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Mason snorts from behind us.
“We don’t have time for you to grope me.” Quinn crosses her arms over her chest, making her cleavage heave together at the neck of her tank top. It’s a beautiful sight to behold, one that I know I’ll never tire of.
“By all means, start stripping.” I gesture for her to go ahead, loving the way she flushes red from her cheeks to the tops of her tits. “I’d hate for you to ruin another outfit.”
Mason slaps the back of my head lightly in warning. He grumbles as he shoulders past me, blocking my and Willem’s view of Quinn so she can actually strip down in preparation to shift.
My brother seriously has older twin syndrome. In another life, Mason being the older brother might have meant him being the one our father chose to succeed him as Alpha of the Cross Mountain Pack. But I was the one with the stronger connection to the mountains, andthathad seemed more important at the time.
Willem moves to my side so silently that I startle when I realize he’s right beside me.Do you think she’ll pick him if she has to choose?he asks. I look at his conflicted expression as he watches my brother with our shared mate.
Let’s hope she never has to make that choice, I tell him.
My brother and I managed to salvage a relationship after spending most of our lives apart. There aren’t many things at this point that could truly come between us. But if he tries to take Quinn away and have her to himself?
My wolf riles, growling toward the surface until I’m forced to shove him down lest he makes an ass of us.
I don’t even want to consider the possibility of what the hell would happen if Mason, or even Willem, tried to take Quinn for themself.
I’m not sure if I should get my hopes up.Willem breathes heavily, and it doesn’t go unnoticed.
“What’s wrong?” Quinn asks instantly, peering around Mason to skim her gaze over Willem, looking for a sign of trouble.
Willem straightens himself up, standing a few inches taller than me and my brother, as he shoves his hands in his pockets. “Nothing.”
Quinn narrows her pink eyes suspiciously at him, and it’s enough to make me want to confess everything on his behalf. Luckily, her head disappears behind Mason again before I finish opening my mouth.
I think that should tell you everything you need to know,I point out to Willem, clapping him on the back once before I walk closer to Mason and Quinn.
She’s undressed, but I don’t ogle her anymore. It’s not that I don’t want to—our mate is an absolute knockout. But we really do need to get moving.
I shed my own clothes, and Mason and Willem follow suit. Once we’re serious, everything moves quickly. We pack our clothes away and give each other space to shift.
I shift first, rushing to get Quinn’s bag and then my own before she can catch up. She growls lightly at me when she realizes I’ve already grabbed her bag, but there’s no way I’m letting her carry it. Not while she’s healing, at least.
You focus on moving carefully while you finish healing, I tell her. I have no intention of ever letting her carry her own bag again, but now’s probably not the time to mention that.
Fine.It’s a testament to how much her leg must actually hurt that she doesn’t argue more. One thing Quinn has already proven is that she’s stubborn. It just might be my favorite thing about her.
Keep an eye on her,I tell Willem as I pass to take the point position at the front of our small group. I’m the only one who can safely guide the group over the path to the Cross Mountain Pack. I hate that I can’t keep an eye on Quinn myself, but I have to trust Willem and Mason to do it.
Otherwise, all of my daydreaming about this bizarre polyamorous scenario becoming permanent is for nothing. I haven’t voiced the desire out loud explicitly, but surely it’s the way things are leaning. Quinn can’t possibly think we’ll wind up at a point where she chooses one of us to be her mate and sends the rest of us off… Alone.
I refuse to believe that’s a possibility, despite Willem voicing that very worry. I just have to show her exactly how it will work. How it’s already working. We’re easily making decisions as a group, moving in tandem toward our goals. Which, for the time being, are keeping Quinn the hell away from Jakob MacKay and potentially getting her safely back to Cupid’s Pack.
It’s all I fixate on as I carefully pick my way up the mountainside for the next several hours in near-silence. I come up with a dozen scenarios to help show Quinn why she needs all three of us, and only half of them are sexual. I’m pretty damn proud of myself by the time we reach the troublesome creek—the last thing standing between us and pack land.
What do you think?I ask Willem.
Me?His head swings toward me, his nose twitching.
You’ve been watching her, right? Do you think she’s healed enough to cross here?She hasn’t complained, and she snapped at me the one time I dared to ask if she wanted to take a break, so I have to believe she’s not doing too poorly.
She’s moving really well. I wish she would let us help her across, but I don’t think it’s going to happen,he admits.
He’s right. I look toward her again to find her already picking her way across the rocky creek bed. Luckily, the water level is fairly low, which means the water isn’t rushing at us while we cross. Mason sticks close to her side as they cross. Seriously—the older twin syndrome is strong with him.
Willem darts after them, stomping big splashes of water up for a moment as he gets his bearings. Already, I know I’ll be interested to hear his story when things are more settled. He’s awfully afraid of being left behind, which makes something akin to pity pang in my gut for him. I push it away in favor of understanding—I lost Mason for years, and that left me feeling fucked up too.
