I broke our lip lock, gazing into his warm, brown eyes as I whispered, “I’m ready.” Two tiny words, and yet they meant the world, both to me and to him.
Of course, Maze would not complain, because he was a guy, and even if I didn’t feel a certain hardness pressing against my thigh, I would know he wanted me. He told me every day, constantly. It was sickeningly sweet.
A dimpled smile broke out on his cute face, his ashy blonde hair falling slightly toward me. “Excuse me while I leap for joy—”
I giggled, grabbing the collar of his shirt. “You better not. The sight just might make me change my mind.” I loved to tease him, I’d found, mostly because his teasing and joking was incessant. He loved to chatter away, making fun of me, even if it annoyed me. At first, I’d found him standoffish, a bit aggravating, but now? He’d grown on me like a fungus, except in a better way.
He sat up, working his torso out of his shirt in a manner a woman just could not do, by pulling it from behind his neck, up and off his body. Boobs got in the way of a lot of things, although according to my mates, mine were perfect.
As he worked to take off his pants, I let myself get lost in his muscles. He was only a few inches taller than me, nowhere near Landon’s height, but he more than made up for it with his sculpted form. A chiseled six-pack, an abdomen that was to die for. Pecs that were mostly flat, bulging only a little due to the sheer amount of muscle there. Arms whose strength I knew firsthand, for they’d held me down and stopped me from squirming on many occasions.
Yes, Maze was attractive. Drool-worthy. Anyone with eyes could see it. Shifters as a whole were a more attractive species, physically and mentally, at least to me.
The instant he had his pants off, he was back on me, hungrily kissing my neck as he murmured, “It’s time for you to take off your clothes, now.” I could feel him grinning against me as his hands worked their way up below my shirt, bunching the fabric as they went. My jean jacket, this one a bright and lively purple, sat on the floor, already taken off before this make-out session started.
Was I nervous as I let Maze help me out of my clothes? Yes, deathly so, but I was not about to let fear control me. I would grab the bull by the horns and ride this thing until the bull was worn out.
Maze being the bull in this analogy, and the horns being…well…okay. The analogy should be clear, but for those of you who didn’t get, the horns meant his dick.
His cock. His penis. His iron-hard rod. Whatever the heck you wanted to call it, it didn’t really matter.
Once I laid there under him, totally bare, I couldn’t help but feel self-conscious. I didn’t feel as model-worthy as he was. Maybe growing up and staring at my own face in the mirror, let alone my own body, learning to hate its small imperfections like human society taught me to, had warped my mind a bit.
But the look Maze gave me, the clouded, lust-filled expression that slowly replaced his grin, made me realize I was just as attractive to him as he was to me.
“You are,” he whispered, unable to look away from my naked body, “so beautiful. And sexy. So ridiculously sexy. I mentioned that, yeah?”
And, just like that, the normal Maze was back—but I would have it no other way.
“So sexy you make me lose control,” he spoke as he moved his mouth to my collarbone, nipping me gently with his teeth.
My eyelids fluttered closed as I lost myself to his mouth. The air in the room was cool against my bare skin, my nipples two hard points, but with his hands touching me, with his mouth moving lower, between my breasts, I was starting to grow warm.
And then he moved his mouth to a nipple, and I practically lost it.
The sensation of his tongue swirling, flicking it, his teeth brushing against it softly…every part of it made me sigh out a moan. Why the hell didn’t I let him do this sooner? It felt amazing, like every single nerve ending was on fire, so pleasing it was near painful. I never wanted him to stop. The world could end around me, and I wouldn’t care so long as he kept his mouth attached to me in some way.
When he moved to shower my other nipple with affection, I turned my head, eyes peeking open just enough to gaze at the window. It was early morning, sunlight streaming through the clean glass, illuminating the room in a yellow, earthy hue. There was probably something the both of us should be doing around Crystal Lake, but I couldn’t think of it. His tongue and his mouth were all that took up my mind.
“Oh,” Maze muttered against my skin, pulling away from me just enough to add, “the others are going to be so jealous. Plus, Landon owes me chores for a week.” He went to kiss me again, but I stopped him with a hand to the chest.
“Chores?” I asked, eyebrows furrowing.
“Did I say that out loud?”
“You did.”
“Well, I just meant that…you know, we might’ve had a little bet going—”
“Maze!” I cut in, scolding him. I didn’t need to hear any more, lest I change my mind about all of this—and I definitely didn’t want to do that. “I cannot believe you had a bet,” I muttered, frowning.
He gave me a smile, instantly melting away my annoyance.
Rolling my eyes, I ran my hands up and around his neck and pulled him down, smashing my lips against his. This time, I did the nipping, I pushed my tongue into his mouth, my back arching to press my chest against his, my pebbly nipples grazing his skin and sending tiny shockwaves of pleasure zapping through me.
This drawn-out scene was taking too long. There was an aching feeling rising in my lower gut, something I knew only one thing could satisfy.
Maze, inside of me.
A crazy concept, one I never thought I’d have. One that made me feel all womanly and stuff.
As I kissed him, I spread my legs; the universal welcome sign. If I had to get a glowing, flashing, neon sign and hold it up for him so he’d know where to go, I would. I could use the same sign with Dylan and Landon, too.
Maze must’ve felt me opening my legs, for he pulled away long enough to mutter, “You dirty girl.” He had no qualms about it, for he worked to position himself; I could feel the hard, round tip pushing against my opening, and I mentally prepared myself. I’d heard it hurt, though I wasn’t sure how true it actually was, since the whole sex-ed thing in human high schools was on the sucky side.
I didn’t care if it hurt. I burned with the need to be closer to him, to feel him in places no one else had been before. My wolf was ready. We were as ready as we could ever be, hungry to feel that carnal release.
And, if I was honest, I was more than curious to know what sex was like. Discovering its wonders with Maze was a good choice. A very good choice, one I would never regret.
But Maze didn’t push in.
What in the world was the wolf waiting for? Why didn’t he just do it already? I had never wanted anything more in my life. I wanted him inside of me, and I wanted it now.
I glared at him, opening my mouth to ask, but I stopped. Maze didn’t look right. His face seemed pale, his eyes drooping. Suddenly, sex was the last thing on my mind as I asked, “Maze?” When I spoke his name, something fell on me, and I recoiled as much as I could into the pillow behind me.
It covered my eyes and most of my face, and I tentatively reached my hands up, grabbing at whatever it was. Flat, slick with some kind of liquid, rubbery. I peeled it off, my eyes widening when I saw what it was.
Maze’s face.
His face.
His skin, with two eyeholes, two smaller nose holes, and a space for his lips.
Maze, meanwhile, had sat back, leaning against the wall the bed was on. His face was full of red, a gory sight, blood dripping onto his bare chest, his face nothing but musculature, a scene that nearly froze my heart.
I dropped the fleshy mask, falling off the bed as I stared at him. He wasn’t screaming in pain, wasn’t saying anything. His eyes, now lidless, stared at his hands, and I slowly realized the same thing was happening to his hands—his skin was just falling off in sheets.
>
“Addie,” Maze finally spoke, his lipless mouth revealing each and every tooth. “I don’t feel so good.” He reached for me just as the skin on his arms slid off, slick and wet and the worst sound I had ever heard in my life.
I stumbled back. I couldn’t go to him, couldn’t help him. Where were the others?
Getting to my feet, I grabbed the purple jean jacket on the floor, throwing it on to cover myself as much I could, given the fact I didn’t see my underwear anywhere—and tugging a sheet off the bed was out of the question, due to Maze’s mess.
I ran out of the bedroom, heading across the hall into Dylan’s room. “Dylan,” I spoke, out of breath from the shock, “something’s…” Before I could get any words out, I found Dylan sitting on his bed, a knife in his hand.
The sweet, kind, understanding twin was currently sawing off his own left arm, right at the elbow, his glasses splattered with bright red. The metal knife was bone deep when he abruptly stopped, turning to face me. When he smiled, I saw blood in his gums, and I started to back out of his room.
Alas, I backed right up into Landon, who spun me to face him. Tears welling in my eyes, I buried my face in his neck, glad for the height difference between us. “Landon,” I cried, “something’s wrong. Maze, Dylan, they’re—”
“I know,” he whispered, running his hands along my hair, soothing me. Very unlike himself. “I know.” One of his hands went to the back of my neck, angling me to him, despite my protests.
“What are you—” The rest of the words were shoved back into my throat as he kissed me, far too eager and willing, considering everything that was happening around us. I struggled to break free, but his other arm snaked around my back, holding me against him. Suddenly the jean jacket I’d grabbed didn’t feel like enough clothing. And his hands—they felt wrong.
Without warning, he pushed me away, throwing me against the wall. Dylan happily resumed cutting off his arm, unaware of how rough Landon was being. I tried to push him off, but I wasn’t strong enough.
Landon grabbed my neck, squeezing it and slamming my head back onto the drywall, so hard I felt the back of my skull crack the wall. My vision blurred, my eyes seeing stars. I could hardly breathe.
Was this really happening?
“Sorry,” he spoke with a sneer, “guess I’m just an asshole after all.” He started working on his pants, undoing the button and the zipper, as if he were going to have me right here and now, in spite of Dylan and Maze, in spite of everything I was trying to say.
“Dylan,” I switched tactics, when I realized pleading with Landon would go nowhere, “please, help—”
Landon covered my mouth with his own, his face drenched in blood—which it most definitely was not a mere moment ago. He growled out, “Shut up, Addie. Has anyone ever said you whine too much? You do. It’s annoying.” The fingers around my neck clenched, further blocking off my airway.
What had happened to them? Where were my loving, caring guys? Where was the asshole Landon who would never hurt me like this? Why was everyone acting as if they’d lost their minds?
I whimpered as Landon roughly kissed me, unable to run. This was definitely not how I imagined my first time, not how I wanted it. Maze, in pain and confused. Dylan, so out of it he was chopping off his own arm. And Landon, covered in blood, trying to stick himself in me against the wall.
I felt my eyes closing as Landon positioned himself between my legs. Tears rolled down my face, and I didn’t dare stop them from cascading like a waterfall.
This was hell.
Chapter Two – Addie
I’d given up. Not a good thing to admit, but I didn’t know what else to do. I was defeated, depressed. If Landon wanted me this bad, so badly he’d ignore the pain his brothers were in just to be inside of me, why not let him? I was powerless anyway. Just a girl who didn’t know what I was doing or what I got myself into.
Just as all hope evaporated from my body, Landon’s hold on me loosened, disappearing entirely as someone else came into the room and yanked him off me, so strong and so sudden it sent the attacking jackass to the floor.
My knees felt weak. I was barely able to turn my head and gaze up at the tall, dark-haired and blue-eyed alpha who’d saved me from my own mate. My voice hurt to use, but I had to say it: “Forest.” My knees gave out, but he managed to catch me, pulling me to him, cradling me against his chest like I was something precious, something in need of protection.
Right now, I kind of was.
“I’m here,” Forest whispered, scooping me into his arms before walking out of the room, leaving Dylan to his own devices and Landon to stare at us in anger as he put himself back in his pants.
“Landon was…” I couldn’t even say it. I tried another course, “Maze and Dylan, they’re—”
“Shh,” he spoke softly, gentle even with the deepness of his voice, “I know.”
How did he know? Did he see them? Why wasn’t he trying to help them? Clearly, all three of my mates needed some help right now—none of them were in their right mind. Not even Landon. The Landon I knew wouldn’t do that to me, even if he could be a bit of an ass sometimes. He wasn’t a rapist.
Forest took me down the stairs, setting me on the living room couch. “Let me take care of you,” he said, reaching to my face, his fingers sweeping my unruly, wild hair behind my ear. The soft touch made me sigh, practically forgetting everything that happened upstairs. “You are my first priority.”
Tugging at my jacket, I was hyper aware I sat near him in only a jacket and scant else. Not enough clothing at all, not where Forest was concerned. The more layers, the better, because he was off-limits.
“Why?” I questioned.
He was beside me on the couch the next moment, the fingers that had moved my hair now tracing along my jaw. “You know why,” Forest said, his thumb grazing my mouth, sending a strange wave of pleasure through me.
“But,” I started, about to list off the reasons why not—and there were many.
First, he was older than me. Somewhere in his lower thirties, while I hadn’t even had my twentieth birthday yet. Younger than my mom, but much closer in age to Sarah than to me. Second off, he was supposed to be Sarah’s mate before she ran off with my father. That was a whole can of worms no one should want to dive into willingly. Third, he was my alpha, not my mate. I already had three intendeds.
My inner wolf whined, struggling to break free. The beast inside bristled. What’s one more?
Forest leaned toward me, his cheek brushing mine. “Addie,” he whispered my name, pleading, almost begging. And just like that, my willpower was gone. Just like that, I’d do anything he wanted.
I closed my eyes, letting him push me back, laying me flat on the couch. He crawled on top of me, his body so wide, so strong and muscular, radiating a heat I could feel in my core, a heat that drove me crazy. He buried his face in my neck, his hands coming up my sides.
“You have no idea how much I need you,” Forest murmured against me, kissing my throat, making up for the pain and the anguish the others had created. I arched my back, letting the jacket fall open, revealing my entire body beneath him. He broke away to gaze upon me, at my breasts, my puckered nipples, my flat stomach, and of course the burning space between my legs. “You’re beautiful.”
The expression he wore told me more than his words ever could, although hearing it was always nice, too. He looked at me as if I were the prettiest woman he’d ever seen, like there were no other women in the world. A possessive look, a passionate one, one that made me want him more than anything, despite how wrong it was.
When he leaned his face toward mine, I whispered, “This shouldn’t happen.” I spoke it, trying to convince myself, to convince him to stop. If neither one of us stopped now, there would be no stopping in the future. It was my last-ditch effort to set things right.
“I don’t care,” Forest whispered, the three little words silencing any further argument from me. His mouth came down on mine, intense an
d dominating, just like an alpha’s kiss should be. I could feel it in my bones, could taste the desire on his lips. Desperate and hungry for me, he didn’t care how wrong it was, and in that moment, neither did I.
I let out a moan, turning my head to the side as he ground his hips down on me. He still had all of his clothes on, which we should really remedy as quickly as we could, for it was a shame. It was immensely difficult to focus when he leaned against me, when I could feel his arousal even through his jeans.
Now it was my turn to beg, “Take it off.”
Forest knew exactly what I meant. He went to pull off his tee, his chest only one part of a hunk of a gorgeous man, made of every sort of muscle imaginable, thick and sturdy, the best specimen of a man I had ever laid eyes on.
Seriously, there was nothing not to like. I stared at him in awe. He was that attractive.
I propped myself up, unable to stop myself from reaching out to him, dragging my hands down his chest, along each square on his abdomen, even lower when I touched the edges of his pants. It would be so easy to pop the button, to see what else Forest looked like under the hood.
And God, did I want to.
I bit my lower lip, about to do it and stop stalling when Forest’s attention was suddenly drawn away from me. Though I never once broke eye contact with Forest and his body, I knew we were not alone in the living room.
A sweet, feminine voice broke the silence, falling onto my ears like honey, almost too sweet in its timbre, “There you are. I’ve been looking for you everywhere.” The way she spoke, her voice…had I heard it before?
Forest could not tear his eyes off the other woman, which instantly annoyed me. It was like, suddenly, I didn’t exist.
I turned my head to look at the woman, about to tell her off, force her into another room in the house while Forest and I continued our passionate couch session, but the instant I met the blue eyes of the woman standing not even ten feet from us, my stomach hardened.
Crystal Lake Pack: The Complete Series: A Reverse Harem Shifter Romance Page 38