Page 5 of Smoke and Blood

Morlie gasped.“I didn’t know.”

“It's a lot to get into.We can save that for lunch at your house.”Lovel winked.

“Okay.”Morlie picked up her glass and held it between her hands.“So, you said you have two mates.How’d you discover this?”She brought her drink to her mouth.

“I have apripialgene.”

“A what?”Confused, Morlie returned her glass to the table and stared back and forth between the two women.

“Three-person gene.A Were gene can be split on rare occasions, making one person a mate to two people.It has been seen mostly in a Lupine mate of identical twins.One wolf, a mate of both in the twin set,” Lovel declared as she reclaimed her seat beside her mate.“None of us realized it at first, and we had to speak with one of the elders.A wise healer.”

“I thought I was losing my mind.The more I saw Lovel or was around her, the more I felt the same connection to her that I recognized in the feelings I developed for Bleddyn.Bleddyn felt conflicted because as he fell in love with me, he still loved Lovel, who he had claimed,” Amira added.

“And I struggled to stay away from Bleddyn even as I found myself drawn to Amira.”

“It became easier once we met with the spiritual healer, took her advice, and stopped fighting against our bonds.Eventually, they both claimed me.”Amira reached up with both her hands, pulled the collar of her dress out, and showed Morlie the marks on both shoulders.

Morlie found herself fascinated with the marks and the way the three of them made the relationship work.“I’m glad the three of you have found your happiness.”

Amira sat back and rubbed her stomach.“We have.”

It was then that Morlie realized that, yes, Amira carried some extra weight on her short form, but the roundness of her stomach had to do with something else entirely.“Are you pregnant?”

Amira giggled.“Yes, we are.”

Morlie looked at Lovel, wondering how the other woman was taking it.Was there jealousy that Amira could give Bleddyn what Lovel could not?

But by the bright glow in the tall woman’s eyes, as she stared at her pregnant mate, Lovel clearly felt pure joy at the coming addition to their family.

Morlie couldn’t help but hope she and Chanin ended up with a small ounce of what these three had found.As her mind was reeling, she reached out and picked up a peanut butter cookie from the platter.With her first bite, she closed her eyes on the salty, nutty sweetness.

“These are delicious.”

Lovel reached over and picked up one.“They are.And when you become a wolf, watch out because your beast will do anything for a plate of them.”

They all laughed as Morlie pretended to sneak a second one.

“Have as many as you like.I always make enough batter for two batches.”Lovel put two cookies in Amira’s hand.

Amira grinned in thanks to her mate as she placed one cookie on the other and bit through both treats.

Lovel rubbed Amira’s swollen belly as she met Morlie’s gaze.“Now that you’ve heard our story, who is Morlie?”

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