Page 3

Amira nodded again, and her eyes misted some.

“I have snatches of memories during the months I was sick of my mom’s face, seeing my dad worried for me, and just the pain and the tiredness of it all.

But, when I finally came out of it, I was here, healed, and with a male declaring I was his true-mate. ”

Morlie glanced over at Lovel. “Were you and Bleddyn already together?”

“Yes.” Lovel glanced around the room. “We already had the home. We made it ours and claimed each other, believing he didn’t have a true-mate.

It was a risk, but many take it since the human wars and blindness destroyed so much.

” Lovel tugged the top of her blouse to the side and showed the bite mark along the side of her neck.

Morlie winced internally, wondering if she could take such a vicious mark.

Lovel went on. “Several months ago, Bleddyn accompanied the Alpha to the council meeting, as he does every month. It wasn’t strange that he came back carrying a sick human.

We have a few others who were Lupine matches.

But when I spotted him across the field with the small human this time, I knew.

Something inside me knew she was his. And Bleddyn’s dejected expression confirmed it. ”

“But you all seemed to work it out.” Morlie looked pointedly at the two women’s clasped hands.

Amira met Morlie’s gaze. “We did. But it wasn’t easy and took several weeks and a lot of patience and understanding.” Amira glanced at Lovel and then back at Morlie. “You see, being ill was a blessing for me.”

Morlie frowned. She hated being sick and feeling helpless and a burden. “How so?”

“As you know, our government pushed hard for all women of age to get pregnant and conceive. I was my parent's only daughter, and they were leaning on me hard to contribute more to the family, help financially in the most lucrative way—”

“Through the pregnancy stipend,” Morlie confirmed. She and Kai discussed it as things worsened, but Kai didn’t want to do it. She said the money never lasted, and it made people more dependent on the government, and they ended up in a vicious cycle with more mouths to feed.

“Yes.” Amira’s gaze slipped away to stare out the open window.

“I knew I wasn’t attracted to men from a young age.

I feared daily that my parents would force me to be with a man for the money.

I worked as a garbage collector when I contracted XD87867.

I was relieved at first because, as long as I was ill, I wasn’t eligible for the program.

Then I got sick, and I wasn’t aware of anything. ”

Lovel got up and started cleaning off the table but left the plate of cookies.

“Then you woke mated to a man anyway.” Morlie felt bad for Amira.

“Really, two mates,” Lovel added from the sink where she washed the dishes.

Morlie looked at Lovel and then back at Amira. “What? How is that possible?”

Amira laughed. “Trust me. It took us a long time to figure out, especially when Lovel tried to keep her distance from Bleddyn and me. She thought we needed time. Which we did, and Bleddyn was kind and patient with me.”

“I also knew Amira was his only hope of having children. And the pack needs to grow.” Lovel came back to them with the pitcher and refilled all their drinks.

“Couldn’t you have provided Bleddyn with children?” Morlie stared up at the tall woman.

“No,” Bleddyn's lips lifted into a small, sad smile. “Lupine females lost their ability to breed following the Great Catastrophes.”

Morlie gasped. “I didn’t know.”

“It's a lot to get into. We can save that for lunch at your house.” Lovel winked.

“Okay.” Morlie picked up her glass and held it between her hands. “So, you said you have two mates. How’d you discover this?” She brought her drink to her mouth.

“I have a pripial gene.”

“A what?” Confused, Morlie returned her glass to the table and stared back and forth between the two women.

“Three-person gene. A Were gene can be split on rare occasions, making one person a mate to two people. It has been seen mostly in a Lupine mate of identical twins. One wolf, a mate of both in the twin set,” Lovel declared as she reclaimed her seat beside her mate.

“None of us realized it at first, and we had to speak with one of the elders. A wise healer.”

“I thought I was losing my mind. The more I saw Lovel or was around her, the more I felt the same connection to her that I recognized in the feelings I developed for Bleddyn. Bleddyn felt conflicted because as he fell in love with me, he still loved Lovel, who he had claimed,” Amira added.

“And I struggled to stay away from Bleddyn even as I found myself drawn to Amira.”

“It became easier once we met with the spiritual healer, took her advice, and stopped fighting against our bonds. Eventually, they both claimed me.” Amira reached up with both her hands, pulled the collar of her dress out, and showed Morlie the marks on both shoulders.

Morlie found herself fascinated with the marks and the way the three of them made the relationship work. “I’m glad the three of you have found your happiness.”

Amira sat back and rubbed her stomach. “We have.”

It was then that Morlie realized that, yes, Amira carried some extra weight on her short form, but the roundness of her stomach had to do with something else entirely. “Are you pregnant?”

Amira giggled. “Yes, we are.”

Morlie looked at Lovel, wondering how the other woman was taking it. Was there jealousy that Amira could give Bleddyn what Lovel could not?

But by the bright glow in the tall woman’s eyes, as she stared at her pregnant mate, Lovel clearly felt pure joy at the coming addition to their family.

Morlie couldn’t help but hope she and Chanin ended up with a small ounce of what these three had found. As her mind was reeling, she reached out and picked up a peanut butter cookie from the platter. With her first bite, she closed her eyes on the salty, nutty sweetness.

“These are delicious.”

Lovel reached over and picked up one. “They are. And when you become a wolf, watch out because your beast will do anything for a plate of them.”

They all laughed as Morlie pretended to sneak a second one.

“Have as many as you like. I always make enough batter for two batches.” Lovel put two cookies in Amira’s hand.

Amira grinned in thanks to her mate as she placed one cookie on the other and bit through both treats.

Lovel rubbed Amira’s swollen belly as she met Morlie’s gaze. “Now that you’ve heard our story, who is Morlie?”