I wondered if he knew that. Wondered if he’d appreciate me telling him that.

After all, it wasn’t fact, could even be fiction. I had no real idea why we were here. Had no cognizance of the true reason we were brought here during the claiming.

Into my thoughts, my muddled ones, Eli muttered, “Father mentioned that when he was with mother, the claiming was surreal.”

I snorted at the understatement. “Surreal? That pretty much sums it up.”

He hummed, and that was as much of an answer as I got when he folded up his shirt and rested it on the branch, only for that to go bye-bye as well.

Sniggering a little, which made bubbles pop in the water, I watched him heave a sigh, reach up and pinch the bridge of his nose like he was trying not to lose his shit, then suck in a large breath before he began to stride over to the pool.

As he waded in once more, I appreciated him, truly appreciated his majesty.

What a treat I was in for.

His body was dusky in color. Golden, but like he had a hint of Native American in him along the way, a thought that was confirmed when I took in the smattering of hair on his chest, the way it gathered under his arms, and nowhere else. That black was so dense, it had to be native, and he was all the more beautiful to me because I hadn’t known that. His face was a pale olive, and his hair was a rich, deep onyx. His muscles were thick and roped around his body, making me long to explore them with my tongue. And how he moved, making each of them flex, had him exuding a power that was undeniable.

I was, I’d admit, in awe of him. And even as a part of me—the she-wolf—wanted to leap on to him, it felt wrong.

Weird.

Austin had just been in a fight for our lives, and in another place, he was injured and recuperating while my third mate was watching over him, waiting for me to return for him.

To claim him.

Because that was what this was.

I knew that like I knew nothing else.

They’d all spoken of claiming me, and while that was the case physically, in every other sense, that wasn’t true.

Spiritually, emotionally, I’d done that, and I had to figure that this entire situation—as much of a dream-slash-nightmare combination as it was—was what it was all about.

About us getting closer, about me coming into my powers. About my being tied to them and to the Mother in ways they would never understand.

Which meant, horrendously enough, I knew there’d be another scenario like what had happened with Austin.

My heart rate plummeted at the thought as I longed for the innocence of what I’d had with Austin. Those initial days were filled with peace and tranquility, a joie de vivre that would be impossible to replicate, especially now that I knew that things could be turned on their heads in an instant.

I sucked in a breath as he moved toward me though, and even as stressed as I was, even as my brain struggled to deal with what had just happened moments ago, the urge to be in his arms was so powerful I couldn’t fight it.

I moved over to him, drifting through the water as he walked toward me.

There was fire in his eyes, a fire that would cleanse and reset me, but mostly, I saw something else.

I saw a need for me that went beyond sex.

A need that would tie him to me, and me to him. That would ground him.

It was lonely at the top, and Eli had it lonelier than most, with his strength and with how he’d shifted so early. Then with the covenant not granting him a mate, he’d had to fight for every last thing by being the strongest of them all.

I wanted to be that one person who could make everything better, and I hoped I could do that. Truly, I did.

Maybe it was a lot of pressure, but I didn’t think so.

If I was born to be able to deal with all of this, then wasn’t I born to handle him? To give him exactly what he needed, and for him to give me the same?

So, when we collided, it wasn’t a kiss that would let the world end around us without us knowing, it was me sliding into his arms, my slick body against his, his against mine, and his arms curving around me, providing me with a shelter I knew would always be there.

It would never go away.

He would never leave me.

Fuck, just knowing that I’d never be alone again, that I’d always have these men, him, with me?

It made me cry.

Honest to God cry.

With how overwhelming things had been after the wolf attack, with fearing for Austin and now being plunked here once more to deal with round two of whatever the fuck the Mother cooked up, I needed the solace of his embrace more than I needed my next breath.

He pressed a kiss to my head, then held the back of my skull to him, so when he sank down into the water, I didn’t even yelp in surprise, I just went with him.

His dick was there, and he was rocking a semi-boner, which I knew was his natural response to me, but it wasn’t like he was pushing things. It wasn’t like he was making me aware of it either.

His dick, my tits, the parts that made us sexual creatures, they were just there.

We were mates in another way at that moment.

Our souls collided as I sank into him and gifted him with my trust.

“He’ll be okay,” Eli assured me, his words soft, his tone husky. “Trust me, those boys have been getting into worse shit since the day they were born.”

His words had me reaching up to slide a hand over my wet cheek, knuckling the silly tracks away as I chuckled. “I’ll bet. You’ve been watching over them for a long time?”

He snorted. “Since the start. I’ve always liked them. I didn’t piece things together for a while, of course, but I have a connection with them, and they have one with me. They just always thought it was because I was the strongest in the pack, that they were tied to me through our wolves, and their wolves knew I was the more dominant of them all.

“But I knew otherwise. I’ve always watched over them and given them things to do to keep them out of trouble.”

I peered up at him, settling my side into him. I could feel his abs against the flat of my palm, and he was literally muscle everywhere. With a face like the 49ers’ quarterback, Eli was one of the three most beautiful men on the planet by looks alone, but this went deeper.

His eyes were a thousand shades of green. His nose was strong, Roman, but it led to tawny brows that shadowed the crevices of his eyes, giving him a darkness that could be spooky if you were on his bad side.

His mouth was so soft, so kissable, but his smile and those eyes? Kind. They held traces of both, even though I knew his temper was quick to stir. Hadn’t I seen that at the council meeting?

I thought about that, even as I reached up and traced his bottom lip.

While he tensed some, I felt his control clamp down. Felt it in how his entire being grew rock-hard—his dick included. Until, out of nowhere, he began to soften.

I’d already known the three of them had impeccable control, but to literally feel him control his fucking erection?

I wasn’t sure whether I was impressed or wanted to pout.

Just being in his arms, on his lap, made me feel a whole helluva lot better though.

I almost stopped touching him because I didn’t want him to think I was leading us somewhere I genuinely wasn’t ready for, but his control gave me the freedom I needed to take a time out, something I wanted with him. Here, like this.

So I tucked my face against his throat as I nestled my head against his shoulder, and murmured, “I can’t imagine them as troublemakers.”