Authors: Anya Nowlan
“I’ll take it,” Argo said with a short nod.
“Whoa there! Don’t you want to go see it first?” Tyler asked, cocking a brow at Argo.
Argo could feel the apprehensive look Cooper was giving him as well, but he knew his Alpha partner would trust his decision. He always did, even if he took it upon himself to list all the potential pitfalls first.
“I know the cabin,” Argo answered, grinning mildly.
“Of course you do,” Tyler noted with a sigh.
They haggled a bit over price, but Argo wasn’t in the mood to squabble and the Warfangs weren’t the kind of men to needlessly argue over things. It would have been different if Argo and Cooper had been in need, but they were both financially secure and more than capable of buying a home for themselves as they saw fit.
When the two pairs of wolves were shaking hands over the well-made deal, Trey finally asked the question that must have been on everybody’s mind.
“So, what’s the big ol’ house for?”
“For our bride, of course.”
CHAPTER THREE
Claire
“You have officially lost what little sanity you ever claimed to have,” Claire told herself out loud over the mellow tunes of Blake Shelton’s
Sangria
.
She’d been driving for days now, covering far too much of the great American expanse. In retrospect, flying would have been so much easier, but here she was, stubbornly making her own way as usual. Georgia was nothing but a distant memory at this point, lost somewhere behind far too many mile markers on the highway.
The roads were no longer perfectly flat; hills and dips formed all around her and proud mountains peeked out in the horizon. She wasn’t in the flatlands anymore, and for a moment, Claire tried to blame the twisting of her stomach on the rockier ride, but she knew that was just wishful thinking. She was nervous. Nervous as all hell.
“What do you think you’re going to do there, huh? You don’t even know these men.
Men
! Not just one man, either,” Claire continued her rambling conversation, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear as she studied road signs and decided to take a left.
Shifter Grove wasn’t far now and the clock was ticking closer and closer to four p.m.—the time she had agreed to meet Argo Longbrook and Cooper Greymane at the
Sunrise Diner
. She’d kept checking herself out in the rearview mirror, as if that would suddenly wipe away the marks of the long drive and the very obvious nervousness plastered all over her features. At least her hair looked nice, though she wasn’t sure through what kind of magic that had happened.
Claire chewed on her lower lip, trundling down a narrow and winding road toward her destination. She’d had the option of flying, but she’d never driven across the country before. Finally, she’d chosen adventure and she was holding onto it with both hands as long as she could. Her life in Georgia and Greenville seemed like something out of a dream now; her only reality was being on the road and eventually in that little diner she couldn’t even Google because there was barely any information on it.
Her skin prickled up with goose bumps as she saw the first sign pointing toward Shifter Grove. It was carved from solid wood, the letters burned into it, obviously crafted with care and attention. It made her feel good, even if she was nervous as all hell and completely amazed at herself for the decisions she’d made.
On a whim, she had answered what she could only define as a mail-order bride ad on SassyDate about a month ago. It had been a lonely night, one where she had felt the weight of all of her decisions especially clearly. The red wine she’d been steadily ingesting since dinner might have had something to do with things as well, but that was a distasteful detail no one needed to know, most of all herself, right?
She’d seen the ad, featuring two men who were absolutely drop-dead gorgeous, and something had tugged at her heart immediately. She didn’t know if it was the striking, determined look in the eyes of the blond-haired man, Argo, or the soft, approachable gentleness of Cooper, or both of them together, but she’d typed them a message before she knew what hit her.
By the next morning, she’d smoothly forgotten about the whole thing and instead taken a very clear and obvious interest in her hangover. That made the fact that they actually replied to her all the more surprising. Claire grinned through her nervous shudders, thinking about how she’d tried to keep from writing back to them after she got the first note from Cooper. Like a teenager, she’d fussed and worried over whether she was coming off too eager and whether or not they’d like her—just a woman from Georgia, looking for her way.
Her worries had been completely unfounded. Soon enough, she’d found herself chatting freely with both of the men and having Snapchats with them as well. It took Argo no time at all to tell her to meet them in Shifter Grove and even more astoundingly, it had taken Claire just as little time to agree to it. As much as she’d always been careful, always cool and in control, she didn’t want to be anymore.
She wanted to throw caution to the wind and just let life take the wheel. Especially if that meant getting to know two smoking-hot werewolves!
Claire shook her head a little, grinning widely as she passed by the sign telling her that she’d reached Shifter Grove. It had been an arduous drive and getting directions to the town was no easy feat, but here she was. For more than half a mile, she could still see nothing but the thick forest around her. Only then did she reach the main street and signs of civilization.
With a heavy sigh, she pulled up to the
Sunrise Diner
. She killed the engine and sat in the car for a few more minutes. Suddenly, the weight of the situation landed on her shoulders.
You sold the house. You left the family. You’re out of Georgia,
Claire counted to herself, listing all the things she’d done just in the last two weeks.
You can do this.
With one last look in the mirror, Claire nodded to herself and confidently stepped out of the car. She thanked her lucky stars that she didn’t immediately stumble and fall.
Between exiting the car and walking to the front door of the diner, Claire already managed to be greeted by a few of the locals and smiled back at them. Her nervous energy was dissipating little by little. Even if this meeting, this date, went horribly, then hadn’t she
already
had an adventure?
When she stepped into the diner, it took her no time to find the men she was looking for. Argo and Cooper both stood up from the booth near the door and she found herself face to face with them. To say they knocked the breath out of her lungs would have been an understatement. Both of them were absolutely gorgeous. Tall, muscular, ruggedly handsome, and completely dreamy – a word she couldn’t in all seriousness ever use, but in this case it made sense.
Cooper smiled broadly and drew her into an immediate, warm hug.
“I thought you’d never make it here,” he purred into her ear, and Claire’s knees threatened to buckle beneath her.
A voice like that should have never been let out of the bedroom. His body melded against hers and she could feel his hard, carved muscles through the fabric of his V-neck T-shirt, pressing against her soft curves. When he let go of her finally, Claire almost wanted to ask him for another embrace. It was like a drug and she’d happily line up for more.
With her eyes a little hazy, she turned to face Argo. There was an intensity to him that struck her from afar and was all the more obvious the closer she got. While Cooper’s energy was warm, gentle, and almost nurturing, then Argo’s was the polar opposite. There was a darkness to him and an unseen edge that twinkled somewhere behind the blueness of his gaze. But it wasn’t scary for Claire. If anything, it was exciting.
“I’m glad you came,” Argo said softly as he shared a feather-light embrace with Claire, one that left her body screaming for more.
“It was a long drive,” Claire said dumbly, uncharacteristically at a loss for words.
“I can imagine,” Cooper said, chuckling.
He took her by the hand and pulled her into the booth next to him, across from Argo. Claire’s heart was beating so fast she thought it had no option but to jump out of her chest. She knew she wasn’t the woman to keep it in place, not around these two wolves, anyway. Heat pooled between her legs and all of the decisions she had made over the last month came crashing around her, showing her the path that had led to this very moment.
To these men. With the clear and undeniable intention of becoming their bride.
She’d never been quite so scared in her life.
Argo’s gaze kept her mesmerized, sucking her in and keeping her teetering on the edge of her seat. He had an undeniable quality about him that made people want to follow him, Claire thought. She had felt it when they’d talked over Snapchat and SassyDate before, but now, in person, it was all the more obvious. He was a leader. Strong, in command, determined to reach his goals.
And from the way his eyes shone right now, Claire had no doubt that
she
was his current goal.
“So, what happens now?” Cooper asked lightly, slipping his hand into Claire’s lap and squeezing her thigh.
She smiled a little. Human contact. Or, well, shifter contact. It felt good to be touched by a man for a change, even if it made her shake like a leaf all over. She was still in a state of disbelief. At herself, at the situation, at everything. How the hell had she gotten into this?! How had she gone from being ridiculed at a damn gardening competition in Georgia to sitting in the presence of two absolutely stunning men, discussing her future with them? And how the hell had she dared to make these choices that took her here in the first place? Her head spun a little and she gripped the edges of the table to try and force everything to stop roiling around.
Her dizzy spell was cut short by Argo, who reached a hand across the table and took one of her hands in his big, gruff palms. Claire didn’t try to hide the little gasp that rose to her lips at his touch. It sent electric sparks through her. While Cooper calmed and grounded her, Argo made her world jump and stutter. But at least it made her focus on him and forget about the thousand other voices battling for prevalence in her head at the moment.
“Now, we get to know each other. Now, we take some time for ourselves. I know it was a long drive, Claire. And I’m very glad you are here. I feel like I know you as well as I know myself and Cooper, but I think we need to take things slow. For all our sakes. So, for now, how about dinner?”
He smiled a little and Claire swore it made her heart skip a beat. Seeing a sexy smirk on his lips was just about enough to make her melt into a puddle, if Cooper’s hand near her aching sex wasn’t already doing enough to accomplish that goal. She felt a heavy lump in her throat, cutting off her words, but she nodded.
“Dinner sounds good,” she said, managing a smile.
Though being the dessert sounds even better.
CHAPTER FOUR
Cooper
Cooper yawned loudly, not bothering to strive for better manners. He was in the middle of the Idaho countryside, standing on the porch of their newly-bought home, with no one around for miles aside from his Alpha partner and their hopefully soon-to-be mate. If he couldn’t feel like himself here, feel comfortable, then he couldn’t imagine there was a place in the world where he could.
“Enjoying the fresh air?” Argo asked tauntingly, padding out onto the porch in Cooper’s wake.
It was early in the morning, the sun was barely crawling up the sky, and the dew was still fresh on the grass. It was, in a word, perfect. Cooper accepted the mug of coffee from Argo with a thankful nod of his head and turned to look at the view again, admiring the mountains.
“I am. I don’t think I can get sick of this view,” he admitted truthfully, letting the caffeine trickle down his throat.
“I hope so. I intend to stay here,” Argo said.
Cooper gave him a look, the familiar sense of uneasiness settling at the pit of his stomach at the conviction of his partner. To him, it reeked of danger. Cooper prided himself on understanding Argo but in this, their views had not coincided. But, he had followed and he would stand by Argo’s side, no matter what. That was just the way this relationship was going to work.
“Is Claire up yet?” Cooper asked, trying to veer onto the path of more pleasing topics.
It was their second night in the house and so far, both he and Argo had been perfect gentlemen. Cooper wasn’t entirely sure how much more he could stand, being all prim and proper, when a mouthwatering piece of curvy ass was driving him up the wall day in and day out. It wasn’t just the body, of course. It was the knowledge that she was the
one
. Their third. The woman they had been looking for.
It had taken one look at her at the diner to know. To really,
really
know. It was comforting, in a way, how his wolf worked. Black and white, yes and no. Right and wrong. And she was right.
Sadly, through his lust, he still had to admit that the hard-as-iron conviction that he and his wolf had could not be translated so easily into a concept a human would understand. Claire didn’t have a primal being within her, telling her with the utmost certainty that the two men whose ad she had answered were her mates for life. He needed to give her time. He and Argo both. But it was so damnably difficult to keep his paws off of her!
“Not yet. I thought we could talk before she wakes,” Argo said, the soft smile he had been wearing being brushed away.
Shit,
Cooper thought to himself, leaning against the porch railing.
He was dressed in only a pair of sweatpants, and the cool morning air licked at his skin. His eyes rolled over Argo, who was wearing comfortable-looking pants and a T-shirt that hugged his form so tightly that Cooper could see the outlines of his chiseled abs. As he had done on the first day they met, Cooper admired the body of the man he felt so connected to. It was difficult not to and he knew the feeling was mutual.