The Woodland Packs

“I can’t guarantee I can satisfy you all in the…”

I swallowed hard. “I’ve only had, you know, the one time… with Tayte. But anyway.” I put my hands to my burning cheeks, covering the evidence of how mortified I was.

“I don’t expect you guys to be faithful. The bears never were to their mates. But I’ll do my best to satisfy you.”

The mood in the room changed instantly.

One moment the guys were smiling and laughing, the next they were silent.

I shivered in the cold.

“Did I say something wrong?”

“Ah, yeah.” Tayte stood up and began to pace. “Fuck, this is a mess.” He stopped and sighed.

The disappointment hit me like a slap to the face.

I tucked my knees up against my chest and wrapped my arms around my legs.

Tears tingled my eyes, “I’m sorry.”

How had I made such a big mistake already?

The Beta, Sam, moved slowly over to my side.

I put my head on my knees and looked at him.

“Celeste, we didn’t mean to upset you. Quite the opposite. So, let me explain a few things to you. As a pack, a family, we’ve been waiting for you, our Fated Mate, for years. When Dane and I touched you before, you responded to our touch in a way that means you’re our Fated Mate too.”

Tears slipped down my face and I wiped them against the jeans I wore.

“Okay.” I didn’t know what else to say. I already knew that, so why were they upset with me? “I mean… that’s good, isn’t it?”

I still don’t understand.

Sam went on. “And although we love the idea of you looking after our home for us—we’re terrible at cooking and all those things—that’s not why we want you. We know you already know Tayte, you’ve gone to bed with him… you’re pregnant by him, but we...” Sam swallowed, and I could see the pain in his eyes.

Dane walked across the room and sat next to me too, sighing heavily. “We need you to want us too. We don’t want you to… you know, put up with us just because you have to.”

I looked from one beautiful man to the other.

“You both want me?” I lifted my head so I could look at them properly.

“Of course, we do.”

“For… everything? You don’t want to date other women?”

I couldn’t believe it was possible. All the bear males cheated on their mates.

Dane laughed. “Are you kidding me? I never want another filthy one-night-stand ever again. I want a mate, we all do. But how can you…”

He glanced up to Tayte, whose massive frame towered over us all.

Were they worried I couldn’t care for them after I’d met their Alpha?

I bit my lip, wanting to reassure them, but not totally understanding what their fears were. “Um… Tayte and I have barely even talked. We met in a bar, when I was blind drunk, depressed and seeking help.”

Dane’s gaze dropped and I reached out to hold his hand, tingles of awareness and attraction pulsing along his palm into mine. “What is that?”