The Women Between

Chapter 18: Bedroom Visitors

Just like yesterday, Cassandra woke up feeling warm and comfortable in her new bed, but this time, she could move her body. The dreams, though,… They were nightmares that showed her the downward spiral of her youth, but in another dream, her fears went away. It was Gregory and Thomas taking turns cradling her through the impending doom and the sight of Derek and Jamie that made her scream. They even used their aura to sooth the pain that day had caused her. She relished their touch, their soothing voices, and everything they had done to make her feel better. She still feels their presence as if they were really there showing their care and worry for her, making this morning a brighter day.

She wanted to giggle at how growly Gregory sounded with his wolf close while he caressed her face. And Thomas had his arm draped from her shoulder to her rear like she truly was a baby. It did not matter how many times she screamed and clawed at him, except after a while, he had to hold her down. He took it with tears lingering in his eyes and his wolf shining down on her. She could not break free of that dream that kept pulling her under to only see blips of them.

It is just too bad that it was a dream, she thought ruefully with a frown on her face.

A breath escaped her as she pulled herself up from the bed and swung her legs over the edge. She went to slide off when her feet connected with something hard and soft, making her yelp in surprise. She leaped back onto the bed, curling her legs into her body. Her heart was hammering in her chest like she had connected with a snake that was ready to bite her. The pounding was so loud in her ears that she had not heard the knock and the call of a feminine voice. She was expecting the soft carpet and not a person. She looked at Gregory jolting up from his place on the floor, and it drew another shriek from her. And then, a punch to his nose before she could stop herself.

“Ugh!”

“Are you alright, Your Majesty!?” her wolfless friend called, sounding frightened.

“It is alright,” Thomas mumbled as he crawled to her sleepily from her other side.

That made her shriek louder except he managed to wrap his arms around her and rock her. She was soothed by his aura, which took away the fear that had blinded her of who these men were in her room. Everything soon settled down inside for her to realize that they were her mates, and that last night was real.

They were in her room easing her fear of the nightmare.

Cassandra breathed in, then out, smelling Thomas’ scent invade her nose, while his hand caressed her hair. She is enjoying every bit of this care that makes her feel safe after that fright. Her heart had even given a brief squeeze at the softness of his voice, drawing her attention mostly to him. She wanted to be only his, right now, with the way he was making her feel cherished. Thoughts of lying on the ocean filled her mind, but she saw Gregory get up off the floor and he had her attention now, too.

He was holding his nose looking at her accusingly, which almost made her flinch. It was almost like anger was in his eyes, except it looked like he was pained by her actions. She had not meant to hurt him. It was reflexive to punch first, ask questions second, especially when no one other than her was supposed to be in her bedroom last night. She hopes that he understands that when she gets a moment to explain to him.

She knew she had to stop Thomas before he put her back to sleep, but she wanted this little reassurance.

“Your Majesties!” Maggie gasped loudly with her eyes widened and her face reddened at the sight. “I’m sorry!”

It drew Gregory’s attention away from Cassandra with a snarl on his face. His eyes clouded over in anger that made her bow to the ground, showing her submittance to them and fear. She shook where she stood waiting for whatever to come next.

“Thomas,” Cassandra called through the haze of the calm and gave his wrist a few taps. “I am awake. Please, let go before your brother kills that poor young woman.”

“Huh?” he said, looking down at her with a sheepish grin before looking up to see Maggie. “Brother, I think our mate is going to be upset if your wolf eats her.”

“She is in her room!” Gregory roared loudly, making it echo off the walls and causing the woman to shake more.

Cassandra noisily gasped at the anger in his voice, finding her mind showing her Derek. He had always sounded like a bear when he got mad at her, except this was her mate. He sounds like a roaring lion whose sleep has been disturbed. The look on his face made her eyes widen, causing her to latch her nails into Thomas’ arm, which resembled that man. Her feet kicked to move further up on him, ignoring the aura of Gregory’s anger that hit her in waves. It made her fearful of what would happen next, hoping that she did not have to fight him. She will feel her mate’s pain like it is her own and vice versa, which does not help ease the situation.

“I told, told her to come here,” Cassandra stuttered softly while keeping her eyes on him. “At this time.”

He took his eyes off the omega lying on the floor and to his mate. She shivered in response to that, hoping that she would survive what happened next.

“I’m sorry, My Beautiful Mate,” Gregory said as he leaped onto the bed and crawled to her.

She flinched, but Thomas held her in place as he tightened his arms around her, making it clear that she would be alright. He is trying to give her warmth and sooth her fear of him. She knew that she would have to learn to deal with this side of them sooner or later. She wants later rather than now with the way her insides are squirming for her to run instead of stay. It is a confusing mess inside her mind, but she hopes that he does not get violent while she is being restrained.

“I’m so sorry, Cassandra,” Gregory said softly, keeping a foot away from her. He wants her to choose to come to him rather than be forced to do it. “I do not want you to be afraid of me.”

She took in a deep helping of Thomas’ scent, letting it calm her down and sooth her. Both scents wrapped around her senses, helping to ease the fear while Gregory struggled to get the anger contained. It was still on him like a second skin that screamed his nature, but she needed this moment from her mate. It let her look at Maggie still on the floor and shaking in fear of her kings while waiting for their judgment.

“It is not what you think, Maggie,” Cassandra said softly as she struggled to calm down. She noticed the redness of her face, and the way her eyes were closed in anguish. “In fact, I don’t know why Their Majesties are in my room, but if you could give us a moment. I’m sure there is a rational explanation.”

That poor wolfless, young woman did not waste any time leaving Cassandra’s bedroom. She looked very uncomfortable, but at least, Cass knows that she will not chicken out when it comes to her rescue. It made her feel good inside to know that more than her mates were willing to risk their lives for her like she would for them.

“Do you care to explain?” Cassandra asked as calmly as her building anger would let her.

“You were having violent nightmares,” Thomas said from behind her. She looked back, seeing that he was more awake than a moment ago and had released her body. She crawled away making sure that there was space between them, feeling uncomfortable about their closeness suddenly. It was wreaking havoc with her body that wanted them to touch her. She is trying to keep other thoughts in her head, so her arousal does not provoke them. “We had come in and you were screaming for help.”

“It took both of us to calm you down, so we stayed on the floor the whole night,” Gregory said, jibbing in.

Her anger deflated. Her eyes took on a soft shine, looking at Gregory holding her hand. Every ounce of her felt like these men would go through fire and Hell just to make her happy. Her heart was even doing something funny besides its heavy beating that made her want to cry. She wanted to throw her arms around them both to shed those tears gathering in her eyes. It is strange for her that she would feel this way when she has felt love from her mother and brother before. This is not something new to her, and yet, it feels that way.

Still, she felt wanted by these men for more than just bearing their heir.

She, also, wanted to give them the hottest damn kiss they had ever felt from a woman, but she felt too frozen. The stain in her mind told her it was not true. It was like an oil spill that slowly spreads unless something stops it like the mate bond. It would not let that taint go any further than what it did- a nibble of uncertainty. How can she believe their words when she barely knows them?

Cassandra is not a wolf to detect lies. She could not let herself trust them completely even though their words rang true. And it was not because of the way the mate bond nudges them to act. It sounded like they were truly concerned for her from the plea in their voices and the look on their faces. The edge that had come out of Gregory showed that he did not like the way she cried for help. Thomas’ tone sounded like it had an edge in it, too, but he sounded far more concerned that she was hurt.

She did not know how to take it, in truth. She only knew that she had to protect herself when everything went to fall around her head, making her hurt.

“Thank…” she cleared her throat, feeling the rawness of it from her emotions becoming too much for her. She breathed in pushing them away and leaned forward giving Gregory a hug. “Thank you.” She turned to Thomas looking almost slightly dejected with a cute pout on his lips that made her giggle, but the sadness in his eyes made her hug him, too. “Thank you.”

She kissed his cheek hoping to help the pain inside him. She did not want these two men fighting over her when they were brothers, who got shafted with one mate to share. It would hurt her to know that one or the other would hurt each other over her. That is not something she would want them to do. She must find a way to make them okay with what she does to them as well as herself.

“I had been told that my nightmares were bad,” Cassandra said offhandedly, and she even tried to laugh it off. It came out dry and bitter, which made her face wince at how fake she sounded about it. “I thought they were over, but I guess the mate bond wants me to deal with it.”

“You are progressing fast with the mate bond,” Thomas purred in her ear.

“It is progressing fast with me,” she corrected, giving a snort at that. She could not help a smile and a bite of her lips while he was doing that. “I guess I have a lot of demons to work out.”

“And we will be here with you through it all,” Gregory said, taking her hand, again, and rubbing his face on it. “You are not alone, My Mate. You have us, always.”

His words pierced her heart, which seemed to like to flip and act funny when they say and do these things. The sparks and tingles from him and Thomas are making her want to cry while wanting to kiss them, too. She has never had an alpha on her side before. She has never had anyone except her mother care for her like this, which makes it harder to keep her heart in check. It wants to beat for them and to give only to them. Her throat was constrained, again, making it difficult to say anything that could contribute to his words. She could only cup his face and bring it close to hers while taking Thomas’ arm around her waist.

“Thank you,” she whispered, feeling like this was getting too much for her. She kissed Gregory’s forehead, and then breathed in shakily before she released it. She is trying to get her emotions under control, which seemed to have gotten out of their tight constraint. “We all have things to do today. And I promise, I will not exert myself on that jog. Besides, I am sure that you threatened Simon sufficiently enough about my health.”

They both chuckled, giving each other a knowing look while she scooted off the bed. She did not want to think about what they had done for her nor about their words. The comfort they had given her a moment ago is still there, and she wants to relish it so badly, but she cannot. She feels like she must stand on her own instead of relying on them to be her pillar. If she does lean on them, then she is afraid that she will fall and crumble just like pillars do over time. She must find her own way to this new life.