Mated to the Pride: A Military Shifter Reverse Harem Romance

by Jade Alters

  A hand snaked down to draw tight circles around my clit, so good and unexpected that my back arched hard again. I opened my eyes to see that it was Stone’s hand, fast and focused; with Preston still kissing at my neck, I reached down for Stone’s cock to devote all my attention to him, carried away on a raft of bliss.

  Before long, Hale was following Preston over the edge — withdrawing from me to finish neatly on my stomach. As he made to move away, my hand closed around his wrist.

  “Is there lube?”

  “Uh-huh. Are you uncomfortable?”

  “No,” I answered. As Blake hit deep inside me, I arched back against him again, punctuating my point; still, Hale returned with lubricant. I still couldn’t speak from the pleasure, but he took initiative, squeezing a little into his palms to massage over my thighs.

  Only when I’d gathered my breath could I speak up, lifting my head to meet Stone’s eyes. “I want both.”

  “Like before?”

  His brow furrowed, unsure — but Blake understood. He reached around me to slick up his fingers with lube, then slipped back down again to a tighter, more intimate hole.

  “Like this,” he murmured, his voice a gratifying hum. My head tipped back onto his shoulder as I moaned out my pleasure, feeling the exquisite stretch of his first finger inside me. Stone seemed to understand then, moving between my legs to guide me down onto his waiting cock. I still had Preston and Hale on either side of me, smoothing lube-slick hands over every free part of my body. It felt like an all-over massage, and even more so once Blake added a second finger. The white-hot intensity of feeling them fill both parts of me at once had my heart hammering and my skin tingling all over. Last night’s danger had vanished from my memory, along with any thought of uncertainty or shyness or discomfort.

  At last, Blake withdrew his hand and pressed his cock inside me instead. I gasped, legs tightening around Stone’s body as I felt inch by tantalizing inch of Blake sink slowly deeper. He was careful and gentle — and Stone had slowed too, giving me a chance to assimilate to the new two-pronged rhythm of our love.

  “God, yes.”

  I accepted eager kisses from Preston and Hale as we rode out this final stretch together, groaning against their lips and feeling more undone by the second. I could feel myself mounting to one last peak, with Stone’s thrusts growing ever more urgent, and his thumb still strumming a delicious rhythm over me. Soon, I felt Blake begin to tense too; knowing that both of them were ready to come for me, hard and eager, drove me over the precipice, and I came one last time with a desperate cry.

  As Stone and Blake finished, staggered one after the other, my body remained tense between them. I felt a last lick of lust as I felt Blake’s mouth on my neck — a hard, satisfying bite that tugged me back under a wave of pleasure all over again.

  We lay in a floppy, fulfilled pile, limbs intertwined around one another. I felt the body heat of all four lovers pressured up close against me, desperate for as much of my skin as they could contact. They covered me with such efficacy that I barely felt naked, sighing with the weight of my pleasure underneath the cozy last traces of our sex.

  “That was incredible.”

  I smiled at their hums of assent, and as I felt Blake’s hands wind into my hair, coaxing out the tangles.

  “You’re perfect,” he said, keeping his voice soft and low. “Exactly what we needed, even before we knew it. Before we could have hoped.”

  I glowed in his praise, nestling closer to the sound of his voice. The rest of the Norths moved with me, keeping me close and protected in the center of their love-pile. “You’re all perfect too,” I told them, and meant it. I’d never had a partner that felt so right or natural — never felt so loved or desired. The knowledge that a life of ours was growing inside me only sharpened my happiness. “I… really can’t believe how lucky I am.”

  I felt several hands come to rest gently over my stomach, and knew they were thinking of the same bundle of joy.

  How had I ever imagined this would be a bad thing?

  “We’re the lucky ones,” said Hale, drumming his fingertips lightly over my skin. “Trust me. We really are.”

  “All five of us will be,” said Stone. “When the little one comes.”

  “I’ve been thinking about names,” I admitted. “Just a little.” Seeing their ears perk up, I smiled and continued. “Is it too cliché to call them Leo, or Leona?”

  Preston grinned. “Not for me.”

  “Will they actually be a shifter?” I asked, sitting up a little. I propped myself up against Blake’s lap, wriggling back closer as his arms wrapped around me. “I still have so much to learn.”

  “More than likely, yes,” Blake answered, lips resting on my shoulder where he’d bitten down. It felt a little sore now, but in a good way — a physical remnant of all their love. “Don’t worry, though. You’ve got plenty of time to learn.”

  “All the time in the world,” Hale confirmed.

  As we lay there, drifting off in a happy pile by the glow of the fire, that was the thought I fixated on. For most of my life, I’d been wondering exactly where I’d end up, and with who — daydreaming about whether I was working the right job, or keeping the right company, or dating the right men. Now, seeing this path laid out before me, I felt a surreal calm and happiness settle over me like a blanket.

  I wouldn’t have to struggle or wonder any more.

  Stone

  Our commanding officers didn’t need to know the minute detail — didn’t need to hear that we’d all risked our lives, and the integrity of the mission, to rescue Jessica. As natural as it was, and as much as we’d all stand behind the choice, it went directly against protocol, and none of us much enjoyed the idea of never being allowed to work as a unit again.

  Instead, we just made out that we’d stumbled across their base camp early. That we’d seized an opportunity once we had adequate intel and knew exactly what we were walking into.

  If anybody at the Pentagon suspected that we’d made some early moves, they didn’t say so. They just seemed grateful that the problem was handled sooner than expected, and without any casualties to the unit — or media attention. We were ghosts, slipping in and out of the area without causing any mayhem. It was exactly the reason they recruited us as a unit in the first place.

  Now, of course, we could start heading home.

  Still, it felt a little bittersweet to be leaving. This cabin was so much more than a workplace now. It was the place where we’d found Jess — or at least where we found our feelings for her. I knew she was special from the first moment we met and interviewed her, but learning over the course of these months exactly how special she was? That was a gift I’d never forget. As I walked through the communal areas of the cabin, checking for any possessions we’d left behind, I almost wished we could hold onto the place. Make it our own, for getaways.

  But hey. If we had to leave it behind forever, so be it. Home is where the heart is, and we’d soon be making memories with Jess there too.

  Speaking of Jess? I had an intervention to run.

  “You know I’m not going to let you do that, right?”

  She looked up at me from the kitchen, hand poised over the sink ready to dampen down a cloth. Her smile was playful and sheepish, as though she’d almost been expecting to get caught.

  “I’m not that pregnant yet.”

  “Step away from the cleaning products, Dorsey.” I closed in on her, tugging the cloth out of her hands and pressing a kiss onto her blushing cheek. “Don’t make me tell Blake. He will make you sit out in the sun with a glass of ice water and a plate of strawberries.”

  “I’m considering it anyway,” said Blake, stepping in from outside and brushing off his hands. “Has she been working again?” He and Hale had been loading things into the truck for a while now, and the sun had left a sheen of sweat across his forehead. I saw Jess’ eyes lingering on his vein-roped forearms, and grinned.

  “She’s been trying,” I
told him. “Apparently she’s ‘not that pregnant’.”

  “I’m not!” she insisted. “I’m not even showing. You’re all way too sweet to me.”

  “No such thing,” called Preston, clambering up through the basement floor with the last of our supplies. “And they’re right. You’re not lifting a finger.”

  “Are you going to let me unpack when we get home?”

  “Nope,” I said, cheerfully wiping down the kitchen surfaces she’d been intending to clean. “Absolutely not. We’ll take care of all of that for you. And before you ask — nope, we’re not going to let you pack up your old apartment either.”

  “If you’re not careful, I’ll get used to it,” she warned. “Then I’ll be the laziest mommy this little cub could ever have.”

  “I think growing an entire person is work enough,” said Blake, smoothing Jess’ hair behind her ears. “Anyway. Truck’s loaded up. Hale’s doing one last sweet of the cabin. After that, I think we’re good to go.”

  I tossed the rag into the sink, with the countertops now clean enough to catch the sun. “Want me to call the commander?”

  “Yes,” said Blake. “You do that.”

  “I’ll even let you hit dial,” I teased Jess, sliding into the seat beside her on the couch. “Since you’re so keen to do some work.”

  “Oh, screw you,” she said, curling up against me. “Stop being good to me. I hate it.”

  I kissed the side of her head, enjoying her teasing, and dialed the number on our sat phone. It didn’t take more than a couple of rings for the commander to answer.

  “Unit A7.”

  “Yes, sir. Just wanted to update you on our position. Leaving in T-minus 15, approximately. No gear left behind.”

  “Inclusive of data?”

  “Correct, sir.”

  “Good. Glad you boys are heading home. You’ve done good work for us out there.”

  “Thank you, sir.” My arm tightened around Jess, squeezing her shoulder. “And our support personnel too. Couldn’t have done it without her.”

  “Of course,” he said. His tone suggested he hadn’t thought of her, and still didn’t really make much of her contribution — but whether the commander believed Jess was indispensable or not was kind of immaterial to the truth. However, this task had turned out, it certainly wouldn’t have been as easy or as enjoyable without Jess here with us. It wouldn’t have been over as quickly, either. Even now, the thought of her captured made me flutter with anger — but it also reminded me that she hadn’t given them a word of information, not even when her life was in danger.

  She was something special. Our commander’s nonchalance was irritating, but I didn’t need his confirmation to know that. I hoped she didn’t either.

  Jessica

  The drive felt so much longer on the way out to the cabin than it did on the way back. A few months ago, the North men were driving me into the unknown. I had barely known any of them, and only really felt friendly with Stone to begin with. Now, it was a completely different story. We were heading back to a civilization I knew well, and I was surrounded by company that I loved. Company that loved me. No matter who was driving and who slept, the time passed quickly and with laughter.

  By the time I started recognizing landmarks and buildings in our home city, I was almost sad to be away from that wilderness where we’d all fallen for one another. I could only hope that our feelings would be the same out here, where they could find any number of pretty girls to occupy their time and bear their children.

  Preston squeezed my hand as we pulled up to the North men’s home. I barely remembered it from my interview. Now that I was arriving here with an invitation to live there, it felt like a completely different environment. I found myself taking light and cautious steps as I headed up the driveway to the front door, almost nervous of what I’d see inside. As though it wouldn’t measure up to the dreams of the busy family life I’d been envisioning back at the cabin.

  “Welcome home,” said Stone, as he unlocked the door.

  As it swung open, every fear I had melted easily away. The hallway inside already smelled like all four North men in some innate, natural way — not the aftershave they wore or their shampoo, but the core of them. A wave of comfort washed over me as we stepped inside, Blake following us in with my bag.

  “Of course, you can live at your own place for as long as you like,” he assured me. “There’s no pressure to run on in here. We want you happy and relaxed. But… you can consider this place home just as soon as you want to.”

  “It already feels like home,” I admitted. I ran my fingertips over the back of the couch, and imagined us all piled together in front of the fire here, just as we had in the cabin. There was a lot more space for us on this floor — and the plush, soft faux-fur rug on the floor looked like it would provide a pretty comfortable place to lie.

  Everything was perfect. The only factor I couldn’t guarantee was me.

  I turned to face all four of them, smiling faintly.

  “It’s beautiful here,” I said. “It really does feel like home. I want to be here. I just… I hope I’m not a disappointment.”

  Hale’s brow furrowed. “How could you be?”

  “I don’t know.” I folded my hands. “I’ve never been a mom before. Never had four boyfriends at once. I don’t know how to do any of this. Outside of that cabin, and all that honeymoon feeling… I just don’t want to let you down. That’s all.”

  They closed in around me, and I leaned into Stone as he came close, Blake’s hand fastening into mine.

  “You don’t need to worry about that,” Blake promised. “You’re our One Mate, Jess. I’m sorry if we haven’t made it clear enough, but… don’t you know what that means?”

  I shook my head against Stone’s chest.

  “It means we’re fated for each other,” Hale explained, his soft voice taking up the mantel for Blake. “Some part of you calls out to some part of us in a way we’ll probably never fully understand, but… it’s very, very strong. Doesn’t matter how out of place you feel, or how new you are to this. We’re all yours now. Protectors. Lovers. Fathers to your children.”

  I swallowed, sitting back to meet their eyes. When they’d explained this before, it certainly felt seismic — but these words right now, spoken with such sincerity in my new home, were stirring me to greater heights of emotion.

  Preston smiled down at me, reaching for my other hand. “So long as you want us,” he added. “So long as we can make you happy.”

  “You will,” I assured them. “I can feel that.”

  “But you don’t know quite how,” Blake said, squeezing my hand. “You just… know it. There’s just something in your center, whispering about it. Sure as the sun.”

  “Yeah,” I agreed. That was exactly how it felt. Is that what they meant by ‘fate’?

  “That’s what we feel too,” Stone said, brushing through my hair. “So it seems like destiny made its choice about us, but… it’s important to us that you’re here by choice, too.”

  Hale nodded. “If you’re not sure. If you decide you don’t want this…”

  “You’re always free,” Blake said. “You will be no matter what. But just for the avoidance of any doubt...” He lifted my hand to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to my knuckles. “Let me ask you officially, on behalf of the pride. Be our One Mate?”

  Hearing the honesty and the vulnerability of those words took my breath away. Here was Blake, pride alpha with the power of four human men, with his voice soft and his heart open. I felt my eyes brimming with tears as I looked between all four of them.

  Something called me to that job ad a couple of months ago. I couldn’t possibly have known it was this — but was it fate pulling me towards this moment in time all along?

  “Of course, I will,” I managed, through the tightness in my throat. “Yes.”

  I could have been imagining things, but it felt like a lasso of light had tightened in around us, fastening us toget
her for the good times and the bad. I felt overwhelmed with their love and support, and closed my eyes against the intensity of the feeling as they all pressed in around me, showering kisses on my body and holding me tight and close. Somewhere inside me, our child was growing, unaware that it had four heroes for fathers.

  “I don’t know how I’m going to explain it to my mom,” I admitted.

  Hale’s laughter was infectious, spreading first to Stone and then to me. It even claimed Blake in the end, tugging a wayward smile onto those serious lips of his.

  “You tell her whatever you want,” said Blake. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. What I care about right now is making you happy here.”

  “We can set you up in one of the spare rooms,” said Preston. “And start setting up the nursery. Never too early, right?”

  I beamed, sinking down onto the arm of the couch. With them all surrounding me, it really didn’t feel too soon. It felt like the manifestation of a fairytale. I just couldn’t believe that this was my real life — that over the space of a few months, I had walked into this perfect ready-made family, and was about to start making decisions about nursery colors and baby names.

  Only one potential thorn stuck out.

  “You guys won’t disappear on me every couple of weeks for another long mission, will you?” I asked. After all, that was what they did. They solved problems for the government, all as one unit, in places not safe enough for children — and it took time.