Chapter 27 Willow #2
She cuts herself off as Bo smiles at me and holds out a hand. I take it before letting go of Ronan and let him pull me into his side. I wrap my arms around him as he hugs me against his side. I still feel worried someone will try to separate us, which is why I feel so clingy right now.
“Mother, I’d like you to meet Willow. Our fated mate.”
She gasps even louder, and clutches at her chest and practically falls backward in shock, her men holding her up as she stares at us.
Nerves fill me, and then she bursts into tears, making me feel terrible. That is, until Bo and his dads start to laugh.
“What’s happening?” I whisper, not understanding their family dynamics at all.
“Mom’s crying with happiness,” Bo explains.
“She… She’s not upset?”
Miryam quickly stands back up, wiping at her tears as she shakes her head and steps toward me.
“My darling, upset? Of course not! I’m just so happy my boys have found you.
We never expected them to take a mate, and a fated one?
” She shakes her head as she looks down at me with a pleased smile. “And such a pretty one too.”
My cheeks heat and that makes her smile even more. “And modest, I see. You boys are very lucky indeed.”
“I’m the lucky one,” I say, finally releasing my tight hold on Bo but keeping my hand tucked into his as I stand up a little taller.
This woman has several inches on me, but she exudes kindness, and my worries start to disappear.
“Bo, Hawk, and Ronan are the kindest, most caring, and protective men I’ve ever met in my life.
They saved me from danger and other men more times than I can count. So I’m the lucky one, not them.”
She lurches forward and I squeal in surprise until I realize she’s hugging me. “Welcome to the family, dear,” she says as a strange sensation moves through me. I lost my mom when I was young and don't ever remember being hugged or loved by a parent.
I hug her back and we stay like that until someone clears their throat and we pull apart. “I’m Miryam, but you must call me Mom or Mother,” she instructs and I nod. Then she introduces her husbands, Torran, who was the first man we met, Bryant, Acton, and Marv.
“Mom, we’re going to need your help planning a wedding,” Bo says, and her eyes light up in excitement.
“A wedding?! Oh, how wonderful! Don't worry, I will take care of everything!”
“Not to break up this reunion, but I’d like to get my mate cleaned up and into some fresh clothes,” Hawk says, pulling me into his side.
As if she only now notices what I’m wearing, a very dirty blue dress which is missing the bottom third, Miryam's eyes widen again and she nods.
It’s only then do I notice what she’s wearing. I’m not sure what I expected, but she’s wearing a tan dress that ends at her ankles with short sleeves. I haven’t seen any other women yet, so I’m not sure if this is how everyone dresses, but she seems to notice me staring and waves her hands.
“Ah, pay no attention to what I’m wearing. Your mates will find you much more appropriate clothing for a young lady like yourself.”
I’m not sure what she means, but she starts ordering some people listening nearby to immediately deliver some sort of materials to their home.
“You’ll need some food after that journey,” she says with a nod before signaling for someone else to get it.
“Son,” Torran says, when his wife finally gives him a moment to speak. “Not to pull the attention away from this joyous union, but what of your mission?”
“We were successful,” Ronan tells him and everyone in earshot cheers in excitement.
“Can we see it?” Acton asks eagerly. He has the same enthusiasm as Bo.
“It’s right here,” Hawk says, pulling me a little tighter to his side. They frown as they look at me.
When they just continue to just stare, Hawk explains. “Our Willow holds the magic to heal the land.” They look a little skeptical, so he adds, “We have seen it for ourselves.”
Miryam claps her hands in excitement. “Show us!”
I feel my cheeks heat as my eyes widen, and I wrap my arms around Hawk’s arm in alarm.
“No,” Ronan says immediately. “It can only be done around us. But don’t worry, we will have the forest healed within the week.”
“A week?!” Several of them ask in shock. “You can’t mean that it will be healed that quickly?”
“Maybe quicker,” Bo says, winking at me.
“Time to go,” Hawk says, scooping me up.
“Give us until tomorrow night to rest and recover,” Bo tells his mom.
“But—”
She starts to argue, but Bo cuts her off, more sternly this time. “No buts, Mother. Willow was forced into the Mating Hunt against her will. We had to participate so we could win her and keep her away from everyone else. And the Hunt lasted a week this year. That's why we were gone for so long.”
She gasps, again. “No! Not that barbaric, archaic ritual!” She looks at me with pity. “You poor thing.” She steps back and nods. “Okay, leave everything to me. Nobody will bother you, but we expect to see you tomorrow night, for a sunset wedding.”
“On the beach,” Hawk says, to my surprise.
She nods. “On the beach.”
We say our goodbyes as we march down a small trail into the trees. It takes about ten minutes until we stop.
Hawk sets me down. On the ground is a pile of material and food, and I frown, not understanding why it's here, in the middle of the forest.
“Boy, they work fast,” Bo chuckles before turning to me. “So, what do you think?”
“Uhh…” I say dumbly, not sure what he’s asking me about. Ronan presses a finger under my chin and tilts my head up.
My jaw drops as I take in the sight above me. Built high up into the trees is a large home—no. A treehouse. It weaves through three large trees with rope bridges connecting the structures.
“It’s incredible,” I say in awe. “How is it none of you mentioned you live in a treehouse?” I ask as I look at my mates.
Bo shrugs, looking a little sheepish. “It never came up.”
Hawk turns me toward him as he confesses, “We did worry a little, at first, that you would be put off by the idea of it. If we knew we’d have a mate someday, we probably would have built our home on the ground.”
“I’m glad you didn’t,” I tell him as I glance back up at it. “It looks amazing. Does everyone here live in the trees?”
He shakes his head. “Only us. Ronan had the idea, and we loved it.”
“Me too,” I say, smiling at them all.
We spend the next few hours in my new home.
They show me everything and it’s so much better than any home I’ve ever imagined.
They all have separate bedrooms, but they show me a large space that they want to convert into a bedroom for the four of us to use together.
Hawk and Ronan even go to work moving bedding around as I sit with Bo.
He looks through the delivered materials, which turned out to be cured animal hides, which he plans to turn into clothing for me.
He makes me a cropped tank top and skirt, and I feel a little like a cavewoman in my new getup. But it's comfortable and soft, and Bo molds it perfectly to my body.
The outfit leaves my midriff exposed, and when he’s done assessing the final outfit on me, he pulls me close from where he’s sitting on the ground and kisses my stomach.
“You look delectable in this,” he tells me, leaning in to kiss it again. “And to think, you could have our baby growing in here, right now.”
My jaw drops open as I stare down at him in utter shock. “What?”
His brows pinch a little in confusion as he looks up at me. He takes my hands in his as he asks, “You do know how babies are made, don’t you?”
Ronan and Hawk step into the room and freeze upon hearing Bo, their wide eyes bouncing between us.
I try to focus on Bo’s question and nod.
“Yes, I understand the theory of it but—” I cut myself off as I remember what we were taught.
“I-I didn’t realize,” I tell him. “I mean, I know it comes from a man planting his seed in a woman’s uterus, but…
I didn’t know that’s what we were doing.
Nobody ever said making a baby would be so… pleasurable.”
A smirk pulls at Bo’s lips. I suppose they also hadn’t told us that sex could be pleasurable for a woman, if done right.
“Does it upset you?” Ronan asks as they step closer. “Knowing you could be carrying our child?” I place my hand over my stomach as I glance down at myself and consider his question.
Slowly, I shake my head. “No, I like the idea. But, selfishly, I hope it doesn’t happen too soon. I want some time alone, getting to know you all better first.”
Ronan pulls me in for a hug as he kisses the top of my head. “Whatever happens, we will always have time for you.”
“Besides,” Bo says as he stands up. “That’s the bonus of having three of us. One can watch the baby while two can… play.” He grins at me and I can’t help but smile back.
“What do we do now?” I ask, gazing around the house.
“We should take you to bed. It’s been a long day,” Ronan says as he lifts me up.
“But the sun is still up,” I argue before a yawn escapes without permission.
“How about this. We go to bed now,” he narrows his eyes at me as he adds, “to sleep, only. Then, first thing in the morning, we will take you to the part of our island that needs healing.”
“You’ll need all the strength you have for that,” Bo says with a chuckle. I get what they are saying: save the sex for tomorrow, because their land needs it.
“Okay,” I agree as Ronan lifts me up and walks through the treehouse toward our new bedroom. Being held in his strong arms as my fingers trail over his bare chest, I start to feel the last bit of tension leave me.
We’re home, we’re safe, and we’re together. There is nothing that stops us from doing whatever we want.
I continue tracing the patterns on Ronan’s chest as I look up at him through my lashes and ask, “Are you sure we have to go to sleep right away?”
I stare around us at the dying forest.
“What happened here?” I ask, looking at the devastation.