Her Forever

Trinity’s POV

“Boys, I’m leaving you outside.” I jingled the keys in the keyhole and pushed the door a couple of times to secure it. I dumped my keys in my jacket pocket. Both of the wolves had avoided my gaze ever since I got out of the shower. I went to pet them, but they continued to scatter away.

Was it my food? Did it upset their stomachs? I wasn’t about to leave them in my house and come home to an utter mess. They were used to staying outside, so they should be fine. The weather was crisp, the mornings had already started to see frost, and it was only late September. Relatively normal in a town this far north.

“I hope to see you both when I get back,” I sighed as I rubbed them both under their chins. “I work till about dinner, and then I will make you both big juicy steaks and rice with some baked veggies. Protein, carbs, and veggies for my growing boys.” I laughed as they both came and nuzzled their noses in my hair. It felt so nice to have two someone’s to go home to. For once, I thought I could get close without having to worry about someone’s safety. These beasts could take care of their own if I got knocked out of the picture. My heart tugged a little as I opened the creaking SUV and turned it on.

Both of them sat on their cute little behinds with sad looks in their eyes. Neither of us wanted to leave each other, and it broke my heart. Rolling down the window, I waved goodbye and blew them a k**s. They both wagged their tail. Be still my heart; I have the best fur babies ever!

Pulling up to Ye Olde Book Store, I parked my tank in the back. I could hear Stacy already talking Elijah’s ear off. The poor guy had no clue that Stacy had a crush on him for years. I am wondering if she is absolutely crushed since Elijah asked her for my address.

Opening the door with a ring, the guys stopped dusting and organizing books and waved. “Hey guys,” I smiled as I slung my purse under the counter. Grabbing my black waist apron, I messed with the hot coffee dispenser and our latest edition of an espresso machine. I had talked to Paul, the owner, about getting one. I might have given him half the money for the best machine on the market, and now I get half the share of profit of each drink. I often ‘forget’ to take my share and just grab myself a latte throughout the day.

It was a hit amongst the ladies in the town. I’ve even started our own little mini-barista bar. The men just take the black cup of coffee and grumble about how stupid it was to buy some ‘dang fangled’ new machine.

“Well, there is the new pet owner!” Stacy sashayed towards me, hoping Elijah was watching. Stacy certainly didn’t look upset. She was her perky self.

“That’s right, I’m a dog-er-well wolf mom?” I laughed as I cleared off a table of used coffee cups. “The two boys are big sweethearts, that’s for sure.” Elijah scoffed as he walked up behind Stacy.

“Maybe to you, they both looked like they wanted to bite me in two. Those wolves are big, Trinity. I worry they could turn on you. Maybe you should just set them free or give them back to the pound.”

Arching an eyebrow, I put my hand on my h*p.

“No way, they are with me for life. Besides, I tried to let them go in the woods, and they came right back. We are stuck together,” I smiled at myself as I took the trays of rattling dishes to the back of the store. Paul had to add a small addition to the old brick building and expand by offering pastries such as donuts and cookies. I think Paul is just sick of running a book shop, and this was his way of turning it into something he has always wanted to do, bake.

“No, seriously, they have these big teeth,” Elijah explained to Stacy. “They growled like I was all up in their space.”

“Because you were,” I deadpanned. “You shouldn’t come out to my home unannounced. Even the hunters around here know not to do that. Why didn’t you just call?”

“I just wanted to see you,” Elijah rubbed his neck while Stacy looked between the two of us. I picked up on Stacy’s confusion.

Stacy folded her arms. Her dark pixie cut stood out under the fluorescent lighting, even with her tanned skin. “You didn’t say you were going to her house. I thought you just happened to meet her and saw her wolves?” Elijah tried to backtrack, but it was too late.

Stacy slumped her shoulders and went back to the front of the shop.

“What did I do?” Elijah watched Stacy walk away, and I slapped my forehead.

“You, my good sir, are dense. She clearly likes you. Everything she does, she tries to impress you, and you are so blind,” I waved my hand in the air like I was a professional at giving advice. “You should go ask her out on a date. Her birthday is next week!” I winked as I moved the curtain to go back out into the store. “By the way, you said you got my address from Stacy.” Elijah stiffened while he scratched his neck.

“Oh, well, I kinda sneaked in Paul’s office and found it,” he confessed. I glanced over at him one more time.

“That was sneaky Elijah, I don’t like that.” I continued my way out of the back and went to the front of the store. Elijah was hiding something, even that sounded like a lie. I would have to watch him since I didn’t have enough evidence of what he could be doing. It all could be harmless, but when it comes to my life on the line, I won’t put it past him or anyone.

Several men had already gathered around reading their newspapers while the wives wanted their latte’s. Back in Italy, our housekeeper would bring me a shot of three espressos every morning just to get me out of bed. Almost a year of missing out on my hot beverage made me crave it daily. Now I could have as much as I wanted.

“Yeah, I saw two wolves driving in here. Big black ones, they looked like they were hunting together. It’s rare to see two males hunt like that…” the man trailed off, and my body stiffened. My wolves? The older man pulled on his long beard.

“Think they would cause trouble? I don’t need them digging in the trash or trying to hurt any kids.” I walked over with my coffee pot in hand and interrupted their conversation.

“Excuse me?” My voice came out meeker than I wanted, but the thought of my two new companions getting shot irked me. “Those are my wolves. I got them from the pound. They are domesticated, and they stay away from people,” I half lied. Sure, they were domesticated, haven’t peed on anything, and were nice to me. Just don’t get in their way like Elijah did, and you’re set.

“You don’t have collars on ’em,” the white-haired man, known as Joel, said. “You should collar ’em. I really wanna know how the hell you were able to adopt those things. The pound is run by many government a*s-holes who can’t tell the difference between a dog and a wolf. You shouldn’t have ’em.”

My grip tightened on the coffee pot. “Well, be as it may,” my Irish accent started to come out in my anger while the group of men began to stare. “I did adopt them, and they are my responsibility. I will be sure to watch them more closely.” Joel’s dog, Dash, lifted his head. He was an old coon hound that had seen his better days. Several men would bring their dogs in, and Paul said it was just fine as long as there wasn’t any trouble.

“Why don’t you call ’em,” Josiah spoke up. Josiah was the town’s most eligible bachelor and also a playboy. He’d do anything to get in any woman’s skirt. He hadn’t lifted mine, and he wasn’t going to. Josiah had that cocky wit about him that I hated. “Let’s see if they are really domesticated.” All the men mumbled in agreement as I put the pot down. Brushing my hands down my apron, I stepped outside and heard the door ring again.

I couldn’t see them any longer; they must have gone back into the woods. “Come here, boys!” I tried to yell out. I was too embarrassed to call them by their pound names, not wanting to have Josiah have any more ammo to try and degrade me. Getting ready to yell again, my two knights in their black fur came furling down the hill. Almost jumping up and down with glee, I held onto both of their scruffs as they buried their heads in my neck.

“You guys are getting in trouble; those men in there don’t think you are domesticated enough to be around town. Think you can be good boys and show ’em? Because you can totally understand what I am saying right now, right?” I laughed to myself as I stood up. “Let’s go, come on.”

Walking in with pride, my boys strode behind me and then flanked either side as we entered. Standing at the open end of the circle, the men sat in silence. Even Josiah had his mouth hanging open. “See, they are just fine. I know there are no other men in this town that would shoot these wolves except you guys. Leave them be, and they will leave you be,” I warned.

Stacy looked around the counter from the register and started snickering. “You give ’em hell, Trin!” I rolled my eyes. Stacy really ruined the moment.

“Well, aren’t you the huntress and temptress,” Josiah purred as he stood up. He was in his hunting gear, still strapped with his orange vest and his cap. “I tell you what, let me take you to dinner so you can tell me how you tamed these beasts. They would be excellent hunting companions, and I’d like to know how you did it.”

The boys growled at Josiah, baring their teeth as he backed up. “No to dinner and no to any pointers. They are mine and gonna stay that way.” The men of the group grinned, and Joel stood up.

“Great job, Trinity. You’ve earned our respect. We’ll stay away from your wolves. Josiah, you better shape up if you wanna get a girl like that.” Joel tipped his hat towards me as the men filed out the door. Josiah was the last to leave and made sure to stop in front of me. “There is more to you than I thought,” his toothpick rolled between his lips. “I like it,” he winked as he followed his fellow hunters.

Terrifying chills ran through me, and Bambi ran up to the door growling with his hair standing up on his back.

“You got his attention now; he’s on the hunt,” Sarah walked up with Elijah.

“Yeah, Josiah gets what he wants when he sees a woman. He will do anything to have her.” Elijah scowled.

“Don’t worry, I’m not into any of that mess.” I laughed. “I’m a stay-at-home kind of gal.”

“We know,” Stacy and Elijah said in unison.

“Lame,” Elijah spoke as I picked up more coffee cups from the slobby hunters. Bambi curled up by the fire and watched while Thumper scratched the door.

Sarah whispered to me as Elijah went to put up the dirty dishes. “No, seriously, Trinity. With your record of bad ex-boyfriends, you need to stay far away from him. I’ve been lucky since my dad is the Sherriff and is best friends with Josiah’s dad. You, however, don’t have anyone to back you up in this town. You are an easy target if he wants to go after you.”

“If he does, I tell your dad,” I shrugged my shoulders while wiping down the coffee table.

“This town sticks to their homegrown, Trinity. I hate to say it, but my father and including the rest of the town would take a homebody rather than a transplant.” I scoffed. Seems even the small towns had their own criminals in the justice system. Wiping the sweat off my neck, Thumper started pawing at the door again.

“You are leaving me?” I joked as I opened went to open the door. Thumper slipped out but not before he stood on his hind legs and licked my cheek, and scampered off. My hand brushed my cheek as I felt little tingles left in its wake. “Your wolves are so weird,” Stacy whispered as she went back to tidy up the rest of the shop.

….

Thaddeus’ POV

Stupid mother fucker. I growled as Josiah took a last glance at my mate’s a*s. I’m going to kill him before we leave mark my words. We weren’t going to stay at the house today like Trinity wanted. We were going to watch her from afar and make sure no one threatened our mate. She was too precious and we wouldn’t allow anything to happen to her. It was time she had her mates take care of her and not worry about running or hiding.

“Hey, no funny business,” Theon nudged me. “We still need to play it down until we get our bag and contact home to let them know we are alright. Mom is probably pulling her hair out right now.”

“Or off getting pregnant again,” I mumbled. “You won’t be the baby forever; mom likes having kids close.”

“I’ll always be the baby,” Theon grumbled.

We both silently listened to this Josiah character. He has the town wrapped around his finger and every chick around his c**k. We would have to protect Trinity not only from her father but this damn tool too. Though Trinity can’t help it, she was one fine piece, but she was ours, Theon and mine. We weren’t going to give her up, ever.

Theon scratched at the door to leave and licked her cheek. Can’t even follow his own advice and make a scene in front of everyone by licking her cheek. I scoffed as I curled up by the roaring fire. A wolf could get used to this kind of life.

Trinity continued to work all morning while Theon was gone. He would take his nose and put it to some good use. If my thoughts were correct, we shouldn’t be but a few miles out where we were caught. A small town like this wouldn’t take in wolves or dogs out but a few miles. Their state funding wouldn’t allow that.

Trinity continued to give people coffee; she’d wiped her hands on her apron and smiled at each passing customer. There weren’t a lot of customers, just the same ones that stayed all day long. They read in the book store and put the books back, only to leave. How did the owner make any money in this place?

The store was about to close until I heard the ring of the door opening, and a woman with short dark hair walked in. She had the same build as Stacy. It must be her mother. The woman walked in and came up behind Stacy, and gave her a hug. “How’s my favorite 21-year-old?” She cooed as Stacy turned around, smiling.

“Great! What brings you in, mom? I’m coming home in a few minutes.”

“Your father wanted to take you out to eat tonight since you wanted to take you and your friends to the bar on your actual birthday.” Stacy squealed and gave her a hug.

“You are going to let me go!” Stacy’s mom rolled her eyes as Trinity walked up.

“Hello, Marline, nice to see you again,” Trinity stuck out her hand only to be engulfed in a hug.

“We hug; now you are going to Stacy’s party on Friday, right? To keep her in check?” Trinity rubbed her hands together and looked towards me.

“I actually adopted some dogs. I don’t want to leave them home alone…” she trailed off, and Stacy’s disappointed face turned that of anger.

“No, you are coming. You never come to hang out. It isn’t healthy. I want you to meet everyone; they have been dying to meet you.” Trinity’s face gave a look of disgust.

“Stop being so introverted,” Stacy slapped her arm playfully. I didn’t like it; I didn’t even like females touching what was mine, so I stood up and walked towards her. Rubbing my head on her thigh, she scratched behind my ears.

After a long girl talk, they eventually talked Trinity to some bar for Stacy’s birthday. Elijah held his gaping mouth open of Trinity’s commitment. Trinity didn’t like it; she shrugged her shoulders and got the time and place where she was supposed to be, a place called Moose Dubs. A bar s***h club where the whole town goes to drink, party, and hook up. She wouldn’t just have the young crowd of horny drunk men but also the older ones too.

Theon and I couldn’t get in that place as wolves. But a grand new plan came to mind thinking of ways to get Trinity to accept us all the more. Once our bag was retrieved, we could have many things at our disposal, including money to buy ourselves some clothes and make an appearance.

“I’ll see you Friday then, Trinity.” Trinity hummed as she searched for the keys to her SUV. “Have something sexy to wear; go out and buy something now so you will be ready.” Huffing, Trinity nodded her head again as she went to the door.

“I bet $50 bucks she won’t show,” I heard Elijah taunt Stacy as she playfully nudged him.