Chapter 4: The Mates Reunite, Ellie’s POV

            I opened my phone with shaky hands in anticipation of finally getting to talk to the triplets. I don’t know why I was so nervous yet excited at the same time but it had been so long since I last spoke with them. My eyes immediately zeroed in on the “unread” message notification on my phone and I quickly opened our group chat.

Bronx: Take care of yourself, baby girl. We will be home soon.

Me: I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed all of you! Why are you coming home?

            I watched with anticipation as my message was marked as “read,” and my heart suddenly jumped into double time, anxiously waiting for those three little magical dots to appear indicating they were responding. Staring at my screen, I tempered down my irrational emotions at not receiving an immediate response, while also trying to calm my raging hormones cursing through my body. Just seeing Bronx call me “baby girl” had me throbbing in pleasure, causing me to subconsciously clench my thighs together to try to alleviate the pressure. I was almost 21 and was no stranger to what this feeling was…pure, unadulterated lust. As I internally chastised myself regarding these emerging thoughts and feelings, I picked up my soup to start eating to distract myself.

***DING, DING, DING***

            In rapid succession my phone sent alerts of multiple texts, causing me to jump in anticipation, nearly tossing my soup on all over myself and the bed. Cursing my clumsiness, I reached for my phone.

Bronx: Are you ok, Ellie?! What were you thinking accepting his challenge? I swear I’m going to rip Mason’s head off!

Benji: How’s it feel to have kicked the Alpha’s ass? Did he ask to file a “hurt feelings” report with you?

Baylor: Do you need anything? We have been SO worried about you, baby girl!

Me: LOL, guys, I’m okay, really…and I’ll be even better when I get to see your smiling faces! What happened that you’re coming home early? Will you be staying or leaving right away?

Bronx: You have no clue how excited we are to see you…

Benji: Be prepared to be smothered in hugs! Bronx has been a speed demon to get us home to you…we may or may not have broken some speed records.

Baylor: Do you know why he wanted to spar with you?

Why won’t they answer my questions?

Me: I don’t know his reasons, guys, but we really do need to talk. He’s been acting weird with me and frankly it’s wigging me out a bit to tell you the truth. Did your dad tell you he’s decided he wants me as his chosen mate?

***RING, RING, RING***

            I should have known throwing them that curveball would cause the texts to stop and a phone call to be made.

            “Ellie,” Bronx’s deep, gruff, and sexy as hell voice came over the speaker, making my core immediately get wet, “Tell us everything.”

            “Nice to hear your voice too, Bronx!” I sarcastically quipped back teasingly, hearing all three of them growl in response. Something about that primal sound made my body flush and start to hum with sexual tension. Goddess, I am in trouble… “Okay, okay, calm your jets, trips…and mine too” trying to determine how much I wanted to tell them because I feared the truth would cause their protectiveness to run wild.  With a sigh, I decided honesty was always the best policy and I didn’t have the heart to lie to or keep secrets from them.

            “It all started a few days ago. I had a run in with Alpha Mason at the waterfall and he really creeped me out…” I started.

            “Did he touch you?!” the triplets growled in unison.

            “No, he didn’t touch me but I was in the water and he didn’t seem like he was willing to let me out without showing myself to him. He only left when my phone went off with a text from Bella, asking me where I was. The weird thing was he seemed to be upset about the screen saver being a picture of the four of us. He became angry and threw my phone against a tree…”

            “You have a picture of us all on your phone?” Benji softly asked with enough sweetness in his voice I almost felt a tooth ache coming on.

            “Well, of course I do, I missed you guys. Did you not miss me?” I asked, my heart in my throat, for some reason dreading that their answer would be no. Goddess, why was I feeling so insecure? What did it matter that much to me?

            “Ellie, words can’t describe how much we have missed you…” Baylor started and in that moment, I knew from the seductive tone of his voice we were about to cross an invisible line and frankly, I didn’t care. I didn’t want to lose this feeling. It made me feel complete for the first time in my life.

            “…It killed us to have to leave you. We had our reasons. It doesn’t mean it wasn’t hell for us to be away or to not hear your sweet voice,” he continued.

            “Ellie, I promise, it will all make sense soon but we want you to know, you will always be the most important person in our lives. There is nothing we wouldn’t do for you. We will always take care of you, baby girl…believe that, please?” anguish filled Benji’s voice as he tried to hammer his point into my stubborn brain.

            “Please keep talking, Ellie, just hearing your voice soothes our beasts…we need to know what happened…” Bronx’s gruff voice came next, further making that warm, soothing feeling spread across the rest of my body.

With renewed strength in my voice from their words, I continued, “I was scared. I ran home but I didn’t want to worry anyone so I didn’t say anything. Yesterday, he showed up on the training grounds and challenged me. I know you are mad at me for accepting and putting myself in danger but something inside of me told me I needed to stand on my own two feet and fight my own battle. At first, I thought this was just another way to bully me but then he said…” my voice caught in my throat as the memories, the fear I felt, of Alpha Mason’s words during our fight came back to me in a rush.

            “What did he say, Ellie? You know you can trust us…we won’t let anything harm you ever again,” reiterated Bronx.  I felt more emotional than I thought I would when I heard their pledge to me and for the first time in my life, I started to allow myself to be open to the feeling of being loved.

            “He…well, during the fight, um…at one point I had him in a rear naked choke. He said…well he said that he liked my legs around him and he wondered if they would feel just as good wrapped around him while he fucked me,” I dropped the bomb I had been holding inside, not being able to hold back the tears or the sob which filled the silence. I had been closed off for so long filled with fear, anger and hurt; not trusting anyone to get near me enough to help. The line went dead silent and I started to panic, thinking I had done or said something wrong. Sounds of the phone dropping came over the line and then I started to hear growls and loud roars which only caused me to panic more.  What was happening?

            “Ellie?” a voice I didn’t recognize came over the phone, “We will have to call you back…I need to stop the gents from shifting in the car and causing an accident…Shit, Bronx, control Bullet!!!” and then the line went dead. I stared at the phone, unblinking with tears rolling down my face. A knock at the door jarred me out of my stupor and I rapidly started to try to wipe away the evidence of my moment of weakness.

            “Ellie, the boys just mindlinked me. They abandoned the car and are running straight here. They didn’t want you to worry or be upset,” Bradley softly said with a small smile on his face.

            “Are they mad at me for some reason?” I asked quietly, praying to the Moon Goddess I didn’t mess up this new feeling happening between me and the triplets.

            “No, half pint, they aren’t mad…well, not a you at least,” he tried to reassure me, chuckling slightly as he continued to listen to the mindlinks coming through.

            At that moment, with the flood gates opened by the triplets’ words, effectively taking a massive sledge hammer to the dam I had built around my heart, a full range of emotions started to flow even stronger causing me to shake in fear remembering Alpha Mason’s last words to us.  “What am I going to do?” I asked in a small voice, desperately trying to hold it together in front of one of the person I never wanted to see me weak. Even though I didn’t explain what I was referring to, Bradley knew. He always knew.

            “You are not alone, Ellie. It doesn’t matter what the Alpha thinks. No one can make you go against the Moon Goddess’s plan for you…or away from your fate…” stopping what he was going to say next due to being interrupted by the sound of a slamming door downstairs and the pounding of feet up the stairs towards my room. “Regardless, that doesn’t matter anymore, the boys are here. They will protect you,” he finished just as my door slammed open with such force, I was surprised it didn’t come off the hinges.

            Standing before me were the Locke triplets. While older and more mature looking, I recognized them immediately. Their larger than life and sexy as hell bodies on display for me. I couldn’t help the slight moan of desire as it escaped my lips, along with the scent of my arousal permeating my room. Shocked at my body’s response, I sneaked a glance to Bradley, flushing red with embarrassment he was witnessing this real time.  But I couldn’t find any judgement on his face, only a big smile of acceptance as he stood up to walk past his sons in the doorway. Their eyes hadn’t left me once, still trying to control their breathing and their wolves. The three of them combined had the faint smell of my favorite dessert – a banana split – hints of vanilla, chocolate and bananas hitting my nose. It was the most delicious scent I have ever smelled.

            “Take care of her, boys,” he said softly, walking past them while touching their shoulders in welcome as he walked out of the room.

            “Ellie...” they breathed out my name with such emotion it made my entire body clench in pleasure. Before I knew it, my body took over and I ran straight into the arms of the Locke triplets, launching myself in their direction, knowing that no matter what, they would always catch me. I couldn’t stop the tears of happiness that had started to free fall once again down my face. I was completely surrounded by them in my own “triplet cocoon” of happiness. There hands were everywhere on my body, checking it for injuries, almost making themselves believe I was standing right in front of them. I had never felt more loved, more protected and more happy than I was in this moment.

Bronx POV

            As the words left her lips of the disgusting things that fucker Mason said he wanted to do to her, Bullet lost it. I tried to keep him calm but it was a losing battle. Glancing away from the road into the back seat, I knew this was going to get bad quick. None of us had control, other than Vince. The echos of Ellie’s sobs, the way her voice broke, the fear I felt through the Guardian Knight bond tipped me and Bullet over the edge.

I am going to tear him limb from limb, Bronx! He dared to lay a hand on our mate and terrorize her?? I couldn’t help but agree with Bullet, the feel of revenge cursing through my veins like fire. He thought he could take our mate from us? Let him fucking try, he would learn soon enough who he was dealing with. I faintly heard Vince on the phone with Ellie, letting her know what was happening. I didn’t want to scare or worry her but the need to protect her was too strong for all of us.

            “Bronx, pull the fuck over, man, so you don’t crash us! I know we are somewhat indestructable and all but it doesn’t mean that shit doesn’t hurt!” Vince shouted trying to get my attention. I looked down at my hands to see them partially shifted, ripping the steering wheel to shreds. I quickly pulled over on the side of the road, my skin feeling like it was being ripped apart from the forced shift.

            “Bronx, I can’t stop it!” Benji yelled, “Same!” Baylor added. With a roar, I gave into the shift, allowing Bullet to fully take over.

“Benji! Baylor! Don’t fight the shift, let Blaze and Banshee out!” Bullet commanded. With approval from their team lead, both brothers shifted. While Ellie was the last white wolf, the triplet wolves were black as night with the exception of distinguishing white mark on each of their foreheads.

“Vince, we will run the rest of the way there, taking a shortcut, please take the car and meet us there,” Bullet growled, “We need to release some energy before we see our mate so we don’t scare her.”

            “Great, I’m a glorified butler now…would you like hot wet towels ready for you upon your arrival, Sir?” Vince joked trying to get us all to calm down a bit more. While he himself didn’t have a beloved, the vampire version of a mate, he knew the deep love they felt for Ellie. Even he wanted to rip this Alpha to shreds and Vince hadn’t even met Ellie yet.

            Chuckling as he trotted away with his brothers, Bullet said, “Yes and I’ll need the bed turned down also…don’t forget the mint, fucker!” Leave it to Vince to get us out of our rage and focused again on what needed to be taken care of. Ellie.

            Mindlinking our father, Bullet quickly said, “Check on Ellie. Much more has been going on than even you know. We are running there now. Be there soon.” With that, Bullet raised his large head and sent a ferocious howl into the sky, letting everyone know not to get in our way.

            Running ended up being a great idea as we reached the packlands and had calmed down considerably. Instead of rage, there was an overwhelming desire to see our mate. To hold her, to know she was okay. As we reached the front door, we quickly shifted back, thankful that with our Guardian Knight powers, we hadn’t shredded our clothes in the process. As I walked in the front door, the smell of strawberries and cream hit my nose. Man, I had missed her scent. Looking at my brothers, I knew they were equally affected.

            Rushing up the stairs, I slowed to mindlink my brothers, “Don’t forget, we can’t tell her she is our mate. Don’t scare her. She’s been through so much already.” With a nod in my direction, I knew we were all on the same page. Admittedly, I opened the door with a little more force than necessary but I just couldn’t contain my excitement. The moment we walked into the room, my eyes immediately met hers and I was lost.

            How was it possible she had grown even more beautiful since we had been away? The feeling of jealousy started to re-emerge in the bond with my brothers, as we all had the same thought regarding Alpha Mason having his hands on her. Her silver hair framed her heart-shaped face beautifully. Her icy blue eyes, wide with surprise, also showed a love and a fair amount of lust. It was at that point I smelled her arousal and it took all of my willpower not to throw my dad out of the room and mark and mate her right then and there. I knew she was mine. That’s what made waiting even harder. Then she stood and my entire world stopped. She was the perfect package. Curves in all the right places and looked like her body was a weapon. And she was OURS. I faintly heard our father say something as he walked out the door but I was focused on one person and one person alone.

            “Ellie…” we said in unison. Before I knew it, like lightening, our little mate was off the bed and had launched herself towards us. Her body slammed into ours, her hands trying to touch all of us at once. I felt a calmness settle over our brotherly bond as we wrapped our arms around her, surrounding her completely with our bodies. I breathed in deep on the top of her head, taking in her sweet scent. I would never get enough of her. I had never felt more blessed by the Moon Goddess. Our wolves started to whimper when we heard our little mate’s sobs and scented the saltiness of her tears.

            “I call first dibs on decapitating the fucker,” Blaze said.“Get in line, brother!” Banshee growled. “Focus on Mate!” Bullet chastised. The three of us chuckled a bit over mindlink listening to our wolves. As they continued to drone on, the one thing they could agree on was that our mate was perfect. I couldn’t have agreed more with them. I was filled with joy at the thought that despite not knowing we were mates, Ellie was starting to feel the effects. With that thought, I knew what my brothers and I needed to do in order to lessen the upcoming blow to Ellie of finding out the truth of just how special she was, or the fact she was stuck with three mates – a challenge for any she-wolf, gifted or not. We would woo her. We would shower her in all of the love we had been feeling for the last three years. I kissed the top of her head and linked my brothers, “We are finally home, bros.”