Free Every Sunset Forever by R. E. Butler Page B

recognized them.  Of course, they probably think I’m a nutcase for running away like that.  I mean, really.  Who does that?”
    Fade kissed her forehead with a soft rumbling growl.  “A stressed out she-hyena who needs a minute to think.”
    She looked up at him.  “Are you always so accommodating?”
    “With you I will be.”
    Nyte snorted.  “Alright, lover boy, first things first.”  He squeezed her knee.  “Do you want to contact those males?  We’ll keep them away from you until you’re ready to see them.”
    “I do want to see them, but I’m scared.”
    “Of what?” Azrael asked.
    “What if they’re wrong?  What if it’s just a coincidence?  Or, what if it’s not, and they want me to go home with them to meet my biological family?”
    Fade snarled angrily, and Nyte cleared his throat loudly, shaking his head.  “Don’t worry about that right now.  Whatever happens, whether they’re your family or not, we’ll be with you every step of the way.”
    She leaned against Fade, squeezing Azrael’s hand and laying her free hand on top of Nyte’s. “I want to see them tomorrow.”
    “Then that’s what we’ll do.  For now,” Nyte stood and tugged her gently to her feet, “it’s extremely late, and you’ve had a hell of a night.”
    They encouraged her to clean up in the bathroom, and after taking out her toiletry bag and pajamas, she shut the door and leaned her head against the cool wood.  Outside of the cabin she had a tornado’s worth of shit to deal with, but inside this small space with three males meant to be hers forever…she wasn’t feeling so crazed.
    How wrong she’d been when she thought she could come to the gathering and not be affected.  She hadn’t just made some new friends, she’d found her mates, and the attraction to them was instantaneous.  Not just physically — because that was definitely there — but emotionally, too.  They had sat there for over an hour while she poured out her life story.  Fade with his reassuring strength.  Azrael with his gentle concern.  Nyte, clearly the leader of the clan, asking questions and almost seeming to anchor her to himself with just his hand on her knee.  She felt like she could walk out into that cabin and be taken care of in every way.  That Fade would kill for her, Azrael would take care of her, and Nyte would make sure that all was right in her world.
    She turned from the door and flipped on the light, brushing at the wetness on her cheeks.  The dim bulb over the sink didn’t show much but allowed her to see that her face was a blotchy red mess. After using the facilities and changing into her sleep shorts and tank, she rinsed her face off with cool water and brushed her teeth.
    Tucking her things back into the small case, she left it on the counter and opened the door, stepping out.
    Fade was pacing near the bathroom door, his face losing some of its tension when their eyes met.  Nyte was on his cell near the front door, and Azrael was turning down the bed.  Nyte spoke softly and then turned off the phone, placing it on the coffee table.
    Azrael patted the mattress.  “You can have the bed, Whisper.”
    She glanced around the small room.  There were four of them, one giant bed, and the couch.  “And you guys are sleeping where?”
    Nyte smiled slightly.  “Don’t worry about us.”
    She tilted her head and regarded him.  They probably thought they were being noble or gentlemanly by offering her the only bed.  “Did you sleep in the same bed last night?”
    Azrael straightened from where he had been smoothing the blanket on the bed.  “We did.  At home we have our own bedrooms, but we knew that when we found our mate we’d be sleeping in the same bed.”
    “Home in Kentucky?” she asked.
    Nyte nodded.
    They’d told her some of their history, about moving to Kentucky to join up with their cousins’ baro, and their jobs at the gym.
    She walked over to the bed and stood next to Azrael.