Nessa's Two Shifters Read Online Free Page A

were talking about.
    “He has no excuse for beating her. He must be disciplined for this. Females are to be cherished and treated with respect,” Jessup insisted.
    “Forget discipline. He does not deserve to breathe the same air that she does. He must be put down.” Joseph’s deep voice was soft, but full of anger.
    “You would draw attention to us by killing this poor excuse of a human?” A man with chocolate-colored eyes and dark, shoulder-length hair who was shorter than the others spoke next.
    Everyone began talking at once. Nessa knew they were talking about her and Derrick. She stepped into the room, appalled that they would think to do anything without her present.
    “Stop it!”
    The room grew quiet. Eight pairs of eyes turned to her. Immediately both Jessup and Joseph converged on her, stepping between her and everyone else. She frowned, looking up at the two men. When her eyes met Joseph’s, she swallowed at the darkness that seemed to almost boil there. She wasn’t going to let him scare her. They weren’t going to make decisions about her or Derrick without her present.
    They let her push between them but didn’t allow her to step ahead of them. She felt both of their hands on her shoulders.
    “No one does anything that involves me without my say-so. I don’t even know any of you. What makes you think you have the right to decide things about my life like this?”
    “Honey, you are a part of our family now. Anyone in this room would do everything in their power to assure that you are not harmed ever again.” Jessup smoothed a lock of her hair from her cheek.
    “How can I be a part of your family? I’ve only known you a few weeks and this is the first time I’ve even met the rest of your family.”
    “I’ll introduce you to everyone now, Nessa.” Jessup began going around the room to indicate each of his brother’s names.
    By the time he was finished, she was even more confused than before. Though they each had something different about them, there were too many of them to keep straight right off the bat.
    “I can’t imagine having so many siblings. I imagine you never get lonely.”
    Kindle, one of the youngest of the brothers, chuckled. “The challenge is having any time to yourself around here.”
    Nessa could imagine that would be true, but she would have loved to have more siblings, just no more like Derrick. All of the Shoewater men were tall, dark, and handsome with intriguing features and compelling stares. She felt as if they could all see inside to all of her secrets. It was unnerving to say the least.
    “Honey, you are a part of this family now. We will talk more about that in private, later.” Jessup smiled down at her.
    “Promise me you won’t go see my stepbrother.”
    “Why would you defend this worthless excuse of a human when he beats you?” Joseph asked.
    “I don’t want anyone to confront Derrick. He’s dangerous. I’m scared someone will get hurt because of me. I couldn’t handle knowing that.”
    “He couldn’t hurt one of us if he tried.” Joseph’s upper lip curled.
    Nessa didn’t want to take the chance. They didn’t know what her stepbrother was capable of. She was. He owned several guns and knives. She had no doubt that he would use them if he was cornered.
    “Please don’t, Jessup, Joseph. I beg you not to.”
    Jessup looked over to his brother and nothing was said for several long seconds before he looked back down at her.
    “Okay, Nessa. We will not go looking for him.”
    She sighed with relief. She felt as if she could trust him since he had kept all of his promises to her so far. She could tell that his twin brother was not happy about the situation, but she felt certain he would abide by his brother’s promise. There was something about Joseph that pulled at her. She could tell by the many scars on his body that he’d been hurt somehow. There was a deep sadness about him that made her ache for him. Yet there was also a wildness about