Chapter Three: Their New Seliana

Daryl, Dylan, Dominic, and Drezden waited for their brother and his mate in the waiting area. They’d locked all doors, and the closed sign was up.

When Dustin and Shar walked into the waiting area, Shar felt her cheeks heat again. This is strange. She’d just met them a few hours ago, and already, she’s mated with their brother.

“Sharissa!” Dylan said when he saw her.

“Back off,” Dustin growled when his brother moved toward his mate.

Dylan threw his hands up, “easy, Brother. We don’t feel it anymore, not since you claimed her. I just wanted to welcome her to the family.”

Dustin studied his brother’s face, then nodded.

With a wide grin, Dylan approached Shar. “Welcome to the family, Sharissa.”

Shar smiled at the man as he hugged her, “thanks, Dylan. And you can call me Shar.”

“You don’t know how long we have waited for this day,” Dominic said as he pulled her away from his brother and hugged her.

“Too long,” Daryl said as he pulled her into his arms.

Shar laughed as they passed her from brother to brother. Even Drezden hugged her with a welcome to the family.

Dustin pulled her to his side once they finished.

“May I see?” Daryl asked, pointing to her wrists.

She held up her wrists, and he took hold of them with a whistle.

“I can see why you screamed. This must have hurt like hell,” he said as he touched the scar.

She nodded and replied, “like I was branded.”

Daryl nodded, “branded by the Goddesses.”

“Now, what about this ex of hers? We can’t give her to him,” Dustin growled.

Daryl looked at Dustin. “Never planned to. Even if she wasn’t your mate, she belonged to someone. And besides, turns out, she’s not a missing person. She’s a stalked person.”

Shar chuckled at his over-use of the word, person.

“So, what now?” Dustin asked.

“Now, you’re not only her mate but her bodyguard,” Daryl said.

Dustin grinned. “Does that mean she’s my job?”

Daryl rolled his eyes. It would be best to let this be his brother’s job rather than just something he does because the woman is his mate. For one, she needs his protection, and for another, he doesn’t want to be around his brother when he’s away from his new mate.

He has heard horror stories about mates who got separated from their new mate for a lengthy period. The horror wasn’t for the shifter himself but for those around him.

“Yes, Brother, she will be your job. Keep her safe.”

Dustin nodded. “I plan to,” he said, pulling Shar against his side.

Daryl smiled when he saw the same compassion pass over Shar’s face. She didn’t seem afraid of them, and she looked happy. Though it was rare for a mate to reject their Fated mate, he had heard of it happening.

Usually, it happened when the Fated mates were natural enemies. That never went well. Either one killed the other, they killed themselves or got one another simultaneously. Either way, it’s never an agreeable thing to have your enemy as your mate.

Sharissa looked around the room at the five shifters. To think, just a few short hours ago, she had never met a shifter before. And now look at her—she’s mated to one and has four as brothers.

“How much….” she stopped talking when five pairs of silver eyes stared at her.

“Mafilia, you won’t be paying for our protection. You are family,” Dustin informed her.

She blinked up at him, “but….”

Daryl smiled and interjected, “don’t argue. You’ll learn that Dustin is extremely stubborn.”

She smiled and stated, “so am I.”

“Oh, ho, Brother. It looks like you got yourself a match,” Dylan laughed.

Dustin grinned as he looked down at his mate. “Looks like I do.”

“If I can’t pay you, at least let me take you all out to dinner,” Shar said, looking out among the silver eyes.

Dominic grinned, “sounds good to me.”

“No,” Dustin said.

Sharissa looked up at Dustin with a pout. “Not even dinner?”

Dustin shook his head. “These louts will run your bank dry. Shifters eat a lot of food.”

“Oh,” she said, her mouth opening into an O. “How about a home-cooked meal then?”

Dustin grinned and said, “we will see.”

Shar pouted, and he kissed her pouting lips.

“I just found you, Mafilia. Let me have time alone with you before you invite other men over. Even if they are my lecherous brothers.”

Daryl snorted, “speak for yourself. You’re the one who got us kicked out of the last buffet we went to.”

The others laughed.

Shar smiled—she would love to hear that story.

Dustin grinned and stated, “only because I told them they needed to bring the food out faster.”

“You ate everything they brought out within five minutes,” Dylan snorted.

Shar snickered.

Dustin looked down at her, all innocent-like. “I had just returned from a job where I got shot protecting some Daddy’s Princess. I needed the fuel to help me heal.”

Her eyes opened wide. “You got shot?”

Dustin nodded, then pulled her closer and kissed her forehead. “Don’t worry, Mafilia. Shifters heal fast.”

Dylan shivered and said, “unless it’s silver.”

Shar sucked in a breath, and Dustin gave his brother a nasty look.

“What can silver do to you?” she asked, her eyes full of concern.

Dustin sighed. “It prevents us from healing if it’s stuck inside us. If not, it slows our healing down. But not enough to kill us.”

“So, it’s not like werewolves,” she whispered.

The group of men laughed.

She looked around. “What? Are there no such thing as werewolves?”

Dustin grinned and stated, “there is.”

“They’re weak and impure,” Dominic grunted.

“Impure?” Shar asked, looking around the room at the others.

“The first werewolf was once human—a wolf shifter attacked him. The shifter was trying to make his own army, to claim a throne that was not his. But he had left the man in a ditch, and the bites and scratches became infected. By the time they found the man, he was already foaming at the mouth. The doctors saved the human, but not his humanity. That full moon, he transformed into a hideous half-man-half-wolf creature and tore the hospital apart. They found the shifter who had created the monster a few years later and killed him. But not before he’d done so much damage that there was an outbreak of werewolves,” Dustin explained.

“They hunted the impures but never captured all of them. The werewolves spread their disease for a while. Until a hunter ended so many of them, they went into hiding,” Dylan said.

“How horrible,” Shar gasped.

“Luckily, they only change on full moons,” Daryl said.

Dustin nodded. “Yeah, no one has figured that one out.”

“It’s getting late. Maybe you should take Shar home,” Daryl said, looking at the clock on the wall.

Dustin nodded. “Wait here. I need to get my shit from my office,” he said, then kissed her and disappeared.

Shar watched him leave, then turned to his brothers. “Can I ask a question?”

Dylan smiled, “sure, Seliana.”

“Okay, that one is next,” she said, pointing at Dylan. “But first. What does the word Mafilia mean?”

All four men grinned from ear to ear.

“My mate,” Daryl said, still grinning.

“Or, another translation, my love,” Drezden said from his corner of the room.

Shar looked around the room at the four shifters and smiled.

“I guess your next question would be, what does Seliana mean?” Dylan said with a smile.

Shar nodded.

“It means sister,” Dustin said as he rejoined them.

Shar’s cheeks burned when her cheeks blushed. When Dustin stopped beside her, she leaned up and whispered into his ear. “How do you say, brother?”

Dustin smiled. He knew his brothers could hear her, but they didn’t let on. He turned his head so he could whisper into her ear. “Beliono.”

She smiled with a slight nod of her head.

“Okay, well, we’re out of here,” Dustin said as he took Shar’s hand and headed for the door.

“Goodnight, Seliana!” the four shifters shouted to their new sister.

With a smile, she turned to them and waved. “Goodnight, Belionos.”

The four men grinned as they waved goodbye.

Shar showed Dustin where she’d parked her car. He pulled out his phone and talked to his brothers to have them drive her car to their warehouse—so Vega didn’t see it.

While Dustin was on the phone with Daryl, Dylan texted Shar.

Dylan: Hey there, little sister.

Sharissa: Hi. =)

Dylan: Since Dustin is on the phone with Daryl, I thought I would let you know there’s a family dinner this Saturday. Make sure Dustin brings you.

Sharissa: Sounds excellent!

Dylan: Good. And I thought you would like to know the male version of Mafilia is Mafilio.

Shar smiled as she read Dylan’s text. She’ll surprise Dustin with the word later tonight or tomorrow.

Sharissa: Thanks, big brother.

Dylan: Any time. Have a good night, and don’t let Dustin’s mood swings bother you. He’s like an old woman with hot flashes.

Shar giggled and placed her hand over her mouth when Dustin turned to her.

“I’ve got to go, Brother. I’ll be back for work tomorrow morning. Yes, with my mate, what do you think I am, careless? Oh, fuck you,” Dustin said, then hung up. “What’s got you giggling over there?” he asked, eyeing her.

Shar shook her head. “Nothing. Your brother was telling me about the family dinner this Saturday.”

Dustin grunted. “I was hoping to skip that.”

“But why?” she asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

“Because our mother has been on us for years to find a mate and settle down—even if she isn’t “the one.” She expected to have a dozen grandcubs by now.”

She smiled up at him, “but you have your mate.”

He grinned as he pulled her into his arms. “I do. But we won’t start a family until you’re ready.”

She nodded and said, “I just got out of a horrible relationship. But I will let you know when I’m ready….” She stopped talking when his lips captured hers.

“When you’re ready,” he said, lifting his head.

Shar nodded, thankful he understood. Everything that has happened to her has happened so fast. She came here to find a bodyguard. And boy, did she find one. And a mate who fucks so good her body was still vibrating an hour later.

Her phone pinged, and she looked at it.

Dylan: Leave your keys in the visor.

“Who’s that?” Dustin asked.

“Dylan. He said to leave my keys in the visor.”

Dustin nodded and held his hand out to her. She pulled the car key off the key ring and handed it to him. Once he finished, he turned to her with a frown.

“Why did he text you and not me?”

She shrugged.

He grumbled as he took hold of her elbow and led her to his car.

~🐱~

“So, this is where I live,” Sharissa said as she showed Dustin into her small apartment.

He looked around with a nod. “Not too bad.”

She scoffed, “you can be honest, Dustin.”

He smiled as he looked at her. “I am. For this side of the city, it’s not a bad little apartment. But we’re only staying here tonight. Tomorrow, we are moving you to my mansion.”

“Your what?” she asked, astonished.

He smiled and answered, “my mansion. Didn’t you know that my brothers and I are independently wealthy?”

She shook her head.

He nodded and said, “yeah, we built the business for something to do.”

“How… how did you get so wealthy at such a young age?”

He grinned. “How old do you think I am?”

She shrugged. “Mid-twenties?”

“Oh, I do love you,” he said with a grin as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

“How Old Are You?” she whispered when his head came up.

“Ninety-six.”

“What?!” she squealed as she backed away from him.

He chuckled, “shifters live a very long time.”

She swallowed and asked, “so. While I grow old and grey, you will stay young and pretty?”

He chuckled. “You think I’m pretty, huh?”

She grunted, “don’t change the subject.”

He took hold of her right wrist, brought it up to his lips, and kissed the word UNITY.

“Shar, babe. These here connect you to me. Which means you share everything about me. My strength, my senses, even my aging.”

She stared at him, then looked at the markings on her wrists. “Will I turn into something, too?”

He chuckled, “no, Mafilia, you’re human. But this….” He lifted her other wrist and kissed the scar where the Goddesses had branded his name into her skin. “This will keep you with me for a very long time.”

“So, I won’t get old and gray?”

He chuckled, “not for a very, very long time. By then, we will have great, great, great, great grandcubs.”

She chuckled and asked, “so. I will gain strength and your senses?”

He shrugged and answered, “you might. I don’t know anyone who has found their Fated mate. Most stick to shifters for mates. That way, their mate doesn’t grow old and die on them.”

“So, are we the first?”

He chuckled and shook his head, “no, Mafilia. But we are the first in a very long time.”

“Can we test it?” she asked with a sheepish grin.

He chuckled, “alright, close your eyes.”

She closed her eyes, and he placed his hands on her shoulders.

“Now, concentrate. Listen with your entire body.”

Shar took a deep breath and cleared her mind. She listened, and at first, she heard nothing, but then she heard a scratching noise.

“What’s that scratching?” she asked.

Dustin grinned. The stories were accurate. A human Fated mate gets their mate’s abilities. Well, the senses, for sure.

“Use your other senses,” he said, tapping her nose.

She sniffed the air, and he chuckled.

“Oh my God.” She grinned. “It’s my neighbor’s dog scratching at their door.”

“Very good,” he said as he leaned down and kissed her.

“Dustin,” she mumbled against his mouth.

“Where is your bedroom?” he asked as he slipped his coat off and tossed it onto the couch.

She pointed to the hall.

Dustin lifted Shar into his arms and carried her to the bedroom.