Third Time Lucky

“Not your problem. Or your concern.”

He snorted and nodded to the back patio they’d been avoiding. “Tell them that.”

“It isn’t any of their business either.”

He hooted with laughter. “You tell the dads that. You tell Mom that.” He didn’t get it, of course. Hell, he was a guy. She was pretty sure their mother would understand exactly the nature of her reticence. She was a female soldier to two soldier males, and as near as Gabby could tell, none of them had ever been happy. They wanted a submissive woman. Her mother tried; it just wasn’t in her. Gabby had fought so hard to stay unmated because she’d seen exactly how bad it could be.

Her brother nudged her shoulder. “Hey, who’s that?”

She looked over to see Harris exit the path into the yard, Ethan right behind him. “Shit,” she muttered.

Her brother cocked his brows. “Really? Not invited, huh?” He thought it over and then smiled. “Gutsy. I like them.”

But his nostrils flared as Harris approached. “Wizard,” he snarled.

Gabby grabbed his arm when he stepped forward and hissed back, “Mine. And they were invited. I just didn’t expect them yet.”

Holy shit, what was she doing? She’d hoped she’d have more time to brace herself before dealing with Harris again, but she’d be damned if it was someone else who got rid of him. And the idiot man had no sense. None at all. He swaggered into the yard, walked as if he had every right to be there, zeroing in on her. His entrance actually stopped the argument between her parents, and she hurried closer, Kade at her heels. That was bloodshed she didn’t want to witness or take responsibility for. He looked at her, his eyes calm, his expression almost serene before he smoothly turned to her parents and held his hand out to introduce himself. She held her breath and edged close enough to listen in.

“You bear the scent of family, wizard.”

“I imagine I do.”

Robert, one of her fathers, still didn’t take his hand. “Why is that?” Harris turned to give her a small, tight, furious smile. “Because she’s my mate.” His words were hard and certain, proprietary, and made her belly flip-flop. He looked back to her parents, meeting all three gazes carefully. “We have met before. I’m the police chief in Redemption.

Harris.”

“We know who you are,” Steve, her other father, snapped. “Though I haven’t heard any reason why we should let you live.”

She rolled her eyes and stepped into the fray. “Get over it. You’ve been complaining about me being single for years.”

They finally seemed to notice her, and both fathers turned on her at once, nostrils flaring, eyes narrowing. It seemed an eternity before anyone spoke. “You took two mates? And you kept this from your family?” Robert asked, sounding hurt.

“It just happened,” she said meekly. She hated to hear that tone in her voice, but hell, he was her father. Harris stepped up behind her and squeezed her shoulder. Silent support, but she felt it bone-deep and tilted her chin up. Then Ethan stepped up to her other side, nodded, and said hello.

“And Ethan too,” her mother murmured, a hint of approval in her voice. She stepped forward, took Gabby’s hand, and drew her into the house before another word could be spoken.

Gabby wasn’t so sure leaving the men alone was a good idea.

They walked into the kitchen. Its big windows and glass doors overlooked the yard, and Gabby hovered near them, watching the five men out there. They circled each other, speaking every now and then, though of course she couldn’t make out the words from this distance and behind glass. Feeling each other out, she realized. She turned to her mother, who stood at the counter pouring coffee. She took both mugs to the table and motioned Gabby to join her.

They had an unimpeded view of the yard. Where had her brother gone? She searched and found him off to the side leaning against a post. Five keyed-up males. All that damned testosterone. It made her grit her teeth so hard they hurt.

“Is it too much to ask for a normal life?” she whispered. “A nice, peaceful, calm life?” Her mother laughed. “Wolf, wizard, human. Doesn’t matter, they’re all men. That out there is perfectly normal.”

The woman had surely lost her mind, and Gabby was sure her expression matched that belief because her mother chuckled again. “Before I mated them, I went out into the world. I dated nice, normal human men. Who it turns out are just as possessive, some just as dominant.

Just as mule-headed,” she added with a wink.

Gabby was stunned. She’d never considered her mother had had another life. “If you broke free, why did you come back?”

Her mother gave her a quizzical look. “Who said I broke free? You can leave the pack, but in the end, we are pack creatures.” She took a deep breath and shook her head. “No, I need someplace I can be a wolf. Someplace I can run when the urge strikes. And people who understand that.”

Gabby could relate to that, but… “But, Momma, the way they treat you.” She stopped.

How could she explain without hurting her feelings? “I don’t want to spend my life fighting for independence or proving my place.”

Her mother gave her a tiny smile and sat back in her chair. “Is that what you think? Well, I suppose it is. We’ve all screwed up then.”

Gabby scowled. It wasn’t perfect, okay, but she wouldn’t go that far. “What do you mean?”

Her mother shrugged. “I will never be as dominant, as high up the chain of command as you are. I had the strength maybe, but I just didn’t want it. They weren’t holding me back, baby, don’t think that.”

She hadn’t thought that exactly. Had she? No, she’d always known she’d go higher than her mother and her fathers had. “No. It’s the rest of it.” Her mother frowned. “It’s complicated, but I promise you I’m happy with our relationship, baby.”