It was all too much for her to take in. The black spots returned, but this time when she drew in a gulp of air they didnt go away. They joined together until all she could see was black. There was a loud roaring in her ears and with a sigh of resignation she let herself fall into the abyss.

Chapter Four.

"s.h.i.t," Michael whispered, when he heard Mari gasp loudly. He hoped she wasn't as freaked out as she sounded.

Michael, Sin, and Taylor had listened in on every word Primrose had said. What worried him was that Marigold had hardly spoken, but he put it down to shock. He, his brother, and their friend moved closer to the front door when they heard Prim start to change, and he became really concerned when he heard Maris panting breaths.

He couldnt stay away from her any longer. Not when she sounded like she was in shock and having trouble breathing. Plus his wolf hadnt stopped pushing at him since the moment they had laid eyes on her. It was really f.u.c.king hard keeping his wolf at bay, harder than ever before, and he prayed to the fates his animal wouldnt do something stupid to jeopardize a relationship with their mate.

He stormed inside and rushed over to Mari just as her body went lax and she pa.s.sed out. His wolf whined, but Michael ignored it as he scooped her up off the lounge and into his arms. She felt so perfect he didnt ever want to let her go, but he knew he couldnt carry her around for the rest of his life. He also didnt think shed appreciate waking up in his arms since she didnt know him.

Sin and Taylor hurried over to his side, and they all stood there like idiots, mesmerized by her beautiful face and inhaling her mouthwatering apple-cinnamon scent.

"Youre going to have to put her down," Prim said, drawing his gaze. She was already back in her clothes and looking concerned for her friend. "Why dont you put her in the spare room? Hopefully after a good nights sleep sh.e.l.l feel...better."

Michael nodded and swallowed around the lump of emotion constricting his throat. He knew Prim was right, but he was reluctant to release her. With a sigh of resignation he turned and headed down the hall. Sin hurried ahead of him and pushed the bedroom door wide open before moving to the bed and tugging the covers back. He gently placed her on the bed and smiled when she sighed and rolled over onto her side.

When her hair dropped over her face he couldnt resist brushing it back. He closed his eyes as his fingertips came into contact with her warm skin, absorbing the softness beneath his touch. She felt so fragile and delicate, but as he opened his eyes and looked at her breathtaking beauty, he knew that was far from the truth. Although she would never be as strong as him, his brother, and Taylor, he had a feeling their mate had a steeliness in her spine she could draw on when necessary.

He looked up when Sin and Taylor moved to the foot of the bed and they removed her shoes and socks. Reaching for the covers, he pulled them up over her, and after one last lingering look, they headed out.

Prim, Palmer, and Barrett were still in the living room, and from the anxious way Prim was looking down toward the bedroom, she was worried about Mari. Her next words confirmed it.

"Is she okay?"

"Shes sleeping," Taylor said as he walked up to Michaels side. Sin stood on his other side, and they all faced Primrose.

"We will make sure shes safe, and if we think she needs to talk to you again, well come get you right away," Michael said.

"Do you promise?" Prim asked.

"We do," Taylor stated sincerely. "You know how this works, Primrose. We wont ever do anything she doesnt want, and each of us would give our lives to protect her."

"I know." Prim sighed. "Just take care with her feelings, okay? Shes a lot like me."

"What do you mean?" Sin asked.

"Shes shy, but if someone p.i.s.ses her off she wont hesitate to stand up for herself. She has no relatives that I know of, and although we used to get together, shes not into people. But if you earn her respect and loyalty youll have a friend for life."

Michael nodded and felt a little of his tension dissipate.

Palmer and Barrett clasped Prims hands and led her out. She looked back at them over her shoulder and said, "Dont rush or pressure her. If you do, sh.e.l.l put her walls back up. Be yourselves, and for goodness sake dont tell her what to do. She hates that and will fight you. Come get me, anytime, if you need to."

Michael headed for the kitchen once Prim and her men were gone. He needed a beer to help him settle down a bit. He was so excited and h.o.r.n.y he was beside himself and had no idea what the next step would be. One thing was certain though, he wasnt about to let Marigold out of his sight, not if he had any say in it.

He handed out some beers and chugged down half the bottle in one go. Sometimes he wished his metabolism wasnt so fast and he could get rip-roaring drunk, but hed have to consume way too much alcohol to do that and he didnt think his stomach could handle that much liquid. He pushed his random thoughts aside and sat down at the table. Sin and Taylor were already seated. None of them spoke, lost in their own thoughts, and it wasnt until theyd finished their second beers that Taylor broke the silence.

"How do we go about this?"

Sin threaded his fingers through his hair before scrubbing his hand over his face. "I have no f.u.c.king clue."

Taylor shrugged before getting up and heading back to the fridge. He handed out another round of beers and took his seat again. "I think we have to let Marigold set the pace. We dont want her freaking out and running."

"Should we take turns getting to know her, or should we all sit down and talk to her?" Michael asked.

"I dont know," Taylor replied.

"We are all going to want to make love to her together eventually," Sin said. "I think we should all initially sit down with her, but if the opportunity for some one-on-one time comes up, we take that, too."

"Im worried that she wont let us near her," Michael said, voicing his concern. "She f.u.c.king pa.s.sed out when Prim changed into her wolf. She had to be scared out of her mind to faint like that."

"No, I dont think so," Taylor said.

Sin nodded. "I couldnt smell that sweet, sickly scent of fear when we came in from outside."

Michael frowned as he thought back and realized his brother and friend were right.

"It was more likely shock. She started hyperventilating," Taylor said.

"Yeah, she did." Michael sipped from his beer.

"She was probably overwhelmed," Sin said. "Think about it. Prim told her a lot in a small s.p.a.ce of time and then stripped and changed into her wolf. That had to be surreal for someone who had no idea our kind even existed."

"Youre right." Michael nodded then changed the subject to what was at the forefront of his mind. "Shes f.u.c.king s.e.xy as h.e.l.l."

"Beautiful," Taylor said in a deep, raspy voice.

"Stunning." Sin grinned.

"I cant believe weve finally met our mate." Michael smiled and then chuckled.

"Me either." Sin laughed.

"Im worried." Taylors voice cut into Michaels excitement, and the smile slid from his face.

Sin leaned forward in his seat at the same time Michael did.

"What about?" Sin asked.

"I think we could be putting her in danger."

"We would never do that," Michael said firmly.

"I know, but not everyone from my previous pack is happy about the combining of yours and ours."

"Yeah, you told us that already, remember? Whats going on?" Sin asked.

"Theres been more dissension and disgruntlement."

"From who?" Michael asked.

"Thats just it, I dont f.u.c.king know."

"Then how the h.e.l.l do you know about the opposition?" Michael sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Little things."

"Like what?" Sin questioned.

"I feel like Im being watched and Ive smelt anger when all the members of my previous pack get together to socialize."

"How come you cant pinpoint who it is?" Michael stood up and began to pace.

"Whenever I try, whoever it is pushes their anger deep down inside. Ive only caught a small waft every now and then. I dont like it, but until I have proof of the discord and who it's coming from, I cant do anything."

"Officially youre Alpha of Nomad Pack," Sin said more to himself than to Taylor or Michael as he stared at the tabletop. "You think whoever this is, is going to challenge you for leadership rights?"

"That would be my guess," Taylor said.

"This is bulls.h.i.t," Michael snapped out. "They all agreed to the packs joining."

"Yeah, they did," Taylor said. "But what if it was all a ruse?"

"You think this a.s.shole is trying to take over leadership of Sugar Creek Pack?" Sin asked.

"Thats exactly what I think," Taylor answered.

"f.u.c.k! We need to inform Lucien, Rafe, and Gabe." Fear for Mari's safety sank into Michael's gut and heart. He hadn't even thought about someone wanting to try to take over as Alpha of Sugar Creek. If that was the case then Mari could be in a heap of danger. "We can't leave her alone." He pushed to his feet and headed for the door.

"I already have," Taylor said, halting Michael in his tracks. "Security has been increased around the women and children, and someone is watching the wolves of my pack as much as possible."

"Who do you suspect?" Sin asked.

"There are three possibilities." Taylor paused to sip on his beer.

"And they are?" Michael asked as he moved back toward the table and took his seat.

"Ridge and Chad Owens, and Con Mitch.e.l.l."

"Ridge and Chad are Spicers cousins, arent they?" Sin said more than asked.

"Yeah."

"So theyd have a grudge against this pack because Chase and Tony took him and his cronies down," Sin said in speculation.

"Id be their first target," Taylor said. "I was the one who challenged their Alpha cousin and won." Taylor sighed with what sounded like regret.

"You had no choice, Taylor," Michael said. "Spicer Owens was out of control. He was going to rape Sara before handing her to the rest of the pack. She would have died before being tortured in the worst way a woman can be tortured."

"We know that and agree, but obviously someone doesnt."

The silence after Taylors last statement was fraught with tension. Michael hoped that they could find the cause of dissension before something happened to Marigold. Her getting hurt wasnt acceptable in his eyes, and from the look in Taylors and Sinclairs they were of the same opinion.

How the h.e.l.l were they supposed to court her to be with them, and try and figure out where the danger to the pack was coming from, and keep her safe at the same time?

Mari sighed and rolled over onto her back as she came to the surface of consciousness. She felt so warm, content, and safe, and she didnt really want to wake up. It had been a long, long time since shed felt so...happy.

A smile formed on her lips as her eyelids lifted and she blinked up at the ceiling. The smile slipped away, and she frowned. She wasnt in her own room or bed. It took a few moments to remember where she was, and as the rest of her memory returned her breathing sped up.

No, none of that really happened. You must have been dreaming. Yeah, thats it. I was dreaming.

But the image of Primrose talking to her and telling her about werewolves slammed into her mind, and then she remembered watching her friend strip down to her bare skin and change into a wolf.

"Oh. My. f.u.c.king. Gawd," Mari muttered, her heart racing, and she panted harder. All of it was true. Everything Prim had told her was real. Everything shed seen had been reality and not some nightmarish B-movie dream shed conjured up in her own mind.

She drew in a deep breath, held it, and then slowly released it. Her pounding heart slowed a little, so she repeated the process until she was once more back under control. But when her mind snagged onto the three men whod stopped to help her and bring her to Sugar Creek land, her breathing and heart rate picked up pace once more. This time for an entirely different reason.

Her body started warming from the inside out, and all her girl parts started throbbing.

"s.h.i.t. s.h.i.t. s.h.i.t."

She wondered if she was still in their house, and after concentrating on her breathing again she was pleased when it and her heart slowed back down to a normal rate. When she glanced toward the door she noticed it wasnt closed all the way. She flung the covers aside, gingerly limping to the door, and held her breath as she eased it further open, and sighed with relief when it didnt squeak or creak, and then she listened intently.

The low rumble of voices carried down the hallway, and even though she couldnt hear what they were saying, she shivered in reaction as the deep cadences washed over her.

Marigold knew she was in deep s.h.i.t and getting in deeper the longer she stayed. She was so attracted to Taylor, Sinclair, and Michael all she wanted to do was grab hold of each and every one of them and kiss them senseless. But that wasnt the half of it. She wanted to feel their hands and mouths all over her naked body and to know what it felt like to have all of them at the same time, together and separately.

She drew in a ragged breath, closed the door quietly, and after turning the light on looked around the room. She spied another door on the opposite side of the room and carefully limped toward it, hoping it was a bathroom.

She felt a little more herself after showering and dressing in her comfy leggings and three-quarter-sleeve light sweater, but now that she felt better, she didnt know what to do. Should she go out there and demand that they take her to Primroses place? Yeah right, like that wont put a damper on the nearly newlyweds.

Maybe she could ask them to take her to a nearby hotel. Or if there wasnt one of those close by, she could stay in one of the houses that was on this huge tract of land. Surely there was an empty cabin or house she could commandeer for the duration of her stay.

She started limping toward the door after putting her stuff away into her bags and stumbled when an actual, physical pain hit her chest and gasped when her sore swollen ankle nearly gave way. She placed her weight in her good leg and clutched the door handle. But there was an ache in her chest, too, and when she rubbed it and the pain didn't go away, she dropped her hand and wiped her sweaty palm on her pants. At first she'd thought there was something wrong, but when she realized the pain was emotional, she tried to push it away. That seemed to be an impossibility. The more she thought of leaving, the more upset she became, and when tears burned the back of her eyes, she rolled her eyes in exasperation.

Get a f.u.c.king hold of yourself, woman. What are you? Two?

Drawing in a deep breath, she pushed her shoulders back, held her head high, and stormed out of the room. She'd only managed one step before she halted in her tracks and winced in pain as her hurt ankle made itself known. Although it felt better than it had last night, it was still d.a.m.n tender, and it felt weaker than normal. After taking a few deep breaths, she managed to limp to where she'd heard the voices coming from.