Chapter Twenty-One
Isabella
I loved my life here with my three bears, but after so much time had passed, I still hadn’t mated with Lyon.
The third bear was on my list, to put it totally unromantically, when everything blew up with my past. The bears had explained to me about mates and how I was destined for them, but I still woke up some days wondering why they didn’t just put me out with the trash.
Or hand me back to Mark to do whatever he wanted with. Because being with me? Not easy.
Oh, not because I was rude or unpleasant, but my past just kept rolling over us.
The bitch I was now grateful he preferred to me was pregnant.
Like I cared. Let them fill the house with misbegotten brats.
With the genetics on both sides, they were sure to be part demon.
Or hellhounds. Something evil and horrible who would make their lives worse.
But since I spent that wonderful afternoon with York outside on the lounger, there had not been a perfect moment to spend with Lyon.
All of us were so stressed. Oh, the guys tried to hide it, but I’d spent a lot of years monitoring the emotions of a male, and I wasn’t anywhere near as close to him as I was to these three bears.
And that was without making love to Lyon.
It was unfair to him, to me…to our whole little family. We needed to be on an even footing, but that wasn’t the biggest part. No. Every time I reached past him for a mug in the coffee/tea station he’d set up for me, I wanted to fling myself at him.
But it wasn’t time for that. It was time to try to figure out how to completely separate ourselves from Mark and all of his crime family.
So, not only was I not sleeping with Lyon, I wasn’t sleeping with any of them.
It didn’t seem like the time. Or maybe I thought I needed to be with each of them once before revisiting the others.
I was so confused about what I should be doing or could be doing or needed to do.
I had no experience at being a mate, at living my dream with my three bears.
And I was fairly certain I was screwing it up badly.
One night, lying in bed, I reached a breaking point.
I hadn’t slept much for days, couldn’t eat, and while I recognized that something had to change, going back to Millie’s just endangered her family.
Pulling on my robe and tucking my phone in the pocket, I started for the backyard, needing fresh air.
Every muscle ached from the tension I’d borne for years and thought I’d never face again.
Pushing open the door, I stepped outside into the cool night.
My mates were adamant that we could make things work, end the barrage of negativity sent in our direction.
But was it right for me to allow them to put themselves in danger that way?
For the same reason I’d said no to Millie’s home as an option, I should pack my things and get on a random bus to somewhere my presence didn’t put anyone at risk.
The lounger where I’d made love with York stood nearby, and I tiptoed over to it as if my bare footfalls might disturb my mates sleeping in the house. Ridiculous, but lack of sleep and warring emotions were not my friends. I stroked the cushion where we’d had such an incredible afternoon.
It was going to be so hard to leave, but as I perched on the edge of the chair, I saw no other solution that would protect the ones I loved.
Mark would spend his energy trying to track me down so he could marry his whore and live happily ever after.
My mates and friends would not know where I’d gone, and hopefully Mark and his goons would accept that and leave them alone.
With that decision made, I allowed myself a few more minutes of moonlight while I composed my goodbye note on my phone.
“Mate?”
I jerked in surprise. “Lyon, I didn’t hear you come out.”
“Right.” He waved to the chair. “Join you?”
“Oh, sure. I was about to go back in, though.”
He sat next to me, thighs touching and reminding me how much I’d wanted him and for so long. “What are you writing?”
Crap. “Nothing, just a note.”
“Omega? It’s two in the morning.”
So few words, yet my quietest mate managed to convey so much.
He wasn’t going to accept that I had gone outside in the early morning hours to make a grocery list or a reminder to empty the dishwasher.
And with his gaze boring into mine, I didn’t even try to lie.
“A goodbye note. I can’t stay here and risk those criminals harming you all. ”
“Isabella.” He stood up and reached for my hand, drawing me up with him. “It’s cold out here. Let’s go inside and talk.”
The ache inside me, the pain of leaving them swelled up to fill my chest. “Lyon, it’s not going to change anything. I would never forgive myself if one of you got hurt at all, and Mark loves hurting people. I need to leave.”
But I didn’t stop him from walking me inside and to his room. He settled me in the chair in the corner and went into his closet, emerging with a duffle bag. As I watched in confusion, he opened his dresser drawer and lifted out a stack of folded undershorts. “Lyon, what are you doing?”
“If you insist on leaving, you can’t think we’d let you go alone, do you?
I’ll go with you now and the others can join us when we know where we’re going.
” He added socks and T-shirts and jeans.
“I do need to let them know before we leave, but they’ll need to stay behind and sell the house and everything. ”
“What do you mean? The whole purpose of my going is to keep Mark and his goons from killing you. If you are with me, that just negates my whole plan.”
Closing the bottom drawer, he sat on the floor at my feet. This huge, gorgeous, quiet bear leaned against my legs and sighed. “Then maybe it’s not the plan you want to implement.”
Tears blurred my vision, and I dropped my head into my hands. “Then what do I do?”
“You stay here with us because as much as it may sound like a solution, running away is almost never the answer. We won’t let you go without us because we can’t live without our mate. It’s a half-life at best.”
“But you would be alive.”
“Provided your ex believes we don’t know where you are. Otherwise, we’d have to deal with it anyway. Isabella, omega mine, we’ll fix this. I promise. But it will take time and care, okay?”
Sniffling, I nodded.
“So, why don’t you go back to bed and try and get some rest. In the morning, we’ll all four talk it out. We’d give our lives for you.”
“But I don’t want you to,” I wailed. “I’d never forgive myself, and I’d miss you every minute of every day.”
“So you do understand how mating works.” He stood up and reached for me. “You need to sleep.”
“Can I stay here?” I held back, remaining seated.
“Yes. Of course. You climb in bed and I’ll—”
“I mean, can I stay here in bed with you and…oh hell.” I jumped up and grabbed his hand, marched over to the bed, and let go to shrug my robe off. “I mean…Lyon, would you make love to me tonight? Mate me? Mark me?”
“Omega, you’re upset. Maybe this isn’t the time.”
“I’m going to be a lot more upset if you reject me.” Stomping my foot, I pulled my sleep tee over my head and stood in front of him. I sounded a lot more secure and confident than I felt, but I never doubted I wanted him. And if I wasn’t going to leave, I might as well do what I yearned to.
My mate of few words didn’t ask any more questions. He pulled off his jeans and white T-shirt, took me into his arms, and showed me how lovemaking with a quiet mate could be incredible.
I slept in his arms, all three marks on my neck and a feeling of strength echoing from inside me.
The moment he’d sunk his teeth into my throat, it all fell into place.
Mated to all three bears solidified something.
We were one now. The three bears I’d dreamed of were mine and I was theirs.
And together, we could take on the world.