Chapter 13

~ Isobelle ~

I had the most amazing soak in the world’s largest bathtub, then emerged from the room in a cloud of steam. Holding a fluffy white towel around my body, I crept back to the bedroom, tiptoeing past Alex in the kitchen. He was busy scrubbing a pan in the sink, and the heavenly smell of pancakes wafted past my nose.

“Good morning,” he muttered over his shoulder. “I hope you slept well?”

“I . . . uh, yes, thank you,” I replied, surprised by his pleasant tone.

“We brought all your belongings from the guest house, and I charged your cell phone while you were taking a bath,” he mentioned, up to his forearms in soap suds.

What?! He’d gone to the guest house, and Chloe and Lincoln had just let him take my things without asking questions. I had a pile of dirty laundry on the floor by my bed. Did he get that too? My cheeks flushed with embarrassment, but I could sense the repentant tone of his voice and figured he was only trying to be helpful. There were still so many questions that needed answers, but until I got them, I was going to get dressed, and then eat some of those delicious pancakes.

Someone had stacked my cases in the bedroom while I was taking a bath. As far as I could tell, they'd neither tampered nor mishandled my things. They placed the research equipment behind the sofa, out of harm's way. Someone had washed my dirty laundry because it was hanging on a washing line at the back of the cabin. I peered through the window and saw Mason hanging my knickers on the line.

Just as Alex had promised, my phone was plugged into the charger and had now had a full battery. They weren’t cutting me off from the outside world like I thought they were. If that was their intention, then why give me my phone so I could call for help? Dad could have the authorities here within hours. All it would take was for me to contact him, and he could track my phone's GPS. If they knew this, then why not just confiscate my phone, and eliminate the risk?

I took my phone off charge and swiped my thumb against the screen, then I typed in my four-digit passcode. No one had tried to text me since last night. London’s time zone was five hours ahead. It wouldn’t be long before someone reached out to me to ask how my day was going.

“Oh sorry, I didn’t realize that you were making a call,” Mason excused, turning to leave me in privacy.

“I wasn’t,” I replied, shrugging. “I’m just checking my messages but there are none.” I tossed my phone onto the bed covers. “Nobody loves me,” I muttered breezily.

“We . . . uh,” Mason stammered awkwardly. “I came to tell you that breakfast is ready.”

Was he about to say that they loved me? Nah . . . surely not.

At the mention of food, I left the confines of the room and followed the smell of food into the open-plan living space. They'd been meticulous when designing this place, with no expense spared. It seemed far too grand for a group of forest rangers . . . I meant to say, werewolves. It would take a while to get my head around that.

As I emerged from the bedroom, Alex greeted me with a bouquet of pretty flowers.

“I hope you’re not allergic,” he spluttered, his eyes bulging as if this only just occurred to him.

A grin spread across my face, finding his awkwardness amusing. “No, I’m not allergic to anything.”

“I wanted to apologize for giving you a hard time last night.” His eyes flinched regretfully, and I saw how sincere he was.

“These are beautiful. Thank you,” I replied, not expecting him to take back the way he snapped at me last night. He seemed like the type of guy who stood by his word until the bitter end.

The flowers injected some color into the room besides green and brown. They came in their own presentation box filled with water. I didn’t have to do anything, just admire them. I set them down on top of the kitchen counter, not knowing where else to put them. This wasn’t my home. It was theirs.

The boys gathered around the table, chair legs scraping across the floor, and cutlery clattering together. I took a seat between Lucas and Grayson. Mason was sitting diagonally from me, and Alex faced me. I kept flicking my gaze across the table and would catch Alex staring. Darkness shaded his eyes, making it hard to tell what he was thinking. It mattered what he thought of me. I can’t explain why. It was like I needed his guidance and approval, and that only left me feeling guilty and ashamed. This wasn’t normal behavior for me. I shouldn’t be sitting here enjoying breakfast with these men. So, why was I?

“Isobelle,” Alex’s assertive voice captured my attention. “I think we should talk about last night. Especially now we’re all sitting here calmly.”

I snorted with amusement, witnessing him controlling the situation as if we were his subordinates and that he was the boss. Biting my lip with subtlety, I suppressed a snarky retort.

“You’re owed an explanation,” Mason added. “It wasn’t supposed to go down like this. You must think that we’re a bunch of Neanderthals.”

I finished swallowing the last morsel of pancake and syrup and washed it down with some freshly squeezed orange juice. They were so fluffy and light, it was like eating a delicious cloud smothered with sugar.

“All right. I want to know why you chose me. You said that you saw me at a conference in London. Is that when you came up with the project?” I asked, not so much in an accusatory tone, but one that showed that I deserved the truth.

If they were going to stay true to their word, it would do me no good to slap away the olive branch and spit back with contempt.

It was Alex who explained his reasons. “Our meeting was purely coincidental. I didn’t know I was going to meet my soulmate halfway across the world. My Alpha sent me to the seminar to find out what I could about a new forestry project. We have a major problem with hunters proclaiming to be environmentalists. They are using the excuse of wanting to research the natural order of things here in our forest, but they are hunting down shifters to extract their blood. I don’t want to turn you off your breakfast, but that’s the harsh reality of what we’re facing here. We keep our state secret from the rest of humanity. Hunters appreciate the value of shifter blood. Its healing properties mean it’s worth more than gold. We don’t know what would happen if people learned of our existence. It’s not a risk we’re willing to take. Seeing you sitting there across the conference room took me by surprise. I couldn’t think of a better way to invite you over here. I saw an opportunity, and I seized it. I can’t apologize for that.”

Fair enough. I could understand that. My job as a biologist was to help conserve life and to study it. The thought of parasites like those hunters he just mentioned, using my role as a smokescreen, made me feel sick to my stomach.

“So, what am I here for, exactly? I wanted to further my career,” I expressed, trying to get him to see things from my point of view. “You lured me here under false pretenses. I’m supposed to be studying a rare species of wolf. I need to keep busy, or I’ll go insane.”

“We are a rare species of wolf,” Lucas interjected, his mouth full of pancake.

I half-snorted. “What? I’m expected to study you?” I rolled my eyes at his comment. “And here I was thinking you wanted to be kept secret.”

Alex practically choked on fresh air. “We do. That’s not what my brother is implying.”

Grayson released a sigh. “We want you to stay here and get to know us better. That was the master plan, was it not?”

Alex pursed his lips as he glared across the table at Grayson. “Yes,” he hissed. He flicked his languid gaze to me, and in a considerate tone, he added, “We would like that very much. But it must be your choice.” I detected a hint of fear in his eyes that suggested it was something I seriously ought to consider.

Would their Alpha just allow me to board a flight back to London, knowing what I know? I highly doubted that. Especially if they were battling with hunters.

“What about my parents?” I asked, and the second that I did, they took it as a sign of acceptance. That wasn’t what I meant, and I needed to clarify that. “I mean, if I stay here with you, will you at least allow me to see them?” If they responded with a stern “no” then I would be leaving, and I would take my fucking chances.

“Yes,” they all reacted at once, as if they had already decided.

That surprised me and the hairs along my arms raised as goosebumps erupted across my skin. What is happening to me? Where did this sudden burst of joy come from? Do I really want this? To stay here with these gorgeous men, and to have my cake and eat it? What will my parents say about me being shacked up in a cabin with four strapping young brothers for company?

“You won’t want to leave us now the mate bond has taken hold. You’ll get halfway across the Atlantic and have a full-on anxiety attack,” Alex mentioned, and there wasn’t a hint of deceit in Alex’s eyes as he told me that. I had no reason to disbelieve him.

“We can invite your parents here, and we can accompany you when you visit them,” Mason added, not seeing the bigger picture. I hated to be a Debbie Downer, but we just didn’t do things like that where I came from. How would I explain this to any of my friends, let alone my parents?

Alex’s brows furrowed into a deep analyzing frown as he gazed back at me expectantly. “You’re embarrassed at the thought of being with the four of us, aren’t you?”

Is he serious? Of course, I am! Society spits in the eyes of promiscuity. How can they expect me to sleep with all four of them? Individually, or all at once?

“We’re quadruplets,” Alex mentioned. “Sharing is second nature to us.”

My words just wouldn’t come out, not quite knowing how to respond to that.

“Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it,” Lucas rasped as if he knows what I was thinking.

His comment made me blanch. “Have you tried it?” I asked, surprised by the bitter taste of jealousy that tore through me. The thought of any other woman touching them conjured an ugliness within me that made me want to find out who she was and then claw out her eyes.

“No,” Lucas answered straight-faced. “We have never shared a woman before, but because we’re quadruplets, fate connects us. As we suspected, we are destined to share a female between us. It isn’t uncommon for multiple shifters to share a mate if their souls are linked like ours are,” he replied honestly.

Fuck me, that was the most I’d heard him speak. I couldn’t see any deceit in his eyes, so I knew he believed in what he was saying.

“Will you accept us?” Mason asked. His voice had a saddened edge to it as if he expected me to decline.

All the moisture evaporated in my mouth, leaving my withered tongue as dry as a prune.

“Tick tock, Isobelle,” Alex teased dryly. “Time is running out. You can give us a chance to show you how great it could be, or you can walk out that door right now. What’s it going to be?”

I shook my head incredulously. “You’re talking about a reverse harem. Me . . . and the four of you as my boyfriends.” I flung my hands up dramatically.

I couldn’t hold down one boyfriend. What made them think I could handle four?

“Husbands,” they blurted out together.

“Once we take a mate, it’s for life,” Grayson stated.

“We offer you security and a sense of belonging,” Lucas uttered.

“Love and companionship,” Mason included.

“Passionate sex, whenever you want it,” Grayson added with a cheeky wink.

“Forever and always,” Alex finished.

I squeezed my thighs together as I considered that. Now I know exactly how Adam felt when Eve offered him a bite of the forbidden apple. The sweet taste would be good while it lasted, but then what? I knew my heart and how fragile it was. Just one taste and I would be invested. I know I would. But if I don’t try it, how would I know if I like it or not?

Their eyes pinned me into place as I took a deep breath and sealed my fate. I must have dislodged a screw loose in my brain during the five-mile stint in the forest because all sense and reason seemed to elude me in making this decision. I should have said “thank you very much but point me back to the guest house” but I didn’t. Instead, I gave this some thought, weighing up the pros and cons, and developing a fucked-up pornographic flow chart in my head. The kind of thoughts that would send Nana and all her avid knitting enthusiasts running to take shelter at the nearest convent.

“Okay . . .” my pulse elevated as I face-palmed myself. “God, strike me down dead for even thinking about this, but I’m curious to see where this goes.”