Her Stepbrothers Are Werewolves Read online

“We have lots to discuss Lucy, come.” He took her hand and held on to it as he escorted her back to the table. Nolan’s hand was now resting on the middle of her back, which only increased the heat running to her pussy.

  Nolan pulled out her chair and she smiled, nodding to him. As she sat down, her mother frowned at her. “What’s wrong baby?” she asked.

  “Nothing mom, I’m fine. Scotty said to say hello. We’re going to hit the beach tomorrow. Duke and Nolan wanted to come, so I guess it will be the four of us. So, what kind of time frame are you planning for the move?” Lucy asked Kirk.

  “Well, if I’m correct, my sons can’t be away from the pack too long so I was hoping we could pack you two up in the next week.” Kirk said and waved the waitress over.

  “A week? That is awful fast. I would like to give a two-week notice at work, if I do agree to this. I’d like to use the management for a reference when looking for a new job. Plus, I have a few things I need to take care of.” She smiled up at the waitress who came to her. “I’ll have my steak medium to well-done, Sorry you had to wait, and could you bring a cup of coffee to me after dinner please?”

  As soon as the waitress left, her stepfather turned to his sons. “What’s wrong?”

  Nolan blew out his breath and looked at Duke, who nodded. “It seems we have found our mate.” Nolan stated.

  Kirk’s gaze jumped to Lucy and then back at them, and they both nodded.

  “Wait a minute!” Lucy looked to her mom who had a damn smile on her face. “There has to be some kind of mistake. What is a mate?” she asked, almost afraid to know the answer.

  Kirk held up his arm and showed her a tattoo-like thing. “This appeared when I met your mother and there are other signs.” Kirk nodded to his sons, who both lifted up their arms showing her some kind of tattoo design.

  “You know this is going to cause trouble in the pack right?” Kirk leaned back in his chair as his son had.

  “We’ll figure it out,” Duke said.

  “You’ll figure it out! I’m out of here.” Lucy jumped up, glad she had brought her own car. “If you’ll excuse me, I have something to do.” Lucy glared at her mother and tried to leave before she could say something she’d regret later.

  Duke latched onto her arm as she stood. “Please stay,” he asked.

  “No, you have stuff to work out with your father and right now, I want nothing to do with any of you.” Lucy yanked her arm out his hold, grabbing her purse. “Mom, I’ll see you back at the house. Make sure they stay at the hotel,” Lucy snapped and walked as fast as she could out of the diner, not caring that her stomach was rumbling.

  As soon as she reached her car and unlocked the door, Duke’s hand was on her door preventing her from opening it. “Please, I’ve had enough for one night.” Lucy pleaded, not even facing him.

  “We aren’t leaving, Lucy. You were meant to be ours and somehow we will get through this and come out stronger,” Nolan said behind her.

  “Go back and enjoy your dinner, Nolan. I don’t want to hear another thing tonight,” she said and got brave enough to look over her shoulder. “As your father said, I would be just a problem, to any man.” Lucy yanked open the door and slid in the car, starting it.

  She needed the beach and the calming noise of the waves. Lucy pulled out of the parking lot seeing the brothers watch her as she did. The determined look on each of their faces made her cringe. They weren’t going to give up.

  Lucy’s phone rang as soon as she pulled onto the highway. She pushed on her Bluetooth and answered. “Hello.”

  “I’ll meet you at our spot in 30 minutes with some sandwiches and a 12-pack. You can explain why the hell you ran out of the restaurant like the devil was after you and not those two hunks,” Scotty told her.

  “I’m not really in the mood, Scotty,” she said, pulling off at her exit.

  “To bad, see you in a few.” Her friend hung up without giving her a chance.

  Lucy followed the private road to their special spot. She smiled, thinking of her friend, Randy, whose parents owned this part of the beach and allowed them to come here any time they wanted.

  Lucy parked the car and got out, taking off her shoes and throwing them back into the car. She took a deep breath, smelling the salt air as she grabbed the blanket in her backseat, there just for this kind of occasion. The air was warm, and the humidity wasn’t bad. The wind blew gently against her bare legs, her dress blowing in the wind as her toes sank down into the warm sand.

  “Heaven,” she sighed, knowing this would be the one thing she would miss the most if she left her hometown. Lucy moved down the beach and spread the blanket out, watching the tide roll in.

  “I thought I saw you come down here,” Randy handed her a beer and sat down next to her a few minutes after she had arrived. “So what’s up? You only come here at night when you are upset.”

  “What? That’s not true I’ve come down here before,” she frowned and shook her head. “Maybe. Let me guess. Scotty called you too.” Lucy asked, taking a drink of the beer.

  “You know it. We stick together, now spill it,” she said, nudging her with her shoulder.

  “Why don’t we wait till Scotty gets here, because I sure don’t want to repeat it. It’s kind of weird. Let’s just say my mom wants me to move to upper Michigan with her and her new husband.” Lucy snorted, hearing Randy’s gasp.

  “When the hell did your mom get married? Who married her? Damn girl, you have some explaining to do. You really considering moving from here?” she asked.

  “What do I have going here? I have a job that sucks and maybe getting away will help get me out of this funk, but then there is the problem of the stepbrothers from GQ.” Lucy took a drink and couldn’t help but smile when Randy turned fully towards her as Scotty walked up, kicking off her shoes.

  “Okay spit it out, we’re here,” Scotty said, sitting on the blanket with them and handing her a bag of food.

  “So, I don’t know if I should be telling you this. You have to promise not to say anything to anyone.” Both of her friends rolled their eyes.

  “Get on with it already,” Scotty said.

  “Mom’s new husband is a wolf shifter. He comes from upper Michigan and he wants me to move up there with them. But that isn’t the best part. It seems wolves are destined to be mated to someone. Well guess who says they are mated to me tonight? Kind of a coincidence, isn’t it? Then my so-called stepfather said there would be problems with me being their mate with their so-called pack.” Lucy sighed. “Now, you know what a mess my life is.”

  “Wolves, mates, as in two of them? You’re mated to two men who could be in a GQ magazine and you’re complaining?” Randy stared at her like she had grown another head, while Scotty frowned.

  “What did your stepdad mean by problem? You would be a problem, why?” Scotty asked.

  “The only reason I can think of is the fact I can’t have kids. Mom told him earlier what happened and it’s obvious his sons know. Yes, two of them, I think it’s a little too convenient if you ask me. I mean, they came down here to help us pack and now I’m supposed to be their mate, please.”

  For the next hour she ate and consumed two six packs of beer with her best friends, who had her laughing and crying. “Well shit, I guess I should be getting home, maybe mom is asleep and I don’t have to listen to any of their crap tonight,” Lucy stood and stretched, almost falling on her ass.

  “Honey, you’re not going anywhere. Let’s go, you two can camp out here with me and head home in the morning.” Randy said, grabbing the blanket and the container of their empties. “That way you won’t have to worry about…Wow,” Randy said, staring behind her.

  “What?” she turned to see Duke and Nolan approaching her. “Well, hell. How in the world did they find… Mom,” she growled.

  Chapter Three

  Duke and Nolan had been sitting back, allowing their mate to have her time with her friends. But seeing that they were all getting ready to go up to the on
e’s house for the night, Duke stepped down to the beach with Nolan at his side.

  He snorted, seeing Lucy trying to look pissed off, but she almost fell backwards because she was totally wasted, even with the glare and the hands on her hips.

  “What are you doing here?” she hiccupped and frowned at him as he stepped up to her.

  “Your mother was worried about you and she told us where to find you. I thought you might need a ride home, since it’s obvious you can’t drive in your condition.” He turned and nodded to her friends. “Thank you both for looking after Lucy, but I think it would be best for her to be in her own bed tonight.” He held out his hand for the second time this evening, wondering if she would take it.

  “I’m 25 years old, my mother will always worry about me till the day I die,” she sighed, “But that is what mothers are supposed to do.” She looked down at her toes curling in the sand. “I can’t carry babies Duke, Nolan. There has to be a mistake, I can’t be your mate. I’m damaged goods. As your father said, I would cause you to too much pain if you took me back with you.” She smiled. “Even I know you need someone strong at your side and I’m afraid I’m not that person. But I will take you up on that ride since I have an appointment in the morning.” She turned, hugging her friends and they asked if she was sure. Lucy reassured them both.

  “You know you never did tell us what this appointment is about,” her friend Scotty said, folding up the blanket and handing it to her. Nolan reached out and took it before she could.

  “And I’m not going to. No one needs to know until I get the final word. I don’t want to jinx this. But if everything goes like I hope, you’ll know tomorrow. You’ll hear my shouting.” She gave Scotty a smile and started up towards her car. “I’ll talk to you both tomorrow, plan on cooking out Randy.” She yelled back at them.

  “You have the keys to the car?” Nolan asked as they reached her RAV4.

  “They’re still in it along with my bag,” she said, moving to the passenger side of the car.

  “You left your purse and car keys in the car?” Nolan asked.

  “This is a private road, beach.” Lucy got into her car, buckling her seatbelt and waiting for them.

  Duke shook his head and crawled into the back seat. “That is still taking a risk.” He mumbled.

  “Not really. If you look up to the left in the tree there you will see a camera, and to the right as well. As soon as you pull into the drive, a sensor goes off alerting Randy’s parents who are here. I take it Mom dropped you off?” she asked.

  “Your mom and my dad, why?” he asked.

  “Because Randy’s father would have come over if some stranger had pulled into the drive. He’s a bit paranoid after all the terrorist attacks. Randy calls her father, Rambo-daddy. But he is an amazing man.” She rested her head on the window. “You know how to get back to my house, right?” she asked Nolan and he pointed to her GPS.

  Lucy reached over and pushed a few buttons. “It’s all set up. So where are you guys staying tonight?” she asked.

  “We’re bunking down at your house, Lucy. We’ll be camping out in the basement. Your mom already has sleeping bags, blankets and pillows down there for us.” He frowned. “There was one room upstairs next to yours, but your mom said it was locked and she didn’t want to intrude.

  “I’m glad she didn’t. No one goes into that room unless it’s me.” Lucy looked back over the seat at him. “Tomorrow, after my appointment, you can see it. I’ll show it to all of you, but not till afterwards.”

  “I’m surprised you haven’t told your mother what you are doing?” his brother asked, giving her a quick look.

  She shook her head. “No, this had to be done by me. I didn’t want any sympathy if it does not turn out. It was something I wanted to do all by myself.” She turned sideways in her seat looking from Nolan, then to Duke. “If this turns out like I want, you two might want to forget you ever saw me, but I won’t give this up. I’ve worked for two years for this and jumped a hundred hurdles for this moment, so there is no going back. I wouldn’t even if I could. I promised someone this would happen and I don’t break my promises.”

  “Nothing is going to change with us.” Duke told her and wondered what was behind that doorway. He knew it was some kind of hall, because the house she was renting was old and large. One thing was for sure he didn’t like surprises, but it would seem they were going to get another one tomorrow.

  For the next ten minutes she said nothing as they got closer to her home. “Duke what exactly does being a mate entail? Does it just mean I’m supposed to give you children? Because if that is the case, you two are screwed. Well, unless you know someone that wants to carry my eggs, but then I would have to trust that person if I even allowed this thing to go on,” she asked.

  Duke scooted forward and placed his hand on her shoulder. “It’s more than having children, Lucy. Already our wolves are pushing against us to claim you. We’re very attracted to you. Hell, even that is putting it mildly.” He reached up and tucked a piece of her hair back. “To us there will be no other woman, you’re it. Our wolf would even get aggressive if another female tried to even touch us. You are the only one that controls the animal inside us both,” he explained as they pulled into her drive.

  * * *

  Lucy stared up at the ceiling of her bedroom, 30 minutes before she had to get up and get ready for her meeting at the children’s home. Roman and Karla would either come home with her today or they would be put in the foster care system.

  Even though their father, Henry, had been a psychopath from hell and had hurt her badly, Lucy had fallen in love with his two children, the ones he’d been physically abusing for years before she had every met them.

  The one thing she never regretted was putting herself in front of the children so their father wouldn’t touch them again. She would do it again if she had to. Karla was eight and Roman six. Lucy had visited them both ever since she had gotten out of the hospital. No one had known she had sacrificed herself for those children and they wouldn’t, because she knew the little ones would blame themselves and Lucy couldn’t have that.

  Lucy swung her legs off the bed and made her way into the master bath. “Today, little Roman, we’ll see if I can keep that promise,” she whispered to herself as Lucy stripped and climbed into the shower. Smiling, she remembered their little faces when she had taken them to the zoo for the first time.

  With their mother dead a year after giving birth to Roman, the two little ones didn’t know what a normal parent relationship was. It was Lucy who had given them their first glimpse of what that should be like. It was one of the only reasons she had stayed at her job for the last three years, showing the courts she could take care of the two children.

  Even though she had a trust fund in the bank, she refused to touch it until the children were in her custody, fully legally hers. Then, as a family, they would decide what they were going to do.

  Twenty minutes later, coffee in hand, Lucy was on her way to the home. Either they would have the children ready for her, or today she would be saying goodbye to them. Which would totally destroy her. “They’ll be mine,” she growled into her cup, pulling into the children’s home.

  Lucy turned off the car, staring at the large cement home. She had been lucky to slip out of the house before her mother had gotten up, but then again her mother had given her the riot act last night before she’d passed out. But as she walked down the sidewalk to her car, Lucy knew Nolan and Duke were watching her. As she glanced back at the house, she saw them standing in the door.

  She shook her head and turned off the car, getting out. Those two men could make any woman’s panties wet just looking at them. Lucy stepped up to the front door and was buzzed right in.

  Mrs. Moonstraw met her at the door smiling. “Are you ready for today?” she asked.

  “My stomach is in knots. This is either going to crush me or make me the happiest person in the world,” she said, knowing the woman knew w
hat she was talking about.

  “Well, if it helps, right now I feel the same way you do. Those children deserve to go to you. You have given them something that no other adult has their whole life and I know you would be perfect for them. Let’s just hope the judge agrees.” She led Lucy through the halls to a small office/courtroom where another social worker, head of the house, and the judge waited for her.

  “Ms. Ballard, thank you so much for meeting us earlier than planned. I have a brutal caseload ahead of me and I wanted to start the day off right. Please, have a seat,” Judge Gallen said, nodding to the chair.

  Lucy took a deep breath and sat down at the table, staring at the papers lying in front of her frowning. She looked up and the judge smiled. “Yes, Ms. Ballard the children are going home with you. All ties to their father have been cut. They are now legally your son and daughter. How could I not give them to a woman with a heart as big as the size of Texas. The glowing recommendations from everyone we’ve talked to only backs what my social work found. Congratulations, you have a pile of papers there to sign. The ones on your right are your papers. Both children will now carry your name, their new birth certificates are in there also for you.”

  For 30 minutes Lucy filled out paper work, feeling like she was in a dream. She was now a mother, something Lucy had dreamed of being for years. They might not be hers by blood, but they were hers in her heart. Signing the last paper, Lucy stood, placing all the legal documents in her briefcase/purse, and looking up at Mrs. Moonstraw.

  “Are you ready to tell them the good news? We have had them pack their belongings, but told them nothing. We thought you would like to tell them,” she said.

  Lucy went up to the older lady and hugged her tight. “I can’t thank you enough for all of your help.” She stepped back, wiping the tears from her face. “Let’s get my babies.”

  As soon as, she stepped into Karla’s room, Roman looked up from his drawing seeing her. He ran to her, jumping in her arms squeezing her tight. “Are we going with you?” he asked, Karla standing beside her, now hugging her hip.