Melissa's Acceptance by Becca van Page B

and by the look of the sun, it was mid-morning. She realized she couldn’t have been asleep for much more than an hour or so. Her stomach rumbled reminding her that she was hungry since she hadn’t eaten breakfast earlier and that it was definitely time to eat. After showering and donning a T-shirt she found in one of the drawers in the bedroom, she followed her nose to the wonderful smell coming from the kitchen. She watched as Luke and Damian bustled about, preparing bacon and eggs.
    She must have made a noise because Luke turned toward her and spoke. “Come on in, honey. Take a seat. Would you like a cup of coffee?”
    “Yes, please,” Melissa answered as she took a seat at the table.
    “How long have you guys lived here?” she asked after a few moments.
    “All our lives. We were born and raised here,” Luke answered as he placed a mug of coffee in front of her on the table.
    “Thanks.” Melissa sighed, inhaling the aroma of the coffee, then took a sip. “Do your parents live here?”
    “Not anymore. They moved to a warmer climate about twelve months ago, but they come back for a visit every now and then,” Damian answered as he placed three plates heaped with bacon, eggs, and toast on the table.
    “Eat, Mel, you’ve got to be hungry,” Luke said.
    Melissa dug into her food. She was so hungry she didn’t say another word until she had eaten her fill. She thought about the morning activities, and how she was drawn to the two men. Just being near them had her libido reviving again.
    What was it about these men that turned her on so much? She had been around handsome men before and hadn’t reacted to them beyond a second glance. So what made these two so different? They drew her like animals in the throes of heat. She just couldn’t explain it.
    “Mel, we want you to move in with us. We’ll help you pack up your things so you won’t have to do it alone.” Damian glanced at Luke and then back to her.
    “I want that, too. I really do, but don’t you think we should have a sort of a trial run before making such a big commitment?”
    “Honey, we told you once you were mated to us that there would be no going back.”
    Luke looked a little upset and Melissa felt guilty. It wasn’t that she wanted to back out, it was just that she was worried how Sara was going to react once she knew that she was now in essence married to two men, who also happened to be werewolves. She was hoping for a bit more time with her men before the outside world encroached on them. Maybe that was selfish of her, but she didn’t want to deal with any recriminations from her older sibling, either. Even though she was pretty sure Sara would be happy for her after she got over the shock of what Melissa was doing, she was pretty certain Sara would read her the riot act first. She knew she was being a coward, but she had looked up to Sara for so long she didn’t want to see disappointment in her sister’s eyes when she looked at her.
    “I have some leave time owing to me, but I would really like to stay here with you at the moment. I’ll call work tomorrow and arrange for time off, and maybe in a week or so we can move my stuff.”
    “What are you so worried about, baby?” Damian asked. “Talk to us, Mel.”
    She didn’t know what to say without hurting them any more than she had, so she just shook her head, rose to her feet and left the room. She wandered outside and drew in air, and tried to get the turmoil in her brain under control.
    Melissa came to a halt amongst the trees when she heard a rustle in the bushes behind her. Turning quickly, she scanned the brush for human or animals. She saw the glow of bright green eyes staring at her. She stepped back slowly as a large wolf moved into the clearing.
    “Oh my God,” Melissa muttered under her breath.
    The wolf moved closer as Melissa walked backward, never taking her eyes from the animal.
    “Nice doggie,” Melissa crooned to it. “Please don’t eat me. I don’t taste