Who were they, these mates of mine? And where was the husband I was supposed to meet? What would they do about him? What wouldIdo about him?
Later, I told my whirring mind.We’ll handle it all later.
Once I was under the covers again, the dark-haired man stepped back, his hands in his pockets, while the blond crossed his arms, his green eyes hard and sharp. The redhead stayed standing near the window, Brumous sprawled over him as they both watched me.
“Did your, uh, boss tell you to take care of me until he arrived?” I asked tentatively.
All three of them went dead still.
“We’re not here to take care of you.” The blond’s gaze flicked to the others, then settled back on me. “We’re your husbands.”
The words hit like a thunderclap, ringing in my ears. My mouth dropped open and my heart stumbled against my ribs.
Husbands?
The thought sent a wave of dismay sweeping through me, cold and prickling, like frost crawling up my spine. If they were my husbands, theyhadto be vampires, right? But they didn’t look like monsters. And none of them had fangs, or at least not that I could see.
Well, at least that solves the issue of what my mates would do about my intended husband, since they’re one in the same,I thought with grim humor.Still,onehusband, avampireno less, would have been enough to get used to! What am I supposed to do with three?
Their faces remained calm as my stomach dropped, and that only made memoreupset. I wanted to scream and run away, but all that came out was a shaky breath, the sound of a leaf trembling in a storm. The bond was telling me they were safe, but I didn’t believe it. Not yet.
My fingers curled into the hem of my shirt, which wasnotmy shirt.
“Who?” I swallowed hard, the word barely escaping my lips, as I gestured to the shirt.
The blond’s jaw tightened, the redhead’s gaze dropped, and the dark-haired guy’s expression softened with something like an apology.
“We took care of you,” that one said finally, sincerity in his nearly black eyes. “You needed help. We didn’t mean to intrude. You were… You weren’t in any state to…”
His sentence trailed off, the implication hanging in the air.
“We only wanted to help, darling,” the redhead added. “No harm intended.”
I met his eyes, the exact shade of gingerbread, but found only honesty. Still, the embarrassment lingered, and I pulled the shirt tighter around me, the fabric a fragile barrier against the world.
“I’ve been taking care of your fur baby, too,” he added with a grin. “Ready for him?”
I nodded with a tiny smile, which made his grin widen as he settled Brumous next to me. I latched onto the wolf pup, loving his soft warm fur and happy kisses, although the blond didn’t seem to like it, if his scowl was anything to go by.
“Gently, animal,” he scolded.
“We brought you some broth and bread.” The dark one waved at the tray the blond had set up on the dresser. “We’ll cook you up a feast when you’re feeling better, but this should fill your stomach without making you nauseous.”
“Thank you. You won’t, ah.” I bit my lips for a second and squeezed Brumous tighter. “You won’t send me back, will you?Pleasedon’t send me back.”
“No, beloved,” the same man was quick to say as the other two turned into statues. “Never. You’re staying here with us.”
Since I didn’t want to say thank you again, I just nodded.
Why were they being so nice? Eluned said my husband would throw me out like trash, yet here they were, taking care of me.
I hadn’t expected vampires to be so civil.
“We can see you’re tired,” the blond murmured. “We’ll check on you again in an hour.”
“If you need anything, though, just call out,” the black-haired man added. “We’ll hear you.”
“Or set the pup loose.” The redhead gave me a crooked smile. “He’ll find me.”
