Her Shadowed Wolves (House of Wolves and Magic Book 3)

by Helen Scott

  I glanced over at Blake and watched him for a moment. He was asleep and deeply so, if his breathing was anything to go by. He and Tate were mostly strangers to me, which I didn’t mind, but I wanted to rectify as soon as possible. I just hated that we were doing it in the middle of a forest while we were being hunted.

  “What about sex? How does that work?” Tate asked, keeping his voice even the whole time.

  Nina choked on some of her own spit, which was stupidly endearing. While she got herself under control, I said, “We share. We have alone time as well, but we also all get in bed together.” Admittedly, that hadn’t really happened yet, but I’d shared Nina with Blake and with Roman, so I knew both of them were open to it and I knew that Nina wanted it, so it was inevitable.

  “Share?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.

  “Share,” I confirmed. “What we do in bed is largely up to our mate.”

  I glanced over at Nina and found her deep in thought, not really paying attention to the conversation. It bothered me, not because she was inadvertently ignoring us, but because I wanted to know what was going on in that beautiful mind and unless I manipulated the mate bond, which seemed like an invasion of privacy to me, I had no idea. She’d tell us when she was ready, she always did, I just hated the suspense.

  10

  Nina

  Roman had returned with more game than he could carry, well, almost. He had our packs as well, which was impressive, considering the distance he’d had to cover to get them. Or maybe this forest was just screwing with my sense of direction.

  Currently, he was rifling through the bag that had the med kit in it, and when he pulled it out, I already knew we were in trouble. The small plastic box was mostly opaque, but not completely, and it was obvious to anyone who looked at it that it was mostly empty. It hadn’t had a lot in it to begin with, but stitching Blake up had depleted our supplies more than I’d expected.

  Not that I regretted it, to be clear. I just knew we were in trouble now, given that Blake’s injury was open once more and we’d picked up mate number four along the way, Tate, who was also injured in a couple places.

  “Micah, can you cook up the meat?” Roman asked as he began going through the other packs, looking for any other supplies we might have on hand.

  “Uh, sure,” Micah said, even though he sounded anything but. Something told me that Micah may have been able to handle cooking in a kitchen okay, but cooking over an open flame with an unfamiliar food? That was much different.

  I knew I should’ve been helping, but my mind was spinning with everything that had happened. Maybe if there had been a specific task I could have completed, it would have been different, but since our tent was, theoretically, still at that campsite we’d made in the rain as we got attacked and had to abandon to hide out in the cave, there wasn’t. It left my mind free to wander as I watched Roman try and patch up Tate’s injuries, while Micah skinned what I thought was a groundhog but wasn’t sure.

  Blake was passed out, the activities of the day being too much with his injuries. I just hoped that we had enough supplies to patch him up a little as well, since the guy needed it. The bandage that covered the worst of the wounds was soaked red, though it did look like the blood flow was starting to slow since it was starting to turn that rusty-red color of dried blood.

  That was something at least.

  I still felt uneasy about us being so out in the open. We were so exposed and vulnerable, like we were just waiting for the Shadow Forest wolves to find us. All they would have to do is catch the scent of smoke or of Micah cooking our kills, and it would lead them straight to us. We had to eat though, and while wolves may be able to stomach raw meat, shifters not so much, at least in their human form. I knew this was partly because I couldn’t shift, but it was also partly because Blake was too injured to shift, and it probably wouldn’t have been a good idea for Tate to shift either. Shifter magic could be fickle when it came to injuries, either healing them or making them worse, which was why most people didn’t shift when they had any injury that they couldn’t stand to get worse.

  I glanced back at Tate and Roman and startled when I saw them the same way I had in that weird dream. Roman looked as pale as the moon and seemed to be radiating light, whereas Tate looked warm and cozy like the earth, how I imagined the burrows of animals that lived underground to look.

  I couldn’t help but look to Micah, who was glowing as brightly as the sun. His blond hair looked golden, and his blue eyes were sapphires as they looked up at me and winked, as bright and clear as a summer sky. Then I looked over at Blake, who, just as before, had gleaming red eyes and the air around him was shimmering with heat, like the kind you saw above an especially hot fire or coming off the tarmac on a hot summer day.

  My four mates, but in the dream, there had been another one, a fifth standing as tall and proud as a redwood tree. It couldn’t be Jax, could it? He would be the fifth member of our little family, well, sixth if I counted myself, which I probably should. Just the thought of him being that person I’d seen made my skin break out in goosebumps, and not the good kind. The two thoughts seemed at odds with one another. I wanted to find my fifth mate that I hadn’t even told the rest of them about yet, but I didn’t want it to be Jax. I wasn’t sure I could handle it if it was him, not after everything that had happened. When I thought about the man in the dream, it didn’t seem like him, whether it was a lingering scent or maybe just his height or the way he held himself, I wouldn’t have thought he was Jax. Plus, I knew I’d seen Jax separately in my dream. He’d taken over everything when he arrived, like he’d swallowed the whole world and all the light in it as well. So he couldn’t have been both of them, could he?

  The more I turned the idea around in my mind and poked and prodded at it, the more I was worried that it was just a dream and held no significance, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that there had been more to it than that. I tried to think about it logically. If Roman was my moon and Micha was my sun, then what was Blake? My stars? No that didn’t seem right. He’d made me think of metal and heat at the time, but I didn’t understand how that fit with the moon and sun. And for that matter, how did Tate fit in?

  It was like my mind knew the answers but couldn’t put it all together yet, like trying to remember a word that was on the tip of my tongue, but it was only when I stopped thinking about it that the word would eventually come to me, usually days later when I didn’t need it. I hoped that wasn’t true of the answers I needed when it came to my mates. I didn’t want to wait days or weeks just to get the answers but have said answers be useless.

  If I could figure out the pattern, then maybe I could figure out why Jax wanted me so badly, why he was convinced that I was his and was going to make his pack stronger. That was the million-dollar question. If I never found out why I had four, possibly five, mates I wouldn’t be upset, but I needed to know why Jax was obsessed with me, why he was willing to sacrifice the lives of members of his pack just to make me his, especially when he knew I already had mates.

  The pattern wasn’t obvious, and I didn’t expect it to be, but I couldn’t figure it out for the life of me. It made me want to scream with frustration. I just wanted us to be free, was that so bad? Why were the fates being such bitches and denying us that happiness?

  My line of thought was turning more bitter, which was why I didn’t notice the scent of burnt meat at first. When I realized that I wasn’t tasting my own bitterness, I looked over to find that Micah had fallen asleep and the meat that was roasting over the fire was now burning.

  I jumped up, startling Roman and Tate, and pulled the meat from the flames. After a quick glance over, I realized that it wasn’t as bad as I thought. Yes, it was a little burnt, but it was all definitely still edible, at least if you grew up on my brother’s cooking.

  Micah snorted and woke himself up as I was trying to find somewhere to rest the meat that wasn’t just on the ground.

  “Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty,”
Roman said, sounding grumpy that his hard-earned food wasn’t looked after.

  I raised an eyebrow at him as I fanned the flames that were already starting to die down. The food was all saved. None of us were in top form, so I wasn’t exactly surprised when I’d turned and found Micah asleep.

  “Shit, is the food okay?” Micah asked, his voice groggy and his eyes bleary.

  “Food’s fine,” I reassured him.

  “We have no more medical supplies,” Roman said as he came to inspect the damage. His voice was low, as though he didn’t want Tate to overhear and feel bad, but with shifter hearing, that was basically impossible at this distance. Maybe he was trying not to wake Blake? I wasn’t sure, but I wasn’t mad about him getting close to talk to me either. His gaze dipped to my arm, the one that had been injured during the fight. It wasn’t bad though. If I could just wash it, I felt sure it would be fine.

  “We’ll make do,” I said, refusing to let my mind wander down the negative path that was presented to it. If another one of us got injured, we were screwed. Nope. We weren’t thinking about that. Before Roman could tear down that wall I’d just built between me and all my negative thoughts, I said, “Let’s eat before it gets cold.”

  “I’ll wake Blake up,” Micah said as he pushed to his feet.

  There wasn’t much there in terms of food, but it would be enough to keep us going, enough so that we didn’t starve. Gods, what I wouldn’t have given for a salad though. I’d always thought I was a meat and potatoes kind of girl, but now I was wondering if that was more when I was being lazy. Now, my body was craving vegetables and fruit, and I swore to myself that when we got back to civilization, I was going to have the biggest Cobb salad I could find, followed by fruit and yogurt for dessert. I wouldn’t touch meat for days if given the choice.

  Blake roused but barely. I gave him the biggest portion, since he had the most healing to do, and I gave Tate a little extra as well. After all, the guy had saved my life a couple times today and had the injuries to prove it. Micha and Roman got the next biggest portions, though I tried to make them fairly equal, and I had the rest, which wasn’t much. I was used to not eating a lot though, so it didn’t bother me.

  Roman took my makeshift plate from my hand before I could start eating and offered me his. I reached for my own, but he just pulled it farther away as he said, “I ate while I was hunting.”

  I stared at him, unable to tell if he was lying or not. I didn’t think he would, but I also knew that he would try and take care of me before himself.

  “Roman, you’ve barely slept in almost three days. You need to rest and refuel. I’ll be fine.”

  He silently raised an eyebrow at me and set his makeshift plate on the ground next to me before walking away to the other side of the little area we’d set up for ourselves. When he sat down, I wanted to pick up my food and follow him, but I knew that would just start a fight, so I glared at him and sat down where I was. Stubborn bastard always getting his way.

  The food had a unique taste to it, the kind that let you know the animal was wild and not farm raised, and also that it wasn’t your average meat that you’d buy at the grocery store, but it was good. So good, in fact, that my plate was clear before I could blink. When I looked up in surprise, I just saw Roman smirking.

  He’d known how hungry I was and that what I’d given myself wouldn’t be enough. I sighed and moved over to sit next to him, bumping him with my shoulder playfully as I said, “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, angel.” He dropped a quick kiss on my forehead.

  I leaned against him, basking in the warmth of the fire, knowing that the cold of the night was coming all too soon. I was worried for Blake. He wasn’t acting like himself and seemed to be getting worse rather than better.

  Once Micah was finished with his food, I watched as he got the packs together and the sleeping bags, making us a little den-like area where we could all snuggle down. As soon as it was ready, he helped Blake over to the area, and I watched as Blake practically flopped down onto the ground. He was asleep before his head hit the pack that was serving as his pillow. A moment later, Tate ambled over and lay down, tucking himself in with a corner of the sleeping bag. Poor guy must have been exhausted from the events of the day. It’s not often that you find your mate and have to fight your friends who almost kill you. That kind of thing takes a lot out of a person.

  And then there were three.

  Roman and Micah sat on either side of me now, and I felt the same exhaustion roll through me. I was restless though. Antsy. If I knew where the oracle was, then there was a good chance if they left me alone, I’d try and track her down myself. As it was, I didn’t know where she was and they didn’t leave me alone, so the three of us just stayed there, watching the flames dance and occasionally adding more branches to the fire.

  We were comfortable in our silence with each other, something that I never thought would happen with me and one other person, let alone two. I was sure it would happen with Blake and Tate as well, I just still felt too new around them. Part of me wanted to ask them what they thought of having a fourth mate to contend with, but I was a little scared to find out, so I kept my mouth shut up and slipped one of my hands into Micah’s and hooked my other arm through the arm I was leaning against on Roman’s side.

  I knew we should probably sleep as well, if only because things were quiet for the moment, and to help keep Tate and Blake warm, but I couldn’t make myself get up and walk away from this moment. It was perfect in its own weird way. The five of us were together, which was new but felt right.

  My mind flashed with the memory of the jolt I’d received when Tate and I shook hands, and I wondered what it would be like to have the four of them in bed together.

  Fucking hot was the answer.

  I mean, all four of them were built like gods and handsome enough to make every male model in the world green with envy. I was a very lucky lady, and one of these days, I’d show them just how lucky I thought I was.

  “Do you have some needs, angel?” Roman asked with a rumble.

  “No, just thinking,” I said, a flush probably staining my cheeks.

  “Dirty thoughts, I bet,” Micah added with a grin.

  Fucking shifter noses and being able to smell when I was turned on. I knew I’d never be able to keep my wants and needs a secret from them, and in that moment, I realized that it was a relief. Even if I couldn’t voice the words myself, they knew what I wanted, what I needed, either through my body or the bond.

  I’d thought that was something I’d hate, but I was learning that the parts of the mate bond that I thought would chafe against me the most were actually the parts I loved.

  Micah’s hand detangled from mine and ran up and down my thigh. Just that slight movement was enough to make the spark of desire that was within me glow and grow into a fire. The slow, lazy movements, combined with the heat of the fire, made me feel languid and loved. I didn’t stop him as he pulled my legs wider apart and cupped my pussy through my jeans, gently flexing his fingers where they would enter me if my clothes weren’t in the way.

  It made my need skyrocket.

  Suddenly, I couldn’t get naked fast enough. I pushed to my feet, and the two of them began undressing me, pulling items of clothes off me and themselves as fast as possible. As soon as I was naked under the moonlight, they both froze. I didn’t though. I knew exactly what I wanted, and that was both of their cocks inside me.

  I sat down on Roman’s lap and wiggled myself on his cock until he was rock-hard and pressing against my entrance, his blue-gray eyes dark with need. I felt Micah kneel behind me and his cock rest on the curve of my ass cheeks. Sandwiched between them like that was the best place in the world.

  They both rubbed against me, spreading my wetness all over my folds and increasing my urgency to feel them both inside me. When Roman finally let himself push into me, I moaned with relief. Having his cock inside me—well, any of my mate’s cocks inside me—made me fee
l like I was in heaven.

  Roman pumped into me a few times before pulling out, and without saying a word, Micah took over. I’d never really thought about the differences between their cocks before, but as I knelt there feeling one after the other, I could tell that Roman’s was straighter and longer, whereas Micah’s had a slight curve to it and was thicker. Each of them stretched me in different ways, and all I had to do was hold myself there and appreciate the different sensations as they each took their time fucking me. Roman leaned up and began sucking on my nipples, one after the other, until they were hard peaks that were only made stiffer by the cool air on wet skin.

  “One of you better make me come soon, or I’m going to lose my damn mind,” I panted out between moans.

  “Making demands, are you?” Roman asked before thrusting up into me even harder.

  I grunted from the force of it, and a grin spread over his face. It didn’t deter me though, if anything, it just turned me on even more. “You know it.”

  “I’ll take care of you, beautiful. Roman, just keep doing what you’re doing.” Micah’s words rumbled against my back as his hand slid around to my front while his cock, still slick with my juices, slid up and down my ass cheeks. His fingers were on my clit a moment later as he roughly circled it. There was nothing lazy or slow about our activities any more. Now, it was rough and hard—just the way I liked it.

  As Micah’s fingers worked me into a frenzy, Roman’s cock did the same, until my whole body was vibrating on the edge of an orgasm. I was stuck though, unable to go over the edge.

  “Fuck my ass, Micah,” I panted out. “I need both of you inside me.”

  “I thought you’d never ask,” Micah growled out from behind me as he pushed the thick head of his cock against my asshole, easing himself in using the wetness he’d been spreading there all along. The feeling of both of them inside me, combined with the way Micah was still working my clit, pushed me over the edge.