Untamed (Two Marks 0.50)

“I’m not going to let you go moon mad,” she countered, looking up at him and almost pleading with her eyes.

Gib drew in a breath and exhaled. “I’ll take my chances.”

Shelby stared at him, arrested, fear swirling in her lovely blue eyes. “You can’t,” she whispered. “I can’t leave here, and you must claim me.”

I wanted to grab her and shake her or spank her or fuck her into giving us her secrets, but I wouldn’t force them from her. She had to come to us willingly, with her whole heart, her whole body. Completely. Otherwise, our match was worthless. That was almost worse than never having found her at all.

“Shelby,” Gib said, a note of alpha sternness in his voice. “What’s going on? Is this about that phone call?”

She shook her head, blinking rapidly. “I don’t want to be dependent on you guys. I’m just not ready to commit.” She walked toward the truck, but Gib caught her around the waist and pulled her back.

Not ready to commit didn’t make sense. That was a human sentiment, not wolf.

“We’re not going to leave you,” Gib said firmly. “Dependence isn’t weakness. It’s strength. It’s… love. We love you, Shelby.”

I’d never heard Gib make himself so vulnerable, but rather than comfort Shelby, it made her chin quiver and tears swirl in her eyes.

“I need to go see my mom,” she said, her voice choked with tears. “Will you drive me back to my place so I can get my car?”

Gib drew in a breath and sighed. “We’ll take you back, kitten. We’ll give you some space and time to think. But this isn’t over.” He rubbed his beard. “Far from it.”

Shelby bobbed her head, agreeable as always, even though the line between her brows showed her anguish.

SHELBY

The moment my mates drove away, it felt like a limb had been ripped from my body. Every cell literally screamed for them to come back.

Ben. Gibson. My mates. My world.

Dammit. Yet I’d driven to my mom’s as planned.

I felt the separation from Gibson and Ben keenly. It was as if I was magnetized to them, like my insides were going to stretch through my skin. My she-wolf howled and prodded me to go find them. To sit on Gibson’s lap again, to feel his arms around me. To hear Ben’s approving voice, feel his gentle touch.

I sank down on my mom’s porch, covering my mouth with my hand. I was lost without them.

“Shelby? Honey? What’s going on?” My mom pushed the tattered screen door open and sat beside me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders.

I gave into the tears that had been threatening since I told my mates to leave. “Mom, last night I found my mates,” I said between sobs. “But they live in Wyoming.”

My mom gave a surprised laugh. “Wait—mates, plural?”

“Uh huh,” I sniffed, swiping at my tears with the back of my wrist. “Two of them. A pack alpha and an enforcer.”

“Oh, Shelby! This is wonderful! I don’t understand why you’re upset.” I felt her pleasure, the squeeze of her hold, the vibration of joy emanating from her body.

“Wyoming, Mom,” I reminded her. “You just lost your job. The timing’s awful. I don’t want to leave you now.”

“Shelby Jane, you are out of your mind.” My mom stood up to face me, hands on her hips. She wasn’t all that tall, but loomed over me now. “First of all, you make Wyoming sound like Siberia. It’s one state away. I’ll always be a day’s drive from you at most. Second, I am not your child, you are mine. I do not need you to look after me, you silly, darling girl.” She pulled me up and wrapped me in a warm embrace, sniffing my neck.

She pulled back, looked at me with a frown. “They haven’t marked you yet?”

I shook my head, fresh tears swimming at the mention of my beloved mates. The males who wanted to take care of me. Guilt tore at my throat. They’d probably been climbing out of their skin with the need to mark me, but they’d held back.

They refused to pressure me. I wondered how they were feeling right now, being separated.

“I always thought it would be a fairytale,” I explained. “You smell your mate and it’s magic right from the start. But it took me by surprise. I wasn’t ready for them, and now… now I’ve screwed everything up.”

“You’ve screwed nothing up,” my mom insisted. “Come inside and have some coffee. I want to hear the whole story and know why they aren’t here with you. I can’t believe they’d let you out of their sight.” She tsked them, but I set her straight.

“Again, I’ve screwed up,” I practically moaned, realizing how much of a mess I’d made.

I let her usher me into the kitchen, my stomach in knots, my skin burning and itchy to be near my mates again.