Renee's Mates

by Shelley Munro

  “Assuming the doctor will let me go.”

  Calian grinned. “You leave that to me.”

  The next morning, the doctor signed release papers for Renee on the condition Calian and his brothers made sure she rested.

  Matto seated her in the front passenger seat of their SUV rental and checked she fastened her seat belt. He joined Dakota and Kansas in the rear while Calian took the wheel.

  “Before we leave,” Renee said. “Can I say something?”

  “Can’t it wait until we get back to the hotel?” Calian asked.

  “No, I need to say this now before I chicken out,” Renee said. “When my chopper went into a spin, I was convinced that was the end. And the one thing that ran through my mind was I hadn’t told you guys how much I like you. Um, heaps. I’ve hesitated telling you because it happened so fast. The strength of it scared me. That’s all. We can go now.”

  The silence in the SUV almost deafened her. Had she made a mistake telling them? She risked a glance at Calian, and her breath caught on seeing his expression. His face shone with pride and satisfaction and…

  Renee sneaked a glance into the back seat. Each of the three brothers grinned at her.

  “Renee?” Dakota asked. “Are you trying to say you love us?”

  Renee’s throat worked in a swallow. “Ah… Maybe.”

  “Would it make things easier if we fessed up first?” Matto asked.

  Kansas cleared his throat. “You should know none of us would consider running through the middle of a storm for anyone else. All the running almost killed me. I’m never letting myself get that unfit again.”

  “Renee, I love you,” Calian said without hesitation. “My younger brothers love you too, although I’m sure they’d be happy to tell you themselves.”

  Renee gave each of them a quick glance. While they were making fun of her, she thought they were telling the truth. “Okay. We can go now.”

  “Just so you know, sweetheart. Our wolf sides have already claimed you.” Calian reached over to take her left hand in his. He squeezed a fraction, careful of her injuries. “Remember how each of us bit your neck during lovemaking?”

  “Yes.”

  “While we haven’t claimed you fully because you didn’t know our secret, we are very serious about our relationship with you.”

  A chorus of agreement came from the rear seat, and Renee relaxed. For so long she’d lived one day at a time, never thinking of her future because danger stalked her. Now, thanks to the Taktuq brothers, she had a series of tomorrows and hope. Such a precious thing.

  Renee smiled as Calian drove down the main street of Churchill. She had love too. All she needed to do was trust in Calian, Kansas, Dakota, and Matto, close her eyes and jump.

  15 – Misty And A Future

  “I spoke to Misty,” Calian said. “She isn’t thrilled with what I told her. She wants to speak to all of us.”

  Renee studied each of the brothers, only listening with half concentration. She shifted her bodyweight, attempting to get comfortable. The sling on her right arm annoyed the heck out of her. Already, she counted the days until she no longer required the support for her arm.

  “Translation: our sister had a hissy fit,” Matto suggested.

  Calian ran a hand through his hair. “I told her we’d call her together.”

  Something she didn’t wish to witness. Renee stood. “I’ll leave you to it.”

  “No.” Calian grasped her left hand, tugging her to a halt. “She wants to speak to you most of all.”

  “Why?” That had emerged with a whining air. She paused, freed her hand and squared her shoulders.

  Calian pushed out a breath. “No idea. Misty marches to her own rules.”

  “It’s better to get this over with then we can enjoy ourselves.” Kansas’s eyes gleamed leaving her in no doubt as to his meaning.

  “Renee.” Dakota rose and reached her side in two rapid steps. He placed his hands on her shoulders, his gaze solemn. Ever the peacemaker. “Misty can’t hurt you. Yes, she has a sharp tongue. Yes, she’s obstinate. Yes, she expects loyalty from us. But remember this, each of us has claimed you. We believe you and Hunter were friends and nothing more.”

  While Dakota was working his peace magic on her galloping nerves, Calian used a tablet to call Misty. With butterflies doing trampoline bounces in her stomach, Renee forced the military part of herself to the fore. The experience with the army aided her during stressful times. Now would be no different.

  Hunter had shown her pictures of his wife. He’d kept a photo in his billfold and one by his bed wherever the army sent him. But seeing her via a live call propelled a different response. Still beautiful. Still sexy. Yet now, the woman’s force of nature jumped from the screen.

  “Hello.” Misty’s low, rich voice pounced into the hotel room. “Is she present?”

  “I have a name,” Renee snapped.

  Dakota squeezed her hand in support and sat on the chair Renee had been using. He grasped her hips and settled her on his knee.

  “Did you have an affair with my husband?”

  “No! How many times do I have to explain? Hunter was my friend. My best friend. He loved you and was excited for the birth of your first child. I never saw him look at another woman.”

  Misty narrowed her gaze, cocked her head. “You’re not his type.”

  Renee stiffened at the insult crouching inside the woman’s words.

  “That’s enough, Misty.” Calian’s sharp tone didn’t cut through the tension, but it did attract his sister’s notice.

  Renee inhaled, glad to be away from that forceful gaze. If she were Hunter, fear would’ve kept her in line. Then there was Hunter’s assertions of wolves—the ones Renee had considered crazy. Another inhibitor to cheating, although from what Renee had pieced together, this was one discussion Hunter hadn’t had with his wife.

  “Why are you standing up for her?” Misty demanded.

  “Because she is our mate,” Kansas snapped into the strained silence.

  On the screen, Misty blinked. “You’re making a joke. Very funny. Ha-ha.”

  Renee glanced at the brothers. Each wore a poker face but their bodies looked as if they might spring into action at any second. A palpable tension stepped into the hotel room.

  The humor slid off Misty’s visage, leaving her sultry lips last. “You’re serious,” she said in astonishment.

  “Misty, you need to accept this and move on. Renee promised she never had romantic ties with Hunter, never thought of him in that way, and we believe her.”

  “Her word,” Misty scoffed. “What about the photos?”

  “What photos?” Renee asked.

  Misty disappeared and reappeared. She held up a strip of photos. “What about these?”

  A laugh escaped Renee. “Oh, those. We had a party off-base, and the organizers brought in a photo booth. I have similar photos of me and other soldiers in our unit. From memory, Hunter squeezed into the booth with Max, another friend.”

  “Hunter is smiling,” Misty snapped.

  “Yeah, well. We’d all been drinking. It was before we shipped out on our last tour. Nothing happened between Hunter and I. You can believe me or not, but you’re bloody stupid if you intend to go through the rest of your life thinking Hunter cheated on you. He loved you, but if you want to taint that love with your suspicious mind, you go right ahead. Just don’t taint Hunter for his son too because that would make you a real bitch.” Renee climbed off Dakota’s knee and hit the end call button. “Well, that was fun.”

  A beep indicated a return call from Misty.

  “Don’t answer,” Dakota said. “Renee is right. Misty has to sort this out for herself. We can’t fix it for her. Let’s grab something to eat.”

  “A drink to wash the bad taste out of my mouth.” Renee raised her chin in challenge.

  Matto laughed. “I don’t blame you. I had trouble sitting still while Misty was sniping at you. My wolf refused to stop growling inside
my head.”

  Calian barked out a laugh. “I thought it was only my wolf. I was frightened to open my mouth in case a growl spilled free.”

  “You’re all frightened of your sister?” Renee scowled at them. “Big, brave wolves who raced to my rescue through a snowstorm.”

  Dakota chuckled. “We gravitated to you because you’re capable of standing up to Misty. Not many people tell her off in that manner. It rankled her.”

  Renee groaned. “Excellent. My boyfriends’ closest family hate me. What will your parents think?”

  “I’ve already spoken to them,” Calian confessed. “They’re looking forward to meeting you. If you can’t make it to California because of work commitments, they’ll fly here.”

  “They’re okay with our relationship?”

  “They were surprised at first until Dad reminded Ma about our ancestors. Three brothers mated with the same woman. It’s part of our family oral history,” Calian replied.

  “Dinner,” Kansas said when the tablet beeped yet again. “We’ll leave that here. Whose room are you sleeping in today?”

  “You guys decide,” Renee said, hiding her amusement. “I’m not up to any acrobatics, anyway.”

  * * * * *

  A month later

  Renee loaded her passengers in her replacement helicopter. She batted away a hand that caressed her butt. “Enough of that, Kansas. I need to concentrate.”

  The truth. It was her first time flying since the accident and the Taktuq brothers—her lovers—were helping to ease the anxiety clamoring for priority in her mind.

  She turned to Calian who was still standing on the tarmac. “Do we have the supplies from the office?”

  “Everything is loaded in the fuselage hold,” he confirmed.

  Renee opened the door at the front of the chopper for him. “At least the weather forecast is good for the next three days.”

  With Calian settled, headphones over his ears and the door closed, Renee trotted around the chopper to take her own seat.

  Her chopper rose off the helipad, and she hovered, the familiar vibrations and sounds filling her mind while she reconnected with her love of flying. The accident investigators had made their reports, and after speaking with Renee’s police contact, they informed her employers of their findings and closed the case.

  They soared over the tundra, the Hudson Bay frozen. During the flight over the white landscape, she didn’t glimpse a single polar bear. Not surprising, given that the healthy bears were out on the ice, gorging on seal pups.

  The rolling surface of the tundra gave way to snow-covered trees and rocky ridges. They soared past a waterfall, frozen in winter-white splendor.

  A flash of movement caught her attention. “Arctic fox at three o’clock.”

  “Where? Oh, I see it,” Calian said.

  “They blend better than we do,” Matto commented. “With our sooty-gray coats, we stand out like zits on a teenager.”

  “Charming,” Renee said. “There’s the lodge now. I need one of you to jump out and clear off the landing pad. I could land but I’d prefer a pristine pad.”

  “We’ll get out,” Matto said. “Go for a flight farther inland. Give us ten minutes before you return.”

  The three younger brothers jumped out when Renee told them too. The helicopter rose, sensitive to her every touch of the collective, the throttle, the cyclic stick and the tail rotor pedals.

  “You were nervous about this flight,” Calian said.

  “I was hoping you didn’t notice my hands shaking.”

  “You’re skilled at your job, sweetheart. We had confidence in you.”

  “Oh! Caribou.” Renee pointed to the shaggy beasts on the ground to their left. “I don’t see them often.”

  The caribou herd galloped into the trees, disturbed by the whop-whop of the helicopter.

  “Time to head back,” she said.

  When the lodge came into view, three wolves hurtled around, playing in the snow.

  Renee laughed as she settled her bird on the cleared landing pad. “Why don’t you play with your brothers? I can handle unloading the boxes of groceries.”

  “There’s time. The unloading won’t take long if I help, then you can play too.” His brown eyes glinted gold for a few seconds.

  The twins and Matto shifted on their return and yanked on pants and footwear. Many hands made rapid work of their task, and soon Calian and his brothers were tossing their clothes into a plastic bag to keep dry. Four wolves, ranging in color from silver to sooty-gray dashed around in the snow, yipping and throwing back their heads in victorious howls.

  Renee picked up her camera and snapped photos, something she knew they wouldn’t allow if they didn’t trust her. In the distance, a wolf answered their joyful howls, the cries echoing over the landscape.

  Sax had told them that Artic wolves sometimes came around the lodge, hoping to snag a polar bear cub left on its own. Now, the dens were empty.

  A wolf sidled close to her, and she dug her hands into his thick coat. She wasn’t certain of identities yet. She’d learn. A cold nose nuzzled her cheek, and she laughed in protest.

  “I’m getting cold,” she said. “And I’m hungry. Anyone else ready for food?”

  The darkest of the wolves shifted to reveal Calian. The twins were silver while Matto’s coat came between—a mostly silver coat with dark ears, legs, and tail.

  Renee handed out clothes, and they hurriedly dressed. “I adore the scenery,” she said.

  “I’m not hungry for food,” Kansas announced, his eyes gleaming with a different kind of appetite. He swooped on Renee and whisked her into his arms.

  Laughing, she nuzzled his neck with her cold nose. During the last month, they’d given her space to heal. While they’d kissed and cuddled and touched her on a regular basis, not one of the brothers had pushed her. Now that Kansas mentioned it, she was up for a little sex.

  “We don’t have lube or condoms,” Matto said. “I never thought of it.”

  “We’ll make do.” Calian’s husky voice told Renee exactly where his thoughts had wandered.

  Winter sun poured through the lodge windows, warming the lounge in addition to the fire they’d lit earlier.

  While Matto, Kansas, and Calian organized a makeshift bed in the sunlight, Dakota divested her of clothes and footwear.

  Once she was naked, he scooped her into his arms and settled her in the patch of warm winter sun.

  “You look like ravenous wolves,” she said with a laugh as she surveyed her men. “I have the birth control part covered, so you don’t need to worry about that.”

  “We want to mark you properly this time,” Calian said. “This is your last chance to escape.”

  “I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life. Once my contract finishes I can find work in California again. Susan assures me I’m safe now.”

  The brothers stripped again, flopping down on the temporary bed. Each claimed a spot and started to kiss and caress her. Renee sighed, her eyes drifting shut as she rode the blissful enjoyment of many mouths and fingers, talented tongues and the rasp of teeth across sensitive skin.

  A tongue ran across her hipbone. Another teased a nipple while a mouth settled over the tip of her other breast. Renee floated, basking in the joy of open love and affection. Hunter had brought her to these wonderful men. She believed that. She’d known of his admiration for his brothers-in-law, and it was easy to see why.

  A hand grasped her upper thigh. A second stroked the inner thigh of her other leg. Her stance widened, and two tongues teased her folds, driving her pleasure upward. Hard lips claimed hers, the kiss tender and loving. Each stroke and kiss melded, driving her upward until her climax burst over her without warning.

  “Open your mouth for me,” a husky voice ordered.

  Renee smiled and obeyed, her eyes remaining closed while her body hummed with the residual delight of her orgasm.

  A cock ran around her lips, teasing her until her quick move m
eant the shaft slid into the heat of her mouth.

  “Can I go first?” a husky voice asked. One of the twins.

  In the next instant, a hard cock slid into her, going balls deep with one easy glide.

  Renee focused on the cock filling her mouth, sucking and laving the shaft, concentrating on dragging groans from her lover.

  “Renee,” Matto whispered. “You look so sexy taking my brothers.”

  It was easy when they treated her like a goddess, capable of great things.

  Matto tweaked her breast, rolling her nipple between his fingers. The hint of pain propelled a thick slice of pleasure to her pussy.

  Sharp teeth nibbled her neck, and she breathed through her nose, struggling to contain the sensations and emotions coursing through body and mind.

  One of her men moaned. Calian? She licked the underside of the cock filling her mouth, and the shaft pulsed against her tongue. She upped her efforts, and the moan repeated. The pinch of teeth at her neck grew harder, yet Renee never hesitated or shied from Matto’s bite. From what she’d understood, once they marked her in this way, they’d never stray. Their pride and support for her, their unshakeable assurance she was the one to complete them uplifted and gave her confidence in return.

  “Thank you, sweetheart. That was amazing,” Calian whispered against her ear.

  With her mouth free, she turned her head, searching for a kiss. She got it—a slow mating of mouths and the tangle of tongues. Calian lifted his head to nuzzle her neck. His mouth sought her throat and just as a sizzle of pleasure flared to life—the result of a finger cruising across her clit—he bit down.

  Long seconds later, it was over.

  “Are you okay?” Matto whispered. “Can you sense us in your consciousness?”

  She could, and it was amazing. While she couldn’t read their thoughts, she got an impression of their emotions. The joy. The excitement. The pride and satisfaction that emanated from Calian and Matto.

  A finger darted along her slit and grazed her clit while Kansas continued his thrusts.

  Dakota pulled back, and a protest squeezed past her lips.