LiamI thought she was going to throw us both out in the snow. Probably the only thing that kept her from doing it was being a healer. Her eyes went so wide, I expected them to bulge before they narrowed again. “I do not belong to anyone,” she asserted. “You and your husband belong to one another, and I am merely here to help you feel better.”“My wolf is very sure of this,” I told her, “but perhaps we can discuss it later.”“There is nothing to discuss,” she assured me, easing my arms from the coat. “Except how to get both of you well.”“Your wolf hasn’t said anything?” My head was pounding and my stomach starting to churn again. Reminding me in no uncertain terms that we were endangering this woman’s life by even being here. I took a step back from her.“Why don’t you take a seat at the table and rest?” She took my arm and guided me to the spot she’d indicated. “And, while I get the fire going, you can tell me what’s wrong with you both.”I didn’t have the strength to fight her, hav

Jessica My patient was thirsty, and here I stood arguing with the patient’s husband about whether he was or was not my mate. In fact, Liam was also my patient albeit one not nearly so sick. I poured a mug of tea and hurried to Mia’s side. His eyes were open, but he lay on his side, so I set the drink down and helped him get propped up with pillows. “I brought you some more tea.” I placed the cup in his hands and then smoothed the covers around his waist. “It’s better for you than water.”He lifted it to his lips then made an awful grimace. “This is what my mouth tastes like. It’s what I wanted the water to get rid of. Ugh.”Liam burst into laughter. “I’ve had at least a hundred cups of the stuff and, while it’s absolutely vile, I think it’s doing the job. I’m not nauseous anymore and all the pains are fading back.”“Not a hundred,” I protested, hurrying back to the kitchen for a glass of water. “But you’re right, it is working.” She perched on the edge of the bed and swapped out the

LiamWe fell asleep. All of us, I assume because when I woke up to find weak sunlight filtering through the gap between the curtains on the east-facing window, we were all curled up together like happy, comfy puppies. I snuggled deeper and buried my face in the soft locks of Jessica hair. When we fell asleep Mia was in the middle, but somehow we’d shifted during the night so my husband and I lay on either side of our female with her cradled in our arms. Exactly where she should be, and I didn’t want to do anything to wake her. She’d be sure to want to get up, especially with the storm abating as it had. No doubt it would be a day with many tasks to take care of.Looking across her, I saw Mia watching me with a small smile on his lips. He probably felt the same way I did. Jessica was an adorable sleeper, with her closed eyes showing off long, dark lashes, hair fluffed up all around her face, and lips slightly parted to release a very soft, ladylike snore. She’d worked so hard to take c

LiamThe alphas welcomed us at the door, our appearance generating great surprise, and inside we found that there were just a few other guests, elders of the pack who, as it turned out, remembered many members of ours. Ludy Lake pack had an old connection with Triple L, but it had been a while since anyone had visited. Still, shifter bonds once formed were long-lasting.Analise kept plying us with appetizers and eggnog or hot buttered rum as we told them everything from our alpha having hoped we’d get to see them to bolster our friendship to what we found when we returned home.The alphas listened, asking leading questions and allowing us to explain at our own pace. When we finished, Tal set down his hot buttered rum and shook his head. “And Jessica thinks it’s something to do with one of those old mines they’re reopening?”“She does.” Our mate was currently in the kitchen helping Analise to make the final dinner preparations, so I confirmed that for her. “She can tell you more, but s

Mia My dress, my stepmother’s dress, suffocated me. She was slimmer than me, but due to the laced dirndl-bodice, I was able to draw shallow breaths and, as she pointed out, it wouldn’t be for long. I could see them gathering for the ceremony outside my window, in the clearing where we usually held pack feasts and celebrated the turn of the seasons. Or had, when Mom was alive. Somehow, since she passed, the joy had gone out of not just our family but the whole pack. Oh, we gathered for the important holidays, but without Mom to make the arrangements and plan all the food and decorations, to stir the spirit of the pack, it always fell flat.Nikki, who even now was directing the final touches to my coiffure and fluffing the ridiculous poufy veil, just didn’t have what it took to be a true pack mother. And she couldn’t hide her joy, didn’t even try to hide her elation, at my leaving. She even smiled at my reflection in the mirror. “You look very pretty, Mia. But you have to smile.” She p