Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Imogen

"He shifted for the first time at ten years old and killed the bastard."

I could see it then, all too clearly, a boy with Asher's blue eyes that was hovering in the place between child and man. Too tall and yet still with the spindly limbs of a kid, those same hands that picked up and threw Phil dripped with blood as he stood over the fallen form of some man.

"What did he do?" I rasped out. "Their foster father?"

"Well, that's Ursula's story?—"

"He raped me." The woman herself came walking into the hallway, and the others all shifted nervously, to make small sounds of sympathy, to reach out and squeeze Ursula's hand as she passed. She met the eyes of each woman, nodding in recognition, but it was me she was focussed on. She came to stand before me, crossing her arms, then thinking better of it.

"When they reported it in the news, it was called a ‘sexual relationship with a minor,' but that wasn't it. It was rape. I didn't want that fuck within ten feet of me and there was certainly no relationship happening there. After my brother was finished with him, there was nothing of him left. Asher killed the man who hurt me because he saw me as his sister."

She nodded slowly.

"If he was prepared to do that for me, imagine what he'd do to keep you safe as his fated mate."

"We're getting a little ahead of ourselves here," Flo said. "Imogen hasn't decided to accept the bond yet."

"Yes, I have." That came out way too fast, too eager, but I couldn't seem to regret that. "I have. I'm going to accept the bond."

"Good—" Ursula said with a grin.

"Before you know what that means?" Nat got to her feet. "Once you accept their bites, this is forever."

"Bites…?" My brain raced, able to fill in the gaps through my reading. "They're going to mark me as theirs by biting me on the neck?"

Nat pulled her collar away to reveal several neat scars, Ellie, Gail, Fern, Ingrid, all the women doing the same. For a second, there was a silent moment of solidarity amongst the group.

And I wanted to join them.

To count myself among their number. To be able to come here and advise other wild eyed women about what they were getting themselves into. I wanted to skip all of this and get straight to the good bit, because those moments had been few and far between. Instead, I sucked a breath in, then another.

"Yeah, I want that."

Because I could see it in my mind's eye, exactly how it was going to go. Not just Lucas, naked and splendid before me, but all three. Who wouldn't want them pulling you down in between them? Who wouldn't want their kisses raining over all parts of your body? And then right when you were sighing with pleasure, I could see it–sinking down on Kyle's or Asher's cock the moment their fangs snapped down, the pain making the pleasure all the sweeter. I'd ride one of them and then the next, letting them claim me in turn. Then I'd bite down with my own blunt teeth, marking them right back because I wanted every woman that looked at them to know that they were mine.

"She's rushing things," Flo muttered, but Gail just smiled.

"You know what you want, don't you, sweetheart?" Her earth mother smile was exactly what I needed right now. "Something inside you knew this moment would happen, and it's been waiting, waiting for them to come along."

I could only nod, something too big, too intense, rising in my throat. Swallowing wouldn't dislodge it and I couldn't confess it either, this overpowering need. To be loved, to be cared for, to finally put my bundle down and just surrender to something bigger than me. So a nod had to suffice.

"Did you have any questions or issues you'd like to discuss?" Fern asked, peering into my eyes.

"No." I glanced from one woman to the next, seeing past their concern to something else I desired so very much. Security. "I know everyone's concerned, but… This is what I want. It's what I've always wanted, so you don't need to worry about me changing my mind."

That didn't placate a bunch of the women here I could see, but they weren't the ones who were important. Fern flushed prettily and Gail wrapped her arms around my shoulders.

"Well then, Fern and I, we organised a little get together, just in case you decided to accept the bond."

"Little get together?" Asher snorted as we all walked into the backyard of a nice house situated in the inner city. "I'm fairly sure every member of Lucas' and my family is here."

And that should've been nerve wracking. The house looked like it should grace the cover of a glossy architecture magazine, and the garden was just stunning. The flower beds were filled with roses of every colour, the sweet perfume filling the air. However, it was the crowd that kind of intimidated me, each head turning around to take us in.

"There he is!" A diminutive older woman sprang up from her seat and rushed forward, only for Lucas to wrap his arms around her.

"Hi, Nanna, this is?—"

"Your girl?" She spun around to take me in, and my hands fidgeted with the hem of my shirt, trying to smooth out the wrinkles. "Hello, darling. I'm Glenda, this ratbag's grandmother."

"Oh, hi, I'm?—"

"Imogen?" A couple of large men with the ruddy faces of men who worked outside all day, their hair various shades of blond, ranging from nearly brown to white, approached. One pushed forward, shooting me a crooked smile I recognised easily, then thrust out his hand. "You look too smart to fall for an idiot like this." The other hand went to Lucas' hair, ruffling it before his son pushed his hand away. "You haven't accepted the bond yet. There's still time to change your mind."

"Jesus, Frank…" one of the other men said, nudging the first one in the ribs, but the third just laughed, all of them ignoring this. Lucas smiled along, his mouth stretched into that shape as he went a little pale.

"Enough out of you three," Fern said, waving them away sternly before turning to me. "Don't worry about Lucas' dads. They like to make a joke out of pretty much everything."

"Except you." One of the other dads swept her into his arms, dipping her down and then up again in time to plant a kiss on her lips. "Anyway, remember the shit your dad put us through?" A blue eye zeroed in on me. "You haven't got a scary dad lurking anywhere, do you, love?"

"Ah, no." I understood why Lucas plastered a smile on his face then. It was like a shield to deflect their intense focus. I'd barely seen my parents in the past few years, and I couldn't see that pattern changing at any point. "They're not really a big part of my life."

"One hurdle you don't have to jump over," Frank said with a nod to my guys. "Play things right, and you'll have your girl mated and yours before the end of the week."

"No." Asher was like a stone thrown into a pond, creating ripples by the second, but he managed something. Each one of them went quiet then. His hand took mine, as if sensing my fear, my concern that maybe he'd changed his mind. My focus narrowed down to his thumb, feeling it rub over my knuckles once, twice. "We're not rushing things with Imogen. She deserves to be courted properly."

Why the hell did he have to go and say that? My cheeks flushed bright red in front of all these strangers. As if in response to my blush, he pulled me into his side and then marched us forward to where yet another group of strangers waited.

"Asher!" Gail jumped up from where she was sitting with the rest of her family. "Hello, darling. Imogen, still with us? This is promising." She cast a wary eye over the deck at the back of her house, watching Kyle chat to Lucas' family while the man himself seemed to hold himself a little apart. Lucas' eyes met mine across the wooden expanse, and then he mouthed the word ‘help', forcing me to giggle. "I appreciate it's a bit of a trial by fire meeting everyone on the first day that you found out about the boys?—"

"Which is why I said it wasn't a great idea."

Asher ground that out between clenched teeth.

"Asher…"

"You could've given us this one day. Just one, Gail," he said, shooting her a meaningful look.

"If you're going to blame anyone, blame me," I said, looking up at him in time to catch his stare. He frowned slightly. "She asked me if it was OK, and I said yes." I shrugged. "I admit, I didn't realise your family was this big."

"A sleuth finding their mates is a huge thing," Gail explained. "I meant it to be just immediate family, but word got around." Her hands rose helplessly.

"Then we'll stay for a drink and something to eat," Asher told her in a low growl, "then I'm taking my… Imogen back to headquarters."

Her gaze softened.

"Of course, darling." Her hand went to his cheek, giving it a squeeze, something that had me choking back a laugh. "I knew you'd get all growly and protective when you found the other half of your heart."

"Gail—"

"Mum," she said, shooting him just as intense a look. "Now, make yourself useful and get your mate a drink."

Gail hooked her arm through mine and engaged in a whistlestop tour of the entire family. Names, faces, they came and went but nothing stuck. This was like being forced to sit a really important exam without having a chance to prepare for it, and I ended up saying something like that to her, which had her smiling.

"Not at all." She nodded to the table, everyone moving to sit down now because platters of food were brought out. "This is just the beginning. You'll have the rest of your life to get to know all of us." Her hand went to her hip. "Whether you want to or not. As I keep trying to tell Asher, this is your family."

"My introduction was just as traumatic." We turned to find him standing there with three drinks in hand. A beer for him and a wine for me and Gail, something we both accepted with a grateful smile. "Come and take a look at the garden, Imogen. I'll show you where one of my favourite hiding places is."

Gail protested that there was food on the table, ready to be eaten, but that small smile on Asher's face? I couldn't say no to it, so I took his free hand and then let him lead me out. A long, shuddering breath escaped me as the sound of all that chatter fell away, and he noted that with a nod.

"They're intense." He was making a statement, not asking a question, so I just took a sip of the wine. Dry, light, but fruity, it rolled around on my tongue as he continued. "But they mean well. There's a lot of love here." We got to the end of the garden where a beautiful wrought iron swing was situated and he gestured for me to take a seat. "It was hard for me to comprehend when I first arrived."

"My family's not like that at all," I replied, sinking down into the cushions. "We barely have a civil word to say to each other." My eyes found his. "So if you're hoping for some big family get together…"

"That never factored into my dreams of the future." He was always so intense, but right now I sucked up that constant regard like the wine. It rushed to my head, intoxicating me in the same way. "Just you, Imogen. A woman to care for, one to protect with everything I have. One to…"

I leaned forward, ready to hear the last bit, but that's when Kyle and Lucas came walking over toting plates of food.

"Escaped the crush already?" Kyle asked, sitting down on the grass after handing me a plate. "That took what, two-point-five seconds?"

"Your family is insufferable," Asher replied dryly, then turned to Lucas, "and yours is just loud."

"They're your family too. All of them," Kyle replied with a smug smile.

"Yeah?" Lucas fixed him with a dark look. "Then you can deal with my fuckhead brothers."