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nightmare,” she said with a laugh. She pulled away then, but kept her hand in Oliver’s while taking Gibson’s with her other. “It sounds silly now but…” she trailed off. “It was about the two of you and I needed to be here. I don’t know why, but I needed to. I’ve never had a nightmare like that and yet I knew it was important that I did.”
    Oliver frowned. Was it just a coincidence that the first time he had a vision about the two of them, Gibson had felt the emotional tug between them and Mandy had had a nightmare that brought her to their sides? He believed in fate and the fact that he could change it if events occurred in the right way, but as for something like this…he wasn’t sure. Yet he couldn’t deny the fact that the three of them were alone, holding one another as if they had always done so in the past. Something had shifted.
    From the way Gibson and Mandy looked at each other and him, they’d felt that shift, as well. They weren’t humans; they were shifters. The subtle nuances to how they reacted to one another wouldn’t go unnoticed. And once they made a decision about certain things… things he knew that they needed to discuss, things would forever be altered.
    He let out a breath. He was getting ahead of himself. First things first.
    “Come inside,” he said to both of them. “I’ll make coffee.” He looked at Gibson. “More coffee. And I think I have some form of food somewhere that we can scrounge up. Then we can talk about Mandy’s nightmare, the fact that Gibson came here and why…and other things.”
    Mandy squeezed his hand. “I think…I think I’d like that.”
    Gibson looked between them. “Yeah, that would be a good idea.”
    He let go of Mandy’s hand and felt the loss immediately.
    Stop getting ahead of yourself, Oliver.
    He made his way into his home, Gibson and Mandy right behind him. It was strange, having them both in his house right after thinking about the two of them like he had. A blush slashed his cheeks as he thought of exactly what he’d done with their images in his mind, and he turned away from their curious glances. He went about starting a pot of coffee while searching through his cabinets.
    He let out a sigh of triumph as he spotted the container of muffins Anya had put in there the day before. Thankfully, she kept him fed, and now he would be able to feed these two, as well.
    He set the muffins on the small, beaten-up table in his kitchen as Mandy and Gibson each took a chair.
    He sat down as well, the awkwardness of the situation settling over his skin. “So…”
    “So…” Gibson repeated.
    Mandy let out a breath and rolled back her shoulders. “So…yeah. I had a nightmare. I don’t know what it was actually. It was dark, and there was growling, and it scared me. So I came here.” She blushed. “I don’t know why I came here instead of going to Ariel or Theo, but I did.”
    At the sound of Theo’s name, Gibson let out a growl, surprising the three of them.
    “Theo’s just my friend,” Mandy said softly. “That’s all he ever was.”
    Gibson blinked. “I thought he was going to be your mate.”
    She shook her head, and Oliver watched Gibson’s shoulders relax. “He wanted more, but I never would have mated him.” She scrunched her nose. “Well, I might have later on if my wolf finally gave in, but she wanted… wants someone else.” She sighed. “ I wanted someone else. Still do.”
    Oliver froze, as did Gibson. The sound of the coffee percolating filled the silence and they waited for Mandy to finish.
    “This isn’t easy you know,” Mandy grumbled. “I’m not used to being so open and forward, and you two sitting there all growly and intimidating isn’t helping.”
    Oliver smiled softly at that. “We’re not growling right now.”
    She raised a brow and pointed at Gibson. “He growled.”
    The other man held up his hands. “Yeah, I’m a wolf. I do that. He’s a bear, he tends to grumble and huff more than