What do you expect me to do?”
“The only thing you can do. If she’s your mate, you help your brother claim her and then you leave them alone,” Levi said.
* * * *
Nessa Clemmons climbed out of her ragged Honda Civic and sighed. She was in for a long night ahead of her. The truck stop outside of Wolf’s Pass looked busy. She worked as a waitress in the diner side of the truck stop. It was supposed to be her night off, but one of the other waitresses had called in sick. As much as she needed the extra hours, she was tired and needed the sleep even more. Her back still ached from the beating she’d taken from her stepbrother several days before. It had made it nearly impossible to get a good day’s sleep.
Pasting on a smile, she entered the employee’s entrance and grabbed her apron before clocking in to start the shift. Buster, the cook, noticed her and stopped her before she made it into the front.
“Thanks, Nessa. I really appreciate it. Carol Ann has the flu bug and was throwing her toenails up.”
“No problem. I need the extra hours. I better get out there and help Sandy. She looks overwhelmed.”
He nodded and she pushed through the door to get started. Most of the patrons of the truck stop were actually truckers, but there were a few locals and what looked like a table of bikers in the back corner. Sandy caught sight of her and the relief that washed over her face made her smile. Besides, her stepbrother, Derrick, would probably show up at home drunk again, and she wouldn’t be able to escape another beating if he didn’t like what she fixed him to eat. Not that he actually needed a reason to beat her. He pretty much did what he wanted to regardless.
Her mind drifted to Jessup, the man she’d met several weeks before when he’d come in after a long trip into Billings on business. He had stopped for coffee to help him make it the rest of the way home, and she had waited on him. They had hit it off right away, and she had agreed to go out with him on her next day off. It had been a magical night for her. Jessup had been a perfect gentleman, though he had kissed her. She wasn’t a virgin by any means, but she hadn’t been with many men. It had been obvious from the beginning that he was honorable and kind. She could still remember his scent. It was like a mountain forest full of pine trees.
They’d spent several days just hanging out when she wasn’t at work. They’d gone to the movies once and had a picnic another time. She knew it was too soon, but something about him called to her. She felt as if she’d known him all her life already. She knew she was falling for him, and though it was fast, it felt like she already loved him.
Shaking her head, Nessa concentrated on work. She didn’t want to think about the beating she’d received for getting home late the other night. No, she only wanted to think about Jessup and how much she liked him. He’d called her several times to talk, and they planned to see each other that weekend. Hopefully Carol Ann would be okay by tomorrow night. She didn’t want to miss out on being with him.
Thankfully they remained busy all night and the shift passed quickly. By six the next morning, she was exhausted and ready for bed. She hung around the diner and had a light breakfast and coffee before going home in hopes that her stepbrother would already be up and gone to work. He worked a half a day on Saturdays and usually didn’t bother coming home after work before going out that night.
Finally she couldn’t stand it another minute. She needed to get some sleep. The trip back to the trailer didn’t take long at all. When she pulled up her heart sank. Derrick was still there. Either he hadn’t managed to get up on time or he wasn’t going in at all. Nessa steeled herself for the confrontation she was sure would happen when she walked through the door.
“Where in the fuck have you been?” Derrick’s shrill voice grated on her nerves.
“I left a note. I took an extra shift. They called me in.” She eased through the door and started walking toward her bedroom.
“I saw your damn note, but you get off at six and it’s almost eight now.”
“I stayed to eat. I get a discount when I eat there. It’s cheaper to do that.”
“Don’t give me that bullshit. You should have been here and gotten me up for my shift. I’m late now.”
She kept walking in hopes he would storm out so he wouldn’t be any later. Instead, she found herself on the floor when he’d hit her in the back with his fist. She curled up, trying to protect her head, knowing what was coming.
Jessup watched his brother out of the corner of his eye as they drove toward Nessa’s trailer. He knew it was asking a lot of Joseph to do this, but he couldn’t stand being without his mate much longer, and he wasn’t going to chance that Nessa wasn’t both of theirs. Once he claimed her, she would know that a piece of the mating was missing if Joseph was also supposed to be her mate.
Being twins had always been great growing up. They had been close, sharing everything, including women, until Joseph had gone into the special ops unit made up of nothing but shifters. Then their connection had been all but severed so that he wouldn’t know where they were or if something happened to his brother. Despite the training they’d had to keep the link closed, he’d known when his brother had been captured and was being tortured.
“Stop it.” Joseph’s deep, raspy voice broke into his thoughts. “You’re thinking about it. Stop it.”
“Sorry.” He sighed and turned down the dirt road that led to the trailer park where Nessa lived.
“She lives in this dump?” Joseph’s outrage was almost palpable.
“Yeah. She lives with her stepbrother.”
“You should have already claimed her, gotten her out of this place.”
Jessup heard the barely contained growl in his brother’s voice. He was right though. He should have moved her out of this mess as soon as he sensed that she was his mate. But he knew she wouldn’t have come with him unless he had marked her and explained that they were mates. He couldn’t do that until he was sure about his brother.
He pulled up in front of the trailer and cut the engine of the truck. He could feel Joseph’s wolf pacing. It stirred up his own wolf.
“You need to calm down, brother. Don’t scare her.”
“I didn’t want to do this in the first place.”
“I know, but it has to be done. She might be your mate, too. I don’t want her to suffer.”
“Let’s just get this the hell over.” Joseph opened his door and climbed out of the truck before slamming it behind him.
Jessup shook his head and prayed for patience in dealing with his brother. He got out of the truck and led the way to the door. When he knocked, no one answered at first. He knocked again and finally he heard the creak of flooring as someone walked toward the door. When it opened only a little ways, he smiled at his mate.
“Hey, honey. I came to pick you up for our date. I brought one of my brothers for you to meet, too.”
“Hey, Jessup.” She opened the door a little more but only enough that he could see her pale oval face and a hint of her gorgeous honey-colored hair. “I didn’t have a way to call you to tell you that I couldn’t go tonight. I’m sorry.”
“What’s wrong, Ness?” He could smell her distress, and her voice was hoarse.
“I–I’ve been sick. I think I caught the flu from Carol Ann at work. I’m sorry.” She started to close the door when Joseph put his foot in the door.
“Joseph?” Jessup put his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “What are you doing?”
“Don’t you smell it? She’s in pain.” He looked at Jessup.
“Nessa? Are you hurting, honey? What’s going on?” He looked at her, but she dropped her eyes.
“I’m okay. I just don’t feel well. I’ve been throwing up. My stomach hurts.”
“You’re lying. You don’t lie to your mate.” Joseph pushed on the door until she had to step back.
Jessup could smell the lie as well. He didn’t stop his brother from pushing his way inside the ratty trailer. Instead he followed him. Joseph continued walking into the room as Nessa backed up with her hands in front of her.
“Easy, Nessa. Joseph isn’t going to hurt you. Are you, Joe?” He watched how his brother’s nostrils were flaring as he drew in her scent.
He knew the instant his twin’s wolf accepted her as his mate. Happiness warred with fear over the fact that she was Joseph’s mate as well. He hadn’t wanted to claim a mate without his brother by his side, but he also knew how delicate the situation was going to be. He had no intentions of letting Joseph help him claim her then walk away. There had to be a way to work it out between the three of them.
“Jessup? Why is he looking at me like that? What does he mean by mate?” Nessa had backed all the way up against the far wall, and his brother was only an arm’s length away.
“Honey, we need to talk. First, why don’t you tell me what’s really wrong?”
“N–nothing. I told you. I’ve been sick.”
Joseph was on her before Jessup could get between them. His brother had her caged in with his hands on the wall on either side of her even though his body wasn’t touching her. Long, wavy hair that nearly reached her waist looked limp and tangled. He’d never seen it like that before. Neither had he seen her sky-blue eyes, normally light and sparkling, look so dull and lifeless.
“She’s lying. I smell blood on her and it’s not moon blood.”
“How can you smell blood? What’s moon blood?” she asked, her eyes jumping back and forth between them.
“Where are you bleeding, Nessa?” Jessup sniffed closer and smelled the faintest of traces of blood. His brother was damn good.
“I cut myself shaving.”
“Another lie.” Joseph leaned in and sniffed of her neck.
“Please, you’re scaring me. What’s going on?” Her whimper jerked Jessup into action.
He pulled at his brother. “Let her go, Joe. You need to back off so we can find out what’s going on.”
His brother slowly backed away, and Nessa slid down the wall with a pained expression on her face. Now he could really smell her pain. He stopped her with a hand on her arm and she winced. Jessup looked down at where he held her and slowly pulled the sleeve of the shirt up to reveal bruising. His wolf growled, scratching to get out to see about his mate.
“Honey, what happened? Where else are you hurt?”
“Please, Jessup. You need to go. I can’t see you anymore.” She tried to pull away, but he held to her wrist where there was no visible bruising.