Fearless (The Willowdale Village Collection #2)

8. Lena Graves

CHAPTER 8

LENA GRAVES

S tanding in front of the bathroom vanity mirror a short time later, I brushed out my hair before tightening my towel and making my way back into my bedroom. I paused in the doorway at the sight of Liam already getting dressed.

Was he leaving? I suppose I had assumed that we would spend more time together, like Ari and I had.

But Liam was different, so I shouldn’t have assumed that.

Any semblance of bravery I’d had before, convincing myself that maybe it was worth expressing how I felt to him, absolutely disappeared. I nibbled my lip, considering my options, before looking around for my robe. Liam had seen me naked moments ago, but I suddenly felt far too bare.

“You’re heading out?”

His gaze seemed to darken on me as he walked across the room and captured my jaw, dipping his mouth to mine. I sighed into the kiss and almost pouted as he pulled away. “I wasn’t going to—unless you planned on kicking me out.”

Relief filled my chest as I shook my head. “I would love for you to stay. Let me get dressed, and we can make breakfast.”

“I’ll go get it started. Come out when you’re ready,” Liam said, dipping his head and brushing our lips once more. His hand tightened around me, and I could have easily gotten lost in that kiss, feeling almost dizzy as he pulled away and offered me a knowing smirk. I stared wide eyed at the normally grumpy man, shaking my head as he walked away.

I had thought about Liam in my room often, but seeing him here was very different.

Once my bedroom door closed, I popped open the windows to ensure that my room didn’t smell like…well, sex. Especially with another shifter staying here with me. I frowned, wondering when Colette would be back. Crap. Was I a bad roommate? I needed to text her to ensure she was okay. After all, she didn’t know the area well.

We hadn’t learned a lot about one another yet, but I’d found she was mostly an open book. Through that, two things had become clear to me.

First, she didn’t really understand what it meant to be a shifter.

Second, she was running from her family—even if she didn’t say that.

Both made me feel protective over my new friend. I was glad Colette had found her way here, and I really, truly hoped she’d be able to call this place home…as long as my brothers didn’t mess it up. I figured they wouldn’t, but you never know.

After getting dressed, I sent her a quick text to tell her I was making breakfast. When I stepped into the living room, I found Liam sitting on the couch with his shoes next to him as he talked quietly on the phone. His gaze moved up to me, and he motioned with his hand for me to step closer.

“If they need more help, I’ll come by,” he said, his brows furrowing with concern. I sat next to him, but he quickly tugged me onto his lap, and I melted against his frame. The voice on the other side continued to talk, and when Liam looked down at me, I watched his eyes fill with heat.

“I’ll tell her you said hi.” Liam hung up, and I arched a brow in question.

“Connery,” he explained. “This pack issue is growing more extreme. Even more young shifters shifted last night. They need help containing and calming them.”

“You should go,” I said. “I’ll stay here with Colette. I don’t think she should go to the pack lands with all of the chaos, especially since my brothers will be so busy.”

“Colette? Is that your brothers’ mate?”

“Yeah.” I smiled. “She seems really cool. She communicates through sign language, so Luca has been trying to learn how so they aren’t stuck texting. I have a feeling Hunter and Dylan won't be far behind him.”

“Interesting,” Liam said. “Are you sure you don’t want to come? I don’t like the idea of being separated. In fact, my wolf fucking loathes it.”

Nibbling my lip, I thought about Ari and wondered if he would feel the same way.

Liam’s phone rang as he looked down and smirked, picking up the call. “Morning, Ari.” Well, that just felt purposeful from the Creator. Liam nodded, looking amused, and kissed the side of my head. “Yeah, she’s here and safe, but I’m about to leave. We have to get to the pack lands.” Then, after a pause while he listened, “I’ll let her know. See you soon.”

“How is he?” I asked, trying to not seem too interested—or like I was totally overthinking the fact that he hadn’t called me yet. Then again, my phone was across the room.

“You ran out on him this morning?” Liam mused.

“I…may have been trying to sort out my thoughts and got nervous.”

Liam smirked. “You going to do that after I leave?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I don’t really understand what’s going on right now, Liam. I mean, I know what happened between each of you and myself individually, but I don’t know what that means for all of us. I don’t even know why you wanted to have dinner the other night.”

Liam’s gaze moved over my expression thoughtfully as he smoothed a hand through my hair. “I want all of us to talk together, but let me assure you, whatever you’ve worked out in your head is probably wrong.” He paused to make sure my eyes were on his so I’d see the truth there. “This is a good thing, and now that Ari and I have both marked you, it's an inevitable thing. I think you know exactly what is going on, Lena. I think you’re just scared to admit it.”

Before I could question him, I heard the alarm on my security system going off, probably because Colette had come back. Knowing it wasn’t time for this conversation, I said, “After this pack thing is sorted, can we all try dinner again?”

“Of course.” I stayed tucked in Liam’s arms as he stood from the couch. “Now go help your new friend—she’s probably worried the police are going to arrive because the alarm is going off.”

“Well, you are here,” I teased.

Liam walked with me to the door and offered me a knowing look before ordering, “You send another text like last time—asking us to leave you alone—and I’ll be happy to use it as a reason to punish you again.”

My mouth opened in surprise as he disappeared down the back stairs, my cheeks flushing. Damn him . When the alarm continued to ring at the front of the shop, it pulled me from the moment. I cursed and jogged down the steps to go help Colette.

“ I feel bad; you have to be bored,” I said to Colette as I stood at the counter. She looked up from where she was tucked into the corner, reading a book.

“I don’t mind at all. It’s nice to be able to just sit around and watch people come and go. People love the bakery, clearly, so it's fun to watch them pick out what they want. I just wish I could help more.”

I flashed a smile of pride at her assessment of my business. “Well, if you really want to, I’m sure I can find something for you to do—although it is fairly slow this weekend.”

“This is slow? That’s amazing. My life was very controlled back home, so I didn’t get a chance to sit around and watch people.”

A million questions popped into my head, so I risked asking, “What do you mean by controlled?”

Her gaze darkened. “I lived in a human community that hated shifters, so I rarely got to shift, let alone do anything that could remotely expose our secret.”

“I can’t imagine that.” I frowned, my brow dipping. “I count myself lucky for growing up in Willowdale. You’re going to love it here—there are no restrictions like that. I mean, the only reason it's a slow weekend to begin with is because so many people are helping on the pack lands with the young shifters.”

“I really like Willowdale—more than anywhere I’ve ever been,” she admitted.

I smiled softly before the door opened, pulling my attention to the family walking in. The next few hours in the shop went by quickly, bringing us into early evening. Between the groups coming in for a weekend treat, I managed to get some cupcakes baked in the back and prepared for the week. Normally, I would have planned for a far longer baking session on Sunday, but neither my focus nor my energy levels would allow for that—not today.

Colette eventually went upstairs but made me promise I would call her if I needed help. I wouldn’t lie, though, the quiet of the bakery in the closing hours was welcome. I was finally left alone with my thoughts for the first time all day— and I had a lot of them.

I’d officially mated with Liam and Ari, their marks present on my neck. My magic intertwined with theirs, even reaching out to them now. Not only that, but Macon had marked me, and I absolutely knew how Connery felt about me. Considering Liam’s words, I had to assume that maybe they were willing to share…to some extent. I mean, Liam had only ever acted weird in response to Ari’s marking, but following our mating he’d become completely relaxed. And the brothers were certainly each aware of how the other interacted with me.

Maybe this entire time I’d been blind to what was right in front of me. That was the best case scenario. My feelings for these men were intense and strong, so I had to hope that was the case—because at this point I wouldn’t choose between them.

To be honest, I didn’t think that was even an option anymore. I mean, three of them had come inside of me—even though Macon and I hadn’t fully had sex. And I was in heat. I had even warned them! They absolutely knew how serious this was, and I had to assume they wanted that—wanted serious.

A hesitant, hopeful smile pulled at my lips. Could I truly be that lucky?

My rabbit trilled happily in my head as my skin rolled with heat. It was enough to make me shiver as I tried to resist the urge to text one of the men. I’d already texted Ari, apologizing for leaving without saying goodbye, but he hadn’t responded except to say that he was glad I’d made it home safely. Hopefully the short response was because he was busy in the pack lands and not for another reason…like being upset with me.

No. I wouldn’t let myself overthink this anymore—not tonight. I would just wait until I saw them next.

Deciding to close up for the night and treat myself to a relaxing girls’ night with Colette, I locked up the bakery and went upstairs. When I didn’t see her in the main room, I went looking and found her sleeping in her bedroom, absolutely knocked out. I closed the door quietly and turned off the lights because I had no doubt that she was still exhausted from traveling.

“Well, now what?” I murmured, looking around my space.

On Sunday evenings I usually made dinner for my brothers and I, but that obviously wasn’t happening. With a long sigh, I settled on making myself a delicious meal of leftovers from a breakfast casserole I’d made the other day. Once I’d warmed it up, I laid out on the couch with a blanket, selecting a binge worthy show. I thought I would be plagued with enough thoughts to stay up for most of the night, but before long my eyes were growing heavy and I was whisked away into dreamland.

A cool autumn breeze ran through my hair and across my face as I finally opened my eyes. I was in a park, the ground covered in the bright colors of autumn and the sky a cool cloudy gray. I wrapped my arms around myself, the thick wool of one of my favorite coats protecting me from the chill.

Willowdale was unusually quiet as I made my way through the park I’d played in many times as a kid, finding myself a comfortable seat on a swing. As I rocked back and forth, I tried to listen for signs of life, but I found nothing. It was an odd dream that felt somewhat pointless ? —

The crunch of leaves had me freezing as I turned sharply, nearly falling off the seat. My eyes widened on an unfamiliar figure walking toward me with a bright smile.

“Well, this just worked out perfectly!” the woman chimed. My eyes searched her, taking note of an array of tiny details as I tried to figure out if she was someone I knew.

Her bright red hair was cut in a sleek bob at her shoulders, and she was wearing a perfectly starched suit and heels that did not match my dream at all. But the way her bright green eyes warmed on me was filled with a maternal affection, which I didn’t understand.

“Do I know you?” I asked. “I mean, you’re in my dream so I have to assume I do…”

“No, actually.” She sat down on the swing next to me, offering another flash of bright white teeth. “My name is Kaltes.”

“Lena,” I offered in return, “but I’m guessing you knew that.”

She nodded in affirmation. “I visit all rabbit shifters that are experiencing their first true mating heat. So here I am, checking in on you.”

I reared back in surprise. “You do? Why? That seems like…a lot.”

“I quit my day job. Made it a bit easier,” she teased. “I’m something of a goddess, but no one learns about the gods anymore—at least not like they used to. Don’t worry, I don’t mind. I still do my job…unlike some gods.”

I sensed a story there but didn’t think now was the time to ask. “Well, thanks for visiting.” I truly was appreciative. “Why though?”

Kaltes suddenly grew serious. “Going through a mating heat as a hare can be confusing—but follow your instincts. You are drawn to the individuals you are for a reason; your rabbit believes they’re the correct fit for you. Don’t fight it. Everything, and I mean everything, will work out how it's supposed to. I want you to believe that, Lena. I can feel how heavy your heart and head are with worry.”

Her words resonated with me probably more than she realized, and I swallowed down some emotion. “You said ‘individuals.’ Is it common for us to have more than one mate?”

“Of course,” she assured me. “I have twelve mates.”

“Holy shit,” I murmured.

Her eyes shone with a knowing light. “Do you have any other questions while I’m here?”

Deciding to bite the bullet, I asked, “The chances of getting pregnant during my mating heat…”

“Are nearly absolute. But usually that only happens once you bond with all of those who you consider mates. I didn’t have my first daughter until I’d found all my mates. It tends to be a running trend.”

I nodded, silently thinking that through.

Kaltes eased out of the swing. “If you ever need me, I’m only a dream away. You will be able to reach out to me just as I’ve reached out to you. I will always answer you the best I can.”

“Thank you,” I said genuinely. “I don’t have many people who I can ask this type of thing…so thank you, Kaltes.”

T he blaring of my alarm was the next thing I heard, jarring me from the dream as Monday morning light streamed through the window. For the first time in weeks, I woke up feeling at peace. I had to believe she was right—that everything would work out as it was supposed to.