Chapter 20: Zoey

I woke up all tucked into bed. I was surprised at just how much I missed having the guys around, so I got up and went looking for them. I'd heard voices coming from the gym area and I got to the doorway just in time to see Deke punch the sandbag. I was astonished to see the hole his fist made in the bag as it flew and hit the wall with a thud. Wide-eyed, I heard him shouting and cursing. With his last question, I realized he was angry about… me.

"Um… Deacon?"

I swallowed as I saw three pairs of glowing eyes swing in my direction. There was a flavor of danger in the air that even I could taste. I took a step back, worried, and just a touch afraid. Pissed-off wolves were unpredictable, and I didn't want to bring that rage down on me.

"Is… is everything ok? Um… did I do something to make you upset?"

I took another couple of steps back. 

"Stop. Please, baby, don't go."

I watched as all three battled back anger and their wolves faded from their eyes. Deke's shoulders relaxed as he walked towards me and folded me into his arms, holding me close. He sucked in a sharp breath as he felt me flinch as if expecting a blow. It was an automatic reaction when people were near me when they were angry, and I could see it hurt him to know he was the cause of my fear. His eyes were tortured as he looked at me.

"Never baby. I'm so sorry I scared you. There's very little you could ever do to make me upset with you. No… I'm… fuck, I can't lie to you. I'm angry at how you were treated by Dark Moon pack. Ash…" Deke hesitated. "He saw the scars on your legs, and I felt the ones on your shoulder. Baby, when you feel comfortable with us… we need you to tell us everything that they did to you."

I felt all the blood leave my face and I swayed in his arms. My voice was just a whisper. "Why?"

Ash groaned as he and Jer came over and somehow, I ended up being held by all three men at the same time.

"We want to help you heal. You can only push it all away for so long before it damages you more on the inside. But we need to know what happened to know the best way to help you heal and move past it. We don't want to accidentally make it worse because of our ignorance. It would kill us all to know we had hurt you in any way."

I swallowed and nodded at Ash. "I understand." I took a deep breath. "I… I trust you guys to not hurt me. Let's… let's go to the living room and I'll tell you everything."

"Are you sure? You don't have to do it now, love."

"Yeah, Jer. I'm sure. But I think I'm gonna need a stiff drink to get through this. And you will too. It's not a pretty bedtime story."

Deke gently turned my head and gave me a soft kiss. "You are so brave baby. And we are humbled and honored that you trust us enough to tell us this already. I know this won't be easy, but we're with you every step of the way. You don't have to face this alone anymore."

I stared each of them in the eyes in turn, looking deeply as if I could see what was in their souls.

"I don't know why but I trust you with everything. I've never trusted anyone really, not fully. That was beaten out of me at an extremely early age. But you three make me feel… safe. Protected. Important. SEEN. I've always been invisible unless it's to be hurt, bullied, and abused. But you guys see me, the real me, and you still want me around. I don't disgust you by being wolf-less."

"We definitely want you baby. Always and for the rest of our lives."

"But why, Deke? That fact you do makes my heart light up, but it also confuses me. You just met me. Why do you want me and care about me so much? It just doesn't make sense."

Ash squeezed my hand. "Let's go to the living room and we'll tell our story before you tell us yours."

I nodded and together we all made our way to the living room and started to make ourselves comfortable. I started to giggle as they all tried to be the one to sit next to me and started to argue over it. 

"Boys, boys! Don't worry, I got this."

I stood and grabbed all the pillows and cushions from the couches and chairs and made a big pillow pile on the floor and sat in the middle. 

"See? Now I have all kinds of sides so you all can sit next to me, and we can all be comfy together."

The happy grins they gave me as they settled in made my heart skip a beat. They were already just too sexy but when they were smiling at me like that, it made them sexier by ten. Fuck… there went my poor panties drowning again. I caught their knowing grins as they all could smell my arousal.

"Yeah yeah yeah. I know. Fucking sifter senses."

Deke gave a low laugh, and it made shivers run up and down my spine. I leaned back against his chest.

"All right. Spill. What's going on?"

Deke and Jer looked at Ash. "You start, Ash. You found her first."

He nodded. 

"Look… Zoey… I just… I don't want you to feel freaked out because it's only been a couple of days since we met. And there is no pressure from any of us on this."

"On what, Ash? Just spit it out already."

He took a deep breath, and I could feel the other two holding their breaths.

"You're our mate, Zoey. All of ours. All three of our wolves have claimed you. And even if they hadn't, the human in us would have."

I felt my jaw drop as I looked at Ash in shock. He rushed to explain.

"I know it's not usual. But please just give us a chance. We all want you and really, we are all ok with this if you are. I… I hope that in time you could maybe want us too…."

He looked so scared and hopeful at the same time. They all did as they waited to hear what I was going to say. Me… the mate to all three of the strongest and hottest wolves of all the North American packs?

"Are… are you sure?"