Lucien was about to take his shot at the pool table in the Shifters Inn situated in Sugar Creek Ohio, when he inhaled a delicious scent wafting to his nostrils. He stood up straight, away from the pool table and inhaled deeply the vanilla and jasmine scent. Lucien noticed his brother's, Rafe and Gabe also inhaling the delectable scent. As one they all turned to face the entrance door to the inn and froze as they watched a petite blonde woman sway across the room to the bar.

Luc noticed the sleeve of her shirt was ripped away entirely from her left arm, and the left side of her cheek was swollen and bruised. It looked as if she had been used as someone's punching bag. He let out a low growl deep in his throat for the pain the woman was suffering and also to all the other males in the room staring at the gorgeous woman, warning all the other weres away from the female.

In an unspoken agreement Luc, Rafe and Gabe sauntered from the pool room behind the bar, just as Flynn the bartender, placed a cup of coffee in front of their woman. Rafe and Gabe pulled up stools on either side of the woman and Luc stood directly behind her. All three men inhaled deeply, drawing in the scent of their mate.

Gabe leaned forward on the bar crowding the petite blonde from the front. Rafe leaned his arm around the back of the stool and blocked her in from behind. Luc stood behind the female so she could not scoot the stool back and try to escape.

Rafe asked, "What's your name little darlin'?"

Tessa stiffened as she was crowded from the front and back, on the bar stool sat two of the most gorgeous drool worthy men she had ever seen. The man on the right had hazel eyes and dark blonde hair; and a masculine face with the most beautiful smile Tess had ever seen. It lit up his whole face and made him look like an angel. The male to the left of her had brown hair and blue eyes which seemed to dance with mischief and his smile was a crooked tilt of his lips which almost seemed predatory.

Tess tried to shrink into herself with fear and trepidation as the two men crowded into her personnel space. "My name is Tess," she abruptly replied, "Please move out of my way?" she asked as she tried to stand and scoot back her stool at the same time.

The two men crowding her shifted away slightly as she placed her feet on the floor and hopped off the bar stool. Lucien took advantage of the situation and took hold of the back of the stool moving it behind him. He positioned himself in front of it, wrapped his arm around the woman's waist, and pulled the stool back in towards him, seating himself and hauling Tess onto his lap.

Tess struggled against the arm of steel around her waist and gasped as she was hauled against a rock hard masculine chest and thighs. Pushing against the arm wrapped around her waist, Tess turned her head to see who was holding her. She found herself unable to pull her gaze away from the piercing green eyes of the mountain holding her firmly in place on his lap. Her gaze roved up to his black shoulder length hair to the strong masculine cheek bones and jaw. Power and confidence seemed to radiate from the Alpha male holding her securely. Tess looked back into the hypnotizing green eyes asking "What do you think you are doing?" pushing ineffectually at the steel band of an arm around her waist.

"I'm just getting both of us more comfortable little lady. My name is Lucien Woolf and these are my brother's Raphael and Gabriel." Lucien indicated with a nod of his head to his brothers.

Tess shivered as Lucien spoke to her in a low rumbling sexy voice. Sighing in exasperation she again asked, "Please release me. I don't know you and I don't like being man handled." Tess thought she heard Lucien growl as a result of her statement, but when she looked up into his face, he had a blank expression.