Page 24 of Cupid's Pack

Willem sucks in a sharp breath. Ian and Mason might have fallen easily into the idea of sharing last night, but he didn’t sign on for it. I feel guilty for a moment until I feel a hand squeeze my right ankle.

I tilt my chin to see Willem steadily meeting my gaze.I’ll get used to it, I swear.He straightens his shoulders like he’s strengthening his resolve.Don’t count me out.

I nod to acknowledge I’ve heard him. I’m suddenly too choked up to speak, both human and wolf.

Could Fate have made a mistake with Jakob? Could these three men be Fate’s apology to me for the ultimate mess up? Because I don’t know what else I possibly could have done to deserve this. I’ve tried to be good for my family and my pack, but this is beyond the kind of reward I would ever expect for simply doing my duty.

I’m better off not getting my hopes up. There’s still a chance that something is mistakenly making my wolf think that multiple men are our mates.

No, there’s not.My wolf fights back against my hesitation. The wolf side of me is ready to go all in and hope for the best.

We reach Willem’s cabin quickly with Mason carrying me. We only pass one other group of shifters, but they barely acknowledge us, nodding a quick hello as we pass. Still, I notice Ian and Willem both move a little closer on either side of Mason and I.

I’m not sure if they’re being protective of my safety or if they’re covering my nudity. Either way, they better get used to it.

There’s plenty of danger left, and I’m certainly not going to stop shifting. Though, I am usually better at preserving my clothes when I shift. It’s not often I’ve had to shift at a moment’s notice.

Willem steps ahead of us to open the cabin.

“You don’t lock it?” Mason’s voice is hard, and I look up to find him scowling as his grip on me tightens.

Willem shrugs sheepishly. “I willnow.”

“Leave him alone,” I snap, wiggling out of Mason’s grasp. He tries to hold tight to me, but I shove at his chest to be put down. I pointedly ignore everything below the waist as I focus my attention on Willem instead.

“I won’t leave it unlocked anymore,” Willem tells me, his face solemn.I stupidly thought leaving it unlocked might give someone a chance to wander in. I haven’t done a very good job of meeting people the normal way here.

I’m having so many warm and gooey feelings for poor Willem that I could practically melt into a puddle right here on his cabin doorstep.

“No fair,” Ian protests, a pout pulling his mouth down adorably. “You’re mind linking, aren’t you? I want to hear what you’re saying.”

“Mind your business,” Mason grumbles, smacking his brother on the back of the head.

I shake my head at them.Men, my wolf mutters deep in my chest.

I don’t want to leave the spotlight on Willem, so I step into the cabin knowing they’ll all follow. The first thing Willem does is wander into the bedroom and then back out with a stack of clothes.

He tosses part of the pile to Mason. “You guys can put those on for now until we go back to your cabin.” Willem turns his attention to me. He drops a couple of things on the ground next to his feet, but I barely have time to look before he reaches for me with a worn T-shirt in his hands.

Willem tugs the shirt over my head and keeps his fingers clasped around the hem as I pull my arms through the sleeves. He carefully tugs it down to mid-thigh, his fingers skimming my bare skin before he jerks back, releasing the shirt.

I glance down at the faded baseball on the center of the shirt.

“It’s from when I played in high school,” he says sheepishly. “I know it’s a little old, but it’s the most comfortable shirt I own. It looks… It looks really good on you.”

“Thank you.” I study him as he leans over to retrieve the things he dropped and dresses himself. He never takes his eyes off of me except for the split second when he’s tugging his own shirt on over his head.

“Uh, I thought this was a whole group meeting?” Ian pipes in helpfully. Staring into each other’s eyes isn’t exactly productive at the moment.

I wet my dry lips with my tongue as I pull myself away from all three of them, wandering farther into the cabin toward an oversized couch. I throw myself into the corner of it, tugging a pillow into my lap to hold for comfort, carefully avoiding the mud staining my shins and knees.

This is the hard part—talking about what comes next.

The guys slowly spread out on the couch around me, all of them patiently waiting to allow me to take charge of the conversation. It’s a lot of pressure, but I’ve been raised to handle that sort of thing. Even before my dad passed away, it was always assumed that I would be my mom’s successor.

I slowly, with stunted words, explain to them how Jakob came to Cupid’s Pack and into my life. It takes long enough that my stomach starts to growl midway, but I push on.

It’s painful to share my mom’s betrayal, but I’m careful to only leave out one part of the story. My heart stone. I’m not prepared to talk about the precious stone my dad left me, not without getting incredibly choked up. It’s not important right now anyway; if they choose to stay with me and explore whether our mate bond is genuine, there will be plenty of time to talk about the heart stones later.

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