Fearless (The Willowdale Village Collection #2)

4. Lena Graves

CHAPTER 4

LENA GRAVES

“ U gh!” I complained, laying back in my bed and scowling at the pile of clothes that surrounded me. This was total nonsense.

Had I really closed down Bunny Bites an hour early for this? To lay here in this pile of clothes, confused on what the heck to wear? Yes. Because I had plans tonight; plans that made butterflies explode in my stomach and an excited thrill run up my spine.

Taking a deep breath, I looked over the clothes around me, putting my hands on my hips in frustration. My makeup and hair were done, but when it came to dressing up, everything felt highly average. Either far too ‘cute’ or ‘comfy’. Did I even own any sexy clothes? I eyed the v-neck shirt I was wearing with simple dark jeans and let out a long sigh. Maybe this would have to do.

I felt all out of sorts because last night had been plagued with thoughts about the very men I was about to see, followed by dreams that would probably only ever be dreams—my most desire-fueled imagination. So a restless and frustrating night, followed by a busy day at the bakery after my conversation with Liam, had left me feeling more than a bit off .

Which wasn’t great considering that the conversation I was about to have would be serious, to say the least. Pursing my lips as I sat down on the edge of my mattress, I wished—not for the first time—that I had my mom to talk to. Or a best friend.

After I stopped partying in high school though, I’d lost the people I used to be close to, most of them thinking I thought I was ‘better’ than them. That had been far from the case. It was more that I had needed a change, tired of waking up every weekend exhausted after long nights trapped with my thoughts. Ari was the only one who had stayed by my side through all of it, and that had been only the beginning of when I had started to feel something stronger for him than friendship.

“ S teady, baby girl.” Ari’s voice was warm against my ear as I shivered, tilting my head up at him. He was trying to get us home from this party, but that was the last thing I wanted.

My brothers thought that I was at Ari’s house studying, and his grandma almost never picked up the phone to contradict that message. My head was fuzzy from the few beers I’d had, and I couldn’t help but smile at the cute concern on his face.

“You’re always taking care of me.” I tapped his nose before sighing, suddenly choosing to sit down on the pavement. Ari cursed in surprise, crouching down next to me.

“Of course I am.” He frowned. “Although I wouldn’t mind a few more relaxed nights in.”

My brows dipped as I ran a hand through my hair. “I just…there isn’t much to do on the weekends.” And if I had nothing to do, it meant I would think about the weekends I used to spend with my family. It didn’t help that my brothers were busy all the time keeping the pack running, so I ended up sitting at home by myself for so much of it.

“Lena.” Ari’s fingers caught my chin as I looked up at him. His eyes were filled with so much concern, and I let out a small noise, wanting to offer him comfort.

“I’m fine, Ari. Just….just tired,” I whispered. “Tired of being alone.”

“You’re never alone,” Ari promised. “I’ll always be here for you, Lena.”

“But why?” I asked seriously.

“Because you’re my girl.”

A t the time I told myself it was nothing, but now I realized my feelings had grown for Ari even through the hurt. And when I turned eighteen, my rabbit had felt an immediate pull to Ari and Liam. So much so that when my mating heat hit I had to damn near hide from them.

And once Connery and Macon showed up? Well, now it was clear my rabbit had decided it was time. I was just so damn hesitant to decide anything—or worse, open myself up to rejection if they weren’t willing to be a part of that type of relationship. One that included us all.

It was why I’d always been so cautious about physicality with Liam and Ari. I had kissed Ari once while drunk, but outside of that I’d never hooked up with anyone. It had always felt like a betrayal of trust, and I’d never felt comfortable approaching either of them.

But the time to make a decision was here, and I knew that this conversation was necessary, even if it made me only more confused on what was going on… Although it was hard to be confused when it came to Connery and Macon. I mean, yesterday had been amazing. My body was still buzzing from the interaction.

Suddenly, the sound of my phone vibrating had me moving off my bed and toward the small end table where I’d placed it. When I saw the time, I realized I only had five minutes until I needed to be ready.

Opening up the notification, my heart instantly tanked, the brand new group chat popping up with all five of our numbers.

Connery: Got an emergency call in from Galena for both surrounding departments, gorgeous. The riverbank flooded the entire shopping district because of the recent rain.

Ari: When we get back, we’ll make it up to you, baby girl. I promise.

Nothing from Liam or Macon, but the message was clear— dinner was cancelled .

My eyes stung. I knew they needed to go help; it was what their jobs demanded of them. But I still felt a surge of disappointment and a bit of rejection. Okay more than a bit. A lot.

Sending off a quick text to tell them to ‘be careful,’ I muted the volume on my phone so I could ignore it and changed out of my clothes. Moving the pile from my bed to an armchair, I pulled on a pair of leggings and a hoodie before making my way to the living room.

My mood darkened the longer I thought about the cancelled plans. I knew they wouldn’t lie about having an emergency, but maybe they’d also decided that dinner wasn’t the best idea. Maybe they’d decided there would be too much conflict considering all the mating aspects between their animals. Maybe they’d decided it wasn’t worth talking about.

What had I expected from it anyway? For them to decide that being with me was worth having to share me with three other men? Right, Lena.

Honestly, if a simple cancelled date made me feel so down, maybe it was better to not get involved with these men at all. Turning on the television after grabbing a pack of carrot cupcakes I’d made recently, I put on a baking show and pulled a blanket over me, a sad sigh leaving my lips.

In a way, I was thankful. This taught me that I shouldn’t get too emotionally invested in my future with these men.

A fter several hours of feeling down in the dumps, I forced myself to move around the apartment, tidying up from my hours of binge watching shows and eating junk food.

I had also managed to shut down a few of those pesky emotions that seemed to grow bigger every time one of them texted me to check in. All of which went unanswered because I didn’t know what the right thing to say was. I had no right to be upset with them; they were helping with an emergency!

Still, my heart hurt. A lot.

It wasn’t until I was almost done cleaning that my phone rang with an unexpected call, causing me to pick up the device. I was glad that I’d unmuted it an hour or so ago.

“Hey—yy!” I said, drawing out my words as Dylan’s name flashed on my phone. He was probably on his way back from the Alpha meeting, and I wondered how the cookies went over.

“Lena.” I paused at his serious tone. Putting down the bag I’d been going through, I eyed the phone with caution.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing is exactly wrong.”

My heart rate slowed slightly, and I went to check on the pot roast that I had going on the stovetop. After eating all those muffins, the idea of normal food was amazing, and I figured it would serve as good leftovers. I had no idea what we would have eaten tonight during our dinner date, but I tried to believe it wouldn’t have been better than this.

“I’m on my way home from the city and we’re about ten minutes out?—”

“We?” I mused, my brows going up. “Are you making random friends on the bus now, Dylan?”

“No.” He chuckled. “ We as in my mate and me.”

My mouth popped open, momentarily shell shocked by his announcement. My brothers had never dated, let alone gone looking for a mate… holy crap . My smile began to grow as a surge of happiness for Dylan radiated through my heart. For all my brothers.

Despite them never dating, I’d been hoping they would find someone soon. Someone to watch after them, especially with how much they worked. Selfishly, I’d also found myself wanting a sister, someone that I could connect with.

“Don’t tell the others just yet,” he continued in my silence.

“Holy shit!” I squeaked. “This is so exciting! Can I talk to her? What’s she like? I had a feeling you three would find your mate soon!”

Sort of. I’d hoped they would, but that still counted.

“Lena.” My brother raised his voice slightly, stopping my excitement in its tracks. “For one, she’s sleeping right now. Long story short, she’s exhausted and seems to have been traveling for quite a bit. She needs a place to stay. I would bring her to the pack house, but I’m not sure that would be a good idea just yet…”

“Oh shit,” I breathed out, becoming more serious. “You are totally right. Those two psychos are way too intense for someone that is fully caffeinated, let alone tired.” I thought my brothers were pretty cool, but even I had to admit they veered toward the side of… ‘a lot’ on most days.

“I don’t think she knows a lot about the supernatural community,” Dylan said softly, concern heavy in his voice. My brow dipped at the gravity of what he was implying.

“Have her stay at my place, at least for the night,” I suggested. “I know you probably won’t want to leave, so you can crash on the couch…” My gaze moved over to the pot on the stove, which was bubbling. “Oh! I can make something to eat. Do you think she’s hungry?”

“She needs to eat,” Dylan stated. Perfect. I hung up the phone and got to work. The pot roast was nearly ready, so all I had to do was prepare a couple of sides.

I had no idea what his mate would be like, but I wanted to make sure she felt welcome. Plus, if we got along, maybe something good would come of tonight. Maybe I would make a new friend.

If only I were able to have such surety when identifying my mate as my brothers did. It had never been shocking, the concept of same-species shifters sharing mates. That was somewhat common, but things became complicated when different species got involved.

Like myself. Rabbits were almost always aligned with their people on who their mates were, but it wasn’t fated like wolves, and dragons got to pick who they wanted. When you brought the three of those together—like I wanted to—it got confusing, to say the least. I still didn’t fully understand the dynamic between the four men I was interested in. All I knew was that Connery and Macon were attracted to me and that Liam and Ari both seemed to always be within reach.

When my phone chirped with a security alert for the front of the bakery, I opened my apartment door and eagerly waited at the top of the stairs. I heard my brother’s voice and leaned over the railing to try to catch a peek, then decided I was too impatient for that and bounded down the stairs.

“This is Lena’s bakery,” Dylan said as they turned down the back hallway. “She lives above it.”

Taking that as my cue as they came into view, I ran up to greet her, mostly ignoring my brother. “Hello!”

The girl turned her head toward me, flashing a nervous but sweet smile, her bright purple hair covered partially by a beanie. She was much smaller than my brother and clung to him in a sweet way that spoke volumes to their dynamic. When she waved, stepping forward and trying to offer a hand, I pulled her into a tight hug.

“Oh my! You are literally so pretty. I’m Lena, by the way. Also, I’m a total hugger. Sorry about that.”

The girl laughed and pulled back, using sign language to introduce herself as Colette.

I was suddenly so incredibly grateful that I had taken a class on sign language in high school. That was back when I thought I wanted to be an elementary teacher, and I figured ASL would be a good thing to know. Turns out I was right! I also had a feeling that it would help my brothers out until they learned it themselves.

“I wish I could sign back better.” I sighed, glad that she could understand me. If she hadn’t, I would have been willing to write things out. “I need to practice more, but at least I can translate for this guy over here. Come in, by the way! I made food. Are you hungry? Of course you are, you are absolutely tiny, but hey! Us short girls have to stick together.”

I was totally rambling, but she signed back that she was, in fact, hungry as she followed me up the stairs. As I opened the door, I briefly noticed that my brother was taking out his phone to make a call.

Colette paused, and it prompted him to say, “Don’t worry, baby, I’ll be right in. I have to call someone.”

I smiled at the clear connection between the two of them, and I bolstered myself, not willing to let my own sadness on how today turned out encroach on this moment. My brothers deserved to be happy, and I was eager to become friends with their mate.

I just had to hope that one day I would get my happily ever after as well.