Ariana dreamed of three men for years. Her three handsome wolves. An arranged mating and it’s disastrous fallout delayed her meeting them. They gave her hope and kept her sane. She couldn’t go to them until she healed. Now, she’s ready and just needs to get the courage to go to them.

Curtis, Travis, and Raff are alpha wolves of their pack and they’ve waited for their mate to recover. Their beautiful woman is finally coming out of her shell, but their patience is wearing thin. They need to claim their mate and they’re close to hunting her down. But mysterious incidents plague their pack.

When days pass with no dreams with her mates, Ariana gets worried. Her search for information leads to contact with them and she jumps at the chance to take the last step to them. She’s ready to be with her mates.

Travis, Raff, and Curtis are thrilled to finally have her with them. Even as the heat between them flares higher, the danger increases, striking close to Ariana. They’ll stop at nothing to protect her and keep her with them. She’s their mate. She’s their future.

A rush of energy swept through the landscape. The trees, grass, and the fabric of the thin veil of their shared dream reality rippled. Curtis lifted his head. She was here. Finally.

They hadn’t shared a dream in days. Much too long, but he couldn’t fault her. Mostly because his schedule had gone to shit and Raff and Travis’ was bad as well.

He glanced over. Raff turned away from staring at the lake that edged their favorite dream-scape. It was the only way they could be with her at the moment. Travis straightened and rose from his chair on the porch of the log cabin. They had a cabin like this in Montana. Someday when they gained her trust, they’d take her to it.

Ariana walked from the trees. Her long black hair flowed down her back and a light white dress fluttered around her legs. She was gorgeous. And still so fragile.

They’d dreamed with her for years. Just talking with her, at first, explaining and convincing her they weren’t figments of her imagination and then trying to steer her away from some of the obvious disasters. Unfortunately, they couldn’t do anything about other dangers. Her father’s own stubbornness and stupidity for one thing. She’d suffered for over a year because of that. And two years after she was free, she was still emotionally hesitant and guarded even with them.

She walked over to the porch and took a seat near them.

“It’s good to see you, Ariana.” Curtis sat forward.

“It’s nice to see you, too. I thought something might have happened to you. I haven’t seen you in a few days.” She licked her lips. Her eyes closed for a moment. “I didn’t want to lose you without ever actually meeting you.”

Curtis took a deep breath. She shouldn’t be so unsure of them. They’d always be there for her. “We’ve been on some weird schedules. Nothing bad, but more than a few things kept each of us late over the last few days. Work issues in some cases and then we had pack business afterward. So we haven’t had a chance to spend some time with you.”

“We missed it, too.” Raff walked up on the porch and dropped down on the step next to her chair. “I tried catching a nap when I was sure you’d be asleep, but never fell deep enough to dream.”

“Do you feel like playing today?” She tilted her head. “I’d like to hear your music. It’s been a rough week for me, too.”

“Is something wrong, Ari?” Travis tensed.

“Oh, it’s nothing that you’d need to worry about. It’s just normal people stuff. Jerk of a boss. My car broke down. Landlord won’t fix a problem with my apartment. You know incidental stuff.” She waved her hand.

And they’d happily help her with everything, but she insisted she wasn’t ready to come to them. Curtis reached over and grabbed his guitar. “I’ll play for you anytime. You could hear this live if you’d come to us. I’d even take you to one of my shows.”

“That’s sweet.” She smiled.

“But?” Raff brushed his fingers over her hand.

“I’m not sure I’m the best thing for you.” She shifted restlessly in the chair.

“Baby, you’re our mate. You’re the one for us. This… is proof of that.” Curtis swept his hand, encompassing the cabin, the lake, and the glade in front of it. If she wasn’t their mate, they wouldn’t have the link between them. But this wasn’t about her belief in their mating.

“Yeah, I know that I’m supposed to be.” She ran her hands through her hair. “It’s just that I can’t trust easily anymore. And I’m not innocent.”

“After what you told us happened, I don’t blame you for the trust.” Travis leaned forward. “As for the innocent part, if you’d come from a normal pack, there’s very little probability that you’d have come to us innocent. While not exactly encouraged to have sex, females have the freedom to explore and date.”

“And really, have you given much thought to how an innocent would react to the thought of a group mating? Settling those fears wouldn’t be easy.” Raff shook his head, but a smile curved his lips. “So innocent was never something we counted on or even wanted. Can you see me trying to soothe an innocent maiden?”

She laughed. Yeah, he was a little gruff.

“Regardless of anything else, your doubts included, you’re our woman. We’ve given you time to heal, but eventually our patience will run out.” Curtis smiled. And that time might run out sooner rather than later. She was so stubborn about keeping a distance between them that she might not tell them if there was trouble. That gave him nightmares at night. How could they be there to protect her if they didn’t know where she was?

She sighed, but nodded. “I’m honestly surprised that you’ve lasted this long without trying to hunt me down.”

“Ari, when we hunt you, there won’t be any trying about it.” Travis reached forward and clasped her other hand.

“Ah, I’m quivering.” She shook her head. “Can’t you see how scared I am?”

“You’ll tremble when we finally get you in our arms. All night long and in the mornings. Now, listen to Curtis’s song.” Raff patted her arm.

Curtis strummed the guitar. He sang one of the band’s love songs. Ariana smiled. She relaxed in her seat. Tension eased from her muscles.

“I’m glad you’re okay.” She squeezed Travis’ hand.

“There is very little that could keep us away from you.” Travis dropped a kiss on her cheek.