Taken as Theirs

by Kryssie Fortune

  She sat with her head resting on Dane’s chest, but when her eyelids drifted shut, Dane laid her on the bed. More asleep than awake, she mewled a soft protest, but Eli lay beside her and wrapped her in his arms. “My turn to hold you, but you should sleep.”

  Cuddling deeper into Eli’s embrace, she rubbed her bottom against his cock. He groaned softly, but her eyes were already closing. Dane snuggled at the other side of her, his powerful body wrapping around her. Surrounded by the men she adored, she felt protected and safe, more content than she’d ever imagined.

  * * *

  The next few days passed in a blur of loving touches and slow strolls around the deck. Cassie offered to teach the crew yoga positions, but they laughed and said they weren’t interested. Dane and Eli loved to watch her daily practice sessions. The way her downward facing dog pose pushed her bottom into the air always brought a smile to their faces.

  When Dover Castle came into view, her werewolves pointed out the crusader church and the keep.

  “Like Winston Churchill before him, Dad uses the tunnels beneath it as offices,” Eli told her.

  Dane wrapped his arms around her waist. “The castle houses the pack infirmary and meeting place. You can’t see our brewery from the sea, though.”

  Eli waved to the people pack mates gathered on the harbor. “Most of our pack have moved into the houses between the castle and the town. Everyone will congregate at the docks to greet us, and we should clean up and get changed before we go ashore.”

  The thought of meeting her Lycans’ family and friends terrified her.

  Chapter Ten

  Cassie’s face fell. She’d lived in borrowed clothes throughout the voyage and thought nothing of it. Meeting the pack was special, and she wished she had something more appropriate to wear.

  Dane led her back to the cabin. “You should put on your best clothes.”

  He wasn’t usually insensitive, but his words made her sigh. “I don’t have any, besides, I like wearing your things.”

  Eli gave her a look so intense it made her toes curl. He opened the wardrobe to show her a red prom dress. “What about this?”

  “We picked it out in Cromer before we had to hightail it back to the barge,” Dane added. “I hope it fits.”

  She looped her arms around his neck and kissed him hard. When they broke off for air, she pulled free and hurled herself at Eli. “Now I know why you were so excited. Thank you both. I haven’t owned a pretty dress for years.”

  Her men were so cute when they blushed and stared at their feet. She held the dress against her chest and danced around the room. “Presents at the smallholding were extra biscuits. Sometimes we had a few raisins washed down with a cup of coffee from our dwindling stock. I can’t thank you enough.”

  They left her to change, and when she stepped out on deck, all work ground to a halt. A crewman wolf whistled. Another followed suit. Dane and Eli each took one of her hands. The way they looked at her made her feel like a queen.

  She neither saw nor asked after Michael. The rest of the crew made her feel she belonged to the Dark Moon Prowlers. Despite their friendly overtures, she sometimes wondered if they had an ulterior motive. After all, they needed her to pick someone to sire for her future babies.

  Her tummy fluttered, and she chewed on her lower lip. “What’s your home like?”

  A smile played around Dane’s lips. “Beautiful, fertile, and the only place I’d want to live.”

  “Humans called Kent the Garden of England and they weren’t wrong,” Eli added. “No one goes hungry, but it’s sad to see the cities and towns empty and abandoned. Initially, we sent out teams to deal with the corpses before the rats got them. Now we authorize teams of scavengers to hunt everyday luxuries for us.”

  Dane stroked her curls. “Especially prized are solar batteries and the small devices they power.”

  Settling on the top of the cabin roof, Eli sat with his legs dangling. “Our territory extends as far as London, but that’s neutral territory. Paranormal species are kept at out by the demons’ mystical barrier. Gangs of surviving humans roam the streets. The plagues left some of the survivors unhinged and feral. The sane ones are welcome to join us, the rest don’t make it through the barrier.”

  It all sounded a bit Mad Max for Cassie. Rather than worry about things she couldn’t change, she grinned. “You use renewables? Back on the smallholding, my job was to keep ours running. I can help with the maintenance. I’m good with water filters too. You have hard water in Kent, don’t you? How does that affect your brewing?”

  Their delighted grins showed the love of their craft. Eli dropped his arm around her shoulder. “The hard water’s fine for pale ales and stout, but it’s too acidic for dark beers.”

  She listened, fascinated by the technicalities. “Mom hated the water at the smallholding. It was too hard and soap always formed a scum. One of the first things Dad did when we moved there was to design our own water filter. It softens the water by taking the calcium out of it. I could build one for your brewery if you like.”

  Eli grinned. “If it stops soap scum, then Mum will want one too. How hard are they to build? And will the softer water be better for her plants? She’s in charge of the greenhouses and grows our more exotic herbs and spices.”

  Cassie considered a moment. “I don’t think it will affect the plants. Hard water worked well on our smallholding, but she could try it on something easy to grow. I don’t want to kill anything special. Water filters are easy to make. I just need two tanks, one over the other. The top one needs a few tiny drainage holes in the bottom. Once I’ve filled it with a fixed ionic lattice it will filter out the calcium ions.”

  Eli’s eyes glazed, but Dane wanted answers. “That fixed thingummy, what is it? And how do we get one?”

  Cassie’s face fell when she thought about her parents. “Dad always liked me to use the big words but it’s nothing more than sodium-rich clay. The calcium ions in the water swap places with the sodium ones, and hey presto, softer water.”

  Eli didn’t care about the chemistry, but the chance to add to dark ales to their brews was too good to pass up. “The scavenger team brought back a couple of vats, but they’re a bit small for us. You should take a look and see if you can work with them.”

  Having something constructive to offer the pack lifted Cassie’s spirits. “If I’m working on your brewery, can I stay with you two? Can I choose you to father my babies?”

  * * *

  Eli turned away, unable to meet Cassie’s gaze. Leaving her when she obviously wanted to stay with him and his brother came hard. He felt like he was letting her down, but pack politics were never easy.

  Eli winced and glanced across at his brother. He’d promised to address this with Cassie, but like a coward, he let things lie too long. Dane didn’t return his gaze, just glanced at Cassie with such longing that Eli felt guilty all over again.

  For a moment he was back in Afghanistan. Ever since, Dane had bottled his emotions inside. Giving his heart wasn’t easy for him, and the way he opened up around Cassie was a miracle. The instant they were free to claim her as theirs, they would but until then, pack politics got in the way. Sometimes being the sons of the alpha sucked.

  At least Dane wore his scars on the outside. Eli’s easy charm hid the festering mass of guilt inside him. Every werewolf but Dane was bloody perfect. And whose fault was that?

  When they returned to Blighty, some of the pack had blamed Eli for Dane’s scarred cheek so he’d had gone on a charm offensive. Winning back the males’ respect took hard work and application. The women were easier to please. A smile and flirtatious manner soon won back their smiles.

  He’d developed a roving eye and flirted with every woman he met. The older ones laughed and called him a rogue. The younger ones fell for his lines and each hoped she’d be the one to claim his heart.

  The instant he laid eyes on Cassie, everything changed. Her approval was all that mattered. He returned to her side and
rested his hand on her shoulder. “Here’s the thing, princess. As future alphas, we have to let you meet all the pack males before you decide who will father your babies. We both want you to choose us, but for the pack’s sake, we need to do this the right way.”

  Dane watched, his body stiff, his eyes sad. Eli hated that his brother expected Cassie to reject him, but she’d already said his scars didn’t bother her. Instead, their sweet little slut saw the man inside and looked at the pair of them with lust in her eyes.

  With a sad shake of his head, Eli folded his arms across his chest and stared at her like a thirsty man seeing an oasis. “Our little sister, Elena has a spare room so you can stay with her. As daughter of the alpha, she values her privacy. Her house is more isolated than most, but don’t worry, she’ll look after you. Once you’ve met everyone, you can choose us.”

  * * *

  Tears welled in Cassie’s eyes when she realized they planned to abandon her, however briefly. Dane sensed her sadness, shoved his own worries aside and hugged her close. Eli breathed a relieved sigh when she went willingly into his brother’s embrace.

  Finally, Dane spoke. “Remember, my heart couldn’t stand it if you picked anyone but us.”

  A weight lifted from Cassie’s shoulders at Dane’s words. Her men had duties to perform, but they still wanted her, even if it was just for her functioning womb. “And I can choose the two of you? We can live together like a real family and raise our children together.”

  “That’s the idea,” Eli agreed. “The thought of you choosing another makes me want to go rogue, but remember, princess, it’s your choice. Pretty please, Cassie, pick us.”

  She already knew she would, but she accepted things had to be done in the right way. It still hurt that they planned to leave her with their sister, though. Covering her crushed feeling with a smile, she stared at the stone-built harbor ahead.

  Ten minutes later, they handed her ashore. A well-dressed woman threw her arms around Dane and Eli. Even though they towered head and shoulders above her, she pulled them close. “I worried about my boys.”

  The man looked enough like them to be their brother, but he was clearly their father and the pack alpha. “Worry? When my boys can handle anything?” He turned to Cassie. “And you, my dear, must be the breeder they went to steal. Welcome to New Dover.”

  There he went with the walking womb thing. Even though she hated it, Cassie forced a smile. “I see it more as a rescue than a theft, and I’m grateful Dane and Eli came for me.”

  While the alpha conferred with his sons, a woman stalked over to Cassie. “I’m supposed to nursemaid you until you pick which male gets to screw you first. Come on, I’ll show you where you can sleep.”

  She grabbed Cassie’s arm and pulled her toward a maze of streets radiating from the harbor. Plants spilled from abandoned gardens and sank roots into the pavement. Dandelions forced their way through the cracks in the tarmac road.

  Cassie threw an anguished glance at Dane and Eli, but they were deep in discussion with the alpha. As if sensing her distress, they both rushed to her side. Eli kissed her while Dane stroked his hand down her spine.

  Their sister gave a disgusted “harrumph,” but Dane pinned her with an arctic gaze. “Elena, keep Cassie safe for us.”

  When Eli broke off his kiss, he spun her in his arms and Dane claimed her lips. While they kissed, Eli growled at his sister, “Play nice, Elena. She’s going be the mother of your future nieces and nephews.”

  Cassie’s feet dragged as Elena again took her arm and headed into the rundown streets. Most of the houses looked sad and neglected. Abandoned cars littered the streets, some already rusting. Birds nested in some while bees buzzed in and out of broken car windows. One house had the crumpled remains of a car blocking its doorway. Cassie nodded toward it. “What happened?”

  Elena curled her lip. “Some stupid humans thought they’d survive if they got to France. They came into town, all loud music and blaring horns, demanding the way to the ferry. The idiots acted like half hour sailings were still the norm. They flaked out at the wheel and rammed the nearest house. We don’t know if the crash or the disease killed them.”

  Not long after they reached Elena’s home, the alpha female arrived with a selection of children’s clothes. “You’re so tiny, I thought these might fit. One of our salvage teams brought these back last month.”

  Delighted with the selection of dungarees and t-shirts, Cassie thanked her. She felt more like herself, ready to build water filters. Having a purpose helped her adjust to her role as the newest member of the Dark Moon Prowlers.

  Various males dropped by to chat, all more interested in flirting than engineering. She kept her head down, looking forward to the evenings when she spent time with Dane and Eli.

  She’d completed the brewery’s filter within a couple of days, and her Lycans set a test batch of dark ale to brew. As she neared completion on a second filter, Alpha Simon summoned Dane and Eli. They kissed Cassie and headed for the pack administrative headquarters beneath the castle.

  She daydreamed about them as she worked. By late afternoon, she’d done all she could. A shrill whistle sounded within the brewery. Cassie grabbed the nearest wrench and shot inside.

  Plumes of steam hissed from a metal valve atop one of the beer kettles. Rather than risk a bad burn, she tossed water onto the fire beneath the brewing vat. The flames hissed and spluttered as they died away. The steam cloud thinned as droplets of water condensed onto the brewing equipment.

  Once everything cooled down, Cassie removed the faulty valve. She soon had it stripped to its basic components. After oiling and checking the stuck part, she reassembled it. Doing this for Dane and Eli delighted her. Thinking that they’d be so proud of her skills, she started to rebuild it.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Dane growled from the doorway.

  Chapter Eleven

  Cassie looked up, surprised to see Dane alone for once. The way his eyes glowed with wolf-y lights thrilled her. She grinned and pointed at the valve she’d been working on. “The brewing kettle overheated and blew out the valve. I put out the fire, and now it’s cooled off, I’m fixing it for you.”

  His eyebrows pulled together and his lips thinned into an angry frown. “Let me get this straight. The alarm sounded and you risked life and limb, not to mention serious burns, to do what? Save a test brew? You getting burned or scalded isn’t acceptable, and I will punish you for it.”

  Shaking her head, she backed off. “Dad taught me engineering. Besides, there’s no harm done. Talking about punishing me is plain silly.”

  He took a step toward her, all muscle and menace. “Then your father doesn’t value you as he should. Your safety is all-important.”

  Angry that he criticized her family, Cassie’s head shot up. “Of course he values me, and Dad’s a stickler for safety procedures. Everything revolves around eliminating the risk. That’s what I did when I doused the fire beneath the vat.”

  Dane shook his head. “The damn kettle could have exploded, but since you like the heat, I know just how to punish you.”

  The sun shone outside, but the brew house felt dark and threatening. Cassie glanced all around, but Dane blocked the only exit. Submitting to a punishment she didn’t think she deserved wasn’t in her. She hung her head, feigning submission. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think.”

  He didn’t give an inch. “Then it’s my job to see you do in future. Come here.”

  She took two slow steps toward him, ducked under his arm, and ran for the settlement. Four strides and he looped his arms around her waist and hoisted her into the air. She kicked her feet and waved her arms, but he tossed her over his shoulder and jogged toward the town.

  Her laughing protests only earned her a slap on the behind. “Stay still and behave, little human, or it will be the worse for you. We’re going to visit Mum’s greenhouse before we discuss your antics.”

  Cassie didn’t have a clue what he intended, b
ut she stilled and ogled his bum. The horticultural workers had finished for the day. That left the poly-tunnels and greenhouse silent and deserted. Dane carried her down the aisle labeled Ginger. When he reached the biggest plant, he dug one-handed in the soil. Grinning, he pulled out a piece of root about seven inches long.

  Cassie twisted, trying to see what he intended. All that got her was another stinging slap on the bottom. He turned and strode back to the brew house, marched inside, and locked the door behind him.

  When he put her down, Cassie sidled away from him. Shaking his head, he looped on arm around her waist and pulled a beer barrel toward her.

  “Lean that flexible little body of yours over it,” he commanded.

  Damn, he meant to spank her after all, but why the trip to the greenhouse? That didn’t make sense. Resigned to her fate, she obeyed. Dane widened her legs and patted her bottom. “Exactly the right height for what I have in mind. Stand up and strip off. When you earn a punishment, you receive it naked.”

  Cassie chewed on her lower lip as she righted herself. “I should have thought before I acted, but I’ve learned my lesson. There’s no need to spank me.”

  He stood before her, legs spread, his hands on his hips. “Little human, a spanking is the last thing on my mind. This is a punishment to remind you not to go near things that burn. Clothes off and back over the barrel or I’ll add a spanking too.”

  Not knowing what to expect, she stripped off, but even naked, she was full of defiance. “This is meaningless if I don’t think I deserve punishing.”

  Scowling, he demanded, “Did you put yourself at risk when it wasn’t necessary?”

  Startled by his thinking, she hung her head. “Yes, Sir, and I’m sorry.”